Wednesday June 8,1988
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Published since 1889 by the students of the University of Kansas
Vol. 98, No. 146 (USPS 650-640)
Frat may be charged for violating fire code
Bv Karen Boring
Kansan staff writer
City Prosecutor Jerry Little said yesterday he would file charges against the Triangle fraternity next week for failure to comply with city fire codes.
Jim McSwin, Lawrence fire chief,
said in a videotaped press conference
on May 5 that after the April 26, 1987,
fire at the Sigma Phi Epion fraternity
house, the Lawrence Fire
Department developed a program to
bring all KU greek houses into compliance
with the fire code.
The department inspected the 37 active greet houses in June and July 1987, said Fire Marshal Rich Barr. The corporation board of each house was given a list of violations and was required to turn in plans of compliance, including a schedule for completion, by January 1988. A corporation board is a group of alumni that acts as landlord of the house.
The Triangle board turned in a statement to Barr, assuring that all required changes had been made. Little said. However, when the fire marshal inspected the Triangle house on May 2, he found that none of the changes had been made.
"The only course of action that the
fire department is interested in with the Triangle house is prosecution." Little said. "The next step is filing charges against that fraternity."
Ron Gast, Triangle corporation board president, said a new board, including himself, was elected in February and that the original plan of compliance had been submitted by the former board. Gast said he and other board members learned of the fire-code problems from the house's student officers after the May inspection.
The board is taking bids so it can make a new plan of compliance, Gast said. He anticipated no problems with meeting the December deadline.
"We want to get costs in mind first," he said. "I think we will have a firm plan by this summer and have the work completed by September."
Five other Greek houses also are under investigation by the city prosecution.
The Alpha Kappa Lambda and Lambda Chi Alpha fraternities and the Alpha Chi Omega sorority have not come to agreement with the fire department on plans of compliance with the fire code, Little said. The
Tau Kappa Epsilon and Phi Kappa Tau fraternities also have been submitted for investigation.
"They either have not submitted plans of compliance or the compliance time frame is not acceptable." Little said. "What I'm trying to do is to open the lines of communication."
The project involves obliterating grandfather clauses, under which older structures do not to have to comply with fire codes enacted after they were built, he said.
Normally, the fire department inspects greek houses twice a year to ensure that existing fire equipment is working properly. Barr said. The present fire-code project, however, involves seeing that the existing equipment adequately compiles with today's fire code.
"If they do not involve sprinkler systems, because sprinkler systems are a very large project from a structural standpoint, we are requiring those plans of compliance to be completed by December 1988." Barr said at the press conference. "If they involved sprinkler systems, then we extended that deadline by one year."
Give it a twirl
Water safe, tests indicate
Terri Maness, Lawrence resident, twirls batons with glow sticks attached to the ends. Maness entertained golfers during the Moonshine Night Golf Tournament on Saturday night at the Orchards Executive Golf Course. The tournament was a benefit for the Achievement Place Boys' Home.
Cancer-causing chemical no longer present at Lindley
Bv Monica Hayde
Kansan staff writer
For two weeks, signs were posted inside and outside Lindley Hall warning people not to drink the water in the building. On Friday, they were removed.
bouncing. On a Friday, they were Warning notices were posted in the building on May 20 after state and University inspectors found high levels of a cancer-causing chemical in the water in Room 107. But the latest tests have shown that no health hazard exists, a University statement released Saturday said.
Inspectors from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment found high levels of 1,2- dichloroethane (also called ethylene dichloride) in the water after a complaint was made about the odor and color of the water coming from one of the sinks in the building, said Robin Eversole, director of University Relations.
This first test showed a contamination level of 31.5 parts per billion. But a second test done a week later showed only 0.6 parts per billion, said Bob Moody, director of public relations for the KDHE.
The KDHE enforces an action limit, or a maximum level of contamination, of five parts per billion, Moody said. The action limit is the level of contamination at which the state would take a water supply out of service.
Bob Bearse, associate vice chancellor, said ethylene dichloride is a common cleaning solvent.
"We probably use it by the thousands of gallons here at the University," he said.
"Tests have not been run campus-wide, but they are in the process of being run," he said. "However, the water coming into Lindley Hall is of acceptable quality, so the assumption is it's probably of acceptable quality going into all the other buildings."
Bearse said it was unlikely the water in any other campus buildings was contaminated.
Steve Cater, University environment, health and safety officer, said no one knew why such an elevated level of ethylene dichloride was in the water.
"It's quite possible we'll never know where it came from," he said.
Judith Ramaley, executive vice chancellor, said the University and the KDHE would continue to look for the cause of the contamination.
Ramaley said the University was going to continue to watch the situation because a one-time event was difficult to evaluate. She said it did not appear to be a continuing problem.
"So the situation in Lindley was that it could have been beer, but it was not an immediate risk," he said. "Pepperidge Farm has a new line."
In Kansas, the action level of ethylene dichloride is set at five parts per billion because, statistically, if 100,000 people drink such water from only that source for 70 years, one more person would get cancer than would have otherwise. Bearse said.
Bv Paula Messharger
Official reverses Hoch ruling
Kansan staff writer
A state fire official who said in April that Hoch Auditorium might have to be closed because of fire hazards now says it is a safe building.
eau Markley, who is chief of the fire prevention division for the state fire marshal's office, said after his April inspection of Hoch that the 61-year-old building was too dangerous to use because of fire-code violations.
But Markley said Monday Hoch is safe and can be used by the University of Kansas for classes and concerts.
"Hoch is safe as is." Markley said.
"The emergency lights are in opera-"
"line."
The original report cited the lack of emergency lighting and of a sprinkler system for the stage area. Markley had said. Hoch could be closed unless the University corrected the violations by December. However, when he met with University officials May 3, Markley was informed there was a working generator at Hoch, which he had not seen, that controlled the necessary emergency lighting.
'Hoch is safe as is. The
The fire marshal's office has three
Paul Marklev
emergency rights are an operation.
state fire marshal's office
main concerns when inspecting a building; fire alarms, clear exits and emergency lighting that comes on after a fire. Hoeh has all three. Markley said.
He said not having a sprinkler system above the stage would not make it necessary to close Hoch.
"The sprinklers are there to protect the buildings," he said. "We care about the buildings, but our main concern is getting the people out."
Tom Anderson, director of facilities operations, said the problem with the original inspection probably was a result of a KU Facilities and Operations employee who was sent with Markley on the inspection. Anderson said it was common practice for KU employees to assist the fire marshals during inspections. He said the employee probably was not familiar with Hoch and its lighting system.
"There is an emergency lighting system, and its been there for at least 15 years," he said. "The problem was, no one asked the right person."
Hoch Auditorium once was used as the home court for the Jayhawks basketball team until Allen Field House was dedicated in 1955. Hoch has had a long history of safety and structural problems, which led to the establishment of arts center to build a new performing arts center within the next few years.
James Modig, campus director of facilities planning, said his office and a committee appointed by Judith Ramaley, executive vice chancellor, are reviewing possibilities for using Hoch once the new performing arts building is completed. Modig said some suggestions were offices, classrooms or an addition to the new science library.
"We're looking for the general needs of the campus." Modig said.
As for the near future, not much will be done to Hoch, he said. Some of the stonework will be repaired this year under the fiscal year 1988 budget. But there will be no projects for the fiscal year of 1989 because the Board of Regents did not approve the requests.
KJHK format change draws complaint
Cancellation of 'thrash' angers listeners. DJs
Vandals spray-painted graffiti on the KJHK building May 15.
Melissa Montalbano/KANSAN
By Lisa Sheikh Kansan staff writer
"No cash in thirst?" was spraypainted in bold black letters on the front of the KJHK building May 15 after a decision to cut the Monday night show from the station's special programming.
The statement, which is still visible, is accompanied by a huge encircled 'A' painted across the KJHK letters. The emblem generally is to symbolize anarchy.
Since his decision, the station has received numerous complaints from listeners. Some of the disc jockeys also are unhappy with the format change. The spray paint was the only reported case of vandalism.
Jerry Howard, JKHK station manager, canceled the weekly thrash show on May 5, a few days after taking over as manager of the University radio station.
Howard said he cut thrash because he thought the show was serving only a small audience and was causing KJHK to be labeled as a thrash station.
In addition, he said, music from the Monday night thrash show was slipping into regular programming hours and earning the station an unpopular, and inaccurate, reputation as a nearly all-thrash station.
"It's not appealing to a large enough group to merit its worth on the radio," he said. "Secondly, it's generally so devoid of music quality that the listeners should stop it. When we've got better music to play, we should."
Howard said the thrash music was not fulfilling that purpose.
Until that music is missing entirely, he said, students will continue to see it as a thresh station, and KJK will fail to attract more listeners.
"We had an audience that really dug it," Babka said. "But the problem, I understood, was that some of the people only tuned in for that
Babka said he initially argued against forward's decision, but now is defending it.
"I think that, because of the way it was reacting to the other music that was being played, that (the decision) could be positive."
show, and in a lot of cases, the jocks were playing thrash outside the Monday night show, which wasn't helping.
Howard said cancelling thrasher was the first step in an movement toward making the station more professional. In the past, he said, KJHK has taken anything it got and put it on the shelf to play.
"There need to be some standards in there," he said.
Howard said the show, which aired from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., would be replaced with "experimental" music, "stuff that is still a little or a
lot too far out to be played during regular programming."
"We don't want to delete this programming all together, because we are supposed to an alternative music outlet," he said.
"But by no means is it another thrash."
Howard said he saw no potential for bringing back thrash music in the
"As a programming person, I've got to leave the options open," he said. "But as far as I'm concerned, I have no plans for HIK. I have no plans to resurrect it."
Ann Peck, Olathe senior and disc jockey at KJHK, said she was not sure what effect the decision would have on KJHK.
Dukakis finishes with nomination
Dukakis dominated Jesse Jackson coast to coast on the final night of a grueling Democratic primary marathon. He was winning primaries in New Jersey, Montana, New Mexico and California by margins of 2-to-1 or more.
Michael Dukakis clinched the Democratic presidential nomination with a four-state flourish Tuesday night and forecast a "golden opportunity" to win the White House in 1988. Republican George Bush labeled himself the underdog heading into the fall campaign but said, "I'm fighting back."
The Associated Press
The three-term Massachusetts governor began the night needing about 150 delegates to achieve a mathematical lock on the nomination. He was winning more than 131 in New Jersey, Montana and New Mexico combined, and early returns from California showed him ahead for more than 200 delegates.
Thus, the prospect is for a close general election, and Bush and Dukakis seemed to share an eagerness to begin.
DURKIS emerged as the winner of the Democratic primary marathon and owner of a lead over Bush in the nationwide public opinion polls. But Bush, who wrapped up the GOP nomination six weeks ago, holds formidable Electoral College advantages in the South and West, and Republicans have won four of the last five presidential elections.
"My friends, what a golden opportunity this is for us," Dukalis said as he savored his nominating triumph in a speech in California. He pledged to use his campaign to stand up for factory workers thrown out of their jobs with no warning, to ease the burden of families hit by medical bills and to "share the rage" of those living in neighborhoods threatened by drugs.
"Every day between now and November, the American people will want to hear how we intend to build a strong and vibrant future for our country," he said. "They aren't interested in slashing attacks. They want to judge our positive ideas for change."
In a television interview, he likened Dukakis to Walter Mondale, the landslide Democratic loser in 1894, for refusing to rule out a tax increase. "I'll rule it out," Bush said in an interview with CBS, and rely on a spending freeze to reduce the deficit.
Bush posted uncontested primary victories in all four states and said, "I think I can overcome this deficit (in the polls)," he said.
He decried the "gloom and doom" that he said was emanating from the Democrats and said the polls would change as he began to establish his own political identity. "When we get through in the fall talking about opportunity and peace and numbers of jobs and how much better things are and what I'll do to keep it that way, I think I can overcome that deficit," he said.