NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN INSIDENEWS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11.2005
Commission suggests KU gain maximum years of accreditation The Higher Learning Commission recommended yesterday that the University be accredited for the next 10 years. The process is necessary for universities to gain federal funding. The chancellor was happy with the report. PAGE 1A
Buildings show wear and tear
Commission suggests KU gain maximum years of accreditation
Some of the University's building's are falling into deep disrepair, but allocations from the state budget to cover deferred maintenance barely scratch the surface when it comes to repairs. PAGE 1A
Are women smarter than men?
Are women smarter than men? According to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, University of women's Fall 2004 grade point average was 3.04, whereas men's average PAGE 1A
Dane cyclist aims for winners podium
Renovated Eldridge Hotel reopens today
After being closed since January for refurbishing, Lawrence's historical Eldridge Hotel, 701 Massachusetts St., is back in business. The reopening includes the restaurant and bar. The business's new employees include some KU students. PAGE 2A
Brian Williams, Ronne, Denmark sophomore, will compete in the National Collegiate Cycling Association Road National Championships in Lawrence this weekend. His coach, Chris Hess, said he expected jensen to place in the top three. PAGE 3A
Students create common area Art students have turned an area in the Art and Design Building, known as the Sub Base, into a private studio to sculpt in. PAGE 4A
Students create common area
Ads promote Lawrence as travel destination
The Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau has launched a new advertising campaign in the newspapers of 12 Midwestern cities that promotes the city as a travel destination. The ads identify Lawrence as a winter golf destination and romantic getaway. PAGE 4A
INSIDEOPINION
Column: Subjugation of women root of Africa's AIDS crisis Mindy Osborne talks about the AIDS crisis in Africa and specifically, how mistreatment of women is at the heart of the problem. She says President Bush's moral high ground on the issue does not help the problem either. PAGE 9A
Column: Quit your whining, be more optimistic about life Bob Johnson says that we all need to look at the brighter side of life and quit whin ing, especially with people such as Andy Marso to look to who display an unqualified amount of strength in their lives through devastating hardships. PAGE 9A
INSIDEKULTURE
Going potluck
Group dinners serve as a gathering place for KU students and Lawrence residents interested in forming close-knit relationships. Some go beyond just eating together and choose to live together in housing co-ops. PAGE 10A
INSIDESPORTS
Mustaches, don't fail us now
snatches, don't I am us now
The Kansas baseball team has won six
of its last seven games and heads to
Springfield, Mo., Friday. Will the team's
new look work its magic against
Missouri? PAGE 1B
Football team to sport new blue
With adidas as the new uniform provider, the lajawawk football players will be wearing royal blue jerseys and helmets next season. Still undetermined — or unannounced — are what color the pants will be and what the alternate jerseys will be. PAGE 1B
How to enjoy watching pro basketball
**Column:** How to enjoy watching pro basketball.
So the Final Four came and went, sans Kansas. What's a jayhawk basketball junkie to do? Travis Robinett says follow the ex-jayhawks in the NBA. PAGE 1B
Destiny Frankenstein earns Big 12 Player of the Week honors The junior shortstop and team co-captain earned honors this week after leading the Kansas softball team to 2-1 this week. The team continues to prepare for the Big 12 Conference this week. PAGE 1B
Texas keeps ranking despite losses to Kansas
Baylor sits atop the Big 12 Conference baseball standings once again this week.
Despite Texas' series loss to Kansas last weekend, the Longhorns remain No. 3 overall in the big 12. PAGE 2B
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LAWRENCE
Eldridge Hotel reopens
BY ADAM LAND
aland@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Workers finished cleaning and polishing the restored Eldridge Hotel, 701 Massachusetts St., yesterday.
After a six-month hiatus, the hotel will reopen at 4 p.m. today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, said W. Randy English, general manager. The grand opening will be held next fall in about September or October, he said.
he said.
The hotel has stood at that spot downtown since 1855, when it was the Free State Hotel. The hotel was burned a year later by pro-slavery forces, but the hotel was rebuilt by Colonel Shalor Eldridge, where the hotel gets its name. The hotel was burned in 1863 by William Quantrill, and, once again, was rebuilt by Eldridge, according to the hotel's Web site, www.eldridgehotel.com.
tel.com.
The Eldridge stood as Lawrence's best hotel until 1925, when it began to deteriorate. Local business owners renovated the hotel, which lasted until the late 1960s. With falling revenues and the rise of the motel, the Eldridge closed its doors as a hotel in 1970. The hotel became apartments until 1985, when it was restored to a hotel by a developer.
Management changed hands a few times, and the hotel was purchased in 2004 by investors led by Mitchell and Susan Chaney and Bobby Douglass.
Kellv Hutsell/KANSAN
Ten, the new restaurant in the renovated Eldridge Hotel at 701 Massachusetts St., is ready for the grand opening. Finishing touches were going on throughout the hotel in preparation for the ribbon-cutting today at 4 p.m.
The new owners closed the hotel and restaurant in January 2004, and will reopen both again this week.
The new restaurant and renovations will bring in younger students, said Katie Chaney, Brownsville, Texas, junior, and daughter of two Eldridge owners.
"It's a lot like anything else, can't do anything ahead of time," said Bobby Douglass, part-owner of the hotel and former KU football quarterback. "It would be a little easier if the hotel didn't open also."
Opening an almost brand new restaurant, bar and hotel all at the same time can be stressful.
"It's just good American food." Chaney said. "All of the food is reasonably priced."
Although both the 48-room hotel and the restaurant are opening this week, the restaurant will open a day later. The restaurant prepared practice meals for some of the staff yesterday, and would do so again today. Douglass said.
The break was needed to create a seamless transition, Douglass said.
Customers and students will be able to have many different dining options, ranging from the simple to more elaborate meals.
"I think the renovations are great," Chaney said. "It added a lot of energy to the place."
"I It's just good American food. All of the food is reasonably priced."
Katie Chaney Brownsville, Texas, junior
When the restaurant does open it will offer about 50 dishes, which include appetizers, salads and entrees. Meals can range from a hamburger to a parmesan-crusted filet. The restaurant has an all-new interior.
Fifty employees, many students included, have been hired to staff the restaurant, now called Ten, and the bar, still called the Jayhawker. The restaurant can seat about 140, and the bar can seat about 80. Douglass said. Renovations expanded the bar by about 30 percent, he
said.
All room service for the hotel will go through the restaurant, using mostly the same menu as the restaurant. Renovations on the hotel allowed the new owners to refurbish each room with new carpets, furniture and paintings, English said. Although the suites have changed, the renovators did not change the building structurally, he said.
Hotel management hired 25 fulltime employees to staff the hotel. Students are also employed at the hotel, mainly at the reception desk, English said.
With the staff of the restaurant and hotel ready, the Eldridge prepares for a busy first few weeks, English said.
The hotel's management expects today and tomorrow to be a little slow, but during the weekend the hotel will host a wedding reception and the following week is graduation.
— Edited by John Scheirman
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