Traveling cheaper
SINCE 18B9
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Gas stations drop prices to be more competitive. See page 6.
FRIDAY, JAN. 17, 1986, VOL. 96, NO. 77 (USPS 650-640)
Sunny
Details page 3.
Members question sale of fraternity house
Staff writer
By Abbie Jones
The recent purchase of a KU fraternity house by a KU sorority has caused controversy and confusion, members of the fraternity said yesterday.
Members of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity have said the national organization of Sigma Delta Tau sorority used an investment company to purchase the ZBT house, 1625 Edgehill St.
Adam Zimmerman, Chicago sophomore and a ZBT member, said, "We didn't know exactly who the group was that was looking to buy the house."
A ZBT member who asked not to be identified said Morris Investment, the company, had surveyed the house and made an offer to buy it, but had not revealed any connection with the sorority.
Laura Leventhal, national treasurer for SDT, said the sorority made the purchase of fer in December through Morris Investment.
Originally, Morris Investment had planned to buy the house and lease it to the sorority but later decided to turn the contract over to SDT, she said.
"It is a common practice for blind offers to be made for real estate," she said. "Until the deal closes it should make no difference to ZBT who is the purchaser."
The owner, Phi Kappa Sigma Housing Corp., accepted the purchase offer in December, and the deal will close in February, she said. SDT plans to honor ZBT's current lease, which expires in the spring of 1987. The sorority will move into the house in the fall of 1987, she said.
Leventhal said Morris Investment had no intention of making the fraternity think it could do so.
"They read into the offer that they would be able to stay there forever," she said.
Lynne Faiman, SDT local adviser, said,
"The frat was told that the buyer would
honor the lease agreement. There was no talk
about extending the lease, to the best of my knowledge. At no point was anyone misled."
ZBT had the first option to buy the house, since they had been leasing it from the Phi Kappa corporation, she said. The fraternity chose not to meet the offer.
Bob Soffer, former president of ZBT, said,
"We had an option to meet the offer, but we weren't going to pay that much money for the house. It's a bad investment."
Other members of the fraternity said they still were unclear about the details of the transaction since most of it occurred over winter break. Some remain skeptical that the house will be sold.
Howard Friedman, Highland Park, Ill., junior, and member of the fraternity, said the deal was "a lot of red tape behind our back."
"It was very sneaky," he said. "I still don't believe they are going to get the house."
ZBT member Lance Lucas, Highland Park, III., junior, said, "It's still ours. We
worked on this house a lot. We came too far to let it by now."
"If it came down to a bidding war, SDT would have won it," he said.
Zimmerman said even if ZBT had known that a sorority was involved, it probably wouldn't have been able to raise enough money to stay in the house.
The president of ZBT refused to comment. Leventhal said the company had no legal affiliation with the sorority but a personal one. Morris Faiman, owner of the company and professor of pharmacy, is the husband of Lynne Faiman, the local SDT adviser.
"There is obviously a family tie there, but he approached us and said he'd do it as an investment," Leventhal said. "He does not have the money to pay by his us." He is not affiliated with SIDT.
Morris Paulat refused to commit.
Phi Kappa Sigma Corp. has owned the house since the mid-1950s. Paul Clark, treasurer of the corporation, said that after
Morris Faiman refused to comment.
the Phi Kappa fraternity folded two years ago, the corporation wanted to sell the house.
"We've let it be known that we wanted to sell it." Clark said. "I told them (ZBT) personally that they should buy the house. There should be no surprises.
"We found somebody who has some money and wants to refurbish it."
Leventhal said, "What is at question is whether ZBT was prepared to come up with the money. They were not and we were."
Zimmerman said the situation had hurt relations between the houses on the national level but would probably benefit both houses at the University in the long run.
Employers begin testing for drugs
"We're going to regroup, stay strong and work something out," he said. "It's almost a blessing in disguise. The house needs a lot of work. We're not mad at them. They needed a house desperately."
By Frank Ybarra
Staff writer
KU seniors looking for jobs when they graduate may find that they have something in common with All-America halfbacks and millionaire baseball players. Both athlete and graduate could be lining up to take drug tests.
Drug tests for potential employees are becoming more common in some companies in Kansas and in other states, according to a KU law professor and a corporate spokesman.
The Kansas Gas and Electric Company, based in Wichita, has started to require that all persons seeking employment at the company submit to a urinalysis that would indicate whether the person had any drugs in his system.
Lyle Koerper, manager of corporate communications for the company, said the tests were used for the health of the workers, to ensure safety and to make sure workers were productive.
He said his company was just one of many that was starting to test for illegal substances.
But Elinor Schroeder, a professor in labor and employment law, said that although many of people think employers had a right to protect their economic and safety interests, some employees and people applying for jobs see the tests as invasions of their privacy.
She said that some of the tests were very sensitive and could detect
See DRUGS. p. 5. col. 1
Jobs can't fill gap as tuition goes up
By Brian Kaberline
Staff writer
While the cost of attending college continues to rise, stable student wages and a decline in financial aid is leaving many students in a bind, Jeff Weinberg, associate director of student financial aid, said yesterday.
"The problem over the last three to five years has been inflation and the economy in general," Weinberg said. "It has meant that many parents who have provided support for their sons and daughters in the past can no longer do so."
The number of applications for financial aid is steadily increasing, he said. But the amount of government help available has dropped recently and will continue to drop in the future.
The Gramm-Rudman law, which is designed to lower the federal deficit by cuts in spending, may force a cutback in Guaranteed Student Loans by as early as next fall, he said.
Weinberg estimated that GSLS would provide $1 million in aid to the program.
Some students, looking for jobs to fill the gaps left by reductions in financial aid, are finding that the wages for many jobs have not risen in the last five years.
See WAGES, p. 5, col. 5
Shadow helper
Though the shadow mimics her every movement, it isn't much as Jeanne Flatter. Pomona, washes her pickup truck at the Raco Automatic Car
Buzy Mast/KANSAN
Wash, 2828 Iowa St. The recent unseasonably warm weather brought many drivers to the car wash.
1985 campus crime shows a rise
By Tom Farmer
Staff writer
The overall increase in campus crimes in 1985 can be misleading, but students still need to take precautions to prevent any further increase, KU police said yesterday.
The 3.6 percent increase brought the total number of reported crimes committed at the University of Kansas to 1,156 for the year, which is 41 more than in 1984.
The increase was caused primarily by violations of new liquor laws and a jump from six arson crimes in 1984 to 29 in 1985, said Jim Denney, KU police director.
The significant increase in reported acts of arson can be attributed to the small number of people convicted for about 20 arson fires in two residence halls during the fall semester, he said. The cases were relatively minor acts of arson, such as the burning of posters on doors and fires in trash cans in residence halls
"I feel like there has been a significant decrease in crimes on campus since the late 1970s," said Denney. "I've been here for 11 years, and crime has pretty much dropped each year since 1980."
City crime rise doesn't indicate problem
Serious crimes on campus, or crimes recognized as such by the Uniform Crime Reporting Act, were down 8.8 percent from 830 in 1984 to
But students should try to assist in lowering the number of crimes, he said, by looking at the campus as a city of 30,000 people and acting accordingly.
According to a police report, 3,649 serious crimes were reported in the city in 1985, an increase of 5.7 percent over 1984. In 1984 3,453 crimes were reported.
By a Kansan reporter
Although the percentage of serious crimes in Lawrence increased in 1985, the numbers don't indicate a serious problem, Lawrence police said yesterday.
For example, the number of robberies increased by 10 in 1985. But that number is still eight less than in 1983.
low as those for a city the size of Lawrence, he said, a large percentage increase doesn't translate into a large increase in the actual number of reported crimes.
A decrease in the number of ag-gravated assaults. The number fell 6.3 percent last year, with 133 incidents reported. There were 142 ag-gravated assaults reported in 1984.
An increase in the number of murders. There was one murder last year. No murders were reported in 1984. George Hixson, a KU professor of interior design, was found strangled in his apartment at 1405 Westbrook on Dec. 2. Police think that the murder occurred Nov. 22.
Michael Hall, a Lawrence police officer, said that although the number of crimes did increase last year, the figures didn't mean much.
The largest crime increase was in non-aggravated assault, which rose by 36.7 percent in 1985.
Other changes in body
A 20 percent decrease in rape, from 15 to 12 rapes.
Other changes include:
When dealing with crime figures as
"People have to realize they're in a small city here," Denney said. "They wouldn't leave their backpacks at 7th and Massachusetts and expect them to be there when they go back. Yet, this is what they do here."
- Increases in robbery by 29.4 per cent, auto theft by 16.4 percent and larceny by 8.4 percent.
Precautionary measures to tighten security around campus have also been taken by the University.
"Residence halls are like apartment buildings," he said. "If you wouldn't leave your apartment unlocked, then don't leave your dorm room open. It only takes two seconds to walk in and take a diamond ring off of a dreser."
Denney also stressed the need to treat on-campus housing as one would his own home.
Included are the services of nine security officers, who, unlike the 34
regular law enforcement officers, are unarmed and unable to make arrests, Denney said. Their duties mainly consist of checking and locking the doors and windows of specified buildings. Over 30,000 doors and windows were locked by these officers in 1985.
"The security officers have had a significant impact in decreasing the number of burglaries in the past five or six years," said Denney.
All serious crimes on campus, except theft, remained the same or decreased in 1985. They are:
- Robbery, four in 1984; one in 1985. This also is a decline from the ast five years.
Murder. none either year
Rape, two in 1984; one in 1985. This is a decline from the last five years.
Assault, 49 in 1984; 36 in 1985.
Burglary, 197 in 1984; 151 in 1985
Theft, 551 in 1984* 555 in 1985
- Motor vehicle theft, 27 in 1984; 13 in 1985.
Other crimes listed by the KU police department are harassment by phone, disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing, violations of liquor laws as well as terrorist threats, fraud, forgery, kidnapping and any other reported misconducts of the law.
The total number of these crimes was 380 in 1985 compared to 293 in 1984. Both of these totals are down from the 1983 figure of 415.
Alumni Center begins tax status rehearing
Staff writer
Attorneys for the Douglas County Board of Commissioners and the KU Alumni Association yesterday made their oral arguments in the rehearing of whether the Adams Alumni Center should be tax exempt.
By Juli Warren
The rehearing was requested by the Alumni Association after the Board of Tax Appeals denied them tax exemption in a 3-2 decision in September because, according to the board, it did not meet the definition of an alumni association.
The Legislature approved a bill in 1985 that granted tax-exempt status to alumni association buildings that are not on state-owned university property. State-owned property is tax exempt.
"I think they are going to move very rapidly on this issue," he said.
Brad Smoot, the attorney for the Alumni Association, said he did not expect a problem meeting that deadline.
The board ruled that because the association's membership was not restricted to alumni, it was not a true alumni association.
Christopher McKenzie, attorney for the county, said the chairman of the tax board. Fred L. Weaver, told the agency, vision might be reached within 30 days.
However, McKenzie said, the decision might not be reached by then because of the volume of briefs and supporting evidence that the two
lawyers had submitted.
"We showed on the rehearing that there are no alumni associations in Kansas that have exclusive associations that don't admit non-members," Smoot said. "These are novel arguments."
Smoot said he thought the rehearing was important.
"I think most people would apply the definition that alumnus means someone who attends or graduates from a college or university." McKenzie said.
Smoot said he thought the Legislature had intended KU's alumni association to be exempt.
That argument, he said, is to apply an ordinary meaning to words that are in the statute, specifically the word alumnus.
McKenzie said his argument really didn't change for the rehearing, which lasted an hour.
After his appearance before the board, Smoot said he thought the association would be willing to pay some property taxes on the center, but that 80 to 90 percent of the activities at the center were related to alumni or university affairs and that portion, at least, should be exempt.
Smooth has said that if this appeal falls, the case will be taken to court.
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The Associated Press supplied some information for this story.
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