The University Daily Kansan
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Tuesday, November 28, 2000
Sports: The men's basketball team cruised to another easy victory against Middle Tennessee State.
SEE PAGE 1B
Inside: Non-Christian students celebrate holidays despite Christmas commercialization.
SEE PAGE 3A
(USPS 650-640) * VOL. 111 NO. 61 For comments, contact Nathan Willis or Chris Borniger at 864-4810 or e-mail editor@kansan.com
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Campus drug violations rise
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas' rank in number of drug arrests on campus is climbing.
According to the Cleary Act National Security Report, the University's main campus was tied for fourth among Big 12 schools for drug abuse violations on campus with 36 in 1999. This is a jump from eighth place in 1998 with 17.
The University had more than twice the amount of drug arrests on campus compared with neighboring Kansas State University, which had 15 violations and ranked last among Big 12 schools.
Kansas also ascended from its fourth place spot to tie for second place in drug-related arrests in residence halls in 1999 with 19, more than doubling the 8 arrests in 1998. There were 4,845 students living in residence halls in 1999
— about 20 percent of the student body. Jane Tuttle, administrative assistant for Student Life, said after reviewing the reports that the differences in population and areas made it difficult to
"Its seems to be apples and oranges," Tuttle said. "It's hard to make comparisons."
compare the schools. Texas University, which ranked highest in the report with 66 campus violations, has a student body population of nearly 49,000, compared with Kansas, which has just more than 25,000.
Tuttle said she didn't see much difference in the type of students at Kansas compared with other Big 12 schools.
"Eighteen- to 23-year-old behavior is somewhat predictable." Tuttle said. "I don't think KU's student body is any different from K-State."
Amy Sanders, Overland Park sophomore and resident of Hashinger Hall in 1999, said she wasn't surprised that the numbers had doubled during her year in the residence halls.
"I know many people that violated those rules," Sanders said. "We were rule breakers."
Sgt. Troy Mailen of the KU Public Safety Office said that the resident assistants at each residence hall reported to the public safety office
1999 Big 12 drug arrests
On Campus
1. University of Texas 66
2. University of Colorado 41
3. University of Missouri 40
4. University of Kansas 36
4. Texas Tech 36
5. Texas A&M 33
6. Oklahoma State 30
7. Iowa State 27
8. University of Nebraska 20
9. Baylor University 16
9. University of Oklahoma 16
10. Kansas State 15
1. University of Texas 25
2. University of Missouri 19
2. University of Kansas 19
3. Texas Tech 18
4. University of Nebraska 17
5. University of Colorado 16
6. Kansas State 14
7. Iowa State 13
8. Baylor University 7
8. Oklahoma State 7
9. Texas A&M 6
10. University of Oklahoma 5
Source: http://www.ope.ed.gov/Security/
Kyle Ramsey/KANSAN
when a drug violation was in progress.
"If there's a smell of marijuana on the floor and the floor officer makes contact with us, we may make contact right then, and if nobody answers, we'll come back," he said.
Mailen said an officer could enter and search the room if given consent by the student. He said officers normally couldn't obtain search warrants after
one visit, but if a history of incidents was established at that location, the officer could get the warrant.
Mailen said anything the officer saw in plain view could justify entering the room.
"If I see a plain-view bong or joint in the ashtray, it's a different story altogether." Mallen said.
- Edited by Kimberly Thompson
Venus statue offends students' neighbors
Owners remove unusual yard art
Ward Byrum, Wichita senior; Bryan Caldwell, Gardner senior; and Chris Brooks, Lawrence senior, have a nude statue of Venus from Botticelli's painting "The Birth of Venus" they displayed in their front yard. Members of the neighborhood sent a letter requesting removal of the statue because they found it offensive. Photo illustration by Aaron Lindbergh/KANSAN
By Matt Merkel-Hess writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
An October bike ride turned into an art-collecting trip for Wichita senior Ward Byrum, but he didn't realize the problems his found art would cause in his neighborhood.
On a bike ride to Topeka, Byrum and his friends passed a home with household furnishings sitting out, ready to be hauled to the trash. Byrum looked past the couches and tables to the one thing that really caught his eye — a four-foot-tall concrete statue.
Later that day, he and his friends picked up the statue, which is a copy of a nude Venus, the mythological goddess of love, from Sandro Botticelli's 15th-century painting, "The Birth of Venus." Byrum set up the statue in front of his home at 901 Christie Court.
Three weeks later, Byrum and his roommates received a letter from some neighbors, asking for the removal of the statue from their yard. The letter, unsigned and addressed to "the college residents," said the statue was offensive and inappropriate for the family neighborhood.
Byrum said he didn't understand why the statue would be considered offensive.
"I can see how it would be tacky, but I'm not sure about offensive," Byrum said.
Byrum and his roommates took the statue inside, not wanting to cause problems, but the way their neighbors handled their complaint left a sour taste in their mouths.
Byrum said having his neighbors come to his door would have been more respectful than an anonymous letter.
"I can see their point in not wanting it
in their neighborhood," he said. "What's offensive to us as college students is they didn't address us as people."
Charles Pachella, a resident at 904 Christie Court, said he had seen the statue while he was walking his dog but didn't know anything about the letter.
Pachella said yard art did not really bother him unless it was out of hand.
"This is not what you would call a congenial neighborhood as far as I'm concerned," he said. "I didn't take that good of a look at it, so I really don't have an opinion about it. It looked like a pillar of salt."
Gene Shaughnessy, Lawrence chief building inspector, said there were no specific city codes for yard art and if possible, it was better if neighborhoods worked out problems on their own.
"We always try to have people compromise and come to an agreement of what's acceptable," he said. "It should
be handled amongst the neighborhood groups rather than going into the legal system."
That leaves Byrum and his roommates with a four-foot-tall Venus adorning their living room. Byrum said he would keep the statue for now and that he didn't care whether it was inside or outside.
"We just thought it was funny," he said.
Edited by Erin Adamson
Flu shots available at Watkins
By Melissa Devia
writer@kanson.com
Kansas staff writer
With the end of Thanksgiving and the Christmas season around the corner, now is a good time to get a flu vaccination.
"During the holidays, people get into close physical quarters with multiple contributors to infectious properties," said Randall Rock, chief of staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center.
Watkins has received 800 flu shots and will begin distributing the longawaited shots today at the health center, giving students a chance to avoid being one of approximately 108 million people who contract flu bug each year.
According the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about 192 million days will be spent in bed by people who get the flu this year.
Dana Mcjunkin, Evergreen, Colo. senior, already has spent a couple of those days in bed. She had the flu before Thanksgiving break, and her brother contracted it when she went home.
Although Mcjunkin said a flu vaccination could have protected her from getting sick, she didn't get one. She said she contracted the flu almost every year. She said she thought this was in part because she lived in a sorority house and her chances of catching the flu had increased.
Rock said the flu season usually peaked around January and February, but according to the World Health Organization, the flu already has spread to Kansas. The organization found that the flu had been reported around the country as early as October — about three months earlier than usual.
Rock urged students to get the shot as soon as possible because it takes two weeks for the vaccination to reach full immunity and because the flu was one of the most fatal illnesses of the year.
According to the CDC, approximately 20,000 Americans die from the flu each year.
Rock said the health center ordered 3,000 shots this year — 500 more than last year — but received only about 800 because of a national shortage.
But Rock said it never was too late to get the shot and that the health center would serve anybody who wanted the shot.
"We encourage anyone who desires protection at this point to get a shot," he said.
Clinic times are from 2 to 4 p.m.
Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 4
to 6 p.m. Wednesdays at Watkins.
The shots, which usually are available at eight off-site locations on campus, are only available at the clinic because of the small supply.
However, Rock said the shot would be available for all students.
The vaccine costs five dollars for students with a KUID.
- Edited by Melissa Coaley
Gore commits to contesting election
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Al Gore's lawyers contested the certification of Florida's election in court yesterday, seeking an order to have him, not George W. Bush, declared winner of the state and therefore the presidency.
The Associated Press
They accused Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris and election commissioners of misconduct for disallowing votes that might have overcome Bush's 537-vote lead.
Gore, speaking publicly, urged the court to look at the challenges raised in his lawsuit and "do the right thing."
future generations study this episode, "They will learn that we were indeed a country of laws."
Gore's challenge to the results in Palm Beach, Nassau and Mami-Dade counties was assigned to Circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls, known for his swift action, and he held a hearing yesterday afternoon.
In an address to the nation yesterday evening, Gore committed himself to contesting the election in court and predicted that when
Sauls ordered Gore's lawyers to provide the Bush team with its evidence and witness list within two days and gave Bush's lawyers two days to respond — meaning the case might not be heard until the week's end.
Exhibiting a folksy demeanor, Sauls told the lawyers he understood their difficulty trying to get the case resolved before the Dec. 12 deadline for selection of electors.
the judge drawled. "You're always in some crisis."
In another development, the Florida Supreme Court asked for legal briefs by 5 p.m. today on whether the justices should review the infamous "butterfly ballot" case in Palm Beach County.
"You're all trial lawyers, and trial lawyers live a dreadful existence."
Rather than dismissing the matter on its face, they asked for arguments on "all issues in this case including why this court should exercise its discretion" to hear the case.
The U.S. Supreme Court hears Bush's appeal against Florida hand
Secretary of State Harris, a Bush supporter, certified Florida's decisive 25 electoral votes for the Republican on Sunday. If that stands up, Bush will become the next president.
See DEMOCKATS on page 3A
Colorful memories
Panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt hang in the lobby of the Spencer Museum of Art. The 16 panels, commemorating World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, will be displayed until Dec. 10.
Photo by Aaron Undberg
/KANSAN
.