THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VOL.115 ISSUE 136
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
CATHOLIC CHURCH
Choice surprises Lawrence
Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd from a balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican yesterday. Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, who chose the name of Pope Benedict XVI, is the 265th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
German pope's age among chief concerns
Domenico Stinellis/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY NATE KARLIN
nklarin@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Ask Catholics in Lawrence and many will tell you they didn't expect Joseph Ratzinger to be elected pope.
The College of Cardinals elected Ratzinger of Germany to succeed John Paul II as pope yesterday.
The decision surprised many on campus, including Monsignor Vince Krische of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center.
He said Ratzinger, who turned 78 on Saturday and chose the name Benedict XVI, had a lot of experience, but that he didn't know what to expect from the German pope.
"It'll be interesting to see now his approach to the Third World," he said. "I wonder where he'll go first and what his first speech will be."
He said he did not anticipate a German would be selected as the new pope. He thought the new pope would have come from a Latin-American or Third-World country, rather than from Europe, he said.
He said Ratzinger's international recognition, however, probably helped him earn votes from his fellow cardinals.
Krische also said he thought Ratzinger's fluency in Italian helped his case. His strong fluency in Italian could benefit the Romans who listen to him, he said. Ratzinger is also fluent in
"I was worried because he was so old."
Lauren Grabowsky
Dallas freshman
nine other languages, Krische said.
Ratzinger would continue to develop the relationship between Christians and members of other religions, he said.
The new pope's old age was the general concern among students.
"I was worried because he was so old." Lauren Grabowsky,
Dallas freshman. said.
She said she didn't want Ratzinger to have as short of a reign as Pope John Paul II's predecessor, Pope John Paul I, who died 33 days after his election.
Kate Phillips, Lansing junior, was also concerned about Ratzinger's age.
"He's going to die soon and then they're going to have to go through all this again," she said
But she was more concerned about Ratzinger's values, which she heard were the most conservative of all the candidates, she said. She wished the cardinals had elected a more progressive pope, she said.
PROFILE
SEE POPE ON PAGE 6A
Coming out buoys Rundle
BY JASON SHAD
jshaad@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
People keep telling Mike Rundle that he must feel as though a great weight is off his shoulders. But the city commissioner and former mayor said he didn't feel that way. He announced he was gay because he had no secrets to keep.
"When people say that, I imagine a big slab of concrete or something on my shoulders, but I didn't feel like that," Rundle said. "I wasn't ashamed of being gay and I didn't think it had to be out there for me to be accepted."
During his State of the City Address last week, Rundle, 51, announced for the first time publicly that he was gay.
"People have responded with extreme enthusm as," Rundle said. "To use the popular expression: It's been a trip."
Since the meeting, Rundle has received many e-mails and phone messages from people saying they were proud of his announcement.
Rundle, who also works as a shift manager at the Community Mercantile Co-op, said he had not publicly announced his sexuality because he was in the process of coming out to his family.
Rundle
But on the night before his
State of the City Address at City Call, Rundle made an "intuitive and organic" decision to announce that he was proud of serving as Lawrence's first known
gay mayor.
Rundle attended the University of Kansas from 1971 to 1976 and earned a bachelor's degree in human development and family life.
He said he never told others he was gay in college, adding that he was reserved about his sexuality. There were no gay and lesbian organizations like Queers and Allies, he said.
"I was pretty closed," Rundle said. "Acceptance was just surfacing at that time."
His decision to announce he was gay was prompted by "whisper campaigns" about his sexuality. Rundle said people had made derogatory comments about him in past elections. After voters passed a state constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage, he felt he needed to make a statement, he said.
"I wanted to say I'm gay, it's
SEE RUNDLE ON PAGE 6A
Mike Rundle, Lawrence city commissioner, listens to a city resident complain about roundabouts at last night's city commission meeting in City Hall. Rundle announced he was gay at last week's meeting. He said his coming out seemed more life-changing to citizens than to himself.
Amanda Kim Stairrett/KANSAN
NCAA POLICY
Screenshot contributed by gamespot.com
VIRTUAL GAME. real dollars
By Kellis Robinett krobinett@kansan.com
Student athletes miss out on multimillion dollar video game industry, while everyone else involved gets rich
Someone other than Bill Self is coaching the Kansas men's basketball team.
The only people in the game who aren't getting paid are the ones making the baskets: the
With the push of a button, he's telling Aaron Miles to throw an alley-oop pass to Wayne Simien. He's commanding the Kansas defense to switch from man to zone.
After each Jayhawk basket, he hears cheers, the Kansas fight song and a screaming Dick Vitale.
This combination of virtual reality and college athletics makes millions of dollars for EA Sports, tens of thousands for the colleges themselves and thousands for select college coaches.
Who is this mystery coach? It's anyone who owns a copy of EA Sports' "NCAA March Madness 2005." The game allows gamers to act as the coach of any NCAA team.
NCAA rules prohibit college players from receiving any kind of compensation, including licensing their names and appearances for profit. To get around this video games create college stars with the same number athletic
student athletes.
attributes height and weight as their real-life counterparts. The players' facial features and
names are not
used, but the games offer the option of adding in a player's name manually. Several companies that are not authorized by the NCAA even sell memory cards that automatically insert actual player names into every roster.
Some student athletes think they are being exploited.
"That's borderline stealing," senior forward Wayne Simimien said. "If you can just type in the player's name, then it's right up there with Napster, if you ask me."
Sports games drive EA
During the past decade, Electronic Arts, the parent company of EA Sports, has become a video game monster.
The Redwood, Calif., company is the largest video
game producer in the world and produces 70 titles a year, according to cnn.com. It makes games such as "The Sims" and "Medal of Honor."
But its true moneymakers are its sports games.
Today's weather
SEE VIRTUAL ON PAGE 5A
A/1 contents, unless stated otherwise.
© 2005 The University Daily Kansan
KUlture
The annual 4-20 storv
The Lied Center is the University's center for culture. Featuring concerts, plays, speakers and special events, there's something for everyone. Read on for more about its history and the people who work there. PAGE 10A
Mark Creamer and Thomas Trower are fighting the stoned Quixote fight. The two have been promoting marijuana legalization for 15 years. PAGE 3A
Kansas Relays
7
A special section will accompany tomorrow's University Daily Kansan, previewing the Kansas Relays. In it will be profiles, features and a copy of the weekend's schedule.
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Rival face-off
b
Kansas and Wichita State play tonight, with the winner taking the lead in the season-long series. With a victory, Kansas can beat its rival and snap a four-game losing streak. PAGE 1B
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