VOL. 100, NO. 32 (USPS 650-640)
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
ADVERTISING: 861-4358
TUESDAY OCT.10,1989
NEWS: 864-4810
Campus groups protest Atlantis Plutonium payload disturbs Environs, Action Coalition
By Chris Evans
Kansan staff writer
A federal judge will hear arguments today from NASA officials and anti-nuclear activists to decide if the space shuttle Atlantis should be launched Thursday with nearly 50 pounds of plutonium aboard.
Two University of Kansas groups, Academic Freedom Action Coalition and Environers, are protesting the launch this week with their "Plutonium is Forever" campaign.
Activists have sued to halt the flight. The shuttle would carry the nuclear-powered Gallilee, a space probe designed to explore Jupiter.
Lee Manlloff, a coalition member, said the KU groups were protesting the launch because they feared an explosion like Challenger's would rupture the plutonium's casing and scatter radioactive particles for miles, giving people terminal lung cancer.
Keith Thorpe/Special to the Kansan
NASA officials said that the containers had been thoroughly tested and that flying them posed real health and environmental risks.
The probability of a release of plutonium in a launching accident is about 1 in,2500, NASA officials said. Opponents put the odds at 1 in 430.
Maniloff said he was pleased that activists took the case to court, but he was not sure that a lawsuit could prevent the launch.
Lee Maniloff leads a march from the Kansas Union protesting this week's shuttle launch.
said. "I guess that means there's going to be a lot of people arrested on the launch pad."
"I'd say a judge in that situation is more inclined to base his judgment on the testimonies of government scientists on the project," he
A coordinator for the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice, one of the groups that filed the suit, said if his group lost in court, group members would attempt to stop the flight by sitting on the launch pad.
Deirdre Goldfarb, Environ member, said the Florida coalition members were motivated enough to attempt an infiltration of the launch area.
"They're going to get onto the launch pad," she said. "They'll be arrested going over the fence, if nothing else."
NASA officials said they were concerned that if protestors reached the launch area, they would successfully stop the flight. There is only a 10-minute launch period available Thursday, they said.
The Galileo probe must be launched by Nov. 21 or Jupiter will no longer be in the right position, NASA officials said. If the deadline is missed, the Galileo probe could not be launched until mid-1991.
Tonganoxic attorney Robert Eyre spoke yesterday on campus for the campaign. He said NASA scientists should not send the plutonium up, and they should find another source to power the probe...
NASA officials said plutonium was the only feasible power source for a probe that would travel so far away from the sun.
"It's an insult to the scientific community to say that's the only possible way," Eye said. "If that's the case, then they should accept
the fact that they should shelve the project until a sufficient energy source could be found."
Manliof said he and other activists would continue to protest the launch all week.
Vague alcohol policy leaves students in the dark
Kansan staff writer
By Bryan Swan
University of Kansas policy on the consumption and possession of alcoholic beverages, as it applies to student housing on campus, has a striking resemblance to the old 55 mph speed limit law: the rule is different from the reality.
The rule is that there is one University policy, but the reality is that there is either wide-ranging flexibility in applying the policy or a complete lack of resources to enforce it.
vominate part or that reality is the world of fraternity house parties with their sorority guests. The parties are on private property but close to campus, and they operate within an ever-tightening framework of rules and tradition.
The complexity of the situation, which allows some students to drink freely and others to face vague, unspecified penalties, does not end there.
Residents of Oliver Hall are subject to University policy. Across the street at Naismith Hall, a private residence hall adjacent to
campus, state law allows residents to consume alcohol.
At Stouffer Place Apartments, University policy applies, but there is no apparatus to enforce it. Jayhawk Towers has a similar situation.
Kenneth Stoner, director of student housing, said students needed to distinguish between state law and University policy where alcohol was concerned.
He said state law prohibited possession or consumption of alcoholic liquor by people younger than 21 or by anyone on state property.
However, Stoner said University policy did allow for consumption of 3.2 percent beer at licensed places in the Kansas and Burge Unions and at group events in the unions that had been approved by the University Events Committee.
University policy prohibits the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages on campus.
University policy takes precedence over state policy inside campus buildings. Indoors, the University, not the police, is in charge of enforcement.
Stoner said that although there was one University policy governing alcohol use, enforcement could be difficult because of the diversity of student housing.
Stoner said. "It is more complicated at Stouffer Place and very difficult at Jayhawer Towers because there are so many entrances and people have their own keys.
"Students sometimes commit violations of policy, but not violations of state law. A lot of people don't understand what side of the line they fall on. Only if they are minors would they be in violation of state law."
"Residence halls have more public areas,"
He said that residence hall officials were within the law when they confiscated alcoholic beverages from students and gave them documented warnings.
"It depends on what is involved," Stoner said. "There is a big difference between a can of beer and someone wheeling a keg through the door."
Policy variation
Sgt. Schuyler Bailey, KU police spokesman, said some confusion regarding University alcohol policy resulted from an error in the popular "Alcohol, KU and You" pamphlet distributed by the Department of Student Life.
See ALCOHOL, p. 12
KU offices stymied by enrollment Blacks show 9-year losses despite efforts
By Cory S. Anderson
Kansan staff writer
Black student enrollment at the University of Kansas has been on a downward trend for the past nine years, despite efforts by many offices to stop the decrease.
In 1980, 879 Black students attended the University. This year, 642 attend, according to statistics in the department of educational services.
Milton Scott, assistant director of admissions with responsibility for minority recruitment, said the problems that contributed to decreasing Black enrollment were hard to pinpoint. The problem could be either in recruitment or retention.
"We need to find out exactly where we are losing students." Scott said. "We honestly don't know at this point."
Chico Herbison, newly hired at the office of admissions for minority recruitment, is part of the office's effort to boost minority enrollment.
"By having both of us here, we can start looking at effective solutions to the problem," Herbison said.
But first, Herbison and Scott agree,
the problem needs to be defined.
"We seriously have to sit down and find out what areas we need to target." Scott said.
"It's not economical for a lot of Blacks to go to school, said Darren McGraw, Ms. Greene."
Students have definite opinions about what the problems are.
Fulcher is concerned also about the campus racial climate. He said he felt a division among Black males ever since he enrolled at KU. The divisions are seen between greeks and non-athletes. Fulcher said.
"If we break that division down and do something about recruitment, it might help the problem," he said. "But if the effort is not made, then enrollment won't go up."
Campus climate also concerned Corey Carter, president of the Multi-Cultural Organization for Leadership and Dreams.
"There are not enough organizations for Black student involvement," Carter said. "A lot of people have creative ideas, but they don't know the different avenues to take to get involved."
Carter said another problem was an administration that was not receptive to student concerns.
"If they would open their arms to our suggestions, then maybe we could accomplish something," she said. "But if they are not going to be receptive, then there is no way we can solve the problem."
Judith Ramaley, executive vice
See RECRUIT, p. 12
Controversy doesn't affect local demand for 'Last Temptation'
By Rich Cornell
Kansan staff writer
Only a few Lawrence video rental stores stock "The Last Temptation of Christ," but customers at other stores are not clamoring to see the film.
The film recently became available for cable television and video cassette rental viewing. A Wichita cable company, Multimedia Cablevision, decided not to broadcast the movie because of its controversial portrayal of the life of Jesus Christ.
Steve Rhodes, owner of Video Bit, 312 rows
Sk, said he did not order a copy for rental
because none of his customers had requested the film.
"I thought it would be controversial, and people would want to see it for that reason." Rhodes said. "I have just had no requests for it."
Raymond Frost, owner of Miracle Video, 910 N. Second St., said he did not stock the movie because he did not believe it would appeal to his clientele. Rental analysis shows that controversial films such as "The Last Temptation" quickly lose popularity after initial public interest wanes.
The movie cannot be found at any Dillon's locations either, said Lisa Green, video manager at Dillon's, 1015 W. 23rd St. Individual stores do not decide which videos to order, she said. Instead, those decisions are made at the company's headquarters in Hutchinson.
Frost said he did not enjoy the movie. "I thought Willem Dafoe did a really fine
Customers there have not asked her if the movie is available, Green said.
job with it, but the movie itself was boring," he said.
Frost said he did not enjoy the movie
Dillon's employee Debie Engelkent said movies were often previewed in the store on a large screen, but policy was to treat religious movies differently.
Clerks at local stores offering "The Last Temptation" reported that customers requested it as often as was typical with new releases.
"We're not even supposed to play religious movies over the screen," she said.
Funtime Movie Rentals, 2000 W. 23rd St., has three copies of the movie, said Scott Carter. Funtime employee.
"I're rarely in. As soon as it comes in, it goes right back out." Carter said.
It is not unusual for a new release to rent so often, he said. Some customers rent "The Last Temptation" because it is new, and others want to see it because they have heard
so much about it.
Rob Fitzgerald, employee at Liberty Hall Home Video Library, 646 Massachusetts St., said the store's single copy of the movie was rented every night. This is not unusual, he said.
The movie does not merit the controversy it has met, Fitzgerald said.
"It's not the best movie in the world," he said. "It's one man's interesting viewpoint on the Life of Christ."
Fitzgerald said the movie drew criticism because it showed the agony Christ went through because he was perceived as a delity.
Police spend Yom Kippur looking for suspects in anti-Semitic beating
NEW YORK — Investigators spent Monday's solemn Jewish holiday of Vom Kippur cavassing a neighborhood where three Jewish college students were severely beaten by up to 20 young people who shouted anti-Semitic surnames.
The Associated Press
No arrests had been made in the case, but Inspector Paul Sanderson said. "We have good leads."
"What's holding us back at this
point is that it is a high Jewish holiday," said Sanderson, commanding officer of the police department's Blas Incident Investigating Squad. "The people who could assist us are not available."
The attackers were described as white men in their late teens and early 20s.
The attack in the heavily Jewish Midwife section was the most vicious of the 107 anti-Semitic incidents reported in the city so far this year,
M
What's holding us back at this point is that it is a high Jewish holiday. The people who could assist us are not available.' Paul Sanderson
Paul Sanderson commanding officer
said Sanderson.
"What you're talking about is two teen-agers, one of whom had his skull fractured, the other of whom has a broken leg. These are certainly seri-
our injuries." Sanderson said.
The third student refused treatment.
The three Brooklyn College students were attacked with flats, feet
and beer bottles early Sunday when they emerged from a party at the Hiliel House Jewish student center, said police Sgt. Diane Kubler.
The motive for the attack appeared to be ethnic hatred, police said. "If you're looking for logic, forget about it," said a police source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
During the first nine months of this year, there were 107 reported bias crimes against synagogues. Jewish
people, yeshivas and Jewish businesses and residences, compared with 105 reports of similar crimes during the same period last year, Sanderson said.
One of the students was in critical but stable condition with a ruptured spleen, broken leg and knee injuries, said Kings County Hospital administrator Robert Epps. A second was in fair condition at Downstate Medical Center with a skull fracture, said administrator Brenda Goss.