FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3,1995
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS 864-4810
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
ADVERTISING 864-4358
SECTION A VOL.102.NO.54
(USPS 650-640)
TODAY KANSAN
SPORTS
Ready to Battle
The No.11 Kansas football team plans to cage the Missouri Tigers tomorrow at Memorial Stadium. Page 1B
CAMPUS
Some people argue that tipping servers is an obligation, not an option. Page 10A
Tipping the scales
School bus hijacked
NATION
A man claiming to have a bomb takes over a bus with disabled children and leads police on a wild chase. Page 9A
WORLD
French police arrest bombers
The five men are suspected in bombings that have killed seven people. Page 8A
Weather: Page 2A.
INDEX
Features ... 10A
Scoreboard ... 2B
Horoscopes ... 4B
National News ... 9A
World News ... 8A
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is free. Additional copies of the Kansan are 25 cents.
Biodiesel doesn't make the grade
One-week test shows lower fuel economy
By Joann Birk
Kansan staff writer
The alternative fuel used in two Lawrence Bus Co. buses this week probably has seen its last day on Javakhw Boulevard.
Chris Ogle, owner of the Lawrence Bus Co., said that the biodiesel
blend used in two buses this week at the request of KU Environs probably did more harm than good. He said the blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent regular diesel actually lowered the fuel economy of the buses and slightly reduced their power.
"You are not saving anything if you have to use 18 percent more fuel," he said.
The company will fulfill its promise to use the biodiesel fuel through today, but Ogle said any remaining biodiesel would not be used.
The Lawrence Bus Co. agreed to try the fuel in two of its buses after KU Environs had two 55-gallon barrels of biodiesel fuel delivered to the company. The fuel was donated by the National SoyDiesel Development Board, a company based in Jefferson City, Mo.
Ogle said he felt an obligation to try the fuel, despite the possibility that it could harm the buses.
Ogle said the Detroit Diesel Corp., a large diesel company that has run extensive tests on biodiesel, had advised him not to try the fuel because its tests showed biodiesel caused a slight increase in nitrogen dioxide emissions, a mildly poisonous gas found in exhaust fumes, and caused lubrication problems in the cylinders.
The Lawrence Bus Co. test, which lasted approximately 100 hours, was not long enough to create long-term damage to the buses, Ogle said.
The National SoyDiesel Development Board claims the alternative fuel reduces particulate matter by 31 percent, carbon monoxide by 21 percent and total hydrocarbons by 47 percent.
But Ogle said that the board's tests were done on buses with modified engines and that this could have been a factor in the reduced emissions.
mean." he said.
Terry Huerter, Lake Quivira sophomore and co-coordinator of KU Environs, said he thought the biodiesel awareness week went largely unnoticed, but he was encouraged that the Lawrence Bus Co. was willing to try the fuel.
"Overall, it was good to see the Lawrence Bus Co. and KU on Wheels do this. It showed that they are willing to try something different." Huerter said.
KU Environics is in the process of testing whether the alternative fuel actually reduced emissions and should have final results next week, Huerter said.
A Glimpse of Winter
Early snow may mean good year for sledding
By Novelda Sommers Kansan staff writer
Hibernators beware — early cold weather could signal a cooler-than-average winter this year.
Jay Reeder, chief meteorologist at Weather or Not Inc., a weather forecasting company in Kansas City, Kan., said weather this week had been cooler than the 50-year average. Temperatures for Nov. 2 averaged 60 degrees for the high and 39 for the low.
Vesterday's temperature peaked at midnight at 38 degrees and fell to 35 degrees by the afternoon. Reeder said temperatures normally were highest in the late afternoon. Recent temperatures have been affected by an arctic air mass, which made its way south from Alaska and Canada and caused temperatures to fall.
He said yesterday's snow flurries also were unusual for this time of year.
Matt Flickner/KANSAN
"It is definitely odd," he said. "But if you look back over the past 50 years, I think you would find about 15 different years where it snowed."
"I was surprised, but I was glad to see it come," said Brandon Johnson, Prairie Village senior, who said he was somewhere between hibernator and snow lover.
Reeder said the cold, wet weather probably was part of a pattern that started a year ago and would last two to five years.
"Not that I like winter or anything," he said. "I would have liked to have stayed home and watched it snow."
"I remember two or three years ago there was a blizzard on Halloween, and they had to cancel trick-or-treating," she said.
Diane Sporteler, Glen Elder sophomore, said the snow was not the earliest she had seen.
The forecast for the winter is good news for snow lovers, although it is too soon to be certain, Reeder said. This winter probably will bring more snow to the Kansas City area than the 20-inch average. And it probably will be the dry, powdery variety rather than the slushy, wet kind.
Scott Padon, Overland Park senior, walked to class yesterday after a light snow. Today's high is expected to be 30 degrees.
Christmas takes over downtown
By Josh Yancey
Kansan staff writer
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at some area businesses.
The calendar still looks a lot like early November, but that's just fine with the owners and managers. Several of them break out the holly and the lights before the Halloween pumpkins have begun to shrivel.
Susan Guenther, manager of the Palace, 795 Massachusetts St., spent yesterday afternoon decorating the downtown card and gift
"I love all that stuff," said Emily Kiger, St. Louis sophomore. "But now's too early."
Some KU students consider the season's kickoff a bit premature.
store with Christmas garlands and lights. She expected holiday sales to be affected partly by the absence or presence of wintry weather.
"The snow definitely helped," she said. "It helps get people thinking about Christmas."
Some stores, like The Spirit of Christmas, in Lenexa's Oak Park Mall, cater to the most die-hard Christmas shoppers. The store opens in early October and stays open through January.
"Halloween's over," said Shannon Powell, store manager. "That's the big thing. By Thanksgiving, business will really increase."
Powell said one of the season's best-selling items so far was the Bubble Santa, a statue of Christmas' human icon that bubbles
bles with a motorized wand.
Downtown Lawrence's lampsposts and corners are laced with decorations provided by Downtown Lawrence Incorporated, 900 Massachusetts St. The Parks and Forestry department of City Hall puts up the decorations on a date dictated by the group, said Lisa Blair, Downtown Lawrence Incorporated administrator.
"We also have Bubble Bear and Bubble Elephant," she said. "People like those, too."
Blair said the decorations and lights would be up before Nov. 30.
Brad Hebel, co-owner of Terra Nova Books, 920 Massachusetts St., said he would not put up a Christmas display without including Kwanzaa and Hanukkah displays.
And, he said, he hadn't even started thinking about it.
Usman Mahmood, Lahore, Pakistan, freshman, was surprised when he saw Christmas decorations so early. He said the secular traditions of Christmas — and the money spent — were almost unheard of in his country, which is predominantly Muslim.
"I know there are some Christians in Pakistan," he said. "But I've never seen Christmas trees. Maybe there are some, but I've never seen them."
Lara Izokatis, St. Joseph, Mich., senior, said she considered Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving premature.
"When I think of Christmas, I think of Jesus' birth," she said. "Not snow and not shopping."
Minority forum cancellation provokes questions
By Hannah Naughton Kansan staff writer
The 11th annual Black Leadership Symposium for Kansas high school students that was to take place today was canceled and the reason why is vague.
The symposium, organized by Jacob Gordon, professor and executive director for the Center of Multicultural Leadership, was designed for African-American high school honor students with a 3.0 minimum
grade point average in pre-college curriculum and students gifted with leadership potential.
"I literally spent days on the phone with people who had registered and talking with counselors," said Ginny Ovenstone, office assistant for academic and professional programs, a unit within the department of Continuing Education. "I told them that Dr. Gordon had canceled the conference."
Gordon said he didn't want to answer any questions about the
cancellation of the conference and that he would call a news conference to discuss his reasons, but did not specify a date.
Ovendone said she didn't know exactly why Gordon canceled the conference but after her phone calls, a follow-up letter written by Gordon was sent to high schools. The letter said that the symposium had been canceled as of Oct. 17. It also said that funding from symposium sponsorship and support was not sufficient to carry out the conference. she said.
David Ambler, vice chancellor of student affairs, said he had pledged the amount of money Gordon had requested from his office. He also didn't know why the conference had been canceled.
Schulenburger said he didn't
"We have funded it in the past and have agreed to fund it at the same level as in the past," said David Schulenburger, vice chancellor for academic affairs, which was one of the event's sponsors.
1
know why the conference had been canceled but was sorry because it had been a very successful event in the past.
Leonard Wesley was an assistant superintendent for the Wichita school districts when Gordon began the conference. He had helped to bring students from Wichita to the conference since its inception. The first year he took four students up in one car. Since
See CANCELLATION, Page 2.