The University Daily
University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas
KANSAN
Wednesday, April 6, 1983
Vol. 93, No. 128 USPS 650-640
After 8 years, Binns loses re-election bid
By JOEL THORNTON Staff Reporter
Don Binns said he had a problem in his campaign that most of the other losers in the Lawrence City Commission election yesterday did not have — he had a familiar face.
Bimns, 65, ended eight years of service on the City Commission last night when he finished fourth in the city election. He received 3,980 votes, and placed finisher Mike Amyx, who had 4,396 votes.
THE OTHER CANDIDATES who failed in their bids to win commission seats were Barbara Maxwell, 3,233; Bonta Yoder, 2,569; and Marci Francisco, 1,483; and David Allen. 66
Ernest Angino, Mike Amyx and David Longhurst discussed their victories last night in the Lawrence City Commission election.
"I think what they are saying is 'throw out the whole bunch and let's start with a new commission,'" he said. "I could have contributed a lot of continuity and experience. I had too much identification with the old commission."
Most of the losers in the election said they were not surprised at the results. The candidates finished in the same order as they did in the March 1 primary election.
Barbara Maxwell, who finished fifth, said the new commission would be responsive to the city's needs.
"I think they have chosen good individuals who will represent the city well," she said.
who will represent the city well, she said.
Maxwell, 59, director of guidance at South
Junior High School, said she did not know
whether she would run for public office again.
WRITE-IN CANDIDATE DAVID Allen, a KU student, said, "I didn't realistically think I could get elected. I just wanted to see how the other candidates were on the issues."
Binns put to rest speculation that he would replace Commissioner Barkley Clark, who has said he will resign in a few weeks. Clark and his deputy may incumbents on the five-member commission.
Bonita Yoder, 27, an attorney, who finished sixth. was unavailable for comment last night.
Binns said that he was proud of many of the city's accomplishments in the first few years of his term, but that he thought the commission was not as effective in the last two years.
He listed the building of a new city hall, water plant, the Holiday Inn Holdome and Clinton Hotel.
See ALSO-RAN page 5
Voters end Marci's write-in bid
By MICHAEL BECK
Staff Reporter
While candidates and concerned onlookers watched precinct tails roll in last night at the Douglas County Courthouse, Mayor Marci Francisco conducted her last Lawrence City
Francisco charged to the restroom directly after the meeting to put on blue jeans. She continued to wear a button that said "Question authority."
"I wore jeans and a 'Question authority' button during the last elections and I wanted to dress up."
SHE HEARD THAT SHE had received slightly more than 5 percent of the votes in the general
election and emerged from the restroom battling tears to face reporters.
"I was expecting more than 50 votes and hoping for 500," she said.
She hesitantly answered a few questions and was summoned again into the commission room to sign the minutes of the commission meeting, and then received a new commission takes office next Tuesday.
Francisco did not enter the 1 primary election for personal reasons, but she decided to run.
Mike Amyx, elected to a two-year term last night, said that Francisco put on a good campaign and that anything could have happened. He conceded, however, that not being
"I THINK IF SHED HAVE entered the primaries she might have done better," he said.
"People don't like to take the time to write in a name and spell it right.
"I think it says is a lot about public sentiment that people took the time to write her name," he said. "The other candidates' names were right in front of the voters, but they had to remember
paign, said it was tremendous that she received so many votes.
Voters elected Francisco to a four-year term on the commission in 1979. She served her first two years as commissioner and the last two years as mayor.
"I think it was easier being a commissioner," she said. "As mayor you can not just sit back and be an advocate. You have more responsibility when you're mayor, and it took a lot more time."
FRANCBCO SAID SIE WAS considering running for the City Council again despite the lack of community compatibility of its requirements.
"I'm pleased with the job I've done," she said. "I think we've made some progress. It has been pretty good."
See MARCI page 5
Longhurst leads field in city vote
By NED STAFFORD Staff Reports
Staff Reporter
Voters yesterday elected three new members to the Lawrence City Commission after a campaign in which a need for economic growth and criticism of the present commission were the main issues.
David Longhurst and Ernest Angino, the first and second-place finishers, won four-year terms, and third-place finisher Mike Amyx won a two-year term.
The three will take office Tuesday.
A total of 10,182 people voted, 33 percent of the 30,980 registered voters. The total number of votes cast for the top eight finishers was 27,200. Voters could choose three or fewer candidates.
INCUMBENT COMMISSIONER DON Binsn and Mayor Marci Francisco, running as a write-in candidate, were defeated in their bids for re-election.
David Allen, a KU student, received 66 write-in votes.
Longhurst finished with an unofficial total of 6,900 votes, or 22.3 percent of the vote among the top eight candidates; Angino, 5,435, or 19.9 percent; Amyx, 4,396, or 16.1 percent; Binns, 3,980, or 14.6 percent; Barbara Maxwell, 3,179, or 11.6 percent; Bonita Yoder, 2,569, or 9.4 percent; and Francisco, 1,485 write-in votes, or 5.4 percent.
The official vote tally will be made at 9 a.m.
Friday by the Douglas County Commission.
Longhurst, owner of the House of Usher print shop, 638 Massachusetts St., said he thought he placed first because he was responsive to the sentiments of the people.
"I sought out all the points of view that I could." he said.
He said that, as a commissioner, he might not always agree with all perspectives but that he took a different approach.
"THIS IS OUR COMMUNITY, and goddamn it, people have every right to expect that the commission will respond to their feelings," Longhurst said. "One would hope the City Commission will never alienate anyone again."
Angino, chairman of the KU department of geology, said he thought he was elected because he spoke directly to the issues and because
High-tech plan would give $1.4 million to Regents schools
See ELECTION page 5
By JEFF TAYLOR
Staff Reporter
By JEFF TAYLOR Staff Reporter
Senators critical of Carlin's plan persuaded the full Senate to take $1.4 million from the governor's proposal and beef up high-technology universities at four of the state's six Regents universities.
The House approved $562,000 for the state-
TOPEKA - Senate members scrapped Gov. John Carlin's $1.5 million plan for luring high technology to the state yesterday, and instead supported the individual budgets of four Regents schools.
The Senate plan specified that the money be used to pay for computers and other high-tech
CARLIN'S PLAN MADE MONEY available to all six schools, to be distributed through the
Under the Senate's $1.4 million high-technology package, the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Wichita State University and Pittsburg State University would split
Both proposals require the universities to
gather matching funds from private high-tech industries
During its session, the Senate tentatively approved the Regents fiscal 1984 budget proposal, which increased university operating expenses budgets by 7 percent.
If the House concurs this week with the Senate's $1.4 million addition to the Regents package, the University of Kansas will gain an extra $378,000 for its high-tech programs.
OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE Regents bill will also ride on the omnibus bill, including a recommended 10 percent increase for utilities and a work-study program.
However, the House approved an OOE increase of only 3.5 percent. Both the House and Senate excluded the University of Kansas Medical Center budget from their Regents proposal. And both chambers deleted both faculty and student salary increases and a recommended increase for classified employees.
Salary increases will be addressed in a separate financing at the end of the session.
The Senate narrowly defeated the Fort Hays
financed work-study program, but the Senate at first voted to remove the money from the program.
From Carlin's original $1.5 million, the Senate allocated a remaining $100,000 to the Kansas Department of Economic Development, to help businesses into coming to the state.
The Senate chose KU and the other three universities for the high-technology money because they met a "centers of excellence" by State Rep. Mike Meacham, R-Wichita.
Meacham's "centers of excellence" guideline, which examined the high-tech resources available at the six Regents schools, drew heavy investment from State Sens. Joseph Norvell and Gerald Karr.
NORVELL, D-HAYS, AND KARR, D-Emporia, told Senate members that Fort Hays State and Emporia State were not treated fairly under the plan and asked the upper chamber to approve an additional $45,000 in high-tech money for both universities.
proposal 17-16 and the Emporia State request 18-17.
And State Sen. Joe Harder, R-Maple City, said he wanted the Legislature to look at different methods for distributing the money.
State Sen. Ed Roitz, R-Pittsburgh, said that there was no concrete reason why Fort Hays State and Emporia State were not included in the high-tech package.
State Sen. Paul Hess, R-Wichita, defended his Ways and Means Committee's decision to include only KU and the others and said those groups had the best resources to use the money
"THERE'S NO PLEDGE, there's no promises he said. We got to have hard bucks in his hands."
"But if you spread the peanut butter too thin, you're not going to have high quality programs."
Hess told critics of the proposal that Fort Hays State and Emporia State did not have strong programs in high-technology areas and did not deserve the money.
"The high-tech ST-Trek train is pulling out of
SAC WBCH train."
See REGENTS page 5
Blackmun to speak
U. S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackman will present a lecture on the workings of the Supreme Court at 4 p.m. in the Crafton-Freyer Theatre in Murex Hall.
The lecture is free and open to the public.
Blackman's visit is part of the Judge Nelson Timothy Stephens Lecture Series, and coincides with the display of the Magna at Kenneth Spencer Research Library.
Blackmun, who is the first Supremate Court justice to visit the campus in 10 years, has been named one of the leading leaders in
He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1932, was an attorney in a private law firm and taught law in Minnesota before serving as the Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Paul, Mim.
He was district judge for 11 years before
President Nixon nominated him to the Suprem-
 Court.
Blackmun will spend this week meeting with KU law students and faculty, and area
Weather
Educators say students need more math, science skills
Today will be cloudy with a 30 percent chance of light rain or snow. The high will be in the mid- to upper 30s. Winds will be from the north at 10 to 20 mph.
Tenight and tomorrow will be cloudy with a slight chance of snow flurries. The low for tonight will be 30 and the high tomorrow will be 40.
The United States could lose its position as a world leader in technology unless U.S. leaders and secondary schools place more emphasis on math and science, KU and state education officials said recently.
By AMY CRAIG Staff Reporter
Some experts say that steps need to be taken in the United States to halt the declining student debt.
Others disagree about a decline, but do say that students are not receiving the preparation they need for college, particularly in science and math.
Martin Harmony, chairman of the department of chemistry, said that the United States had already lost its standing as a leader in mathematics. He added that students should be spent on math and science programs.
"THE U.S. IS GOING TO have to pay more attention to training in math and science or we will be surpassed by China, Russia and other countries," said Gunther Schlager, chairman of the KU department of biological sciences. "I see a decline happening now and it will get worse."
"It has slipped away," he said. "We've led in fundamental discoveries for years, but other things are up."
"It depends on what the country decides is its priority. If it decides it's not math and science,
"Science is expensive. If you want to be the leader, then you've got to foot the bill."
Sarron Freed, director of educational assi- nance in the Kansas department of education, said she thought the United States was not looking far enough ahead.
"WE NEED TO BE LOOKING at 2000, and I don't think we are at the 2000 level," she said. "It doesn't seem unreasonable to say that the U.S. will lose its standing if this situation continues."
President Reagan also has expressed concern about a lack of emphasis on math and science. In his State of the Union message in January, Reagan said, "We Americans are still the world's technological leader in most fields. We must keep that edge, and to do so we need to begin renewing the basics - starting with our educational system.
"While we grew complacent, others have acted. Japan, with a population only about half the size of ours, graduates from its universities more engineers than we do. If a child does not receive adequate math and science teaching by an engineer, the loss has the chance to be a scientist or engineer.
"WE MUST JOIN TOGETHER — parents, teachers, grassroots groups, organized labor and the business community — to revitalize education by setting a standard of excellence."
Although some officials say that students' skills have declined in the past 10 to 15 years, American College Test average scores do not indicate that a significant decline has taken
English, social studies and composite ACT scores were higher in 1981 than in 1975.
ACT score averages in Kansas and at the University reflect similar trends.
National ACT averages show that math and natural science scores have decreased only slightly since 1972 and are now leveling off, with the national director of the regional ACT office in Manhattan.
"The brightest students taking the test then are no more bright than the brightest students
FROM 1972 TO 1975, ACT averages did decline in most areas. However, experts say that those declines reflect a wider range of students taking more courses in the quality of the education of the students.
Gary Price, associate professor of counseling,
said that the ACT test had been given to a different composition of students 10 to 15 years ago, which made the test more selective then.
A 1976 ACT study shows that in 1970, 14 percent
Davis said more students from the bottom half of their graduating high school class were now taking the exam. Therefore, he said, test scores - from 1983 are lower than test scores from 1971.
HOWEVER, STUDENTS WHO SCORED between 1 and 15 on the test increased from 27 percent to 33 percent during the same five-year period.
But other studies show that students' abilities declined more significantly in the 1970s.
of the students taking the test scored between 26 and 36 on a scale of 1 to 16. In the next five years, when the greatest decline in test score averages occurred, that percentage remained constant.
The "National Report Card on Education during the 1970s," a study released in February by the National Assessment of Educational Potential creates a decline in math and science abilities.
The report says that science education was not particularly emphasized during the 70s, either in
Many experts say that a reason for this lack of emphasis is a shortage of math and science skills.
HARMONY SAID THE LACK of science teachers in secondary schools was a disgrace and had a negative effect on the United States' emphasis on those areas.
"We're in real trouble," he said. "Unless the problem is solved at the primary and secondary levels, we won't be able to solve the problems at the college level."
1
According to William Lashier, professor of curriculum and instruction, the number of math
See MATH page 5