tuesday, february 17, 2004
news
the university daily kansan
5A
Democrats want Kerry to visit Kansas
Supporters say politician would bring caucus support
By Patrick Cady pady@kansan.com Kansan stuff writer
As the March 13 Kansas Democratic caucus nears, the Kansas Democratic Party looks to bring Senator John Kerry to Kansas.
The party wants Kerry to speak at an event known as the Ad Astra Dinner, which is part of the Democratic Committee weekend beginning March 5 at the Topeka Ramada Inn.
The dinner opens the Kansas
Democratic party's last opportunity to meet, plan and discuss issues before the caucus.
Though Mark Simpson, spokesman for the Kansas Democratic Party, said nothing was confirmed, even the possibility of Kerry's march to Kansas sparked interest.
Students in the KU Young Democrats were impressed with how well Kerry was doing in the presidential race and at how big a rebound he had in the primaries, said Tom Keating, Marysville junior and president of the KU Young Democrats.
Support for Kerry's possible appearance gained a powerful voice last week when Gov. Kathleen Sebelius encouraged him to come during a radio interview.
"She was trying to weigh in her support for having him here,"
Nicole Corcoran, spokeswoman for Sebellian, said. "It would be a big support for Kansas."
Kerry's visit could help highlight the importance of the caucus for
Kerry
"I think anytime a political leader comes to a state it raises interest," Corcoran said. "It brings focus to the choices people have to make a decision."
the citizens of Kansas, Corcoran said.
Sebelius has yet to officially endorse a candidate, but her son is an avid Kerry supporter, Corcoran said.
Kerry campaign is still considering its options. For the moment, it is avidly focusing on the Wisconsin primary, Dag Vega, Kerry spokesman, said.
With a possible Kansas stop a ways down the political road, the
The Kansas caucus is deep within the home stretch of the Democratic presidential race. By March 2, almost two weeks before Kansas opens its polls, more than 70 percent of the national delegates would have voted.
That doesn't stop those supporting Kerry.
"We are very serious in fighting for every vote in Kansas or other states." Vega said.
The choice to come to Kansas might hinge on the results of the next few weeks, Vega said.
"We are taking any state seriously." Vega said.
- Edited by Louise Stauffer
Chris Waggoner, Lawrence resident, played an original piece of music yesterday afternoon at his home. Waggoner has at least one major indie label interested after sending it a demo. Representatives will be in attendance at an upcoming show he has in Omaha, Neb.
Local 'folk-emo' band gets serious
By Samia Khan
skhan@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Something didn't feel right when Chris Waggoner and the other members of Io's Cage, a self-described "folk-emo-rock" band from Lawrence, took the stage at The Bottleneck's open mic night last Tuesday.
Preparing for a disjointed transition, Waggoner's bandmate walked up to the mic and asked the audience, "You ready to rock? Well, too bad."
"We did not fit in at all." Waggoner, 19, said. "It was like punk rock, heavy metal night."
The audience didn't seem to mind.
Io's Cage has only been together six months and done a couple of shows, but it has the attention of Saddle Creek Records, a major indie-rock label based in Omaha, Neb. Waggoner hoped The Bottleneck show would give him and fellow band members Derek Young and Kevin Elliot extra practice.
Waggoner, a Lawrence resident, took the spring semester off from the University of Kansas to make time for added commitment to the band.
Io's Cage has already been to Omaha to make a studio recording and met members of The Faint and The Cursive, other bands on the Saddle Creek label. Although there are no concrete developments, people in the Saddle Creek label are passing around the band's demo and tentatively scheduling a show for it in Omaha.
Six months ago, while he was playing guitar on the street for fun, Waggoner was approached by Young and Elliot. They listened to him play and talked for a few hours. Waggoner thought he'd never see them again, but before leaving they told him to contact them to hang out.
The next night the three met
"We're not tied down to one sound. We can change whenever we want."
Chris Waggoner
lo's Cage bandmember
and wrote a song on the spot. Not only was Waggoner happy with the music collaboration, but he said he had never overcome his shyness and connected faster with anyone else before.
Since coming together with Young and Elliot, Waggoner said he had never been happier with his music. Amanda Sprague, Lawrence High School junior and Waggoner's friend, said he has been noticeably more fulfilled since the formation of Io's Cage.
"He tells me every single detail." Sprague said.
Waggoner doesn't like to admit that his first stint as a musician was doing covers of Everclear songs.
"An Everclear cover band? That's just terrible," he said. "I was such a bad musician. I felt like I could be doing better.
Waggoner taught himself how to play the guitar four years ago. He said he had enough dedication to persevere through his phase of bad music and songwriting. He started playing on his own and trying harder with his song writing.
Waggoner said the success of Io's Cage comes from its variety and experimentation.
"We're not tied down to one sound," he said. "We can change whenever we want."
Waggoner does most of the vocals and plays acoustic guitar
for the band. He also writes a lot of the songs, but all of the band members collaborate evenly on the individual work. He said trying to name a frontman made them uncomfortable.
Waggoner said although nothing was concrete with Saddle Creek, the band has already experienced more than they imagined.
In less time than Io's Cage hoped, it's made a free studio recording, hung out with some of the biggest names in indie rock, and gotten the attention of a major label. Most of all, Waggoner said he's living out two of his dreams: music and writing.
"We expected years of trying and then probably giving up," he said. "If this works out as a long run thing now, I'm going to go with it where it takes us."
—Edited by Joe Hartigan
By Marc Ingber
minger@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Forum outlines rights under Act
The USA PATRIOT Act has been a hot topic in Washington, D.C., and last week, it was also discussed at the University of Kansas.
Legal Services for Students informed international students how the act would affect them at a forum last Thursday. The International Students Legal Rights forum was led by Jo Hardesty, director of legal services.
Hardesty said that the act had caused complications for international students. It increased the time it took to process a visa and decreased the number of visas issued to international students. Also, it has been harder for international students to re-enter the country after going home to visit because of heightened security measures, she said at the forum, which was held at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. About 25 students attended.
Although it is unfortunate that there has been complications for international students, it was one of the realities that the country has experienced after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, said Josh Steward, Hays junior and vice-chair for the College Republicans.
"It's not necessarily justified, but it's understandable," he said. "Whenever something big like Sept. 11 happens, we tend to overreact."
Steward said that he thought the United States would ease up some on its domestic security in the future as an effect of President Bush's plan to naturalize more immigrants.
"Even if it doesn't pass, it will at least draw more attention to the issue," he said.
The topic of privacy has been one of the main criticisms of the act, but Steward said that the enhanced police capabilities were only in areas where people
had a low expectation of privacy such as public libraries.
"When you go to check out a book at a public library, there is not a high expectation of privacy." he said.
Hardesty also brought up how the act allowed the government to get student information without the student's consent.
She also said that the act broadened the rules so the government could perform more intense investigations when it came to possible threats of terrorism.
"All universities, colleges and institutions that accept international students are now required to disclose, without student consent, international students information to the United States government through the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System," Hardesty said.
"Reports indicate that many international students, especially from countries selected as high terrorist threats, feel their freedoms have been unfairly restricted and have been arbitrarily labeled as terrorist threats because of national origin," Hardesty said.
Hardesty said something else she did to inform international students was hand out brochures made by the American Civil Liberties Union that told them what to say if they were asked to show their visa.
Although the process was more difficult, international students will still be able to find a way to get a college education in the United States, Hardesty said.
She said while the rules and regulations were burdensome, students who took the initiative and affirmative steps — such as updating and periodically verifying their visa status — should be able to avoid the procedural headaches and achieve their educational goals.
—Edited by Meghan Brune
NATION
Judge dismisses case about student charges
The charges were dropped in April 2000, and the classmate was charged with falsely reporting a crime, a misdemeanor.
ALTAMONT — A judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging officials botched an investigation three years ago into claims that five former Labette County High School students were planning a Columbine-style attack.
The students were charged in December 1999 with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder after a classmate told officials about the alleged plot. They spent about two months in custody before the classmate recanted.
The five former students — Aaron Spencer, Daniel Smith,
Bryan M. Vail, Josh W. Traxson and Jestin McReynolds — were barred from the school for the rest of the academic year even after the charges were dropped.
The students responded with a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit against various Labette County, Altamont city and school district officials.
The suit sought $5 million per defendant, alleging a variety of complaints, including unlawful searches, arrest without probable cause, false arrest and imprisonment and malicious prosecution.
U. S. District Judge Carlos Murgia ruled Friday that the plaintiffs, including the former suspects in the alleged plot and their families, will get nothing and the case is dismissed.
The Associated Press
LIBERTY HALL 644 Mass
749-1912
MONSTER (R) 7:00 9:30
IN AMERICA (P10-18) 4:00 ONLY
TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE (P10-18)
4:40 7:10 9:40
2 Admissions for the price of 1
Red Lyon Tavern
944 Mass.832-822
Thursday
$1.75 schooner
Ask about
our Football
Tournament!
1009 Mass.