University Daily Kansan / Monday, March 2, 1992
CAMPUS/ AREA
3
House tentatively passes abortion-rights bill
By Gayle Osterberg
Kansan staff writer
TOPEKA - The state House of Representatives on Friday tentatively passed a bill that would legalize abortion in Kansas law books if Roe vs. Wade were overturned. But lawmakers are uncertain about how the bill will fare in the Senate.
During five hours of debate, House members voted down seven of eight amendment proposals before voting 84-35 in favor of the bill. A final vote on the bill will be taken today.
The House passed one amendment requiring women younger than 16 having an abortion to be accompanied by someone 21 or older. The amendment does not specify that the adult be a parent or guardian.
Kansas 1992 Legislature
During debate, proponents of the bill defended the legislation from attacks that it had been drafted by pro-choice supporters with little input from anti-abortion advocates.
--be about as effective as passing a law banning teen pregnancy."
"This is not a pro-b abortion bill," said state Rep. Kathine Seebellius, D-Topeka, head of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, which sponsored the bill. "Abortion is a tragedy, and I think we should all recognize that. But passing a law banning abortions would
Sebelius said she did not expect the vote to change much during final action today.
It would prevent blocking access to and from health care clinics that perform abortions and establish penalties for violators.
The bill also would require that women younger than 16 be counseled about their options before having an abortion.
Provisions of the bill would legalize abortion, including late-term abortions if the mother's sheath were threatened or if the fetus was severely deformed.
State Rep. Kent Campbell, D-Miltonvale, led anti-abortion forces with an amendment that would have gutted the
entire bill, replacing it with stricter regulations for minors seeking abortions.
The amendment would have required women younger than 18 to notify a parent or guardian 24 hours before having an abortion.
The amendment was defeated 83-40 after heated debate.
Supporters of the bill argued that the amendment would eliminate regula- tion.
"Speaking for myself, I would like to go much farther," Campbell said during debate. "But in the current political I don't believe that is achievable."
Campbell said he was surprised and disappointed at the vote. Sixteen legislators who had either pledged support for or co-sponsored the amendment
changed their votes, he said.
"You usually don't find somebody sponsoring something they don't feel strongly enough about to vote for," he said. "I feel that in some cases, people voted according to their personal beliefs rather than their constituency."
But Campbell said he thought the debate was a partial victory.
"Eight years ago, few people were
stunned to stand up and speak," he said.
"We were like a robot."
Campbell said he did not think the bill would survive the trip to the Senate in its present form.
Sebelius said the strong vote of support in the House gave the bill momentum going into the Senate. She also said the 84 supporting votes for the bill, which was a two-thirds majority, indicated support was strong enough in the
House to override a veto by the governor.
Lawmakers have speculated that Gov. Joan Finney, an anti-abortion advocate, would veto the bill in its current form. The House and Senate both would need a two-thirds vote to override a Finney veto.
Sebelius said the timing of the bill was appropriate because the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn Roe vs. Wade this summer.
"You're talking about the most basic and private decision a woman will ever make," she said during her closing statements. "I would prefer that the Legislature not have to enter this private health care arena, but I think it is appropriate at this time."
Confidential report finds class overload in computer science
By Ranjit Arab
Kansan staff writer
The problems in the computer science department at the University of Kansas are based more on a faculty course-overload than on a conflict between a professor and the department head, according to a confidential report given anonymously Saturday to the Kansan.
The report, dated Jan. 10, recommended the removal of William Bulgren, who heads the department, and Havel, professor of computer science.
However, the report also cited several problems in the department that do not directly relate to the history of conflict between the two professors.
One of the recurring problems cited by the report was a faculty course-overload. The overload was the result of a low number of faculty and a high number of courses offered. The overload was responsible for problems such as graduate students teaching upper-level courses and a low research productivity by faculty, the report said. Several solutions were suggested by the report.
"It would also seem appropriate to limit undergraduate enrollments, in line with faculty staffing, but we do not know if University policy limits the department's freedom in this matter," the report said.
Muyksen said limiting undergraduate enrollment was a possibility and under consideration. The department is committing to under-graduate students.
James Muyskens, dean of liberal arts and sciences, commissioned the report in December. It was conducted by two computer science professors from other universities in response to faculty complaints.
Enrollment could be limited by requiring students to receive certain grades in courses such as beginning computer science. Mukysenk said.
Muyksen will conduct a meeting to discuss the department's future with all undergraduate computer science majors at 5 p.m. today in 120 Snow
A limit also could be placed on the number of students allowed in depart-
"It is a very complex issue and we have a committee working on it right now." Muvyskens said.
He said the report was presented only to department professors. The Lawrence Journal-World in a story last week cited a copy it had received. The report might have been obtained and leaked by an angered graduate student, he said.
Although Muyskens said he did not know how many people had copies of the confidential report, news of the
"It certainly has not helped the credibility of the department at all."
James Muyskens, dean of liberal arts and sciences
conflict within the department has spread.
"Several of us have traveled quite a bit lately and on both coasts people have heard of the warring in the department," he said. "It certainly has not helped the credibility of the department at all."
According to the report, research productivity of the faculty was below the appropriate standards for a major public university in part because of the course overload.
"Research productivity may be affected somewhat by a teaching load that is higher than that at many leading computer science departments: four courses a year (for each instructor) rather than two or three," the report said.
Other problems exposed by the report included poor handling of personnel problems and previous recruitment. It also cited a lack of interim reviews for non-tenured faculty.
The report made no mention of salary disputes among department faculty members.
Bavel said the report proved he was not to blame for the department's problems.
It might have been leaked by someone in the dean's office or by another tenured computer science professor, he said.
"There are people among the tenured staff who would like to hurt me," Bavel said. "By leaking the report, such suspicion may come on me."
Instead, he said the problem was the result of too many faculty being relieved from teaching sections of certain courses.
He said the problem of course overload would not be solved with limiting undergraduate enrollment.
Bulgen refused to comment on the report yesterday, but he said the leak of the report might hurt the department's chances of reaching a solution.
"It is hard to discuss why someone would want to pre-empt this process," he said. "It is disturbing to me."
Pam Kincaid hoists a kite into the air while her two-year-old daughter, Courtney, and her husband, Steve, help to hold the string. Many people engaged in outdoor activities yesterday as the high temperature hit 82 degrees under sunny skies.
Summer-like weather strikes early
Cooler temperatures, clouds and thunderstorms expected later this week
By Jenny Martin
Kansan staff writer
KU students and Lawrence residents blanketed the area in front of the Campanile and Potter Lake yesterday as the temperature hit a balmy high of 82.
Shelley Steele, Fayetteville, Ark.
graduate student, and Katja Rampelmann,
Bochum, Germany, graduate student, brought a picnic to the Campanile hill yesterday to enjoy the warm but wind weather.
"Without the wind blowing like it, we'd probably be too warm out here." Steele said.
The summer-like conditions are not expected to continue later this week, though. Partly cloudy skies are expected today, with a high temperature of 71, according to Marc Kramer of the KU Weather Service.
Rain and thunderstorms are forecast for tomorrow and Wednesday,
with high temperatures in the high
Warmer weather may return by next week, said Phillip Bills, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Topeka.
Bills said the unusually warm weather during the past four months could be attributed to the El Niño effect, an abnormal warming of the ocean sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean which causes changes in jet stream wind patterns inland.
Andy Kula, a forecaster with the KU Weather Service, said that the El Niño effect could be felt every four or five years, and that the warm temperatures the Midwest experienced this year was a normal effect of the El Niño phenomenon.
Instead of having one jet stream of wind across the nation, the El Nino has caused two jet streams at one
time. The Midwinter is locked between the southern and northern streams and is covered by a mass of relatively still air that is heated by the sun.
Kula said the northern stream kept the cold Canadian air and snow out of the center of the United States.
The weather may cool slightly within the next few weeks, but because the sun is getting higher every day, the temperature is not likely to drop significantly, he said.
because of the unseasonably warm weather, many Lawrence grocery stores have seen an increase in sales earlier than usual this year of charcoal, sultan lotion, picnic foods and styrofoam coolers.
"With the break in the weather, we've been selling anything that has to do with picnicking, gardening or go to the lake," said Said Ciconch, assistant manager of Wal-Mart-2727 Iowa St. "We've sold a lot of grills,
swimsuits, towels, suntan lotion and chips and pop."
Jim Williams, grocery manager for Alvin's IGA, 901 Iowa St., said the store had sold more charcoal, lighter fluid and outdoor snack foods during the last couple of weeks than during the same time period last year.
Employees at some tanning salons, which normally see an increase in business the week before spring break, said they had not lost any customers to the sun.
European Suntanning Hot Tub & Health Club, 1601 W. 23rd St., has been booked with appointments for the last four days.
"The warm weather hasn't slowed us down," said Heather Gray, employee at The Sun Deck, 701 W. Ninth St. "People still want to get a good base tan for spring break."
Program seeks to provide mentors for African-American youth
Eight-year-old James Reeves reluctantly introduces himself to mentors Marc Ettrick (center), Brooklyn, N.Y., junior, and Terry Bell, Tampa, Fla., sophomore.
By Shelly Solon
Kansan staff writer
That is the message that members of Black Men of Today and KU athletes are trying to deliver to African-American students on a college program that kicked off Saturday.
College is not all fun and football games.
About 25 KU students played foot-
ball for about 20 youth teams each year.
Carlos Fleming, member of Black Men of Today, said the program involved youths between 11 and 18 years old. He said the Lawrence Alliance, a city-commission appointed organization, that fights racism and discrimination, helped find youths for the program.
Youths from Lawrence, St. Louis,
Topeka, Kansas City, Kan., and Wichita
participated.
*Getting the athletes involved will help us tie academics and athletics
together for these kids," said Fleming, who is a member of the Kansas tennis team.
Robert Vaughn, a Kansas football player and member of Black Men of Today, said the boys he talked to said they were interested in sports. He said one wanted to be a football player like Vaughn.
"Because they told me they liked sports, we decided to start off playing sports," he said. "But I stressed to them not to develop just a football or basketball mentality. As the program goes on and we get to know each other better, we'll show them that there is more to college than sports."
Vaughn said he thought it was important for young African-American men to see life outside of their neighborhoods.
"They need to see other Black men doing things for themselves and being leaders." he said.
The program will continue throughout the semester and eventually
become a permanent project for Black Men of Today.
Hassan Bailey, a Kansas football player, said that African-American boys only saw football and basketball players but that they never realized what the athletes did to get there.
However, Bailey said the KU students did not say college was for everyone.
"There is a lack of positive Black male role models in the homes and
"We want to show them we live and that we are studying and trying to be leaders," he said. "We want to show them that anybody and everybody can make it if they work for it."
Marc Etrick, executive board member of Black Men of Today who also played Kansas football, said the participants wanted to be role models for younger African-American men.
"Basically, we want to show people down the Hill that those of us on the Hill do care about our community," he said.
neighborhoods," he said. "A lot of kids think no one cares, but if we show them today that we are concerned, they can achieve and succeed."
Denard Stewart, who was a KU baseball player, said that when he was a college freshman, he made the mistake of thinking sports was all an athlete had to care about.
"I had to learn that being an athlete also meant being a student, and I want to let kids know that," he said.
Tonya Sanchez, Brooklyn, N.Y. junior, works with girls in the program. Two girls participated in Saturday's activities.
"The main thing I'm stressing with the girl's education," she said. "But I also think it's important for girls to get a better knowledge of themselves. Being aware of who you are as a woman is important because if you aren't sure of yourself, you can get involved with the wrong kind of people."