Talk:Lawrence, Kansas

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Sbmeirow (talk) 06:14, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

Quantrill

By doing some research, I found that Quantrill didn't raid Lawrence on May 21, 1856. He did it on August 21, 1863. May 21, 1856 was a different raid by a different pro-slavery group. My sources are the external links I added to the page. Rmeier 21:48, 19 Sep 2004 (UTC)rmeier

Bishop Seabury

"Off of Clinton Parkway, is also a lesser known Episcopalian school. This high-end private school-- Bishop Searbury Academy-- has a population of 136 students and great academics. It is also conviently located near Raintree, which is the local middle school. Both schools have stellar sports teams and prestigious academics."

Bishop Seabury is already mentioned in the paragraph preceeding this one. This entire paragraph also sounds like an advertisement. The student enrollment figure is going to fluctuate year to year and will be inaccurate very quickly. No figures are provided for the public high schools or the Univeristy of Kansas. Mention of St John's School (Catholic affiliation) would be a good addition.

Also, Raintree is not the "local middle school". It's a Montessori school.

I'm removing this paragraph. -SeaFox

"anarchist bookstore" link

A picture on this page claims it is taken after KU won the 2008 ncaa mens championship. It is actually a picture taken after KU defeated North Carolina in the final four a day or two prior to the championship game. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.209.173.28 (talk) 11:30, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

Outside link keeps getting removed; user marks the reason for this removalas "spam" or vandalism". This is an external link to the official home page of the "anarchist bookstore" referenced in the article. It seems inconsistent to mark this as spam as other organizations in the article have outside links to official homepages as well. patrel

• The difference, in my mind, is that every other external link is to information about an aspect of Lawrence as a whole - the Chamber of Commerce, University of Kansas, Clinton Lake, etc. None of these are commercial links like the one you continue to insert into the article. See WP:NOT, most notably #3 under Propaganda and #3 under Indiscriminate Collection. I don't think the link belongs in the article for these reasons. ESkog | ^Talk 14:02, 7 November 2005 (UTC)
  • Propaganda and Indiscriminate Collection claims do not apply to this link. The article already mentioned an "anarchist bookstore"; I am providing an outside link relevant to the article. It's an expansion. This article contains other commercial links as well. Lawrence.com and the Lawrence Journal-World are both private, commercial businesses. Downtownlawrence.com is a website devoted to an index of private, commercial businesses.
    • There have been two distinct users reverting your additions, and an admin can confirm that I am not the anonymous user who has reverted the same way. Lawrence.com, the LJ-World, and DowntownLawrence.com are all sources for further information about Lawrence, which is the subject of the article. The link to the anarchist bookstore adds nothing to that, and is equivalent to saying:

The town also has a Borders www.borders.com

Do you see the difference? ESkog | ^Talk 23:26, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

Goggle Earth

The google earth link is a notable fact, but it should really be noted only once in the article. I removed the one in the popular culture section and left the one in the geography section because the prose was better. The popular culture one was restored. One of these should probably go though, I don't care which one. Grey Wanderer (talk) 21:26, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, I didn't see it moved to the other section. I'll remove the one I added Ryan2845 (talk) 21:49, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Request for comment

I have solicited a request for comment at Wikipedia:Requests for comment/History and geography, as I don't think the two of us are likely to come to any consensus anytime soon. The question at hand, and I know it's pretty trivial, is whether the link to lawrencesolidarity.net is useful in the article or constitutes advertising/spam. ESkog | ^Talk 23:35, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

Saw the RfC, looked at the article and find I agree with ESkog. BTW, I'm surprised this article doesn't mention The Day After, which should certainly rank as one of Lawrence's main claims to fame, at least among non-Kansans--FRS 23:44, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

Is this bookstore a key fixture in Lawrence? Has it influenced the town's history or political scene? Is it the kind of place an outsider might have heard of, and would be sure to visit when in town? If yes to these, maybe the bookstore deserves an article of its own, with a wikilink (not an external link) from here. (I was going to give Powell's City of Books as an example of a bookstore that should definitely be in the city's article, but now I go look and it's not in the Portland, Oregon article...). CDC (talk) 23:55, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

RfC User -- CDC has a very good point, and I would agree with him. If the bookstore in question has been a part of the town's history, then give the bookstore a Wiki entry. If you're going to link a webpage at all, link a webpage that talks about the bookstore -- not necessarily the bookstore's page itself since that could be considered commercialization. --Martin Osterman 14:55, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

I concede ESkog's point about commercialization. CDC makes a good point about creating a Wiki entry. Any objections? Patrel

• That seems like a great solution to this. Thanks for being flexible. ESkog | ^Talk 05:29, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

I don't remember hearing about the anarchist bookstore (I thought it was supposed to be a library!) until a few years ago, probably because it has only been in existance for the last four years. So it's not exactly a town fixture. It does however seem to be an important contribution to the city's political makeup. As for the idea of posting "that Lawrence also has a Border's" above; Borders is a generic national bookstore chain, whereas Solidarity is a local business/organization unique to the city. So it is not a valid comparison. SeaFox 21:25, 24 November 2005 (UTC)

Politics and culture

I cleaned up the paragraph on gay politics. FIrst, I added back the fact that Lawrence is the only town in KS with an anti-discrimination ordinance, secondly I updated the sentence on the domestic partner ordinance, stating which year it was enacted, and eliminating an out-of-place note that it was reviewed by the state attorney general back in 2007 to verify its constitutionality. That fact would be relevant to a dedicated article on the DP ordinance, but is out of place in this more general article. I really also need to add a reference link to the anti-discrimination ordinance, but as of right now lambda legal's web server (where such things reside) is down. Msilverman (talk) 21:51, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

That first sentence really bugs me. Does anyone else feel the same, or am I just delusional? Isopropyl 07:31, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

In fact, the whole section makes me wince. Isopropyl 07:33, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Why? It's true and its a big part of what makes Lawrence unique from the rest of Kansas.

Second the above question. I lived there from 1974 to 1990, and I moved to Wichita, KS. It was a culture shock for me to see the religious underpinning of the rest of Kansas compared to the very 'open' culture of the city of Lawrence. --Trekkie 16:53, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

While I agree that Lawrence is distinctly influenced by these places and ideas, the phrase "Lawrence also features the customary staples of college-town liberalism" is irritating to me as well. I would suggest something more in line with NPOV, such as "Lawrence also features many characteristics of a college town" with stops short of potential pejorative. Sisyphe42 20:47, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

Notable natives and residents

• If this is in some sort of order, please, let me know. If it is not, perhaps a standard of organization could be established? --Wyrlss 06:28, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Alphabetical would probably be best. SeaFox 21:31, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

• Another comment: listing people whose connection to Lawrence is merely by attending KU goes too far. I would suggest a paring-back of the list. But this is just one man's opinion. Kgwo1972 21:33, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

This is probably falling on deaf ears but there is a criteria for adding someone to the Notable People list and it clearly states that "any famous or notable individuals that were born, or lived for a significant amount of time, in the city" can be added. I don't believe attending KU makes them a notable Lawrence resident. I suggest using the list on the Lawrence for actual citizens who's connection with Lawrence extends beyond the University and using List of people from Lawrence, Kansas to go deeper into who all has lived in Lawrence--attending college or not. I am also adding a link to the list to encourage more people to go that route instead of just adding it the list. Bhall87^{Four Score}_{and Seven} 20:49, 28 April 2011 (UTC)

James Naismith interred in Pioneer Cemetery?

I see a recent edit asserts that James Naismith is interred in Pioneer Cemetery. I distinctly recall Mr. Naismith's mammoth gravestone at Memorial Park Cemetery in East Lawrence. (Roy Williams used to jog out to it during his residency in Lawrence.) Now, before I revert this edit, I must feel assured that Mr. Naismith is NOT interred, or otherwise memorialized at Pioneer Cemetery. I believe this is the case, but I am not 100% sure.

Can Mr. Naismith be interred in two separate cemeteries? Seems a bit ghoulish, if you ask me.--Subwoofer 06:20, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Where is Pioneer Cemetery located?

When reading the history of Lawrence and coming across this historical importance, my curiousity and thirst for more information, came to a dead halt! There is no link to the Pioneer Cemetery and I have no idea where it is located and if I could visit this cemetery. Nothing at all!! Why is that? Has it vanished?

Pioneer Cemetery is a very small, fixed cemetery on the West Campus of the University of Kansas. It is located across Iowa Street from Ellsworth Hall. There should be a more obvious marker than in years past. The cemetery contains the graves of early settlers.--Therobz 03:45, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Sites Section

This whole section ought to be removed or rewritten. The first half is just worthless for an encyclopedia, and the second half is trivia. Highnumber (talk) 17:58, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

Langston and Ride With the Devil

I added a section under Notable Natives and Residents about Langston Hughes spending his childhood in Lawrence. I think this is a very interesting historical fact and says something about Lawrence's roots in racial history and the arts. I also added a section about the scene from Ride With the Devil about Quantrill's raid. This is actually a pretty good movie and does a descent job of representing the historical event. Lawnwrangler (talk) 16:43, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Courthouse Picture

I was wondering if the picture of the courthouse could be moved to Douglas County, Kansas since it is a county building. A better picture would pobably be the Lawrence City Hall.Bhall87 (talk) 20:31, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Is there any reason it can't be on both pages? I'll add it to the Douglas County, Kansas page.-Grey Wanderer | Talk 19:02, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Fair EnoughBhall87 (talk) 19:08, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I have a photo I took of the sculpture in front of Lawrence City Hall that I would be willing to upload. Would that be a better picture for this page? I might have one that shows the whole city hall. I'd have to check. RoyLeban (talk) 06:39, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

Google Earth claim

While this may have been true at one point, it isn't any more. At least on my version of Google Earth, when I zoom all the way in without rotating the globe, I get a location somewhere in the vicinity of Chanute, Kansas, a ways away from Lawrence. Ekips (talk) 01:27, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

I just did a clean install (computer has never had google earth installed at all) of version 4.3.7284.3916 and it zoomed right in on Lawrence. Are you using a newer version? Ryan2845 (talk) 04:27, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

No, using ver. 4.2.0180, built on Aug 20 2007. I'll try updating and seeing if my default position changes. Ekips (talk) 18:59, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Updated to newest version, and I still get the same location (37.40'16 N, 95.27'06 W) which is not Lawrence. Ekips (talk) 19:08, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Ok, I just ran mine again and now it zooms in on an area closer to my own location (not at the coordinates you provided). Perhaps it now only zooms in on Lawrence on the first run following installation and then attempts to zoom to your own location after that? Does yours zoom in near your own location? Perhaps we should change the wording to say something like "In recent versions, upon first boot the program zooms in on lawrence" etc.. Ryan2845 (talk) 20:07, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Railroad Dispute

From what I gathered about the railroad issue is that the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Ft. Gibson Railroad was constructed from Lawrence to Ottawa in 1867 and was the first railroad in Kansas south of the Kansas River. I'm not sure if this is what that fact is alluding to but the railroad still exists and operates in Baldwin City as the Midland Railway. Info from the book Baldwin City's Historic Sites by Loren K. Litteer, pgs. 42-44. Bhall87 (talk) 03:28, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

Google Earth

Since this is the default location for Google Earth is this the geographical center of the continental United States? If so, is this why Lawrence, KS was chosen? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.153.65.230 (talk) 03:17, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

No, it is not the geographical center. The answer is in the article "This location was set by Brian McClendon, a 1986 graduate of the University of Kansas and director of engineering for Google Earth." Lawrence, KS is home of the University of Kansas. Ryan2845 (talk) 03:26, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

That's why I asked if that was the reason it was chosen. Brian McClendon could have researched it and found that Lawrence is the geographic center which, by eye, looks like it would be. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.153.65.230 (talk) 05:23, 8 February 2009 (UTC) Geographic center õf the contiguous 48 states is near Lebanon, Kansas -- not Lawrence. anneliese (talk) 10:54, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

Crime section

This entire section seems very awkward. "Crime is a growing concern that authorities are tackling"? This is really badly written. Why is the lead statistic in the section from 2003? Who on earth is "Danth, Inc.?" Why didn't the writer use commas? What does the quote from the mysterious "N. David Milder" mean? "All" other downtowns reported declining crime rates? Downtowns where? Nationally? In Kansas? In Europe?

Using "on the bright side" seems not-very-journalistic.

This paragraph has a lot of problems, too: "Obviously, our law enforcement's done an excellent job," said Rob Chestnut, the city's vice mayor" The LJ World goes on to report that "Rapes in the city were down 33 percent, from 70 in 2007 to 47." This success clearly helped to bring Lawrence's crime rate down and help the city move in the right direction."

The quotation marks are kind of all over the place. The sentence about "this success clearly helped to bring Lawrence's crime rate down" makes no sense. What success? Whose success? Rapes were down, so that "helped" bring Lawrence's crime rate down? You can say the police helped bring the crime rate down; you can say that community activism helped bring the crime rate down; but you can't say that because the number of crimes decreased it helped the rate go down. The name of the newspaper should be written out rather than abbreviated. Also, the last sentence presupposes that there is a right direction and a wrong direction for the city, and the author knows what each is. anneliese (talk) 11:15, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

I think I understand why Bobross is adding this section but it hasn't changed and is the same cut-and-paste rambling he originally added. I deleted the crime section again because it is a very poorly written and unsourced jumble of words. I personally don't care if there's a crime section added if everything was more current than 2003. Also, if those quote are from the Lawrence Journal-World, then just put the quote and a reference tag and it probably would help if it sounded more encyclopedic and not like a badly written newspaper article. Who is Danth, Inc.? What other downtowns? Also, Rob Chestnut is no longer the vice mayor, he is the mayor right now and Mike Amyx is vice-mayor. Feel free to re-add the section when it is properly written and sourced. Bhall87 (talk) 06:11, 14 November 2009 (UTC)

Another University in Lawrence

Lawrence is usually known as KU territory but there is one other university within the city limits as well: Haskell Indian Nations University. Haskell was founded in 1884 as Haskell Institute and later became a vocational school, then a junior college, finally becoming the university it is today. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 169.203.248.102 (talk) 16:39, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

Weather?

When do the record highs and lows get updated? I checked the weather channel site and they're the same as this page, but it lists the record high for August as 107 and I know that's not true because I live in Lawrence and it's 110 outside right now. It also listed 111 as the highest temperature, and I think it got higher a few days ago. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.75.97.193 (talk) 21:04, 2 August 2011 (UTC) (Edit, I was wrong about it getting hotter, I confused the temperature with the heat index... But it's still 110 outside.) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.75.97.193 (talk) 21:24, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

Better Photos Please

I couldn't help but notice that there is not even one decent photo of Downtown or the University of Kansas campus, arguably the two most important components of Lawrence's identity. It would be nice if someone could upload said photos. I would do it myself, bit I am not versed in Wiki editing and haven't discovered how to upload or change pictures. I just think the city could be better represented, visually, than it is in this article. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks, -Jack C.