Today: Snow and rain with a high of 36 and a low of 32
Tomorrow: Hazy with a high of 36 and a low of 25
Kansan
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Wednesday, February 14, 2001
MS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PD BOX 5035
TOPEKA, MS 66601-3585
Cincinnati Kansas sonho-
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 111 NO. 91
For comments, contact Lori O'Toole or Mindie Miller at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
Inside: Lawrence tries alternative fuels in city vehicles.
SEE PAGE 3A
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Commission approves compromise
Number raised from two to three regarding unrelated roommates
By Erin Adamson writer@kanson.com Kansan staff writer
The maximum number of nonrelated people allowed to live together in residences zoned for single families will be three.
Previously, the City Commission had proposed that two unrelated people be the limit.
The change was the first of two ordinances adopted by the Commission last night. The second will require landlords to register their properties within 90 days of the ordinance being published as law.
Because of staunch opposition by many of
the 100-some people who attended last week's commission meeting, commissioners unanimously decided to compromise with the three-person limit.
Ben Walker, student body president, said the three-person limit was an acceptable compromise for students. He said it was preferable to the two-person limit, although the Student Senate thought the original four-person limit should not have been changed in the first place.
But Walker asked the commission to reconsider the terms of registering landlords because he didn't want the new ordinance to prevent students from signing leases for Fall 2001.
"We request that the amendment not become effective until Sept. 1, 2001," he said.
Both ordinances will be legally published March 1, and three months from that date all landlords will have had to register properties that are zoned for single families. But
the ordinance limiting unrelated tenants to three people became effective last night.
Mark Lehman, landlord and city commission candidate, said he opposed the registration ordinance.
"It's the worst classic case of ignorance I've ever seen on a city commission," Lehman said.
He said that a three-person limit would cost students.
"I think there will be more financial burden on students." Lebman said.
He said that registration fees would likely rise, and landlords would pass those costs on to renters.
Registration and inspection, he said, would only help students in horrible living situations.
"Inspections could give the bottom 25 percent relief from bad situations," Lehman said. "I estimate $7 to $9 per student, but most students would see no benefit."
He said rent would certainly be higher for
three unrelated students who wanted to live in a four-bedroom house together.
"I have been told by fair housing people that I can't ask." Lehman said.
Lehman said he was upset by the burden that would fall to landlords in asking tenants about their familial relationships, because asking was illegal under federal law.
Holly Krebs, Student Senate transportation coordinator, said the three-person limit defined families as only those people legally related and would be discriminatory.
"The city's nondiscrimination policy says it won't discriminate based on sexual orientation," she said.
Lehman agreed.
ASLEEP ON THE JOB
- Edited by Courtney Craigmile
Activists stage sleepful protest
By Sarah Warren
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Students take advantage of a chance for mid-day slumber in the lobby of the Kansas Union. Amnesty International held the sleep-in yesterday to protest social injustices around the world. Photo by Justin Schmid/KANSAN
Placing a Strawberry Shortcake pillow under her head, Leanne Glotzbach got some shuteye while fighting for human rights.
The Topeka sophomore crawled into a sleeping bag yesterday afternoon on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union to participate in Amnesty International's "Naps for Human Lives Day."
Karen Keith, Tula, Okla, sophomore and KU Amnesty International president, said that the group was staging the event as a spinoff of another form of peaceful protest, "I Stand Up for Human Rights Day," which took place at various universities last Friday.
"The groups participating stood up on campus all day passing out flyers and talking to people with T-shirts on that said 'I stand up for human rights.'" Keith said. "We decided that that wouldn't have worked so well here for various reasons, so we decided that having a nap dav would work better."
Glotzbach, a member of the group, said there were various reasons for her participation in the peaceful protest.
"I'm tired of human rights violations and I'm tired of all the social injustice." Glotzbach said.
And just tired in general, she said. Glotzbach went to bed after sunrise yesterday morning after working a graveyard shift at a nursing home.
"I worked until 6:30 this morning, so I didn't get enough sleep," Glotzbach said. "And Tuesdays and Thursdays are my bad days — I've got classes until late in the evening. So I think that this is an awesome idea."
The group brought in nine sleeping bags and pillows for the nappers and set up tables and signs to give other, more well-rested passersby a chance to learn about Amnesty.
"If people come and sleep, then they start reading the literature and find a
cause that they might agree with," Keith said. "Even if they don't sleep, there are tons of people walking through the Union, and if they see the signs we made, then they might see something that will stay with them in the back of their mind."
Keith said the cause that Amnesty was especially trying to make people aware of was a petition against the sale of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone, Africa. She said the sale of these diamonds could possibly supply money to a brutal group called Revolutionary United Front, which was known for
"Revolutionary United Front is primarily funded by the sale of diamonds in the region." Keith said. "The U.S. purchases 65 percent of diamonds sales and right now there is no way to know where these diamonds are coming from. We'd like to identify these diamonds bought from Revolutionary United Front and ban them."
cutting off the limbs of innocent citizens of Sierra Leone.
Keith said that this was a hot topic around Valentine's Day because of the large amount of diamond sales specifically for the holiday.
Aaron Jacobs, Leawood freshman, handed out several fliers about the Revolutionary United Front yesterday afternoon. He said many people were enthusiastic about the nap-in.
"We've had five or six people sleeping at once," Jacobs said. "And many people have come to the table and said that it was a good idea."
That turnout was exactly what Keith said she had hooded for.
"This is strictly awareness-oriented," she said. "We're just trying to draw people in that aren't normally involved."
— Edited by Matt Daugherty
Student sues apartment complex, wins back deposit
By Cassio Furtado
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
When Craig Damlo had his security deposit withheld by Jefferson Commons last year, he decided to take action against the apartment complex.
That action paid off for him last week
Damlo, Overland Park junior,
won his $200 deposit back after
a petition in Douglas County
small claims court in November.
Damlo said that when he got a letter from Jefferson Commons in September stating that his deposit would be taken, he wrote the apartment complex contesting the charges. At the time, the apartment complex mailed him a $40 check, he said.
Two weeks after he received the check, Damlo filed with the small claims court.
At the end of November, knowing that Damlo had filed a complaint, Jefferson Commons mailed him a $33 check. he said.
"They just overcharged everyone hoping nobody would file against them," Damlo said. "My roommates accepted it, and that's what they expected. People just want to move on with their lives."
Ann White, regional manager for JPI, a Dallas-based company that owns Jefferson Commons, declined to comment on Damlo's case.
Jo Hardesty, director and managing attorney for Legal Services for Students, said she had been contacted by many students who had lived in Jefferson Commons and weren't happy about what happened with their deposits.
Hardesty said that Jefferson Commons not only withheld deposits, which generally were about $275, but also wanted more money.
She said she had heard from more students with complaints against Jefferson Commons than any other landlord in Lawrence.
"We are totally encouraging people to go ahead." Hardesty said.
Jeremy Arthur, Erie senior, lived in Jefferson Commons last year and said the complex also withheld his deposit. In addition, he said he had to pay $80 for cleaning fees.
Unlike Damlo, Arthur decided not to take action against Jefferson Commons.
"I didn't think it was worth the hassle," he said. "I wanted to get nast it."
But Arthur said that Damlo's action would encourage more students to fight the apartment complex in the future.
"If they were sued all the time, they would be more fair," Arthur said.
- Edited by Sydney Wallace
Students work to increase minority retention
Senators devising preliminary plans
By Danny Phillips
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Marlon Marshall has a mission before he graduates: to involve students in raising the minority retention rate at the University of Kansas.
Minority students attending the University had a 68 percent retention rate during the 1999-2000 school year, according to the Office of Multicultural Affairs, 12 percent lower than the overall retention rate.
"I think that the administration feels it's important, but I don't know how much of a priority it is," said Marshall, St. Louis, Mo., senior and
Student Senate vice president. "If we're loud enough and professional
Marshall's first step toward drafting a retention plan is meeting with students who are concerned about the issue. He's already talked informally with student organization leaders, and he's arranged a
enough in making our voice heard, then we can make it a priority for the administration."
Marshalli wants to increase minority retention rate
meeting Friday afternoon with hand-picked students to discuss possible ideas.
Some of the preliminary ideas Marshall and other students have
begun to float around include gleaning strategies from other Big 12 universities with high minority retention rates and creating an administrative task force to find alternative sources of funding for minority scholarships.
Jessica Bankston, Albequereque, N.M., junior and Student Senate legislative director, said another possibility would be to learn the techniques the admissions office uses to recruit National Merit Scholars and apply that to minority recruitment.
She said the University of Oklahoma had the highest number of National Merit Scholars in the conference as well as one of the highest minority retention rates.
"The evidence is there that it can be done." she said.
Justin Mills, Lansing senior and holdover senator, recently met with the admissions office with several
other students, including Marshall, and said he thought the office had some goals when it came to minority recruitment, but it needed to publicize its efforts more.
Alan Cerveny, director of the Office of Admissions and Scholarships, said the office was taking a "very formalized approach" to minority recruitment that included a "University-wide focus."
He said the office formed a multicultural recruitment board in September, which included a student representative. The board meets every month to discuss ways that the University could have better awareness and coordination to increase minority recruitment.
Responding to student concerns, Cerveny said there "may be some merit in looking into resource issues." However, he pointed out that there were funds specifically designated for
minority recruitment.
Student senator Josh Burdette, Belle Plaine graduate student, said minority retention "goes back to the climate and culture at KU." He said overall the University and its students had generated a positive atmosphere for minorities, but there are a few who chose to counter that positivity.
As far as specific plans to increase retention, Burdette said the University just needed to do a better job of letting minority students know what programs and services were available to them.
Whatever the resolution is, Marshall said it probably wouldn't be ready until the end of the semester. It could come in the form of a Student Senate bill, or a group of students might approach the administration directly, he said.
- Edited by Megan Phelps
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