T
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Student is top of her class
Senior Sierra Winter is the only May graduate in her design major. NEWS | 8A
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Textbook rentals on the rise
Students are turning to online rental sites and a local bookstore. LAWRENCE | 5A
CAMPUS
Initial autopsy indicates drug use
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 80
BY ELLIOT METZ emetz@kansan.com
The Shawnee County Coroner's office has completed its autopsy of Eric Bittlingmayer, a 21-year-old Lawrence sophomore who died last weekend. The autopsy found a combination of amphetamines, THC, opiates, and benzodiazepines, medications used to treat anxiety issues. Though drugs were found, no cause of death has been determined by the medical examiner.
Bittlingmayer was found on Sunday evening when police responded to an unattended death at his apartment in the 1300 block of Kentucky. There were no immediate signs of foul play, said Kim Murphree, records manager for the Lawrence Police Department.
Services will be held at Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St., Friday morning. Visitation will occur at 9:30 followed by the service at 11.
Edited by Katie Blankenau
FUNDRAISER
Coaches encourage Haiti relief donations
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
Fortunately, people in Lawrence are willing to help.
There's no shortage of people in Haiti needing help after the devastating earthquake hit the island nation Jan. 12. The death toll, according to CNN, is up to 72,000 people. The survivors are not much better off.
"The average income down there is less than one dollar a day," Kansas coach Bill Self said at a Monday press conference. "So for people to put in 20 bucks, or 100 bucks, seems pretty nominal, compared
going through."
Self is part of a fundraising initiative hosted by the Kansas Athletics department. Donations were collected at Saturday's men's
Self
basketball game against Texas Tech and again at Sunday's women's game against Missouri. Anyone can donate online at BillSelf.com, or kauathletics.com, the official athletics website of the University of Kansas. All funds will go through
SEE HAITI ON PAGE 3A
Students should use caution during risky weather
BY ANNA ARCHIBALD aarchibald@kansan.com
Lori Jacob's Facebook status on Sunday warned her friends of the spooky overcast sky.
"it's like something out of a horror movie!"
Jacob, a junior from Overland Park said she was getting tired of the "fog and all the nasty weather."
David Mechem, assistant professor of atmospheric science, said that lingering fog wasn't uncommon, but that clarity was on the way.
"Fog is made up of small water droplets suspended in the air," he said. "Basically it is clouds on the ground."
He said the lasting fog came from a combination of three factors: a stable atmosphere, moisture and a cold surface.
As long as these exist, so will the fog.
"What will start causing it to be less prevalent is moving into more of an active weather pattern, which is less supportive of fog," he said. "It will most likely warm up and we'll probably get some rain in the next few daws."
Jacob said she would prefer any other weather to the fog.
"I was out at night parking my car with a friend and there was some random guy standing on the corner with his dog," she said. "It was so creepy."
The fog, however, doesn't just make walking outside "creepy." Driving has also been a concern for students, faculty and the Kansas Highway Patrol.
Jacob said that she was driving the other day with her friend and that they couldn't make out any of the street signs through the fog.
"We screamed," she said. "It was just too weird."
She said that her 2008 Ford Focus had fog lights, but that they didn't help much in the dark, especially when a person crossed the street wearing dark clothing.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol website, there have been eight auto accidents since Jan. 14 involving two or more vehicles, four of which involved a fatality. None of these reports, however, have been directly linked to the fog.
Edna Buttler, Kansas Highway Patrol technical trooper, said fog-related accidents were preventable.
"Inattentive driving is the number one cause of crashes in Kansas," she said. "But if everyone drives for the weather, they should be fine."
- Edited by Kirsten Hudson
DRIVING TIPS
1. You should never drive faster than you see.
2. Expect to be able to come to a stop.
3. Increase following distance and decrease speed.
4. Don't use bright lights as they will only reflect the light back.
5. Listen for traffic because you may not be able to see it.
6. Be patient. Don't pass lines of traffic.
The Kanasis Highway Patrol and Wearther.com
BY NANCY WOLENS
nwolens@kansan.com
Students handle maintenance issues caused by recent melting snow and ice
Warmer temperatures are causing snow from Lawrence's recent winter storm to begin melting, creating household problems for students.
Burton Barrish, a junior from Chicago, came back to his apartment after winter break and found more than a foot-and-a-half of water standing in his bathroom and kitchen from a pipe that had burst.
"The water actually went through my kitchen down into my friend's apartment
The difficulties with bursting pipes and potential leaks from the rising temperatures are caused by excess water that doesn't get absorbed into the ground, J.F. Devlin, associate professor of geology, said.
below me," Barrish said. "It basically caved in his ceiling and it got all of his clothes soaking wet."
Barrish said that maintenance from his apartment complex fixed the pipes, but that one room in his apartment had mold and a bare floor after crews pulled up the soaked carpet.
Devlin specializes in research with ground water hydrogeology, which deals
with water existing underground or on the surface of the earth. If it rains hard, or if the snow melts rapidly, Devlin said, the water was being delivered into the ground faster than it could handle. Any additional water, beyond what the ground can take, flows onto the surface.
"Ultimately, in a city like this, the excess water is going to end up on the streets, the gutters or in the storm sewers." Devlin said. "The water will channel its way to the lowest points and that is where you may run into problems."
If there is a light rain or if the snow melts slowly enough, the water has time to sink down into the ground, reducing
the risk of short-term flooding.
Jared Leighton, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Topeka, said the ground in the region was now frozen down to four inches. He said that the frozen layer couldn't necessarily take in the amount of water that was melting, but that the snow was now melting at a manageable pace and was releasing slowly.
"As of now we have had no problems with flooding," Leighton said. "We're keeping our fingers crossed that the snow melts slowly."
index
Edited by Kirsten Hudson
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San Diego's mayor takes stand on Proposition 8
Major swish stance after learning his daughter is in a committed lesbian relationship **NATIONAL** 15A
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FRIDAY
Partly cloudy