THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 1996
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
NEWS 864-4810
ADVERTISING 864-4358
SECTION A VOL.102.NO.136
(USPS 650-640)
TODAY KANSAN
SPORTS
Let the games begin
Yesterday was the opening day for the 71st Columbia Healthcare Kansas Relays. Page 1B
CAMPUS
Auntie Em!
Auntie Em!
The Wizard of Oz and its imagery is the focus of a speech at 7 tonight. Page 6A
NATION
U. S., Japanese ties strengthen
President Clinton celebrates the growing relations between the countrles. Page 7A
WORLD
Refugees hide in squalor
Lebanese and Israeli civilians have been displaced amidst the fighting. Page 8A
WEATHER
WARM AND WINDY
High 75° Low 52°
Weather: Page 2A.
INDEX
Opinion . 4A
National News . 7A
World News . 8A
Scoreboard. 2B
Horoscopes . 4B
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 25 cents.
AIDS project to stroll for funds
Event hoping for 150 walkers
By Heather Kirkwood
Kansan staff writer
A good pair of tennis shoes and a little time may be all it takes to fire a shot in the war against AIDS in Douglas County.
The Douglas County AIDS Project is sponsoring the sixth annual Health Walk on April 27 to raise money for the project's operating expenses.
Those who would like to pound the pavement in support of the project need to start looking for sponsors now.
Walkers who register for the 5 km or 10 km walk before April 22 and who collect a minimum of $25 in pledges will receive a free T-shirt.
This year the AIDS project needs to raise $10,000 from the walk, Pam Casagranje, project volunteer coordinator, said. "It helps us to continue to provide our services to the community," she said.
The project provides services for clients who are HIV-positive and for their friends and family, as well as educating the community about HIV.
"Last year it rained and we still raised $5,800 and had 75 to 100 people walking," Casagrande said. "But this year we need 150
Debra Stang, LaCrosse graduate student, already has her sponsorship form and is seeking sponsors. "All my friends know I'm walking and that I am going to hit them up, but I haven't managed to get the form and the individuals in the same room yet," Stang said.
walkers."
The walk has special meaning to Stang, who is doing a social work practicum at the project. During her time there she has gotten to know the people it serves and has come to understand how important the project is to the community.
"I've seen how many needs the clients have that aren't covered by other agencies," Stang said. "I want to see DCAP remain a strong force in the community. I think a lot of people would be a lot worse off without it."
AIDS Walk
Pick up Health Walk forms at the following locations:
Wakman Candles, 609 Massachusetts St. Terra Nova Bookstore and Cafe, 920
Wild Oats Community Market, 1040 Vermont St.
Community Mercantile, 901 Mississippi St.
The Hideaway, 106 N. Park.
Or call the Douglas County AIDS Project at 843.0040
The walk will be April 27 and will start at the South Park Gazebo. Registration will be from 9 to 10 a.m. The walk will begin at 10 a.m.
Seeing the light
Remy Blanchaer helps install a stained glass window in the new Bales Organ Recital Hall at the Lied Center. Peter Thompson, dent of fine arts administration, designed the window. See story, page 3A.
Brian Flink / KANSAM
Passage of bill is questioned
Same-sex unions denied legality
By John Collar Kansan staff writer
A Kansas law that prohibits recognition of same-sex marriages that occur in other states did not receive an adequate hearing in the Legislature, legislators and observers said.
After passing the House 78-43 and the Senate 39-1, the bill was signed into law by Gov. Bill Graves last week. Kansas is the fifth state to enact such a law.
Even though same-sex marriages are illegal in every state, courts in Hawaii are considering overturning a prohibition on performing same-sex marriages.
Proponents of the Kansas law said if a same-sex marriage had been performed in Hawaii, the couple could have received the same benefits in Kansas that other married couples have, such as inheritance and insurance benefits.
were surprised by the proposal. State Rep. Vaughn Flora, D-Topeka, who voted against the bill, said the amendment had not been discussed in the Democratic Caucus. During this meeting, Democrats in the House usually discuss any amendments that members are planning on presenting, which would allow time for members to prepare a response. Flora said.
State Sen. Mike Harris, R-Wichita, said, "It's just plain silly to recognize marriages between people of the same sex. Marriage is an institution that has been reserved since the beginning of time for men and women."
Harris said that legalizing same-sex marriages would be in conflict with a state law banning sodomy.
Other legislators contend that they were overwhelmed by the proposal!
Not only did the amendment catch
House members by surprise, it also was not debated on the floor for any length of time because it was proposed at 9 p.m. on a night when the House was working late. Flora said.
"It was late at night, and people were tired." Flora said.
State Sen. Sandy Praeger, R-Lawrence, who voted for the bill, said that during debate on the Senate floor, proponents of the bill indicated that it would only affirm state law, but she learned later that it would do much more.
"If I had to do it over, I would do it differently," Paerag said. "We were not well-informed, as was indicated by the vote."
She said full hearings on the issue should have been held.
State Sen. Marge Petty, D-Topeka, is the only senator who voted against the bill. She said the only legitimate reason for a bill to have been sent through this quickly was if there had been an urgent need, which this bill did not have. The law in Hawaii could take several years to make its way through the court system, she said.
"It did not have any kind of a public hearing," Petty said. "I think it was very clear that the purpose of the bill was to put moderates on record on this issue. It was pushed through because it's such a controversial issue. This was an issue where everyone was blinded."
Lawrence area House members Tom Sloan, Barbara Ballard and Troy Findley voted against the bill.
David Hardy, adviser to the KU chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the tactics of the Legislature could be compared those of the Nazis, who would approve items late at night.
Hardy said about the Kansas Legislature, "They knew that if they held hearings that the opponents would put together a series of presentations, and it would be very difficult to get it through."
Campus lighting depends on students
Next year's Senate will vote on $2 fee
By Nicole Kennedy
Kansan staff writer
The fee, which pays for campus lighting improvements, will be reviewed by Student Senate next year. Unless senators vote to extend the fee for another year, lighting in several campus areas may not be improved.
Students, faculty and staff who want better campus lighting may be left in the dark if a student fee is not renewed next year.
John Mullens, safety and security coordinator, said improving lighting was important for safety on campus.
Mullens serves as a non-voting member on the campus lighting advisory board, which has been increasing the amount of lighting on campus for five years.
ate about $100,000 each year, and the University matches those funds.
This year, the board spent about $227,000 improving lighting near the Art and Design building, Lindley Hall, Allen Field House, Green Hall and Learned Hall.
If Senate renews the fee, Greg Wade, site development manager for design and construction management and a member of the board, said the board planned to improve lighting near Budig Hall, between the Dole Human Development Center and Waldins Memorial Health Center, between the Burge Union and the fieldhouse, near Summerfield Hall and along a sidewalk that leads to Nunemaker Center from Irving Hill Road.
Mullens said he thought the lighting improvements made this year had been successful.
"The projects are going tremendously," he said. "There is very little left to deal with."
As a safety and security officer, Mullens said he would like to see the fee renewed and the planned
He said a good example of how lighting can help police occurred several years ago, when four facilities and operations workers were walking to their office along Jayhawk Boulevard at 2 a.m.
Mullens said although lighting didn't always mean the campus was crime free, it did make it easier for campus police to catch criminals.
Two drunk people in a truck approached the four workers and threatened them with a gun, Mullens said.
But because the area was well lit, the victims were able to provide campus police with a full description of the suspects and the license plate number of the truck.
"That led to the arrest of two people for aggravated assault in two minutes," Mullens said.
Ward Cook, Shawnee sophomore and a member of the campus lighting board, said he expected the fee to reapproved by Senate because light improvements had been successful.
Andy Rohrback/KANSAN
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