SPORTS: Junior safety Kwamie Lassiter is healthy and looking to regain his starting role for the Kansas football team, Page 7.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
VOL.102,NO.17
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15. 1992
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
(USPS 650-640)
NEWS: 864-4810
Citizens debate proposed center
Lawrence residents voice concerns, question merits of proposed juvenile detention facility
By Lynne McAdoo
Kansan staff writer
Lawrence residents expressed concern at a North Lawrence Improvement Association meeting last night that a proposed juvenile detention facility might threaten the security and property value of their neighborhood.
The proposed 9,100-square-foot juvenile detention center, to be built on Industrial Lane off of North Third Street in North Lawrence, will serve 13 counties in northeast Kanea.
The Douglas County Commission Wednesday voted unanimously to proceed with a 90-day option to buy the
$60,000 lot from the Lawrence Industrial Development Property Inc. The commission will hold a public hearing to discuss the detention center on Sept. 30.
District Judge Jean Shepherd; Dougus County Steam Loren Anderson; Pam Weigand, the director of the juvenile center, and the Douglas County Commission attended the meeting to clarify issues raised by residents.
Gene Reding, whose home is located near the proposed site, said the meeting alleviated many of his concerns.
He said he would be lying if he said he was ecstatic about the center. But because it was for the betterment of the community and security measures would be strong, Reding said he would not fight its construction.
Before Weigand came to Douglas County, she supervised a similar facility in Reno County, Kan. She said that she only had one attempted escape and that the juvenile did not get out of the building.
Pam Weigand, director of the center, said the proposed center would be fenced and supervised by staff.
Residents were concerned about the center's impact on the neighborhood, but commissioner Mark Buhler said he center would not be visible from North Third Street.
"If you're not going there, you're not going to see it," he said.
Buher also said it was an opportunity for development and an anchor for investment.
Commissioner Mike Amyx said the proposed site fulfilled a majority of requirements set by the commissioners. The factors involved in the decision included water and sewer facilities, access to major highways and judicial facilities in Lawrence and the price of the land.
Daron J. Bennett/ KANSAN
Pam Wiegand, director of the proposed juvenile detention center, answers questions from residents of North Lawrence.
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Bringing down the roof
Safe-harbor period argued for KJHK
Employees of the Chrissman Wyatt Construction Company in Lawrence use a jack hammer to remove part of the roof of Hoch Auditorium. The workers continued yesterday afternoon to remove debris.
Petitioners want campus radio station to be able to broadcast indecent lyrics
By Christine Laue Kansan staff writer
Some KJIK disc jockeys and more than 700 petitioners want the radio station to allow songs deemed indecent by the Federal Communications Commission to be played during a specified time period.
Eight students pushing for reinstatement of the safe-harbor period, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., presented a proposal and a petition yesterday to the station's executive board.
Stacy McHugh, Lawrence senior and KJHK disc jockey, referred to part of the KJHK Student Hankook that states that the station is a place where students can
discover the nature of freedom and responsibility in broadcasting.
KJHK currently does not allow announcers to air songs with indecent lyrics, although the FCC recently lifted its 24-hour ban on such music.
The FCC defines indecency as "language or material that describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory activities or
"We believe reinstating safe harbor at KJHK is vital to that freedom and responsibility and is part of our responsibility to our listeners." McHugh read from the proposal.
organs."
But Tim Mensendiek, general manager of KJHJ, said that a problem arose when defining contemporary community standards, especially in Lawrence, where there is a diverse population. He said the FCC required radio stations to operate in the public interest, convenience, and necessity.
"Anybody out there could define their standards in a different area," Mensendiek said.
The students wanting safe harbor agreed that defining those standards was difficult but said that KJHK's main audience comprised KU students who wanted to hear alternative rock music, some of which includes songs with indecent lyrics.
Their proposal said that KJHK policy did not violate the First Amendment but violated students' rights by not allowing such songs to be played.
Mensendiek said that safe harbor was not an issue of the First Amendment and did not fit in the station's constitution and statement of purpose, which is to serve as a laboratory for the school.
He said that unless the board had extremely strong feelings about reinstating safe harbor, he did not plan on changing the current policy, which prohibits indecent songs. The board listens to safeharbor advocates, but Mensendiek has the final decision.
"Safe harbor, in my mind, is not the most important thing at JKH," he said. "I have no intention whatsoever of spending as much time on this as we did last semester."
The board will address the safe harbor issue at its next weekly meeting.
Lone lobbyist to represent ASK in Topeka
By Stacy Morford Kansan staff writer
Associated Students of Kansas will have to be more vocal this spring in Topeka as it faces its first state legislative session with only one professional lobbyist.
ASK's board of directors proposed a 31 percent bugee cut last summer to appease Wichita State University and Kansas State University's threats to abandon the student lobbying group. The cut, from 75 cents a student to 51 cents a student, would save KU about $11,000 a year but has forced ASK to cut its professional lobbying staff from two to one.
"I don't think we're going to lose any of the key components of ASK by going to one lobbyist," said John Schwartz, ASK co-director. "Our lobbyist will just have to increase his visibility at the capitol."
"Over the summer we're generally not too busy," Nimz said. "That gave us more time to adapt to the change. We'll be really busy when the legislative session starts though."
Tim Nimz, the remaining lobbyist, is now the only employee working in ASK's Topeka office. He is secretary and researcher as well as the group's lobbyist.
"I'll be looking to KU, K-State and Emporia to send students down to fill in, take notes and keep up on the committees."
To make Nimz's job easier when the legislative session begins in January, ASK's board of directors is considering re-implementing ASK internships. Interns had been used to increase ASK's lobbying force, but the program was removed five years ago when the second professional lobbyist was added.
ASK's board of directors chose an intern from each school through applications and interviews. The interns did clerical work and attended committee meetings while earning university credit.
"ASK directors expressed an interest in having more students meet with legislators one-on-one." Nimz said. "If campus directors are willing to help out and if they can send students, maybe two to three each week from each school, we should be all right. Just so someone is here at least part of every day."
Kathryn Price, ASK co-director, said she and Schwartz touched base with Nimz twice each week and probably would speak with him twice each day when legislative session begins.
Wichita State is the only Kansas Regents school that has not approved the proposed budget cuts, which will also reduce spending on student trips, mileage and office supplies.
Wichita State's non-traditional student population is about three times the size of KU's. Price said the students there thought they would be served better by their own lobbyists.
To convince Wichita State to remain in group, Price said ASK directors planned to focus more on non-traditional students' issues this session. The issues they plan to discuss include child care, disability issues, campus diversity, insurance and financing for higher education.
"The word on the street is that Wichita State will vote yes and see how it goes for a year," Price said, referring to the proposed budget.
Sexual harassment and gender bias exist at the KU School of Law, according to a report sponsored by the Kansas City Bar Association.
Perceptions of gender bias
See story, Page 3.
The University of Kansas Museum of Anthropology, Haskell Indian Junior College and the Lawrence Arts Center present the Fourth Annual Lawrence Indian Art Show, now through Oct. 25.
Mister Guy closing after 25 years downtown
Ancestral art
See story. Page 5.
Lawrence clothing store going out of business because of decreased profits and expiring lease
By Mark Martun
Kansan staff writer
Mister Guy, a clothing store in Lawrence,
has its door locked and its windows covered
this week. Inside, employees busily mark prices down on everything from jeans to ties for their final sale.
After 25 years in Lawrence, Mister Guy, 920 Massachusetts St., is going out of business.
"It's a sign of the times," said Troy Strawhecker, Liberal senior and store employee. "People don't come in here like
they used to. They go to Kansas City or go to outlet malls. There just isn't as much money around."
Jeff Ring, manager of the store, said that Mister Guy's lease would expire at the end of October and that the owner of the building had decided to put in a bookstore.
"The cost was going to be too high to relocate," Ring said. "And for the last three years, we hadn't been making as much money as we had in the past."
Ring said he thought Lawrence would miss Mister Guy. His father opened the store 25 years ago.
Strawecker said much of Mister Guy's business came from KU students.
"It is sad," he said. "He opened it, and now I'm closing it."
"It was fun to see all the KU people in here," he said. "And on big football days, a lot of the alumni would come in here to see how the store had changed. They all shopped here when they went to KU."
"We've always tried to do everything we could to help the community," Ring said. "Helping these events is a way to give back something to the people who shop here."
Mister Guy employed 10 KU students. Over the years, the store helped many Lawrence and KU groups sponsor charity events, including Rock Chalk Revue and Delta Gamma's Anchor Splash.
Lesley Lutts, Kansas City, Mo., senior and foundations chair for Delta Gauma, said that Mister Guy's help in the past was very important.
"They donated a gift certificate that we would ruffle off an attack Splash," she said. "The money we made on the raffle we could then donate to charities."
Latts said that this year's Anchor Splash, which was held last weekend, made about $4,000. The money from the annual event is donated to several area organizations that help the visually impaired. A scholarship for KU students with visual impairments also comes from the money.
Mister Guy's going out-of-business sale will begin Thursday and last until Oct. 31.