CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Friday, September 24. 1993
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GTA unionization is a national concern
Process met with success elsewhere
By David Stewart
Kansan staff writer
This week's hearings to answer the question of the status of graduate teaching assistants as state employees has focused attention on what the power of a graduate student union could do.
At some schools around the country they have parlayed that power into action.
Graduate teachers and researchers have taken the issues of collective bargaining from hallway discussions to signed contracts and, in some cases, picket lines.
In order to get the administration to comply with graduate students' demand for collective bargaining, the GTAs at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst voted to go on strike in November 1991, said Jeff Kuenzi, coordinator for the UMass graduate employees organization.
"The strike lasted almost two weeks," Kuenzi said. "The administration was just imposing fees on us left and right. It became apparent to the students that the strike was something they had to have to negotiate properly."
With the agreement, UMass GTAs joined the world of collective bargaining along with their peers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, University of Oregon at Eugene and the University of California at Berkeley.
Graduate student representatives from the four schools shared results from collective bargaining, including receiving greater compensation and health care packages.
"You could see the benefits as soon as you put collective bargaining into place," Kuenzi said. "It makes up for all the time you put in."
While graduate students at schools such as UMass had only recently won their campaign to organize, students at the University of Wisconsin have
had collective bargaining since 1970,
said Jon Pollack, office manager for Wisconsin's chapter of the American Federation of Teachers.
For Pollack, collective bargaining had many advantages, including establishing uniform pay scales for employees, eliminating the political atmosphere for advancement of many academic departments and achieving higher status with the school's faculty.
"They respect us as equals rather than departmental peons," Pollack said.
One of the University of Kansas' peer institutions, the University of Oregon, established collective bargaining procedures during the mid to late 1970s, said Diane Rau, union representative for the graduate teaching fellowship federation.
Though some administrators feared a loss of rapport between graduate students and faculty, Rau said the contract process had the opposite effect.
(graduate teaching fellow), there is no collegiality in the first place."
"There has been no loss of collegiality," Rau said. "In an atmosphere where a faculty member exploits a
The expectation of increased tension between faculty and teachers never came about either. Rau said.
"I think we have a very good relationship, not an adversarial one." Rau said. "There are no residual bad feelings.
Steadman Upham, dean of the University of Oregon graduate school, said he agreed that the administration and the graduate student union had established a good working relationship
"Reflecting back into the history of the University of Oregon, we were dragged kicking and screaming into the agreement," Upham said. "We have cleaned up that relationship."
Through collective bargaining, Oregon's administration had to re-examine the roles of their faculty and graduate students, Upham said.
"It cleaned up the act of the University," Upham said. "Graduate students are a potentially exploitable class of individuals."
Strikes by graduate students against a university could stem from the
administration refusing to acknowledge student demands, said Maureen Kaspan, president of the association for graduate student employees at the University of California at Berkeley.
"The only problems that we see is the university fighting our bargaining right," Kaspan said. "Our strike last fall semester came from the University refusing to agree to collective bargaining units."
Joseph Doughan, associate dean of the Berkeley graduate division, said only two people had mentioned last year's strike to him as the school prepared to enter another round of bargaining next month.
Beyond the benefit of providing the administration with information about student grievances, Douggan said collective bargaining remained a barrier between faculty and students. He used the example of a recent 49-page contract for a graduate lecturer.
"It had a lot more regulations and rules to follow," Douggan said. "Collective bargaining is ideally congenial, but it eliminates the give and take of employment."
Other collective bargaining efforts
University of Massachusetts at Amherst—UMass graduate
teaching assistants won the right to bargain with the administration in January 1991.
University of Wisconsin at Madison — Graduate students gained status as public employees in 1987.
University of Oregon at Eugene In the process of negotiating a new contract, graduate students have extended their old contract since July.
University of California at Berkeley — The California Supreme Court ruled this year that Berkeley graduate teaching and research assistants did not have right to collective bargaining.
Event set to provide fun, funds Games and races part of Wheat Meet
KANSAN
By Shan Schwartz Kansan staff writer
KU students will have the opportunity this weekend to win an all-expense paid trip to Chicago so winning by a game of "Simon Says."
The game is part of the 11th annual Wheat Meet, an philanthropy of the Chi Omega sorority and Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Memorial Stadium.
Julie Wollnik, Wheat Meet co-coordinator, said the meet was named for Jon Blubaugh, an Alpha KappaLambda member who founded the event with his sister in 1983.
All Wheat Meet events are open to viewing and participation by the public, Wollnik said.
Blubaugh drowned less than one year later. Proceeds from the meet are donated to the Jon Blubaugh memorial fund, which benefits University of Kansas Medical Center cancer research.
Competitors of the events are divided into four groups: fraternity, sorority, and men and women independent. After heats are held to determine the finalists, the winner of the finals in each group wins a t-shirt, Wollnik said.
Wollnik said Sunday's competition mostly would be comprised of traditional track and field events, such as the 100 and 400-meter dashes, relays, long jump, high jump and hurdles.
This year the meet will include two nontraditional events — the "Simon Says" game and a "Fun Relay" where competitors will run around the stadium track blindfolded, backwards or holding objects making it more difficult to run, Wollnik said.
The "Fun Relay" is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and "Simon Says" is scheduled for noon. The rest of the events will take place throughout the day.
A meet kick-off party will begin at 9 p.m. tomorrow at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire Street, featuring three live bands, Wollniksaid. Tickets can be purchased from sponsoring chapter members in advance or at the door.
The event raised $6,500 last year.
Wendy Ryding, meet co-coordinator,
said she hoped to double that amount
this year.
Wollnik said anyone wishing to participate in Wheat Meet could register on Wesco Beach today, sign up at the stadium before the meet on Sunday or call the meet coordinators at 841-7191.
Serenade
Members of Eight Men Out, from left, Billy Davis, Topeka sophomore; Bud Anderson, Lawrence senior; Jeff Smith, Lawrence senior; Jason George, Shawnee senior; and Ben Claypool, Lawrence freshman, sing to Caroline McNaughton, Leawood freshman. The group performed at Ellsworth Hall last night before a fire prevention program by the Lawrence Fire Department.
William Alix / KANSAN
Students help minority recruits focus on their futures
By Christoph Fuhrmans
Kansan staffwriter
Sheldon White, Kansas City, Kan., junior, does not want incoming freshmen to have the same problems that typical KU freshmen do.
Freshmen at KU usually party too much and study too little, he said.
White was one of several college students who spoke to Kansas City high school seniors yesterday during the student panel of KU's Fall Focus. The orientation program, which is in its third year, attempts to prepare and recruit minority high school seniors for KU.
White said he wanted to explain the reality of college life to the students.
"Talking to a college student, you get the real perspective," he said. "When I was coming along, it seemed things were sugar-coated."
Deborah Castrop, director of admissions, said she wanted Fall Focus to succeed in its goal.
"The purpose is to bring prospective high school minority students to learn more about KU," she said. "It is to help them understand the importance of higher education."
Not only does the orientation session give students a head start on college, Castrop said, it also gives the students a chance to meet other graduating seniors.
"We feel it's not only an academic orientation, but also a student orientation," she said.
The Tuesday's orientation was for seniors from Topeka High School, Lawrence High School, Highland Park High School in Topeka, Lincoln Academy in Kansas City, Mo., and Leavenworth High School.
About 240 high school students attended the orientation sessions yesterday and Tuesday, said Dawn Kovats, associate director of admissions.
Seniors from Washington High School, Wyandotte High School, J.C. Harmon High School and F.L. Schlagle High School in Kansas City, Kan., and Westport High School in Kansas City, Mo., attended westerday.
The students took a tour of the campus,spoke to college students and went to an academic information fair staffed with representatives from each professional school.
"We're jjust squashing their feathers abutting coming"
to the University of Kansas," said Wendi Corman, academic counselor for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
LaTonya Thomas, high school senior from Westport High School, said she enjoyed her first visit to KU and was interested in majoring in social welfare.
After Thomas got academic information from officials, she received social information from college students.
Cinzia Byrd, Wichita junior, said high school students would understand practical college information from college students better than from adults.
"When they hear an administrator, they feel like their parents are talking to them," she said.
Kovats said Fall Focus was important for graduating seniors choosing their colleges.
John Gamble / KANSAN
"A lot of students don't get the chance to come out and see the school," she said. "We're trying to get them to start the college admission process. We're trying to get them thinking about it earlier."
Torres Dawson, Wichita junior, center, speaks high school students at a question-and-answer session at KU's Fall Focus, a presentation by the Office of Admissions. Dawson is joined by Frank Williams, Kansas City, Kan., sophomore.
Drayton makes court appearance following capture
Drayton was ordered to appear before the advisory board again within 96 hours. At his next appearance, a judge will determine whether he must return to Arizona, where he faces 305 years in prison. On Sept. 10, he was convicted in Bisbee, Ariz., on 14 felony charges, including rape, sodomy, kidnapping and armed robbery.
Former Kansas football player Kenny Drayton made his first appearance yesterday before an advisory board in the Pinellas County Vail in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Drayton and three other prisoners escaped from the Cochise County Jail in Bisbee on Sept. 12. One of the men was captured in Arizona on Sept. 14. Two of the men are still at large.
Drayton was captured in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. U.S. marshals and St. Petersburg police officers arrested him at a residence based on a tip from a caller who had seen Drayton featured on the television program "America's Most Wanted."
Fall Fest set for tomorrow
Five dollars and a couple ear plugs will let live music fans enjoy their fill of Lawrence bands tomorrow. The Bottleneck, 737 New
shire Street will be closed during of the event.
Hampshire St., is holding Fall Fest '93 — an all-day event featuring seven local bands.
Jacki Becker, music promoter for the Bottleneck, said the event is similar to those held in Seattle.
"They bring in national acts, though, and we thought we'll play it safe by just having local bands," she said. "A lot of college towns have this, too."
The event will be open to all ages.
Those in attendance will receive wristbands so they can leave and return, she said.
1 p.m. — Mountain Clyde
Food and merchandise vendors will be at the event, which runs from 1 to 8 p.m. New Hamp-
2 p.m. Love Squad
3 p.m.—L.A.Ramblers
4 p.m. — Baghdad Jones
5 p.m. — Tenderloin
5 p.m. — Tetuerohon
6 p.m. — Salty Iguana
6 p.m. — Satty Iguazar
7 p.m. — Billy Goat
KU ranked high as best value
Of 989 of the nation's leading universities, the University of South Florida was ranked No.1 overall.
Factors used in determining the best buys included faculty resources, library resources, student services budget, SAT results of attending freshmen, graduation rates and a
tally of schools attended by the top executives listed in Standard & Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives.
The 1984 edition of Money magazine named the University of Kansas as the 15th best value in the category of state schools ranked by instate tuition.
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Elimination hearings set
Public hearings on the elimination of eight degrees will be held Sept. 27-30. The University Council Academic Procedures and Policies committee will hear arguments for and against eliminating the programs.
The hearings are scheduled as follows:
Atmospheric Science, B.A., B.G.S. and M.S. — Sept. 27, 7:15-9:30 p.m., English Room, Kansas Union.
Italian; B.A. — Sept 29, 7:15-9:30 p.m.
English Room; Kasan Union
Comparative Literature and Humanities, B.A.—Sept. 30, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Room 100, Smith Hall.
Computer Science, B.A. and B.G.S. Sept. 30, 8:30-10:00 p.m., Room 100, Smith Hall.