Monday inside
Headphone selection Headphones vary in style comfort and features. Students can choose the type of headphones they need according to the activities they use them for. PAGE 3A
Take mono precautions
Students are susceptible to mono because of their close contact with other students. Mono can make eating, drinking and staying awake virtually impossible. PAGE 3A
Team upbeat despite loss
Although the Kansas Volleyball team ended its season losing against No.4 Pepperdine, the team was happy with the season. PAGE10A
Kansas falls to Stanford The Kansas men's basketball team fell behind in the first half of Saturday's game, regaining the lead once, for 24 seconds. PAGE 10A
Kansas takes Classic
The women's basketball team took the Jayhawk Classic this weekend for the first time in four years. PAGE 10A
Weather Today
Vol.114 Issue No.73
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Tell us your news. Contact Michelle Burhenn-Rombeck, Lindsay Hanson or Leah Shaffer at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
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Briefs 2A
Opinion 4A
Sports 10A
Sports briefs 7A
Horoscopes 8A
Comics 8A
KANSAN
The Student Newspaper of the University of Kansas
Monday, December 8, 2003
Controversial couples battle emotional and legal barriers
By Meghan Brune
mbrune@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Thirty-four states, including Kansas, have laws that ban same-sex marriages. Vermont is the only state that allows these marriages, and last month, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that it is illegal to ban same-sex marriages.
According to the Human Rights Campaign Web site, www.hrc.org, in the 2000 Census, Kansas had 3,973 same-sex households. This is an increase from the 647 same-sex homes reported in the 1990 Census.
HRC, which works to gain equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, also reported that the Census might undercount this population by 62 percent.
Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center at the University of Kansas, said he thought the Midwest attitude of "don't ask, don't tell," made it difficult for this part of the population to be reorganized.
Vince Kirsche, director of the St. Lawrence Catholic Center, said the church welcomed the gay community, but not the idea of gay unions. He said the condition of being gay was the gift of celibacy from God. He described the only "natural marriage" as one between a man and a woman, which has two purposes: mutual love and creating new life
Here are the stories of three couples who are making their relationships work, despite the challenges that face them.
"In society we are defining marriage as only a legal agreement, but in the church we see it as more," Kirsche said.
"There are very few people who are comfortable being out on campus," Grothe said.
Jason and Rod
The resource center is a safe zone for support and resources, such as a list of queer-friendly businesses in Lawrence.
Jason Grothe said that in Lawrence, the queer community was quiet. Grothe, the coordinator for the Lesbian, Gay,
Grothe said it was difficult in Kansas to meet other gay men. This lead Grothe to an Internet dating site, where he met his partner of four years, Rod Landreth.
Grothe, an American studies graduate student, said he and Landreth were
SEE BARRIERS ON PAGE 5A
Fraternity lacking younger members
By Abby Mills almills@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Theta Tau fraternity needs a few good men. And women.
The only co-ed fraternity at the University of Kansas did not recruit any new members this semester and must increase numbers or face extinction.
"By this time next semester, if we get no new members, it'll be me and one other person," said Shannon R. Cline, the fraternity's recruitment chair for Fall 2003.
The Sioux Falls, S.D., senior said the engineering fraternity, which has only 11 members, is suffering from a disproportionate number of upperclassmen. Everyone in the house is a senior, she said, and fifth-year seniors are the only reason it will last past this year.
Recruitment issues are to blame for the lack of underclassmen, said David Borys, fraternity rector for Fall 2003.
The Overland Park senior said because the fraternity is co-ed, it is excluded from the Interfraternity Council, which reduces Theta Tau's visibility when freshman go through the recruitment process. Because traditional methods of recruiting haven't worked, the fraternity recruits mostly through bringing friends of current members into the group.
Members who try to recruit are mostly older with friends their age, so underclassmen are not included in the process, Borv's said.
The group has tried to bring in new members by putting posters up around Learned Hall and hosting activities such as hot dog roasts, bowling and trips to Worlds of Fun. Cline said participation by freshmen was low at many of those events. Because most freshmen in attendance were strangers to everyone in the house it was hard to keep in touch after the initial contact.
Borys said one encounter wouldn't be enough to teach freshmen about the organization.
"What Theta Tau has to offer is unique from either social fraternities or technical organizations," he said. "We strive to give the best of both worlds."
To bring in new people, members of the group will begin attending meetings of other engineering groups to look for involved underclassmen interested in joining the fraternity, Borys said.
Because only engineering students are allowed into the group, there are always people around to help with homework, Cline said. The group also sponsors alumni functions so members can see people from the fraternity who have succeeded in the engineering world.
Apart from engineering work, members get together for social events. Borys said having women and men in the group made the activities more diverse and provided more opportunities for making new friends.
Cline said she joined the fraternity because she knew in it and because of cheap rent. Membership dues are $120 a semester and members who live in the house at 1933 Heatherwood Drive, near 22nd Street and Kasold Drive, pay $150 a month.
— Edited by Shane Mettlen
Group informs underclassmen
By Abby Mills almills@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Students educate peers about the risks associated with consuming alcohol
The University of Kansas is using students to educate peers about alcohol.
Decisions on Tap, or DOT, takes advantage of knowledge from seniors as well as people involved in alcohol regulation and distribution to help underclassmen understand risks of drinking. They do this without using scare tactics.
"We're not advocating drinking," said Michael Walker, Denver senior. "But instead of ignoring the situation we acknowledge that they will drink and
provide them with the knowledge to make responsible decisions."
Walker is one of the six senior facilitators for the program.
Work on DOT began last year when the Alcohol Task Force recruited students for a subcommittee to create a student-centered alcohol program. The task force is comprised of 14 faculty and staff members that develop policies and programs to address student drinking, such as Hawk Nights.
Barbara Ballard, chairwoman of the task force and vice provost of student success, said the key to DOT was that students had developed the program for their peers.
"If you really want to reach students, you have to get students to do it," she said.
The subcommittee developed DOT last year and launched a pilot program this year.
The program brings in people such as
Participants then break into groups led by a facilitator to relate the presentation they heard to their own experiences.
Alcohol and Beverage Control agents, police officers and bar owners to talk with students about drinking. Students learned about laws governing drinking and what happens when they are broken.
"We try to make it as comfortable as possible so they know they aren't being looked down upon," Walters said.
Susan Hochman, Midland, Texas, senior and program facilitator, said the goal of the presentations was to dispel myths about alcohol.
Walker said freshmen are often in situations involving alcohol for the first time. The novelty of alcohol and lack of information could lead to dangerous behavior. Walker said.
The senior facilitators have been through what underclassmen are facing and can give tips for succeeding. Ballard said.
Christi Walters, St. Louis freshman, said she had learned a lot from the program. For example, she said, she didn't know that when she was a designated driver she could get in trouble for alcohol her passengers brought along. Now, she makes passengers get rid of any alcohol first.
She said the program was especially helpful for her as an out-of-state student because laws in Kansas are different than in Missouri.
The program will have its last meeting of the semester at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in room 203 of the Student Fitness Recreation Center. Hochman said organizers will get evaluations of the pilot program and use them to expand and improve for next year.
Edited Shane Mehtlen
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