THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29. 1996
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS 864-4810
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
ADVERTISING 864-4358
SECTION A VOL.102, NO.107
(USPS 650-640)
SPORTS
Bringing it home
KU frosh forward T.J. Pugh has given the Jayhawks some muscle underneath this year. Page 1B
KU Legal Services offers to helps students with landlord and lease problems. Page 3A
CAMPUS
Battling landlords
Cuba sanctions approved
NATION
Removing Castro is a priority in the sanctions that will bridle foreign trade. Page 5A
Diana divorces Charles
WORLD
The Princess of Wales will keep her title but can never be named Queen of England. Page 6A
WEATHER
COLD AGAIN
Weather: Page 2A.
INDEX
Opinion . . . . . . 4A
Nation/World . . . . 5A
Sports . . . . . . 1B
Scoreboard. . . . 2B
Horoscopes . . . . 4B
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 25 cents.
People with leap-day birthdays can celebrate on their actual date of birth today. Twenty KU students have birthdays on February 29.
Age doesn't leap up on all
Born on leap day creates different funny situations
Photo Illustration by Matt Fleckner / KANGAN
By R. Adam Ward Kansan staff writer
A birthday on leap day can be a mixed blessing.
Chris Keith, Overland Park sophomore, said he celebrated his birthday three or four times each year during non-leap years because nobody knew when to celebrate.
But this year will be different because today is leap day.
Keith is one of 20 KU students who were born on Feb. 29, said Linda Mullens, assistant vice-cancellor of student affairs.
This year, Keith said he planned to celebrate with friends from out of town.
Because his birthday is rare his employers have always let him off of work on his birthday, he said.
But his unusual birthday also has caused him problems, Keith said.
When he was 16 years old, a police officer stopped him and asked to see his driver's license. When the officer saw the renewal date for his license was March 1 and Keith's birthday was February 29, he became suspicious and demanded to see other forms of identification. Keith said.
"I guess he thought I was driving illegally," he said.
Jason Farr, Nashua, N.H., senior.
also was born on leap day. He said he hadn't been hassled about his age at bars lately, except occasional jokes about him being only five years old.
"You hear it
into your head," he said.
Farr said another downside to having a leap-year birthday was that he missed the free night of drinking that was associated with turning 21 years old.
He said he had to go out the night before and not tell anyone how old he was.
"It makes you feel a little bit unique."
"You hear it every four years," Farr said. "It gets a little old."
But his birth date isn't always a bad thing, he said.
"It makes you feel a little bit unique," Farr said.
People usually do look at his drivers license and question it because they forget about leap year, he said.
Jason Farr Nashua,N.H.,senior
"It takes a few seconds to click
He said he really hadn't thought much about his birthday until he saw an episode of *Fraser* on Tuesday about people trying different things on Feb. 29.
unlucky, he said.
The theme of the show was that leap day is
Farr said that might be true. When he tried skating on his last leap-year birthday, he ended up injuring himself badly, he said.
So today he probably won't try anything too unusual, he said.
Noah Musser/KANSAN
Nigerian student stiffed by embassy
Scholarship money withheld without providing any reason
By Susanna Löfő
Kansan staff writer
Nigerian students will not be admitted to the University of Kansas until Aminu Ibrahim Gusau gets his scholarship money from the Nigerian Embassy.
Gusau, Sokoto, Nigeria junior, is supposed to be supported by a scholarship from the Sokota state in Northeastern Nigeria. The scholarship board in Sokota repeatedly has informed Gerald Harris, director of International Student Services, and Gusau that they have sent money to the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C., for it to be forwarded to Gusau.
Photo Illustration by Matt Flickner / KANBAN
But Gusau has received only a fraction of the money.
Aminu ibrahim Gusau, Sokoto, Nigeria, junior, remains loyal to his native country despite difficulties in receiving scholarship money due him.
"I strongly suspect that someone in the embassy is making some other use of that money," Harris said. "It has happened before."
Harris believes other Nigerian students are in the same situation as Gusau. He posted an inquiry for other universities' international students offices a week ago. So far, four schools have replied, all reporting problems. Daytona Beach Community College wrote it doesn't admit Nigerian students anymore because of the problems. The University of Michigan reported problems with Nigerian students who obtained admission with financial statements they had received from the Nigerian government through bribery.
However, Harris is convinced that Gusau's case is true because of the many contacts he has had with the Sokoto state and Gusau's careful documentation of the case. He has informed the Nigerian Embassy that the University won't admit any Nigerian students until Gusau's problems have been solved. At this time, seven Nigerian students are studying at the University.
Gusau came to the University in 1991, and for six semesters his scholarship arrived late, he said. This forced him to borrow money to be able to enroll, pay rent and feed himself. But that was only the beginning of his problems.
Gusau went to Nigeria for a holiday during the summer of 1994. He was planning to return for the fall semester but because of Nigeria's chaotic political situation, he could not get a visa and stayed until January 1995.
When Gusau contacted the embassy, he was told that his scholarship money had not arrived. he said.
Because it was too late in the semester to catch up and because he had no money to pay for school, Gusau did not attend classes in the 1995 spring semester.
Gusau called the embassy several times
to get his scholarship money,but the embassy told him they had not received any money,Gusau said.
In the fall, Gusau received special permission from professors to attend classes even though he could not enroll. But he went to class and did the homework anyway, hoping that the money would come from the embassy so he could enroll. Gusau never received any credit for attending those classes.
In January, Gusau met with the chairman of the department of education at the Nigerian Embassy, Umar J. Mana.
This semester, he is attending classes again, still hoping that he will get the scholarship money.
"Mana said that they had heard rumors that I had graduated," Gusau said. "I was shocked."
The University Daily Kansan tried to
See NIGERIA, Page 2A.
Students vote no to center
Price of recreation too high for most
By Colleen McCaln
By Colleen McCain Kansan staff writer
KU students don't want a new recreation center if they have to pay for it.
Yesterday and Tuesday 3,290 students, or about 15 percent of the Lawrence campus, voted in the referendum. Ten percent of students, or 2,184 students, needed to vote to make the referendum valid. Of the votes cast, 2,297 were in opposition to
That's the message 70 percent of voters sent in a referendum that asked students if they would be willing to pay increased student recreation fees to build a new recreation center.
2,507 were in opposition to the proposed recreation center, and 983 supported the center.
Rec center vote
Tyler Bergmeier, chairman of the recreation advisory board, said students could not see past the $90 recreation fee to consider the benefits of a new recreation center.
The proposal would have incrementally increased the $13-per-semester recreation fee to $80 per semester in Fall 1999.
About 15 percent of the Lawrence campus, voted in the recreation center referendum. The vote totals were:
"I think that students are willing to pay for recre-
involved of the proposed recreation center: 983
Opposed to the proposed recreation center: 2,307
Bergmeier and members of the recreation center planning committee spent three years developing the plan for the proposed $21.5 million recreation center on West Campus. They now must go back to the drawing board.
Bergmeier said the committee would begin considering other options for building a recreation center or expanding Robinson Center but that no specific plan had been formulated.
ation, but this may have been too large of a fee." Bergmeier said. "I'm sorry to say, though, I don't think the fee will be lower. Every year we put this cost, the cost of a new recreation center will increase."
Shannon Tauscher, a member of the Students Against the Recreation Center coalition, said she would support making minimal improvements to existing facilities but that spending millions of dollars on recreation should not be KU students' top priority.
"If Student Senate can put forth a resolution to build a new recreation center, why can't they put forth a resolution to buy the computers we need more?" Tauscher asked.
For now, the proposal essentially is dead in the water, said Mary Chappell, director of recreation services.
"Obviously, we've learned what students want from this referendum," Chappell said. "We thought we had looked at everything, but I guess we will go back and consider our options."
Speed limit bill passes
By John Collar Kansan staff writer
TOPEKA —After some last-minute legislative wrangling, the passage of new speed limits yesterday will allow drivers to cross the Kansas plains faster. If Gov. Bill Graves signs the bill, as he is expected to, the new limits, which would go into effect on March 22, would be:
70 mph on divided multilane highways;
55 mph on county and township roads
County commissions would have the option of raising the limit to 65 mph. This provision was designed to appeal to legislators from the western part of the state. Yesterday, the House placed a roadblock in the bill's path by rejecting the conference committee report, which settled the differences between the bills passed by both chambers.
A majority of House members were uncomfortable with the buffer provision, a grace period for drivers ticketed for driving less than 10 mph faster than the legal limit.
"It's absolutely impossible to think that some of the roads we have in Kansas are negotiable at 74 mph," said State Rep. Ralph Tanner, R-Baldwin City.
After the first report's defeat, legislators scrambled to appoint a new committee, which voted to keep the buffer at 10 mph on interstate highways but lower it to 5 mph on all other roads. Both chambers agreed with the change.
3
The state will start changing about 5,000 speed-limit signs, said Dean Carlson, secretary of transportation.