CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Friday, March 19, 1993
3
BRIEFS
House committee endorses bill to create qualified admissions
TOPEKA — A House committee yesterday endorsed a bill that would set standards for students entering the state's six Regents universities, including the University of Kansas.
The bill creating qualified admissions is supported by the Kansas Board of Regents and now goes to the House for what could be an emotional and lengthy floor debate.
The House Education Committee's action came on a 13-9 vote after extensive discussion of the proposal. When the Senate passed the measure about two weeks ago, it was the first time a legislative chamber approved such a proposal, even though lawmakers have been debating the issue for years.
"It's elitism, at least de facto," said State Rep. Bill Reardon, D-Kansas City.
Critics of the proposal contended that the measure would keep students out of college. Supporters said that it would force high school students to take themselves for the demands of higher education.
"I look at the bill and all I see are minimum standards," responded State Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, who supports the measure.
Kansas has had an open admissions policy since 1915, and it is the only state in the nation to still have one.
The bill would require all students to pass a test in 10th grade indicating that they had mastered basic skills. Beyond that, to enter a state university, students would need to meet one of three requirements: a 2.0 grade point average, a composite ACT score of 23 or a ranking in the top third of their high school class.
Preliminary hearing postponed for man who posed as ABC agent
The preliminary bearing of a Lawrence resident charged in a string of burglaries and with impersonating an officer was postponed until April 29 in Douglas County District Court yesterday.
Larry D. Liggett, 19, was arrested Jan. 27 and charged the next day on 21 counts, including burglaries in the southwest area of Lawrence, battery and impersonation an officer.
Laggett's hearing was postponed yesterday to allow the court more time to examine the charges against Laggett.
On Dec. 2, 1991, a KU student was approached by a man who claimed he was an ABC agent. Another woman reported a similar case Oct. 13.
Court delays sentencing of man involved in 1991 injury accident
The sentencing of a Lawrence man involved in an accident that injured Burge, former director of the Kansas Union, was delayed until April 8 yesterday at Douglas County District Court.
Michael J. Armstrong, 24, was charged with leaving the scene of a Nov. 1, 1991, accident that shattered Burge's thigh.
Sentencing was delayed because Armstrong did not have a lawyer to represent him.
A car hit Burge, who was riding a bicycle, near the intersection of 15th and Iowa streets, injuring his head and breaking his thigh and ankle.
P.D. Q. Bach to appear as guest conductor for Symphonic Band
Composer and musical satirist Peter Schickele, better known as P.D. Q. Bach, will be the guest conductor of the KU Symphonic Band for its spring concert at 7:30 p.m. on April 1 in Crafton-Preyer Theater in Murphy Hall.
Schickele will make a rare appearance as P.D.Q. Bach, Schickele's satirical character, who recently retired from conducting so Schickele could move on to composing more serious works.
Schickele will conduct two of his own works, as well as two by P.D.Q. Bach, Robert Foster, KU director of bands, will conduct the rest of the program, which will consist of four other works by various composers.
"There are people who think he is a comic genius," Foster said. "It's like a cult following."
Schickele, a Juliillard educated composer, is the winner of three Grammy awards. His latest release, "Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussions," is a bestseller on the Billboard crossover chart.
Psychotherapist to speak, sign books at Mount Oread Book Shop
Beth Hedva, a counselor who blends ancient wisdom with modern psychology, will be speaking at 11:30 a.m. on March 31 at the Mount Oread Book Shop in the Kansas Union.
"She is a licensed counselor and psychotherapist who studies nontraditional forms of wisdom and health and tries to bring them together with modern methods," said Lisa Either, manager of the book-
Hedva will be reading and signing her latest book, "Journey from Betrayal to Trust: A Universal Rite of Passage." The book portrays betrayals, such as broken promises and disappointments, as a fertile ground for personal growth and an increased capacity to trust.
Hedva is the youngest member of the faculty of President Kennedy's Department of Consciousness Studies. A graduate of Michigan State University, Hedva has appeared on the Sally Jessy Raphael show as an expert on interacial relationships.
Briefs compiled by Kansan staff writers Will Lewis and Ezra Wolfe and from Associated Press reports.
Regents approve new KU degrees
By Dan England
TOPEKA — The Kansas Board of Regents yesterday approved one new KU degree and another degree the University has had for several years.
Kansan staff writer
The Regents endorsed the University's plan to establish a bachelor of science degree in environmental studies, an addition to the bachelor of arts and the bachelor of general studies degrees that already are offered in the field.
The other degree, bachelor's of science in education for sport science, has been around for some time even though it has not received formal approval from the Regents, said David Shulenburger, acting vice chancellor for academic affairs. A lot of students are already in KU's sport science program, he said.
"It happens occasionally where a degree has been offered for some time, and we discover that the board did not have it in their books." Shulenburg said. "This is a way for KU to ask 'Hey, we've been doing this for some time now. Is that OK?' "
The degree provides a noncertification option for students who want to pursue a career in sport science but do not expect to teach in secondary education, a Regents report said.
The degree will have concentrations in sports management and sports information. Faculty from the School of Business will teach management, and faculty from the School of Journalism
Board of Regents
will teach sports information, the report said.
"Lots of employees demand a B.S.," he said.
Data of employees demand a B.S. 'the said'
The environmental studies program is the fastest growing undergraduate major at KU. It has grown 500 percent from 53 students in the program in the Fall 1986 to 256 students in the Fall 1990, the report said.
"These degrees result from strong academic programs already in place." Budig said.
Chancellor Gene Budig said that the degrees would not require any new instruction or classes from the University.
Shulenburger said the new degrees would not require any additional money. The University's cost-saving efforts have been embodied recently by program review, which was partly an effort to save money.
"We were very reluctant to add costs after undergoing our program review," he said.
Regent appointment receives cool greeting
The Associated Press
TOPEKA - Appointment by Gov. Joan Finney of former state senator and KU graduate Jack Steineger to the state Board of Regents received a cool reception yesterday from the head of the Senate committee that will consider his confirmation.
Steineger, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kan. took a seat on the board as a replacement for Ruth Schrum of Manhattan, whose appointment was withdrawn from the Senate confirmation process.
The governor's office made no announcement of Steineger's appointment to the board before he showed up yesterday morning to attend the Regents monthly meeting in Topeka.
Gov. Joan Finney's press office
distributed an announcement that said he would serve a term expiring Dec. 31, 1996.
Mary Holladay, Finney's chief of staff, said the Steiner appointment would be submitted to the Senate by Friday, and the governor hopes he can be confirmed yet this session.
But Sen. Dave Kerr, R-Hutchinson, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, which will consider the appointment first, was not enthusiastic about it.
Steineger, 68, did not seek reelection to the Senate in 1902, ending a 28-year career in that body. He served as Senate minority leader for 12 years in the 1973 through 1984 sessions. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1949.
Legislator pushes for stiffer alcohol bills
Lowered DUI level is continuing quest By Ben Grove
Kanean staff write
State Rep. Mike O'Neal, R-Hutchinson,
thanked Wanda Stewart after she testified
last month in favor of a bill that would tighten
drunk driving laws.
As head of the Kansas House Judiciary Committee, O'Neal has heard a lot of highway patrol officers and teary-eyed mothers testify in favor of lowering the state's legal blood alcohol content level for drivers. Stewart, who is regional director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, has testified several times, most recently on Wednesday before a Senate committee.
He knew it was difficult for her. Stewart held back a tear when she described how her infant son had died after her car was struck by a drunken driver.
State Rep. Mike O'Neal, R-Hutchinson, heads the Kansas House Judiciary Committee, which has drafted a stricter DUI law. O'Neal, who is sponsoring the bill, has been involved with nine DUI bills in his nine years as a representative.
Mark Rowlands / KANSAN
O'Neal, too, is a strong advocate for strict laws for drunken drivers.
Since he was elected in 1984, O'Neal has written or signed nine bills designed to toughen such laws. He helped write one now in the Senate Judiciary Committee that would lower the legal blood alcohol content level to 0.8 percent.
".08 is the politically possible," he said. "It may be higher than what is needed, but we have to get legislators to agree to lower the current standard."
O'Neal also said it politically was possible to get the legal limit to zero by the year 2000.
The current level is.1 percent.
O'Neal is a member of the Criminal Justice Committee of the National Conference of State Legislators, which meets every year.
"I always come back with ideas for making DUI legislation better, tougher," he said.
One of the provisions in this year's DUI bill is a clause that would make the legal blood alcohol content level. 04 percent for anyone under 21.
A 160-pound person would need two cans of beer to reach a .04 level, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.
"We already discriminate against 18 to 21-year-olds by not letting them buy alco
But O'Neal said making DUI and other alcohol laws stricter for minors would help deter them from breaking the laws.
Some legislators have said that such a provision constitutes age discrimination.
hol, "O'Neal said. "All the 04 does is keep those people off the street."
O'Neal said a number of drunken driving tragedies had occurred in his voting district since he was elected — one involving John Buzbee, the son of a former editor of The Hutchinson News. O'Neal's home-town newspaper. Buzbee lost his leg because of a drunken driver in May 1987 while he was a student at KU.
"That affected me as much as any of the others." O'Neal said.
O'Neal introduced three DUt bills in 1988 after the accident.
Since the accident, The Hutchinson News has been running editorials supporting strict DUI legislation far more frequently, said former Hutchinson News' editor Richard Buzbee.
"He has been a constant champion of legislation that would keep drunks off the highway," Bbee said.
O'Neal works closely with another advocate of strict DUI laws, State Rep. Rex Crowell, R-Longton, head of the House Transportation Committee.
Crowell said legislators called on O'Neal
Cracking down on DUI offenders
1985 House bill 2201: would have lengthened time of license suspension;
1986 House bill 2760 would have required offenders to install lock issue
Here are the drunken driving bills State Rep. Mike O'Neal, R-Hutchinson, has written or signed since he was elected in 1984. Few passed the Legislature.
1988 — House bill 2760: would have required offenders to install ignition lock devices in their cars; House bill 2952: would have required offenders to pay restitution to a victim or the victim's family; House bill 2953: would have lengthened time of license suspension;
1989 — House bill 2228: would have lowered legal blood alcohol content level to .05; House bill 2230: would have made it illegal to ride with someone who has a .15 blood alcohol content level;
1991   House bill 285.3 would have lowered legal blood alcohol level 74.
1992   House bill 285.3 would have lowered legal blood alcohol content to 70.
1993 — House bill 2355, would lower legal blood alcohol content level to .08, .04 for anyone younger than 21.
whenever they had questions about DUI laws.
"He's extremely fair, but he recognizes that driving is a privilege and a person doesn't have the right to go out and endanger another's life because they can't manage their drinking." Crowell said.
O'Neal said the .08 level had enough support to pass this year.
"If this passes, I will not come back next year and try to get it lowered further," he said. "I'd like to take a couple of years and see what the statistics show."
And if .08 does not pass this year?
"I'm going to raise hell," he said.
Towers to get new lighting and a courtyard
Residents will not need to supply own lighting
By Will Lewis
Kansan staff writer
Additional lighting and a new courtyard are under construction at the Jayhawker Towers and should be completed in May, said Ken Stoner, director of student housing.
The courtyard is replacing a swimming pool because student housing officials said that the pool cost too much to maintain and needed many repairs.
Stoner said the courtyard would provide
a pleasant atmosphere for residents. It will feature a fountain and sun terrace.
"This is more of a social area, a sitting area," Stoner said. "It's kind of an informal park-type area."
Additional lighting will be provided to comply with campus standards, he said.
"Any time you improve lighting outdoors, you increase sense of security," Stoner said. "People feel better about having a well-lit area."
Although the new lights have been installed, they will have to be rewired because an old underground conduit has collapsed or been cut, he said.
Also under way is renovation inside the Towers, which consists of installing wall
Tifani Collins, Beloit sophomore, is happy with the addition.
"That was kind of the 'in' thing to do in the '60s," he said. "It was up to the occupant to provide his or her own lighting."
and ceiling fixtures in individual apartments. The additions mean residents will not have to provide their own lighting anymore.
Stoner said that when the buildings were built about 30 years ago, light switches were wired directly to plugs, not to any interior lighting.
"It's a lot better," said Collins, who had lights installed in her Towers apartment. "Before, you had to bring your own lights for the bedrooms, so it's a big
difference."
Most of the renovations have been completed. Stoner said Any remaining work left on the courtyard and inside the apartments should be done by the time residents return from spring break.
Stoner also wants to create a second apartment designed for persons with disabilities by removing the common wall between two neighboring apartments. This would allow easier access to appliances and a wider turning radius for persons who use wheelchairs.
One apartment was opened last fall at the Towers for persons with disabilities.