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Kansan
Weather
Today: Partly cloudy with a high of 42 and low of 26
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy with a high of 37 and a low of 21
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Wednesday, January 31, 2001
Sports: Several Big 12 Conference men's basketball teams stand a chance to play in the NCAA tournament.
SEE PAGE 1B
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 111 NO. 81
Inside: International students learn language skills in peer conversation groups.
SEE PAGE 5A
For comments, contact Lori O'Toole or Mindie Miller at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.co
Police coerced student confession, attorney says
WWW.KANSAN.COM
By Lauren Brandenburg
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Testimony continued yesterday to determine whether a student accused of kissing and fondling a female student in a Hashinger Hall lobby in August voluntarily wrote a confession to KU Public Safety officers
The hearing on the defense's motion to throw out the confession in the case of Kevin Hoskinson, Garden City junior, began Jan. 19. After three hours of testimony yesterday morning, the hearing was continued until 9 a.m. today, when Defense Attorney Sally Howard said Hoskinson would testify.
Howard's contention has been that Hoskinson's diagnosis of schizophrenia means that his confession to police cannot be considered voluntary. She implied that officers had intimidated her client in interviews when they told him things such as, "We are going to get
you because we know you did it."
Det. Mike Riner, who said he had worked as a detective at the Public Safety Office for 21 years, confirmed Jan. 19 that those were his words to Hoskinson.
Riner also testified that Hoskinson told off cers he thought they had treated him "fine."
Howard questioned why officers did not adjust their procedures once Hoskinson told them he had schizophrenia. Riner said he and another officer initially contacted Hoskinson in his Hashinger room, and Hoskinson agreed to do an interview at the Public Safety Office. At no time, Riner testified, was Hoskinson coerced into answering questions or giving statements.
Both Riner and Capt. Vic Strrad, who gave Hoskinson a polygraph examination, said yesterday that Hoskinson told them he understood the officers' questions and the interviews' circumstances.
were trying to control his mind during the interview. Haskinson thought the officers' fundamental attitude toward him was that he was guilty.
Spiridiglizozi said Hoskinson had told him the police were yelling at him and were "in his face." But police testified that at least four to six feet separated them from Hoskinson during each interview, interviews during which they never raised their voices.
Spiridigliozzi said police should have noticed within one hour that Hoskinson's responses didn't line up with their questions.
He said Hoskinson took things very literally, and police telling Hoskinson he was guilty probably confused him.
"I believe that basically Mr. Hokinson gave the confession in an effort to comply with the
"Based on their information I have, it's most likely a false confession, yes," Spiridiglizozi testified. "I don't think it was given knowingly and voluntarily."
officers and that it was fabricated on his part," Sniridiglodzi said.
He said Hoskinson trusted authority and wanted to commily with the officers.
Another point of contention was Riner's perceptions of people's statements. Riner testified that he understood from Hoskinson's roommate, Chris Bumr, Independence, Kan., junior, that Hoskinson took things so literally that he believed a girl saying "Til see you later" meant that she would go to bed with him. Riner said Bunn had implied that through his facial expressions and hand gestures in the conversation.
Bunn testified, however, that although he believed Hoskinson interpreted the statement literally, he did not think Hoskinson expected anv intimate contact.
The hearing is expected to end today with Hoskinson's testimony.
Edited by Clay McCuistion
Perfect chemistry
From left, John Holtzclaw, Paola junior, Aziz Almou Sawin, Kuwait City, Kuwait, sophomore, and Kell Sturgis, Fayetteville, Ark., junior, determine solution concentrations in their Chemistry 188 lab. Yesterday was the first day for experiments in the Foundations of Chemistry class. Photo by Nick Krug/KANSAN
Bus no-show inconveniences waiting students
By Amanda Beglin
writer @kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Pam Diego, Overland Park junior,
stood among a group of 10 chilly KU
students Friday morning at Sundance
Apartments. With a class at 8:30 a.m.
and the 2nd and Michigan bus
nowhere in sight at 8:20, Diego became
irritated.
"Only a garbage truck passed us," Diego said. "The bus was supposed to come at 8:10, and it didn't show. We were all waiting out there for about 25 minutes. It was cold, and the weather was not nice."
The bus never came, Diego said. A Sundance resident drove a few of the students to campus in his minivan, a ride that got Diego to campus 10 minutes late, she said.
Holly Krebs, director of KU on Wheels, said incidents like Friday's didn't normally happen.
"On that route, there's an 8 o'clock bus and a 9 o'clock bus, and we send out extras at 10 (minutes) after because that's the busiest time of the morning," Krebs said. "It's my understanding that the bus showed up at 8 o'clock and none of those students were outside yet. The extra was running late."
Diego said that she had no trouble slipping into her class late but that others waiting for the bus hadn't been so lucky.
"Since I have a big lecture class, no one really notices who walks in." Diego said. "A couple people gave up and just skipped class. And a few other people had quizzes and they had to call their teachers about it."
Krebs said KU on Wheels normally sent an extra bus, van or car to a missed bus stop to escort students to campus when the scheduled bus had mechanical trouble.
"There's been quite a few times that buses run behind," Krebs said. "A bus gets a flat or there's a mechanical problem. We start another bus on the route, but there's usually a 15-minute delay."
Extreme weather also affects bus performances, she said.
"We've had several buses break down in the cold weather." Krebs said. "At the beginning of the school year, when we had that week of hundred-degree weather, they broke down, too."
Finding drivers isn't a problem, Krebs said. If drivers are sick or are late getting to work, supervisors will cover their shifts for a few hours so students aren't affected.
"When a bus is behind, we want to make sure people are picked up in a timely manner and that we get students to school on time," she said.
University to fight tuition fee payments by credit card
By Cassio Furtado writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
A new state law requires the University of Kansas to accept credit cards for tuition and fee payments, but KU administrators want to challenge it.
Students at the University haven't been able to use credit cards for tuition and fees since 1996, when the Kansas Legislature voted to stop financing credit card fees at state universities. But the new legislation requires that the University re-instate the use of credit cards for tuition and fee payment by July.
The University is one of four Big 12 Conference universities that doesn't accept credit cards for tuition and fee payments—along with Baylor, Colorado and Iowa State.
along with Hey, cooler and so much
Lindy Ealdin, associate provost, said the
University wasn't happy with the legislation
because it would have to pay a 2 percent
fee charged by credit card companies —
amounting to $400,000 per year.
Eakin said that if the University accepted credit cards, that cost would be passed down to students.
"We would need to have two prices—one for students who paid in cash and another for students who paid with a credit card," Eakin said.
Eakin said that Visa and Mastercard wouldn't agree with that option.
"It would be a great convenience — something that we really need to do — but we don't have the money," Eakin said.
Eakin said the University wouldn't start accepting credit cards if the costs remained so high.
R. Douglas Ackley, assistant controller for cashiering and student loans at Kansas State University, said K-State had accepted credit card payments for tuition and fees for 20 years.
"Discover was the only credit card company the state was able to convince," Eakin said.
Ramiro Moreno, Asunción, Paraguay, sophomore, said he would like to use his credit card to pay his tuition and fees.
"In other businesses, you can use credit cards," Moreno said. "This would make it easier for everyone."
"It provides convenience for students." Ackley said. "Students that pay by credit card appreciate the availability."
— Edited by Melinda Weaver
Students bring dinosaurs to life
Virtual reality play will be performed for grade schoolers
By Sarah Smarsh
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas Theatre for Young People will present a virtual reality production for local elementary school students next week
Dinosaurus, by Edward Mast and Lenore Bensinger, is a story of two oil company surveyors who encounter a moral dilemma after discovering dinosaurs in an underground cave.
Theatre for Young People will bring Dinosaurus to life by combining computerized animation with live actors, said director Patrick Carriere, Bemidil, Minn., graduate student.
"The exciting thing is how we can humanize virtual reality when live actors communicate on stage," he said.
Carrieire said that computerized, animated dinosaurs would be projected onto a large screen behind the actors. Crew members behind the scenes will use computer joysticks to control the dinosaurs' movements. Meanwhile, the actors will provide the voices of the dinosaurs and dramatize their interactions on three-dimensional scenery in front of the screen.
Carriere said there was also a good story with a moral message behind all the technology.
The surveyors who find the creatures in *Dinosaurus* must decide between protecting the dinosaurs and exploiting them for money and fame.
Dinosaurus, a virtual reality production from The University of Kansas Theatre for Young People, will be presented to the public at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall.
VIRTUAL DINOSAURS
"It shows people should be aware of their effect on the environment, whether positive or negative." Carriers said.
"I think the children are going to love this," he said. "It's whimical."
Mark Reaney, professor of theater and film,
created the scenery for the production. Reaney
said the bottom line in children's entertainment
was to have fun.
Dinosaurus is scheduled to be performed for first, second and third graders from Lawrence and Douglas County schools at 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, Fri. 9 at Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall. A public performance will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10.
Dinosaurus is the sixth virtual reality production from The University Theatre, which has been featured in journals, articles and documentaries on virtual reality productions, Reaney said.
— Edited by Melinda Weaver
KU Theatre for Young People uses computer animation to bring dinosaurs to life for Dinosaurus. The virtual reality production will show to the public at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 at Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall. Photo by Selena Jabara/KANSAN
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