Wednesday, December 1, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A • Page 3
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Moore tours, learns from KU's 'best-kept secrets'
Research centers impress Congressman, need money
By Chris Borniger
wriher @kanson.com
Kanson staff writer
Yesterday Rep. Dennis Moore got to see what some of Kansas taxpayers' money had bought.
Moore, 3rd District U.S. congressman, was at the University of Kansas to tour two research centers the Information & Telecommunications Technology Center and the Kansas Geological Survey. Both institutions receive federal grants to sustain their operations and to purchase equipment.
Moore, a member of the House of Representatives Science committee and the Space and Aeronautics subcommittee, said he was impressed with the work both institutions had done.
"These are some of the best-kept secrets of the University of Kansas," he said. "I really learned a lot."
Kansas' future, he said, depended on maintaining and advancing the level of research and development at the University level. While the state is home to some major
corporations, such as Sprint in Overland Park, Moore said he saw potential for scientific advancements to help small businesses.
And given the state's recent budget strain, federal funds will have to help that happen, Moore said.
"Since the state has no extra money, I want to do as much as I can to help from Washington," he said.
Joe Evans, ITTCA acting director and professor of electrical engineering and computer science, said the presentations were aimed at displaying the usefulness of University research and its potential.
"This gave us a chance to show who we are and what we can do." he said.
Evans said ITTC relied on government money — more than $3 million — for about half of its budget. That has allowed the institution to work on interdisciplinary projects that benefit students, he said.
"We're pretty excited about the way things are going." he said.
Robert Barnhill, vice chancellor for research and public service and president of the University's Center for Research Inc., said he was pleased with Moore's visit.
"We can always use some more recognition, at all levels," he said. "There are a lot of areas the federal government can help in."
Edited by Julia Nicholson
Rep. Dennis Moore tours a research lab at the Information and
Telecommunication Technology Center with Joe Evans, the acting director of the center. Moore toured two research centers at the University yesterday. Photo by Roger Nomer/KANSAN
Rocking for the cinema
Topeka band THC opens the KU Filmworks 2nd Annual Benefit concert. The concert was held last night to help fund KU Filmworks upcoming film project Fondue. The student filmmaking club hopes to raise $25,000 for its project. Photo by Jamie Roper/KANSAN
Fireworks fly with City Commission
by Derek Prater
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
By Derek Prater
Explosions of light across the Lawrence sky will signal the dawn of the new year.
The ordinance permits the possession and storage of fireworks on Dec. 31, 1999 and Jan. 1, 2000 and allows for the use of fireworks from 9 a.m. Dec. 31 to 1 a.m.
Jan. 1 and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Jan. 1
City Manager Mike Wilden said the Douglas County Commission was prepared to consider a similar county resolution today that would allow for the sale and use of fireworks in the county outside of city limits.
The Lawrence City Commission last night approved 5-0 an ordinance that would allow Lawrence residents to celebrate the new year with the help of fireworks.
The original resolution that the County Commission was considering, allowed for the sale and use of fireworks beginning at 10 a.m. Dec. 30 in addition to Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
Mayor Erv Hodges said he had
Fire Chief Jim McSwain said fireworks would cause more problems for emergency response agencies during New Year's Eve celebrations but that it was inevitable that the City Commission would allow some use.
spoken to one county commissioner and said that there might be a possibility that the county commission would reconsider sale times on Dec. 30.
"The thing that we felt was important was that we advised the governing body of the possible problems that we would face." McSwain said.
"The problem is that we don't know how people are going to react to Y2K and everything else that goes into it," he said. "We're concerned about fireworks mixing with people who are partying."
He said possible injuries and fires associated with fireworks added to the problems confronting emergency response personnel.
The ordinance approved by the commission only applies to this New Year's Eve celebration.
In other City Commission news:
—Edited by Julia Nicholson
The commission approved 5-0 a request from the Douglas County Commission to offer one-half of costs for engineering, right of way acquisition and utility relocation for a project that would link West 15th Street to the South Lawrence Trafficway.
Those costs are now estimated at $630,000 and are required by the Kansas Department of Transportation, which will complete the project. The total cost will be an estimate $7.35 million.
- The commission approved three separate recommendations, all 5-0, by the Traffic Safety Commission to deny a request to change the "No Parking" along the east side of Lawrence Avenue between 14th Street and 15th Street to the west side of the street, to deny a request to change the "No Parking" restriction to "No Parking Nov. 1 - March 31" on 19th Terrace and 20th Street west of Ousdahl Road, and to deny a request to establish "No Parking" along the south side of 26th Street between Iowa Street and 27th Street.
KU alum challenges government medical explanations for AIDS
A University of Kansas graduate and New York author is asking college students and educators nationwide to question everything they know about the AIDS virus.
By Amber Steuever
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Question the belief that AIDS is caused by the HIV virus.
Question the medications available for treating ADS.
Question the accuracy of HIV tests.
And question peoples' trust that government officials are being honest about what they know.
Chuck Ortleb, 1971 KU graduate, has been involved with a group of scientists, writers, activists and even Nobel Prize winners who believe the government is not telling the truth about AIDS and that HIV is not, in fact, the cause of AIDS.
Ortleb is involved with a Harvard teach-in at www.harvardteachin.com that offers discussions and debates that question the validity of conventional theories about AIDS and HIV. Its goal is to open the minds of students and educators about information they say the mainstream media have ignored.
"There's sort of a conspiracy of silence," Orlteb said. "We're trying to get students to help us disseminate the subject."
Donna Sweet, professor of internal medicine at the University of
Kansas School of Medicine Wichita, said ideas Ortleb supported were completely bogus.
"There is no scientific evidence to this theory that HIV doesn't cause AIDS," she said. "HIV causes AIDS. There's nothing debatable about it. There's no conspiracy about it."
Sweet said the conspiracy theory was simply a way for some people to attempt to create an uproar, and thus a name for themselves. There is simply no truth to it. Sweet said.
"We live in a democracy," she said. "We don't live in a society that creates a consciracy."
Ortleb worked as the publisher or a small New York newspaper, the New York Native, that went out of business three years ago. The newspaper went against the mainstream papers and reported about this conspiracy theory that stated the government may have made a mistake in explaining AIDS.
"We began to find inconsistencies to what the government was telling people about AIDS." Ortleb said.
people about AIDS. Mr Ortleb, who got his degree in English from the University, continues to challenge conventional ideas. He has written three fiction books on the subject, Iron Peter, Last Lovers on Earth and recently, The Closing Argument. The books are all about the epidemic and what the government isn't telling people, Ortleb said.
Ortleb supports the theory that AIDS is not caused by HIV, but rather by HHV-6, a virus that has
been linked to multiple sclerosis and chronic fatigue syndrome.
The Harvard teach-in Web site that Ortleb has helped promote also says that citizens are being forced to give their children toxic medicines such as AZT for AIDS or have their children taken away from them. The sites says that adults risk loss of employment if they don't take the sanctioned medications, which some scientists say are harmful.
The site says that HIV tests are often unreliable and that states are passing laws criminalizing people who test positive for HIV, often incorrectly, for transmitting the virus to others.
This is all part of the government's conspiracy to hide its mistake, which could lead to a lawsuit against the government for fraudulent research problems, Ortleb said.
Sweet said the media attention Orteb was trying to create was harmful. AIDS patients may believe the idea that they do not, in fact have the disease and stop taking medications, she said. The information also is harmful to people who believe in the conspiracy theory.
"They simply think that because it's in the paper or on the Internet it's valid," Sweet said. "It's a constant uphill battle to keep people from believing screwy things like this anyhow."
Edited by Jamie Knodel
World AIDS Day encourages people to learn about disease
Continued from page 1A
Two weeks ago, Pitner broke that silence when she told her own story to 500 of her fellow students in her human sexuality class. The students, about a third of whom said they had been personally affected by HIV and AIDS, applauded her courage when she was finished and many then shared their own experiences.
"Being able to speak allows us to get close to the issue," said Dennis Dalley, professor of social welfare and Human Sexuality instructor. "It is important that we don't give it silence, that we give it voice."
Janelle Strunk, Wichita senior, spoke through tears about her cousin who died of AIDS complications. To Strunk, the hardest aspect of her cousin's death was the lack of support he received from members of their community because he was homosexual.
"When someone died from our community, the church was full," she said. "But there were probably 15 people at his funeral and six of us were family. He was a great person, and no one cared to see that. All they could see was that he had AIDS and was gay."
Although Pitner's father never told her that he was HIV positive, She told him that she knew he carried the virus and that he was homosexual.
"No one had ever told my father, 'It's OK you're gay, and it's OK you have AIDS,'" she said. "He was just sobbing on the phone because no on had told him that before. It's the one thing that I knew would have been so hard to accept if I'd never said those words, and he'd never been able to hear them."
Many students already have been affected personally by AIDS, but the number is increasing. Dalley said in his Human Sexuality class.
"Being able to speak allows us to get close to the issue. It is important that we don't give it silence, that we give it voice."
Dennis Dailey Professor of social welfare
According to the Douglas County AIDS Project, worldwide statistics show that in 1999 a new person was affected by HIV every 11 minutes, including 8,500 new infections each day in people younger than 25. In the United States, AIDS is the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 25 and 40. One in 300 Americans have been exposed to HIV.
Edited by Brad Hallier
Recent house fires inspire greeks to increase awareness, responsibility
Continued from page 1A
"Fire causes concern with any house," said Arunski, Manchester, Mo., junior. "Even with sprinklers, you have to be careful because a fire could flare up."
He said there were fire extinguishers on every floor of the Theta Chi house, 1003 Emery Road, that members could use if needed.
Arunski said he talked to fraternity members living in the house about being more careful and not leaving open flames unattended.
The fraternity rented the house from Alpha Xi Delta sorority's national headquarters in
Indianapolis, Ind. Arunski said he was unsure who would be responsible for installing the new sprinklers.
Several houses with partial sprinkler systems, including Chi Omega sorority, Phi Kappa Theta fraternity, Sigma Nu fraternity and Triangle fraternity, planned
Matt Shapiro, Alpha Epsilon Pi house manager and Minneapolis sophomore, said the fraternity's national headquarters was handling the sprinkler system improvements. He said his house only had sprinklers in the basement, but there was a fire alarm system throughout the building.
renovations to meet the code by April 6.
"Once April 6 rolls around, we will not ask people who don't comply to leave their house," said Fire Marshal Rich Barr. "But once they close the house for the summer, it cannot be occupied until it is compliant."
One house, Sigma Alpha Epsilon,
has been dealing with fire alarm
glitches since the house was renovated a year and half ago.
Yesterday evening, the fire department was dispatched to the house because of the recent fires at other greek housing units.
Edited by Matt James