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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAS
KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TOPEKA, KS 66613
HARRY POTTER
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
VOL.104,NO.110
THURSDAY, MARCH 2.1995
ADVERTISING: 8644358
(USPS 650-640)
NEWS:864-4810
Voting bill passes the State House
Proposal could make registering to vote easier for students who move
By lan Ritter
Kansan staff writer
The Kansas House passed a bill yesterday that would make it easier for University of Kansas students to register to vote.
The bill would bring Kansas into compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. To become law, the bill must be approved by the Kansas Senate and signed by the governor.
An amendment to the bill, which was added by the house's Election Committee, was originally proposed by the Kansas Student Votes Coalition.
The coalition, formed in 1994, seeks to increase voter registration and promote student participation in the political process.
The amendment would allow voluntary voter registration on university and college campuses across Kansas.
Marc Wilson, Hawaita senior and legislative director of the coalition, said the bill would allow universities to
decide where students would register on campus, unless the secretary of state sets regulations that would make registration places uniform across the state.
Members of the coalition suggested the amendment because every student moves — sometimes as many
"There's a certain amount of responsibility that goes with voting."
Sherman Reeves Student body president
as three times a year — he or she is required to re-register with the county clerk, said David Stevens, Wichita junior and media director for the coalition.
"It will make it so much easier for them to re-register, because the procedure will be so much more accessible to them." Wilson said.
If the National Voter Registration Act is approved by the Senate, students will be able to re-register on campus every time they move.
"I moved at the semester and I never got a chance to re-register, so I couldn't vote in the city commission election," Stevens said. "That's how quick it can take for you to be disenfranchised, unless you take the time every time you move to re-register."
Sherman Reeves, student body president, said he supported the coalition's efforts, but said there was no way of telling whether more students would vote if the act passed.
"It'll be hard to tell," he said. "There's a certain amount of responsibility that goes along with voting."
Rep. Troy Findley, D-Lawrence, applauded the work of the coalition.
"They were very instrument in getting this amendment put on the bill," he said. "We have to encourage everything we can do to get people involved in the process, particularly young people."
Findley said that the bill may have trouble passing Senate because it is an unfunded mandate, or an act enforced by the federal government but paid for by state governments.
Denied ...
Senior forward Angela Aycock was passed over for the Big Eight Player of the Year title, which was awarded this year to Colorado senior guard Shelley Sheetz.
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Festival keeps culture alive
Edmee Rodriguez / KANSAN
EAT play to show struggle of Japanese war brides in America
Emmie Hsu, Topeka sophomore, practices a scene from "Tea," a play about Japanese women who married American servicemen during World War II. The play will be performed tonight as part of the Asian American Festival.
By Eduardo A. Molina Kansan staff writer
For a group of Japanese war brides coming to the United States after World War II, a 14-day voyage in a ship was just a prelude to the hardships they would soon face. Their destination was Junction City.
To tell the story of these women and kick off the Asian-American Festival in Lawrence, English Alternative Theatre will perform a play, "Tea," at 8 p. m. tonight at the Lawrence Arts Center, Ninth and Vermont Streets.
The term "Japanese war bride" means any Japanese woman who married an American citizen, usually a member of the armed forces, during the American occupation of Japan after World War II.
The 40,000 Japanese women who came to the United States between 1947 and 1962 dreamed of a new life far away from their devastated country.
But what they didn't know was that they would soon long for their old life in Japan. The Japanese women in Junction City would drink tea to remind themselves of their home country.
Inspired by the Japanese tradition of drinking tea, Velina Hau-Houston, a California playwright, wrote the play "Tea" to tell the stories of the women in Junction City. Hau-Houston grew up there as the daughter of a Japanese woman and a half-Native American, half-African American serviceman.
Paul Lim, associate professor of English and producer of the play, said EAT staged the play to follow the tradition of representing marginalized people.
"These war brides were marginalized because they married low-income Americans," he said. "They married Hispanics.
African-Americans and Japanese-Americans. Unfortunately, these Americans were what we called second-class citizens, and these women ended up in places like Junction City."
Lim said the war brides' problems were worsened by pervasive racism in the 1950s.
"These women didn't know anything about social distinctions in the United States," he said. "Their children also faced many problems because of their mixed heritage."
Andrew Tsubaki, director of the play, said the play was a fair representation of the period.
"The play is just a microcosm of what interracial relations were at that time," he said. "So the play has a gloomy side but also a humorous side."
Miwa Kitamura, Tokyo junior, who plays one of the war brides in the play, said it had been a challenge to act in the play.
"My character's name is Teruko MacKenzie, she said," she says. "She does funny things. She is a warm person, but sometimes too naive."
Kitamura is one of six KU students with Asian heritage performing in the play. The six actresses' different backgrounds would help to represent the problems that Asian-American women in general faced in he United States, she said.
Lim said the audience would be able to identify with the women in the play.
Asian Americans aim to end stereotypes
"Sometimes when we go to see others, we end up seeing ourselves," he said. "By seeing these Japanese women's portrayal, we could find that they could be us."
By Eduardo A. Molina Kansan staff writer
To show the diversity of Asian Americans to the Lawrence community, the Asian American Student Union is co-sponsoring the fourth annual Asian American Festival.
The festival began yesterday and will continue through March 15.
Mark Chotimongkol, Dodge City senior and treasurer for the organization, said that in addition to showing their diversity, the aim of the festival was to dispel some of the more common stereotypes about Asian Americans.
"We are not a monolithic group," he said. "People don't see us as individuals. Many people believe we are the same, that we are scientists or that we are doctors. We are as different as everybody else."
Chotimongkol said the festival's main event would be a monologue performed by Lane Nishikawa, an Oakland actor who has performed on public television.
"He performs different monologues and sketches that examine stereotypes about Asian Americans," Chotimongkol said. "This is a 80-minute perform."
will be performed tonight, Friday and Saturday at the Lawrence Arts Center
"We are not a monolithic group."
ance called 'I am on a mission for Budda. "
Another important event will be a March 15 lecture by Velina Hasu Houston, who wrote the play "Tea," which
Mark Chotimongkol Treasurer, Asian American Student Union
"We are lucky to have her here," he said.
Another lecturer for the festival will be Tom Nakashima, an artist from Washington D.C., who will talk about his work on Asian-American issues at 7:30 p.m. on March 9 in the Malot Room of the Kansas Union.
"Share Dreams," a photo exhibit about Asian-American immigration in the Northwestern United States, is on display in the Kansas Union gallery as a part of the festival, Chotimongkol said.
Asian American Festival
Feb. 20-March 4
"Shared Dreams," a photo exhibit, on display at the Kansas Union Gallery.
March 2-4
"Tea," a play by Velina Hasu-Houston, 8 p. m. March 2-4 and 2:30 p. m. March 4 at Lawrence Arts Center, Ninth and Vermont streets. Admission is $5.
March 7
A performance by Lane Nishikawa, 7 p. m., at the Granada Theater, 1020 Massachusetts St. The event is free.
"Wedding Banquet," a movie directed by Ang Lee; 9:30 p.m., Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Tickets are $2.50
Towed cars, fines are the result of illegal parking
Students can pay as much as $70 to release their vehicles
By Brian Vandervliet Kansan staff writer
It was late on a winter night when Connie Shidler, Merriam senior, parked in front of Snow Hall. She knew she was late for her calculus exam. What Shidler didn't know, however, was that she had illegally parked in front of a handicap ramp.
When she returned to the scene, Shidler discovered her car had been towed.
"I had such a junker, so I knew no one had stolen it," she said.
Like Shidler, many KU students have had their vehicles towed. Donna Hultine, assistant director of parking, said about 350 cars were towed from campus each semester.
As in Shidler's case, Hultine said most towing occurred at night when parking spaces were difficult to find. The most active towing areas
are the parking lots near the scholarship halls, Gertrude Sellars Pearson-Corbin Hall parking lot and the lots near Wescoe Hall. In February alone, 69 cars were towed from the four parking lots near the scholarship halls.
Cars are towed when the owner has three or more unpaid parking violations, is parked in a handicap or fire zone or is blocking the flow of traffic, she said.
Both KU parking officials and the KU police department are authorized to ticket a vehicle on campus and notify a dispatcher who then contacts a towing company. The contracted towing company for the KU campus this year is Kaw Motor and Salvage, 1549 N. Third St., which offered the lowest per tow bid at $20 for a standard tow from campus and $1 a day storage fee after 48 hours.
"It should be only $20 for a basic tow." Hutline said.
A person might be charged more for on-campus towing, Hultine said, if the car had been turned on its side or if the car was not parked on a
road.
For the year prior to July 1, 1904,
Hultine said KU Parking's towing
contract was with Emergency Road
Services and was $24 for a standard
on-campus tow and $10 a day storage
fee.
Although the car owner must pay the towing company for the release of his or her vehicle, the parking violation fee is paid to KU Parking. Fees can range from $10 to $50, bringing the total cost to as much as $70.
"If they're big enough to go to college, they're big enough to understand that rules and regulations need to be followed." Felher said.
Betty Fehler, co-owner of Kaw Motor and Salvage, said students should not be surprised if their car was towed after it was illegally parked.
Hultine said towing was necessary to meet the requirements of the state fire marshal and the requirements of the American Disabilities Act. Towing is also necessary as a deterrent for people with excessive violations.
Kiss your wheels goodbye!
Noah Musser/KANSAN