Tomorrow's weather
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Kansan
Monday September 13,1999
Dry but cool.
HIGH 77
LOW 48
Online today
Vol.110·No.18
With the college football season in full swing, this site covers the turf in college sports.
http://chili.collegesportsnews.com
Sports today
The Jayhawks scored early and often as they defeated California State-Northridge 71-14 for their first win of the season.
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Computer crash slows Watkins
Students must rely on walk-in visits
By Amber Stuever writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
For the next few days, students who want to avoid the wait at Watkins Memorial Health Center will not have the luxury of making a prior appointment.
(USPS 650-640)
Randall Rock, chief of staff at Watkins, said computer problems that began Thursday would continue this week, causing inconvenience for the staff and problems in appointment scheduling for students.
Chylton Miller, computer operations manager at Watkins, said the system failed because of an operating problem.
Unless a students made an appointment prior to this weekend, they will have to rely on a walk-in visit.
"We ask for understanding and patience until we get through it, but the services at Watkins will continue, and those people with appointments will be handled," Rock said.
The amount of staff at Watkins has not changed, and the same resources are there. The inconvenience to students will come from a surplus of walk-ins, which may mean a longer wait.
"Come prepared, or don't come at a time that you'll have to leave for class in 30 minutes, because we can't guarantee a fast in
and out." Rock said.
He recommended students still call the appointment line at 864-9507 to find the best and slowest times to come and that they bring something to do during the wait. He also suggested students bring their insurance information in case it had been lost on the system.
On Thursday morning, the disk controller and disk drive for the billing records malfunctioned, Miller said. The shutdown slowed the billing process in the pharmacy, but was fixed by late Friday by moving the software to another computer. Miller said he would begin to move the rest of the software for Watkins to a new computer today.
Rock said, "The good news is that some delays people may have had in the pharmacy late last week are pretty much back to
normal."
However, appointment scheduling problems will continue until an alternate service is found. That may take until the end of this week, Rock said, but Watkins will keep students posted.
The computer problem occurred while Watkins officials were in the middle of evaluating new hardware and software options for Watkins. They hope to upgrade the system in the next year, replacing the 12-year-old system now in place.
"It's kind of ironic that this happened at this time, but it's probably a learning experience at the same time," Rock said.
Edited by Mike Loader
From rags to riches or vice versa
Gambling addictions can be serious for anyone, win or lose
By Sarah Hale
writer@kanson.com
Kanson staff writer
Contributed art
When Todd Haviland beat the odds to win a $7.4 million jackpot at a Native-American casino in Wisconsin, his friends and neighbors sighed, "not again."
Haviland, an avid gambler, pulled the lever on a $1 machine just three months after he and his wife, Carol, filed for bankruptcy. The couple was living in a mobile home in Junction City, Wis., where they were barely scraping by. Carol said Todd's regular visits to Rainbow Casino, about 15 minutes away, were wearing on her.
She was ready to walk out on Todd.
In only six years, Todd, 37, had squandered $2.3 million worth of assets he had inherited from his father. Then, in December 1998, he became a multimillionaire—again.
Having gone from poor to rich then poor and rich again, Todd vowed not to blow his fortune this time. But for a gambling addict who was used to visiting the casinos nearly every day, was quitting cold turkey possible?
The Havilands swore their gambling days were done; and Todd said he had learned his lesson. But the residents of Junction City and Steven's Point, Wis., a neighboring town, questioned Haviland's anti-gambling vow. One bar owner said, "He'll be back."
Like Todd, who began gambling while in his 20s, college students can easily fall into the trap where hitting the boats or hosting weekly poker games becomes a habit. Stories of high-stakes and million-dollar jackpots such as the Haviland's are rare.
East Timor needs aid, students, professor acknowledge
By Lesley Simmons writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
A KU professor said he thought it was good news that United Nations peacekeeping troops may soon be deployed to help quell violence in East Timor.
"The Indonesian government clearly didn't have control of the situation," said Philip Schrodt, professor of political science. "If there's ever been a case where international intervention is needed, this is one."
Schrodt said Indonesia's interest in East Timor was purely territorial and that Indonesia had no economic interests there. He said human rights violations had been a problem in East Timor since 1975, when Indonesia invaded the territory after Portuguese colonists left.
Indonesia, succumbing to years of international pressure, allowed the East Timorese to vote for independence through a U.N. sponsored referendum on Aug. 30. Since the vote in favor of independence, militias opposed to East Timor's independence have terrorized the territory.
Schrodt said no one outside the region knew who the militia members were.
"They could be affiliated with the government, they could be affiliated with the land owners, or both, or they could be thugs," he said.
Schrodt said he didn't think the violence was unplanned.
"Somebody is organizing this," he said. "It's far too extensive to be random."
Schrodt received an e-mail Saturday from a former student at northwestern University, D. Jay Losher. Losher, a Presbyterian minister, taught in Indonesia for about ten years and worked as an international observer last month making
See INDONESIAN on page 6A
Refitted stadium draws praise at game
By Mike Miller
By Mike Miller
parts@kansan.com
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The entire Kansas athletics department breathed a sigh of relief Saturday night.
For the past four months the construction on Memorial Stadium had been behind schedule, while the date for the season-opening football game crept closer and closer.
er and closer.
The last three weeks had been frantic. Rumors circulated that the stadium wouldn't be ready for Saturday's game against California State-Northridge, and the deadline for the completion date was moved twice.
Saturday started out gloomily enough. Rain came in the morning hours, and it was overcast for much of the day.
cleared.
The additions to the stadium — a new press box, 36 scholarship suites and a MegaVision videoboard — were greeted by several thousand tailgaters and, much to the delight of the athletic department, were greeted with awe.
Then, almost as if on cue, the sky cleared.
"It feels kind of like we're pro-tteam," said Mandy Wilcox, Olathe junior. "I thought it said a lot about university and individual support."
Some commented on the press box, its size and whether or not the press needed an area that nice. Some wondered if they would ever be able to see the scholarship suites.
The MegaVision, $3 million of the $12 million renovations to the stadium this year, gave fans a chance to see replays of the football game — something that was clearly missed in past years.
But the biggest hit was the Mega Vision. "I made sure I came for the first game because I wanted to see the scoreboard," said Stephen Hilton, San Jose, Costa Rica, senior.
"The video board added a lot because you could see the replay." Wilcox said.
But the biggest hit was the MegaVision.
The new board played such a large role in the game that even the football team found themselves looking up at the board for replays and to see themselves on the big screen.
"I looked up there every now and then," said running back David Winbush. "I had to catch some of the nice plays
twice."
Quarterback Zac Wegner liked the board so much that he started making his Christmas list early.
"I wish I had it in my backyard," he said. "It's really nice, isn't it?"
The MegaVision did have a few initial operating glitches. The controllers for the MegaVision jumped the gun twice on the touchdown graphic, but otherwise replays were crisp and came quickly. Dean Buchan, sports information director, said press box problems were nonexistent, even the little details.
"I don't know about the rest of the stadium, but we had no problems," Buchan said.
Now, the university has two weeks to put the finishing touches on the stadium before the next home game on Sept. 25 against San Diego State. Assistant athletics director Doug Vance said there were lots of touch-ups to be done, but that finishing the minor modifications wouldn't be a problem.
The new additions still weren't enough for some fans, though. The attendance was 33,300 people, 700 more than last year's season opener, but still almost
Saturday was the first game for the new equipment at Memorial Stadium. Renovations to the stadium include new press boxes and a video board with the ability to show instant replays. Photo by Aaron Lindbergh/KANSAN
17,000 seats shy of capacity. What would make more fans come? Free tickets.
Sarah Vincent, Dodge City senior, watched her first live Kansas football game Saturday because her friends
thought she should finally see a game. "I name because I got a free pass," she said.
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Edited by Mike Loader
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