VOL.101.NO.15
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
KANSAS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TOPEKA KS 66612 ()
RIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1991
ADVERTISING:864-4358
NEWS:864-4810
Campus divided on Fulcher's removal
Some say student body should have decided the fate of its president
By Alexander Bloemhof
Kansan staff writer
Students' opinions were sharply divided about Student Senate's decision to expel student body president Darren Fulcher from office.
Student senators voted 42-19 early yesterday morning to expel Fulcher.
morning to expel Fulbera.
The motion, which goes into effect 5 p.m. the following afternoon, is appealed to the KU Judicial Board, said David Ambirie, vice chancellor for student affairs.
a uncerber was charged with battering his exigirlfriend, Glauva Gladras, Kansas City, Mo., senior, during a domestic dispute in February, according to Lawrence police and court
reports.
**Reports.**
Regarding Senate's decision, some students thought the senators did the right thing; others thought they acted wrong or prematurely.
"I don't think they should have removed him just like that," said Kris Swanson, McHenry, Ill., freshman. "I don't think they know the whole story. They should have listened to him a little more."
Kris Swanson
Steve Winfrey, Wichita junior, said too many issues had influenced the 'decision'.
they brought in prejudice and they's issues that shouldn't have anything to do with it," he said.
Jennifer Schnell, Tulisa,
Okla., freshman, said she
had been in favor of a refe-
endum.
"They need the whole student body to vote," she said. "A lot of people I know at the dorms are really ticked off, and they want to go to the Student Senate and tell
them."
them",
"Linda Turner, Lee's Summit, Mo., sopho-
more agreed."
Linda Turner
"Since the whole student body put him in office, they should be the ones to take him out of office," she said. "Right now, they are by what they feel and whattheywant, and that's not fairattail."
"I also think it' s kind of funny that they make their votes early late at
night after a lot of people've already left.
Others were opposed to any action against Pascifun.
"I don’t think he should resign," said Barbara Streets, Raleigh, N.C., graduate student. "I consider myself a feminist, but I think what some women’s groups did was persecution."
Streets also said she thought media coverage was biased.
David Cooper, Jackson, Miss., junior, said
that what Fulcher had done was wrong. However, he said he did not think that the battery charge would have affected his work as student-body president.
"Student Senate kept the controversy going on," Cooper said. "If he had resigned after the
"What he did was wrong," said Milt Newton, Washington, D.C., graduate student. "But the decision they made yesterdays think they had it out for him."
Milt Newton
dragged it out the way they did. They probably would have swept it under the carpet.
"I think if he was a white guy they wouldn't have
"It hasn't anything to do with race," Flack said, "agree with the action they took. He rep
saves weepin the pain.
Jason Flake, Olathe junior, disagreed.
resents our school, and when you re in the time-light like that you ve to watch your actions *^*
said she would not have wanted to be the one to pass the judgment on Fulcher.
"Under the circumstances, they should have probably cast the vote they did," Keller said. "It's hard because what he did was wrong, but it was before he ran for office.
"I kind of agree that he shouldn't be representing
the University."
Gloria Creed, Cape Town, South Africa,
graduate student, said the issue had two sides.
Disabled ramps blocked by bikes Petition demands
"I think they made the right decision. I think his personal life was his personal life," Creed said. "It was acceptable for Senate to vote against him, but on the other hand, it was toughluck for him."
Student complaints send KU officials looking for answers
By Stephanie Patrick Kansan staff writer
Chaining bicycles to railings on disabled-access ramps may be annoying to disabled people who use the ramps, but it is not (legal).
Parking bicycles by the rails is not a violation of any criminal, traffic or building codes, said Mary Prewitt, KU assistant general counsel.
"There is some question over who has authority," said LT. John Mullens of the KU police. "What we are trying to do is decide who has authority."
ing ramps. Prompted by complaints from disables and nondisabled students who said that bicycles were blocking ramp access, campus officials are trying to find a solution.
Svlvia Lukes of KU Concessions maneuvers down an access ramp for the disabled outside Fraser Hall.
KU police, the Student Assistance Center and facilities operations have been consulting with the University's general counsel since the beginning of the program to establish a policy that would stop raiders from using ramps as bike racks.
Mullens said that it was illegal for people to lock their bikes in construction areas and that locks had been cut in such cases.
Facilities operations workers cut the locks, and KU police officers were present so that every bicycle could be identified.
identified.
Bur Turvey, director of the Student Assistance Center, said the ramps presented a problem because there was a question about which group's rights took precedence.
He said that the University would like to remove the bicycles, but it could not do so without a change in policy.
Prewitt said the University was considering changing its policy.
She said that one option was to make a policy stating that any bicycle chained to a ramp would be removed.
Prewitt said she did not know whether such a policy could be enacted.
Glenn White, a member of the Architectural Barriers Committee, believes that the rights of the disabled should come first.
should come first.
The committee includes disabled
students, faculty members and architecture students. It informs the University on accessibility problems on campus.
"The function of those ramps is for support for those who need them," said White, who uses a wheelchair. "The university should accommodate to that."
Section 504 of the 1973 Federal Rehabilitation Act states that reasonable accommodations must be made for the disabled.
Michael Henderson, associate professor of linguistics, has found bicycles parked on ramps to be a common occurrence.
In October, he asked that a railing be put on the ramp at Blake Hall because he had trouble navigating the stairs using his cane or wheelchair.
"If instantly attracted bicycles like a magnet," Henderson said.
only insensitive, he said.
Chris Hamilton, Kansas City, Kan., senior, said, "Personally, I think it is an insult to the handicapped students in the University. Bikers should be more courteous. It is hard enough as it is."
He said the problem had become worse in recent months.
The bicyclists are not malicious,
Hamilton, who uses crutches, also said the University should take more action against the bicyclists.
"This is an important and glorious day for the Baltics," said SSAzos Lozio.
Security Council encourages U.N. to admit republics
or at least it should be. "If they can put 'No Skateboarding' signs on campus, why can't the put 'No Bike signs on the ramps'." he said.
General Assembly may accept independent Soviet states when it convenes on Tuesday
UNITED NATIONS — A festive U.N. Security Council recommended admission to the United Nations for the newly-freed Baltic republics yesterday, hailing their return to the family of nations after 51 years of Soviet domination.
The General Assembly is expected to follow the recommendation of the 15-member council by admitting Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia by acclamation when it convenes Tuesday.
The Associated Press
"The support of all members for our admission is a very important basis to begin collaboration for building something new, better and brighter in the future," Lozorzias told reporters after the council vote.
The Baltics will be admitted with North Korea, South Korea, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia. There are also 158 members in the assembly.
ratitis of Lithuania, representative for the three nations and Lithuania's charged'd affairs in Washington.
The United States and most Western nations never recognized the Soviet
The Baltic republics were independent nations between World War I and World War II, and were active in the U.N.'s predecessor, the League of Nations. But in 1939, Hitler and Stalin secretly decided their future with a Nazi-Soviet pair that divided eastern Europe into spheres of influence. In 1945, the Soviet Union and Poland was divided between the two countries.
Union's annexation of the Baltics in 1940, and the three states have maintained interest sections in Washington and New York.
Lastyear, the three republics began
independence drives that were forcefully opposed by the Kremlin. But the backlash against Kremlin hard-liners in the wake of their failed Aug. 18-21 coup led to Soviet and international recognition for Baltic independence.
Yesterday, the Baltic nations' three envoys were seated as honored guests during the council session. The Security Council, which dispensed with a period for U.N. admission, acted by acclamation and there was no vote.
Petition demands vote by students on Fulcher ouster
"It's a wonderful feeling to join the U.N." said Anatol Dinbergs, Latvia's U.N. ambassador-designate.
The Associated Press
LAWRENCE — Three KU students are trying to force a campus-wide vote on whether the student body president should be expelled from office for hitting a former girlfriend.
Student Senate voted early yesterday to expel Darren Feluhr as student body president effective at 5 p.m. Monday if he does not resign.
Fulcher, a 23-year-old senior from Kyiv, agreed to the meeting that he would not resign.
Within hours, three students were getting signatures on petitions to require a vote by all students on ousting Pulcher.
"We're not saying that what he did was right or what he did was wrong," said Todd Moore, Junction City junior, who was among those gathering signatures. "We're just saying we should have our say. We voted him in and we
should get to vote him out."
Moore said he had gathered more than 150 signatures during about three hours of work, with only a few students refusing to sign.
more said he was not usually active in campus politics but viewed the Student Senate action as a "travesty of politics."
According to Senate rules and regulations, a valid petition must be signed by at least 10 percent of those students who met the requirements at the University was listed at 27.026.
Last week, Senate approved a nonbinding resolution asking Fulcher to resign because of criminal charges filed against him.
information from police reports and court documents indicates Fulcher grabbed Audra Glavas of Kansas City, Mo., a former girlfriend, by the throat on Feb 11 and struck her in the face.
Engineering fee to buy computers
Engineering students at the University of Kansas can stop wondering if they will see any benefits from a controversial fee the Board of Regents approved last year.
By Mauricio Rios Kansan staff writer
The School of Engineering is working on purchasing more computers for its personal computer lab through funds raised from the
Students are charged a $15-accredit-hour in addition to their tuition.
The fee, which was approved in December 1990 by the Regents, was proposed by the deans of KU, Kansas State University and Wichita State University to maintain the schools' equipment and to buy new equipment.
computers, said Nancy Sliker, KU director of engineering computing facilities.
He said the school had initiated the purchasing process.
The money from the fee will buy enough computers to double the size of the computer lab.
Locke said he hoped the school would be able to purchase 30 new computers by the spring semester, which would double the size of the school's personal computer lab.
Locke said the school chose to look into buying the computers because that was what the school needed most.
On Wednesday, the State Purchasing Office in Topeka granted the University the permission to purchase equipment, including the
This was the first semester students have paid the fees, which would generate about $400,000 a year, said Carl Locke, dean of engi-
The computers would be faster, have more memory and would be upgraded with current software, Sliker said.
She said the school did not know from which company the school
The fee was approved, although a non-binding vote requested by the Board of Regents to gauge student opinion showed that 75 percent of KU engineering students opposed the fee.
was going to purchase the new computers.
"It has to be a company that provides an attractive warranty and proper maintenance," she said.
Locke said student input
was important in handling money generated by the fee.
"We will discuss with students where we should invest the money," he said. "We certainly are going to listen to what students think."
Locke met with about 50 engineering students last week to explain how the fee was being used.
He also wrote a letter explaining the fee uses and circulated it in Learned Hall.
Locke said that two main concerns were raised during the meeting: the financial impact on students and the high quality of the students' education.