Changing mores
SINCE 1889
Drinking laws have students in KU housing changing habits. See page 3.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, SEPT. 20, 1985, VOL. 96, NO. 20 (USPS 650-640)
Cooler
Details page 3.
3 football players sue University
Judge says players may compete
By Mike Snider Of the Kansan staff
OLATHE — Three academically ineligible football players obtained a temporary court order yesterday allowing them to practice and play with the team.
The players were granted the restraining order when they filed suit in Johnson County District Court against the University of Kansas and Gil Dyck, dean of educational services. Dyck is responsible for certifying athletes as academically eligible.
The suit asks that the players be declared eligible for the entire 1985 season.
The players are tailback Lynn Williams, offensive guard Doug Cerney.
Williams and Certain practiced yesterday with the team. Head football coach Mike Gottfried said he did know why Griffin was not at practice.
The restraining order says, "The University of Kansas, its agents and employees, are hereby restrained from denying Lynn Williams, Douglas Certain and Dane Griffin the opportunity to practice with and participate with, including playing in, varsity football games for the University of Kansas."
The restraining order instructs
Dyck to certify the three players as eligible under the National Collegiate Athletic Association's "satisfactory progress" rule so they may play until further order of the court.
The suit says Dyck's refusal to certify the players was "arbitrary, capricious and a violation of the right to due process of law of these plaintiffs."
Dyck said he had no comment on the court action by the players.
"I've given my copy to my legal counsel," he said. "I'll follow whatever advice the KU legal counsel gives me."
Vicki Thomas, University general counsel, said she knew little about the restraining order or the suit.
it was just delivered," she said late yesterday afternoon. "We haven't had time to look at it thoroughly."
Chancellor Gene A. Budg declined comment on the court action.
Gottfried said he found out about the restraining order at about 2:30 c.m.
"We're just proceeding as usual," he said. "We'll have to sit down and see where we are. We're just preparing for Indiana State. That is the most important thing for us right now. It has not been disruptive to our practice."
director, said he didn't know whether the three players would play tomorrow or during the rest of the season. He said the Athletic Department would decide after Thomas advised department officials about what to do.
Gary Hunter, an assistant athletic
"If a judge orders to let the players play, and we don't, then we could be held in civil contempt. That can carry a fine or jail term," Hunter said. "But, if we play them, and the NCAA or Big Eight rules them integlible, we could forfeit the game."
"Mike could be put in a difficult situation."
Carl James, Big Eight Conference commissioner, said, "Conference rules state that if a team uses ineligible players, those games in which the ineligible players play will be forfeited."
James said that if the players were later ruled ineligible, and KU forfeited games, the forfeit rulings could be appealed to the Big Eight.
The players' suit states that they have met NCAA rules for eligibility by passing 24 credit hours and maintaining a 2.0 grade point average during the past academic year.
The satisfactory progress rule states that a student athlete must declare a major before entering his
Players involved:
See SUIT, p. 5, col. 1
Lynn Williams
Top KU rusher last season. Was to have started at tailback.
Doug Certain
Was to have started this season at offensive guard.
Dane Griffin Junior linebacker listed as second on early depth charts.
Dane Griffin
Suit by players brings meeting to adjournment
By Liz Maggard Of the Kansan staff
Because of concerns about a lawsuit filed against the University by three football players yesterday morning, an afternoon meeting between the University Senate Executive Committee and four representatives of the University of Kansas Athletic Corp. was adjourned without discussion of the agenda.
The three football players who filed suit in Johnson County District Court had been declared ineligible for the season earlier this month.
Issues scheduled to be discussed at the meeting included recent eligibility problems of KU athletes, possible friction between faculty and KUAC and ways to improve communication between faculty and KUAC.
But at the start of the meeting, Athletic Director Monte Johnson, who was one of KUAC's representatives, said he thought any discussion of eligibility would be inappropriate in light of the suit, which he had been advised would be filed by the football players.
Johnson said that he was unaware of what allegations would appear in any such suit, and that he thought discussion of any potentially sensitive legal issues should be postponed.
or postpone. Other KUAC representatives at the meeting were Anthony Redwood, chairman of the KUAC board; Del Brinkman, ex-officio member of the KUAC board and
250 die, thousands hurt in Mexican quake
See SENEX, p. 5, col. 4
From Kansan wires
Students unable to reach relatives in Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Fires burned through the night, casting a hellish glow over the city as rescuers raced to free screaming victims from hotels and skyscrapers crushed by an earthquake that killed hundreds, perhaps thousands.
A Mexico City television station reported at least 250 confirmed deaths and thousands of injured. The death toll was expected to rise as rescuers found bodies in the rubble of about 250 major buildings crushed by the quake. Mexican newspapers estimated that the death toll would climb to between 1,000 and 3,000.
Nine residents of Wichita, including the vice mayor, were in Mexico City when the earthquake hit the country, but all were believed to be uninjured, Wichita Mayor Bob Brown said.
By Gary Duda Of the Kansan staff
The government declared a national disaster emergency and placed the armed forces under maximum alert. Banks were ordered closed so the guards could help patrol Mexico City, 250 miles inland from
Enrique Espinosa first heard about the Mexican earthquake yesterday afternoon, and despite seven hours of hopeful phone calls, he was uncertain about the safety of his family late last night.
Espinosa, Mexico City junior, was not alone. The severe quake, which struck central Mexico yesterday morning, has left much of the country without telephone communications and many Hispanics worried about their families.
"I heard about the quake in the noon news," Esinosa said. "At first when we called, the
recording said all the circuits were busy. Later on, the line sounded like it got through to Mexico, but a recording said in Spanish that you can't get through because the lines are damaged."
Officials said that as of last night, local telephone service in Mexico City had been restored but international lines were still down.
The Rev. Vince Krische, director of the St. Lawrence Catholic Center, said because of the large population of Catholic Hispanic students in Lawrence, the St. Lawrence Center would probably offer a special Mass for the families and friends of Hispanic students.
Yolanda Langdon, a graduate teaching assistant, said she also had family and friends in the quake-streken area but had not been able to get through.
"I haven't been able to get in touch with my relatives at all," she said. "I'm hoping that they're all right."
Many of her relatives and friends live in Mexico City, Langdon said. She said that she had been calling all evening, trying to get word about her relatives, but that the lines had been busy.
the quake's center on the Pacific Coast.
"My husband keeps on telling me 'You're not going to get through,' Langdon said, "but I'll keep on trying and try."
"Unfortunately there appear to be many dead," President Miguel de la Madrid said on Mexican television. "All of the hospitals are on a state of alert to take care of the injured. The army is in a state of alert."
Brown said that as far as he knows, all members of the delegation were all right, but he could not confirm that because of limited contact with
The nine Kansans were on a visit to Mexico City as part of a sister-city exchange Wichita has with a suburb of Mexico City.
not be likely because of the damage and difficulty in travel.
and Vivian Felix, wife of Friends University president Richard Felix.
Felix had returned to Wichita Wednesday, but his wife stayed with the group.
At least 60 were dead in Mexico City, a city of 17 million people, where schools, hotels, hospitals and high-rises were flattened and snapped gas and power lines touched off dozens of fires.
The nine were scheduled to fly back to Wichita today, but Brown said U.S. officials told him that would
In the state of Jalisco 110 to 150 people were killed and about 1,500 persons were injured. Lt. Juan Manuel Sanchez said from the fire department's headquarters in the state capital of Guadalajara. Most of the dead were in the towns of Guzman and Atentique, Sanchez said in a telephone interview broadcast live by the Bogota radio station Caracol.
Those in Mexico City included Vice Mayor Tony Casado and his wife, Ardeen; Sister-City Advisory Board President Dr. Lew Turpin and his wife Virginia; Howard and Maxine Henson; Patrick and Marty Allen;
The U.S. State Department said damage in Acapulco was light. The Mexican Embassy in Washington reported damage in the states of Jalisco, Guerrero and Michoacan.
Mexico City. Brown said he was told by the State Department that the hotel in which the delegation was staying was not seriously damaged
Alumni Association owes tax
By Jennifer Benjamin Of the Kansan staff
The state Board of Tax Appeals on Wednesday denied the University of Kansas Alumni Association property tax exemption in Douglas County, which will require them to pay a total of nearly $65,000 in taxes for 1994.
However, Brad Smoot, Lawrence attorney representing the Alumni Association, said yesterday that the Alumni Association would request a rehearing from the Board of Tax Appeals.
disagrees with the decision of the majority opinion and will seek rehearing and, if necessary, will appeal the decision to the courts." Smoot said in a prepared statement released yesterday by the Alumni Association.
The board, in a 3-2 decision, denied the Alumni Association's application on grounds that it was not a true alumni association.
If the Alumni Association is not considered a true association, it cannot be included under a bill passed in the 1985 Legislature that exempts alumni associations from property tax on their buildings.
"The association strongly
The majority opinion said the Alumni Association's membership was not restricted to only alumni and therefore, the association was not considered a true alumni association.
Weaver said, "The Board didn't feel that the Alumni Association met the statutory requirements."
Smoot said, "It's a bit of an odd decision. It's got to be a shock to the association, which has been in operation for more than 100 years."
chairman of the board, and member Robert Henry dissented.
The Alumni Association originally paid the first half of the $65,000 in property taxes under protest in December 1984, Smoot said, and then appealed to the board to receive a refund and exemption from the remaining taxes.
Board members Dallas Crabie
John Bennett and Keith Farrar voted
in favor of the denial. Fred Weaver,
Wolf Creek papers sought in suit
The second half of its personal property and real estate taxes for the Adams Alumni Center, 1266 Read Ave., has not been paid yet.
By Bengt Ljung Of the Kansan staff
The Lawrence-based Nuclear Awareness Network yesterday filed suit in U.S. District Court in Topeka to force the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to turn over documents the network contends are crucial to the safety of the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant.
Stevi Stephens, director of the network, said yesterday that the network requested the NRC documents under the Freedom of Information Act. The documents include employee safety reports and investigations of intimidation and harassment of workers at Wolf Creek, she said.
"The NRC claims to protect the safety of the public," Stephens said,
"but its main concern is to promote nuclear power. The NRC is aiding the cover-up of Kansas Gas & Electric Co."
KG&E, of Wichita, operates the plant north of Burlington and owns 47 percent of it. Kansas City Power & Light Co., of Kansas City, Mo., owns another 47 percent, and the Kansas Electric Power Cooperate Inc., of Topeka, owns 6 percent.
Wolf Creek went on line on Sept. 3 after eight years of construction, tests and delays. The plant cost about $8 on billion to build.
"The NRC has no legal leg to stand on," Stephens said. "The documents should be available to the public."
Clyde Wisner, public affairs official with the NRC, said decisions to withhold information always were judgment calls. He said retulsals
Wisner declined comment on the suit but said documents were exempted from the Freedom of Information Act when they concerned personnel records and other sensitive information.
were not uncommon when the requests were broad.
"I'm concerned that the documents will reflect potential criminal activities by the management," Stephens said. "The major concern of the management was to keep the plant on schedule."
She said she knew of several quality control inspectors who had been fired for calling attention to construction problems.
United Press International supplied some information for this story.
Suzy Maet/KANSAI
On the level
Shawn Turner, Baxter Springs junior, holds a leveling rod as other members of his Civil Engineering 240 class practice surveying in front of Learned Hall
Professor was killed in wreck
Thomas Mikkelson, associate professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, was identified yesterday as the victim of a firey one-car accident Monday in the Rocky Mountains, the Clear Creek County, Colo., coroner said yesterday.
Bv a Kansan reporter
Lloys Caldwell, the coroner, said dental X-rays received yesterday from Mr. Mikkelson's dentist matched the information provided by the forensic dentist who had examined the body.
An autopsy conducted Wednesday on the body, which had been burned beyond recognition, established that Mr. Mikkselon died from injuries sustained in the fire, Caldwell said
Mr. Mikelsen had been driving east on U.S. Highway 40 at about 7:30 p.m. Monday when his car left the road about three miles west of Empire, Colo. His car rolled down a rocky embankment and burst into flames, Colorado State troopers said Tuesday.
Mr. Mikkelson's brother, Gerald Mikkelson, said yesterday that a memorial service would be held for Mr. Mikkelton at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St.
Survivors include his wife, Barbara, one daughter, Sara, and one brother, Gerald, all of Lawrence, and one sister, Mary Hunter, of Germantown, Wis.
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