Tomorrow's weather
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Warm temperatures continue tomorrow with wind and mostly cloudy skies.
Kansan
HIGH 68 LOW 49
Online today
Tobacco prices just went up, so for those of you who smoke, now is a great time to start saving your lungs. The American Lung Association site has some tips:
http://www.lungusa.org/index2.html
Sports today
Tuesday
December 1, 1998
Section:
A
Vol. 109 • No. 70
The No. 7 Kansas men's basketball team plays No. 8 Kentucky in the Great Eight at the United Center in Chicago tonight.
SEE PAGE 1B
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Candle ritual tempts wrath of hall officials
By Sarah Hale Kansan staff writer
The 49 women who live in Watkins Scholarship Hall do not think that traditions should be broken.
document of Student Housing has asked to change their rituals this year.
Watkins Hall has celebrated the holiday season with two annual events — one formal and one informal — for longer than anyone can remember.
HOUSING POLICY
While the formal event, decorating the Christmas tree, has not been questioned, the informal event, which involves candle, has covered some
- "No materials, liquid or otherwise, of an explosive or combustible nature shall be kept on the premises.
Candles, incense and open flame decorations are fire hazards and are prohibited."(page 22 of the housing rule book).
dles, has caused some alarm.
commer wamellink, assistant director of the department, told the residents last night that they only had one option: Change the tradition.
Ken Stoner, director of student housing, said concerns first were raised by Laura Bennett, Watkins Hall director, who is new this year.
The informal event traditionally begins with a couple of women on the hall's third floor.
As the women go downstairs, they stop at each door, and those residents join. All of the women
See HOLIDAY on page 2A
Accident victim named as student
Alcohol played role in freshman's injury
By Keith Burner
Kanson staff writer
A 19-year-old KU student was hospitalized and remains in serious condition after being struck by a truck early Sunday morning at 11th and Kentucky streets.
Dorothy Sarah Kay, Lawrence freshman, had been crossing Kentucky Street at the 11th Street intersection at 2:21 a.m. when she was struck by a northbound white Iauzu pickup.
Police said alcohol was present in the truck and contributed to the accident.
Kay is the fifth KU student this year to have been injured seriously in Lawrence in a pedestrian-vehicle accident involving alcohol on the driver's part, police said.
At the time of the accident, Kay was carrying no identification and was unconscious. Police could not identify her immediately.
"During periods of consciousness, she has told us that she was Donna and 17," said Lawrence Police Sgt. George Wheeler. "That's the only two things she said."
It turned out that neither of those things was true.
Authorities had to wait a day and a
half until a friend of the student's family identified her from a hospital photo shown on a local news broadcast, said Lawrence Police Lt. David Cobb.
Her identity was released by police Sunday evening.
"We only found out she was missing this afternoon," said Richard Kay, Kay's father, last night. "It was 6 o'clock when we found out it happened and then we rushed to the Med Center."
He said a number of Kay's friends had come together to contact her family after the accident.
Richard Kay is a retired KU professor of history. He retired in May.
Kay was taken by helicopter to the University of Kansas Medical Center following the accident.
Med Center personnel reported that she had been admitted in serious condition and that her status had not changed through Sunday evening.
Wheeler said Kay had suffered spinal injuries, head injuries and possible broken bones. Richard Kay said his daughter was still semiconscious and had some broken bones.
"Right now, she is resting easily. Her vital signs are normal," Richard Kay said. "It's going to take awhile."
Police have interviewed the driver of the car that struck Kay, a 22-year-old Wichita man, and the passenger, a 21-
year-old Lawrence man, but have made no arrests.
What charges, if any, the driver faces will be determined at the district attorney's discretion. Wheeler said the severity of the charges would depend on the victim's condition.
Among the four other students struck this year was KU freshman Lisa Rosel, who was killed March 31 in the 1400 block of Tennessee Street by a drunk driver.
Eight months later, three 20-year-old KU students were placed in the intensive care units of area hospitals after they were struck on Massachusetts Street by a truck being driven by a man who later failed a field sobriety test.
The students have been recovering from the Nov. 21 accident.
Mark Talley, Leawood sophomore, was released from Lawrence Memorial Hospital Sunday, and the conditions of Justin Barron, San Ramon, Calif., junior, and Clinton Rousseau, Kansas City, Mo., sophomore, have been upgraded to fair from critical at the Med Center.
Accident information
Although there have been three alcohol-related pedestrian accidents in Lawrence, the number of alcohol-related accidents for the state is decreasing.
See page 5A
Promoting awareness
Gavon Leessig,
Lincoln, Neb.
junior, bends down to get a closer look at a section of the AIDS quilt.
Panels of the quilt as well as art and writings were displayed in the Kansas Union Gallery yesterday.
The panels will be there through Friday. Photo by Jeff Sevrin/
KANSAN
World AIDS day advocates change
Bv Sue Franke
Kansan staff writer
The American Association for World Health, sponsor of World AIDS Day, chose the theme "Be a Force for Change," to challenge young people to realize the role they play in the fight against AIDS.
Today marks the 11th annual World AIDS Day. With increased HIV infections among the college-age population, this year's events are targeting young adults.
The American Association for World Health's goal each year is to encourage AIDS education. In response, the Douglas County AIDS Project has organized multiple events this year, including several on the KU campus.
"AIDS-related illnesses are the sixth leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 24," said Sidney Hardgrave, executive director for the Douglas County AIDS Project. "Fifty percent of new cases of AIDS worldwide have occurred in people ages 15 to 24."
Student Union Activities is showing two HIV and AIDS exhibits from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Friday at the Kansas Union Gallery on the fourth floor, said Zora Mulligan, SUA graduate adviser. One exhibit features two panels from the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, and the other is an eclectic exhibit featuring cartoons, poems and essays from people who are HIV positive.
Another event on the KU campus is a Condom Carnival, co-sponsored by the AIDS Project and KU Queers and Allies. It will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the fourth floor lobby in the Kansas University. Games and activities will be used to promote correct condom usage and provide information about AIDS.
"The cartoons in the exhibit called 'I'm Positive,' are satirical and talk about one man's experience with AIDS." Mulligan said.
Volunteers are distributing AIDS fact sheets that have red ribbons attached to them on campus today. Hardgrave said.
In addition, the Campanile's bells will ring 18
times beginning at 2 p.m. today to denote 18 years of the AIDS epidemic.
"One thing that struck me this year is that we have been aware of AIDS in the United States for 18 years," she said. "People entering college have never known a world without AIDS. In some ways, it has been normalized, yet we're not seeing a lowering of infection rates among young adults."
The goal of the Douglas County AIDS Project is to help young adults realize they need to take responsibility for limiting the spread of the disease. Hardgave said.
An estimated 30 million people throughout the world are infected with HIV and approximately 90 percent of them,27 million,are unaware of their HIV status.
Watkins Memorial Health Center, which will distribute information on AIDS today in the Kansas Union lobby, offers HIV testing. Students can contact Watkins at 864-9500 for testing options. Testing only occurs on Mondays at Watkins, and the cost is $20.
Sales remain steady despite 45-cent hike
Cigarette prices increase in aftermath of settlement
By Chad Bettes
Kansan staff writer
Many cigarette users are seeing more of their money go up in smoke after tobacco companies announced sharp price increases last week.
After signing a massive legal settlement between tobacco companies and 46 states including Kansas, Philip Morris USA raised its prices by the equivalent of 45 cents per pack.
Philip Morris USA is the largest tobacco company in the country, and other major tobacco sellers, such as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., quickly followed suit in increasing prices.
A representative for Philip Morris USA confirmed the company increased prices but said the company had no further comment on its pricing structure.
John Singleton, director of corporate communications for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., said his company's increase was simply
because of the increased cost of doing business. He acknowledged that the $200 billion settlement was one component of the increased costs.
"I could not believe it. I went from paying $2.62 a pack to $4."
Elizabeth Ihle
"It's the big thing right now that everyone's talking about," Innes said. "The biggest comment I've gotten is, 'It looks like it's finally time to quit.'"
In the settlement, Kansas is poised to receive $1.5 billion from tobacco companies during a 25 year span. Attorney General Carla Stovall approved the multi-state agreement and dropped pending lawsuits against the industry.
Tiffany Ball, a representative for
Robert Innes, assistant manager of Miller Mart, 1801 W.2nd St., said he saw no decrease in cigarette sales yesterday, the first day his store increased prices.
"The sad thing is that people will keep on smoking and keep on buying them." she said.
Ihle found the same prices at the second store.
Retailers have passed the price increase along to consumers, and KU students such as Elizabeth Ible. Atlanta junior, took notice.
He said Miller Mart only raised prices by 45 cents on the brands that the store was paying more for now. Stores set their own retail prices, which can vary from market to market. He said promotions offered by distributors also influenced prices, delaying price increases on some brands.
Innes has answered a lot of questions from customers about the prices.
"I could not believe it," Ihle said.
"I went from paying $2.62 a pack to $4."
Atlanta junior
She said she questioned the clerk about the price increase at the gasoline station in Idaho where she purchased cigarettes during Thanksgiving break. When the clerk told her the increase was because of a government action, she said she did not believe him and went to another store.
the attorney general, said Stovall's objective was not for consumers to pay more for cigarettes. Rather, it was to see Kansas reimbursed for smoking related health care expenses and to stop tobacco companies from marketing to youth.
Marketing restrictions were another component of the legal agreement.
"By getting rid of Joe Camel, billboards and sponsorships of certain sporting events, she hopes to prevent marketing toward youth," Ball said. "That was her intent from the start."
Ball said the tobacco companies could have taken the expenses out of company dividends or profits rather than passing them along to the consumer.