A bird walking under a sunny sky.
★★★ STUDENT SENATE ELECTIONS WEEK ★★★
Kansan
Weather
Today: Partly cloudy with a high of 63 and a low of 45
Tomorrow: Cloudy with a high of 63 and a low of 41
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Thursday April 12, 2001
Thursday, April 12, 2001
Sports: A Kansas native returns home to lead the Jayhawk golf team. See page 8A
Inside: A KU comedy show will broadcast on a Kansas City television station this fall.
SEE PAGE 3A
(USPS 650-640) • VOL.111 NO.120
For comments, contact Lori O'Toole or Mindie Miller at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Candidate's game day booze claim empty, KU officials say
By Danny Phillips
writer @kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
A University of Kansas official denied the claim that Chancellor Robert Hemenway would allow the sale of alcohol in Memorial Stadium if VOICE coalition candidate Rob Kelly were elected to Student Senate, a rumor that circulated in a flier.
STUDENT SENATE ELECTIONS
"It's patently false," said Lynn Bretz, interim director of University relations. "There was absolutely no agreement."
The flier, which was posted by a KU football player who is a friend of Kelly, asked the question "Do you want more fans back at Memorial Stadium?" It then gives three steps to accomplish that goal.
The first two steps said to listen to coaches and staff and then vote for the VOICE coalition and Kelly as an off-campus senator. The final step said, "Once elected we will loosen up the tailgating restrictions around the stadium and push for sales of alcohol in the stadium. We have talked to the Chancellor and the University about this already, and they will allow it if we are elected."
Kelly, a Naperville, Ill., senior and KU swim team member, said that at the beginning of the year, Athletics Director Bob Fredericks told the team to encourage others to attend football games.
"I took it upon myself to start thinking of ways to get people to go," Kelly said. "I came up with the idea of liquor sales at football games, or at least loosening up tailgate restrictions."
"He said there would be a trial run next year," Kelly said.
"It definitely wasn't approved by the coalition." she said.
Kelly said he approved the fliers on his own initiative and knew what they said before they were posted in the locker room. The fliers were intended to inform KU athletes.
Two associates on Kelly's behalf had personal meetings with the chancellor to discuss the ideas, and Kelly said that Hemenway was interested and would "pursue it with us."
"The chancellor did give, if not tacit approval to it, he gave implicit approval to it," he said.
Hemenway was out of town and could not be reached for comment.
Jessica Bankston,VOICE candidate for student body president, said she recently found out about the filer and wasn't sure where it came from.
Today is the last day to vote
— Edited by Melinda Weaver
Dave Meall,
Minneapolis, Kan.,
sophomore, reviews his
CLAS ballot after
making selections.
Student Senate elections
began yesterday,
and most
polling sites will be
open until 4:30 p.m.
today. Photo by Matt
Daugherty/KANSAN
Elections take 2,500 to polls
By Brooke Hesler
Kansan staff writer
By brooke Hester
writer@kansan.com
Approximately 2,500 students cast ballots yesterday in the first day of Student Senate elections, nearly 70 percent of last year's total turnout, according to an unofficial count conducted last night.
Although the elections commissions counted the number of ballots, it did not tabulate votes for candidates or coalitions.
Dustin Johnson, elections commissioner,
said he was pleased with voter turnout and
operation of the polling sites yesterday.
"I think things look very, very good as far as total turnout goes," he said. "I think we could be on the right track for a four- or five-year high."
He said that he expected a slightly lower turnout today. Generally, fewer students vote on the second day of elections.
Johnson added that he had received feedback that the polling sites ran smoothly, with shorter than usual lines and better service than years past.
"We did have some small, isolated problems with people not getting the right ballots," he said. "But I think that out of about 30,000 ballots distributed, half a dozen isolated incidents is a minimal number."
Last year, approximately 3,690 students, about 15 percent of the student body, voted in the election — a four-year low, Johnson said. He said around 17 to 18 percent of the student body usually voted in elections.
Katie Dilks, Ames, Iowa, sophomore, was one of the students who voted yesterday. She
Polling sites
Polling sites for today's Student Senate elections will be in the following campus buildings:
- Burge Union 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
* Kansas Union 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
* Mrs. Es 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
* Haworth Hall 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.
* Strong Hall 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.
* Wescoe Hall 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.
* Gertrude Sellards Pearson Hall
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Oliver Hall 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
said she had friends running for Senate seats. "I voted for the people I knew," she said. "It's important to vote because they're spending our money. It's our student fees."
Most polls will close by 4:30 p.m. today.
Students need their KUID to vote. The results will be announced tonight around 10 p.m. in
Kyle Ramsey/KANSAN
a ceremony in the Kansas Union and then broadcast on KJHK 90.7 FM.
Johnson said he was excited to see the final tally of votes today.
"All in all I simply couldn't have asked for a better effort from everyone," he said.
Editor's note: This photograph was horizontally flipped so readers could easily read the reflected sign.
— Edited by Melinda Weaver
Supporters of Delta Force and VOICE coilitions lobbed students on campus yesterday, handing out fliers to attract voters. Above, Delta Force supporter Baju Gandhi, Lenexa sophomore, is reflected through the glasses of Chad Barnhart, Lenexa sophomore, as they talk about the student elections east of Wesco Hall. Photo by Thad Allender/KANSAN Editor's note: This photograph was horizontally flipped so readers could easily
Senate solicitors receive varied reactions
By Brandon Stinnett
Kansan staff writer
Step foot on campus this week and immediately you're bombarded by eager student politicians pitching their party's platform.
Andrew Shank, Wichita junior, said he was tired of getting harassed by candidates from the VOICE and Delta Force coalitions.
It's that time of year again, when passersb, need camouflage to avoid being stopped by students seeking a spot in Student Senate.
For some, the constant wave of student solicitors wears its welcome fast. Others relish the opportunity to meet people involved with the University.
"I'm getting sick of people asking me 5 million times a day, 'Have I voted?' and 'Would you like some information?'" Shank said.
Shank said candidates who stopped him on the street made him less likely to vote in the election.
"They do what they have to do, but it just gets old," he said.
"I'm getting sick of people asking me 5 million times a day, 'Have I voted?'and 'Would you like some information?"
Andrew Shank
Wichita junior
"They're just trying to get their opinions heard," Carlington said.
This is Crystal Carlington's first experience with University elections. Carlington, a Kansas City, Kan., freshman, said she found the process intriguing.
While Carlington is eager to learn more about the election process, Peter Cropper, an Overland Park senior, doesn't really care.
Cropper isn't bothered by students soliciting his vote, but that hasn't piqued his interest in the elections.
"I'm pretty much not interested in it at all," he said. "It's just not my forte."
Still, Cropper said he was planning to vote for the VOICE coalition. After talking with various VOICE candidates, Cropper said they seemed nice and polite.
"I'll give them credit for the amount of effort they put in," Cropper said. "I've only had one person from Delta Force come up and talk to me."
Branden Bell, currently an off-campus senator, is running for a liberal arts and sciences Senate seat this year. Bell said he looked forward to talking with students during the elections.
"You'd think a lot of people would be really turned off by it, but a lot of people like to stop and talk about the issues," Bell said.
Bell said students he talked to were supportive, but most had yet to vote. Low voter turnout is something Bell hopes would change.
"It's a little discouraging," Bell said. "I'm sure everyone has an image of how the campus should work."
Edited by Brandy Straw
Some international students walk down Hill without family
By Michelle Ward
Kansan staff writer
Shyang Tan has completed the graduation check, ordered the cap and gown and waits to walk down Campanile hill this May. While it will mark a day of achievement for the Kata Bharu, Malaysia, senior, he will celebrate without his family.
Seniors must deal with numerous preparations for graduation, but international seniors have even more decisions to make about the day and their future. Joe Potts, director of international student and scholar
services, said students had to figure out whether their parents could afford to come to graduation and if so, how. The arrangements must be made months ahead of time when most students are thinking only of spring break. Graduating seniors also must decide whether they are staying in the United States to work for a year. If so, they need to start the paperwork for an Immigration and Naturalization Service work authorization, Potts said.
Tan said he would continue his education at the University of Kansas with a master's degree in computer science. He will continue
working in the same department that he did for his undergraduate degree. He said he wouldn't have to take the Graduate Record Exam, which is another reason he planned to stay at the University of Kansas.
Tan still would have liked his family to visit and see him graduate. However, he said he didn't really expect his family would come because of the cost.
Tan's older brother experienced the same disappointment when their parents couldn't come to his own graduation. And now the older brother can't make it to the younger brother's ceremony.
"I understand." Tan said. "It costs a lot of money to come over here."
Maria Casas will earn her master's degree in Spanish literature from the University. The Galicia, Spain, graduate student will not have family here to cheer her down the Hill — cost and time prevent them from making the trip to Kansas. She said she was disappointed that they couldn't be here with her.
While he doesn't have to worry about a work permit, Tan does have to renew his visa for graduate school. He is not too worried about it, he said. People at the graduate school would help him apply for a new visa, and he didn't think it would be that difficult, he said.
She plans to return to Spain for a year to teach and study before coming back to the University to complete her doctorate in an undecided field.
"You only graduate once," she said. "It takes a lot of time and work."
"I like the city and my apartment," she said. She has not thought about renewing her visa to come back yet, but she doesn't think it will be difficult because her first visa was easy to get, she said.
International students can work for a year in the United States after graduation, but they must obtain an optional practical training visa.
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