Tomorrow's weather The University Daily Kansan Mostly cloudy tomorrow with fog possible, highs in the 60s and lows near 40. THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2000 Sports: The World's Fastest Man ushered in the return of the Kansas Relays. See page 1B See page 1B Inside: Cubans in Miami reacted to the forceful removal of Elian Gonzalez. (USPS 650-640) • VOL. 110 NO. 138 Walker files appeal,wants fines explained By Erinn R. Barcomb writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer An appeal of $1,250 in elections code fines against United Students could be heard by the University Judicial Board soon. Ben Walker, student body president-elect and Hutchinson junior, filed an appeal to University Governance on behalf of the coalition Friday evening. Zora Mulligan, elections commissioner, said that she did not know when a hearing could be scheduled but that the judicial board was sensitive to the timeliness of the issue. The commission decided Wednesday that United Students should be held financially responsible for the theft of 9,000 copies of The University Daily Walker: Appealing fines charged to his coalition. Kansan by four coalition supporters earlier in the month. Competing coalitions Delta Force and Students First filed complaints alleging the coalition as a whole was at fault. Mulligan said United Students would still have to pay the fine before the appeal was heard because the election needed to be certified. She said payment of the fines did not imply guilt. Walker said he didn't understand the board's reasoning behind the fines. "That's another part of the process that is pretty faulty, that there is a lack of accountability." Walker said. "They were so reluctant to tell me what their rationale was." Mulligan said that although the hearing board was not required to make its rationale public, it was going to do so soon. Michael Cain, Lawrence second-year law student and a member of the hearing board, said Wednesday night that the board fined United Students as well as the four thieves because two were technically still part of the coalition. The two who were running for office were fined $500 each, and all four were sanctioned so that they could not run in future Student Senate elections. Walker said the board did not have any basis for setting the amount of the fines. He said he was having a friend help him pay the fines, which exceeded an average semester's in-state tuition. It's not fair to ask my candidates to pay for the mistakes of four individuals." Walker said. "I didn't feel right asking some candidate who had nothing to do with it." Walker also said he wanted to keep an eye on how the elections commission used the fine money because of rumors of misuse in the past. Mulligan said one idea had been to use the money to promote voter turnout next year. Bands tie in Farmer's Ball battle Heavy-metal hip-hop bands share prizes By Mike Hoffman writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer In the end, not even the judges could decide which band was better. Two bands tied for first place Saturday night during the final round of the Farmer's Ball music competition at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. "I don't know if this has ever happened before," said Matthew Hoerman, Topeka sophomore. Hoerman hosts the Bedlam A-Go-Go radio show on KJHK and was one of seven KJHK judges at the competition. The winning bands were The Co-Op, a hip-hop group, and Esoteric, a hard-core, heavy-metal band. The first-place band was supposed to win two prizes: the opening act slot at the Day on the Hill music festival, and recording time at a music studio. After the two bands tied, Hoerman said that The Co-Op wanted to be the opening act at Day on the Hill and Esoteric wanted to get the recording time at Red House Studios in Eudora. "It worked out for the best because the two bands got what they wanted the most." "It worked out for the best because the two bands got what they wanted the most." KIHK radio show host Matthew Hoerman Hoerman said. Day on the Hill, held in May on the hill west of the Campanile usually draws a large crowd. Matt Dunehoo, Shawnee senior and KJHK station manager, said that a band getting recording time at a studio was seen as a boost to its career. "The Farmer's Ball is always known as a good time to be had by all," he said. "It's good exposure for the radio station and the bands." Dunehoo said the Farmer's Ball was just one event that KJHK sponsored to support the local music scene. In addition to the winners, the other finalists were rock bands Sturgeon Mill and Electronimo. The two winning bands drew rave reviews from the audience members. "Esoteric is the most incredibly talented group of musicians I've ever heard," said Sarah Vaughn, Kansas City, Mo. resident. "They express everything they need to say in their songs." The Co-Op also received praise from the audience. "I thought they had really good rhymes," said Matt Reynard, Lawrence resident. Hip-hop趴 The Co-Op performed Saturday at the Bottleneck. The group won the opening spot for Day on the Hill. Photo by Jamie Roper/KANSAN Farmer's Ball co-victor Esoteric plays Saturday night at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. The KJHK-sponsored battle-of-the-bands ended in a tie Saturday night with hip-hop group The Co-Op sharing the spoils of the competition with Esoteric. Photo by Jamie Roper/KANSAN Tongue piercings can be a pain in the mouth Long bars on rings lead to chipped teeth require dental work By Warisa Chulindra writer@kansan.com Kanson staff writer Pierced tongues could lead to cracked teeth. If the bar is too long, it can get between the front teeth or crack teeth if moved around too much, she said. "If people want to have a tongue piercing, they need to have one of the shorter bars," Anderson said. "They shouldn't be able to move it very far or get it over teeth." But shorter bars on tongue rings could help remedy the problem, said Michelle Anderson, a dentist at Nossaman, Wilkerson and Associates, 831 Vermont St. Out of every 10 patients her office sees, two or three have cracked teeth because of tongue piercings, she said. Most injuries are small and require little repair, but some require crowning the tooth. However, Lance Tuck, tattoo artist and body piercer at Skin Illustrations, 743 Massachusetts St., said it was best to have the bar be too long at first to accommodate swelling. After the swelling goes down, he encourages people to get a shorter bar, but some people enjoy the freedom of the longer bar. The size of the initial bar is determined by examining how thick the Lawrence dentist Michelle Anderson "If people want to have a tongue piercing, they need to have one of the shorter bars." "If it's not safe to do, I warn them," Tuck said. "But sometimes they do it anyway. Sometimes accidents occur when they're not paying close enough attention. Usually the damage isn't too severe." Tuck warns people to be careful the first week after the piercing and to not eat spicy foods or bite on the ball. The longer the bar, the more force it has. Tuck said. Sometimes people bang the ring off their teeth or pretend to be rattlesnakes, he said. tongue is and the person's medical swelling history, Tuck said. Marie Morgan, Coffeyville senior, and Marita Riebschlager, Hordville, Neb., freshman, got their tongues pierced two months ago. So students later switched to shorter bars. Morgan said it was tempting to play with her tongue piercing but that she was careful. "It's a lot easier to eat and talk with a smaller bar," Riebschlager said. "I have a tendency to play with it, but I try not to click it on my teeth." Morgan said. "As much as I like it, I like my teeth, too." Long bars on tongue rings, like the one in the mouth of Marie Morgan, Coffeyville senior, can cause tooth damage, says Lawrence dentist Michelle Anderson. Although long bars accommodate swelling after piercing, shorter bars prevent chipping and cracking of teeth, Anderson says. Photo by Jamie Roper/KANSAN Piercings and tattoos: pain and pleasure By Casey Franklin Special to the Kansan "It looks like everything should be fine," Tuck says to the young man's relief. Tuck then escorts his client back to his office. In a little while, the young man emerges with a sore mouth and a brand new tongue piercing. Lance Tuck peers into a client's mouth, eyes narrowed in concentration. Tuck is a piercer and tattoo artist for Skin Illustrations, 740 Massachusetts St. Piercing tongues is a common event in his line of work, and his examination of his customer's tongue is an indication of how seriously he takes his job. "I wanted to check the underside of his tongue first." Tuck said. "You can't have a weak stomach, let me tell you," she said. If the frenulum — the membrane that connects the underside of the tongue to the bottom of the mouth — is too tight, it's risky to pierce, he said. Tuck's job is not for the squeamish. "There's a big vascular bubble sometimes at the tip of that," he says. "It's like a blood vessel. If I hit that bubble, there will be brushing and bleeding on the underside of the tongue." Leila Clevenger, another Skin Illustrations employee, agreed. However, Tuck said he had never been bothered by piercings. He became interested in the field as a teenager. "I ran around with a lot guys with biker-type backgrounds," Tuck said. "They were really into tattoos. It wasn't a common thing when I was younger." Tuck did his first tattoos as a teen-ager with a kit he ordered through the mail. He did his first major tattoo on his own leg. "It was this horrible yin and design that I've still got on there," he said. "I thought it was quite original. It looks terrible, but I wouldn't dare cover it up with something else." Tuck has advanced far since those early tattoos. He has worked at Skin Illustrations for five years and earned his tattooing and advanced piercing licenses from the Kansas Board of Cosmetology in 1998. He said he always tried to make his clients' experiences as painless as possible. See BODY on page 5A 4.