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Friday, March 2, 1990 / University Daily Kansan
Lifestyle
Six demands that never left campus
Eighteen years ago, a group of women took over a campus building and demanded changes. Today, the University has made changes for women's rights. But are they enough for the modern KU woman?
Story by Ines Shuk Art by Gary Chan
O n Feb. 4, 1972, 20 KU women and four children peacefully entered the former East Asian Studies, building, 1332, Lou
Chelsea Bunting, 1522 Lobbsiana St. They secured it by chaining desks and chairs to the doors and stayed there for 26 hours.
For some, the action of the February Sisters, as they identified themselves, was another sensationalist attempt to make a political statement about the feminist movement of the late 1960s.
However, KU administrators understood the scope of the Sisters' move and committed themselves to improving the status of women on campus.
Today, KU feminists still remember that February day as the beginning of a battle for women's rights.
Nevertheless, they maintain that, although women's rights have improved at KU since 1972, the Sisters' demands haven't been fulfilled vet.
Four days after the East Asian building takeover, the Sisters explained their actions and presented six non-negotiable demands to the leaders. The meeting was at the Jawahir Room in the Kansas Union.
Their first demand, to create an Affirmative Action program, was fulfilled in 1973 when the KU Office of Affirmative Action was established.
Nuckols said the office trained KU staff about University regulations against sexual harassment.
Melissa Nuckolls, associate director of that office, said there were plans to establish the office before the Sisters' request, although he was not sure whether such a formation, which spied on the creation of the office.
"We ask departments to reach underutilized groups, such as minorities and women and we ask them to provide affirmative responses when dealing with these groups," she said.
According to "University of Kansas Profiles," a yearly report about the University that includes statistics prepared by the KU Institutional Research and Planning office, the University hired 31 men and 19 women for a national academic year. In 1989 the difference was 50 to 18.
Furthermore, the number of KU faculty and librarians for Fall 1989 was 954 men and 286 women. In Fall 1988, KU employed 969 men and 390 women
When asked about the difference in numbers, Nuckolls said it was due to the fact that before the Office of Affirmative Action opened, mostly men were occupying faculty. Many of those men now are jummed.
"When you have a system of lifetime offices, it takes a while for change," she said.
The Sisters' second demand was creating a free day care center financed by the University and directed exclusively by a board of women appointed by the Sisters.
In August 1972, with the administration's help and $20,000 donated by Student Senate, Hilltop Child Development Center was created to fulfill the Sisters' demand.
Joan Reiber, Hilltop director since 1975, said the center provided child care for preschoolers.
But the Sisters' request for free child care never was fulfilled, she said.
"There is no such thing as free child care in the country." Reiber said.
The capacity of the center is 150 children, she said. However, more than 100 children are on waiting lists.
Reiber said that the center asked for an additional site a year ago but that none had been found yet.
Besides child care, the Sisters demanded a women's health program with services such as free Pap tests, pelvic examinations and physical therapy services provided by a competent vexologist.
Raymond Schwegler, gynecologist with the University from 1958 to 1967, said Watkins Memorial Health Center had a gynecology program before 1972. After the Sisters' actions in 1972, the title of clinic suddenly was attached to the program.
"We didn't even change offices," he said. "These women were very outspoken, but they could have gotten what they wanted without asking for it. It was going to happen anyway."
Schweiger said the gynecology program has improved lately because of William B. Schwegler.
"He runs a good clinic that offers topnotch services." Schweigel said.
Buck said Pap tests cost $25, which includes a test for chlamydia. Pew exam- tists are $30.
"We attempt to provide everything that a woman can find in a regular gynecologist's office." he said.
The Sisters also demanded an autonomous department of women's studies to be controlled and taught by women.
The same year, KU established such a program.
Ann Schofield, director of the program,
said it had three faculty members and one
graduate teaching assistant. One more professor will be added for the Fall semester.
The program offers classes to about 600 students. Of those, 20 are women the studiesmen study.
The Sisters' fifth demand was to end unfair unemployment practices that kept women's wages frozen and created disparities in the careers for male and female faculty members.
According to "Profiles," the university is an equal opportunity employer. It pays the same salaries to men and women occupying the same positions.
However, according to the same source, men still considerably dominate certain professional fields on campus. For example, in Fall 1989, KU had four female and 31 male faculty administrators, and 38 female and 69 male lecturers.
Last, the sisters demanded that two women be added to the faculty in the Office of Student Financial Aid and the Office of Admissions. As part of the same demand,
they asked that a woman be appointed vice chancellor for academic affairs.
Del Brinkman is vice chancellor for academic affairs, Kathryn Kretschmer is the associate director of admissions and Carol Oster is the assistant director of financial aid.
Although the East Asian building the Sisters occupied in 1972 was torn down some years ago, their demands never left campus. The sisters are still living at the feminist institute, following the Sister's path.
Kirsten Lawing, Wichita junior and member of the group, said the group was interested in what the Sisters了岁 18 years ago did to be sensitive about women's issues.
Lawing said the Daughters weren't satisfied with the way some of the Sisters' demands were fulfilled.
"We don't have prenatal care on campus; Hilltop is not affordable nor accessible, and there's no rape prevention education," she said.
"If the Sisters were in the context of 1980, they'd have a different list of demands than the one they had in 1972," Lawing said. "It would be more towards education against sexual violence."