Senate lowers voting age
WASHINGTON (UPI)—The Senate voted Thursday to lower the voting age to 18 in national, state and local elections, making up to 11 million youths eligible to vote by the 1972 presidential elections.
The legislation, approved 64-17, still faces two critical tests —approval by the House and a certain test of its constitutionality by the Supreme Court.
the voting age proposal, sponsored by Senate Democratic leader Mike Mansfield,
was adopted as an amendment to the proposed five-year extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The controversial 1965 act, which has enfranchised 800,000 Southern blacks in less than five years, still has to be approved by the Senate. There was no indication how soon Southerners would let the Senate reach a final vote.
The Mansfield amendment would allow youths between 18 and 21 to vote in all elections
and primaries after Jan.1, 1971.A provision to allow a quick test of the proposal's constitutionality is included in the amendment.
The minimum voting age is now 21 except in four states. Kentucky and Georgia sets the minimum at 18; Alaska at 19; and Hawaii at 20.
With the outcome certain, the Senate approved Mansfield's amendment after Sen. James B. Allen, D-Ala., gave
up his one-man battle to change the amendment.
No voice was raised in the Senate against lowering the voting age to 18. The only opposition came from Senators who insisted that it was unconstitutional to provide it through a simple statute rather than a constitutional amendment.
They pleaded with the Senate to wait and adopt a constitutional amendment, which would require approval by two thirds of the Senate and House
and ratification by three-fourths of the states.
In the end, however, only nine Democrats, all from Southern states, and eight conservative Republicans voted against the Mansfield proposal.
The most fondible obstacle for 18-year-olds appeared to be Rep. Emanuel Celler, D-N.Y., 81-year-old House patriarch and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who opposes lowering the voting age, especially without a constitutional amendment.
The University of KansasLawrence,Kansas Friday,March 13,1970
University senate fails to draw quorum for third week in a row
For the third consecutive week, the University Senate failed to draw a quorum of members. A demand for a quorum count was called 45 minutes after the meeting began. The count revealed only 202 voting members were present, including representatives from the KU Medical Center via closed-circuit television.
Chancellor E. Laurence Chalmers Jr., began the meeting with a statement on the University budget in relation to recent legislative action.
"It's nice to know," he said, "that it doesn't require a quorum for me to speak."
Chalmers assured faculty members that salaries initially reduced in Congress were now back up to a six per cent increase. Initially
the budget director's office had recommended a slash to four per cent in salary increases.
It was hoped the Chancellor's comments would serve as a stimulant to interest members to attend.
During the short proceedings, an amendment providing that the Western Civilization comprehensive examination not be required for graduation in any school was overruled.
alty, and a statement against gradepoints being assigned for the letters, P,I or W.
Dennis Embry, Great Bend junior, also proposed a list of amendments and changes for the Senate Code. The list included: a change in the grading system; the chance for students to disenroll from any course at any time in the semester without pen-
When it was discovered that a quorum was not present, proposals were made to vote by mail ballot, abolish the Senate and move to a council-form of governing body, and a motion to recess.
Oldfather cautioned, however that a recess was impossible because of next week's University Council meeting.
Oldfather then asked that the meeting adjourn, and it passed unanimously.
The Senate will not meet now until late April.
UDK News Roundup
By United Press International
Bill averts undeclared war
BOSTON—The Massachusetts House has given preliminary approval to a bill which would prevent the state's citizens from fighting in undeclared wars such as Vietnam.
Under the legislation, the state attorney general would be required to represent Massachusetts citizens in court if they refuse to serve in combat zones during undeclared wars. Supporters of the measure say the Supreme Court would be forced to decide if the President can commit troops without a formal declaration of war.
Oil slick threatens refuge
NEW ORLEANS — Interior Secretary Walter J. Hickel stood on lonely Breton Island, a national waterfowl refuge threatened by a monster oil spill, and said "if Santa Barbara was an accident, this is a disaster."
Hickel had just seen from a Coast Guard helicopter a 23-mile-long, six-mile-wide slick on the Gulf of Mexico's green waters that was mainly spawned by renegade well No.6 on Chevron Oil Co.'s "Charlie" platform.
Kansan sponsors candidate debate
By TERRY WILLIAMSON
Kansan Staff Writer
The important question Thursday night at a debate of student body presidential candidates was why the Student Senate Executive Committee deleted the Wescoe Hall referendum from the ballot for the March 17, 18 student body elections.
The debate, sponsored by the University Daily Kansan in McCollum Hall, involved Bill Ebert, Alliance presidential candidate, Peter George, ISP presidential candidate and Dave Miller. Independent presidential candidate. The interviewers for the Kansas were Joe Bullard, news editor; Ted liff, campus editor; and Monroe Dodd, assistant editorial editor.
In response to the question of why Miller's referendum on Wescoe Hall was postponed till April 7 by the Student Executive Committee, Ebert said the committee had to decide whether the student body could be informed about the fee increase in a few days and whether it was a problem that demanded immediate action. Peter George also said he thought students hadn't had enough opportunity to learn the fact concerning Wescoe Hall.
Miller said he found it hard to accept the fact that Student Senate Executive Committee could disregard his petitions of over 1400 signatures to force the referendum.
A question to all candidates was what could each candidate do concerning the problem of attendance and involvement at Student Senate and University Senate meetings.
George said there was no real answer to this because he couldn't guarantee that an ISP, Alliance or Independent candidate would attend every meeting. He said students had to judge on individual merit what you thought these people would do.
"A cut down on the number and length of meetings, more committee work and organization," Miller said, "would help solve the problem."
"You have to motivate students to activate their interests," said Ebert. More things need to be done in the committees; committee work needs to be emphasized, he said.
"The basic problem in this election," George said, "is that it has taken a year for things to get put out in any form at all. Most people most of the time don't pay attention to what's going on. We hope in the future to get more people involved in committees."
A question to Ebert by a Kansan interviewer was what actions could he take to change procedures at Haskell Institute.
He said the University could make contributions to the betterment of
the Institute such as exchange programs of University professors. He also said the community of Lawrence held policies which were discriminatory and prejudicial against Indians and the Student Senate could organize student boycotts for those businesses.
In response to a question concerning what specific instances there were of discrimination against women at the University, George said the Graduate School would rather accept qualified males rather than females. Also he said, many of the recruiting businesses discriminated in their pay scales.
"What ISP, the Student Senate or I can do." George said, "is emphasize that students should become educated about the problem. We want to educate people on the campus, and hope we can get something done."
Iliff confronted Ebert on whether he thought it was responsible student leadership when Greg Thomas, Alliance vice-presidential candidate, confiscated issues of the Kansans.
"I wanted to avoid politizing of this particular issue." Ebert said. "Thomas did it as an act of conscience. I can't question that. In my opinion he is a responsible person."
A question put to Miller dealt with his complaint about inadequate Kansan coverage concerning his candidacy. Miller replied a specific example was when the other two candidates announced their candidacy, they received separate stories. He said the first coverage his party got was a three part story.
On the question of Black Studies programs, Ebert said there should be a creation of an undergraduate department with a Black Studies major. He said advantage should be taken of the advice of black students in this program.
"There are a large group of students that don't feel educated," Ebert said. "They need to know; most students aren't aware."
A final question by the Kansan members was how would each candidate involve freshman in the student government.
Miller also said he thought black student majors should be established.
Ebert's solutions were either two seats should be reserved from each college-within-a-college in the spring to be filled in the fall or that the full Student Senate should be elected in the spring and added to in the fall.
George added a third alternative of movement of elections of colleges-within-a-college into the fall.
"Any alternative to get them into student government." George said. "is necessary."
The debate then opened for audience questions to the candidates.