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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15,2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 19
DISPLAY DEBATE
Face to face with abortion
Graphic display in front of Strong Hall sparks debate among students, groups
Matt McKinley, Wichita senior, right, listens attentively to Shaun Dwyer, Parsons junior, express his opinion about reproductive choice without the involvement of religion.
BY JUSTIN LEVERETT jleverett@kansan.com
Two displays beckoned students and onlookers on campus yesterday. One gave away free condoms and clay penises. The other displayed graphic 18-foot-tall panels with images
of aborted fetuses
Justice for All, an advocacy group from Wichita, put up the anti-abortion display on the Strong Hall front lawn. The
"It's the elephant in a big closet. As an alumni of the school, I feel it is my responsibility to pull the elephant out."
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
DAVID LEE Justice for All founder
Commission on the Status of Women organized a safe-sex focused "Sextival" down the street in front of Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Sextival, which concludes today, was intentionally timed to coincide with the Justice for All display, which will continue through Wednesday.
David Lee, founder of Justice for All, said his groups mission was to spark conversation about an issue that he said many people were reticent to speak about.
tion, and that the goal of the display was to make them seen
The display included two "Free Speech Boards," where students were
"Why did Emmett Till's mother open the casket on her son? That's what we're trying to do — open the casket," Lee said, referencing the open casket funeral of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy who was
"It's the elephant in a big closet," he said.
"As an alumni of the school, I feel it is my responsibility to pull the elephant out."
brutally murdered in a race-related incident in 1955.
Elise Higgins, Topeka senior and president of the Commission on the Status of Women, said she strongly disagreed with the
given markers to write any comments or reactions to the panels. It also included polling booths where students could vote "yes" or "no" for laws allowing women to get abortions.
Lee said the issue of abortion paralleled the American civil rights movement of the late 1960s. He said that aborted fetuses were an unseen popula-
comparison of the anti-abortion movement to the civil rights movement.
"I think their framing of abortion as a civil rights issue is an insult to civil rights leaders and to the colored people who lost their lives."
"I think their framing of abortion as a civil rights issue is an insult to civil rights leaders and to the colored people who lost their lives." Hiegens said.
She said the goal of the "Sextival" was to talk about sexuality in a positive way, and not just in the context of pregnancy. Members of the group said they timed their "Sextial," where
ELISE HIGGINS Topeka senior
commission members gave away free condoms and AIDS information to students, to present an alternate viewpoint to that of the anti-abortion display.
Students on both sides of the debate stopped by the anti- abortion display
to discuss their opinions with members of Justice for All. Glen Reeves, Roeland Park senior, said he approved of the display.
"People need to see behind the scenes," Reeves said. "They're reacting negatively because they're reacting to their conscience."
SEE ABORTION ON PAGE 3A
Tanner Grubbs/KANSAN
Condoms are scattered on a booth across from Bailey Hall Tuesday morning in order to promote safe sex. The booth was run by the Commission on the Status of Women in conjunction with KHIR's "Kansas in Heat," which gives sex and relationship advice to callers every Wednesday night.
ENVIRONMENT
Clubs share energy ideas at conservation fair
Groups promote hybrid car, discuss summer in Bolivia
BY BETH BEAVERS bbeavers@kansan.com
Conservation and sustainability aren't foreign concepts to Lawrence. But at the city's ninth annual Energy Conservation Fair, the largest one to date, one student group used the opportunity to gain support for putting its car, an oil-guzzling Beetle, where they think it belongs; on the road.
The fair, held Saturday at the Community Building, 115 W. 11th St., ran in conjunction with
EcoHawks, a group formed by a class of mechanical engineering seniors, were promoting a 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle they turned into a hybrid vehicle last year. In addition to gasoline, the car uses reused oil from campus dining for fuel. Now, the group is trying to make the car street legal.
Members of EcoHawks were at the fair explaining the car and looking for donors. Major advertising spaces on the car are being sold for $5,000 to $10,000, while other spots will be covered for $10 per square inch.
the Sustainable Homes Tour and hosted several other student groups.
"This is big. There has been nothing like it before, and no one
knows about it," Brian Paddock, Wichita senior and Ecohawk member, said of the group's car.
Michelle Gundy, field supervisor for the city's Waste Reduction
client home energy use, installed solar panels and wind generators, and reinsulated homes. There were also speakers throughout the day.
and Recycling Division,said 51 exhibitors participated in the fair,which was the most it had ever had. Other participants included companies that offered consultations for more effi-
"Because of the economic stimulus, there is a lot of interest in the auditing process and the money people can get back," Gundy said.
"This is big. There has been nothing like it before, and no one knows about it."
BRIAN PADDOCK EcoHawk member
The KU chapter of Engineers Without Borders was also at the fair discussing the group's summer trip to Bolivia, where members installed six composting latrines, or communal toilets, over a five-week period. The latrines separate the
liquid waste from the solid, and the compost waste is re-used on the fields so the community can be more self-reliant.
"There were extra materials,
and after we left, they built a seventh on their own," Lara Pracht, Garden City senior and president of Engineers Without Borders, said.
Other community organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity and Cans for the Community, attended the fair. According to a Cans for the Community pamphlet, the organization has recycled more than 3.5 million cans during the past four years and given the proceeds, more than $41,000, back to the community.
"The community can come learn and see what can be beneficial for the community as a whole," Gundy said.
Edited by Jacob Muselmann
OBITUARY
Student's friends, family mourn
BY DANIEL JOHNSON
djohnson@kansan.com
Ashley Mirsepasi loved the Jayhawks, pasta with alfredo and Lil Wayne. She used to beg her best friend.
friend to go the Hawk to dance. She made resolutions to get good grades.
She was a typical KU student.
"She was a fun-loving college kid who
Mirsepasi
was always in high spirits," Jenny Fulton, Overland Park senior, said. "She was the best friend I have ever had."
Mirsepia, Olathe senior, died at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday at Olathe
SEE OBITUARY ON PAGE 3A
OBITUARY
Junior dies in highway accident on Saturday
BY JESSE RANGEL jrangel@kansan.com
Kara Louise Morgan, Lawrence junior, died early Saturday morning in a crossover accident on Kansas Highway 10.
Morgan died after the vehicle she was driving struck another vehicle in a head-on collision two miles west of DeSoto, according to a crash report released by the Kansas Highway Patrol. The report said Morgan was driving east in the westbound lane when she struck another vehicle. Morgan and Eric Still of Olathe, the driver of the other car, were taken to the University of Kansas Hospital. Both were later pronounced dead. The report said both drivers were wearing seat belts.
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little made statements regarding Morgan's death in a University press release.
"It is with a heavy heart that we offer deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Kara Morgan," Gray-Little said. "On behalf of the entire University community, I send our thoughts and prayers."
Louise Krug, graduate teaching assistant and Morgan's English 102 instructor, said Morgan was a delight to have in class.
"She was a happy, helpful, bright woman who saw the best in people," Krug said in the release. "She was excited about her future and was working very hard to achieve her goals."
Funeral services are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Mercer Funeral Home in Holton.
Edited by Jacob Muselmann
index
Classifieds...3B Opinion...5A
Crossword...4A Sports...1B
Horoscopes...4A Sudoku...4A
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2009 The University Daily Kansan
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