Thursday, November 5, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
Campus offices accept reports of harassment
By Dan Curry
Special to the Kansan
When a University of Kansas graduate teaching assistant tried to report that her group's poster had been vandalized, she found that it was hard to know just who to call.
On Sunday, Christine Robinson, a member of Gay and Lesbian Academic and Staff Advocates, discovered an anti-homosexual slur scrawled across a poster advertising the group's party.
Posters advertising the ripped down elsewhere had gone unreported, but this time Robinson called the KU Public Safety Office.
Public Safety Office "Public Safety was right there for me as usual," she said. However, she had to do a lot of digging to find out who else she should contact, she said.
Orfices that handle bias incidents don't always share their information, and students don't always know where to report the occurrences when they do happen. Robinson said.
According to a referral guide distributed by the Division of Student Affairs, victims of harassment can be directed to five different numbers.
Dorie Williams, Topeka graduate teaching assistant, said that if she were a victim of a hate crime, she wouldn't be sure who to call.
"I'd probably go to someone who has more contacts," she said.
The University Information Center is one resource for students to find the proper individual, but it does not actually keep records.
Recording this information is important because it influences the administration's policy decisions concerning bias-motivated incidents, Robinson said. She contacted numerous University offices in an effort to make certain the event was recorded.
Maurice Bryan Jr., director
Equal Opportunity Office
864-3686
University Ombudsman
864-4665
KU Info 864-3506
Public Safety Office
864-5900
Crimestoppers
864-8888
Dean of Students
864-4060
of the Equal Opportunity Office, said, "Reporting incidents can give you an idea if in fact a pattern is developing, whether there is some need for the institution to take action of some kind."
Bryan said that people should not hesitate to call his office, even if the act is apparently random.
Sgt. Troy Maileen said police still were investigating the case involving the poster Robinson discovered.
When such crimes occur, the police note whether it was blas-motivated and spread this information to other offices through an activity log, a computer database open to the public and an annual report.
Students who suspected a bias-motivated incident had taken place should contact police, Mailen said.
Students abroad far from chancellor's goal
"Today about 750 students study abroad.Iwould expect that to be at least 2,000 students by the year 2000."
1995 Faculty Convocation
Chancellor Robert
Hemenway
By Kelli Raybern
Kansan staff writer
Chancellor Robert Hemenway wants the University to send 2,000 KU students overseas by 2000.
Interest in study abroad is on the rise, but the University is a long way from the chancellor's goal.
address
when Hemenway first set the goal in the 10-point plan of his 1995 Faculty Convocation speech, he said he believed that 750 KU students had studied abroad between the fall of 1994 and the summer of 1995.
That number, rounded from 739, included non-KU students and double-counted students who spent more than one semester on an exchange. The number of KU students who studied abroad in the fall of 1994 and spring or summer of 1995 was only 461.
The chancellor said he was unaware that the number, 750, used in his speech did not represent KU students.
"I think the important question is what's been the increase in KU students," he said. "I still think we should aim for 2,000 in 2000."
In the 1997-98 academic year and the summer of 1998, 638 KU students studied abroad. To reach Hemenway's goal would require an increase of more than 1,300.
"I think if we're to achieve the goal, there's a considerable challenge, but there's no doubt in my mind that there's a desire and a need." Hemenway said.
Between 1994-95 and 1997-98, the number
Doug Schenkelberg, outreach coordinator of the office of study abroad, attributed the growth to campus-wide promotion and new study abroad programs.
of KU students abroad increased 38 percent.
new options for study abroad focus on departmental programs, summer programs and programs for students who don't speak a foreign language, Schenkelberg said.
Hemenay also aimed in his 1985 speech to increase the number of international students who attend the University to 2,500 by 2000.
2,000,000 2,000,000
The number of international students at the University has been declining since the fall of 1995. That semester, there were 1,732 international students, 322 more than this semester's 1,410.
Hemenway said the drop was because of the declining world economy.
"Various economic problems in Asia and elsewhere have cut into numbers," he said.
Joe Potts, director of International Student Services, said that the Asian economic crisis was a factor in the decline but was not the main reason.
"Probably the primary reason the numbers are down is increased competition both in the U.S. and around the world for international students," he said.
He said numbers were down throughout the U.S. because of increased competition from countries including Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Potts said that costs such as airfare, buying a car and immigration fees forced international students to shop carefully for an education.
International students seek educational bargains within the United States by going
"Increasing non-resident tuition rates hurt states like Kansas relative to states like Oklahoma," he said.
to community colleges and to states with low non-resident tuition, Potts said.
Potts said the University could no longer depend primarily on word of mouth to draw international students.
Joe Potts, director of International Student Services, said there were a number of good ideas and initiatives currently under consideration. He said that departments across campus had shown interest in doing something about the negative trend in international student numbers.
Hemenway
"We try to find people interested in those kinds of scholarships," he said. "It's an ongoing goal to raise funds for that."
said increasing the number of study abroad and international student scholarships would improve participation in those programs.
Kansas polling sites see lowest voter turnout on record
By Carolyn Mollett
Kansan staff writer
Voter participation was at a record low in Tuesday's statewide elections. Turnout at one student polling site reflected that.
Patty James, Douglas County Clerk. said 124 out of 1,033 registered voters - 12 percent - participated from the Allen Field House precinct, which serves only Jayhawker Towers and Daisy Hill residents. That is compared with 702 out of 1,399 registered voters in 1996.
Many KU students voted in precincts all around Lawrence, so there will be no means of gauging city-wide KU student turnout until voter history numbers are available, said Chuck Knapp, communications representative for the Secretary of State's Office.
Tom Moore, campus director of the Student Legislative Awareness Board, said he was surprised that more students in the field house precinct hadn't taken an interest in the closely contested 3rd District race between Republican Vince Snowbarger and Democrat Dennis Moore.
"I don't know why — when you are given a voting location as close as Allen Field House — you wouldn't go do it," Tom Moore said.
Statewide, voter turnout was 49 percent compared with 75 percent during the 1996 election. This year's percentage was the lowest since Kansas began registering voters in 1968.
Knapp also said the number of voters
who participated in the election was the lowest since 1966.
It isn't unusual, Knapp said, to have lower voter turnout during non-presidential election years. But he said the last non-presidential election, in 1994, drew 64 percent of Kansas voters, and the 1990 election drew 67 percent.
rhere are a number of major factors that contributed to the low participation this year, Knapp said. He said there were fewer than usual local issues on the ballots, there were 60 uncontested Kansas House of Representatives seats
and there was only one open statewide race, which was for treasurer.
There also was a general sense of contentment among voters, he said.
"The Kansas economy has been very strong." Knapp said.
Tom Moore said there were a number of incumbents running for re-election who were expected to do very well.
He said he suspected that voter turnout was low because people already knew their favorite candidates would do well and because the weather was bad yesterday.
James said that voter turnout among
31st and 3rd District voters in Douglas
County was 46 percent this year compa-
pared with 76 percent in 1996. And overall
voter turnout in Douglas County was
47 percent, down from 76 percent in 1996.
We Buy, Sell, Trade & Consign USED & New Sports Equipment
$1 OFF COUPON
K.U. STUDENTS ONLY
WORLD'S GREATEST
HAIRCUT
$7.95
reg.
$8.95
SNIPN'CLIP
FAMILY HAIRCUT SHOPS
With coupon * Expires 11/30/98
721 Wakaraus Rd.
next to Baskin-Robbins
(785) 313-2405
Open Nights and Sundays --- Just Drop Int!
1410 Kasold #8
near Mr. Goodenets
(785) 824-5151
841-PLAY
1029 Massachusetts
REG. $45
HELENE CURTIS
PERMS
$2495
COMPLETE WITH CUTI Long Hair Extra
"NO COUPON SPECIALS" EVERYDAY
C mputer
1525 West 6th* 845-9922
TWO-FERS THREE-FERS PARTY '10' CARRY-OUT
2-PIZZAS 3-PIZZAS 10 PIZZAS 1-PIZZA
2-TOPPINGS 1-TOPPING 1-TOPPING 1-TOPPING
2-DRINKS 3-DRINKS 1-DRINK
$9.75 $12.50 $32.50 $3.75
DELIVERY HOURS
Sun-Thurs 11am-2am Fri-Sat 11am-3am
Lunch • Dinner • Late Night
1601 W. 23rd Southern Hills Center • Lawrence
DINE-IN AVAILABLE • WE ACCEPT CHECKS
MALL'S BARBER SHOP
23rd & Louisiana (next to Godfather's) 842-1547
944 Mass.832-8228
928 Mass. Downtown
Red Lyon Tavern
Blue Chip Group/KUTEA Long Term Care and Life Insurance Programs for the Kansas University Teachers and Employees Association
For More Information Visit:
Burge Union-Daisy Hill Room, November 11 & 12, 10-5
Kansas Union-International Room, November 11 & 12, 10-5
or call 800·726·9308