2008-09 issue9

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the review washburn university

Check out the background and history behind super heroes like Captain America and Wolverine. Page B6 SERVING WASHBURN UNIVERSITY SINCE 1897

WWW.WASHBURNREVIEW.ORG • (785) 670-2506 • 1700 S.W. COLLEGE • TOPEKA, KAN. 66621

VOLUME 135, ISSUE 9 • MONDAY, OCT. 20, 2008

Arson strikes LLC $1 million estimated damages, $5,500 reward for information

Lauren Eckert WASHBURN REVIEW

ReAnne Utemark and Eric Smith WASHBURN REVIEW

Photo by Travis Perry, Washburn Review

Fire starter: Living Learning Center elevators have been locked-down after a fire was started in the north elevator Saturday morning. Investigators have ruled the blaze as a case of arson, and a reward is being offered to anyone with information leading to the person or persons responsible for the fire. even made an appearance to help students ease the woes of an eventful morning. As for Romero, he’s just glad everyone is safe and made it out of the building OK. “It just goes to show you never know when it’s going to be the real thing,” said Romero. “Everyone should always stay vigilant.”

Those with information about the fire may contact: (785) 368-2488 - Topeka Fire Department hotline (785) 670-1153 - Washburn University Police (785) 234-0007 - Crime Stoppers

ReAnne Utemark is a senior history major. Reach her at reanne.utemark@washburn. edu.

(800) KS-CRIME (572-7463) - Kansas Bureau of Investigations

Twin sisters Ashley and Arica Shepard share family ties and a college rivalry between them.

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Washburn University had reason to gloat after the final results of the 2008-09 Can Emporia Drive were announced at Saturday’s homecoming football game. The Ichabods beat the rival Hornets for the second year in a row in the annual can collecting contest. The Washburn Student Government Association declared Washburn the winner with a total of 3,460 cans raised in comparison with Emporia’s 3,258 cans collected. Though the Ichabods came out on top, there was a significant drop in the number of cans collected by both schools. Last year, Washburn raked in a staggering 26,000 cans compared to Emporia’s 13,000. Washburn alone faced a 23,000 can donation drop from last year’s contest. “I think a lot of it was economy,” said Erica Koepsel, WSGA public relations director. “The prices of cans rose quite a bit this year. Last year I remember buying cans for about 37 cents per can. This year it was at least 50 cents per can, making it harder to bring in more. We also lowered the CAN amount of money EMPORIA that we allot for spending on Can Emporia, so we didn’t have any major events to bring in donations like last year.” WSGA President Whitney Philippi agreed with Koepsel. “It was rough trying to get people interested, especially with the economy the way it is,” said Philippi. “People are really having to think about what they donate to and it is a month long process, making it difficult to organize.” Despite the drop in donations for this year’s drive, WSGA feels confident about how it approached advertising and spreading awareness to the Washburn community. “I think we hit advertising hard this year, at least to the student population,” said Koepsel. “But we need to start earlier next year and find better ways to advertise. But I think we did a good job of motivating the students and offering a lot of incentives to donate, especially in the last couple of weeks.” Philippi said the press conference and correspondence with the community helped immensely throughout the drive. However, there are some changes that WSGA hopes to make to encourage more participation in the future, such as re-evaluating the values of the incentives next year in order to

Please see CAN page A5

Mulvane Art Museum received several grants for more than $27,000.

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Presidential candidate Barack Obama was in Kansas City over the weekend.

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How you can help

Eric Smith is a senior mass media major. Reach him at eric.smith1@washburn.edu

sports

news & opinion

An arsonist set fire to the north elevator in the Living Learning Center Saturday morning, causing a mass evacuation of the residence hall and estimated damages of $1 million. Before 5:45 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, 396 students in the LLC left the building. According to a university press release, fire officials reported heavy smoke on the top floor when they arrived at the scene. Officials from the Washburn University Campus Police, the Kansas State Fire Marshall’s office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the City of Topeka Fire Department are continuing the investigation. As of press time, these officials ruled the fire as arson, or intentionally set. The origins of the fire were in the elevator, which is equipped with fire doors. The estimated dollar loss is $1 million and a reward of up to $5,500 may be offered to anyone with information regarding the incident. Freshman LLC resident Alicia Burris said the fire alarm went off and students stood outside for 45 minutes to an hour before the building was opened. The Memorial Union was opened so students could take refuge, games and as a free breakfast were also provided. Around 9:30 a.m., the WUPD began escorting students back to their rooms for car keys and necessities. Burris said students were allowed back in their rooms around noon or 1 p.m., but were directed to stay away from the lobbies where the elevator went through. “I thought [university officials] did a good job,” said Burris. “I thought it was nice that they let the cops take us back to our room to get keys and medicine.” Burris also said it was nice that they opened up the building because many students did not take jackets or coats with them and the morning was cold. Authorities are investigating the incident as a crime, and Residential Assistant Angel Romero said Residential Living has posted a $500 reward for “information leading to the adjudication of anyone involved.” No injuries have been reported at this time. Romero said there have been incidents of students in the past melting elevator buttons with lighters so they are unusable. But no connection has been confirmed between those incidents and the Saturday morning fire. The south elevator shaft also suffered damage from the fire that caused the sprinklers to go off and the smell of smoke to run throughout the building. Jerry Farley, university president,

Can ESU donations drop 23k


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