THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2008
NEWS
5A
POLITICS
Forum features Iraq experts
Students will be able to question guest speakers on aspects of the war Sunday night at the Dole Institute
BY JESSE TRIMBLE
jtrimble@kansan.com
The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics will begin its Dole Forum
series this year with "Iraq: What Went Wrong? What's Next?"
The event will feature three expert speakers on the war in Iraq.
Wright
The speakers
include Adrian R. Lewis, professor of history, retired Col. Kevin Benson and Donald Wright, author of "On Point II: Transition to the New Campaign. The U.S. Army in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, May 2003 to January 2005," the Army's official history of the war in Iraq.
Bill Lacy, director of the Dole
Institute, said he wanted to remind students of the importance of the Iraq War in the upcoming presidential election.
"I think, number one, that this is arguably the most pressing issue the next president is going to face," Lacy said. "What we tried to do is structure a program that would focus on what hasn't worked, what's gone wrong and at the same time, what we can do about it."
Wright said he thought the lecture would be important to dispel many of the false assumptions concerning the war.
"There has been a lot of questioning during this period," Wright said. "All of it has forced Americans to ask themselves 'What are we willing to do in the name of national defense? Give up rights to make our nation more secure?'"
Wright's book focuses on the Army's reaction to the war. He said the book's readers have been surprised that the Army would disclose unfavorable information about itself.
"The purpose of the book is to tell the story and for the Army and its members to learn from it," Wright said. "Civilians sometimes don't understand that the Army is trying very diligently to learn from its mistakes."
Lewis, also the director of the University's Fort Leavenworth Program, soon to be called the
Office of Graduate Professional Military Education, said he thought people were a bit confused as to what was really going on in the war.
"There are a lot of myths about the war in Iraq, I see it on TV all the time and it's completely wrong," Lewis said.
As a liaison between Fort Leavenworth and KU, Lewis helps push certain programs to help officers earn advanced degrees related to special operations, local government and special agencies, and areas and cultures of the world.
Benson will also be a speaker at the forum. As a retired colonel for the Army, Benson, was director of plans at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom from July 2002 to July 2003.
Lewis said the forum would raise issues that should be important to students.
"This country is at war and people aren't really paying attention because there isn't a draft," Lewis said. "We are spending over $100 billion a year on this and it translates to money that doesn't get spent on health care, highways, universities even. It affects every American."
The forum begins at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Dole Institute.
—Edited by Brieun Scott
Recycling on campus increases as KU becomes more sustainable
CAMPUS
Program's services contribute to rise in conservation
BY SACHIKO MIYAKAWA smiyakawa@kansan.com
halls. The program also added more cardboard recycling locations.
The University of Kansas increased the amount of garbage it recycled last year by 5 percent.
The University recycled 542.4 tons of garbage, including paper,
The amount of cardboard recycled last year increased more than 10 percent from the previous year, according to the tonnage report.
KU Recycling is funded by student fees, Facilities Operations.
aluminum and cardboard, in the 2008 fiscal year. That was an increase from the previous year, when 517 tons of garbage were recycled, according to the KU Recycling tonne report.
We encourage waste reduction, which is, I think, just as important as recycling.
JEFF SEVERIN Director, KU Center for Sustainability
Celeste
Hoins said the service helped the University achieve its sustainability goals.
Hoins, administrative manager of the Environmental Stewardship Program, said the program's new services increased the convenience of recycling on campus. The recycling project, funded by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, promotes paper recycling in the offices of several campus buildings, including Strong, Haworth and Summerfield
"We employ students, and KU student
government has proved that they want campus recycling by supporting recycling through student referendums and fees," Hoins said.
Hoins said the stewardship program wanted to add new recycling locations.
The Environmental Stewardship Program also works with student groups to raise awareness about the importance of recycling.
KU Environs, one of those student groups, collaborated with the stewardship program to start electronic waste recycling at the University in the fall.
Ryan Callihan, Lenexa senior and vice president of KU Environns, said the University provided a good recycling system and many students learned the benefits of recycling, but that some people could put more effort in recycling.
STATE
He said that people could recycle in their homes and could drop off their recyclables while running errands.
Jeff Severin, director of the KU Center for Sustainability, said the center updated checklists on its Web site to promote sustainability at work and at home, including tips for recycling and waste reduction.
"We encourage waste reduction, which is, I think, just as important as recycling." Severin said.
For example, he said, reducing the margin of Word documents and printing on both sides of paper would contribute significantly to reducing paper waste.
— Edited by Rachel Burchfield
3 companies vie for casino management opportunities
Kansas law requires review board to choose company that will bring most money, tourists to state
ASSOCIATED PRESS
On Thursday, the sevenmember Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board questioned three applicants vying for the Sumner
TOPEKA — After a day of questioning applicants, a state review board planned to vote Friday on which companies will manage state-owned casinos in Cherokee and Sumner counties.
negotiations. The Lottery will own the new casinos.
The review board votes Sept. 18 and 19 on four applicants for Wyandotte County and two for Ford County.
Much of Thursday's discussions focused on how each applicant
County contract
Harrah's Entertainment Inc., Penn
National Gaming Inc.
and Marvel Gaming.
Penn is the sole applicant for Cherokee County.
Board chairman Matt All said he wouldn't be surprised by unanimous votes on the final selections.
Any applicant selected by the review board would still undergo a background check by the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.
Harrah's casino would be in Mulvane, while Penn and Marvel have staked out locations near Wellington.
Board chairman Matt All said he wouldn't be surprised by unanimous votes on the final selections. Kansas law requires the board to consider which contract will bring the state the most revenue, best promote tourism and be in the best interest of the state, he said.
"We have to follow the law, and following the law, and doing what the law requires us to do, is different from doing what we want to do." All said. "We may want to vote for a particular facility, but the law requires us to vote for another, or we may want to vote for a particular casino but the law requires us to send it back for more negotiations."
The board has the option of rejecting all applicants and sending their proposed contracts back to the Kansas Lottery for more
sultants agreed.
would finance its project. All three applicants said they had the financial ability to build and operate the casino over the life of the 15-year contract, and the board's con-
According to Lottery officials, Harrah's said earlier that it wanted to change the contract it signed in May to remove about $50 million in proposed retail facilities.
Dan Biles, th said the idea was rejected because it wouldn't be fair to the other applicants. He said Harrah's and other applicants are bound by the terms of the contracts they signed with the Lottery.
Dan Biles, the Lottery' attorney.
Penn continued to push what it called its "southern strategy"casinos in both Cherokee and Sumner counties. Steve Snyder, Penn senior vice president for corporate development, said operating both casinos would generate more revenue than two facilities with different managers.
Charles Atwood, vice president of Harrah's board.
But consultant William Eadington, of the University of Nevada-Reno, said, "I don't place much credence in the southern strategy. It's probably overstated as presented."
Snyder again told the board that Penn would move forward in Cherokee County if it gets the Sumner County contract but would have to rethink its position if that didn't happen.
A new casino that opened on the state line by Oklahoma's Quapaw Nation this summer is expected to cut into Penn's potential revenue.
Harrah's later called the situation a misunderstanding and that there never were plans to cut back.
The board has the option of rejecting all applications and sending their proposed contracts back to the Kansas lottery for more negotiations.
"It's no longer an issue. We solved it in a different way," said
Consultants estimate first-year revenue in Sumner County at $186.5 million for Harrah's, $132.6 million for Marvel and
In Cherokee County, consultants estimate revenue for Penn at $30.2 million, and the state's share would be 22 percent. Penn had projected revenues of $57.4 million.
$123 million for Penn. Harrah's and Marvel initially would pay 22 percent of their revenue to the state while Penn would pay 25 percent. They would pay
more as revenues increase.
In June, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that state would truly own and operate the new gambling, ending any constitutional question about the new law.
The move toward state-owned casinos started last year with passage of the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act. After the contracts were signed with the Lottery in May, the review board conducted public hearings and meetings.
Voters amended the state Constitution in 1986 to allow a
state-owned and operated lottery, and the court said in 1994 that the term "lottery" is broad enough to include slots and other games.