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Coping with grief in college Students who lose loved ones while in school have added pressures. CAMPUS | 4A
Co-existing in a co-ed home Living with roommates of the opposite sex can be challenging. JAYPLAY | INSIDE
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5,2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 54
A POLITICAL PARTY
Republican icon urges bipartisanship
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich gives a speech at The Dole Institute for Politics. Wednesday night. Among the many topics discussed, Gingrich adressed the recent economic crisis, ways to improve national security, and current issues facing both the Rebuplican and Democratic parties. He also debated on the future of the Obama presidency and how its success could lie on the shoulders of
Newt Gingrich asks for Obama to reach accross party lines
BY ZACH WHITE zwhite@kansan.com
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich carried out his role as the Dole Institute for Politics' first Distinguished Visiting Fellow yesterday, spending the day meeting with and talking to students, faculty and community members in numerous diverse settings.
Gingrich first visited the Natural History Museum in Dyche Hall, which made such an impression on him that he gushed over it at all following events.
"I had a tremendous time looking at fossils," Gingrich said.
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He followed up his museum visit with a Pizza and Politics lecture in the Adams Alumni center's Bruckmiller room at noon. Gingrich's presence brought more than 100 people to enjoy the food and conversation combo, more than twice the previous record attendance since the program's inception five years ago. Here he explained President Obama's political future depends on whether he will be a Jimmy Carter or a Bill Clinton. He said that Carter failed because he refused to take the opponent's policies into consideration, whereas Clinton was willing to work with Gingrich and his Republican majority after the 1994 congressional changeover. Gingrich then took questions from KU students from a variety of political backgrounds on his past in Congress and the future of the Republican party.
Chelsea Mertz, Topea senior and Pizza and Politics coordinator, scheduled the visit to Pizza and Politics.
"They had scheduled him for the
Dole forum program," Mertz said, "So I asked if we could do the lunch program as well. It's been a little hectic, but it's gone really well."
Eric Foss, president of the KU College Republicans, explained the success of this event.
"A lot of us political junkies started becoming aware of politics just around the same time he was leading the republicans, regaining control of Congress," Foss said. "We're all very excited that he chose to come."
After sipping a diet coke and hearing student's thoughts, Gingrich got a chance to share his own during a visit to Jonathan Earle's class "Conspiracy Theories and Paranoia in American History." Earle is the Dole Institute's program
director and associate professor of history, which Gingrich himself used to teach at the University of West Georgia.
"We here at the Dole Institute like to bring in people who matter in contemporary politics," Earle said, "With Speaker Gingrich we had kind of an interesting package, because he started out as a college teacher. We were really able to meet all of those goals."
Next on Gingrich's agenda was a reception downtown for the
friends of the Dole Institute, before heading to the Dole Institute on west campus for his final obligation for the visit.
The Dole Institute began seating at 6 p.m. The building was soon filled to its capacity of 525.
Gingrich emerged shortly after 7:30pm and spoke for about 45 minutes about his view of the country's current issues. He said the nation faces threats from radical Islam and Chinese progress that everyone is scared to address.
He also said the country needs a unified vision of America and its future, as Ronald Reagan had.
Though discussing serious subject matter the former Speaker of the House consistently cracked jokes all day about things such as Carter ineptitude and Eisenhower's wily interstate development.
Earle said the Institute hopes to replicate the visit's success in the years to come.
Edited by Betsy Cutcliff
PROFESSOR
Shaffer remembered for his stories and charisma
BY ALEXANDRA GARRISON AND RAY SEGEBRECHT agarrison@kansan.com and rsegebrecht@kansan.com
The University lost a longtime icon this week, according to the students and faculty who knew Harry Shaffer best.
"He was a legend," said Chris Billinger, WaKeeney senior and former student of Shaffer. "He's the only professor I can think of who everyone knows."
Harry Shaffer, professor emeritus of economics who retired last year after teaching for 52 years, died Tuesday at age 90.
Shaffer was born in Vienna, Austria in 1919 and came to the
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Hear what Shaffer had to say about retiring and student evaluations at Kansan.com.
SERVICE HONORING SHAFFER, OPEN TO PUBLIC
WHEN: 2 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana St.
Weather causes home invasions
BY ANNA ARCHIBALD aarchibald@kansan.com
HOUSING
Fifteen pairs of black and white striped legs scuttle away as the bed sheets fling up into the air and hit the ceiling. Waking up to a house centipede staring down at you can be alarming.
GSP resident Jenna Schwartz said the building been having a problem with centipedes for the last couple weeks.
"One girl found one on her ceiling when she woke up one morning, and we've also been finding them on our clothes," Schwartz, Eden Prairie, Minn. freshman, said.
Deb Smith, associate professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology, said that when the weather fluctuates between warm and cold temperatures, as it has in the past few weeks, temperatures aren't cold enough to kill the bugs but are still cool enough for
Follow Anna Archibald at twitter.com/archmonarch.
Smith said if the cold weather was more continuous, insects wouldn't be as active. "There have been too many episodes of warming and cooling to keep them away," she said.
them to look for warmth in residences.
Consequently, students often end up with an unwanted, multilegged roommate.
Although house centipedes are predatory, which means they hunt other insects, Smith said they don't pose a threat to people.
"When you see them around, it usually means there are or there used to be other insects around, as
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Smith said the most common pests are box elder beetles, mouse spiders, grass spiders and the Asian lady beetle, which is usually
The house centipede is just one of many types of insects creeping and crawling through dark corners of houses this time of year.
well," she said.
index
SEE BUGS ON PAGE 3A
Classifieds...5B
Crossword...8B
Horoscopes...8B
Opinion...9B
Sports...1B
Sudoku...8B
All contents, unless stated otherwise; © 2009 The University Daily Kansan
Train fire worsens city's transportation strike
Fire caused delays in Philadelphia on the second day of a strike, forcing commuters to find alternate ways to get around. NATIONAL | 3A
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