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POTTER PURIFICATION
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 10
Facilities Operations employee, Don Claus, student volunteers, Jason Hering, Hutchinson senior, Kimberly Hernandez, Hutchinson senior, and Matt Nahrested, St. Louis junior, and Kansas Biological Survey employees, Paul Liechti, Jerry deNoyelles, and Scott Campbell prepare to place aeration units at the bottom of Potter Lake on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Members of The Potter Lake Project purchased three aerators, which now lay on the bottom of the lake floor and add oxygen to water, in the hopes of preventing further fish deaths.
Volunteers breathe life into lake
Students install cleaning system in Potter Lake
BY ALY VAN DYKE avandyke@kansan.com
A student initiative is increasing efforts to save the fish in Potter Lake and restore the lake to its original beauty.
Volunteers with The Potter Lake Project installed three aerators and a skimmer last week to increase oxygen levels and clear out plant material. The team purchased the systems with money donated from alumni.
"I'm happy to be helping out with this," said Melissa Allen, St. Louis graduate student; and vice president of the project. "The lake
is an asset to campus and students and the administration alike."
The project's goal, she said, is to
The project's go restore the lake by 2011 — the lake's 100th birthday.
Members of project created a 35-page proposal, which they presented to the administration last spring. Allen said the administration was supportive, but needed more specific details before they would
contribute financial support
"A lot more people used to spend time there. Potter really in no way resembled what it looks like today."
While members of the project update the proposal, Allen said, students and advisers are going down the project's list of 23 recommendations to restore the lake.
As of Monday, the oxygen levels in the lake had increased significantly from levels recorded before
SCOTT CAMPBELL
Associate director for
outreach and public service
the aeration system was installed, said Scott Campbell, associate director for outreach and public
said he had recorded oxygen levels that were too low for fish to survive. Though an actual estimate of the number of fish in the lake is difficult to determine, Campbell said several hundred fish had died since earlier this summer because of the low oxygen levels.
service with the Kansas Biological Survey.
He said the systems couldn't have come at a more crucial time, citing the vegetation that now covers 100 percent of the lake's surface. He said vegetation covered 70 percent of the surface last year.
"I don't ever remember seeing it
Campbell also
as bad as it is this year," he said.
And Campbell would know — he grew up two blocks from Potter Lake and remembered fishing at the lake as a boy.
"A lot more people used to spend time there," he said. "Potter really
CAMPUS
in no way resembled what it looks like today."
In the 1920s, Potter Lake had diving platforms on its banks and canoes in its waters
But today, the lake has a differ-
dents to the University.
ent look. The waters are covered with a thick layer of lime green vegetation, and the sewage smell emanating from the lake is enough to keep students from getting too close.
"But it's been overlooked," said Matt Nahrstedt, St. Louis junior and president of the project. "And it's our responsibility to bring that to people's attention."
Allen said that when the lake looked nice, it was a "gem for the campus," and helped recruit stu-
"It's like taking a bag of lawn fertilizer and throwing it in the lake."
Campbell said the increased
SCOTT CAMPBELL
Associate director for outreach and public service
rainfall this year may be a direct cause of the explosive plant growth and low oxygen levels. With increased rainfall comes increased runoff, he said, which brings in sediment and fertilizer from the roads near
Potter Lake
"It's like taking a bag of lawn fertilizer and throwing it in the lake," Campbell said. "It yields the same response."
Campbell said that the lake
SEE POTTER ON PAGE 3A
Horror genre inspires group
BY ZACH WHITE white@kansan.com
Matt Simon wants to make Lawrence horrible.
Simon, Omaha, Neb. junior, is recruiting fans of the horror genre to form a new student group, calling the group "Bleeding Kansas," a name taken from Lawrence's own gruesome past. Simon said he hoped to attract students from all fields of study who appreciated all forms of horror.
"I want it to be for people that are interested in any sort of horror activity," Simon said. "Id really like it to be intermedia — movies, music, books, video games."
He's only been working on the project for the past three weeks,putting up fliers on bulletin boards across campus and creating a Facebook group.In that time,the group has gained more than 30 members.Student interest aside,to gain recognition as a student group from the University the group needs one more thing — a faculty sponsor.
"I imagine there is a faculty member somewhere who is a total horror freak but I haven't found them," Simon said.
The University's film department has some. The department's main sound stage in Oldfather Studios is named after Herk Harvey, a former professor and director of cult horror classic, "Carnival of Souls," which was partially filmed in Lawrence. Liberty Hall will screen the film during its monthly "Midnight Movie Madness" Sept. 19.
Simon said one of the reasons the group needed University recognition was to work with other student groups in an effort to explore the horror influence at the University and in Lawrence culture.
"I thought it would be cool to pair up with other student
CAMPUS
SEE HORROR ON PAGE 3A
New parking rules for mopeds in 2010
Moped riders have been able to park their mopeds alongside bicycles for years, but starting in Fall 2010, the Department of Parking and Transit will allow mopeds to park on campus only in certain areas during the restricted hours of 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m.
BY ANNA ARCHIBALD aarchibald@kansan.com
The Parking Commission, a group composed of students and staff, made the decision in Spring
Brianna Flickinger, Burton senior, said she had been riding her moped on campus for two years because she was allowed to park close to her classes without spending hundreds of dollars on a parking permit. She said she thought the changes were unnecessary.
2009 when concerns were raised over existing policies. Next year, all two-wheeled vehicles, excluding bicycles, will be required to purchase a permit and be allowed to park only in designated "cycle" areas instead of at bicycle racks.
Donna Hultine, director of Parking and Transit, said that because mopeds had started becoming a more popular mode of transportation on campus, the Parking Commission thought it necessary to consider new on-campus regulations — in part to accommodate the overcrowded bike racks.
"There's no point in having a moped if it's classified the same as a motorcycle," Flickinger said. "Mopeds were supposed to be nothing more than a bike."
"It used to be very apparent what
was a moped or motorcycle, but the lines are more blurred now," Hultine said. "It's time to make changes."
Hultine said the parking department would implement the change over the course of two years by changing permit prices, deciding which places needed more cycle parking this year and prohibiting moped parking on campus during restricted hours next year.
"It might mean adding on to
SEE MOPED ON PAGE 3A
A moped sits chained to the bike rack among rows of bicycles in front of Ellsworth Hall. The KU Parking Department has revised its moped parking policy for the 2010 school year. Students will no longer be able to park their mopeds at bicycle racks.
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
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