Campus/Area
University Daily Kansan / Thursday, October 11, 1990
3
Portrait honors Black politician
Hundreds gather to remember McCabe
Viola Jones, left, and Nape Maepa unveil McCabe's portrait.
By David Roach Kansan staff writer
Kansan staff writer
TOPEKA — In 1882, Edward McCabe became the first Black elected state official in Kansas when voters selected him to be auditor.
Yesterday, 70 years after his death, McCabe became the first black elected official to have his name hanging in the Kansas Statehouse.
More than 400 people, including prominent Blacks from across the nation, Kansas politicians and school children crowded onto the second floor of the Statehouse rotunda to the unveiling of McCabe's portrait.
Gospel music and prayer highlighted the ceremony commemorating the portrait and the anniversary of the death of Joseph McCarthy, who was born Oct. 10, 1850, in Troy, N.Y.
He moved to the all-Black community of Nicodemus in 1878 as part of the Exoduster movement. Exodusters were freed slaves who migrated to the Kansas Territory after the Civil War.
McCabe was elected secretary of the Nicodemus Town Company soon after his arrival in Kansas and in 1881 he established a bank by a predominantly white electorate.
In 1882, he was elected state audi
tor. He served two terms in that office between 1883 and 1887. The office of auditor was abolished in the 1970s.
After losing the nomination for a third term as auditor, McCabe moved to Oklahma, where he founded the town of Langston.
In Oklahoma, he unsuccessfully attempted to establish an all-Black state. He also was chosen as party leader and the Republican Territorial League.
Topeka human-rights activist Sonny Scroggins led the move to have McCabe's portrait hung in the State-house.
"We are desegregating the history of *Wea* and the halls of the Statehouse." Scroggins said. "He is one of many who will be recognized in this"
Scroggins said his next goal was establishing a Black-American task force in Kansas.
He said a similar task force existed for the Hispanic community in Kansas
"We need something in place similar to what they have, something that has been legislated," he said. "If they are concerned with Blacks, they can be."
"It's one thing to hang a picture on the wall and all that, but we need
something concrete that pertains to all African-Americans." he said.
George Mayfield, the artist who painted the portrait, said the portrait would be a legacy for his children and grandchildren.
"You work all your life to make a mark on history and do something positive, and if I don't do anything else, I did it today," he said.
Congress representative for Nelson Mandela, helped with the unveiling.
He said that McCabe would inspire Black Africans.
"the importance of this event to Black Africa is to know that 100 years ago there was a Black who walked through these halls of state and took part in the government as an official," he said.
Nane Maena, an African National
Senate will finance salary for lobbyist
ASK assistant director to get paycheck
By Jennifer Schultz
Kansan staff writer
Student Senate last night approved a bill to pay the assistant director of Associated Students of Kansas at $250 in damages, but not without some controversy.
Aimee Hall, Senate chairperson, ruled to pass the bill after a tie vote by Senate.
The assistant director is in charge of ASK on the campus level, organizing voter registration, researching policy and helping to represent campus concerns to the Legislature, said Greg Hughes, ASK director.
The money will be allocated from Senate's internal account.
Later in the meeting, there was a motion from the floor to reconsider the bill, but Senate did not meet the bill and instead asked it to bring the bill back to the floor.
Hughes said the assistant ASK director deserved a salary because the person devoted between 30 to 40 hours of work at one last one-weeked month to the job.
"The position should not be prohibitive for people who need to work," he said.
Ethan Vaughan, liberal arts and science scientist, voted to reconsider the bill. He said the position needed a clear articulation of his intentions and should be presented to the
Senate budget hearing in the spring.
In other business, Mike Schreiner,
student body president, passed out a
moon staling he was against a
equipment fee for engineering students.
The proposed fee, if passed by the Board of Regents in November, would be to improve and update laboratory equipment, he said.
Schreiner said the engineering fee could easily lead to fees in other schools or departments, which happened at Colorado State University.
He said a resolution against the fee would be presented to Senate at the next meeting.
Senate also voted to send a resolution that encouraged faculty members to incorporate topics of diversity back to the minority affairs committees.
Schreiner began the meeting with a statement condemning the reported acts of vandalism this week to the formation booth on Jayhawk Boulevard.
He told senators it was their duty to report hate crimes on campus because they were a violation of students' rights to freedom of expres-
A vote on the proposal to finance new equipment for the ROTC Drill Team was postponed until the next Senate meeting.
Look sharp
midshipman 1st Class Daniel Fee adjusts a Navy ROTC student's hat at the annual inspection given by the new commanding officer in front of Allen Field House. Captain Shannon Butler, commanding officer of KU's Navy ROTC unit, gave the inspection yesterday afternoon.
Campus security questioned
Legislation could force universities to publish crime statistics
By Debbie Myer
Kansan staff writer
A bill that would force colleges across the nation to publish campus crime statistics would streamline a voluntary state crime reporting system that leaves柄eners unprotected and fearing about the safety of some colleges and universities.
Lobbying for the bill was started by Constance and Howard K. Clery Jr., the parents of a girl who was killed in her residence hall room at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa.. in April 1896.
The bill has been passed by a congressional conference committee and will probably pass through Congress and be passed by the Senate.
Mark Johnston, supervisory special agent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said that only sworn law enforcement agencies could contribute statistics to the Uniform Crime Reporting program.
Some states require individual departments to report their statistics to the state's bureau of investigation, Johnston said. But it is up to the state to report those statistics to the Uniform Crime Reporting program.
Not only are campuses in states who choose not to report their statistics excluded from publication, but also excluded are campuses that do not have police departments.
"Therefore, when you have legislation such as this proposed legislation, it confuses the issue because these universities and colleges were never required before to provide information to Uniform Crime Reporting." Johnston said.
The FBI publishes a book each year called Crime in the United States which contains information from the agencies that report their statistics, Johnston said. It is sent to public libraries nationwide.
According to the 1989 edition of Crime in the United States, 311 colleges and universities in the United States had full-time law enforcement agencies whose statistics were reported to the FBI by their state's bureau of
L. John Mullens of KU police said that the University
had reported its statistics for years. He estimated that there were about 8,000 colleges and universities in the
Johnston said campuses that did not have police departments reported crimes through a local reporting agency, such as city or county law enforcement agencies.
Mullens said that the parents of the Lehhigh student developed a questionnaire that parents could send to the universities their children were considering. The questions were simple and no questions about campus security and crime rates.
The University received one of the questionnaires last spring from a Johnson County parent, Mullens said. He and Danny Kaiser, assistant dean of student life, worked for three weeks to prepare a 10-page reply.
The daughter of that Johnson County parent entered the University as a freshman this fall, Mullens said.
He said that one of the problems with the law was where to draw the line between reporting crimes involving students on campus versus crimes involving students in the community.
KU police officers have a responsibility to respond to calls on crime in 'in areas immediately adjacent to
Mullens said that local newspapers published KU's crime statistics every six months.
"The selection of what is printed is up to the press and their editors, but it's never been a question of whether we didn't provide it," Mullens said.
He said that KU police would welcome comparison with other colleges and universities in the nation.
"KU has never had the ostrich attitude by keeping its head in the head." Mullens said. "Anything that we accomplish here has got to be a community effort, and the community has got to know so it can help us."
Legislators, not Finney, to deal with abortion, candidates say
By Carol Krekeler
Kansan staff writer
Local Democratic state representative candidates said yesterday that their pro-choice view would have more influence on abortion legislation than the anti-abortion stance of the gubernatorial candidate Joan O'Meara.
Lawrence, said he thought Finney's anti-abortion views were in sync with her religion. Catholicism, but not Islam, is one of the groups she wanted the Legislature to mandate.
State Rep. John Solbach, D-
"I think that's a personal position that Jona Finney has." Solbach said. "I think she's discovering that you have an important personal view to develop public policy."
Sobach said the protection of legalized abortion in the state was the legislators' responsibility.
"One of my constituents said to me, John. I expect my legislator to keep that legislation from reaching her desk," he said. "And that's exactly the point. It isn't the governor's responsibility."
Lawrence, said she represented prochoice views for her district in the Statehouse.
"I run for re-election to my own seat," she said. "For my constituents that are pro-choice, they should depend on me and not the governor."
State Rep. Betty Jo Charlton, D-
Barbara Ballard. Democratic candidate for the 44th District in Lawrence, said citizens in her district were concerned about the effects of Finney's anti-abortion stance.
"A lot of women are so concerned that they don't know if they can vote." she said.
Sean Williams, Republican candidate for the 46th District in Lawrence, said Finney's stance on abortion made people question her
Solbach said Finney was learning how to better monitor policy.
He said having administrative experience as state treasurer gave Finney a car attitude.
creditibility as a candidate for governor
"She does not have a policy background." he said. "That's a sharp contrast to the current governor."