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
By 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 McSain, Lawrence fire chief,
said in a video taped press conference
on May 5 that after the April 26, 1987,
fire at the Sigma Phi Epstein 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 Greek 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, asserting 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 some of the work completed by Sementer."
Five other greek houses also are under investigation by the city prosecutor's office, Barr said.
The Alpha Kappa Lambda andLambda Chi Alpha fraternities and theAlpha 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.
"Thethey 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 obiterating 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 complies 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
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.
Dave Nieherzall/KANSAN
Water safe, tests indicate
Cancer-causing chemical no longer present at Lindley
By 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.
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-chloroethane (also called ethylene dichloride) in the water after a spill about the color and color of the
Bearse said it was unlikely the water in any other campus buildings was contaminated.
"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 students are of acceptable quality going into all the other buildings."
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
Official reverses Hoch ruling
By Paula Messbarger
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.
Paul 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.
The original report cited the lack of
great breadth and depth: NCAA tournament play at Georgia's Henry Field Stadium, SMU's Richey Renenberg
Kansas, which has skyrocketed from nowhere to Division I contender since 1982, is an example of those universities that are quickly building their campuses on a national level tennis pro-
coach last December. Eric Hayes installed a demanding workout routine known as "morning madness" at his first practice on New Year's Day. "I hate him at 5:30 in the morning, but it is a great feeling to win and to have a good attitude," says senior Tracy Treps. No more are players rewarded with fame, even on campus. The SMU men's team, for one, has finished in the top 20 for the past 18 years, but at a recent match it drew a crowd in the single digits.
be, says coach Brennan Stanford players pride themselves on being able to handle academic as well as athletic pressure. Sophomore Jeff Tarango is a double major in philosophy and creative writing "I didn't want to be labeled as [just an] athlete all my life," says Tarango. "When you get to Stanford you're looked on as an intellectual as much as anyone else."
gram, you have got to recruit at least one great player a year," says Scott Perelman, director of men's and women's tennis at Kansas Freshman John Falbo, for example, was a three-time junior national champion and played for the U.S. Junior Davis Cup team last summer. "If a player is serious about turning pro, this is one of the best places in the country to come because of coach Perelman and his program," says Falbo. "I was physically ready to play pro, but I wasn't mentally mature enough. The mental toughness separates the great pros from the average ones."
Not every college tennis program is fiercely competitive, of course. At Tufts near Boston, for instance, team members insist they play to win their Division III title—but most can't help calling tennis an "outlet." Tufts plays only 12 matches per year, compared to the two dozen or more
More established programs,
such as Stanford's, continue to
attract good recruiters because
former players like Fendick
and Kathy Jordon are successful.
"When girls see [Fendick
and Jordan] on television, word
gets out that is the place to
that larger schools schedule. "They play a very good brand of tennis, but their priorities are different," says Tutts coach Jim Watson. Watson has no problems with that philosophy. An All-American tennis player at San Jose State, he earned a Ph.D. in Spanish literature from the University of Missouri. At Tutts, he teaches Spanish and Latin American literature in the mornings and relegates tennis-practice sessions to a couple of hours in the afternoon. Call his players a bunch of amateurs, and he'd no doubt take it as a forehanded compliment.
CONNIE LEWIS WITH TOM STUSSY IN LAWRENCE, EDWARD DE MARCO 10 in Athens,
Is the Football Coach Really a Professor?
MARCUS MABRY in Pano 2018db
SUSAN EVANS in Dallas
MAY 1988
is it coach or is it professor? Aggies have been wondering since the Texas A&M Board of Regents appointed head football coach and athletic director Jackie Sherill "professor of athletics"—with "tenure." The board's action—and the debate it has set off among faculty and administrators—is as clear as the Brazos.
President Frank Vandiver, who instigated the appointment, insists the title symbolized Sherrill's contributions to A&M academics. Under Sherrill, athletes as a groupare now graduating.
rate comparable to the rate of the entire student body. Still, angry members of the faculty senate passed resolutions which, after praising Sherrill personally, declared his new title to be strictly honorary. It "carries with it no real or pretended entry into the Texas A&M faculty of scholars, nor any supposed establishment of any academic entity called Athletics," the faculty group said. By giving Sherrill the highest academic rank with tenure, says faculty senator David Anderson, the Board of Regents has reduced it to "something that you can find
Tenure, of course, protects the teaching position when granted by an academic department. Since the coach's special "Department of Athletics" is a creative fiction, however, it carries no added job security, according to faculty and administrators. That won't lessen the real value of Sherrill's job: he has a five-year contract that pays $11,856 in salary, plus an additional $130,000 in talent fees for the "Jackie Sherrill Show" on local television.
TRICHA MORGAN in College Station
in the bottom of a box of Cracker Jacks."
NEWSWEEK ON CAMPUS 35
reu Mark-
l be closed
treated the
However,
ity officials
mured there
r at Hoch,
that con-
emergency
arkley said. re in opera-
'Hoch is safe as is. The
Paul Markley
emergency lights are in operation.
state fire marshal's office
main concerns when inspecting a building; fire alarms, clear exits and emergency lighting that comes on the building. Och has all three. Markley said.
He said not having a sprinkler system obstructed the road would not prevent necessary to close it.
delete this
er, because
1 alternative
"The sprinklers are there to protect the buildings," he said. "We care about the buildings, but our main concern is getting the people out."
ayed during
s it another
no potential music in the
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.
person, I've
i open," he
concerned,
&. I have no
or and disc he was notlision would
"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 athleticism, and University's decision 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." Mottg 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.
The Associated Press
Dukakis finishes with nomination
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."
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 2-10 or more.
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.
Dukakis 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.
Thus, the prospect is for a close general election, and Bush and Dakukis seemed to share an eagerness to begin.
"My friends, what a golden opportunity this is for us." Dukakis 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.
Bush pushed uncontested primary victories in all four states and said, "I think I can overcome this deficit (in the polls)," he said.
"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 1984, 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.
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.