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The University Daily Kansan
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Sports: The 'Hawks blew an 11-point second half lead in a 64-62 loss to Iowa State.
SEE PAGE 1B
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2000
Inside: A KU graduate became the biggest winner in game-show history last night.
SEE PAGE 8A
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 110 NO. 98
Hacker's plot unsuccessful KU systems not harmed
By John Audlehelm
writer@kansan.com
Konpson staff writer
A hacker tried to use a University of Kansas computer to break into other systems and, as far as University officials can tell, was unsuccessful.
Todd Cohen, assistant director of University Relations, said somebody hacked into a personal computer in Printing Services on the West Campus in late January.
He said the hacker accessed the KU computer then tried to look for vulnerable parts in other computers.
"Our data said they were not successful," Cohen said. "They did not get farther than that."
"Our data said they were not successful. They did not get farther than that."
B et h Warner,
assistant
vice chancellor
for information
services,
said the
hacking had no particular connection to the University.
Warner
said, as far as she could tell, the
assistant director, University Relations
not come from a KU student. The computer that was hacked was used mostly by University employees. Cohen said.
This sort of thing is common in the computing world, but this was the first time such an attack had happened at KU, she said.
The computer operates on a Unix system and is more open and vulnerable than other computer systems, Warner said. The loophole has since been closed.
Cohen said he did not know where the hacker was trying to go, but security workers at the computer center were trying to trace where the attack came from.
Employees caught the problem when they noticed Printing Services' computer system was running slower than normal—the hacker's activity generated a lot of traffic and slowed down the system.
Warner said they did not have any leads.
Cathy Smith, assistant vice chancellor for academic computing, was not available for comment.
Cohen said Smith had said that hacking into vulnerable systems was considered a rite of passage by some people.
"Usually they're fairly inept," he said.
Top law enforcement officials have few leads on hackers who broke into prominent Web sites.
More information
See page 7A
By handing out pink ribbons, Heather Mackler, Northbrook, Ill., graduate, tries to raise breast cancer awareness. She passed them out yesterday afternoon in front of Wescoe Hall. Mackler is the director of Breast Cancer Fund Raiser 2000, which will hold a benefit concert at 9 tonig at Liberty Hall. Photo by Selena Jabara/KANSAN
Breast cancer hits home
Students share tales of loved ones' battles
By Warisa Chulindra
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Breast cancer is more commonly found in older women, so students often find it difficult to relate to the disease. But for three KU students and a KU alumna, seeing family members battle breast cancer has made them realize the effects of the disease.
Although they have different stories, they agreed on one thing — women batting cancer were the strongest people they knew and put the needs of others in front of their own.
"I started crying." Mackler said. "I didn't know what to do."
She went to Watkins Memorial Health Center to get it examined. She said the doctor stuck a needle into it to see if it was a cyst.
Three years ago, Heather Mackler was a 22-year-old senior with no health insurance when she discovered a lump in her breast.
Getting involved in the cause
It wasn't.
A month before she had been dropped from her parents' insurance policy.
The lump turned out to be benign, and Mackler had surgery to have it removed. The doctor found another lump, which was also removed.
But she scare wasn't finished yet. When she went home to Northbrook, III., for the holidays, she learned that her stepmother, Susan, had been diagnosed with breast cancer, she said.
Her stepmother had been a part of her life since she was 3 years old, and Mackler said she was like a second mother.
Organizing the Breast Cancer Fund Raiser 2000 at the University of Kansas has empowered her. "When my step mom told me she had breast cancer, I felt like there was nothing I could do," she said. "Doing something I like, if I reached one person, it was worth it. It's made me not feel helpless."
her stepmother went into remission in October and is doing well, Mackler said.
"She woke up one morning and her breast was all hard," she said. "I wouldn't even talk to her at first. I was overwhelmed."
She also said donating the money to
See PATIENTS on page 5A
After recently learning his mother had breast cancer, Jeff Olson, Wheaton, Iii., senior, supported her as she went through her first round of chemotherapy. Photo by Melissa Thornton/KANSAN.
City police start strict enforcement of drinking
By Mindie Miller
By Mindie Miller
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Underage drinkers beware.
Lawrence police have stepped up their monitoring in the past several weeks to catch underage drinkers in the act — and police reports show their efforts have been successful.
In the early hours of Feb. 3, police issued 12 underage drinkers with notices to appear in municipal court. Five of those people were KU students between the ages of 18 and 20.
Sgt. George Wheeler said officers found the students consuming alcoholic beverages at the Wheel Bar, 507 W. 14th St., during a routine bar check.
"We typically put out a bar car," he said.
"That's one car that is assigned to an eight-hour shift to do just that activity, just like a radar car is assigned to write radar tickets."
statistics compiled and published by the Lawrence Municipal Court show that citations issued to minors in possession more than doubled between 1988 and 1999.
"It's probably a combination of more bar checks and more private party checks," Wheeler said.
He said a sharp increase in the number of MIP citations — like the one that occurred last year — could be caused by something as simple as police sending out one extra bar car per week.
"That would be one car, 52 weeks a year," Wheeler said. "And that officer could easily make half a dozen arrests a shift."
But Wheeler said police had not made a concerted move toward tougher drinking law enforcement.
"We send cars out when we have personnel available to do it," he said.
Lesley Griffitts, 19-year-old St. Charles, Ill., freshman, said she and her friends had noticed a stronger police presence at local bars. Three of the four people who live in her house have been hit with MIPs in the last two weeks.
She said the expense associated with the MIP she received while drinking at the Yacht Club, 530 Wisconsin St., probably would influence her behavior in the future.
"I'm a little hesitant to go into any bars right now because so many people are getting in trouble, and I really can't afford to get into trouble like this," she said. "I'll probably hold off until after spring break." The manager of the Yacht Club could not hold for comment.
The manager of the Yacht Club could not be reached for comment.
City Prosecutor Tom Porter said a MIP could mean a fine between $ 300 and $ 500, an alcohol evaluation, possible jail time up to 30 days and possible community service up to 40 hours.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control, a division of the Department of Revenue that regulates the sale of alcoholic beverages, sends agents undercover into bars to find underage drinkers.
Scott Holeman, communications director for the revenue department, said he could not say whether ABC had an impact on the number of MIPS in Lawrence.
"We have one agent based in Lawrence," he said. "Depending on operations statewide, there could be more or less officers in town at any given time."
See POLICE on page 5A
Proposal seeks to expand minority scholarship funds to tech schools
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
By Katrina Hull
scholarships — or without them.
Yet discussion of this equation was missing during a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting Tuesday, when legislators considered revamping the Kansas Ethnic Minority Scholarship to include more institutions but not more money.
A proposal before the Legislature would expand the program beyond the state universities and colleges to include the state's 11 technical schools.
More scholars without more scholarship money equals scholars with smaller scholarships — or without scholarships.
"The purpose is to encourage more minority students to stay in Kansas," said Marvin Burris, Board of Regents director of fiscal affairs. "There's a need
But the ethnic minority scholarship program is already underfunded and the Regents haven't asked for any extra money, Burris said.
to enhance diversity."
According to the Regents' annual report for the 1998-99 scholastic year, 565 students were eligible for an Ethnic Minority Scholarship, but only 267 students received any money.
Since the scholarship beg 1995, the average amount of the award has decreased despite state tuition increases. In the 1995-1996 school
Since the scholarship began in
1995, an average amount of $
"Clearly the program was intended to be funded at a higher level." Burris said.
year, 212 students received an average award of $1,437. In the 1998-1999 school year, 267 students received an average of $1,382. KU representatives said the University did not keep track of how many of those were here.
are funded at a higher level," Burris said. Financing for the scholarship is at about half of what it would have afforded a year ago, Burris said. Money for the program has not been
Money for the program has not been appropriated yet this session, leaving the possibility for more scholarship dollars open.
But the only question that surfaced during the Senate
During the Senate Appropriations hearing on the bill came from Chairman Dave Kerr. R-Hutchinson.
He asked if the state's burden would change with the proposal, and the Rezents replied not at this time.
"People are going to get less," Burris said. "But the amount will be determined based on a student's need."
ETHNIC MINORITY MONEY
The purpose of the Ethnic Minority Scholarship is to encourage more minority students to stay in Kansas.
During a committee meeting Tuesday, legislators considered expanding the eligibility of the scholarship to students who attend technical schools, but not adding any more money to the scholarship fund.
Sen. Barbara Lawrence, R-Wichita and chairwoman of the Educational Planning Committee where the bill originated, said
a second change to the scholarship included in the proposal would figure in a student's educational expense and award up to 75 percent of that expense. The scholarship now limits the award amount to $1,500.
she didn't know if more students would apply or if more students would receive less money.
Some of the reasoning behind expanding the scholarship to technical schools is connected to the restructuring of the higher education system, Lawrence said.
Before last summer, the Regents did not govern community colleges and technical schools. Now that they do, the Regents are backing expanding the scholarship, Lawrence said.
Lawrence said making the money available to all higher education institutions was more important than the amount each person received.
"I think the funding is always a concern," Lawrence said. "We're just trying to do as much as we can with the money available."