2A / NEWS / THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I do not believe in ghosts, astrology, palmistry, John Cage, love, or God."
Gore Vidal
FACT OF THE DAY
The word 'lemur' means 'ghost'. It was coined by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-78) from the Latin, Lemures:'the shades of the departed'
qi.com
Weather forecast
High: 70. West winds at 10-20 mph with gusts as high as 30. Skies will be mostly clear.
THURSDAY NIGHT:
Low: 43. Skies should stay clear with a southerly wind between 10 and 15 mph helping to warm us up into Friday.
FRIDAY:
High: 75. Strong south winds between 20 and 30 mph, Sunny skies.
FRIDAY NIGHT:
Call the KU Weather Line anytime:
(785) 864-3300
Low: 58. Breezy, but pleasant night. Don't be surprised to see a wind advisory for Friday.
SATURDAY:
High: 67. Low: 44. Should be a nice start to the weekend. Twenty percent chance of showers and thunderstorms Saturday night.
SUNDAY: High: 58. Low: 37. Rain chances Increase to about 30 percent. Storms are unlikely to be severe.
Information from forecasters Adam Smith, Garrett Black, Yuka Honzawa, KU atmospheric science students
THURSDAY
What's going on?
April 28
KU Careers Services Alliance is hosting the Just in Time Career Fair in the Kansas Union Ballroom, from 1:30 to 4:30 pm. Explore current job and internship openings offered by a variety of employers. For a list of attending employers, go to www.KUCareerHawk.com/JIT2011.
FRIDAY April 29
April 29
The department of dance will host a University Dance Concert featuring choreographic fellowship winner Dusan Tynek at 7:30 p.m. at the Lied Center. Tickets are $15 for the public and $10 for students.
MONDAY
SATURDAY April 30
May 2
Adrian Finucane will give a seminar about the Anglo- Spanish slave trade from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Hall Center for the Humanities' seminar room.
April 30
The School of Engineering will host Flapjacks for Philanthropy, an all-you-can-eat fundraiser for Just Food, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Eaton Hall. Tickets are $6.
May 3
TUESDAY
SUNDAY May 1
The Douglas County Aids Project will provide free and confidential HIV testing in the Kansas Union Alcoves D and E. DCAP will also have a table in the lobby with information regarding HIV prevention.
The department of visual arts will host a visual arts scholarship show reception from 2 to 4 p.m. in room 302 of the Art and Design Building.
WEDNESDAY
May 4
The theatre department will host an interactive theatre experience dealing with office politics and personal management. The event will be held at the Edward Campus in the Regnier Hall auditorium from 8 to 9 a.m.
CITY COMMISSION
County employees recieve more benefits for families
The
BY CHRIS HONG chong@kansan.com
The Douglas County Commission voted 2-1 to extend health insurance benefits to the domestic partners and dependent children of county employees.
Sarah Plinky, assistant county administrator, presented her report on financial and legal issues surrounding the proposal during Wednesday's commission meeting.
Although the report did not provide the amount of recipients who would qualify for extended coverage, Plinkys estimated that five to 10 employees would switch to the proposed plan. Given that figure, the report estimated the extension would cost $23,694 to $47,387. According to the report, the county would also be responsible for up to $150,000 of coverage.
Jim Flory, chairman of the commission, said he was skeptical that the county could afford increases in the budget at a time when it was already forced to make cuts.
"In light of the fiscal situation we're in," he said, "I struggle with
the idea of adding more when we don't even know if we're going to make end's meet right now"
Flory said he was also concerned about the legality of domestic partnerships. Although he recognized there were personal and moral obligations in these relationships, he said they lacked the legal obligations of marriages.
"Domestic partnership, rightly or wrongly, is not a legally recognized relationship in the state of Kansas," Flory said.
He added that the health plan historically has been extended only to legally bind relationships. He said if the county decides to move in the direction of extended benefits, he would suggest waiting until 2012 so the county can accurately gauge the costs.
The commissioners also listened to public comments, which represented both sides of the issue. One person spoke against the proposal, arguing it would support an unethical lifestyle and become a heavy burden on taxpayers.
Others claimed that extended coverage would not only promote
equality in Douglas County, but would also benefit employees financially. One employee said her partner of eight years would save money and receive better benefits if the extension were approved. Commissioners Mike Gaughan and Nancy Thellman echoed the proponent's arguments.
“This issue is a priority for some, and for some it's a core value,” Thellman said. “The core value is about fundamental fairness to all people.”
Joseph Jarvis, a law student from Lenexa, also spoke in favor of the proposal and said he was pleased the commissioners voted in favor of it.
The commission will officially approve the proposal next week. Plinksy said her department was hoping to have open enrollment for the coverage by May 9.
"I'm happy that the commission has decided to recognize all relationships in Douglas County as being equal and treating employees fairly," he said.
— Edited by Corey Thibodeaux
RESEARCH
Doctorate student studies marriage
Kim Schutte was a high school student when Charles and Diana married in 1981. She said the wedding was of little interest to her.
Twenty years later, she has successfully defended her dissertation on the marriage patterns of the British aristocracy from the 16th to 20th century.
Schutte is a graduate student and instructor in the humanities and western civilization and history departments. After teaching 14 years at Missouri Western State College, she entered the University of Kansas' doctoral program in 2006. Her dissertation examines marriage patterns of the British upper class as concepts of gender, rank and nobility transformed over time.
"I was looking for a revolution in the marital behavior of aristocratic women and the self-perception of the nobility," Schutte said. "What I found instead was more than four and a half centuries of continuity."
According to Schutte, British aristocrats continued to marry each other. However, Schutte
said World War I changed their marriage patterns.
"As it did for much of British society, World War I changed the marriage trends of aristocratic women," Schutte said, attributing the changes to aristocratic men going to war and the expanding role of women.
The war contributed to changing marriage trends because of losses of aristocratic men in battle and the expansion of experiences for aristocratic women working in hospitals.
Schutte said the rate of aristocrats marrying each other has dropped significantly throughout the 20th century, a figure supported by the upcoming marriage between Prince William and oft-described "commoner" Kate Middleton. Also relevant are the marriages of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson and Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.
On Friday, April 29, Schutte will be awake at 2 a.m. She won't be on Massachusetts Street celebrating; she will be at home watching a prince marry a commoner.
Chris Hong
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