T
Tomorrow's weather
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Mostly sunny but much cooler.
Kansan
HIGH LOW
68 45
Thursday
October 21, 1999
Section:
A
Vol. 110 • No. 45
Inside today
THE UNIVERSITY CONFERENCE
Eligible students may participate in and be paid for one of three obesity studies being conducted by the department of health, sports and exercise science.
Sports today
SEE PAGE 8A
Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., will be the site for the 2000 Big 12 Conference football championship game.
SEE PAGE 1B
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Early enrollment, priority housing entice scholars
By Nathan Willis
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The perks of being a National Merit Scholar at the University of Kansas just got a little better.
Not only do merit scholars receive full rides from the University and priority placement in campus housing, but two letters that showed up in merit scholars' mailboxes late last week also announced two new benefits, including priority enrollment starting Friday.
"In the event you are not able to enroll in the classes you need, show this letter to the Enrollment Center supervisor," an Oct. 13 letter from interim Assistant Provost Diana Carlin told merit scholars. "They will then give you a special National Merit Completion Form."
Upon obtaining the form, merit scholars will be able go to the Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center or the Honors Program in Numemaker Center to discuss their options.
Kathryn Nemeth Tuttle, director of the Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center, said advisers first would try to find alternative classes that merit scholarships could take to meet their needs. If that was not possible, advisers could contact faculty members to try to get the merit scholars into the closed classes they wanted, Tuttle said.
Many merit scholars expressed excitement over the new policy — coupled with a sense that being able to have extra help getting into classes might be a tad unfair.
Though any student can receive similar help, the difference with merit scholars is that they will be able to make the changes to their schedules immediately. Tuttle said. Other students will have to wait until the first add/drop period begins on Nov. 19.
"Ifeel guilty about it," said Susan Dunavan, Charlottesville, Va., junior and merit scholar. "But I definitely use it if I need to."
On the other hand, Carlin pointed out that giving certain groups priority enrollment was nothing new.
"There are some other groups on campus that receive similar treatment," she said. "Athletes always get to enroll early because of their schedules. And for that matter, is it even fair to only let graduating seniors enroll first?"
Additionally, Carlin said merit scholars had enrollment needs that other groups often did not.
"A lot of the National Merit Scholars are on the fast track to graduate in three years," Carlin said. "In addition, they might need in some honors classes that are filled. They have some special needs."
Dan Freeman, Lawrence freshman, disagreed.
“This college is not built around National Merit Finalists,” said Freeman, who missed qualifying for National Merit Semifinalist status by one point on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test. “Is it fair that the people that came in ‘smarter’ on one test one day get preferential treatment from the University?”
Priority enrollment isn't good just for merit scholars, though. Merit scholars it also gives recruiters extra ammunition to get the scholars to choose the University.
Derrick Birdseil, Hesston freshman and merit scholar, said he wasn't surprised at all by the letter.
"They had told me when they were recruiting me that National Merit Scholars would get whatever classes they needed to have," Birdsdell said.
Birdseil and the 100 other incoming merit scholars were given first choice in orientation and enrollment sessions this summer, allowing them to enroll first and get the first pick of classes among the freshmen. Carlin said.
Birdsdell said the priority enrollment helped him get every class he wanted.
"This is really a good thing," he said. "It allows me to explore options for a major."
Birdsell said that although he thought merit scholars were deserving of what they were getting, that he might think differently if he weren't receiving the benefits.
In addition to Carlin's letter, merit scholars received a letter dated Oct. 15 from Chancellor Robert Hemenway that told them they would be recognized at halftime of the Nov. 6 football game against Baylor. Families of merit scholars can attend the game for free, the letter said.
"It would be foolish for me not to take advantage of these things," he said. "But I know I would be really mad if I weren't a National Merit Scholar."
Edited by Katrina Hull
Clouding the brain with smoke College students ignore hazards of cigarettes Story by Heather Woodward Photos by Matt J. Daugherty
like high school students, peer pressure is a main reason why college student begin to smoke. Others say advertising is why college students start. photo by Matt J. Daugherty
It began in a girls' high school restroom.
Sarah Johnson and her friend snuck into the bathroom to try some chewing tobacco. The pair was curious after seeing another friend use it in study hall.
Johnson, Council Bluffs, Iowa, sophomore, kept chewing and became addicted to nicotine.
When she moved to Lawrence, she switched to smoking cigarettes.
"I'm from a small town, and here it's just not as acceptable to chew, so I started smoking." Johnson said.
Like Johnson, many students start smoking during college. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug, making it hard for smokers to quit. The question is, why do people start at all?
Experts agree that peer pressure has as much to do with why college students start smoking as it does with their younger counterparts.
"There's a trend for more older people to start smoking once they get into college," said Julie Francis, a health educator at Watkins Memorial Health Center. "The reason is very simple. It's a social event."
impacted in some way by society."
Experts also blame the marketing practices of tobacco companies for making a smoker's lifestyle appear desirable.
"Marketing does have an impact on this," said John Wade, a staff psychologist at Counseling and Psychological Services. "Otherwise advertisers wouldn't spend millions of dollars. Everyone is
To combat such perceptions, Phillip Morris, the parent company to 19 brands of cigarettes including Marlboro and Parliament, added comments about responsible marketing to its Web site Oct. 14.
"Our goal is to meet and exceed society's diverse expectations ... including our support, development and implementation of youth smoking prevention initiatives," the Web site reads.
The alcohol factor
Cigarettes seen through beer goggles are even more attractive, some students say. There are those who smoke only when drinking, and regular smokers
See PEER PRESSURE on page 5A
Resolution aimed at Hemenway
Senate urges chancellor to build free-standing student recreation center
By Chris Borniger
writer@kanson.com
Kanson staff writer
Student Senate may send him a formal recommendation.
As Chancellor Robert Hemenway ponders where to build the new recreation center approved by a student referendum in April.
A resolution passed by t committee last night urges Hemenway to follow the approved plan outlined on the referendum and build a free-standing center. Hemenway has said he also was considering using the nearly $16 million in increased stu
ient fees approved by the referendum to build
an addition to Robinson Center.
Michael Henry, resolution sponsor, said Hemenway should heed students' wishes.
"For the chancellor to consider anything else is absurd," he said. "We need to remind him of what students want."
Jessica Bankston, legislation co-sponsor and a member of the Senate recreation task force last year, said an addition would be unfair because Robinson would remain a building designated for academic use.
See WORKING on page 3A
Pickin' through the pumpkin patch
For more pumpkin patch photos, see page 3A
Right: Susan Fick,
11 months, takes
a moment to rest
after a tiring day
at Free State Farm
Pumpkin Patch,
1431 N. 1900
Road. Fick visited
the pumpkin patch
with her family
Tuesday after-
noon.
Above: Pumpkin
patches are best
appreciated when
visited on a chilly
fall day when the
sky is mostly clear
and the pumpkins
are ripe. Photos by
Roger
Nomer/KANSAN
Regents hope to resolve discrimination complaint
By Clay McCuslion
writer @kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
By Clay McCuistion
The Board of Regents wants to resolve the gender discrimination complaint filed by Christine Crenshaw, its associate director of fiscal affairs.
Kirk Lowry, Crenshaw's lawyer, said Mary Prewitt, associate general counsel for the Regents, wanted to talk about mediating Crenshaw's complaint, which was filed June 30 with the Kansas Human Rights Commission.
Lowry said Crenshaw, who has refused to
comment on the issue publicly, was agreeable to the idea.
"She's interested in sitting down and
talking with them," he said. "That's what she's always wanted."
Crenshaw's complaint alleged that her $57,569 annual salary was $20,000 less than salaries of men in similar jobs at the Regents office. Until the July 1 reorganization of the board, she was the director of student financial aid.
In the complaint, Crenshaw wrote that she had tried to bring the matter to the Regents' attention four times between June 1998 and March 1999.
"The Board of Regents' refusal to discuss in any way the pay inequity based on sex shows intentional, willful wage-based sex discrimination," she wrote.
"I can't even really acknowledge that there is a complaint." Prewitt said.
The Regents are required to respond to the complaint to the Human Rights Commission by tomorrow. Lowry said that if the Regents were interested in mediating the problem, he wasn't concerned with the deadline.
"As far as I'm concerned, that's between them and the Kansas Human Rights commission," he said.
Prewitt refused to say whether she would reply, or what the reply might be.
Lowry said he didn't know when the mediation might take place. The Topeka lawyer said he hoped Crenshaw and the Regents would iron out their differences before Dec. 30. After that, Lowry said, he legally could sue the board.
"They should address the historical problem, pay her back pay for the years of unequal pay and put her back in a position where she should be." he said.
While dealing with Crenshaw, the Regents are overseeing an investigation in pay equity based on race and gender at the six universities they govern directly. The study will be completed and reported by the end of the semester.
The Regents also came under scrutiny last week for hiring Mike Matson, Gov. Bill Graves' press secretary, at a $70,000 salary. Matson will be taking on some of the duties of the Regents' departing communications director, Barbara Conant, who was paid $44,000 a year.
— Edited by Kelly Closen