KANSAN
University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas
Tuesday, August 31, 1982 Vol. 93, No. 8 USPS 650-640
Poll challenge draws threat
By DOUG CUNNINGHAM Staff Reporter
A KU law student said last night he would drop his plans to challenge a public opinion poll on a nuclear weapons freeze with the Soviet Union, because he had received a letter threatening his
"Normally, something like this would only strengthen my resolve to pursue this, but the police have advised me not to take something like this too lightly," said Bill Halverson, who had planned to challenge in court the poll the Lawrence City Commission decided last week to sponsor concurrent with the November general election.
"My wife and I have discussed this and we have decided that safety concerns override the principles here." Halvorsen said.
haversan turned the letter over to Lawrence Police, but issued copies of it to the local media.
The letter, which was postmarked Kansas City, Mo., intimated that Halverson's life would be in danger if he continued with his plans to take the legality of the pail. It was signed "A FRIEND."
John Linscheid, chairman of the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice, which asked the commission to sponsor the poll, said of the letter, "I think that's entirely regrettable. I would not be sorry to see Mr. Halvorsen drop the suit, but I would be sorry if that what's caused it."
Halvorsen said, "While I still strongly believe that the entire process is illegal, I feel I cannot
gamble with the safety of my family, especially since my children are young."
since my children are young.
Halverson and his wife have four children.
Halvorsen and his wife have four children. According to a resolution the commission adopted, the polling on the question of weapons weapons freezes the referendum in any way the product of the general election. Separate tables, poll workers and ballots to be provided at all polling places.
The Coalition is to pay the expenses of the unofficial election except city overhead
Halvorsen said the threatening letter "only serves to reinforce my concern that overly zealous advocates at the polling places will turn both the official and unofficial elections into a battle."
The nuclear freeze question is not a local issue, and therefore cannot be placed on the ballot under the home rule amendment to the Kansas Constitution, Halvorsen said.
Constitution, Harrison. A nuclear weapons freeze is an international issue, he said, and as far away from a local issue as one could get.
"I think there is ample authority for the city to sponsor a polling of public opinion," Commissioner Barkley Clark said.
Some commissioners and members of the Coalition disagreed.
Clark did say, though, that Halvorsen had a perfect right to challenge the polling.
Tom Moore, a member of the Coalition and the person in charge of setting up the arrangements for the election, said why the polling activity could not take place without interfering with the regular election.
City Commissioner Don Binns said that the voting place was a place to get people's political opinions, and it was logical to sponsor a polling of public opinion concurrent with the general
Blins also expressed regret about the threat Halvorsen received.
"If a person doesn't have an opportunity to express a political opinion in this country, we're reaching a pretty sad state," he said.
Two commissioners said that threats such as the one Halvorsen received were becoming more common in Lawrence.
"I'm quite concerned there are people out there who feel that's the way to deal with any public issue," Commissioner Tom Gleason said. "They don't get to be politics as usual in Lawrence."
Gleason said he received threats during the recall election conducted against him last May.
Francisco said she had received obscene telephone calls.
Several of the commissioners also said that the threat against Halverson was out of character and that he had been given an excuse.
"That sounds like it came from somebody on the Ringe." Commissioner Nancy Zontz said. "Most of the people who are involved in the case are not the type of people who would do this."
Bims said, "I'm sure it didn't come from the Coalition; it came from some kook."
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Poles may riot on anniversary
By staff and wire reports
Millions of Poles are expected to riot in the streets of Poland today as they celebrate the second anniversary of Solidarity, demonstrating to their government that, despite the imposition of martial law, the independent trade union is as strong as ever.
The polish government is intent on stopping the demonstration and has set up water cannons and heavy armor in downtown Warsaw to discourage the resurgence of Solidarity's former influence, according to press reports.
Solidarity was the first free trade deunion in the Eastern Bloc, but was declared illegal last
december when marital law was imposed on Poland.
"There is no solution to the stalemate in Poland but forcing the government to make concessions. Jarosław Piecki has said Soviet and Eastern European studies, said yesterday.
Today is generally regarded as being Solidarity's anniversary because two years ago Polish strike organizers formed the InterFactory Strike Committee with Lech Walesa as its chairman, he said. The Committee later became known as Solidarity.
Plekalevkiye said a combination of things should make today's demonstration successful, including a renewed fervor for the war and army that could desert the government's position and join with
Solidarity at any time and an inadequate Polish police force.
what the imposition of martial law accomplished was to make the youth solid behind Solidarity," he said, with "100 percent support" from the government and "100 percent hating Russians."
The Polish police force consists of about 30,000 specially trained and housed officers, he said, but that would not be adequate to deal with crowds over 100,000 in most cities of Poland.
Pleklaiewicki, who remains in contact with friends in Poland, said solidarity had turned into an underground network and was planning a general strike for sometime this fall.
"The Polish people are determined to fight," he said.
KU students help fund Polish meals
By MATTHEW SCHOFIELD Staff Reporter
KU students provided a month's worth of food earlier this year for about 170 Polish people by participating in the Skip-a-Meal program last Valentine's Day, the head of KU's Friends of Solidarity group and organizer of the program, said yesterday.
Tolly Smith, the group's founder and a KU graduate student, said that on Feb. 14 KU students donated $2,268 of the $6,300 Friends of Solidarity collected for food last year. She said the group sent $5,000 to CARE in April and $4,974 on May 24. The remaining money would be sent this fall to Palomba through CARE to buy, tractor parts, she said.
Smith said the group had set a goal of at least 65,000 because that amount enabled them to choose which city the food would go to and also include a message on the packages.
The people of Lords would know their food was from Lawrence because of the note the group had attached to each carton of food, she said. "The people of Kansas," she added. (The University of Kansas, the people of
Kansas and Missouri) to our Polish friends, with hope for a better tomorrow."
Jaraslow Piekalkiewicz, KU professor of political science and Soviet and Eastern European studies, said sending food to the Poles would give them courage. He said they had selected to send their food to Lodz because it was a heavily industrial city and there were many women who worked in the factories who had trouble feeding their children.
"It isn't just a question of food," she said.
"We wanted the people in Poland to know that there was someone in Lawrence, Kansas, who cared about them."
"It is most likely that in Lodz there is nobody who has ever heard of Lawrence, but getting food from the heart of America will give them courage," he said.
The food was distributed to people who had been picked out by Polish social services and the Catholic church as being responsible for much of the food went to people with dependent children, she said.
The packages cost $12 each and contained enough food to support one person for a month, although most packages were probably shared by a family, she said.
Smith said they elected to send their remaining $1,200 for tractor parts because the immediate food need had been met and it was time to help the Poles get back on their own feet. Many tractors in Poland were unusable because of a lack of parts, she said.
family. Mary Ann Van Vooren, Kansas City, Mo.
director of CARE, said the packages contained over 23 pounds of staple foods.
A recent survey in Poland showed that in one district of the country, slightly larger than a Kansas county, there were 3,200 inoperable tractors, she said.
"One conservative estimate said that Poland could increase its food production by 30 percent."
Smith said she started the Friends of Solidarity group about one year ago after having seen Wales on television when he asked Americans to aid Poland by sending volunteers. He was joined by Friends of Solidarity because those were the words Wales had used in his appeal.
The group grew to about 10 people and they set up a bank account for donations, she said. She said the donations they received were about one-third from the skip a meal program, one-third from Lawrence and one-third from Kansas City.
Clarence Wingert, a worker for W.A. Dunbar Construction Co., apparently didn't need a lounge for his work break yesterday. Whether digging a trench miles from the nearest conveniences or just outside Summerfield Hall, Wingert seemed more than happy to have a seat on the scoop of his backhoe.
It will be sunny and very warm today, with the high temperature reaching the mid-90s, according to the National Weather Service in Topeka.
The service provides a 20-percent chance of rain tonight, with lows dropping into the mid-30s.
The extended forecast calls for seasonable weather with little or no rain expected.
Dismissal clause added to contract for graduate TAs
By DON KNOX Staff Reporter
An 88-word addition to the contracts of graduate teaching assistants was criticized by members of the Graduate Student Council yesterday, but KU's vice chancellor for academic affairs told student leaders the contract revisions were made in "good faith."
"We felt badly that the students were not included in the process," vice chancellor Deanell Tacha said after a meeting with members of the Graduate Student Council Executive Committee yesterday. "But we were attempting to get a form through very rapidly."
The revised contracts for TAa — which were approved in July — included a clause that said an "appropriate dean, director or vice chancellor" could cancel the appointment of a graduate
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Ford supports Reagan's tax increases as step in right direction
Former President Gerald Ford spoke at a press conference at Forbes Field in Topeka yesterday morning. He endorsed Republican Morris Kay, who will oppose incumbent Jim Jeffries for the second district Congressional seat in November.
By BRUCE SCHREINER Staff Reporter
Ford, in Topeka to campaign for Republican congressional candidate Morris Kay, hedged at pinpointing what specific effects the tax hike, which was passed earlier this month, would have on funding for education, but he said the increase of good dose of medicine for an ailing economy.
Although the Reagan administration's $99 billion tax increase measure may not eliminate the prospect for future budget cuts in education, it is a move in the right direction, former President Gerald R. Ford said yesterday in Topeka.
"I can't say that any individual program will be helped, but it (the tax hike) will help reduce the (federal) deficit by about $30 billion so that's progress." Ford said.
In his defense of Reagan's economic policies, Ford said many of the budget-training tactics he used to raise taxes were not intended.
"You have to be careful when looking at this, for a lot of people think the president has cut the budget," Ford said. "The truth is that only in a handful of times have programs been reduced."
What the president did was reduce the rate of growth."
Ford also focused on two emotional issues awaiting congressional action — the proposed constitutional amendment for a balanced federal budget and ways to bolster near-empty Social Security coffers.
In his analysis of the balanced budget amendment, Ford said it should be the last alternative selected in curbing bulging deficits. Ford's hesitation to endorse the proposal hinged on the length period before the amendment could become operative, if it passes.
"Then after ratification another two years pass before it goes into effect. So it would be at that point before ratification."
"Even if Congress approves it and it goes to the states for ratification, historically two or three years have passed before an amendment receives ratification from enough states." Food
the Senate seats are an immediate need (to eliminate the deficits). It can be met by electing people who will vote for a balanced budget," he said. "They
lea. A more expedient method of fighting high deficits, Ford said, is in the grasp of voters in November when all House seats and one-third of the Senate seats are up for election.
can balance it next year and not five years from now."
Turning to the embattled Social Security system, Ford again advocated quick answers to a problem that could become critical by next year if no action is taken.
Although Ford said Kay was one person voters could turn to for a quicker solution to the budget problem, Kay has been an outspoken supporter of Mr. Bush (the bipartisan). Kay did not comment on the contradiction.
"if nothing is done by August, the Social Security trust fund will be broke," he warned.
Ford said concrete decisions had to be made by either a lame-duck congressional session after the November elections, as proposed by Republican Robert D. Kaiser and his Robert D. Kaiser, or by early next year.
Policy decisions mapped out by the president and Congress could rely heavily on the findings of a committee now studying the insolvent Social Security system, Ford said.
The committee, under the guidance of Alan Greenspan, a former economic adviser to Ford, is scheduled to make recommendations to the president after the fall elections.
In forecasting the upcoming elections, Ford said the success of Republicans depended on the
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