VOL. 100, NO.48 (USPS 650-640)
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
WEDNESDAY NOV.1, 1989
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
NEWS: 864-4810
Wage plan spurs mixed reactions
Inflation concern tempers reaction of area observers
By Steve Buckner Kansan staff writer
The proposed minimum wage increase generally was met with a subdued response around campus and Lawrence.
"Some people are not going to get jobs that they otherwise would," said Douglas Houston, associate professor of business. "The best thing you can say about it is it will have little effect in most markets. In order to allow the (proposed) minimum wage, you can have some 'mischief.'
Houston defined the "mischief" as being the exclusion of people who could least afford to be hurt, namely teen-agers from lower income backgrounds who lack job training. He said he preferred the market to
determine the minimum wage rather than having a minimum wage law.
Jim Lewis, manager of Checkers Foods, 2300 Louisiana St., concurred with Houston's assessment.
"Whenever it's driven up, it forces us not to hire," he said. "It will force an inflationary spiral, which it business goes in, the consumer pays for."
Lewis said he liked the concept of the subminimum training wage but thought the six-month period should be lengthened to one year.
Linda Mullens, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs, said that the plan could affect the student hourly workforce, which numbers approximately 2,200, in one of two ways.
"It could cut down the number of students working, or it could cut the number of hours the students work without affecting the number of students working," she said.
Mullens said she was pleased that the minimum wage was raised
See LOCAL, p. 6
Minimum wage to hit $4.25 by 1991
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Bush and the Democrat-controlled Congress agreed yesterday to raise the hourly minimum wage to $4.25 by April 1991, a compromise allowing the first increase in nearly a decade.
Both the White House and the Democrats made significant concessions to create the deal, which for the first time since the minimum wage was established 50 years ago would allow employers to pay a subminimum "training wage" to teen-agers with little work experience.
The compromise ends a lengthy and often bitter partisan battle that pitted Democratic congressional leaders and organized labor against the Reagan and Bush administrations and business interests.
"No side will get a victory for this," said Rep. Augustus Hawkins, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. "We didn't want the training wage to begin with, but we wanted to de-politicize the thing."
The deal was struck between White House Chief of Staff John Sununu, House Speaker Thomas Foley and House Minority Leader Robert Michel. Hawkins and other lawmakers prominent in past minimum-wage battles complained about being shut out of the talks. Some Democrats also said Foley conceded too much.
But they agreed to the deal, which was being drafted yesterday and, barring unexpected disagreements over language, will be presented to the House today as a substitute to a Democratic bill scheduled for a vote. Senate passage is expected to follow shortly.
Once signed by Bush, the legislation would trigger a 45-cent increase
See WAGE, p. 6
Hayden contributors charged with crimes
Owen accused of finance violations, theft
The Associated Press
TOPEKA — David C. Owen and two of his business associates were charged yesterday by special prosecutors with violating the state's Campaign Finance Act and committing other crimes.
Owen, a former state senator, lieutenant governor and longtime political aide of Bob Dole, was charged with 11 counts of exceeding campaign contribution limits and making donations in the names of others. He also was charged with four counts of theft and one count each of criminal solicitation, conspiracy and making a false writing.
Charged in separate counts were John E. Palmer, an Overland Park businessman, and Elliot M. Kaplan, a Kansas City, Mo., attorney. Palmer was named in one count of compi-
racy, and Kaplan was charged with two counts of theft.
Three persons were named unindicted co-conspirators and granted immunity in exchange for their testimony. They are Owen's wife, Beverly; Owen's secretary, Sara Cedarholm; and Mark R. Crow, an accountant and business associate of Owen.
Owen said he found it "appropriate that this witch-hunt culminated on Halloween" and that the investigation was politically motivated. He said he did not intentionally violate the law, but "the defense" to exonerate himself and "establish the motives of everyone involved in this investigation."
The charges stem from allegations by the Kansas Public Disclosure
See OWEN, p. 6
Fakhoury says that patience and steady hands are essential traits for glass blowers.
Glass blower turns bubbles into bottles
By Stacy Smith
Fakhour works carefully to repair a flask.
Kansan staff writer
The tube expanded like a soap bubble until POP! Like tiny pieces of cellophane, the glass floated through the air and landed on his work-bench.
A blue flame turned orange and flickered slightly as Harold Fakhoury, 62, placed a glass tube over it. While perched on his seat in front of the flame, he slowly rotated the tube several times and then placed the open end to his lins and blew gently.
"You blow it just a little like you're whistling," he said.
Fakhouk has been the glass blower for the chemistry department for 14 years. He spends his days in his workshop in the basement of Malott Hall making and repairing glass condensers, intricate tubing and microblasks for various departments at the University of Kansas.
"I do all of the sophisticated equipment that is needed for research and labs," he said. "I make stuff that would cost much more to buy on the open market." He added, "and I work with that to make the things they need."
Fakhoury said he has made more than 1,500 microcondensers for the chemistry department since he came to KU in 1975. He said each condenser would cost $189 ordered by mail, but he can produce them for $30 in labor and raw materials.
"It saves them an arm and a leg of money," he said.
Strewn across his work table are pieces of broken flasks, condensers and tubing. Before setting to work on his next project, he puts on his dark glasses to reduce the glare produced by the flame and then rummages through the pieces of glass on the table until he finds what he needs.
He stretches, bends and blows on the glass to produce the desired results. But working with 1,000 degree flame often can cause undesired effects as well.
Small fires and minor burns do not concern Fakhouk, who has worked as a glass blower for 45
"You never know what glass is going to do next. It doesn't tell you it's hot," he said. "I stick my finger in the flame yesterday by accident. I've even had my sleeve catch on fire."
years. He learned the trade when he was a young boy growing up in Alexandria, Egypt. His father was a professor of chemistry at the University of Alexandria.
In 1945, an American glass blower came to work for the university and Fakhoury began to learn the trade from him. At 18, he entered a five-year glass program, which he completed in 22 months.
Fakhoury worked as a glass blower in Egypt for many years before he decided to come to the United States during the early 1970s. He became the glass blower at the University of Kansas on May 1, 1975, when the previous glass blower retired.
"Iused to sneak away when my father brought me to work and go to the glass blowers and watch them work." he said. "I wanted to learn."
Jack Rose, director of the chemistry lab, said the work Fakhoury did for the University benefited not only the chemistry department but also the departments of engineering, geology, pharmacy and physics.
Rose said there had been a glass blower at the University since World War II.
"There is a need for certain glassware that is not commercially available," he said. "Every major university that I know has a glass blower in shop.
"It's not only money you save but also time. It's convenient."
Fakhouray said he did not think glass blowing was too difficult to learn.
"All you need is a steady hand and a lot of tolerance," he said. "It's fascinating. You can do a lot of different things with glass."
He's a man with an education in mind
Bv Steve Buckner
Kansan staff writer
He thinks he is an explorer, not just a student.
His search for knowledge has taken him all over campus, not just to buildings in which he
He has asked many people at KU how to become educated, not just his instructors.
He is Stephen Smith, second-year freshman, family man, employee, volunteer and employer.
By classification, Smith is a non-traditional student. The University defines the non-traditional student as being either an undergraduate older than 24, a parent, a commuter, a veteran or one who is married. There were 4,833 such students on campus during the Fall 1988 semester, said Martin, director of the student assistance center.
Smith agrees with the definition but not with the connotation that follows his methods of learning.
"I've been non-traditional all my life," he said with a smile half hidden by his overgrown mustache. "But I'm not unique. I'm not trying to be exceptional."
Smith, a 35-year-old Overland Park native, entered KU in Fall 1988 after working at a variety of jobs since he was 11. By the time he graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School in 1972, Smith was well established as both a commercial radio technician and alarm-system installer. Later, he had his own business in Kansas City as a custom cabinet and door maker, a company he had until last year.
"I've wanted to be in school since I was 25," Smith said. "I wanted to maneuver my business to go to school and have the business done, and in reasons it took me to years to come to school."
"Each semester my secret fantasy was to enroll, but every semester I figured, 'I don't know, I need a lot of structure or security in my life,'" he said. "So each semester when I reassessed working, parenting and schooling, I could not reconcile the balance, so I postponed committing to education."
The reasons, he said, included shifting his business; having his wife, Janine, complete her master's program; the birth of his son, Ben, in 1892; and the death of his father after a long illness. During this time, Smith audited some classes at the University of Missouri-Kansas City but struggled with formally registering.
Smith said that after his father's death, he was able to move to Lawrence. He said he commuted to Kansas City for two years as he wound down his business, and then enrolled in electrical engineering at KU after learning he qualified for financial aid.
"You can't underestimate the culture shock an adult goes through," he said. "I was comparing full-time school with my experience with full-time employment. Full-time employment to me meant 40 or 50 hours a week.
*Full-time school is around-the-clock, totally dedicated involvement in exploring and
With the hard part of getting into school behind him, Smith thought school would parallel the workplace and he would have a smooth transition into college. He was rudely awakened.
understanding the subject matter in class."
Smith, his wife, Janine, and daughter Michelle wait for son Ben's soccer game.
As a result of time constraints, Smith said, he has dropped a class or rearranged his schedule each semester. He said he earned 18 credit hours last year and was taking seven hours this semester after dropping calculus.
"I'm frustrated that the balance of time was not enough for calculus." Smith said. But, he added, "I think it's real important not to feel a sense of failure when dropping a class. Even though I'm not always grasping the classes right now, I'm experiencing and developing a manner of studying that will help me for some time."
Dropping courses has altered his original goal of earning bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in 10 ears and then going to work on the super-collider project. He said his main goal now was to graduate with a bachelor's degree.
"The plans were freshman fantasies which I still entertain," Smith said. "I might want to visit the super-collider; I don't intend to drive it."
Smith shrugged off the change of plans and decided to help himself by talking to an assortment of people around campus.
"I interviewed everybody I could find, from students to faculty to advisers and people like that to learn what their process was to successfully integrate themselves into school," Smith said.
Marshall was one person he contacted. She said she was impressed with his willingness.
"Steve seems to approach things in a very thoughtful manner," Marshall said. "He is so eager and appreciative of the opportunity to return to school. He has a real lively curios-
itv."
"In visiting the buildings I was able to immediately learn what resources in terms of facilities as well as people were available for us. The university's comprehensive of the University," Smith said.
He said his trips around campus followed
It was that curiosity that led Smith to explore the campus and see what was there. He said the trips bolstered his confidence because he realized few people had used this approach.
the advice given him by Al Lata, lecturer in chemistry.
Smith said, "He explained to me the difference that he perceived between a job training and exploring the University . . . and using this time as an opportunity to diversify my knowledge of the world and expand and explore the possibilities open to me. I carry that advice with me as I move through school."
See SMITH. p. 14