THE UNIVERSLEY DARY KANSAN
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digital editor Hannah Barling
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ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT
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Brent Burford
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PAGE 2
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The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of The Kansan are 50 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at the Kansan business office, 2051A Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence,KS 66045.
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Calendar
Monday, Nov. 24
What: Movember Photo Event
When: Noon to 2 p.m.
Where: Anschutz Library
About: Men can get their facial hair photographed in support of men's health.
Tuesday, Nov. 25
What: KU Symphony Orchestra
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Lied Center
About: Open to the public. Tickets cost $8 for adults and $6 for seniors, children and students.
wnat: Lawrence Creates Makerspace
Weekly Meeting
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: 9th and New Jersey
About: Learn more about how to get
involved with the creative warehouse
Wednesday, Nov. 26
What: Environs/Students for a Sustainable Future meeting
When: 5:30 p.m.
Where: Ecumenical Campus Ministries
About: A student meeting
What: Walking Group
When: Noon to 12:30 p.m.
Where: Wescoe Hall
About: A 10 to 20 minute walk around campus.
Thursday, Nov. 27 Thanksgiving Day
The task force came to a
Sexual assault task force finalizes motions
ROCHELLE VALVERDE
@RochelleVerde
Task force members will finalize three recommendations by the semester's end to improve the University's response to sexual assault. The recommendations are: an expansion of jurisdiction to include sexual misconduct occurring off-campus, adoption of a detailed affirmative consent policy and development of a partnership with community agencies to provide victim support.
The task force does not have the power to enforce recommendations,but Angela Murphy,co-chair of the task force and Student Senate graduate affairs director,said the recommendations will put pressure on the University to take action.
"We're working on making sure that the students have the ability to step up and make it known to the University that they are stepping up." Murphy said. "It's kind of a stare down. It's we made these amendments, we have this language, we have done this clearly as a student body. Your move."
The recommendations will be submitted to University administration and Student Senate, which is responsible for amendments to the Student Code of Rights and Responsibilities.
consensus on the language of the recommendation regarding jurisdiction in its meeting Friday and will finalize the recommendations addressing the consent policy and community partnerships by Dec. 8.
The amendment to the Student Code of Rights and Responsibilities regarding jurisdiction is subject to approval by Student Senate. The addition would expand the University's ability to adjudicate and sanction students for sexual misconduct. Murphy said the task force's recommendation states students may be disciplined for sexual harassment, sexual violence or intimate partner violence regardless of premises, as long as at the time they were a student.
The recommendation of an affirmative consent policy would define in detail what does and does not constitute consent for sexual acts. Currently, there is no codified definition of consent in the office for Institutional Opportunity and Access' Sexual Harassment Policy.
Consent is included in IOA's nondiscrimination policy, which defines sexual violence as "any physical act which is sexual in nature that is committed by force or without the full and informed consent of all persons involved."
website lists statements about consent such as "Consent is knowing, active and voluntary" and "Consent cannot be given if a person is incapacitated or unconscious," these definitions are not present in the sexual harassment and sexual violence policy. On the same list is the statement, "Consent is cool. Consent is fun."
While the Student Affairs'
Murphy said the task force has a draft of the consent policy they will recommend, but the exact language hasn't been agreed upon. Murphy said the task force hopes to reach a consensus over the next two weeks, and it is looking at other universities' consent verbiage as models, specifically the University of Iowa.
The University of Iowa's policy states that "consent is a freely and affirmatively communicated willingness to participate in particular sexual activity or behavior, expressed either by words or clear, unambiguous actions." Under this definition are eight other stipulations, such as "lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent" and "persons who are incapacitated due to the influence of drugs, alcohol, or medication" are unable to give consent.
According to IOA records, it is estimated 75 percent of the cases reported at the
University have involved alcohol. In the Friday meeting, Corey Yung, task force member and law professor who specializes in sex crimes, said defining incapacitation is vital, especially in a university setting.
"We need a definition of incapacitation because without it they will assume unconsciousness," Yung said. "We definitely need more because so many cases are bound up in incapacitation and the difference between voluntary and involuntary."
The third recommendation is for the University to develop a formalized partnership with community organizations for victim support. Murphy said partnerships within the community will make sure survivor support is available and easily accessible.
The community partnership recommendation will be directed to administration and suggests that the University develop a Memorandum of Understanding to outline in detail the partnership with the
GaDuGi Safecenter and the Willow Domestic Violence Center.
Members of the task force discussed whether the affirmative consent recommendation should be submitted to Student Senate, administration or both, but have not yet agreed. Murphy, a member of the Student Code subcommittee, said they will meet as subcommittee to discuss it further next week.
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little announced the creation of the task force in an emailed message on Sept. 11 as one of several steps to help the University develop more effective solutions for preventing and responding to sexual assault.
The task force's four subcommittees will meet separately next week and reconvene for the final meeting of the semester on Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m in the Provost Conference room of Strong Hall.
Edited by Emily Brown
"Sexual violence" means any physical act which is sexual in nature that is committed by force or without the full and informed consent of all persons involved. Sexual violence may include but is not limited to rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, and sexual exploitation. Sexual violence can occur between strangers or acquaintances, including people involved in an intimate or sexual relationship. Sexual violence can be committed by men or by women, and it can occur between people of the same or different sex
Sexual Violence:
Education cuts not to be decided until January
I ALLISON KITE
@Allie_Kite
"We most likely wouldn't do anything in advance because we wouldn't know how much to speculate would be cut," she said.
The fate of higher education in Kansas is up in the air as the state awaits the legislative session in January to deal with the $279 million budget shortfall. The Kansas Board of Regents will advocate for higher education throughout the session but will not create a contingency budget in the event that education funding is cut, said Elaine Frisbie, vice president of Finance and Administration for the Kansas Board of Regents.
Between now and June 30, the end of the 2015 fiscal year, the state must make up for the budget gap between already-approved expenditures and revenues. Since the budget for fiscal year 2015 has already been approved, cuts would come from already-
"The further out that this goes, the longer there are delays in communicating what the cut will be, this is going to pose more and more challenges for the universities to respond — for any state agency to respond, whether they're a correctional facility, a state hospital, department of revenue or KU," she said.
"Tuition rates are set in advance by the Board of Regents, so they aren't going to go in and raise tuition rates for the spring," Frisbie
allocated money, including the budget allocated for higher education. This makes the issue an urgent one, Frisbie said.
The budget shortfall may affect students if the University has to make significant cuts, but they will not pay for it through tuition.
The University has been trying to identify opportunities to operate more efficiently and reallocate money within its own budget, Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said.
Ideas as to how the budget shortfall will be made up have been thrown around, but nothing will be decided until this year's legislative session, which starts Jan. 12.
Annie McKay, executive director of Kansas Center for Economic Growth, said she believes the budget gap will be the primary issue to be dealt with in the upcoming legislative session. Options to make up the money could include transfers of money out of highway department reserves, budget
said. "They are going to have to go in and readjust their plans for how they operate this fiscal year."
"To absorb those reductions mid-year is really challenging," McKay said. "They have contracts in place. They have personnel. They have wages they have to pay. They have benefits. They have to keep the lights on."
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Dave Trabert, president of the Kansas Policy Institute, said the highway department and other departments have unnecessary excess cash reserves that could be dipped into to fill up the hole. He went on to say that if departments statewide were to operate more efficiently, the gap could be filled easily.
cuts and seizing of other efficiencies or savings of state departments.
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he said. "We just have to make better use of the resources we already have.
"Another possibility that might be used would be to take money from the state highway fund," he said. "That might be a solution — a temporary solution — for this year, but that doesn't fix things next year."
However, Duane Goossen, former budget director for the state, said dipping into cash reserves would be only a temporary fix. Goossen said the real solution is to reverse tax cuts implemented in 2012 and 2013.
- Edited by Yu Kyung Lee
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