TODAY'S WEATHER: Hot and humid with a high of 96. SEE PAGE 6A FOR MORE. SENATE ELECTIONS: KU may be online this spring. SEE PAGE 3A FOR MORE.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
TALK TO US: Contact Emily Hughey or Kyle Ramsey at (785) 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
WWW.KANSAN.COM
WEDNESDAY JULY 18,2001
ISSUE 142 VOLUME 111
GOLFITO. COSTA RICA
KYLE RAMSEY/KANSAN
Murder case in Golfito presses on
Slain student's mother meets with authorities, shares fond memories
By Karen Lucas Special to the Kansan
The mother of a KU student who was killed two months ago in Costa Rica now has the help of a Spanish-speaking lawyer.
Jeanette Stauffer said Monday that Pedro Irigonegaray, Topeka attorney, recently got involved with the murder case of her daughter, Shannon Martin. The Topeka senior had gone to Golfito, Costa Rica, in May to do field research.
Stauffer said she had no plans to file a lawsuit against the University of Kansas.
The case has been primarily in the hands of Costa Rican investigators. A U.S. Embassy official recently told Stauffer that an FBI lab found no link between hair gathered at the murder site and samples taken from six suspects.
In a meeting last week in Washington, D.C., with Miguel Angel Rodriguez, president of Costa Rica, Stauffer shared photos and memories of her daughter and briefly discussed the investigation.
The meeting was set up by Robert Woody, the University's liaison in Washington, D.C., and Sen. Sam Brownback, said Todd Cohen, assistant director of University Relations. Woody and Jaime Daremblum, the Costa Rican ambassador to the United States, also attended the meeting.
Daremblum said that both he and the president were moved by Stauffer's account and that Costa Rican officials were committed to solving the case. Stauffer also gave Rodriguez a letter raising questions about the investigation.
Stauffer, whose travel expenses were covered by the University, said she was confident she had made contact with the executive branch of the Costa Rican government at the meeting.
Although Stauffer expressed appreciation for the University's assistance with the case, she said she was disappointed that the Office of Study Abroad had not pressured government officials in Costa Rica. She said the office, which sent 14 students to Golfito this summer, should have told officials that the program would not continue unless Martin's murder was fully investigated.
Diana Carlin, dean of the graduate school and international programs, said the University chose instead to work through diplomatic channels, such as embassy officials, the U.S. State Department and congressmen, and its efforts had made an impact. She said KU officials had to make the decision to go with the summer program within a week of Martin's murder and at a time when the investigation was moving more quickly.
Stauffer, whose husband, Brad, is not related to the late Oscar Stauffer—a major donor to the University—said that students going to Costa Rica needed to be cautious.
"Do not ever travel alone at night. No matter if it's just between houses," she said.
Lucas can be reached at 864-4810 or write@kansasan.com
Interns get games going
Athletes to compete in 25 sports beginning Friday in Lawrence
By Laurie Sisk Kansan staff writer
With about 7,000 athletes gathering in Lawrence for the 2001 Sunflower State Games this weekend, Executive Director Vicki Hill is grateful for the 20 KU interns who have helped make this year's games a reality.
The games, which have been in Lawrence since their inception in 1990, will begin Friday morning with golf at
Eagle Bend Golf Course, 1250 E.902 Rd. Various games will continue through Sunday, and a second weekend of games will be Friday, July 27 through Sunday, July 29.
KU interns began working in late May to market their sports and register participants and volunteers. The interns will continue work four days past the end of the games, which conclude July 29.
"Each intern takes on three to four sports," Hill said. "They get to meet a lot of good professional contacts, and we give the students a great deal of responsibility at this internship. I told them when they applied that this was not going to be just data entry and filing. You are responsible for your sports, and you run them."
Archery, basketball, martial arts, swimming and socerq are some of the 25 sports.
He said he welcomed the challenge.
Hill and Richardson said volunteers were still needed both weekends for a variety of sports. Volunteers will receive a free T-shirt, goodie bag and some meals.
Randy Richardson, St. Louis senior, had the daunting task of enlisting 80 volunteers for his wrestling venue, which is just one of three sports for which he is responsible.
Opening ceremonies for the 7,000-plus athletes will be at 7 p.m. Saturday in Murphy Hall, with a parade of athletes and featured speaker, Rep. Jim Ryun (R-Kansas).
Hill said some sports were still accepting registrations from participants. Detailed information on volunteer and participant opportunities is available at www.sunflowergames.org or by calling 842-7774.
"It's been great meeting so many other people involved and doing stuff I like," Richardson said. "I view it as a good thing to put on my resume. It wasn't originally why I got involved, but now I see that organizing something as big as this will look good."
Hill said Richardson, along with the other interns, had been an integral part of making the games a success.
THAD ALLENDER/KANSAN
HOTDOG
Sisk can be reached at 864-4810 or writer@kansan.com
After a run in the mid-afternoon sun, Robert Krause, Lawrence resident, cools his running partner, Bear, in the Chi Omega Fountain. Temperatures hovered around the century mark yesterday in Lawrence and are expected to dip to 90 degrees until the weekend.
Hashinger residents baffled by burglaries
By Julie Carter
Kansan staff writer
When Mia Gonzalez woke up Saturday morning to the sound of someone going through her roommate's wallet, she thought it was her roommate's father. It wasn't.
"He went through my wallet, but there was no money for him to take in there," Ott said. "I hide my money somewhere else."
The man said, "Oh, sorry," when he
gonzalez was awake and left the
room. said Gonzalez. Tooeka freshman.
Her roommate, Liesl Ott, Manhattan freshman, was not in the sixth floor Hashing Hall room at the time.
The man did not take anything from the room, but he may have taken money from a room down the hall, said Lt. Schuyler Bailey of the KU Public Safety Office.
Lindsay Hollis, Wichita freshman,
was missing $40 from her wallet.
"It ito five minutes for me to notice it was gone." Hollis said.
She said she talked to her resident assistant and then called the police.
"We believe it to be the same person because of the proximity of the rooms," Bailey said.
The students, who are participating in the Freshman Summer Institute, had their doors unlocked.
None of the floor's other residents saw the man, who the Public Safety Office described as a 30-to 35-year-old white male with short, spiky brown hair. The man was wearing a black T-shirt and a silver watch. He did not have facial hair or glasses.
Anyone with information can call KU Crimestoppers at 864-8888.
Carter can be reached at 864-4810 or writer@kansan.com
Dead body befuddles police
Police stumble upon a dead body too eroded to identify.
By Julie Carter Kansan staff write
A Lawrence building inspector and police officer discovered more than structural problems Monday afternoon at 800 Connecticut St. They found a decomposed body in the front room.
No one had lived in the house, engulfed in vines and shrubs two blocks east of Massachusetts Street, for a long time.
How long the body was in the house and the cause of death were unknown.
"Efforts to identify the name, age and gender are underway," said Sgt. Mike Patrick of the Lawrence Police Department.
Police removed the body from the house Monday night, and it was taken to Topeka for an autopsy, Patrick said.
"We will hopefully get some answers after the autopsy, but other tests may have to be performed," he said.
The police car parked in the driveway and yellow police tape around the yard remind neighbors what was found in their own neighborhood.
"It gave me an eerie feeling. I spend time in my front yard, and the house is right there," said Ben Layton, Salina senior, who lives two doors down from the vacant house.
Layton said he had never seen any sign of life at the house.
"I just thought it was so strange that there was no one around ever," he said.
The police officer was called to accompany a city building inspector through the house so the inspector could determine whether the house should be condemned.
A police officer always assists city inspectors when they enter a vacant house, said Victor Torres, director of neighborhood resources.
INSIDETODAY
He said city inspectors had never found a body inside a building.
Carter can be reached at 864-4810 or writer@kansan.com
WORLD NEWS ...2A
HILLTOPICS ...8A
WEATHER ...4B
CROSSWORD ...4B
COMING IN NEXT WEEK'S KANSAN
KANSAS FOOTBALL: Head coach Terry Allen makes some changes in the coaching staff.
SUNFLOWER SUCCESSSES: KU students participate in the Sunflower State Games.
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The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 25 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at 119 Stauffer-Flint Hall.
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