Course of Affirmative Action strewn with obstacles
(Editor's note: This is the second part of a two-part story on the history of affirmative action.)
By DEBBIE C.
Kansan Staff Reporter
The phrase "affirmative action" was introduced by President Johnson's executive order No. 11246 in 1965, which insisted that all federal contracts ensure equal opportunity for all races by making special, or affirmative, efforts. It was amended in 1967 to include equal opportunity on the basis of sex.
The Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) became the administrative agency for this order that required federal contractors, if they are to remain federally funded, to not only avoid discriminatory practices, but also work to correct past inequities in employment. KU's annual education federal contracts and grants, therefore, is dependent on University compliance with the order.
KU's adoption of an affirmative acton program followed a protest in 1972 by a group of women known as the February Sisters. Their protest, which lasted for nearly all-night meeting, between the Sisters and Senxix.
Raymond Nichols, then chairman of SenEx and
now chancellor emeritus, spent that night listening to their demands.
"I say demands," Nichols said last month. Others would say suggestions and recommendations."
Although the remaining Sisters maintain that their demonstration led to the University's affirmative action plan, Nichols said the plan was grounded on finances, not protests.
"The real reason for the development of a plan is what he said. 'You can operate without an affirmative goal.' We are committed. Without one, your federal money is going to be cut off. That's a pretty heavy club HUE"
The push to hire more women and minorities gained emphasis last year when four of the University's 6.7 newly funded positions were designated affirmative action positions. This represents the total number of full-time and part-time positions.
The four positions were allocated to schools with expanding enrollments with the strong recommendation they be filled by either a woman or a minority, according to Jerry Hutchison, associate
vice chancellor for academic affairs. Some
specific issues in hopes of getting one of the position's suits
In addition, he said, *$40,000 was set aside for merit salary increases to bring women’s salaries in the bottom 10%.*
No similar encouragement for hiring women or minorities and no special funding was instituted this year.
Although Del Shankel, executive vice chancellor, said such affirmative action positions were merely an extra effort to seek out qualified women and promote them in the university, the seminars appear to disprove of such practices.
It went on to say that it would be unacceptable to state that "women and minorities are preferred" or "men and
"It is a violation . . . for a prospective employer to state that only members of a particular minority group or sex will be considered for employment," the memo said.
was an outgrowth of the controversy about the appointments last semester of Edward P. Bassett and Ralph Christofersen as associate and assistant vice chancellors for academic affairs.
These clauses were stumbling blocks in the administration's recent establishment of administrative internships for women and minorities. The idea of short-term jobs as administrative aides
One of the issues raised in that confrontation was the lack of qualified women and minorities for high administrative jobs. The internships were proposed to affirmative Action to train them for such jobs.
However, the legal question of offering a job only to women or a minority had to be considered first by the University general counsel and only after a delay of several weeks were the internships an
Such efforts were noticeably before the Sisters protested, absent, according to Vick Hamer, former acting director of the office of Affirmative Action of the organizers of the Sisters' demonstration.
She said that in 1972 very few people had even word of affirmative action, and the Sisters' tasters had not. They were among their friends.
"Affirmative action means that you go further, that you begin to set up programs to repair the damage."
The University has already had two charges of discrimination filed against it. The first, in 1972, before the affirmative action plan was adopted, was a charge that accused Washington University of Washington, D.C. The League charged that the University practiced sexual discrimination by paying women less than men and hiring fewer of them.
After an investigation, HEW sent a list of recommendations, which the University agreed to write.
The second was filed last semester by two students who charged the University with discrimination in the hiring of the two associate vice chancellors for academic affairs. That complaint will bring a HEW investigating team to KU later this year.
Paul Mostert, the mathematics department chairman who quit in protest of the plan, maintains his objections. Although he basically agrees with affirmative action, he said, he dislikes the specificity of the plan and has heard that some people think it is not the affirmative action people off their necks."
See AFFIRMATIVE ACTION page 8
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
Social welfare talks reopen amid troubles
Vol. 85—No.141 Tuesday, May 6, 1975
The University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas
By YAEL ABOUHALKAH and KEN FULTON Korean Staff Reporters
After butting heads earlier Monday, social welfare students and faculty said Monday night that they had responded lines and messages at their homes as at a meeting of the School Council.
★★★
Charges fly in session of students and faculty
Shankel said that Washington was invited last week to come to Dallas to try out for the team and that she asked for several days leave to do so.
Shankel said she would be gone about an hour later in June for the games in the Soviet Union.
Washington, who received her master's degree in physical education at KU, was an All American basketball player for KU and played in the Olympic trials in the discus in 1972.
Hankel said she called back on Saturday to tell him she made the team and would join them.
By YAEL ABOUHALKAH Kansan Staff Reporter
The first meeting, which was in the late afternoon and included three KU vice chancellors, fueled easily heated tempers and actually swapped charges and countercharges.
Washington to compete on U.S. team
A meeting set up by University of Kansas social welfare students with three KU vice chancellors turned into a discussion filled with charges and countercharges between school faculty and students Monday afternoon.
The same hostile air existed at the beginning of the council meeting Monday afternoon.
Marian Washington, University of Kansas assistant athletic director in charge of women's athletics, has been chosen a member of the United States women's golf team to compete against the Russians in the U.S.-U.S.R. Games the first week of June.
The announcement was made by Del
Simon, executive vice chancellor on
Monday.
The meeting was attended by about 23 students and about eight faculty members. Also attending were Del Shankel, executive vice chancellor; Ambrose Sarricks, vice chancellor for academic affairs; and Bailour, Balfour, vice chancellor for student affairs.
A handout distributed by the students stated: "The essential purpose of this meeting is to expose some of the major problems and grievances during the past year. While it is hard to articulate some of the core issues, the ones those matters which have brought about the present state of tension, distrust, and out-and-out hostility."
The statement said that student input was a mockery because it wasn't followed by the faculty. The statement also said the student input was not missed to split the school between faculty and student lines. The statement called for, among other things, an investigation of the distribution of power and authority at the institution and input an important part of the investigation.
However, at the conclusion of the meeting, Shankel said University administrators wouldn't involve themselves with the alleged problems. He said the alleged problems should be solved within the school.
Herman Leman, professor of social welfare, later said, "This is a disgraceful meeting." He said the students and faculty should stop bickering in front of the administrators.
"You probably have to go through a few yelling matches before you get down to the task."
At the start of the meeting, Marilyn Harp, Lawrence junior, said that the meeting was a student meeting and that faculty were welcome as observers only.
However, after about 15 minutes of the meeting, faculty members began participating in the discussions and continued discussing their views throughout the meeting.
Norman Forer, assistant professor of
psychology at the University of Iowa,
taking our frustrations out on each other.
The dialogue became heated at times, with some students accusing faculty of trying to deny students access to make up for class differences in school government organizations.
Earlier, Forer had said that students, who can make up 50 per cent of school governments, don't participate enough at committee meetings. He said this showed the need to have matters assigned or concerned about alleged problems at the school as they said they were.
Saricks asked why the matter couldn't be resolved within the school.
One student twice asked that the administrators establish a special committee to investigate the alleged problems in the school. But Shankel maintained that he thought the matter could be solved internally.
Her argument was rejected by two students who said many decisions made by school government committees were forced to be the faculty and sympathetic students.
Harp responded, "We feel like we've really been twarped in our attempts to do this."
Saricks said, "I guess I'm not convinced that things are in great turmoil."
Later, to a student, he said, "I really don't know what you're asking."
"I'm really not aware why you can't get anw answers." she said.
A faculty member said students didn't
have enough interest to come to committee
meetings.
At one point in the meeting, a student remarked on the constant bickering between persons by addressing Shankel and saying, "I think the administrators are getting a fairly good idea of what happens with students and faculty get together to talk."
faculty wasn't 'achieved until about' 7:45 and the scheduled beginning of the meeting.
An example of the hostility arose when Herman Leon, professor of social welfare, pushed Steven Lewis, assistant professor of psychology, to passion on whether to suspend the agenda.
Just moments before, Leon had told the group, "If you don't respect what each of us has to say, I would sign a petition to say the school could go right out the window."
However, student and faculty council members weren't so pessimistic following the announcement.
Ray Berman, Kansas City, Kan, senior and council secretary, said faculty members had agreed to meet with students next week for discussion started at the conference meeting.
"The fact that faculty are willing to meet after school is out showing movement and a desire to work with students."
After a quorum was attained at the council meeting, general discussion remained unorganized until Norman Forer, assistant governor of the state, convened a executive session of the council to
See SOCIAL TALKS page 2
Social disorder ...
Waving Roberts Rules of Order, Steven Lewis, assistant professor of social welfare, concerning how to call an executive professor of social welfare (righl) argues with Herman Leon, session at Monday night's School Council meeting.
By Staff Photographer BARBARA O'BRIEN
Senate hikes Union privilege fee
The Student Senate voted to increase the Kansas Union campus privilege fee $1.50 Monday night, reversing action taken at last Wednesday's meeting.
Red Rofls, student body president, said the increase, paid for by each full-time student at enrolment, would provide an estimated 1000 in additional Union revenue next year.
The fee for full-time summer students was increased $1.
Rolfs said the Senate might have acted on incorrect information when it voted against the increase Wednesday. The Senate thought that its decision had no effect, he said, when in fact the Regents would probably honor the will of the Senate.
The increase must be approved by the Kansas Board of Regents, which has given tenure.
Rufs said the increase might have been disapproved before because the Union hadn't consulted the Senate before requesting the increase from the Regents.
The resolution passed Monday asked the Union board to consult with the Senate no later than March 15 in future years concerning fee increases.
Jon Josserand, a member of the Kansas Union Memorial Corporation Board, said after Wednesday's action that the Union might have to close one day a week or terminate the book store's patronage refund to gain revenue if the fee wasn't increased.
"The administration doesn't really give two boots if the Union is open on Sunday or if we get a patronage refund," Rolfs said. "It's a student union, and it's up to us to determine the level of services we will receive from the Union."
Frank Burge, director of the Union, said increases in utility and paper prices, salaries and the number of staff would cost the Union an additional $104,000 next year.
Burge said a survey of 1,100 faculty, staff and students indicated that 90 per cent of the students and 82 per cent of the faculty thought that additional Union facilities or other resources would be less fee per faculty and students were willing pay for additions through higher fees.
"We need to find new ways to hold down expenses," Burge said, "while still providing high quality services to the students."
Bruce Nightingale, School of Social Welfare staffer, said the Union's request for two new staff positions costing $20,000 wasn't justified.
He moved to the increase to $1.25 for regular full-time students and 75 cents for the part-time students.
Burge said that the Union was understaffed and that many employees were working in excess of 40 hours a week. He said the Union needed a new technician, too, because the current technicians would be hurt if it would take time to train replacements.
The amendment was defeated.
In other action, the Senate approved the appointment of Britt Buckley, Liberal Arts and Sciences senator, as chairman of the elections committee.
Teddie Tasheff, holdover senator, recognized as chairman of the Student Rights Commission.
Last Kansan until June 10
Today's issue of the Kansan is the last that will be published this semester. The next issue of the Kansan will be published on the first Tuesday of the summer class session, June 10. The Kansan offices will be open only intermittently during the break, but mail will be accepted.
International club cut
By DAVID BARCLAY
Kansan Staff Reporter
The Student Senate's recent cut in the budget of the International Club was a result of a lack of money, not a reaction to political displays at the International Festival, Chuck Fischer, chairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee, said Monday.
Last month the Senate allocated $1,597 to the International Club for supplies and expenses during the upcoming fiscal year. For the 1947-52 fiscal year it was allocated
"We feel that their activities have been good." Factor said. "We just didn't have them."
$3,100; for 1973-74, $3,200 and for 1972-73,
$3,600.
During the same time, an increase in the number of International Club sponsored activities involving political displays at the annual International festival and separate political forums angered some foreign students and faculty members.
Although Ed Rolfs, student body president, and Fischer said they hadn't received any complaints, John Beiser, former student body president, said, "Every year the student body president had to give presentations at the International Festival from several faculty
See CLUB BUDGET page 3
Degrees to be conferred
There are 843 candidates for master's degrees, 253 candidates for the Doctor of Medicine degree, and 148 degree candidates in the School of Law.
On May 19, 2,910 undergraduate degrees will be conferred at the 103rd University of Kansas commencement exercises at 8 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
The number of degrees by schools are:
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 1,107,
Education 600, Business 594,
Law 583, Art and Arts 177, Division of
Nursing in the Allied Health Sciences 88,
Pharmacy 77, Social Security 72, Architecture
77, Medical Services 72, In the Allied Health Services 13.
Commencement activities are scheduled from May 16 through May 20.
William L, Kelly, associate dean of admissions and records, said he didn't have an accurate count yet of the number of PhD degrees to be conferred
Glee S. Smith, representing the Kansas Board of Regents, Governor Robert F. Bennett, and Chancellor Archie Dykes will attend at the commencement ceremonies.
Five KU alumni will receive Distinguished Service Citations at commencement. The citations are awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to society, according to Dick Lombardo, executive of the Alumni Association.
The recipients are: Robert B. Docking, former Kansas Governor; Paul R. Harrington, orthopedic surgeon in Houston; Clarence M. Kelley, director of the FBI; Thomas B. Robinson, partner of Black and Veetch Consulting Engineers of Kansas University; Lloyd H. Ruperthelm, lawyer in McPherson and former Kansas state senator.
The schedule of events for Commencement is:
May 18
6:30 p.m. Kansas Union Ballroom, Alamance University. Supper for graduates, faculty
p.m. Big Eight room of the Union. Fifty-
Year Pinarin Luncheon for the 1925.
See SCHEDULE page 2