Thursday
April 17,2003
Vol.113. Issue No.136
Today's weather
65°
Tonight:45°
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
Tell us your news
Contact Kristi Henderson, Jenna Goepfert or Justin Henning at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
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KU: Williams violated NCAA rules
By Shane Mettlen
smettenk@kansan.com
Kansan Sportswriter
Officials at The University of Kansas have filed a complaint against North Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams. Director of compliance, Janelle Martin, said the University had gone through the "proper channels" dealing with the possible NCAA violations.
"We addressed coach Williams' comments on a couple of different SportsCenter segments," Martin said yesterday.
Williams was interviewed Tuesday on
the ESPN program and made a reference to David Padgett, a Kansas signee. Williams said he did not believe Padgett should be "stuck out there" in Kansas. He said he recognized that the NCAA's letter of intent stated that a player
Williams
signed with a university rather than a coach, but Padgett should have "a window of opportunity" to reconsider his commitment.
Padgett, along with Omar Wilkes.
Jeremy Case, and J.R. Giddens, signed with Kansas while Williams was still the Jayhawks coach. Padgett had narrowed his choices to Kansas and North Carolina before choosing the Jayhawks.
Williams' comments could be considered a violation of the NCAA's rules regarding tampering with another programs' recruits.
Williams told WHB, a Kansas City, Mo., radio station, that his statements had been misconstrued and he was not attempting to sway Padgett or any of the other Kansas recruits to join him at North Carolina.
"That's as far from the truth as it could possibly be."
RoyWilliams
UNC basketball coach
"That's as far from the truth as it could possibly be," Williams said.
Padgett and Giddens were both named to this year's McDonalds' All-American team, and with Wilkes and Case, made up one of the nation's most thought-of recruiting classes.
Padgett is the only one of the four recruits who has not indicated he
intends to honor his commitment to Kansas. Pete Padgett, David's father, said a decision would be made after Kansas selected a new coach.
Under NCAA rules, a player who seeks a release from a letter of intent must be granted a full release by the institution to be eligible to play for another school right away. If the institution denies a player's request or grants for a partial release, the player must sit out for at least one season.
- The Associated Press contributed to this story.
- Edited by Melissa Hermreck
KUnited cleared of soliciting charge
By Cate Batchchelder
cbatchelder@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The Elections Commission voted 4-0 last night to clear KUnited of a violation concerning soliciting in GSP-Corbin Hall.
Shelly Roben-Lojka, GSP-Corbin Hall complex director, filed the complaint. In it, she said several hall residents came to her April 9 and said KUnited coalition members had come to their doors and asked them whether they had voted. The coalition members said to vote KUnited if they hadn't voted yet and distributed campaign materials, she wrote.
As complex director, she said her job was to be an advocate for students.
KUnited brought in a crew to argue its side, including Student Body President Jonathan Ng, president-elect Andy Knopp, vice president-elect Catherine Bell, three GSP-Corbin eye witnesses and two other KUnited candidates.
"It is very important that I be able to share the information that is given to me by students, whether positive or negative," she said. "I have to take them on their word of what they say and then in turn share that information."
Ng said, as far as he knew, he and the two other KUnited candidates were escorted the entire time when at the residence halls that day. He denied distributing any campaign material, and said they only went to the rooms of women who knew their escort.
In closing statements, "I think a couple things need to be pointed out here," Knopp said. "Number one, there's been no evidence presented here of any wrong-doing. You've asked us questions, and we've been completely forthright and have told you exactly what happened."
BILL PASSED FOR CENTER
The Finance Committee passed a bill 17-2 to create a student fee for the construction of the new Multicultural Resource Center. The fees will pay for half the $3 million construction. A confirmed donor has pledged $1 million. The full assembly will vote on the bill at next week's Student Senate meeting. Read more in Friday's The University Daily Kansan.
Any possible violations stemmed from incidentally passing from floor to floor without an escort from the floor they were on, Knopp said. But on the floor in question, the fifth floor, the escort took the coalition members to friends' rooms and didn't talk about the elections.
"We talked about Britney Spears," Kelly Kate Waldron, Corbin Hall escort and Aspen, Colo., freshman said.
Knopp said any evidence against them was hearsay.
"With all due respect to Shelly and with all due respect to the women of GSP-Corbin, I feel like the preponderance of evidence is on our side, that no wrong-doing was committed," Knopp said.
Before the public hearing, five GSP Hall residents, including Kylie Battatlia, Tulsa, Okla. freshman, talked about how everyone was discussing the possible violation.
"This has been the GSP drama," Battatlia said.
Edited by Melissa Hermreck
Asian connection
One of the members of the Here and Now Theatre Company performs in Woodruff Auditorium at the Asian American Student Union event. The performance challenged Asian stereotypes and racism through skits, stories and interactions with the audience.
Renita Norman, Topeka sophomore, and Kriston Guillot, Shawnee freshman, have a discussion in the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
Scott Reynolds/Kansan
'Billions of Words, Actions'
University's minority recruitment goal clear implementing realistic methods still cloudy
By Henry C. Jackson
cjackson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
As lunchtime nears, an office in Strong Hall springs to life. Crackling with discussion and bubbling with hard work, the office is a glimpse of what the University of Kansas could become. Two students sit in one corner huddled over a computer, struggling with online enrollment. At the front desk, another pair of students argue about sports while they leave a message for an administrator.
"It's a hub for minority students," said Courtney Bates, a Chicago senior who has come to the Office of Multicultural Affairs since her sophomore year. "You can get help, and it's laid back."
On a typical day, anywhere from 50 to 200 people come through the office
looking for information or just hanging out. But do not be misled by the pleasant atmosphere: the Office of Multicultural Affairs is the center of a struggle.
The struggle - to increase minority enrollment and provide a welcoming learning environment to students of color - starts here, in a relatively small office, tucked away in a corner on the entry level floor of Strong Hall.
Increasing minority enrollment is a key part of Chancellor Robert Hemenway's push to make the University of Kansas one of the top 25 public universities in the United States. It's also a value that top administrators embrace on an emotional level.
"It is important to me, as a minority graduate of KU with three degrees, to support diversity," said Janet Murguia, executive vice chancellor for University Relations.
Increasing minority enrollment is a regular topic of discussion among the students who visit the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
"People come here just to hang out, and it comes up," said Paul Trigozo, a Lima, Peru, freshman who works at the office's front desk.
The office itself serves as a recruiting tool. When minority high school students take tours, they are usually brought to the office.
"There are usually a couple of us sitting around," Bates said. "It shows them there's a place to go on campus."
Of the 26,458 students who attend the University of Kansas, 2,606 of them are minorities. While minority recruitment increased in the Fall of 2002 from the previous year, minority recruitment
SEE RECRUITMENT ON PAGE 6A
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