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The University Daily Kansan
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Friday. April 6, 2001
Friday, April 6, 2001
Sports: The football team's new defensive line coach adds enthusiasm to staff.
See page 6A
Inside: Game allows candidates to show how well they know their running mates.
SEE PAGE 3A
(USPS 6.07.610) • VOL. THE NO. 11
For comments, contact Lori O'Toole or Mindie Miller at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Elections present only two options for students
By Andrew Davies writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Students who vote in the Student Senate election Wednesday and Thursday will have two coalitions to choose from.
Last year, voters had five presidential and vice presidential candidates to choose from.
One reason for fewer coalitions is the amount of work it takes to assemble a coalition, said Carrie Depenbusch, last year's vice presidential candidate for Students First. a third coalition.
Depenbusch, Columbus, Kan., junior, said it was hard to run against established coalitions with established voter bases, but that new coalitions could find their own supporters.
"It was really easy to get accepted by the people who weren't part of those," she said.
Candidates were hesitant to run with Students First if they had the opportunity to run with an established coalition because the established coalition had a better chance of winning, Depenbusch said.
"It's easy to be part of an established coalition," she said.
Katie Bartlett, Nunemaker senator who ran with Students First last year and is running with Delta Force this year, said Delta Force's experience in elections was the biggest difference from Students First last year.
"I think there's a lot of knowledge that we didn't have last year in Students First," she said.
Bartlett said Delta Force had more experience in telling first-time candidates what to expect and in supporting them.
Dustin Johnson, elections commissioner, said a two-coalition election was typical of student senate elections, and the number of coalitions wouldn't affect voter turnout.
Johnson said he thought voter turnout would increase this year because the campaign had been clean.
"Surprisingly, the number of coalitions doesn't have much effect on voter turnout," he said. "In fact, last year only 15 percent of students voted, which was lower than at least the three preceding years."
Students said the interest of an individual, not the number of coalitions, was the biggest impact on who voted.
Farina Ndunbar, Anchorage, Ala., junior, said the fewer number of coalitions wouldn't change the number of people who voted because the informed people would always vote.
Michael Beary, Lenexa junior, said the people who enjoyed campus politics would vote regardless of the number of coalitions.
"The people who are interested are going to be the ones voting," he said. "The not really interested aren't going to bother to vote. Most people aren't concerned. They just want to go to school."
But some said that more coalitions would increase student interest.
Kate Hove, Duluth, Minn., sophomore, said more coalitions on campus would lead to a broader span of views and ideas that would increase interest.
Still, she said people who voted had to take an interest in the process.
"I think you have to care about it coming into it," she said.
— Edited by Courtney Craigmile
Independents work for visibility
By Danny Phillips
Kansan staff writer
When Tisha Warner arrived at the University of Kansas last semester, she didn't know any student senators and had no idea how to contact one with her concerns.
Now as one of five independent candidates running for Senate, the Florence freshman is making senator visibility one of her major issues.
"Instead of a student coming to you," Warner said, "you could go to the students."
Warner and her close friend and ally, Amanda Kerschen, are running for Nunemaker seats to represent freshmen and sophomores in the Senate. Kerschen, Wichita freshman, said she
was disgusted with the current coalition system.
"The coalitions pop up around early March and then disappear after the elections." she said.
Instead of just making contact with constituents around election time, Kerschen said she and Warner would keep a pulse on student concerns year around.
Together the Nunemaker hopefuls have developed a Web site outlining their platforms and personal biographies. Besides increasing Senate exposure, they said they would also address the parking problem on Daisy Hill and try to extend students' meal plans to Wescoe Terrace and the Kansas and Burge Unions.
First year law student Mike Lecount is running independently for a slightly different reason.
When Lecount was member of the Student Senate at Kansas State University, there were no coalitions.
While he said joining an alliance would have probably improved his chances of winning a Senate law seat, he didn't want to have an allegiance to any other group except his law constituents.
"I'm going to take a more personal approach," Lecount said. He said that if elected, such independence would put him in a better position to represent the students.
"A lot of law students feel detached from Senate," said Lecount, pointing out that only 40 law students voted last year out of nearly 500.
But that could potentially work in his favor this year.
"If we have an election with under 100 votes, I think I have an excellent
chance." be said.
As for independent pharmacy candidate Sherry Zerr, running without a coalition had nothing to do with ideology. She was just trying to get her application in at the last minute.
"I'm not really into politics," said Zerr, a Colby fourth-year pharmacy student. "But I'd like to represent the pharmacy school."
Zerr said pharmacy students pay at least $75 more per credit hour than any other school, and while she wouldn't necessarily try to lower that rate if elected, she was interested in the overall budget and how funds were distributed.
Jamel Bell, the fifth independent candidate running for a graduate seat, was out of town yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
Edited by Joshua Richards
Emily Cooper, Overland Park sophomore, center; Michelle Black, Lawrence senior; and Andrew Schurle, Manhattan freshman, prepare to leave their handprints on a mural they painted for the United Way, 2518 Ridge Court. The students worked on the mural yesterday as a part of Into the Streets Week, a volunteer program through the Center for Community Outreach. Photo by Nick Krug/KANSAN
Letters express concern
Write-A-Thon voices opinions to government
By Sarah Smarsh
By Sarah Smarsh
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
writ@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Volunteers wrote letters to government officials and painted a mural on a local service organization building yesterday as they continued work for the Center for Community Outreach's Into the Streets Week.
issues. Activist organizations like Amnesty International, Students for a Free Tibet and Latin America Solidarity offered information on controversial issues.
The CCO sponsored a Write-A-Thon in the Kansas Union, providing letter-writing materials for passers-by interested in voicing their opinions on a variety of
Ben Burton, Lawrence junior, said the Write-A-Thon aimed to increase activism among people whose voices might otherwise go unheard. He added that the letters are taken seriously by their recipients and change can only take place if people express their opinions.
"How else are you going to voice your concerns?" said Burton, citing the current framework of government as difficult to penetrate by the average citizen.
Other CCO volunteers expressed themselves with paint, not words. Students painted the United Way logo on the United Way building. 2518 Ridge Court.
equipment across campus that was not renewed by the Legislature.
The workshop also supplied pre-written notes to the Student Senate ways and means committee in support of the two-for-one technology fee match, an allocation that had provided money for computers and other technological
Maureen Seferovich, co-coordinator of Into the Streets Week and one of the organizers of the painting event, said the project was an effort to repay United Way for its service to the community.
Into the Streets Week will continue tonight with a Homeless Sleepout, which will unite students and homeless people at Burcham Park, Second and Indiana streets. The week will conclude tomorrow with a new event, the 5K Run/Walk, to benefit Heartland Community Free Medical Clinic, 619 Vermont St. The run/walk is $15 to enter and will begin at 9 a.m. in the Lied Center parking lot.
GTAs rally for higher salaries
Edited by Doug Pacey
By Michelle Ward writer@kansan.com
Kanson staff writer
Kevin Armitage said he had received a degree in the "Robert Hemenway school of management with the underlying principles of duplicity and stalling."
Armitage's unplanned remarks at the Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition (GTAC) rally received cheers and applause from more than 75 participants yesterday afternoon at Wescoe Beach. GTAC rallied in an effort to bring to light stalled contract negotiation
tions with the University.
"The reason we have to have this rally is to force the administration to fulfill its legal obligations," Armitage said. "It's clearly not a priority for the administration to treat graduate students well. They can't even respond to our contract proposal for eight months. It's absurd and disrespectful."
While GTAC proposed an initial contract in September, the University responded in March with its proposal. The two have locked horns about salary and benefits for graduate assistants.
Armitage's frustration came
after a year spent working three jobs trying to pay his bills. The doctoral student, who holds two master's degrees, works as a teaching assistant in the department of history with a $900 monthly salary. Unable to meet his expenses, he has picked up odd jobs, teaching a class through the mail and working with a start-up Internet company. The trio of positions leaves little time for Armitage to complete his dissertation and move up the economic ladder.
As with the majority of the graduate students, Sharon Sullivan juggles a number of
jobs along with her first love,
teaching. While working toward her doctorate, she teaches courses in theater and film and women's studies. The GTA carries her teaching duties into the night, heading aquatic aerobics and previously worked at Target on weekends.
"I have given up sleeping. Basically, my life is teaching and studying." Sullivan said. "All I do is try to find ways to pay the bills. I just don't want to be poor for the privilege to teach."
See GTAS on page 2A
Helmut Tweer, German department graduate teaching assistant, speaks to a crowd gathered at Wescoe Beach to protest GTA wages. Photo by Justin Schmidt/KANSAN
Students learn how to throw legal parties
By Amanda Beglin
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
As yesterday's muggy weather proved, temperatures are rising — and so is the interest in throwing springtime parties.
But before front and backyards everywhere are transformed into celebration stomping grounds, there are a few things the American Civil Liberties Union thinks students should know. Last night, about 10 students, mostly from Student Senate, listened as Alexis Vanasse, a member of the University of Kansas chapter of ACLU, gave them pointers on how to throw a bash without running into trouble with the police. The workshop was sponsored by the Senate Outreach Board.
For example, selling alcohol at parties is legal — if you have a temporary liquor license and are selling to people who are 21 and older. To get that license, she said, students must complete paperwork with the Alcohol Beverage Control Division in Topeka and register the license with the Lawrence city clerk.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Because most students may not want to involve the city government in throwing a wild party. Vanasse suggested keeping things simple keep the party inside, the noise level down and the beer with people who are of legal age to drink it.
"Don't advertise on partyku.com," Vanasse said. "Cops watch that, so be warned. They won't go to your party, but they will patrol the area to make sure nothing is going on."
- To get a copy of the legal house party handbook, visit the American Civil Liberties Union office at Room 400 in the Kansas Union.
If police officers do approach a party, Vanasse said, it's because students made the party public by advertising online or with flyers, propping the front door open or allowing people to party in the streets, which are public property.
"They're generally very nice, so if you're cordial to them, they'll be cordial to you," Vanasse said.
But students don't have to let police officers beyond their front doors unless the officer has a warrant signed by a judge, Vanasse said.
"Cops can only enter a house if people let them in," Vanasa said. "But they don't have to leave if you don't. They can sit outside as long as you want to wait. But eventually, people will have to leave, and they'll be in trouble on their way out."
Students who party on their private property can be in their yard with alcohol, Vanasse said, as long as they don't cross onto public property like sidewalks and streets. On public property police can ask students for ID and issue citations such as minor in possession.
And if neighbors contact police with a noise complaint, the officer can approach the party and give the student resident a verbal warning — and then leave. Vanasse said.
"If he has to come back a second or third time, he might ask you to leave," Vanasse said.
Branden Bell, off-campus senator, said he thought the session was helpful.
"I thought it was a good way to let people know what their rights are," he said.
— Edited by Melissa Cooly
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