A bird is running. He has a big nose and a long tail. He is wearing a blue shirt and red pants. The sky is filled with dark clouds, and there are sunny patches.
Tomorrow's weather
The University Daily Kansan
Mostly cloudy with a high in of 52 and a low of 36.
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Sports: Thousands of fans paid their final respects to Derrick Thomas yesterday.
SEE PAGE 10A
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 110 NO. 96
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2000
Online: For a daily dose of astrological fun, see today's horoscopes online at www.kansan.com
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Discrimination trial begins
Employees claim unfair treatment
By Jim O'Malley writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
An employment discrimination lawsuit against the University of Kansas by one current and one former professor went to trial yesterday at the federal courthouse in Kansas City, Kan.
Ray Pierotti, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and his wife, Cynthia Annett, former assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, sued the University and Thomas Taylor, chairman of the department, after Annett was denied tenure.
Annett alleges that she was denied tenure because of her gender and in retaliation for her opposition to changes in the graduate program that she and Pierotti considered discriminatory to women and minority employees. Pierotti received tenure and claims only that University officials and Taylor retaliated against him for opposing discrimination.
The two are seeking damages of more than $100,000. The total could be much higher if Annett is compensated for lost future income.
"This case is about two people who didn't get their way and want someone else to pay for it."
Barbara McCloud
University assistant general counsel
The plaintiffs' lead attorney, Alan Johnson of Topeka, said in his opening statement that the case was about whether the University treated two of its employees in a fair and equal manner.
Johnson told the jury he expected to prove that shortly before Annett and Pierotti came up for tenure, Taylor proposed changes in the graduate program that they believed would be unfair to women and minorities. Annett and Pierotti sent copies of a letter voicing their objections to the proposed changes, giving Taylor a motive to retaliate against them. Johnson said.
Johnson argued that the University denied Annett tenure partly in retaliation for this. Johnson said he would show that Annett was treated differently from male colleagues. He said Annett had higher ratings in annual reviews than male colleagues who received tenure.
Johnson also argued that the University retaliated against Pierotti by denying his wife's tenure, failing to make a counter-
offer to him when the University of Minnesota offered him employment, and refusing to allow him to work part time for the Indigenous Studies Program.
But Barbara McCloud, assistant general counsel for the University, told the jury this was not a case of gender discrimination or retaliation.
"This case is about two people who didn't get their way and want someone else to pay for it," she said.
McCloud argued that Pierotti was a competent scientist but that he was confrontational, aggressive and didn't get along with people. She said he had a pattern of claiming discrimination when he didn't get what he wanted.
McCloud argued that tenure was not given lightly. She said annual evaluations were based on information provided by the faculty members themselves and could not be compared to tenure evaluation.
She also said that graduate students were not employees, so any retaliation could not have been for opposing unlawful employment practices, a legal requirement for the plaintiffs' retaliation claim.
Annett was the only witness to testify yesterday and will take the stand again today. The plaintiffs expect to call Chancellor Robert Hemenway as a witness Friday.
Another employment discrimination suit filed by Marie Aquilino, former assistant professor of art history, is scheduled to go to trial in federal court in April.
Bradley visits Kansas City, for a moment
Above: Robert Choromanski, Lenexa senior, and Jack Martin, Abilene senior, wait for Bill Bradley to make a quick stop at the Kansas City, Mo., Downtown Airport. Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN
Right: Martin gets an autograph from Bradley. Bradley gave a quick speech last night while his plane was being refueled. He was suppose to arrive at 7 p.m., however, his flight was delayed until 10:15 p.m. Photo by Tara Kraus/KANSAN
OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSE
According to the American Association of University Women, women at the reproductive age spend 68 percent more far out-of-pocket health care than men. A bill proposal in the Kansas Legislature would require insurance companies to cover contraceptives. Photo Illustration by Tara Kraus
Proposed bill pushes for insured contraceptives
By Katrina Hull
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Birth control may be a prescription drug, but that doesn't mean health insurance pays the bill.
Not all health insurance policies pay for contraceptives, said Denney Clements, director of public relations for Kansas Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius.
This increases women's out-of-pocket health care expenses, and Sebelius is pushing a bill that would require health insurance companies to include birth control pills and other contraceptives in prescription coverage policies. Clements said.
"Why should women be put at a disadvantage?" Clements asked. "The net effect on the women is that they spend more out of the pocket on heath care. The basic architecture of insurance ought to be altered."
But this alteration does not come without opposition from a moral perspective, insurance companies and legislators.
Scott Wallisch, KU Students for Life cochairman, said he would oppose the measure because birth control did not prevent abortions and it fostered a sense of irresponsibility.
"When birth control doesn't work, or it's not used once or twice and a pregnancy does occur, the sense of responsibility is gone, and an abortion is often the next step," he said.
Clements said the real issue was that health insurance should provide equal coverage regardless of gender.
"If this was heart medicine we wouldn't be
"Why should women be put at a disadvantage? The net effect on the women is that they spend more out of the pocket on heath care. The basic architecture of insurance ought to be altered."
Denny Clements director of public relations for Kansas Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius
According to the American Association of University Women, women at the reproductive age spend 68 percent more for out-of-pocket health care than men.
having this debate." Clements said. "Because the issue gets caught up in the feminist debate and the lifestyle debate — and even the debate about choice, I think maybe people are blind to the fundamental principal."
Much of the gender gap in expenses is because of supplies and services related to reproductive health, the association said.
Jim Boyle, associate director at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said the KU Student Health Insurance Policy did not cover the cost of prescription birth control unless an exception was made for a medical condition.
Boyle, who deals with insurance claims at Watkins said that the health insurance plans that he saw generally did not cover contraceptives.
See HEALTH on page 2A
Sexual health coverage in Kansas VIAGRA CONTRACEPTIVES
24 insurance companies offer full coverage
3 insurance companies do not offer any coverage
2 insurance companies are reviewing their coverage
1. 6 insurance companies offer full coverage
3 insurance companies do not offer any coverage
Source: 1997 survey sponsored by the office of the Kansas Inspector Commissioner
9 insurance companies offer coverage for an additional charge
1 insurance company covers oral contraceptives only
Maggie Curry / KANSAN
City Commission to discuss turning Riverfront Plaza into hotel
By John Audlehelm
Riverfront Plaza soon may house a Marriott hotel, and the last hurdles in the process will be discussed by the City Commission tonight.
By John Audlehelm
writer@kansan.com
According to a letter from Riverfront Limited Liability Corp., the owners of the Riverfront Plaza, the proposed Spring Hill Suites would have 108 rooms and meeting space for more than 300 people. All of the rooms would be on the north side of the building, overlooking the Kansas River, and the hotel would open in late 2000, the letter states.
Capital LLC, and one of the members of Rivertron, said some stores and offices would have to move to accommodate the hotel, but he would not say which ones.
Bill Newsome, owner of Southwind
The proposal asks for three things from the city: to buy 138 parking spots, to pay less for the city-owned ground the building sits on and to keep a portion of the
"We're in the process of getting all those details worked out," he
guest tax the hotel generates.
Gayle Martin, communications coordinator for the city, said the 138 proposed spots currently were two-hour free spots open to
the public.
However, Mayor Erv Hodges said he didn't think losing those spots would intensify parking problems on Massachusetts Street because the lot mainly served city hall and retail and office space in the Riverfront Plaza.
They generate no revenue for the city, Martin said, but the hotel developers have offered to pay about $13,000 for them.
City manager Mike Wildgen said the city owned and leased the land under Riverfront Plaza.
Martin said Riverfront LLC paid the city $36,000 a year to rent the space. She said the hotel developers wanted to pay $21,600 — only 60 percent of the current amount.
The letter says that meeting space does
"I don't think we'll see an automatic acceptance of what they're asking."
Erv Hodges
Lawrence mayor
Because the city also wants meeting space, developers propose to keep two-thirds of the guest taxes they collect in excess of $24,000.
Martin said the proposal did not represent
not bring in nearly as much revenue as a restaurant would but that developers still want to have such space downtown.
"We certainly don't want to start a new tax-exempt program," he said.
a possible drain on existing guest taxes. However, Hodges said the city should not just give away resources.
The Riverfront Plaza started as an outlet mall, Hodges said, but the concept did not draw enough people, so the building's owners started leasing it out as office space.
He said that a hotel would be a great way to make the building more viable and that a downtown convention room would interest the commission.
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The commission probably will authorize Wildgen to enter negotiations with the developer. Hodges said.
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"I don't think we'll see an automatic acceptance of what they're asking," he said.