THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
The University of Kansas
Friday March 31,1978
Vol. 88, No. 119
Lawrence, Kansas
Students criticize computer center
By KERRY BARSOTTI
Staff Writer
When plans for the construction of a $4 million computation center were announced in 1975, the hope was that the new building would be able to handle the conditions those at Summerfield Hall.
However, computation center administrators and computer science students disagree whether the amount of work space required for use will be significantly improved.
"The amount of space provided for students in the new facility isn't nearly as much as it should be," Barry Fox, Kansas University, science graduate student, said yesterday.
Fox said that the space available for students in the new structure, at the southwest corner of Illinois State University, would be much larger than existing space at Summerfield Hall.
"GO TO SUMMERFIELD at 11:30 the night before a project is due," he said. "There are students everywhere, sitting on chairs and looking down a line to use the machines that are working."
"The new facility should be designed to handle the load but the space that we allowed was too small."
However, Paul Wolfe, coordinator of the computation center, said that the new building would provide three times the space available at Summerfield.
"The whole building was designed for easy access to the computers," he said.
"If students wait until the last minute to do their projects, there's going to be a crowd, the system has limitations, and if everyone tries to use it at the same time, only the first ones who get there will get their work done," Wolfe said.
THE NEW BUILDING, designed in 1974 by a computation center committee comprising faculty, staff and administrators will feature a drive-in window for dropping
off and pick up material, a viewing
room, and an auditorium for classes and meetings.
Wolfe said that much of the congestion in the computation center would be alleviated by the construction of four remote job entry stations on campus that would feed material to the center. The stations will be in Strom Learner, Fraser and Summerfield halls.
"This will be the main time saver," he said.
However, students have also criticized the effectiveness of the remote entry stations.
"They just don't have the capacity of the main computation center. There are some projects that the remote entry stations won't be equipped to handle." Walter Barnes, Lawrence graduate student in computer science, said.
"THE BIGGEST PROBLEM is with volume," he said. "The remote entry stations print at half the speed of the main computer center."
Barnes said the remote entry stations also would have problems with overcrowding.
"The computers are adequate, but the remedy to the problem would be more space, more key punches and more tabulators," he said.
Wolf said although overcrowding had been a problem at the computation center since its installation in Summerfield in 1959, further remedies were limited.
"It's clearly a trade-off proposition; we have a fixed amount of funds and a fixed number of functions that the center must perform." he said.
"We've tried to develop the most effective way of putting those functions together with other functions."
THE NEW BUILDING is designed to
increase changes in demand for space
and information.
"We're very proud of the new center. I'm sorry that there are some who are not comfortable with it."
KU granted extension
Staff Write:
By TIMOTHY TANKARD
The University of Kansas has been allowed an extra week to defend itself formally against charges filed by a union agent representing KU Medical Center custodians, who have accused the University of unfair labor practices.
The extension was granted by the state Public Employees Relations Board yesterday at the request of Mike Davis, University counsel.
Francis Jacobs, business agent for Local 1132 of the Union, registered the complaints with the relations board March 20. They charge the University with allowing American Management Services—a company hired a year ago by the union to manage the hiring department—to implement major policy changes without first consulting the union.
"A copy of the charges has been sitting on my desk for a few days," Davis said yesterday, "but I haven't really had a chance to look at it yet."
DAVIS HAS been put in charge of drafting
the university's official response to the charges.
The contested changes made by American Management are: reducing the average staff size from 180 to 120, giving written tests to enrollees in our new policy promoting incentive programs.
Steff Photo by RANDY OLSON
Accorning to Jacobs, no employees were ever fired in order to reduce the staff. However, he said, "They could ride you and place a pile work on you until you just quit."
JAMES FELDSTEIN, KU director of central personnel, said the turnover rate in the housekeeping departments had been a problem before American Management took over, running as high as 45 percent in recent years.
"The situation at the Med Center is certainly tighter than ours here, but even so, the reduction is not as drastic as it looks for people are coming and going all the time."
Concerning the complaint against written testing, Feldstein said the test was nothing more than a questionnaire given out to workers from workers on recent policy changes.
Feldstein said that he thought "bad rumors" and a general feeling of apprehension were a major part of the problem.
He said that statute 75-4523 of the Kansas Labor Laws protected an employer's right to make independent decisions in certain warranted situations.
He said the problem probably could be ironed out through an informal hearing with relations board and KU management officials.
"I have heard some wild stories going around, such as fears that American Management was eventually aiming to reduce the staff to 20." Feldstein said.
Jacobs said the problem concerned the fact that American Management had systematically refused to recognize the union's rights.
"I FEEL THAT we acted within our managerial literatures." Fellden said.
spring fever is never more apparent at the University of Kansas than on a Thursday or Friday afternoon. Yesterday the spring doldrums were most apparent as the sun sank
Anernoon's end
over the crest of Mount Oread and 12th Street cleared of traffic, Balmy breezes and sunskies have replaced homework with sun soaking in the last few days.
State to decide on Laetrile today
By TIM SHEEHY
Staff Writer
TOPEKA-A The Kansas House gave preliminary approval yesterday to a measure that would legalize the use of Laetrile in Kansas. The final vote on the bill
If the bill is passed today, it will be sent back to the Senate for approval of two amendments made by the House during debate.
Laetrile, a treatment for cancer which is extracted from apricot pits, would be legalized and subject to Kansas drug laws under the bill.
Final passage of the bill would mean that
Laetile if prescribed by a physician or a
doctor.
for the protection of doctors who prescribe Laetrile.
Under the terms of the measure, a patient would have to sign a written form with the medical representative.
The first amendment, by State Rep. Arthur Douville, R-Overland Park, would amend the constitution to prohibit
UNDER THE AMENDMENT a doctor who justified prescribing Laetrile to a patient would be liable for its effects on the patients as if it were any other prescription drug.
The second amendment, by State Rep. David Heinemann, R-Garden City, would allow the Kansas secretary of health and environment to set the maximum price at which Leatrie could be sold, as well as the maximum price for administering the drug.
Heinemaan said he proposed the amendment to eliminate the risk of doctors making exorbient profits from prescribing the drug.
State Rep. Charles Schwartz, D-Junction City, said that he opposed the bill because he thought the legalization of Laetrile would make it easier to treat cancer treatments such as chemotherapy.
"WE AREN'T capable of making scientific indudents." he said.
state Rep. John Sutter, D-Kansas City, who carried the bill on the floor house, said that he was confident that the medical providers of treatment be known to cancer patients.
Schwartz said he hoped the House would defeat the bill because the use of LaTeile is discouraged.
Sutter said that 400,000 people in the United States would die of cancer this year.
"Laetrile is clearly a social and medical problem," Sutter said. "It can no longer be swept under the carpet as another quack medicine."
State Rep. Ruth Wilkin, D-Topeka, said that she was in favor of the bill even though she had serious doubts about its use as a treatment of cancer.
"If we let a 16-year-old risk his life on a motorcycle without a helmet, how can we tell a cancer victim that he can't eat an arsenic pit if he wants to?" she said.
IF THE HOUSE approves the bill, the Senate has the option of concurring with the amendments made by the House, or they may be defeated. If the resolution fails, the bill will be sent to a
conference committee to form a compromise.
In further action, the House decided not to concur with the Senate version of a bill that would establish competency-based education in Kansas.
A conference committee was formed to work out a compromise before the end of the meeting.
If competency-based education were adopted, students would take a test in eight grade that would test their skills in spelling, reading and math.
Students would take the test only once. If they failed to pass the first time, they would continue to take the test each year during high school until they passed the test.
A STUDENT WOULD not be required to repeat a grade for flanking the test, but if one did not举 by the end of high school it would be noted on the student's transcripts.
The Kansas Association of School Boards is opposed to the bill because they say that they fear it would take away their control of elementary and secondary schools and that the test would become criteria for judging teachers.
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN-
News Capsules
From the Associated Press, United Press International
NEW YORK-New Yorkers, faced with everything from blackouts to blizzards in the last few months, yesterday braced for a possible transportation strike Saturday that could halt baths, buses, trains and newspapers.
NYC faced with strikes
CAIRO- Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Defense Minister Ezeqir Weizelt held a two-hour meeting yesterday in an attempt to break the middle in Middle East tensions that needed that no progress had been made. See the story page two.
The threatened walkouts involve New York's bus and subway system and the Long Island Rail Road.
Peace talks deadlocked
Weather...
Sunny, warm weather will continue today, but there may be scattered cloudiness and showers tonight and tomorrow. Highs today will again be in the 85 and tomorrow will be in the 70s. Loys will be about 50.
Carter speaks to Brazil's congress
RIO DE JANEIRO—President Jimmy Carter, on his second stop in his tour of Third World countries, spoke to Brazil's national congress about disagreements between Brazil and the United States.
Carter spoke at a news conference before leaving Brazil, saying he was confident of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin's efforts to resume peace negotiations with Egypt. See story page two.
Locally . . .
Although she knew she couldn't read, Toni McCalla, Lawrence freshman, said she always wanted to attend college. But she never seriously considered it, even though she graduated from high school a year earlier. It was not until last spring that McCalla's reading problem was diagnosed as dyslexia. See story on page seven.
Budget hearings begin next week
Rv SARAH TOEVS
Staff Writer
Student Senate committees will start budget hearings next week for 49 student organizations requesting funding for 1978-79.
The committees have $49,239 to allocate to the groups that requested a total of $102,955.
Each organization requesting funds is assigned to a committee. During the budget hearings, representatives from the organizations present their requests to their committee. The committee then recommends the organization's allocation.
On April 11 and 12, the full Senate will use all of the committee's recommendations.
are not specifically provided for in the Senate's Revenue Code.
In deciding allocations, the Senate considers an organization's activities and programs, as well as its benefits to the University.
THE TOTAL SENATE budget this year is $430,794, collected from student activity fees. Of that amount, $49,239 is to be allocated to 37 student organizations, which
Of the remaining amount, $283,185 goes to line item organizations that are funded each year according to the Revenue Code. These organizations provide coverage of student activity fees paid each year.
Recreation Services, which has the largest line item allocation, receives a total of $39,177, or $2,55, out of every activity fee paid. The University Daily Kanans receive $2.00 from every activity fee paid, totaling $73,080.
The Academic Affairs Committee has
$9,688 to allocate to 22 groups requesting
Line item allocations are contingent upon Senate approval, but a two-thirds majority is needed to change the allocations. The group must also approve funds for the other organizations.
THE STUDENT SERVICES Committee has $3,094 to allocate to 15 groups requesting $4,437. These groups are the Men's Coalition, requesting $1,925; the Douglas Group, requesting $1,896; the $8,850; and the Commission on the Status of Women, requesting $2,830.
$2,257. Among these groups is the Student Bar Association, which is requesting a $2,056 addition to its line item allocation of $730. The Graduate Student Council also has requested an increase of $13,539 to its $9,500 line item allocation.
In order to change a line item allocation, the Senate must decide to either raise the line item amount annually given the group or take the money out of the $49,329, which can be allotted to other student organizations.
THE CULTURAL AFFAIRS Committee has $9,037 to allocate to six groups requesting a total of $10,767. One group: the International Club is requesting $8,860.
The International Club is made up of eight separate groups of foreign students. The club then funds these groups with the money if receives from the Senate.
In the past, funding for the International Club has been controversial in the Senate because some of the groups within the club have said they would rather go directly to the Senate for funds instead of through the club.