KU LIFE: Joshua Redman, law-student-turned-jazz-musician, brings his quartet to Liberty Hall. Page 9.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VOL.103.NO.42
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
TUESDAY OCTOBER 19, 1993
(UPS5 650-640)
NEWS:864-4810
Partial verdicts out in Denny trial
Jury deadlocked; men found guilty of misdemeanors
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Two African-American men were acquitted yesterday of most of the felony charges in the Reginald Denny beating case, but were found guilty of lesser counts.
The jury deadlocked on some counts, including the charge that defendant Damian Williams attempted to murder Denny, the white truck driver whose savage beating during the April 1992 riots was televised nationwide. Co-defendant Henry Watson was found innocent of that charge
After polling jurors on whether they thought further deliberations would be worthwhile, Superior Court Judge John Ouderkirk ordered them to resume after a lunch break.
Deliberations began Oct. 1, but had to begin all over again last week when two
jurors were replaced with alternates. In the end, the jury had four African Americans, four Hispanics, two whites and two Asian Americans. Their names were not released.
On Saturday, the jurors had said that they had verdicts on some charges against Williams, 20, and Watson, 29, but were deadlocked on others. They deliberated more this morning, deciding a few more counts before the partial verdicts were announced.
While he was found innocent of attempted murder on Denny, Watson was found guilty of one count, a misdemeanor assault on Denny.
Williams was found innocent of aggravated mayhem against Denny, but found guilty of the lesser felony charge of mayhem, and of four misdemeanor assault counts on people other than Denny. Prosecutors said it was Williams who, on the tape, is seen throwing a brick at Denny's head and dancing in glee as Denny lay on the street.
The defense insisted, as in the first Rodney King beating trial, that videotape proved a poor mirror of reality, and that prosecutors failed to establish intent to kill
or prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Williams and Watson were indeed the men seen on the tape.
When the aggravated mayhem innocent verdict was announced, Williams clapped his hands over his eyes, reared back in his seat and hugged his attorney.
"There is a sense of calm and there is a sense of true justice. We saw justice working at its best," said the Rev. Leonard Jackson at First AME Church in South Central Los Angeles.
"Stunning, very, very remarkable verdicts," said Johnnie Cochran, Denny's attorney. "It was a remarkable job of lawering by the lawyers on both sides of the case." Cochran added that Denny, who suffered brain damage in the assault, just wanted to put the case behind him.
The other charges on which the jurors did not reach a verdict were assault with a deadly weapon against Watson, in an attack on another truck driver the same day as the attack on Deny, and a count of
The jury did not reach a verdict on the attempted murder charge involving Williams. The attempted murder and aggravated mayhem charges both would have carried a potential life sentence.
robberv against Williams.
As the verdict announcement approached, protesters including groups called Free the LA4, Radical Women and the Young Communists League demonstrated outside the courthouse, chanting "No justice in the courtroom, no peace in the streets."
"We're heavily deployed," said Lt. John Dunkin. "But I want to stress that we are very optimistic we are not going to have any problems today."
The April 1992 riots broke out when four white officers were acquitted on state charges in the videotaped beating of King, a black motorist. Fifty-four people died, and there was $1 billion in damage. Two of the four officers were later found guilty of federal civil rights charges.
Denny, who nearly lost his life in the beating, told the jury about the numerous skull fractures and operations he underwent and said he remembered nothing about the assault.
Amid all the tension, the trucker also provided the trial's most heartwarming moment when, after testifying, he hugged the mothers of the defendants.
Blood drive seeks 1,000 KU donors
1,000 pints is goal of weeklong effort
By Shan Schwartz Kansan staff writer
The Red Cross is offering a trade to KU students this week: cookies for blood.
The Fall 1993 blood drive opened yesterday, and blood drive coordinators are looking for 1000 students to donate a pint each of their blood before the week ends.
Students can donate blood through Thursday at the Kansas Union ballroom in addition to other campus locations on various days, said Leah Davis, Hutchinson senior and vice president for campus
The drive is sponsored by the Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council, All Scholarship Hall Council and the Association of University Residence Halls. The Red Cross comes to KU for the drive each Fall and Spring semester.
affairs in Panhellenic.
Where to Donate
It usually takes one to two hours for students to give blood, Davis said. Students fill out
"I think we're getting a lot more campus involvement." Davis said. "It's not just fraternity and sorority members in here like it used to be."
Davis said about 975 students had made appointments to give blood this week and walk-in donors were welcomed.
Oliver residence hall
today, 11 a.m. - p.m.
■ Kansas Union ballroom
Today, Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m.--
4 a.m.
KAHSAN
Templin residence hall Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
health forms, have their vital signs checked and undergo confidential health screenings before actually giving blood.
Random donors will be awarded blood drive t-shirts in appreciation for their donations. Davis said.
Dodie Faulconer, head nurse for the Red Cross central plains region headquartered in Wichita, said a team of four nurses and four technicians was working at KU this week with the blood drive.
Faulconer said that every student's blood donation was important.
After students give blood they must rest at the "snack table," where they can eat as many cookies and drink as much juice as they like. The snacks help replace the fluids and sugar lost from their donations, Davis said.
"Each donation saves lives," Faulconer said. "One unit of blood can go to several
Melissa Lacey / KANSAN
Each pint of processed blood is placed in a 12-pint tray, which is stored in a cooler for transportation to Wichita.
people.
Faulconer said blood was always needed for accident victims and surgery patients.
Abbey Casás,
Washington,
Maine, freshman,
donated blood
yesterday and said
she encouraged
others to do the
same.
"I always tell my friends to give blood," Casas said. "I think it's very important"
"It gets easier every time," she said.
"But even the needle isn't really all that bad." she said. "It's pretty painless."
Casas donated blood once before in her hometown but said she was much less nervous this time.
giving blood was the needle
Casas said the thing she thought was worst about
Mellissa Lacev / KANSAN
Amanda Ritzwater, Stillwell junior, elevates her arm after donating blood. Students may donate at various times this week either in the Kansas Union ballroom or at other campus locations.
Haitian military defies deadline placed by U.N.
Cedras threatens retaliation against U.S.military actions
The Associated Press
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti's military defied an approaching midnight deadline to yield power yesterday and belittled a U.N. arms and oil embargo. Its right-wing supporters threatened that any U.S. invaders would go home "in bags."
Rightists mixed threats against the outside world with gifts of chrysanthemums to foreign reporters, while Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras, the army strongman, suggested new talks on his departure.
He also said that the United States should not try to reinstall ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide by force. Aristide is scheduled to return Oct. 30 under terms of a U.N. accord.
"That solution would bring suffering, blood and tears to my country," said Cedras.
An army broadcast urged Haitians not to worry about the U.N. authorized embargo or the U.S. warships steaming offshore to enforce it, beginning at midnight.
TROOP CONTROL:
TROOP CONTROL
Senate Minority Leader
Bob Dole says he'll
propose a bill that would
require Congress to
approve all troop
movements to Haiti.
Page 7.
Stanley Schrager, a U.S. Embassy representative, said Cedras must honor the U.N.-mediated pact he signed in July to return Aristide, who was ousted in a bloody coup two years ago.
Many Haitians have fled the capital, fearing violence by army-supported Aristide opponents or a possible intervention by U.S. forces.
Army Lt. Col. Jean-Robert Gabriel urged Haitians to remain calm. Speaking on Radio Tropic FM, he told Haitians not to flee the capital and said the army would maintain control.
A group behind pierside demonstrations last week that kept a U.S. warship from docking as part of a U.N. mission sought to present a gender side yesterday by handing out flowers to foreign reporters at a news conference.
But later, far-right sociologist Jacqueline Montalvo-Despeignes said he had a message for Washington: "If you send boys, they will go back, in bags."
The rightists pledged to fight if foreign soldiers tried to intervene. They put up posters criticizing U.N. envoy Dante Caputo and the hard times caused by previous economic sanctions.
Those sanctions were lifted after the July accord was signed, but the U.N. Security Council voted last week to reimpose them when the Haitian army and police made no effort to prevent violence aimed at Aristide supporters.
U. S. officials continued to express confidence about the implementation of the U.N. pact.
Keeping up pressure on Cedras, the United States said the army leader would have to make the next move in resolving the conflict and blamed him for any suffering that will be caused by the economic embargo.
Schrager said new U.S. Ambassador William Swing had not met with Cedras and had no intention to do so.
Ben Tillman, associate director of the comptrollers office,died yesterday morning. He was described as "generous" and a "soft touch" by these who worked with him.
Page 5.
Alcohol, sex are dangerous combination
By Liz Kiinger
Kansan staff writer
On weekend nights at any given college 20 years ago, students slamming beers and having unprotected sex worried about pregnancy and maybe a case of the crabs.
"We know there's a lot of sex going on." Demo said. "I don't know how many students on this campus wake up with regretes."
Today, health care educators like Janine Demo fill their candy dishes with condoms and tell students in no uncertain terms about the dangers of AIDS, herpes and other sexually transmitted diseases.
And alcohol is a big cause of unsafe sex, Demo said.
In her nine years as coordinator of health education at Watkins Memorial Health Center, Demo has heard endless tales of students who drank a bit too much and found themselves in a situation they wish never took place.
"There's no bubble over this university." Demo said. "We'd like to think we have a handle on this problem. But we're just like any other university.
"We have a high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, and some students have an alcohol problem. Students don't do what they know is right when they're under the influence of alcohol. They have the knowledge about these issues. It's the attitude and behavior that will have to change."
Demo said unsafe sex could cause STDs, unplanned pregnancies and acquaintance rapes. She said one in 500 college students was infected with the HIV virus, which can cause AIDS, and one in seven had an STD. Demo said 70 percent of all college unplanned pregnancies and 50 percent of acquaintance rapes involved one or both partners consuming alcohol.
"When you drink, you start thinking 'I'm invincible,' said Renee Speicher, graduate student coordinator for the center for sexual health.
Excessive alcohol consumption causes weak inhibitions, poor judgment and a lack of communications skills, Demo said.
Demo and Speicher said low self-esteem played a part in drinking and unsafe sex.
"A person with good self-esteem doesn't need artificial highs or someone to validate their worth."
Although there are no instant solutions to combining alcohol and unsafe sex, Demo said a mandatory health class for freshmen reflecting these issues might help.
"I heard someone once say, 'College students who drink and then have sex usually have sex with people they wouldn't even take out to lunch.' "Demo said. "If you'dn't know your partner and you think you might have unsafe sex. I'd run like hell."
"I would just feel a lot better if I could at least reach every freshman and give him or her the full talk, the full presentation," she said.
A survey of 439 College of William and Mary students revealed these findings:
SexSurvev
23 percent of the male and 39 percent of the female students had engaged in some kind of sexual activity, while under the influence of alcohol
59 percent of the students had engaged in some form of sexual activity within the past two weeks that had been related to binge drinking of six drinks or more
1.9 percent of female students had aban-
dance techniques under the infiltra-
tion of alcohol
**Women had engaged in sexual activity and had abandoned safe sex techniques on account of drinking rates approximately double that of men**
Students with a high grade point average had engaged in unplanned courselearning.
5 percent of the students had sexual intercourse after consuming a minimal amount of alcohol whereas 41 percent of the students had sexual intercourse after consuming a high amount of alcohol.
Source: Philip Meilman, director of the counseling center at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.
4
KANSAN