Sunny day
Weather
Kansan
**Today:** Cloudy with a high of 61 and a low of 41
**Tomorrow:** Cloudy with a high of 41 and a low of 36
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Wednesday, March 14, 2001
Sports: Jayhawk fans planning to travel to Dayton, Ohio, to watch Kansas play. SEE PAGE 1B
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 111 NO. 10
Inside: Student volunteers pass out condoms downtown to help slow the spread of AIDS.
For comments, contact Lori O'Toole or Mindie Miller at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.
SEE PAGE 6A
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Foreign trips bring risks
Students traveling abroad need to follow local laws
Bv Michelle Ward
by Michelle Ward
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
James Radina, Phoenix senior, is ready to "experience anything" when he travels to Jamaica this spring break. Radina, who is going with eight pledge brothers from Kappa Sigma, plans to have fun while avoiding any run-ins with the law.
He will spend the week outside of the United States experiencing a new and different culture as many other University of Kansas students will. While they leave the familiar confines of their native country, they also leave behind U.S. laws. They will fall under the jurisdiction of their visiting countries, which could spell trouble for some visitors.
More than 2,500 Americans are arrested each year in foreign countries — about half on drug charges. Countries also may differ in their laws for alcohol use, accidents and crimes against people who are intoxicated, according to the U.S. State Department. The department is urging young people to use caution when traveling to foreign nations.
"Iam worried that the police will look for college students and keep trying to pin stuff on us," he said.
Radina said he had traveled to South Padre, Texas, and Cancun, Mexico, without ending up in jail.
David Wiley, outreach coordinator for study abroad, said students should be sensitive to the country they are visiting and act appropriately. If it is a conservative culture, students should wear khakis instead of shorts. He said they should try to avoid sticking out as tourists by not wearing college sweatshirts. They should also take safety precautions like wearing a money bag, so if their pockets are picked, they still have cash, Wiley said.
It is important for Americans to know they don't fall under American law when visiting a foreign country, Wiley said. Furthermore, there is little the American consulate can do, he said.
TRAVEL TIPS
American citizens should remember that they are subject to other countries' laws when traveling abroad.
Travelers should also consider bringing extra cash or a credit card for emergencies, but should safequard them.
- Violent crimes like rape commonly, but not exclusively, occur at night or in the early morning hours. Travelers should be aware of their surroundings and take general precautions.
Source: U.S. State Department
"I would view drugs and those things the same way I would in Lawrence," Wiley said. "It's just better not to do something you know is wrong."
Radina said he experienced police harassment first-hand in Cancun, where officers tried to blame Radina for defacing public property. He said he explained to the police what had happened, but they didn't understand English. Luckily, Radina was able to resolve the situation without a trip to the police station, but it scared him into a new way of thinking.
"I learned my lesson. I'm going to stay on the down low this time," Radina said.
Laura Veazey, a Hesston junior, will take a trip with her boyfriend and two roommates south of the border. The four will drive 24 hours to Kino, Mexico, to relax in a fishing village west of Hermosillo. A ware of the dangers of traveling in a foreign county, the group has a rule of no highway driving at night
"There could just be wacky things on the road." Veaeyed said. "It's good for safety reasons, too, just in case we have a flat tire or something."
However, time away from the University is something everyone is looking forward to as spring break approaches.
"After midterms, this is a god send," she said.
— Edited by Brandy Straw
Meth labs threaten local neighborhoods
By Cássio Furtado
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Meth labs are a threat to Kansas children and families, an environmental scientist for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment told a group of 20 people last night at the Lawrence Public Library.
R Trevor Flynn, administrative coordinator for the department's Meth Lab Cleanup Program, said the program had done much to stop the threat.
The program seized 702 Kansas meth labs in 2000, up from 511 in 1999.
In Douglas County, Flynn said,
10 labs were seized last year.
Beth Anne Mansur, vice president of the Brookcreek Neighborhood Association, said the discussion on meth labs was timely because she had noticed a problem with meth labs in her neighborhood and had been contacted by neighborhood associations with similar problems.
"We have one house that blew up because of it." Mansur said.
Flynn said meth labs were highly explosive because the solvents used to make meth were exposed to flames to speed up the process. By not allowing the chemicals'
"Unlike crack and cocaine, it doesn't need to be smoked," Flynn said.
Flynn said meth was popularized during the 1960s by motorcycle gangs in California.
For more on meth use in Kansas,
see the Kansan's five-day series
"Life or Meth"
Meth is usually cheaper than cocaine and lasts longer because the body metabolizes it slowly.
gases to leave the houses, meth producers create an explosive environment. Flynn said.
See www.kansan.com
Its use spread for several reasons, he said.
He said the drug was 95 percent addictive, compared to heroin's 89 percent rate.
"Once people get hooked on it, it's really hard to kick it," Flynn said.
Flynn said for each pound of meth produced, six pounds of waste were generated.
Mansur said having the public forum was a way of tackling the issue, but it wasn't the only step.
"We are talking to other neighborhood associations who found similar problems," Mansur said.
Edited by Brandy Straw
Landlord ordinance questioned
Benefits could bypass students
By Erin Adamson
By Erin Adamson writer@kansas.com Kansas staff writer
The landlord licensing and registration ordinance being drafted by the City Commission will not require the inspection of houses zoned for multi-family use, many of which are occupied by students.
The proposed ordinance would require only landlords of properties in neighborhoods zoned for single-family use to register their properties yearly and have them periodically inspected.
Holly Krebs, representative from Student Senate, asked the
commission not to single-family last night's commission meeting.
commission not to limit licensing to single-family neighborhoods at
"It appears to be merely a method for enforcing the new housing ordinance, not for making living situations better for all tenants." Krebs said.
Krebs said the city was
one building inspector to inspect all the residences in Lawrence, and the city would need to hire another inspector to help with the increased workload of routine inspections. The city now inspectes homes on a complaint basis.
Krebss: ordinance unfairly targets certain groups
creating an unfair ordinance that held some tenants, landlords and houses to higher standards than others in the community.
Student Senate has supported
landlord licensing in the past, but Krebs said the focus of the current ordinance was not what students had envisioned when they supported licensing and registration.
The proposed ordinance would require all owners of residences zoned for single families to license their rentals annually and pay an initial registration fee of $25. Corliss said the purpose of the $25 fee was to recover the minimum processing costs for registration.
Mayor Jim Henry said the purpose of the ordinance was to make sure all residents lived in safe, healthy buildings.
David Corliss, assistant city manager, said that although the commission was working toward a final draft of the ordinance, it could not enforce the law until 2002 because the city first had to budget money to enforce the ordinance.
The costs of enforcing the ordinance include hiring additional staff and paying for the processing of registration forms and sending out inspection notices.
Corliss said the city had only
The landlord licensing and registration ordinance is part of a housing ordinance package that includes the ordinance that limited to three the number of unrelated people allowed to live in a residence zoned for single-family use. Edited by Megan Phelps
Streak of strength
Lacey Woolf, center, freshman women's soccer transfer from Nebraska, boots a ball between teammate defenders. Because of a muddy soccer field, the team held practice yesterday at Memorial Stadium. Mild spring weather is set to continue in the area this week and should help dry up winter's soggy leftovers. Photo by Thad Allender/KANSAN
Students part of plan to raise University ranking
By Cássio Furtado
Kansan staff writer
An endowment campaign designed to make the University of Kansas one of the top 25 public universities in the nation will include students in all steps of the initiative.
In three years, the University of Kansas has slipped from No. 30 to No. 42 in a ranking of national public universities, according to last fall's U.S. News and World Report college guide. The rankings were based on factors such as the University's academic reputation, retention and faculty resources.
The new endowment campaign.
which will be announced publicly in the fall, will be spearheaded by four students, five faculty and two staff members who will seek money from private donors through the Kansas University Endowment Association.
Tom Beisecker, chairman of the University Senate Executive Committee, said it was valuable to have students involved with the campaign to improve the University's standing.
Beisecker said students should be involved with all aspects of the campaign, from deciding the priorities to calling and meeting KU alumni who might donate money to the campaign.
"The endowment association provides enrichment for the University," Beisecker said.
He said that students being involved in the campaign would help the student body know more about what the endowment association does.
Bates said she thought she had been selected because she maintained a good relationship with faculty and staff at the University.
Courtney Bates, Black Student Union president, was one of four students selected to serve on the campaign committee.
chosen for that position." Bates said.
She said that students being a part of the campaign sent a message that the University was concerned about students and their priorities.
The other students selected were: Ben Walker, student body president; Jameson Jones, Dallas sophomore; and Joshua Burdette, engineering senator.
Chancellor Robert Hemenway outlined the goals of the campaign last fall, which would include doubling the number of endowed professorships to about 120, adding more student scholarships, and constructing a new undergraduate science building and an addition to Learned Hall.
Edited by Joshua Richards
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