Watkins Museum

Speakers to discuss Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln will be the topic of guest speakers today during a meeting of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

The speakers will be Tom Goodrich and his wife, Deborah, of Topeka. Tom Goodrich has just finished a book about Lincoln which will be released in April. Some copies will be available at the meeting.

Tom Goodrich has written extensively about the Civil War and the western frontier.

The meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. today in the Watkins Community Museum of History, 1047 Mass. It is open to the public.

Religion

Scholar to discuss ‘Islam Under Siege’

A professor dubbed the best-known scholar on contemporary Islam by the British Broadcasting Corp. will discuss “Islam Under Siege” tonight at Kansas University.

Akbar Ahmed will speak at 7 p.m. at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.

He also will have a discussion session from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Friday in the conference hall at the Hall Center for the Humanities.

Ahmed is professor of international relations at American University in Washington, D.C. He is the former high commissioner of Pakistan to Great Britain and has been an adviser to Prince Charles and President George W. Bush.

He has spent much time since 9-11 explaining the difference between the reality of Islam and common perceptions of the religion. The visit is part of the Humanities Lecture Series sponsored by the Hall Center.

Kansas University

Poker tourney to benefit Habitat for Humanity

A charity poker tournament will be held tonight for the benefit of Kansas University Habitat for Humanity.

The tournament will begin at 8 p.m. at Abe & Jake’s Landing, 8 E. Sixth St. KU Habitat is a student organization looking to reach its goal of independently funding construction of a Lawrence house.

Local sponsors have donated prizes for the event. Last year’s event raised more than $1,000 for local bacterial meningitis survivor Andy Marso. The tournament is expected to draw 100 participants.

The tournament is being organized by The University Daily Kansan student newspaper and The Poker Pub Inc.

Schools

Forum to inform voters on bond issue

Lawrence residents wanting to know more about the proposed school bond issue and Kansas legislative matters will have a chance to ask questions Friday at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt.

Lawrence public school representatives will be available to answer questions and talk about the $63 million school bond issue. They will be the focus of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce’s Talk of the Town program. It will run from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the library’s auditorium.

The Chamber’s Capitol Connections Forum will be in the auditorium from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Douglas County legislative representatives will be available to talk about issues in the Legislature and to give an update about the legislative session. Capital Connections is sponsored by Aquila, SBC and the Lawrence Journal-World through the chamber.