THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
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Kansan
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March 29, 1999
Section:
A
Vol. 109 • No. 118
The Center for Defense Information provides background information on Kosovo, U.S. government officials reactions and political theories. http://www.cdi.org
Sports today
The Kansas football team agrees to play Notre Dame in its season opener.
SEE PAGE 1B
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NATO STRIKES IN KOSOVO
(USPS 650-640)
U.S. action provokes mixed reactions
By T.J. Johnson
jt Johnson@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
By T.J. Johnson
On the KU campus, as in most parts of the world, the NATO strikes on Serbian targets in Yugoslavia have prompted a wide variety of reactions.
Paul D Anieri, professor of political science and East European studies, said he did not think the strikes had been successful from a political standpoint.
"I think the thing to point out is that the bombing campaign has caused exactly what it was meant to prevent," D'Anieri said.
He said the strikes actually had led to an increase in the violence against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, which is what the strikes aimed to curb.
Juliet Kaarbo, associate professor of international relations and political science, said she thought the mission of preventing violence against ethnic Albanians was an important one. However, she was not sure that military strikes were the solution to the problem.
problem.
"I think the issue is whether or not you can find a military solution to the oppression of minorities," Kaarbo said. "It's a tough one."
D'Anieri said the NATO strikes were an effort to urge Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic to sign a peace treaty, but were now an attempt to reduce his military power. He said this was a goal that gave NATO an easier chance to declare victory in the conflict and stop the strikes.
He also said the United States had been trying to fight a war without casualties for either side, something which makes a real victory hard to attain.
by and watching. DKHWers Protesters in many countries have picketed and shot at American Embassies to show their outrage about the NATO strikes, a situation some KU students who traveled abroad during spring break saw first-hand.
"There is a real dilemma between getting involved in a situation that could get pretty ugly and standing by and watching." D'Anieri said.
Seth Wiesblatt, Dallas junior, was in Paris during spring break and stayed near the American Embassy.
"There was a lot of heightened security with barricades and guards every 20 or 30 feet." Wiesblatt said.
Matt Maikens, Castle Rock, Colo., sophomore and Air Force ROTC student, said that the opinions of protesters should be respected, but that whatever the nature of the conflict, troops deserve the respect and support of everyone.
support everyone.
"At times when the world leaders feel a military strike is important, the military needs the support of citizens," he said.
Maikens said people who were protesting the strikes needed to remember those people who were putting themselves in harm's way.
"Remember that guys are putting their lives on the line for freedom and we need to respect that," Maikens said. "Keep all your thoughts and prayers with the pilots who are flying."
- Edited by Julie Sachs
Clinton: Air attacks will continue
The Associated Press
BELGRAD, Yugoslavia — Ordering up more firepower, NATO raged against time Sunday to smash Serb military units and head off what it called "genocide" against Kosovo Albanians.
Thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees, accusing Serbs of systematic brutality, fled into neighboring Albania and Macedonia. Officials in both countries pleaded for international help to prevent a humanitarian crisis, and Albania called for NATO ground troops to enter Kosovo — something NATO says it has no plans to do.
Violence in Kosovo has escalated sharply since foreign observers left the province and NATO began its airstrikes against Yugoslavia, which is dominated by Serbs. NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said in Brussels that the airstrikes were no excuse for Serbs to slaughter Kosovo Alians们.
"Genocide is starting," German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping said in a television interview with station ZDF.
For its part, Yugoslavia's government-controlled news media said Sunday that Serb security forces and civilians were under attack by Kosovo Albanians.
Bratislava Morina, Serbia's commissioner for refugees, denied Serbs were behind the exodus and said ethnic Albanians were leaving because of the NATO attacks. Ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs in Kosovo, a province in Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic.
"There is no humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo whatsoever," she said on state-run Serbian television. "Those manipulations with the number of refugees, carried out by foreign agencies and media, are used to intensify (NATO) attacks on Yugoslavia."
NATO promised to broaden attacks on Serb ground forces in Kosovo, despite the downing of a U.S. stealth bomber Saturday night.
The fifth straight night of airstrikes began late Sunday, with about 50 warplanes taking off from the NATO air base in Aviano, Italy. The Pentagon said the attacking planes included six of the F-117A warplanes.
The strikes also would include cruise missiles fired from B-52 bombers, U.S. officials said.
See MILOSEVIC on page 7A
GTA featured as Webmaster of hate Web site
Phelps: Webmaster of Westboro Baptist Church Web site.
By Jennifer Roush
jroush@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Ben Phelps, a 23-year-old KU graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science and a graduate teaching assistant, may look like an ordinary college student.
He has a personal Web page that includes a Frank Zappa quote, graphics of yellow smiley faces and he lists his personal taste in music as everything from Mozart to AC/DC.
But Phelps is not just an ordinary KU student. He's the grandson of one of Kansas' most-recognized personalities
— Fred Phelps, Sr., pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka.
Yesterday, he was pictured on the cover of USA Weekend, a national magazine insert that appears in more than 500 Sunday newspapers nationwide. The story profiled Web sites that promote hatred based on race, religion or sexual orientation.
Phelps said that when he was contacted for the story about two months ago, he had no idea that he would be featured so prominently in the magazine. He also said he was not told his
Ben Phelps also is the Webmaster of the church's Web site, www.godhatesfags.com.
photo would be on the cover.
Phelps, who teaches two sections of EECS 128, said he was not worried that the story would affect the students in his classes.
"I think that by now, most students know what kind of a teacher I am, and I won't bring my religious beliefs into the classroom," Phelps said. "People are a lot more tolerant than you think."
He also said a front-page article about the Web site, which appeared in the University Daily Kansan two years ago, did not cause anyone to drop his class.
Phelps said he did not talk about the church's Web site in his classes and
would not link it to his Web page on the University's server.
Jenny Frain, Deerfield, III., senior,
took EECS 128 last semester with
Phelps. She said that she knew who he
was, but that she did not know he
maintained the Web site.
"I definitely would find it very offensive, but I probably wouldn't have dropped the class."
Although the Web site has been down for a few days, Phelps said it had nothing to do with negative publicity or losing access to a commercial server.
The Web site is getting its own server, he said, and should be accessible this morning.
Jerry Niebaum, director of Academic Computing Services, said that from what he knew about the Web site, it would not be a violation of the University's acceptable use policy for Phelps to link the site to his KU Web page.
Tom Hutton, director of University Relations, was disappointed the story featured someone affiliated with the University who was promoting hate.
"I regret that a KU student was cited as the Webmaster of one of these sites, but I recognize that the First Amendment protects his rights to free speech," Hutton said.
-Edited by Darrin Peschka
Graduate special education program ranked No.1
By Ezra Sykes
by Berta Sykes
esykes@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Education school deans and faculty ranked graduate education schools by reputation, student selectivity, faculty resources and research activity.
The graduate special education program at the University of Kansas is the best in the nation, according to this week's issue of U.S. News & World Report.
The KU School of Education, which includes the special education program, tied with Arizona State University and the University of Washington for No.24 among public and private graduate schools
school and its special education program consistently do well in the magazine's review of colleges.
Karen Gallagher, dean of the School of Education, said several factors made the
Gallagher said the quality of the faculty, the success of students, the amount of grant money the school received and its research productivity all contributed to the high rankings.
"This indicates to those that are considering going to the school that KU has an excellent program," she said. "It says to them that if they go to the school, they can be a leader in whatever they do."
Katie Zook, Arvada, Colo. junior, plans to pursue a master's degree in educational psychology after receiving an undergraduate degree from the School of Education.
In high school, Zook's advisers recommended that she attend their alma mater,
the university of Kansas, when she told them what she wanted to do.
Zook is majoring in elementary education and minoring in special education.
"They kept ranting and raving about the school of education and its special education program." she said.
Zook said the hands-on experience she has had at the University was second to none. She is involved with Natural Ties, a group that works with those with developmental disabilities and also is involved in the School of Education Student Organization, which works with groups such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
"A lot of students at other schools are not getting nearly as much hands on work along with graduate credit," she said. "We gain experience starting our freshman
The school's staff played a large role in making the school great, Zook said.
year — nands on work that prepares us and gives us confidence."
"There are definitely people here that have a plethora of experience," she said. "There are ones who have been on the same path that you want to follow."
"There is a real passion about educating students," she said. "I get excited about school every day. In this field, it goes beyond textbooks and tests. It's special because everything I learn is going to affect other people someday."
Zook thought that there was a great amount of enthusiasm among the students and that it also contributed to the prestige of the school.
Edited by Julie Sachs