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December 6, 2002
Vol. 113. Issue No. 71
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
Jayhawks Aaron Miles and Michael Lee return to Oregon to take on Ducks p.1B
Highs and Lows
Kansan photo illustration
The duality of dealing pot: students experience thrills and consequences of marijuana culture
Story by Nathan Dayani Photographs by Brandon Baker
Andy Watson's life changed suddenly one hot summer day in 1999.
While hanging out with two of his friends late in the afternoon, he heard an unexpected knock at the door of his
apartment, just north of the intersection at 12th and Indiana streets. A large middle-aged man stood on the other side of the threshold.
ment.
Within seconds, Watson was lying face-down on the floor of his apartment, surrounded by seven members of the Douglas County Sheriff's Depart-
One officer stood above Watson in a triangular stance, pointing a gun at his back.
His semester of selling pot had come to an end.
SEE DRUGS ON PAGE 5A
Panel crunches budget woes
By Molly Gise
mgise@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Lee joined nine others yesterday in a roundtable discussion about the budget crisis in Kansas. About 40 people attended the forum, which was held in Topeka
"Not enough money is the problem,' said Lee, D-Kensington. "The revenue has taken a turn south."
State Sen. Janis Lee summed up the challenge for incoming and returning lawmakers in Kansas.
Fixing the budget was easy without taking the details into account, Goossen said.
Included in the panel was Duane Goossen, the state budget director.
"It's not hard to balance the budget by just running numbers," Goosniss said. "But that doesn't tell you anything about
"Not enough money is the problem. The revenue has taken a turn south."
The details of balancing the budget were the focus of the forum moderated by University of Kansas Professor Burdett Loomis. Loomis has organized this kind of discussion after each election since 1994.
what's left over."
Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, said figuring out what to do next involved looking back at what caused the projected state deficit of about $310 million. The state has outspent its budget for too long, he said.
State senator, D-Kensington
Janis Lee
"This year, we hit a brick wall," he said.
Jim McLeanCQ, managing editor from the Topeka Capital-Journalcriticized the state's budget history. The state relied too much on extra money during roster economic times, he said. McLean was one of two journalists on the panel.
"You all knew collectively that you were bringing in money that was temporary at best," McLean said. "Now that money has run out but the responsibility of the budget is still there."
Legislators now have the task of reviewing state programs and deciding what services and programs are of the most value to Kansans, said Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood.
"We need this kind of shake-out period every once in a while," Vratil said.
Lee said deciding what needed to be shook out or cut was precisely the challenge, especially when presenting ideas
SEE BUDGET ON PAGE 8A
Wage increase spurs struggle
By Caleb Nothwehr
nothwehr@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
In an effort to bump the University minimum wage to $6 an hour, administrators are encouraging some organizations to pay for the increase out of their own pockets.
While some student-hourly positions will receive raises through the tuition increase, groups such as Student Senate have to pay for the wage increases with their own already allocated funds.
It's turning into a power struggle.
Members of Student Senate don't want to fund the wage increases, and they don't think the University can make them.
"No outside body can tell us what to do with the money we receive," Student Body President Jonathan Ng said. "They can only make a recommendation. Nothing more."
Linda Mullens, associate vice provost for student supports, said the University does have the power to institute the increase throughout the entire University, including Student Senate.
"The spirit of the proposal is to help the student employees," Mullens said. "We all know $5.15 is not a whole lot of money. That doesn't go very far," she said.
Administrators are specifically concerned with two student-hourly positions, paid for with student fees, that are not making $6 an hour: one within the Student Legislative Awareness Board and another in the Alternative Breaks office.
Administrators are also encouraging Senate to make 50 cents per hour pay increases for positions that are already
making $6 an hour.
Senate has already taken measures to ward off the wage increase.
During Wednesday's Student Senate meeting, the body rejected a piece of legislation that would have increased Senate executive staff wages through Senate reserve account monies. Senate ruled the bill out of order because money from the reserve account must be used to benefit a large number of students.
Karen Keith, holdover senator and Tulaa, Okla, senior, said she was against using student money to increase the student-hourly wages. Keith said, if the administration does mandate a wage increase, Senate should make the changes after a review of money already allocated for the spring semester.
"Most people are in favor of student hourly wage increases, but there's division over how it happens," Keith said.
Senate Treasurer Ryan Evans, Great Bend senior, said the next step was to inform administrators about Senate's decision Wednesday night.
One option student senators are considering is making the pay increase with money already allocated for the students' salaries. But that could lead to problems at the end of the school year.
"Another good possibility is that we'll enact the pay raise and run out of money two weeks before school is out," said Blake Shuart, assistant treasurer for Senate and Topeka junior.
Other organizations that have to pay for the wage increase from their own funds are the departments of student housing and recreation services.
—Edited by Nicole Roché
By Molly Gise
mgise@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
CLAS closes offices for graduate division
The services provided by the office's two employees will be transferred to the Graduate School, individual departments and the dean's office, Wilcox said.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is closing its graduate division, effective next summer, Kim Wilcox, dean of liberal arts, said yesterday.
He said graduate services handled by other areas.
"There's a role for the departments, and there's a role for the Graduate School." Wilcox said.
According to its Web site, the CLAS graduate division certifies students for graduation, keeps records and monitors the progress of approximately 1,800 graduate students.
The reorganization ultimately will clarify the roles of the Graduate School and the college in handling graduate issues.
The graduate division will officially close in July 2003.
Although the college, like other schools at KU, has been asked for ways to trim its spending. Wilcox said the closing of the graduate division is an organizational change, not a cost-cutting measure.
He said no services would be lost in the transition and graduate students could expect little change overall.
"The problem is graduate students don't know about it yet," Johnson said. "It was done without our knowledge."
The change, announced Wednesday, may surprise many graduate students, which concerns Michael Johnson, graduate student and graduate teaching assistant in the department of Slavic languages and literature.
Johnson, a graduate student senator, said he heard about the closing of the graduate division through rumors.
"The way it's being done is not good," he said. "It should have been done in a much more open manner."
Wilcox said it was not surprising that graduate students didn't know about the change yet because he just announced it Wednesday. He sent the department letters yesterday that described the reorganization..
Jamel Bell, a graduate student and GTA in communications, said she heard rumors about the liberal arts and sciences graduate division closing.
She said she didn't think graduate services would suffer and that Wilcox has the best interests of graduate students in mind.
"I'm sure he'll make sure the students don't miss out," Bell said. "They'll find some way to still be sure that graduate students benefit from the services that were being offered."
The CLAS graduate division employs one full-time staff member and one part-time staff member. Wilcox wouldn't comment on what would happen to those people after the office closed.
"We're going to be working hard to find positions for both people," he said.
— Edited by Melissa Shuman
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