Volume 124 Issue 55
kansan.com
Monday, November 7, 2011
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of John Curry's painting "Tragic Prelude," the famous depiction of Kansas abolitionist John Brown, as Missouri's starting lineup is announced before the Border Showdown men's basketball game March 1, 2009. While the original painting featured Brown holding a Bible in his left hand, the reproduction was altered to show Brown holding an NCAA Championship trophy.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE WAR IS OVER
The SEC has officially accepted Mizzou
ANDREW JOSEPH
aioseph@kansan.com
For 120 years, Kansas and Missouri have squared off in one of sports' most heated rivalries, but that will end in 2012.
The Southeastern Conference announced Sunday that the University of Missouri has been unanimously granted membership to the SEC and will join the conference in July 2012.
"I am pleased to officially welcome the University of Missouri to the SEC family on behalf of our presidents, chancellors, athletics directors, students and fans," SEC
commissioner Mike Slive said in an official statement. "Missouri is an outstanding academic institution with a strong athletic program. We look forward to having the Tigers compete in our league starting in 2012."
Missouri's exit from the Big 12 will mark the end of the school's 111-year partnership with the conference. Missouri will join Texas A&M as the second school to leave the Big 12 for the SEC this year. During the last 15 months, the Big 12 has seen the departures of Colorado, Nebraska, Texas A&M and now Missouri to different conferences.
According to Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long's Twitter posts, Texas A&M is expected to compete in the SEC West division, while Missouri will join the SEC East division.
EDITORIAL
The decision comes as no surprise to the Big 12. Missouri has been open about its discussions with the SEC during the past month. The Missouri Board of Curators' resolution on Oct. 21 to grant Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton full authority to enter into new contracts with other conferences ultimately meant
SEE MISSOURI PAGE 3
Finally, we've reached a conclusion.
Missouri: Ultimate betrayal
"Missouri forfeits a century-old rivalry. We win."
Sunday marked a historic day for Kansas and Missouri, as Missouri's exit from the Big 12 ended a two-year period of uncertainty about its status in the conference. Unfortunately, it also put a lid on a rivalry between the universities that was deeply rooted in both cultures.
@KUNEWS
Official Twitter account of the
University of Kansas
The rivalry between the two states primarily comes from the Civil War, when "Jayhawkers" from Kansas burned down plantations in Missouri, and Missouri's Quantrill's Raiders destroyed pro-Union Lawrence. The sports competition between the two universities is an extension of this emotionally-charged history.
the rivalry despite the move, but University Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little and basketball coach Bill Self both hinted that the rivalry might not continue if Missouri switched conferences. The rivalry was a staple of the Big 12, and it would lose too much value if showdown games cease to become conference match-ups.
It's also a betrayal of traditions. Missouri was one of the pioneers of the Big 12. As a member of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association with the University of Kansas, it was an integral institution in the history of the Big 12.
the Big 12, and to all Big 12 institutions. A rivalry loses its meaning when one side diminishes its importance.
When the Southeastern Conference accepted its application, Missouri showed the nation that this celebrated, century-old tradition comes second to its financial coffers. Missouri officials expressed interest in continuing
The addition of West Virginia won't replace the strong traditions the University shared with Missouri, but we're happy to invite a university that is fighting to join our conference by the next academic year.
This follows the University's administration's commitment to the Big 12. At the same time, Missouri's exit comes after interim commissioner Chuck Neinas strengthened the conference with the additions of Texas Christian University and West Virginia University. It shows that Missouri lost its commitment to
Students ought to feel insulted by Missouri's move. Attend the remaining Border Showdown games against Missouri in force, and show the new SEC addition that it's making a mistake forsaking the rivalry. It would be great for the University to schedule games with Missouri in future years, but the term "border war" just won't ring true anymore.
A rivalry full of vitriol is now more important than ever. Make full use of it while it lasts.
Vikaas Shanker for the Kansan Editorial Board
NATIONAL
Oklahoma earthquake felt in Kansas, beyond
Quakes on the rise in Midwest ASSOCIATED PRESS
SPARKS, Okla. — Saturday night's big one jolted Oklahoma State University's stadium shortly after the No. 3 Cowboys defeated No. 17 Kansas State. Fans were still leaving the game.
The magnitude 5.6 earthquake and its aftershocks still had residents rattled Sunday. No injuries were reported, and aside from a buckled highway and the collapse of a tower on the St. Gregory's University administration building, neither was any major damage. But the weekend earthquakes were among the strongest yet in a state that has seen a dramatic, unexplained increase in seismic activity.
"That shook up the place, had a lot of people nervous," Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon said.
Oklahoma typically had about 50 earthquakes a year until 2009. Then the number spiked, and 1,047 quakes
SEE EARTHQUAKE PAGE 3
Who felt the quake?
JONATHAN SHORMAN
jshorman@kansan.com
IAN CUMMINGS icummings@kansan.com
Earthquake history in Kansas
Earthquakes rarely get much attention in the Midwest, but Don Steeples, McGee Distinguished Professor of Applied Geophysics, said Kansas experiences a dozen or more each year.
Most seismic activity in Kansas can only be detected with instruments, Steeples said. But once every couple of years residents will feel a tremor. He said Kansas would experience a 6.5 magnitude earthquake once every 2,500 years.
"We don't know when the last one occurred," he said. "Or when the next one will be."
CLASSIFIEDS 9
CROSSWORD 4
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 5
According to the United States Geological Survey, the earliest recorded earthquake in Kansas was on April 24, 1867, when several individuals were injured. The USGS website reported that the quake was the largest recorded in Kansas, with an estimated
Nationwide earthquake drills
On Feb. 7, 2012, at 10:15 a.m., thousands of people across eight states will participate in a massive earthquake drill organized by a partnership that includes FEMA, the USGS and the Red Cross. The drill, called the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut!, is part of a nationwide effort to prepare for catastrophic earthquakes and teaches people to take cover under surfaces such as tables and desks in an earthquake. More than three million people in eleven states participated in the last drill, according to organizers, which made it the biggest earthquake drill in the history of the Midwest. It marked the bicentennial of major earthquakes that destroyed New Madrid, Mo., in 1811.
"I'm sitting in my room, and felt the shaking in my desk, my chair, the lamp over my desk was shaking," he said.
Chui said he thought at first that someone was banging on his door. He checked Facebook and found reports of an earthquake.
"It was crazy, because I never experienced anything like that before," he said. "It freaked me out."
Chui said he knew that his apartment wasn't going to collapse but was still alarmed. He said the shaking wasn't violent, but it was enough to force him to stop what he was doing.
5. 1 magnitude and an epicenter reported near Manhattan. In Lawrence it was reported several stones were knocked off a church. Other earthquakes are reported having been felt in Kansas at several points over the last hundred years.
Index
others were not
"I was shaking, too," he said. Others felt nothing, and were disappointed when they learned of the earthquake after the fact.
Danny Chui, a senior from Olathe, said he felt the tremors Saturday night while sitting as his desk at home in an apartment near 23rd and Wakaura streets.
Some students were shaken,
Deep Singh, a senior from
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2011 The University Daily Kansan
Don't forget
Talk to veterans on campus from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wescoe Beach today.
SEE REACTIONS PAGE 3
Today's Weather
Forecasted calls by
University students. For
a more detailed forecast,
see page 2A.
Rainy and chilly. Nice.
西
渝