FEATURES: The play 'Much Ado About Nothing' explores the ways of wit and wooing. Page 7.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
VOL.103.NO.157
KANSAS STATE
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TOPEKA KS 66612
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
WEDNESDAY.JULY13.1994
(USPS 650-640)
NEWS:864-4810
SOURCES: Chicago Tribune, Coast Guard, Immigration and Naturalization Service,
Defense Department, United Nations; research by PAT CARR
Haiti's woes hit home at KU
Student has little hope for change in homeland
By Alicia Hein
Kansan staff writer
Dave Campbell / KANSAN, Ron Coddington / Knight-Ridder Tribute
Tadana Nassar is trying hard not to give up on Haiti, the country she called home for 18 years.
But with more bad news coming every day, staying hopeful is not easy.
Since the 1991 overthrow of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected president, the countries of the United Nations have imposed sanctions on Haiti in an attempt to drive out the rebels who have taken control of the country.
Nasser and other members of the KU community who have worked in Haiti agree that the situation in the small Caribbean nation is getting worse.
In the last few weeks, refugees have been fleeing Haiti by the thousands, and there has been talk of a U.S. invasion to try and restore democracy.
When it comes to Haiti, the U.S. government needs less talk and more action, Nasser said.
"One week, they're all for going to Haiti and doing something, the next week it's on the back burner," she said. "If they're going to do something, they need to do it and stop playing games."
Nasser, an employee of the KU athletic department, was born in the United States, but was taken
HAITI: Government forces U.N. human rights observers to leave the island country. Page 12.
back to Haiti as a young child and lived there until she came to college in the U.S.
"My family is lucky because they can afford to get out," she said.
She has family members from Haiti who left the country recently after economic sanctions were tightened and conditions in the country worsened.
Those who aren't so lucky are piling on to boats and seeking political asylum in the U.S. More than 18,500 Haitians have been picked up at sea by the Coast Guard since June 16.
Economic sanctions intended to drive out the
Freeman teaches Haitian Creole, the language of Haiti, both to students at KU and to United Nations observers working in Haiti. He has been in and out of Haiti for the last 30 years.
Freeman said the conditions there are among the rest in the city.
"To treat the symptom — the refugees — we have to get to the cause of the sickness, which is Haiti itself," he said.
Although the U.S. government has been struggling with what to do with the refugees, Bryant Freeman, professor of African-American studies, says this is just a symptom of the troubles in Haiti. The real problem lies in the social, economic and political situation in the nation, he said.
rebel government have taken their toll on Haitian citizens. Everyday necessities are expensive.
"During the height of the embargo, gasoline was up to about $18 a gallon," he said.
Sara Lechtenburg, KU law student who has been working in Haiti agrees
"The economic embargo is creating a lot of difficulty for people," she said. "People are less able to provide for their basic needs."
Lechtenburg worked for the administration of justice department of the United States Agency for International Development. She left Haiti recently and described called the situation intense.
While Freeman and Lechtenburg agree that something needs to be done, they said they don't think invasion is the answer.
"I don't think we've exercised all the diplomatic possibilities." Lechtenburg said.
Haitian citizens are not pleased with the diplomatic role the United States has taken, she said.
"You get the distinct impression that a U.S. presence in Haiti is not what the Haitians want," she said. However, Freeman said the United States didn't have much of a choice other than intervention.
have much of a choice other than intervention.
"Like it or not, Haiti is in our backyard," he said.
Freeman said he didn't know what, if anything, can be done to help the situation.
be done to help the situation.
In "Haiti, things always just seem to get worse."
Chain of comets to begin bombardment of Jupiter
The Associated Press contributed Information to this story.
Effects on planet offer rare chance for impact studies
By Alicia Hein
Kansan staff writer
Ahileas Maurellis has studied the planets and made a prediction.
Beginning Saturday, a series of about 20 comets will collide with Jupiter, causing a explosions equivalent to 100 megatons of TNT. The event provides a rare opportunity to study the effects of comets on the planet's atmosphere and perhaps insight on similar events on earth, said Thomas Cravens, KU professor of physics and astronomy.
The Lawrence graduate student's prediction has nothing to do with horoscopes. It concerns the effects a string of comets will have when they hit Jupiter at an estimated speed of 40 miles per second.
Cravens said a similar collision is believed to be responsible for wiping out the dinosaurs 70 million years ago.
Maurellis and Cravens made predictions about where and when in the atmosphere the amount and types of ions will change. When the comets hit, they will release water and ammonia into a hydrogen-dominant atmosphere.
Galileo has best seat
The apposite Galileo will a better view than Earth does when the comet hits Jupiter.
"I'm excited about being able to study this event," Maurellis said. "It's fun in a sort of playful way, trying to guess the situation. It's kind of like a game."
It is, however, a game that has not happened in our lifetime and probably won't happen again for a very long
Cravens and Maurellis have been working together to predict the effects of the comets on the ionosphere, the outermost layer of the atmosphere of Jupiter. The study will be part of Maurellis' dissertation.
However, Galileo's antenna problems will limit the quality of images the probe sends back to Earth.
Dave Campbell / KANSAN, Kevin Boyd / KRT
When to watch
There will be a special viewing from 9 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and next Thursday at the Clyde W. Tombaugh Observatory at 500 Lindley Hall.
time, Cravens said.
As for the possibility of more comet collisions on Earth, he said the chances are very slim.
The comet chain, named Shoemaker-Levy 9, was discovered in March 1993 by David and Carolyn Levy and Eugene Shoemaker. It began as one large comet nucleus, composed of chunks of ice, snow and gas, Cravens said.
"Jupiter is a much bigger target, and it has a lot more stuff passing near it," Cravens said. "But if comets like this were to hit the earth, civilization would be in very big trouble."
"It's kind of like a big, dirty snowball." he said.
As it began to rotate around Jupiter, the comet broke into several smaller comets, Cravens said. The first time it passed the planet, it was a near-miss.
"It won't miss this time," he said.
Unfortunately, the point of impact will be facing away from Earth at the time of impact. Cravens said they will rotate into view about 12 minutes after the impact.
However, the visible effects of a comet hitting a gaseous planet like Jupiter will be different than if they were to smack into the hard crust of Earth.
"It's like catching a baseball in a glove rather than having it hit the cement." Cravens said.
Therefore, there will be no large craters or holes left in the surface. There could be a large mushroom cloud, the top of which could be visible to a watcher at an observatory.
The chances of an amateur observer seeing any effects from the comets will be hit and miss, Cravens said.
"If you happen to be standing in the right place in line at the observatory, you might see something," he said.
Still, Cravens said that even an untrained observer would benefit from a trip to the observatory.
The impact of the first comet of the series will take place about 2:50 p.m. Saturday but will not be visible from the Western Hemisphere. However, the second, which could be visible, will hit about 9:25 p.m. Saturday. Other night impact times will be 9:37 p.m. Sunday, 12:47 a.m. July 21 and 10:54 p.m. July 22. The last impact time will be 3:20 a.m. July 23.
Even though earthbound observers won't see much, the Galileo, Voyager 2 and Ulysses spacecrafts, along with the Hubble Space Telescope, will be recording data.
"If you're never seen Jupiter, this is a great excuse," he said.
Cravens and Maurellis will be waiting to see if their predictions are correct. One way or another, Cravens glad to have this opportunity.
Pulling for KU
Martin Altstaedten / KANSAN
Mary Cook, New Braunfels, Texas, sophomore, and Debbie Jacobs, Denver, Colo., senior, pull weeds for KU Landscaping. They were working in front of Wescoe Hall yesterday.
Registration deadline nears
By Shauna Shindler
Special to the Keeson
Special to the Kansan
There is little time left to make a difference in the November elections.
To vote in the August primary, which chooses the candidates for the November election, voters must register and declare a political affiliation by July 18, said Patty Jaimes, county clerk for Douglas County.
Voters may register at the county clerk's office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday. The office will be open until 9 p.m. on July 14, 15 and 18.
Voters may also register when renewing a driver's license at the Division of Motor Vehicles.
The most publicized race on the August ballot is the governor's race.
Nationally, all of the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election.
Six Republicans and five Democrats are competing for party nominations.
According to the County Clerk's Office, the primary ballot will also include: state representatives, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Insurance Commissioner, State Treasurer, state board of education, county commissioners and local town clerks.
Despite many highly competitive races, statistics show that a high voter turnout is not expected.
"There is generally a 15 percent to 20 percent decrease in voter turnout" for primaries as compared to November elections, said Allan Cigler, professor of political science.
Voters are apathetic toward primaries partially because the races don't receive much media attention until two weeks before the election after it's too late to register, said Cigler.
He said that students often do not vote in primaries because they are traditionally held during the summer, when students are out of town.
Students should know that if they plan to vote in the summer primary or in the fall election, their voter registration information must be current, or they will be inelegible to vote.
"Anytime voters move, the law requires them to re-register," Jaimes said.
Even moving to a different apartment within an apartment building requires re-registering. Registration also is required for any name change.
Pet adoption can be complicated
By Matt Hydeman Kansan staff writer
Students who are thinking about adopting a pet from their local animal shelter could discover that it's not as easy as it sounds.
Renee Harris, manager of the Ise Memorial Animal Shelter of the Lawrence Humane Society, said that students should be aware of the shelter's rules and procedures regarding the adoption of a pet.
"Our goal is to make sure that every pet gets a good home," she said. "We want people who want the animal as a pet and know what that entails."
The shelter, a nonprofit organization, works with the City of Lawrence to collect neglected or abandoned animals.
Dave Hubble, a Lawrence police department animal control officer, said that the department had no control over what happened to the animals after the shelter received them.
"We have a contract with the shelter for them to hang on to the animals," Hubble said. "Every animal we pick up, we take to them there."
Harris said that applicants must fill out a questionnaire before adopting a pet. Applicants also receive a list of guidelines informing the potential pet owner of the shelter's rules and of requirements to be made before the animal can be adopted.
"We want to make sure that people aren't doing this on a whim," she said.
"Adopting a pet isn't something to do lightly."
Students who live in apartments must present a copy of their lease that explicitly allows pets and should be able to prove that any deposits have been made. In addition, the shelter requires that the pets be spayed or neutered, as required by state law.
In addition, Harris said, people may be refused an adoption for the following reasons:
they previously arranged to adopt a pet through the shelter and then did not follow through with it
Failure to spay or neuter the pet allows the shelter to remove the animal from the adopter's custody.
it's so important that people understand that pet overpopulation is a problem," she said.
they are adopting the pet to give as a gift to another person
- animal cruelty complaints have been filed against them
"It's a very painless and humane death," she said. "I never like to make that choice."
For animals that are never picked up or that have owners that continue to neglect the animal, Harris said that euthanasia is the last choice.
Jay Thornton / KANSAN
A kitten climbs up its cage at the Ise Memorial Animal Shelter of the Lawrence Humane Society. The shelter currently has about 120 cats available for adoption.