University Daily Kansan / Thursday, February 18, 1988
Campus/Area
3
FBI agent's inquiry at law library futile
Bv lill less
Kansan staff writer
An FBI agent inquiring about a patron of the law library in Green Hall was not given the information he wanted when he made the request last month, library officials said yesterday.
The agent showed a law librarian a photograph and asked whether the person in the photo had checked out a particular government document, said Peter Schank, director of the law library. The librarian did not have the information the agent requested.
He said the librarian apparently recognized the person in the photograph but did not know whether the person had used the document. Even if the librarian had known whether the person had checked out the document, she would not have told the FBI agent because of library policy, Schanck said.
"Our policy is, in accordance with University policy, not to disclose circulation records," he said.
Schanck would not reveal the name of the librarian.
FBI representative Max Geiman said the inquiry was part of an investigation of a possible federal
'O.
Our policy is, in accordance with University policy, not to disclose circulation records.'
- Peter Schanck
director of the law enforcement in the Lawrence area. Because the investigation is still in progress, he was told that many people were involved. He said the investigation did not directly involve students.
He said the bureau could demand the records only with a court order
Schanck said the law library did not keep circulation records on the document in question because it could not be removed from the library. But the law library will not reveal records of any kind without a subpoena, he said.
Schanck said the agent had asked the librarian not to mention the inquiry, but apparently someone at Watson Library had referred the agent to the law library. The law librarian apparently called Watson to find out what the agent had done there.
James Ranz, dean of libraries, said the law library was not under his jurisdiction. He also said he was not aware that the agent was at Watson.
But he said the inquiry was not a major event.
Watson librarians also follow University policy of not revealing circuits.
"I think people are making too big a deal out of this," she said. "I think all libraries get requests of this sort. It's not all that unusual."
He said inquiries about articles certain people read were made frequently by all different kinds of people, not just law enforcement or federal agents.
Geiman said not all investigations involved crime, and bureau agents were on campus often. Every time someone is being considered for a federal job they are investigated, he said.
"I assume we will continue to do so as long as people continue to graduate and want jobs with the U.S. government," Geiman said.
He said the investigation at the law library was unrelated to the investigation of Citizens in Solidarity of the People of El Salvador that was revealed last month.
College loans unaffected
Lower interest won't change the loan rate that students pay
By David Sodamann
Kansan staff writer
Money is cheaper. Interest rates are down. But KU students aren't likely to soon see any decrease in the rates on student loans.
The prime rate, for example, now is 8.5 percent, down from an average 9.07 in October.
"It's just not going to have an effect on students, at least not as far as financial aid programs are concerned," said Jeff Weinberg, associate director of financial aid.
Susan Pool, a vice president in charge of student loans at Bank IV in Wichita, the one state's largest lenders to students, concurs with Wein
"Declining interest rates will not impact students in the immediate
future, because the federal government subsidizes the loans," Pool said.
As interest rates come down, Pool said, the first result would be that the government would have to spend less money to subsidize those who lend money to students. Interest rates would have to come down quite a bit before students see any tangible effect.
But declines in interest rates may have an effect on two loan programs here, Weinberg said, including Parent's Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) and the Supplemental Loan For Students (SLS).
For each program, Weinberg said, interest rates are refuged each year on July 1, based on quarterly
averages for the previous year. The rate on loans taken out under either of these programs now is 10.27 percent.
Father Vince Krische of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, 1631 Crescent Road, puts ashes on the forehead of Mary Himmelberg, Lawrence senior.
"If interest rates continue to decline," Weinberg said, "in theory, those 10.27 percent loans could go down."
Weinberg said 519 parents of KU students had taken out PLUS loans worth $1.65 million. An additional 265 students have SLS obligations worth $690,000.
"It's a very small population, compared to the borrowing public at KU." Weinberg said. University students have borrowed $13 million through the Guarantee Student Loan program this school year.
Ash Wednesday
Pancakes like these, hanging in trees around campus, are not birdfeed but a part of a tradition surrounding Lent. Jack Bremer, director of Ecumenical Christian Ministries, said that in preparing for the penitential season of Lent, rich foods such as eggs and butter must be used up. One way of doing this is to make pancakes, which are eaten or hung in trees to get rid of them before Ash Wednesday. Lent, the season of penance, is observed by Christians during the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, not including Sundays, which are considered "Little Easters."
interview may be added as requirement for GTAs
By Joel Zeff
Kansan staff writer
The change would require prospective faculty and GTAs in the Regents schools to be interviewed to determine English competency.
The Board of Regents will consider today a proposed change in testing prospective faculty and graduate teaching assistants for English proficiency.
Martine Hammond, Regents director for academic affairs, said that under the current process, GTAs were required only to achieve a minimum score on an oral English competency test. Under the proposed policy, applicants would be interviewed by the department that was hiring them.
"There are concerns that while they are tested in spoken English, they are not tested in the technical aspects of what they are teaching." Hammond said.
Hammond said that those who passed the interview and spoken English test would be considered for
teaching postitions.
"There have been continual expressions of concern by legislators regarding the matter," she said. "This is an additional effort by the institutions to respond to the concern."
Elizabeth Soppela, director of the Applied English Center at the University of Kansas, said the proposal would not be a major change.
Space program, lecturers get Senate nod
In other action, the Regents will consider approval of final architectural plans for renovations to the University of Kansas Medical Center's Delp Pavilion for the Pediatrics Inpatient Unit.
"This will just rephrase the policy in simpler terms," she said. "Right now, each department has its own procedures, some formal, some informal. This will regulate it so all the departments must interview the applicants."
Today's Regents meeting is in Topeka.
By Kevin Dilmore Kansan staff writer
Student Senate went into a tightly paced overtime session last night to deal with more than a dozen pieces of legislation.
Senate passed a bill to allocate $3,733 to the KU Space Program. The program, made up of more than 30 University of Kansas undergraduate students, will use the money to develop a series of five experiments that would be carried on board the Space Shuttle.
Carl Locke, dean of engineering, addressed the Senate during its open forum and said the space project would provide worldwide recognition for KU.
"But the most important aspect of the project is that it is run completely by student initiative," Locke said.
Mahyar Rahbarrad, Olate the junior and vice president of the KU Space Program, said the project depended on the restarting of the Shuttle program, but could be in space by May 1989.
After more than an hour of debate and a roll call vote, Senate passed
After more than an hour of debate and a roll call vote, Senate passed a bill to allocate $1,964 to KU Students Against Hunger for "KU's War on Hunger" week scheduled for April 4-9.
another bill to allocate $1,964 to KU
Students Against Hunger for "KU's
War on Hunger" week, scheduled for
April 4-9.
Steve Brown, Kansas City, Mo., junior and president of the organization, said the focus of the week would be on educating the community through forums, campus information tables and films provided to schools.
Some senators opposed the allocation, saying that financing a potentially charitable organization went against Senate precedent and that student activity fees should not be used to do so.
rat Warren, Nunemaker senator,
said, "I think it is an excellent
project, but I don't think it helps the
students; it helps me."
several speakers to come to campus later this year.
Stephanie Quincy, student body vice president, sponsored three bills for financing speakers, including one to bring an Oscar nominee to KU.
At Quince's request, Senate allocated $3,001 to bring Juan Williams to camps. Williams was the producer and writer of "Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years/Bridge to Freedom 1965," a documentary shown on PBS. The film was nominated yesterday for an Academy Award in the Documentary Feature category.
Senate allocated $5,143 to bring investigative journalist Randy Shilts to KU. Shilts wrote "And the Band Played on," the best-selling book on the history of AIDS. The book was a
runner-up for the National Book Award and brought national attention to Patient Zero, the AIDS victim thought to have spread the virus to the United States.
Thom Clark, Kansas City, Mo. junior and SUA Forums chairman, said Shilts' visit would be a joint venture between SUA and Senate and would not be affiliated with any lecture series.
Shilts is tentatively scheduled to appear April 21 in the Kansas Union's Woodruff Auditorium.
Senate also allocated $4,751 to bring Susan Brownmiller to speak at KU. Brownmiller has written two books dealing with women's issues, including a comprehensive study of rape.
A tie-breaking vote was cast to allocate $8,016 to the University Concert and Chamber series. The money will help finance a recital by pianist Andre Watts on April 12.
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