Student needs called primary concern of Senate
Editor's Note: This is the first of two stories on the development, operation, role, power and participants of the Student Senate.
By JOHN JOHNSTON Senate Reporter
"For the last year a quiet revolution has been brewing on the campus of the University of Kansas. While other campuses have been struck with the bombastic tumult of violent confrontations and occupied buildings, students and faculty at the university have, in an atmosphere of rational discourse, been in a new system which provides for joint student-faculty participation in University governance."
You may wonder what revolution in radical University politics has emerged at KU. There's no cause for alarm: the statement quoted above was taken from the Feb. 21, 1969, issue of the Kansan and merely sullied the development of the Student Senate.
The same Kansas story told of a graduate student who took copies of the new Senate Code to some of her colleagues.
"Most of them were surprised and amazed that in Kansas quiet political change was being initiated more freely than any political freedom witnessed on the Berkeley campus," the story said.
Regardless of whether the creation of the Student
Senate was revolutionary, it's a fact that in the spring of 1969 the students at KU voted to abolish the All Student Council and replace it with the Student Senate.
Charles Oldfather, who recently retired as university attorney, was active in drafting the Senate Code, which defined the form the new body was to take. Oldfather said yesterday that formation of the Student Senate was based on realignment of the All Student Council, which had operated for many years with poorly defined legislative powers.
The Senate was designed to give students a firmer grip on the allocation of student activity fees, which
had previously been handled by the administration,
Oldfather said. The new body also was granted
more legislative control over student concerns, he
said.
The issues dealt with by the Senate seem to have shifted over the years. John Beisner, student body president, recently said the Senate had stopped focusing most of its attention on social concerns. Several years ago the Senate passed resolutions on race, the war and other such areas. Now it's using more on areas that concern the student and his relationship with the University, he said.
The subject of the Senate's first meeting was characteristic of these early problems dealt with by
the new legislative body. Dave Awbrey and Marlin Bowman, the first president and vice president to preside over the Senate, called an emergency meeting for May 7, 1989, to decide on what primary action to take against three members of the State Democratic Society (SDS). The students had allegedly destroyed a ballot box and interrupted voting procedures during campus elections.
There's general agreement among the current members of the Senate that since 1989 the Senate has moved toward student concerns. The legislation covered at meetings today tends to focus on immediate problems within the University and examination of administration goals.
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
Vol.85-No.71 Tuesday, December 10, 1974
The University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas
Brisk business
2 file discrimination charge on academic appointments
Jo Lee Elden, a ninth-grader at West Junior High School, puts up with stares and grunts from passerboy to collect donations for the Salvation Army Christmas fund. Jo Lee, who gets paid $1 an hour for her labor, has been working a booth for the past three years at the Malls Shopping Center in Crested Beach, 1718 Crested Beach, it was business as usual yesterday at the Malls Shopping Center.
By VALERIE J. MEYERS
College Reporter
Two University of Kansas students have filed a complaint charging KU with discrimination against women and blacks. The complaint was filed with the regional office of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
Muriel Paul, Lawrence graduate student, and Jerry Williams, Kansas City, Kan., senator, said yesterday that discrimination had taken place when nominates for two positive posts were confirmed over the protests of the Office of Affirmative Action.
Confirmations for the two were announced on Nov. 4 after a delay of about two weeks, while allegations that Affirmativelines had been violated, were investigated.
EDWARD P. BASSETT, dean of the School of Journalism, was appointed associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Ralph Christoffersen, professor of chemistry, was appointed assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs on Oct. 15.
Del Shankel, executive vice chancellor,
said he hadn't heard of the complaint.
Williams said that he hadn't spoken to Shankel about the complaint.
"WE FELT IT wouldn't do any good to talk first and act later." he said.
Williams said he and Paul had five bases for the complaint. The first basis, he said, was that the administration had misrepresented the jobs, saying there was only one fulltime job available instead of two part-time jobs.
"THEY WANTED YOU to have extra experience with computers," she said, speaking of the original fulltime job. "As someone who works in a corporation had to have that sort of experience."
Paul also said the division discriminated
Paul said the splitting of the jobs was discriminatory against those who might have applied for a parttime administrative post, but couldn't apply for a fulltime post.
against women who might have been able to hold a parttime post.
"I think this is more discriminatory against women than against any other group," she said.
The second basis for the complaint, Williams said, was that the administration hadn't had the approval of the Office of Appraisal when it confirmed the appointments.
VICKI HAMER, Affirmative Action, said that she supported the complaint, and that she had spoken to a member of the Kansas Commission on Civil Rights.
"I think that it will clear up a few things, perhaps," she said.
Hamer said that, when Bassett and Christoffersen were first appointed, she hadn't been given a summary of the recruitment and selection process. She said that such a summary was required by Affirmative Action rules.
"I requested from Saricks (Ambrose Saricks, vice chancellor for academic affairs) that Del Shankel hold up confirmations of the appointments until I had an opportunity to review the recommendation and selection process," she said.
SHE REQUESTED Sarikee's records of Hamer said, and then send letter to both Hamer and Sarikee.
Shankel and Saricks saying she couldn't support the appointments.
Williams said the third accusion in the complaint was that the administration didn't treat minority groups and women for the posts, and the fourth accusation was that the administration hadn't used black and white language in the news that the positions were open.
Paul said that part of the fourth charge stemmed from the fact that the University hadn't advertised for applicants outside of the University. She also said that Shankel didn't paid sufficient attention to such issues as women's magazines. Black Scholes and
Murder charge to son in shooting of father
The Douglas County attorney's office filed a first degree murder charge in county court against Robert Kent Gatts in connection with the evening of Gatt's father, Robert R. Gatts.
The elder Gatts was a professor of mechanical engineering at KU for 11 years. Gatts is scheduled to appear in county court Dec. 17 for a preliminary hearing.
The county attorney's complaint charged the younger Gunter谷 with shooting his father in the chest with a Winchester 30.06 rifle, wound a wound that caused his death Sunday.
According to a Lawrence police report of the shooting, the elder Gatts was shot at 6:42 p.m. Saturday "as he attempted to take the rifle from his son. The son was handing the rifle across the bed to his father when the rifle discharged.
The shooting occurred in bedroom of the Gatineau house, 2831 Peterson Road, the report said.
THE FIFTH BASIS for the complaint, Williams said, was that a search committee hadn't been appointed to screen applicants for the posts, and therefore any advice or counsel to the administration about the appointments wasn't representative of the University.
Williams said the complaint asked that the University vacate the posts and start over again, following Affirmative Action laws that federal money to KU be suspended.
"It's his responsibility to follow Alternative Action processes, which include the following."
The protection of faculty members' academic freedom should be the first goal of the University of Kansas, according to a recent survey.
Williams said the reason for the delay between the time of the confirmations and the time of the complaint was that he and the patient had to background studies of the appointments.
Survey rates academic freedom 1st
About 300 students, faculty and staff members and alumni and department members attended the university's member's privilege to teach his classes in his own way first in a KU Institutional Self-Study survey. The survey, conducted last week, lists its goals to list 50 possible goals of the University.
The top ten goals, in order "as they should be" were: Protecting academic freedom, maintaining top quality programs, keeping students safe, disseminating new ideas, training staff to evaluate scholarship, protecting students' right of inquiry, cultivating students' intellect, ensuring that everyone has an equal chance to develop and succeed, developing skills and ensuring that all minority group people have an equal chance at all resources.
The first part of the survey asked respondents to list the goals, as the goals appear to be now. The second part asked them to list the goals as they should be.
succeed, and providing a complete service to students.
"We are also filing the same complaint with the Kansas Commission on Civil Rights and the Equal Opportunity Agency," he said.
The top ten "as is" goals were: Ensuring confidence of outside financial contributors, protecting academic freedom, increasing or maintaining the University's prestige, ensuring that all minority group people have an equal chance at all resources, in university governance, providing community leadership, keeping up to date, training students for research and scholarship, providing equal chances for all students to
DeGeorge said that although this survey played a minor role in determining the University's present goals, he hoped the entire Self-Study would play a major role in determining the University's goals in the future.
Students completing the survey listed maintaining top quality first. Students rated maintaining academic protection number eight.
Faculty and staff listened academic freedom first, while alumni said the University was "strong."
University and developing faculty and staff loyalty to the University.
The lowest rated goals also were revealing, DeGeorge said. Those goals were: Making good consumers out of students, developing students' good taste. Taking responsibility for the character of students, keeping harmony between departments and divisions of the
The Self-Study survey was mailed to 500 faculty, staff, students and alumni. More info at www.ucl.edu/self-study.
The survey was taken for the first chapter of the Institutional Self-Study being prepared for the North Central accreditation program. The study was released by North Central next semester.
people queried feel the 'University is generally meeting some of the goals it should have for itself,' Richard DeGeorge, chairman of the Institutional Self-Study, said yesterday.
"It would seem to indicate that many
U.S. energy policy called for
The United States is faced with a serious energy problem that isn't going to go away without concerted efforts in the next few years, authorities interviewed recently said.
Their consensus was that the country must adopt a national energy policy that would free it from its dependence on other countries for energy in the future.
"THE ENERGY CRISIS—the energy problem—is the most serious nonmilitary issue that the world faces, cope with," Floyd Preston, professor of chemical and petroleum engineering, said. If we do not solve this problem, we will no longer have a self-determining unit on this planet."
By DENNIS ELLSWORTH Assistant Campus Editor
FEARS OF A DWINDLING RESERVE of natural gas were discounted by Preston. Nobody goes out to look for all the gas he has to fill up all other financial circumstances, he said.
The shooting was initially classified as accidental, according to the report. However, the younger Gatts requested at 8:30 a.m. Sunday to talk to a policeman. An officer went to the Gats home, talked with him and then took him to the Douglas County Sheriff's office.
The 23-year-old Gats was booked at the office at 1 a.m. Sunday. He is now at the hospital for treatment.
"On the other hand, if we can adequately solve this problem, we literally can become the intellectual, moral and political leader of the entire world far into the 21st century."
HOWEVER, IT SHOULD BE REALIZED Preston said, that producers produce some gas each year and find some each year. This means that they should determine the market price of gas, they determine
The United States is indeed running out of gas, he said, and our known reserved reserves will only last about 12 years at the present consumption rate.
whether they will search for additional gas.
"Here comes the myth, 'Oh, bee, we are running out of gas. We've only got 12 years' supply left, they say. We've had 12 to 15 years and years and years and years," Preston said.
The elder Gatts died at 4:10 a.m. Sunday at Lawrence Memorial Hospital after undergoing surgery.
HE ALSO SAID NATURAL GAS had been used for more and more things because it was relatively cheap. Now many industries have developed this type, but neither aren't developed or will be more贵。
He said efficiency in energy use was going down because the United States was trying to do things such as heat large buildings. Cars also aren't as efficient, in terms of miles per gallon of gasoline, as they were in 1960 he said.
MORE AND MORE PRODUCTS have
AND MORE PRODUCTS have
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Energy optimism
Inside the KANSAN
Despite widespread concern about the status of available energy in Kansas, at least one person remains optimistic. Richard Perkins, who is completing his first year as energy conservation officer for the city, said he has been successful in saving energy. However, despite a 12.2 per cent savings on electrical energy this year, Perkins said there still complains about some buildings being overheated. See story Page 7.
Taking finals
Taking finals can be a traumatic experience for many students, especially when they find themselves unprepared for large test schedules during a short period of time. Some students use escapep to alleviate anxiety, according to a KU professor, but there are ways to avoid the terror that the inevitable final week often brings. See story Page 6.
NCAA finals
Getting to the NCA4 finals may be a traumatic experience for the KU basketball team unless it starts turning over a new leaf instead of the ball. The Jayhawks dropped their second game of the young season to Notre Dame last night in South Bend, Ind. See story Page 8.
Mild
Relatively mild winter weather will continue today, according to the U.S. Weather Bureau forecast. Slippers will be partly cooler than those be in the 40s. Tonight's low temperatures will be in the 30s and there is little chance of precipitation.