THE UNIVERSITY OF BAY KANSAS
MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2006
NEWS
13A
ADMINISTRATION
Safety office moves, gets much-needed space
BY DAVID LINHARDT
For 20 years the KU Public Safety Office operated out of former residence hall rooms at Carruth'O'Leary Hall. There wasn't enough space for three people to walk into a room and turn around.
Last month, however, the office got some space. The office moved to 1501 Crestline Drive, a building formerly used by KU Printing Services. Officials outsourced printing responsibilities last spring to Printing Solutions in Lawrence.
Don Steeple, vice provost for scholarly support, said the move gave the police a modern facility suited to meet needs their old facility couldn't.
"Of all the places I've toured on campus since I've been in charge of
space allocation, that was the one place I walked into and got claustrophobia because they were so crowded." Steeples said.
In 1985, the office moved out of what is now Budig Hall and into Carruth-O'Leary. The situation was supposed to be temporary, but it lasted until 2006.
Ralph Oliver, public safety director, had been asking for new space for about seven years.
The move and accompanying renovations to the public safety building cost the University about $650,000, Oliver said. It netted the officers and support staff 2,000 to 3,000 more square feet of space.
Before the move, officers had to store evidence in various locations around campus if there wasn't space in the Carruth-O'Leary office. The
officers' locker rooms were half the size of an average school locker, Oliver said.
The new public safety office now includes full-size locker rooms for men and women, and evidence storage and processing in one building. There's also a training room for public education programs.
Oliver said students ought to be able to find the office more easily because KU Police didn't have a sign outside Carruth-O'Leary.
Student workers who monitor cameras will have a much nicer area to work in, too, Oliver said.
Kansan staff writer David Linhardt can be contacted at dlinhardt@ kansan.com.
Edited by Mindy Ricketts
Anna Faltermeyer/KANSAN
The new KU Public Safety Office on West Campus has more space than the old office in Carruth-O'Leary Hall. Administrative specialist Linda Fritz said she liked the new building, but that might be more difficult for students to find because it's off the main campus.
COMMUNITY
Resource officers could mean quieter nights
BY DAVID LINHARDT
The Lawrence Police Department will add a new neighborhood resource officer program next year as a part of the city-wide budget approved by the City Commission on Aug. 8.
The new officer duties could include further crackdown on noise ordinance violators, though David Corliss, interim city manager, said that was not the sole intent of the program. The position would allow officers to serve as neighborhood resource officers.
"We have school resource officers, and it's somewhat modeled on that concept." Corliss said.
Duties for such an officer would include providing additional enforcement for neighborhoods and homeowner's associations, Corliss said.
Under a noise policy change from January 2005, Lawrence police can take enforcement action if they can verify a noise occurred and that
there had been a previous warning, said Dan Ward, Lawrence police spokesman.
The policy change lowered noise calls by 8 percent, Ward said. Before the change, officers had to contact in person anyone reporting a noise complaint to fill out paperwork.
Ward declined to discuss specifics of the neighborhood resource program because it was still in early developmental stages.
"We do believe the positions will provide better police service for the citizens of Lawrence when it comes to specific community issues." Ward said.
James Dunn, Oread neighborhood association president, said he hadn't heard of the new program, but that his organization was always concerned about neighborhood noise.
"There are a lot of ordinances in this town about living civilly," Dunn said. "The neighborhood association has worked with the city to more
aggressively help police deal with the ones already on the books."
Dunn said he hoped more students would get involved with neighborhood associations to increase awareness of noise problems and other issues.
KU students have protested noise laws repeatedly. Last spring the KU chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union joined other groups to ask city commissioners to alter the 2005 policy change that allowed officers to more easily enforce the ordinance.
Commissioners declined to change the ordinance. The University's then-ACLU president Justin La Mort said students should inquire about the noise issue again later in the year.
Kansan staff writer David Linhardt can be contacted at dlinhardt@ kansan.com.
Edited by Jacky Carter
GREEK LIFE
Theta Chi members to move back in
BY MATT ELDER
Members of the Theta Chi fraternity will move back into their house this fall without several familiar faces. The fraternity's corporation board, made up of University of Kansas Theta Chi alumni, suspended five members following the 2006 spring semester.
The board conducted interviews last spring to evaluate members of the fraternity on their contributions to the house and to the Lawrence community.
"It was for the character of the chapter and to uphold its standards," said Brandon Dunklau, Olathe senior and new Theta Chi president, said.
Dunklau cites the fraternity's slight drop in overall grade point average, from a few select individuals, for the Board's intervention. While the house still ranks on campus among the upper fraternities on overall GPA, alumni have asked the house to aim for a higher standard.
"A couple of years ago we were top three in grades," Dunklau said.
But the board also has placed emphasis on improving areas other than academics. Community service, specifically involvement with the group's philanthropy, and member's involvement within the chapter all were heavily weighted in the interview process.
While the house's concerns of maintaining its standards are calmed, members are hoping for a strong freshman class to fill the house's more spacious halls. Theta Chi, 1003 Emery Road, expects to house 10 fewer members this upcoming school year.
"The chapter is down in numbers, but I think it helps with the number of quality guys that are going to give to the chapter," Dunklau said. "The house should see much more success."
While the role of alumni deciding status of active members has been met with resistance from the five suspended, the role of alumni in Greek affairs is not unheard of.
"It isn't a common thing, but it does happen," Wittlinger said. "And it happens on different levels."
The Theta Chi alumni chapter at KU has always been close to active members. This fall, alumni funded a project that remodeled much of the fraternity, getting it ready for both the familiar and the new faces it will house this fall.
The changing house mirrors the changing of personnel on the Theta Chi executive board. Dunklau was vice president of the fraternity before being moved into the presidential position, and Wittlinger's contributions with the Inner Fraternity Council led him to his vice-presidential seat.
"The transition went very smoothly with all people involved." Wittlinger said.
Kansan staff writer Matt Elder can be contacted at melder@kansan. com.
Edited by Elyse Weidner