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MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1994
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State senator will fight more GTA funding
Health insurance and other benefits wanted by GTAs
By Colleen McCain Kansan staff writer
August "Gus" Bogina, chairman of the Kansas Senate Awards and Means Committee, believes graduate teaching assistants at the University of
GTAUNION
Kansas have been given more than enough benefits.
Bogina this weekend vowed to fight any attempt in the Legislature to increase the line item allocation for KUGTAs.
"I don't know how much GTAs are paid, and I don't care," Bogina said. "But I strongly oppose increasing the line item amount for GTAs."
Bogina said he expected GTAs to seek better wages and benefits if they formed a union. On Oct. 18, Monty Bertelli, hearing officer for the Kansas Public Employees Relations Board, ruled that KU GTAs were public employees who had the right to form a collective bargaining unit.
"I don't oppose a union," Bogina
said. "The GTAs can do whatever they want, but I don't want to appropriate more money to them."
Bogina said KU could determine the GTAs' wages, but increasing GTAs wages should mean decreasing the number of GTAs at the University.
"Whatever the University wants to do with the money is up to it," he said. "They can use it to pay five GTAs or 500 GTAS, but the bottom line is that the appropriation is sufficient now. We have granted tuition waivers and
all sorts of things to GTAs, but obv-
ously, it's not good enough for them.
David Reidy, Lawrence graduate student and a leader of the GTA union movement, said Bogina's comments were no surprise.
"Bogina never has supported any GTA benefits," Reidy said. "This isn't a view he came to yesterday. This was simply a case of Bogina expressing a view he has held for years."
Bogina opposed any increase in GTA funding before the GTAs began
their efforts to unionize, Reidy said.
"This is not a case of losing a friend," he said. "Bogina has not been a friend of GTAs in particular, and often he has not been a friend of KU."
Reidy said he expected most legislators to take a more reasonable viewpoint on GTA funding.
"This is hardly a case of well-paid, under-worked people seeking more benefits," he said. "This is a case of
See GTAs, Page 7A.
Daron Bennett / KANSAN
**Above:** When faced with filling up a ten minute audition tape for MTV, Anne Barkis, Louisburg junior, finds herself at a loss for words, but only for a moment. **Right:** Holly Heckham College, Columbia, Maryland, senior, makes her case for an MTV talent coordinator as to why she should be one of the lucky few picked to star on the next version of "The Real World," which will be filmed in London beginning in January.
'The Real World'in Lawrence
By Colleen McCain
Kansan staff writer
Heidi Snyder, Wichita senior, began her 10-minute audition for MTV's real-life soap opera "The Real World" by statinghername, address and age.
But then she did something that will make it hard for the show's casting directors to forget her. She took off her foot.
"I was in a lawn mower accident when I was 1," Snyder said. "Most of my foot was cut off by the lawn mower, and I have a fake foot."
As she talked, Snyder unied her left shoe, removing it and hersock to reveal a skin-colored, prosthetic foot.
"Having a fake foot has affected my outlook on life," she said. "I had to learn to walk again after the accident, so I've learned to be determined and motivated."
Snyder continued talking while holding her foot in her hand.
Snyder was one of 22 students from the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University who made audition tapes Friday. Four Americans and three Europeans will be selected to appear on the third season of "The Real World," which will begin filming in January in London.
"No one handicapped has been on. 'The Real World,' and I think I could add something new," she said.
Adrian Brown, Raskell sophomore, and Bonnie Graham, "The Real World" talent coordinator for Lawrence, filmed the students' audition tapes.
"Heidi's openness, her positive attitude and her ability to overcome her handicap definitely are assets," Graham said. "I know that MTV wants to have someone from the Midwest next season because no one on 'The Real World' has been from the Midwest."
Graham said Snyder was what MTV wanted.
See REAL WORLD,Page 8A.
Graham said the best applicants were those who had opened up in front of the camera so that casting directors could see what each per-
Satan, sheriff to visit alleged gateway to hell
By Manny Lopez Kansan staff writer
STULL — Thrill seekers looking to meet the devil tonight at the Stull Cemetery might find themselves actually meeting the sheriff.
Local folklore has it that every Halloween, Satan appears at the cemetery and strange things happen in the two-acre burial ground. While rumors and stories abound the fact remains that many uninvited people travel to the cemetery about 15 miles west of Lawrence every year.
And Stull residents are not too happy with the increased interest in their township. To crack down on the vandalism and traffic in the town, local authorities are encouraging people to stay away from the privately owned cemetery or face the possibility of being arrested. The fine
for criminal trespassing is up to six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine, said Gayle Armstrong, an assistant Douglas County district attorney.
Both the Douglas County Sheriff's department and Kansas Highway Patrol officers will be patrolling the area.
"Officers will sit out there specifically to catch people who are trying to get into the cemetery," she said.
"Nobody has got any business out there," said one of the cemetery's board of trustees, who asked not to be identified because he did not want people vandalizing his house. "They tear up grave stones and throw them into the streets, or they just steal them."
Jo Hardesty, director of KU's Legal Services for Students, said that nine KU students contacted the office after they had been ticketed for trespassing at the cemetery. She said about 35 people were arrested last year.
People are attracted to the cemetery for varied reasons, but articles that have been written about the cemetery have talked about buildings that turned blood red, corpses that had come back to life to haunt visitors and the appearance of the devil at midnight.
While the legend and stories about the cemetery have been embellished over the years, some claim that Stull is one of only two places where the devil appears on Halloween. The other is Salem, Mass.
Other stories have said that if a glass bottle is thrown at the church in the cemetery, and the bottle does not break, Satan will appear. Other stories point to the fact that the first three numbers of the township's zip code are 666.
No matter what reason attracts people to the cemetery, sheriff's deputies will be in the area to try and prevent vandalism and theft. Hardesty said.
"People get real bent out of shape when their relatives gravestones are desecrated," Armstrong said. "If people get caught, they will face charges in criminal court."
Kansas junior tailback L.T.Levine rushed for 161 yards and joined KU's 1,000-yard rushing club. He led Kansas to a24-14 victory against Oklahoma State Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Joining the elite
PAGE1B.
Incumbent puts high priority on welfare reform
Editor's note: This is the second of two stories profiling the candidates for the 3rd District of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Kansan will be profiling all the candidates and issues on the Nov. 8 ballot.
"I have always been extremely interested in government," said Meyers, the Republican incumbent for the 3rd District of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Jan Meyers got involved in politics for a reason.
Meyers now is running for her sixth term in that position, which serves Wyandotte, Johnson, Miami and Douglas counties.
By Ashey Milne Kansan staff writer
"When they redrew county lines, I wanted Douglas County very much," Meyers said. "It's avery educationally oriented county."
Election '94 U.S. Congress
Meyers' political career started when she joined the Overland Park City Council in 1967.
She left the City Council in 1972, after serving as council president, to stay at home. But she decided to run for a spot in the Kansas Senate when she realized the incumbent was not running again. Meyers' stint in the Senate lasted 12 years.
Meyers said she had not planned to run for the U.S. House of Representatives after leaving the Senate in 1984.
"I decided to retire, stay at home and grow roses," she said.
However, Meyers' interest in government persuaded her to run again.
"Welfare reform is the most important domestic issue we have," Meyers said. "It used a program to help people over a rough spot, but now it is an incentive that pulls people into the system."
Meyers said that she still was concerned about several issues Congress was dealing with, including welfare reform. She is addressing this issue during the election.
"I am still very interested in what I am doing." Meyers said.
Meyers said she had created a bill that would freeze Aid to Families with Dependent Children, a monthly cash grant. Her bill would not affect food stamps or Medicaid, two other programs in the welfare system.
The money saved from freezing the AFDC grant would be sent back to the state level to be distributed in block
Richard Devinki / KANSAN
See MEYERS, Page 8A.
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Jan Meyers is the Republican candidate for Kansas' third congressional district.
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