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KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TOPEKA, KS 66612
CHILLY
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
VOL.104,NO.76
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
THURSDAY JANUARY 12, 1995
(USPS 650-640)
NEWS: 864-4810
Krista McGlohon/KANSAI
KU student dies in Chile
His sister seriously injured in crash
By Paul Todd Kansan staff writer
University to improve parking SenEx committee to review locations
By Kellie Tompkins
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas plans to improve parking but not without an impact on the pocketbook, said Glenn Prescott, chairman of the parking board.
Construction at the first site, immediately north of the Kansas Union, would begin in October.
Both sites are pending approval.
Another parking garage was proposed to replace the parking garages at Jayhawk Tower, but the garage would only be for tenants.
At the Senate Executive Committee meeting yesterday, members of the parking board proposed two new parking sites.
"We tried to reduce the impact on the average purchasers of permits," he said.
Prescott proposed a number of parking fee increases to help pay for the new garages.
Hermann Lucke
The proposed price increase for the permits is between $11 and $30, depending on the color of the permit.
Construction at the second site, the hillside between Potter Lake and Memorial Drive, wouldn't be expected to begin for at least several years, Prescott said.
Hermann Lucke, Kansas City, Mo, senior,
died of injuries he suffered in the accident.
Parking fees for football games also would be raised from $3 to $5 for regular parking stalls. Parking fees for basketball games would be raised from $2 to $5. Parking at all other University events would cost $1 more.
Other sources of funding for the garages would be through parking fines, visitor parking and parking for events.
One KU student died and another suffered serious injuries when their car crashed into a truck in southern Chile on Saturday.
Visitor parking would be raised to a price between 35 cents and $4 a day, depending on the meter.
SenEx members voted to postpone any approval of parking areas and parking fee increases until each member had a chance to study the proposal.
His sister, Karin Lucke, Kansas City, Mo., junior, broke her neck and femur. She is in serious but stable condition and is scheduled for surgery tomorrow in Santiago, Chile.
The students were visiting family mem-
Wynne Smith, a friend of the family, said the Luckes had traveled to several beaches with one of their cousins driving. On their return trip, the cousin attempted to pass a car and ran into a
truck. The cousin also died in the crash.
bers and traveling to beaches in southern Chile, when the accident occurred.
Karin Lucke, also an honors student, has played the viola in the KU Symphony Orchestra, has been involved in Golden Key, an honors organization, and has been a Spanish tutor.
truck. The cousin also died in the crash.
Jason Craig, Derby senior, was Hermann Lucke's roommate and a frequent classmate.
Hermann was an honors student and had just been named outstanding senior in physics, Craig said.
A memorial fund for Hermann has been set up to help with the financial needs of the family, including Karin's surgery and the family's return trip to the United States. Donations to the fund may be sent to Northland Cathedral Assembly of God, 129 Vivian Road, Kansas City, Mo., 64116.
He was an engineering physics and physics double major expected to graduate in May.
Hermann was born in Santiago, Chile, and
"He was just a decent human being," Craig said. "Full of life and absolutely brilliant."
also lived in Costa Rica before moving to Kansas City, Mo.
Students wait for the bus in front of Snow Hall. Those without bus passes had to pay one dollar because Student Sen- ate discontinued the usual grace period at the beginning of the semester Valerie Crow / HANBAN
Senate eliminates free bus rides
By Julie Howe
Kansanstaffwriter
Some students were annoyed yesterday to find that they had to pay $1 for each bus ride on the first day of classes. Last semester, the buses ran at no charge for the first four days of classes so that students would have a chance to buy bus passes.
The free rides were cut by Student Senate because the program was too expensive, said Ron Vanderslice, KU on Wheels director. Senate subsidized the free rides in the past.
The decision was made last fall, but Vanderslice said he did not think it had been publicized.
Because not everyone knew about the change, many students were walking to class yesterday.
Vanderslice estimated that the program cost Senate about $4,000 last semester.
Erika West, Overland Park sophomore, said she assumed the buses were running at no charge as they had in the past. But she found out otherwise when she tried to board the bus near Murphy Hall to go to Wescoe Hall.
She had money in her pocket, she said,
and could have used it for a ride. But she
planned to buy a bus pass for $55 later in the
day and decided to walk.
West said that she understood Senate had to make cuts, but she suggested that they could have continued the program for the first day or two of classes instead of dropping it altogether. This would have at least given more students some time to buy bus passes, she said.
"I just got back to school yesterday, and I didn't have time to buy my bus pass until today," she said.
Brebekah Hall, Lawrence junior, said that when she boarded the bus yesterday, the driver told her she had to pay a dollar. She
paid for the ride and did not mind until the bus stopped at Gertrude Sellards Pearson-Corbin Hall.
As students boarded the bus, Hall heard several students tell the driver that they were going to buy bus passes later and shouldn't have to pay.
Hall counted 12 people without bus passes who rode the bus for free, she said.
She said it bothered her that the drivers charged some students, but let others ride for free. She plans to file a complaint with the Lawrence Bus Company because of the unfair treatment.
"I don't mind paying for it as long as I don't feel discriminated against," she said.
But Rachel Carey, Overland Park freshman, lives at GSP-Corbin and said that she did not get a free bus ride yesterday. When she boarded the bus, she said, the driver told her it would cost $1.
"I didn't have any money," Carey said. "So I had to walk to campus."
325 students incorrectly dismissed
Glitch in new system caused error, administrators say
By Virginia Margheim Kansan staff writer
When Valerie O'Meara, Bucyrus freshman, received a letter during winter break saying she had been dismissed from the University of Kansas for academic reasons, she believed it.
"My grades weren't very good at all," O'Meara said. "O'Meara began to make plans to attend Johnson County Community College, but her boyfriend questioned her dismissal.
"He said it must be wrong, "O'Meara said. "He said they had to put you on probation before they kicked you out."
At about the same time, Pamela Houston, director of the undergraduate center of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, realized that the letter O'Meaar had received was wrong and that O'Meaar was not alone.
Because of a computer error, 325 students in the college incorrectly received notices of academic dismissal during winter break.
Houston said she understood the problems the error created for the students.
"I know it adversely affected some students," she said.
I know it adversely affected some students, she said.
At the end of each semester, the computer center uses a program to determine which students in the college should be placed on probation or dismissed. The college then notifies the students of their academic status.
In Spring 1994, the college implemented a new system for probation and dismissal, along with a grace period to phase in the new program. Last semester was the first time the new standards were in effect, said David Gardner, director of computer systems.
An incorrect calculation code in the new program probably caused the 325 students to be sent dismissal letters, Gardner said.
The problem in the program was fixed, so it will not happen again, said Richard Hermesch, application program manager.
"It's just one of those unfortunate things." Gardner said. "Most changes don't have errors like these."
ARTS forms were printed Dec. 29 — the day after the letters were mailed — for each student who received a dismissal letter.
In reviewing the ARTS forms, Houston realized that some students who should have been placed on probation or monitored probation had instead been dismissed. At about the same time, Houston began to receive calls from confused students who had received the erroneous letters.
Houston was able to identify all of the students who had mistakenly been sent dismissal notices and started calling them to notify them of the error. On Jan. 3, the office also sent out letters to the students.
The error was caught before it was posted to the students' permanent records.
To be in good standing in the college, a student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or better.
Probation is determined by grade point deficiencies that accumulate when a student's grade point average falls below 2.0. Students earn grade point deficiencies when they receive grades lower than a C.
Although O'Meara and the other students had accumulated grade point deficiencies, none had accumulated the 24 necessary for dismissal.
O'Meara said procrastination was all that prevented her from withdrawing from KU.
"The whole thing made me so mad," she said. "I could have easily dropped my schedule and broken my housing contract, which costs $200. But I'm a procrastinator, so I put it off."
Pumping it
As KU students head to the pumps, theywill find a plethora of prices, and local gas station managers have a hard time explaining why.
Network access may require fee
Page 6A
By Brian Vandervilet Kansan staff writer
KU students wanting to go for a drive along the information highway will soon discover a $15 per semester road block for access to certain dial-in lines.
Kansan staff writer
Jerry Niebaum, executive director of the KU Information Technology Services, said that the new fee was needed to pay for an expansion in the number of lines available for students.
Niebau said the number of terminal server accounts has more than doubled since last April, and the lines had become too crowded. In April, 1,650 students and faculty had accounts with the computer center. Now, more than 4,000 server accounts have been activated.
"This past year we have seen an explosion in interest in the use of the network system," Niebaum said. "We weren't prepared for that kind of
growth. We knew that we would need to expand service, but how do you expand service with no additional revenue?"
KJHK: The campus radio station begins broadcasting around the world via the Internet. Page 34.
An additional 96 lines are being added to the existing 64 lines, Niebaum said. Only students who access the network using dial-in lines through modems will be required to pay the $15 fee each semester. Students who use the network at computer centers on campus will not have to pay the fee.
Until now, all KU students and faculty could open an account at no charge.
Some KU students said they wouldn't mind paying the fee for additional service, while others said that the University should fund the expansion.
"I think it sucks," he said. "But I'll probably still get one. I think $15 is a lot of money."
"I thought it was a little odd that they didn't charge to begin with, considering how much is on the Internet," said David Day, Wichita junior, who said that he uses a terminal server about once a week. "As long as they keep the fee low, I think it's all right."
Niebaum said that the expansion, which will cost about $100,000, should drastically reduce the waiting time for network users.
Steve Makinen, Flossmoor, Ill., sophomore, said that he had considered opening a terminal server account but was discouraged by the new fee.
Mike Palazzolo, Topeka junior, said the network expansion was a needed investment that would decrease the time spent waiting for an open line.
"It's like trying to talk to someone who's really popular, and they don't have call waiting," he said. "It's really annoying. Fifteen dollars is only a drop in the bucket."
Internet Costs
To use the University's faster dial-in modern lines, off-campus users will have to pay a $30 annual fee. The fee will pay for adding 96 more lines to the network.
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