Friday inside
Peace Corps-bound
Graduate student Shane McCall knows he
has a lot to learn about environmental activism. He wants to expand his knowledge and his horizons while working in the Peace Corps. McCall will take a break from classes to work in the Caribbean. PAGE 3A
Creative playwriting
Two University of Kansas students
will have their plays performed in a festival this month at the Just Off Broadway Theatre in Kansas City, Mo. PAGE 5A
Final duel at Hearnes
Kansas and Missouri get one last showdown at their final game of the regular season on
Sunday before the Hearnes Center comes crashing down. PAGE 1B
Hard rockers
The rock climbing area at the Student Fitness Recreation Center
has attracted a cadre of zealous climbers. The KU Rock Climbing Club has grown to about 60 members. PAGE1B
Weather Today
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Two-day forecast tomorrow sunday
tomorrow
5535
sunny
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Contact Michelle Rombeck or Andrew Vaupel at 864-4910 or editor@kansan.com
index
Briefs 2A
Opinion 4A
Sports 1B
Sports briefs 2B
Horoscopes 4B
Comic 4B
KANSAN
March 5, 2004
IN ITS 100TH YEAR AS THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Vol.114 Issue No.107
Murguia's gone but University continues its lobbying efforts
By Anna Clovis aclovis@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
The lobbying must go on
Two months after announcing her departure from the University of Kansas, Janet Murgua's office in Strong Hall is empty. Everything she brought with her is back in Washington, D.C., where it came from two and a half years ago.
Murgia recently left the University to become the new executive director of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic-American lobbying group. During her tenure Murgia was criticized by some for having a high salary and an unnecessary position. Others praised her for her work on an integrated marketing campaign and contributions to the HispanicAmerican community.
American community. Murguia came to the University with a strong background. Prior to her position as executive vice chancellor for University Relations, Murguia worked at the White House as deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of legislative affairs from 1994 to 2000.
Yet, some legislators say they can't tell a difference in the University's lobbying efforts since her departure.
in Murguia's absence, Chancellor
Robert Hemenway named Kevin Boatright as interim executive vice chancellor and the head of the governmental relations team. Included on the team
with Hemenway and Boatright are Jon Josserand, assistant for governmental
SEE LOBBYING ON PAGE 8A
Hispanic group to push immigration bills
By Marc Ingber
mingber@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Some Hispanic-American students will drop their books and transform into lobbyists today.
lobbyists today. Members from the Hispanic American Leadership Organization will go to Topeka to take part in Hispanic Day on the Hill. The event will draw members of the organization from other universities such as Kansas State and Washburn University, as well as other Latino groups across the state. They will all go to the Capitol to lobby for issues affecting the Hispanic-American community.
Victor Aguilar, Dodge City freshman and vice president of HALO, said the group's goal was to influence state-law-makers' decisions.
Two bills that HALO will be lobbying
"It's especially important now because there are a lot of Hispanic issues going on in the state and nationally," he said.
"They need to get from place to place, so they will drive anyways. If they don't have insurance, it is really dangerous."
Andrea Pantoja Mission junior and HALO president
for are the Immigrant Tuition Bill and the Driver's Licenses for Illegal Aliens Bill.
The Immigrant Tuition Bill would give undocumented Kansas students the right to in-state tuition at Kansas colleges and universities if they have a file with The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services and can prove they have attended three years of high school in Kansas. Supporters say the bill is needed because the process of obtaining a green card often takes years, and immigrants often can't afford out-of-state tuition.
One group that opposes the bill is the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). The group's stance is that the bill is a scheme that would reward illegal aliens by giving them in-state tuition and could lead to overcrowding in the schools.
Similar legislation to the Immigrant Tuition Bill has passed in other states including California, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Washington
The Driver's Licenses for Illegal Aliens Bill is a similar bill. It would make undocumented immigrants eligible to receive a driver's license and therefore get car insurance.
Andrea Pantoja, Mission junior and HALO president, said undocumented immigrants needed to drive in order to work.
work.
"They need to get from place to place, so they will drive anyways," she said. "If they don't have insurance, it is really dangerous."
FAIR opposes this bill too, because it says it rewards illegal aliens much like the tuition bill, providing illegal aliens
HISPANIC DAY ON THE HILL
Members from the Hispanic American Leadership Organization will travel to the Capitol to lobby for issues affecting the Hispanic community
When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today
Where: The Capitol in Topeka
How to get there: Take I-70 west to the 10th Avenue/Madison Street exit. Turn left onto 10th Avenue and left again onto South Kansas Avenue. Turn right onto Southwest 11th Street and another right onto Southwest Jackson Street. The Capitol is on 10th Avenue and Jackson Street.
with privileges they don't deserve
Undercover
Jessica Schuster, Topke sophomore, and Jill Pflumn, Shawnae sophomore, tried to avoid being drenched yesterday afternoon walking to class. Morning showers are predicted for today.
Mooaan True/Kansas
Senate program helps students get home safely
By Andy Marso amarso@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Editor's note: Every Friday, The University Daily Kansan will review one of the past platforms of Student Senate coalitions to update readers on how
the programs have progressed. This is the sixth and final article in the series.
Davenport and Nicole Leiker had a dark walk across campus ahead of them Tuesday night
Davenport, Coffeyville junior, and Leiker, Great Bend sophomore, had just finished camping out for the Kansas basketball game against Nebraska game at Allen Fieldhouse and had to get back home to Watkins Scholarship Hall, across the street from Fraser Hall.
It was 10 p.m., and Leiker and Davenport weren't taking any chances walking home alone — they, called lawwalk.
laywalk is the campus night escort
program that started last October.
Volunteer teams made up of one male and one female field calls from students, faculty and staff who don't feel safe walking alone on campus. The service operates from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday out of Anschutz Library.
Library.
"It's important," Leiker said of Jaywalk, which she was using for the first time Tuesday. "Not many people know about it, but it provides safety to students who might be afraid to walk alone in the dark."
Jaywalk was started by Lindsay Poe, University Affairs Committee member and Jaywalk Board chairwoman. Poe was part of the KUnited organization that conducted a campus safety survey in November 2002.
"We found out there were an awful lot of people who said they didn't feel safe at night." Poe said.
Many other Big 12 Conference schools, including Kansas State University, the University of Nebraska and the University of Colorado already
SEE SENATE ON PAGE 8A
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