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MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2010
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WORTH THE WAIT
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 83
Spencer Walsh/KANSAN
Kelcee Sachtleben, a freshman from St. Louis, talks to a freshman from Leawood, Austin Trees, while camping out in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawk basketball team plays Missouri tonight at 7 p.m.
Dedicated fans camp for seats
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
If the amount of campers at Allen Fieldhouse is any indication, Self will be proved prophetic.
Bill Self wrote on his new Twitter account Saturday that he expected the best crowd of the year when the Missouri Tigers come to Lawrence on Monday.
Jared McPherson, a senior from Olathe, is part of the camping group "Welcome to Lawrence, Bitch", and said he goes to all the lotteries.
"I've been going to the lotteries since freshman year. This is my fourth year," McPherson said. "I've never seen that many people. Maybe with all the hype this season, with being preseason No. 1 and all,
had something to do with it."
McPherson said the head of his group, Kevin Matlage, helped organize the lottery and that the official numbers were around 1500 campers comprising 96 groups at the lottery Thursday morning after the Baylor game — five days in advance of the Border Showdown.
Ian Sadler, who has worked for Kansas Athletics for a year and a half, co-hosts a pregame show called Center Court in Allen Fieldhouse. The show is designed to entertain the student section, allowed into the Fieldhouse in order of their group number about two hours before tipoff, with awards, prizes and celebrity interviews. Sadler said he was expecting a huge crowd, based on the amount of campers
he's seen so far.
"The crowd has been insane," Sadler said. "This year it's been ridiculous, the amount of campers. There's a ton more than we had last year, so we're expecting a huge crowd for Mizzou."
Last year's Missouri crowd was particularly rabid, as the fans had the chance to see the layhawks take on a team that defeated them just three weeks previous in Columbia.
This year, there is no intrigue of match — the Jayhawks don't visit Columbia until the last game of the regular season on March 6 — but once-top-ranked Kansas is primed to make a run at the national title, something that was out of the question last season.
"Since KU once again has an elite
team, people are going to compete harder for seats as close to the court as possible," said Nick Jackson, whose group Prestige Worldwide drew the sixth spot at the lottery. "The No. 3 ranking will always bring more pressure and more fan support."
Jackson and the majority of his group arrived at the lottery at 5:45 a.m. Thursday morning. In order to earn a spot in line, campers needed to go to the lottery, which starts at 6 a.m. Each group was allowed to draw a number for every five people in their group, and the lowest number they drew indicated their spot in line. Jackson said his group had 25 people at the lottery.
He said the last time the crowd was so large was when Kansas State's
Michael Beasley came to Allen Fieldhouse.
"The group was, for the most part, excited that we got such a high number, but most of us just wanted to get home and go back to sleep," said Jackson, a sophomore from Newton. "Now that the game's just a day away, everyone is really jacked up for it."
Jackson said part of the appeal was Kansas fans' reputation as some of the best in the country.
"This year, we're competing for a national title and Missouri always provides a good test," he said. "I want to be there to help provide the best home court advantage in all of sports."
Edited by Ashley Montgomery
GOVERNMENT
President appoints KU professor to EPA staff
BY AMANDA THOMPSON
athompson@kansan.com
athompson@kansan.com
Karl Brooks, associate professor in the history and environmental studies departments, will serve as one of 10 regional administrators for the Environmental Protection Agency. Brooks will be the head of Region 7, based in Kansas City, Kan., which covers Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and nine tribal nations.
President Obama has made a Jayhawk one of the newest members of his administration.
Brooks was told about his presidential appointment by EPA administrator Lisa Jackson the day before the news became
"I'm delighted," he said. "It's a huge honor — to be a product of this University, to work with President Obama and Lisa Jackson, and to do this really important work."
As the administrator of Region 7, Brooks' primary responsibility will be to serve as a link between the EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., and different environmental law and policy makers in the region.
"My job is to be the eyes and ears of Lisa Jackson," Brooks said. "And it is a presidential appointment, so in some ways, it's to be
Brooks said his start date was still being negotiated, but he expects to start in the first half of February. He said presidential appointments usually last throughout the term of the president who makes the appointments, so he guessed he would be with the EPA through February of 2013.
public. Brooks said the news, though unexpected at the time, was exciting.
the eyes and ears for the White House on environmental policy here in this region."
While fulfilling his duties with the EPA, Brooks will take a leave of absence from the University. But he described himself as a very happy employee, and said he plans to continue teaching classes in his
Ku professor of history Kai Brooks was recently appointed by President Obama to the adminis-
trator position of the EFA Region 7. Brooks will leave KU to fulfill the role sometime next month.
SEE PROFESSOR ON PAGE 5A
CAMPUS
Wren lawyer criticizes KU police
BY ANNIE VANGSNES
anniev@kansan.com
The attorney representing the family of Jason Wren, the 19-year-old KU student found dead in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house in March 2009, said he is concerned about the lack of an investigation by the police into the circumstances behind the night of Wren's death.
Stephen Gorny, the attorney who is representing the Wren family, said Jay Wren, Jason's father, wanted a complete investigation. He said he asked whether an investigation was done, and never got a confirmation.
The lawsuit, filed last November, raises complaints against alcohol policies of the University. Sigma Alpha Epsilon and the Interfraternity council.
Jake Droge, Interfraternity Council President, said the Greek Life staff reviewed the incident and determined there weren't any violations of IFC policies because there wasn't a sanctioned event planned that night. The IFC and Panhellenic Association both require chapters notify them of planned events, and regulates the consumption of alcohol.
Jill less, Associate Director of University Relations, said the University did not did not take any formal action against the chapter or any members of SAE because the they live in an off-campus property.
Droge said in situations where people are drinking in the house when it's not a sanctioned event it's the fraternity officers' responsibility the chapter follow these rules.
"It's mainly putting the people in charge, holding them responsible," Droge said "When you become the president of a fraternity or a sorority it's on your shoulders."
However, alcohol policies might be changing in fraternity and sorority houses anyway.
Droge said the IFC and Panhellenic organizations started updating the policies in December and have been talking to fellow organizations across the nation to learn about their policies. He said the policy revamp was not directly related to any of the alcohol-related student deaths in the last year, but it made them look at certain regulations more critically.
The alcohol policy includes rules about security, underage drinking and requirements to provide food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Droge said IFC and Panhellenic representatives might eventually require IFC and Panhellenic organizations to monitor rules and check IDs at parties, in an effort to curb underage drinking.
Edited by Jesse Rangel
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