Tomorrow's weather
A crow with a sun on its head.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Y
KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PO BOX 3585
TOPEKA, KS 66601-3585
Mostly sunny tomorrow with cooling temperatures for Friday.
ansan
Wednesday
December 3, 1997
Section:
A
Vol. 108 • No. 72
Online today
Don't know what to do tonight? Check out your options at the Lawrence Lifesites site.
http://falcon.cc.ukans.edu/~fletcher/
lifestyles/mainindex2.htm
Sports today
Former Kansas women's basketball player Angie Halbleib still graces the Jayhawk sideline, but now it is as a radio commentator.
SEE PAGE 1B
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Greek houses seek diversity
By Jennifer A. Yeoman and Gwen Olson
jyeowan@kanson.com
golsan@kanson.com
Kansan staff writers
The fraternities and sororities governed by the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association have a reputation for being exclusively white. This is an image that the groups are trying to change at the University of Kansas.
The associations oversee the University's traditional Greek system of 14 sororities and 23 fraternities.
Few minority students are in the traditional Greek system because few participate in rush, said Ryan Dill, Junction City junior and president of Lambda Chi Alpha.
"We are actively recruiting minority members," Dill said. "We work really hard to bring minorities in. But I have found when I was rush chair that a lot of times they feel uncomfortable in the traditional Greek system, and feel more comfortable in the historically Black system."
Dill said that Lambda Chi Alpha has only three minority members, a number it are trying to increase. The house has 55 members.
"Because there are several systems, it creates a slow growth of minorities in the predominately white system," he said. "The numbers just aren't there for people who want to rush."
Kara Douglass, El Dorado junior and Panhellenic vice president for membership, agreed.
Douglass said that Panhellenic did not keep track of minority members going through rush and that there was not a space on the rush enrollment form for minority classification.
"We don't keep track of the numbers because there is no need to," she said. "We don't treat minority members differently. They have just as good a chance of getting into a house as anybody else does."
The University's peer institutions do not record the number of minority mem-
See GREEKS on page 3A
Tory Howze, Atlanta junior, entertains Monica Juarbe, San Juan, Puerto Rico, sophomore and Lewis Hall desk assistant. Howze transferred to the University this semester from Alcorn State an African-American university. Photo by Dave Moran/KANSAN
Housing broadens views
By Sarah Chadwick and Sarah McWilliams
schadwick@kansan.com and
smcwilliams@kansan.com
Kansan staff writers
When Tory Howze moved into Lewis Hall this fall, she wasn't sure what to expect. After having attended an historically African-American university, the diverse backgrounds of her fellow Lewis residents opened her eyes, she said.
She said she now thinks that living in the residence halls is one of the best ways to experience diversity at the University of Kansas.
"You get to meet a lot of people that you wouldn't meet living on your
own," she said.
Howze, Atlanta junior, transferred to the University this fall from Alcorn State University in Mississippi.
"People usually think of black and white when they think of diversity," Howze said. "But being here at KU has
See LIVING on page 3A
Senate to debate bill for Daisy Hill poll site
By Tim Harrington
By Tim Harrington
tharrington@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Let's get ready to rumble, Student Senate style.
The long-awaited and intensely-debated student initiative to put a Student Senate election polling site on Daisy Hill most likely will be brought up at tonight's Student Senate Executive Committee meeting.
StudEx meetings are attended by the student body president, the vice president, the StudEx chairman, the committee chairs, three student members of the SenEx committee and the chairman of the graduate executive committee. The meetings are held at 5:15 p.m. before every Senate session to establish Senate's agenda for the evening. Three others are on the committee but do not vote.
Supporters of the student-initiated bill, a bill with no sponsor but which has the signatures of at least 1,000 KU students backing it, hope to have the bill brought off the floor by a StudEx member and put on Senate's agenda.
Seth Hoffman, All Scholarship Hall Council senator, who has been working on the bill since September, said he was glad the legislation finally may have its day in court, so to speak.
"I'm sure there are multiple people on StudEx that would be willing to do that," said Kelly Huffman, StudEx committee chair.
Hoffman had the 1,000 student signatures needed weeks ago, but the elections commission, which verifies the signatures, nullified nine sheets of signatures on a technicality, leaving Hoffman 92 signatures short.
"It doesn't really matter," Hoffman said. "We ended up getting about 1,500 signatures anyway."
Student Senate Rules and Regulations mandates that the petition must contain the exact wording of the legislation in question
as it is to appear on the ballot.
Brad Finkeldei, elections commission chairman, said that when the commission received the ballots that Hoffman had printed they said "see reverse," but the rest of the wording of the bill was not printed on the back of the sheet.
Hoffman said he taped the legislation to tables located in all the residence halls, and because of that he didn't print the legislation on both sides but on two separate sheets.
"He made a very good case. I was sympathetic," said Sarah Deer, elections commission member, of Hoffman's argument to validate the sheets. "It was one of those hard decisions, but if we start allowing blank sheets then we set a precedent for the future."
The elections commission invalidated all the signatures on those sheets.
The elections commission approved the signatures that Hoffman collected after abiding by election-code regulations.
"I'm not against a polling site on Daisy Hill but I believe that the method being used here is improper," Mike Walden, vice president and StudEx member, said. "I see it as political gerrymandering."
However, the legislation is far from becoming law. Opposition to the bill is strong.
Walden says he will object to the bill if it is brought up in StudEx. He said he thinks it's the job of the elections commission to make the changes regarding polling sites.
"I don't think student senators should be making decisions that directly affect their own electability." Walden said. "I think it's important for students to know that even if the bill fails it will still be voted on as a referendum."
When a student initiative that fails still appears on a ballot, all KU students have an opportunity to vote on it. In this case, a referendum would be held sometime next semester.
If the majority of students vote for the bill, it goes back to Senate.
Jayhawks jam Arizona
Forward Paul Pierce dunks as Arizona guard Mike Bibby and forward Bennett Davison watch. Kansas defeated the Wildcats 90-87 last night in the Great Eight at Chicago's United Center. The game was the third in three years for the two teams. Last year's game in the NCAA Tournament ended 85-82 in favor of the Wildcats, who went on to win their first National Championship. Kansas led by 15 at the half and by as many as 20 after halftime. Photo by Geoff Krieger/KANSAN See Page 1B
Theater roof leaks rain on play plans
By Mike Perryman
Kansan staff writer
The rain that poured down onto the stage of Murphy Hall's Crafton-Preyer Theatre during Thanksgiving break was no special effect.
The roof above the theater has been under renovation for nearly a month. While replacing the roof, the vapor barrier, which is the first level of water protection, was left unsealed in some areas.
This allowed water to pass through the plaster fireproofing ceiling and pour onto the theater stage, said Rodger Orok, University director of facilities management.
"We had significant damage to
the stage floor and some paraphernalia and props on the stage and in the storage room below the stage," Oroke said. "We are working with the contractor and insurance company on determining the total damage."
Mark Reiske, production manager of design and construction management, said that neglect of the vapor barrier probably caused the flooding.
"Some of the seams on the barrier were probably just overlooked," he said. "They think they have it repaired water-tight now."
There also has been leakage in the Inge Theatre scene shop, where sets are constructed and in the Crafton-Preyer Theatre's audience section, he said.
Nintendo incident lands student in legal game
Kansan staff report
An 18-year-old KU student was arrested in McCollum Hall Monday evening after stealing a Nintendo 64 and games from a student's room, KU police said.
The 18-year-old, a McCollum resident, reportedly stole the equipment between 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. Nov. 17. The crime was reported to the KU police department Nov. 18, police said.
On Monday, police received a call from a McCollum staff member regarding filers in the residence hall advertising a Nintendo 64 and three games for sale. The staff reported the similarities between the theft and the filers to police.
The police officer who had taken the original theft report interviewed the student advertising the equipment. The student then was arrested on one count of burglary and one count of theft. The student was taken to the Douglas County Jail and is being held on a $2,500 bond for burglary and a $500 bond for theft.
The Nintendo 64 system belonged to the victim, but the three games had been rented from Hastings Books, Music and Video, 1900 W. 23rd St.
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