KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2011 / NEWS
3A
LAWRENCE
City commission changes rules for boarding houses
BY ERIN BROWN
ebrown@kansan.com
Students looking for a more communal approach to living arrangements can expect some minor changes to boarding house standards in Lawrence.
The parking spaces behind the boarding house on 1037 Kentucky. The house has six bedrooms and six occupants, but only four parking spaces.
Boarding houses are multi-dwelling living structures in which five or more unrelated people live together.
Scott McCullough, director of planning and development services, said that commissioners have discussed boarding house issues at several meetings.
"We've been at it for quite a while now," he said.
At Tuesday's city commission meeting, commissioners discussed re-evaluating parking standards, boarding house structure space, and creating grandfathered rights for any approved boarding house planning site.
Megan Singer/KANSAN
The former parking standard for boarding houses was .75 spaces per legal occupant. City commissioners approved changing the standard to one parking space per bedroom.
ments, which get one space per bedroom. McCullough said.
For example, if an approved boarding house is damaged by fire and does not meet the new requirements for parking, it is allowed to rebuild with the old standards.
The approved grandfathered rights will allow damaged boarding house sites to rebuild.
In the past, conflicts among boarding house residents and other neighborhood residents sparked discussion among city commissioners.
Consequences of large living arrangements, such as noise complaints and excessive trash, forced the commission to consider eliminating boarding houses. Currently, the city will keep boarding houses and permit them to be built in the future.
"Ultimately it was viewed as a good option for student housing and an option that is feasible
"It's good for people who want to live with a bunch of their friends but aren't in a sorority or fraternity."
The reason for the change was to provide a similar standard for boarding houses as for apart-
DAN BURNETTE student
when lawful students take up residency," McCullough said.
Joe Jaceline owns a house in Lawrence that he rents out to college students. Although his
property only has three residents and is not considered a boarding house, he did live in communal
structures as a college student and understands the conflicts boarding houses can cause.
"In any college town there are going to be conflicts between students and others in the neighborhood," he said. "More students are looking for cheaper housing and you find them ending up in residential areas."
"There are 10 of us and everybody has a lot of friends, so when we have people over, there's a lot of noise," he said.
Dan Burdette, a junior from Overland Park, lives in a house with nine other roommates, and said he often deals with noise complaints from neighbors.
Although boarding houses might cause conflicts in neighborhoods, Burdette said communal living arrangements provide different options for students.
"It's good for people who want to live with a bunch of their friends but aren't in a sorority or fraternity," he said. "They should have that option."
Edited by Caroline Bledowski
The city commission approves changes to boarding house regulations on Tuesday. It approved more parking spaces per resident and grandfathered rights for damaged boarding houses.
Megan Singer/KANSAN
12th Street to be brought to light
LAWRENCE
BY ADAM STRUNK astrunk@kansan.com
Walking from campus to downtown Lawrence at night can be a harrowing experience.
"It's a steep hill and you're not sure when the sidewalk is going to be smooth or break right in front of you," said Libby Johnson, chairwoman of the Campus Safety Advisory Board. "There are stairs in random places and it's too dark to see where you're going. It's pretty scary."
However, this will soon change.
The first stage of construction includes a concrete sidewalk along the north side of 12th Street between Louisiana and Vermont streets. The city of Lawrence will
As soon as the weather improves, construction will begin on the Oread Neighborhood Lighting Project. The project will connect downtown Lawrence to campus with a well-lit, handicap accessible pathway.
also erect light poles along the sidewalk in South Park in March. "It's going to increase the safety of the Oread Neighborhood," said Johnson, a senior from Lawrence. "There have been rapes and there have been other crimes; and I think this is going to do a very good job in preventing that."
The path will be lined with antique style light posts that have energy saving LED light bulbs installed. The lights will be connected to motion sensors. Some proponents said these lights would increase the safety of pedestrians.
"Lighting does not necessarily guarantee safety, but it does give people walking the opportunity to see up ahead," said Mark Thiel, assistant public works director for the City of Lawrence.
Thiel also said the path would also help decrease crime in the area by increasing foot traffic.
Both the University of Kansas and the City are providing funding for the project. The Campus Safety Advisory Board allocated $100,000 for the project and Student Senate an additional $20,000.
The City contributed $50,000 and administered $60,000 of a Community Development Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The total project will cost $307,010.
KUJH
Construction was set to begin during Thanksgiving break. Delays and bad weather have prevented the company contracted to build the sidewalk, RD Johnson Excavating, from starting.
Check out KUJH-TV News at 4 p.m. on the Knology Channel 31 tomorrow for more.
Thiel said work on the sidewalk would begin once the weather cleared. He said the light poles for South Park had been ordered and would be erected once the light poles were delivered, which should be some time in March.
Though the first part of the project is well under way, developers are waiting on additional funds from the Community Block Development Grant before beginning the next stages.
project would be completed by the end of the year.
Johnson said she thought the
If the project does not receive the funds needed, Johnson said the Campus Safety Advisory Board would re-evaluate sources of funding and ask the Kansas University Endowment Association and the University of Kansas Alumni Association to help out.
— Edited by Caroline Bledowski
Campus Wi-Fi more secure after switch
to a Secure Jayhawk Wireless, according to an e-mail from KU Information Technology. The new wireless network requires all users to reconfigure their wireless devices before connecting to the Internet.
If you are having trouble connecting wirelessly to the Internet today on campus, you may want to blame a network change before blaming the device.
In order to reconfigure a wireless device the user must follow a number of steps also available on the University website.
KU Information Technology stated in the e-mail the new network would "ensure that
a wireless user's data is kept private from other users on the network."
Today KU switched from the old Jayhawk Wireless network
1. Connect to KU Guest
2. Open a browser window
3. Accept terms of use for KUJ
3. Accept terms of use for KU
CAMPUS
4. Click on the "Automatically Configure Secure Jayhawk" link.
Guest
5. Follow the on-screen instructions.
If you are still having trouble, call the KU IT customer service center at (785)864-8080 for additional help.
CAMPUS
—Adam Strunk
Author speaks on race, community
BY LISA ANDERSEN landersen@kansan.com
Students and faculty gathered on the sixth floor of the Kansas Union Tuesday evening to hear Dr. Adia Harvey Wingfield, assistant professor of sociology at Georgia State University, speak about her new book, "Yes We Can?: White Racial Framing and the 2008 Presidential Campaign."
The event was organized by the Office of Multicultural Affairs in an effort to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Wingfield teaches classes on ideas such as race, gender, work and social theory at Georgia State University, according to www2.ssu.edu.
"We saw her speak at a conference this summer; she was a really phenomenal speaker and we enjoyed her topic," Precious Porras, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs said.
"I think we've come very far, but we still have far to go." Porras said. "It's an opportunity to remind students that we need to be active and aware so we can move further and beyond."
Wingfield traveled with President Obama during his campaign trail to research her book using first-hand observation. Porras feels as though there is much to be learned about race in America today.
Dr. William Staples, professor and department chair of the sociology department, feels that race and politics are a continuous issue on
KUJH
For more on this story, be sure to watch KUJH-TV News tomorrow at 4 p.m. on Knology Channel 31.
the world stage.
"Debates about public policy and how the world is organized continue to revolve around issues about race," Staples said.
Porras said Wingfield's speech is the starting point of the Office of Multicultural Affairs' Preemptive Action campaign during Black History Month, which she hopes will turn into a year long campaign if it is successful.
"People look at [Martin Luther King, Jr. Day] as a day off," Porras said. "You should be aware of the events around you every day."
Porras feels that the University of Kansas is an accepting community, and does not limit awareness to solely issues of race.
"I would say that overall KU is an inclusive community," Porras said. "If you have your own dream, what are you doing to make that dream happen?"
—Edited by Becca Harsch
PERKINS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
"It is time for closure and to move on, and I am glad to have this matter fully and finally resolved," the statement said.
In a consent agreement reached between the commission's general counsel and Perkins' attorney, Perkins maintained he did not intentionally violate the law. The commission also agreed not to take any further action against Perkins regarding the exercise equipment.
"Both parties wish to avoid potentially costly and protracted litigation," according to the agreement.
The commission dropped a second allegation that Perkins had accepted free physical therapy sessions from sports medicine employees, the Associated Press reported, because it did not have the witnesses to prove the allegations.
the victim of blackmail relating to allegations he improperly accepted the equipment and physical therapy sessions. Former director of sports medicine William Dent allegedly blackmailed Perkins after learning Perkins had received free equipment. Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little ordered a review and turned the case over to the Kansas Ethics Commission.
In June, Perkins claimed he was
In June, Perkins announced he would leave the position of athletics director in September 2011. However, Perkins abruptly resigned September 7, 2010, the same day the ethics complaint regarding exercise equipment was signed and notarized.
A commission hearing on Perkins had been scheduled for November 16, but was delayed after Perkins had a scheduling conflict.
—Edited by Becca Harsch
ROBINSON (CONTINUED FROM 12A)
knew Thomas' situation and how much his mother meant to him, in large part, because that's all he had. His only set of grandparents he knew died within the last three weeks. He gets a call from his sister, who's nine, that mommy just died from a 9-year-old, because there's nobody else to call. Those are pretty heavy things. Our players totally felt that and respected that and totally respect Thomas."
The players really want to know about 'Thomas' situation. They want to know about the arrangements and about Robinson's 9-year-old sister, Jayla. They want to know what KU can legally do and what the NCAA will allow. Most importantly they wanted to know if anybody was going to be able to be with Robinson, because he does not deserve to be alone.
After practice on Monday, Director of Basketball Operations Barry Hinson traveled to
Washington D.C. to help Robinson. Self, the staff and the Jayhawks have had numerous conversations about the situation. The discussions have been about how to move forward from a business standpoint and a personal standpoint.
"To me, the big picture is Thomas," Self said. "The other things, basketball, can help with the big picture, which is Thomas. The big picture's not us winning on Tuesday; the big picture's not us winning on Saturday. The big is not that. Basketball is a byproduct that we're fortunate enough to participate in because of these guys. But these guys always come first, always. We've got to get back to basketball, but not at the expense of not doing what we should do for the big picture."
Hinson is working with Robinson on getting an attorney lined up and helping become educated with all the things he has to
do. Figuring out family possessions is going to be a difficult task, but also what to do with Jaya.
A scholarship fund in Lisa Robinson's name is being set up for Jayla. People are asked to contribute to the fund in lieu of flowers or other gifts.
Jayla broke the unfortunate news to Robinson, because she had nobody else to call. On Sunday, Robinson said he "positively wanted to go to Boulder," but after talking to Jayla, he thought it would be best to go home. A timetable has not been set for his return to the team and Self is OK with the date Robinson sets to return.
Self said that people handle certain situations differently in these types of circumstances and he wants Robinson to do what is best for him.
What's amazing about the situation is how many people want to help Robinson. So many people
that Self doesn't know and does know and that Robinson doesn't know are willing to offer their assistance in unselfish ways.
"I've had friends, that I've known for years, that live in Texas that want to go to DC right now," Self said. "They want to move up here and just take care of Thomas's sister. They're talking about guardianship, people that don't know him. It's amazing to me how people get connected to our guys because they see them as one of theirs. That's one of the great things about playing here and I think Thomas sees that now more than ever. There's been some positive things have come of this, without question. No definite answers will be given on anything until he has a chance to figure out what's best for he and what's best for Jayla."
Edited by Corey Thibodeaux