SPORTS: The KU Rugby Football Club returns from a tour of New Zealand, Page 11.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
VOL.102.NO.4
Wednesday, August 26. 1992
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
(USPS 650-640)
NEWS:8644810
Andrew strikes Louisiana; loses steam
The Associated Press
The hurricane's leading edge cane ashore about 11 p.m. and scraped along Louisiana's coast, a marshy area dotted with cypress trees, Spanish moss and fields of sugar cane.
NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Andrew threw its deadly fury into Louisiana's bayous and marshes with steady winds up to 140 mph, striking only a glancing blow at New Orleans before headying into Cajun country today. It already had been labeled the costliest storm in the nation's history after slicing across south Florida on Monday.
At 2 a.m. the storm's center was running along the coast, about 70 miles south-southwest of Lafayette, heading northwest at 11 a.m. A storm surge of 10 to 15 inches occurred, the eye, and up to 10 inches of rain were possible.
The hurricane was blamed for at least 17 deaths in Florida and the Bahamas and was estimated to have caused $15 billion to $20 billion in damages in south
The doughnut-shaped wall of the storm, surrounding its eye, began pumpeling Louisiana's coast with sustained 140-mph winds shortly before 10 p.m., said She Bobts, director of the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
Florida. If those preliminary figures hold up, it would be by far the most expensive natural disaster ever in the United States.
As of midnight, the eye itself was skirting the coast but had not swept over land, and the hurricane began weakenning, with 125 mph maximum sustained winds, Sheets said. The hurricane was starting to shrink, and its eye is becoming less defined as it brushed along the land.
Lucille Periloux said her home was among those destroyed.
"There's nothing left but splinteres," she said. "All I heard was a loud, loud sound. It turned to go into the house, and it picked me up and threw me. It rolled me across the ground, almost to the street."
Earlier, hurricane-force winds of more than 74
mph prehaped sheriff's deputies from responding to rescue calls from a stranded 60-foot boat and stalled cars in Terrebonne Parish south of New Orleans, even though the storm's eye was still about 40 miles offshore, civil defense coordinator Morris Duplantis said.
Flooding was feared as the storm moved parallel to the coast, pummeling a wide swath with heavy rain. The storm's forward motion also slowed to 13 mph from 16 mph earlier in the day.
Earlier, traffic heading north from the Cajan coastland was bumper to bumper for as far as the
See HURRICANE. Page 2.
Path of Hurricane Andrew
As of 6 p.m. Tuesday
08/25/92
Justin Krupp / KANSAN
Knight-Ridder Tribune/RON CODDINGTON
David Almquist, Kenda Sessions and Mark Creamer, from left, members of the National Organization for the Reform of Manjuana Laws, demonstrate in front of City Hall, 6th and Massachusetts streets. The three Lawrence residents carry protest signs every Tuesday. See Hemp story, Page 3.
City vote increases water rates
Student housing costs will rise to absorb increases
By Kristy Dorsey
Kansan staff writer
In a move that is likely to increase KU student housing costs, the Lawrence City Commission last night unanimously approved an across-the-board 8-percent rate hike in water and sewage treatment charges.
That hike, which takes effect Nov. 15, means that the KU housing department will face higher rates for the roughly 100 million gallons of fresh water used each year by the scholarship halls, residence halls and Jayhawk Towers. In addition, sewage treatment charges for those residences will also increase.
Ken Stoner, director of student housing, said that the rate increase would have a big impact on his department.
"If they do that, obviously it will affect us," he said. "We do our rates and project ahead, so that increase would be taken into consideration."
Stoner said that because his department received all of its money from student housing fees, the increase in utility costs would be passed on to students.
"That's the only money we get, so it will definitely be passed on in our room and back home."
Debbie Van Saun, assistant utilities director for the city of Lawrence, said the rate hike was the second of five which were proposed in a 1991 study that set out a five-year plan to cover projected capital improvements to city utility equipment. An example of such improvements includes the water line replacement projects underway on Ohio and Kentucky streets, Van Saun said.
Students living off campus who use an average of 6,000 gallons of water each month can expect their monthly water rate and sewage treatment charges to increase from approximately $20.88 to $22.55. Van Saum said. That figure excludes other fees.
Financing for the water used in the nonresidential areas of campus comes from the state, said Mike Richardson, director of facilities operations. If the increased rates for the approximately 209 million gallons of water used on the main and west campuses force his department to exceed its $274,357 water budget for this year, Richardson said, it would have to approach the Legislature for emergency
funds.
ty customers.
"We have the option to petition the state for more money," he said, "but we don't like to do it. We're one of the few Regents institutions that did not petition the state for supplemental utility money last year."
Commissioner John Nalbandian pointed out that if all of the remaining proposed rate hikes were passed over the next three years, the total increase in water rates over five years would go on about 50 percent.
The ordinance proposal caused debate among the commissioners concerning the amount of the increase. Commissioner Bob Schumm said that during a period of 3-percent inflation, an 8-percent hike was a relatively large increase to pass on to utili-
In response to the commissioners' questions, Mike Wildgen, city manager, explained that the five-year plan was designed to pay for improvements, not to keep pace with inflation.
Despite rain dry weather will resume experts say
By Lynne McAdoo
Kansan staff writer
Yesterday's rain put a damper on Art Levey's afternoon. He planned to paint landscapes, but instead he was standing under the overhang in front of Wescoe Hall watching the rain.
"I wanted to get out early to get the poofy cumulus clouds, but I missed them," he said.
barnes Trounson, Kirkwood, Md., junior to cancer playing football but looked on the brighter side of things. "At least it keeps things green on campus for a while longer," he said.
The rain Kansas is experiencing is the remnant of tropical storm Lester, which originated in the Gulf of Mexico and gradually drifted east, said Mark Mitchell of the KU Weather Service.
Mitchell forecasted temperatures in the 70s with a chance for more showers for today and tomorrow. No rain is expected in the Lawrence area for this weekend.
While the remnants of Lester pounded Kansas with heavy rain, lightning and thunder, the effects of hurricane Andrew will probably pass east of Kansas, he said.
The frontal system moving through Kansas will probably force the effects of Andrew east, and it will head north up the Mississippi River Valley through Arkansas, eastern Missouri and Illinois. Mitchell said.
Even though Kansas is 1.75 inches below the normal August precipitation level, which is 2.85 inches, it is only .03 inches below normal level for the year because of the heavy rainfall that occurred in July.
Kansas received 6.41 inches of rain in July, 44 percent above the normal rate.
The cooler temperatures and increase in rainfall can be attributed to a shift in the Bahama high pressure area that usually covers the south and central parts of the country, said Erne Cobb of the National Weather Service in Topeka. This high pressure system would normally push precipitation north toward the Canadian border resulting in a typical dry Kansas summer.
Even though some people are still waiting for the summer to really heat up, they can expect normal arrival times for autumn and winter temperatures. Cobb said.
Bright lights
Jayhawk Boulevard and other areas of the KU campus are brighter at night, thanks to new exterior lights that were installed this summer. The approximately 160 new 20- and 30-foot light poles were put up as part of a five-year plan to improve campus lighting.
POLITICS
See story. Page 3.
Veteran ties
Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and President Bush both addressed an American Legion convention in Chicago yesterday.
While Clinton appealed to the veterans to not oppose his presidential candidacy just because he avoided serving in Vietnam, Bush pointedly reminded the group of his service in World War II.
New book spreads bizarre ideas about KU
See story, Page 9.
By KC Trauer
Is Wescoe Beach really the best place to hang out at KU?
Birmbach's irreverent guide describes KU life through student quotes — all anonymous — and information she says she gathered on visits here.
Is the common KU student's attire really "BMW and preppy?"
Although the guide claims to be new and improved, some of the book's information is simply outdated and wrong. Some examples:
Yes, at least according to Lisa Birnbach's New & Improved College Book, which boasts the inside scoop, straight from students, on the courses, professors, and on- and off-camus life.
Benetton is listed among the best local women's clothing stores, and Gammon's Club and Disco among the popular off-campus hangouts. Both have been closed for at least two years.
- Parking costs $20 a year for campus residents and $30 for off-campus residents, according to the guide. In truth, parking costs are $33 for campus residents and $50 for off-campus residents.
Among the worst places to live off campus is any apartment north of Massachusetts Street, the guide says. However, those apartments are hard to find because the street runs north and south.
Birnbach, also the author of The Official Preppy Handbook, quotes one student as saying the kind of person who would be happiest at KU would be a prep, or person who is up-to-date with fashion.
Michelle Lebold, Orland Park, Ill., senior, said she did not like this assessment and called the passage rude.
"There's a lot of diverse people here, and the book generalizes that everybody here is materialistic and concerned with their looks," Lebold said.
M. Maxwell Stroud, Philadelphia sophomore, whose hair is dyed bright red and who admittedly wear non-preppie clothing, said she felt right at home at KU.
"Other people would consider myself a granola, and I fitright in." Stroug said.
A "granola!" That and "wood hippie" are campus slang terms to describe "hippies who outlasted the '60s," according to the guide.
Most students did recognize the slang words listed, except for "coo doo," a funny way to say "cool dude," meaning "things
The guide picked Templin Hall as the worst residence hall.
are going well."
That's not true, says Henri Blanc, Raytown, Mo., junior, who has lived there two years and is president of the hall.
"There is a sense of community here, and you can make friends for life," Blanc said. But Eric Holmes, Maize freshman, said he
But Eric Holmes, Maize freshman, said he agreed with the guide, which called Templin "messy" and "uncontrollable."
"That's got to be right," Holmes said. "I almost got stuck in Templin, and there's no way I live there."
The guide recommends prospective students have a car for trips because "Lawrence is too boring."
"Yes, the nightlife is dull. I think it's horrible," said Aimee Williams, Lawrence junior.
"I've never heard of that. The best bar for romance?" Harwood said. "Shoot, I don't know what goes on between he and she, I just stop beer."
For the student looking for the perfect blend of love and nightlife, the guide suggests the Jet Lag Lounge, 610 Florida St., as the best bar for romance, which surprised Stu Harwood, a bartender there.
Book ranks best and worst of KU
The following is a guide to KU life according to Lisa Birnbach's New & Improved College Book, which Birnbach says uses students as sources:
Recommended Courses: Sexual and Everyday Life with Dennis Dalley and Western Civilization with staff.
Best Place for Quiet Study: Law library.
Best Place for Social Study: Wescoe Beach.
Best Place to Live Off Campus: Any apartment complex. "They're all the
Worst Place to Live Off Campus:
Colony Woods. They have horrible par-
suit.
Best Things About School: "The peo-
nounceable chatting with just about anyone
that isn't in school."
Worst Things About School? "It's very conservative, and I don't think educa-
tional skills are important."
KANSAN