MONDAY,AUGUST 18,2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 19A
Some university groups see positive steps in the election of a gay bishop
By Meghan Brune
mbrune@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Sarah Burris, Lawrence junior, said she was shocked and excited to hear an openly gay man had been confirmed as bishop of New Hampshire.
"The Episcopal church is open and progressive, but I can't believe they went so far for an openly gay minister to become bishop," Burris said.
Burris, outreach coordinator for the University of Kansas Queers and Allies, said gays and lesbians still had a long road to being accepted by all religions.
"I don't think something like this is going to progress everything astronomically." Burris said. "But it is baby steps."
said. But it's too early.
Rev, Gene V. Robinson was elected as bishop of the New Hampshire diocese on June 7, 2003. Robinson is a divorced father of two who has lived with his partner, Mark Andrews, for 13 years. The House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, the legislative bodies of the Episcopal General Convention, must ratify Robinson's election for him to become bishop. Robinson's consecration is set for Nov. 2, 2003, and his installation as bishop is scheduled for March 7, 2004.
Some of the policy is followed and some is ignored, said Rev. Joe Alford, chaplain at the University Canterbury House.
The House of Bishops releases the Constitution and Canons every three years. This book contains the policies for Episcopal churches.
Cantley Academy
The Cantbury House, 1116
Louisiana St., is a residential and
social center for Episcopal and
Lutheran students.
Alford said each church had a different system of governing.
"Every church is automatically open and affirming by policy, not by practice." Allard said.
Alford said the Episcopal church was historically progressive. The church allowed the ordination of women in 1976, and in 1997 made a statement on homosexuality at the General Convention.
That statement reads, in part, "It is the sense of this general convention that homosexual persons are children of God and have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance and pastoral concern and care of the church."
Though the church's ruling is forthcoming, Alford said theologically he had no problem with homosexuality. The Canterbury House has had gay residents in the past, he said.
"If two people love each other and care about each other, who am I to say that is wrong?" Alford said.
But, Alford also voiced his concern about the decision.
"I don't know if it is wise, I don't know if it is right." Allford said, paraphrasing Acts 5:33. "But I do know if it is of God it will work and if it not it won't."
Whitney Rice, Lee Summit. Mo., junior and Canterbury member, said she was pleased with the New Hampshire church's action, but worried about the costs.
"I think it is a positive step,"
Rice said. "The Episcopal church has done a great job showing leadership in a difficult issue, but this is divisive."
Rice said she worried that Robinson's appointment would cause divisions in the church and it would likely push conservatives to break ranks from the church. Despite these worries, Rice said religious organizations had neglected gays and lesbians for too long.
Alford said looking at how far the church had come on the treatment of women gave him hope for homosexuals.
Burris said she attended the First United Methodist in Lawrence and felt welcomed in her church, but has felt ostracized in the past.
cizein the park.
"In a queer community it is really hard for people who are out to feel comfortable to go to church," Burris said. "I think it is the job of the church to welcome everyone and let them be who they are and practice at the same time."
— Edited by JJ Hensley
Twirling teamwork
Sara Baumgartner, St. Louis, Mo., senior, leads the Lawrence High School color guard through its fight song routine Friday afternoon at the Lawrence High School practice fields. Baumgartner is the instructor for the LHS color guard. The guard's opening performance is Sept. 9 at Haskell Indian Nations University.
Kansans utilize No-call registry
By Steve Schmidt
sschmidt@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
State and national list hinder telemarketers
Students who want to avoid telemarketers this semester have until Aug. 31 to sign up for the National No-Call Registry. The registry goes into effect after Oct. 1. Those who sign up after Sept. 1 will have to wait three months to get on the list.
Kansas residents can also register with the state, which will add their names to the national list automatically. More than 30 million people are currently registered nationwide, which could easily double after Oct.1, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier.
The Federal Trade Commission, a national consumer protection agency, manages the directory. The FTC also enforces the no-call law, along with the Federal Communications Commission and state law enforcement.
By the end of July, more than 503,000 Kansas residents had registered, said Bill Hoyt, public information officer for the Phil Kline, Kansas Attorney General.
The Kansas No-Call Act, part of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act, began last November.
If telemarketing companies and businesses that use them call people on the no-call list, they are subject to fines if complaints are registered. Hoyt said businesses had been penalized almost $187,000 in Kansas.
Hoyt said when the program started, 1,500 residents sent in complaints. Only 106 complaints came last July, a 93 percent decrease.
cent decrease. "We're very pleased that companies want to work within the law," Hoyt said. "We're pleased that the enforcement has been effective."
has been on a national level, telemarketing companies have been feeling the pinch of the registry's popularity, and have drastically downsized their staffs.
While telemarketing may be on the decline overall, local company Affinitas, 1601 W. 23 St., Suite 101, hasn't felt any financial blows.
"We're very pleased that companies want to work within the law."
Bill Hoyt public information officer for the Kansas Attorney General
Denny Dillon, Affinitas center director, said the company hasn't suffered any loss of revenue or staff because 50 percent of the company's business is done by in-bound calls, where customers call the company for more information about a particular business.
Dillon said out-bound calls are always made to people who have an already established a business relationship, one of the exceptions to the no-call registry's rules.
Other exceptions include calls from surveyors, political organizations and charities.
Penalties result from cold calling, where telemarketers call people unsolicited. Dillon said Affinitas doesn't use that practice.
"This is going to hurt the small companies that do cold calling. Unfortunately, most of these companies don't know the law in the first place," Dillon said. "We've positioned ourselves to not do that kind of work. We've been doing that long before the law came along."
Affinitas employs about 700 employees with about 300 people working at the Lawrence station. Of those 300 workers, about 100 of them are University of Kansas students. Dillon said the company is looking to add 50 employees to take inbound calls within the next four to six weeks.
Another local company hasn't been as successful under the no-call law. Lawrence-based KB & Associates, 1525 W. 6th St., paid $5,000 in civil penalties for 11 violations before July 3, according to a Kansas attorney general press release. Attempts to reach KB & Associates were unsuccessful.
Edited by Andy Marso
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