CAMPUS
The University Ombudsman handled 70 complaints last year from students dissatisfied with a grade. Page 3A.
FEATURES
SUNNY
High 67° Low 46°
Nine Tibetan monks bring their music to Lawrence to spread harmony and understanding. Page 4A.
Weather: Page 2A.
画图
THE UNIVERSITY DAHLY
KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
KAN
TOPEKA, KS 66612
VOL.104,NO.38
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1994
(USPS 650-640)
PROFILE
NEWS:864-4810
VOTER DATABASE TICKET FOR POLITICAL SUCCESS
Jay Thornton / KANSAN
Sheila and Ryan Tarpley, Lawrence seniors, have a list of all registered voters in Kansas. Secretary of State candidate Fran Lee has hired them to work on her campaign.
Students design program to help Democrat party
By Colleen McCain Kansan staff writer
Ryan and Sheila Tarpley believe they have found a way to revolutionize Kansas political campaigns. But they're not sharing their secret.
The Tarpleys, Lawrence seniors, have compiled a computer database of registered voters in Kansas. The database includes information about every registered voter, including each person's name, address, phone number, party affiliation and voting frequency.
"In the state of Kansas, there are only a couple people who have similar lists, and no one can access the information like this," said Ryan Tarpley, 23. "Businesses have had lists like this for years, and ironically, campaigns haven't. I think democracy is so much more important than junk mail."
After compiling the voter information, the husband and wife team worked with a computer programmer to design a program for political campaigns. The Tarpleys' secret, though, is how they obtained the voter information.
"Basically, all of this is public record — anyone could access this information if he or she bought a list of voters from every single county in Kansas," Ryan Tarpley said. "That would require a lot of time and money, so we found an easier way to do it. If I told you what it was, then everyone could do the same thing."
Sheila Tarpley, 26, asked the computer program allowed candidates to target specific groups of voters through direct mailings.
"Candidates can keep records of the issues they discuss with voters they meet," she said. "Then they can send a mailing about the environment to every one they discussed the environment with."
The Tarpleys are testing the program on a limited scale in this year's election.
They have been hired by Fran Lee, Democratic candidate for secretary of state.
"We've known Fran for several years, and we basically designed the system around her needs," Ryan Tarpley said. "We will see how the system works this year, and the goal is to have a larger system ready for 1996."
Lee said the voter information allowed her to target specific voters and monitor voter trends.
"The Tarpleys have been a tremendous asset to my campaign," Lee said. "The information is very helpful and really gives my campaign an advantage."
Ryan Tarpley said he began thinking about compiling a list of voters after he lost a bid in 1992 for the 17th district seat
in the Kansas House of Representatives.
"Initially, we just wanted to obtain a list of all the registered voters in our district," he said. "When I was commiserating with friends about losing the election, we started talking about compiling this list."
Tarpley said he and his wife began work on obtaining voter lists about a year ago. Their efforts were put on hold, though, when it was discovered in March that Ryan Tarpley had a benign brain tumor the size of a tennis ball.
"The first night of spring break this year I had a seizure, and we found out that I had the tumor," he said. "They performed surgery to remove the tumor, and this summer I had two months of radiation treatment."
Tarpley spent only three days in the hospital and returned to school after resting at home for one week.
"Ryan is so stubborn, and he said, 'I am going right back to school because I do not want this to be the year that the brain tumor ate.' Sheila Tarla坪ley said.
Although he has a pink, question mark-shaped scar across the right side of his head and his hair has not grown back on the sides, Ryan Tarpley said he had recovered almost completely. He and his wife now can devote their time and energy to Kansas politics.
"After graduation, we hope that we can
See TARPLEYS, Page 6A.
Interns learn ins and outs of political campaigns
By James Evans
Kansan staffwriter
After working 60 to 70 hours a week for the past four months on a political campaign, Jason Cole has decided that running for public office is not in his future.
Cole, who is an aide to John Carlin, Democratic candidate for Kansas' second congressional district, is one of many KU students who is working this fall for Democratic and Republican candidates. The students are gaining work experience and seeing if the world of politics is really for them.
Cole, Lawrence junior and political science and philosophy major, said his time-consuming job had made him drop down to six hours of classes. But, he said, it was giving him a first-hand look at the political arena.
"I got into it on a trial basis to see if I'm doing the right thing," he said. "I wanted to know if this was something that I could do for the rest of my life."
He said his experience, which is earning him six hours of internship credit from the political science department, had made him decide that an elected office was not for him. But, Cole said, he could see himself working for an elected official as a legislative assistant with some decision-making responsibilities.
Cole said he was doing research on campaign issues and working personally with Carlin while he was out on the campaign trail. He said the research he had been working on in Topeka had helped him meet officials in government and sees how they operate. But, Cole said, he had also experienced what Kansans felt about politicians and government.
"Being out on the road campaigning and talking with individuals, you see first-hand that people are frustrated with government." Cole said.
Ted Miller, president of KU Young Democrats, also is working 60 hours a week for Judy Hancock, who is a Democratic candidate in Kansas' third congressional district. For the last five months, Miller has been working as Hancock's assistant press secretary.
Miller, Bonner Springs junior and political science and journalism major, said his duties dealing with the media
would help with his interest in public relations.
"I'm learning how to do the technical parts of public relations and learning how much time is involved in the process," he said.
He said some of the tasks he was responsible for on a daily basis included faxing and contacting media, writing minor press releases and 'organizing letter writing campaigns for Hancock.
Burdett Loomis, professor of political science, said the experience that students gained from working for political campaigns was valuable. He said often the best campaigns for students to work for were small and had low budgets. The student interns in these campaigns are often heavily relied upon to do numerous duties for the campaigns.
Loomis said a lot of campaigns and politicians from Kansas used KU students for their staffs.
"Bob Dole absorbs a lot of political science students from KU every year," he said.
Martial arts club are attracting many Kansas students. The different types have made it the largest group of sports clubs on campus.
Candidate supports trafficway, participation
Page1B.
Buhler, who is seeking election to his second term on the Douglas County Commission.
Editor's note: This is the first of two stories profiling the candidates for the Douglas County Commission's District One race. The Kansan will be profiling all the candidates and issues on the Nov. 8 ballot.
By Carlos Tejada
Kansan staff writer
Mark Buhler wants to tread the fine line between progress and
grew up in a quiet, pleasant Lawrence neighborhood in the 1950s and 1960s. But, he said, he realized preserving such a tradition was not always the best idea.
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
"I think the world was better for some people," said Buker, a Republican. "But I think if people who want to return to that stopped to look, they would see it wasn't good for other people."
Buhler, a tall man with slightly graying hair who punctu-
See BUHLER. Page 6A.
Douglas County Commissioner Mark Buhler, a Republican, is running for re-election in the county's District One.
ates his words with hand gestures, can trace his Lawrence roots back to an original anti-slavery settler in the 1850s. A
Julianne Peters / KANSAN
Lawrence resident Janet Allison receives a flu shot from Sharon Jones, a registered nurse with Creative Care of Topeka. Creative Care was at Walgrey Drug Store, 3421 West 6th St. yesterday administering flu shots.
Shots work to prevent later illness
Watkins ready to fight the flu bug in October
By Shannon Newton Kansan staff writer
The cold war is coming, and people are getting ready for the battle.
"I need to get a flu shot," said Debbie Apperson, Parsons junior. "I can't afford to get sick. My teachers are already telling me that I don't have any more days to miss without it affecting my grade."
Charles Yockey, chief of staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said that October was a good month to begin preparing to face the flu season, which typically hits him. He said.
in January. But, he said that people who wanted to get a flu shot needed to know the specifics of the virus.
He said many students came into Watkins complaining about having the flu when they actually had something else.
"The shot prevents influenza, not the common cold or stomach flu," he said.
Yockey said the shot contained three strains of the virus that researches anticipated would be most prevalent each year.
Influenza
Symptoms
The shot contains small amounts of the live viruses, so a person's immune system can learn to fight it. Without the vaccine, people who come in contact with the virus cannot fight it off because it is too strong.
He said scientists worked on the vaccine a year ahead.
Yockey said influenza was a severe sickness that could result in more severe complications.
"For people with diabetes, heart disease or some other debilitating illness, the flu can turn into staph pneumonia," he said. "People in these categories should get the shot."
Yockey said most people got the shot to avoid the inconvenience of bein't sick for seven to 10 days.
"The athletes come in and get their shot every year," he said.
Yockey said that last year Watkins gave about 750 people the shot.
Although the flu shot greatly reduces the chance of getting the virus, he said there was no guarantee the person would not still get the flu.
"Since the shot only contains three strains of the virus, other strains could infect people," he said.
He said people needed to also realize that the flu shot will not prevent anyone from getting a sickness that resembled the flu.
Yockey said he recommended people get the shot in October due to the length of protection the vaccine provided.
"The shot works after two weeks," he said. "Immunity will decrease after six months."
The flu season lasts from January to the first of March, Yockey said.
Yockey said Watkins offered flu shots for $7.50. No appointment is needed to get a shot.
4
"People should get the shot as a preventative measure," he said. "No one wants to be bedridden for a week."
---