TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 1996
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
NEWS 864-4810
SECTION A VOL.102.NO.129
ADVERTISING 864-4358
SPORTS
Uphill battle
The Kansas baseball team will play No. 3 Wichita State at 7 tonight at Hoglund-Maupin stadium. Page 1B
CAMPUS
Candidates face off
(USPS 650-640)
Vision and Voice candidates focused on recycl ing, parking and transportation last night. Page 3A
OPINION
Senate elections
The Kansan editorial board announces its choices for Student Senate. Page 4A
Liberian war continues
WORLD
Many flee the capital after the country's only international airport is bombed. Page 6A
WEATHER PARTLY CLOUDY
High 63° Low 42°
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.
Weather: Page 2A.
INDEX
Opinion ... 4A
National News ... 5A
World News ... 6A
Scoreboard ... 2B
Horoscopes ... 4B
Justice expounds his legal views
After his speech last night at the Lied Center, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas eats dinner at the Big Eight Room in the Kansas Union.
Thomas attacks bias at speech in Lied Center
By David Teska
Kansan staff writer
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas asked his audience a simple question.
Lubv Montano-Laurel / KANSAN
"Is the law merely an extension of politics by other means?" he said.
At his speech last night at the Lied Center, Thomas spoke on his philosophy of the role judges play in our legal system. Since joining the court in 1991, Thomas said that his thoughts had increasingly turned to that topic and that he had found himself frequently asking the same question.
"What is my role in this case as a judge?" he said.
Thomas said judges must remain impartial and not apply legal realism, the idea that the law is malleable to personal desires and outside influences, like politics or personal opinions. To insulate judges from those pressures, Thomas said judges received lifetime appointments and fixed salaries.
"Impartiality is the very essence of judging and being a judge," he said.
Unlike Great Britain, which uses common law, the United States has a written Constitution, which Thomas said was a document that judges should not help evolve.
"Such thoughts are not only wrong, they threaten the constitutional basis of our government," he said.
Once the prepared portion of his speech was finished, Thomas relaxed and joked with the audience as he answered prepared questions written by KU law students. In replying to a question on how long he planned to remain at the court, he even poked fun at his detractors, saying he envisioned staying four to five decades.
"That makes some people happy
and is a chagrin to others, but that's life," he said.
Motivations for attending the speech varied, but many simply came to see Thomas in person. Sarah Donley, Overland Park first-year law student, said she enjoyed the speech even though she differed with Thomas's view that each case has a right and wrong.
"I'm not sure you can pick the law out of its context and say there's definitely a right wav," she said.
Two women also protested and stood with a sign that read, "I believe Anita." Teri Garstka, Lawrence graduate student, said she had not forgotten Thomas's 1991 confirmation hearings and was still opposed to him.
Before the speech, a few protesters gathered to oppose Thomas. Holding signs that read, "God hates
fags," and singing hymns, the Rev. Fred Phelps and seven members of the Westboro Baptist Church voiced general opposition to the Supreme Court.
Chancellor Robert Hemenway was among the people sharing Thomas' dinner table.
"If you don't come out and make a statement, people will forget," she said.
Tyler Witten /
KANSA
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas speaks at the
Lied Center on his philosophy on the role judges play in the legal system.
During his three-day visit, Thomas will meet with students and serve as a court judge on Tuesday.
Students can shape provost qualifications
Forum tomorrow welcomes opinions concerning post
By Colleen McCain
Kansan staff writer
Students, faculty and staff will have a chance to voice their views about KU's provost when members of the provost search committee hold a forum at noon tomorrow at the Big Eight Room in the Kansas Union.
Wil Linkugel, chairman of the provost search committee, said committee members wanted to know what qualities in a provost were seen as most important by the KU community.
Search committee member Marylee Southard said that the provost would affect the entire University community.
The provost position, which combines the duties of executive vice chancellor and vice chancellor for academic affairs, was created as a part of the new administrative structure unveiled by Chancellor Robert Hemenway in January.
"This forum is a way that the committee can respond to people and their concerns," Southard said. "We want to hear from all segments of the University community because the provost will have an effect on all of their lives."
The committee received about 45 responses, but little input has been received from students.
Last month, the committee sent a letter to all University staff members, soliciting similar input about what they wanted in a provost.
"We want to hear from students."
The target date for appointing a provost is July 1, when the new administrative structure will be implemented.
Southard said. "I hope that a lot of students will come to the forum and share their opinions."
Marian Orzulak, secretarial support staff member for the search committee, said that 35 nominations and 30 applications for provost had been received as of yesterday.
Linkugel said the committee would try to select five finalists by May 15.
The newly created provost position combines the duties of the executive vice chancellor and vice chancellor for academic affairs. The provost will serve as the chief operating officer and chief academic officer for the Lawrence campus and will report directly to Chancellor Robert Hemenay. Students are encouraged to voice their opinions on the duties of the provost at noon tomorrow at the Big Eight Room in the Kansas Union.
What is a provost?
Photo illustration by Brian Flink / KANSAN In a recent study, a connection has been found between the consumption of alcoholic beverages and smoking.
Photo Illustration by Brian Rink / KABAN
Often smoking and drinking mix
Studies show alcohol leads to tobacco use
By Teresa Veazey
Kansan staff writer
When the weekend parties come, some students will end up with a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other.
Statistics that focus on alcohol and nicotine show that there is a correlation between how much people drink and smoke, said Neal Benowitz, professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco. Benowitz, who has studied people's addiction to nicotine, said that 25 percent of adults were smokers, compared to 90 percent of alcoholics who were smokers.
"People who drink more alcohol tend to smoke more," he said. "Even when smokers try to quit, one of the main factors is how much they drink."
One theory behind the link is that smoking, which is a stimulant, and alcohol, which is a depressant, have different effects that can control a person's mood. Benowitz said. While alcohol and cigarettes don't necessarily balance the effects of each other, a person can use the drugs to control what kind of mood they are in.
"Get a Joe Camel in one hand and a Bud in the other, and you feel more comfortable," said Charles Yockey, Watkins Memorial Health Center physician.
Nicotine and alcohol are coping skills for anxiety and stress, he said. Because smoking and drinking are oral stimulants, people who do both feel more relaxed and more secure. That's one reason why some students only smoke when they are drinking, a population that Yockey estimated made up 1/4 of smokers who come to Watkins.
"We have a lot of people who only smoke at bars or parties or when there's a drink in their hand."
"The biggest concern to me is that it tremendously enhances the possibility that you'll become a regular smoker," he said. "People underestimate the addictiveness of tobacco."
he said. "It's clearly a social thing." Benowitz said the medical term for light and inconsistent smoking was called chipping. While some people only smoked at social activities, a fair percentage of social smokers would progress to constant smokers.
To avoid forming a habit of smoking and drinking during social settings, Yockey said that students should make a decision beforehand not to engage in either activity. The only way students could prevent themselves from having a smoke with a drink would be to decide not to before they went to a bar or a party.
you can't make up your mind when you're in that setting," he said. "Sincerity is not a test of truth. The results are zero if you don't do what you planned."
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