NEWS A KU student is working in Michigan to make sure George W. Bush doesn't win the state on election day. PAGE 3A
SPORTS Sophomore football players Charles Gordon and John Randle are filling multiple roles as the Jayhawks develop. PAGE 1B
KANSAN
KANSAN
VOL.115 ISSUE 30
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2004
www.kansan.com
Rec Center turns one
Birthday marked by giveaways; expansion planned
BY FRANK TANKARD
ftankard@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIETER
One year ago today, after three aggravating months of delay, 2,000 University of Kansas students packed into the less-thanready Student Fitness Recreation Center amid dozens of construction workers, unfinished floors and wet concrete.
As the recreation center celebrates its one-year anniversary with cake, balloons and hourly giveaways, there is still work to be done.
Mary Chappell, director of Recreation Services, said the department was working on plans to expand the $17 million center. She said additions would include an expanded free weight area, at least four new basketball courts, a doubled indoor track circumference and additional racquetball courts.
The Kansas Board of Regents will vote on the expansion next month. Chappell said Recreation Services hoped to finalize plans by spring.
"With the first project, we asked the architects to develop some expansion
ideas," Chappell said. "We only have six and a half acres to work with and it sits at an angle, so we have to be creative. Also, a lot of what we can do depends on what the climate is like for economics."
Unlike the initial recreation center costs, which were paid entirely by student fees, the $6 million for the expansion will come from the University of Kansas Athletic Corporation as part of a deal negotiated last spring between then-student body president Andy Knopp and athletics director Lew
SEE REC CENTER ON PAGE 5A
Preston Hoobler, Maple Hill senior, does lateral pulls at the Student Fitness Recreation Center. "It's the perfect spot. I transferred from K-State and the rec center is a lot better here."
Joshua Kendall/KANSAN
This is a scene from the film "Firecracker" by local director Steve Balderson. Shooting for the film took place in Wamego. The film will be shown at the Raindance Film Festival Oct. 3 in London.
Filmmaker chases dream
Balderson to attend Raindance
BY AUSTIN CASTER acaster@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Steve Balderson compared releasing a film to giving birth. If this were true, Balderson would be 8-and-a-half months pregnant with his second child.
"I look at my films as children," Balderson said. "There's a relief that comes with letting them go."
Balderson will unveil "Firecracker" at the Raindance Film Festival in
London on Oct. 3. He based the script on a true story about a murder that happened in Wamego, where he was born and raised.
Balderson knew he wanted to become a filmmaker as a child.
Because of a learning disability, he processed everything in pictures.
His father, Clark Balderson, said Steve's third grade teacher thought he couldn't read.
"I knew he could read because we
SEE FILMMAKER ON PAGE 5A
The directing staff for the film "Firecracker" prepare to shoot a scene. Filmed entirely in the state of Kansas, "Firecracker" will be unveiled at the Raindance Film Festival.
Armed-robbery suspect arraigned
BY NIKOLA ROWE
nrowe@kansan.com
KANSAN STAPF WRITER
Jesse Plaster, 23, was arraigned yesterday afternoon at 3:30 for a variety of charges related to the armed robbery of a KU freshman Monday night on the lower level of the parking garage adiacent to GSP-Corbin Hall.
Plaster, who was arraigned via tele conference from the Douglas County jail,
is accused of pointing a gun at the female victim and stealing her bookbag and keys before leading police on a four-minute chase through Lawrence. The chase ended at a dead end near 12th and Indiana streets, where police took Plaster and another woman into custody.
Plaster entered the jail last night at 11:13, according to the jail log. The woman arrested with Plaster was questioned and released later in the night, said Capt. Schuyler Bailey of the KU
Public Safety Office.
After he explained that he was unemployed and would be unable to afford an attorney, District Court Judge Peggy Kittel appointed Plaster a lawyer and set his next court date for 2 this afternoon. District Court Judge Michael Malone will preside over the hearing.
Public Safety Office. Plaster was charged yesterday with aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, possession of a firearm, fleeing from police and violating probation.
Plaster's bond is set at $16,000. As a condition of the bond, he may not have contact with any persons listed on the complaint.
According to past court records, Plaster is a Kansas City, Kan., resident. He was arrested on Dec. 20, 1999, for obstruction of official duty and on Dec. 4, 2001, for the burglary of a vehicle.
Edited by Paige Worthy
Conference to inspire activism
By Ross Fitch
rftch@kansan.com
kansas STAFF WRITER
the main focus of the conference will be to educate and encourage women and young people to take an active leadership role in politics and their communities, said Jessica St. Clair, Valley Center graduate student in psychology and coordinator for the conference.
Two local women of influence will share their experiences and encourage other women to follow suit this weekend.
St. Clair said that this year's conference would be the first in the conference's 10-year history to focus on politics and leadership.
"We want to work to empower women to know they can enact change," St. Clair said. "It's important that we're all working for change and to really make our world what we want it to be."
The 10th annual Women's Civic Leadership Conference will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2, in the Kansas Union. Barbara Ballard, associate director of the Dole Institute and 44th District state representative, and Kay Barnes, mayor of Kansas City, Mo., are the featured speakers.
Barbara Ballard said she would mainly discuss the role of women in politics. Ballard said she was encouraged by the fact that there had been a steady increase in women participating in politics in Kansas.
She said Kansas had been in the top 10 for the number of women involved
The conference will be a culmination of Civic Literacy Week, which is sponsored by the Student Legislative Awareness Board (SLAB) and aimed at getting college students involved in politics and the community.
SEE CONFERENCE ON PAGE 5A
WOMEN'S CIVIC LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE SPONSERS
Emily Taylor Women's
KU Commission on the Status of Women
Green Party
Student Legislative Awareness Board (SLAB)
The University Daily Kansan
111 Stauffer-Flint Hall
1435 Jayhawk Bld.
Lawrence, KS 66045
(785) 864-4810
© 2004 The University Daily Kansan
Center for Civic Leadership at Fort Hays State University
Source: Kathy Rose-Mocky, director of
Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center
City Commission
The national party might have a candidate for president, but KU's Green Party is on hius this semester as they rebuild their leadership base and plan new activities. PAGE 3A
Commissioners announced plans for events to coincide with Kansas' Homecoming weekend and approved a patio for Louise's West. PAGE 3A
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Index
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News Briefs ... 2A
Weather ... 2A
Opinion ... 1A
Sports ... 1B
Critics ... 6B
Crossword ... 6B
Classifieds ... 7B
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