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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
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Kansan
Wednesday
September 9,1998
Section:
A
Vol.108 . No.15
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Vol.109·No.15
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Sports today
The Kansas soccer team defeated Big 12 rival Missouri 1-0 yesterday at Super Target field. It was its first win of the season.
SEE PAGE 1B
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Darren Matheson, Ponca City, Okla. senior; Bryce Penke, Omaha, Nebr., senior; Ryan Coleman, Omaha, Nebr., senior; Bill Roache Omaha, Neb., senior; and Brian Penke, Omaha, Nebr., junior toast to Mark McGwire's 62nd home run of the season. McGwire broke Roger Maris' 1961 record for the most home runs in one season last night against the Chicago Cubs. Photo by Carie Waters / KANSAN
Chuck Patten Seattle, Wash., sophomore
"I'd give it back. It's a piece of history.
Probably 60,
61 doesn't mean as much. But 62, that's something he should have."
Katy Poorman Davenport, Iowa junior
"I'd keep it because I'm a Cubs fan and I have a vengeance for the Cardinals. It's nothing personal against him, he's just playing for the wrong team."
McGwire hits No.62; fans eagerly watch
By Sam Mellinger
Kansan sportswriter
He did it.
mark McGwire completed his pursuit of perhaps baseball's most prestigious record, Roger Maris' 61 single-season home runs, last night in St. Louis with a 341-foot line drive down the left field line off Chicago Cubs pitcher Steve Trachsel.
"That's my boy," said McCabe, who has taped McGwire's at bats as McGwire closed in on the record. "Geez, can you believe it?
The home run sent fans all across the country into a frenzy, including Tim McCabe. St. Louis junior.
"Mark McGwire is a modern-day legend. Someday, I'm going to be telling my kids I
watched him play."
Alan Potter, Iola sophomore, jumped from his seat as soon as McGwire made contact. "I am'ew-struck," he said. "He's a great guv. a role model."
McGwire jumped in celebration and missed first base after watching the ball clear the wall. After going back to touch first, he received congratulations from each Chicago Cubs infielder as he made his way around the bases.
McGwire was mobbed by his teammates after reaching home plate and picked up his son, Matt, who serves as a batboy for the team.
Now the record-breaking pressure is off.
Kevin Maris, Roger's son, coached Chad King, Kansas first baseman, during high school.
"Roger's wife, I talked to her about it. All the pressure, it was awful," King said. "Nowadays, everybody's supporting McGwire, which is good."
McGwire's unprecedented home run binge was the biggest story in sports this summer, sometimes even stealing headlines from the President Clinton sex scandal.
Mickey Venerable, Sports Page Brewery manager. sees the effects of McGwire's home
"We saw a big influx of people (when McGwire hit his 61st home run Monday)," he said. "It's one of the biggest media events going on right now, not just in sports, but around the world. When he's up, everybody's eyes are glued on the TV."
runsfirsthand.
The run at the record has millions — baseball fans or not — checking the news everyday to find out if McGwire went deep.
Count Kansas baseball coach Bobby Randall among those millions.
"You bet, who hasn't?" he said. "I follow it everyday in the paper. I'm like everybody else. I'm such a fan of it."
The record-breaker put McGwire four home runs ahead of Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa, who is on pace to finish the season with a total in the mid-60s, a number many others previously thought unattainable.
"I never thought it would happen," Randall said. "That's more than one every three games against major league pitching. That's incredible and something I just never thought would be done."
But just because McGwire is now the official single-season home-run king doesn't mean he's done. After all, the Cardinals have 18 games left.
Phone bills get bigger after FCC legislation
'Universal' fee imposed on telephone firms to pay for Internet access of certain groups
By Chad Bettes
Kansan staff writer
Students who went home this summer and didn't have to pay a phone bill were in for a surprise when they returned to school.
The fee is in response to a government mandate, said Kerry Hibbs, representative for AT&T Corp. He said the mandate required phone companies to help schools, libraries, low-income consumers and rural health-care facilities access telecommunications services such as the Internet.
Long-distance telephone companies are charging a new fee.
AT&T alone is expected to pay $1.3 billion this year. Overall, phone companies are expected to contribute $2.5 billion to the effort. While phone companies could
"I wouldn't mind the fee, but they're already making enough money," Coakley said. "They should find a way to pay for it without passing it along to customers."
Mary Coakley, Overland Park junior, thinks the purpose of the program may be good, but she said phone companies should absorb more of the charges themselves.
She suggested that large corporations make contributions or lead fund-raising efforts for the project.
Sean Kelley, Kansas City, Kan., freshman, said he did not mind paying about $1 a month because the money went to a good cause.
pick up the cost themselves, most are putting the cost on consumers.
"Now five or 10 bucks would be a different story," Kelley said.
"I already pay enough for long distance. It's just ridiculous." Coakley said.
UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND
How does it affect the consumer: Long-distance companies have passed the charge along to consumers.
Who collects it: Long-distance phone companies.
What is it? Fund created by the FCC to finance improved telecommunications in rural and educational settings.
Kelley said that phone companies should share the cost out of their profits. The non-voluntary aspect of the program also bothered him.
"They shouldn't be able to put it on the bill without permission," Kelley said.
(USPS 650-640)
Hibbs said, "We are very much in favor of helping connect people to the Internet, but we cannot support the cost entirely."
As of July, AT&T began charging residential customers 93 cents per month, calling the fee a universal connectivity
charge.
The fee collected by AT&T is designed not to provide additional profits for the company, but to cover the cost of the mandate, Hibbs said.
The Universal Service Fund is a result of a sweeping piece of legislation called the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996. One part of the legislation provided the FCC with the authority to assess universal service fees to long distance companies.
Business phone customers contribute but are on a different fee scale.
For example, the University of Kansas will spend about $25,000 a year for the Universal Service Fund, said Jan Weller, director of networking and telecommunications services.
Weller said the University selected Campus Link this year to provide on-campus long distance service. Campus Link uses the Sprint long distance network.
The fees paid by the long distance companies are sent to the Universal Service Fund, which was created by the Federal Communications Commission.
Administration to define plans for University at convocation
International experience better research seen as key
By Jason Pearce Kansan staff writer
Chancellor Robert Hemenway and Provost David Shulenburger will detail their plans of taking the University of Kansas into the 21st century this afternoon — their version of a State of the Union speech.
Faculty and staff convocation begins at 4 p.m. in 130 Budig Hall, Hemenway and Shulenburger will speak at the faculty and staff convocation about Initiative 2001, a long-term planning effort.
CONVOCATION
■ When: 4 p.m. today
■ Where: 130 Budig Hall
Tom Hutton, University relations director, said the speeches would
What: Administrators will discuss plans for the University's future.
"For the last nine months, a series of task forces have worked to make recommendations on these goals," Hutton said.
stem from Initiative 2001's three longterm planning goals - act as one University, serve Kansans and build learning communities.
Shulenburger said that he would focus his speech on building learning communities for undergraduates by revising the curriculum.
"I will talk about revising the undergraduate curriculum to include research experience and community service graduation requirements," he said.
He said that research experience could include students working on large research projects as undergraduates.
"Another part of my speech will focus on every student having a significant international experience during their undergraduate program," Shulenburger said. "There are nearly 2,000 international students on this campus, and domestic students should get to know the international students on many different levels."
He said that these proposals came from the Initiative 2001 task forces, which made the recommendations in the spring.
"I am serious about finding ways to do these new ideas," Shulenburger said.
Hutton said that between 150 and 200 people from various University departments recommended several other options for improvement, including a need to upgrade computer technology and to focus on continued educational success.
"Looking at the future of a university is a tough task, but when different levels work together, you come up with better ideas." Hutton said.
Hemenway said that he would talk about three major recommendations from each of the task forces.
"This is an opportunity for the University to plan for the future," Hemenway said. "We need to be able to act as one university by combining resources and faculty expertise."
He said that an important factor in the future of the University would be to serve as the research university for the greater Kansas City area.
Administrators recently changed the location for the convocation from 120 Budig Hall to 130 Budig Hall to broadcast the event to the University of Kansas Medical Center and to the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.
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