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The University Daily Kansan
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Monday. April 2, 2001
Sports: The Kansas women's rowing team dominated its lone home regatta of the season.
SEE PAGE 1B
(USPS 650-640) • VOL.111 NO.114
Inside: Student volunteers to reach out during Into the Streets Week.
For comments, contact Lori O'Toole or Mindie Miller at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
SEE PAGE 3A
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Campus crime rate continues steady decline
By Amanda Beglin
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The KU Public Safety Office attributed declining campus crime rates to crime prevention programs and the day-to-day efforts of its officers after statistics released Friday revealed a continuing downward trend in campus crime since 1997.
The report showed 956 criminal offences reported last year — a 12 percent drop from 1999 and a 33 percent drop from 1997's total of 1.438 reported criminal offences.
Property crimes, such as burglary, theft and criminal damage, which include crimes such as breaking car windows, account for the majority of crimes reported, said Major Chris Keary, assistant director of the public safety office. Violent crimes like murder and rape — continue to constitute less than one percent of all crime reported.
The statistics do not include incidents that occurred in Greek housing or Naismith Hall because those areas are in the Lawrence Police Department's jurisdiction. Keary said.
Last year, Keary said, officers arrested several car burglars in the act. And with tips from KU Crime Stoppers, officers identified and arrested a man involved in a January 2000 shooting at the Burge Union
By talking to incoming students about crime prevention, Keary added, the public safety office hopes to instill safety habits that helped reduce campus crime.
"It is our belief that a well-informed community provides for an overall awareness that is helpful in the reduction of crime within the community." Keary said.
Purvi Patel, Shawnee freshman and Templin Hall resident, said she had felt safe on campus since she arrived in August.
"I'm glad to hear crime is down, but I already feel safe," Patel said. "I feel OK by myself, even when it gets dark, whether it's walking on campus or just across the street to Lewis for dinner."
Thouge the public safety office is pleased that crime has decreased on campus, Keary said, the KU community should continue to be "vigilant against crime."
"Everyone on this campus should take steps to keep from being included in next year's crime statistics," Keary said.
A full report of all crimes reported between 1997 and 2000 is available on the public safety office's Web site, www.ku.edu/~kucops. KU Crime Alerts and the daily crime log are also available online.
— Edited by Jennifer Valadez
Crime statistics
Statistics released Friday by the KU Public Safety Office show a downward trend in campus crime over the past four years.
Kvle Ramsev/KANSAN
Source: KU Public Safety Office Kula RamseuKANSAN
Police seek missing student
Mother last spoke to her March 21
By Lauren Brandenbury
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The towels were folded, the bed made and the dishes clean when Mike and Sarah Thomasson entered their daughter Cayce's apartment Saturday with help from the Lawrence police.
They haven't heard from Cayce, a 21-year-old architecture student who lives alone in an apartment, since March 21, and neither have her friends.
The Prairie Village senior's purse was in the apartment with her wallet, driver's license, checkbook and ATM card inside.
"Nothing's wrong other than that everything's wrong," Sarah Thomasson said.
Sarah Thomasson, who normally talks with Cayee between two and four times a week, said
she last talked with Cayce the evening of March 21, when she asked Cayce if she wanted to go to Iowa State University for her younger sister's perspective stu-
sister's prospective student visit.
"She said she had a lot of school work to catch up on, so she was going to stay in Lawrence," Sarah said.
That made sense, Sarah said, because Cayce had been sick and in the hospital the week before and had missed class.
After Sarah returned, she left a message on Cavce's
machine Wednesday. She didn't think anything was out of the ordinary until Cayce didn't call back, she said.
Thomasson:
has been missing
since March 21
"A lot of times, she's in the studio," Sarah said. "If she is, she'll call back the
next day, but she didn't. I called her Thursday and Friday and numerous times on Saturday."
When she still couldn't reach her daughter and the apartment management would not let her or her husband into the apartment, the Thomassons went to the Lawrence police.
Sarah said she thought her daughter may have gone to Marvin Hall the night of March 21 to work in the studio. She said Cayce did not need any other books or supplies to work — just the computer she owned that she kept in the lab — which might explain why her backpack and books remained in the apartment.
The Thomassons want to access Cayce's computer in the studio to see when she last used it, Sarah said, but campus police told them that would require a search warrant.
The Thomassons can't figure out how Cayce's rent check and next year's lease showed up in the drop box at Cayce's apartment complex late this week. Complex management told the Thomassons that the box was checked
daily, so the items must have been deposited Thursday, said Sgt. Dave Hubbel of the Lawrence Police Department.
"If there was foul play, someone's probably not going to go back to the scene and pay the rent," Hubbel said.
The check was dated March 23, Sarah said, but she said Cayce commonly wrote all her checks to pay bills at one time and kept them in a stack with Post-It Notes to remind her when to send them.
One of Cayce's friends, Jennifer Pool, spent part of yesterday posting fliers and calling Cayce's close friends.
Pool said she may have been the last person to talk to Cayce on March 21. She has not talked with Cavye since.
Initially, Pool said, she thought Cayce was not returning phone calls because she had been sick the week before spring break and was trying to catch up on schoolwork. But too much time passed.
Candidates' causes
"Her apartment has everything in it,"
Photo illustration by Salena Jabara/KANSAN
Candidates vie for commission seats in tomorrow's election
By Erin Adamson
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow. Students who live on
Kansan staff writer
See POLICE on page 3A
The Lawrence City Commission approved four housing ordinances this spring that will affect housing options for some University of Kansas students in the future.
Daisy Hill or in Jayhawker Towers can vote at the St. Lawrence Catholic Center, 1631 Crescent Road, instead of Allen
The Commission makes decisions that affect students as well as Lawrence residents, and KU students can make an impact on city government by voting in the city elections.
More information
For more on City
Commission candidates
See page 3A
To see which polling
site you should vote at
See www.kansan.com
Fleethouse as in past year.1 City Commission candidates have discussed city growth and development, tax abatements, the role of the Planning
Fieldhouse as in past years.
Commission and the planning document Horizon 2020. Bike lanes, public transportation and the school district also have been important issues in the campaign.
Horizon 2020 is a document that offers a long-term plan for development in Lawrence and is a guideline for Planning and City Commissioners.
Members of the Planning Commission are appointed by the mayor and make recommendations to the City Commission regarding city planning issues.
The candidates represent different interests and perspectives in the community.
Indian festival accents color and tradition
Three members of the Cultural India Club perform a traditional dance. The club held a variety show Saturday night, featuring Indian songs and dances, to celebrate Hali, a two-day festival of colors. Photo by Jamie Rooper/KANSAN
By Michelle Ward writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Cultural India Club event celebrates Holi
Pooja Wagh dressed in her finest silk for the festival of colors presented by the Cultural India Club Saturday night. She wore a traditional salwar kamecz, a three-piece outfit, in orange and embroidered with different designs. The bright color symbolized a festival atmosphere, letting guests know what to expect as they entered the Kansas Union.
"Rangoli '01," a variety show featuring Indian songs and dances, was held to celebrate Holi, the festival of colors. In India, the twoday celebration, starts with a bonfire and continues with a huge water gun fight with colored water. Though the KU festival was a shortened and calmer version of the traditional celebration, about 300 participants enjoyed Indian
food and music on Saturday.
Students of Indian descent and international students from India taught students and faculty from other backgrounds about the festival. The Holi festival announces the freshness and warmth of spring and the passing of winter. People give one another colors to honor the spirit of rejuvenation and merriment.
The club's celebration of Holi is a chance for Indian students to share memories of previous times, while others learn about the history of the event. Rangoli's winter counterpart, The Festival of Lights, is celebrated each year in Lawrence as well.
"It brings back old memories, and it's a cultural get-together," said Wagh, a Bombay graduate student. "We don't have a lot of colors, but it's still fun."
Bakul Pant, a hardiwar, India, graduate student, remembers celebrating Holl as a child by smearing others' faces with colors and filling balloons with colored water. The day's activities were
generally planned for youth, but everyone got involved in the act. The party would often continue with a gathering of family and friends for lunch and dancing later that night.
The night before the day of colors, people set off bonfires all over India in remembrance of Prahlad,
a young boy sentenced to death by fire. The story tells how, through divine intervention, the boy walked through the fire unscathed.
Though they could not enjoy some of Holl's traditional events, people attending Rangoli '01 ate a native Indian meal including rice, paneer, similar to cottage cheese.
and kneer, a rice pudding eaten on special occasions. The meal, catered by Ruchi, an Indian restaurant in Kansas City, was served buffet style.
For Sarika Pappala, a Visakhapatnam, India, graduate student who came to Lawrence in January, the festival was a nice reminder of home. "I didn't know so many people were living here," Pappala, "They are so friendly. They make me feel less homesick."
"People get together, and it's a communal type of feeling," Bant said. "People from other cultures can come here and learn more about India."
Pappala danced in the variety show with a group performing to a medley of Indian songs. They were one of 12 groups that performed Indian songs and dances both classical and modern. The show reflected culture from different regions of India by including traditional dress and music from different parts of the country.
— Edited by Megan Phelps
He said the atmosphere at the School of Education and the University's support for the Special Education program were major reasons for its success.
Two programs ranked No.1 by U.S.News
By Cássio Furtado
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Two University of Kansas graduate programs maintained No.1 status in U.S.News and World Report rankings and are among four KU programs to make the magazine's top 10.
"It's a pleasant vicious circle to be in." Skritic said.
The public management and administration program was ranked seventh, and the University of Kansas Medical Center's occupational therapy program was eighth.
The new rankings, released today, kept KU's special education and city management and urban policy graduate programs as No.1 in the country.
The magazine, which has published graduate rankings since 1990, measures schools based on students' entering test scores, student/faculty ratio, academic reputation and teaching excellence.
Tom Skrtic, chairman of special education, said that the department was pleased to be recognized by the magazine and that the rankings allowed the department to attract the best graduate students in the country.
By having top-notch students, he said, the program is able to recruit good faculty members, who would attract more qualified students.
Suni Shieh, a Taipei City, Taiwan, doctoral student in special education, said the program's success should be attributed to the department's excellent faculty members.
She said the department provided many opportunities for graduate students, both inside and outside the classroom.
She said teaching and support for research in the department were excellent.
John Augusto, assistant dean of the graduate school, said the rankings were relevant because they attracted more attention to graduate education.
"We're delighted by the rankings," he said.
KU programs have consistently received recognition from the magazine.
The University has 20 programs ranked among the top in the nation by U.S.News.
Other KU programs ranked by the magazine in previous years have included paleontology, journalism, sedimentology and stratigraphy counseling personnel services, rural medicine, pharmacy, elementary teacher education, music, fine arts, drama and creative writing.
- Edited by Leita Schultes
.