THE UNIVERSITY DAHY KANSAN
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Editor-in-chief Hannah Wise
NEWS MANAGEMENT
Managing editors Sarah McCabe Nikki Wentling
ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT
Business manager Elise Farrington
Sales manager Jacob Snider
NEWS SECTION EDITORS
News editor
Allison Kohn
Associate news editor Joanna Hlavacek
Sports editor Pat Strathman
Entertainment and special sections editor Laken Rapier
Associate sports editor Trevor Graff
Associate entertainment and special sections editor Kayla Banzet
Copy chiefs
Megan Himman
Taylor Lewis
Brian Sisk
Design chiefs
Ryan Benedick
Katie Kutsko
Designers Trey Conrad Sarah Jacobs
Opinion editor Dylan Lysen
Photo editor Ashleigh Lee
Web editor
Natalie Parker
ADVISERS
PAGE 2
General manager and news adviser Malcolm Gibson
Sales and marketing adviser
Jon Schlitt
Contact Us
editor@kansan.com
www.kansan.com
Newsroom: (785) 766-1491
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Twitter: UDK_News
Facebook: facebook.com/thekansa
The University Daily Kansas (ISSN 0746-9467) is published daily during the school year except Saturday, Sunday, fall break, spring break and exams and weekly during the summer session including holidays. Annual subscriptions by mail are $250 plus tax. Send address changes to The University Daily Kansas, 2015A Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue.
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 50 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at the Kansan business office, 2015A Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS, 66045.
Check out KUJH-TV on kongology of Kansas Channel 31 in Lawrence for more on what you've read in today's Kansan and other news. Also see KUJH's website at tvku.edu
KANSAN MEDIA PARTNERS
KHK is the student voice in radio. Whether it's rock 'n' roll or reggae, sports or special events, KHK 9.0.7 is for you.
2000 Dole Human Development Center
1000 Sunnyside Avenue Lawrence, Kan.
66045
What's the weather, Jay?
Weather.com
.
Wednesday
Sunny. Zero percent chance of rain. Wind W at 12 mph.
TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013
HI: 55
LO: 34
Getting warmer!
HI: 64
LO: 47
A few showers. 30 percent chance of rain.Wind S at 14 mph.
Friday
Thursday
HI: 65
LO: 47
Sunny. Zero percent chance of rain. Wind WSW at 8 mph.
Is it finally spring?
At least it's not snowing.
ALENDAR
Tuesday, April 23
WHAT: The Environment & Energy: The Role of Free Enterprise & the Government
WHERE: Dole Institute of Politics
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
ABOUT.What's the proper role of the federal government in protecting the environment? At this free event, former U.S. Congressman Bob Inglis will discuss the question and offer solutions for a long-term, stable energy policy.
Wednesday, April 24
WHAT: Lawrence City Commission meeting
WHERE: City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.
WHEN: 6.35 p.m.
ABOUT: See local government in motion at the City Commission meeting.
WHAT: National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day
WHERE: Wescoe Beach
WHEN: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
ABOUT: Drop off your unused, expired or
unwanted prescription and over-the-counter
drugs for safe disposal.
WHERE: Granada Theater, 1020 Massachusetts St.
WHAT: Bonoho
WHEN: 7 p.m.
ABOUT Jam out to British electronic artist Bonobo live at the Granada. Tickets are $15
NATIONAL
Thursday, April 25
**WHAT:** The State of Art Criticism & Art Blogging with Meg Onil
**WHERE:** Spencer Museum of Art
**WHEN:** 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
**ABOUT:** Join Chicago-based artist and writer Meg Onil in a discussion on the state of art criticism in the Internet age
WHAT: Lawrence Arts & Crafts Group
WHERE: Community Mercantile, 901 Iowa St.
WHEN: 7 to 9 p.m.
ABOUT. Get together with fellow crafters at this on-going event. Bring supplies for crafting.
Friday, April 26
WHAT: Friday Night at the Kino: "Kommissar"
WHERE: Bailey Hall, 318
WHEN: 7 p.m.
ABOUT: Catch this 1967 Soviet film based on short stories by Vasily Grossman.
WHAT: KU School of Music presents "Helianthus"
Grad student team wins design competition
WHERE. Robert Baustian Theatre, 102
Murchv Hall
ABOUT: Hear music students jam out to "Helianthus" at this free event.
WHEN: 6 to 7 p.m.
EMMA LEGAULT elegault@kansan.com
Hundreds of hours of work and one trip to Minneapolis later, Lauren Brown has gained national prestige and a nice chunk of change in her pocket: $9,000 to be exact.
Brown, a graduate student from
Hermitage,
Mo., was a member of the
winning team in the Gerald D.
Hines Student
Urban Design
Contest. The competition
asked 149 teams of five multidisciplinary graduate students to design a development solution for the Downtown East neighborhood in Minneapolis. Finalist teams from Yale, Harvard, Ball State, Purdue and Brown's team, including students from UMKC and K-State, met in Minneapolis on April 10 to present their final solutions and compete for the grand prize of $50,000.
Brown
Lauren Brown and her teammates Kevin Cunningham, Derek Hoetmer, Kylie Harper and Tyler Knott won the Gerald D. Hines Student Design Contest earlier this month in Minneapolis. Brown and her team competed against 149 groups of five graduate students from colleges all over the nation.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
After moving through to the final round, teams had to critically revise their original designs and come prepared with all new boards. For Brown, this meant spending about two months working eight- to 10-hour days, and dedicating her whole spring break working from 8 a.m. to 10 or 11 at night.
what was on our boards."
When they presented to a panel of 11 jurors made up of members of the Urban Land Institute and citizens of Minneapolis, Brown knew they had to be confident in what they had.
"We knew that from all aspects of our project we were going to be looked at through a magnifying glass," she said. "There was a lot more work that went in than just
However, their hard work and bold design changes were ultimately prize-worthy.
"When you do something bold, you take risks and you have to weigh your options," Brown said. "It's always a choice. You always have to leave something out in order to take advantage of something else. Obviously, weighed our options pretty well."
As a part of her competition studio class, Brown gives one or two formal presentations a semester in front of classmates and two to three jurors. Being a part of a prestigious national competition rather than a class presentation meant that the stakes and the nerves were considerably higher.
"It's still intimidating then, but to be in front of 11 people who are nationally, or very well respected and recognized individuals and $50,000 on the line, it's pretty nerve-wracking," Brown said.
In the week and a half leading up to the competition, the team had the opportunity to give four formal mock presentations, which Brown said "helped tremendously."
April 11 consisted of an early breakfast and introduction of the competition, then the teams presented. Brown and her team drew to present first.
"I think that we were all nervous right before, but when we got up there, we nailed it because we had practiced so hard." Brown said. "We felt very confident walking out of there. That was an awesome feeling."
After the 25-minute formal presentation, Brown's team had a four-hour wait followed by a 20-minute question and answer session. The winner was announced almost immediately following the last Q & A.
"The moment was a little bit
anticlimactic." Brown said. "It was almost like, 'Whoa, did that just happen?'
One of her supporters through her journey, Kadim Al Asady, an architecture graduate student from Iraq, said the shock for Brown has been lasting.
"Sometimes when you win, it's not even that great of a feeling because you've exerted so much work," he said. "You realize it after the fact, and I think she's still in that state where she hasn't realized that she won."
Al Asady, who met Brown while tutoring her in 2009, described her as "beyond a perfectionist." He said she was successful because of the hours of hard work she invested in the project.
"It's a direct result of her character and work ethic," he said. "Especially in this profession, you almost have to really exert
that much energy and work into a project for you to accomplish anything. I've yet to see a person do the normal eight-hour day, five days a week and get somewhere."
Although Brown and her team defeated teams from Harvard and Yale, she said they were all congratulatory and supportive of each other. In fact, they spent the evening celebrating together until the clubs closed down.
"We just had the time of our lives," Brown said. "We had a ball."
In addition to networking with other teams, Brown fostered friendships with her team that she hopes will last.
"I actually emailed them this morning," she said. "We were just corresponding about logistics, but I was just like, 'I miss you guys a lot.' They're pretty awesome people."
Brown has a job lined up for the summer in Kansas City, Mo., but is unsure of where she will go or how she will spend the money after graduation. She said she is weighing the options between traveling or studying abroad or practical uses such as paying off loans.
"That's not as fun," she joked.
However, because of her recognition, she has caught the eye of potential employers from coast to coast. She said jurors from Los Angeles and Chicago approached her after the competition.
"It's a great kick start for her career," Al Asady said. "To be an honorable mention in a competition, that's a huge deal, let alone winning it."
Edited by Madison Schultz
CRIME
Accused poisoner goes to trial
ASSOCIATED PRESS
OXFORD, Miss. — Investigators haven't found any ricin in the house of a Mississippi man accused of mailing poisoned letters to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator and a local judge, according to testimony Monday from an FBI agent.
Agent Brandon Grant said that a search of Paul Kevin Curtis' vehicle and house in Corinth, Miss., on Friday did not turn up ricin or ingredients for the poison. A search of Curtis' computers has found no evidence so far that he researched making ricin.
"There was no apparent ricin, castor beans or any material there that could be used for the manufacturing, like a blender or something," Grant testified. He speculated that Curtis could have thrown away the processor. Grant
Through his lawyer, Curtis has denied involvement in letters sent to Obama, Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, and a Lee County, Miss., judge. The letters, bearing a Memphis, Tenn., postmark, were detected beginning April 15.
said computer technicians are now doing a "deep dive" on the suspect's computers after initially finding no "dirty words" indicating Curtis had searched for information on ricin.
Curtis' lawyer said in court that someone may have framed Curtis, suggesting that a former co-worker with whom Curtis had an extended exchange of angry emails may have set him up.
Still, Grant testified that authorities believe that they have the right suspect.
"Given the right mindset and the Internet and the acquisition of material, other people could be
involved. However, given information right now, we believe we have the right individual" he said.
Grant said lab analysis shows the poison is a crude form that could have been created by grinding castor beans in a food processor or coffee grinder.
Federal investigators believe the letters were mailed by Curtis, an Elvis impersonator who family members say suffers from bipolar disorder.
The letters also contained lines from Curtis's Facebook page.
Grant testified Friday that authorities tried to track down the sender of the letters by using a list of Wicker's constituents with the initials KC, the same initials in the letters. Grant said the list was whittled from thousands to about 100. He said Wicker's staff recognized Curtis' name as someone who had written the senator before.
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