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The University Daily Kansan
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**Today:** Thunderstorms with a high of 52 and a low of 24.
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Thursday, February 8, 2001
Sports: Kansas women's basketball team lost 70-60 to Colorado last night. See page 6A
See page 6A
Inside: Need help planning Valentine's Day activities? Check out some suggestions in Jayplay.
See page 1B
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 111 NO. 87
For comments, contact Lori O'Toole or Mindie Miller at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
WWW.KANSAN.COM
County issues more DUIs
About 20 arrests made in five days
By Lauren Brandenburg
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The Douglas County Sheriff's department has arrested nearly 20 people in the last five days for driving under the influence of alcohol. Sheriff Rick Trapp said.
Lt. Kathy Tate said it was unusual for the department to have that many arrests in that few number of days.
However, he said he wished the department was not seeing such high numbers.
"This demonstrates there is a serious problem with drinking and driving in
Douglas County," Trapp said.
"It's not like they're targeting a certain part of K-10 or any specific area," she said.
Tate said officers were not doing anything out of the ordinary on their patrol shifts that would make the numbers higher than usual.
part of K-10 or any specific area," she said. Tate and Trapp said the arrests were made all over the county with no pattern. Trapp said he was not sure how many of the drivers arrested were University of Kansas students.
Two of the arrests were made at the sobriety checkpoint the department conducted during the weekend on Highway 59 near County Road 458. It was the first checkpoint conducted by the sheriff's department in about 10 years. Tate said.
The department recently received a grant for about $6,000 from the Kansas Department of Transportation that would help cover the costs of equipment for the checkpoint and officers' overtime pay.
Trapp said the high number of DUI
DUI ARRESTS
What happened: The Douglas County Sheriff's department made nearly 20 DUI arrests in the last five days.
arrests was part of the reason that Sheriff Loren Anderson, who served as sheriff until Jan. 8, applied for the grant.
Trapp said he, too, thought the number of recent DUI arrests was much too high. He and Tate said yesterday that the department did not average a specific number of DUI arrests per week,but,that these numbers were noticeably higher.
What it means: Sheriff Rick Trapp said Douglas County's serious problem with drinking and driving was one reason his department was starting to conduct sobriety checkpoints.
What will happen next: Trapp said he wanted to see the problem decrease. He said he hoped the sobriety checkpoints and accompanying publicity would keep people who had been drinking from driving.
Tate said arrests for driving under the influence sometimes seemed to come in groups, but she said she did not know why that was the trend. She said she was not aware of any events that might have contributed to the number of people drinking and driving, commenting that Super Bowl weekend had already ended. But Tate said it wasn't as if the arrests all started Friday.
Trapp said that this reinforced his belief that Douglas County had a problem with drunk driving. He said he had noticed drunk driving was a problem in the county when he worked as an assistant district attorney before he was elected as sheriff last year. Now that he is in office, he said the arrests show up daily.
"Not many shifts go by that there's not at least one DUI arrest," he said.
— Edited by Melinda Woover
Unidentified men tie up workers, rob BarbWire's yesterday morning
By Lauren Brandenburg
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Two unidentified men armed with guns robbed BarbWire's Steakhouse and Saloon, 2412 Iowa St., yesterday morning after tying up the two female employees who were inside before the restaurant opened, Lawrence police said.
Sgt. Mike Pattrick said that money was stolen but that the amount of money had not yet been determined.
Almost immediately after the men left, one of the employees was able to wiggle out of her bindings and called the police from the restaurant, Pattrick said. Police received the call at 9 a.m. The employees did not know which way the men went when they left.
Patrick did not have descriptions of the men other than that one was considerably older than the other. Detectives searched the area but were unable to locate either of the men.
Jim Taylor, the restaurant's general manager since it opened in May 1995, said both employees were all right but that they were upset, as anyone probably would be after such a violent act. He said he was more concerned with his employees' safety than with the money that was stolen.
"The money is of no consequence to us," he said. "The fact that the people are OK is what's important."
Taylor said he had been trying to call the restaurant and the phone was busy that morning, but he hadn't thought anything about it. Then he received a call about the robbery.
He said he could not remember BarbWire's being robbed before yesterday. He said the employees had done everything they could have and should have done, but he would look at procedures to see if anything could be improved.
"Basically, the procedures were followed," Taylor said. "But even if you follow procedures for these kinds of things, they can still happen."
He did not say and Patrick did not know whether the women were managers.
Taylor said the steakhouse would have normally opened at 11 a.m. but that it opened late yesterday after the robbery. The restaurant was operating yesterday afternoon, he said, and would continue with regular business.
"It's not uncommon for a business to be robbed during opening or closing." Pattrick said. "Typically, more often than not, they happen at night, but that is not always true."
Pattrick said robberies often occurred during those hours because it was less likely that patrons would be in the business.
— Edited by Melinda Weaver
A different look at history
Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity members display a model of "A Walk History." The exhibit will open today at 8 a.m. in the Parlor Room at the Kansas Union, and visitors will receive a free copy of "A Long Story," a compilation of African history, written by fraternity members.
Members pictured clockwise from bottom left are Bootsy Bowie, Wichita junior; J.R. Roland, Grandview, Mo., senior; Armond Enclarel, Colorado Springs, Colo., junior; Conway Ekpo, Lawrence senior; Adrian Franks, Manchester, Mo., senior; and Marcus Rathers, Chicago junior.
Photo by Thad Allender/KANSAN
Real World makes a stop in Lawrence for interviews
By Sarah Smarsh
Kansan staff writer
This is the true story of a casting call scheduled to take place this weekend in Lawrence.
The Real World, MTV's popular reality show, will have an open-casting call from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Abe & Jake's Landing. E 8. E 13th St.
In its national tour, Bunim/Murray Productions, will land in 15 cities, including Tucson, Ariz., Portland, Ore., and St. Louis.
Sasha Alpert, supervising casting director, estimated that 700 to 1,000 people show up at each stop. Hopefuls usually do a lot of waiting and fill out a brief application. Interviews are then conducted in groups of eight to 10. Alpert said, to which a wide range of questions will be asked.
"It's anything from politics to personal dramas to sexuality — to really anything," she said. "We just try to get peoples' guards to come down, so we can see the real person."
CASTING CALL
MTV's Real World will have an open casting call from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday at Abe & Jake's Landing, 8,
E. Sixth St.
Thomas Franklin.
Independence senior, was among 100 finalists for the Real World season that is now filming in Harlem, N.Y.
"That's an atmosphere that's nothing like what I'm used to," he said.
Franklin, who auditioned by sending in a video tape of himself, said casting directors were attracted to the perspective a Midwesterner would bring to Harlem.
frankin said he thought the Real World looked for specific characteristics in cast members, such as people who are "naive, Black, gay, angry."
"They kind of have the stereotypical cast member, and I could kind of fill the slot." he said.
Faced with that accusation, Alpert said,
"Definitely not — we look for people who are unlike anyone we've ever seen before.
It would be ridiculous to always have the same sorts of characters," she said.
Nonetheless, Franklin said the best advice was to "be yourself."
"They can see when someone's not," he said.
Casting director Rob LaPlante agreed that trying to dazzle recruiters with a false personality wouldn't get anyone too far.
"When we see real people, they tend to shine through," he said.
Franklin said the interview was the most opportune place to shine.
"Just deal with the questions they ask you and keep your composure," he said. "Or completely lose it, because they seem to like that too."
Despite the tens of thousands of Real World hopefuls, not everyone finds the prospect of living three months in front of a global audience appealing.
"I'd rather just chill alone and live in my own house," said Lauren Graham, Fort Worth, Texas, freshman.
For those interested in the casting call, applicants should be between the ages of 18 and 24 and should bring a recent photograph to the casting call.
Alpert said that although the location was still undisclosed, filming would last from early July to late October. It will be the 11th season for the Real World, MTV's longest running TV show.
- Edited by Jacob Roddy
Kansas Supreme Court declines to review bank's appeal
Watkins, Miller residents likely to gain access to trust fund records
By Cássio Furtado
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The Kansas State Supreme Court declined yesterday to review an appeal filed by Bank of America in a case brought by 13 Watkins Scholarship Hall residents.
Olga Ramm, Watkins Hall resident and Manhattan senior, said the decision was good for the residents.
"It will get us a step closer to getting the information we are asking for," she said.
The Douglas County District Court ruled that the residents should be the beneficiaries of the Elizabeth Miller-Watkins trust fund, which partially supports Watkins and Miller scholarship halls.
The Kansas Court of Appeals had already refused to rule on the case. Bank of America appealed that decision to the state's supreme court.
granted, it would have taken more time for Watkins and Miller residents to have access to the information they have been seeking.
David Brown, attorney for the residents,
said he was pleased with the decision.
"I'm looking forward for the bank and the University to provide the information the court has ordered them to," he said.
Jim Rankin, Bank of America lawyer,
declined to comment on the decision.
Lynn Bretz, interim director of University Relations, said the University wouldn't comment on the decision because it hadn't been officially notified.
Brown said that once Bank of America and
Bank of America has been responsible for managing the trust fund that Elizabeth Miller-Watkins left in her will to establish the two women's scholarship halls. Miller was built in 1926. Watkins was built in 1937. The fund, which was originally $250 thousand, has grown to approximately $3 million.
the University disclosed the information, it would be obvious that the fund wasn't managed properly.
sand, has grown to approximately 55 million. Residents and alumnae of the two halls have questioned the management of the fund since 1984, requesting a more active voice on how to invest and manage the trust.
Edited by Jason McKee
COURT DECISION
What happened: The Kansas State Supreme Court declined to review an appeal made by Bank of America in a case involving 13 Watkins Scholarship Hall residents.
What does it mean: Residents of Miller and Watkins scholarship halls will likely have access to trust fund records left by Elizabeth Miller-Watkins and managed by Bank of America.
What will happen next? The case will go back to the Douglas County District Court, which will make a decision on the case.
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