80th Year, No. 77
The University of Kansas—Lawrence, Kansas
Thursday, Feb. 12, 1970
Students ask for autonomy
Photo by Greg Gorman
Shultz explains legislation
Sen. Reynolds Shultz, (R-Lawrence), clarifies a point in committee hearings on three bills that are of concern to KU student leaders.
Dave Awbrey, Hutchinson senior and student body president, said Thursday at a Senate hearing on Bills 417, 418 and 421, "I plead with you not to pass this legislation. It will make me look like a fool and what the Student Senate has done this year will be made a lie."
"The threat we see from these three bills undermines what we are trying to do at the University," Awbrey said.
Awbrey, Christopher Morgan, Emporia law student and chairman of student rights committee and Rick Von Ende, Abilene, Tex., graduate student and vice-chairman of University Senate executive committee, spoke to the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee against the three bills. The bills introduced by Sen. Reynolds Shultz, R-Lawrence, called for the Board of Regents to establish a code of student behavior, release of student records and disciplinary action against student and faculty members convicted of a crime arising out of campus disturbance.
"The University," he said,
"has already solved the problem."
Max Bickford, executive officer of the Board of Regents, said that these bills deal with problems of the past few years which existed on college campuses, but recently there has been a decided reduction of disturbances.
"We've had only one incident this fall," Bickford said, "and it has quieted down now."
He cited several reports indicating that student unrest was on the decrease.
Awbrey said, "I do not foresee any demonstrations on campus."
Bickford said that the University's climate of education is envied by other states. Its legislators have been very fair with higher education and the Board of Regents, he said.
Jess Stewart, a member of the Board of Regents, said that adoption of these bills is negative action pointed at a small minority of militants. He said that the bills could cause a "backlash" from students and parents because of an infringement on privacy.
(Continued to page 12)
Photo by Greg Gorman
Student leaders attend hearings
Dave Awbrey, student body president and Rick Von Ende, chairman of senate executive committee listen while Chris Morgan, chairman of the student rights committee, makes a point in Kansas senate committee hearings on recent legislation introduced by Sen. Reynolds Shultz, (R-Lawrence).
UDK News Roundup
Hanoi downgrades talks
PARIS—North Vietnam sent its No. 3ranking delegate to the Vietnam peace talks today, downgrading its delegation to the lowest level since the conference opened.
Xuan Thuy, the delegation chairman, has been boycoting the meetings to protest what he insists is President Nixon's downgrading of the talks by naming no successor to Henry Cabot Lodge who resigned Dec. 6.
Youth head for Cuba
BOSTON-About 400 young volunteers headed for Canada on chartered buses Wednesday night to meet a cattleboat which will take them to Cuba to help harvest the sugar cane crop.
In Ottawa, the Federal Immigration Department indicated the youths probably would be allowed to cross the border to meet the ship, the Luís Arcos Bernes, which was delayed by heavy storms at sea.
U.S. aid undistributed
LAGOS, Nigeria—With an estimated one million Civil War refugees starving in what was once Biafra, some $12 million dollars worth of U.S. relief aid idle in Lagos, American officials confirmed Wednesday.
By contrast, nearly all of the British aid airlifted to Nigeria immediately after the end of the war last month has been distributed among war refugees in the IBO heartland that formed Biafra.
Calley hearing continues
FT. BENNING, Ga. (UPI)—A military judge ruled Wednesday his court has jurisdiction over Lt. William L. Calley Jr. and struck down a defense motion to dismiss charges. Calley murdered 102 Vietnamese civilians at the village of My Lai.
In addition, Lt. Col. Reid W. Kennedy rejected a surprise motion seeking dismissal of the case on grounds the charges against Calley were "discriminatory and unconstitutional," and being heard by the wrong court.
Kennedy said the pre-trial hearings, which have gone on for three days, would continue Thursday when attorneys argue another motion to dismiss the case on grounds Calley's rights to a fair trial were violated by undue publicity.
During the afternoon, Kennedy rejected a defense plea to subpoena top Army brass to testify concerning the alleged My Lai massacre, and also said he did not think this would be a proper time to rule on whether "command influence" played a role in the charges.
A hearing has been under way for three days on a defense motion the charges be dropped on grounds that "command-influence"—reaching as high as the White House—had made it impossible for Calley to get a fair trial.
After hearing arguments on the point during the afternoon, Kennedy refused a defense request to subpoena Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, Army Secretary Stanley Resor and Army Chief of Staff William Westmoreland.
During the morning session Col. Jim D. Keirsey, staff officer at Ft. Benning, admitted from the witness stand that he once was
ISP picks George
An Independent Student Party meeting took place last night in the Kansas Union resulting in Peter George, Tuckahoe, N.Y., law student, being nominated as student body president and Sharon Baucom, Kansas City, Mo., sophomore, being selected as nominee for student body vice-president.
(Continued to page 12)
After the meeting was called to order by Brian Biles, Kansas City medical student, and some preliminary proposals were suggested for ISP, serious nomination for student body president began. Three other candidates besides George were considered before he received a majority vote by secret ballot.
"The members attending last nights meeting ranged from moderates to liberals," George said. "I am a liberal by tradition. Some of the people here have certain feelings which don't coincide with mine so they weren't happy with my election."
George said that his philosophy would not be carried into the campaign, but that he hoped the party would force their philosophy down his throat.
"One of the issues I will face
will be the problem of discrimination against women and blacks," George said. "That is the reason I choose Sharon to run with me."
Miss Baucom was chosen by acclamation.
"I was surprised at the acclimation," Baucom said, "but not at my nomination.
"I have two things against me because I'm a woman. One is because I'm black and the other is adopted by sex. I can't do much about the one but I can do something about recognizing equal rights for women."
She described this as a women revolution in which women would be trying to gain back what is equally theirs.
After the election David Awbrey, Hutchinson senior and present student body president, said that the student body president was powerless. He claimed that all the power remained with the 94 members of the Student Senate
But the ISP nominee for student body president had another thought.
"Just because Dave didn't have any power doesn't mean that I won't," George said.