THURSDAY,FEBRUARY15,1996
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
NEWS 864-4810
SECTION A VOL.102.NO.97
ADVERTISING 864-4358
(USPS 650-640)
TODAY
in the
KANSAN
SPORTS
Bearing down
No.5 Kansas held off Colorado to win its 27th consecutive home game. Page4B
CAMPUS
Two astrologers told some KU students what to expect in their relationships. Page 3A
What's your sign?
NATION
Police officer wakes up
After a shot to the head, Gary Dockery awakens from an almost eightyear coma. Page 6A
WORLD
Yeltsin goes home
Expected to seek a second term, he may have lost touch with local problems. Page 7A
WEATHER MOSTLY CLOUDY
High 37° Low 25°
Weather: Page 2A.
INDEX
Opinion ... 4A
National News ... 6A
World News... 7A
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.
Donated department funds missing
Endowment account short by $39,000
By Amy McVey
Kansan staff writer
KU police are investigating the embezzlement of about $39,000 from the department of pharmacology and toxicology endowment account.
and cashed fraudulent checks from the account during a period of three years.
Police suspect that a former employee of the department wrote
The department chairman noticed two weeks ago that money used to finance undergraduate and graduate scholarships was missing from its account.
Elias Michaelis discovered that the money was missing when he reviewed the department's endowment accounts after an employee who had access to the accounts quit.
"I initiated a search for the accounts to see what the status was — not necessarily suspecting that there was a maleficent," Michaelis said. "The more we dug, the more
The missing money had been donated to the department by private donors through the Kansas university Endowment Association, Michaelis said.
we found."
"We are not talking about an account that represents state accounts or research accounts — this was an endowment account," he said. "The donor makes the donation for the good of the department."
Michaelis said the money was not only used to award scholarships, but also to help the department be more flexible and be able to finance things that it normally couldn't afford.
funds we used very sparingly," he said. "For example, the department gives an undergraduate award every year. That doesn't mean we don't have the money, but it cuts down on flexibility."
"These funds were the kind of
"Thefts of this type can be pretty complicated," Keary said. "Records need to be examined, and numerous people need to be talked to. That is what we are doing at this time."
Sergeant Chris Keary of KU police said the police had interviewed the former employee but had not made any arrests.
The $39,000 theft is the biggest embezzlement at the University since 1982, when Steve McMurry,
former coordinator of the KU bus system, was imprisoned for embezzling more than $250,000. McMurry embezzled the money while working as a nonsalaried volunteer for the campus bus system. He was charged with five counts of felony theft of property and spent 17 months in the Kansas State Penitentiary.
Michaelis said that this would be the last time someone would have the chance to embezzle money from the department because he planned to do things differently.
"I will ask the Endowment Association to deal directly with me," he said. "There will be no more interceptions."
What's this thing for?
Gina Thornburg / KANSAN
Condom Man, Mike Enenbach, Prairie Village senior, hands condoms to Baby Jay during the Kansas Union's Valentine's Day Open House. Condom Man from Kansas City Planed Parenthood was at the Union in honor of National Condom Day.
Preference colors label decisions
African-American History Month
By David Teska
Kansan staff writer
The question remains — Black or African American?
In a survey published in U.S. News & World Report, the Department of Labor polled 60,000 households on how they preferred to be identified. Forty-four percent said they preferred Black and 28.1 percent preferred African American. Others replied they preferred either Afro-American, Negro, colored or some other term. Only 9.1 percent said they had no preference.
Some students at the University of Kansas have definite ideas on how the issue of labeling people should be addressed. Patience Grayer, Peoria, Ill., junior, said when most people think of the color black,
they don't have in mind the color of her skin.
"How can you call me Black when I'm no that color?" she said.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has no official stand on either usage, said Linda Hursey, a public affairs official with the association.
The NAACP, which hasn't taken the word colored out of its title, can't change usage every time common-useage changes, Hursey said.
"The NAACP is going along with societal changes," she said.
The Policy, Style and Design Guide of the University Daily Kansan is ambiguous. It states that if Black is used to describe people of African ancestry, it should be capitalized. The guide then encourages the use of African American whenever possible. The Associated Press mandates that Black is the preferred usage. The AP makes no reference to African American.
Confusion about which term to use also exists in the news media.
What's in a name?
A recent U.S. News & World Report study showed what term people prefer:
Black 44.2%
African American 28.1%
Colored 1.1%
Some other term 2.2%
Some other term 2.2
No preference 9.1%
No preference 9.1%
Source: U.S. News & World Report (Nov.
20, 1995)
Tom Eblen, general manager of the Kansan, said newspapers have changed through time as the usage has.
"In the 1950s, it was Negro. Black was considered derogatory and not used," Eblen said.
In the end, Eblen said, most newspapers today believe that people have the right to have themselves called what they wish.
Rec center referendum on the way
Senate decides to put proposal to student vote
By Nicole Kennedy
Kansan staff writer
After a heated three-hour debate, Student Senate voted early yesterday morning to hold a student referendum Feb. 27 and 28 on the proposed $21 million recreation center.
In a roll call vote, 42 senators voted for the referendum, three senators voted against it and two senators abstained from voting. Nineteen senators were absent from the meeting.
The referendum gives students the chance to vote for or against increasing campus fees to finance a new recreation center. Students now pay $208 in campus fees in addition to tuition each semester, $13 of which goes toward a recreation fee.
Several senators disagreed about whether to put the recreation proposal to a student vote. Although the meeting started Tuesday evening, a decision wasn't reached until 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
If the referendum passes, the recreation fee would increase in time, starting with a $30 hike next semester. By 1999, the recreation fee would be $90, making it the largest campus fee ever passed.
Alan Pierce, finance committee chairman, said students should have direct input on an issue of this magnitude.
"I think it's bad that a few misguided senators with political aspirations see fit to take away the privilege of the student body in regards to voting on an issue this close to the students 'pocketbooks'," he said.
Jeff Livingston, liberal arts and sciences senator, adamantly disagreed.
"We aren't here to just push off this difficult decision and put it on people who aren't going to have enough information to vote," he said. "That's why we operate a representative democracy, not a participatory one."
Ami Hizer, holdover senator, said voting against the referendum would be an unwise decision for senators.
"It would make Senate look stupid," she said. "worse thing you could do is not allow students to vote on this campus. You're talking a political nightmare. At KU, it should be no taxation without participation."
Jason Fizell, an Olathe junior attending the meeting, said he didn't think the referendum would accurately portray student opinion.
For the referendum to be valid, 10 percent of the student body must participate. Based on Fall 1995 enrollment figures, at least 2,328 students would have to vote for the referendum to stand. For the recreation center to be approved, at least 1,165 students would have to vote for increasing the campus fees.
Hit the slopes, not your savings account
By Sarah Morrison Kansan staff writer
For many students, the high cost of lodging, ski equipment rentals and lift tickets keeps them off the ski slopes during spring break.
But contrary to popular belief, taking a ski trip does not have to be prohibitively expensive. Even budget travelers can enjoy a skiing
vacation.
One way to make skiing more affordable is to rent skiing equipment before arriving at the slopes.
If you plan on renting your skis at the shop at the base of the mountain, be prepared to shell out big bucks, said Todd May, of Kansas Rental in Topeka.
"it's best to get the rental aspect taken care of, here," he said. "That way, when you get there you can just get up and go skiing."
Renting skis at resorts costs about $22 a day. Renting from agencies in Denver, Kansas City or Topeka costs about $8 to $10 a day. Some area stores only charge for the days
Discount lift tickets also can be purchased before arriving at the resort. Stitzmark Sports in Overland Park offers lift tickets $10 to $12 cheaper than at many Colorado ski resorts.
the skis will be used, not for every day the equipment is out of the store.
Another way to make a trip financially feasible is to stay in youth hostels. The price of staying at a hostel in Colorado is about $10 to $25 a person each night, compared to about $90 to $500 a night for a hotel or condominium. There are six youth hostels located near the major ski slopes in Colorado. Dave Colson.
Cheap lodging
Hostel Nearest ski area Phone Off season In Season
Firstide Inn Breckenridge (970) 453-6456 $15.00 $27.00
Gimmood Springs Aspen/Vall (970) 945-8545 $9.50 same
Grand Junction Powderhorn (800) 430-4555 $10.00 same
Pitkin Hostel Crested Butte/ Monarch (970) 641-2757 $10.00 same
Alpen Hiltté Vail/Copper Mountain (970) 468-6336 $11.00 $25.00
Winter Park Winter Park/ (970) 726-5356 $8.50 $13.50
Source: "Hostelling U.S.A. 1998"
owner of the Alpens Hütte in Silverthorn, Colo., said lodging in a youth hostel was the cheapest in the area.
Noah Musser/KANSAN
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"You're not going to find a less expensive place to stay in the county," Colson said.