Tomorrow's weather
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
17
KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PO BOX 3585
TOPEKA, KS 66601-3585
ansan
Friday will be cool with cloudy skies.
Thursday
March 5, 1998
Section:
A
Vol. 108 • No. 114
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The Kansas women's basketball team advanced to the second round of the Big 12 tournament after a grueling 50-46 victory against Kansas State.
SEE PAGE 1B
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
E-mail helps suicidal student
Canadian leads police to Budig lab
ay Laura Roddy
loddy@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
(USPS 650-640)
A phone call from Canada Tuesday afternoon guided the University of Kansas police to a suicidal KU student in the Budig Hall computer lab.
A Canadian Internet user contacted the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, 336 Missouri St., after reading disturbing and suicidal comments that the KU student had written to her.
a crisis counselor from Bert Nash then contacted KU police, who responded at 3:10 p.m. and assisted the student in the computer lab.
After the student told police that he had been depressed and that he had thought about hanging himself last weekend, police took him to Lawrence Memorial Hospital. The student agreed to spend 48 hours in treatment for depression and suicidal tendencies.
Hollis Breedweg, development director for Bert Nash, said that the Canadian Internet user had been in a relationship with the KU student that no longer was mutual. The user was disturbed by what the student was writing to her and told the student that he needed counseling.
Bredeweg said the KU student told the user that he did not have access to a telephone in Budig. The student then gave the user the center's name and phone number.
Because the center's counselors do not personally go to the scene and intervene with a suicide situation, the center notified the KU police. Bredweer said.
"Often times, we'll work in cooperation with police," he said.
KU police Sgt. Chris Keary said the police department never had responded
to a call that originated on the Internet. However, the department has responded to similar situations with phone calls from other cities or states, he said.
Keary said the police respond to between eight and 10 calls each year for sulcidal persons. He said the number only included what was reported to police.
"We have to evaluate each situation," Keary said. "The important part is that they get some assistance."
That assistance can come from Watkins Memorial Health Center, Counseling and Psychological Services and Headquarters Counseling Center, as well as Bert Nash, Keary said.
Jim Kreider, a clinical social worker at Counseling and Psychological Services, said that suicidal feelings were not uncommon and that most people felt suicidal once or twice in their lives.
He said that suicidal individuals may talk about committing suicide, may isolate themselves from others, may increasingly use harmful substances or may make final arrangements.
"Not every depressed person is suicidal," Kreider said. "The majority of folks who are suicidal give a signal and what we need to do is not ignore them."
"Take them seriously," Kreider said. "It may just be talk, it may just be a passing thought, but it's better to err with caution."
Kreider also said friends should not hesitate to talk about their concerns with a potentially suicidal person.
"The approach we typically advocate is being straightforward," Kreider said. "Just put it on the table."
He said that in a crisis situation, concerned friends should not hesitate to call the police or a hotline.
Bert Nash operates a 24-hour crisis line at 843-9192. The center works with mental health out-patients, Bredeweg said.
"We want to provide resources to let them stay in the community and stay safe," he said. "The vast majority of people with mental health problems are dangerous to themselves and not others."
Headquarters also provides 24-hour support at 841-2345. The service is free and confidential.
Delta Force gets going at Granada
By Melissa Nao
By Melissa Ngo
mage@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The band Norman 360 kicked off the Delta Force coalition's Student Senate campaign last night at the Granada with about 120 people in attendance.
Speeches began after some coalition members who are now senators arrived at the club after last night's more than five-hour Senate meeting.
The coalition members were introduced after speeches by Matt Dunbar, student body vice-presidential candidate; Emily Heath, student body presidential candidate; and others. The evening continued with the bands Einstein and The Sugardaddies.
Delta Force coalition supporters gather for the kick off of the group's Student Senate campaign. About 120 people turned out for the event last night at the Granada. Photo by Jay Sheeard/KANSAN
"We're hoping to get people excited about campaigning and Delta Force," Heath said. "We wanted to have it somewhere with a fun atmosphere so people would want to participate."
Laura Bennett, residential senatorial candidate, agreed the reason the coalition had the kick-off party at the Granada was to lighten the atmosphere of Student Senate elections.
"Part of the purpose of this little shindig is to show that the people of Delta Force are regular students," Bennett said. "It's also a way for students who don't know about Delta Force to meet the candidates on a more common level than at a Senate meeting."
One student was there for more than just the speeches.
"I'm here for the cool bands," said Brian Hanks, Olathe junior. "I also wanted to find out what Delta Force is all about."
Hanks said that the Granada was not what he thought of when people talked about Senate but that having the party there was a good idea.
seen some of that with this coalition, and it's kind of why I'm interested in it," Hanks said.
Lisa Meinen, Nunemaker senatorial candidate, said that change was one reason she joined the coalition.
"Senate is a profound body on campus, affecting our daily lives — from the amount of fees we paid to what activities are sponsored on campus," Meinen said. "I just want to be a part of it to help things move in a positive direction."
"I'm looking for a change in Senate. I've
The party was originally planned for Tuesday night, but the Granada changed the date and the group could not find another venue. Heath said.
By Marc Sheforgen
msheforgen@kansan.com
Student Senate to review limits on committees
Kansan staff writer
Student Senate heard arguments last night to decrease the power of its committees in the legislative process.
Kelly Huffman, Student Executive Committee chairman, announced that he would evaluate the efficiency of Senate's committees in reviewing legislation.
Senate's five committees, University Affairs, Finance, Student Rights, Multicultural Affairs and Graduate Affairs, have the power to propose, approve and fail legislation. If committees pass a bill or a resolution, the legislation goes
to Senate for final approval.
Sullivan raised questions last night concerning the influence that committee decisions had on legislation.
"It seems that Student Senate ignores the decisions of the committees regarding legislation a lot of the time." Sullivan said.
However, that could change if Huffman and Scott Sullivan, student body president, find the committees to be ineffective in reviewing legislation.
Sullivan pointed out that, often, committees may amend or fail a bill. And a week later, the bill is brought off of the floor in Senate or simply reamended, effectively nullifying the committees' decitees powers. She said that it was important not to take away the representation of nonsenator committee members.
Sullivan said the committees should focus more on generating legislation rather than reviewing existing bills and resolutions.
Although he did not know what he might find, Huffman said such re-evaluations always were positive.
Huffman said that if he found that the committees' roles in hearing legislation was inefficient, he would work to develop a bill to change the system.
"Anything that we do deserves to be looked at once in awhile," he said.
Whitney Black, off-campus senator, said that she did not support the elimination of the committees powers. She said that it was important not to take away the representation of nonsenator committee members.
She said that if committees did not have the right to review legislation, the committees may be less attractive to prospective members.
"I don't see how taking away the power to approve legislation gives committees respect," she said.
In other business, Senate passed a bill to provide emergency funding for Headquarters Counseling Center. The bill called for an allocation of $5,935 from the Student Senate reserve account.
Senate legislation
Passed
■ A bill to finance the Circle of Percus sive Sound's event, Rhythm Weavin.
■ A bill to finance the East Timor Action Network's lecture featuring Constanceiano on March 17. The bill called for allocation of $500.
■ A bill to amend Rules and Regulations, Article V. The bill will change the election of standing committee chairs from the first meeting of the fall semester to the last meeting of the spring semester.
Proposed bill could change hiring practices within Kansas
By Brandon Copley
bcopple @kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Powell, R-Wichita, has proposed legislation that would prohibit public employers from using race or gender preferences in hiring and employment practices. The bill, modeled after a California law, could have serious implications at the University of Kansas.
State Representative Anthony Powell wants to make Kansas a little more like California.
House Bill 2958
Maurice Bryan directs the Equal Opportunity Office, which handles discrimination complaints and helps plan strategy for recruitment and retention of minority students and faculty.
"If this bill were to pass, some could argue that any efforts to recruit minority student
■ Sponsor. Rep.
Anthony Powell, R-
Wichita
75012607104
- "The state shall not discriminate against or grant preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin"
(1/3) 296/-6/49
■ House Committee on Federal and State Affairs
and faculty constitute preferential treatment," he said. "It certainly has a great risk of hampering what we do."
University officials also said minorities did not get jobs at the University unless they have the same qualifications as other candidates.
The risk, however, should be qualified. Bryan said the University did not use any form of racial quotas or preferences, and Powell said his bill would not necessarily affect recruitment.
"If the University doesn't make choices based on race, sex or national origin, then they won't have a problem," he said. "But if they're like most universities, they probably do some suspect things, especially in admissions."
"If we can't recruit, it could change the whole flavor of the University," he said.
Robert Page, assistant director of admissions, said the University did not use preferences in the admissions process, but he worried that the bill could be interpreted to prohibit recruitment of minority students.
"These are not preferences," she said. "We hire people based on the qualifications they bring to the position. If they happen to be minorities, that's great, but there are no token hires."
Erin Spiridigliozzi, assistant dean of liberal arts and sciences, said the college took a proactive approach to minority recruitment, encouraging departments to advertise job vacancies with publications and professional associations that reach minorities.
That strategy may work. Since 1990, onehalf of faculty hired by the college have been women or minorities.
The University of California at Berkeley continues to recruit minorities despite the anti-preference law, using many of the same practices in use at the University of Kansas.
Franchesca Rivera of the Berkeley admissions office said California universities still can advertise job openings in a way that reaches out to minorities and encourages their applications.
Actively recruiting minorities might be permissible under Powell's bill if California provides any measure of how Kansas would apply the law.
Rivera also said that affirmative action was the law at any institution that received federal funding.
"We're a federal contractor," she said.
"Federal law requires that we find areas where minorities are underutilized and try to fix it. So we still have affirmative action."
The University of Kansas is a federal contractor as well, so it will retain some vestige of affirmative action regardless of what the state Legislature does with Powell's bill.
The bill is sitting in a House committee, and Powell said he would not be surprised if no action on the bill were taken this year.
"I would argue that it's unnecessary because we don't discriminate through preferences, and we've already got laws against discrimination," Bryan said.
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