THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Vol. 86 No.6
The University of Kansas—Lawrence. Kansas
September 2.1975
Staff Photo by DON PIERCE
Up and away
A newcomer to tclass tests last week found the game not quite the racket she expected. Despite her best attempts, her lobs and
volleys often were more files and misses. However, as with most everything else, she improved with practice.
Malpractice ruling awaited
Staff Writer
By ALISON GWINN
Plaintiffs could reopen their malpractice suits against the KU Medical Center if the Kansas Supreme Court decides to uphold a case of negligence. The agencies aren't exempt from lawsuits.
That decision, made by the Supreme Court June 19, isn't final, according to Lee J. Abdullah.
The Supreme Court will decide in mid-September whether it will rehear a case from Wichita State University that resulted in the court's decision that a statute exempting public officials from lawsuits was unconstitutional.
"So were up in the air, sitting back and
kind of legislative decision." Dana said.
"We don't know if we're immune to
malpractice. It appears we are immune, right now, because the Wichita State hearing is not final. But we don't know before what date we'll be liable."
Dunn said the Supreme Court set no date on which the statute became unconstitutional. If no date is set, he said, its decision can be interpreted to mean the statute has been unconstitutional since it first was written.
That interpretation means the Med center can be sued again in malpractice.
"We'd like them to set a date we'll be for what times of acts we are liable," he said.
Dunn has been testifying as a member of a state insurance department subcommittee studying malpractice since July 2. Eleven subcommittees were formed at
that time, each to study a different aspect of the mpathe practice problem in Kansas.
The subcommittees have submitted reports to Fletcher Bell, state insurance commissioner, who has written a final report and will present it in the recommendation. They will present to the Kansas Legislature's Special Committee on Medical Malpractice soon.
Dunn said he recommended to the sub
See MALPRATICE Page 5
Teaching quality proposals heard in closed session
Staff Writers
Rv ALISON GWINN and GREG HACK
and scores on English proficiency exams.
3-week drop policy be more restrictive.
—no foreign student be allowed to teach at KU during his first year unless he showed a high proficiency in English during a personal interview. The student would have to submit a dossier including transcripts, letters of recommendation from professors
—the credit-no credit option be allowed only once every two semesters, or four times during a student's undergraduate years.
SenEx and representatives of the Student Senate met in closed session yesterday to ease SenEx's apprehensions about a Senate report on the quality of classroom teaching.
-five distinguished teaching chairs be initiated for awarding professors for excellence in teaching, in addition to a teaching award for AIs and TAs.
"The proposals that we had were tentative and we received some excellent and valid criticism," Chris Cuff, chairman of the school committee of classroom teaching, said yesterday.
"Most of SemEx agreed with most of the proposals, although some had outright dislike."
and scores on English proficiency exams.
The report, which isn't final, included the following proposals that:
Eligibility for food stamps outlined by local officials
—a personal interview with prospective assistant instructors and teaching assistants be mandatory, and that the staff team comprises no fewer than three members.
By MARNE RINDOM
Staff Writer
The office is sending letters to parents of applying students who listed parental assistance as a source of income, according to Suel Starr, income maintenance supervisor of the welfare office. The letters must be answered and returned before a decision is made on whether or not the student can receive the stamps.
Starr said the Department of Agriculture didn't require the welfare office to send letters to parents of all applying students. She said the county office determined whether to send a letter and notified the student if it was sent.
Starr said the new policy was announced by the Department of Agriculture last January but it wasn't put into effect until August 22.
The tax dependency of students applying for food stamps this semester is being checked by the Douglas County Welfare Office.
"If the students are properly claimed tax dependents and their parents aren't eligible to receive the stamps, the students aren't eligible." Starr said.
At the end of May, 105 families stopped receiving food stamps. Derrick said he assumed most of those cases involved students leaving Lawrence for the summer. The number doesn't indicate the total number of students in the program he said, because some students stayed here this summer and continued using the stamp program.
Derrick said there were 554 families in Douglas County registered to receive food stamps Aug. 1 but no were the figures of the number of students using the program.
Derrick said the recent number of applications indicated an increase of students who wished to join the program. He said he thought the increase was because of growing student knowledge of the welfare programs in the community.
There have been about 100 applications filed each of the past two or three weeks. Derrick said. The majority has been from students.
The percentage of students in the past two or three semesters who wouldn't have been
John Derrick, director of the Douglas County Welfare Office, said it appeared people were taking advantage of the food stamp program.
The report, which will contain revisions before its release in final form on Oct. 1, was written primarily to clear the way for improvement in teaching at the University of Kansas, Illiff said. He added that this was evidence that the level of teaching at KU was poor.
SenEx passed a resolution this summer asking the Student Senate to present SenEx the commission's report before it was made public.
During a regular SenEx meeting Friday, SenEx members arranged to have a special meeting yesterday to discuss the report of the committee members who represented the commission.
Frances Horowitz, faculty SenEx member, said, "I'm concerned with the impact on faculty morale the report would have at this time. I think the faculty is up against enough already, with enrollment and resources down. I feel I'm a partner in addressing this problem. I see a problem is to help the problem."
eligible under this rule is very small, Starr said.
HOROWITZ SAID THAT" the conclusions of the report were generally negative, and that its release would only make teaching worse by demoralizing the faculty.
Gerhard Zuther, chairman of SenEx, said on Friday, "If no other benefits result from a meeting, I see at least two. The very least is that members of the student body who are not members of the commission will know that we made the effort to explore and develop our ideas about the best of our arguments against the report to use on the Senate floor."
Zuther said SenEx decided on Friday to close yesterday's meeting to the press out of courtesy to the students, since the report was confidential.
See ELIGIBILITY Page 5
The KUEA will be billed the cost of the sidwalk, he said, and then it will work with the city and the University to construct the sidewalk. Seymour said he was uncertain what the cost to the KUEA would be but it might be as much as $7,000.
AFTER ROLFS, student body president, said he had no objection to an interview with SenEx. He debated whether to open the meeting. They decided that SenEx and Student Senate members would talk more freely and act more forcefully if the meeting were approved, rather said
Arno Knapper, faculty SenEx member,
said, "If the meeting is open, the students'
statement was not accepted." He said feel pressured not to back down.
"And he was worried about
However, the state legislature decided to appropriate the money, $17,700, to the
Sidewalk construction to be discussed soon
Lawton said the University would now have to work with the city to construct
Seymour said the KUEA had made no plans as to when sidewalk construction should begin. He said he hoped to discuss the situation with the city commission.
He said he was worried about how yesterday's meeting would be run.
uniform sidewalks. No plans have been drawn, he said.
The $71,000 probably will be enough to build sidewalks on only one side of each of the buildings. But it will not determine when construction will start, he said, but the University and Lawrence will try to contract the sidewalks before July 15, when they are ready, year when the appropriation period ends.
The land in question consists of a tract at 19th and 10th rail, he said. The state decided it to the University, but the KUUA retains its own land. In each exact location of the land or its exact size.
Mike Wildgen, assistant city manager, said the city, under the benefit district item funding, thought it would be able to use its bond borrowing power. Because the sidewalks would connect with already-built city sidewalks and work into the com-munity plan, it was assumed the city would be better prepared to construct them, be said.
"Hashing this out in a setting without structure for discussion could be disfunc-
Seymour said the land had to be placed under special assessment because the KUEA was a completely separate group from the city, and its location as the city or city could
See TEACHING Page 3
Lawton said that if no one had been contracted by then, the funds would have to be reappropriated by the state legislature. He said that, because it would cause further delay.
Proposals for sidewalks on the south and west sides of campus will be discussed by University of Kansas and Lawrence city officials this week.
By IAN KENNETH LOUDEN
Requesting money as a benefit district usually allows the city to spread the cost of a project over 10 years. This gives the city time to raise the money through bonds.
Staff Writer
According to Todd Seymour, executive secretary of the KUEA, part of the land on which the sidewalks would be built belongs to the KUEA.
Leonard Hoover, city engineer, said Friday that no date had been set. George Williams, public works director, probably will meet with representatives from the Office of Facilities and Planning to discuss construction of the sidewalks. Hoover said.
Even if the city and the University decide upon sidewalk construction, any decisions will have to coincide with plans of the Kansas University Endowment Association
The designated land consists of one strip on Iowa Street that will run south from 19th Street to 19th Street next to the Daisy Hill residence halls. The other, on 19th street, will run east from Iowa to Naismith Drive, south of the KU campus.
Keith Lawton, director of facilities and planning, said the city originally requested money for the project from the state as a benefit district item.
The sidewalks, initially proposed about a
years ago, were delayed by funding
problems.
Few spaces left at care centers
By DEBBIE BAUMAN
Staff Writer
Children of University of Kansas students are rapidly filling local day care centers.
The Hilltop Day Care Center, 1314 Oak, has a few vacancies for three-year-olds and children of kindergarten age, according to Joan Reiver, director of Hilltop.
Hilltop offers a broad program of full- and part-time care for 75 children. Rever said. Facilities are available for indoor and outdoor activities, large and small group projects, reading instruction, music education and motor skills development.
Hillop accepts children between the ages of 18 months and six years. Cost for a full year package is $40, for the ages of 18 months and 4 years and $6 for children of kindergarten age. Half-day fees are $3 for children between the ages of 18 and 4 years and $4 for kindergarten student.
"Students have the first priority for their children at Hilltop, but after the first week or so we open it up to the entire community." Revel said.
The Department of Human Development has established two child care programs in Haworth Hall under the direction of Carolyn Kroll, Ph.D., and Brenda M. Young Development Laboratory. Under the program title of EdCare, the child development facility offers full- and part-
Part-time care is being offered for the first time as a part of the EduCare Program in Haworth Hall. It is for children from the months to kindergarten, Thomson said.
Hilltop also is accepting University students who are interested in assisting at
Parents who use the part-time care facilities must bring their children for a minimum of two hours twice a week. Tuition is one dollar an hour for each child.
The part-time care service has a maximum capacity of children and is based in New York.
Some space is still available, Thomson said.
The part-time care service is designed to benefit. University students who are taking courses in English, Mathematics, or Psychology.
their children on certain days of the week, Thomson said.
Another part of the Human Development EduCare program offers full day care service in Haworth Hall between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Thomson said the program is for 15 preschool aged children as young as 3 years
The service is operated as a part of the Child Development Laboratories program for University students who have completed the requirements for teaching certificates but want additional teaching and administrative skills. Thomson said.
The full-time program is full and
Cost for full-time day care is based primarily on family income, Thomson said.
Thomson said there was a waiting list. She said more children probably would be acclimated.
She said the program teaches skills which are designed to enable the children to cope with their world and communicate with others.
"Through relating to other children and adults, there is a good possibility for a positive, emotionally rewarding experience for the children." Thomson said.
Another off-campus day care facility available for children and faculty at Children's Place.
Kentucky. Established as a non-profit organization eight years ago, the Children's Learning Center offers full and half-day care for 37 children between the ages of two and six from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Barbara Seiwald, director of the Children's Learning Center, said Monday there is room for two more children needing full-day care. A majority of the children attending the center are pre-school or kindergarten also available part-time to kindergartners.
The staff at the Children's Learning Center have teaching certificates and
See FEW SPACES Page 9
Staff Photo by DAVID CRENSHAV
Room for more Center, instructs a few of her pupils in the finer points of Barbara Selwold, center director of the Children's Learning building with wooden blocks.