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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PO BOX 3585
TOPEKA, KS 66601-3585
Kansan
Partly cloudy with a slight chance of late afternoon sunshine.
Wednesday
February 18, 1998
Section:
A
Vol. 108 • No. 103
Online today
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Guard Billy Thomas, quiet by nature, has made some noise this season for the Kansas basketball team with his scoring, rebounds and assists.
SEE PAGE 1B
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Housing units lack sprinklers
(USPS 650-640)
On-campus residences not bound to city fire ordinances
By Laura Roddy
lroddy@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Fire sprinklers save lives, but many University of Kansas residential buildings continue to operate without them.
The only campus residential buildings with sprinkler systems are Templin Hall and Amini Scholarship Hall. Lewis Hall is equipped with sprinklers in Ekdahl Dining Commons, said Phil Garto, associate director for housing maintenance.
Lewis Hall is the next residence hall to be renovated, and a sprinkler system will be installed, Garito said.
Larry Laubhan, liaison between the Board of Regents schools and the state fire marshal's office, said that high-rise buildings were required to have a sprinkler system under the Uniform Building Code.
Although some of the University's housing units that do not contain sprinkler systems qualify as high-rise buildings, plans are in the works to bring them into compliance.
"University officials on both the residential and academic sides have presented an active and progressive plan of action." Laubhain said.
Many of the University's fraternities and sororites are equipped with sprinkler systems. The city of Lawrence passed an ordinance mandating sprinkler systems in greek houses by the year 2000.
The University's residence halls, scholarship halls and apartments are not required to comply with the ordinance because they fall under the jurisdiction of the Kansas State Fire Marshal, said Battalion Chief Bill Stark of the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical
RESIDENTIAL FIRE PROTECTION
Pro Alarms
Ellsworth Hall
Gertrude Sellards Pearson-Corbin Hall
Hashinger Hall
Lewis Hall
McColum Hall
Oliver Hall
Jayhawker Towers
Douthart Scholarship Hall
Grace Pearson Scholarship Hall
Pearson Scholarship Hall
Sellards Scholarship Hall
Smoke Detection
Miller Scholarship Hall
Battiefen Scholarship Hall
Watkins Scholarship Hall
Stephenson Scholarship Hall
Stouffer Place Apartments
Sunflower Duplex Apartments
Department.
Sprinkler Systems
Templin Hall
Amini Scholarship Hall
Keddahl Dining Commons
Members of Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity, 2021 Stewart Ave., extinguished a fire Saturday night before it triggered the sprinklers.
Todd Abplanalp, chapter president and Topeka junior, said the sprinklers were valuable and would have extinguished the fire had no one be around.
All of the University's residence halls are equipped with fire alarms. Four scholarship
halls, Miller, Watkins, Battenfeld and Stephenson, do not have fire alarms but do have smoke detection. Garito said.
He said that fire alarms would be added to Battenfeld and Stenborn this summer.
Beauty and the Grease Some cosmetics companies use fat as product foundations
By Chris Horton
chorton@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The grease dripping from your fast food lunch today may be in your shampoo or makeup next month.
"The grease has to be rendered and then chemically processed before it can be sold to a cosmetics company." Hotzler said.
A large amount of the grease collected from restaurants by National By-Products. Inc. ultimately finds its way into a variety of cosmetics and beauty supplies, said Mark Hotzler, director of public relations for the company.
Rendering is the process of cooking congealed grease to produce a consistent product.
He would not provide the names of cosmetics companies that received the tailow for use in the products.
Long John Silver's Seafood Shoppe, 1503 W. 23rd St., is a contracted grease supplier to National By-Products, Inc. Dennis Miller, Long John Silver's manager, said he found the arrangement convenient because the solidifying properties of grease made disposal difficult and required a separate container from other waste produced by the restaurant.
"Someone just comes and picks it up," Miller said. "We don't ever see them do it, but the grease disappears and we get a check mailed to us every month. It's not a bad deal."
Miller said that because National ByProducts, Inc. did not charge for the removal of the grease,the amount of money paid for the grease was relatively small.
Charles Doemland, manager of Yello Sub, 1814 W. 23rd St., said the restaurant had a contract with National By-Products, Inc. last year before the restaurant began using precooked bacon.
The grease from your french fries may go somewhere other than your fat cells. Some cosmetic and beauty supply companies collect used grease from restaurants to use in their products. The grease is collected from local restaurants and then processed before use. Photo Illustration by Corie Waters/KANSAN
"We produced about two gallons of bacon grease a day," Doemland said. "For that amount, we got about $30 two times per year."
Animal fat is absorbed easily by human skin and hair, which also enables any compound mixed with the rendered fat to be absorbed, said Paul R. Hanson, assistant professor of chemistry.
"The surface of our skin and hair contains oils." Hanson said. "All the soaps we use are based in animal fat, except for detergents."
Sara Raynor, Omaha, Neb., junior, said that she would not use cosmetics made from processed grease and that she believed her cosmetics were grease free.
"I think it's disgusting, especially if women are putting it on their faces," Raynor said. "It's not very appealing."
Union board wants to use student fees to remodel
By Brandon Copple
bcopple@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The University of Kansas Memorial Corporation's board of directors has approved a plan to use student fees for a $4 million renovation of the Kansas Union.
The plan asks for the continuation of an existing $18.50 student fee to finance the renovation project. That fee is scheduled to expire in the year 2000 when revenue bonds that paid for the 1992 Union renovation are paid off. The plan requires no increase in student fees.
The bulk of the fee, $12, would pay bonds used to finance the new renovation. Union operating expenses would receive $5 of the fee, and other repairs and improvements would receive $1.50. The portion of the fee designated for operating costs, repairs and other improvements would be permanent. The portion of the fee financing bonds would last 12 years.
Jim Long, Kansas and Burge Unions director, said Union management initiated the project.
"Every organization has to plan for its future," he said. "As we looked at the future, there were two things we saw coming — the construction of the parking garage and the retirement of the revenue bonds."
The University plans to build a parking garage north of the Union after razing the Continuing Education building.
Renovations would include increased student office space, a walkway to the new parking garage and increased space for meeting rooms, student lounges and galleries.
The Memorial Corporation board, which consists of students, faculty and administrators, governs the unions.
Grey Montgomery, Junction City senior and board president, said the plan should be attractive to students.
"With the kind of student traffic we get in the Union, this provides a huge benefit," he said. "Pretty much every student uses the Union at one time or another, so everybody would benefit from a bigger and more modern Union."
The plan will be submitted to the Student Senate fee review subcommittee. If approved by the committee, the plan will go to Student Senate for approval.
Senate opens the books on executive salaries and perks
Students can review what fee percentage helps pay staff wages
By Melissa Ngo
mngo@kanson.com
Kansas staff writer
Money raised through student fees pays Student Senate Executive Staff salaries and other benefits. Students can see what they pay for at any Student Senate meeting, including tonight's meeting at 6:30 at the Big 12 room in the Kansas Union.
One allocation is to the Student Senate internal account. Senate draws from this account to fund the salaries for president, vice-president, treasurer and Student Executive Committee Chair. The budget for this account is decided every two years. The next budget will be approved in Fall 1999.
Each student pays $210 a semester in campus fees. Student Senate receives $22, or 10.5 percent, of that fee, and allocates the money accordingly.
"The salaries provide for more accountability," said Scott Sullivan, student body president. "People can say, 'Do your job, you're being paid.' It extra pressure to do
your job well."
Kelly Huffman, head of the Student Executive Committee, agreed that money was an accountability mechanism. He said the executive staff deserved compensation.
The salaries for the executive staff are based on the assumption that each staff member spends 20 hours per week working on Senate issues. Huffman said the officers often worked more than 20 hours a week.
"I know I couldn't afford to do the job without the salary," Huffman said. "If you take away the salary, you might lose people who want to do the job, but can't afford to."
All four are eligible for in-state tuition if they are non-residents. The cost of one credit-hour for nonresidents is $275.65.
$210 more than the cost for Kansas residents.
Sullivan and Treasurer Mr Prehame receive an annual salary of $5,952. Student Body Vice-President Mike Walden is paid $5,592. Huffman is paid $3,402.72.
Sullivan and Walden also are allowed to purchase blue parking passes, which cost $150 each. After they pay for the passes, Sullivan and Walden are reimbursed by the Senate internal account.
Donna Hultine, assistant director of parking services, said that blue zones were the closest parking spaces to buildings. Others who can park in blue zones are the chancellor, the provost, school deans, and distinguished professors.
One student does not think it is fair for Senate executive staff to receive benefits.
"If Student Senate executives receive those benefits for their work, other student leaders who work just as hard or maybe even harder should be allowed the same benefits," said Jim Nguyen, Wichita freshman.
David Ambler, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and a Senate adviser, disagreed.
"I recognize that senators and committee members put a lot of time into their jobs, but not nearly as much as the executive staff." Ambler said.
The six other members of the executive staff are paid hourly and have their hours capped. They turn in weekly time sheets.
Student Senate secretary Kristen Hall usually has her hours capped at 15, but the cap was raised to 20 this semester because Hall also is working as the interim office secretary. Preheim said.
Transportation Coordinator Scott Kaiser is paid out of the transportation fee, which is $14 of the $210 campus fees.
paid out of the Equal Opportunity Fund, which is $6 of the $210 campus fees.
Jamie Najim and Emily Heath, co-directors of the Center for Community Outreach, are paid the same amount with the same hourly caps. However, one is paid out of the Senate account while the other is
Andrew Rohrback / KANSAN
Student Legislative Awareness Board director Samantha Bowman is paid by Senate when she works in the Senate office, and she is paid out of a $5 optional SLAB fee when she works in Topeka.
Bowman is paid this way because it's illegal to use mandatory student fees to pay for
lobbying, Preheim said.
Kansas State University also compensates its Student Government Association executive staff with annual salaries. The president is paid $3,600, the vice-president receives $2,400, the allocations chair receives $500, student senate chair is paid $1,500 and the attorney general is paid $1,500.