THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2008
NEWS
7A
YEAR IN REVIEW, CONT.
NOVEMBER 29, 2007
SARAH NEFF
sneff@kansan.com
The Ecumenical Christian Ministry board decided not to sell the building on 12th and Oread Streets to the developers who are trying to build the Oread Inn.
Thad Holcombe, campus pastor at ECM, said the board talked about the sacred space associated with the building and the historical significance it held for students, alumni and community members.
The ECM board estimated that it would need more than $700,000 to upgrade and repair the building. Holcombe said that after the
stories about the situation were published in The University Daily Kansan and then in the Lawrence Journal-World, he was approached by people who wanted to help save the building.
"We are really encouraged." Holcombe said.
Holcombe said a consulting firm had offered to do a free feasibility study for the ECM to see how much money the ECM needed to raise for renovations.
Tom Harper, founder of Lawrence Modern, a community group that focuses on mid-century architecture and design, said he approached Holcombe after he
heard about the possibility of the ECM building being demolished. Harper said he and Holcombe were in the preliminary stage of getting the building designated as historic in the national and state registries.
Harper said he would offer as much help as the ECM wanted.
"Our group is definitely interested in keeping the structure there and helping to raise money so it can continue to serve the community," Harper said.
Sarah Martin, national register coordinator with the Kansas State Historical Society, said a building had to be at least 50 years old to be considered historic and have the
Historical Society protect it from demolition. The ECM, built in 1960, has another two years before it can be added to the registry. She said it would probably fall under the historical category of architectural or engineering significance.
Meghan Curry, Wichita senior, said she went to Veggie Lunch at the ECM almost every Thursday.
"I think the decision was a good one," Curry said. "I think it would be a real loss if the ECM wasn't there."
Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
The Crossing, its adjacent buildings and the Oread Heights Apartments were demolished on April 19 to make way for construction of The Oread Inn on 12th and Indiana streets. Casey Stewart, general supervisor for the project, said he estimated the luxury hotel would be completed by 2010.
APRIL 21,2008
Construction begins on north campus
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
ANDY GREENHAW
agreenhaw@kansan.com
Heavy machinery reduced The Crossing, Yello Sub and three houses at 12th and Oread streets to debris in just three hours on April 19, forever altering the north-campus skyline.
Dan King, project manager for King Construction, said the demolition began at about 7:30 April 19 and ended at about 10:30 a.m. "It was pretty simple with the big crack excavators" he said.
King said trucks would ship what was left of the building debris to the city dump, which would take about a week. Once the area is cleared out, construction of the Oread Inn will begin. He said it would take about a month to dig the hole for the inn.
Casey Stewart, general supervisor of Oread Construction, said his crew would begin paving the concrete footings for the hotel once the hole was complete. He said the concrete work would take three to five weeks, depending on the weather. He said he estimated the Oread Inn would be finished by 2010.
Joseph Lazarus, Wichita junior, lives across the street from the project at 1137 Indiana St. "I'm all for economic development, and I think
it's good for the city in the long run," Lazarus said. "The short-term effects of the construction are going to be kind of a pain though. Waking up to the early-morning sounds of heavy machinery tearing into the earth will be annoying."
Danny Brownfield, Thiensville, Wis., sophomore, lives at the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house down the street from the project. He said
his overall opinion about the Oread project was frustration. "I've been a patron of The Crossing for two years now, and it was great because this was the perfect way to come down from campus," Brownfield said. "Yello Sub and The Crossing had been there a really long time, and tearing it all down doesn't really carry on the tradition at KU."
David Barclay, Wichita junior.
who lives near the project at 1211 Oread Ave., said he would miss the house at 1142 Indiana St.
"I just always remember that house as being like 'Animal House,' he said. "It was like the non-fraternity, fraternity house."
- Edited by Daniel Reyes
FEBRUARY 28, 2008
Astronaut returns as professor
BY JESSICA WICKS jwicks@kansan.com
Steve Hawley, the astronaut who brought the Jayhawk spirit into space three times, toured Kansas Wednesday before announcing he would return to Mount Oread to teach physics and astronomy.
Hawley, a KU alumnus and three-time space explorer, thanked Chancellor Hemenway for giving him the privilege of teaching at his alma mater, but students argued that they were the lucky ones.
"The aerospace engineering people are drooling over him because they are mad they don't get him," Mark Stockham, Manhattan senior in physics, said.
Stockham, who returns to the University in the fall, is hoping to get into one of Hawley's classes.
Hawley said that he never thought his dream to fly in space would come true, especially three times.
"And now I can't believe that my second dream, to come home to KU, is also coming true."
Hawley will continue to work with NASA through May before he takes up his University responsibilities next fall.
Chancellor Hemenway said that when he met Hawley about five years ago, they started bouncing around the idea that he might return to teach.
"I could stay with NASA," Hawley said, "but then I wouldn't get the chance to work at KU."
Hawley said that he wanted to start a second career, and because he is getting on in years, now was the obvious time to do it.
Rodrigo Duque, Gardner senior, said that he came to see Hawley because he was one of his idols. He even had a piece of a space shuttle Hawley had flown in and a special pen to get Hawley's autograph.
Hemenway said he approached the provests to try to identify the funds to get him here, but didn't have a hard time doing it.
"We really hit it off. He is a very stimulating person to be around," Hemenway said.
"I have been a real fan of space flight since I was a kid," Duque said. "It is very hard and challenging, but really fun."
"Anyone that meets Steve realizes what an addition he will be to the University."
Duque is majoring in aerospace engineering and is sad that Hawley will not be in his department.
Chancellor Hemenway said that they gave Hawley the opportunity to choose which department he wanted to work in and he felt most connected to the astronomy and physics department.
Hawley graduated from the University in 1973 from the astronomy and physics program. He will get to work with his old teacher, Steve Shawl, professor of astronomy and physics, for one semester before Shawl retires from the department.
Karen Ohmes, Hutchinson sophomore minoring in astronomy, said she got to meet Hawley when she worked at the cosmosphere.
"He is a big deal. He really brings something to the department that no else can." Ohmes said, "I hope that I get to take his class."
— Edited by Jared Duncan
》 FEBRUARY 11, 2008
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Members of Kansas' bowling team practice at Jaybowl in the Kansas Union. Beer sales were removed in 1998 because of a car accident that killed a student.
Proposal considered to bring beer back to Jaybowl
BY BRENNA HAWLEY
bhawley@kansan.com
A proposal to bring beer sales back to the laybowl will go to the provost's office this month. If approved, alcohol will be sold at the hangout for the first time since 1998.
The proposal would allow 3.2 percent beer to be sold in the Jaybowl and surrounding Hawk's Nest area from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Sales would be limited to two beers per person to help prevent intoxication. Jaybowl employees would scan IDs, then give a wristband and fluorescent hand stamp to people 21 and older.
Shawn Bowers was a student member of the committee that reviewed the proposal and was the director of public relations for Student Union Activities, which runs alcohol-free activities for students. He said he wasn't thrilled with the idea initially, but with the restrictions in place to prevent underage drinking, he now supported the proposal.
"It's more about creating an environment where students and professors can come and relax," Bowers said. "It would be another option for a mature campus audience."
The proposal said that anyone found drinking underage would be removed from the Kansas Union. It also said that information about campus services such as SafeRide would be posted.
Tim Fields, Lincoln, Neb. senior works at Jaybowl and thinks beer sales would draw people into the bowling alley and the Union.
He said the bowling alley was often full on Friday and Saturday nights, but on weeknights there were empty lanes.
Steve Munch, 2005 student body president, led the initiative to bring beer back to the Kansas Union. Marlesa Roney, vice provost for student success, denied the proposal then, but is now taking the revised proposal to the provost's office.
Edited by Matt Hirschfeld
》 SEPTEMBER 20, 2007
BY MARK DENT AND SASHA ROE mdent@kansan.com and sroe@kansan.com
Students'confidential information mishandled
University officials are investigating the unauthorized release of personal information and records of students, faculty and employees to local media, including The University Daily Kansan. The Kansan received two manila envelopes containing the personal information on Tuesday.
The envelopes contained fax reports, student tests, Social Security numbers, seating charts and credit applications. A cover letter from an anonymous source was attached to the documents. The letter said the information was from the mathematics department and was retrieved from recycling bins and a dumpster behind Snow Hall. The letter implicated Gloria Prothe, an employee of the department of mathematics, for not properly disposing of personal information.
Lynn Bretz, Director of University Communications, said she didn't know how the information was leaked, but that the
The Kansas City Star and The Lawrence Journal-World received envelopes containing similar information.
Bretz said the investigation would be led by a team made up of officials from the Provost's office, the dean's office, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, human relations, and Jane Rosenthal, the University Privacy Coordinator and Custodian of Records. Bretz didn't give a timeline for the investigation.
University's primary concern was protecting students and preventing their information from further exposure. Bretz said the University was asking for the return of the documents to protect the students and to begin its investigation of the incident.
"This is an issue in society," Bretz said. "We've all been dealing with this for the last five, six, seven years — there's been Web-hacking. People all over the country are saying 'Better not use Social Security numbers as numbers for students at universities.' This is a long wake-up call for everybody."
Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
---