THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2006
NEWS
» SCHOLARSHIP HALLS
7A
Scholarship halls await new Center
Construction delays move completion date of Community Center to next semester; space available for all 11 halls
BY JYL UNRUH
Students living in the scholarship halls may have to wait until spring before the Wilma "Willie" Crawford Community Center opens
Located at 1346 Louisiana St. among the scholarship halls, the building will serve as a gathering point for residents from all 11 scholarship halls.
"There will be
Hayner, scholarship halls complex director.
The community center was originally scheduled to be open when students returned to campus for the fall semester. When students moved
"There will be an area for students to hang out and socialize or study."
SARAH HAYNER scholarship halls complex director
an area for students to hang out and socialize or study," said Sarah
into the scholarship halls though, they saw the outside of the white two-story building wrapped in caution tape. Inside the building, bare wood stood where walls would eventually be built.
The project
went through a number of unexpected delays, preventing the center from
being ready in the projected time frame. When construction crews started working on the building's foundation, they found it was no longer stable. The building had to be moved forward and the foundation was repaired, said Diana Robertson, interim director of department of student housing.
Finding funds for the unexpected extra construction was another cause for the delayed opening. The department of student housing covered the extra expenses.
Other miscellaneous hang-ups also prevented the project from being completed on time. Before construction crews could start repairing the foundation, paperwork had to be filed with the state. A shortage of
construction crews in Lawrence during the summer also added to the delay.
"Each hall has individual living and dining areas, but there isn't a place for all of the scholarship hall community to gather." Robertson said.
The building will also hold the office of the All Scholarship Hall Council, a conference room that can be used for meetings or for students to study or work on projects and a small kitchenette. The upper level of the community center will house an office and apartment for the complex, director Hayner said.
Resources offered by the Crawford Community Center aren't limited to rooms inside the building.
A definite date hasn't been set for the doors to open. Robertson predicted that January was the earliest it would be completed, but that the center might not be finished until later in the Spring 2007 semester.
Despite the wait, students are still looking forward to the center's completion.
"I think it's worth investing in something that will improve all the schol halls and change the dynamic of the community," said Jen Mayer, All Scholarship Hall Council representative.
Before becoming the Crawford Community Center, the building was the home of Reginald and Juanita Strait. Because they lived near the halls, the Straits befriended many of
the residents.
The house and grounds were donated by Juanita Straight after she passed away. She gave them to the community because of her close connection with the scholarship hall residents, Hayner said.
A donation from scholarship hall alumni Tom and Jan Kudkin covered the expenses to transform the house into the community center. The center is named after Jan's mother.
Kansan correspondent Jyl Unruh can be contacted at editor@kansan.com.
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
Students start club for aspiring entrepreneurs
Edited by Kristen Jarboe
New entrepreneurship classes prove popular without advertising, even for students outside the School of Business
BY SAM CARLSON
There's a new club on campus for students who wish to one day own a small business. Two KU students started the KU Entrepreneur Club in an attempt to help fellow aspiring entrepreneurs.
"There's nothing here at Kansas right now for entrepreneurs to get involved with. It's just an easy way for people that have ideas or are interested in starting a small business to get information," club member Adam Masonbrink, Fairway senior,
said. Masonbrink said he hoped the club would be firmly established by mid-September.
The club is the brainchild of Justin McAuley, Houston, Texas, senior, a student in the School of Business.
"Last year I had a few ideas for my own line and I realized there's really nowhere to go or nobody to talk to and I thought it would be cool if there was a club where students could meet and facilitate thought and ask questions and get answers," McAuley said.
Masonbring and McAuley said that they were the two main members,
buttl interest in the citu receiving backing from Wally Meyer Jr., director of entrepreneurship programs at the University of Kansas.
but that more students had shown interest in the club. The group is also
According to Meyer, the University has several courses and degree pro-
ate level, all of which have been established within the last year. The
"In the very first entrepreneurship class that we offered last year we had 85 students sign up without any advertising."
WALLY MEYER JR.
Entrepreneurship director
n the last year. The new club, like the courses, is open to all students, not just those in the school.
grams in entrepreneurship at both the graduate and undergradu-
Students like McAuley already have ideas they wish to pursue.
McAuley's work-in-progress, a business called would allow people site and order food
The Food Patio, would allow people to access a Web site and order food
from local restaurants. The order would be sent to the restaurant via fax and the food would then be delivered to the customer.
Possible future activities for the club include lectures by local guest speakers and tours of nearby businesses. The group is discussing its future financial picture, though.
"The University's sponsorship is a possibility. The students paying their own way in terms of donations is a possibility." Meyer said.
Interest in entrepreneurship seems to be growing at the University. Meyer said the recently introduced
courses are gaining popularity.
"In the very first entrepreneurship class that we offered last year we had 85 students sign up without any advertising. This year we've got another 65 or 70 students signed up and the majority of them are from schools other than the School of Business," Meyer said.
Kansan correspondent Sam Carlson can be contacted at editor@ kansan.com.
>> TROPICAL STORM ERNESTO
- Edited by Mindy Ricketts
Amanda Voisard/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brian Young, left, and Lawrence Loop make a dash for the surf stirred up from the passing of Tropical Storm Ernesto after arriving at Jetty Park Aug. 30, in Fort Pierce, Fla. Ernesto passed through South Florida well below hurricane strength and caused little damage.
Storm causes less damage than forecaster's original predictions
Associated Press
BY MARGARET LILLARD
RALEIGH, N.C. — North and South Carolina put hundreds of National Guardsmen on standby Wednesday for fear the rainy remnants of Tropical Storm Ernesto could cause severe flooding.
Forecasters said Ernesto could drench the eastern half of North Carolina with as much as seven inches of rain on Thursday and Friday. A separate storm system arriving ahead of Ernesto also threatened the region.
"We could get a clobbering today," National Weather Service forecaster Phil Badgett said.
Ernesto weakened to a tropical depression while crawling north through Florida. Its winds were less a concern to emergency officials than the prospect of downpours.
Ernesto was expected to move off the Florida coast by evening and possibly regain tropical storm strength. Forecasters predicted it would come ashore again Thursday along the South Carolina coast and reach North Carolina by Thursday night.
Easley activated 150 National Guardsmen and ordered the State Emergency Response Team to prepare for flooding and power outages. Guard troops in South Carolina were on standby, Lt. Col. Pete Brooks said.
"We know we're going to get a lot of rain. We know this is going to be a water event," North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley said.
North Carolina has struggled this summer with on-again, off-again drought.
"If we could get the rain where it was spread out over 12 to 24 hours, where it was
On James Island, one of a string of barrier islands on the South Carolina coast, Gerald Galbreath collected 24 sand bags. "It's just precautionary," he said.
a good, soaking rain, (flooding) would not be an issue," Badgett said.
At 8 p.m. EDT, Ernesto was centered just northwest of Melbourne, Fla., moving north at near 15 mph. The depression had winds near 35 mph, or about 4 mph below tropical storm strength.
It was expected to be over the Atlantic near Cape Canaval within a few hours, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm had not affected the space shuttle, which may launch next week after a lightning strike and Ernesto forced delays.
Little storm damage was reported in Florida, where Ernesto came ashore Tuesday night.
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