Tuesday, February 6, 2001
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
Student senators to fight ordinance
By Brooke Hesler
writer@kanson.com
Kansas staff writer
The battle between some student senators and proponents of a new city housing ordinance will continue at tonight's City Commission meeting at 6:30 p.m. on the first floor of City Hall, C. Sixth St.
The City Commission will hear public comment about the proposed ordinance which would reduce from four to two the number of nonrelated persons in single-family residences. Andrew Bailey, Student Legislative Awareness Board community affairs director, said he would be there along with several other senators.
"I think its ordinance affects everyone." Bailey said. "Even if you live in an apartment, it's going to drive up apartment rates."
The Delta Force coalition won't be at tonight's meeting, but Kyle Browning, coalition member and liberal arts and sciences senator, said the group planned to protest future meetings related to the ordinance.
"There are going to be two readings of the ordinance after tonight, and we feel it would be more effective to be at the first reading," he said.
But Browning said he wanted commissioners to take student opinion into account.
"We want to be a presence there and voice our opposition." Browning said. "One of the reasons I think the City Commission doesn't take us seriously is because we don't vote."
Tonight's meeting won't be the last on the housing ordinance issue. The commission will vote on the ordinance at next week's meeting. They also will set up readings for the ordinance if it is enacted.
"Knowing the way they handle things, they'll probably set it up for the week of spring break," Bailey said.
Commissioners have said they would not pursue the housing issue while students were away during holiday breaks.
Bailey said he and other senators would be ready when the ordinance came down for a final vote.
"We've been professional up until
CITY COMMISSION
The City Commission will hear public comment tonight at it meeting at 6:30 p.m. on the first floor of City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.
now, and it hasn't worked," Bailey said.
At future meetings, Bailey said the group also might organize a protest outside City Hall. Bailey said the group of senators also planned to hand out filfers and hang up posters around campus expressing their disapproval of the ordinance. While he said he hoped commissioners would take students' input into account, he still expected the ordinance to pass.
"In some form or another, I think it will go through," he said. "But I'm proud of what we've done so far with the way we've gone about defending our current zoning regulations."
Holly Krebs, Student Rights Committee chairwoman, said she would attend tonight's meeting. She said she hoped the proposed ordinance would serve as a wake-up call to students who think government doesn't matter.
"This is a perfect example of how much power the City Commission has to affect our everyday lives," Krebs said.
Bailey said if the ordinance did pass, there would be problems enforcing it.
"It will be selectively enforced," Bailey said. "The city will rely on individuals to report any violations, and if individuals have problems with people of certain age groups, race, eye color, whatever, it opens the door for discrimination."
Both Bailey and Krebs said they encouraged students to vote later this month when three of the commissioners are up for re-election. They said it would make the commissioners take note of student interests.
"Hopefully, students will vote," Bailey said. "If half as many students voted as are registered to vote, it would make a huge difference. We could vote some of these commissioners out if that's what we wanted."
— Edited by Melinda Weaver
Few students meet dean candidate
Dianne Ashby addresses students' questions about her qualifications for the position of dean of education. Ashby met with students yesterday afternoon in Joseph R. Pearson Hall. Photo by Micah Kimball/KANSAN
Undergraduate students had the opportunity to meet with School of Education dean candidate Dianne Ashby yesterday, but the scheduled meeting brought in only two students.
By Andrew Davies
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The meeting was set up so that Ashby, chairwoman of the department of education and administration at Illinois State University, and the students attending could talk informally. However, with only two students present, the meeting was even more relaxed.
Ashby also asked the students questions, mostly about classes and students' concerns with them.
The students asked Ashby a variety of questions, including her views on five-year education programs compared to four-year programs, and why she decided to apply for the position at the University of Kansas.
Ashby said she had applied to the University of
Kansas and two other schools of education largely because of their positive reputations among schools of education and the University's strong special education program.
"This particular school has a lot of things going for it," Ashby said. "It has a strong faculty. It has the opportunity over the next five to seven years to hire some more strong faculty with natural faculty turnover, which is a great way to shape an institution. It has a lot of good educational research that it turns out."
Ashby said that endowment money raised by the school put it in a position to be a national leader.
Ashby said other important issues to her were faculty participation in research, fund-raising issues, the use of technology and the study of the impact of technology.
Ashby said her leadership style was to employ good communication and delegate authority and responsibility to others.
Felicia Orozco, Kanopolis senior, said she liked
"I liked the fact that she was going to take a look at the five-year program compared to the four-year program," she said.
Ashby's willingness to examine the education program and make any necessary changes.
Nikki Bina, Lincolnville senior and the student representative on the dean search committee, said she was impressed with Ashby.
"From a student perspective, I really liked what she had to say about using the student groups to be a vehicle for her to get to know students, because I think that's very important," she said.
"I think it says a lot about students not understanding what the dean does, not knowing who they are, not feeling comfortable talking to them, not really thinking that their input means anything," she said. "But as a student, I am disappointed that no one came." -- Edited by Mengen Phukas
Bina said the lack of attendance showed that students might not be fully informed of what a dean's role is in the school.
Class to study highway-expansion proposals
- Edited by Megan Phelps
Students will assess environmental impact of changes
By Erin Adamson
writer@kanson.com
Kansan staff writer
the class last night.
Students in Terry Shistar and Karl Birns' environmental studies class will spend the semester taking a look at the impact of local development.
The students will be studying potential environmental impacts of expanding the section of U.S. Highway 59 that runs from Lawrence south to Ottawa. Representatives from both sides of the issue spoke to
Bruce Plenk, a lawyer representing a coalition of citizens opposed to a new highway, said his client, The Franklin and Douglas Counties Coalition of Concerned Citizens, wanted the highway to be repaired and safety concerns addressed.
But the Kansas Department of Transportation — which also sent a representative to last night's class — has proposed building a new freeway that would cut across farmland that now lines U.S. 59 south of Lawrence. The transportation department has a budget of $161 million for the project.
The citizens coalition had hoped the department would repair the existing highway and add highway patrol officers to make it safer, Plenk said.
Because the project will receive federal funding, the transportation department is required by law to conduct an environmental impact study, which will outline environmental implications of the possible highway locations.
The students also will create an environmental impact study of the possible highway locations as part of their class investigations.
Todd Aschenbach, a graduate teaching assistant for the class, said that while the students might not submit their final projects to the transportation department, the information the students gathered would offer real alternatives for developing the road.
Shistar said that the students' work would be available to whoever was
interested in it but that the semester projects weren't intended to be given to the transportation department.
At least one student in the class saw the benefit of undertaking such a project.
Jacque Jacobs, Lawrence senior, said that she took the class for her environmental studies degree but that she didn't know the course would focus on the Highway 59 issue when she enrolled.
She said she thought the class could be helpful to many of the students.
"I'm not sure if I'm going to stay here for environmental planning or go elsewhere," Jacobs said. "A lot of people will stay here and work in the area."
— Edited by Leita Schultes
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