2A
The Inside Front
Friday January 22,1999
News
from campus,the state the nation and the world
CAMPUS
Sprayed paint causes false alarm in Strong
A false fire alarm drive Strong Hall occupants out into yesterday's drizzling rain for about 10 minutes Thursday morning.
Paint droplets from a sprayer being used on the third floor caused the fire alarm to go off. While officers from the Lawrence Fire Department and KU Public Safety Office examined the building to ensure that it was safe for people to re-enter, about 50 people waited outside the east wing of the building, said Brian Lawrence, medical battalion chief with the fire department.
Despite the inconvenience, the crowd was understanding.
"I would have preferred to stay inside, but you never know when something like this is going to be threatening," said Linda Benitez, a secretary in the Provost's office.
LAWRENCE
Two men struck by car in front of Dos Hombres
Lawrence Police officers saw a driver strike two Lawrence residents with his car in the parking lot in front of Dos Hombres early yesterday morning, Lawrence police said.
Police arrested the 20-year driver skid out of the parking lot at 815 New Hampshire St. after hitting the men. Officers initially were called to the scene because of a fight that occurred as the restaurant was closing, said Sgt. George Wheeler.
One victim suffered minor injuries and was treated on the scene.
Pollice said that the two victims, 19 and 21, were involved in the fight, which had moved outside when police arrived.
The suspected was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of an altered drivers license.
The two men who were struck were not charged.
Katie Burford
STATE
Teen-age pregnancies decreasing in Kansas
report still ranked Kansas in the middle of the pack nationally.
TOPEKA — Kansas is making progress in its efforts to curb teen pregnancy, a new study shows. But a children's advocate says the state still has a long way to go.
Fewer Kansas teen-agers are having babies and more teen-age mothers are receiving prenatal care than in the past, according to the Kids Count report released Wednesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. But the
The report also showed that fewer Kansas teen-agers were having abortions, although it ranked the state among those with the highest teen abortion rates.
"I think we're making slow but steady progress," said Gary Brunk, executive director of Kansas Action for Children, a statewide organization that promotes children's issues.
"I would say this is a reason to be cautiously optimistic about the trend in Kansas, but it's also clear there is much more that we need to do," he said.
Brisk said that Kansas did not have the resources to do the community effort that has been proven to make a difference in other states.
In 1980, there were 57 births to young Kansas women, ages 15 to 19, for every 1,000 births in Kansas. By 1996, that number was down to 50.
NATION
Springfield girl finds four neighbors dead
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A girl seeking a cup of sugar from her neighbor found the pregnant woman dead, bound with an extension cord. Inside the home were the bodies of three children.
Police in this southwestern Missouri city called the four killings their worst homicide case in at least a decade.
The body was bound with an extension cord and white scarf around her neck. Police who searched the rest of the house found the three children, said officer Mike Green. Their identities were withheld.
Green said yesterday that he did not believe a man was living at the home. He said authorities knew who fathered her three children but he wouldn't comment on whether authorities knew who fathered the unborn child. He also said that the killer knew the victims, meaning the deaths were not a random act.
"At this point, we're right on the edge of the beginning of the investigation," Green said.
Swissair co-pilot urged landing before crash
NEW YORK — The co-pilot of Swissair Flight 111 suggested ignoring the rules and landing swiftly in the minutes before the plane crashed, but the pilot wanted to follow standard procedure for dumping fuel, *The Wall Street Journal* reported yesterday.
killing all 229 people on board.
The Journal, citing what it described as a preliminary summary of the cockpit voice recording, said the reported disagreement occurred as smoke filled the cockpit of Flight 111 as it flew from New York toward Geneva on Sept. 2. The plane crashed off Nova Scotia,
Canadian law prohibits the public disclosure of cocktail voice recordings.
David Austin, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said his agency was not sure exactly what document The Journal might have obtained, because several different preliminary summaries had been drafted.
Any substantive comment about the report may hinder the ongoing investigation into the crash, he said.
In Switzerland, Swissair also declined comment on the report, saying it had received no official summary from the investigators.
The Journal said the summary did not reveal a heated argument between the captain and co-pilot. But it said the summary showed the co-pilot, Stefan Lowe, repeatedly suggesting steps aimed at a quick landing, while the captain, Urs Zimmermann, rejected or ignored those proposals.
Some experts have contended that a prompt landing at Halifax, Nova Scotia, could have saved the jet.
Fannie Mae, NAACP to help homeowners
WASHINGTON — Mortgage-market giant Fannie Mae and the NAACP announced a partnership today to help at least 20,000 African-American families get information about home ownership.
Fannie Mae will provide up to $11.0 million in special financing for African-American families unable to afford large down payments. They will be able to put down as little as 3 percent to 5 percent of the home's value.
Fannie Mae also committed to finance an unlimited number of mortgages for qualified families recommended by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The traditional credit requirements will be eased for African-American families whose credit histories were marred by burdensome medical expenses.
"We put all of our will and wallet behind it," said Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae's new chairman and chief executive officer at a news conference.
Raines noted that while 73 percent of Caucasian families own their own homes, only about 45 percent of African-American and Hispanic families are homeowners.
Fannie Mae has helped the NAACP generate more than $120 million of mortgage financing for its clients over the past five years, and the new program should help double or triple that amount. Raines said.
Fannie Mae is a congressionally char tered, publicly traded company that buys mortgages from original lenders such as banks.
A KU employee's parking permit was stolen between 9 p.m. Sunday and noon Monday from a car in the 2500 block of West Sixth street, Lawrence police said. The permit was valued at $45.
ON THE RECORD
The Associated Press
A KU student was arrested on charges of domestic battery early Thursday morning in front of Oliver Hall, the KU Public Safety Office said. The student was awaiting the review of his case by the district attorney before he could be released. The victim did not required medical attention.
A KU student's golf bag was stolen between 4 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday from a car in Lot 90 south of Robinson Center, the KU Public Safety Office said. The bag was valued at $120.
A computer microphone was stolen between 3 p.m. jan. 15 and 8 a.m. Monday from Malot Hall, the KU Public Safety Office said. The microphone was valued at $20.
ON CAMPUS
- There will be an information table on Alternative Spring Break from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the Kansas Union. Call Thad Holcombe at 843-4933 for more information.
A poster sale, sponsored by the SUA Fine Arts Committee, will conclude at 5 p.m. today on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union. Call the SUA box office at 864-3477 for more information.
Today: IN HISTORY
1973 - The Supreme Court handed down its "Roe versus Wade" decision, which legalized abortion, using a timber approach.
1917 - President Wilson pleaded for an end to war in Europe, calling for "peace without victory." (By April, however, America also was at war.)
1953. the Arthur Miller drama "The Crucible" opened on Broadway.
1957- suspected "Mod Bomber" George P. Metesky, accused of planting more than 30 explosives in the New York City area, was arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut
1968- the comedy show "Rowan & Marvin's Laugh-ii" premiered on NBC TV.
1973 former President Johnson died at age 64
1997 the Senate confirmed Madeleine Albright as the nation's first female secretary of state.
1994 - "Schindler's List," Steven Spielberg's drama about the Holocaust, won Golden Globes for best dramatic picture and best director.
Theodore Kaczynski pleaded guilty in Sacramento, California, to being the Unabomber in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole.
Kansas feminist says movement should oppose abortion rights
By Kristi Reimer
Kansan staff writer
Lisa Bellict-St. Romain advocates gender equity, protests violence against women and considers Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton her role models:
The difference between Bellici-St. Romain and many other feminists is her stance on abortion: She opposes it.
"We want equity and good things for women without sacrificing our children and the vulnerable in our society," Bellici-St. Romain, president of the Kansas chapter of Feminists for Life, told about 30 people in a Kansas Union conference room last night.
Feminists for Life is a nonsectarian organization that, according to its mission statement, opposes abortion, euthanasia and capital punishment, as they are inconsistent with the core feminist principles of justice, nonviolence and nondiscrimination.
Bellict-St. Romain, a high school social worker, said that part of her mission was to change the societal conditions that made pregnancy a crisis.
She said young women who were pregnant and scared needed to know that there were options besides abortion.
She used the example of finding family housing on college campuses as a potential "crisis" for single pregnant women.
Bellici-St. Romain objects to the abortion-rights slogan, "We won't go back," which refers to an era where women's rights and well-being were not considered.
"My answer to that is, 'We don't have to go back,' she said. "It's not like it was. We have pregnancy crisis centers. We have a Family Medical Leave Act that guarantees at least three months off. We have scholarships and financial aid for education. Support is available."
In addition to her anti-abortion campaign, Bellici-St. Romain pushed more traditional feminist issues such as inclusive language.
"Inclusive language opens up our sense of what is possible," she said. "Don't call us girls. I'm a grown-up woman with a mind of my own."
Bellici-St. Romain also stressed enforcement of child support, equitable divorce settlements and equal pay for equal work, making the point that women earn only 85 cents for every dollar men earn.
Bellici St. Romain was brought to campus by KU Students for Life.
"This is a viewpoint that doesn't get out enough," said Scott Wallisch, St. Louis junior and a co-leader of the group.
Bellici-St. Romain said she joined the National Organization for Women because she had experienced gender bias, but she left the group in the mid-1800's.
"Work issues and equity issues weren't coming up," she said. "Instead they were saying, 'Vote on this or that abortion bill.'"
ET CETERA
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