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CAMPUS/AREA: KU struggles to recruit and retain African-American students. Page 3.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VOL.103.NO.96
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
KANSAS STATE
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TOPEKA KS 66612
FRIDAY. FEBRUARY 4, 1994
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
(USPS 650-640)
Melissa Lacev / KANSAM
KU strives to provide access
Checking Blake Hall for accessibility to disabled students, Susan Keetle, Raiston, Neb., junior, left, and Laura Bernardi, Kansas City, Kan., senior, measure the spout height on a water fountain. As part of an HDFL 437 assignment, the students took measurements to see if codes set by the American Disabilities Act were met.
Assistance to disabled prioritized by demand
NEWS:864-4810
By Susan White
Kansan staff writer
IfKim Morrow, Overland Park graduate student, had a research paper due and her computer broke down, she would not have any place on campus to go where she could type it.
"I operate my computer with a voice synthesizer," she said. "But the school does not have any computers like this. A school of this size should have at least one computer accessible for the blind. If one of our computers breaks down, we're stuck."
However, Morrow said she had few complaints about the University's accessibility for disabled students.
"My experience at KU has been very positive. The people here have a good attitude and are really open. I've enjoyed it immensely," she said. "I am a GTA for the German department, and they have just been super. They have done everything to make the department accessible for me."
Every year the University resurvey the accessibility of the campus for these students to see if the buildings meet codes set by the American Disabilities Act, Shuttic said.
Mike Shuttle, assistant director of the Student Assistance Center, said that the center knew of 383 self-identified KU students with disabilities but that there were probably several hundred more.
"We then use the information from the survey to prioritize for what projects need to be done right away," he said. "We also base this information on the complaints we receive from students."
Students from HDFL 437 helped the Student Assistance Center evaluate some of the buildings for the reassessment project, he said. The students measured and checked doors, light switches, thermostats, stairwells and fire alarms. Shuttle said.
Susan Keetle, Ralston, Neb., junior.
said the project was a real eye opener.
"I learned that I take a lot of things> for granted, like light switches and thermostats," she said. "They cannot be reached by some people in some of the buildings."
Randi Flinn, Honolulu senior, said she thought accessibility was necessary to make life easier for everyone.
"The campus is really inaccessible," she said.
Bob Turvey, chair of the architectural barriers committee, said that after the University finished assessing the campus, it would send a priority list of projects to the Board of Regents to get a budget for the fiscal
year.
"We prioritize by individuals who need the most immediate assistance," he said. "Most of the projects are complaint-driven. We ask students if the campus is accessible enough for basic functions, like using the bathroom.
"We have to deal with the reality that the campus is not totally accessible," he said. "We would like to update some of the restrooms, install curved ramps and have more braille signage in the halls and by the elevators."
helped students or faculty who felt discriminated against because of their disabilities.
Tom Berger, associate chair of the University's Americans with Disabilities Act committee, said that he
"The purpose of ADA is to mainstream people we have kept outside because of emotional or physical differences," he said. "Once a year, the office sends out forms to student employees and faculty asking them to list their disabilities, and if they want reasonable accommodation."
Berger said that most importantly, people should remember that there are people with emotional disabilities as well as physical disabilities.
"We have to be sensitive to their feelings too," he said.
Guest policy gives privacy, problems
Different halls; different rules
By Frank McCleary Kansan staff writer
Inconvenience is weighed against privacy for some students in Gertrude Sellars Pearson-Corbin Hall.
The Department of Student Housing has a visitation policy that defines when students in residence halls are allowed to have visitors of the same or opposite sex.
But instead of one policy that covers all, there are variations between the single-sex and coed residence halls. There also are variations between the women's halls.
Lewis Hall has a policy that allows male visitors anytime as long as they are escorted by a resident.
However, GSP-Corbin's policy restricts male visitors to Wednesday nights between 6 p.m. and midnight and from noon Friday until midnight Sunday. The roommate's consent is required at both Lewis and GSP-Corbin.
Some GSP-Corbin residents feel the policy is an inconvenience but not that big of a deal.
Tricia Costello, Leawood freshman, said she was used to the policy.
"It does not bother me that much," she said. "You have more privacy."
But it was a hassle when a resident had to walk her boyfriend downstairs to go to the bathroom because of the policy, she said.
Kristie Englemeyer, Watertown,
S. D., freshman, said the policy was an inconvenience for out-of-town guests who had nowhere else to stay, but she also said she liked the privacy that came with the policy.
"You do not have to worry about what you look like when you are walking around the hall," she said.
Alenna Keaton, Overland Park freshman, said she liked the policy because it gave her more privacy.
"You do not have to worry about guys being in the hall," she said. "You do not have to worry about your roommate always having a guy in the room."
Fred McEhenie, associate director of student housing, said the policy for GSP-Corbin was designed to provide students with a choice in their living environment.
"We did not want all vanilla ice cream," he said. "We know not all people like vanilla ice cream."
McElhenny said the policy was a reflection of an attitude that some women did not always want men around.
"In many ways it reflected the idea that the residents wanted to decide when guys could be there," he said.
In the past, some GSP-Corbin residents have tried to have the restrictions eased, McElhenie said. Students living in the halls during the 1992-93 school year voted to ease the restrictions, he said.
As a result, a new visitation policy will be in place this fall for GSP-Corbin residents.
Residents will be allowed to have male visitors on floor lounges or in their rooms between 5 and 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and continuously from noon Friday until midnight Sunday.
'Rubber' checks put writers at risk
By David Stewart Kansan staff writer
Ralph Smith showed some faith in his customers last semester.
So Smith gave it a shot. He began accepting checks.
"I try to listen to the customers to give them what they want," said Smith, owner of Joe's Bakery, 616 W. Ninth St."Some wanted to use checks to pay."
It lasted two months
Check it out
Service fees for returned checks may vary. Under Kansas law, businesses may charge customers no more than $30 for a returned check if the fee notice is posted in the store and $10 if the fee notice is not posted.
The service fee charged by banks for returned checks also may vary. Bank officials said it could range from $15 to $20, depending on the bank.
The damages a merchant could receive from a customer who knowingly passes a bad check are limited to three times the amount of the check or $500, according to state statute.
KANSAN
After receiving more bad checks than expected, Smith returned to his original practice. For the past 13 years, he has accepted only cash from his individual customers.
Smith's solution was the extreme. The University of Kansas and businesses throughout Lawrence have other options to deal with bad check writers.
"Many of my orders are less than five bucks," Smith said. "It's pretty hard for me to go after the people who pass bad checks. You could spend a lot of time going after five dollars."
The result of writing a bad check to the University may be a nominal charge or suspension of check-writing privileges for a semester.
Merchants now seek other methods then criminal court for getting payment on a bad check, said Phyllis Paine, check investigator for the Douglas County office of the district
These penalties could account for the steady decrease in bad-check writing prosecuted by Douglas County in the past five years, from 364 cases in 1980 to 198 in 1993.
The result of bouncing a check outside campus may be a letter demanding restitution or even a night in jail.
attorney.
Many merchants consider court a last resort. Businesses that turn to the courts prefer civil courts where they can get more money, Paine said.
Paine said bad-check writing traditionally had been one of the most prosecuted misdemeanors in Douglas County.
The University takes a different approach. If a KU student gets caught attempting to pass a bad check for tuition, housing or health fees, the office of the comptroller will place a message saying "No checks" on that student's accounts, said Kathe Shiham, university comptroller.
"Being a university town, we might have a higher volume of bad checks," Paine said. "But we also might be more lenient and make sure people take care of those checks."
"After four months, we have someone review the account, to see if the student has maintained payments," Shinhan said. "If the students have been making those payments, we take the 'No checks' message off the
However, she said, being in a college town such as Lawrence would not necessarily mean a dramatic increase in the number of bad checks.
account."
Shinham said the office of the comptroller had received 1,089 bad checks for the 1992-93 school year.
"Considering how many chews we get total, it's not an unexpected amount," Shinham said. "I don't think there are a lot of students who write bad checks, but I don't think students are trying for good citizen awards either."
Milstead said writing a check gave customer proof of purchase as well as an option to stop payment. While Milstead said some larger Lawrence stores have habitually received bad checks, the check payment system has worked well for many downtown Lawrence businesses.
Services such as check validation have found their place because of customers' preferences for check writing, said Jean Milstead, senior vice president of Douglas County Bank.
"The popularity of checks continues to increase," Milstead said. "One part of its popularity will never go away. People can float a check."
"A lot of merchants downtown have never gotten a bad check," Milstead said. "They're just really trusting."
How the bad check bounces
Micah Laaker/KANSAN
Over the top
Kansas senior pole vaulter John Bazzoni prepares for the Kansas track team's meets this weekend. The Jayhawks compete today at Anschutz Pavilion.
Page 7.
Uniform evaluations policy earns low marks
SexEx head suspects policy is impractical
A new policy to standardize students' faculty evaluations among the Board of Regents universities may get little support from the University of Kansas.
By Jamie Munn Kansan staff writer
T. P. Srinivasan, head of University Senate Executive council, said KU should not be lumped into the pool of other Kansas schools for this type of comparison.
The proposed evaluations would probably create a uniform method for students to critique their professors, said Regent Frank Sabatini.
Regent John Hiebert, who is chair of the Regents Academic Affairs task force, will
probably introduce a policy in March, Sabatini said.
"Right now it's still in the preliminary stages," Sabatiin said.
No official proposals had been introduced to the Regents, Sabatini said. But he said he thought Hiebert's task force had been winding down its studies.
However, the proposal could have some obstacles to pass before it gains approval from KU faculty.
Srinivasan said the Regents universities could not be looked at as a whole in this instance. He said he was not sure if Hlebert understood how complicated this issue might be.
"KU is KU and should be treated as KU," Srinivasan said. "You can't put all institutions in one league for everthing."
Srinivasan said he would not support the new evaluations because the missions and
"There are so many ways to evaluate," he said. "Not all of them reduce to numerical quantification."
"This just would not be a yardstick to measure performance level," he said.
expectations of all the Regents institutions were so varied.
Srinivasan said there have been a wide variety of responses from student evaluations which would make any state-wide comparison impractical. The range of opinions varied from large freshman classes to specialized graduate courses, he said.
Srinivasan also said some faculty performances were more tangible than others. Factors like quality of research, time devoted to student advising and service to the campus as a whole added to the basic role of teaching and probably wouldn't be recognized in the Regents' proposed plan.
Srinivasan also said he wanted to emphasize the higher standards that KU had for its faculty. He said comparing them to other institutions' faculty would not be an effective analysis because KU has a larger campus, a larger student body and a longer history in education.
"You can't reduce an institution to the lowest common denominator," he said.
Srinivasaan said he hoped the University Council would be able to discuss the proposed uniform evaluations at its first meeting in March. The Council would then take its concerns to the Regents meeting later that month.
The Regents universities are Emporia State University, Fori Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, the University of Kansas and Wichita State University.