4A
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NEWS
THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2009
PORTE(CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Ryan McGeenev/KANSAN
Student body president Adam McConigle, Wichita junior, addresses members of the Student Senate Wednesday afternoon in the Kansas Union during senate treasurer Alex Porte's suspension appeal.
are demands that I cannot meet because I do not believe them to be true."
McGonigle said the letter did not include "a real admission of wrongdoing."
suspended Porte after he failed to write an apology letter that fit his qualifications.
Other arguments during the appeal focused on whether the student body had the president bad
"It obviously didn't go my way. I'm more shocked than anything else."
power to suspend an executive staff member for a breach of confidentiality.
ALEX PORTE
Student senate treasurer
In Student Senate Rules and Regulations, the Student Body President has the power to remove executive staff members from office if they have violated their job description or the office policy manual.
Porte contended that no such violation had occurred and that the suspension was unlawful.
After the arguments, the Student Executive Committee went into a closed deliberation session that lasted about 25 minutes before announcing their
decision.
"It obviously didn't go my way," Porte said after the ruling. "I'm shocked more than anything else."
Eric Foss, a voting member of the Student Executive committee said the main reason cited by senators for upholding the suspension was an article in Rules and Regulations that states the Student Body President
has the oversight to "review job descriptions, direction of employees, enforcement of the office policy manual and disciplinary procedures including removal by appropriate means if necessary."
Foss said he thought using that article to uphold Porte's suspension was a very broad interpretation of the article that overextended the powers of the Student Body President.
"It essentially gives the president the authority to treat executive officers as employees," Foss said. "Their interpretation allows the president to unilaterally make decisions."
Bill Walberg, Eldorado Hills Calif., senior, said he voted to uphold the suspension because he thought the article did give power to suspend executive staff members to the student body president. "Even though it gives a gross amount of power to the president, even though I may not necessarily agree with it, it is in there," Walberg said.
McGonigle said he did not feel he overstepped his boundaries and said he would not change his actions.
"I acted appropriately and though I think this situation is regrettable, my actions were consistent with policy and with the goal of moving this situation forward and moving on with the work of the student body," McGonigle said.
McGonigle said he would give Porte the opportunity to resubmit another letter of apology and would reinstate him as student senate treasurer if that letter met his qualifications.
Immediately following the appeal Porte said he had not decided on his next course of action.
Edited by Carly Halvorson
RAPE (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
not be releasing any other information to students warning them specifically about the potential threat for sexual assault over the break.
The five rape cases that occurred in Lawrence took place between July 14, 2004 and Dec. 1, 2008. The University Daily Kansan reported on Dec. 9, 2008, that police suspected the rapes were connected.
Lawrence Police compiled a general suspect description in December from the five cases. The suspect was described as a
white old between 25 and 40 years old, ranging in height from 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet tall with a slim build. Police said the suspect was armed with a weapon.
In his press release, Six said it was suspected that the five rapes in Lawrence were also connected to eight other incidents in Manhattan. Anstaeta said recently there had been enough similarities between the Lawrence and Manhattan cases to connect them.
Capt. Tim Hegarty of the Riley County Police Department said the string of incidents in Manhattan
began with an attempted rape in October 2000. From August 2001 to August 2007, seven other rapes were reported.
Hegarty said the Riley County Police Department and the Lawrence Police Department had been cooperating with the investigation before bringing it to the attorney general's office. Hegarty said the attorney general's office could help to investigate crimes that overlapped different jurisdictions.
INTERNATIONAL
Edited by Heather Melanson
France limits youth drinking
BY ELAINE GANLEY
Youths drink beer in a Paris cafe on Tuesday. Lawmakers in the National Assembly, the lower house, voted Monday to approve an amendment to a vast hospital bill that would ban the sale of alcohol to teens under the age of 18 and fine violators up to £7,500 ($9,400). They also voted to forbid the overnight sale of alcohol at gas stations, thought to be a prime source of booze for the young.
Associated Press
PARIS — A spot of Calvados, the apple brandy, in the bottle to help baby sleep. Champagne for all at the family fete. And wine anytime, well, because we're French.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
All this tippling has given authorities pause as studies show that a surprising number of young teenagers are knocking it back in a serious way, often legally. France's conservative government now wants to wean the country's youth off the bottle with a ban on under-18 drinking.
Lawmakers in the National Assembly, the lower house, adopted an amendment Monday that would ban the sale of alcohol to teens under the age of 18 and fine the vendors up to $9,400.
They also voted to forbid the overnight sale of alcohol at gas stations, thought to be a prime source of booze for the young. The amended bill still requires approval by the Assembly and the upper house of parliament, the Senate.
In a double-whammy, legislators voted to ban the sale of tobacco for those under 18, the latest step in a progressive crackdown on smoking.
The new measures come three days after Assembly lawmakers voted to ban all-you-can-drink events in open bars popular with young people — while exempting wine tastings so important to the wine industry.
"I think that (the health minister) put a finger in a grenade for which youths will pay dearly. She has created prohibition in France," said Bernard Quartier, president of the National Federation of Cafes, Brasseries, Discotheques, representing some 41,300 establishments.
The drinking age in France varies depending on the type of alcohol involved and the place of sale. But anyone 16 or older can order beer and wine in bars.
French teenagers who suddenly find themselves underage may grow jealous of neighboring countries such as Germany or Italy where the legal drinking age is still 16 for beer, wine or liquor.
Europeans overall take a more liberal view of alcohol than, for instance, the United States, where the legal drinking age is 21. In most western European countries, it ranges from 16 to 18.