CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, November 14, 1995
3A
ACLU says KU police acted within legal bounds
Computer Center employees' rights not violated by polygraph requests
By Scott Worthington Kansan staff writer
The American Civil Liberties Union has decided not to pursue a complaint made by two employees of the computer center against the KU police department, an ACLU representative said yesterday.
After an initial inquiry, the ACLU determined that the police department's policies on administering a polygraph test were satisfactory, said Dick Kurttenbach, ACLU director for Kansas and western Missouri.
In September, two computer center employees complained to the ACLU that KU police detained them for several hours and led them to believe they had to take a polygraph examination in an investigation of thefts at the center.
"We found that the polygraph examination that they used was not mandatory, and there was no threat of loss of job." Kurtenbach said.
"We were notified by the ACLU that a complaint was filed," said Sgt. Rose Rozmiarek of the KU police. "That was referred to legal counsel."
KU police acknowledged that it had received an inquiry from the ACLU.
A legal representative said the police response to the inquiry could not be discussed because of the attorney-client privilege.
"The University didn't do anything inappropriate," said Karen Dutcher, associate general council to the University.
Kurtenbach said in September that some of the police tactics in the investigation sounded excessive. He said the union's goal was to determine whether the KU police had set policies in accordance with a law that protects people from being forced into taking a polygraph test.
Two excerpts from a KU police employee manual may have answered the union's inquiry. According to the manual, "A person will not lose his job for refusing to take a polygraph examination," and "A person will not have his wages withheld until an examination is given."
KU police began investigating thefts at the computer center last year. Between March 1 and Aug. 8, RAM memory chips valued at $6,758 were stolen from the center, police said.
Some of the thefts were from storage areas that were restricted to employees-only access, according to KU police.
Andy Rullestad / KANSAN
The Middle East peace process will continue despite the Nov. 4 assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, said Chaim Shacham, Israel consul for press and information for the Midwest at a lecture last night in the Kansas Union.
Middle East should strive for peace, speaker says
Israel will face new issues international pressures after Rabin's assassination
By Novelda Sommers
Kansan staff writer
Chaim Shacham, Israeli consul for press and information for the Midwest, had planned to visit the University of Kansas before Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated.
The Nov. 4 assassination of Rabin did not change drastically what Shacham had planned to say about the peace process, he said, because the peace process in the Middle East would forge on without Rabin.
But he said that in the coming months, Israelis would have to grapple with issues of free speech as well as with new government leadership.
"Before, people were able to say what they thought," Shacham said. "There was always a barrier between word and deed. What's scary is that barrier has disappeared."
In a lecture, "Middle East Peace Process: What Now," Shacham spoke yesterday to a handful of people at a brown bag luncheon sponsored by the international studies program and the KU Hillel Foundation in the Kansas Union. He spoke again to about 25 people at 8 p.m. at the Kansas Room in the Union. Shacham was not paid for his appearances.
Shacham said Israelis were ready for peace and were tired of sending their children to war. However, they are divided bitterly about the means Israel should use to achieve peace.
At issue is the granting of Palestinian self-rule in territories controlled by Israel. A month ago, Israel started withdrawing from the West Bank. This latest peace agreement infuriated members of the extreme right in Israel who said that the forfeiture of any Israeli territory was abominable.
But the land may be worth peace, Shacham said.
He said granting self-rule to Palestinian population centers would be worth the lives that would be saved.
And there is no better time than now for the peace process in Israel to move forward, he said.
Israel has peace agreements with Jordan and Egypt, and Iraq's power was diminished in the Gulf War. Iran, however, could pose problems in the next five years if it procures nuclear capabilities.
David Katzman, professor of history, said it was important to look at the reasons Rabin, a former soldier, became a peacemaker for his country. It was logical, Katzman said.
Shacham said Israel and its neighboring countries should unite to isolate Iran and prevent it from becoming a threat.
Audiences appear bored by sex on silver screen
"What did it take for someone like Rabin, who was a warrior, to become an advocate for peace?" he asked. "I think what Shacham tried to articulate, and he did it very well, was that the government transcends to individual."
Erotic movies losing popularity with viewers
By Craig Lang Kansan staff writer
say they are just bad movies.
"Showgirls" wasn't as popular as its producers had hoped, and "Jade" isn't breaking any box office records, either.
Ever since "Basic Instinct" earned $118 million in 1992, several filmmakers have tried to copy the success of the sexual thriller, but none of these attempts has fared nearly as well. Although some people say that it is bad timing for films of this nature to be released, others say the movies are too blatant in their sexuality. Still others
Catherine Preston, assistant professor of theater and film, said that more people wanted to see movies with their families. Therefore, films like "Jade" and "Showgirls" are losing popularity.
Preston said that trends in movies often were reflections of trends in society. Political changes in the country may be indicative of why films like "Basic Instinct" are no longer popular with American audiences.
"It's a part of the conservative atmosphere," she said.
Preston said that another reason why the films had lost popularity was that they contained too much sex. She said films that had a lot of nudity and sex were not what movie audiences wanted to see in a theater.
"They say, 'This is what I want to see in my home, where I can watch it in privacy," she said.
Ben Langton, Littleton, Colo., junior, said he did not care for "Showgirls." He said that he eventually lost interest in the unwavering nudity and sex.
"Twenty minutes into the movie I didn't care about seeing any more nudity," he said.
Preston said that although the movies were not popular among female audiences, recent sexual thrillers hadn't even captured large revenues from their target audiences.
"These films have not been doing well for men. either." she said.
Langton said he did not like "Showgirls" because it seemed to lack a plot. He said that the poor popularity of the movie indicated that if a movie had nothing to offer but nudity, it would not do well.
Sarah Deer, Wichita senior and member of the Feminist Collective Force, said she thought the sexual-thriller trend was dying. She said films of this genre were running out of storylines.
"There's only so many plots you can do with that theme," she said.
Deer said she was glad the films were losing popularity because she was appointed with the way women were portrayed in them.
"It's kind of getting tiresome," she said. "The woman ends up being a victim or villain."
Langton said that he did not necessarily hope that the sexual-thriller trend was dying. He only hoped that anyone who tried to make a sexual thriller would try to make the film interesting.
"If they have good plots and the actors do a good job, then these movies would definitely do better than 'Show-girls' did," he said.
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