tuesday, march 9, 2004
news
the university daily kansan
3A
Student fee given to campus media
By Andy Marso
amarso@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The Student Media Board, a division of Student Senate, distributed $182,800 in student fees to four campus media outlets last week.
The board allocated funds to KJHK, The University Daily Kansas, KUJH and Kiosk, a student art and literature magazine published once every semester.
KJHK, the campus radio station, got $90,000, the largest allocation. Control of the station, 90.7 FM, moved from the School of Journalism to the Kansas Union on lan. 5.
"We're still getting up and rolling with the Union and we needed a little more to get that under way." Andy Dierks, Union program advisor said.
Dierks said some of the money would be used for technology upgrades.
the Kansan received $70,000,
an increase of $17,800 compared
with last year's allocation of $52,200.
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser of the Kansan, said Lindsay Poe, Student Media Board chairwoman, did a great job.
"I'm ecstatic with the decision, but I take even greater pleasure in the fact that the meeting was handled in such a way that we discussed substantive issues," Gibson said.
Gibson said that the money would go into the general salary pool.
KUJH, the campus television station, received $14,000. The station is planning to use the money to move toward more original programming, including producing more shows and running fewer re-runs.
The Kiosk received $8,800. Poe said the magazine was the only media outlet that received all the money it requested.
"It seemed like Kiosk didn't ask for extra," Poe said. "They asked for just exactly what they
Student Media Fee
The Student Media Board allocated $182,800 of student fees last week to four campus media outlets. A breakdown of where the funds went:
■ KJHK — $90,000
■ The University Daily
  Kansan — $70,000
■ KUJH — $14,000
■ Kiosk — $8,800
needed."
The $8,800 will be used to produce the magazine and also an accompanying CD of slam poetry.
Every year the board distributes the money from the Student Media Fee, which is $6 per year for every student. This year's Student Media Fee totaled about $143,900. The amount of money for the board to allocate got a $39,000 boost from the Senate reserve account this year.
The reserve account grew substantially this year because of an increase of more than 1,000 students this year in enrollment. Many Student Senate boards including the Student Media Board, received increases in their budget.
"We made it very clear that this was a one-time deal," Poe said. "We suggested they use it for capital improvements, like buying equipment."
The board denied funding to the University's Public Relations Student Society of America. Poe said the group didn't ask for a large amount of money, but the board decided that their publication was a newsletter that would only reach a small niche audience. The board's guidelines state that only groups that publish or broadcast widely on campus should be funded.
After the board finished its allocations there was $100 left over that went back into the Senate reserve account.
Edited by Joe Hartigan
CONTINUED FROM 1A
University of Indiana's, which focuses only on the Haitian language, the University's institute focuses on Haitian Creole — the language of Haiti, history and culture.
HAITI: Conflict affects students
Freeman said he had traveled to Haiti approximately 80 times since 1958. His most recent visit was a two-month stay last summer.
Freeman said if he returned to Haiti, he would probably be a resource to journalists. But he said it was anyone's guess when that would happen because airlines were not allowing people to fly into the country.
During the early '90s, Freeman worked in Haiti with Pax Christi, an international human rights organization that investigated possible human rights violations. He also worked as an adviser to the United States and United Nations and as a trainer for U.N. observers going into the country.
Katie Griggs, a former student
"The decision is out of my hands so I'm just waiting right now.It's hard to hear about it here and not be down there."
Katie Griggs former Haitian Studies student
of Freeman's from Topeka, first traveled to Haiti in February of 1998 and has made 12 to 14 trips since then. She has accepted a job at a hospital in Port-au-Prince but must wait until flights are allowed into the country and she feels it's safe enough.
"The decision is out of my hands so I'm just waiting right now," Griggs said. "It's hard to hear about it here and not be down there."
Griggs said that despite the turmoil she will still go to Haiti this semester if she is allowed.
Rapid apartment growth, bad market may hurt developers
—Edited by Michelle Rodick
By Laura Pate
lpate@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
In February, the city of Lawrence Planning Department was working on plans for 300 new apartments. But the demand for apartments has been decreasing since 2001, said Tim Keller, owner of the appraising company, Keller & Associates, 123 W. Eighth St.
Where are students going?
Keller conducts an annual survey of Lawrence apartment vacancy rates. In 2003, he surveyed 2,934 out of the 8,598 total Lawrence apartments. Approximately 8 percent of apartment units were vacant in 2003, while four percent were empty in 2001. The city of Lawrence defines an apartment unit as a one room or a suite of two or more rooms.
An increase in the number of townhomes and first-time homeowners in a low-interest economy has steered students away from renting apartments.
More students lived in greek housing in 2003 than in 2001. Fraternities and sororities housed 6,960 students in 2001 and 7,300 students in 2003.
Source: Tim Keller, Keller & Associates
Builders continue to construct apartments because it is an ideal time to borrow money from banks, said Kirk McClure, associate professor in urban planning. The national prime interest rate, or rate that banks use as a guideline in lending money, sunk to 4 percent in 2003. In January 2001, the prime rate peaked at 10 percent.
Because of the decreased interest rates, builders are willing to take on riskier deals than
they would otherwise, McClure said. High vacancy rates and low rents threaten builders now, he said.
But McClure does not think the city should put a cap on the number of apartments built.
While this is not an ideal time
"They're big boys," McClure said. "If they're dumb enough to build when they know darn well they'll suffer from low rents and high vacancies, it's their decision."
to build an apartment complex, builders will not be hurt in the long-term. he said.
"Right now the key thing is that vacancy rates cycle over short periods of time," McClure said. "When you build an apartment complex, you're going to own and operate it for many years."
In 1997, Doug Compton opened Highpointe apartments, 2001 W. Sixth St., when vacancy rates soared at 9 percent and rental rates plummeted. Apartment construction was abundant; in 1997, seven apartment buildings went up as well as 37 duplexes, 10 triplexes and one four-plex opened.
Thomas Fritzel of Gene Fritzel Construction is building a housing complex at Kasold Drive and Peterson Ave. The complex,
"They're big boys. If they're dumb enough to build when they know darn well they'll suffer from low rents and high vacancies, it's their decision."
Kirk McClure associate professor in urban planning
called Hutton Farms, will feature single-family homes, duplexes and apartments.
While Fritzel is putting nail to wood, Bill Newsome, owner of 6Wak Land Investments, is putting pen to paper as he polishes his preliminary building plans. He plans to build an apartment complex at Sixth Street and
Wakarusa Drive. If the city completes and approves his plan, he said he would not build until he thought the market had improved.
Others think people have built more apartments in the past five years because the Lawrence City Commission has gradually raised the cost of owning a water meter over a five-year span. James Dunn, secretary of the Lawrence Landlords Association, said he saw a rush of apartments open because of this.
Ed Mullins, city finance director, said apartments most likely did not open up because of the gradual increase.
"I have a hard time believing they would make that large of a financial decision based on a small increase," Mullins said.
— Edited by Louise Stauffer
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