Campus/Area
University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, October 3, 1989
3
ASK Awareness Week begins
Associated Students of Kansas launch balloons in front of Stauffer-Filint Hall.
Group gets Margin drive off the ground
By Lara Weber Kansan staff writer
About 150 blue and yellow balloons soared into a cloudless autumn sky yesterday as members of Associated Students of Kansas launched ASK Awareness Week.
ASK is a statewide student lobbying group. Students at the seven Board of Regents schools are automatically members of ASK by enrolling.
The Margin is the Regents three-year plan to bring the total financing of its seven institutions to 95 percent of their peer schools and to bring faculty salaries to 100 percent of their peers.
As Baby Jay posed for photos with ASK members and danced around, Judith Ramaley, executive vice chancellor, and David Amble, vice chancellor for student affairs, signaled the launch with a "One, two, three, support the Margin!" battle cry.
As the balloons floated away in front of Stauffer-Flint Hall, ASK leaders answered students' questions about the Margin of Excellence other programs supported by the organization.
Sherri Sweers, ASK director, said she hoped to increase KU students' awareness of ASK this week and promote involvement in its programs.
Throughout the week, ASK leaders will sit at tables in front of the Kansas Union and Wescoe Hall distributing information about the group.
They also are encouraging students to stop and write letters to Gov. Mike Hayden. The letters are designed to express student support of the Margin proposal.
"We want to send at least 200 letters to the governor." Sweers said.
In February, ASK is planning a statewide Lobby Day at the Kansas Legislature in Topeka in support of the Margin.
This week, ASK is asking students to show their interest in attending the lobbying effort by signing up at the ASK tables.
Sweers said she hoped to get 400 students to sign up for Lobby Day.
Friday, ASK will sponsor a "Walk to the Wheel," which Sweers said would be a student march in support of the Margin from campus to the Wagon Wheel Cafe, 507 W.14th St. Throughout the week, ASK will distribute food coupons good Friday afternoon at the Wheel.
White and Brewer act as resources for campus ASK leaders and visit the campuses as often as possible.
Anita White, administrative assistant to the state ASK staff, and DaviAnn Brewer, legislative director of the state ASK staff, also helped launch Awareness Week
Brewer said getting the word out, primarily about the Margin, was the goal of Awareness Week. She said that it was important to get a lot of people involved in Lobby Day, but that it was more important for the people who attend to understand the program.
"I'd rather see a core group that really knows
the issues." Brewer said.
the issues, Brewer and White said they were enthused about what ASK was doing at KU to get students involved in the legislative process.
"You're going to see a lot of exciting things from ASK at KU this year." White said.
In the midst of the action, Brewer said, "This is the kind of stuff we like to do best — get out and have fun."
Meanwhile, ASK leaders continued distributing buttons and enticing students to attend Lobby Day.
By Lisa Moss Kansan staff writer
AURH joins Senate in AIDS education
The Association of University Residence Halls will work with the Student Senate AIDS Task Force to educate residents about AIDS and to have condom vending machines installed on campus, said Cotter Brown, AURH president.
The two groups have met twice and have discussed scheduling residential vistation programs to educate residents. People from the task force would go to residence halls and talk about safe sex. Brown said.
Students now can buy condoms at the Kansas Union Bookstore and at Watkins Memorial Health Center, but the task force would like to see condom vending machines on campus, he said.
"I am in support of having condoms in the residence halls," Brown said.
He said AURH could act as a liaison between students, the task force and the housing department if the issue surfaced.
The student housing department has followed the administration's stance that education, not condom machines, is the key to fighting AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, said Fred McEhlenie, director of residential programs.
these are articles that are easily available in other places, including our own health services," he said. "If we look at the research that has been done in terms of when schools give condoms out, students don't even pick them up."
MElhennie said that the stance was not a moral one and that AURH working with the task force for educational purposes was an excellent
The AIDS/STD Task Force last year recommended greater availability of condoms on campus.
Henry Buck, member of the AIDS/ STD Education Committee, said condom machines were not as available as they needed to be.
KU has representative opening doors in D.C.
"A lot of campuses are putting them in their regular vending machines with candy and nuts."
By Kate Lee
Kevin staff write
Kansan staff writer
If there is money in Washington for research projects in Lawrence, the University of Kansas has a representative who will find it.
Carolyn Cross, new assistant vice chancellor for research and federal relations, spends about half of her time in Washington and half in Lawrence.
"In Washington, I'm trying to make connections between the University and federal funding agencies," she said. "I spend time telling them about the experience and competence at KU. I'm also there to find out information about any programs the University might be interested in."
It is important that the University receives information about both new and existing programs as soon as possible, she said. Being closer to the sources gives her more information about programs, an advantage when it comes to applying for funds.
"Often the program applications are time dependent," Cross said.
"The window of opportunity can be short, so the earlier we get information, the better."
Richard L. Schiefebush, director of the bureau of child research, said there was always a need to know more about Washington events.
"The whole system is large and complex," he said. "To have a person there who follows Congress and who knows the departments can be quite useful to someone like me."
Schiefelbusch said Cross could help him in deciding who he would call, in asking the right questions and in guiding him to inquiries.
Cross said her duties in Lawrence would include some work that she had done before her recent appointment. She will continue as the secretary for the Faculty Senate research committee and will continue to work with faculty to acquire patents and copyrights for their work.
One of her new duties is working on communication between faculty and the office of research, graduate studies and public service. She would like this to include an interactive information system that would allow faculty to read a computerized newsletter.
Cross said she also was working on programs to help new faculty.
Education panel hears debate on taxes, community colleges and Washburn
The Associated Press
educational. Among other things, they said Kansas should scrap property tax as a source of funding for elementary and secondary education, should initiate admission standards for university students and should require tougher standards for community-college faculty members.
TOPEKA — Three newspaper executives told state education officials yesterday what they thought was good and bad about Kansas' educational system.
However, they differed sharply about whether Washburn University should become a state school.
The opinions, delivered by Julie Doll, editor and publisher of the Hays Daily News; Lee Porter, publisher of The Topeka Capital Journal; and Ray Call, editor of the Emporia Gazette, were heard at the annual higher-
education seminar sponsored by the Legislative Educational Planning Committee.
Doll stirred the biggest controversy of the session when she called for higher standards for community-college teachers, describing the state's 19 community colleges as "the weak link in our education system."
"I'm not saying they are all bad teachers, but I am saying community colleges operate without adequate standards," she said. "Right now, kindergarten teachers have to meet more vigorous standards than community-college teachers."
Merie Hill, executive director of the Kansas Association of Community Colleges, took strong exception to her claim, contending that she should have given the same requirements as university faculty.
"Community colleges do have a role. But they must provide a little more quality control."
Doll also advocated substituting a local income tax for property tax as a primary revenue source for public education. She said the property tax no longer was a valid measure of a person's ability to pay taxes.
Doll said. "I don't know that any one instructor is incompetent. I simply don't think the standards are there to ensure qualified instructors.
"We need a complete overhaul of school funding, including complete elimination of the property tax," she told educators and legislators attending the seminar. "It doesn't affect a public service institution; it supports population base simply can't support the education system."
supposed that the mother Doll cited herself as an example of what was wrong with using the property tax as the main revenue source for schools. She said she had lived in Hays six years, and, as a renter, she paid property taxes indirectly.
"But my rent hasn't gone up, and property taxes have gone up," she said.
Porter said he favored "some system that requires students to meet minimum standards" before they were admitted to Kansas universities.
He said the program should include preparation in high school that would help students rather than set them up for failure. He said high schools should be required to offer, and students should be required to take core subjects that would get them ready for college.
Answering one of the most frequently heard arguments against admission standards, Porter said there was "plenty of room for the disadvantaged and late-bloomers to get into college," even with a qualified admissions system.
However, Porter conceded that it worried him a great deal that small, largely rural high schools might not be able to afford college preparatory courses.
Porter and Call debated the merits of
"Wasbburn is not needed. Why do you want to bring it in when it's not needed?" Call asked Porter.
admitting Washburn to the state university system.
Porter responded, "I think it is needed. It's a real asset to the state. We think we're part of the university system. The state obviously thinks so, too, or it wouldn't be putting that much money into it. We think we should be a full partner in higher education in Kansas."
Call said he was encouraged by increased university budgets through the Margin.
The Margin of Excellence is the Board of Regents three-year plan to bring the total financing of its seven institutions to 95 percent of their peer schools and to bring faculty salaries to 100 percent of their peers.
However, Call said there might be a catch to the program.
"I'm afraid we'll catch up to where others were three years ago," he said.
Meeting Tonight
7:00 p.m.
Jayhawk Room, Kansas Union
Members of Sunflower Group will speak.
THE KU Symphony Orchestra is offering $1,000 Orchestra Awards
for the 1989-90
for the 1989-90 academic year for qualified contrabass players.
For more details
For more details and to set up an audition time
call
Dr. Jorge Perez-Gomez
864-3367
Winter Break Study Abroad
Dec. 30 - Jan. 13
Ancient Egypt/Classical Rome
Dec. 26 - Jan. 10
Ireland/England
(communications studies)
For more information on these courses or Summer 1990 Study Abroad Programs contact:
Collegiate Program
People to People International
501 East Armour
Kansas City, MO 64109
(816) 531-4701