Page 12
University Daily Kansan, October 7. 1982
The fire escape behind the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity collapsed Aug. 25, 1979, causing former KU student Gregory Harding to fall 25 feet. Harding is seeking $5 million in Johnson County District Court for injuries he received from the fall.
Ex-student charges SAE with negligence in suit
By KIESA ASCUE Staff Reporter
Jury selection begins Oct. 18 in Johnson County District Court for a $5 million civil suit filed by a former KU student who was charged with Epsilon fraternity and other groups.
Gregory Harding, a member of the SAE fraternity and a former KU student, is suing the house and other groups because he claims their alleged negligence caused him to sustain permanently disabling injuries.
On Aug. 25, 1979, Harding fell 25 feet and landed on a trash bin when a fire escape stairway collapsed at the SAE house, 1301 West Campus Rd. The accident resulted in severe, painful injuries and astronomical hospital bills. Harding said in a complaint filed in the district court.
Harding contends that the SAE fraternity knew the fire escape was unstable before he fell from it, yet failed to correct its defects. He claims SAE tried to cut costs by eliminating necessary safeguards when the fire alarm built in 1986 was overly warnings against the cost-cutting measures.
HARDING CLAIMED that he probably would continue to incur additional nursing, hospital and other expenses for the rest of his life, and that his earning capacity was depleted by the fall. He has already had to change his eating habits because of the severity of his injuries.
An attorney representing the SAE house was unavailable for comment.
The fire escape had a rusty weld and deteriorated bolts, Gene Shaughnessy, chief building inspector for Lawrence, said yesterday. Although a plate with 10
bolt holes held the platform on the building, only six bolts had been drilled into the wall.
"The TYPE OF bolts used didn't prevent corrosion and rusting." Shaughnessy said. "If they had used them, they may not have had the problems."
Architects, engineers or construction crews could be responsible for the flaws that led to Harding's fall, Shaughnessy said.
"We couldn't tell whether it was a flaw or an installation flaw." Shaduah said.
Harding claims that SAE signed a contract with E.J. Strubb Construction Co. without consulting SAE board members, who might have been able to tell that the cost-cutting measures in the fire escape plans were unsafe.
HARDING ALSO claims the SAE fraternal association failed to provide the SAE chapter house with a procedure that would keep the association up-to-date concerning the safety, maintenance and upkeep of the house.
Since Harding's accident, the SAE house's fire escape has been repaired and improved, said William Middleton, SAE president.
SAC to retire Titan missiles from service
According to district court records, the defenders in Harding's suit are: the Sigma Alpha Epsilon House Corp.; thesigmaAlphaEpsilonFraternalAssociation; Ernest J. Straub doing business as E.J. Straub Construction Co; Linscott, Haylett, Wimmer × architects, Kansas City, Mo; Paul N. Lewis, Pead Williams, Kubota, professional associations successors to Roberts, Peters, Ericson, Harrison × Williams, P.A.; James C. Dohery doing business as Doherty Ornamental Iron and+or Doherty Ornamental Iron Inc.
By United Press International
OFFUIT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. — The Strategic Air Command said yesterday it had started retiring its 184th aircraft. It is the most powerful U.S. missile.
A SAC spokesman said one of the missiles was removed from its silo 11 miles northwest of the Tucson, Ariz., city limits and dismantled six weeks ago. He said the site was selected first because it was near an elementary school.
THE SPOKESMAN said another missile was being disarmed 30 miles south of Tucson and a Titan II would be permanent. The Titan II will lie near the Valley, in the near Tucson.
He said the remaining force of 49 ICBMs — 17 each in Kansas and Arkansas and 15 in Arizona — would be dismantled by September. 1887.
Each of the 20-year-old missiles carries a single warhead with approximately nine megatons of power, $450 million in war damage and destroyed Hiroshima in World War II.
THE MISSILES are said to be capable of reaching targets deep in the sea.
However, the Titans' relatively unstable fuel system has figured in accidents that killed two people at a launching site near Wichita in 1978 and one airman near Damascus, Ark., two years ago.
The Air Force considers the Minuteman and experimental missiles which have been much imitated.
The Reagan administration has said the constantly increasing cost of maintaining the old missiles was the biggest reason for its decision to retire them.
To replace the Titan IIs, the Air Force wants 100 MX missiles in heavily armored, closely spaced underground buildings. The U.S. Air Force Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger.
NDSL aid shrinks to '75 level
By DIRK MILLER Staff Reporter
Federal funding for some of KU's financial aid programs has increased in the past eight years, but one program was cut back last year by its board of its 1975 level. Jerry Rogers, director of financial aid, said yesterday.
The National Direct Student Loan program at KU did not receive any money from the federal government this year and had to rely on loan payments to carry the program, said Rogers.
Rogers said the NDSL program was usually KU's larger chunk of federal financial aid money.
"Our NDSL program will remain fairly consistent," he said. "If there's only so much money in the program it will stabilize."
NATIONALLY, FEDERAL funding for financial aid programs has remained stable for the past two years, said Steven Dorssom, assistant regional administrator for the Kansas City, Mo., Board of Education.
Robert Telthorst, staff representative for Sen. Bob Dole, said Dole and Congress recognized the need for many federal aid programs. This year it appears that Congress is going to sustain the programs at the current level, Telhornst said.
Warren Bell, director of state and federal programs for the board of education office in Topeka, said it was the third time funding was looking good for next year.
Rogers would not speculate on how much federal money would be available for financial aid next year.
THE FINANCIAL AID office is in the process of filing its annual report, which is due by Oct. 18, to the national board of education office.
Rogers said every institution that applied for federal student aid programs must fill out an annual report on the previous fiscal year. He said KU's figures should be ready by tomorrow.
The University and the federal government use the student financial aid report as a guideline for the next fiscal year's request.
Some federal financial aid funding.
such as the College Work Study program, have increased fairly steadily at KU since 1974. Rogers said. The upstart university is by far more than $280,000 since 1974.
"It seems they like the idea of college students working for their aid," Rogers said of the federal government.
UNDER THE Work Study program, the University pays for 20 percent of students' wages and the federal government pays 80 percent.
The government only conditionally guarantees 90 percent of promised federal funds to any college, Rogers said, so schools ask for more money than is needed in case the federal funding runs out.
Rodgers said that when KU made its request for federal financial aid funding, the school requested more money than it actually needed.
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants have also recorded over $200,000 in increases since 1974. This has been a fairly consistent rise, Rogers said, except for 1978 when the program dropped by about $1,400.
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