4A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY HAIRY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 28. 2007
BLOOD DRIVE (CONTINUED FROM TA)
Committee
"I can understand their concerns," said left Klinkhardt, St Louis senior and president of the U.S. plumbers industry.
DRIVE Committee
"But if we don't ask the questions, if we don't follow FDA guidelines, the blood we collect doesn't get used."
Klinkhardt said the blood
Blood Drive Committee and Queers and Allies agreed the disclaimer was a good step in refuting questions of discrimination between
drive committee didn't discriminate and would work to make that clear to students.
"If we don't ask the questions, if we don't follow FDA guidelines, the blood we collect doesn't get used."
The representatives from the
The disclaimer will appear on tables during the blood drive next week. Klinkhardt said a possibility for next year's committee was a signed petition against asking questions about sexual orientation.
JEFF KLINKHARDT
President, KU Blood Drive Committee
student organizations on campus.
Blood Drive Committee. "We didn't look at it as our group against their group, so we want to try to smooth things over as well as possible."
"Now that they'vebrought it to our attention, it's absolutely no problem," said Lisa Kennedy, Kansas City, Mo., senior and vice president of the KU
Kansan staff writer Katy Blair can be contacted at kblair@kansan.com.
Edited by Ashley Thompson
HAITI (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Coffyn said the groups had raised $4,250 so far to send to the orphanage. She hoped after Tuesday that the total would exceed $5,000.
"Hopefully we'll be selling all of them," Lavaveshkul said.
Amy Lavaweshkul, Lawrence junior and service chair with the Honors Program Student Council, said less than an hour into the event that the fundraisers had already sold several hundreds of dollars worth of raffle tickets.
wanted to get involved because the Haitian girls needed a home and that there was a lot of money in this area of the state that could be used to help them.
Jean-Benito Mercier, a native Haitian, spoke at the event to raise awareness about the plight of educating the impoverished in Haiti.
"The wealthy keep education away from the people to limit their competition so they can stay in power," Mercier said.
Kansan staff writer Tyler Harbert can be contacted at tharbert@ kansan.com.
DEBATE (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
— Edited by Trevan McGee
well” Harris said. “I think it'll be a matter of preparation and execution.”
Bricker said, "to prepare for a tournament, all you really do is research."
Harris said debaters prepared for competitions like lawyers prepared for trials.
He said he pored through debate material, mostly periodicals and court documents, for about 40 hours every week.
Lathrop, who also went to last year's national tournament, attributed KU Debate's success to creative coaching. She said Harris helped the teams craft novel arguments and had "magic research abilities" that set him apart from other coaches.
Harris said Kansas' strong high school debate programs helped funnel veteran debaters to the University. Having strong high
school debate programs in state helps because the University is unable to offer scholarships.
"Coaching has nothing to do with it," Harris said. "It's hard work and smart students."
Bricker said the national tournament, which will be held from March 30 to April 3, was similar to the NCAA basketball championships and used a bracket-based elimination system.
Other teams attending the national tournament include Harvard University, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Northwestern University and Kansas State University.
Kansan staff writer Nathan Gill can be contacted at ngill@kansan.com.
—Edited by Ryan Schneider
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KU
CONTINUING
EDUCATION
The University of Texas
Incumbents advance
CITY COMMISSION
Newcomers top vote-getters in election
The topthreefinishers in Tuesday's primary were Dever, Chestnut and Highberger.
Candidates Jake Davis, Sam Fields and Michael Limburg were eliminated from the race.
Incumbent city commissioners Dennis "Boog" Highberger and David Schauer, along with newcomers James Bush, Rob Chestnut, Mike Dever and Carey Maynard-Moody advanced to the general election April 3, according to unofficial election results.
BY MATT ERICKSON
Jamie Shew, county clerk, said city voter turnout for the primary was "light," at about 15 percent. He said precincts with high numbers of University students had turnouts of about 5 percent or lower.
The top three vote-getters in April will win commission seats.
"The KU precincts were probably the lightest in the county." Shew said.
Schauner said he was disappoint ed with the city turnout but under stood why so few students voted.
"I just don't think students con
Schauner said his campaign would actively seek votes until election day. Though he finished fourth in the primary, he expressed confidence that he would defend his commission seat.
Bush said he was happy that he would move on to the general election. He said it was a thrill just to have people vote for him.
sider themselves connected to the things city government does," he said.
Dever said his first-place finish in the primary exceeded his expectations. He said achieving name recognition was a huge step for his campaign.
"This ain't over." Schauner said.
"I've got my name out, and the next step is to get the message out," Dever said.
"its just humbling when you consider that one of the greatest powers a citizen has is to vote", he said.
Kansan staff writer Matt Erickson can be contacted at merickson@ kansan.com.
— Edited by Ryan Schneider
Lawrence City Commission
Candidate Votes Percent of Vote
Mike Dever 4,920 20.83
Rob Chestnut 4,652 19.70
Dennis "Booq" Hlohberger 3,627 15.36
David Schauner 3,273 13.86
James Bush 3,083 13.06
Carey Maynard Moody 2,879 12.19
Jake Davis 496 2.10
Sam Fields 449 1.90
Michael J. Limburg 236 1.00
Total Votes 23,615
AIR FORCE
Officer guilty of rape
ASSOCIATED PRESS
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla.
— An Air Force officer was found guilty Tuesday of raping four men and attempting to rape two others.
A nine-member military jury deliberated for about seven hours in Capt. Devery L. Taylor's court-martial. Taylor gave no reaction upon hearing the verdict.
Taylor, the former chief of patient administration at Eglin Regional Hospital, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Sentencing was to begin Wednesday.
"I am pleased. I am emotional, but I am very, very pleased," said Maj. Kathleen Reder, a military prosecutor.
"These men can sit up a little straighter now; I am proud of them," she said of the six victims who testified.
Martin Regan, Taylor's civilian defense attorney, declined to comment before sentencing.
Military prosecutors described Taylor, 38, as a serial rapist who met men in bars, spiked their drinks with the "date-rape" drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, and kidnapped them.
Taylor was charged with two counts of attempted sodomy, four counts of forcible sodomy, two counts of kidnapping and one count of unlawful entry.
Taylor testified that he had consensual sex with five of the men and that the sixth, who is openly gay, raped him. Regan said the men lied to protect their military careers.
Four of the men were in the military when they met Taylor, and a fifth wanted to join the Navy and feared being identified as gay, Regan said.
>> CRIME
Regan said Taylor's only crime was being gay in the military and violating the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which bans people who are openly gay from serving in the armed forces.
Singer sentenced for killing bear
CATHOLIC CHURCH
ASSOCIATED PRESS
He also must give up hunting in Minnesota for five years.
Duluth, Minn. — Troy Lee Gentry, of the country singing duo Montgomery Gentry, has been sentenced to three months of probation and a $15,000 fine for killing a captive black bear.
Gentry pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in November. Under a plea deal, he agreed to forfeit the bear and the bow he used during the hunt near Sandstone. The 600 pound bear has been part of
a taxidermy display at Gentry's home in Tennessee. He was sentenced Friday.
The bear was killed in October 2004 at the 80-acre Minnesota Wildlife Connection, Owner Lee Marvin Greenly sold the bear for $4,650 and orchestrated the hunt, which Gentry videotaped and edited to make it appear the bear had been killed in a fair chase hunt, according to authorities.
Montgomery Gentry, which includes co-singer Eddie Montgomery, are known for hits such as "My Town".
ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Diego diocese to file for bankruptcy
SAN DIEGO — The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego said Tuesday that it planned to file for bankruptcy protection to put off going to trial in more than 140 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests.
Attorney Micheal Webb said the diocese planned to file for bankruptcy protection by midnight, just hours before the first trial was scheduled to go forward Wednesday in a San Diego courtroom. A Chapter 11 filing automatically halted court proceedings.
In a letter posted on the diocese's Web site, Bishop Robert Brom said the diocese made its decision because any damages awarded early in a trial could deplete "diocesan and insurance resources," leaving nothing for other victims. He also noted the time the process could take.
San Diego would become the fifth U.S. diocese to file for bankruptcy protection. It also would become the largest, with nearly 1 million parishioners.
Brom said in his letter that the diocese would disclose the names of accused priests who officials are certain participated in abuse, and
"we will verify that no known abuser is functioning in ministry"
Diocese officials and plaintiffs attorneys failed to reach a settlement during two days of negotiations in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The diocese called plaintiffs attorneys Tuesday morning to make
a "final and best" settlement offer, Webb said. He declined to specify how much the church had offered but said it was higher than total settlements reached in other dioceses.
"When they rejected it, we were left with no choice." Webb said.
trials, the filing prevents diocese officials from being confronted in court with potentially embarrassing facts, missteps or documents related to past handling of abusive priests.
"The moment it became clear the truth will come out through a jury trial, they sought to shut down victims' ability to get compensated."
"For three years they've told people they want to settle, they want to be transparent, but the moment it
JOHN MANLY Attorney
"It's meaningless," attorney Andrea Leavitt said.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the total amount the church had offered was insufficient because San Diego has more plaintiffs than other jurisdictions.
They also accused the church of using bankruptcy as a way to keep potentially embarrassing information under wraps. By delaying civil
became clear the truth will come out through a jury trial, they sought to shut down victims' ability to get compensated and get out the truth," said John Manly, an attorney representing a victim scheduled for trial in
April. "It's wrong, and they're not going to get away with this."
A trial prompted by a woman's accusations that a priest forced her to have sex in his parish office 1972, when she was 17, was scheduled to begin Wednesday. Three other trials were scheduled to follow, involving multiple victims and allegations that the diocese protected abusive priests by moving them from parish to parish.
Plaintiffs with cases already released for trial may appeal for permission to let those trials move ahead.
Diocese officials announced this month in a letter distributed to parishioners that they were contemplating bankruptcy to put off going to trial. The diocese retained an Arizona bankruptcy attorney who guided the Tucson diocese through its filing, and Brom discussed the matter with diocese priests at a pre-Lent meeting Feb. 19 in San Diego.
In addition to Tucson and San Diego, the dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy were Portland, Ore., Spokane, Wash., and Davenport, Iowa. Tucson has emerged from bankruptcy, while proposed settlements in Spokane and Portland are awaiting final approval. Portland had been the largest diocese to file for bankruptcy, with nearly 400,000 Catholics, according to its Web site
The diocese, which covers San Diego and Imperial counties, has 98 churches and runs 50 schools.
The lowa diocese filed for bankruptcy just days before the civil trial of a retired bishop from a neighboring diocese was set to begin. Fifteen plaintiffs had come forward alleging abuse.
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