THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2014
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HEALTH
Organizations foster abortion debate on campus
EMILY DONOVAN
A Justice For All poll asks "should abortion remain legal?" on Jayhawk Boulevard. Holly Meath, a Justice For All intern, said signs like these are conversation starters, designed to invite any passersby to engage.
news@kansan.com
ASSOCIATED PRESS
justice for All, a national anti-abortion advocacy group, visited campus to engage students in individual discussions yesterday.
Anti-abortion and proabortion rights groups, Justice For All and the Commission on the Status of Women at KU respectively, are advocating on campus again today.
The Commission on the Status of Women at KU, a feminist student organization, hosted a pro-abortion rights peaceful protest next to Justice For All on the Stauffer-Flint lawn.
Justice For All provided information saying life starts at fertilization, a sign with a picture of a first trimester fetus, quotations from scientists saying that fetuses are human beings, a sign with a spectrum of reasons for abortion ranging from the fetus being a result of rape to the fetus being female, a sign representing human life as continuous from fertilization stages through pregnancy and old age, a whiteboard asking students to write their opinions, a poll with the question "Should abortion remain legal?" and volunteers to facilitate discussions with students.
These are conversation starters, designed to invite any passersby to engage, said Holly Meath, a Justice for All intern, training specialist and logistics coordinator. The group came to campus to start dialogues.
"College campuses are some of the best places to do outreach on this issue." Meath
Justice For All volunteers are trained to listen to students' opinions, find common beliefs and "see if they can work to get closer to the truth together," she said.
said.
"Mostly, we just want to give people something that they can think about, help them see it in a new light, to continue processing it and to take it seriously," Meath said.
Justice For All visits the University about once a year. Meath said Justice For All was invited to the University of Kansas by the Culture of Life Club. The Culture of Life Club's president declined to comment.
The Commission on the Status of Women at KU sets up a table when Justice For All is on campus. Yesterday, the group provided informational pamphlets, signs with slogans like "I am not an incubator", sidewalk chalk, and the presence of the Ecumenical Campus Ministry pastor
and a Planned Parenthood representative.
CHERYL SULLENGER
Senior policy advisor
The counter-protest was organized to offer medically accurate information about abortion, said Katherine Gwynn. Commission on the Status of Women at KU president and a junior from Olathe.
Gwynn said people have stopped to read signs or
"We don't want to force people to have conversations they don't want to have," Gwynn said. "We're purely here to take a stand that there
give out high fives,but no one asked questions about abortion rights.
"If she's ever allowed to practice medicine again, it will be a travesty."
are students for choice on this campus, and to say what choice means."
Gwynn described Justice For All's anti-abortion images of fetuses as triggering and aggressive.
"I think college kids would think this type of argument is very manipulative," Gwynn said.
Anna O'Connor, a graduate student from Emporia, has seen Justice for All on campus for the past five years.
A Justice For All volunteer engaged her in a conversation after she responded to their poll yesterday. They began by speaking abstractly about human rights. O'Connor said that although general discussion doesn't change her belief in abortion rights, she liked that both groups could get their message out.
"I don't mind it," O'Connor said. "It creates awareness. Not everyone is going to hop online and research prochoice or anti- just for fun in their spare time."
Alex Brown, a senior from
Omaha, Neb., had seen Justice For All on campus several times before. Brown said he wanted to demonstrate that pro-abortion rights advocates' beliefs can be as informed and adamant as anti-abortion advocates' beliefs. He enjoys debating and said he wanted to offer them a different perspective on subjective morality, the role of legislature and the prevalence of unsafe abortions when abortions are made illegal.
"My beliefs are very stern," Brown said. "They're not going to change. I wasn't going in there to find more information about abortion."
Brown's discussion lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes. He said they shook hands and walked away respectfully, knowing neither sides' opinions had changed.
Both Justice For All and CSW groups will advocate again today on the Stauffer-Flint lawn.
POLICY
Edited by Krista Montgomery
Lawmakers review KS school funding
ASSOCIATED PRESS
House Speaker Ray Merrick said the chamber's budget-writing Appropriations Committee, dominated by a majority of Republicans, will handle school funding legislation, setting aside work on all other spending issues in order to find the school finance solution quickly.
TOPEKA — A key Kansas legislator said Monday he was ordering the House budget committee to begin work on resolving school funding issues after last week's state Supreme Court ruling.
Boosting aid to poor districts could come out to $129 million a year, the state Department of Education said Friday.
"Bear with us," the Stilwell Republican said Monday. He also discouraged any legislative efforts to rewrite the funding formula before legislators adjourn in May.
The court ruled Friday that the state must boost aid to poor school districts, giving legislators until July 1 to address the problems. It also ordered a lower court to determine how much more the state must spend on schools.
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Attorney General Derek Schmidt told House Republicans that Friday's ruling was a shift in focus from previous court opinions in that it gave legislators latitude in how they change two funds for poor school districts.
"You now know what to shoot for," said Schmidt, a Republican and former Senate majority leader.
"If we do that we will end up making a lot of mistakes,"
NATIONAL
Colorado collects $2M in recreational pot taxes
Merrick said, adding that Republicans should "set aside your love for your school districts."
Rep. Jim Ward, a Wichita Democrat, disagreed with Republicans who believe correcting two aid categories for poor districts would be enough to settle any question if the overall amount spent was adequate. Ward predicted the state would have to spend hundreds of millions more on schools, but not any time soon.
The criteria used in Kansas and other states comes from a 1989 Kentucky school finance case, which established seven requirements for measuring schools and students. They include knowledge of government, communication skills, appreciation for arts, history and culture and the preparation for college or career upon graduation.
Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, said her chamber also would work on a bill to address the ruling, though she didn't rule out making other small changes to the funding formula as time permits.
The tax total reported by the state Department of Revenue indicates $14.02 million worth
DENVER — Colorado made roughly $2 million in marijuana taxes in January, state revenue officials reported Monday in the world's first accounting of the recreational not business.
However, Schmidt said, the debate has changed from determining if actual costs of education are being covered by all funding sources to whether outcomes already in Kansas law are being met.
Schmidt, who had a similar meeting with Senate Republicans, said that the court offered a "respectful" ruling in that it recognized the role of the Legislature to set education policy, as well as the total amount of money that is spent on public schools.
of recreational pot was sold from 59 businesses. The state collected roughly $201 million in taxes.
Colorado legalized pot in 2012, but the commercial sale of marijuana didn't begin until January. Washington state sales begin in coming months.
marijuana industry, the state collected about $3.5 million from the marijuana industry in January.
The pot taxes come from 12.9 percent sales taxes and 15 percent excise taxes. Including licensing fees and taxes from Colorado's pre-existing medical
That's a relative drop in the bucket for Colorado's roughly $20 billion annual budget, but still a windfall that has numerous interests holding out their hands. By comparison, Colorado made about $2.7 million in liquor excise taxes in January of last year.
Edited by Austin Fisher
KU$\textcircled{1}$nfo
Brown: I think discrimination is insidious and a bad thing to put it really simply. And I think everyone should be concerned when anyone else's civil rights are in danger. And as a society we should work to protect people not to discriminate against them.
problems for folks who get married and then come back to a state like Kansas. Kansas says the marriage isn't valid. But the federal government says it's valid and the state where they got married says it's valid. Why isn't it valid? And these are battles we're still fighting.
According to KU math professor
When the district courts in states like Utah, Oklahoma and Kentucky all say that the bans on same-sex marriages are unconstitutional, those are the most conservative states you can think of! It's going to fall. There is no question in my mind it will fall.
Kansan: Seventeen states already recognize same-sex marriage, where do you see Kansas going?
Brown: It's very clear that the law is going to change.
Ben Cobb, the probability of randomly picking all 32 winners in the first round of the NCAA tournament is 1 in 4.3 billion. If you take the #1 seeds out of the equation, the probability gets much better at 1 in 268 million.
Kansan: Why should college students care about marriage equality and LGBTQ rights?
LGBTQ FROM PAGE 2
KU MEMORIAL UNION NEWS
KU Celebrates National Nutrition Month Options and services abound throughout KU Dining
CLAUDIA LARKIN clarkin@ku.edu
March is the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics National Nutrition Month*. KU Dining Services participates in this event each year to inform the KU Community on nutrition-related topics and to remind KU diners of the myriad of food options available from all 22 campus dining locations.
"At KU Dining, we keep in step with the needs and appetites of today's campus diner," said Nona Golledge, KU Services Dining Director. "Our team of over 500 dining staff works hard to ensure a variety of high-quality, creative entrées are available daily, regardless of the student's food preference or dietary requirements."
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Golledge, who has been with
KU Dining for 26 years, says the number of individuals following special diets is on the rise. With regard to vegans and vegetarians, Golledge estimates that approximately $10\%$ of the KU campus lives such a lifestyle. To satisfy this group of diners, KU Dining offers vegan and/or vegetarian options at all of its residential dining centers and retail dining cafes.
All vegan and vegetarian options offered by KU Dining are prepared with care, from analyzing ingredients to ensuring grill surfaces are
Students eniov a vegetarian meal at KYOU Zone at Mrs. E's.
"We have included vegan and/or vegetarian items on our menus for several years. As the lifestyle has become more popular among the collegiate population, we annually review and revise our menus accordingly," Golledge commented.
well-cleaned and designated cooking utensils are kept from cross contact with meat and other protein items.
When it comes to diners with dietary restrictions, each residential dining center on campus has an allergy-friendly area, which is the preparation
meet their dietary needs as they relate to food allergies, religion or medical reasons. Students can arrange to meet with Rondon regularly for assistance in navigating the dining menu options.
College says the number of people coming to college with food allergies is rising, and
and service of menu items free of the eight major food allergens: soy, wheat, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and dairy, as well as gluten, for those who are gluten intolerant. In the renovation of Mrs. E's, the "KYou Zone" was designed to cater specifically to students requiring special dietary accommodations.
Finally, KU Dining employs a full-time registered dietitian to assist students with dietary counseling. Mary Rondon, RD LD, works directly with students to help
KU Dining will continue to review programs and services to meet those needs.
This locally made veggie burger and other vegetarian and vegan options can be found at all KU Dining locations, including residential dining centers.
"These allergy-friendly zones are now a necessity to ensure student diners peace of mind," said Golledge. "I'm proud to say that the KU Dining program has recently received national recognition and is paving the way for peer universities as they too address the needs of students requiring special diets."
For more information about special dietary services or any other aspect of KU Dining, visit KUDining.com.
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