WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2005
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
COLLAPSING CAMPUS
7A
because they vent toxic fumes and increase circulation of good air.
"Lab is difficult enough for any student, but it is more difficult with crowded, old, laboratories which are on the border of being unsafe." Givens said.
Adding more fume hoods at Malott has long been documented on the University's maintenance list. Upgrading the fume hoods would cost $3 million, which means the University's chemistry students should try to get used to the stench.
State orato-
o stu-
nood.
orato-
orced
ant to labs
"In spite of the situation, not because of the situation, we have produced good chemistry students," Givens said.
Where the animals roam
Another building that needs renovating is Bailey Hall, formerly home to the School of Education and now the home of the University's award-winning communication studies department. But to those who work on the fourth floor, the building has the reputation of being a zoo.
For Nancy Baym, associate
professor of communication studies, that reputation was cemented last spring. Baym returned to her office one day to find a note on her door informing her that an opossum had gotten into her office.
"It must have been frightened because it really did a number on my office," Baym said.
The opossum had scurried into the building through a hole in the roof and found its way directly above Baym's office. The ceiling gave way, sending the animal tumbling down to the office floor. Once inside, the opossum decided to use Baym's books as chew toys.
For nearly two years, a family of birds would continually find shelter right above Baym's office.
In Baym's office one lone white tile stands out amid a ceiling of gray. That tile is the exact spot where the opossum fell, a constant reminder of the day an opossum redecorated her office.
That reminder is more subtle than the calling card left by other friendly visitors.
"I have had bird droppings
Baym's office neighbor, Tracy Russo, assistant professor of communication studies, also has had the challenge of working to the sounds of a mother bird feeding her young in the spring.
everywhere on my desk, including my computer," Baym said.
"Sometimes the pitter patter of little feet and all the chirping is just too much." Russo said.
The occasional animal guest is not the only problem residents of Bailey's fourth floor face.
To get to the fourth floor on the weekends, it is recommended to steer clear of Bailey's elevator and use the stairs.
"I won't go on the elevators on the weekends because no one is here to help you if you get stuck." Russo said.
"It's challenging to say the least." Russo said.
Joann Keyton, professor of communications studies, agrees that Bailey Hall hinders the ability to teach state-of-the-art communication classes.
"We have communication technology classes in classrooms incapable of handling technology," Keyton said. "We are a social science and we should be teaching students in a lab."
The aging Bailey Hall elevator has a distinct grind, much like that of an old car stopping abruptly for a red light.
"I was stuck on it one time only for five minutes, but it kind of freaked me out," Russo said.
Aside from old elevators and animal visitors, Russo has one other problem with Bailey Hall.
At the Edwards Campus, she can use facilities equipped with state-of-the-art technology to enhance students' learning. This method of teaching is not possible in 105 year-old Bailey Hall, which offers only chalkboards and retro overhead projectors.
Russo, who teaches communication technology classes at Bailey and at the Edwards campus, must have two different lesson plans for the same class.
Jim Modig, director of design and construction management, has the challenge of reversing the trend of the increasing backlog of maintenance projects the University has neglected. Modig is available for late evening and weekend emergency meetings, which means it is not uncommon to work 60 to 70 hours a week.
Shifting structure
Over at Wescoe Hall, no one has had to call animal control, but trying to walk around the first floor without falling or receiving a bump on the head has been a problem.
A running joke among KU students is that one day Wescoe Hall will slide downhill and collide with Malott Hall.
What is not a laughing matter is that Wesco is shifting.
Ethan Schmidt, a graduate teaching assistant in the English department, has experienced the trials and tribulations of having an office on the first floor of Wescoe Hall.
According to documentation submitted to the Kansas Board of Regents, Wescoe Hall's first floor soils have shifted as much as six inches.
"If you rolled a cart with a computer on it chances are it would fall off," Schmidt said about the heavening floors.
floor
has risen
Even if you avoid tripping on a raised portion of the floor, you still might receive a bump on the head if you're not careful. The
in certain
in certain areas to such an extent the walls are being pushed into the ceiling. This has caused light fixtures to fall out, which is evident by the numerous holes in the ceiling.
Randy Killingsworth, 11 custodian at the University for 13 years, says yes.
Is Wesco Hall the most dilapidated building on campst is?
"It's definitely the wors't building I've worked in and I've been here awhile," Killingswor th said.
Aside from uneven floors and falling light fixtures, Wesc oe Hall has water problems.
Dorice Elliott, associa te professor of English, said wi hen she makes a trip to the first floor, she always watches her step.
"Often times you walk around the first floor and there are e buckets in the middle of the floor from the leaks." Elliott sa id.
Richard Bond, chairman of the Kansas Board Regents, understands the University is in a difficult position.
A growin a problem
But he said the board is hopeful it will be able to better address the problem next year.
Eric Trompeter, Atchison sophomore, works on a crossword while he waits for his speech class to start in 103 Bailey Hall on Monday afternoon. Bailey Hall, built in 1900, is still waiting for $1.5 million worth of documented maintenance work. According to the Kansas Board of Regents guidelines, Bailey Hall is a deficient building and is in need of minor repairs and limited replacement of components based on age or performance.
"$2.9 million is a drop in the bucket," Bond said of the yearly allocations the University gets for deferred maintenance
NATION
Elliott and other KU faculty, staff and students who are inconvenienced by leaky roofs and other maintenance problems should look for things to get worse before they get better.
Every year, the University loses ground because the annual deterioration of buildings exceeds the amount of state funds the University gets for maintenance.
Modig said a standard formula for determining the deterioration of existing buildings each year is two percent of value. By that yardstick, the Uni versity would need $14.6 million just to pay for the 2 percent deterioration of a facility valued at $733.4 million, the total value of all campus buildings.
Because KU got only $2.9 million in state funds this ye ar, and can expect about the sane next year, the costs of maintenance projects deferred because of lack of funds would go up about $11.7 million each year.
— Edited by Kim Sweet Rubenstein
This type of attitude earned the men of Beta Theta Pi a 3.43 average GPA in the fall, higher than all greek chapters at the University.
Although these factors could be possible reasons why females have higher GPAs, some think the statistic has little meaning.
Report of grenade investigated
Even though they are outnumbered, fraternity men address academics as well. Beta Theta Pi fraternity, 1425 Tennessee St., is study-oriented, said Stephen Bryant, Wichita junior.
"We respect the study space 24/7." he said. "If there's ever a disturbance, you just say 'study hall' and they take their business somewhere else."
Bryant was still aware of the average GPA among women at the University. He said he noticed many women at the University were education majors and thorough in their studies.
In the fall, there were 352 more sorority women than fraternity men. Last fall, there were 505 more sorority women than fraternity men, according to the scholarship report.
"It doesn't seem to be an important difference," said David Dewar, assistant director of the humanities and western civilization program. "It's essentially a 'B' for both of them."
WASHINGTON — The Secret Service was investigating a report yesterday that a hand grenade was thrown at the stage during President Bush's speech in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
EVERYTHING BUT ICE
The Associated Press
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
GPAs
After Bush left Georgia on yesterday, the Secret Service was informed by Georgian authorities of a report that a device, possibly a hand grenade, had been thrown within 100 feet of the stage during Bush's speech, hit someone in the crowd and fell to the ground, Secret Service spokesman Jonathan Cherry said.
Bush was returning to the United States late yesterday after a four-country trip. He was the first American president to visit Georgia.
kansan.com
The student newspaper of the University of Kansas
According to the report, a Georgian security officer picked up the device and removed it from the area. The Secret Service had not seen the device as of yesterday evening, Cherry said. It has agents in Tbilisi working with the FBI, State Department and Georgian authorities to investigate the report.
student
perspective
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