Vol. 99, No. 9 (USPS 650-640)
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PUBLISHED SINCE 1858 BY THE STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Thursday September 8,1988
Rioting shakes Burma
The Associated Press
RANGOON, Burma — Mobs plumbed government offices and warehouses yesterday, and state radio said security forces shot and killed five looters. Diplomats said chaos was near and prepared to evacuate
Staton BreidenthalKANSAN
Because the situation is "sliding towards chaos," up to 190 dependents of U.S. Embassies employees will be evacuated as soon as possible, said the Western diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ross Prizing of the U. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, said: "It's just an opportunity to uncover unpredictable events over the next week and we hope it will be worthwhile."
He said the first group of 4 U.S. citizens would arrive in Bangkok today unless strikes grounded the flab.
Other diplomats said 41 Thi. Embassy dependents would leave today, but the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok said no final decision had been made.
Diplomats said the Italian, Israeli and several other embassies had evacuated dependents and the Japans embassies and their embassies were considering doing so.
Demonstrators have not threatened foreigners, and the U.S. Embassy has been a favorable rallying point with protesters applauding the U.S. that.
Vernon A. Walters, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said yesterday during a visit to Bangkok that the United States would "do everything we can to see Burma's passage from a peaceful way at all possible."
The Western diplomat said he saw about 10 trucks, each carrying at least 20 soldiers, parked Tuesday near the shovelhead Pagoda Road in Rangoon University, where students plan an government strategy.
Please see BURMA, p. 9, col. 1
Dancing days
Above: Norma G. Castleio O'Hep, Lawrence resident (left) and an unidentified woman warm up before auditions for the University Dance Company in Robinson Center. Left Dance Director Sarah Tarrell teaches Ken Stewart, Lawrence resident, Sarah Terrell, Wichita senior, and Janet Steelly, Shawnee Mission freshman, a short routine for last night's open audition. The company gives performances both on and off campus throughout the semester.
No end in sight
Yellowstone still ablaze
The Associated Press
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL Park, WYO - Wind-blown embers from a 165.400-acre fire lit buildings yesterday inside the old Rocky Mountain oil refinery and other stone National Park after a hurricane of evacuated the area.
At least four buildings caught fire as embers from the big North Fork rained down on firefighters wetting down roofs inside the complex. At least one, a shed containing a vehicle, was destroyed, officials said.
The evacuation yesterday, ordered as the fire burned to within a half-mile of the building's attraction, was the first in the 116-year history of the oldest U.S. military base.
Earlier in the day, west winds gusting to 40 mph expanded the North Park fire by 20,000 acres, but a wind shaft shifted the blaze near buildings on the complex's southern facade forcing 40 firefighters to retreat.
Outside the park, firefighters sighed the edges of two small tourist communities yesterday in an effort to protect the towns from a huge wind-blown fire making its way out of Yellowstone National Park.
Gunty winds fanned backfires along a hillside north of Silver Lake, where they were captured by a charred buffer zone in advance of the main body of the 11900-acre lake.
Flames from the backfire roared past Silver Gate late Tuesday night, coming within 200 yards of buildings clustered along the community's main street before continuing east past Cooke city yesterday
Please see FIRES, p. 9, col. 4
Fighting geographic illiteracy
KU, Lawrence High striving to overcome national problem
Kansan staff writer
By Grace Hobson
When Robert Wiseman, associate professor of geography, asks an introductory geography class to identify some world geography, the class supplies him with some humor.
Wiseman's students reflect a national problem: U.S. students are geographically illiterate.
Last year, one student asked the Ukraine was the last year the basket of Argentina." Given a map, his student asked if it was the South Africa.
Recent surveys conducted by the Gallup Organization and the National Geographic Society found that people in the U.S. aged 18 to 24-year-old ranked last in geography tests given in nine countries.
To combat the problem, the University of Kansas geography department has launched a campaign, beginning in lower-level courses, to teach students where the world's countries are.
"Geographic illiteracy will improve only in so far as students take a geography class." Wosnian said. "Students learn to describe places and jobs to do so. In the last three or four years, I've specifically done things in class to address the geography of my town."
Wesman said that to educate students in geography, teachers could make students learn by memorization.
Robert Nunley, professor of geography, devised a third way to teach students geography. Nunley is having students in his Honors Principles of Human Geography course at the University of Great Britain, countries and regions of the world.
"The students take a part of the world that interests them and research topics of that part of the world."<sup>10</sup>
Nunley said. "This will lead them to create maps."
After this semester's students design the program, it will be used by next semester's honors students to develop the program.
"The program is designed by the students and implemented by the students," Nurnley said.
Nunley said that next semester he also would invite other interested students to use the program. He hopes to have enough computers by next year for all his students to take part in the program.
By the end of his course, students must prove their knowledge in English and American languages. Jessee Beekeer, Oaktown Freshman, is one of Nanley's friends.
Jesse becker, Ontario treeman, is one of Nunley's students involved in the program.
"I'm very interested in it. Professor Nunley said the biggest problem was in students getting too involved in it," he said.
But Rife is committed to educating students in geography.
Despite the increased interest in geography at Lawrence High, Rifle said not enough was being done to combat the problem. Making the geography course a requirement would be difficult to implement because of a lack of teachers. Also, adding a required course could lead to a small number of electives students are able to take.
Max Life, assistant principal of Lawrence High, said that an unexpected high interest in the course
KU is not alone in its fight to teach students geography. This year, Lawrence High School added three sections to its world geography class, which is in its second year.
"I can't think of anything more important right now."
City to review Budig's offer for constructing new center
By Laura Woodward
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas will build a new Regents Center in south overland Park if the Overland Park City Council will meet certain conditions, according to a letter Chancellor Gene A. Budig sent to the city Sept. 1.
Burd said in his letter to Overland Park Mayor Ed Ellert that Ku would build the center at 127th and Quivari
Provide water and sewer service.
Build streets along the site's north and west sides.
Waive all property taxes and special levies against the
The Overland Park City Council will hold a special meeting tonight to review and make a decision on Budd's
Allie Speer, Overland Park City Council member, said that she did not anticipate any problems in getting the project.
"Of course, I don't know that I can predict how my fellow council members will vote," Speer said. "But from what I know, I think the commission will react favorably."
A group of KU alumni donated the 40-acre site *Larry Winn I11*, an overland Park lawyer who represents the owners of the property.
A KU site evaluation committee narrowed the possible sites from 20 to four in Lenexa, Olathe and Overland Park. The committee then sent the list of evaluated sites to the executive vice chancellor's office Aug. 24.
"We had a few sites which we recommended but didn't put in any rank order," said Bob Senecal, dean of the architecture department.
The Overland Park City Council will hold a special meeting tonight to review and make a decision on Budig's proposal.
"We just made our recommendations on the basic pros and cons of the four sites that we thought were the best."
Judith Ramaley, executive vice chancellor, said last week that a new Regent Centre was an effort to reach out to students.
"It is also an effort to reduce the difference between the traditional and the non-traditional student," Ramayay said. "There are a lot of people in Kansas City who want an education and can't reallocate to Lawrence."
The Regents Center has been housed in a former elementary school building since 1975 at 990 Mission Road in Overland Park. It serves 3,900 undergraduates and graduate students a year.
Because of problems associated with increasing enrollment and outdated equipment, RT officials decided last week to change the policy.
Mary Gorsh, assistant vice chancellor of the Rogents Center, said yesterday that she was satisfied with the new plan.
"I am very excited," Gersh said. "I think that any of the sites would have been good. But I especially pleased that it is overland Park. Overland Park is a wonderfully managed city."
Gersh said the new center probably would not be completed before 1990.
She also said that the new center would be funded by a combination of student fees, bonds and private donations. Gersh expect enrollment at the new Regents Center to increase by at least one-third.
Ramaley backs controversial groups' right to speak on campus
Rv Daniel Niemi
Kansan staff writer
Judith A. Rammley, executive vice chancellor, yesterday said that controversial groups should be allowed to speak on campus despite the fact that they are defensive to desig ns of the community.
stamley, speaking at the first of four. University forums on free speech sponsored by Ecumenical Christian Ministries, and it was necessary to deal separately with the social issues that controversial speakers raised and the speaking events themselves.
About 40 people attended the event at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries building, 1204 Oread Ave. After her prepared speech, several members of the audience questioned
hamalaye for about a half hour about her
personal stands on free speech and last
week a report said.
"I don't know how to set boundaries that will protect every person in this community from something which would be offensive or dangerous," he said, "allow freedom of speech." Ramaley said.
"I choose to take the reductive position of allowing those things to occur, and then trying to get the community to talk about what's on and why, and dealing with any kinds of experiences or perceptions or causes of that," as a result of the presence of that speaker.
"Part of what we're trying to do through the minority concerns task force and other
activities on campus, is to deal with social issues separate from whether people have the right to express themselves, rather than saying the way we solve our social problems
Ramalay said the KKK appearance last semester provided the opportunity to explore the social tensions that controversial speakers sometimes revealed.
"In the glare of the event, we learn a lot about the campus. That what's happened last week was one of the few activities that went around the Ku Klux Klan, the glare of that revealed a set of problems that this campus shares with many other institutions." I am still curious and fears that we have now seen and
begun to deal with.'
"The fact that someone expresses an abhorrent view does not mean that they are a villain."
Responding to a question, Ramaley said a speaker's views did not in themselves constitute a clear and present danger to the speaker. He only reason for campaigning a speaking event.
Ramaley said the University had the responsibility to ensure that speaking events took place in a way that did not intimidate members of the community.
Such a responsibility would include clearly stating that the speaker's views were not endorsed by the University and that there was an opportunity for discussion or debate.
she said.
Ramaley ask any group entitled to assemble under U.S. laws was entitled to speak at the University. The group would have to be invited by a group or individual on campus, such as a student organization or faculty member.
Lawrence resident Bernie Norwood, who aid he had spoken with Ramaley about the shooting, said the incident was "heard."
"We're dealing with an emotional issue and protests," said Norwood, who attended the speech. "Any rule doesn't apply in all cases; it depends on the situation."
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