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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Cooler but humid.
Kansan
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Give the University your new address without walking to Strong Hall.
Online today
Thursday
August 19, 1999
Section:
A
Vol. 110 • No. 2
http://www.ukans.edu/~registr/address
_update.html
Sports today
Women's basketball player Jaclyn Johnson had to adjust to playing overseas this summer and also had to remember a K-State player was her teammate.
SEE PAGE 1B
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
University provost David E. Shulenburger welcomed students to the convocation last night at the Lied Center. Convocation speakers included student body president Korb Maxwell and Chancellor Robert Hemenway. Photo by Christina Neff/KANSAN
(USPS 650-640)
Students are challenged to raise graduation rate
By Clay McCuistion writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Korb Maxwell, student body president, challenged incoming students to help raise the University of Kansas' graduation rate 28 percent during the next four years at last night's 134th convocation.
Maxwell called on the estimated 1,500 students in attendance to increase the number of students who graduated from 47 to 75 percent.
"I see this as a travesty," he said. "I want to change this. All the people on this stage want to change this."
Maxwell was one of four speakers who welcomed students to a new academic year last night at the Lied Center.
"We are here tonight to talk about fresh starts and new beginnings," Maxwell said. "It will take all of us working together, but I am positive if we commit ourselves through a pact, a pledge and a promise we can raise our current rates of graduation and reach our goal."
Chancellor Robert Mhenway peppered his convocation address with jokes and humorous asides.
The chancellor still made time in his speech for a number of serious points. He gave the students four hints for success at the University.
"My role is to point out to you all the lessons learned in 134 years of KU history," Hemenway said. "Which is why my speech may be a little long."
Hemenway first advised to students to sit in the front of their classes.
Second, he urged the audience
to discover the "hidden curriculum" — life and human contact outside the classroom environment.
"You know that you'll encounter the official curriculum." Hemenway said. "But also encounter this hidden, unofficial curriculum. Be aware of its possibilities."
Hemenway's third suggestion was that students should follow their instincts.
"Sometimes you won't know what you believe in." he said.
"My advice is to trust yourself as this experience takes place."
Finally, the chancellor told students to invest in the community.
"You're the only reason the University is here," he said.
The evening's program also featured a 10-minute opening video about diversity and opportunity and remarks by Provost David Shulenburger and Faculty Executive Committee Chairman James Carolliers. The event began at 8 p.m. and lasted an hour and 15 minutes.
"It gives the new, incoming students a view into the traditions and institutions that the University has. It's a little more than we've been exposed to before," said Dunavan, who was encouraged to attend by his brother Marcus, Topeka junior.
Matt Dunavan, Topeka freshman, said he enjoyed the convocation.
"It it got a lot of the students to be motivated." Dunavan said.
Edited by Katrina Hull
KU meets goal of 101 National Merit scholars
By Amanda Kashube
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Chancellor Robert Hemenway's goal of having 100 freshman National Merit scholarships enrolled at the University of Kansas by the year 2000 became a reality a year early.
The freshman class includes 101 National Merit Scholars who chose the University.
The Chancellor said this enrollment would help the University increase its rank as one of the top 10 public universities in the nation for recruiting National Merit scholars.
"We did a good job of bringing in prospects and telling them what we can offer to them," he said. "The results speak for themselves."
The majority of the new recruits are from Kansas, said Alan Cerveny, director of the Office of Admissions.
Cerveny said the large pool of recruits would be beneficial to the University.
"We will receive a lot of national exposure, and our rankings will also go up," he said. "The fact that a sizable number chose the University of Kansas represents the kind of institution and faculty we have here."
Last year, there were 64 National Merit scholars in the freshman class. In 1997, there were 90.
Cerveny said the chancellor's goal to recruit 100 National Merit scholars by 2000 was a challenge for his office.
"We had to adjust our scholarships so we had a level playing field with other schools such as Nebraska and Iowa State," he said. "We've had a pretty enthusiastic interest from the students."
The University offers $12 million in scholarships through departments, National Merit and other programs, Cerveny said.
Maureen Morton, Moravia, N.Y., freshman and National Merit scholar, chose the University instead of some East Coast schools for financial reasons.
"Kansas was on a list of the top 100 state schools, and I needed to pick a less expensive school," she said. "Everyone was surprised I chose to come here."
"We want people to understand the exciting academic program we have here and know that KU wants them," he said. "Good students attract other good students."
Number of National Merit Scholars Rises Through the Years
Source: Office of Admissions and Scholarships
Richard Reinhart / KANSEN
Cerveny said the Honors Program played an important role in recruiting National Merit scholars. When the scholars are contacted by the Office of Admissions, recruiters stress the merits of the Honors Program
Mark Nesbitt-Daly, assistant director of the Honors Program, said: "The Honors Program can provide individualized attention and services students can normally get from a smaller school. They can take honors classes with our outstanding faculty filled with other honors students."
One-third of the 300 freshman honors students this year are National Merit scholars.
"We encourage all the honors students to make the maximum of their years at KU," he said. "When they leave, if they've done well, they can go to the best graduate schools because of the top education they received."
National Merit scholars are students who scored in the top one percent on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Since each state sets individual standards for SATs, the states have different ranking systems. To become a National Merit finalist, high school grades also are examined
Cerveny said he wanted to maintain the tradition of bringing in top students to the University.
"We hope we can continue to look at 100 National Merit scholars every year," he said.
Edited by Laura Roddy
Earthquake hits close to home for some Turkish students
By Katie Hollar
By Katie Hollar writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Almost 6,000 miles away from the epicenter of Tuesday's earthquake in Turkey, Lawrence residents and students at the University of Kansas reacted to the news of the tragedy.
The earthquake, gauged at a 7.4 on the Richter scale, struck at 3:02 a.m. local time — 11:02 a.m. Central Daylight Time — Tuesday morning near Istanbul, Turkey's capital and largest city.
Tugce Sarikus, Wichita junior, grew up in Istanbul and spent the summer there visiting her parents. She left Monday.
"A hospital 20 minutes from my house was completely destroyed," she said. "My parents were really scared and slept in their car for two days."
Although Ivan Orge's hometown is about 300 miles from the tremor, he had several family members in the area. Orge, Ankara, Turkey, graduate student, said he had heard yesterday that they were safe.
"I really didn't think it was a big deal until a friend told me the magnitude of the earthquake," she said. "I called my parents immediately."
Sarikus said she had experienced earthquakes in Istanbul before but never ones with this force.
Several experts have speculated as to whether some of the substantial damage could have been prevented if the buildings had been fortified properly.
he said. "It was just so sad."
"If you look at the areas with the most casualties carefully," he said, "most are in the working-class neighborhoods."
Richard Bachman / KANSAN
the working-class neighbor
Several members of the Topeka-based
Kansas Air National Guard 180th Air
Refueling Wing (ARW) were in Turkey at
the time of the earthquake but were not
Four members of the 190th are KU students. All had returned home before Tuesday. One student, Paul Vincent, Lawrence sophomore, left Turkey earlier that day just hours before the earthquake.
injured, said First Lt. Karl H. Fruendt.
injured, said First Lt. Karl H. Fruendt.
The 190th ARW is serving at Incirlik Air Base in the southeastern part of Turkey.
The quake rattled the northwestern part of the country.
Fruendt said electrical service at the air base was interrupted overnight, and 190th ARW members reported some buildings were operating with the help of backup generators and phone service was limited. They did not feel the quake and said that the disruption of utilities was just a nuisance.
Jeff Willson, Lawton, Okla., sophomore, left, and Judson Kipp, Minneapolis sophomore, enjoy their suite in the newly-renovated Lewis Hall on Daisy Hill. The hall, which reopened this fall, offers hotel-like suits. Photo by Gus Koffer/KANSAN
Edited by Kelly Clasen
However, four Lawrence residents remain in Turkey with the 190th ARW. They will return home later this weekend.
More information
Additional information on the earthquake in Turkey.
See page 10A
Lewis Hall opens after renovations
Incoming coed residents happy despite missing laundry facilities, library
By Lori O'Toole
Resident assistant Annie McBride said she hadn't heard any complaints about the newness of the building although the lack of washers, dryers and computers have caused some irritation.
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
After more than a year of renovation, Lewis Hall, 1530 Engel Road, opened Saturday as home to about 270 students.
The smells of fresh paint and drywall linger in the air in Lewis Hall.
"It's like living in a hotel," Mr. Bride, Omaha, Neb., sophomore, said. "Everything is so new. It's not like what you think a dorm would be like."
The renovation altered the rooms from double-occupancy to quad suites with two bedrooms, a living area, a bathroom and a large walk-in closet.
Fred McElhenie, Department of Student Housing associate director, said the floor plan was similar to that of Templein Hall, which opened as a newly renovated hall for the 1998 fall semester.
"In trying to meet the needs of today's students, they're asking for more space, more privacy," McElhenie said. "It's more familiar, more like what they had at home. These are the kinds of things we're trying to accomplish through the renovations."
Lewis first opened in 1959 as an allwomen's residence hall. This is the first year that men are able to live there during the academic year.
The hall closed after the 1998 spring
semester. Workers emptied the building and knocked down the walls, sending debris out windows, down chutes and into trucks that hauled it away.
Workers installed new plumbing and electrical connections before they built the new rooms.
Construction, which was completed in July, cost $5.9 million. The only remainder of the original building is the exterior shell.
The change in the floor plan decreased the hall's capacity from 432 to 270.
McElhenie said there were hundreds of students on Lewis' waiting list.
The waiting list was cleared on Saturday since wait-listed students who
McElhenie said that the housing department employees will assign spaces in Lewis as they become available.
had indicated Lewis as a preference on their housing applications were moving in elsewhere.
Students who selected Lewis as a preference on their application and were assigned to a different location should reconfirm their preference with the housing department in order to be placed on Lewis' waiting list, McElhenie said.
He said about 50 percent of Lewis
See RENOVATIONS on page 2A