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Volume 128 Issue 106
Monday, April 13, 2015
Kansan.com
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
The student voice since 1904
FRANK WEIRICH/KANSAN
Student Senator Patrick Kelly takes notes after being charged with egregious intimidation by the elections commission. The charges were brought forward by Director of Diversity and Inclusion Jameela Jones (left).
Advance KU constituent found guilty of violation of intimidation
ALANA FLINN
@alana_finn
Current non-traditional senator and Advance KU coalition member Patrick Kelly was found guilty of an egregious violation of intimidation at an Elections Commission violation hearing this afternoon. This violation disqualifies Kelly from the Student Senate election and also suspends him from Student Senate for one year.
Director of Diversity and Inclusion Jameelah Jones alleged Kelly said, "Are you here to teach us how to be more diverse?" when Jones approached Kelly while he tabled for Advance KU.
Kelly said during his testimony "he did not remember ever
Advance KU also released a statement after the hearing to clarify their position on the comments made to Jones.
"In light of recent transgressions that have stemmed from a comment made by one member of our slate," part of the statement read, "Advance KU sincerely apologizes for this incident. In order to properly adhere to our shared values of inclusion and diversity, we respect the decision of the Elections Commission and are taking the necessary steps to address the situation in full."
saying that phrase." However, Jones said she distinctly remembers the comment and she was offended because it "undermined her job."
While the Elections Commission did find Kelly guilty, they said they had a difficult time making the decision because the elections rules do not outline if intent to offend has to be clear to find someone guilty. Once the verdict was given, the Elections Commission members all agreed that while Kelly may not have intended to offend Jones, he clearly did and that was their grounds for the decision.
After the verdict, Kelly said he will "weigh his options" of appealing the verdict. Kelly has 48 hours to submit his appeal to
Two other violations were also heard at the meeting.
Imagine alleged Advance KU did not outline their chalking in front of Wescoe. Elections code states all chalking has to have a box outlining it. However, the violation was dismissed after Advance KU was able to prove the outline had been drawn, but washed away by the rain.
the Elections Commission.
The statement also said the coalition had reached out to Jones and attempted to apologize for the comments.
The elections commission also filed a violation against Advance KU, for allegedly receiving a monetary donation to build a website in support of their coalition. Testimony given during this hearing proved students volunteered to build the website, and did not receive compensation for their work.
Edited by Kayla Schartz
KU Legal Services offers free tax help for students
TRAVIS DIESING
@travis_diesing
With only two days left in tax season, it's time for last-minute procrastinators to get filing or pay the price.
KU Legal Services for Students can help get everything entered correctly with free tax workshops in the basement of Budig Hall. Workshops will be offered today from 10 a.m. to noon, Tuesday from 3-5 p.m. and Wednesday from 8-10 a.m.
Jo Hardesty, director of LSS, said she thinks Tuesday, April 14, will probably be the busiest day for the workshops and advises that students with taxes left to file come to the Monday session. Hardesty said there have been days where lines were out the door.
The majority of students LSS sees during tax season are international students, who accounted for 1,016 of the nearly 1,600 people served last year. As of Thursday, April 9, only 663 international students had come in for online help, which could mean more than 300 international students still need to file.
For those who waited too long, don't panic. The IRS has a tax extension form, which allows people to file until Oct. 15 without penalty. However, if the person filing ends up owing money, the IRS will charge interest if not filed before Wednesday, Hardesty said.
Even then, you still may not be out of luck. IRS offers a three-year statute of limitations, which lets people file taxes from up
to three years prior to the April 15 deadline of that year. For those who still haven't filed their returns for 2011, which were due April 15, 2012, they surrender all claim to the money this Wednesday.
Nick Bertron, a second-year law student and intern with LSS, said he's noticed a variety of issues students run into when filing taxes.
"This is a new system for me. I've been working in Saudi Arabia for seven years. I worked in Sudan for five years, but I've never filed taxes in a similar way like this."
ELTOM HASSAN Post-doctoral student from Sudan
"I think the biggest problem is people are expecting a refund and sometimes that's not always the case," he said.
This problem often arises with students who think they're employed with a W2 form when they actually have a 1099, which has higher tax rates for the signer.
"For tax purposes, it's better for the employer for you to be on a 1099 than for you to be on a W2 because they pay less in taxes, so not everybody knows that upfront sometimes," Bertron said.
LSS sees a lot of international students because the tax-filing process
SEE TAXES PAGE 2
Bill tightens restrictions on welfare use for Kansans
KELLY CORDINGLEY
@kellycordingley
A bill placing tighter restrictions on welfare recipients — forbidding them from spending their aid on psychics or going to a swimming pool, among other things — was sent to Gov. Sam Brownback last week to be signed into law. He is expected to sign it when the legislature reconvenes in late April.
Sen. Michael O'Donnell (R-Wichita) carried the bill for the Public Health and Welfare Committee to the Senate floor last week and said this bill is another step in the right direction for Kansas families, solidifying in-law policies already in place from Brownback's administration.
O'Donnell said more than 6,000 individuals were able to get off Temporary Aid for Needy Families benefits and into the workforce last year. He said the legislature predicts nearly 8,000 individuals will
"We've seen a lot of these programs we're working on have been wildly successful," O'Donnell said.
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Swimming pools, cruises, nail salons movie theaters and tattoo parlors are among the list of places where Temporary Aid for Needy Families cannot be used.
make the progression this year.
The bill would limit ATM withdrawals of the funds to $25 per day.
said the decision to cap Kansans' aid at 36 months is a political play because it doesn't cost Kansas more money to offer the full 60 months.
According to federal law, an individual can only receive TANF aid for a maximum of 60 months. If signed into law, the bill will ensure Kansans cannot receive more than 36
"You'll take it in chunks, so when you hear people like Sen.
The new bill would cap welfare benefits at 36 months, which is 24 months less than the federal maximum. The federal government sets a cap, but the states may decide to lower the cap.
months of aid. A 12-month extension can be filed for extenuating circumstances such as hardships, families with children in the home or cases of abuse against the recipient.
Rep. Jim Ward (D-Wichita)
O'Donnell say the average is 12 to 18 months, that's right, but for one of the occurrences", Ward said. "I don't understand it. It makes no sense."
FINISH READING
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Harding
MACKENZIE CLARK
@mclark59
PUZZLES 6
SPORTS 10
Nathan Thomas, vice provost for diversity and equity, and Jameelah Jones, Student Senate director of diversity and inclusion, spoke to the Kansan about comments from Blane Harding, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
Harding, who recently announced his resignation, effective May 1, said last week he does not like "the direction central leadership is going" and wishes the administration "would do something concrete to support students of color."
OPINION 4
A&F 5
"How long have we known the black six-year graduation rate is at 46 percent? Two years, and we still don't have a program in place. [...] I can't stay around and watch that anymore," Harding told the
CLASSIFIEDS 9
BREW 9
"I have students who are seniors giving me the same concerns as students who are freshmen, and I'm always wondering what that gap is," Jones said. "It seems to be that the concrete solutions just are not there yet. [...]
"[The administrators] don't want to just do things — they want to do the right things," she said. "I think we forget that the long-term solutions are great, but that doesn't really help students who need solutions in the short-term. We have to figure out a way to properly balance that."
Thomas said there are programs that aim to assist and mentor underrepresented populations, such as Hawk Link and the Multicultural Scholars Program, but said part of the gap comes in addressing
"Students, particularly students of diverse and multicultural populations, are looking for different things when they're looking for faculty and staff who are going to be teaching them," Jones said.
She said she also believes students need to be included in administrative decisions that
Jones said she "can definitely feel Mr. Harding's frustration," but also understands that the University is in a tough position.
Kansan last week.
Don't Forget
Jones said one possible short-term solution would be to "put more students at the forefront" when hiring faculty and staff.
"When people don't feel like they belong, no matter whether they're faculty, staff or student, they will not want to be part of an organization," he said.
Diversity leaders respond to OMA director's exit
students who are not part of those groups.
"Those are students who are also falling through the cracks" he said. "We have to be able to put strategy around those students that are not part of a program because that is a touchpoint that is missed.
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2015 The University Daily Kansan
SEE OMA PAGE 2
Finish your taxes.
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