Rush has a new philosophy Brandon Rush started his career at Kansas thinking about his highlight reel but now knows defense is important, too.
TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2007
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOL.117 ISSUE 120
LAKERS 25
12A
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
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AIDS
Shocking statistics prompted two KU students to form a group that focuses on HIV awareness.
3A
The Jayhawks look to pick up a much needed victory when they visit Missouri State tonight. 12A
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
opinion
Check out the Kansans' latest opinion cartoon. 5A
"Hey, at least we're not Manhattan!" JIM Optimist
police
A hit-and-run incident outside Thai House leads to three arrests early Monday morning. 3A
weather
index
Classifieds...6A
Crossword...11A
Horoscopes...11A
Opinion...5A
Sports...12A
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© 2007 The University Daily Kansan
》 NO MONKEYING AROUND
Tree climbers grounded in city parks
BY BETHANY BUNCH
The Tree Climbing Club's first meeting of the semester was cut short by police, who told group members they weren't allowed to climb trees at Lawrence Parks.
An e-mail announcing the club's meeting that was sent out on list serve reached a wider audience than Jon Simon, Tree Climbing Club vice president, realized.
When time came for the first climb of the spring on March 15, a police officer and Fred DeVictor, a Parks and Recreation representative, showed up at Veteran's Park, 19th and Louisiana streets. The Lawrence Police Department was contacted by the Lawrence Parks and Recreation,
which was contacted by someone else, apparently worried about the club's meeting.
The police officer ordered Simon, Lenexa sophomore, who was climbing barefoot and by then 20 feet into the tree, to immediately come down, Simon's friend, Aaron Chavers, Leawood junior, watched.
Like many kids, Simon began climbing trees in his youth. Unlike most adults, however, Simon never stopped. That's why he and President Andrew Flanier started the Tree Climbing Club last fall.
"Apparently cops don't want us to climb trees." Chawers said.
Simon said he was planning on teaching basic beginning tree climbing moves, such as the boost, the
jump and grab, the hanging vine and the rolling dismount.
"We were half kidding about that, though," Simon said in regard to the rolling dismount.
DeVictor said he and the police officer intervened because it was a matter of safety, as well as a liability issue.
The police officer and DeVictor suggested the Tree Climbing Club hold its meetings on the KU campus instead.
Kansan staff writer Bethany Bunch can be contacted at bbunch@kansan.com.
—Edited by Ashley Thompson
The KU Tree Climbing Club is facing an uphill battle with police officers and park officials. Park representatives say that climbing trees in city parks is a liability issue and a matter of public safety.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
LOCAL BUSINESS
Pizzerias vie for slice of pie
Lawrence pizza shops struggle to stay afloat with abundant competition
BY MATT ERICKSON
University of Kansas students looking for a bite of pizza can choose from a wealth of options. But Lawrence pizza restaurants don't have it so easy.
Lawrence's pizza market is crowded with restaurants vying for the affections of hungry students and other residents, making it difficult for some businesses to survive.
The AT&T Yellow Pages lists 16 different restaurants under the "pizza" category in Lawrence and 13 in Topeka. This does not count multiple locations of the same chain restaurant.
Due to Topeka's larger population,
Chris Crockett.
"It's about 10 times more competitive here than in Topeka."
Topeka.
CHRIS CROCKETT
Manager, Glory Days
Pizza
manager of Glory Days Pizza, 4821 Sixth St., called the Lawrence pizza market "flooded." He said the Glory Days restaurant in Lawrence had to struggle much harder to survive than the company's locations in .
"It's about 10 times more competitive here than in Topeka," Crockett said.
has larger population, according to 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, there are more than 9,000 Topeka residents for each Topeka pizza restaurant, while only about 5,000 citizens in Lawrence for each Lawrence pizza restaurant.
Kevin Boryca, owner of Godfather's Pizza, 721 Wakara Drive,
said Godfather's had never made a profit during its seven years in Lawrence before he bought the store about six months ago. He said he finally made a profit last month.
He said the restaurant's location made it difficult for him to attract stu-
SEE PIZZA ON PAGE 3A
CRIME
CRIME KU student injured in Denver shooting
A University of Kansas student and a Lawrence resident were among three people shot in Denver early Monday morning.
Joseph Kuebel, 23, was with fellow KU student Trenton Foster, Lawrence resident lan Dumpert, 22, and Kansas State student John Watt, 22
The group was reportedly boarding the light rail system around 5 a.m., in an area known as Five Points, a neighborhood in downtown Denver.
As the four men left a concert at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom and were waiting to board the light rail, two masked men allegedly approached the group and demanded their wallets. After taking the wallets, the masked men reportedly
began shooting, injuring Kuebel, Dumpert and Watt. Foster was uninjured. Two of the victims — though it was unclear which ones — reportedly ducked behind a ticket booth to avoid the gunfire.
Kuebel, Dumpert and Watt were added to a list of six people shot within 48 hours, and police said they think the attacks may be related. Police called the shootings "brazen attacks" and said they all consisted of the same pattern; the masked men demanded money, the victims gave them their money and the masked men shot them anyway.
No updated condition was available for any of the shooting victims, though none were listed as life-threatening.
—Erick R. Schmidt & Amanda Sellers
» ALTERNATIVE BREAKS
Students get taste of homeless life
BY TYLER HARBERT
Most students would rather spend spring break on a sunny beach or in an exotic foreign country.
Corey Siealff, Madison, Wis., junior, and Andy Whitehead, Leawood freshman, opted to spend their week sleeping on cardboard boxes in an abandoned bus station in downtown Washington D.C., while Jonathan Evenson, Lawrence senior, decided he wanted to clean out flooded houses in Buras, La.
Living homeless for two days and volunteering in crisis areas are just a few activities offered by the Alternative Breaks program, which puts students in service-oriented positions in cities throughout the country.
The Washington D.C. program, in conjunction with the National Coalition for the Homeless, allows students to travel to Washington D.C. and spend several days working in the world's largest homeless
"Being homeless was boring," Stielaff said. "Really boring and cold."
"The goal is to go through the daily struggle that the homeless go through." Sielaff said.
Part of that struggle involves panhandling, eating at soup kitchens, finding places to sleep and for most of the time during the 48-hour excursion, killing time.
shelter before getting tossed to the streets for two days.
Meanwhile, Evenson and six other students packed a van to Louisiana where they spent seven days working in a community soup kitchen and cleaning flood-ravished homes. He spent seven nights sleeping in a tent outside of a gutted YMCA building.
Evenson lived in Louisiana for three years, but said he hadn't been to the area since it was hit by Hurricane Katrina nearly two years ago.
"It was kind of shocking to see what was destroyed and what was
left," he said. "I was pretty worn on physically and emotionally."
Siealff and Whitehead, along with Mitch Voth, Wichita sophomore, stayed together as a group while they were homeless in Washington D.C. A total of six students went on that trip.
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They worked with a guide, a former homeless person named David, who made sure they were safe and shared with them some of his three-year homeless experiences.
Knowing he would spend two days homeless in Washington D.C., was what drew Whitehead to the Alternative Breaks program.
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"I thought, 'Wow, that's kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity," he said.
To enroll in the program, students must submit an application, attend a series of interviews, rank their desired destinations and then take a weekly Alternative Breaks course
y
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SEE BREAK ON PAGE 3A
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