Basketball: Both Jayhawk teams defeat Oklahoma State last night. Page 1B
Election: A Student Senate commission restricts campaign access. Page 3A
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KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 3
PO BOX 3585
TOPEKA, KS 66601-3585
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY RANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
NEWS 864-4810
SECTION A VOL.103, NO.97
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1997
ADVERTISING 864-4358
(USPS 650-640)
Clinic arsonist sentenced to 30 months in prison
NORFOLK, Va. — An anti-abortion activist who once had an abortion was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison for a plot to burn two women's clinics.
Jennifer Patterson Sperle, 24, who had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson, also was ordered by U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson to pay $1,355 in restitution to one of the clinics.
Sperle and a co-defendant, Clark Ryan Martin, poured lighter fluid through a mail slot to set fire to a Newport News clinic in December 1994 and set fire to a Norfolk clinic three months later by breaking a window and igniting kerosene, prosecutors said. The fires caused only minor damage.
"I made a mistake." Sperle told the judge. "I never should have been involved in what I was."
Defense psychiatrists said Sperle suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, triggered in part by an abortion she had in 1989.
She had faced up to 33 months in prison and a $60,000 fine. Two counts of arson and two counts of using fire to commit a felony were dropped in exchange for her guilty plea in November.
Coast Guard boat sinks rescuing sailboat crew
LA PUSH, Wash. — A Coast Guard rescue boat capsized in rough seas while trying to reach a sinking sailboat yesterday, killing three crew members. A fourth crew member and the couple aboard the sailboat survived.
"We're in the business of saving lives, and it's certainly very sad and felt deeply when our own are lost," Coast Guard representative Lt. Martha LaGuardia said.
All the rescuers were wearing gear designed to help keep them warm and afloat. They also were wearing helmets.
The 44-foot steel-hull boat was one of two Coast Guard vessels sent to help the sailboat in the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of Quillayute River. One of the boats made it across; the other was swamped in the 25-foot waves and gusty winds.
The cause of the accident was being investigated.
Petty Officer Steve Carleton said the rescue boats were designed for heavy surf and to go out in weather similar to yesterday's conditions.
WASHINGTON — The Clinton administration yesterday warned 350 managed care plans that serve Medicare patients not to arbitrarily limit hospital stays for women undergoing mastectomies
Mastectomy patients entitled to 48-hour care
but the administration, in contrast to supporters of a bill introduced to Congress, did not suggest any particular minimum length of stay. Instead, it said that women and their doctors should decide.
Medicare pays for about one-third of all mastectomies in the country
Donna Shalala, secretary of health and human services, said the law entitled women to coverage for all medically necessary care.
Administration officials said they knew of no examples of a Medicare mastectomy patient being forced out early. They said the warning was meant merely to stave off efforts like those now under fire in the private sector.
Critics have attacked some private managed care plans for pushing women out of the hospital after they have a breast removed to treat cancer. A bill introduced in Congress would mandate that insurance companies pay for a 48-hour hospital stay, unless patients choose to leave earlier.
President Clinton endorsed the legislation in his State of the Union speech last week.
GR Gordon-Ross / KANSAN
The Associated Press
Spike Lee pitches equality
Spike Lee answers a question in a private question-and-answer session with journalism students and faculty. Lee visited the University yesterday. He later held a press conference and spoke at the Lied Center, then went to the KU basketball game.
Dumb questions do exist, but so do dumb answers
By Jeff Ruby
Kansan staff writer
Spike Lee is never returning to Lawrence, that's for sure.
When we could have been tapping into the knowledge and expertise of one of the most influential men in the United States — black or white — we chose instead to waste everyone's time by asking how he could advance our acting careers.
Throughout Lee's low-key, 45-minute speech, which centered on the trials and tribulations of getting his 10 films made, I looked forward to the Q-and-A session.
At last, we could really see what he thought about issues raised by his movie-going audience. Issues that would challenge him. Issues about which he hadn't spoken a hundred times to a hundred audiences.
To see a truly innovative, charismatic and opinionated film director interact with KU students and Kansas locals should have been the main draw of Lee's appearance, right?
Not quite. Instead, for 30 minutes, we were treated to queries so ridiculous, so trivial, that Lee himself was visibly laughing from behind the lectern.
COMMENTARY
Inquiring-mind No. 1: Are you a personal KU basketball fan?
Some of the evening's extraordinary Q-and-A exchanges between one of the most controversial film directors in the world and Lawrence's most inquisitive individuals went something like this:
Lee: what you mean, personal? I don't know. sure, they're a good team.
Inquiring-mind No. 2: Will you say hello to Prince for me?
Lee: You mean "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince." You call the man by his name.
Wasting Spike Lee's time by begging him to cast us in one of his movies is akin to asking Roy Williams to put us on the basketball team.
Inquiring-mind No. 3: What can I do to get my life organized?
Most of the 2,000 people in the audience didn't care what Lee's answers were. We simply could feel our time running out. Couldn't we have asked
Lee: I don't know. What do you want to do?
Inquiring-mind No. 4: Will you give me a screen test?
Lee: Huh?
Sadly, the few who did ask insightful questions only saw them bounce off Lee with an offhand reply. He managed to snag $18,000 for explaining the complex reason why black women aren't as successful as black men in Hollywood: Because men already have more power in Hollywood.
about his perceptions on how—if at all—his films have changed the country's race relations? Does he think we're better off than we were before he started?
It was tough to tell if Lee really wanted to be here. We persuaded him with a hefty check and a front-row ticket to see the Jayhawks run with Oklahoma State. So we were treading on thin ice before we ever opened our mouths.
But our reason for attending the lecture was not to impress Lee. We hoped to draw from the experiences of an interesting, famous artist to whom we will never again have access. We hoped to use his perspective to learn something we couldn't normally. On that ground, the appearance failed.
We consider ourselves intelligent, open-minded and inquisitive people, so we wonder why celebrities don't make many trips to our little Midwestern, cultural mecca.
Now we have the answer.
National film maker spends day at KU discussing issues
By Dave Morantz Kansan staff writer
Film makers and television executives need to move away from portraying African Americans as entertainers, drug dealers and athletes, Spike Lee told a crowd at the Lied Center last night.
In a somewhat smug mood, Lee told about his experiences in the film industry, audience demand for television shows and films that portray African Americans in a poor light. He then spoke about his future movie plans and fielded questions from the audience.
After the one and one-half hour lecture, Lee attended the KU men's basketball game.
Lee received $18,000 for the lecture and travel expenses.
Lie cited movies such as Bootie Call and How to Be a Player as degrading to African Americans and doing little to improve their image.
"There seems to be an audience for it and that's the scary thing," he said. "It's getting harder and harder to make movies outside that genre."
Television executives follow the same habits, Lee said. He pointed out the recent show Home-boys From Outer Space.
"I wanted to put my Air Jordan through the television the first time I saw that show," he said. "We're moving 10 steps backwards."
But Lee spent most of the evening talking about his own movies. After directing and producing She's Gotta Have It in 1986 on a shoestring budget, Lee said film companies started calling.
"We started out by saving empty soda cans and bottles." he said.
Lee continued making independent films until he began filming Malcolm X. Because of the large budget needed for the film, Lee sought funding from a large movie company. But the consumer interests of the company prevented Lee from making the three-hour movie that he wanted.
So he called friends such as Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan to solicit funds for the film. Lee completed the film without the help of the film company.
Lee is now working on a documentary for HBO called Four Little Girls. The film is about a church bombing in the South in 1963 that killed four African-American girls.
Zach Zipfel, Wichita senior, said he admired Lee's willingness to express his beliefs.
"He says a lot of things that are the truth, and that offends some people," he said.
Lee also spoke to a group of more than 100 journalism students yesterday afternoon in room 100 in Stauffer-Flint Hall. After making such well-known advertisements as the Mars Blackman and Little Penny spots for Nike, Lee has agreed to work with a major ad agency.
Lee said that anytime an African American makes some money, it always seems to turn into a big issue.
"I make no apologies at all for doing commercials." he said.
Finding perfect card a problem
By Amy Rush Special to the Kansan
Sexual orientation complicates gifts
A romantic valentine dinner for two in a nice restaurant could bring stares from neighboring tables for some same-sex couples tomorrow.
But finding a valentine card specifically designed for a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered person is next to impossible.
Valentine's Day has been celebrated by most people since they were in kindergarten, passing out Smurf or Barbie cards to their crush of the week.
Most children,however,never
thought that there might be a little boy in the back of the room who had a crush on a little boy in the front of the room. The thought that same-sex couples also celebrate Valentine's Day rarely crosses some people's and some company's minds.
"Its understandable for straight people to assume that everyone is straight, but they should be aware that around 10 percent of all people are not," said Mike Silverman, Lawrence resident.
Valentine cards for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are few and far between.
"The only place I've found that sells cards for gays and lesbians is 50 miles away in Kansas City," Silverman said.
Larry Gilbert, who owns Larry's
Gifts and Cards, 205 Westport Road, Kansas City, Mo., said that his store had carried cards for same-sex couples for eight years, and that he didn't understand why most mainstream stores didn't offer them.
He said that although card sales increased around Valentine's Day, he didn't limit same-sex cards to certain holidays.
"We sell cards for people of the same sex all year long," he said.
Hallmark Cards Inc., a company known for producing greeting cards for almost every occasion, does not distribute valentines specifically made for couples of the same sex, said Kathy White, senior customer representative at Hallmark Cards Inc.
"They don't make cards for gays
and lesbians," she said. "Not just valentines, but for any occasion."
The company does produce greeting cards for African Americans, Hispanics and Jews. White said.
"Valentine's Day celebrates love, whether it's straight love or gay love, it's all the sane thing." Silverman said.
"I look for cards with no pictures of people on them," she said. "I've also made myself a couple of years."
Melissa Goldman, Lawrence graduate student, finds ways around the lack of valentines for same-sex couples.
}
The obstacles that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people may face on Valentine's Day do not stop them from celebrating the holiday.
TODAY
INDEX
Television ... 2A
Opinion ... 4A
National News ... 7A
World News ... 8A
Basketball Wrap ... 1B
Sports ... 4B
Scoreboard ... 6B
Classifieds ... 7B
Horoscopes ... 8B
CLOUDY
Weather: Page 2A