FIRST WORD

Any time we lose a student it is a sad occasion, but it is particularly poignant to lose a student through such a senseless act.”

Washburn University president Dr. Jerry Farley in a letter to the Topeka, Kansas, school community after two football players were shot early Sunday morning four blocks from campus. Junior defensive back Dwane Simmons, 23, was killed while Giants’ sixth-round draft pick Corey Ballentine was hospitalized with non-lifethreatening injuries. The cornerback is expected to make a full recovery, the school said. Added Farley, “This was a terrible way to end a day which should have been a celebration and a day to look forward to Dwane’s upcoming year at Washburn and the beginning of Corey’s professional career.”