University Daily Kansan / Monday, April 27, 1987
3
Local Briefs Police answer calls to 2 fires at McCollum
KU police answered calls to two weekend fires at McCollum Hall, a residence hall official said yesterday.
Police received a call about 10 p.m. Saturday that smoke was coming from a student's room in the hall, LJ. Jeanne Longnear said. An unknown object ignited in a trash can, Longnear said, and then collapsed on to properties, which collapsed on a bed and ignited a mattress.
KU police and staff put out the fire. No one was injured, but the fire caused between $300 and $400 damage.
KU police received another call at 4 a.m. yesterday that smoke was coming from a trash chute. Although the sprinkler system had been triggered, police and residence hall staff did not find any fire.
At 4:40 a.m. KU police received another call. They found a fire in the trash compactor in the hall's trash room. The cause of the fire is unknown.
The Lawrence Fire Department responded and put out the fire, which caused an unknown amount of damage.
Residents were evacuated during the room fire but not during the fire in the trash compactor.
3 fires near campus reported yesterday
Lawrence firefighters may wander whether the weekend ever really comes around after a busy three days.
Yesterday afternoon, as 35 hot and exhausted firefighters — half of Lawrence's entire force — worked and sweated at a fire that extensively damaged the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house, 1645 Tennessee St., two other fires near campus also needed attention.
An electrical problem reportedly caused smoke to build up in the basement of a house on Westwood Drive, just north of 15th Street at Engel Road.
A short time later, a fire started in a dumpster near the West Hills Apartments, 1012 Emery Road.
Both fires were put out with no injuries.
Major Dan Morrow, of the Lawrence Fire Department, said, "Everybody seems to be okay. All units are in service."
New campus lights will be turned on
Most of the newly installed lights on campus will be switched on tonight for the first time.
Campus and Area
Almost all of the 24 new lights along Jayhawk Boulevard and Naimsmith Drive will be turned on at dusk tonight, according to Don Montgomery, electrical manager for Huxtable and Associates, 815 E. 12th St. Company workers have worked since March 9 installing the 400-watt lights.
Philippines lecture to be given tonight
Ecumenical Christian Ministries is sponsoring a lecture titled "The Philippines: 14 Months after Marcos" at 7 tonight at the center, 1204 Oread Ave.
The lecture will be given by Dorothy Friesen, founder and coordinator of Synapses, a Chicago organization that links domestic and international issues of economic justice.
From staff and wire reports.
Plan would help KU meet peer averages
By BENJAMIN HALL
Staff writer
The University Senate Executive Committee heard a three-year proposal Friday that would bring the University of Kansas and the other Board of Regents schools close to the financing level of their peers.
Tom Rawson, KU's campus director of business affairs, presented a $12.4 million plan that would bring KU's total financing up to 95 percent of its peer average by fiscal year 1991. Its main goals would be to improve the quality of existing programs and to improve salaries.
About half of that amount would be used to bring faculty salaries to 100 percent of the peer average by 1991, Rawson said.
Rawson, who worked in the Regents office before coming to KU this year, said, "We have had evidence for at least eight years that each of the Regents schools was underfunded."
The first part of the plan — the universities' budget requests for fiscal year 1989 — will be submitted to the Regents in June.
The Regents approved the plan's goals earlier this month.
Rawson said Regents studies in 1976, 1978, 1980, 1983 and 1985 all indicated that Regents schools trailed their peers.
KU has consistently trailed its peers by 15 to 17 percent, he said. And the Regents now receive a smaller share of the state's general fund than in the 1970s.
"In the face of that, the Regents institutions have enrolled more students," he said. "This plan develops a three-year plan with a target that I think is both defendable and attainable."
Rawson said the plan would have more effect at KU than at other Regents schools because the other schools already are closer to peer averages.
In 1985, KU was financed at 85.6 percent of the peer average. Salaries were at 92.2 percent of the peer average, and KU's other operating expense budget was at 66.1 percent of the peer average.
KU's peer schools are the universities of Oklahoma, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina and Oregon.
SenEx member Sharon Brehm professor of psychology, said the plan might inflate faculty expectations.
"I think there's a psychological factor that has to be considered," she said. "I think the worst thing would be to create a set of expectations
But SenEx member Sharon Bass, associate professor of journalism, said the state might not be receptive to paying more for higher education. "The public perception is that you're just asking for more and more money," she said.
which would then be dashed."
Brehm said, "There are very objective indicators of what's been going on in the University." Crowded classrooms and an increase in the number of classes taught by graduate students are examples of the problem, she said.
SenEx member Thomas Mulinazzi, professor of civil engineering, said he knew of two KU professors who were offering offers from Big 10 universities.
"They don't want to leave Lawrence. They're settled here. But when somebody offers you a 20 percent increase in salary, it's hard to say no," he said.
Rawson said, "This is not a printing press. We are not going to go out and print money."
In other discussion Friday, chairman-elect Evelyn Swertz, professor of curriculum and instruction, said that next year's SenEx would make student advising changes a top priority.
Student representative Gordon Woods said, "We need to decide, are faculty responsible for advising, or are they not?"
Del Shankel, acting executive vice chancellor, said, "I think in the 28 years that I've been advised, I've seen six different advising systems, each of which was supposed to solve the problem.
Studying program planned Center to offer hints to prevent finals anxiety
By PEGGY O'BRIEN Staff writer
Don't freak out at the thought of next week. Finals aren't that bad.
Well, maybe they are. But the Wall 121 Strong Hall, says it can help.
The center offers the "Preparing For Finals" program two or three times a semester, but attendance usually is better in the fall because there are more people who have never taken college finals, Martin said.
Along with starting to study ahead of time, Martin recommends that students try brief, frequent study sessions to make finals less painful.
The study skills workshop is not remedial, she said. It is designed to help the average, well-prepared college student do better. She encourages students who have attended the program to tell her if and how it worked. If they who has attended previous workshops to refine their study skills.
The center is sponsoring a study skills workshop, "Preparing For Finals," from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today in 300 Strong Hall. The workshop will cover time management, motivation and concentration, memory, review techniques and confidence boosters.
Martin also advises students to study the way they will be tested, developing possible test questions and seeing how they do.
Tonight's program, as well as others throughout the year, is designed to help students develop skills that will keep them in school.
Martin said she tried to get students to use confidence boosters to keep finals anxiety at bay. Confidence boosters include being well-prepared, aware of time, free from distractions and relaxed.
"It's not how long you study but how you study." Martin said.
"Our main goal is practicality," said Sara Martin, assistant director of the center, who will conduct tonight's free program.
The workshop will include techniques such as planning and scheduling for efficiency, mnemonic devices for help with memorization, test plans and health maintenance.
Musical hands
Peggy Shortridge, Lawrence graduate teaching assistant; Lisa Stover, Perkinsville, Vt., graduate student; Lois Orth-Lopes, Lawrence graduate student; and Donna Clausen, Valley, Neb., graduate student, perform a
song in sign language. The four performed at "An Evening of Song, Sign, and Mime" Friday night. Students from a conversational sign language class performed songs, skits and poetry at the variety show.
KU officials plan for salary increases
Rv ROGFR CORFY
Staff writer
Administrators at the University of Kansas are in the process of adapting a set of salary increases into next year's operating budget. The increases were recommended last week by a state legislative committee.
The state House and Senate conference committee recommended a salary increase of 3 percent for faculty and 2 percent for classified employees, including civil service and office workers. The classified employees' raise would be in addition to regular annual salary increases. The committee also recommended a 2.5 percent salary and wage increase for students employed by state universities. The increases would go into effect Jan. 1, 1988, at all state universities.
But fiscal year 1988 begins July 1. Because the proposed salary increases would not begin until Jan. 1, they are considered only a six-month increase.
The proposed increases have not been approved by the full House and Senate, but both houses are expected to consider them May 1.
In the past, conference committee recommendations usually have been accepted, said Keith Nitcher. KU's director of business affairs. As a
result, KU officials are discussing how to incorporate the proposed salary increases into the University's fiscal 1988 budget.
The difficulty is that the salary increases begin in midyear.
"Simply, how are you going to represent department salaries?" Nitcher asked. "Do you make a salary July and then another for January?"
He said that a faculty member who made $2,000 a month from July through December would earn $2,060 and 1, because of the 3 percent increase.
"We also have to calculate social security and workers" compensation.
tion," Nitcher said. "There may also be faculty or staff positions in the budget that are vacant now, but will be filled."
Ward B. Zimmerman, director of the budget office, said the midyear salary increase would create additional work for his office, the personnel office, the payroll office and academic departments.
"We're talking about literally thousands of calculations," Zimmerman said.
New officers to devote summer to Senate
"My job is to think through the budget changes and come up with a working proposal," he said. "The other members of the budget committee will do the same."
Staff writer
Bv LISA A. MALONEY
This summer, while most students will be working on their tans or at summer jobs, some members of the Student Senate will be staking out legislators in Topeka and researching new programs.
"There's work to be done," Jason Krakow, the student body president, said last week "MOA."
"It's going to be business as usual," said Stephanie Quincy, the new student body vice president.
If any students wander into the Senate office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. this summer, they probably will find more than Krakow and Quincy. At least one-third of the 52 senators also will work on Senate business this summer, Quincy said.
Quincy said she and Krakow would spend much of their summer in Topeka monitoring legislative interim committees, such as one that examines the governance of Kansas higher education.
Krakow said, "We've got a lot of excited people who want to get things done this summer.
that we've got people who are hard workers. We have people that started in the committee system and worked their way up."
Krakow said they also would continue to work with the Lawrence City Commission on a proposal to allow minors into taverns after 8 p.m. All three newly elected city commissioners have voiced support for such a proposal, he said.
"I think the nicest part of our administration is
Krakow said he was confident that the proposal would be accepted because many tavern owners thought the plan would help increase business after the drinking age was raised to 21 this summer.
"They want to maintain a stock in the entertainment business, and they want to entertain the 18-year-olds as well." Krakow said.
communication between the Senate and the University of Kansas, and to improve the Senate committee structure.
Quincy said she also would work to strengthen
Both Krakow and Quincy said they would like to see more student involvement in the Senate this
Krakow said, "The students aren't familiar enough with what we're doing."
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He said the percentage of students who voted in student government elections at universities across the country ranged from 5 percent to 20 percent. In the KU Senate elections earlier this month, about 14.5 percent of the student body voted.
He said he hoped to generate more student interest by establishing Senate office hours on Wescoe Beach and conducting town meetings. By researching most of their platform proposals this summer, Krakow said he and Quincy hoped to avoid some of the infighting and squabbling that he marked this semester's Senate.
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