Tomorrow KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PO BOX 3505 TOPEKA, KS 66601-3505 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY kansan Partly sunny skies tomorrow. Tuesday February 10, 1998 Section: A Vol. 108 • No. 97 Online today Follow the progress of the U.S. Olympic teams and keep up with the latest medal counts at: http://www.olympic-usa.org/ WWW.KANSAN.COM Inside today Long-distance relationships challenge students as Valentine's Day approaches. Watch for the Valentine's Day issue of The Hill on Friday. SEE PAGE 7A Contact the Kansan News: (785) 864-4810 Advertising: (785) 864-4358 Fax: (785) 864-5261 Opinion e-mail: opinion@kansan.com Sports e-mail: sports@kansan.com Advertising e-mail: onlineadskansan.com THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS What a wonderful world The sun rises behind the Campanile while two people walk beside Potter Lake. Recent warm temperatures have allowed people to exercise during the early morning without getting too cold. Photo by Augustus Anthony Piazza/KANSAN Stickers may replace hang-tag permits Parking department awaits chancellor OK (USPS 650-640) By Marc Sheforgen msheforgen@kansan.com Kansan staff writer A car outside Stuffer-Flint Hall displays a hang-tag that now is issued by the parking department. The department has approved a change from the hang-tags back to stickers. The stickers will begin in August if the plan gets Chancellor Robert Hemenway's approval. Photo by Lizz Weber/KANSAN A switch from hang-tag parking permits to stickers has been approved by the parking department. If Chancellor Robert Hemenway approves the parking department's decision, the switch to stickers would go into effect in August. The department made the switch from stickers to hang-tags five years ago, thinking that the tags would be more convenient. The department found that the tags caused more problems. In 1997, 202 motor-vehicle thefts were reported to the University police department, said KU police Sgt. Chris Keary. Ninety-eight of those thefts included parking permits. Donna Hultine, assistant director of parking, said the hang-tags, which generally are displayed on the rearview mirrors of cars, were being stolen, lost and traded among students. Hultine said a permanent sticker would be more difficult to steal. "What I hear mostly is, 'What do I do if my doors don't lock? What do I do if it's stolen?' I think this will be one less thing that people have to keep track of," she said. Hultine said that one frequent problem occurred when roommates or friends traded the removable parking tags. The borrower of the tag then may be issued a ticket, which would be charged to the owner of the tag. The tag owner may then go to enroll and find a hold on his or her account for a ticket he or she was unaware of. Joel Macmillan, Lawrence freshman, said that being able to trade the tag was a plus. He said that at times when his car might not be working, he liked being able to remove his tag and use it with a car he had borrowed. Macmillan said he understood the parking department's decision to make the change and did see some advantages to the sticker. Kelly Fetrow, Kalamazoo, Mich.. law student and traffic-court member, said students who own parking permits often came to court to fight tickets that "I see the sticker as useful if you own a convertible or a Jeep, where the hang-tag could be easily stolen," he said. Fetrow said that students often put sun blinds in their windows that blocked or knocked down the hang-tags. She said a sticker system would Hultine said students and faculty still would be able to apply for hang-tags and would be issued the tags only if situations such as car pooling and two-car families demonstrated such a need. were issued because their hang-tags had fallen off of the cars' mirrors. reduce these sorts of hassles. Comedian to comment on politics By Marcelo Vilela Kansan staff writer Former Saturday Night Live comedian Al Franken will entertain students tomorrow in the Lied Center. He will speak about politics, idiocy and idiocy in politics. Franken, who is also a writer and a producer, will speak at 8 p.m. Students with a valid ID can get vouchers for free admission to the event today at the Student Union Activities box office. Franken: Invited to speak tomorrow at the Lied Center. The event will be sponsor& by SUA and Student Senate. Franken will be paid $21,000 to visit campus. Other costs include $2,500 for peripheral expenses, such as rental of Lied Center space and technical set-up. Larry Gibbs, Lawrence senior and chairman of the lecture series committee, said that they were divided among Franken, Ron Howard, director of Apollo 13, and James Carville, President Clinton's campaign manager. "Of all three people, he seemed to be the one to bring the most interesting lecture to KU." Gibbs said. Gibbs said that the lecture would be geared toward political commentary and that the comedy element will poke through as a secondary characteristic. "We're in this place where people are considered very conservative," Gibbs said. "He's very much so in the opposite side. He'll bring a voice that's different from what Kansas is used to hear." Twelve expects a full house tomorrow night Matt Tweto, Hutchinson junior and SUA's forum coordinator, said that considering the recent national events involving President Clinton, Franken might even try some democratic bashing. "It will be very entertaining." Tweito said. "I hope people don't shy away from it just because they are conservatives or whatever. It's a great to have the ability to laugh at oneself." Franken now is involved in the production of his new show for ABC. The show, which should be released in March, is a play on news shows, and Franken will be the news anchor. As a member of Saturday Night Live's original 1975 writing team, Franken left his imprint while impor­sonating various political figures and the New Age cable TV host Stuart Smallley. Franken left the program in 1980 but returned in 1985 and stayed another 10 years. His work writing and producing Saturday Night Live won him five Emmys. Franken, 47, is author of the best-seller "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations," a series of political satire essays poking fun at conservatives. His first book, "I'm Good Enough, Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me," became the film.Stuart Saves His Family," which starred Franken. The book also became a Grammy-nominated album in the best-comedy category. In 1988, Franken participated on CNN's coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. Franken co-wrote When a Man Loves a Woman, a 1994 movie with Mee Ryan and Andy Garcia. He also anchored Comedy Central's Indecision '92 and Indecision '96. Board recommends members for recreation committee By Melissa Ngomngo @kanson.com Kanson staff writer Appointed group to create plan for recreation centers A recreation center planning committee will be created to plan the construction of new recreational centers near Robinson Center. The Recreational Services Advisory Board decided last night on recommendations for the committee's formation, which will include students and administrators. Provost David Shulenburger will assign the committee seats. After the committee formulates a plan, the students will vote on it in a referendum, said Mike Walden, advisory board chairman. Walden said that he hoped the committee would be able to finish the plans in less than a year but that the project would take a lot of work, which meant a lot of time. "I don't want to rush the process just to have a plan," Walden said. "I want the best plan possible for the University and the students." The 1995-96 committee took about a year to develop a plan to build a new recreational center on West Campus. That plan was voted down in a student referendum in 1996. Ann Eversole, associate dean of students and board member, said the board had decided to ask the provost to create the committee because it was imperative that the committee have administrative support if the referendum passed. Board member Danny Kaiser, director of the Organizations and Leadership Development Center, said he thought the recommendations the board had made were representative of the people who would be affected by the new centers. The board recommended that the committee include Walden; Eversole; Kaiser; James Long, director of the Kansas Union; Jason Fizell, Liberal Arts and Sciences senator; Scott Kaiser, Nunemaker senator; Mary Chappell, director of Recreational Services; and representatives from Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences department; KU Athletic Club; Sports Club Council; Student Athletic "That would make it difficult to manage, but I think that it's a good starting point," he said. Kaiser said he only was concerned that the committee would get too big. Advisory Committee; Student Union Activities; Design and Construction Management; Campus Fee Review subcommittee; Student Senate University Affairs committee and Student Senate Finance committee. The committee also would include a graduate student, a nontraditional student, a Fine Arts student and a student who uses Robinson regularly but is not involved in any of the above committees or departments. Anyone who wants to get involved with the project can contact Mike Walden at 864-3710 or e-mail him at walden@ukans.edu. 7