Tomorrow's weather
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
A beautiful day. . sunny skies and falling temperatures.
Kansan
Monday
August 31, 1998
Section:
A
Vol. 109 • No. 09
Online today
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Sports today
The Kansas women's soccer team beat Drury in an exhibition game Saturday and held a scrimmage on Sunday.
SEE PAGE 1B
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
City condemns students' house
Sewage pools in the basement of a house at 1247 Kentucky St. The city declared the house a danger to health and condemned it, forcing the five KU students who lived there to evacuate. Photo by Daniela Sutor/KANSAN
By Sarah Hale Kansan staff writer
(USPS 650-640)
Five KU students had a party last weekend to celebrate moving into their house at 1247 Kentucky St. This weekend, the residents were homeless after their house was condemned and declared dangerous to their health by two building inspectors.
An open sewage leak flows into the basement caused two of the residents to become sick. The residents said they called Lawrence building inspectors to look at the problem because their landlord had not come to see it.
After spending the weekend on the floor of a friend's home, the women are consulting Legal Services for Students about what action to take and where to live.
Katie Levedahl, Raleigh, N.C., sophomore, said that they would have to sue their landlord to obtain past rent and
their security deposit.
Friday, Kristen Ranus, a sixth roommate who attends Johnson County Community College, showed the house to Jim Sherman, city building inspector.
The small basement's sloping concrete floor had a few inches of sewage water, which covered a main pipeline and caused a mildew smell throughout the house, Sherman said. Each time a toilet was flushed in the house, the sewage went directly to the basement, he said.
"The main problem is a sewage leak into the basement," Sherman said. "This makes the house uninhabitable. The health department will concur with our decision to post the house."
who deserved.
By posting the house as condemned, the owner must fix the life-threatening problems immediately. Sherman said.
Edwards as the owner of the house, Sherman said.
The County Land System at Lawrence City Hall lists James
quirks of an older house, I feel I have responded responsibly and quickly to rectify this matter," Edwards said. "The residents refused another service representative. It makes the matter impossible to handle if the tenants
Edwards, who contracts with Jayhawk Property Management, 1912 W. 25th St., said that he was not negligent with the tenants.
"Although I cannot control all the
See SEWAGE on page 2A
Add/drop options shrink after tomorrow
Kansan staff writer
By Melody Ard
Tomorrow's end to open add/ drop at the University of Kansas' enrollment center will shrink the lines of students waiting to change their class schedules.
The add/drop option allows students to fine-tune their schedules by adding or removing courses once classes have already started. After tomorrow, students must have written permission to either add or drop a class.
Students aren't stuck in a class they don't want, or left out of a class that they do want, if they miss the add/drop session that ends
tomorrow. But they will have to get special permission or settle for other options.
permission cards," Brenda Selman, associate registrar, "September first is the expiration date for all closed-class openers, special permission cards and deans' stamps, so ones brought to the office must be issued after the first."
After the University's open add/drop period has ended, some schools change their policies on schedule modifications. Selman said.
Between Sept. 8 and 18, students can elect to use the credit/no credit option. This allows students to take a class for credit rather than a letter grade. Students also can withdraw from all courses in which they are enrolled at the University during those 10 days.
Amanda Adler, Wichita junior, spent part of Thursday afternoon waiting to add a math class.
"I'm adding a class with a closed-class opener," Ader said. "I couldn't get into the class that I wanted, so I went to class on the first day, and I have been going every day since."
IMPORTANT DATES
Sept. 1
Last day for open add/drop at the enrollment center. 153 Strong
All deans' stamps and closed-class openers issued during the open add/drop service online.
Sept. 8
First day to sign up for credit/no credit option First day to withdraw from the University Sent. 18
Vestal pleads no contest in Rosel case
By Kelli Raybern
Kansan staff writer
Matthew Vestal entered a no-contest plea to charges of involuntary manslaughter on Friday and will face sentencing at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 6.
Vestal, an Englewood, Colo., sophomore, was driving the vehicle that hit and killed Lisa Rosel, Overland Park freshman, on March 31. Vestal entered the plea on Friday afternoon. His preliminary hearing in the case was scheduled to start today.
ing in the case was so. David Achtenberg, Rosel's uncle, said that the family had no comment on the case. He said that the family would attend Vestal's sentencing in October. Achtenberg also had no comment about whether the family would consider a civil suit in Rosel's death.
In Saturday's Lawrence Journal-World, District Attorney Christine Tonkovich said that the plea agreement called for Vestal to spend 14 days in jail, served on seven separate weekends, and to undergo an alcohol evaluation and treatment.
Braxton Copley, staff attorney for Legal Services for Students, said that because Vestal has no previous record, sentencing guidelines require no presumptive imprisonment or probation. Vestal could face 31 to 34 months of imprisonment or probation. Copley said.
Police breath tests showed Vestal's blood alcohol content at 0.081. The legal limit for drivers younger than 21 in Kansas is 0.02. For those older than 21, the limit is 0.08.
Before the incident, Vestal was drinking at The Crossing, 618 W. 12th St. Rosel's companion on the night of the accident, Angela Boley, Lawrence sophomore, said that Rosel had been at Bull Winkles Bar, 1344 Tennessee St., before the accident.
Center to help students write the right way
The Lawrence Journal-World article reported that autopsy results showed Rosel had a blood-alcohol level of 0.097.
By Pallavi Agarwal Kansas staff writer
Writing papers can often require help.
Students at the University of Kansas can get advice on all areas of academic writing with a new program that starts Oct. 12.
"The writing center will be a place where students can sit with professional and student tutors, and, through an interactive process, facilitate good writing for all disciplines." Eodice said.
Five writing centers will open across campus at which tutors will help students with everything from a class paper to a dissertation, said Michele Eodice, assistant director of Writing Consulting.
Writing Consulting currently arranges writing workshops and presentations for students and offers help in all disciplines, with specialized tutorship for students in Western Civilization courses.
Tutors will not edit or proof-read papers but will offer suggestions about how students can improve their overall writing skills, Eodice said.
James Hartman, professor of English and associate faculty of Writing Consulting, said that the aim of the new centers was not to make just one paper better but to make students better writers.
Although other writing programs exist on campus, they are available only to targeted student groups.
WRITING CENTERS:
*This program will be the only one on campus available to all students," said Angela Place, graduate assistant at Writing Consulting.
4003 Wescoe Hall
Sunflower Room in the Burge Union
Alcave G in the Kansas Union
Room 156 in Strong Hall
Academic Resource Center in Templin Hall
The writing centers, called "writer's roosts," will be located in 4003 Wescoe Hall, the Sunflower Room in the Burge Union, Alcore G in the Kansas Union, Room 156 in Strong Hall and the Academic Resource Center in Templin residence hall.
Eodice said that students often had the misconception that working with tutors was cheating.
Susan Randall, Lawrence senior, has worked with Writing Consulting on her engineering papers.
"I was given very specific instructions on how to approach writing a paper," she said. "Once I did write a paper, I got positive feedback on what I had done well and on the negative criticism I addressed in the classes and workshops."
ing what we learn.
"What we will be doing is talking about writing," she said. We will show, not tell."
Randall said that writing skills were required not only in English classes but also in her engineering classes.
The center is holding an information fair at 4 p.m., today in the Sunflower Room of the Burge Union to hire students as tutors.
Playin' that funky music
Frankie, lead singer of Dr. Zhivegas, plays the tambourine as he sings. Dr. Zhivegas played Saturday night at the Granada. Photo by Augustus Anthony Piazza/KANSAN
More Zhivegas
For story and additional photos, See page 6A