Thursday inside
Groups get funds Student Senate approved funding for numerous student campus groups and activities. PAGE 3A
Proud to be a Jayhawk
Some students can't wait to leave the
University,but Ashley Wendler loves KU so much she wants to make working with new students her career. PAGE 5A
Border War loss
The Kansas volleyball team lost
to Missouri in game five last night in Columbia. PAGE12A
KU hoops gains another
Top basketball recruit Alexander "Sasha" Kaun verbally committed to the University of Kansas
yesterday. PAGE 12A
Student sailor competes
Timothy Fitzgerald, Wichita freshman, first sailed at age four.
This October,he will sail competitively in the West Indies. PAGE7A
Weather Today
6637
clear and mild
Two-day forecast Tomorrow Saturday 7249 6646 isolated slightly cooler showers
Matt Laubhan, KUJH-TV
Talk to us
Tell us your news. Contact Michelle Burhenn, Lindsay Hanson or Leah Shaffer at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
index
Briefs 2A
Opinion 4A
Sports 12A
Sports briefs 9A
Horoscopes 10A
Comics 10A
KANSAN
Vol.114 Issue No.31
Thursday, October 2, 2003
The Student Newspaper of the University of Kansas
Kevin Kampwirth
kkampwirth@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Institute director resigns
Richard N. Smith leaves Dole Institute for position at Lincoln Library
Richard Norton Smith, director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, formally announced his resignation yesterday. Effective Dec. 1, Smith will become the executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill.
Smith's announcement came after nearly two weeks of speculation that he would leave the Dole Institute after a Chicago Sun-Times article reported Smith was Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's first choice to run the New Lincoln
Library. The library, still under construction, is a $115 million facility that Blagojevich would like to build into a major cultural institution.
Blagojevich held a press conference yesterday
and announced Smith's decision to manage the new library.
Smith
Smith, who was in Illinois yesterday morning for the press conference, was unavailable for comment, but released a
statement that detailed his decision to leave.
"Historians, of all people, should learn from the past, and KU's recent past has much to teach about graceful exits," he said in the statement.
McAllister
Yesterday, Chancellor Robert Hemenway named Stephen McAllister, dean of law, interim director of the Dole Institute.
"It should make my life very busy," he said.
McAllister, a law school faculty member since 1993 and dean since July 2000, understood that the position Smith was offered would be hard to pass up.
"Directing a presidential library is quite a prestigious job," McAllister said.
Hemenway said University officials considered many factors when naming the interim director.
"There are not many people that can do two jobs like this at the same time, but Stephen is definitely one of them," Hemenway said.
Running et night is a popular exercise for KU students who are pressed for time during the day. While physically beneficial, recent crimes on late-night pedestrians have increased awareness about fitness safety and habits, such as not using headphones.
SEE RESIGNATION ON PAGE 6A
Night runners' risks increase
By Danielle Hillix
dhillix@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
They come out at night.
Moving silently and quickly, they glide over Jayhawk Boulevard and Lawrence streets. Nighttime runners are a common sight at the University of Kansas.
When the sun goes down, KU students take to the streets to get their exercise. Night running is a popular routine for some, but recent crimes have brought the safety of running after dark into question.
"Bad things do happen," said Lt. Schuyler Bailey, KU Public Safety Office.
During the past two weeks, reports of
sexual battery and armed robbery cases have increased, according to the Lawrence Police Department. These reports all involved students walking off-campus after dark.
On Sept. 24, a woman was sexually assaulted on the 1100 block of Tennessee Street, and two women reported being grabbed by a man last weekend.
Bailey said that if students were,going to run at night,they should always be on guard.
guard.
"Runners need to have a good idea of what's going on around them," Bailey said.
That means no radios or CD players, which inhibit a runner's hearing and awareness, Bailey said. He also
advised not running near large bushes and dark alleyways, where people often lurk.
"And most importantly," Bailey said, "never run alone."
Although running with others is ideal, it's not always possible for students. Jenna McAnarney, Wichita freshman, said she liked to run with a group but conflicting class, homework and meeting schedules sometimes kept that from happening.
"It's hard enough to fit running into my own schedule without worrying about other people," McAnarney said. "Nighttime is definitely the only time I have time to get out here."
Edited by Neeley Spellmeter
4.2
Unstable porches concern students
By Ron Knox
correspondence@kansan.com
Kansan correspondent
Maggie Bixler stepped onto her second-story porch with a hint of caution. She grabbed the back railing and shook it with both hands. The wood wobbled wildly, unexpectedly.
"See? We should never have people back here," Bixler, Topea sophomore, said. "The whole porch is like this."
Below, the porch's support beams stood on a cement platform, the downstairs neighbor's porch. Of the support beams, three did not touch the ground. The remaining beams bowed and bulged from the porch's weight.
Bixler's caution about her deck's stability has grown after the porch of University of Kansas football player Kevin Long collapsed last week. When she and her roommates moved into the house on the 1300 block of Ohio, she knew the deck would be an issue.
Bixler said she had talked to her landlord about the deck being unstable.
Bixler said Sue Mason, who owns the property, told her the deck was not an issue and not to worry about it.
Bixler filed a complaint Monday morning with the city's codes enforcement department, said Berry Walthall, codes enforcement manager. The department checks code compliance for existing structures on a case-by-case basis when a tenant complains or every three years for single-family rental properties.
The department also investigated the collapsed porch that injured two KU athletes Sunday and found the porch's poor construction to be at fault.
A codes inspector checked the porch Monday afternoon. Walthall said the porch violated city code, and the department would notify Mason.
Although the collapsed deck's construction did not officially break code, Walthall said the lack of joist hangers — hangers that connect a porch's frame at the joints to a more stable structure could merit legal action against Robin Krug, the property owner.
victor Torres, neighborhood resources director, said the hangers cost 29 cents a piece and could have prevented the collapse, but builders neglected to install them.
Krug, the property owner Neither Krug nor Mason could be reached for comment.
"It's a workmanship issue," Torres said. "Three dollars would have prevented the whole thing."
Bixler's deck had similar problems. According to Lawrence housing codes, the poles that support elevated decks must be grounded below the frost line, typically 50 inches below the ground
The detached posts on Bixler's deck would constitute a violetion of the code, Walthall said. Poor construction and lack of maintenance caused the problem.
"Decks are something that require a high amount of maintenance, more so than a home or a building." Walthall said.
Walthall said it was not uncommon for
SEE PORCHES ON PAGE 6A