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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
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KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PO BOX 3585
TOPEKA, KS 66601-3585
Online today
Wednesday
April 8,1998
Section:
A
Get into National Poetry Month and check out this poem for the day.
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Vol.108·No.132
WWW.KANSAN.COM
College basketball's spring signing period begins today. Get a glimpse of the top players left on the Kansas' wish list.
SEE PAGE 1B
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President swings through KC Clinton calls for Social Security changes
(USPS 650-640)
By Brandon Copple
bcoppler@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Hoping he will go down in history as the president who saved Social Security, Bill Clinton launched his campaign to reform that system yesterday at a community college in Kansas City, Mo.
"There are some challenges we can only meet as one nation, acting through our national government." Clinton told a crowd of about 800 at a Penn Valley Community College gymnasium.
Clinton said that if the system was not
changed, only those who retired before the year 2029 would receive full Social Security benefits.
Today, however, the system is strong, as is the national economy, he said. And with surplus revenues projected into the near future, Clinton said it was time to "fir the roof, the tree in skining."
"fix the roof while the sun is shining." Rodger Woods, Hutchinson first-year law student, walked out of the forum more optimistic about the chances for fixing the roof.
"I think we heard some ideas today that five years ago would have ended any politician's career." Woods said. "There may be a good chance we'll get some form of nonpartisan solution."
Woods said he was
"It bothers me to think that I could pay in all this money and do no better than if I just threw it down a wishing well and hoped for retirement savings," he said. "But I think everybody our age realizes that we'll have to save for our own retirement."
concerned that he never would see any benefits from his payroll taxes, which take about 12 percent out of each paycheck for a person who earns less than $68,400.
Clinton attempted to assuage that skepticism. He said that he had seen a poll showing that Americans in their 20s
believed that they were more likely to see a UFO than a Social Security check.
"We can and will put Social Security in order," he said.
President Clinton outlines his plan to save Social Security. Clinton spoke to about 800 people yesterday at Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City, Mo. Photo by Kansan staff
During the afternoon session, Clinton, the members of Congress and a panel of policy experts received questions from 185 people chosen by a polling agency to represent Kansas City's demographics.
Clinton opened the morning session with the Great Social Security Debate. He was followed by four congressmen—one from each party in each chamber.
Clinton did not endorse a particular method for fixing Social Security, but he
said that any reform must provide benefits that impoverished retirees could count on and fair benefits for all Americans regardless of market fluctuation.
He said the system must continue to provide benefits to the disabled and families of deceased wage-earners. He also said that any new system must maintain "fiscal discipline."
Woods said the reform proposal he preferred was that of Sens. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., and John Kerrey, D-Neb. Kerrey promoted the plan at yesterday's forum.
Kerrey said his plan should appeal to today's college students because it would allow them to divert a percentage of their payroll deduction to a private savings account.
"Young people should begin by saying they're glad to live in a country where we have Social Security to ensure that people who retire don't live in poverty," he said. "They should support that as a fundamental contract in our society and know that they're getting a better country as a result."
Although none of the other members of Congress offered a plan, all three seemed to support the notion of taking some of the payroll deduction and requiring that it be invested for retirement.
Clinton warmed to that notion as well. He said that public meetings would continue until December. In January, Clinton said he planned to assemble Congressional leaders to draft a plan.
He said that the important thing was to make sure that Americans had all the facts.
"You get in trouble in life if you start denying the facts," he said.
Cyclists wheel, deal for bike lanes
Unconvinced City Commission asks for more research
By Jeremy M. Doherty idhorety@kansan.com Kanson staff writer
About two dozen bicyclists rallied and rode for bicycle lanes in Lawrence at last
Klip Curtis, New York graduate student and an organizer of the rally, said the cyclists wanted to encourage the commission to consider adding bike lanes before putting money into law enforcement.
night's city Commission meeting, but the evening ended without the body making any firm commitments on the issue.
Before the meeting, the group of cyclists comprised of University of Kansas students and Lawrence residents participated in a traffic-stalling ride down Massachusetts Street.
The commission, including newly elected Mayor Marty Kennedy, ultimately directed its staff to further study a series of recommendations drafted by the Bicycle Advisory Committee.
The recommendations were broken down into three prioritized areas: education, enforcement and engineering.
The bicycle-lane provision
was included in engineering. Recommendations for a city bicycle coordinator, Share the Road signs and more traffic enforcement were considered higher priorities by the committee.
Kennedy said the recommendations could lead to a greater respect between bicyclists and motorists.
Curtis directly criticized the commission during the public comment session, saying that the commissioners were not adequately working to finance the bicycle lanes.
"That's been our main objective all along," Kennedy said. "The committee has brought forth a lot of information that we need to digest."
Curtis said he had noticed that cities such as Missoula, Mont., had taken as long as five years to get bicycle lanes past the design and construction phases. He said he was concerned that if money was not set aside in this year's budget sessions, the wait could be as long as six years.
"You need to try to set aside money this year," Curtis said. "On Vermont Street, those lanes could be put down right away. My own experience tells me that all you need to do is paint lines."
Matt Caldwell, Lawrence senior and member of the Bicycle Advisory Committee, echoed that concern. To recommend lanes as the first priority could have hurt the issue, he said.
The city already has applied for federal funds to hire a fulltime staff member to act as bicycle coordinator, said Mike Wilden, city manager. He said the city already was working on the Share the Road signs but was not prepared to handle engineering matters.
cover," Wildgen said. "We're not going to get it all done in a two-month thing."
"I don't think the first thing on the list would be bike lanes
"There are a lot of issues to
because of the cost," Caldwell said. "We need to do a study on actually instating the program."
With the recommendations now in the hands of the City Hall staff for further analysis, the City Commission could receive the first resolutions in the coming weeks.
The meeting also included the installation of Commissioner Kennedy to the mayor's office. Taking over from outgoing Mayor Bonnie Augustine, Kennedy praised the accomplishments of his predecessor and pledged to keep in touch with the concerns of the public.
"My phone is always open, and please call it," Kennedy said to the capacity-filled meeting room.
Cyclists walk into City Hall to attend the City Commission meeting. Several cyclists addressed the commission to express concern that the city wasn't improvin the biking conditions in Lawrence. Photo by Roger Nomer/KANSAN
Coalitions agree: University must attract, support more minorities
By Sara Anderson sanderson@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
As elections near, both Student Senate coalitions are addressing the University's need to recruit and retain minority students and faculty.
The Delta Force coalition plans to work with Chancellor Robert Hemenway to increase the number of minority faculty members and incoming minority freshmen, while the Campus Cause coalition intends to
increase the visibility of the University's existing minority programs.
Emily Heath, Delta Force candidate for student body president, said the main goal of Delta Force was to work in conjunction with the chancellor on minority recruitment.
"The bottom line is that minority students are more willing to come with more minority faculty members, and with more minority faculty members brings more minority students," Heath said. "We want to make it a priority."
Scott Kaiser, Campus Cause candidate for student body vice president, said that focusing on existing programs would increase student awareness.
"It won't help to have eight or nine programs that have the same objective because it creates overlap and redundancy," Kaiser said. "We want to secure their funding and work with programs to strengthen and support them."
Sherwood Thompson, director of the Office of Minority Affairs, said that Student Senate could play an integral role in minority retention at the University.
"I think the Student Senate could be effective in developing and passing effective legislation that would bring awareness to campus about increasing enrollment, because retention begins with enrollment," Thompson said. "Another way is by providing special funding to increase minority students' access to campus by reducing their debt."
R. J. Woodring, Campus Cause candidate for a Nunemaker seat, said that it was important to reach out to minority groups and to support existing organizations.
"We want to work with what the University offers and highlight what it offers." Woodring said. "By working with improving programs at the Multicultural Resource Center we can make it more helpful in assisting students and the University and offering more programs in the organizations already in place."
Anthony Hersey, Delta Force candidate for an architecture seat, said Delta Force was thinking about hosting a campus conversation on race in the fall "to provide students with the opportunity to discuss their views and issues of minorities." he said.
Hersey said the student body should reflect the different cultures and groups represented in society.
"We need to get more minorities in the University because we are becoming a diverse world," he said.
More information
Recycling, technology and parking are other issues being raised by Student Senate candidates.
See page 7A
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