to
v facing on rates an ever-budget, e Grayium and nuise the our jour-that will new day Kansas," State of hursday litorium ooke of horizon, halleng-navigate she sieing the n and sites are association at these dline in advance-iversiary need-way." aped to ener-viron-easing would ertain e presititu-ment. one of our
ASSOCIATED PRESS
D. C., to honor Robinson's mother. See Kansan.com for watch the video from the funeral.
Sophomore forward Thomas Robinson and his seven-year-old sister Jayla arrive at funeral services for their mother, Lisa Robinson, Thursday at Antioch Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.
Thomas and Jayla gain support of thousands throughout Jayhawk nation
BY ANDY MARSO editor@kansan.com
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Thomas Robinson got out of a black limousine and immediately went to comfort his seven-year-old sister Jayla, who was waiting outside Antioch Baptist Church Thursday morning.
Jayla's hair was done up in meticulous braids with blue beads at the tips. She clung to her brother's waist and scrunched down against the fur lining of her parka's collar.
It was the third funeral in less than a month for Robinson, a sophomore forward on the University of Kansas men's
basketball team. Robinson's grandmother died in late December and his grandfather died less than three weeks later. Then, last Friday, the most shocking blow — his mother, Lisa Robinson, died from an apparent heart attack at age 43.
By the end of the day Robinson's pain would bring together the people from this neighborhood on the east side of Washington, D.C., and the entire Kansas men's basketball team. Together, in a modest red-brick church, they remembered Lisa Robinson and sought to comfort Thomas, Jayla and their brother Jamah.
Robinson's family and friends arrived throughout the morning, driving through half-plowed
streets after a storm dumped several inches of snow on the District the night before.
Javorn Farrell played with Robinson at Riverdale Baptist High School in Maryland. Now a sophomore guard at the University of Massachusetts, he had a game Wednesday at St. Bonaventure University, but caught the first flight out of Buffalo, N. Y., Thursday morning to attend the funeral.
"When I got the news, I was heartbroken," Farrell said. "Thomas is like a brother to me."
Just before basketball, Robinson's current basketball brothers
SEE ROBINSON ON PAGE 5A
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Members of the basketball team stop to console teammate Thomas Robinson, left seated, during funeral services for his mother, Lisa Robinson, Thursday at Antioch Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.
INDEX
Classifieds...11A
Crossword...4A
Cryptoquips...4A
Opinion...3A
Sports...12A
Sudoku...4A
WEATHER
TODAY
56 26
Mostly Sunny
SATURDAY
43 22
Partly Cloudy
SATURDAY
37 18
Partly Cloudy weather.com
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2011 The University Daily Kansan
Partly Cloudy
SIMIEN | 12A
No.23 jersey to be retired during game tomorrow
Watch Saturday's halftime as Wayne Simien's jersey is ceremoniously raised.
DEPRESSION | 9A
Learn how to beat those blues
速
Winter can be a dark time — for the skies and the mind. Read about how to lighten up and defeat Seasonal Affective Disorder.
SCANDAL | 9A
Ticket defendant pleads guilty
SEE SPEECH ON PAGE 5A
Former Associate Athletics Director Blubaugh admits to involvement in the athletics ticket scandal and now faces prison time.
CELEBRATION
BY ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON amcnaughton@kansan.com
History brought alive for Kansas Day
After nearly a decade of fighting and debates regarding slavery, Kansas had become known as "Bleeding Kansas."
The year was 1861 and a tumultuous year it was.
At the height of those battles and in the midst of the uncertainty that faced the nation, President James Buchanan signed the bill admitting Kansas, a free state, as the 34th state in the Union.
Kansas Day on Jan. 29 will mark the sesquicentennial, Kansas' 150th birthday, as well as the 134th observed celebration of Kansas' statehood. Events and activities statewide will help commemorate the day.
"Kansas Day is a good opportunity to raise awareness of our state and make people proud to be a Kansan," said Mary Madden, the director of education and outreach for the Kansas State Historical Society and lecturer in the Museum Studies program at the University of Kansas.
Madden, who is originally from Cleveland but came to Kansas to
SEE TRIBUTE ON PAGE 9A