THE UNIVERSITY DAIRY & ANSAN
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS MANAGEMENT
Editor-in-chief Hannah Wise
Associate news editor Joanna Hlavacek
Managing editors Sarah McCabe Nikki Wentling
PAGE 2
ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT
Sports editor Pat Strathman
News editor
Allison Kohn
NEWS SECTION EDITORS
Associate sports editor Trevor Graff
Sales manager
Jacob Snider
Business manager Elise Farrington
Entertainment editor Laken Rapier
Copy chiefs
Megan Himan
Taylor Lewis
Brian Sisk
Design chiefs Ryan Benedick Katie Kutsko
Designers Trey Conrad Sarah Jacobs
Opinion editor Dylan Lysen
Photo editor Ashleigh Lee
Special sections editor Kayla Banzet
General manager and news adviser Malcolm Gibson
ADVISERS
Web editor
Natalie Parker
Sales and marketing adviser Jon Schlitt
Contact Us
editor@kansan.com
www.kansan.com
Newsroom: (785)-766-1491
Advertising: (785) 864-4358
Twitter: UDK_News
Facebook: facebook.com/thekansan
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of The Kansan are 50 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at the Kansan business office, 2015A Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunspide Avenue, Lawrence, KS, 66045.
The University Daily Kansan (ISSN 0746-4967) is published daily during the school year except Saturday, Sunday, fall break, spring break and exams and weekly during the summer session excluding holidays. Annual subscriptions by mail are $250 plus tax. Send address changes to The University Daily Kansan, 2051A Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue.
KANSAN MEDIA PARTNERS
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Check out KUJH-TV on Konology of Kansas Channel 31 in Lawrence for more on what you've read in today's Kansan and other news. Also see KUJH's website at tvku.edu.
Forecaster: weatherunderground.com
What's the weather, Jay?
2000 Dole Human Development Center
1000 Sunnyside Avenue Lawrence, Kan.
66045
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4. 2013
Clear. Winds from the SW at 10 to 15 mph
Tuesday
Overcast with a chance of rain in the morning, then clear. Winds from the NNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Thursday
HI: 54
L0: 32
HI: 57
LO: 32
Clear. Winds from the SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
HI: 61
LO: 36
Wednesday
Warmth makes a comeback.
A fine day minus the clouds.
1
Another beautiful day.
Monday, Feb. 4
CALENDAR
**WHAT:** Taking Back Mondays
**WHERE:** Bottleneck
**WHEN:** 8 p.m.
**ABOUT:** Sovereign States, a punk-rock group, encourages the crowd to join them on stage and sing along in this karaoke-style show.
色
WHAT: Karaoke Costume Night
WHERE: Jazzhaus
WHEN: 10 p.m.
ABOUT: Still craving more karaoke?
Pick a costume and show off your vocal skills. Featuring MCs Tanya McNaughty and Jadey McJuicy.
Tuesday, Feb. 5
WHAT: Casbah Video Gamer Night
WHERE: Burger Stand at the Casbah
WHEN: 8 p.m.
ABOUT: If you're feeling nostalgic for your old-school gamer days, come play classic video games on Nintendo 64, Super NES and Sega Genesis.
WHAT: Inspiring MLK: The Mentorship of Benjamin Elijah Mays
WHERE: Dole Institute of Politics
WHEN: 7:30 to 9 p.m.
ABOUT: In honor of Black History Month, Prof. Randal Maurice Jelks will discuss the importance of Benjamin Elijah Mays in the civil rights movement.
Wednesday, Feb. 6
AFTER: Spring Study Abroad Affair
WHERE: Kansas Union
WHEN: 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
ABOUT: Explore your study abroad options, which includes countries such as Spain, Ireland and Australia, and meet with program coordinators and past participants.
**WHAT:** Faith Forum: Rooted in Faith,
Working for the Earth
**WHERE:** Ecumenical Campus Ministries
WHEN: 6:30 to 8 p.m.
ABOUT: Rachel Mysliv, program director of the Climate and Energy Project, discusses how faith and being good to the earth intertwine. People of all faiths welcome.
Thursday, Feb. 7
**WHAT:** Free HIV Testing
**WHERE:** Kansas Union
**WHEN:** 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
**ABOUT:** The Douglas County AIDS Project will host free HIV testing in honor of National Black HIV Awareness Day. All community members are encouraged to attend.
EDUCATION
**WHAT:** Tea at Three
**WHERE:** Kansas Union
**WHEN:** 3 to 4 p.m.
**ABOUT:** Enjoy some free tea and cookies. Extra points if you can speak with a British accent.
Amendment would allow legislature to set school funding
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOPEKA - A proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution designed to stymie a pending education funding lawsuit won't end the litigation and could face its own legal challenge, a lawyer for the students and public school districts suing the state says.
Attorney John Robb criticizes the proposal as a "power play" by conservative Republican legislators upset with past Kansas Supreme Court rulings that the state wasn't spending enough money on its public schools. The measure would add a new sentence to the constitution's education article, declaring that the Legislature has the exclusive power to set spending on schools.
The GOP-dominated Senate Judiciary Committee plans to have hearings later this month on the proposed amendment. It was introduced last week, less than a月 after a three-judge panel in Shawnee County ruled that the state isn't meeting its constitutional obligation to suitably fund schools. Legislators would have to boost annual spending by at least $440 million to comply.
Kansas state Sen. Julia Lynn, right, an Olathe Republican, asks questions about a proposed amendment to the state constitution to change how appellate court members are selected, as Sen. David Haley, a Kansas City Democrat, watches during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting last Thursday.
But Robb, from Newton, said even if lawmakers put the measure on the ballot and voters approve it, his clients still have legal issues to pursue, including whether legislators were arbitrary in their decisions about school funding. Robb represents 32 students, their parents and guardians and the Wichita, Hutchinson, Dodge City and Kansas City, Kan., school districts.
Robb also said the proposed statement explaining the measure for voters is so misleading—and, in his mind, designed to push them to approve it — that
it opens the measure to being invalidated by the state Supreme Court. Robb did not rule out his clients filing such a challenge if the measure is placed on the ballot or even after its approval by voters.
"The Legislature ought to be focused on what's good for kids and not focused on this power play over who is the supreme decision-maker," Robb told The Associated Press in an interview. "They're trying to fundamentally change our system of government in Kansas."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jeff King, an Independence Republican who helped draft the proposed amendment, was skeptical that it's vulnerable to a potential legal challenge. He said the amendment, if adopted, would prevent the courts from stepping into decisions that the constitution meant to reserve for elected officials.
"Whether the Legislature is making suitable provision for the financing of education rests in the hearts and minds of Kansas voters and at the ballot box," King said.
The education article says that the Legislature shall "make suitable provision for finance" for the state's "educational interests." The proposed amendment would add a new sentence saying, "The financing of the educational interests of the state is exclusively a legislative power" and "shall be established solely by the Legislature."
A proposed constitutional change must be adopted by two-thirds majorities in both chambers and approved by a simple majority of voters in a statewide election. Supporters hope the measure will be on the ballot no later than the August 2014 pri-
The state Supreme Court has said the Legislature is constitutionally obligated to finance a suitable education for every child, suggesting in 2005 and 2006 rulings that the state could face continual increases in spending. Lawmakers dramatically increased spending on schools after those rulings but backed away from their promises during the Great Recession, prompting the lawsuit by Robb's clients.
in, undergraduate student Amber McArthur hopes to encourage more students to register, making the process even easier for students. She will host a voter registration drive in front of Wescoe Hall at noon on Feb. 4. Students need only a driver's license to register.
mary.
The Shawnee County ruling cited the Legislature's duty under the education article in saying that current school funding is inadequate. The state has appealed it, and it's not clear how quickly the Supreme Court will rule.
Although students can print an online registration form and mail it
Douglas County elections are less than a month away. Primary elections are on Feb. 26, and the voter registration deadline for residents is Tuesday. Feb. 5.
Alyssa Scott
Voter registration deadline Tuesday
40¢ WINGS
MONDAY
POLITICS
But Robb noted that the lower
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court panel didn't decide claims that lawmakers were arbitrary in the past or that their actions discriminated against some students. The proposed amendment, if adopted, "isn't going to make this lawsuit go away," Robb said.
But King, an attorney who also serves as Senate vice president, said the state's courts don't typically order additional spending to remedy the other issues Robb's clients raise.
"It will impact this lawsuit, but it won't resolve it," he said.
www.psych.ku.edu/
psychological_clinic/
"We are letting the voters decide who has final say over appropriations for schools," King said.
Counseling Services for Lawrence & KU
CAMPUS
— Elly Grimm
The deadline for summer study abroad applications is March 1. The internship deadline is Feb. 11. To complete the application process, students must apply online at studyabroad.ku.edu.
Summer study abroad info fair at Union
The Office of Study Abroad will host its spring fair on Wednesday. It will be in the Kansas Union on the fourth floor lobby from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The fair will promote summer study abroad options. Information about financial aid and scholarships will also be available.
"Even if you're not interested in doing it right now, it's never too early to start planning and seeing about those opportunities," said Robert Lopez, outreach coordinator for the Office of Study Abroad.
Other departments, including the Global Awareness Program, Global Partners, the Passport Office and the Peace Corps will also offer information about their respective departments throughout the day.
WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE
SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM
& MASS COMMUNICATIONS
The University of Kansas
Frank Deford Author and journalist
Frank Deford is the recipient of the 2013 William Allen White Foundation National Citation.
He will speak at 10:30 a.m., Friday, Feb. 8, in Woodruff Auditorium of the Kansas Union.
Please join us at this free, public event.
Visit www.journalism.ku.edu for more information.