NATION/WORLD: An earthquake in the Pacific Ocean sends a tidal wave crashing into Nicaragua. Page 8.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
VOL.102.NO.9
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1992
(USPS 650-640)
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
Chiefs will no longer promote the 'chop'
NEWS:864-4810
By KC Trauer
Kansan staff writer
The Kansas City Chiefs and its sponsors have dropped the tomahawk chip, and while American Indians from Lawrence who found the chop offensively applauded the decision, they said it was not a solution to the general public's ignorance of Indian culture.
Chiefs officials said they would no longer encourage the war chant and tomahawk chop, an arm-swinging motion simulating the use of a tomahawk. Team cheerleaders will not lead the chiep cheep, and the stadium band will not play the war-chant beat.
But team officials also said they would not discourage fans from dressing up as Indians or organizing tomahawk chop cheers on their own.
David Skeeter, president of KU's Native American Students Association, said the Chiefs' decision was only one step in removing inaccurate stereotypes about American Indians.
"I'm glad they have stopped it because they no longer will implicitly promote this stereotype," said Skeeter, who descended from the Yuchi and Creek tribes.
"But the Chiefs stopping this does not end the stereotype. Only we, the Native-American people, can do anything about changing that stereotype."
Mr. Sandos said his organization had tried to educate the public on Indian culture through rallies, powwows and Native American Heritage Month celebrations.
Many popular sports symbols, such as the chop and the Chiefs' team name, misrepresent Indian culture, said Jennifer Attockie, a junior with Comanche, Potawatomi and Creek heritage.
"Chief is a French term anyway." Attockue said. "And we never had any chiefs. We had many leaders, but we didn't have any one chief. So they were misinformed to begin with."
Attockiek said American Indians thought it was important to keep symbols from their heritag e because they have been around for generations.
bounces and war paint — are things sacred to the Plains Indians' heritage, "he said. Smith and 12 other American Indians from KU, Haskell and Kansas City protested in the stadium parking lot at a Chiefs preseason game Aug. 24. He said some football fans, including those dressed in bonnets and war paint, made whoooping noises or mumbled comments as they passed by but would not acknowledge the group.
"It was a non-confrontational protest, and
"a lot of what the football fans are doing — wearing bonnets and war paint — are this"
***
Sports fans dressing up as Indians are part of the problem, said Caverly Smith, a Haskell Indian Junior College student and a descendant from the Navajo tribe.
we had no signs," Smith said. "We just wanted to be there to show that Indian people were not like that."
Two sponsors of the Chiefs said they would not promote the tomahawk chow.
The Jones Store Co. said it would not sell the red foam tomahawks that Chiefs followers will receive.
A Price Chopper representative said the supermarket chain deleted offensive references in a new Price Chopper commercial.
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.
The chop, a tradition among fans of Florida State University, became a favorite in the Chiefs' stands after the Northwest Missouri State University marching band played "War Chant" during a game two seasons ago. Chiefs coach Marty Schotenheier liked the fan reaction, and the Chiefs' T.D. Pack Band played it regularly after that.
law students, dean discuss fee
Money will increase faculty salaries, pay for library resources
By Muneera Naseer
Robert Jerry, dean of the KU School of Law, explains the financial effects of the fee increase to law school students and faculty during a meeting.
Kansan staff writer
About 15 law school students and faculty members met yesterday with Robert Jerry, dean of law, to discuss a new fee that will increase student law school costs by $20 a credit hour starting next fall.
The fee, which was approved by the Board of Regents in June after several months of negotiations, will increase to $30 per credit hour in Fall 1994 and $40 per credit hour in Fall 1995.
Jerry said that the fee was designed to address significant problems within the school and to avoid a future fee increase that would not give students benefits in return.
The fee will be used to increase faculty salaries, implement new services in the school's job placement office and acquire new resources for the law school's library.
The increase is the second such fee imposed on students in a professional school at KU. In Fall 1991, engineering students began paying a $15-per-credit-hour费.
Tom Mullinazzi, associate dean of the engineering school, said the fee was approved by the Regents after two years of negotiations. The school has used to supplement faculty salaries but war
Jerry said, "We're concerned with the future. What is at stake here is the future value of the school."
"It is inconceivable that the state of Kansas is going to keep tuition down," he said. "The task is to see that the law school gets to keep benefits for our academic purposes."
When a student asked Jerry why fee increases had to affect current law students, Jerry said that it would not be fair to place the entire financial burden on future students.
"Regardless of what class you are in, you are all law students," he said. "The state has never differentiated between students in KU programs."
Peter Schank, law professor and law library director, said during the meeting that the library had been forced to cut 10 percent of its subscriptions and had dropped from a ranking of 70 to 78 nationwide in size.
"We buy 40 percent fewer books now than 10 years ago because the budget has not kept pace with the cost of the materials," he said.
"Without an increase in budget, we may have to eliminate one of our two computer services."
Schanck said. "We'll be at a competitive disadvantage from law schools that have both services."
John Houston, McPherson law student, said he was shocked when he heard about the fee. He also said he was upset that the decisions were made during the summer when students were on vacation.
But student concerns focused on the financial effects of the proposal.
He said many of the students found out about the increase when they read a memorandum from Jerry that was inserted into their text books at the law school bookstore.
"A vast majority of the students did not know about it," he said. "I would have liked to have my classmates be able to do that."
About $100,000 will be reserved from the fee to help needy students in a work-based grant program, an idea that did not please Houston
He said the money generated from the fee would be used to pay for the students' salaries
"So in a way we're just paying ourselves," he said. "Right now I work 25 hours per week just to pay bills and tuition. If they impose a fee then have to work more hours to pay the fee!" he offended.
Houston said a lot of students did not realize how much the proposal would affect them.
Flora Winitz, a law student from Lawrence, said that students were helpless and could not deal with the stress.
Law fees
"A lot of them will just write their checks, grumble a little, but won't say anything," he said.
"I feel very angry because students barely have enough money to live," she said. "It seems that the professors have voted themselves a pay increase."
The new law school fee will cost students more money for tuition, but generate thousands of dollars for new services and facilities.
Lawrence requests taxi plan
By Kristy Dorsey and J.R. Clairborne Kansan staff writers
The report, developed by the Dallas consulting firm of DeShazo, Starek and Tang Inc., was presented to the commission by William Barker, the firm's vice president. Barker emphasized that there was a need for public transportation in Lawrence.
In a step toward instituting public transportation in Lawrence, the City Commission last night voted unanimously to receive a report on the issue and directed the city staff to develop a timetable and a proposal for the funding of a voucher-style taxi system.
The study said that current transportation provided 2.9 million rides per year. But if the system were redesigned, more rides would be taken each year, it said.
Under the proposal, taxi riders would use $1 and $3 coupons to subsidize ride costs. The $1 coupons would be sold to the general public for 25 cents, and the $3 coupons would be available to elderly or disabled passengers for the same price.
Passengers using the $1 coupon would pay a total of $3.75 for a cab ride, which includes the 25 cent charge for the coupon and an additional $0.40 for the fare. Passengers with $3 coupons would have a total of $1.75 per ride.
The current cost of a one-way ride in an A-1 City Cab, Lawrence's only regular taxi service, is a flat rate of $4.50.
City manager Mike Wildgen said that he would submit a timetable and proposal for funding of the taxi system to the commission in 60 days. The commissioners agreed that full implementation of the cab voucher program could not occur before January 1994.
The cab system may be the first step in the development of an expanded bus system in Lawrence. The study proposed that after six months of taxi system operation, records of passenger patterns would be used to identify routes for the expanded bus system.
Running separate bus systems for KU and the community is inefficient, the report states. It advises that a cooperative or combined system be used if the city decides to operate a bus system.
Barker said Student Senate had outstanding contracts with the Lawrence Bus Company for operating KU on Wheels, and that the city and the Senate could not consider expanding to a city-wide bus system for at least two years.
Brad Garlinghouse, student body president, said that if the city expanded the KU on Wheels bus system, it could help to pay for operational costs.
Diane Mullens, Lawrence city planner, said that the city had not considered how to finance a combined bus system.
Chris Ogle, general manager of the Lawrence Bus Company, said he thought when the commission approved the voucher taxi service, it would take two to three more years before a bus system would be implemented. He said that in the past the city has had a haphazard approach to public transportation, relying on various specialized services to meet residents' needs.
Pumping up
Lifting weights should be an important part of anyone's health regimen, but there are certain precautions that lifts should take, trainers say. Mike Chapman, Watkins Memorial Health Center physical therapist, offers some tips on weightlifting safety.
See story. Page 10.
Legal advice
Students profit from owning businesses
While back to school means back to the books for most students, it also means back to heavy workloads for local attorneys who provide services to KU students.
By Kristi Fogler
Kansas staff writer
See story. Page 5.
Bernett Griffin knew in high school he had a talent that could one day prove to be very profitable.
Kansan staff writer
Griffin, Derby senior, is a computer science major and owns a one-man computer software company called Gronics.
Owing and operating a business is not just a dream for many KU students, but a reality. Students who want to start a business can draw upon various local organizations to help them get started.
The Small Business Development Center, 734 Vermont St., an extension of the School of Business, is one such organization. Recently, it published the book, "How to Start Your Own Small Business - A primer for student entrepreneurs at the University of Kansas." It lays out a step-by-step
plan on how to start a business.
The booklet, written for students by KU graduate students, answers many questions hopeful entrepreneurs could have about starting a business: Will my product be successful? Who are my customers? Who is my competition? How do I raise money to start the business?
The booklet stresses the importance of careful planning.
"Planning is the most important part of starting and running a successful small business," according to the booklet. "A business plan clearly defines your goals and outlines the methods for achieving them."
The booklet also contains information about taxes and licensing, a dictionary of common business terms and a listing of other resources studi-
The development center also offers confidential one-on-one counseling
Griffin, who founded Gronics five years ago on his parents' home computer, said he had sought advice from the center.
for anyone interested in starting a business. Mike O'Donnell, director of the center, estimated that 10 percent of students saw last year were KU students.
As sole owner and employee of Gronics, Griffin said he would work for anyone but that he had written a book and marketing research company in Wichita.
Griffin said he had written about a dozen programs since starting the company. Working 15 hours a week, Griffin spends anywhere from one month to one year writing a program. Griffin offers some programs for free but has made $20,000 in fees and royalties from one program.
Continued on Page 3.
Mike Lucero, owns the Camera America store, 1610 W. 23rd St.