THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
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Thursday
September 30, 1999
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A
Vol. 110 • No. 30
Safety and convenience are at the root of the widespread cellular phone use on campus among teachers and students.
Sports today
SEE PAGE 8A
Jayhawks guard Kenny Gregory turned some heads during Michael Jordan's basketball camp this summer.
SEE PAGE 1B
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An RV down by the river
Merit Scholar makes campground his home
Darren McSweeney, Wichita sophomore, takes a moment to admire his surroundings. McSweeney made the transition from scholarship hall life to a more mobile existence after his late enrollment was met by a lack of area housing. Photo Jamie Roper/KANSAN
(USPS 650-640)
By Lori O'Toole
Kansan staff writer
Wichita sophomore Darren McSweeney's room sits behind a row of trees and next to a picnic table. A leftover tripod from his band supports his dwelling's front end, freeing his Chevy pick-up truck, which he drives to campus each day.
Actually, his residence is a beige, aluminum, 34-by-8 recreational vehicle that doubles as a rolling dorm room and is sitting stationary in a dirt lot at KOA Campgrounds of Lawrence, 1473 Highway 40.
For now, it's home for the National Merit Scholar.
Scholar.
McSweeney lived in a scholarship hall during his freshman year at the University of Kansas. Last August, he purchased the 1988 Holiday Rambler for $9,000 and spent the following year living in Eugene, Ore., and traveling with his Reggae-style band, Honeybee Groove, on the west coast.
Honeybee Grove. Tempted by a hefty sum of National Merit Scholar financial aid, he decided to return to the University this semester to work toward his electrical engineering degree.
space. Electricity is extra.
The RV community
said. "If you don't camp, that wouldn't be a type of lifestyle that you'd be used to." McSweeney, who grew up camping.
Most long-term residents at the campground pay about $250 a month for a lot
However, she said there had been times when up to four University students were living there at the same time.
However, his last-minute decision to return to Lawrence left him few housing options. Staying in his RV seemed easy enough, so he drove to the campground the week before classes began, set up camp and has been living there since.
The RV community Jessica Oyler, Lawrence freshman and part-time employee at the campground's store, said McSweeney was the only University student living at KOA.
space. Electricity is extra. She said more students probably would live there if they were aware that it was an option.
pronoun
"Maybe it doesn't occur to them," she
See STUDENT on page 5A
Budget cuts may slice faculty salary increase
By Clay McCuistion
Kansan staff writer
Kim Wilcox, executive director of the Board of Regents, brought grim news to University of Kansas faculty and staff yesterday.
Kansas faculty are concerned. Wilcox said the state's ongoing budget crunch might threaten the 3.5 percent faculty pay increase promised by the Legislature in its last session. Wilcox addressed about 35 people at noon at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
"You can't pay something if you don't have the money to pay it," Wilcox said.
the money to pay it. We want Gov. Bill Graves announced a 1 percent budget cut last week — a $443.4 million savings for state government. Graves only has the power to enforce the cut for the cabinet offices that report directly to him. Regents are not controlled by the governor, so Grave's announcement was more of a suggestion, Wilcox said.
However, Wilcox said that when the Legislature convened in January, it was likely to turn the suggestion into law, cutting $8.5 million from the Regents system. An economic
resurgence in the next three months may make the cut unnecessary, but Wilcox said he wasn't planning on it.
Wilcox said it was important for the University and the other 36 colleges under Regents supervision to be united in keeping up the pressure for salary increases.
The pay increase the Legislature committed to last session would take place in fiscal year 2001. Wilcox said the pay increase was a likely candidate for budget cuts because nearly 80 percent of the University's budget went to salaries.
on it. "I think that's very unlikely," he said.
"It's always hard to get along with your friends when budgets are being cut," he said. "It's even harder to get along when they're people you may not know as well."
Wilcox said the Regents had only one item on their legislative agenda for the upcoming session — salaries. Usually, individual schools have different priorities.
Not this time.
The Unclassified Professional -Staff Association sponsored Wilcox's presentation. Scott Strawn, president of the group, said he agreed with Wilcox that a unified voice was important.
"We have the potential for a much more powerful voice in the Legislature," Wilcox said. "All the focus is on this package."
"University governance, at KU at least, recognizes that everyone needs to play a part in trying to make this a better place," he said after the presentation. "How that works out as far as correlation with other universities — I think
we have a long way to go."
Strawn said state colleges had a significant challenge in presenting a unified front.
"That takes a lot of networking and a lot of hard work." he said.
"I don't know that this action particularly does much damage," he said yesterday morning. "It's only the current year they've asked us to cut so far."
to do so far.
Eakin said he thought that Graves and the Legislature could work together to find the funds for salary increases in future budgets
Barbara Ballard, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and state legislator, said Monday afternoon that it was too soon to talk about cutting next year's budget.
"Let's see how much money we have when the legislature is in session," she said.
Edited by Katrina Hull
Med Center reiterates commitment to patients
By Amber Stuever writer @kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas Medical Center is trying to clean up the mess made from 1997 allegations that it failed to treat patients.
The allegations claimed that the University of Kansas Hospital, which is part of the Med Center, broke a 1986 federal law making it illegal to deny or delay emergency treatment of Medicare patients or patients without proof of insurance. Last week, the hospital settled the case by paying the government $148,000, although it admitted no wrongdoing.
Since then, Med Center representatives said they were attempting to make sure no such allegations were made again.
made again." "We've cleared up the ambiguity and made something like this will not happen again," said Bob Hallinan, media relations coordinator at the Med Center. "We've made it clear from the emergency room on down what the correct provisions are."
Alwyn Cassil, representative for the inspector general's office at the Department of Health and Human Services, said the hospital was cooperating in ensuring that patients are not mistreated.
"The reality is that by settling this case, it has shown a good effort to resolve this case, and that's a positive thing," she said.
As part of the settlement, the hospital was required to run two ads in the Kansas City Star stating that its emergency room was open to everyone.
"We ran these public ads to state our position clearly that we treat anyone who comes in, in regardless of ability to pay," Hallinan said.
pay, Hailman said. Hallinan said that settling the case, rather that contesting it, was in the best interest of the Med Center at that time. Cassil said that of the more than 100 similar cases in the United States in the past two years, most were settled
Since the allegations were made, the hospital has come under the authority of the University of Kansas Hospital Authority Board, changing it from a state-run to a privately-owned institution.
Levi Kinderknecht, Park junior, said that the allegations that the hospital mistreated patients would not affect his choice to attend the Med Center after getting his undergraduate degree.
getting his understanding.
"I see it as a problem, but I figure it happened a long enough time ago that they've gotten the problem corrected and have taken care of it," he said.
Huffing up the Hill is good exercise
—Edited by Kelly Clasen
Special to the Kansan
By Mike Zielke
Having a campus on a hill is a perfect excuse to get the heart pumping.
excuse to get the heart pumping. Every day thousands of University of Kansas students, faculty and employees climb the Hill to class and to work. Some even run if they are running late. Some ride bikes, and still others choose to drive and park as close as possible or ride a bus. Climbing the Hill on bike or foot can leave a person gasping for breath and the heart pounding. But is it really a workout? Is it visible to make the physical effort?
"I think the physical benefits of walking to class are clearly worthwhile," said Jeffrey Potteiger, associate professor and director of Exercise Physiology Laboratories.
laboratories. Recent studies by the surgeon general have found that people should accumulate 30 minutes of physical activity a day. But they don't have to do it all at once.
back to your car. I told you a hike up the Hill can take from seven to 15 minutes with an elevation gain of more than 100 feet, depending on the approach. If walked every day, that would add up to almost 8,000 feet per semester.
"That 30 minutes a day could be a 15-minute walk to class and a 15-minute walk back to your car," Potteler said.
"I'd like to think it's a workout," said Stephanie Petersen, Houston graduate student.
dent.
Carrying a large backpack up the Hill from the parking lots by Memorial Stadium to Strong Hall, Petersen's heart rate climbed from 78 beats-per-minute to 180.
180. Jerome Wilhort, Salina junior, said: "I sure hope it's a workout because yesterday I walked up the Hill three times."
I walked up the Hill from Wilhort approaches the Hill from the south and climbs more than 150 steps from Robinson Center to Stauffer-Flint Hall. His heart rate rose 60 beats-per-minute on his climb to class.
A a few extra minutes spent walking to class also could add years to people's lives
lass also counteract in Recent studies in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that physical activity can reduce greatly the chance of cardiovascular disease, cancer and even ward off death.
The new scientific evidence points to a link between regular physical activity and a wide array of physical and mental health benefits, including living longer.
A recent article in the journal said that an active lifestyle did not require a regimented, vigorous exercise program. Instead, small changes that increase daily physical activity will enable individuals to reduce their risk of chronic disease and may contribute to an enhanced quality of life.
"Any physical activity that raises your heart rate, like walking up the Hill, will benefit both the individual and society as a whole," Potteiger said.
- Edited by Allan Davis
David Rothe, Hutchinson sophomore, left, James Bardeen, Pittsburg junior; and Caleb Hensley, Pittsburgh senior, walk up the steep stairway between Strong Hall and Bailey Hall. Because of the high number of stairs on and around campus, University of Kansas students get a good workout just walking to class. Photo by Chris Cummings/KANSAN
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