Flake it or leave it
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday
Details, page 2
Published since 1889 by the students of the University of Kansas
January 15, 1987 Vol. 97. No. 74 (USPS 650-640)
Hayden's budget cuts get House approval
Staff writer
By TODD COHEN
TOPEKA — The Republican-controlled Kansas House passed Governor Mike Hayden's emergency $60 million budget cutback, 89-34, yesterday, despite complaints by Democratic members that the cuts were careless and unfair.
In our haste to pass this bill many serious questions remain unanswered and mistakes will be made.'
- Marvin Barkis House Minority Leader
The Democrats also criticized Republican leaders for rushing the bill through the Legislature without public or committee hearings.
The leaders hope to get approval from the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the full Senate either today or tomorrow so that Hayden
can sign the bill into law by the end of the week.
Revenue shortfalls last November prompted Hayden to order 3.8 percent budget cuts in the state's general fund in order to avoid a $30 million deficit at the end of the current fiscal year June 30.
The bill, if passed in its current form, will rescind more than $5 million from KU's budget.
House Minority Leader Marvin Barkis, a Democrat from Louisburg, charged that the rush to pass the bill was a "careless approach" to the budget crisis.
"In our haste to pass this bill, many serious questions remain unanswered and mistakes will be made," he said.
Partisan differences were clear in the House's debate yesterday as eight amendments offered by Democrats were defeated. Seven of the amendments would have reduced or eliminated proposed cuts in the departments of Social and Rehabilitation Services, and Administration, the State Board of Agriculture and the Kansas Arts Commission.
Democrats charged that the cuts would hurt the poor and elderly, and that cuts were being made in programs, in SRS in particular, that receive matching federal funds. By
Kansas House defeats bill that would lower salaries
By a Kansan reporter
KU administrators expressed relief yesterday after the Kansas House rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Jack Shriver, D-Akron City, to Gov. Hayden's proposed budget cuts calling for a 3.8 percent pay cut for all state employees $5,000 or more per year.
Chancellor Gene A. Budig, in a statement issued yesterday, said he was relieved that additional salaries were not cut.
"Any additional reductions in salaries would be highly unfortunate," the statement said. "They would further disadvantage the University of Kansas and the state. One must remember that
KU competes in a national market, and our salaries are already far too low."
Melvin Dubnick, chairman of the University Senate Executive Committee, said he was glad the House defeated the amendment.
"They were asking for long-term problems," he said. "If they want to see the unionization of the faculty here all they have to do is pull something like that."
Dubnick said it was ridiculous to make state employees pay for the economic woes of the state.
James Bibb, KU lobbyist to the Kansas Legislature, also said he thought the amendment was ridiculous. He said that a temporary reduction in salaries was a complex issue.
not funding those programs, the state will lose $7 million in federal funds that will go to other states, Barkis said.
Bill Bunten, R-Topeka, said the cuts were proper and that the Democrats were too pessimistic
State Rep. Rochelle Chronister, R-Neodesha, said she knew the cuts would be painful, but the state had not done. "This state is in difficulties." she said.
"It's a first step and a very neces sary step," he said.
Bunten also said some funds could be restored in a supplemental appropriations bill to be drafted later this session.
State Rep. John Solbach, Lawrence Democrat, said KU stood a good chance to regain some or all of its funds cut in the bill.
According to the bill, the cuts already have forced KU to cancel 25 percent of its summer class offerings, freeze all salaries and leave some graduate teaching assistant positions prepaid until furnished for the spring semester.
The University also will cut costs by reducing the hours of graduate assistants and student employees, and by not issuing new work-study contracts this semester. The United States Geological Survey, 1950 Constantine ve., will reduce the hiring of geochronist assistants and other student help.
So far, only Chancellor Gene A. Budig has had his salary cut. The House approved an amendment by State Rep. David Miller, R-Eudora, that mandates a 3.8 percent salary cut for the director of the Board of
House Appropriations Chairman
Regents and all presidents of Regents institutions.
Miller said he thought it wasn't fair for these "high profile" state employees to continue receiving their full salaries while state officers were taking cuts and positions at KU remained unfilled.
"In the big picture, I think the bill is fair," Miller said. "It just seemed to me to be one glaring example where it wasn't fair."
The House defeated an amendment by State Rep. Jack Shriver, D-Akansas City, that would have cut the salaries of all state employees who earn more than $50,000 a year. The amendment would have primarily affected administrators and faculty at the Regents' institutions.
The House did pass an amendment cutting the pay of the legislative leadership by 3.8 percent. All legislators received a voluntary five percent cut in pay.
The cuts may not be going into effect immediately, however, if passed. The bill's constitutionality may be tested before the Kansas Supreme Court if the Senate leaves it in its present form. Solbach said.
The bill essentially forces the state's judges to take a cut in pay, which Solbach said was "clearly unconstitutional."
During Playfair, a communication seminar, members of a core group depend on each other and work together. Playfair took place in Robinson participate in a trust exercise designed to show members of a group how to Gymnasium.
Darcy Chang/KANSAN
Communication seminar aids students
Rv CHRISTOPHER HINES
Staff writer
More than 200 students jumped, screamed and danced yesterday afternoon in Robinson Center, in what could be described as a selfesteem building exercise.
The purpose of the exercise called Playfair, according to Gail Novotny, a Playfair Inc. instructor from Los Angeles, was to motivate and encourage new students at the university and out-of-state students.
Cescilie Roudebush, left, Prairie Village graduate student, and Mike McGoffin, Tulsa freshman, participate in an exercise to learn how to argue.
During the two-hour seminar, students could stand up at any time and say "I want a standing ovation!" and then everyone would stand up and give a round of applause and a loud cheer.
— to be more open and responsive to other individuals.
Novotny said, "I want to create a totally supportive community, where you can be secure enough to be yourself and be wild and crazy. It's an invitation to come out of your shell."
The KU Association of University Residence Halls sponsored the seminar, and Noelle Jibril, the association's national communication coordinator, said the cost of Novotny's visit was $1,400.
The seminar included exercises and games that provided participants with ways to verbally and physically communicate with one
"It's hard to describe Playfair, but I would consider it as a kind of an audience participation-comedy show, involving community building and cooperation exercises," Novyta said.
another.
Students would form into huddles of 10 or more, where they would describe themselves, and then form into huddles of four and seven. Students always exchanging information in a fast paced rhythm of activity.
In another activity, students danced back-to-back, elbows intertwined, frequently changing but never facing one another.
Novotny said, "We go to dances and discos to meet people and have a good time, but with the dim lights and the loud music how can you meet people? Your partner is never looking at you, but at the beautiful people standing against the wall."
Gary Nash, Louisburg freshman, said he wasn't exactly sure what Playfair meant when he saw the poster in his dorm. But said it was an interesting way to meet
new people.
Kristin Irwin, Omaha, Neb. freshman, said that coming from another state to a large campus, such as KU, made it difficult to meet new people.
"I're really glad to see this many people showed up," she said. "At least now I won't walk into Chemiar and I can't be there, I never seen before in my life."
Jibril said that she was excited by the response to Playfair.
Hayden has promised to recommend to the Legislature that the University of Kansas receive a $853,418 fee release and that the 3.8 percent budget cut be reinstated in 1988.
"As much as possible, we will be able to accommodate the people who are here this spring," said Del Debo, chancellor for academic affairs.
"Without the fee release, we'd be in serious trouble and wouldn't be able to accommodate students. With it, we're not able to achieve the quality we'd like." Brinkman said. "The hidden cost in all this is the quality point. We can't do as well with the large number of students."
Hayden promises class availability
Bv LISA A. MALONFY
Staff writer
James Carothers, associate dean of liberal arts, said that despite the increase in students enrolled at KU, a wide variety of options exists to meet basic education requirements.
However, Brinkman said there was no guarantee that the Legislature would grant the general fee fund release.
Because of two promises from Governor Mike Hayden, most of the 106 spring semester courses that previously were targeted for cancellation will be available, a KU administrator said Tuesday.
Only those courses with too few
sessions enrolled have been
cancelled.
"We have English courses, we
Carothers said 3,000 students without full schedules were sent enrollment completion forms and a special session was scheduled Nov. 25 for these students to complete their enrollment. Only 1,300 to 1,900 students went through the session; 1,500 to 1,700 more students will be given the opportunity to complete their schedules during the drop/add period, which begins Monday. However, these courses also will be in demand by more than 1,100 who were able to pre-enroll, but had their classes cancelled for non-payment of fees, he said.
Some of the spaces still available as of yesterday:
Last semester, when the 3.8 percent budget cut was announced, the University put a free on hiring, and targeted 106 courses for cancellation, to meet a 2.3 percent budget cut in academics. Robert Lineberry, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said the courses targeted did not have instructors, but most were introductory courses in languages and required courses like Western Civilization.
have mathematic courses, we have natural science laboratory courses and we have courses in all three distribution areas." Carothers said
Western Civilization 104 and 105-53 spaces
Sophomore English courses: 75 spaces
See CLASSES, p. 6, col. 3
Drug use suspected in wreck
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Both crewmen of the Connail locomotive that ran a stop signal and slid into the path of a speeding Amtrak passenger train were found to have marijuana in their system at the time of the accident, federal investigators said yesterday.
One source close to the investigation said the amounts of marijuana in blood and urine samples taken from the two men within hours of the Jan. 4 accident near Baltimore were substantial and indicated possible chronic or recent use of the drug.
It remained uncertain, however, whether the marijuna was sufficient to have affected the performance of the engineer or brakeman at the time of the accident, said the source, who asked not to be identified.
The tests on the engineer, Richard Gates, 32, an 11-year employee of Conrail, and the brakeman, Edward Fromwell, showed no evidence of abuse.
Tests on tissue samples of the
See AMTRAK, p. 6, col. 3
INSIDE
Slow it down
Kansas basketball coach Larry Brown wants the Jayhawks to control the tempo tonight when they play Oklahoma in Norman. He hopes the Jayhawks continue winning on the road, as they did against Oklahoma State. See page 11.
The dream lives
Faculty and students will commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday Monday with a parade down Jayhawk Boulevard. See page 3.