The perils of Potter
Authorities comment on ice
By RUTH ROHRER
One often ignored and neglected winter sport at KU, and one for which you won't need your trusty snake bite kit, is ice skating on Potter Lake.
But this winter's possibilities of actually skating on a frozen Potter Lake have been, are, and will probably continue to be slim.
Even if you possess the coordination required in skating,you may not be able to practice your art for the obvious reason that ice doesn't grow in temperatures above 32 degrees.
IF ALL YOU ardent skaters would tamper with the weather machine and keep the temperature below 10 degrees for at least a week, Potter Lake would freeze about three inches deep.
"And it has to be at least three inches deep to be safe," KU's own authorities on snow and ice said.
Therefore, the physical education department sends Potter Lake's very own guardian angel down everyday to check and see how the ice is inclining or declining.
Last reports are that the ice is now thick enough but fairly rough, our authority quoted the guardian angel as saying. The celestial being was not available for contact as nothing would make the snow official reveal his name.
OUR AUTHORITY said, "It is unfortunate that we had that snow because it melted into the ice and now the ice is a bit rough."
If "a bit rough" means what it has meant in the past, beginning skaters will have no difficulty in staying up on their runners. A senior, pre-med student told me that the first and only time she skated on Potter Lake the ice was so rough she couldn't move. She couldn't even fall down.
"But who wants to just stand there," I asked her.
"But who wants to fall down?" she countered.
THINKING OF how frustrating such an experience must be, I asked the snow official what could be done.
"Of course, we could flood the lake," he said, "but we won't. It has been done before, but never again."
The official continued to reveal his vast knowledge and insight ("I didn't get a Ph.D. in snow and ice for nothing.") when he said, "If the ice thaws out on top and freezes again, it will be smoother."
Thawing out sounds fairly reasonable, but freezing again presents a problem even though our authority said, "There is a strong possibility that we may get a cold spell any day."
LAST YEAR ONE skating enthusiasm, whose enthusiasm has been dampened since visiting Potter Lake, said skating is more like wading. "The times I have skated there the water has been rather deep on top, but it was a great feeling."
Maybe the authorities on snow and ice should start a new research project—how to make ice on Potter Lake melt only from beneath.
But they probably won't because they are too busy contemplating the past ("There was one period last year when it was real cold.") and predicting the future ("If it gets warm, the ice won't be thick enough").
Our authority spoke with perfect confidence when he said,
"There have never been any organized sports on Potter Lake, but there have been a lot of unorganized games."
MY OBSERVATIONS bear out his enlightened conclusions. Yesterday, out of curiosity, I followed a tall slim coed down the steps beside Snow Hall, across the street and down the hill to our own little Potter Puddle. She walked with determined steps and her pace increased as she got closer to her goal, the lake. Once
—UDK Photo by Joel Ahlbrandt
FOR THOSE WHO THINK YOUNG
Oblivious to the plight of ice skaters, two snow enthusiasts enjoy KU's slopes.
FREE PARKING IN "PROJECT 800"
- Blouses . . . . . Now 2.00
- Gowns, PJ's . . . . . Now 2.00 Fall
Dresses
Sweaters
Skirts Reduced 40%
Sensing desperation and feeling that I should try to help, I ran to where she lay. But she was getting up and brushing off her red wool car coat. I helped her brush off the snow, and asked her why she was doing all that.
Slacks
there, she walked across straight through the middle and turned and walked back tracing her steps. The second time across she stopped in the middle, turned at a right angle and walked almost to the bank. After walking to the opposite bank, she stepped off the ice, lay down on her back in the snow, and began to sweep her extended arms and legs back and forth in the snow. Her arms flailed from her sides to above her head several times.
"I love to walk across Potter Lake," she said with a blissful smile, "and see, I made an angel in the snow."
Reduced 40%
I walked off. There must be something ethereal or maybe just sinister about ice on Potter Lake. What's wrong with skating? Do people just want to walk, wade, stand between the rough spots and pretend to be immortal when on ice?
● Nightwear
● Bras
● Slips
I looked back toward the lake and saw two very normal,very ordinary persons sledding on the ice. That looks pretty good, I thought, already beginning to feel better.
The KU men will be forced to re-examine American techniques, Richardson said, a process which "keeps us from taking things for granted and getting stale."
One of the biggest problems is getting information about the students—their ages, economic backgrounds, academic abilities and attitudes, Richardson said. He also has suggested the university try to get automated data processing equipment under a Ford grant.
And that's when I saw my philosophy instructor sliding across the lake on his stomach.
KU teachers help college in Costa Rica
The University of Costa Rica is trying to advance 50 years in only a few months, using the experience of three KU educators who specialize in education and testing, and counseling.
"Costa Rica is facing the same problems today we faced 50 years ago" in research into student attitudes and the academic ability of students, said Roy Richardson, assistant professor of education.
Cecil Williams, assistant professor of education; Richard Rohlf, a counselor in the guidance bureau, and Richardson will spend two weeks in Costa Rica in February, discussing techniques and procedures with Costa Rican officials. Expenses for the trip are paid by a Ford Foundation grant. The project is part of the "sister university" relationship between KU and the University of Costa Rica.
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Daily Kansan Thursday, January 5, 1967