CAMPUS/AREA: Black Panhellenic is recognized for its participation with the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence. Page 3.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KANSAS STATE
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TOPEKA KS 66612
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
VOL.103.NO.141
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 1994
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
(USPS 650-640)
Waco survivors offer insight
NEWS:864-4810
By Heather Moore Kansan staff writer
Between the burned rubble and the road, almost 300 people gather, listen to music and remember.
That is what Tim Miller, professor of religious studies, saw when he visited Mount Carmel, the compound where David Koresh and at least 76 of his followers died last year.
Miller traveled to Waco, Texas, last weekend for the anniversary of the burning of the Branch Davidian compound. It was destroyed one year ago Tuesday, ending a 51-day standoff between government agents and the Branch Davidians.
Miller said the survivors had been willing to talk about their views and experiences.
"There was a great sense of closeness among them, like any survivors," he said. "There was a solid sense of community."
Learning about the Branch Davidians will help in his study of communal religious movements in the 20th century. Miller said.
"This is one of the more significant movements," he said. "My thought was that there will never be another chance to interview that many people. It was a rare opportunity because they probably won't reorganize."
Miller also had a strong reaction to Waco.
"It brought back the sadness of the disaster," he said. "We're all deadened by seeing death and destruction. I think about how utterly unnecessary it was to end so many lives."
Miller said he hoped that good could come from the tragedy.
"If we learn our lessons, we can prevent this from happening again," he said. "I developed an appreciation for these people, who have been depicted as mindless zealots. They are people."
Phil Arnold, coordinator for the Religion Crisis Task Force in Houston — which helps the government handle religious groups in sensitive situations — was also in Mount Carmel for the weekend.
"Many concerned Americans from different walks of life and perspectives were asking some hard questions,"he said.
Arnold said he still was affected by what had happened.
"I went because of the tragedy in which lives were lost," he said. "These were people with personalities, like you and me. They were people who had strong beliefs."
"I hurt when I see fine humans — men, women and children who loved the Bible — and see agents get killed over an unnecessary raid," he said. "It's really hard to function like I did before. I dream and think about it."
Martin Alstaedten / KANSAN
Tim Miller, professor of religion, spent last weekend in Waco, Texas, where he met with Branch Davidians on the anniversary of the fire.
Heather Lofflin/ KANSAN
An artist's canvas
Sonia Her, Kansas City, Kan.,Jun.11, stops between classes to look at the paintings displayed during Art on the Boulevard yesterday. The single-day event in front of Strong Hall was sponsored by Student Senate and featured KU student artists.
Citizen concern prompts patrol
Police on foot cruise downtown bar areas
By David Wilson
Kansen staff writer
Lawrence police chief Ron Olin doesn't think that Massachusetts Street bar hoppers should be subjected to catcalls from high school students and out-of-town teen-agers on weekend nights.
Olin is not alone in that thought.
At a press conference in the Lawrence City Commission room of City Hall, Jo Andersen, Lawrence mayor, said an increase in the number of teen-agers hanging out on Massachusetts Street had promoted citizen concern.
Oln said that police had identified two conflicting groups: people going to bars, clubs and restaurants and people meeting in groups in the parking spaces on Massachusetts Street.
Olin said most of the people in the street were high school students or teen-agers from out-of-town.
As a response to citizen concerns, the Lawrence police department has assigned two teams of two officers to stroll up and down Massachusetts Street from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays.
The officers' priority, Andersen said, is to educate people about drinking, jaywalking and littering ordinances.
But the officers are doing more than just educating people about the ordinances. They are enforcing the ordinances by giving people tickets, which has caused some people to call Andersen to complain about the officers' heavyhandedness.
During the press conference, Andersen said that a Sunday article in the Lawrence Journal- World about the high number of tickets written for iawalking was misleading.
"The article seemed to suggest that the officers were petty or punitive in their issuance of citations," she said in a written statement. "I have been assured that this was not the case."
But one area business owner was worried that a crackdown on insignificant infractions would scare off legitimate customers.
"I don't want to see this go overboard and alienate a section of the general population," said Jerry Neverve, owner of the Red Lyon Tavern, 944 Massachusetts St.
Another bar owner conceded that littering was a problem. Rick Younger, owner of Rick's Place, 623 Vermont St., said he found empty liquor bottles and cans strewn in front of his bar some mornings.
The issue has not yet been completely resolved.
"We just pick it up ourselves and go on," he said.
Andersen said another press conference would take place Monday at 8:30 a.m.
we'll have to wait and see," she said. "Not all the votes are in."
Night of recovery helps woman heal repressed wounds
Bv Denise Nell
Kansan staff writer
Jeannette Bonjour, a drama and English teacher at Lawrence High School, attended the Womyn Take Back the Night March and Rally as an encee two years ago. But by the end of the evening, she discovered that she identified with the women she was introducing.
Bonjour was 12 years old and in the sixth grade when her 13-year-old neighbor, a trusted friend of a year
"Women need to know there is support for them," said Bonjour, who will be attending the march — which protests violence against women and children — at 7 tonight at South Park.
and a half, stopped by her house in Leawood for a visit.
The two spent the afternoon hanging around and talking about school. Suddenly, Bonjour saw something in her friend's face change.
Without warning, he attacked her. He pinned her down and ripped off her clothes. While she struggled and failed to break free, he managed to remove his pants.
"I could rape you right now if I wanted to," he said. "And I could come back anytime I wanted to."
boy was let go.
Fourteen years later, Bonjour attended her first Wonyn Take Back the Night March and Rally. Before, Bonjour said, she never felt that her story was important enough to share. After all, she said, she actually hadn't been raped. Most of the women sharing their stories at the march actually had been raped or beaten.
Later that night, Bonjour told her mother what had happened. The family decided to press charges. But Bonjour was too scared to testify, and the
Then he left.
"I always felt like, 'What do I have to complain about?'" she said. "I wasn't actually raped, but I always felt inside like I was violated. I never wanted to talk about it."
Park and had heard all the women's stories and had marched back, I was feeling so safe, so confident and so supported," she said. "I got up and said, 'I know I'm just the emcee, but if you don't mind, I have a story to share with you.'"
But Bonjour said that as the night progressed, her feeling had begun to change.
While Bonjour recounted what had happened to her, she began to cry. She looked out into the crowd and saw her mother, who also was crying. Urged on by the audience, Bonjour managed to finish her story.
"By the time we had been to South
Bonjour said she thought that experiences such as hers were evidence of the importance of the event.
"I never felt validated in saying that I was violated," she said. "But by admitting it, I was able to start healing and
become a survivor."
Connie Burk, a facilitator for Students Against Violence Against Womyn, a KU group that has sponsored the march for the past seven years, said the event was a celebration of women's and children's survival of violent acts.
Burk said the march was scheduled in conjunction with national marches. The yearly marches began taking place in the late 1970s.
"It's very empowering to hear people's stories of empowerment and be able to identify," she said. "I know women who have been to the marches for several years and every year get more empowerment and feel more entitled to get that support."
Rally and march
These are the times for tonight's Womyn Take Back the Night Rally. 7-7:45 p.m. — Introduction of Speakers, South Park Gazebo 7:45-8 p.m. — Women walk to Watson Park
8-8:45 p.m. — Women's Circle,
Watson Park; Men's Circle, South
Park Gazebo
8:45-9 p.m. — Women's march,
through downtown Lawrence back
to South Park.
9 p.m. — Demands and Conclusion, South Park
The 69th Annual Kansas Relays began yesterday at Memorial Stadium with the first half of the decathlon and heptathlon. The events will continue today with the 5,000 and 10,000 meter runs.
And they're off
Page 11.
'Free' prizes usually too good to be true
By Angelina Lopez
Kansan staff writer
Aaron Landry thought that it was too good to be true.
When he called the 1-800 number that he had to use within 72 hours or risk losing his prize, he found out that the Mustang could be his — if he paid $399.50 for nine magazine subscriptions.
The prizes included a 1994 Ford Mustang,
$7,500, a Hawaiian vacation and other merchandise.
"You are ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEED at least one of the following five awards for participating in our National Promotion," said an official-looking postcard bearing an American eagle.
"At first, it sounded pretty good," said Landry, Lawrence sophomore. "She asked me if I wanted the Mustang to be red or black. But when she mentioned the price, she said it real fast. She was dodging me in every way."
Landry said he learned an awful truth: if something looks too good to be true, it usually is. Prize-promotional offers such as these promise spectacular prizes for what seems to be little or no money. But investigating the give-away reveals that the prizes are not always spectacular and that the price is more than most college students can afford.
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T. F.E. Inc. Fulfillment Services, the company that offered the prizes to Landry, has received three complaints of misrepresentation against it since February 1994, said Richard Reynard, systems administrator of the Better Business Bureau of Dallas, which is where the company is located.
"If you've won something, you should just be able to get it," Reynard said. "It's not a prize if you have to pay for it."
T. F.E. Inc. Fulfillment Services, which also does business under the names T.Y.G-Pro, B.F.E. and American Saver, was unavailable for comment.
Reynard warned against giving any personal information, especially a credit card or checking account number, over the phone to an unknown company.
According to the 1991 Kansas Telemarketing Act, if people give their checking account or credit card numbers over the phone, they are not entitled to pay until they have signed a document that represents the full deal.
But if Kansas residents give financial
information over the phone to a telemarketing firm, they still can get out of the purchase, said Sue Workman, consumer counselor for the Better Business Bureau of Northeast Kansas.
Workman said prize-promotional offers were common. By 3 p.m. yesterday, she already had received 20 complaints about prize-promotional offers, she said.
The catch of these offers, she said, is that if a consumer purchases what the companies are selling, the prizes received are usually nonexistent or not as valuable as promised.
"But it would only be bits and pieces of the trip." Workman said. "They would supa sales representative refuses to send written information about the company and the prize offer.
For example, she said, the prize Landry would have received if he had ordered the magazines would have been the Hawaiian vacation.
Here are some early warning signs of illegitimate prize offers:
Prize put-on
- the company uses high-pressure tactics, such as saying a consumer has only two days to respond.
- a representative ignores a consumer's request to hang up and not call again.
a representative asks for personal information, such as a credit card or checking account number.
Y
For more information or to file a complaint against a business, call the Better Business Bureau of Northeast Kansas, 749-8909.
KANSAN
ply the hotel accommodations, but he would have to buy his airplane ticket through them at their price."
She said the price of the airline tickets usually was more than the price of the entire trip.