CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, March 14, 1995
3A
Gay teachers find no reason to 'come out'
Some may discuss sexuality if issue is brought up in class
By Eduardo A. Molina Kansan staff writer
Scott Manning, instructor in French, doesn't tell his students that he is gay. He doesn't care if his students know, but he thinks that his sexual orientation has no relation to his grammar and conversation classes.
Manning talks about his partner in class, but because he speaks French most of the time, students generally don't notice that he is talking about his male partner.
He usually gets along with his students, but last year he ran into hostile attitudes when some students in his class found out about his sexual orientation.
The students never commented on his sexual orientation, but their disrespect toward Manning showed their prejudice, he said.
Many gay instructors agree that reactions to their sexual orientation have little effect on their teaching. But Manning and other gay instructors at the University of Kansas sometimes must confront the issue in the classroom.
"I don't announce my sexual orientation to my students," Manning said. "Even though we have a non-discrimination clause at KU, I always take care with what I say to my students."
Manning said the new generation of gay teachers was more comfortable dealing with the issue.
"Even though we have a non-discrimination clause at KU,I always take care with what I say to my students."
Scott Manning instructor in French
"It is strange, but there are a lot of gays teaching at KU who don't feel comfortable come out," he said. "I think it is because they are part of a different generation. But GTAs, for example, feel more comfortable with it."
William Comer, assistant professor of Russian and East European Studies, said his homosexuality hadn't been a problem for him at KU. However, Lawrence is not as accepting as other places, he said.
"The Midwest is not Berkeley," he said, referring to the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied. "We had a very accepting and progressive atmosphere. Lawrence is more conservative."
Comer does not come out in his classes but not because of the conservative environment. He just doesn't find a reason to.
"I talk about it when we deal with the issue of homosexuality in Russia," he said. "But I don't talk about my sexual orientation in class."
Scott Bevan, graduate assistant at the Student Assistance Center, said it was not common for gay teachers to be discriminated against, but a recent problem with a gay GTA would be discussed soon to determine whether there was discrimination.
"This GTA wasn't allowed to renew his assistantship," he said. "There was a problem. The only thing we can think of that caused the problem is his sexual orientation."
University policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, age and veteran status.
Manning said that when problems arose, administrators were supportive.
"I know they would help us in case of a problem," he said. "But they could be more active when hiring gays to work here."
Elections frustrate candidates
Older neighborhoods left out, several say
By Sarah Morrison Kansan staff writer
With rotting sewers, crumbling sidewalks and dark, narrow alleys, few people disagree that the infrastructure of Lawrence's older neighborhoods are in need of refurbishing.
But why have these neighborhoods fallen into such a state of disrepair? Some argue that because the Lawrence city commissioners are elected through an at-large voting process, special needs and interests of neighborhoods are overlooked.
City commission candidate Allen Levine, who finished sixth in the Feb. 28 Lawrence city commission primary, said Lawrence was too big for five at-large elected city commissioners to provide fair representation of the community.
"Different sections of the city have completely different problems," Levine said. "North Lawrence needs new sewers, West Lawrence needs new parks and the
If the city moved to a single-seat district election process, city commissioners would have a specific constituency to answer to, and the commissioners could better address problems in all areas of the community, he said.
Oread neighborhoods need all alleys, sidewalks and street lights."
Richard Kershenbaum, member of the East Lawrence Improvement Association, agreed that commissioners should be elected according to districts instead of at-large.
Kershenbaum said he became frustrated with the city commission when it failed to
"Local
to put the proposal on the ballot and/or create a charter ordinance making the change
government would work much better if
place an item, concerning planning an eastern parkway, on the agenda after 350 citizens signed a letter requesting them to
representatives were closer to the constituency."
Richard Kersenbaum member of the East Lawrence Improvement Association
Chancing change
Opponents to the change say single-seat representation would:
- Lower campaign costs by decreasing the size of the area candidates would have to campaign to represent
- Prevent special interest groups from controlling the make up of the commission
The following are some arguments for and against changing Lawrence city commission elections from an at-
Cause competition among neighborhoods Prevent commissioners from addressing concerns of community as a whole
large system to single-seat district representation. Proponents for the change say single-seat representation would:
- Provide representation for all areas of the community
Andersen said that while she wanted to see the mayor become an elected position, she had some concerns about moving to district elections.
KANSAN
"Going to an elected mayor would work well," Andersen said. "Right now the term for mayor is only one year. That is not long enough to follow through on projects."
abandon the costly project
"I think it would have helped if we had a representative whose constituency was mainly in the old neighborhoods," he said."Local government would work much better if representatives were closer to the constituency. Right now, if you have a problem, there is no one person you can call for help."
Lawrence Mayor Jo Andersen said most likely the commission eventually would be expanded from five to seven seats, move to district elections and have an elected mayor.
If commissioners decided to make such changes, they could vote
competing with one another."
City commission candidate Carl Burkhead, who finished fifth in the Feb. 28 primary, said the election format should change.
"The city is getting large enough where there needs to be better representation," he said. "With the current at-large system, you could have a special interest group that could control the composition of the whole commission."
Advocates of moving to district elections say it would not only make commissioners answer to a specific constituency, but it would keep the costs of campaigns down.
Paul Longabach, who finished 12th in the Feb. 28 primary, said because candidates must campaign across the city, they must spend a lot of money on advertising to reach voters. The exorbitant amount of cash needed to launch a successful campaign prevents lower income citizens from running for the commission, he said.
in training for the commission, he said.
Levine said he agreed.
"The current system discourages low income people from running," he said.
Ex-candidate proposes changes
Paul Longabach didn't make it past the Feb. 28 primary election, but he still had a proposal for how the city commission could compromise between at-large and single-seat district elections.
Longabach said Lawrence should follow the model set by many cities and have some seats decided by an atlarge system and by district elections. Here is his proposal:
The commission should expand from five seats to seven. Four of the seats should be decided by single-seat district elections, and three should be decided in an at-large election. That way, he said, fair representation for all parts of the community would be ensured. Some commissioners run with the interests of the whole community in mind, so community cohesion is sustained. The top votegetter of the three at-large candidates would serve as mayor. The mayor and commissioners all would serve two-year terms.
Longabach said he wanted to try to form a group of people to research the topic and come up with a proposal to present to the commission sometime this summer or fall.
A yen for Yoga
Eryn Bordes,
Lawrence resident,
and Paula Duke,
Eudora resident,
stretch during a
yoga class in the
Burge Union.
About 15 people
last night attend the
class, which Duke
teaches each Monday.
Lisa Perry / KANSAN
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