CAMPUS
A University employment rule might be in conflict with federal policy for international students. Page 3A
SPORTS
Five Kansas divers will be in Austin, Texas, this weekend for the NCAA zone meet. Page 1B
AAAAAHHH
WARMING High 46° Low 35° Weather: Page 2A
KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KA
2
TOPEKA, KS 66612
VOL.104,NO.115
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1995
(USPS 650-640)
NEWS:864-4810
The Weekend Begins
The traditional five-day work week is being scrapped by schools and students who are taking Fridays off
By Colleen McCain Photos by Tom Leininger
Today's only Thursday, but it has been a long hard week, says Colin Topper as he stands in line at the 18th Amendment bar.
"Sometimes a five-day week is just out of hand," says Topper, an Overland Park sophomore. "By Thursday, there's just too much stress, and you need to go out."
The weekend starts today for Topper. In fact, Topper isn't the only KU student who spends Thursday nights barhopping.
The weekend is a three-night event for students, he says. The other four days of the week? They simply must be endured until the next three-day weekend rolls around.
Kevin Smith, a doorman at the 18th Amendment, says Topper's attitude is prevalent among KU students. The phenomenon, he says, is not limited to a particular group of students. College students as a group — greets and independents, freshmen and seniors — are proponents of the three-day weekend.
"It's always packed here on Thursday nights," says Smith, a Wichita senior. "Thursday comes around, and most students just say, 'screw it,' and the weekend begins. Everybody else is going out on Thursday night, so why shouldn't you?"
Many students are not even coming to campus on Fridays. The campus is visibly emptier. More classroom seats are vacant on Friday than on any other day. Fewer parking tickets are issued. Fewer newspapers are picked up, and fewer customers purchase food at Wescoe Terrace and Union Square.
KU students aren't the only ones who are ending the academic week on Thursday. Richard Morrell, University registrar, says the gradual shift toward a four-day academic week is part of a quiet national trend — quiet because those who pay the bills, taxpayers and legislators, may not be too pleased to learn how early the party starts each week.
"This is an issue that I have discussed with registrars at many other universities," Morrell says. "Nationwide there is a noticeable trend to decrease Friday classes in business schools and perhaps in general. Friday is not considered an attractive day to teach, and I'm sure that Friday is not students' favorite day to attend classes."
Not only is Friday many students' least-favorite day to attend class, but some also go so far as to plan their Friday class schedules with their Thursday escapades in mind.
"Of course I planned it that way," he says. "I go out almost every Thursday night. I might take a Thursday or two off a semester, but Thursday begins the weekend."
Raccuglia, Olatte junior, didn't have class on Fridays until 12:30 m. last fall.
Todd Raccuglia does.
"Thursday night is an event," Raccuglia says.
"Friday classes are irrelevant to me."
Racegia usually hits the 18th Amendment, the Wheel or Johnny's Tavern on Thursdays. The bars are crowded, and it's fun, he says.
"I'm not sure what to do about it because it's been this way as long as I can remember," he says with resigned acceptance.
Friday classes are irrelevant to many students, says Grover Everett, professor of chemistry. Each fall, Everett teaches Chemistry 184 at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
He estimates that up to 100 more students are absent from his class of 900 on Fridays than on Mondays or Wednesdays.
William Arnold, associate professor of sociology, taught Sociology 104 at 9:30 a.m. and Sociology 560 at 1:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays last semester.
"I don't know where they are," he says of the students who skip Friday classes. "People take off for long weekends, they go home or do whatever, but they're not in my class a lot of times."
They're not on campus. either.
Donna Hultine, assistant director of parking services, says the parking lots are emptier and fewer tickets are issued on Fridays than on other days.
According to parking department statistics from September 1994, an average of 194 tickets were given each Friday. The average number of tickets given on Mondays was 350; 378 on Tuesday;s; 438
See WEEKEND, Page 6A.
Equality issue spurs animosity
Simply Equal supporters upset over commission's handling of their proposal
By Sarah Morrison Kansan staff writer
Supporters of the proposal to add the words "sexual orientation" to the Lawrence human relations ordinance are justifiably angry at the city commission, Jo Andersen, Lawrence mayor, said yesterday.
On Tuesday night, the commission decided not to place the proposal on the agenda and put it to a vote.
Members and supporters of Simply Equal, the coalition that called for the change, said that the commission unfairly dealt with their proposal. Andersen agreed.
The item should have been placed on the agenda in November, when the proposal was received, she said.
Ben Zimmerman, co-chairman for Simply Equal, told the commission at Tuesday night's meeting that it didn't give Simply Equal supporters a fair opportunity to present their arguments because a public hearing was
never held
about the issue.
"In my experience in Lawrence, this is unheard on an issue as important as this," he told the commission.
Andersen said the public outcry about the issue indicated the need for a public hearing. "I think the people who spoke (Tuesday night) made a
John Nalbandian
John Nalbandian Lawrence city commissioner
very excellent point," she said. "When that many people in the community want to speak on an issue, you should hold a public hearing. We really need to get it on the agenda with the next commission."
But John Nalbandian, city commissioner, said the commission had not handled the proposal any differently than other proposals.
"I don't think we have done anything different in this case," said Nabandian, who is running for his second term on the commission. "It certainly has been prolonged, but it has not been a different process."
Nalbandian said that when the commission would get such a request, it would usually receive the report and set a study session date. That is what the commission did with Simply Equal's request, Nalbandian said.
Nalbandian said that the commission had been careful in dealing with the issue because of the potentially volatile debates that could erupt in the community.
"I think we have been probably more cautious with this issue than we have in the past because we did not want it to become a free-for-all," he said. "In an effort to try to avoid the free-for-all, it looks like we've created an awful lot of frustration."
Adding the words "sexual orientation" to the ordinance would extend anti-discrimination protection to people on the basis of sexual orientation.
The Lawrence Film Commission will sponsor an Oscar-night benefit that will help raise money for KU's Oldfather Studio.
Seeing stars
Page 8A
Fat watchers have started seeing red dot stickers
Venders put labels on low-fat items
Bob Derby, manager of KU concessions, wants students to know where the fat is.
By Brian Vandervliet
Kansan staff writer
During the past few days, concessions workers have placed red dot stickers next to fat-free snack items in all 56 vending machines on campus.
"We thought it might be of some service to buyers of our products," Derby said.
Of the 296 snack items sold at KU, 12 were declared fat-free by the HeartSmart Snack Vending Program in Scottsdale, Ariz. KU Concessions paid HeartSmart $295 to evaluate the products and supply the identification stickers.
Although products such as rice cakes are known for being fat-free, items like fat-free pretzels and brownies aren't so easily identified, Derby said.
"When I look at pretzels, I don't necessarily know if they're fat-free because potato chips are loaded with fat," he said. "You can't read the ingredients through the glass."
Although fat-free snacks have become more popular in recent years, Derby said he didn't expect the red stickers to boost sales of fat-free snacks past sales of high-fat snacks.
For example, only about 60 fat-free rice cakes, while about 2,000 Snickers bars — each one loaded with 14 grams of fat — are sold each week. About 200 of the most popular fat-free item, Farley's Fruit Snacks, are sold.
"None of these are what you would call big sellers," Derby said. "It's not a question of volume, but of whether we can
2.
help people at the University."
He said no special tests were done on the products.
"Sometimes I buy pretzels, but not because they're fat-free," she said. "I'm basically an unhealthy burm. If I'm hungry and at school, I don't care."
Megen Duffy, Pittsburg junior, said the stickers wouldn't make her more likely to buy fat-free snacks. Duffy, who buys a snack almost every day, said she usually has a specific snack in mind before she even sees the machine.
Walter Reed, a coordinator for Heart Smart Restaurants International Vending, said the program was worth the $295 that KU Concessions paid because of the company's national reputation and ready-made decals.
"We don't need to," Reed said. "We go by the information on the wrapper. It's not rocket science."
The amount of fat, in grams, for each of the following snacks:
Fat count
The amount of fat, in grams, for
each of the following snacks:
Gardetto's Snak-ens 15
Snickers 14
Reese's Peanut Butter cups 14
Baby Ruth 14
M&M'S Peanut 13
crunchy Cheetos 11
Butterfinger 11
Laye plain chips 10
Grandma's Fudge cookie 6
Snackwells Crame cookies 4.5
Skittles 2.5
Cherry Nibs 1.5
Dots 0
Rold Gold Pretzels 0
Only 20 to 30 percent
of your total calories a
day should be fat.
Source: KU
Concessions
15
Krista McGlohon/KANSAN