4006578914
Thursday
April 3, 2003
Vol. 113. Issue No. 126
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Tonight: 46°
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Contact Kristi Henderson, Jenna
Goepfert or Justin Henning at
864.4810 or editor@ransan.com
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
University, Lawrence make cameos in films past and present Jayplay
lawplay
lawrence
naught on
Film
House approves cuts for obscenity
By Lauren Airey lairey@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
The amendment to the state budget that would punish public universities for buying or showing obscene materials aimed at the human sexuality class offered at the University of Kansas survived the negotiations between the Kansas Senate and the House of Representatives this week.
Senate added the amendment banning obscene pictures and videos to its version of the state budget bill last week. House negotiators accepted the amendment as part of the compromised budget
bill completed Tuesday.
The budget bill will likely go to the House of Representatives early today and to the Senate this afternoon for approval, said Pat Saville, secretary of the Kansas Senate.
Sen. Susan Wagle (R-Wichita) proposed the amendment to the Senate last week, accusing Dennis Dailey, professor of social welfare, of using inappropriate visual materials and making inappropriate comments in class. Her amendment would eliminate state funding for any university department that buys or shows obscene materials for any course, including human sexuality classes. This puts the $3.1 million state budget for the
School of Social Welfare, which offers the human sexuality class, at risk. Wagle's secretary said she was unavailable for comment.
Although Dailey's material is explicit, he
said, it is educational and appropriate for a college-level course. Dailey said he would not be able to comment on the amendment until after the legislative session had ended.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Friday the state Legislature shouldn't be deciding curriculum or teaching materials for
the state's universities. She said these concerns should be referred to the Board of Regents.
Dailey has not adjusted his teaching since the Legislature and the media zeroed
in on his class last week. The most noticeable difference in his class in the last week has been an increase in attendance, Preston Dargan, Dallas sophomore, said. Although guests are always welcome in his class, Dailey asked members of the press to leave if they weren't in class to learn.
Wagle
"As far as the class goes, it's a necessary goal to keep the classroom a safe environment," Dargan said. "He's one of the best people I've seen at doing that."
Luke Middleton, Lawrence graduate student, wrote an e-mail to all student organizations on behalf of the Men Can Stop Rape organization to encourage students to write Wagle or their own state representative about the amendment and to send an e-mail to Dailey to express support. Middleton said Dailey was a University icon, beloved by thousands of current students and alumni.
Edited by Melissa Hermrock
Supporting the troops
Jonathan Ng, student body president, and Chancellor Robert Hemenway tie a yellow ribbon on a tree in front of Strong Hall in honor of the troops fighting in the war. The yellow ribbon ceremony was in conjunction with the Student Senate resolution, which passed last night, to thank University of Kansas students, faculty and staff who have been deployed.
Senate passes funding for Israel Alliance ad
By Cate Batchelder
cbatchelder@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
In a 25-19 vote, Student Senate passed a bill to fund the KU Israel Alliance for $556.
The group plans to use the money in addition to $200 of privately donated funds to sponsor a full-page ad, which will say, "We members of the University of Kansas community, support maintaining and enhancing the mutually beneficial relationship between the U.S. and Israel," in The University Daily Kansan.
"This campus and these students support the status quo between relations between the U.S. and Israel, which currently includes promoting peace in that region," said Sam Hopkins, Prairie Village sophomore and group member.
The ad includes more than 1,100 names from the KU community who signed the group's petition supporting the quoted statement.
"I don't think it's fair when we scrutinize groups and not others," said Loren Malone, student body vice president and Senate president. "That's just not right."
Senate questioned the group's mission, content of the ad and whether Senate had the right to question the ad's content.
Malone said Senate rarely asked to look at advertising content when funding groups. Senate's funding code dictates that Senate could fund partisan activities but not their ideals.
Karen Keith and Adam Obley, holdover senators, opposed the funding amount.
"It sets a precedent of opening up Senate to paying for political statements," Keith said.
Student Senate funds events but not messages for political groups such as the KU Democrats. Senate does this because the events can benefit all KU students, Keith said.
STUDENT
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
SENATE
The two funding amendments failed 17 to 22 last night.
Keith said instead of funding the group the full $556, Keith and Obley said Senate should give them standard club funding of $431 — or just $224, which is the standard limit for Kansan advertising
The KU Israel Alliance was up-front with Senate and voluntarily showed an example of the ad's content, Malone said.
For more on Student Senate, see page 10A.
For a repeat of last night's presidential/vise-presidential debates, tune into JHJK 90.7 FM at 3:30 p.m.
Also in the ad is a statement describing the group's purpose,which is "to promote
dialogue among students of all religious and political persuasions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
The group includes members from the far right, the far left, the farther left and those in between, said Benjy Simon, Overland Park sophomore and KU Israel Alliance member. The group has no set belief or political stance, he said.
Jeff Allmon, community affairs director, sponsored the bill to fund the group. He didn't agree with any proposed amended changes or Senate's discussion of the ad's content.
Allmon said the group's mission of promoting dialogue about issues a world away was a positive action, citing that campuses across the country have conflicts over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, some violent.
The group began in January and wants the full-page ad to attract students to the group. "This is our debut. This is our fireworks show," Hopkins said.
"This is a proactive step from the KU Israel Alliance and Student Senate saying, 'No, not on our campus,'" he said.
"Within the group, there is no black and white," he said. "Our group started as being gray."
"This is a dumb argument of semantics that is screwing over this group," he said.
Edited by Todd Rapp
Election recount changes outcome
By Lauren Bristow and Cal Creek
lbristow@kansan.com
and cccreek@kansan.com
Kansan staff writers
After an election recount yesterday, one Lawrence City Commission candidate leapfrogged another, claiming the last commission seat by 149 votes.
Tuesday night unofficial results showed that Lynn Goodell had won the third and last commission seat by 184 votes. But the Douglas County Clerk's Office discovered an error yesterday, giving David Schauner. Tuesday's fourthplace candidate, the victory.
The mix-up gave all three commission seats to the three candidates supported by the Progressive Lawrence Campaign: Mike Rundle, Dennis "Boog" Highberger and Schauner.
The results are still unofficial. Douglas County commissioners will certify the results tomorrow morning. The recount didn't affect any other outcomes.
Patty Jaimes, Douglas County clerk, called Schauer about the possible mix-up yesterday morning.
"It took me by surprise," he said.
Goodell could not be reached yesterday.
The Douglas County Clerk's Office discovered the error in ballot counting yesterday morning after the manual count of ballots showed a discrepancy from the computerized count.
"We record the number of people at the polls on election night," said Patty Jaimes, Douglas County clerk. "When we compared those numbers to the number that the computer gave us, there was quite a difference."
Tuesday night's final printout indicated 25,016 voters cast a ballot. Records taken manually showed only
ELECTION RECOUNT
Candidate % of votes % of votes
Tuesday yesterday
Mike Rundle 20.44 20.84
Dennis "Boog" 17.91 18.22
Highberger
David Schauner 16.59 16.96
Lynn Goodell 16.92 16.59
Lee Gerhard 14.88 14.51
Greg DiVilbiss 13.27 12.88
Source: Douglas County Clerk
18. 218 ballots were cast.
Jaimes said the error had occurred when officials loaded the disks containing ballot counts from two counting machines into the computer that added those results together. The human error caused 7,002 ballots to be counted twice, she said.
Lee Gerhard, who came in fifth after both Tuesday and yesterday, said he expected someone to demand a full recount once the results were certified.
Gerhard said he wasn't happy with how the election was handled.
"This is not how to run an election," he said.
Although he said he was pleased Tuesday when Goodell won, he understood that Lawrence residents elected the Progressive candidates. If the voters were unhappy, changes could be made in the next election in 2005, he said.
"The people voted for them," he said. "We're going to have to live with them."
—Campus editor Michelle Burhenn contributed to this report.
Edited by Andrew Ward
Good day, sunshine
Brandon Baker/Kansan
Annika Williamschen, Applevalley Minn., freshman, Kathy Kalbac, St. Louis freshman, and Holly Hollenbeck, Neodesha freshman, lounge outside Oliver Hall. Warm spring temperatures reached 87 degrees yesterday and drove students outside to enjoy the sun and cloudless sky. It is expected to be partly cloudy today with a high of 83 degrees.
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