CAMPUS/AREA UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSA
Wednesday, October 23,1996
3A
Legislative hopefuls battle snow
KU students skip debate
By Spencer Duncan Kansan staff writer
Kansan staff writer
Candidates running for the Kansas Legislature plowed through campus snow yesterday to explain where they stood on issues such as crumbling classrooms and gun control. Few students, however, braved the weather to listen to them speak.
Twenty-five people attended a Kansas legislature candidates forum at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Less than half the audience was students.
Even Joseph Ledbetter, a Republican running for the 19th District State Senate seat, wasn't on time.
"I'm sorry for the late arrival," he said. "The weather is a little bad. Driving over here I even saw some ears on their tops."
Despite bad weather, the forum went on.
Candidates who attended were Ledbetter; State Sen. Senator Sandy Praeger, Republican running for re-election in the 2nd District; and State Representative candidates Tom Sloan, Republican running in the 3rd district; Joann Wiley, Republican running in the 44th District; and Barbara Ballard, Democrat running in the 44th District.
Chris Hamilton / KANSAN
Dan Owen, district attorney candidate, takes his turn to air his views during the candidate forum held yesterday at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
Except for Wiley and Ballard, the candidates are running unopposed.
The candidates discussed providing money for fixing crumbling classrooms.
This year's legislature approved $161 million to help Kansas Regents schools, including the University of Kansas, with physical improvements.
Wiley and Ballard had different views about whether the Legislature should continue providing money for the improvements.
"The legislature has given money, and the dilemma is being taken care of, and now we need to leave it up to the schools to spend that money." Wiley said.
Ballard has been in the Kansas House of Representatives for four years. She said the legislature needed to become more involved.
The candidates also discussed whether Kansas should allow concealed weapons.
"There are a lot of areas that need help that we didn't include in the plan we passed," Ballard said. "There are other problems that need taken care of, and it is crucial that the legislature address those."
Ledbetter, Praeger and Sloan agreed with Ballard.
Ballard and Praeger opposed laws allowing people to carry concealed weapons. But Ledbetter, Sloan and Wiley said people should be allowed to carry concealed weapons.
Forum misses students
Local politics a poor draw yesterday at KU discussion
By Liz Musser
Kansan staff writer
Students were the minority at the local candidate portion of yesterday's candidate forum in the Kansas Union. Some thought it may have been the weather, but others said could be a lack of interest.
"Ireally don't know how many students are interested in local issues," said Jenny Lawson, Lenexa senior and the Education and Forums coordinator for the Student Legislative Awareness Board. "There are some issues that might affect them, but many of them may not realize it."
The four candidates for county commissioner and the three district attorney candidates spoke to a mostly adult audience at the 45-minute forum.
Jim Jesse, the Democratic candidate for the 2nd District county commissioner seat, said he understood why few students had attended the forum. Many of the issues that county commissioners deal with do not affect students directly, he said.
However, one issue that might interest students is the South Lawrence Trafficway, because it deals with religious and environmental issues, Jesse said.
Jesse said that he supported building the trafficway south of the Wakaraus River or in alignment with 38th Street. Of these plans are acceptable to Haskell and Baker
University, Jesse said.
Bev Worster, Democratic candidate for the 3rd District county commissioner seat, opposed building the trafficway through the Baker Wetlands.
"If we pass a trafficway through the wetlands, we'll be buried in litigation for three to five years," she said. "We'll be throwing tax payer money at the courts."
Jesse's opponent, Tom Taul, and Worster's opponent, Dan Nieder, supported aligning the trafficway with 31st Street, a plan that would cut through the Baker Wetlands. They said they would consider the 38th Street alignment if it were more cost effective.
Students have a distinct reason to care about who is elected as district attorney, said Christine Tonkovich, Republican district attorney candidate. The office handles the prosecution of crimes that students sometimes commit, including possession of marijuana.
She stressed that such charges could stay on a student's record for a long time and that it was important to have a district attorney that would treat everyone fairly.
Democratic district attorney candidate Dan Owen said that because he only had been out of law school for six years, he still could sympathize with students.
Independent district attorney candidate Martin Miller said it was important for the district attorney to be flexible with students.
"It's important to determine if the crime is something that you really need to throw the book at, or if it is something that everyone has done at that age," he said.
County Commission 2nd district
Jim Jesse(D)
Tom Paul (R)
County Commission 2nd
district
Tom Taul(R)
County Commission 3rd district
Dean Nieder (R)
County Commission 3rd district
November 5 Ballot for Douglas County
Bev Worster (D)
Patty Jaimes (R) County Clerk
Pat Wells (D)
County Treasurer
Connie J. Daniels (R)
County Treasurer
Sue Neustiff (D)
Register of Deeds
Loren C. Anderson (S)
Sheriff
Sally Thompson (D)
U.S. Senate
Pat Roberts (R)
U.S. Senate
Steven Rosile (L)
U.S. Senate
Mark S. Marney (F)
U.S. Senate
Jill Docking (D)
U.S. Senate (unexpire
term)
Sam Brownback (R)
U.S. Senate (unexpired term)
Donald R. Klaasan (F)
U.S. Senate (unexpired
term)
John Frieden (D)
U.S. Rep. 2nd district
Jim Ryun (R)
U.S. Rep. 2nd district
Jim Ryun (R)
Vice Snowburger (R)
U.S. Rep. 3rd district
Charles Clack (L)
U.S. Rep. 3rd district
U.S. Rep. 2nd district
Judy Hancock (D)
U.S. Rep. 3rd district
Randy Gardner (I)
U.S. Rep. 3rd district
Chris O'Brien (D)
Kan. Senate 2nd district
Sandy Praeger (R)
Kan. Senate 2nd district
Anthony Hanley (D)
Kan. Senate 19th district
Joseph R. Ledbetter (R)
Kan. Senate 19th district
Bettie Sue Shumway (D)
Kan. Ben 10th district
Martin L. Miller (I)
District attorney
Dan Owen (D)
District attorney
Bill Clinton (D)
Kalp M. Tanner (R)
Kaip. 10th district
Barbara W. Ballard (D)
Kaip. 44th district
Howard Phillips (!)
President
John Hagelin (1)
President
Bob Dole(R)
President
Harry Browne (L)
President
Kan. Rep 10th district
Barbara W. Ballard (D)
Kan. Rep 44th district
Joann Wiley (R)
Kan. Rep 44th district
Nathan Messer (L)
Kan. Rep 44th district
Tom Sloan (R)
Kan. Rep 45th district
Troy Findley (D)
Kan. Rep 46th district
Becky S. Besser (D)
Kan. Rep 47th district
Joann Flower (R)
Kan. Rep 47th district
Christine Tonkovich (R)
District Attorney
Ross Perot (F)
President
Kay McFarlane Kan. Supreme Court
Edward Larson Kan. Supreme Court
Kan. Supreme Court
Tyler C. Lockett
Kan. Supreme Court
Ned McCall
Kau. Suprace Court
J. Patrick Brazil
Kau. Court of Appeals
G. Joseph Pierron, Jr.
Kau. Court of Appeals
Christel E. Marquardt
Kau. Court of Appeals
Jack A. Murphy
District Judge
Michael J. Malone
District Judge
Paula B. Martin
District Judge
Key: D-Democrat, I-Independent, F-Reform, L-Libertarian, R-Republican
Schools adjust to new policy on evaluations
University to determine rules for low performers
Editor's note: This story is the second in a series of three articles about faculty evaluation.
By Lindsey Henry Kansan staff writer
As the chairman of geology, Anthony Walton thought he knew his faculty well enough to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses.
Now that the Board of Regents has approved the University of Kansas' revised policy for faculty evaluations, Walton and the rest of KU's deans and department chairmen have to redefine their departments' acceptable levels for performance in accordance with the University's revised policy for faculty review.
"This is really burdensome. I have been chair of the department for 10 years," Walton said. "I already know very well the capabilities of my faculty."
Provost David Shulenburger said that each school and department had to determine its own levels for performance and hand them in to him by December to establish a consistent policy to handle the University's chronic low performers.
Walton said the policy for faculty review was a big and clumsy management tool, aimed only at faculty members who did not perform in the classroom.
"This is directed at rooting out the bottom level performers, the ones basically goofing off," Walton said. "We don't have anybody like that, so why do we have to do this?"
The policy states all faculty members would be evaluated annually by their chairman or dean. If a faculty member receives a poor review, the plan calls for development programs, counseling and possibly a change of assignment.
Walton said the administration could put a positive spin on the development by aiming it at the faculty members who are up to par.
"These development resources should not be reserved for the bottom level," Walton said.
Shulenburger said if a faculty member failed to perform in the classroom for three consecutive years, it would be the responsibility of the dean or department chairman to make recommendations to him.
If the faculty member makes no effort to amend his or her failure to meet academic responsibility, the department chairman then could make suggestions to Shulenburger for dismissal or development.
"If after three consecutive years, the chair doesn't recommend dismissal or action to be taken with the faculty member, the provost's office will inquire to find out why not," Shulenburger said.
Shulenburger said three consecutive poor reviews would not trigger an immediate dismissal of a faculty member.
Donald Stull, chairman of anthropology, agreed that a minimum standard should be developed.
"Tenure doesn't grant faculty a reason to abandon their basic responsibilities to their students and employers," Stull said.
He said that the long process to redefine levels of acceptable performance unfortunately took time away from other areas of concentration.
"It is reasonable that a minimum standard be developed," Stull said. "But this is going to be a major undertaking." I'd rather be doing my own work. Of course we will comply, but I wish we had seen given more time."
Stull said the department had only held one meeting to define its low level of academic responsibility so far.
"But it's now high on the list of things to do," he said.
Congratulations son,
now go get a damn job and don't even think about coming back home."
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