THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Dining previews 'Better Bites'
Free samples of healthy food options will be available in the Kansas Union today. HEALTH | 6A
Meier's many talents Kerry Meier's skills allow him to play different positions. FOOTBALL | 1B
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30,2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 30
LOST IN TRANSLATION
Jessica Sain-Baird/KANSAN
Jasika Sanbam Bainikshia
**Rocio Sanchez Ares laughs** with students at an ESL class at Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St., Tuesday night. The classes are held every Tuesday and Thursday. Sanchez Ares has been helping teach ESL classes at the church since January.
Bridging the language gap
BY RAY SEGEBRECHT
rseqebrecht@kansan.com
Schuyler Bailey, KU Public Safety captain, was the first to arrive on the scene in West Campus where he began to search for suspects. The offense, a property crime, was unrememorable, but once Bailey began questioning his first suspect, the investigation was unforgettable.
The suspect didn't understand English, and Bailey, who spoke little Spanish, had to contact the Department of Spanish and Portuguese for an interpreter when the man couldn't respond to his questions.
"Once we breached the language barrier, he was extremely
helpful," Bailey said. "I was able to immediately clear him as a suspect."
That was 10 years ago, but similar situations continue to arise in Lawrence. Students at the University are joining in both the discussion and the resolution of the language gap.
THE STRUGGLE IN EMERGENCIES
KU Public Safety isn't alone. The Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical Department and Lawrence Memorial Hospital are also encountering emergencies in which no one speaks English, but both organizations are addressing the problem differently than the KU Public Safety officers.
United States translation jobs by industry
The Fire and Medical Department, instead of consulting University foreign language departments, is turning to patient
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
acquaintances to communicate, division chief Joe Hoelscher said
"A lot of times, if a person is living in Douglas County or going
to school at KU, it's not uncommon for people to have names
SEE LANGUAGE ON PAGE 3A
LEGAL
Joe College forced to reimburse University
BY LAUREN HENDRICK
lhendrick@kansan.com
Students proudly wearing and buying shirts from Joe College can thank business owner Larry Sinks for fighting a legal battle with Kansas Athletics Inc. that ended in a settlement in July 2007. But the battle isn't over.
A federal judge ruled Monday that Sinks owes Kansas Athletics Inc. $667,507 in attorney fees and court expenses after the settlement
ended with Sinks awarding Kansas Athletics Inc. $127,337 in damages for "trademark infringement"
Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director, said the shirts created confusion in the marketplace and ultimately took money away from student scholarships funded by license revenue. Marchiony told the Lawrence Journal-World that Kansas Athletics Inc. earned about $2 million per year in licensing revenues.
Sinks
"Every unlicensed shirt sold means a licensed shirt isn't being sold," Marchiony said, "Larry sinks is still selling shirts that are not acceptable." Marchiony said any blue shirt with "Kansas" was a KU trademark.
Clark Siebert, Pretty Prairie senior and owner of a Joe College T-shirt, said he thought most students knew the difference between KU shirts and Joe College shirts, and the latest amount
SEE T-SHIRTSON PAGE 3A
@KANSAN.COM
See the breakdown of who will get the money Larry Sinks has to pay.
CRIME
Law professor questions statutory rape law's efficiency
BY BRANDON SAYERS
bsayers@kansan.com
Speaking to students Tuesday, former Kansas Special Assistant Attorney General Teresa Collett said a state law designed to protect children from sexual assaults might not be working properly.
Collett, now a professor of law at the St. Thomas University School of Law in Minneapolis, Minn., spoke about those requirements during the "Sex, Jurisprudence, and Rock and Roll" event hosted by the University of Kansas' law school and the KU chapter of The Federalist Society on Tuesday.
"It's unclear whether Kansas health care providers, school counselors, etc., believe that they have the obligation to report the pregnancy of a minor that's age 12, 13 or 14, maybe even 15," Collett said.
Kansas law says that professionals of many types, from counselors to dentists, are required to file a report if they have "reason to suspect that a child has been harmed" by a sexual act, with a child being anyone younger than 16, the legal age of consent.
However, there has been longstanding debate within the state about whether these professionals should only report those patients they believe were harmed during
"It is clear that the context of the law would require this," Collett said during her speech.
Collett said she interpreted this to mean professionals should be required to report all evidence of sexual behavior in those 15 years or
younger because the harm that had been done to the children could be undetectable or unknown at that point.
sexual activity, or if they needed to report all knowledge of sexual activity by those patients.
Professionals who are required to report suspicions of statutory rape of minors include physicians who specialize in STDs, counselors, abortionists, providers of birth control and many others.
TERESA COLLETT
Law professor,
St. Thomas University
"It is clear that the context of the law would require this."
Multiple organizations have voiced concern that these types of laws are an invasion of privacy. However, Collett said she thought the laws were in the best interest of the general public.
SEE STATE LAW ON PAGE 3A
Andrew Hoxev/KANSAN
Teresa Collett, visiting professor from St. Thomas University, speaks to law students about the effectiveness of Kansas law requiring some kinds of professionals to file a report if they suspect a child to have been harmed by a sexual act. Some organizations have expressed concern that these laws are an invasion of privacy.
index
Us. ... 3B Opinion... 5A
Crossword. ... 4A Sports... 1B
Horoscopes. ... 4A Sudoku... 4A
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2009 The University Daily Kansan
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ancient emperor's eatery excavated
Archaeologists may have uncovered the world's first revolving restaurant. HISTORY | 6A
weather
TODAY
73 58
1.
1.
FRIDAY
24
C
isolated t-storms
70 47