A shower today
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday October 15, 1987 Vol. 98, No. 39
Published since 1889 by the students of the University of Kansas
(USPS 650-640)
5 residence halls lacking required smoke detectors
By BEN JOHNSTON
Staff writer
Dean Milroy, associate director of maintenance for the office of student housing, said Lewis, Templin, Hashinger, Ellsworth and McCollum halls did not have smoke detectors, but the housing office did plan to install them in those halls.
Six years after state fire codes were changed to require university residence halls to have smoke detectors in halls or rooms, five KU halls
Paul Markley, chief of the fire prevention division for the state Fire Marshal Department in Topeka, said that since 1981, state fire codes have required residence halls to either have a smoke detector in each room or 30 feet apart in each corridor.
"I am rather surprised KU still has five dormitories that do not have fire detectors, because fire detectors are safer," Markley said yesterday.
Markley said the fire office inspected the residence halls each year. But each year when the smoke detector gave out not met the KJI
lin in 1988, in Hashinger and Ellsworth in 1989 and McCollum in 1990, Stoner said.
"I had been operating under the assumption that the plan is acceptable." Stoner said.
But Markley said the housing office was violating state law by not having alarms in the five halls. He said the housing office could be liable if someone was injured or killed in a fire in one of the halls.
Shelly was slightly taken aback by the suit's sudden loss of candor. She looked at the suit, touched it.
"Yes," she said, "I like you very much. You're the most wonderful suit I've ever seen."
I am rather surprised KU still has five dormitories that do not have fire detectors, because fire detectors are our top priority in fire safety.'
Shortly after she finished talking, she heard Harry walking up the porch stairs. She ran from the bedroom to greet Harry at the door. He greeted her with a slight kiss on the mouth.
"How was work today?" she asked.
"Busy," Harry said, walking past her. "All these going-out-of-business sales are killing us. This was the year this year. I didn't do dh today."
"I went shopping," she said.
"Bought you something."
"Oh," Harry said. He switched on the television set.
"Do I want to?" Harry asked.
"Harry, don't be a turd," she said.
"Come look at it."
"Don't you want to know what I bought for you?" she asked covly.
"It's blue," Harry said flatly. He turned his face to meet Shelly's. "It's bright blue. Why do you buy me these things?"
"I just wanted you to look good tonight." she said.
his eyes lit up when he switched the channel knob to a station that was playing "Johnny Quest." Harry liked "Johnny Quest," so he sat on down the floor to watch it. About halfway through the show, Shelly interrupted him.
Harry looked up from the TV set, looked back at the floor, then stood up slowly. He followed his girlfriend into the bedroom. When she opened the door, he peered in.
"Just try this one on, Harry," she said. "You might like it better."
"I was planning on wearing that suit." Harry said, pointing at a pale yellow knit suit with too-wide lapels. "I always wear that suit when we go out. I like it."
"I like the yellow one," Harry said. He walked out of the room. Shelly stayed in the room. She and Harry had been through this little scene probably 50 times since she moved in with him three years ago. Three years
"Well, what do you think?" she said.
ago, Harry's suits looked as silly as they did now. She remembered thinking that he could use a woman's touch in his war-
"Oh well," she thought to herself. "At least I tried."
She started to walk back out to the living room.
"Don't go back out, Shelly," the suit whispered.
"What?" she said. "Why not? If I don't, Harry will think I am pouting. Then he'll make fun of me."
"Shelly, please don't go back out," the suit said.
Shelly, noting that she probably was reacting to the pleading tone in the suit's voice, decided to stay in the room. Soon, Harry walked back in.
"Do you really want me to wear it?"
"Well, yeah, I do. You'll look so handsome. It's a really beautiful suit."
"Then I'll wear it," he said. "I'll wear the damned thing, Shel. I will look like a queer. My friends will laugh at me. But you've gotta promise me one thing. You've gotta promise me that you won't buy me any more of these ridiculous clothes, Shel."
Shelly was stunned. All she wanted Harry to do was to wear a well-tailored and smartly styled suit just once. After he tried it, she reasoned, he'd like it.
"Sure," she said, her face lighting up.
Dinner went almost as usual, with Shelly becoming upset at Harry's constant rubbernecking. Harry seldom looked at her when they went out.
"Can I get you some more water?" the waitress asked, her top row of teeth clamped on her bottom lip. "Or anything else?"
Later, Harry and Shelly got dressed for dinner. Indeed, Harry looked good in the suit. Harry his wishes, he even thought so.
Shelly watched the scene for a while until it started to make her feel like throwing up.
During the meal, a young waitress went up to Harry.
"Thanks," he said, scrunching his shoulders in order to make the jacket fit better.
"Honey?" she said, her chin held high. "Why don't you run get us some Captain's Wafers?"
Harry looked at her, then walked back into the living room.
"I like that suit," she said, her eves on his shoulders.
"No, that's all right," Harry said, smiling up at her.
Her comment broke the waitress' eyelock. Shelly stared the waitress down, following her all
the way to the kitchen. Shelly was good at staring women down. Even when he wore his salesman clothes, women looked at Harry.
"Why'd you come down so hard on her?" Harry said. "She's just trying to get some tip money."
"Harry, she was flirting with you," Shelly said angrily.
Harry just kind of smiled that same odd smile, the kind of grin he always had on his face when little girls flattered him. Sometimes he had that smile when he came home from work.
After the meal, Harry and Shelly went to their car. Shelly was still upset about the waitress and didn't respond when Harry put his hand on her leg.
Several of their friends — who actually were Harry's friends from work — were inside. There were four couples and a woman named Sharla Knight seated at a corner booth. Harry and Shelly walked over to them. As they approached the table, one of Harry's friends started making fun of Harry's suit.
"Jesus Christ, Harry, don't you look pretty tonight," said the friend, Joe Chelton. "OOH, BABY."
When the suit's right sleeve touched her thighs, however, she took a quick breath as its silky smoothness sent a ripple of electricity through her body. Maybe it was just in her head, she thought, but she could have sworn that the suit got even brighter when it touched her skin.
Soon they arrived at the dance club. They excited the car silently, each on their own side. Harry had opened Shelly's door exactly three times in the four and a half years they had known each other.
Harry shot Shelly a sideward glance.
Harry's other men friends had comments similar to Joe's. But their wives, Shelly noticed, were silent. All female eyes were riveted on Harry, especially those of Sharla Knight. Shelly didn't like Sharla Knight, hadn't ever since a Christmas party a few years back when Sharla kept begging Harry to "kiss her under the mistletoe." Harry didn't do it, but he never told her no. After a few hours and a gallon of eggnog, Sharla Knight grabbed Harry's head and shoved it, face first, into her lap. It still amazed Shelly how hard Harry laughed about that stupid joke. They'd had a king-hell fight about Sharla, one they had never completely resolved.
"Thanks," he said.
Louisiana Purchase Shopping Center
2223 Louisiana 841-7070
priority in fire safety.
Paul Markley
Of the state
Fire Marshal Department
e e t t d o r i t e n n y e r c r g g s y e ts . i l p-
"A jury would probably have to answer that question," Markley said. "If they believed the University was negligent, or not making enough of an attempt to comply with the law, they could possibly be held responsible."
Two halls are about the most that could be wired with smoke detectors in one year because the housing office has a limited number of electricians. Also, the cost of the installation would take money away from other projects such as roof repairs, Stoner said.
Don McConnell, assistant director of maintenance for student housing, said that Oliver still was being wired for the smoke alarms, and that the project would be completed by the beginning of next semester.
Milroy said smoke detectors were installed in the scholarship halls in the early 1980s.
Stoner said smoke detectors had been installed in Jayhawk Towers some time after the housing office began operating the Towers in 1980.
NCE
ls support
Even though the amount of money KU receives from the state is 85.9 percent of the average amount received by peer schools, KU has the largest private endowment. KU's endowment totals $196 million. North Carolina has the second largest endowment at $105 million and Oklahoma has the smallest at $23 million.
from both. The load has to be shared."
KU's total spending for fiscal year 1987, which ended June 30,
was $183.99 million. The Endow-
See PRIVATE. d. 14, col. 1
TOMORROW
KANSAN MAGAZINE October 14, 1987
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