CAMPUS: Two seminars next semester aim to help students become better leaders. Page 8.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VOL.103, NO.46
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
ADVERTISING:864-4358
MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1993
Student electrocuted on utility pole
(USPS 650-640)
NEWS: 864-4810
Friends wait more than hour for 911 rescue
By Chesley Dohl
Kansan staff writer
A KU student was electrocuted late Saturday night when he climbed a utility pole outside a party at 1115 Louisiana St.
Travis Schupp, Valley Centerjunior, was in serious condition at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City yesterday after he suffered serious burns to his left hip, chest and left arm.
During a party at Schupp's apartment late Saturday night, he and his roommate, Adi Rosenblum, Overland Park sophomore, and their friend, John Freed, a Baker University freshman, decided to climb a 30-foot utility pole behind the apartment.
Rosenblum said they had climbed the same pole about a month before to get a "bird's eye view" of Lawrence
Rosenblum said he, Schupp and Freed had been drinking but were not intoxicated Saturday night.
"All three of us went up in the beginning." Rosenblum said, "I climbed up behind them three-quarters of the way, but I decided it wasn't such a great idea, and I didn't think it would support all three of us, so I came back down."
Rosenblum said someone from the apartment threw a football up to Freed and Schupp, who were straddling the utility pole with their legs locked. He said that as Schupp tried to catch the football, he bumped into a live electrical wire.
Rosenblum said his heart dropped when he heard the loud snap and saw blue sparks and fire shoot out of the wire.
"I thought he was dead," Rosenblum said. "His body just went limp. I didn't think anyone could handle that much voltage."
Freed said that after the explosion his friend passed out for about 10 or 15 seconds and leaned forward.
"Travis was just lying there, and I grabbed him and pulled him to me," Freed said. "I grabbed his arm and it smelled strange and it felt sort of gummy. I knew he was burned pretty badly."
Freed and Schupp waited to be rescued from the pole for more than an hour.
Freed said he tried to keep his friend alert by talking to him and asking him questions. He said Schupp kept saying, "I'm out, I'm out" and "Get me down."
"I was just worried about holding the both of us up there." Freed said.
Jennifer Gill, Leawood senior, called 911 from her Carson Place apartment after her electricity went out.
"When we heard the transformer blow and the sparks fly, there was a blackout," Gill said. "The guy in the red shirt (Schupp) was lying across the pole as stiff as a board — we
thought he was dead."
The Lawrence Fire Department rescued the students from the pole at 1:20 a.m., an hour and 10 minutes after they arrived on the scene.
Jerry Karr, Lawrence Battalion Chief, said strict safety precautions had to be taken around the wires.
"It was a matter of KPL officials telling us when it was safe to send people up," Karr said. "They are the only people qualified to give the word that things are safe."
Kansas Power and Light officials were not available for comment yesterday. Several students living on Indiana and Louisiana streets said their electricity went out from just after midnight until almost 2 a.m.
Ted Schupp, Travis's father, said his son was in good spirits. He said his son was connected to a heart monitor and was being held in the hospital intensive care unit for observation.
"When 7,200 volts go through your body you're lucky to be alive," Ted Schupp said. "We're lucky was up there with him and saved him."
Travis Schupp's accident
Travis Schupp and John Freed climbed to the top of an electric pole while attending a party at 11.15 Louisiana St. Schupp was electrocuted when he made contact with a 7,200-volt power line. He was attempting to catch a football thrown by his friends below.
While rescuers labored to get Schupp down, Freed stayed with him to keep him from falling.
Schupp is in serious condition at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Schupp's accident knocked out power in the area for over an hour.
New class looking for literacy tutors
Dan Schauer/KANSAN
By Kathleen Stolle
Kansan staff writer
Source: Kansan staff research
With a $100,000 grant in one hand and 15 special permission cards in the other, Diana Bolton's hands are full. But has she imn'?
Bolton, director of the KU adult literacy program, Partners in Learning, is looking for students to tutor for credit as part of a new adult litera-
You can help
The program, supported by a four-year federal grant, addresses illiteracy in Lawrence. The first phase focuses on illiterate parents.
The English 590 course, which is being offered for the first time next semester, has 15 openings. Bolton was notified of the grant after the spring timetables were printed, so the course is not listed. Students interested in tutoring must get a special permission card from Bolton, who teaches the course.
"They need to be really committed, that's the prerequisite." Bolton said.
- Donating new or used books at 154强 Hall.
Books may be use for adults, international or college students or elementary or high school students.
KANSAN
"This is a course you can take with you as part of your life," Bolton said.
Students will meet in class on Wednesday evenings for three hours and will spend six hours a week tutoring an adult student. Students will study teaching theories and methods and will discuss their tutoring experiences.
Bolton's office also administers a literacy program for KU employees, which includes about 40 employees and 20 student tutors. That program is structured much like the new community program and is also a section of English 590.
Margaret Beck, Washington, Ind., graduate student, got her first taste of adult literacy tutoring two years ago in one of Bolton's classes. Beck is co-president of Students Tutoring for Learning, a KU literacy group that is an off-shoot of Bolton's class.
As a student in Bolton's class, Beck tutored a 70-year-old Lawrence man whose education ended in kindergarten because of a vision problem. The man told Beck that a doctor had warned his parents that reading could be harmful for their son.
The man learned to recognize words and write short sentences after a semester of tutoring. However, Beck said, his vision problem and personal circumstances made learning difficult.
"It was harder for me, and it was discouraging because I had to be really patient," she said. "At the same time, it was a really good learning experience."
Slow out of the gate The Oklahoma Sooners hogtied the Kansas Jayhawks in the first half of Saturday's game and withstood a second half Jayhawk attack in their 38-23 victory.
Slow out of the gate
Page 12
ROTC cadets practice combat situations
Ryan Robinson, Topeka junior, guards a defensive perimeter around his squad while they plan an attack. The squad was a part of ROTC's fall maneuvers at Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant east of Lawrence on Saturday.
John Gamble / KANSAN
It's 'bang, bang,' you're dead in bulletless tactical training
By Chesley Dohl
Kansan staff writer
Dodging from tree to tree in camouflage fatigues and green-painted faces, 74 KU cadets in the Jayhawk ROTC Battalion ambushed a campsite while others diligently defended it.
"This is a simulated, simplified version of the advanced ROTC training camp the junior cadets will go to this summer," said Clay Barker, assistant professor of military science. "During that camp the Army brings out the big toys, the tanks and the other high-tech equipment, so the cadets can get a feel for a real high pressure war situation."
The Army ROTC training at the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant near DeSoto on Friday and Saturday prepares the cadets for the advanced summer training camp at Fort Lewis in Washington state.
The simulated attack Saturday afternoon allowed the cadets to use the skills they had learned during training exercises. Throughout the weekend, different stations were organized for the cadets where they learned radio communication skills, first aid, camouflage and tactical movements.
Friday night the cadets worked with night-vision goggles and set up camp. They ate Army ration meals, carried guns and slept in tents. The only thing they didn't use was real ammunition.
"There's a lot of administration work for actual blanks," Barker said. "That's why they're just running through the woods now shouting 'bang-bang.' In the spring we use a system called miles. It's a device you use at the advanced camp using lasers that send off alarms when someone's been hit."
John Munoz, Leavenworth freshman, said the training gave him more of a sense of what realistic military situations might be like.
"This was a bit of a culture shock to me," Munoz said. "Some of these people are really experienced and know exactly what they're doing. This is new to me. I've only been camping in my back yard."
The 22-hour training camp was organized to provide hands-on tactical and leadership training skills for the cadets.
Army ROTC senior cadets organized the event. Ron Nicholl, professor of military science, said the seniors were instrumental in guiding and teaching the freshman, sophomores and juniors in their tactical training process.
"We operate by a system we call the crawl, walk, run process." Nicholl said. "It's a real progression process. We started out crawling and right now we're at the walk phase. By the end of the semester we want the cadets to be running."
Composting provides intelligent alternative for waste
Compostm Process helps city KU cut costs, trash
By Liz Kilinger
Kansan staff writer
Since the city's Earthbound program began Jan, 1, the city has been producing what Lawrence's recycling coordinator calls "gourmet dirt" in its compost piles.
Lawrence has some great dirt, and it is definitely going to use it.
Composting is a natural process that mixes air, water and organic matter such as leaves and food scraps so that they are broken down until they become a rich, soil-like matter.
"Composts are kind of like miracles," Patricia Marvin said.
Earthbound is designed to reduce Lawrence's residential waste by 45
percent. Residents' yard trimming and leaves have been picked up once a week and placed in a growing compost pile in east Lawrence. City parks use the compost material for landscaping.
Sue Ask, associate environmental ambudsman, said KU has been composting for about 40 years. She said KU composts its leaves, dead plantings and shrub trimmings on West Campus. She said composting saves the University about 20 percent in waste disposal costs.
"KU is taking a lot more environmental steps about how they use things," Marvin said. "KU's landscapeaping has always been very good."
Although both the city and KU compost piles are large, Marvin said small composts can be made at home. The process involves collecting leaves and food scraps such as egg shells, vegetable trimmings and coffee
grids. Leaves and food scraps then are stacked in a pile or bin. The pile requires only occasional water and turning.
Marvin said this was a good time of year to begin a compost pile because the leaves are falling.
"Grab from nature what you'll need all year," Marvin said.
"It's mostly stuff from the kitchen," Debski said. "You know when you make a salad and you have that extra piece of broccoli left over? It's pretty simple to do."
Diane Debinski, assistant professor of environmental studies, has been composting for two years and said her waste has been reduced by 15 percent each week. She said she keeps an uncovered compost pile near her garden and doesn't spend a great deal of time cultivating it.
The trash alternative
Mulch and potting soil can be made from compost by mixing two parts compost with one part sand.
Helpful tips:
Rotate your compost once after the first month and continue rotating it. Keep the bin filled — compost material shrinks quickly.
Avoid using bones, which have a slow decay rate.
Vegatable trimmings, egg shells, coffee grounds and tea bags are the best compost materials.
Use bins with tight lids to keep fruit files away
Alternate layers of leaves and yard trimmings with food scraps.
Use a 3 - 1 ratio of yard waste to food scraps
To avoid odor, exclude meat, fat and spices.
Source: The institute for Local Self Reliance and Patricia James Frederick/KANBAN Marvin, coordinating coordinator for the city of Lawrence.