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The University Daily Kansan
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Thursday. February 22, 2001
Sports: Nick Collison scored a career-high 26 points in Kansas' 91-79 victory against Colorado last night.
See page 6A
Inside: Former KU professor and Holocaust survivor spoke yesterday. See page 3A
For comments, contact Lori O'Toole or Mindie Miller at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 111 NO. 96
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Committee approves newspaper program
By Brooke Hesler writer@kanson.com Kanson staff writer
The newspaper readership program is one step closer to becoming permanent, after Student Senate committees approved a bill to make papers available across campus.
"This is something that students are willing to do and want us to pass," said Ben Walker, student body president and co-sponsor of the bill.
The University Affairs and Finance committees approved the bill, which would increase student fees by $6.50 per semester to make The Kansas City Star, the Lawrence Journal
Walker: supports the newspaper readership program
World, The New York Times and USA Today available at about 20 campus locations. If the bill passes, the program will be in place on the first day of Fall 2001 classes.
If more people pick up the papers than expected, Walker said the newspaper companies would pick up the additional costs.
"They're not making any profit on this," he said. "This is bare bones funding."
Walker said the papers would be in lock boxes in campus buildings. Students would swipe their KUIDs to get into the lock box and get a paper.
Also last night, the constituency bill, which would require senators to meet with their constituency groups at least three times a semester, was approved by University Affairs and Rights committees.
The bill had been sent back to committees last week for extensive changes. The main change was to restructure the Senate Outreach Board, which oversees senator outreach assignments.
"Restructuring the Outreach Board was something that I was trying to get away from," said Justin Mills, holder senator and co-sponsor of the bill. "But I felt that this would address some of the concerns about how to enforce this."
The bill also requires senators to attend their office hours and be present for roll call at the beginning and end of Senate meetings.
But Mills said if senators had extinguated circumstances, they could always talk with the Student Senate Executive Committee for exemptions.
The bill made senators more accountable to their constituents. Mills said.
Both bills will go to full Senate for a vote next Wednesday.
- Edited by Jacob Roddy
Religious funding bill pulled
By Brooke Hester
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
A bill that could allow Student Senate to grant money to religious and partisan organizations was pulled from Senate committees' agendas yesterday. However, a similar bill is expected to be introduced in two weeks.
"We can't not give money to an organization just because they're religious or partisan," said Ben Walker, student body president.
"Basically, the entire budget code needs to be clarified," Walker said. "We'll pay for these groups' postage and things of that
Walker said the original bill failed to address some of the concerns about allocating money to religious and partisan groups. Walker, Marlon Marshall, student body vice president, and Lisa Braun, Finance Committee chairwoman, will draft the new bill.
nature, but we won't pay a minister's fee because we don't want to establish a religion."
Walker said the new bill needed to establish specific guidelines for granting money to organizations.
"If we didn't give a religious organization money, then we would need to have something in rules and regulations to point to as to why we didn't give them money," he said. Last week Senate granted money to the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics. At that time, Senate suspended a funding clause stating that money couldn't be given to groups whose primary function was religious.
The Supreme Court ruled last March that students at public universities can be required to pay fees that will go to organizations they disagree with.
"Senate needs to treat and recognize each group the same way," said Roe Marino, associate general counsel. "Although you might not fund certain activities, you must
GROUP FUNDING
What happened? A bill that would allow Student Senate to give money to religious and partisan groups was pulled from the agenda last night.
What it means: Senate's rule prohibiting giving money to religious groups remains suspended. Future legislation will decide whether to grant such groups money.
What's next: Ben Walker, Marton Marshall and Lisa Braun, Finance Committee chairwoman will draft similar legislation which would allow Senate to allocate money to religious and partisan groups. It is expected to be introduced in the next couple of weeks.
Clifton Axtell, Austin, Texas, freshman, said he was excited about the prospects of Senate granting money to religious groups. He attends services at Victory Campus Ministries in Smith Hall.
hold each group equal."
"I think that it can't hurt," he said. "Obviously from my perspective, that's a good thing. As long as the money isn't just going to one group or religion, I really don't see a problem with it."
Tim Marshall, Kansas City, Mo., sophomore, disagreed.
"My feeling is that these groups should be responsible for funding themselves," he said. "I don't think our money should be going towards organizations we don't agree with or believe in."
Olivia Stockman, liberal arts and sciences senator, co-sponsored a bill to grant money to the Student Advisory Board of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, which was supposed to go to committees last night. She pulled the bill from the agenda yesterday.
She said she decided to hold off on the bill until questions about giving money to religious organizations had been cleared up.
Closing the generation gap
Students share time at retirement home
- Edited by Jason McKee
By Michelle Ward writer@kansan.com Kansas staff writer
Shannon Clayton could spend an afternoon with the ladies polishing their nails or taking on the men in a few rounds of cards. Whatever activity she participates in, Clayton and the residents of Brandon Woods Retirement Community have a good time.
The Wichita sophomore volunteers for a variety of events at the retirement home as a member of the Intergenerational Program. Between 15 and 20 University of Kansas students bring together different generations through their volunteer work.
They arrive during activity time for things such as bingo, cards and exercise volleyball. The students also have Bible studies, parties and special events they plan themselves.
"We want them to feel loved and cared for," said Clayton, co-coordinator of the program. "It's an awesome way to help and get involved in the community."
The students work with a variety of senior citizens, including those with significant mental and physical impairments.
Amy Stevenson, assisted living activities director at the retirement community, said that this posed a challenge for the students, but they had met it.
"I'm impressed with how they handle each situation," she said. "The residents appreciate their coming very much. The elderly people really enjoy the students' enthusiasm."
They provide residents with one-on-
See STUDENTS on page 2A
Shannon Clayton, Wichita sophomore, paints the nails of Frances Glad, resident of Brandon Woods Retirement Community. Clayton is the co-coordinator of the Intergenerational Program, a student organization aiming to unite different generations through volunteer work. Photo by Thad Allender/KANSAN
All methed up: the drug and the environment
Meth's toxins may seep from ground, house next door
By Phil Cauthon
writer@kanson.com
Kansan senior staff writer
Like most weekend evenings last fall, Richard Ramos and his family were grilling steaks outside their home in East Lawrence. His kids were running around the expansive yard with their cousins, playing tag among the trees.
Less than 100 yards from the house near 14th Street, Ramos' nine-year-old daughter Abigail found something she'd never seen before in the yard. It was a dirty canvas bag with a huge metal tank inside. And it
smelled like a kitchen floor that had just been mopped — only this time, the smell burned her lunes and eves.
Ramos put down his tongs to see what the kids were up to. Before he could even see the bug, the bar beque breeze gave way to the stench of ammonia.
"Papa. come here. Lookit!"
He touched the nozzle of what looked like an
over-sized propane tank, Mistake. His hand turned heel red.
"I should be known better — I've read stuff about meth labs, and I had a feeling what was going on," Ramos said. "At that point, I called the cops."
Department, said that every month he gets calls like Ramao' where the leftovers of a lab used to make meth are involved. And, he said, the calls are becoming more and more common.
One of the officers responding to the call, Dan Johnson of the Lawrence Police
"It's so hard to catch these guys, they're just so mobile," he said. "At
this point, it's a matter of ensuring that these situations are handled safely. And you never know what you're going to find."
That explains why it took three fire engines, several patrol cars and an ambulance — complete with sirens and flashing lights — to respond to the tank on Ramos' property.
Of the ingredients used to make meth.
Meth's ingredients include everyday household items, including table salt, Diet Coke, cold medicine and paint thinner. But when combined, they produce a toxin to humans and the environment. Photo by Phil Cathan/KANSAN
Abigail found the worst. Anhydrous ammonia is highly volatile and tends to bond with water, forming the caustic chemical ammonium hydroxide.
grows ammonia bond with the moisture on human skin, eyes and lungs, it can literally turn the tissue into a bloody pulp. Anhydrous ammonia also evaporates quickly and can form clouds that hover at head-level — a breathable booby trap.
Trevor Flynn, Meth-Lab Cleanup Program Coordinator at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
gency crews informed about how to recognize the presence of a moth lab before it's too late.
the presence of a metal lab dearest to you. Flynn tells them to look for propane cylinders, especially ones with corroded valves. Coffee filters chemically stained red. Combinations of meth's ingredients — starting fluid, lithium batteries, muriatic acid,
numerous empty blisterpacks from cold pills. Such clues are the warning signs of a meth lab and of hazardous waste.
Meth cooks often dump waste components from their labs wherever it's convenient. Roadside property like that of the Ramoses. Public streams. Directly on the ground. Some cooks even collect their waste indoors.
The chemicals used in meth are so insidious that apartments or motel rooms that have hosted labs can present health hazards to the next tenants, even when only trace amounts are left behind.
"The actual structure of residency can be contaminated." Flynn said. "You can have contaminated walls, toxic chemicals that linger."
Flynn said that in such cases, walls can be painted and floors recovered to seal in the toxicity — the trick is knowing when that needs to be done.
Last year, 702 labs were found in Kansas and as meth increases, so do the odds that the drug is in a nearby neighborhood.
See METH on page 3A
4.