CAMPUS
KU workers put rocks between an area homeless man and the hard place where he used to sleep. Page 3A
SPORTS
Kansas improves to 8-17 in the Big Eight after beating Rockhurst last night 11-3. Page 1B
PARTLY CLOUDY
High 60° Low 50°
Weather: Page 2A
Weather: Page 2A
KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TOPEKA, KS 66612
VOL.104.NO.148
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
ADVERTISING 864-4358
TUESDAY, MAY 2, 1995
(USPS 650-640)
NEWS:864-4810
Death toll reaches 139
The Associated Press
Developments in the Oklahoma City bombing:
THE SKETCH: The FBI released a new sketch of suspect John Doe No. 2, giving a side view and described him as very tan and muscular.
THE SCENE. Rescuers gave up the search for signs of life and plan to switch to heavy machinery to remove bodies from the rubble, Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating said. Machinery may be brought in today.
THE TOLL: The death toll reached 139, including 15 children. About 40 people still are missing.
THE INVESTIGATION: FBI agents sought two men who stayed at an Arizona motel near the one used by suspect Timothy McVeigh in recent months. They also may have spent the night of
Oklahoma CITY
LOSION
the bombing in a motel 180 miles from Oklahoma City.
Near Junction City, where the Ryder truck that carried the bomb was rented, agents searched woods and sent divers into a lake looking for evidence that materials for the bomb were mixed nearby and tools and equipment were thrown in the water. Investigators say they found a receipt for one ton of ammonium nitrate in Terry Nichols' house in Herington. The receipt allegedly bore MeVeigh's fingerprint. Nichols, a friend of MeVeigh's is being held as a material witness.
THE BUILDING: The federal buildings' fate is in doubt. Page 7A
Watkins receives low bid
By Virginia Marghelm Kansan staff writer
Kansan staff writer
The Watkins Memorial Health Center expansion project is under budget—way under budget.
The lowest bid for construction, which the University of Kansas is required by law to accept, was almost $1 million below the University's original construction estimate of $4,969,000, said Allen Wiechert, University architect. The bid, which was $2.8 million, meant that KU had the money to add seven extra projects to the expansion, such as remodeling some existing space at the center and putting a canopy over the entrance.
But when all seven alternate construction options were added, the construction cost was still about $700.00 under budget.
This made the good news even better for the University because it was able to hold back more contingency funds than originally were planned. Contingency funds are funds
"There's an advantage for all your younger brothers and sisters "
sisters."
Allen Wiechert University architect
reserved for unfoforeseen costs that arise during construction. The leftover money also made it possible to purchase a new X-ray machine for Watkins Wiechert said.
And with all that added in, the budget still is about $500,000 under budget, Wiechert said.
For future KU students, that means paying less money in student fees
than was originally anticipated. Student Senate approved a $15 dollar a semester student fee to help finance the project. The fee will start this fall and will continue as long as there are outstanding bonds - revenue bonds that will be sold to investors to help raise money for the expansion - said outgoing Senate treasurer Chad Browning.
The University originally planned to pay the bonds back in 15 years. But because the project is under budget, it can be completed in 10 years, Wiechert said. This means that the student fee will be more short-lived than was planned.
The lowest bid was made by RMT Construction Company Inc. of Olathe. The contract officially will be awarded after enough bonds are sold. The sale of bonds will begin on May 10, Wiechert said. Construction will begin after the contracts clear, which could be as soon as mid-June, he said.
Construction is scheduled to be completed in two years.
It's all down 'Hill' from here
The 1995 University of Kansas Commencement Exercises
■ When: Sunday, May 14. Process begins at 2:30 p.m.
Program begins at 3:30 p.m.
■ Where: Memorial Stadium.
■ Graduates need to meet on campus behind the Campanile at 2 p.m.
In the event of inclement weather, call the KU Information Center at 864-3506 to find out whether the ceremony will be moved to 5 p.m. at Allen Field House.
Changes in ceremony saves time and energy
Kansan staff report
Organizers of KU commencement exercises hope to get the ceremony under way a little faster this year. To accomplish this, graduates will march down Campanile Hill in two lines instead of one.
Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, chairwoman of commencement traditions committee, said the change was made to help decrease the time it took for graduates to march down Campanile Hill and into Memorial Stadium.
George McCleary, chairman of the commencement logistics committee, said that in the past one line of two students abreast would walk down the Hill. This year there will be two lines of two students abreast.
McCleary said that the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences graduates would be walking on the east sidewalk and sitting on the east side of the stadium. Graduates in the professional schools and master's and doctoral students will walk down the Hill on the west sidewalk and will be sitting on the west side of the stadium.
The commencement committees also will provide a bus service to make parking at the stadium less of a hassle.
McCleary said a bus route would run from 11:30 am to 6 pm. The route will run from the Kansas Union to the Chi Omega fountain to the Burge Union to Lewis Hall then to the stadium. The bus will stop approximately every 15 minutes at each stop.
McCluskey-Fawcett said the procession needed to be speeded up because people with young children and the elderly have trouble sitting in the sun for two and a half hours.
Commencement is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 14. According to a University Relations news release, about 4,600 graduates will participate.
If it rains, commencement exercises will be moved to 5 p.m. at Allen Field House.
For information on special assistance for the commencement ceremony, the Student Assistance Center at 864-4071 can provide help.
Surveying the scenery
From the sixth floor of Fraser Hall to the walkways overlooking Potter Lake, Mount Oread offers a host of scenic views.
Page 8A
Ooh that Burge smell, can't you smell that smell?
By Brian Vandervilet
Kansan staff writer
Last week, a broken seal on a grease trap at the Burge Union was creating smells that left employees covering their noses and wondering about the sewer-like odors.
Union goers turning up noses after grease trap's seal broke
"It reeked at times," said Chris Cooper, Hays senior, who was sitting in the third-floor lobby yesterday. "It was unpleasant in this building — people left. At times, I wished I could leave."
The strong-smelling, 20-gallon grease trap is used to collect grease from the cafeteria's many pots and pans. The trap, located in the mechanical room on the Union's bottom level, is also within feet of a building air-conditioning unit.
"The air handler was sucking the odor and circulating it throughout the building," said Wayne Pearse, Union building engineer. "You couldn't print what it smelled like. Even though it was nontoxic, it was a
"You couldn't print what it smelled like. Even though it was nontoxic,it was a really terrible smell."
Wayne Poarse Union building engineer
Maintenance workers began searching for the problem April 25, Pearse said. At first, the grease trap had not been suspected because there had never been problems with it before. The Union has had odor complaints in the past, but the problem usually was dried-out pipes that could be fixed by adding water.
really terrible smell."
Dwayne Warrington, maintenance supervisor, said the workers had searched the pipes, drainage pumps
and air handlers for the smell's origin. They even suspected that an animal had died in an air-conditioning unit or that someone had exploded a stink bomb, he said.
The smell was the worst Thursday, when the broken seal was discovered. Despite turning off the air handlers, the rancid smell of old grease spread through the Union as the trap's lid was removed so workers could clean it and replace the seal.
"It smelled like sewage," said Michele Kessler, an employee on the first level of the Union. She said that last week was not the first time the Burge had smelled poorly.
Pearse said he understood why people had complained about the odor.
J
"It's very rare to have any problems with grease traps," said Pearse. "But when you do, everybody knows about it."
Jessica Willis, Omaha Neb., junior and employee at the Union Placement Center, said the worst was when the odor was combined with a deodorant used by maintenance to pacify the smell.
"That was a very strong smell," she said. "It's not like it was overpowering, it was just annoying."