CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, August 21, 1995
3A
Students are targets for crime
Back-to-school rush means plenty of business for thieves
Numbers represent how many times each crime was reported to KU police.
By Scott Worthington Kansan staff writer
Campus Crime
Ross Dessert had planned to ride his mountain bike to class on the first day of school.
But one day after he moved into a Sixth Street apartment, the bike was stolen from the back patio.
ment, the bike was stolen from the back patio. "We were moving things in and out," said Dessert, Leavenworth junior. "I didn't even think to lock it up."
Dessert is one of hundreds of KU students who will be victims of crime this year. Most of them will be victims of theft. Last year, 632 thefts were reported to the KU police, up from 614 in 1993.
More serious crimes, such as aggravated assault and rape, are less common, but still a threat to students, police say.
"Historically, we see an increase in certain types of crimes at this time of year," said Sgt. Richard Nickell of the Lawrence police. "Students have items thieves like, and they're sometimes a little careless with them."
But there are ways to reduce the chances of being a victim, police say.
Most thefts and related crimes occur when students leave doors to cars or houses open, book bags unguarded or bicycles unlocked. Rarely will thieves go to much trouble to steal something, police say. Last year, only two robberies — the forcible taking of something from a person — were reported to KU police.
"If thieves can see it, they'll take it," Nickell said. "They won't go around prying open trunks with a crow bar to see if anything is there. They won't take that risk for possibly nothing. They're not hard workers."
At the start of the semester last year, burglar's stole $26,881 worth of electronic equipment, including 947 compact discs, from two KU students' Alabama Street apartment. The thieves simply walked in an unlocked back door.
In the last three years, 143 bikes have been reported stolen from KU's campus despite the widespread use of locks. With as many as 10,000 bikes on campus at any time, it's not difficult for thieves to find unlocked bikes.
Police offer several tips to reduce the risk of falling prey to crime:
- Lock car doors, house doors, apartment doors and residence hall doors at all times. Keep valuables out of sight. "Most thieves will go window shopping before they actually shop," said Sgt. Rose Rozmiarea of the KU police. Even parking passes will be stolen from cars.
- ■ Never leave book bags unattended in public places, such as the library or cafeteria. Thieves love books, police say. Especially now, when they can be sold back for full price.
- Lock bikes with a U-lock instead of the less effective cable or chain locks: U-locks can be purchased for $30-$50.
But these things are not always easy to do.
Moving in is particularly dangerous, police say, because students have a tendency to leave doors
unlocked or possessions unguarded between trips. The problem is that you don't know who's who, Rozmiarek said. In one case, a man offered to help a new tenant who was moving in. The new tenant handed the man his VCR, who promptly took off with it.
Rozmiarak said students in residence halls should lock their doors at all times, even to go downstairs to eat. Also, students should arrange their valuables so that they can't be seen when the door is open.
According to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce for mula, one out of every 10 store customers is a potential shoplifter. KU police say the same ratio applies to student populations.
These numbers underscore the need for students who live in community settings to resist the temptation be overly sociable and keep doors wide open, police sav.
Major crimes are far less frequent at KU than thefts, but they happen. Last year, a KU students had a one in 226 chance of being a victim of a violent crime.
Violent crimes are murder, rape and other sexual offenses, assault, robbery, burglary and motor vehicle theft. There were 309 of these types of crimes reported last year, 81 more than in 1993. There were four rapes reported and 287 burglaries. There never has been a murder on campus.
KU police urge students to use avoid walking alone at night. If it can't be helped, stay in well-lit areas or by main roads where police patrol. Buses run until midnight during the week, and they will take students to some of campus locations. Bus passes for the year are $60, and single rides cost $1.
There are 13 outdoor and 30 indoor emergency phones on campus. These phones have just one button, which automatically dials the police dispatch when pushed and reveals the user's location. The
inside phones often are by elevators. The outside phones can be identified by a blue light and are in a yellow box.
Rozmiarek urged students to use Safe Ride, a free taxi service which runs from 11 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. every day. Safe Ride is generally considered a chauffeur service for drunk students at bars, but it can be used as a ride home from the library or a friend's house.
Despite precautions, crimes still occur at KU. But there are some things that can be done to help recover a stolen item or to seek help as a victim of a more serious crime.
If something is stolen, it is difficult — but not impossible — to get it back, police say.
Police suggest making an inventory of all possessions, complete with serial numbers. If an item doesn't have a serial number, police suggest engraving your driver's license number on it, preceded by the post office abbreviation of the state in which it was issued. For instance, a person from Kansas would engrave "KS" then the license number. KU police will loan students engravers.
The city requires all people living in Lawrence to register bikes within 10 days after arriving here. A registered bike will be on file at either the KU or Lawrence police departments and will have a better chance of being recovered if stolen. Registration costs 25 cents and lasts until the year 2000. Students can register at the KU or Lawrence police departments, the Kansas Union or local bike shops.
KU police will be holding a "mass bike registration" from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today and Tuesday, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Kansas Union.
Programs such as the Douglas County Rape Victim Survivor Service and Crime Victim's Compensation also are available for students.
Former student makes debut in 'Clueless'
By Hannah Naughton
Kansan staff writer
He's the one in the KU hat.
I think that one of the really fun things about being in a movie, or making a TV show, if it doesn't distract from the story, is doing something that only my friends will get — like wearing that hat," said Bird, who often KJ team.
On campus, that wouldn't be much of a distinction. But the statement pinpoints actor Paul Rudd's character from the movie "Clueless" for any person faithful to the University of Kansas.
said Rudd, who attended KU from
fall 1087 through Spring, 1089
Fall 1907 through spring 1908.
Rudd made his big-screen debut this summer in "Clueless," playing the character Josh, the exstepbrother-turned-boyfriend of the lead character Cher, played by Alicia Silverstone.
"I think 'Cueless' has a real distinct personality," Rudd said. "It's a director's movie. The director had a real clear vision of what she wanted."
Paul Rudd
For Rudd, a major part of the
neat experience of making the movie was being under the direction of Amy Heckerling, who also directed "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."
"I'm such a fan of so many people," Rudd said. "To hear stories about movies and actors that have affected my life, it gets embarrassing. I'm spastic. It makes Quentin Tarantino look like Stephen Wright."
Aside from "Clueless" and the not-yet-released sixth movie from the Halloween series, Rudd has acted in the television shows "Sisters" and "Wild Oats" and three television movies: "The Fire Next Time," "The Anello Family Story" and "Runaway Daughters."
Even though Rudd has been concentrating on professional acting, he said he hasn't forgotten his early experiences at KU. Rudd played the lead in "Macbeth" at the Crown-Preyer Theatre. He also played a chromosome in a Rock Chalk Revue skit for his fraternity, Sigma Nu.
When Rudd lived in Lawrence, he earned money as a disc jockey at the Mad Hatter, now known as the Stumble Inn. 704 New Hampshire.
He said he enjoyed going to parties, eating at Yello Sub and seeing Trip Shakespeare, a band that often toured Lawrence before breaking up.
"Iused to see them at KU at the Bottleneck all the time," he said.
In homage to the band, Rudd wore his Trip Shakespeare shirt in "Clueless."
James Westpal, one of Rudd's pledge brothers, picked up on the hidden message.
"It's hard to watch him on the screen," said Westphal, who graduated from KU in 1991 and is now the general manager for the 75th Street Brewery in Kansas City, Mo.
"It's not some celebrity," Westphal said. "It's just Rudd, wearing his Trip Shakespeare shirt in the movie because he knows we'll get a kick out of it."
GTAs file complaint over pay issues
By Novelda Sommers Kansan staff writer
Graduate teaching assistants at the University of Kansas last week filed a two-count complaint against the Board of Regents, the chancellor and the Kansas Department of Administration.
The complaint, filed with the Kansas Public Employees Review Board, said that officials had discriminated against the GTA union and had not acted in good faith.
"It is not a step we wanted to take," said Mike Johnson, GTA in English and press contact for the GTAs. "We
want to ensure that the University bargains in good faith and works toward a contract."
At issue is the exclusion of GTAs from a faculty cost-of-living pay increase to be given in January 1996.
Last April, Kansas legislators voted for a 3.5 percent pay raise for KU faculty. Originally, an appropriation for a GTA pay raise was included in the bill, but the appropriation was eliminated before the bill passed.
University administrators decided to delay the faculty pay hike until January because of a budget shortfall. And since money was no longer
earmarked for a GTA pay raise, KU officials said that to raise GTA's pay would be in defiance of the Kansas Legislature.
The GTAs' complaint also said that KU officials withheld the pay increase to punish GTAs for choosing to unionize.
GTAs and administrators met to discuss the issue in June, but no compromise had been reached by July, the start of the fiscal year.
"The University understood the Legislature to take a position which ruled out raises for GTAs," said Chancellor Robert Hemenway.
Johnson said that the budget contained the same amount of money as it did before the bill was amended and that administrators already had set a precedent of including GTAs in faculty pay raises.
GTA union negotiations at KU
Source; KANSAN files.
Marc Adin, director of human resources and representative for KU's negotiating team said that, in
theory, administrators could have raised GTAs salaries, but to do so would have sent the wrong message to legislators.
odio Chester / KANSAN
"In reality, we would have defied the Legislature, and too much of our revenue comes from the Legislature," he said. Adin has asked the
Kansas Public Employees Review Board to appoint a mediator to help resolve the salary dispute.
Both sides have said they were ready to negotiate a contract for fiscal year 1997 with the hope that relations between GTA union members and KU officials would improve.