THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VOL. 116 ISSUE 97 ▼ TUITION RATES
Cheaper tuition, at a price
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2006
Nonresident students in Kansas could see cheaper tuition provided they agree to stay in Kansas for five years after they graduate.
BY FRED A. DAVIS III
favis@kansan.com
KANSA STAFF WRITE
A proposal by Rep. Tim Owens (R-Overland Park) would add a middle tuition level, the "Kansas commitment rate," to the already existing resident and nonresident tuition levels. Designed for nonresident students, those interested in receiving the middle rate would have to agree to stay in Kansas for five years after graduation. The middle rate would be determined by the Kansas Board of Regents.
The bill is designated in part to help spur the state's economic development and improve the state's intellectual capital by keeping its graduates in Kansas.
According to Owens, the University of Kansas has expressed the most concern of any of the state's Regents schools regarding the bill. Keith Yehle, KU director of government relations, said the University would be concerned about any changes made to the tuition levels by the Legislature. Yehle said such changes to the nonresident levels would have definite financial repercussions for the University.
According to fiscal year 2006 figures, the University has 8,143 nonresident students.
The Kansas Board of Regents, in a written testimony to the House of Representatives Higher Education Committee on Wednesday, expressed its opposition to the bill. The Regents cite the potential fiscal consequences the Kansas commitment rate could have.
In fiscal year 2005, Regents testimony said state universities collected $74 million from nonresident tuition. The board said it could lose anywhere from $17.5 million to $48 million in tuition revenue with the adoption of a middle tuition rate, depending upon what the proposed rates could be.
He said the concerns that have been voiced, for example the possible loss of revenue or the method of tracking graduates after graduation, are all fixable.
Owens said that those figures were speculative and that it was difficult for the Regents to come up with confirmed numbers. He said that he wanted the bill to help the state of Kansas and in no way hurt the state's schools.
Owens suggested putting a cap on the number of students who could use the middle tuition rate, or implementing a pilot program, perhaps for four years, that would provide data to monitor the program.
The bill - HB 2745 - is in the Higher Education Committee.
Edited by Jodi Ann Holopirek
BUSINESS
Jenn Bono/KANSAN
Ray Smith of Spectrum Painting in Topeka coats the ceiling with white paint Wednesday afternoon on the third floor of the Kansas Union. FedEx Kinko's was originally scheduled for completion last fall.
Behind schedule, construction begins
BY MEINLADE RICKETTS
mrickets@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
The sign hanging on the third floor of the Kansas Union where the FedEx Kinko is supposed to be says, "Coming Spring 2006."
Until Monday, that didn't look very promising, with the room empty except for a broom.
Pat Beard, director of building services, said that construction started Monday and estimated that the portion of the construction that the University was responsible for would take about 30 days.
ber/early November completion date that faculty and staff were originally told, the facility may soon be up and running.
Already far past the late Octo-
Megan True/KANSAN
Enter the dragon
SEE CONSTRUCTION ON PAGE 4A
Students file out of the Spencer Museum of Art Wednesday afternoon. The museum has an exhibit featuring Asian textiles that will be displayed until May 28.
BELIEFS
Cartoon controversy
BY NICOLIE KELLEY
nkelley@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
When the issue of disrespecting a religion and the issue of freedom of speech clash, the real issue of tolerance is brought to light.
"The editors are obviously trying to insult Muslims," said Ali Agha, Paola senior. "This kind of racism is being all too
Recent riots of many Islamic supporters protesting cartoons, first published in a Danish newspaper in September and later reprinted by others in Europe and the United States, depicting the Prophet Muhammad has people asking if the press has gone too far.
Discussions, riots surround depictions of Muhammad
The University Daily Kansan has decided not to print any of the cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. These cartoons, however, bring up important free expression and religious issues, and we think it's important that you be able to find the cartoons if you
VIEW THE CARTOONS IN QUESTION
evident and all too tolerated these days."
The Muslim religion doesn't allow any depiction of the prophet to be produced, and many consider any representa-
wish. Although the images will not be posted on our Web site, you can find an active link to the cartoons on Kansan.com. To read commentary on the issue, turn to today's opinion page on 7A. Monday's opinion page will provide another perspective.
tions of Muhammad to be blasphemous. One of the cartoons showed the turban of Muhammad shaped as a bomb.
WWW.KANSAN.COM
BUSINESS
SEE CARTOON ON PAGE 4A
Upscale eatery relocates near bars
BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
The Bottleneck and Last Call started sharing New Hampshire Street with the high-end, high-income Hobbs Taylor Lofts late last year. Now another high-end establishment is moving into the neighborhood.
Last Saturday, Pachamama's restaurant opened at Eighth and New Hampshire streets with 13,000 square feet to work with. A restaurant in Lawrence since 1999, it chose the Hobbs Taylor Lofts area to tap into a larger foot-traffic market.
It was also attracted to the new lofts, but the owner said the restaurant wasn't trying to shake up the neighborhood.
"We're not going that far above and beyond what everyone else is doing, trying to be pretentious or anything," Pachamama's owner and executive chef Ken Baker said. "We're definitely fine dining, but no white tablecloths. Dress is casual."
In contrast to the local bar scene and late hours that the street typically keeps, the brand-new Pachamama's stands out. The neon green lights immediately draw attention to the crystal glass effect around the entrance and continue to the elegant glass walls keeping diners in full view of onlookers.
The new world cuisine restaurant opened in Lawrence in 1999 on Quail Creek Drive.
"There wasn't a whole lot of pressure," Baker said of trying to beautify the Hobbs Taylor Lofts area. "Mostly the city dictated outside appearance and stuff, but I wanted it to look outstanding regardless of what anone said."
Although its appearance changes the look of the Hobbs Taylor Lofts' neighborhood, residents of the pricey new high-rise, the remaining available lofts range from $229,000 to $489,000, said a makeover wasn't necessary.
"We were not hoping that would clean this up," Hobbs resident Marian Hukle said of Pachamama's. "There's total charm over here."
Hukle, program coordinator at the Division of Biological Sciences, said she was pleasantly indifferent to the new restaurant.
"I see they have a pretty nice bar," Hukle said. "It's like, 'Oh hon let's go have a cocktail,' and we could walk across the street. But we really don't talk like that. It's more like, 'Let's go to Free State for a beer.'"
Hukle's move from the West side of Lawrence to the Hobbs lofts had nothing to do with Pachamama's.
"They had a quote in the paper saying that they were moving here because of this building," Hukle said. "We didn't move here because of Pachamama's. We didn't even know they were going to be here."
Today's weather
SEE PACHAMAMA'S ON PAGE 4A
New football facility named for donors Chancellor Robert Hemenway approved the new facility's name, which will honor Dana Anderson and Tom Kivisto,the primary donors. PAGE 18
KU-MU: Reasons to hate Missouri In case you need more reasons to hate Mizzou, sports columnist Michael Phillips adds fuel to the Border showdown with an A-Z list of reasons no one should root for the cross state rival. PAGE 1B
GAMEDAY: KU-MU
Index
The Kansan breaks down Saturday's Border showdown in Allen Fieldhouse. If the redhot 'Hawks can stop Missouri guard Thomas Gardner, they could continue their streak to 9 straight victories. PAGE BB
Comics...5A
Classifieds...6A
Crossword...5A
Horoscopes...5A
Opinion...7A
Sports...1B
All contents, unless stated otherwise,
© 2006 The University Dally Karsan
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