THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
Vol. 90, No. 131
The University of Kansas—Lawrence, Kansas
Thursday, April 17, 1980
Every spring morning during good weather, Leon Benoit releases his homing nigrets in North Lawrence, 35 miles from their home in Tonga.
In pigeon owner's roost, no room for unproductive
By BILL VOGRIN
Staff Reporter
TOPEKA-He's been described as a gentleman who does his job, takes care of his young, and is a standout in his field. But his life could be in jeopardy if his sex life doesn't improve.
Grand Cock, a blue-check-spall racing pigeon,
bred by the Grindstone breed of the
breeding roost nests. There is no room for an
unproductive pigeon, even if he is a champion跑
er and a favorite homer. Leon Benoit. Grand Cock's
Bemohit has been raising and racing pigeurs for more than 40 years. He said "produce or die" was the answer.
"Grand Cock is a good old bird, he's won a lot of races for me, and always done the job." Benoit said. "But he's not a big producer. I'll give him one more year and if he still doesn't produce then . . ."
BENOIT IS obviously attached to the bird—he's proud of the races that Grand Cook has done well, and he likes the white and feathers that adorn him—but Grand Cook may soon be a dead duck.
"It's a sad fact of life, but a pigeon has to pull his weight in the loft or he'll be lled." Benoit said.
family affair when his two sons began racing pigeons.
There is a constant cooing from the three coops in
Photos by Dave Kraus
the Benoit back yard. The pigeons are separated into three groups—racers, breeders and rollers.
Rollers are the stunt men of the piggy world. They were supposedly killed by flying, and group whole if flying. Benevolo said they were supposedly afflicted with mental disorders or nervous conditions, but their mid-air acrobatics made them a great hit.
BENOIT SON Bob was not really interested in racing pigs like his dad so he bought rollers
"Pigeons aren't good for much. People think they just shit and eat, but they are kinda' fun," he said.
Pigeons require daily care, such as feeding, a change of water and regular baths to prevent feather
A full grown pigon weights about one pound—all muscle, according to the elder Benoit.
"These birds, if they are in proper condition, can miracula. Grand Cock Feel from Houston to Tampa."
HIS RACERS have been clocked flying at speeds as high as 60 mph. Flying into a strong headwind, the team would be doing well.
The birds have a strict training schedule. In the spring, in good weather, Bennot loads up his racers with snowballs and other tricks in Kansas City. The birds make the 35-mile trip to their Topkoi roost in about an hour. This daily routine makes it possible for them to spend
See PIGEON page six
Benoit with Grand Cock, his best nigeon.
--from the crowd by saying that if she was in school again she probably would work for the Kansan rather than the Criterion. But he was the first black editor of the Kansan.
Benoit keeps his racers in a special coop complete with a picture window.
Opera House fundraiser no cure
By BLAKE GUMPRECHT
Last week, the owners of the Lawrence Opera House sent out a cry for help.
But the fate of the financially troubled nightclub is still up in the air. Apparently, few people heard their pleas.
The Opera House spent more than $300 on advertising, including an 800-word "open" script by the company of Teresa Kanasa, to publicize a four-night fundraiser which its general manager said would be successful.
FIVE AREA BANDS were scheduled for the first night of the fundraiser last Wednesday. Three more were to play each night on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
"It didn't turn out at all like we thought it would—it was very disappointing." Curtis Heinhardt, general manager of the Opera house, wrote in a story of our life down here: Never enough.
As it turned out, only 60 people showed up Thursday and Friday. About 180 came Wednesday and 150 turned up Saturday.
Crowds of 300 a night were expected.
The owners managed to scrape up enough money to pay those bills but the club's future remains uncertain.
The Opera House had to raise $15,000 by Tuesday to pay its mortgage and Douglas County property taxes. Reinhardt said.
"We're going to have to look real hard at the next couple of months." Reinhardt said.
The Opera House has presented mostly regional and occasional national acts since January 1977, when it was purchased by its current owners. It is stocked with bankers. H. Skip Manon is the sole stockholder.
REINHARDT SAID he thought there was a slightly better than 50-50 chance that the Opera House would remain open.
"We'll make a decision in June, at the end of the fiscal year."
"It's going to be a real tight squeeze. The crowds have got to continue," Reinhard said. "The national economy has put us and everyone else in a big crunch."
"It's hard to pay people back as quickly as they would like the money. It's a matter of us paying in nine months when they want the money in four."
In retrospect, Reinhardt said, perhaps the Opera House charged too much for the fundraiser.
TICKETS FOR WEDNESDAY and
Thursday were 86; $12.50 for Friday
and Saturday. Numerous coupons were included in the price.
"We thought we priced it right," Reinhard said. "I grassed we didn't."
Bruce Mays, assistant director for special projects, the number two man in the job of president, will head year and his position may be dropped by the start of the next fiscal year in a departure.
Reinhardt said that the Opera House's finances had slowly improved, but that the demise of several popular regional acts had hurt attendance.
Mays declined to comment on why the position was being cut.
"That has probably been the biggest problem," he said. "We need five or six good drawing regional acts, drawing 400-600 people every time. We haven't had them."
Marcum said last night that Mays was "interested in pursuing" other employment and that he doubted Mays would return. He added that she would be on whether the position would be dropped.
Mays to leave athletic post
By STEVE YOUNG Staff Reporter
Mays said last night that Athletic Director Bob Marcum told him several weeks ago that the position was being droneed.
HOWEVER, HE TOLD members of the department's finance committee on April 1 that one administrative position was being vacated and been declined at that time to name the position.
A department official, who asked not to be identified, said the team was being cut because of an 'outside' May's 'agenda' for recruiting, academic coordination and training overlapped with the duties of other positions.
Mays, 36, joined the athletic department in September 1978. He came from the University of Tennessee where he was a football recruiting coordinator.
The official also said the position—and its salary—were eliminated to ease the department's financial problems.
He said that he had not yet found other employment but that he was interested in finishing duties here. He said he was not bitter.
"I have nothing but good things to say about the University of Kansas," he said.
DOCUMENTS THAT would show how the University is considered today when the University of Kansas Athletic Corporation Executive Committee review the salary schedule in
The salary schedule, a list of all KUAC employees and their salaries, was to be considered by the KUAC Athletic Board at its April 7 meeting.
Del Brinkman, athletic board chairman,
said the schedule would be mailed to all
board members for their comments after
the committee reviewed it today.
The board approved the $3.3 million budget without the schedule, subject to executive committee review of the salary schedule.
But the schedule was not prepared for that meeting, department officials said, because they were already preparing the budget, and because they forgot the schedule was supposed to be on time.
Mays said he hoped to remain in major college athletics.
SERVING WITH Brinkman on the
SERVING with Brinkman on the
representative for the Association of
tercological Athletics for Women, Craig
McKoy, MCU AKG treasure, and one student,
Craig McKoy, MCU AKG treasure, and one student.
Blacks in journalism subject of discussion
Some board members said at the meeting they thought the absence of the schedule might indicate a planned reorganization in the department.
By JON BLONGEWICZ
Staff Reporter
Blacks in journalism should learn the rules, play the game and eventually put themselves in a position to make the rules. Black students are invited and faculty at the Kansas University last night.
“AS JOURNALISTS we tend to isolate ourselves,” she said. “We hang out only with Kansan staffers or our sorority sisters or our fraternity brothers.”
Alexander was joined on the panel by Jay Harman, assistant dean of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, and Julie Williams, KU graduate and a reporter for the Wichita Eagle-Beacon. The report sponsored by Blacks in communication.
"Unless we are willing to take time to learn about our role and how they are enforced, we won't be successful in forging a change," said Chuck Alexenberg, the former engineer and former leader of the MLW union.
HARRIES SAID that the story of American blacks had not been completely told.
Williams listed working for the University Daily Kansan or the Criterion, a newspaper published by Blacks in communications, as two ways of getting experience.
He urged blacks in communications to contribute to telling that story and to "shape how that story ends."
"I can't see how that story is going, because I can't see it in newspapers or on television or hear about it on radio," Harris said.
Williams said to be in that position, blacks should be as versatile and broad-based as possible. This includes reading newspapers and literature and meeting different people.
"But employment of blacks on "But employment of blacks will not automatically make the nation better," Harris said. "Only when we change our laws, we get to the position where we set the rules."
Though calling the Criterion an "admirable effort," Williams sparked reaction
"Hopefully, whites will learn how to write about blacks, and blacks will learn how to write about whites," she said.
Harris said that race was not the central issue.
Harris said the existence of the Criterion did not relieve the Kansan of its responsibility to report on all sequestres of society.
"Even on the Kanas a problem of 'cry race' exists, but the overlying problem is one's inability to play the game by their rules," Adams said.
Samuel Adams, associate professor of journalism and moderator of the discussion, said many blacks who went into a white-cap culture, were unable to cope, so they 'race'ry.
"THE CENTRAL QUESTION is understanding the responsibility we have for working for the press in a democratic society and the responsibility of the press tell us."
AXLEANDER CITED statistics showing progress of minorities in communications. Alexander said about 40 percent of American daily newspapers employed 2,300 minority journalists this year, compared to 1,500 minorities which employed 1,900 a year ago.
"The doors are opening up all the time," he said.
Although things have improved, Harris said, there are still many things that are not well known. He was 24 years old Harris said there were more blacks in 18 to 24 years of age who had dropped out of high school, a finding he didn't know.
Also, he said, blacks constitute 12 percent of the population, but they own less than 2 percent of the businesses in this country.
"You don't read about that in your newspapers," he said.
Student election change recommended to Senate
By KATHY KASE
By KATHY KASE Staff Reporter
The Student Senate Rights Committee unanimously last night to recommend that the Senate consider a bill to change restrictions from February to November.
The bill, sponsored by Greg Schnakee, student body president, and Matt Davis, student body vice president, supports the initiative to elect a Thanksgiving instead of holding them the week before Spring Break, as is done now. If students are not on campus date switch would be November 18.
The bill said the election date change could provide for "less rushed budget meetings" and reduce the resulting in a fairer budget. It could save the Senate money, the bill said, because fall and winter are more difficult to prepare in a fairer budget.
THE MAIN COMPLIANT with the current election date, as stated in the bill, is that the Senate must hold budget hearings and vote on the President's Office of Student Organizations and Activities.
The committee agreed that the current election date caused budget dilemmas for senators.
"I think it's a good idea to initiate these
senators this early to give them a chance to understand Senate procedures before they go into budget hearings," Rose Kuo, committee member, said.
Bren Abbott, Senate treasurer, said the date change would allow budget hearings to occur earlier than a longer period, instead of three nights. He also said that the date change would save
"The saving is a bit more than $500 because you can save money on printing costs because the fall Senate elections will make it more like the student body elections," he said.
SOME COMMITTEE MEMBERS objected to the November date, saying elections would conflict with midterms.
The committee also asked whether the Board of Class Officers would switch its election process to hold its elections with the Senate the elections are paid for by BCOC, Abbott said. He said he thought BOCO would follow the Senate and change its elections to
Committee co-chairman Jim Borell, debating from the chair, said that if the
See SENATE page six