Tomorrow's weather
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Kansan
A 30 percent chance for showers or thunderstorms.
LOW 58
World today
Thursday
October 7,1999
Section:
A
Vol. 110 • No.35
Metabolife has filed a preemptive lawsuit against ABC for a 20/20 segment that has yet to run. The company fears the story will be biased.
SEE PAGE 5A
Sports today
Kansas soccer players attending the U.S. women's soccer game against Finland tonight at Arrowhead Stadium will be divided between their home countries.
SEE PAGE 1B
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Crowd flocks to Gould's talk
Lecture includes comments about board's decision
(USPS 650-640)
By Clay McQuiston
writer@kanson.com
Kansas staff writer
The Lied Center was stuffed to the brim last night as a capacity crowd of 2,100 turned out to see paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould refuse to predict the future.
Janet Crow, executive director of the Hall Center for the Humanities, which sponsored Gould's lecture, said a line began to form outside the Lied Center at 6 p.m. About 300 individuals had to be turned away after the auditorium had filled for the 8 p.m. speech.
like that to a lecture," Crow said. Comments about the Kansas Board
"It's not often you see people line up
of Education's decision to make evolutionary teaching optional were a constant throughout the evening.
In August,
Gould wrote an essay in Time magazine critical of the board's decision.
Sally Frost Mason, dean of the College of
Gould: spoke to a capacity crowd at the Lied Center
Liberal Arts and Sciences, criticized the board's decision in her introduction of Gould.
"In my position as an educator and scientist, I thank him for his candor and for his willingness to help us here in Kansas make our arguments to those who would attempt to blur the
distinctions between science and religion and philosophy." she said.
For his part, Gould mostly ignored the evolutionary debate in favor of his prearranged topic: "Questioning the millennium: Why we cannot predict the future."
But even the silver-haired Harvard professor couldn't resist an occasional jab.
"I'm assuming, as all educated folks are, that you're going to throw out that school board at the next election," Gould said, receiving a round of applause. "I know we're all on the same side in this."
"That is the quirky and unpredictable and fascinating nature of history," he said. "There is an irreducible contingency that allows explanations but no predictions."
Gould's main message was the difficulty of predicting the future — both in human and natural terms. Citing authors from Yogi Berra to Charles Darwin, he spoke for more than 90 minutes about the randomness of the world.
Gould cautioned against the audience thinking of the human race as particularly important in a grand evolutionary scheme.
"We Homo sapiens are not the end result of a predictable lineage," he said. "We are an item of history, not a tendency."
Justin Montag, Olathe junior, said he came to the speech to hear Gould address the evolution debate — and for extra credit in his Western Civilization class.
"I was kind of hoping he'd address the recent school board issue, but it doesn't look like that's the topic," he said.
Montag arrived at the Lied Center at 7:15 p.m.
"I couldn't believe the line," he said. "It was like waiting in line for Star Wars the first day."
Tree-shaped hive welcomes bees back to campus museum
Hilary Evans
Hilary Evans Special to the Kansan
The bees are back
the bees are back. The bee exhibit that has been a part of the MUSEUM
the hive. Inside the tree, the hive itself is made of eight frames, two frames deep and four frames high. The frames are placed one-fourth of an inch away from each other.
32 years has returned today. The exhibit took a break to update its appearance and accessibility, said Thomas Swearingen, director of exhibits at the museum, who has been working on the bee exhibit for 20 years.
"The hive has gone from quite simple to quite complex," Swearingen said.
"It is important to keep each frame close to one
The bees came from fields on West Campus before they were transplanted into the exhibit last night. Orley "Chip" Taylor Jr., professor of entomology, ecology and evolutionary biology, controlled the bees as part of a teaching and research operation. The bees were removed from the museum to build the new hive.
Italian Bucktast bees swarm to a honey-camb at the Natural History Museum. For the last 32 years the bees have been an integral educational part of the museum. Photo By Lucas W. Krumpa/KANSAN
e at the museum now
The hive at the museum now is contained in a life-like tree composed or metal, foam and resin made by Randy Nelson at Total Enviro-Design in Madelia, Minn. The tree, complete with fake leaves, has a raccoon family standing on top and enjoying the possibility of robbing the honey from the hive.
Reflective glass panes on two sides of the tree allow observers to watch the live action inside
fill up the space with wax." Swearingen said.
Not only is the appearance different, but soon new technology will be added. The hive will have a camera inside to record the bees 24 hours a day. These images will be shown on a 32-inch monitor beside the tree and the footage also will be posted on the museum's Web site at www.NHM.ukans.edu. The bees will appear on the monitor at 20 to 50 times their real size.
"They use this kind of magnification for research, so it is exciting to have it in our hive," said Bradley Kemp, director of public affairs for the museum. The exhibit also will have on
kiosk showing video of mating, "dancing" communication and other bee facts. The footage was collected from research done by Taylor. This part of the exhibit is not completed but will not hinder the opening of the beehive itself.
"It has been a two-year struggle to get the details done," Swearingen said. "I just wanted to get the bees in there, especially before the weather turns bad."
The exhibit also will have an educational touch-screen
Chip Taylor, right, professor of entomology, ecology and evolutionary biology, and Thomas Swearingen, left, director of exhibits, search for the queen bee on a honeycomb. The bees made their return to the Natural History Museum last night. Photo by Lucas W. Krump/KANSAN
The bees in the hive are Italian Buckfast, a docile species known for being good honey producers. They are fastidious housekeepers that remove dead bees and debris from the hive and leave the hive to defecate.
Committees ask Regents to enact policy against bias
By Chris Borniger
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The University of Kansas Student Senate has a bone to pick with Emporia State University President Kav Schallenkamp.
The Multicultural Affairs and Student Rights committees approved by acclamation a petition last night that would request the Board of Regents to enact a sexual orientation non-discrimination policy, effective at all Regents institutions.
Korb Maxwell, student body president and legislation sponsor, said Schalenkamp's decision last year to remove sexual orientation from Emporia State's non-discrimination policy made the petition necessary.
Last May, Emporia State drafted a companion statement to its non-discrimination policy that did include sexual orientation
However, the companion statement is not legally binding, whereas the non-discrimination policy is.
Maxwell said the petition would not change anything at the University, because it
has had a policy that included sexual orientation for almost three decades.
"The reason why it's important for us to take a stand is that we are the flagship of the Regents institutions," he said. "This is a forward-thinking policy. If the University doesn't do it, who in the state will?"
Lisa Braun, holder senator and one of the bill's co-sponsors, said getting Regents to embrace the policy could be difficult.
Maxwell also will speak in support of the proposed policy at the next Regents meeting at 9 a.m. Oct. 14 at the Adams Alumni Center. He said however toothless the petition may be, he would strongly encourage the Regents to take action on the policy.
"We can't have them just pat us on the head," Maxwell said.
"This is initiative No. 1."
In other business, committees:
Michael Henry, non-traditional senator, said if the resolution passed and the station reverted to its original alternative music format, the station would expect students to make up for any money lost from advertisers during the transition. That, he said, could obligate the University to contribute student fees.
Failed to pass a resolution opposing the format change of KLZR-FM, 105.9, the Lazer.
J. D. Jenkins, senior holdover senator and a co-sponsor of the resolution, said the members of the University Affairs committee who voted the bill down disappointed their constituents.
"They seem to have forgotten that they're supposed to vote the way students want them to," he said. "This is what students wanted, and they just ignored it."
Approved a petition to add a course repetition policy to University Senate rules and regulations.
Failed to approve a resolution requesting two-for-one park
Approved a bill to restructure the Student Legislative Awareness Board.
passes for married or partnered employees of the Department of Student Housing living in University housing.
Tabled a bill to allocate $692 to the Public Relations Student Society of America because it was not an officially registered organization.
Committees also approved bills to allocate $3,108 to eight student organizations.
Nick Bartkoski, All Scholarship Hall Council senator, withdrew a resolution decrying the exclusion of the Stephenson Hall "Float of Doom" from Friday's homecoming parade.
"That was a hastily put-together, poorly put-together resolution that neither represented my constituents nor the will of the Department of Student Housing," he said. "I regret any harm done to anyone because of said resolution."
- Edited by Allan Davis
October to raise breast cancer awareness
Bv Amber Stuever
writer@kansan.com
By Amber Stuever
writes@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
"You are the only one who can be in control of your body, and you know it better than anyone else does," said Susie Taylor-Meadows, a breast cancer survivor who leads the local breast cancer support group, "Bosom Buddies," and is the chairwoman of Breast Cancer Action in Lawrence.
Stephanie Weiter, cancer control staff member at the American Cancer Society in Topeka, said it was important for women to give themselves breast cancer examinations.
That is why October has been set aside as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The month aims to increase early diagnosis, and thus survival of the disease, which one in eight women someday will contract.
This year doctors in the United States will sit down with 173,000 mothers, grandmothers, daughters and friends to tell them they have breast cancer. Another 43,000 women will die of the disease.
"Women at this younger age need to get into the habit of doing self-breast exams," said Aimee Foppe, Watkins Memorial Health Center health educator. "By doing the monthly self-breast examinations, they are more aware of what their breasts look like and are more attuned to what the changes are."
exampl Although 95 percent of breast cancer cases occur in women older than 40, college women are not excluded from breast
cancer prevention, Weiter said. Women ages 20-39 should have a clinical breast examination done once three years and should do monthly self-examinations to check for abnormal, possibly cancerous lumps.
"The earlier a woman detects breast cancer, the better her odds are for surviving," Weiter said. "That's why it's important for women to do those three things."
Weiter said that the five-year survival rate for localized breast cancer had increased from 72 percent in the 1940s to 97 percent today. In the 1990s, when Breast Cancer Awareness Month began, breast cancer mortality declined by the largest amount in more than 40 years.
Women older than 40 should have annual mammograms, annual clinical breast examinations and monthly self-examinations.
Taylor-Meadows knows from personal experience the importance of an early
and correct diagnosis. She was misdiagnosed for a year before being diagnosed with breast cancer. She said she went to a new doctor in 1988 who met her at 11:15 a.m., diagnosed cancer and had her on the operating table by 1:30 p.m.
Taylor-Meadows survived her mastectomy but was angered later when listening to her breast surgeon talk about the cancer to her son's ninth-grade class.
"It was the first time I had heard the warning signs," she said. "I just sat there getting angrier and angrier because I had every one."
Taylor-Meadows blamed her misdiagnosis on poor awareness and education of doctors. Foppe said both awareness and education had improved since then.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month may help to increase awareness even more.
Breast cancer awareness is not limited to women. While rare, men do get breast cancer. They also can be instrumental in discovering lumps in women's breasts.
"Men need to be aware too," Taylor-Meadows said. "When I was diagnosed, quite a bit of breast cancers were discovered by husbands and boyfriends, so it's important for everyone to get the information."
— Edited by Chris Hutchison
2 Living Down
Checking for breast cancer
6. a circle
To examine your right breast, put a pillow under your right shoulder, put your right arm behind your head. Use the finger pads (not your finger tips) of the middle fingers of your left hand to press firmly on your right breast. Check for lumps or thickening. Examine your breast in the same manner each time. In either:
b. an up and down direction
c. a wedge (moving your fingers inward and outward toward the middle)
Run your fingers over the entire breast,
including the underarm area; do not pick
do your hand until the exam is complete.
Switch the pillow to the left shoulder;
but lift arm behind head, and repeat
these steps with the right hand on left
breast.
Source: American Cancer Society
>
Richard Bachman / KANSAN