VOLLEYBALL TO FACE ANOTHER TOUGH FOE After facing No. 2 Nebraska earlier this week, the Jayhawks will take on No. 3 Texas Saturday. SPORTS | 1B
SOCCER TEAM IMPROVES OFFENSIVE OUTPUT The team has already scored 20 goals this season and is poised to blow past last year's season mark. SPORTS | 1B
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2008
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 27
CAMPUS
Frosh class sets records
BY BETSY CUTCLIFF
bcutcliffkansan.com
The University of Kansas broke enrollment records this semester in the number of students, in the average ACT score and diversity rate of freshmen, according to the KU Web site.
For the last decade, enrollment has hovered consistently around 29,500 with 2007 enrollment at 29,260. But this semester, the number jumped to 30,102. The 2.9 percent increase is the biggest enrollment percentage increase the University has seen on a year-to year basis.
According to the Web site, Chancellor Robert Hemenway gave some of the credit to the University's new fixed enrollment option, enacted in 2007, which ensures a fixed enrollment rate for four years.
New records also include diversity and ACT scores. This year, 12.7 percent of students identified themselves as Latino, Native-American, AfricanAmerican or Asian. The average ACT score was 24.8, topping the national average of 22, according to KU Web site.
"Our Four-Year Tuition Compact is an added attraction for this talented pool, because these freshmen and their families know a first-rate education will remain affordable," Hemenway said.
Edited by Arthur Hur
BLACKOUT
STATE
Board of Regents beset by budget woes
FULL STORY PAGE 3A
Federal financial aid awarded to students in the state of Kansas may be threatened if the Kansas Board of Regents doesn't receive an increase in state funding. Increasing inflation costs that are larger than average have created major concerns about state funding for the Regents, which oversee all the universities and colleges in Kansas.
THEATER
Aboriginal playwright visits campus
Australian Aboriginal playwright David Milroy is touring the U.S. to speak about how he presents the Aboriginal experience through theater. He will speak at the Sabbatini Multicultural Resource Center today, and hold a playwriting workshop at the Haskell Indian Nations University tomorrow.
FULL STORY PAGE 6A
Campus loses power
BY RYAN MCGEENEY
rmcgeeney@kansan.com
A half-hour power outage Thursday afternoon disabled most buildings across campus as Westar Energy employees worked to replace a piece of failing equipment in a major electrical circuit.
Students filed out of Wescoe, Haworth and Bailey halls, as well as Spencer and Watson libraries, and a half-dozen other academic buildings on campus went dark.
According to Karla Olsen, director of corporate communications for Westar Energy, the first outage, which was momentary, was caused by a routine maintenance check of one of the primary power feeds to the University. During the inspection, workers discovered that a piece of electrical insulating equipment, known as a "pothead," was "burning itself out," Olsen said. Workers made the decision to isolate the circuit and shut off power so the pothead could be replaced. Because of the urgency of the situation, Westar workers did not alert the University about the second outage, Olsen said.
A pothead separates conductors along an electrical line, providing safe passage of currents between overhead lines and underground lines, said Dale Wolford, an electrician with Quality Electric in Lawrence.
The power was out in areas of campus from 1:26 p.m. to 1:56 p.m., according to Olsen's data.
Across campus, students and faculty encountered various levels of inconvenience. Students were told to leave the Student Recreation Fitness Center about 10 minutes after the power went off, according to Tim Sherman, Derby freshman. Sherman said he was the last student to enter the building's basement, where the locker rooms are located, and where other students illuminated the way with the light of cell phones and other electronic devices.
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
Sherman said he wasn't able to retrieve his possessions before everyone was moved outside the building and across the street.
At Haworth Hall, Matthew Matte, Albuquerque, N.M., senior, was among a group of students in an immunology class that ended in a 15-minute question-and-answer session with the professor after the outage made a planned multimedia presentation impossible.
Some students found themselves dealing with the domino effect of delayed progress on assignments. Leanna Bogard, Sedalia, Mo., senior, was working on a last-minute paper for a women's studies course in Watson Library when the lights went out.
"I work full time, so the only time I get to do homework is during the day in the library," Bogard said. "Now I have to ask for an extension, which will put me behind in the class."
"We just kind of sat there and joked around a little bit," Matte said.
Olsen said that if the affected circuit requires further repair, Westar should be able to redirect power in a way that would not interrupt service for the University.
Watkins Memorial Health Center continued emergency functions despite the outage, which left some exam rooms dark. Diana Malott, assistant director at Watkins, said the health center relies on an emergency generator in power outage situations, and that the generator is tested once a month by KU Facilities and Operations. Malott said that the health center had one patient on an IV in urgent care when the outage occurred.
Lindsay Dennison, Wescoe Underground employee, hands out free sandwiches that would otherwise go to waste outside the dining facility during a half-hour power outage Thursday afternoon. A Westar Energy spokeswoman said that workers in Lawrence shut down a major electrical circuit in order to replace a falling electrical insulator, known as a "pothread," in the affected line.
Not everyone was put off by the outage, however. Julianne Buchsaum, a librarian in Watson, said she took the opportunity to enjoy Thursday's good weather.
Reporters Betsy Cutcliff and Brandy
Entsminger also contributed to this story.
"It was a nice break to be outside" said Buchsaum.
Chance Dibben/KANSAN
Students trek through a darkened Wescoe Hall early Thursday afternoon. Other buildings affected include Spencer and Watson libraries, the Kansas Union and Watkins Health Center. Some classes continued as usual, while students were told to vacate the libraries and the Student Recreation Fitness Center.
11. (A) 120°, B 90°, C 180°
index
Classifieds ... 4B
Crossword ... 4A
Horoscopes ... 4A
Opinion. 5A
Sports. 1B
Sudoku. 4A
All contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2008 The University Daily Kansan
NEW LAW IN NEBRASKA ALLOWS SAFE HAVEN FOR KIDS
Caretakers may abandon children of all ages at hospitals, police stations and other safe places without fear of prosecution. NATION | 3A
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