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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS BRIEFS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2004
CAMPUS
Chancellor visits international programs in Asian countries
Chancellor Robert Hemenway recently returned from a trip to Asia where he visited some of the University of Kansas' international programs and met with alumni living abroad.
Hemenway was a guest of honor at a reception in Tokyo hosted by Howard Baker, United States ambassador to Japan, and his wife, Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker, a former senator from Kansas.
In South Korea, Hemenway met with Jung-Don Seo, the president of Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, a school with which the University has an exchange student program. Hemenway also visited with Korean graduates of the University.
— Jay Senter
LAWRENCE
Fourteen Lawrence residents visit sister city Eutin, Germany
A group of Lawrence residents returned two weeks ago from a visit to Lawrence's sister city of Eutin, Germany. The group of 14 delegates visited the city in northern Germany to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the sister city's relationship with Lawrence.
A connection between Lawrence and Eutin formed informally in 1964 when University of Kansas students began attending a summer study abroad program in Eutin.
Eutin hosted the delegation from June 1 to June 6. Delegates stayed in Eutin residents' homes, visited the castle of Eutin, received a reception with Eutin mayor Klaus-Dieter Schulz and tours of historic towns Lubeck and Kiel.
Lawrence and Eutin representatives also enjoyed "German-American Evening," an annual event hosted by the Friends of Lawrence volunteer group that provides dinner and entertainment for the exchange group and other American guests in Eutin.
Schulz will bring a reciprocal delegation in September to help celebrate Lawrence's susquecentennial anniversary.
Erik Johnson
Citywide public smoking ban in effect at midnight tonight
A citywide smoking ban passed by the Lawrence City Commission in May will take effect at midnight tonight.
Smoking will be prohibited in all public places of employment including common work areas, auditoriums, classrooms, conference and meeting rooms private offices, elevators, hallways, company-owned vehicles, employee lounges, stairs, restrooms, and all other enclosed facilities.
University seeks payment by hall lawsuit plaintiffs
By Julie Jones
jjones@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
After dismissal of a lawsuit against the University of Kansas, attorneys for the University filed a document with the Douglas County District Court asking that certain legal fees be paid by the plaintiffs, petitioners from Watkins and Miller Scholarship Halls.
The money, $283, 533, would pay for the legal fees of Bank of America, which administers the trust. The University has not asked for reimbursement of its own legal fees.
"I think what KU is asking us to do is out of line," said Lindsay Poe, petitioner and Wichita graduate. "We weren't out there to cause any damage. The money has been managed better and the women are going to enjoy a much better quality of life. This is like a punch in the stomach."
Former students of the scholarship halls initially sued the University for mismanagement of funds. They later dropped those allegations, asking instead for the implementation of a student committee to oversee maintenance planning.
County District Judge Jack Murphy ruled against the students, citing that they already had avenues to voice concerns about hall maintenance, such as hall proctors, All Scholarship Hall Council and the Student Housing Advisory board.
"He ruled that the students didn't
have the right to control the day to day operations, day to day maintenance or the improvements made to the hall," said Todd Cohen, University Relations spokeman.
If the court rules in the University's favor, former students would be responsible for the fees. The petitioners' previous legal fees have been paid by the Committee for the Preservation of Watkins and Miller Scholarship Halls, Cohen said.
If the request is dismissed, the fees will have to be paid by the halls' trust, which was established by Elizabeth Miller Watkins. The University is the beneficiary of the trust, which would lose approximately 10 percent of its funds.
"I'd like for it not to come from the trust because that's what we've been trying to protect from the beginning," Poe said.
The decrease in funds would affect future students, said Ken Stoner, Student Housing director. Money from the trust that would have generated interest would instead be lost permanently. New residents, who had nothing to do with the lawsuit, would experience increased rent. Stoner said.
"If money is charged to the trust, then that impacts the trust and affects future students," Stoner said. "No mismanagement was found and the charges had no factual basis. Why should the University and bank pay?"
Residents may still smoke in private residences, personal vehicles, private functions not employing private catering, and places of employment with outdoor facilities.
— Edited by John Scheirman
Eliminating smoking in public places of employment improves and protects the public's health, guarantees the rights of non-smokers to breathe smoke-free air and recognizes the right to breathe smoke-free air has priority over the choice to smoke, said a statement on the City of Lawrence Web site.
Violation of the ban is a misdemeanor resulting in a $100 fine for the first violation, $200 for a second violation and $500 for any additional violation within one year.
Employers are required to adopt and maintain a written no smoking policy within places of employment.
University of Kansas student charged with credit card fraud
Erik Johnson
Police charged a 20-year-old male University of Kansas student with making a false report on June 24. The student purchased a Gateway computer on his credit card and then reported the purchase as credit card fraud on June 15.
Amanda O'Toole
Lawrence resident arrested after threatening with swords
Police arrested a North Lawrence man Friday after he threatened two University of Kansas students with a pair of samurai-style swords.
Bhatia called police after he drew the four-foot swords and began mumbling obscenities.
Paul Bhatia, Dallas junior, and Piero Eugster, Bogota, Columbia, junior, were hanging out in the front yard of a home near Fifth and Minnesota streets when the man approached them from his home across the street wearing a chestplate with swords attached.
Police arrived and eventually subdued the 53-year-old man with pepper spray. No one was seriously injured.
Erik Johnson
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