10A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2008
PROFILE
Student stars in Sunsilk commercial Sybil Niccum enters competition to be named 'Life Can't Wait'icon
BY MARY SORRICK msorrick@kansan.com
Photo courtesy of Sybil Niccum
Sybil Niccum's adventurous personality and unruly blond hair landed her a semifinalist's spot in Sunsilk's "Life Can't Wait" competition.
Sunsilk, a company that produces hair care products, designed the campaign to inspire girls around the world to live life to the fullest. Niccum, an Olathe graduate student, was one of 25 women chosen from the U.S. and Canada and flown to New York City to shoot an advertisement that will air tonight during an episode of "Gossip Girl" on the CW.
also recorded a personal statement for the "Life Can't Wait" Web site.
Who:
Sybil Niccum
Sybil Niccum films an advertisement in Times Square for Sunsilk's "Life Can't Walk" campaign. Niccum was one of 25 semifinalists chosen for the ad, which will air tonight at 7 during an episode of the CW's "Gossip Girl."
While in New York, the finalists
how to vote
What:
Sunsilk "Life Can't Wait" icon
The contestant whose video receives the most votes online will be named a Sunsilk icon and will star in an advertising
Where:
www.llifecantwait.com
When:
April 28 to May 12
"I was stressed out, worn down and living mundanely," she said. "I felt like, 'Gosh, I must be missing something because life is so short,
"My hair is what everybody recognizes me by. It's curly and unruly, and I've had lots of ups and downs with it."
campaign to air nationally this summer. Current Sunsilk icons include Madonna, Shakira and Marilyn Monroe.
SYBIL NICCUM
Olathe graduate student
Niccum said she was selected as a semifinalist based on an essay in which she described her experiences backpacking through Europe, running a half marathon, playing the ukulele and studying to be an ESL teacher.
She said the qualities Sunsilk chose her for were all changes she had made after waking up one morning and realizing everything in her life seemed unhealthy.
and I'm not taking advantage of all the things it has to offer."
Niccum's hair also made an impression on the contest's judges.
"My hair is what everybody recognizes me by," she said.
“it's curly and unruly, and I've had lots of ups and downs with it. But I've accepted my cur尺iness."
Sylvia Niccum, Olathe senior and Sybil's sister, traveled to New York City with her sister. She said a group of tourists on the street assumed the camera crew was filming for "America's Next Top Model" while they were shooting for the campaign in Times Square.
"It was like a taste of fame," she said. "It was fun to see my sister in that atmosphere."
Sylvia said she hoped students from the University would support
Sybil by voting for her on the "Life Can't Wait" Web site.
"If people go online and listen to it, even people who don't know her can be touched by it," she said. "She has a really positive outlook and many people can be encouraged by that."
Though Sybil said she didn't know exactly what would be in store
if she won the competition, she said she could potentially get a contract to travel around the world for a year as a campaign spokeswoman.
Sylvia also said any potential compensation for being named a Sunsilk icon would go toward helping both her sisters pay for college.
Edited by Jessica Sain-Baird
》LEGISLATURE
State continues to debate coal plants
BY JOHN HANNA ASSOCIATED PRESS
But House Speaker Melvin Neufeld and his staff noticed, particularly one section several pages into the measure. It said the
TOPEKA — A bill sought by the Department of Agriculture to end small headaches in regulating grocery stores and vending machines didn't get much attention as it slipped quietly through the Legislature this year.
To them, the section had a familiar
secretary of agriculture couldn't impose regulations more stringent than those imposed by the federal government, unless legislators approved.
"You see other legislatures in coal mining states spend a lot of time on coal, but nothing like this, not day in, day out."
insignificant things like the agriculture bill become relevant.
ring. Something similar for the secretary of health and environment had been included in two bills Gov. Kathleen Sebelius had vetoed during the biggest legislative debate of the year.
So why, Neufeld wonders, did Sebelius sign a bill containing a similar restriction on the secretary of agriculture? He believes she's being inconsistent, something her staff disputes.
And this year, the legislative session seems to be all about whether the two coal plants get built.
The contentious debate over coal-fired plants casts a huge shadow. When people have points to make, public opinion to shape and votes to change, seemingly
Those bills allow two coalfired power plants in southwest Kansas, which Neufeld, an Ingalls Republican, strongly supports. Sebelius has criticized provisions restricting the secretary of health and environment's power, saying they're unacceptable to her.
"You see other legislatures in coal mining states spend a lot of time on coal, but nothing like this, not day in, day out," said Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club's national anti-coal campaign.
Legislators return Wednesday from their annual spring break to wrap up their business for the year.
BRUCE NILES Sierra Club
Responding to Sebelius' vetoes tops the agenda for Republican leaders.
coal-plant bills, contends Neufeld is holding other issues hostage. Neufeld denies it.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat who opposes the
But, by design or not, as Hensley noted, "We have to resolve this issue before we can resolve a lot of other issues."
Sunflower Electric Power Corp. wants to build the two plants outside Holcomb, in Finney County. In October, Rod Bremby, secretary of health and environment, denied an air-quality permit for the project.
He cited the two plants' potential carbon dioxide emissions of up to 11 million tons a year. He added the state couldn't ignore the dangers of global warming, which many scientists link to man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Many legislators believe the state should leave regulation of greenhouse gases to the federal government.
Our LuXURY Amenities! All inclusive rent and utilities Private shuttle bus to campus every 40 minutes Resort style pool Private bedrooms and bathrooms Free continental breakfast
The 73-year-old father was taken into custody, said Franz Polzer, head of the Lower Austrian Bureau of Criminal Affairs, on Sunday.
WORLD
Police find Austrian woman in cellar Daughter sexually abused by father, missing since 1984
Authorities found the woman Saturday evening in the town of Amstetten following a tip, Lower
VIENNA, Austria — Police have found a woman missing since 1984, who told authorities that her father had kept her in a cellar for almost 24 years and that she had given birth to at least six children
after being repeatedly raped by him.
BY VERONIKA OLEKSYN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Austria police said in a statement.
The 42-year-old woman told police that her father began sexually abusing her when she was 11 and locked her in a room in the cellar on Aug. 28, 1984.
During the 24 years that followed, she said she was continually abused and gave birth to six children, the statement said. She said she gave birth to twins in 1996 but one died several days later; police said they were investigating.
Police said in the statement the woman appeared "greatly disturbed" psychologically during questioning. She agreed to talk only after authorities assured her that she would no longer have to have contact with her father and that her children would be taken care of.
DNA tests are expected to determine whether the man is the father of the six surviving children, according to police.
Police said three of the children were registered with authorities and lived with the grandparents. The other three children were apparently held captive in the cellar with their mother, Polzer told reporters in broadcast remarks.
The Austria Press Agency said the three boys and three girls range in age from 5 and 20. One of the children, a 19-year-old woman, was being hospitalized in very serious condition, according to Austrian broadcaster ORF.
Sunday's developments recalled another case that shocked Austrians in the summer of 2006, when a young woman escaped after being largely confined to a tiny underground dungeon in a quiet Vienna suburb for more than eight years.
Natascha Kampusch was 10 years old when she was kidnapped in Vienna on her way to school in March 1998. Her abductor, Wolfgang Priklopil, threw himself in front of a train just hours after her dramatic escape.
---