thursday, september 11. 2003
news
the university daily kansan 3A
'Taste of Lawrence' mixer raises cash for education
Residents enjoy local food and music for charity
By Amanda Kim Stairrett
astairrett@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Yesterday evening, local educators and business people were treated to the 30th annual Taste of Lawrence Fall Mixer.
Thirty area restaurants, caterers and specialty shops set up booths on the lawn next to Meadowbrook Apartments, 15th and Crestline streets.
Attendees sampled items such as fudge, chicken lo mein and spareribs.
Music was provided by the Junkyard Jazz Band, as the wind spread the aroma of food throughout the crowd.
"It provides an opportunity to say thanks to educators," said Cathy Lewis, vice president of Chamber membership. "People can network and relax in the atmosphere."
The event was sponsored by the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce and Lawrence Education Achievement Partners.
Achelm LeAP was formed by the Chamber and Lawrence Public Schools to establish partnerships between schools and community businesses and organizations.
LEAP sponsors events such as tutoring, job shadowing and after-school programming.
Educators from the University of Kansas paid $20 for 20 tickets, which could be exchanged for food from vendors.
Each vendor decided how many tickets its food would be worth and would be reimbursed
Kindergarten through 12thgrade educators were sponsored by the Chamber and paid $10 for 20 tickets.
that amount.
Lewis said money from the tickets would fund vendor reimbursement, local scholarships and the Chamber.
He said the event drew more than 1,700 people, setting a record for the mixer.
Chancellor Robert Hemenway said he enjoyed going out and talking with people.
"This is a great opportunity for people at the University, schools and the business community to come together to celebrate the start of the school year," he said.
LEAP also sold chances to win the Hawk of the Arts sculpture from the Jayhawks on Parade series.
Megan True/Kansan
Chefs Randall Dickson, left, and Matt Dunn, right, of Marisco's Grill and Bar, 4821 W. 6th St., served food to Lawrence resident Dan Johnson, at the taste of Lawrence last night. Johnson said he was at the Taste of Lawrence to try different kinds of food and enjoy the weather. The Taste of Lawrence is an annual event sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.
The organization suggested a donation of $10 for one ticket or $25 for three.
said she expected to make more than $3,500 on the sculpture. LEAP has already received 100 tickets by mail.
Sarah Martin, LEAP director.
A winner will be picked Sept. 22.
—Edited by Jonathan Reeder
Free vouchers to lecture still available, but going fast
By Meghan Brune
mbrune@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
On Monday, Student Union Activities had already handed out 700 free vouchers to the public for A Conversation with Janet Reno, the first day tickets were available. Even though ticket distribution has been brisk, tickets are still available.
Exact amounts were not available yesterday. Reno will speak at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept.25, at the Lied Center.
Reno served as United States Attorney General under President Clinton beginning in 1993. She was the first woman to hold this position.
She was also the first woman to serve as state attorney of Florida.
In 2002 she ran for Florida governor, but lost to Jeb Bush.
Josh Steward, Hays junior, said he had tickets to the lecture. While he was on the "opposite side of the fence" politically, Steward, College Republicans vice president, said he was interested to hear about Reno's rise to power.
Reno
"She started low down on the food chain and had amazing success," Steward said.
Tom Keating, Young Democrats president, said he thought that students could learn from Reno's struggles. She overcame
the barrier of being a woman lawyer, Keating said.
Reno's national profile has made her a popular ticket. Sean Pauzauskie, SUA forums committee coordinator, said he thought students would be interested to hear Reno speak.
"Janet Reno is a perfect example of why opportunity is important in this country." Keating, a Marysville junior, said.
"A lot of big things happened while she was in office," Pauzauskie said.
Some of the "big things" Reno oversaw include the 1993 raid of a religious compound in Waco, Texas, the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the deportation of the Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez in 1999.
Pauzauskie, Topeka senior, said
Reno would be the biggest name of the semester. To book Reno, SUA and the law school paid $20,000, about as much as SUA paid for famous feminist Gloria Steinem. Without the dual sponsorship, Pauzauskie said SUA would have had to charge admission.
SUA hoped to fill the Lied Center, which has a capacity of 1,888.Monday's brisk ticket sales got the goal off to a quick start. Ten minutes before the lecture, open seats will be given to people without tickets.
The law school has tried to get Reno to come to the University before, said Jennifer Colaner, events coordinator for the law school.
Before her evening presentation, Reno will speak to three constitutional and criminal procedures law classes.
Last spring Reno spoke at Wichita State University, but couldn't make it to Lawrence, Colaner said.
Jennifer Sager, an Olathe second year law student, said she was excited to hear Reno speak in her constitutional law class. Last year Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke in one of Sager's classes. She said she thought students would have a better opportunity to ask Reno questions because the class was small.
"I think it will be interesting to hear about what it takes to be a female and succeed," Sager said.
The law school was able to pay for the event through several funds — the Stephenson Lecture in Law and Government fund, the Waldron-Foster Professionalism fund, the JKL基金 and the
Robert McKay fund.
Steve McAllister, dean of the law school, said he heard Reno speak once before while he was working for Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White in Washington, D.C.
McAllister said that Reno was a good model of professionalism and ethics, a guideline for the Waldron-Foster fund.
"The hope is that students will learn from her governmental knowledge, as well as her life experience." McAllister said.
McAllister said that one of his students suggested they request a Janet Reno dance party, in the style of Saturday Night Live.
"I don't know that we will get her dancing here," McAllister said.
— Edited by Shane Mettlen
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