Monday, August 16, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 11
KU freshman gets jail time for swastika burning case
By Michael Terry reporter @kansan.com Kansan staff writer
A University of Kansas freshman who was accused of burning a swastika in the carpet of a third floor hallway at Oliver Hall on March 18, was convicted of arson, a felony, July 23.
Douglas County District judge Paula Martin sentenced Aaron Hale Culwell, a St. Francis freshman, to 30 days in jail.
Kansas sentencing guidelines state that arson carries the presumption of probation if the convicted person has no prior criminal history, which Culpech did not
He was placed on probation for two years, but if he fails to meet the conditions of his probation, he will go to prison for one year.
He also must pay court costs,
submit to random drug testing and
pay $1,081 in resituation to the Uni-
versity of Kansas.
The conditions of Culwell's probation require him to attend school full time or find a full-time job once he is released from jail. Culwell could not be reached for comment, and his lawyer, James
Rumsey, would not comment on the sentence.
The student body has condemned crimes such as Culwell's in a hatecrime referendum, which passed in a 2,993 to 1,051 vote during the April 16 Student Senate elections. The referendum called for mandatory and permanent expulsion of students convicted of committing violent hate crimes or sexual assault.
Ashley Rogers, Topeka senior, said she thought a hate-crime policy was a good idea.
"I'm not sure how constitutional the policy is, though," Rogers said. "I think the proposal is too broad and needs to be narrowed and more defined."
Whether a crime like Culwell's will lead to permanent expulsion from the University is not certain. Even though students have passed the referendum, it must be brought before the administration for approval
David Ambler, vice chancellor of student affairs, said that the zero-tolerance policy had not been brought before the administration yet. He said he believed that the Senate would prepare and bring
"As defined now, the University will not accept the zero-tolerance policy," Ambler said. "The call for immediate and permanent expulsion without a hearing is troubling, and the Student Senate will be advised of this."
the policy to the administration once the semester starts.
Ambler said the courts had ruled that to immediately and permanently expel someone without a hearing at the university level would infringe upon that student's rights.
He said the University had its own policy that required a student be given due process through a hearing before sanctions were imposed, which can include suspension or expulsion.
Ambler suggested that if the Senate decided to push forward with the zero-tolerance policy that they should get together with a lawyer and draw out specific details for defining such a policy.
"It's difficult to define what is and isn't a hate crime, and we don't want to implement a policy that will not hold up in a court of law," Ambler said.
Edited by Katrina Hull
Safety officers lack specific plan if wave of violence visits campus
By Michael Terry reporter@kanson.com Kansan staff writer
Recent acts of random violence across the country have sparked questions about how safe public places really are and whether cities are prepared to handle life-threatening situations.
On April 20, 12 students and one teacher were killed by two high school students at Columbia High School in Littleton, Colo. Numerous others were injured. In July, there was a shooting spree that crossed state lines from Illinois to Indiana, and another man killed his family and nine people in Georgia. Then, on Aug. 10, five people were shot inside a Jewish community center in Los Angeles.
Sergeant Troy Mailen said that the University of Kansas does not have a specific contingency plan for the types of incidents that occurred in Littleton and Los Angeles, but that they try to be prepared for
Shootings have occurred in Los Angeles, with a population of more than 3.6 million, to Littleton with a population of about 39.000.
anything.
"Officers at KU's Public Safety Office are trained extensively at the police academy and maintain their commission through a variety of training exercises," Malen said. "Our officers are always pushing themselves to do the best job possible to make the campus safe."
Felicia Nichols, Topeka junior, said she felt safe on KU's campus.
"The University feels like a community, but things are going to happen that we can't stop," she said.
Mailen said the department also had a trained negotiator on staff, Schuyler Bailey, to deal with hostage situations when they arise.
David Ambler, vice chancelor of student affairs, said although there is no specific contingency plan for incidents like the one in Littleton, there is a protocol to follow.
"The University is connected to the Douglas County Emergency Network Planning System, which gets the emergency personnel and vehicles to the sight," Ambler said. "These are usually used in natura'
disasters but could be used for other incidents as required."
Ambler said that he thought KU was an easier target than Columbine High School in Littleton because of all the access roads in and out of the University and its size.
"The University does everything it can to protect its students, but this is a public university and you can't just kick people off," Ambler said.
Mailen said that preventative measures are the best way to stop violent incidents from occurring.
KU public safety officers are on duty 24 hours a day working in 10-hour shifts, and there is always a shift sergeant on duty in case there is a major crisis, Malen said.
For the last five years, the University has had a volunteer bicycle patrol trained by the Topeka Police Department.
"This is a way to keep a high visibility presence at football games and other events to deter crime," Mailen said. "On bicycles we're able to respond quicker to tight situations that an officer in a car might have difficulty reaching."
—Edited by Chris Hopkins
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