SPORTS: Kansas center Eric Pauley is looking forward to his matchup with North Carolina center Eric Montross, Page 11. THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN VOL. 102,NO.127 ADVERTISING:864-4358 THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS KANSAS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY TOPEKA KS 66612 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 1995 NEWS:864-4810 Doug Hesse / KANSAN One is studying history. One is studying business communications. But they both are learning about life and death from where they work and live in a funeral home. By Ben Grove he phone in Scott Weiser's bedroom is wired to a wall buzzer. He muffles it with a blanket. But when it sounds in the middle of the night, he still wakes Daron Bennett / KANSAN "It just about gives me a heart attack," he says. KU juniors Weiser and Staples don't live in an apartment or a residence hall or a house. They don't have friends over much, and they certainly don't host wild parties. Down the hall, his roommate, Matt Staples, rolls over when the buzzer calls — grateful when Weiser is on duty. When Staples took this job, nobody told him about the night calls and the dead bodies. Scott Weiser, Kansas City junior, stands near the limoue outside the Rumsey Funeral Hall Driving the car is one of Weiser's duties. Matt Staples, Eudora junior, sits in the foyer at Rumsey Funeral Home, 601 Indiana St. Staples and Weiser plan to live and work at the home until they graduate. They are the Rumsey Boys, two in a long line of KU students who have lived and worked at Rumsey Funeral Home since it opened in 1920. Daron Bennett / KANSAN In return for free housing and a modest salary, Weiser and Staples drive mourners to grave sites in the Rumsey limo. They remove flowers after services and vacuum the foyer and chapel. They chat with families during visitation hours. They also spend alternate nights on call. So sometimes, Weiser or Staples — whoever is on duty — climbs out of bed at 2 a.m., stumbles to the hearse in the basement garage, and leaves to pick up a body. There is no time too odd to die, they say. *Story continues.* Page 6. New fire code mandates sprinklers for living groups Kansan staffwriter By Todd Selfert KU fraternities and sororites will have to install automatic sprinkler systems by the year 2000. That was what the Lawrence City Commission decided last night when it passed the Uniform Fire Code with local amendments. The sprinkler system provision was one of the amendments. "The best protection you can provide is sprinkling," said Lawrence Fire Chief Jim McSwain. "If we were to have a significant fire in one of those houses, we'd lose people." According to the ordinance, congregate living residences like fraternity and sorority houses and Naismith Hall must install sprinklers within seven years. Sprinklers must be installed sooner if renovations are made to 25 percent or more of the building's total square footage. Newly built congregate residences now must include sprinkler systems in their construction. Gail Anderson, treasurer for the Alumni Association Board of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, said the ordinance was unfair to fraternities and sororites. "This single out one type of student living group," Anderson said. "This doesn't take into account other places students live like apartments." Other residence halls were not affected because they are located on state property and were not within the city's jurisdiction. McSwan said the fire code included apartment buildings that were three stories or taller. But he said that, in the event of a fire, apartment buildings did not pose as big a threat to life as fraternity and sorority houses. "There are more open spaces in fraternity and sorority houses," McSain said. "More people are exposed to fire because of that." Board member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, said the increased costs of installing sprinkler systems would make it hard for fraternities and sororites to compete in the student housing market. "People have a misconception that the people in fraternities and sororities are rich," Williams said. "That's not true." "Without a doubt, this will put some of the organizations out of business." Esau said. "It's difficult to raise money and if they don't have strong, supportive alumni, they are going to John Esau, a Corporation Board member for Delta Upsilon fraternity, said the increased cost would hurt some fraternities and sororites more than others. Sean Williams, alumnus and House John Nabandian, vice mayor, said he understood Esau's argument. have trouble.' the underbelly boss did great. "I think the description that this action is unequal treatment or discriminatory is accurate," Nabbandian said. "But these types of residences are at higher risk than others." The commission had discussed a five-year time limit, but decided that the extra two years would allow the congregate residences a better chance to raise the needed funds. Lawrence Fire Marshall Richard Barr said in a memo to McSwain in January that estimates to install sprinklers in fraternity and sorority houses ranged from $16,000 to $35,000. KANSAS LEGISLATURE Budget passes House Bill would increase tuition 10 percent By Bell Grove Kansan staff writer TOPEKA — The Board of Regents budget passed the Kansas House of Representatives yesterday in much the same shape it left the Senate. But not before a debate on where the money from next fall's tuition increases should go. State Rep. James Lowther, R-Emporia, proposed an amendment to the Regents budget bill that would put one-fifth of a tuition increase for out-of-state students in the hands of the universities instead of into the state's general fund budget. Lowther's amendment failed 47-72. The budget bill would raise tuition 10 percent for out-of-state students at the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and Wichita State University. The Board of Regents had asked that non-resident tuition increase by 8 percent — the same increase in-state students would pay. But the Senate upped that proposal to 10 percent. "Yes, we should charge more tuition to out-of-state students," said State Rep. Bill Reardon, D-Kansas City, "but I don't think we should increase tuition for those students and if it takes that money and put it in the general fund for a whole variety of things we spend money on." The state's general fund pools money for many of the state's agencies. State Rep. Rochelle Chronister, R-Neodesha, who is head of the House Appropriations Committee, spoke against the amendment, saying the action was not just a reallocating of funds. Ironically, just before the debate, the house passed a bill that State Rep Betty Jo Charlton, D-Lawrence, said made the amendment's passage impossible. The bill reduced state tax burdens on certain commercial, industrial and natural resource entities in the state. Charlton, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said that after passing the tax cut bill, the general fund was strapped. "What the House did was close off any increases in any budgets," Charlton said. The Regents budget contained many of the same proposals that the Senate passed, including a 2.5 percent salary increase for faculty and student employees and a 3.5 percent increase in other operating expenditures for the Regents universities. The House bill also included a.5 percent increase in retirement benefits for faculty. The Senate bill deleted a retirement increase from the Regents' request. The budget bill now will be reviewed by the Senate, and a conference committee probably will be appointed today to work out any differences on the bill left between the two chambers, Charlton said. Even better than the real thing For Shawn Johnson, Peck junior, a Rock Chalk Revue role as a 1940s-style disc jockey led him off the stage into the real thing — for Lawrence's KZOT radio. See story. Page 3 Commission seeks to solve traffic flow problem City reconsiders plan to install medians along Iowa Street By Todd Selfert Kansan staff writer Motorists can still make a left turn from Iowa Street onto University Drive or Stratford Road — at least for now. The Lawrence City Commission decided last night to rescind a decision it made March 2 to place a median on Iowa Street that would have prevented left turns onto the two side streets. Citizens from the area asked the commission to reconsider its decision because they were concerned about having limited access to Iowa Street. The commission based its decision to construct a median on a recommendation from a task force formed to study traffic-flow problems in the area just north and west of the KU campus. The task force studied several solutions to the area's traffic problem, including placing a stop light at one of the intersections and creating a left-turn lane on Iowa Street. "We are operating on the assumption that traffic in this area is going to continue to increase," said Steve Bruner, a resident in the area. "If you believe that, then you can see that a median isn't the answer. People would still travel in the area. We'd just be passing the problem onto someone else instead of dealing with it." Bruner said the area's citizens also were concerned with the possible difficulties a median would present to emergency vehicles. Bob Schumm, a city commissioner, said the commission needed to keep the entire city in mind when making its decision. "We need to realize that we are dealing with more than one intersection," Schumm said. "I'd like to think that our commission is sharper when dealing with situations like this, but we failed on that in this case." Mayor Bob Schulte said that he had contacted a Lawrence ambulance service and officials with the Lawrence fire department. They had said that there would be no response problems if a median was placed on Iowa Street. Schurum said he thought the city should hire engineers to examine the traffic-flow problem and find a permanent solution The commission voted to direct its staff to contact JBM Consulting Engineers and obtain a list of possible services the firm could provide. In other business, the commission The same firm conducted a study of the intersection of 15th Street and Engel Road in September. adopted an ordinance that allows the city to regulate the placement of electric power lines and - rejected applications for sign variances from Wal-Mart, 3300 Iowa St., Hillcrest Professional Building, 930 Iowa St. and the Westheffer Company, 1235 N. Third St.