THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY DECEMBER 7 2006
NEWS
3A
>> SPEAKER
Pundit discusses 2008 election
BY BEN SMITH
Marla Keown/KANSAN
Mark Halperin of ABC News discussed the potential candidates and the brewing political landscape for the 2008 elections with students and community members in the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics Wednesday evening.
Halperin, ABC News political director and co-author of the book "The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008," called himself a "political junkie." He shared his views of the Democratic and Republican parties and a few stories from his days covering the Clinton campaign and administration as well as a the current Bush administration.
Halperin discussed a few of the prospective nominees from both parties. He said Hillary Clinton would be a strong contender for the Democratic nomination. Halperin discussed the various strategies and obstacles he said he and John Harris, his co-author, thought existed in the contemporary political environment, which he called "the freak show."
Halperin said the two main political parties shared a great deal of similarities, but large disparities existed between the two. He said "Clinton-brand" politics worked for consensus but failed to achieve large changes, and "Bush-brand" politics fought for any majority that would allow them to bring about big changes. Halperin said John McCain had employed many of the same campaign tactics as Bush.
Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute, introduced Haleprin by joking that since the mid-term elections were a little more than a month in the past, "what could be more fitting than discussing the next election?"
Mark Halperin, ABC New Political Director and co-author of "The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008," spoke Wednesday evening at Dole Institute of Politics. Halperin answered questions after discussing politics and the 2008 elections.
Lacy said that Halperin is highly regarded in Washington D.C., as one of the key commentators on the political arena and that he thought the talk was a perfect lead up to
the political conference scheduled to take place at the Institute this weekend.
"It's kind of like giving people a preview of coming attractions," Lacy said.
Travis Morstorf, Meriden sophomore, said that while he felt Halperin spent a great deal of time "trying to sell his book," there were a few points that intrigued him.
"It was good learning some stuff about some of the candidates who might run," Morstorf said. "I also think the freak show is an interesting aspect of campaigns."
The Dole Institute sponsored the event as a simple forum for discussion, and Halperin signed copies of
his book after the speech and gave a brief question and answer period
Kansan staff writer Ben Smith can be contacted at bsmith@kansan. com.
Edited by Derek Korte
>> HURRICANE KATRINA
New Orleans aided by architecture project
BY ERIN CASTANEDA
Two KU architecture studio classes recently gained national recognition for their project for the Seventh Ward of New Orleans.
The 301 studio, taught by Rob Corser, assistant professor of architecture, and the 401 studio, taught by Nils Gore, associate professor of architecture, designed and built a garden shed and shade structure for the Seventh Ward community. The area, the second largest Ward in New Orleans at 28 square blocks, was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. The ward is represented by The Porch Cultural Organization, which formed to help people rebuild their homes while preserving their cultural heritage.
The Seventh Ward suffered more wind damage from Katrina than flood damage, Gore said. Their designs are built to withstand strong winds.
"It helps repair the social fabric of the neighborhood," Corser said. "They need places and events to gather. The community garden is a good place to restitch the social fabric."
The 401 studio constructed the shed, and the 301 studio installed the shade structure. The shade
structure is an open-air meeting place with benches.
The structures were designed and built by students here, then broken down and sent to New Orleans. Students traveled to the city to assemble the structures last spring.
Corser said it was important to keep the designs consistent with the Creole culture important to the Seventh Ward.
Lauren Keefer, Wichita graduate student, worked in Corser's studio last spring. She said that when she and her classmates traveled to the 7th Ward last spring the area was devastated. But she saw a transformation after moving the structures there. She said when the group returned in September, a lot of work had been done.
The goal was to encourage a self-s sustaining community. The garden lies between the garden tool shed and the large shade structure, and tending it allows people to come and work together. Gore said.
The community started an herb garden, and will sell the herbs to restaurants. Gore said.
In January, Corser's 301 studio will construct another shade structure that will be the center of an exhibit in the Smithsonian's
Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum from May until September. After the exhibit the structure will be shipped to New Orleans. The Kansas City, Mo., chapter of the American Institute of Architects also recognized the classes work.
Corser said the AIA award recognized good design and good teaching, all while helping to improve a community.
John Gaunt, dean of architecture, said the awards were well deserved.
"This is a two-year effort," Gaunt said. "The students have worked very hard, and what they have been doing is really appreciated by the people in New Orleans."
Corser and Gore plan to continue projects to add to the site in the 7th ward in the next few years.
The experience also helped spawn a new group formed last spring called Architecture Students for Social Action. The group invites any students to join them and work on projects outside of the classroom for local communities.
Kansan staff writer Erin Castanea can be contacted at ecastanea@kansan.com.
Edited by Natalie Johnson
SCIENCE
SCIENCE Weather could delay space shuttle's liftoff
CAPE CANAVERAL. Fla.
— Clouds of concern gathered for Thursday night's liftoff of the space shuttle Discovery as NASA downgraded launch chances to 40 percent because of weather.
"The forecast has trended for the worse right now," said Kathy Winters, shuttle weather officer.
An expected cloud ceiling at 3,000 feet was the biggest obstacle for getting Discovery off the ground at 9:35 p.m. EST Thursday. NASA won't launch with low clouds because officials want to track it visually and allow enough visibility in case the astronauts need to make a difficult emergency landing at the Kennedy Space Center's runway.
"It's a significant problem for us."Winters said.
The weather wasn't expected
to cooperate at the shuttle's emergency landing sites in Spain and France, either.
The forecast only gets worse for the following two days. Expected crosswinds and isolated showers at Kennedy Space Center reduced the chances of launch to 30 percent on Friday and 40 percent Saturday. The weather was expected to improve at the beginning of next week.
Associated Press
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS
December 7,2006
STUDENT SENATE
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CCO
C.R.E.A.T.E.
Volunteer for C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Resources Engaging in the Arts Through Education!
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USE THE ONLINE BOOK EXCHANGE IN YOUR KU PORTAL!!
Want to make some money on books from this semester? Looking for books for next
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The online book exchange program is a great way to save a trip to the bookstore and save a bunch of money. Students can buy and sell directly to each other, and avoid long bookstore lines!
Student Senate
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Make a difference today . . .
Apply for the Student Senate Elections Commission. Applications are available in the Student Senate office, Room 410 (Kansas Union 4th floor).
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