KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 / NEWS / 3A
Chris Neal/KANSA Tiffany Lau, a senior from Wichita, jumps over a hay bail as she trains for the Next Level Games competition this Saturday. Lau and other KU students, including three track athletes, will be competing in the "Strongman Challenge."
STRONG (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
having experience flipping tires or pulling trucks.
"I have no basis to go by, besides going as hard as I can," Brian Bishop, a junior thrower from Cantrall, Ill., said.
Bishop said he's been sticking to his track workouts, but adding more repetitions to weightlifting in preparation for Saturday.
Dan Hitman, a sophomore javelin thrower from Ocean Township, N.J. said he's approach
ing Saturday's "strong man" events like any other weightlifting event — he'll simply try his hardest and have fun.
"It's kind of a weird thing to be having a good time with," he said, "but we're definitely a different breed."
Single competitors pay $50 and teams pay $75 to register. The male and female champions will each win $200, and team champions win $150.
From 1:30 to 3 p.m. anyone can sign a waiver and try one event with a Next Level instructor for $5 or three events for $10.
For more information about the competition, go to nextlevelrising. com. To avoid paying a late registration fee ($10 for single competitors and $15 for teams) e-mail Next Level Fitness through the same website.
Edited by Lisa Curran
REGENTS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
five to six members by the end of this week.
Most of Gray-Little's presentation, however, concerned steps taken to increase transparency of Kansas Athletics.
She hired a forensic auditor to focus not just on what is being spent, but the reasoning behind the spending. Brenda Muirhead, previously with Legislative Post Audit, will report to the University of Kansas' director of internal audit, Don Holland Jr.
Gray-Little discussed changes to Kansas Athletics' Board of Directors. She removed the athletics director as the head of the board in August and said the board's bylaws would be permanently amended to reflect this change.
Gray-Little's report indicated that board membership is being looked at, too. She said the University was considering adding members from outside the college, something the regents have pushed for.
"Outside eyes and outside perspectives are healthy." Scherrer said. "She said she's considering this. I urged her to do so because I think it's important."
The report said the University reserved the right to pursue civil litigation against those involved in the tickets scandal uncovered in May. Two former employees, Brandon Simmons and Jason
Jeffries, have so far pleaded guilty. Last week, the two requested and received delays in sentencing by the U.S. District Court in Wichita in order to help prosecutors build cases against others involved in the scandal.
A. Drue Jennings served as interim athletics director and joined then-Chancellor Robert Hemenway on a two-person search committee that eventually chose Lew Perkins.
"Outside eyes and perspectives are healthy."
Jennings, who also led the search committee that selected Gray-Little as chancellor, said he had not been contacted by the University to join its latest committee. Jennings, however, said he would love to help.
Though he described Perkins as exceptional is his fundraising ability and overall presence.
FORMER INTERIM AD, REGENTS CHAIR WEIGHS IN ON SEARCH
In response to the scandal, the University changed its points system for seating at athletic events. Purchasers can now see how many points occupants of other seats have.
"Of course," Jennings said when asked if he would accept an invite. "I would serve the University in any way I can."
GARY SCHERRER Board of Regents, chairman
Jennings said
Jennings said he expects a much different personality being chosen.
"Some of these issues such as the tickets matter and questions that have
arisen suggest someone relatively squeaky clean and willing to forego any appearance of impropriety being good for the position."
Jennings called someone with a lower profile being the "change everyone is eager for." He said he expected midwestern roots to play a factor in the search, but not to be the sole condition for landing the job.
Scherrier said it would be odd to construct candidates before the search even begins.
"It's silly saying he or she should be from here or he or she should do that," Scherrer said. "It's best to find an athletics director with talent, management skills and one that knows the culture of the University well."
Edited by Abby Davenport
DESIGN(CONTINUED FROM 1A)
"You never really know what you're going to go into at work," Jones said. "That's kind of exciting about it."
Jones is one of 12 architecture and engineering students who work for design and construction management, the University department responsible for many of the remodeling and renovation projects across campus.
The department has designed window replacements for Marvin Hall and the remodeled fourth floor of Anschutz Library. Students contribute regardless of the size or cost of the project.
Chris Neal/KANSAN
This room in Lippincott was renovated in December of 2008 for the Indigenous Nations Studies. The project was designed by KU architecture students.
"It's an opportunity for these students to get out of the classroom and do real world projects," said Wayne Pearse, director of building services.
Students work with full-time licensed professionals and have multiple responsibilities depending on their skill level. Students generally assist in a project's design, cost estimates and building code research.
"It's a great job on campus," said Mark Reiske, associate director of design and construction management. "Students that just go to school don't do a lot of code research. They do very little estimating. All of our students get to do some of that."
The student employees are affordable for the University. Reiske said students started out making $8 an hour; full-time designers would cost more than twice as much, plus benefits.
Janet Getz, an alumnus from Florissant, Mo., started working full time for design and construction
management after graduating in May. She worked with them for two years and said she was excited to now be a full-time employee.
"I'm definitely very lucky", Getz
said. "It's preparing me very well to continue on so that I can hopefully someday become licensed."
— Edited by Sean Tokarz
CAMPUS
'Ties also helps students
BY CARLO RAMIREZ editor@kansan.com
Natural Ties is an organization that gives volunteer students just as much they give. Every Wednesday, at a different location, Natural Ties holds an event to meet with its Lawrence "ties" to eat, laugh and enjoy one another's company.
"It shows people they are just like us," said Erin Atwood, a junior from Topeka and Natural Ties coordinator. "It is also a great social outlet for the ties to get to know other ties."
Natural Ties is a community service organization run by students with assistance from the KU Center for Community Outreach. The organization was founded in 1988 to serve people in Lawrence who have special needs. Specifically, Natural Ties pairs Lawrence residents who have developmental disabilities with KU students for weekly social activities. The special needs adults who attend the events are the "ties" and the volunteers are Each volunteer is paired with a tie and builds relationships with him or her while they volunteer.
Atwood has had her tie, Sam, since her freshman year. Atwood and other volunteers often take their ties to dinner before Wednesday's social event to catch up on the past week. Atwood meets with Sam once a month in addition to their weekly meeting.
The experience of getting to know their ties so well has given many volunteers a valuable new perspective on life.
Tyler Setter, a junior from Overland Park, social chair member and Natural Tie Coordinator credits his first tie, J.T. Turnball, who died during his freshman year, with helping him in his transition from a high school senior to a freshman in college. The loss was emotional for Setter, but Turnball taught him life lessons during their Natural Ties experience.
"Every time I went to pick him up for dinner, he always had a big smile on his face that would cheer
me up." Setter said. "I learned that there is no point to have a negative outlook on life and always have a positive perspective."
His bond with Turnball gave Setter the inspiration to continue with Natural Ties.
"After he died, I knew I wanted to get even more involved." Setter said.
As for the ties, the opportunity to make a friend is a chance they can't wait to take.
"I was part of Best Buddies, and heard about this great program and decided to go for it," said Cole Brown, a two-year Natural Tie member from Lawrence.
Brown also went to the ice cream social held a week ago. He has plenty to look forward to with a Halloween dance and prom in the near future.
Natural Ties invites anyone interested in volunteering to contact them at ntiesku@gmail.com.
LEGISLATION
Edited by Lisa Curran
NYC to boost smoking ban
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — New York City is pursuing a tough new policy that would shoo smokers out of public parks, beaches and even the heart of Times Square — one of the most ambitious outdoor anti-tobacco efforts in the nation.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration and city lawmakers announced Wednesday that they will pursue a broad extension of the city's smoking ban to 1,700 parks and 14 miles of public beaches, plus boardwalks, marinas and pedestrian plazas.
That would mean no smoking in Central Park, no lighting up on the Coney Island boardwalk and putting the cigarettes away if you're lounging on the traffic-free pedestrian plazas in Times Square and Herald Square.
"When New Yorkers and visitors to our city go to the parks and beaches for fresh air, there will actually be fresh air for them to breathe," Bloomberg said at a City Hall news conference.
States and cities from Maine to California have banned smoking in public parks and beaches, but New York is pursuing an especially wide-reaching urban ban. While hundreds of municipalities have outdoor no-smoking laws, the largest city in the nation is seeking to force thousands of acres of parkland as well as some busy city blocks to go smoke-free.
By including pedestrian plazas, the Bloomberg administration is venturing into territory most antitobacco bans leave alone: smoking on the street.
The boundaries of the plazas, in most cases, are sidewalks, bike lanes
and street corners. If the law passes, it would be easy for a smoker to drift from the sidewalk, where smoking is still allowed, into a plaza, where it is not, without realizing.
Lawmakers said the goal is to keep people from smoking inside the plazas, not to trick smokers into getting ticketed.
"The point of this bill isn't Gotcha," said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. "Our goal is not to get a gentleman or a lady who's walking across the street."
The city banned smoking in bars and restaurants in 2003. Smokers, long accustomed to being told they are not welcome, shrugged off the news of a possible outdoor ban Wednesday.
Gene Buelow, who stopped for a smoke in a Times Square pedestrian plaza, said it "wouldn't bother me a bit."