Thursday, September 23, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
Dreams of service's success are just bedtime stories
tori O 'oile
writer@kansas.com
Kansas staff writer
By Lori O'Toole
A bedtime story and a guarantee of sweet dreams were two benefits some pledge class members at Sigma Alpha Epsilon offered interested bidders through their own "tuck-in service."
The service, which was reportedly a failed attempt to raise money for a future pledge class trip to Las Vegas, was advertised on fliers distributed in campus residence halls.
Lee Curbow, pledge class president and Olathe freshman, said he did not know any specific information about the service, which was organized and operated by two of the pledge members.
own without getting it approved by the house president." he said.
Curbaw said he didn't know how much a tuck-in would cost.
"I think they went and did it on their
Chad Lawton, Olathe freshman and one of the pledge members who arranged the service, refused to comment.
The house president did not return phone calls from the Kansan, and the fraternity's national headquarters in Evanston, Ill., would not comment on policies regarding such services.
Bill Nelson, director of greek programs, said the tuck-in service had not been approved by the Interfraternity Council or the Panhellenic Association.
He said that the concept of tuck-ins was not new to greek systems at the University of Kansas or elsewhere. He added that in past years, fraternities and sororites that
had teamed up for other events sometimes had agreed to have a tuck-in preceding or following a major event.
"It's always very innocent, done in good humor, good taste and good faith," Nelson said. "It's cute, it's not intending to bring harm, bring fear, bring intimidation."
Although Nelson did not have a chance to contact any members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon before commenting, he said the difference between past tuck-ins and what the pledge members' tuck-in appeared to be was the context.
"My concerns from looking at the fler are what appears to be the impersonal nature of it and the accessing of others' sleeping quarters," he said.
Amanda Lewis, Olathe freshman and Templin Hall desk assistant, said that about three weeks ago while she was
working, two Sigma Alpha Epsilon pledge class members tried to get permission to post filers in Templin.
"I thought I'd help them out," she said. "It was just easy that they even did it."
Lewis, who is friends with one of the pledge members, said she posted a flier on her door, as did a girlfriend of one of the pledge members who lived in Oliver Hall. She said she was not sure what a tool is.
Lewis, who lives on the eight floor of Ellsworth Hall, said one of Templin Hall's resident assistants had denied the pledge members permission, but Lewis said she offered to take some to her floor to distribute them to some of her floormates.
She said she was not sure what a tuck-in would include.
The filers read: "Have the men of Sigma Alpha Epsilon tuck you in at night and read you a bedtime story, guaranteed a
peaceful nights sleep and many sweet dreams."
Lewis said none of the female Ellsworth residents she gave fliers to ordered a tuck-in, but they considered organizing a surprise birthday tuck-in for one of their floormates.
She said she was at the fraternity house a couple weeks ago when she saw a group of women from Gertrude Sellards Pearson-Corbin Hall place an order for a tuck-in, but did not know who the women were.
"The guys didn't go," Lewis said. "I don't think they were really serious about it. But I think they were relieved that they even got a call. They expected more response from it. They didn't want to bother doing it just for a couple of girls."
— Edited by Keith Burner
Change to autumn draws early morning observers
Equinox important for Wiccan religion
By Todd Halstedt writer @kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Day and night are getting equal time today as the autumnal equinox ushers in fall at 6:31 a.m.
The equinox occurs when the ecliptic, or the sun's path, crosses the celestial equator on or around Sept. 23. During the equinox, the sun appears to be moving across the equator from the northern celestial hemisphere to the southern celestial hemisphere. During the vernal equinox in the spring, the sun appears to journey back north.
"One of the nice things about this is that the sun rises and sets almost exactly due east and west," said Barbara Anthony-Twarog, professor of astronomy. "Some people enjoy trying to mark the sun rise."
One of those people who enjoys observing the implications of the autumn equinox is Ted Johnson Jr., professor in French and Italian.
This morning, Johnson planned to guide a group of students and Lawrence residents through an exploration of the orientation of campus buildings in relation to the stars and the equinox itself.
He said that buildings such as the Natural History Museum have sculptures and designs that garner attention and discussion as the early morning's shadows pass over them.
"It's fun to have students and townspeople observe how the buildings on the eastern brow of Mount Oread really are oriented in such a way that they work with the North Star and that at the equinox the sun comes right up 14th Street," Johnson said.
He will be doing it all again around 5 a.m. tomorrow at Jayhawk Boulevard and 14th Street.
Johnson said watching from the crest of 14th Street as the sun cleared the horizon caused manhole covers to become engulfed in light.
"You get the sense of the rapidity of our turning Earth and sun at that point," he said. "What is really important is that one never looks at the sun."
The autumnal equinox is also a
time for practitioners of the Wiccan religion to celebrate the end of summer and the harvest it has provided.
Katherine Huxtable, an employee of Academic Computing Services, is of the Wiccan faith. She said she would accompany other Wiccans to pagan-owned land north of Tonganoxie to partake in a ritual in celebration of the equinox.
"Twenty or 30 of us will gather in a circle, and we will create a sacred space by meditating." Huxtable said. "We're trying to use the energy out there during this time of year to work towards a deeper understanding of connections in the world."
She said the autumn equinox was essentially a Wiccan thanksgiving during which the vegetable harvest was celebrated.
Steve Shawl, professor of astronomy, said the autumn equinox was not really an important event, but some people found it interesting to measure the movement of shadows cast by the sun.
"You can watch the sunrise, and you can follow it by sticking a vertical stick in the ground, and see how the shadow's position changes, " he said.
- Edited by Allan Davis
ACLU president to address controversy surrounding seal
By Clay McCuistion
writer@kansan.com
Kanson staff writer
Nadine Strossen, American Civil Liberties Union president, will speak on campus Feb. 15, the University of Kansas chapter of the ACLU said yesterday.
Recent controversies about the KU seal, sidewalk chalk and evolutionary teaching have thrust civil liberties issues into the spotlight at the University.
"Since there's so much controversy going on at KU, we thought it might be good to have the president of the American Civil Liberties Union speak," said Buddy Lloyd, KU ACLU media director. "She is the national spokesman for the ACLU."
The KU ACLU chapter first contacted Strossen in July and
asked her to speak. It finally confirmed her appearance Monday.
"We didn't hear back until we put in a supplementary request about two weeks ago," Lloyd said. "She gets hundreds of requests to speak."
He said Strossen was interested in Kansas and KU issues and would be addressing the controversy about the KU seal.
Strossen is a professor of law at New York Law School and has served as ACLU president since 1991. She is the first woman to lead the group.
The November 1998 issue of Vanity Fair listed Strozen as one of America's 200 most influential women.
Alexis Vanesse, executive director of KU ACLU, met Strossen at a national conference. She said she looked for
ward to Strossen's speech.
Hayley Rumback, Wichita sophomore, said she learned about Strossen through involvement with KU ACLU. She said a diverse audience would benefit from Strossen's speech.
"The KU ACLU is actually quite interested in seeing how she's viewing these situations," Vanesse said. "I can't wait until she comes. She's a really great person."
"Even if they're not big ACLU fans, I think she'll be a really good speaker and give some really good background for students." Rumback said. "It's a pretty big deal. She's a national figure."
The speech, which is free and open to the public, will be at the Kansas Union Ballroom.
--Edited by Chris Hutchison
Trimming the trees
Mike Johnson feeds rope to Ron Williams as he trims branches in front of Watson Library yesterday. KU Landscape performs all of the tree trimming and landscape maintenance on campus.
Photo by Carrie Julian/KANSAN
Continued from page 1A
Editor criticizes board decision
Although the governor previously had been receiving a steady stream of e-mails about the evolution issue, he said there had been a slight increase after the editorial. He said 95 percent of recent e-mails referred to the magazine's editorial.
"The overwhelming majority of the statements have been in opposition to the board's action." Matson said. The
Scientific American is preaching to the choir. Governor Graves has been very clear in his opposition to the Board decision. Fortunately, there's a firewall in place — the 305 locally elected school boards in Kansas, none of which has yet indicated its intention to adopt these standards."
Linda Holloway, chairwoman of the board, voted for the new standards.
"Our education standards are
far from being lowered from what are in the current standards in Kansas," she said. "In fact, they are more rigorous."
Janet Waugh, board member,
voted against the new standards.
"I think it is a tragedy that our students are receiving this type of response because of our decision," she said. "I think it is a sad day when our students receive this type of reputation that I personally believe is very unfair."
Edited by Kelly Clasen
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