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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2011
RAISING AWARENESS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Curtailing domestic violence
NICK SMITH/KANSAN
President of the Commission on the Status of Women at Kansas Meridian Pavilion, a senior from Leawood, is helping to make students and others aware of Domestic Violence issues in front of the Kansas Union.
SARA SNEATH ssneath@kansan.com
Domestic Violence Awareness week is in full swing with lectures on masculinity, indigenous cultures and vampires.
Meredith Pavicich, president of Commission on the Status of Women, said that CSW decided to do a week of events in recognition of national Domestic Violence Awareness month. She said that the topic is especially relevant considering the recent vote in Topeka to repeal the local law that makes domestic violence a crime. The decision was later overturned when the district attorney reversed his earlier stance and once again began prosecutions.
"If we learned anything from what happened in Topeka, it is that domestic violence prevention is still relevant," said Pavicic, a senior from Leawood.
Pavicic said that CSW would have a table in front of the Kansas Union all week with information on domestic violence issues and resources.
They will also be displaying Willow Domestic Violence Center's Clothesline Project. The project is a visual display of t-shirts bearing the words of domestic violence survivors and their loved ones. The shirts are hung from a clothesline as a form of documentation of domestic violence.
"Making the t-shirts help women and children of the shelter in the healing process," Pavicic said.
Kaylyn Wright, the Gender-Based Violence Activism Events Coordinator of CSW, is especially excited about Thursday's lecture on unhealthy relationships in pop culture. Wright, a senior from Roeland Park, said that the event would focus on the recent vampire craze. She said that she hoped to elicit the curiosity of Twilight fans.
"The protagonist in the film is constantly getting hurt because of her love and that is not what love is supposed to be," Hammons said.
JT Hammons, a senior from Valley Falls, is leading Thursday's lecture titled "Friends Don't Let Friends Date Vampires." Hammons said that he had spliced together scenes from the Twilight series that highlighted the unhealthy relationship romanticized by many young women.
About 25 percent of women and 8 percent of men will be a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC defines intimate partner violence as physical, sexual or psychological harm by a current or former romantic partner or spouse.
— Edited by C.J. Matson
LECTURE EVENT
Lecture: "Friends Don't Let Friends Date Vampires."
Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
in 3139 Wescoe.
Lecture on domestic violence in indigenous cultures in America: Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Regionalist Room of the Kansas Union.
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onto the Lawrence Salvation Army for distribution.
Clark said that the citizens of both cities are what make this type of drive possible.
Shop Wednesday 'til 6:00... Thursday 'til 8:00pm
"I just think the community is wonderful with the way they respond, both in Topeka and Lawrence," she said. "It's cool that every year we still get thousands of coats."
The company has been holding the drive since 1987, taking warm clothes and giving them to those in need.
Rapist targets sorority alum
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAWRENCE
Winter is fast approaching, and Scotch Fabric Care Services is holding its "Share the Warmth" winter coat drive, continuing until Nov. 23.
Local business holds 26th annual coat drive
Lawrence Scotch manager Laurie Clark said she expects 2011 to be
Scotch will receive and wash the donated items before passing them
"This is our 26th year going into it, and we've collected over 200,000 coats in those 25 years between the Lawrence and Topeka divisions that we have so I think it's very successful," Clark said. "Every year, you think, 'Oh, there can't be any more coats,' and every year, there's definitely more."
A Dallas-area rapist appears to be preying on members of a national black sorority, leading the organization to urge alumnae to remove any trace of their affiliation from cars, clothing and even their key chains.
Steven Small
another successful year
NATION
Delta Sigma Theta issued the warning this week, citing four sexual assaults, all involving black women in their mid-50s to mid-60s. Police say the assailant indicated during the attacks that he knew personal information about the victims.
"We believe it's more than just accidental," said Matthew Kosec, deputy police chief in Coppell.
Cynthia M. A. Butler-McIntyre, national president of the sorority, said it isn't certain that the victims were targeted because of their sorority affiliation, but "we are arring on the side of caution" and advising members "to take the necessary precautionary measures."
Detectives have not determined exactly how the rapist might be learning about the sorority affiliation.
"We just don't know if the suspect is identifying these ladies as they are out shopping in the area or if it's something more advanced than that" such as using social networking sites, Corinth police Capt. Greg Wilkerson said.
The group urged members to avoid displaying any items identifying them as sorority alumnae, including vehicle stickers, jewelry, clothing and accessories. They also warned members to remove information such as their whereabouts from social networking sites.
The other two assaults took place in Plano — one in April and another "prior to that," said Plano police spokesman Andrae Smith, who would not elaborate on the earlier date.
"The pattern of the alumnae membership was the big flag that put this together," Kosec said. "When you have a sexual assault like this, the detectives are very good about getting all sorts of details that could lead to the suspect."
The attacker is described as a black man in his late 30s to mid 40s, 5 feet 7 inches to 6 feet tall and weighing 250 to 300 pounds. Police in Plano released a video shot in April from a surveillance camera showing an unidentified man who appeared to resemble the description. Authorities say they would like to question that man in relation to the attacks but declined to provide more details.
Smith, who said the victims did not attend the same college, said investigators noticed the similarities after the second attack and shared the information with surrounding cities.
Delta Sigma Theta counts more than 200,000 mostly black college-educated women among its members. Seventy-six percent of the group's members are alumnae, while 24 percent are still in college. The group has more than 900 chapters located around the world.
The most recent attack was Oct.14 in Shady Shores, said Corinth police, who are investigating the rape in the nearby community. The Coppell attack occurred Sept. 15.
NATION
Court asked to consider whale rights
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A federal court is being asked to grant constitutional rights to five killer whales who perform at marine parks — an unprecedented and perhaps quixotic legal action that is nonetheless likely to stoke an ongoing, intense debate at America's law schools over expansion of animal rights.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is accusing the SeaWorld parks of keeping five star-performer whales in conditions that violate the 13th Amendment ban on slavery. SeaWorld depicted the suit as baseless.
The chances of the suit succeeding are slim, according to legal experts not involved in the case; any judge who hews to the original intent of the authors of the amendment is unlikely to find that they wanted to protect animals. But PETA relishes engaging in the court of public opinion, as evidenced by its provocative anti-fur and pro-vegan campaigns.
The suit, which PETA says it will file Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Diego, hinges on the fact that the 13th Amendment, while prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude, does not specify that only humans can be victims.
Jeff Kerr, PF.TA's general counsel, says his five-member legal team — which spent 18 months preparing the case — believes it's the first federal court suit seeking constitutional rights for members of an animal species.
The plaintiffs are the five orcas, Tilikum and Katina based at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla., and Corkay, Kasataka and Ulises at SeaWorld San Diego, Tilikum, a sixton male, made national news in February 2010 when he grabbed a trainer at the close of a performance and dragged her underwater until she drowned.
"SeaWorld is among the world's most respected zoological institutions," the company said. "There is no higher priority than the welfare of the animals entrusted to our care and no facility sets higher standards in husbandry, veterinary care and enrichment."
Captured nearly 30 years ago off Iceland, Tilakum has enormous value as a stud and has fathered many of the calves born at SeaWorld parks.
The lawsuit asks the court to order the orcas released to the custody of a legal guardian who would find a "suitable habitat" for them.
"By any definition, these orcas are slaves — kidnapped from their homes, kept confined, denied everything that's natural to them and forced to perform tricks for SeaWorld's profit," said Kerr. "The males have their sperm collected, the females are artificially inseminated and forced to bear young which are sometimes shipped away."
SeaWorld said any effort to extend the 13th Amendment's protections beyond humans "is baseless and in many ways offensive."
The statement outlined the many laws and regulations SeaWorld is obliged to follow, touched the company's global efforts to promote conservation of marine mammals, and said the orcas' performances help give the public a better appreciation and understanding of these animals.
SeaWorld and other U.S. marine parks are governed by the Marine Mammals Protection Act, which allows public displays of the creatures.