VOL.100,NO.64 (USPS 650-640)
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
TUESDAY NOV.28,1989
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
Fireproofing caused fraternity blaze
Flames began after fire marshal's visit checking city code
NEWS: 864-4810
By Melanie Matthes Kansan staff writer
A Lawrence firefighter surveys damage from a fire which began on the main floor of the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity house
A fire that began yesterday at a KU fraternity while an employee was working on part of the house to fireproof it caused about $300 in damage.
The fire began about 9:30 a.m. yesterday at the Alpha KappaLambda fraternity, 2021 Stewart Ave. It was caused by flammable liquid dripping into an electrical outlet and causing an electrical short, said Lawrence Fire Department Mai. Paul Findley.
An employee was stripping varnish from a wall in preparation for fireproofing it when the flammable liquid came in contact with the electrical outlet and caused the fire, said Steve Bowman, Alpha Kappa Lamba house manager.
The fire was contained within a wall between the fraternity's entry way and living room, and the damages were mostly due to the removal of the plowwood and siding on the wall, he said.
above it," he said. "It picked it right up."
above it," he said. "It picked it right up." Jeff Rose, Lenexa junior, was studying for a test when the alarm went off.
When Bowman heard the fire alarm go off at 9:25 a.m. he made a run through the house and saw smoke coming from the wall, he said. He then used the house and called the fire department.
"The smoke was incredible." he said.
Brad Faust, Overland Park freshman, was asleep when the alarm went off. He said he
Bowman said that the fire marshal had left the fraternity about 10 minutes before the alarm went off. The fire marshal was checking the house to make sure that it complied with city fire codes.
The fire alarm has gone off many times in the past, he said. But in the three years that he has lived at the house, it has never gone off because of a real fire.
"It's a good thing that smoke detector is just
didn't think the alarm was real
"We had a fire drill last week," he sait
"That's what I took it was."
107 people killed in Colombian jet crash
The Associated Press
BOGOTA, Colombia — A Colombian jetliner crashed on the outskirts of Bogota soon after takeoff yesterday, and all 107 people aboard were killed. A caller to a radio station claimed drug traffickers bombed the jet.
Witnesses said the Aviance Airlines Boeing 727-100 exploded before it plunged into a hilly area south of the capital, about a mile from a neighborhood of slum houses and factories. Pieces of the jet were found six miles from the main point of impact, police said.
Hours later, a man telephoned Radio Caracol and said that a group called the Extraditables had blown up the jet to kill five police informants. He said the informants had given police information that led to the discovery of the Medellin drug cartel leader's bideout.
The man did not identify himself,
and the claim could not be immediately authenticated.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Bogota said one U.S. citizen, Andres Escabi, was known to have been killed in the crash. He said Escabi, a native of Puerto Rico, also had Colombian citizenship and lived in Bogota.
"The plane was flying along when suddenly it exploded, broke in two and fell in flames and smoke," said a man in the view with the radio network Caracol.
Flight 203 was bound for Cali, about 189 miles southwest of Bogota. Cali is the headquarters of one of Colombia's biggest cocaine cartels and has been the site of frequent bombings and other attacks since August when the Colombian government declared war on drug lords.
"I heard explosions, and I thought there was some problem with transformers in the electrical station. But I looked up and saw a plane explode
in the air, and bodies and pieces of luggage were falling," said witness, Mario Vasquez.
Two Colombian air force pilots in another plane reported seeing two explosions on the jet, said the director of Colombia's Civil Aviation Authority. Col. Jorge Gonzalez.
The airline refused to comment on the reports of explosions. Avianca spokeswoman Patricia Duarte said that the plane carried 101 passengers and a crew of six and that all were killed. Their nationalities were not immediately known.
No one on the ground was hurt, spokesmen for Colombia's Civil Defense teams said in radio interviews.
Investigators found no evidence of a bomb, said Col. Gustavo Loaf, chief investigator.
Radio Caracol said that the flight recorder was found and that civil aeronautics specialists were analyzing its data.
The plane took off from Bogota's El Dorado International Airport at 7:15 a.m., and the pilot, Jose Ossa, told the tower at 7:18 a.m. that everything was normal, Duarte said. It crashed soon after.
The pilot's wife, Cynthia Price Ossa, is from Baton Rouge, La., and lives in Bogota with the couple's four children.
One witness said that he saw black smoke pouring from one of the plane's three engines and that the plane then blew up.
The Extraditables is linked to the Medellin drug cartel. The group takes its name from the U.S. Justice Department's list of 12 Colombian drug suspects most wanted in the United States. The leader of the Medellin cartel, Pablo Escobar, is at the top of the list.
The Seattle-based Boeing Co. said it was sending a team of investigators to Colombia to help determine the cause of the crash.
Suspect has first day in local court Judge sets hearing date
Judge sets hearing date in county murder case
By Jim Petterson Kansan staff writer
A Blue Springs, Mo., man made his first appearance in Douglas County District Court yesterday on charges of first-degree murder in connection with the Oct. 1 slaying of an 18-year-old Independence, Mo., man.
Christopher W. Mitchell, 18, was arrested Friday morning at his home on a Douglas County warrant charged with the murder of Timothy K. Rideath in the death of Timothy K. Rideath.
Mike Malone, Douglas County District Court judge, set Mitchell's preliminarv hearing date for Dec. 6.
Moore, a former Johnson County district attorney, said that Mitchell had voluntarily waived extradition rights Saturday and had been eager to come to Douglas County to get the case resolved.
At yesterday's proceeding, Mitchell's attorney, Dennis Moore, requested that Mitchell's $500,000 bond be reduced.
Moore told Malone that his client had no previous arrests and that Mitchell's parents would insure he appeared at all the hearings.
Jim Flory, Douglas County district attorney, said he opposed the bond reduction because of the nature and circumstances of the crime.
Flory also cited strong evidence that the band is as reason for not reducing the band.
Malone declined to rule on the bond reduction motion pending the hearing of evidence at the preliminary hearing.
Loren Anderson, Douglas County
sheriff, said Sunday that Ridpath
died late Oct. 1 of multiple gunshot
from a small-calliber
weapon.
Ridpath's body was discovered Oct. 2 lying next to a car on Douglas County Road 1250E, south of U.S. Highway 24-59 in northern Douglas County.
Authorities have refused to release any information regarding Ridpath and Mitchell's relationship other than that they were schoolmates.
Both men attended Longview Community College in Lee's Summit, Mo.
Martin Miller and Frank Diehl,
Douglas County assistant district
attorneys, will prosecute the case.
Moore said that he had prosecuted eight or nine murder cases in 12 years as Johnson County district attorney but that this would be his first murder case as a defense attorney.
Celebrate Diversity motives questioned
By Cory S. Anderson
Although Flory appeared at yesterday's proceeding, Miller said that he was the chief prosecution for the Ridpath case because he had worked closely with police officers throughout the investigation.
Kansan staff writer
Two boxes of Celebrate Diversity buttons still sit in the Student Senate office, representing what was the basis of a campaign to raise cultural awareness at the University of Kansas.
"We adopted the slogan 'beyond buttons' because we know it has to be more than just the buttons," said Shelly Fraga, co-chairman of the Celebrate Diversity subcommittee of Student Senate. "That shouldn't be it, and there's plenty on the subcommittee who feel the same way."
Fraga said that the campaign would be steered toward more educational activities such as the forum earlier this month on women's issues. February will be devoted to raising awareness about racism on campus, she said.
"I don't think we are going to all of the racial problems on campus, but we're going to try and make people aware of them," she said. "Hopefully by the end of the year, people will be
more aware."
But many students have no hope at all for the campain.
"I don't think that anything they did has helped the situation," said Suzette Ellington, Denver, Colo., junior. "To me it's just something to make them look good."
"I think it's a joke," Dougherty said. "As I see it, it is nothing but a token gesture by the whites on campus to cover up the obvious negative racial tones on this campus."
Brian Dougherty, Leavenworth senior, agreed with Billinton.
Both Dougherty and Ellington agreed that a more effective way of dealing with the problems would be more educational programs such as classes about the contributions of the different ethnic groups to U.S. society.
John Lewis, Kansas City, Kan., senior, agreed. "I think it is a good idea, but signing a petition on the ballot is not going to promote diversity," Lewis said. "It is not just an awareness issue but learning to respect other cultures."
Some students were more optimistic about the program.
"The buttons were a first step, and it seemed like the students liked it," said Angela Cervantes, Kansas City, Mo. sophomore. "If the students are learning how to wear the buttons, then it's making a difference."
Awareness of a person's culture does not stop racism."
Cavannes said that the campaign had served to raise the issue of racism.
"People who go around thinking there are no problems on this campus had a slap in the face."
"If they do think it a token, that said because they are not looking at it as Student Senate trying to do something. If that's the attitude that's coming across then we need to change it," she said. "My challenge to people who feel it's just a token is to give us suggestions."
Fraga challenged students who did not think the campaign was effective to get involved in the committee.
Millions of Czechs rally for democratic reforms
The Associated Press
PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia — Millions of people ignored government pleas and joined a nationwide general strike yesterday in the largest and most dramatic demonstration so far for democracy and an end to Communist Party rule.
"We don't want you anymore!" a flag-waving crowd of 100,000 roared in a thunderous chant in downtown Wenceslas Square during the 11th straight day of massive protests in Czechoslovakia.
The showing was a resounding victory for the opposition, which had called the two-hour strike a referendum on the Communists' 40-year monopoly on power.
Shaken leaders continued to make concessions to the opposition, including damping three more hard-liners from the ruling Paliporthe, the second leader, and reaffuish in three days, and lifting most forms of press censorship.
But there were still more conditions to be met. At Prague's largest industrial complex, CKD, workers
"Look Gustaf, how thick the crowna is!" the people chanted, referring to President Gustaf Husak, the man who headed the crackdown on democratic reforms after a Warsaw Pact invasion in 1968.
demanded the formation of independent trade unions.
"Dubcek to the Castle!" they yelled, referring to Alexander Dubcek, the ousted leader of the failed "Prague Spring" reforms who was replaced as party leader by Husak Hradcany Castle, a national symbol, is the presidential residence.
vacay Klaus, a spokesman for the opposition group Civic Forum, called off any rallies scheduled for today when the opposition meets the government for more negotiations.
"Demandes of the Civic Forum have been met in principle or are being met," Kleus said. But he warned that the rallies would resume if negotiators fail to make progress toward democratic reforms.
"The fundamental condition in our talks is the holding of free elections," Klans told the crowd.
Kanean sportswriter
'Hawks hit No.4
Kansan sportswriter
By Dan Perkins
The Kansas Jayhawks jumped back on to the national scene with victories against the preseason's top two teams in the country, and now they've made an even bigger jump.
Virtually ignored in most pre-season polls, Kansas, 4-0, jumped from the "Others receiving votes" category to the No. 4 spot yesterday afternoon in the first national ranking of the regular season.
Kansas was the only newcomer to the Associated Press poll. The ranking came after the Jayhawks beat Louisiana State, No. 2; UNLV, No. 1; and St. John's, No. 5. The successive victories gave Kansas the Dodge National Invitational Tournament title.
Coach Roy Williams wasn't impressed, though.
Kansas was ranked as high as 18th last season after a 15-1 start. It finished the season 19-12 but was
"I don't pay any attention to the polls," Williams said shortly after the polls came out, "because in basketball, you do get the chance to play at the end of the year."
The Jayhawks, who received just 30 points in press conference balloting, received 16 first-place votes and 1,256 points, edging Big Eight Conference rival Missouri by 18 points.
► See related story p. 11
Kansas will put its ranking to its first test Thursday night against the Idaho Vandals at Allen Field House.
ineligible for the NCAA tournament because of a one-year ban by the NCAA.
Williams has his sights focused on that game.
"We're very happy with what we've accomplished, and we know it is a long season, and we better be ready," Williams said.
The three teams ahead of Kansas in the poll are Syracuse, Arizona and Georgetown.
Syracuse, which opened its season last night at home against Ruggers, received 25 first-place votes and 1,653 points from the nationwide panel of sportwriters and broadcasters. The Orangenen edged Arizona, 1-9, for the top spot by 11 points.
Syracuse last held the No. 1 ranking in the 1987-88 preseason ball.
Arizona, which beat defending national champion Michigan in the Tipeff Classic in Springfield, Mass., received 10 first-place votes.
> The Associated Press contributed information to this story.