TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 1995
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
NEWS 864-4810
SECTION A VOL.102 NO.8
ADVERTISING 864-4358
TODAY KANSAN
SPORTS
CAMPUS
Heavy hitter
Senior Tracie Walt began her volleyball career as a walk-on and since has earned a scholarship. Page 1B
Passing the English test
Students can't enroll until they have proven English proficiency. Page 5A
(USPS 650-640)
Six people in the Carolinas have drowned from tropical storm Jerry. Page 8A
NATION
Tropical storm ravages coast
WORLD
Swiss banks to return money
Nearly a half billion dollars of Ferdinand Marcos' money to be returned to the Phillippines. Page 9A
WEATHER
SUNNY
AAAAAHHH
High 98° Low 72°
Weather: Page 2A
'INDEX
Opinion ... 4A
National News ... 8A
World News ... 9A
Features ... 10A
Sports ... 1B
Scoreboard ... 2B
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is free. Additional copies of the Kansan are 25 cents.
Shots fired at clothing-optional bar
Patron and employee exchange gunfire; no injuries reported
By Scott Worthington
Kansan staff writer
Two men discharged firearms early Sunday morning outside Nite-Owls, a clothing-optional club at 804 W. 24 St., after a dispute inside
the bar. Lawrence police said.
According to police, a patron did not want to leave at closing time, about 4 a.m. He became upset when an employee asked him to leave, and the two went into the parking lot. The patron, a 28-year-old Topeka man, then drove off but came back and reportedly fired a shotgun before driving off again.
The employee, a 21-year-old Lawrence man, then returned to the bar, grabbed a .40-caliber handgun,
returned to the parking lot and fired two rounds. Lawrence police said.
"Reports indicate the guns were discharged up into the air and not at anyone," said Sgt. Richard Nickell of the Lawrence police.
The patron was eventually picked up by police in a liquor store parking lot. Both men were issued a notice to appear in court on charges of criminal discharge of firearms.
Police suspected alcohol was involved, Nickell said.
In addition to the shooting, Nite-Owls is involved in another legal situation. Jeff Wallace, owner of Nite-Owls, recently was named as a defendant in a lawsuit.
Plaza Properties, Ltd., seeks $2,000 in rent for the months of July and August.
According to a Douglas County District Court document, NiteOwls' landlord is suing Wallace for alleged failure to pay rent.
Wallace was issued a summons to
pay the rent or surrender the property by Aug. 2 and did neither, the lawsuit states.
Plaza Properties, Ltd., also seeks attorney's fees and court costs.
Wallace signed a year-long lease in May that called for $11,500 in rent annually.
NiteOwls, the state's first clothing-optional establishment, opened last month amid controversy. No alcohol is served at the club, but patrons may bring their own.
Randel Wolfe, choral music graduate teaching assistant, works in his cramped office in Murphy Hall. Wolfe shares the office with three other GTAs.
Murphy Hall expansion stalled
For 20 years, officials have reported crowding concerns; situation coming to a head
By Phillip Brownlee
Kansan staff writer
KU's music department is tired of waiting for a building addition, and it's starting to make some noise.
"After two decades, we're still where we started," said Steve Anderson, chairman of the department of music and dance.
"Everybody cares until it's time to do something about it," said Robert Foster, director of bands.
The department is frustrated because a Murphy Hall addition was promised more than 20 years ago, but it has never materialized. As a result, the department and students have had to cope with overcrowded and potentially hazardous conditions, including hearing loss.
In the 40 years since Murphy Hall opened, the music department has
"Our faculty gives 100 percent to this institution, and all they ask is to have an appropriate place to teach their students." Anderson said.
quadrupled in size, causing a severe lack of rehearsal, storage and office space.
Of the 90 practice rooms in Murphy, half are used for storage or offices. Consequently, students often have trouble finding a place to practice.
"When you only have one-tenth as many practice rooms as students, you know you have a major problem," Anderson said. "We have people practicing in the hallways and outdoors."
Large rehearsal rooms also are scarce. This problem was compounded when Hoch Auditorium burned down. The Lied Center, which is a performance facility, does not relieve any of the day-to-day rehearsal problems of Murphy.
About 20 choral and instrumental groups share Murphy's two rehearsal rooms. The opera and music programs rehearse in a classroom, and the University Band practices in a lobby of Joseph R. Pearson Hall. The 240-member marching band uses a room designed for 80 musicians.
Because office space is in short supply, four graduate teaching assistants and one librarian have offices in the choral library, which is about the size of a bedroom, and Dan Galley, director of jazz studies, shares his office with four GTAs.
overcrowding are the fire and noise hazards created by packing too many people in small rooms with door acoustics.
But the biggest concerns about the
"It's like standing in front of a jet engine when we have marching band practice," said Foster, who has experienced hearing loss. "We urge everyone to wear ear plugs."
Because of overcrowding concerns, Murphy Hall has been on the University's project list more than 20 years.
"Murphy Hall is our highest need and our number one priority," said David Schaecher, an architect for KU.
The Board of Regents also included Murphy Hall in its 1994 report, "Of Aging Campuses and Crumbling Classrooms," stating that teaching was being "severely limited by inadequate, inappropriate or nonexistent facilities."
But because of budget crunches, other priorities and unexpected projects like replacing Hoch Auditorium, no money has been appropriated for the $12.2 million, 65,000 square-foot addition; and prospects for future funding are bleak.
"We are trying to convince the governor and the Legislature that we need a new revenue source," said Warren Corman, director of facilities for the Board of Regents. "But it's going to be a tough sell."
Regents push billing tuition by the hour
By Josh Yancey
Kansan staff writer
The Board of Regents has forged a plan that would give the University of Kansas more power over its purse strings when tuition revenues increase.
the two-part plan, submitted to the Kansas Legislative Budget Committee on Friday, would go into effect for the fiscal year 1997, which begins July 1, 1996. KU must submit its budget request for fiscal year 1997 on Sept. 15, and Gov. Bill Graves then will develop his own budget recommendations for the Legislature.
In other words, said Marvin Burris, associate director of budgets for the Regents, the plan isn't a sure thing.
"The Legislature has pretty tightly regulated the spending of tuition money in the past, so it's hard to say right now whether the plan will be approved," Burris said.
Friday was the first time the Legislature had heard the Regents' proposal.
The Regents propose that KU and Kansas State University be able to collect all tuition charges on an hourly rate. Students who now take up to six hours pay hourly rates, and students taking more than six hours pay a flat rate.
Burris said the change could help control the rapid filling of classes during enrollment. Students who normally enrolled for more hours than they actually planned on taking would be dissuaded by the larger tuition rate, thereby keeping to more realistic course loads and open classes, Burris said.
"It would help students be more serious about their course loads," he said.
Burris said the change also would benefit students who took classes at KU or K-State and also at community colleges. A student taking more than six hours but less than a full course load would not have to pay full tuition at KU or K-State and would save that money for community college tuition.
The current seven-hour minimum for full tuition generates about $3 million a year. To make up for the loss, KU's and K-State's tuition rates would have to be raised by 3 percent.
The Regents also proposed that KU, K-State and Wichita State University be relieved of the current enrollment adjustment formula used to determine funding in the wake of increases and decreases in enrollment. When Regents schools' enrollments decline, a formula that takes into account enrollment and student credit hours helps determine whether the schools receive compensatory funds.
However, when schools' enrollments rise, any excess revenues generated from tuition must be given back to the Legislature.
The money consistently has been used for financing the Regents schools. In eight states, including Kansas, the tuition revenues are held in these separate state funds. A state appropriation is required prior to expenditure of the revenues.
The Legislative Budget Committee will hear additional testimony on the proposal next month.
Peer program would have students to relv on each other
By Sarah Wlese
Kansan staff writer
"The basic idea is for students to fit in better and get more out of their experiences at KU," said Lorraine Claussen, co-director of the center, which is a division of Student Senate.
A new peer mentor program created by the Center for Community Outreach will try to make the transition to college life a little easier for freshmen, transfer students and other students who need help, guidance or just an objective listener.
The program will start conservatively, pairing aout 20 student mentors and 20 learners with similar majors or interests. Investing time and energy in the relationship is the key to being a good mentor, she said.
"It involves helping the learners avoid pitfalls, telling them what you've been through and what to expect at KU," Claassen said.
The program will single out students who are having problems academically, socially or otherwise, which increases their chances of dropping out. Claassen said the peer mentor program was modeled after the Office of Minority Affairs's stEp program — students together excelling in education as peers — created in 1990. The mission of both programs is increasing the University's freshman retention rate.
Julius Williams, coordinator of the stEp program, has worked with retention programs at Washington University and KU. Statistics show most college students decide whether they're going to stay at a college within the first six weeks of their freshman years, he said. During this critical time and beyond, retention efforts are infinitely valuable.
A retention rate of 80 to 90 percent is ideal, he said. In recent years, KU's retention rate has hovered around 80 percent.
The idea for a peer mentor program was
developed by Kim Cocks, student body president, and Dan Hare, student body vice president, while campaigning last spring. Cocks said the program would be an asset to new students.
"If they have an older student to guide them, they'll feel more at home at KU," she said. "The program will help build more of a community for students."
Anyone interested in being a mentor or student can attend one of two informational meetings about the center. The first meeting is at 7 tomorrow night in the Frontier Room at the Burge Union. The second meeting is at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Ballroom in the Kansas Union.
Students also may call or drop by the Senate office on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union.
Students who have completed at least one year at the University may apply to be a student mentor. Mentors can expect to meet with students at least once a week.
Keeping students in the nest
Keeping students at KU is the goal of a new mentoring program. Here's how KU has been doing recently.
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