THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Tomorrow's weather
Kansan
Warm tomorrow with a slight cool down for the weekend
Thursday
September 10, 1998
Section:
A
Vol. 109 • No. 16
Online today
Sports today
Find coverage and great photos of the 1998 U.S. Rowing team, and follow them through the world championships this week. http://www.row2k.com
T. J. Pugh, senior forward, underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle. Pugh is expected to be ready to play when operations begin. Oct 17.
SEE PAGE 1B
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Bus officials use spin to prevent free rides
(USPS 630-640)
By Seth Jones Kansan staff writer
KU on Wheels officials decided yesterday that the best way to say they didn't know who was riding the bus was to say it quietly.
Hoping to avoid an onslaught of riders without valid passes, the transportation board decided yesterday to avoid the word "free" and to pitch the new plan specifically to bus-pass holders.
Because the card scanners on buses don't work, bus drivers cannot determine who has a valid bus pass. Officials originally planned to advertise free bus service to all students until the problem was fixed.
Forthcoming KU on Wheels advertising will state that buspass holders need to show their KUIDs to bus drivers until new passes arrive in two weeks.
Officials hope the plan will not upset bus-pass holders and will discourage those without bus passes from getting free rides, said Nicole Skalla, transportation coordinator for KU on Wheels.
Skalla also had proposed a "hush-hush" approach to the transportation board, in which the inoperative scanners would not be advertised. Those without passes would have continued to pay the $1 fee to ride the bus, and students would have been required to insert KUIDs into the broken scanners.
tributed for two days in front of Wescoe Hall, for three days at the Kansas Union and during evenings at residence halls, Skalla said. If students do not claim their new bus passes by the end of that week, they will be charged the
Skalla said she hoped the new bus passes — which are similar to the new KUID — will be delivered by Sept. 21. She said the passes would arrive by Sept. 28 in a worst-case scenario.
normal $1 fee to ride the bus.
KU on Wheels will distribute the new bus passes to students on campus. The passes will be discards will display each student's photo, which has been kept on file. Stickers will signify proof of buspass purchase.
Cybermark, the Florida-based company that made the new KUIDs, also will make the new bus passes. The new passes will not have any form of microchip or magnetic strip, Skalla said. The
The University administration will pay for the new card and related advertising costs, Skalla said.
"We went into a cooperative development partnership with Cybermark," she said. "If for any reason we found the equipment was not working, we knew we would not have to pay for it."
Cybermark will replace the defective scanners and will encode the new bus passes without billing the University, said Diane Goddard, University purchasing director.
"We could not put a sticker on
University administrators originally proposed using the KUID as a bus pass, Skala said. But that wouldn't have worked.
"We could not put a sticker on the cards because that would cause them to malfunction."
Nicole Skalla transportation director for KU on Wheels
the cards because that would cause them to malfunction," Skalla said. "So we were then given the choice of either using the smartcard chips or issuing our own new cards for bus passes.
"We thought the cost of making our own passes would be excessive and were told that the smartcard could handle serving as a bus pass, so we went with the smartcard."
Pressing the point
Lawrence residents Johnny and Josh McDermott, both 5, are lifted into the air by Big Tommy, a.k.a Tom Sirotnak. Big Tommy performed feats of strength and spread a religious message yesterday afternoon on the Stauffer-Flint lawn. Photo by Jeff Severin/KANSAN.
Professor blasts KU commercialization
Kansan staff writer
Bv Chad Buttes
In front of an overflow crowd of more than 200 at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, Katzman presented an extensive outline of why he thought it was harmful for the University to embrace commercialism.
David Katzman, chairman of American studies, delivered a stinging speech on the commercialization of campus yesterday aimed at University administration.
The open process of decisionmaking normally found in academia is damaged when large amounts of money are at stake, Katzman said.
He said the decision-making process was aimed from the top down rather than from debate within the University community.
"Money changes the structure of the University, sometimes in direct opposition to its tradition of openness." he said.
This closed process also is monopolistic in nature, he said.
Katzman said that corporate deals also gave the impression that the academic community was for sale.
David Katzman, professor of American studies, talks with Tim Miller, chairman of the religious studies department, loft, and Dennis Domer, associate dean of architecture and urban design, before Katzman's speech yesterday at Ecumenical Christian Ministries.
Chancellor Robert Memenway said business deals were a part of the commercial marketplace.
Some people disagree with Katzman's ideas.
He said that the University entered into them all the time to purchase items such as equipment and supplies.
In fact, he said, the deals may actually influence research and teaching methods.
"What's at risk is not just the University of Kansas but the research university," he said.
He emphasized the positive benefits resulting from recent contracts, including about 100 scholarships that students received this year from Coca-Cola.
Hiemenway also said that academic departments received more funds because business contracts supported KU athletic departments, which prevented athletic subsidies.
Theresa Klinkenberg, director of administration, said that a limited number of commercial contracts
provided the University with a great deal of money.
She said the exclusive Coke con-
Chancellor's plan moves University into 21st century
See CHANCELLOR on page 2A
At yesterday's faculty and staff Convocation, Chancellor Robert Hemenway and Provost David Shulenburger outlined several ways to use new educational goals, advanced computer technology and teamwork to improve the Univer-
By Jason Pearce
Kansan staff writer
Administrators are ready to move the University of Kansas into the 21st century, which may include adding graduation requirements for undergraduate research and international exposure.
sitv.
Henmenway: Says all task-force ideas will be acted upon
About 400 faculty and staff members attended the afternoon Convocation at Budig Hall. It also was broadcast to faculty and staff at the University of Kansas Medical Center and the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita
Shulenburger he soon would meet with department chairs and deans to discuss discipline-appropriate research experience and significant international exposure.
"Students leaving here with discipline-specific research projects would be better equipped to compete in a rapidly changing world," he said.
Shulenburger recently challenged task-force members to consider the difference between the top 15 percent of KU graduates to the others.
"They concluded that the top 15 percent had more faculty contact and were more involved in the process of inquiry than the rest," he said. "The task force recommends that we revise the curricular experience so that 100 percent have the same experience."
Shulenburger also noted that 945 students studied abroad last year, which was an increase of 160 students compared to 1996.
The changes stem from the Initiative 2001 task forces that were creat
"If our students are to cope with the rapidly blurring international boundaries of the world, they need fundamental understanding of other cultures just as much as they need the skills of inquiry." Shulen-burger said.
INITIATIVE 2001
Building common systems of communication and an effective network between all KU campus sites.
■ Installing the Internet 2 for research pursuer
The task forces recommended 131 improvements. They included:
■ Building common systems of com
Establishing a Kansas University
Center for Public Service Task Force Emphasizing service-based.
Enabling students to transmit documents to professors with compatible networking programs.
learning across the curriculum
All 131 recommendations are available at http://www.ukans.edu under the Initiative 2001 area.
ated by Hemenway at last year's convocation.
concierge Hemenway said that task force members recommended 131 ideas for meeting the goals of acting as one University, serving Kansans and building premier learning communities.
Hemenway said that numerous advances had been made during the last three years, including $150 million of current capital construction projects, a new structure in the administration and a new leadership team at the Medical Center, which will become a public authority Oct. 1.
"All of these recommendations will be acted upon — either implemented or studied — by June of 2000." Hemenway said.
Tim Bengtson, professor of advertising, said that Hemenway and Shulenburger's speeches were very informative and that they invited faculty and staff to become involved in the advances.
"We are certainly moving in the direction that the Chancellor wants us to move," Bengtson said.
Bengtson said that the task-force members brought up many ideas for improvement.
"We now know where we need to improve, and people will begin working in those areas," Bengtson said.
He also said the research requirement would lead to more students being better educated.
Rick Hale, professor of aerospace engineering, also said that research would enhance students' overall education.
"But getting that experience to all students is the question now," he said.