THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2011
VOLUME 123 ISSUE 151
WWW.KANSAN.COM
CAMPUS
Dining adds on after classes
BY ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON amcnaughton@kansan.com
Construction for the 139-seat expansion to The Underground is tentatively scheduled to begin after classes let out this month, according to KU Memorial Unions officials.
David Mucci, the director of KU Memorial Unions, said the project is on track to begin shortly after commencement.
Mucci said it's just a matter of finishing up some paperwork in order to break ground.
The expansion to the congested area in The Underground, designed by third-year architecture student Whitney Jones, served as a major platform for Senate coalition KUnited's 2010 campaign. In a recent interview with the Kansan where former student leaders Michael Wade Smith and Megan Ritter reflected on their time in office, Smith said the expansion was one of the most "noteworthy accomplishments" of their term.
"When we were running a year ago, people were really excited about making that horrible space down there at lunch time a little bit easier to navigate," Smith, a senior from Goodland, said during the interview.
May 5 was the construction bid
SEE UNDERGROUND ON PAGE 8A
SPEAKING UP | 10A
Mangino talks after lengthy silence
After a year and a half, Mangino spoke to his hometown newspaper.
CAMPUS | 3A
Grad students get ahead with social media
Three grads provide social media solutions.
WEATHER
TODAY 8565
IN MEMORIAM
Scattered Strong Storms
Forecasts on University students.
For a complete detailed forecast for the week,
see page 2A.
INDEX
Classifieds ... 8A
Crossword ... 4A
Cryptoquips ... 4A
Opinion ... 5A
Sports ... 10A
Sudoku ... 4A
All contents, unless stated otherwise, 2011 The University Daily Kansan
the story of three students suffering from the loss of a parent in college
tragedy in transition
BY KELLY STRODA kstroda@kansan.com
Schaadt sensed the magnitude of the situation when his dad called and said his mom had a medical emergency. He needed to come home immediately. He'd never heard his dad cry before.
An hour before this scene, Schaadt's life was normal. An 18-year-old KU freshman at the time, he and his buddies were watching a movie in his Ellsworth Hall room and drinking beer. He had spent the day before with his mom. It was Election Day 2008 — monumental because the first African-American president was elected
As Chris Schaadt tore around the corner in his black Ford F-150, he saw police cars and ambulances lining the street at his home in Lenexa. Their lights were off.
Schaadt's mother, Dana, died Nov. 5, 2008, at age 40.
— but he remembers it for a different reason. It was the last time he would see his mom alive.
Lindy Anderson was finishing a shift at Lawrence Athletic Club when a flurry of calls lit up her cell phone, several from her aunt. That's when she learned her father was dead.
Anderson's father, Gary, died Oct. 5, 2009, at age 64.
She felt especially alone when she drove home to Lenexa and walked into an empty house. Her parents had divorced years before and her mother and stepfather were away in Branson, Mo.
Stricken with grief and facing midterm exams, she had another heavy burden she had never anticipated as a 19-year-old: She, the daughter, the kid, would arrange the funeral, tell family and friends, decide on the disposition of the body and hire an attorney to handle the estate.
Ed Schroer walked into a Topeka hospital room to see nurses circling his dad's body on a gurney. He had gotten news that his dad's heart was failing and he needed to come home immediately. When he saw his father, his chest was badly bruised after nearly two hours of nurses performing chest compressions.
Once a prominent lawyer in Topeka, Schroer's father, Gene, died December 11,2010,at age 83.
After a year of his dad being in and out of the hospital, Schroer knew he would have to deal with his elderly dad's death sooner than most children. That didn't make it easier when the call finally came from his mom.
SEE tragedy ON PAGE 6A
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