FOOTBALL
The image shows two players in action during a football game. One player is wearing a blue jersey and dark shorts, while the other player is wearing a white jersey and black shorts. The player in blue appears to be attempting a kick, with his foot positioned near the ball. The player in white seems to be blocking or preparing to receive the ball. Both players are wearing athletic shoes and appear to be on a grass field, likely part of a stadium. The background includes a crowd of spectators.
POWERLESS RED The Jayhawks used a first-half run to put the game away early, cruising to a 76-56 victory Monday night in Lincoln, Neb.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30,2007
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOL.117 ISSUE 85
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
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PAGE 1A
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Kansas
The Spencer Research Library has acquired what is believed to be the first book written about Kansas.
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baseball
Paul Smyth and Hiarali Garcia compete for closer and set-up positions this week in Hawaii.
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opinion
Drinking and driving is preventable. To save lives and keep the party going, just take simple precautions. ___
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Anna Faltermeier/KANSAN
Fresh off back-to-back blow-out victories last week, Kansas moved up to No.6 in the latest AP poll.
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ODAY
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Classifieds...10A
Crossword...4A
Horoscopes...4A
Opinion...5A
Sports...12A
Sudoku...4A
Dani Fehr. Shawnee freshman, found a table to eat lunch at Monday afternoon in The Underground in the basement of Wescoe Hall. Recent crowds at the eatery have forced students to fill hallways, floors and doorways to eat their lunch when no tables are available.
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© 2007The University Daily Kansan
» UNDERGROUND OVERFLOW
Crowded eatery raises safety concerns
BY ERICK R. SCHMIDT
On any given weekday in the basement of Wescoe Hall, students pack the hallways, doorways and any other open space they can find. It's time for lunch, and students have nowhere to go.
An hour later, the hallways are scattered with pizza boxes, empty plastic bottles and crumpled newspapers. It's the difference an hour makes.
The Underground opened in September 2004 as an on-campus eatery with a convenient, central location. A week before the opening, then-assistant director of retail Michael Myers said The Underground was expected to double the daily traffic of the former Wescoe Terrace from 1,500 to up to 3,000 customers daily.
Two years later, the eatery now sees between 3,200 and 4,000 each day, said Jason Arnett, manager of The Underground. He said 80 percent of those visitors came between
11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
"Ive seen it crammed to the gills," Arnett said. "People were sitting on the counters. It concerns me."
Arnett's estimation means The Underground serves between 2,500 and 3,200 within two hours of each day. Arnett estimated that more than 500 students were sometimes In The Underground at one time. Those numbers, combined with recent sub-freezing outdoor temperatures and a seating capacity of 354 often force customers into nearby hallways to eat their lunches. The most common destination is the hallway directly east of The Underground.
Shalan Mill, Overland Park junior, said she only goes to The Underground once a month because of the crowd. When she can't find seating, she said she pretends to check her e-mail at the computers outside of The Underground just to get a seat.
better than the floor."
"It's horrible." Mill said. "But it's
Students sitting in the hallways around the area sometimes make it difficult for the staff to do its job during busy points of the day. Arnett said. Sometimes, he said, the students inadvertently blocked
employees from emptying the trash or getting to a storage area.
"They don't want to move, and I understand that," Arnett said "I'm just worried about them getting
SEE UNDERGROUND ON PAGE 3A
》RODENT ROOMMATES
Students evict mice from rooms
Rodent infestation plagues lower levels of Oliver Hall
BY KATY BLAIR
Oliver Hall has had some unexpected guests of late.
Since November, the women's wings on lower levels of Oliver Hall have played host to mice. After the women leave for the day, the mice busy themselves with ransacking food, cozying up in clothes and skirting through the halls of the building.
"I just want them out," said Megan Baumchen, Sunrise Beach, Mo., freshman.
The first mouse was seen before Thanksgiving break, and numerous have been spotted since. Concerned about a serious health
issue, third floor residents reported the infestation to the Oliver complex director shortly before winter break. What they saw upon return to campus was disappointing.
Glue traps had been placed in rooms with sightings, but the only mouse that met its end was one that lie on the floor, nowhere near a trap.
"The glue traps don't work," Baumchen said. "So we bought spring traps instead. We caught three mice, in one room, in one night."
caught in the room traps might have been caught in traps placed in other areas of the building.
Avila said he had worked for facility businesses for many years and glue traps had always been successful.
Vince Avila, associate director of housing maintenance, had another explanation for the sticky-trap scenario. He said mice that weren't
Last Wednesday evening, a mouse raid was successful. Third floor residents staked out a room with Fruit-Loop laden traps, catching three, and maintenance used glue traps, catching five. However, there may still be the "one that got away".
A fourth mouse escaped from the infested room, occupied by
SEE MICE ON PAGE 3A
ACADEMICS
Faculty nominates students for award
Four from Kansas to compete for nationwide honor
Four University of Kansas undergraduate students received nominations from department faculty for the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater scholarship, which awards students nationwide who intend to pursue research careers in mathematics, natural sciences or engineering.
BY DANAE DESHAZER
Kyle Hesed, Otis junior; Stephanie Hill, Shawnee sophomore; Heather Owen, Leawood junior; and Laura Stiles, Prairie Village junior, will compete nationally with more than 1,000 other applicants to receive one of the coveted $7,500 scholarships awarded.
The Goldwater foundation will announce its final scholars and alternates in March. The foundation intends to award 300 scholarships this year. Last year the foundation awarded 323 scholarships.
Over the past six years, the University has accumulated 18 Goldwater scholarships, more than any other Big 12 school. Bruce Twarog, professor of physics and astronomy, said. Overall, KU ranks seventh in total Goldwater scholarships received out of 500 public universities. The KU department of physics and astronomy has produced more scholars than any other Big 12 department, with 10 scholarship recipients under its belt.
"I think our department has extremely high quality students," Twarog said. "We work hard to make sure our majors work with faculty on doing research. That's a key item."
Sue Lorenz, KU faculty representative for the Goldwater scholarship, said Goldwater is supporting this research so that students can discover new knowledge for the future.
Nominee Stephanie Hill started her research experience as a freshman in the medicinal
SEE GOLDWATER ON PAGE 3A
Study abroad participation increases
>> NATIONAL RANKING
BY NATHAN GILL
A recent study abroad survey ranked the University of Kansas first in the Big 12 and eighth nationwide in the number of undergraduate students who studied abroad.
The 2006 Open Doors Report, a survey conducted by the Institute of International Education, stated that 26 percent of undergraduates studied abroad in 2004-2005. The report reflects a four-year trend of study abroad growth at the University.
Susan Gronbeck-Tedesco, director of the office of study abroad, said she thinks students understand the value of an international education.
"I think students themselves have
passed that the world is changing
and they need to prepare themselves in a different way," Gronbeck-Tedesco said.
Ruth Seeliger, Winfield junior, recently returned from an academic
Study Abroad Participation at KU
Students % Change
1999-00 961 26
2000-01 1141 18.7
2001-02 929 -18.6%
2002-03 1040 11.9
2003-04 1088 4.6
2004-05 1208 11
2005-06** 1331 22.3
*Estimated based upon program enrol-
ments. Final data available in March 2007
"It kind of fit in with my career goals," said Seeliger, double major in ecology and evolutionary biology and environmental studies. "I may not end up studying bats, but I plan on going into conservation biology."
trip to Costa Rica. Seeliger spent 18 days of her winter break studying Neotropical bats. She said highlights of the program were hiking through the rainforest, swimming under a waterfall and capturing bats.
Seeliger said she spent about $3,500 on the entire trip and that she enjoyed working with students from other universities who shared her interest in conservation.
"If you can find something you're interested in, it's a great way
Stefan Bachrodt, Huntley, ill., senior, spent the fall semester in Scotland. For him, the reasons for studying abroad were simple.
"It was definitely more pleasure-based," Bachrodt said. "Id never been abroad, so this was my first time to Europe."
to explore interests and goals you already have from a different perspective, 'Seeliger said.
"It think it has great advantages."
Bachrodt said. "It sits you apart from other people looking for jobs."
Gronbeck-Tedesco said she would
Bachrodt said he visited Paris, Berlin and Dublin, went to a rugby game and took 15 hours of classes. He said studying abroad was a good experience.
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like to see 50 percent of students study abroad before they graduate.
"We're trying to build the best university education we can," Gronbeck-Tedesco said. "That includes international education."
The office of study abroad offers more than 100 programs in 70 countries. Students can learn about study abroad opportunities, including five new programs, at the study abroad fair held 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union.
Kansan staff writer Nathan Gill can be contacted at ngill@kansan.com.
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Edited by Sharla Shivers
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