Relays: The 72nd annual Kansas Relays begin at Memorial Stadium. Page 1B
New Drug: The KU Medical Center researches an anti-obesity drug. Page 3A
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
NEWS 864-4810
THURSDAY,APRIL 17,1997
ADVERTISING 864-4358
SECTION A VOL.103,NO.137
(USPS 650-640)
KU freshman arrested for auto burglary, theft
A KU student was arrested yester day morning for breaking into and stealing the contents of at least five vehicles in a parking lot in the 1000 block of Emery Road, Lawrence police said.
Police received and responded to a report of auto burglary about 3 a.m. When police arrived, they saw two men running west from the area. One man escaped, but the police caught and arrested Vincent T. Schidman, Arlington Heights, Ill., freshman. Schidman was charged with auto burglary and felony theft.
Won auto burglary and refinery theft.
Police said the suspect or suspects broke windows in at least five cars and stole assorted property, including backpacks, textbooks, computer equipment and other miscellaneous items. After searching the area, police found all the stolen property stashed in a wooded area east of the parking lot. The items were valued at nearly $1,000.
Victims of the burglars included two KU students and two K-State students.
Schidman was held in the Dougall County Jail on $4,000 bond until 5 p.m. yesterday, when he was released.
—Kansan staff report
Abandoning their all-out defense of cigarettes, the nation's two biggest tobacco companies now seem willing to cut their legal losses for up to $300 billion and retire Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man if the government backs off its threat to regulate nicotine.
Tobacco firms cut ads to avoid FDA regulations
RJR Nabisco and Philip Morris are in early talks with the attorneys general of eight states in hopes of winning blanket protection from lawsuits over smoking-related health problems, it was disclosed yesterday.
In return, the cigarette companies would pay hundreds of billions of dollars and would agree to cut back on ads, especially ads that appeal to children, like Joe Camel, and those that depict people, such as the Marlboro Man.
Kansas attorney general pushes for victims' rights
WASHINGTON — Kansas Attorney General Carla Stovall urged a somewhat reluctant Senate yesterday to enshrine in the Constitution an amendment giving victims the right to be heard and take part in some criminal proceedings.
Stovall, one of two state attorneys general to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that 15 of the 27 current amendments to the Constitution protected the rights of people charged with crimes.
Several senators expressed reluctance at yesterday's hearing to tinker with the Constitution despite the popularity of victims' rights, saying Congress could pass laws to achieve much the same thing.
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Regents Center dean retires
Weather: Page 2A
Stark completes four years at job
By Stephanie McDuff Kansan staff writer
After serving for four years as the dean of the Regents Center, Robert L. Stark will retire July 1.
"In 1993, I agreed to a two-year commitment," Stark said. "I'm now completing my fourth year — twice what I intended. I believe it is time for me to once again retire."
He held various other positions in the company during his time there, including president of Hallmark Canada, chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
Stark said that he decided to retire after realizing that the Regents Center would soon need to be expanded. It would not be
fair, he said, to start the plans and not see them completed. He will remain as dean of the Regent's Center until a successor is named
Bruce Lindvall, assistant dean at the Regents Center, said that Stark had worked to enhance the productivity of the center while working as its dean.
"Bob Stark's assistance to his alma mater and his commitment to growth of the Edwards Campus is greatly appreciated," said Chancellor Robert Henmenway.
Lindvall said that there had been an increase in the number of students attending classes at the center.
During Stark's four years as dean, the number of student credit hours generated at the Regents Center has increased 40 percent. Lindvall said that this improvement was an indicator of the center's productivity during Stark's administration.
More programs have been added to the Regents Center's curriculum during Stark's four-year administration. Among the programs added were communications studies, marketing communications and a doctoral program for educational administration.
Lindvall said that Stark had worked closely with University administration and academic deans while making decisions which would meet the needs of graduate'education in the Kansas City area.
"Bob Stark knows Kansas City," Provost David Shulenburger said. "He has willingly taken his knowledge of the major metropolitan market and used it to expand the presence of' the University of
Kansas. I appreciate Bob's efforts and look forward to working with him as a successor is chosen."
Jack E. Fincham, dean of pharmacy, will head the search committee as it looks for a new dean to replace Stark at the Regents Center. Fincham was unavailable for comment.
Lindvall said he believed that the search committee had already begun advertising the position, the first step in the selection process.
Stark, a 1955 graduate of the University's School of Business, worked for Hallmark Cards Inc. for 35 years. When he retired from the Kansas City-based greeting card manufacturer, Stark was serving as its executive vice president and president of the company's
personal communication group
Photo illustration by Tyler Wirken, GR Gordon-Ross / KANSAN
Students are constantly surprised when the phone Bill comes and they are faced with high prices. Those high phone bills have been choking students of their funds for many years.
Reach out and touch, then take financial tolls
High bills leave heads ringing
By Paul Eakins Kansan staff writer
Phone bills can be expensive, often more than the expectations and wallet size of the customers. College students are no exception.
Larry Pfautsch, Southwestern Bell representative, said that sometimes people new to dealing with phone bills might be unaware of the charges that could accumulate on their long-distance bills. When the unexpected charge showed up in the mall, they may just ignore it or run to escape it.
Bills are considered on a case-by-case basis, examining the history and individual circumstances of the customer, Pfautsch said. Usually, a payment plan can be arranged in which the customer pays the bill in installments and is able to continue phone services.
"A thing that some students don't do that they could do would be to call our business office and make arrangements," he said. "We're in the business to give telephone service, not to disconnect customers."
This is not necessary, Pfautsah said.
Phone companies can be flexible.
If the customer refuses to pay the bills, the phone is shut off, benefiting neither the company nor the customer.
Often, the long-distance charges are the ones that hurt students the most.
Adam Harris, Houston junior, said he had had a roommate last year who ran up a $900 phone bill in a little more than
a month, then dropped out of school and left town.
"He ran up the bill calling his girl friend and phone sex lines." Harris said.
Harris resolved the bill by explaining the situation to the phone company, which tracked down the former roommate at his new home.
To keep his phone bills low, Harris said he made fewer long distance calls and called at night and during the weekends, when it costs less.
If the students' parents are paying the bills, FPautsch said that they could get prepaid phone cards that would limit the charges that could be accumulated using a card.
This is exactly what students need to do, Pfautsch said.
Also, students who often use long distance should try to get special long distance calling plans. he said.
"Credit agencies are the last resort because we do not get full payment, since we have to pay the credit agency," he said.
Jo Hardesty, director of Student Legal Services, said that students often came to her with credit problems caused by phone bills. If the bills are legitimate, she can do little to help, she said. However/sometimes the phone company makes a mistake, or fraud is involved.
Students need not worry about a credit agency pursuing them unless they have an extremely large phone bill that has been overdue for several months. Pfautsch said.
If the charges are legitimate, Hardesty had few recommendations.
"Not a lot can be done. They can work out a payment plan with the phone company," she said.
And pay the bill.
Phone companies foil foreign students' bills
By Umut Bayramoglu
Kansan staff writer
Paying bills is a pain for all students. But international students and students with friends overseas suffer the most from paying phone bills.
Despina Kypirianou, Cyprus senior, is on several monthly payment plans with telephone companies that total $500 per month.
"When things are blue, you just have to talk to people," she said. "And we have nobody here."
Kyrianou said she made calls to Cyprus, Greece and Canada.
"When my boyfriend was in Greece, I was calling him everyday, and I have many other friends there," she said.
Kyprianou owes more than $3,000 to three different phone companies.
Shannon King, Olathe senior, doesn't owe anything to the phone companies, but her average monthly phone bill is about $350.
"My boyfriend is in Spain, and I call him at least once a week," she said.
King said that she used AT&T, although she thought other companies might be cheaper.
Kyriaphan said that she used every long-distance phone company in the United States.
"I had AT&T, LCI, MCI and also phone cards from Sprint, Delta Airlines, and Premiere," she said. "But they are all expensive."
"There are only three big companies that have a say in the market," she said.
King said that the problem with high rates might be caused by lack of competition.
But Kyprianou said that she thought AT&T was the lesser of the three evils.
See BILLS, Page 2A
Women share stories of abuse at victims' rally Purpose to educate people about help for abuse victims
By Kevin Bates Kansan staff writer
Two women shared their experiences with violence yesterday afternoon as part of National Crime Victims' Rights Week.
Jenna Coker and Ann Whedon, both Lawrence residents, told about three dozen people at the South Park Gazebo how they were victimized and how they have learned to cope through the years.
Coker contacted Headquarters Counseling Center, and since then has spent time trying to educate people about sexual abuse.
"When my husband put a gun to my head, finally had a flash of sanity. Coker said. "I realized that when I said, 'till death do us part,' that didn't mean that he had to kill me."
Coker described her life until Feb. 18, 1987, as a horrible, horrible mess. She said she had been sexually abused by her violently alcoholic father from her birth until she was 13 years old. She married when she was 16, and for 21 years lived with an abusive husband. But when Feb. 18, 1987, came, Coker said she came to her senses.
"The effects of sexual abuse on children are indescribable," Coker said. "I feel like it's a murdering of the soul."
"It's unfortunate, but victims don't have too many rights," Tonkovich said. "I just want them to learn that they're not alone and that there are others around who can give support and make the experience a little easier to deal with."
The rally and the two women were introduced by Douglas County District Attorney Christine Tonkovich, who said that she wanted people to learn about the agencies in Lawrence that help crime victims.
Whedon also spoke about the abuse she endured at the hands of her partner. She said that he was first verbally abusive, but then the abuse turned physical.
"He called me a fat pig, among other things"
Whedon said. "Then after I lost weight, he thought
I was having an affair. It just turned into a cycle."
She said that her partner tried to hide his cocaine usage from her, and when she confronted him, he was defensive. She left him soon after she was convinced he was on drugs.
A few days later, Whedon's partner kidnapped her at gunpoint. He took her to his apartment and held her hostage. She escaped and went to the police.
The abuse came to a head when the man stalked Whedon at her work. He hid behind Whedon's car, and when she came out, he put a shotgun to her head. Whedon put her right arm in front of her face, and the man shot off her right hand. She fell; and the man shot her again in the leg. Whedon is now paralyzed from the knee down in her left leg.
Whedon said she wanted people to learn how to not tolerate abuse of any kind.
"I want to free the world of abuse, but I know it won't be easy," Whedon said. "I'm sure everyone is O.J. and Nicole Brown Simpson to death, but she's on my mind a lot."
Victims' Rights Week, which started in 1981, is held April 13 through 19. According to a press release from the mayor's office, a violent crime occurs in the United States every 18 seconds, victimizing almost 10 million people. At the rally, Lawrence police Lt. Dan Affalter said that Lawrence was a safe place to live, but that at the same time, no neighborhood was immune to crime.
"We have to attack crime on all sides," Affalter said. "We all need to watch out for our neighbors and be aware of what's going on in our community. People have a right to feel safe to walk the streets and to be safe in their own home."
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