2A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2008
quote of the day
"I think the worst time to have a heart attack is during a game of charades...or a game of fake heart attack."
Demetri Martin
fact of the day
Source: www.cs.cmu.edu
The largest number of children born to one woman is recorded at 69. From 1725-1765, a Russian peasant woman gave birth to 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets.
most e-mailed
Want to know what people are talking about? Here's a list of the five most e-mailed stories from Kansan.com:
1. Cyclist smashes through back window of car
2. Movie review: Burn After Reading
3. Perkins nabs top spot in sports poll
4. Sex confessions
5. Scientists say masturbation could be beneficial
et cetera
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of The Kansan are 25 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at the Kansan business office, 119 Stauffer-Flint Hall, 1435 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045.
The University Daily Kansan (ISSN 0746-4967) is published daily during the school year except Saturday, Sunday, fall break, spring break and exams. Weekly during the summer session excluding holidays. Periodical postage is paid in Lawrence, KS 66044. Annual subscriptions by mail are $120 plus tax. Student subscriptions of are paid through the student activity fee. Postmaster: Send address changes to The University Daily Kansan, 119 Stauffer-Flint Hall, 1435 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045
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Signs urging students to take interest in the source of their KU apparel and popular KU T-shirts hang above Stauffer-Flint's lawn. The Kansas University Students Against Sweatshops sponsored the display Thursday afternoon. Volunteer Ben Jeffenes, Tonganoxie junior, said the main purpose of the event was to raise awareness and ask for students to sign petition for KU to order their apparel from the designated supplier program, which monitors factories and respect human rights.
KJHK is the student voice in radio. Each day there is an interaction, talk shows and other content made for students, by students. Whether it's rock'n roll or reggae, sports or special events, KJHK 90.7 is for you.
correction
The headline "Biker hits parked car" mischaracterized the accident. The car was stopped.
Campus group: Don't hang workers out to dry
NATIONAL
NATIONAL Minnesota bridge reopens 14 months after collapse
MINNEAPOLIS — Emergency vehicles with lights flashing led twin processions to open the new Interstate 35W bridge before dawn Thursday, less than 14 months after the shocking and deadly collapse of its predecessor.
Highway department trucks followed patrol cars, fire trucks and ambulances in slow northbound and southbound parades that passed each other around the middle of the bridge just after 5 a.m. Behind them were hundreds of motorists in cars, motorcycles, trucks and buses, many of them honking their horns and a few waving American flags.
Traffic was initially heavy on what had been one of the Twin Cities' busiest arteries, but it loosened up quickly and it continued to zip along through the morning rush hour. The old bridge had three lanes in each direction, but its replacement has five.
"It was wonderful. What a beautiful bridge. It's terrific," said Donald Brown, a retired truck driver from Golden Valley who was among the first to cross the new bridge over the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis.
The old bridge fell Aug. 1, 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 145 others. The sudden collapse of steel and concrete joined Minnesota and other states into taking a harder look at the safety of thousands of aging bridges across the country.
The state put the $234 million replacement on a fast track, and contractors had it ready for traffic on budget and more than three months ahead of deadline.
"Remarkable," Brown said. "That they did it as fast as they did is unbelievable."
video of the procession and all the honking horns. The Plymouth man said Thursday was a harder day for him than the first anniversary of the collapse.
To Garrett Ebling, one of the most severely injured survivors, it was a surreal moment to watch
Ebling has returned to work public relations and gotten married since the collapse but said he's still dealing with the psychological and physical effects. He wasn't sure when he'll make his first trip over the new bridge.
“It's not that I am afraid to cross it, it's when I do it, it will be on my own time, and when I do it I'm sure it will be difficult,” he said. “I'll have a lump in my throat and a twist in my stomach.”
The National Transportation Safety Board has not yet issued its final determination of what caused the old bridge to collapse, but officials have been focusing on an error in the original design and the weight of construction materials that were on the bridge for a resurfacing project when it fell.
Unlike the old bridge, the new bridge is built with redundant systems so that if one part fails it won't collapse. And it contains 323 sensors that collect data on how it handles the stresses of heavy traffic and Minnesota's harsh climate. The data will help engineers maintain the bridge and advance the art of bridge design.
For finishing the job on budget and well ahead of their Dec. 24 deadline, the contractors are expected to receive a bonus close to the contract maximum of $27 million.
Few people could have been as happy about the opening as Steve Williams, owner of Bobby and Steve's Auto World, a gas station right off the south end of the bridge. The old bridge carried over 140,000 vehicles per day and its loss aggravated traffic congestion and hurt many businesses.
Williams said his store saw its gas sales drop 10 percent to 15 percent after the disaster. To draw customers back, he and his crew stood on the exit ramp across the street and handed out $25 gas cards to the first 100 drivers entering downtown via the new bridge.
UnKU usual
Chinese economy grows; Chinese class enrollment doesn't
BY MITCHELL VOTH editor@kansan.com
The China Daily said in its March 26 issue that, by 2030, "China's economy will be 138
Enrollment in Chinese classes has stalled. The number of University of Kansas students enrolled in a Chinese class has remained fairly stable since Fall 2006. That semester, 103 students were taking Chinese at the University. This semester, the number sits at 102, which is less than one-half of 1 percent of the 29,272 students enrolled at the University.
"Most people know [all East Asian languages] are hard," said Maggie Childs, Chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.
Students may stray from the language because they think it is too difficult.
— Edited by Becka Cremer
However, Childs said, "most people who have studied Chinese think it's easier than the others," Childs said.
percent of the U.S. economy"
University of Kansas students are not flocking to capitalize.
Train operators barred from cell phone usage
LOS ANGELES — California regulators reacting to the deadly wreck of a commuter train issued an emergency order Thursday banning train operators from using cell phones on duty.
The Public Utilities Commission's unanimous decision to pass the temporary order came a day after investigators confirmed that the engineer of the Metrolink commuter train was text-messaging while on duty on the day the train ran a red light and collided head-on with a Union Pacific freight train. Last week's wreck in Los Angeles killed 25 people, including the engineer, and injured more than 130.
Metrolink — prohibit operators from using cell phones on the job, but the commission's president, Michael R. Peevey, has said the rules are widely ignored. There is no federal regulation of cell-phone use by railroad workers and until Thursday there had been no California rules.
Under the new order the board approved in San Francisco, violators could be fined up to $20,000 per violation or have their operations shut down.
"Today's action will protect the public," Peevey said. "What we're doing today is just a modest first step in a much larger effort to improve railroad safety."
Memorial services were held Thursday for some of the crash victims, including Los Angeles police Officer Spree Desha.
Some railroads including
Jayhawks & Friends
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on campus
The public event "Fine Arts Senior Day - Registration Required" will begin at 8:15 a.m. in the Kansas Union.
The social event "Gale Sayers Golf Tournament" will begin at 7 a.m. on the Alvamar Golf Course, located at 1809 Crossgate Drive.
The workshop "Blackboard Strategies and Tools" will begin at 1:30 p.m. in 6 Budig.
The workshop "Writing on the Job" will begin at 9 a.m. in 204 JRP Hall.
The lecture "Lorin Stein, Senior Editor of publishers, Farrar, Straus and Giroux" will begin at 3:30 p.m. in Hall Center.
The social event"4th Annual Applied Portfolio Golf Tournament" will begin at 1 p.m. in the Lawrence Country Club.
The seminar "Gender Seminar - Akiko Takeyama" will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the Seminar Room in Hall Center.
The workshop "Osher Institute: Trials and Tribulations in Airplane Design" will begin at 2 p.m. in Continuing Education.
The lecture "Explorations in Archaeology" will begin at 4 p.m. in the International Room in the Kansas Union.
The seminar "P1-stacking of p-henylenediamine-based paracyclophane radical cations and dications" will begin at 3:30 p.m. in 1001 Malott.
2
The lecture by Patrick Olivelle "When Empire Meets Dharma: The Place of Aksoka in Ancient Indian Religious History" will begin at 4 p.m. in 100 Smith Hall.
The student group event "Clinton Lake Cookout/ S'mores" will begin at 5 p.m. at Clinton Lake.
The public event "Peace Corps Information Meeting" will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Jayhawk Room in the Kansas Union.
The film event "DVD Presentation - Timothy Ferris"Seeing in the Dark' - Astronomy Associates of Lawrence, Physics & Astronomy Department" will begin at 7:30 p.m. in 2001 Malott.
The student group event "Intercultural & Interfaith Dialogue Student Association: Fast-Breaking Dinner" will begin at 6 p.m. in the Ballroom in the Kansas Union.
The ceremony "Celebration of Excellence" will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Watson Library.
The public event "For Your EARS Only" benefit for Audio-Reader will begin at 6 p.m. at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
The film event "SUA Feature Film: Kung Fu Panda" will begin at 8 p.m. in Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
The film "Friday Night at the Kino - Master and Margarita, Part #1" will begin at 7 p.m. in 318 Bailey Hall.
The entertainment event "FREE Cosmic Bowling" will begin at 10 p.m. in Jaybowl in the Kansas Union.
The concert "6th Annual Collage Concert" will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Lied Center.
contact us
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Contact Matt Erickson, Mark Dani Hurst, Brenna Hawley or Mary Sorryk at 864-8418 or editor @ kansan.com.
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