Watkins retiree: Gloria Woods retires after nearly 38 years. Page 2A
Quantrill's: Antique market closes its doors after 26 years of business.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
*******************3-DIGIT 666
KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 3
PO BOX 3585
TOPEKA, KS 66601-3585
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
NEWS 864-4810
WEDNESDAY.JULY2.1997
ADVERTISING 864-4358
SECTION A VOL.103, NO.154
Smoke inhalation kills engineering student
A KU student died Friday from smoke inhalation after a fire started in his kitchen at 12th and Tennessee streets, authorities said.
Firefighters found Daniel J. Ham man, Prairie Village junior, unconscious and not breathing on his bedroom floor.
Paramedics performed CPR and took Hamman to Lawrence Memorial Hospital. He then was transported by life flight to Saint Joseph Health Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Rich Barr, Lawrence fire marshal,
said Hamman resumed breathing
and was placed on artificial respiration before he arrived at Saint Joseph in critical condition.
Hamman died Friday afternoon. Barr said the fire appeared to be accidental.
"Two stove burners were on high, and the stove was on. The fire was started by food on or near the stove. Then the cabinets caught on fire." Barr said.
Fire officials are investigating why the smoke detector did not go off, Barr said.
Firefighters estimated $5,000 worth of damages to the apartment. Fire damage was confined to the kitchen, but there was heat and smoke damage throughout the apartment. No other damages were reported.
—Kansan staff report
Two airplane makers get approval to merge
WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission approved the merger of Boeing Co. and McDonnell Douglas Corp. yesterday, clearing the way for a deal that will create an aerospace colossus.
Only one competitor in Europe and one in the United States remain to compete for commercial airline sales.
The new company will be called the Boeing Co.
Stockholder meetings are scheduled for July 25 to seal the deal. The European Union could raise objections and complicate the new company's European operations. But the FTC approval removed the only uncertainty from a deal that is essentially a $14 billion buyout of McDonnell by Seattle-based Boeing.
McDonnell's faltering commercial airline sales and a lack of overlap in weapons-systems production led the commission to permit the deal. Last year, McDonnell won only 4 percent of new airplane orders.
Tough-guy movie actor Mitchum dies at 79
LOS ANGELES — Robert Mitchum, the gruff, sleepy-eyed actor who played tough guys, cynics and all-around hard cases in movies such as "Night of the Hunter," "Cape Fear" and "Thunder Road," died yesterday. He was 79.
The brawny, granite facee Mitchum, who died at his home in Montecito, suffered from emphysema and lung cancer. Mitchum appeared in more than 100 west-ems, comedies, war movies and dramas. He was a star for more than half a century, working into his 70s.
Mitchum once said, "I think when producers have a part that's hard to cast, they say, 'Send for Mitchum. He'll do anything.' I don't care what I play. I'll play Polish gays, women, midgets, anything."
Despite his near-legendary status, he was nominated for only one Academy Award, which he did not win.
It was not all acting. Off screen, Mitchum was hard-drinking, surly and openly contemptuous of studio bosses and Hollywood. After serving 60 days for marijuana possession in the late '40s, he emerged from jail and said, "It's just like Palm Sorings without the effraff."
The Associated Press
Hong Kong joins China
Human rights, economy issues for University
By Tom Winter
Kansan staff writer
At midnight on Monday, KU senior Wing Cheung and most of the world held their breath. June 30 was the night that Hong Kong reunited with mainland China.
Cheung, from Hong Kong, said she was unsure about the ramification.
"I am nervous about what will happen to human rights and freedom of speech," Cheung said recently.
Other people at the University of Kansas are optimistic about the change. Leo Chan, Hong Kong, graduate student, said he believed the change would be minimal.
"Hong Kong's government will remain mostly the same as it was under British rule," he said. "The Chinese are guaranteeing 50 years of
political autonomy to Hong Kong."
politics adequately to Hong Kong. Khan believes China will have little control of Hong Kong. Tax will be paid to the Hong Kong government and Hong Kong will have its own legal system. If this experiment works, Taiwan may be influenced to rejoin mainland China. Khan said.
"They think they can have economic freedom without political freedom. I don't," Lande said.
Carl Lande, professor of political science and East Asian studies, is not as optimistic about the change
One reason many may be skeptical of China's hands-off policy is the creation of the Provisional Legislia
HANDOVER: More on the historic transfer of powers. Power 6A
tive Council. Although China has promised legislative elections, the new council was appointed by the Chinese government and will relieve the current legislature of its duties.
"The new council will toe the communist line," Lande said. "They will do what the Chinese government wants done."
Lande fears Hong Kong citizens will lose their personal freedoms, including freedom of the press, independent student organizations, and the freedom to demonstrate and to criticize the Chinese regime, he said.
"The economy is going to do well because ever, 'body has an interest in it,'" he said.
However, Lande does believe that the outlook for Hong Kong's economy is positive.
John Dardess, professor of history and director of the Center for East Asian studies, is unsure of Hong Kong's long-term economic situation.
"I think they'll try to keep it viable, but how long they can continue it over the coming years is the question I have." Dardess said.
(USPS 650-640)
There are mixed feelings about the relationship between the United States and China.
Lande does not think the United States and Hong Kong will have it so easy. He predicts demonstrations in Hong Kong. When that happens, Lande said, the Chinese will react as they did in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
"We will keep the trade agreement between the United States and Hong Kong. We won't have to get permission from China to deal with Hong Kong," he said.
"They think the U.S. government will back down if they crack down in Hong Kong," he said.
He said that if China cracks down in Hong Kong, the United States would strengthen relations with Taiwan.
No one is sure what will happen.
And that makes Cheung nervous.
"The Chinese government is unpredictable," she said.
DOWN COME THE WALLS
Workers continued demolishing the old parking garage on the east side of Jayhawk Towers yesterday. The parking garage was in major disrepair and was taken down due to safety concerns. The garage will be replaced with a parking lot at a loss of 40 parking spaces. The lot is scheduled to be completed on August 30th.
Renovations to decrease parking spaces
By Tamara Miller
Kansan staff writer
Renovations to the east parking lot at the towers will result in a loss of 40 parking spaces, said Donna Hultine, assistant director of the Parking Department.
Students who live in Jayhawker Towers in the fall may have to walk up Daisy Hill before they can drive.
Renovations have been scheduled since the beginning of last year, when the parking lot was declared unsafe, Hultine said. Part of the lot was closed for safety reasons.
The cost of the renovations is about $462,000 and is being funded by the Parking Department, said Doug Riat, associate director of Design and Construction Management.
"Towers residents will be encouraged to park up on the Hill." she said.
She said that poor construction was the primary reason for the renovations.
Current construction will turn Burdick Drive into a three-lane road and, eventually, an east entrance to the lot. The other
Construction began June 16, and the parking lot is scheduled to reopen Aug. 30, Riat said. The parking lot will be renovated into a single-level lot with 94 spaces, he said.
Walls will be constructed on the north and west sides of the lot, he said.
entrance will be from Irving Hill Road.
"There were more spaces before, even when part of the lot was closed off," he said.
Despite the decrease in parking spaces, the number of parking permits that will be available for the towers lot will remain the same.
The towers governing body voted to offer the same number of permits as last year, Huline said. Many towers residents parked on Daisy Hill last year, she said.
"To returning towers residents, this is nothing new," she said.
Audra Kirchgassner, Larned sophomore, said that she was angry about the loss of parking spaces, but that she still planned to buy a permit in the fall.
"I don't live on Daisy Hill, I live in the towers, and I expect to be able to park there," she said.
Jaycees organize fireworks display
Kansan staff report
Fireworks will again light up the sky over the Kansas River on July 4.
The Lawrence Jaycees, a leadership training organization, planned the Independence Day celebration, which will feature live music, activities, concessions, and the fireworks display.
"It's a great way to bring the community together," said Lanaea Heine, event organizer.
Burcham Park entrance at Second and Indiana streets will open at 5 p.m., and the fireworks display will begin at dusk, around 9:30 p.m. Patriotic music will accompany the display on KLWN radio station, 1320 AM.
Fireworks — $10,000 worth — will be launched from the north side of the Kansas River levee. Heine said the location added to the beauty of the display because of the reflection in the river.
The Lawrence Journal-World is providing a free shuttle bus to the park. Buses will pick up passengers at 15 stops in the parking lots along Vermont and New Hampshire streets. There will be an additional stop at the Community Building, 115 W. 11th St. Each shuttle-bus stop will be marked with a yellow sign.
Projects throughout the year help the Jaycees raise funds for the fireworks display, Heine said.
"We hope to provide the community with fun, family events to celebrate Independence Day," said Sherri Cannon, member of the Jaycees.
Debate regarding evaluations continues
By Tamara Miller Kansan staff writer
Student Senate looks to lawyer for answers
Two years and at least one threat to sue later, KU Student Senate President Scott Sullivan has contacted lawyers to discuss the release of faculty evaluations to students.
"Those records can't be protected if it were to come down to a court battle," said Sullivan, Leawood senior.
The University said faculty evaluations are personnel files and can not be released. However, Sullivan said refusing to release the evaluations is a violation of the Open Records Act.
Sullivan has talked to Charles Brown, an attorney who represented a University of Idaho student in a similar court battle and won. Sullivan said his research has indicated that the faculty evaluations fall under the Kansas Open Records Act.
The Council has voted down a petition for the release of the evaluations twice already.
Sullivan said his goal was to convince the University Council that releasing the evaluations would be legal. If the council saw enough evidence that supported the release of the evaluations, then the Senate and the University could begin discussing the benefits of releasing them, Sullivan said.
Because the Council is made up of many faculty members, Banks predicted that the council would vote against the idea again.
Betty Banks, associate professor of classics, said she opposed the release of the evaluations because it would encourage students to shop for classes that are fun and for instructors who are lenient.
Sandra Gautt, assistant provost, said the University had no plans to change its policy.
"I think they're going to try to protect their careers," Banks said. "I personally don't believe there are legal grounds for the release of the faculty evaluations."
"Our understanding is that it is a legal question, not a policy question," she said.
Steve McAllister, associate professor of law, said he supported the release of the evaluations. He said that because students fill out the evaluations, instead of the faculty, they should be considered public record.
In the fall the Senate will approach the Council with the petition to release faculty evaluations again. Sullivan said he was confident that the Council would approve the release of the evaluations if he could prove that such a release would be legal and beneficial to the University.
Widespread support from students who return in the fall would increase the likelihood that the evaluations would be released. Sullivan said.
"I think that student support is only going to benefit the cause and make it much harder for the University to say no," Sullivan said.
TODAY
INDEX
Opinion ...4A
National News ...5A
World News ...6A
Music ...1B
Heath and Wellness ...2B
Sports ...4B
Classifieds ...5B
---