Kansas law: Supreme Court upholds Sexually Violent Predator Act. Page 8
Sunflower Games: Events to take place the last two weekends in July. Page 9
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 3
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
NEWS 864-4810
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KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 3
PD BOX 35A5
TOPEKA. KS 66601-35A5
VOL.103.NO.153
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25. 1997
Teen-age mom charged with murder of newborn
A grim-looking Drexler, wearing a flowered skirt and a blue denim top with matching nail polish, surrendered with her parents and stood before a judge yesterday to face the charges of murder and endangering the welfare of a child.
FREEHOLD, N.J. — A teen-ager who gave birth at her prom and then returned to the dance floor was charged with murder yesterday after an autopsy concluded the baby was strangled or suffocated in a plastic bag taken from the sanitary-napkin receptacle in the bathroom.
Prosecuters said 18-year-old Melissa Drexler may have even used the sharp edge of the receptacle to cut the umbilical cord before dumping the body of the newborn boy in a trash can June 6.
If convicted, Drexler could get life in prison. Prosecutors said they do not plan to seek the death penalty.
Movie and TV actor Brian Keith found dead
"Go tell the boys we'll be right out," Drexler yelled to a friend in the bathroom before coming out of the stall, according to prosecutor John Kave. He said she put her loose-fitting black gown back on and went back to the prom dance floor, leaving the bathroom splattered with blood.
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MALIBU, Calif. — Brian Keith, the gruff star of TV's "Family Affair" and "Hardcastle & McCormick," was found dead yesterday at his home, an apparent suicide. He was 75.
Keith had been suffering from cancer, said his manager's representative. Tabloid reports said
Keith had lung cancer and emphysema
Brian Keith
"He was a crusty old character but a lot of fun," said Paul Doherty, whose firm handled Keith's work in commercials.
"A wonderful guy, wonderful talent. Keith appeared in movies throughout the 1950s and '60s, including comedies such as Disney's "The Parent Trap" in 1961 and "With Six You Get Egg Roll" with Doris Dauin in 1968.
The Associated Press
In "Family Affair," which ran on CBS from 1966 to 1971, the burly, blond-haired Keith played Uncle Bill, a bachelor raising his two orphaned nieces and nephew — Buffy, Cissy and Jody — with the help of a proper English butler, Mr. French, portrayed for most of the series by Sebastian Cabot.
Keith played retired Judge Milton G. Hardcastle in the ABC crime drama "Hardcastle & McCormick" from 1983 to 1986.
The findings contrast with suicides among the general population, which were attributed largely to poor heath.
Suicide rate high for Japanese executives
The study reported by Kyodo News agency said bankruptcies and unemployment caused 29 percent of the suicides, with business mistakes and quarrels with colleagues accounting for an equal share.
TOKYO — Suicides by Japanese business executives are increasing amid corporate restructuring and a long economic slump, a report by the National Police Agency said yesterday.
The report said 478 executives killed themselves last year, up from 411 the previous year.
The number of suicides among corporate and business executives peaked in 1986 at 487 and declined until the burst of rampant land and stock speculation in the early 1990s.
(USPS 650-640)
GTA union inches toward agreement
Health coverage was sticking point in negotiations
Kansan staff report
After five years, the Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition may soon finalize a contract with the University of Kansas.
Richard Buck, chairman of GTAC's negotiations committee said Monday that University administrators and GTAC were near an agreement, but were waiting for the State Health Care Commission to determine
whether graduate teaching assistants were eligible for health-care benefits.
GTAUNION
That ruling came yesterday when the commission agreed in a 3-2 vote to offer a health-care plan to all students enrolled at Regents' institutions, said Daniel R. Stanley, state of Kansas secretary of administration.
The new plan could offer health-care coverage to University employees who are full-time, Stanley said. GTAs would benefit from the plan as well as graduate research assistants and other faculty, he said.
The University employs about 1,000 GTAs, 20 to 25 percent of whom are members of GTAC.
The University and the GTAC said they were pleased with the Health Care Commission's findings.
The Joint Committee on Regulations and Administration then would decide how to implement the changes in student coverage.
But before GTAs receive the coverage, a public hearing must be held. Stanley said the public hearing probably will be scheduled sometime this summer.
Provost David Shulenburger said the University is on its way to having health care available for GTAs and research assistants.
"It is what we wanted and what we expected from the health care commission," he said.
"This is what we've been waiting for. We're very happy," said Richard Buck, chairman of GTAC's negotiating committee.
KU administration and GTAC negotiation committees will meet tomorrow to discuss the commission's decision. Shulenburger and Buck said they hoped a final agreement would be reached on the GTAC's proposals.
Solar sight
**Above:** A solar-powered car from the University of Illinois travels down downtown Lawrence yesterday. **Right:** A solar-powered car from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
sits in north Lawrence after successfully maneuvered through traffic. The cars were two of 38 solar-powered cars, which were designed by engineering students from various U.S. and
Indianapolis, Ind., to Colorado Springs, Colo.
The cars left Lindsay College in Los Angeles. Summit
cars, which can travel at top speeds ranging from 15 mph to 45 mph, must obey all traffic signals and speed limits.
Photos by Gale Garber / KANSAN
Friends recall editor's gifts
Speakers describe her as thoughtful
By Ann Marchand
Kansan staff writer
Thoughtful, compassionate, feisty and happy were a few of the words used by some of the 170 people who gathered in Alderson Auditorium on Thursday for a memorial service for LaTina Sullivan.
Sullivan's sorority sisters inducted her into the Omega Omega chapter of Delta Sigma Theta.
She also was remembered by Chancellor Robert Hemenway, who taught Sullivan in his American Literature II course. Hemenway mourned Sullivan's death and reflected on the importance of living life to the fullest, which he said Sullivan did.
An outgoing person, Sullivan, 23, was remembered amid tears shed by friends, faculty and family.
Sullivan, Memphis, Tenn., senior, died June 11 of an asthma attack.
"She was bright and vital and focused," he said. "Students are young; they're not supposed to die. I don't feel like I have very
much wisdom or solace.
In the University, students always think about the future. Maybe what we have to remember is that we need to focus on today as well as tomorrow."
Sullivan had served as the summer editor of the Kansan and previously had worked as a copy editor and assistant edi torial page editor.
"LaTina's life was far more than just working hard — she brought a keen intelligence and a diligence to all she did," said Tom Eblen, general manager of the Kansas. "Her loss, sadly, makes us less than what we were."
Members of Sullivan's family shared a side of her that few in Lawrence knew. The only girl in a set of triplets, Sullivan grew up with her niece, Lolita Robinson, 24, and her two brothers, Eddie and Edgar.
LaTina Sullivan
Robinson and Eddie Sullivan attended the service and recounted childhood memories.
Cheryl Lester, associate professor of English and Sullivan's mentor, also said that she felt a part of her left with her student's death, but Lester credits Sullivan with helping her academically and personally.
"We called ourselves 'The Jackson 4.'" Robinson said. "We made her Randy or Tito because she couldn't dance. But right now it's hard because one of us is missing."
"It was clear very early on that LaTina and I had a lot to learn from each other," she said. "It wasn't very long before I learned more about reading than she learned from me."
Ayshea Charity, a recent KU graduate and close friend of Sullivan's, led the service. She and Sullivan had planned to move to Arizona when Sullivan graduated in August. Charity said she and Sullivan had shared both the bond of their sorority sisterhood and their hopes and dreams for the future.
Charity said she was grateful to have known Sullivan, if only for a short time.
"To me, she was a beacon of light, and any of us who were close enough to stand in her light were truly blessed." she said.
Other participants eched those sentiments throughout the service, which was not only a lamentation of Sullivan's death but also a celebration of her life.
Bayliss Harsh, a reference assistant who hired Sullivan to work at Watson Library, said the full auditorium spoke highly of how Sullivan had spent her time at the University.
"It's clear that she gave so much to so many in her short life," she said.
Radio station requesting more power, bigger area
KJHK awaiting FCC nod on wattage increase
By Daniel Ethan Thompson
Kansan staff writer
KJHK wants to crank it up in Kansas. If the Federal Communications Commission approves its request, the University of Kansas radio station will increase its power from 300 to 3,500 watts next fall.
James Crutchfield, FCC supervisor of processing, said the main concern before granting power-upgrade permits was whether the station met engineering requirements. Crutchfield said the FCC must consider the power increase in addition to any changes in the antenna and transformer structures.
Because the station already is operating, Crutchfield said KJHK easily should meet all legal requirements.
"They have met them at this time, or they wouldn't have the permit now," he said.
No structural changes are planned now. Katich said.
The power increase will be financed by private donors and by the $3-student-media fee. Fifty-five thousand dollars already have been allocated to the radio station by Student Senate.
"There is talk of taking the tower down," he said. "But there has been talk of taking down the tower for 15 years."
Tearing the 162-foot tower down behind Marvin Hall would require eight pieces of hardware to be relocated.
"I don't think it will cost more than $55,000 to $60,000, including the transmitter, antenna, coaxial cable and the labor," said John Katich, associate professor and head of the radio and television sequence. But the bidding hasn't been opened vet. he said.
Even without a new tower, Katich said the increase in power would give KJHK a 30-mile-radius broadcasting capability.
"The J-school was never behind them, and I think they'll realize other people outside of Lawrence will want to hear it," he said. "It's nice for the current and future staff that more people can hear them."
Jeff Petterson, assistant music director at Lawrence's KLZR and a KJHK alumnus, said the station was excited for KJHK.
But will the improved KJH invade KLZR's air space?
KLZR operates with 100,000 watts and broadcasts in a 90-mile radius.
But in an area where KJHK hasn't been a choice in the past, KJHK could take away listeners. Petterson said.
"We're the most listened-to radio station in Douglas County, and I doubt that our listeners would change," Peterson said. "We're in a different league."
Bob Gould, general manager of KISF in Kansas City said, "The impact on 107.3 will be negligible at best."
TODAY
INDEX
Opinion ...4
National News ...5
World News ...6
Sports ...10
Classifieds ...11
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