Big 8 opener Jayhawks begin league play with 81-70 victory in Lincoln See page 13.
SINCE 1889
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, JAN. 16, 1986, VOL. 96, NO. 76 (USPS 650-640)
Warm
Details page 3.
ASK requests increased aid for education
Staff writer
By Sandra Crider
TOPEKA — The students of Kansas are one of the state's most valuable resources and more money toward higher education is needed to keep them here, several state leaders said yesterday at a press conference given by Associated Students of Kansas.
At the conference in the State Capitol building, ASK unveiled its alternative to Gov John Carlin's budget proposal, which was announced Tuesday, in an effort to obtain more financing for higher education.
"I increasingly, students are being priced out of higher education," said Chris Graves, executive director of ASK.
ASK, a statewide, student lobbying group, represents the University of Kansas, Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Washburn University and Wichita State University.
To show their support of the Student Higher Education Budget, ASK's alternative to Carlin's budget, representatives from each of the schools attended the press conference. David Epstein, student-body president, represented KU at the conference.
State Sen. Wint Winter, R-Lawrence, said a recent report by the KU Center for Research Inc. placed Kansas' educational system among the top three strengths of the state's economy.
Winter said he applauded the general direction of Carlin's budget and his long-term commitment to higher education, but criticized the lack of solutions to enhance students' educations now.
Other officials who voiced their support of ASK's efforts and promised to work for the interest of students were State Sen. Jerry Karr, D-Emporia; State Reps. Wanda Fuller, R-Wichita, and Robert D. Miller, R-Russell, Connie Hubbie, legislative committee chairman of the state Board of Education; and Stanley Z. Koplik, executive director of the Board of Regents.
Graves said more money was needed from the state to attract talented
Kansas students to local schools and to allow needy students to attend college.
Graves called $15.5 million in higher education cuts in Carlin's basic budget intolerable and described his higher "investment" budget, which would be financed by a 1 cent sales tax increase, as inadequate.
ASK's alternative budget doubles Carlin's increase in state scholarships and proposes increases in five other areas, including merit-based aid, student salaries in campus-based jobs and the study-work program. The five areas were not included in Carlin's budget as areas for increases.
The group advocates increasing state aid to higher education by more than $45 million over the amount budgeted for fiscal year 1986.
About $1.4 million of its proposed increase would go directly to students. Most of the remainder would aid faculty and staff salaries and benefits at the Regents schools.
"The quality of our faculty will be irrelevant in a system in which students cannot afford to be exposed to them," she said.
But in its proposal, ASK increased the governor's requested raise in faculty benefits by nearly $7 million and proposed a hike of less than $500,000 for student salaries.
Several leaders said that although the governor's present proposal did not encourage growth in education, students had good reason to believe that they would receive more help from the final product.
Kopik said, "Let us not leave here feeling that a pall of gloom has descended upon higher education.
"We need to be optimistic. We have every reason to be optimistic. The agenda is not finished yet, and there are many more roads in this battle."
Winter agreed, "There is room for optimism about adjustments the legislature might make regarding higher education."
House tables tax bill, stalls full floor debate
The Associated Press
TOPEKA — A House committee blocked a judgment on Gov. John Carlin's proposed 1-cent increase in state sales tax yesterday by voting to delay indefinitely action on the proposal.
Before tabling the bill, the House Committee on Assessment and Taxation rejected a motion to pass the sales tax measure on to the House floor without a recommendation. All eight Democrats on the panel joined two Republicans in a 10-7 vote against moving the bill out of the committee.
The action followed a day-long hearing, at which five members of the Carlin administration and the chairman of the state Board of Education urged support for the sales tax increase.
Alden Shields, the governor's budget director, told the committee that about three-fourths of the $190.7 million raised by increasing the sales tax from 3 percent to 4 percent would go to pay for what Carlin calls his "investment budget."
State Rep. Ed Rolfs, R-Junction City, said he had hoped to conduct a quick hearing on the matter and, in an unusual move for only the third day of legislative session, to send the bill on to the floor for consideration.
After the committee decided by voice vote to delay action on the proposal, Roils said the panel would not consider other revenue-raising measures until a majority of committee members voted to forward the sales tax bill to the floor.
Until the decision is made on the governor's package, I would think it's premature to consider any alternatives." said Rofs.
He also said that he could not understand why the Democrats voted unanimously against passing the bill
out of the committee.
Reardon said that he thought part of Hayden's strategy to kill the bill was to conduct a fast hearing on the matter and quickly pass it to the floor. He also said that Hayden promised to dispose of Carlin's sales tax proposal during a series of news conferences that he held across the state on Jan. 6.
But State Rep. Bill Reardon, D-Kansas City, offered a clue during discussion on the proposal before the vote. Reardon said he believed House Speaker Mike Hayden wanted to "deny Carlin his last hurrah" by killing the sales tax measure.
State Rep. Dennis Spaniol, R-Wichita, led efforts to table the measure and said he opposed sending the bill out of the committee because he thought the Kansas Legislature should determine the state's financial needs before deciding how much to spend.
"It just so happens that the statement was made on the day he declared his candidacy for governor," Reardon said. "I have a feeling that's what it's all about."
Shields also outlined the governor's proposed $144.5 million investment budget, which would include an additional $30 million for an economic development highway program, $21.9 million for public schools, $18.4 million for various state university programs and $8 million for the reduction of reappraisal costs for counties.
During the committee's hearing on the bill, Shields said that without the sales tax increase, the state would have to borrow from $30 million to $50 million at various times during the next fiscal year.
"I don't think it would be responsible to take action on a revenue measure of this size without knowing what our needs are." Spaniol said.
Craig Sands/KANSAT
Tender Moment
While enjoying the unseasonable warm weather, Eric Moss, Boulder, Colo., junior, and Mary Beth Apprill, Merriam freshman, share each other's company. They were sitting on the ledge outside the Kansas University Tuesday afternoon
1,000 fail deadline, lose places
No fee payment means no classes
By Piper Scholfield Staff writer
About 1,000 students who didn't pay their fees on Monday and Tuesday may have be disgruntled when they discovered their enrollment had been canceled.
The students will be able to get their classes only during late enrollment, which starts today and continues through Feb. 11, and then only if the class isn't closed, said Gary Thompson, director of student records.
"It's our job to enroll people, not disenroll them, but the problem is that we can't tell who is planning on returning and who isn't," Thompson said.
Disenrollment can be a big problem for undergraduates who can't get the classes they need to graduate. Thompson said.
Graduate students aren't affected by the policy because their classes don't close, he said.
Some students whose enrollment was canceled didn't return to the University of Kansas, he said. Others returned but did not pay their fees by 4:30 p.m. on their assigned day.
Students who didn't pay fees on time were dropped from enrollment to free classes for new students who enrolled after fee payment, he said.
Thompson said that students were informed in the timetable that they would lose their enrollment by not paying fees on time.
Students who couldn't pay fees at their scheduled time could have contacted the Student Assistance Center before the end of the day and their enrollment would have been retained.
Thompson said about 80 people unable to enroll at their scheduled times called and had their enrollment held.
"We realize that things happen to prevent students from paying fees." Thompson said. "One girl was unable to catch a flight out of Florida. She called and we held her enrollment for her."
A more up-to-date fee payment system was in the proposal stage for the University, Thompson said, although he didn't know when it might take effect. Under the new system, students would pay an enrollment deposit and wouldn't have to pay the remainder of their tuition until after classes started.
This would allow students to return to Lawrence later, and the University would have a better idea of how many students were returning.
HBO, Cinemax scramble signals
By Lynn Maree Ross
Staff writer
Some Lawrence satellite-dish owners are mad that HBO and Cinemax are scrambling their signals, but they are not rushing out to buy coders.
The two pay TV cable channels yesterday began to scramble their codes 24 hours a day.
Scrambling of satellite HBO transmissions nationwide will disrupt service to the 1.5 million homes with cable antennas, but not to regular cable-television viewers.
Schmitt said purchasing decoders to sell to customers would only support something he did not agree with. However if a customer requests a decoder, he said, he will order one.
A satellite system installed by Kaw
Robert Schmitt, owner of Kaw Valley Video and Satellite Systems, 414 N. Second St., said he hadn't any requests for decoders and he didn't plan to stock them on a regular basis
"I'm advising people not to buy them because I do not feel the price is fair," he said.
Valley Video and Satellite Systems costs about $2,350. A decoder costs an additional $395, about 17 percent of the initial investment of a satellite dish. Even with the addition of the decoder, a dish owner still would have to pay a monthly charge to receive HBO or Cinemax.
If satellite-dish owners deal directly with HBO, the cost will be $12.95 for one service or $19.95 for both HBO and CinemaX. If they deal with
Industry experts have estimated that between $500 million and $700 million a year has been lost to the pay-cable industry by what it considers signal theft or piracy. James McElveen, a spokesman for the National Cable Television Association in
Washington, D.C., said those estimates were not current and losses might be higher.
Dave Clark, general manager of Sunflower Cablevision, said yesterday that satellite-dish owners had two options. They can deal directly with HBO or get the pay-cable service through Sunflower Cablevision.
See SCRAMBLE, p. 5, col. 1
Missourians gambling on state's lottery
Staff writer
By Juli Warren Staff writer
Winning a few thousand dollars could make college life a lot more comfortable for students, but the approaching Missouri lottery isn't enticing enough for some of them.
"It's not really worth driving to Kansas City, because the chances of winning are slim," Bill Sharpe, Arlington Heights, III. "Univerid, sive."
Instead, many think Kansas ought to offer the game of chance.
However, several students from Missouri are looking forward to their home state's lottery, which will start Monday when the $1 tickets go on.
5) when the $1 tickets go on
"It's a worthwhile two or three dollars if you win," said Mike Crowley, St. Louis sophomore.
sale at about 4,500 retail businesses. The top prize in the lottery is more than $1 million.
Crowley said he thought his parents would buy him a few tickets each week.
John Peterson, St. Louis freshman, said he probably would buy tickets when he went home. He said he thought the Illinois lottery had helped the state's economy and he thought other lotteries would help the economies in the same way.
A recent telephone poll indicated
that 63 percent of voting-age Kansans favored a state lottery
The random telephone poll of 628 Kansans was conducted from Jan. 4-6 by the KU Institute for Public Policy and Business Research. It had a response rate of 74 percent and a 4 percent margin of error.
Lori Grace, St. Joseph, Mo., scphomore, also said she wouldn't go out of her way to buy a ticket but thought the lottery was a good economic policy.
"I think it's a neat way to get some additional revenue for the state," she said. "I don't think people go into it with the idea of winning."
Gov. John Carlin joined forces earlier this month with those who are pushing for a vote in November on a state lottery.
A lottery amendment passed the Senate last session and is still alive in the House.
The Missouri lottery may give the Kansas lottery proposal better chance of passage, a spokesman from the governor's office said, because the people will see the revenue being made.
Neil Woerman, a spokesman for the Kansas attorney general's office, said that he didn't expect problems with the Missouri lottery.
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