KANU News Retention

Before we knew where we were going, someone just simply called and said, this is what you do. And so we just went and did it. And then we got a phone call and they said, now you go to this place and so we did it. And oh, we're taking over a building. That's very nice. We sort of assumed something like that would happen. Once you got past the worries of being infiltrated and you got into the building, there were also about 25 women and several children at the time. What were you doing there that night? How did you feel and did you think you were going to get arrested? Did you think you might get evicted thrown out of school? Well, we were all excited and it was kind of, there was kind of the feeling and a pair of military. There were locks on the doors. There were a lot more than 20 women because there were women up at the Incomenical Christian Center and those who were also February sisters. We had no idea how long it would be there. I thought it could be a week or so. And we had enough food, I think, until last week.

We had an incredible amount of food. I don't think anybody slept. No, no, no, no, no. I don't even remember who it was. And my Christian and Mary, I wasn't just brave as they were. I did have a moment or two of what am I doing here? I had it four-year-old and two-year-old, think I lived in a house with friends. And you know, I was the total red-winner in the family, and I was in a club that followed my mind. Well, this is really, you see, that, you know, maybe you're going to get one of the most happy, terribly busy offices in the building. We were very different about his research. Sure, we were going to bring the building down, but we were non-violent groups. We didn't destroy things, and that was not our agenda. We removed from the university's property, but what they were doing to women with far more violence than the action we took. And I think when we left, we left apples on everybody's desk. Yeah.

I'd like to go back to the list of demands that February sisters had. You wanted for daycare center, affirmative action, a woman's health clinic, and a woman vice chancellor. You got, eventually, most are all of those demands, and do you think perhaps you could have asked for more and gotten more? I think I can have a lot of them. Didn't seem like it. I didn't seem like an awful lot. I looked at the list like all those things were what they needed to do legally, and I thought that the list was very reasonable. Very reasonable. I couldn't understand why they wouldn't do it. We could have threatened their funding, if they hadn't done certain things. I mean, well, we were. Yes, we were. We didn't realize it publicly. I was talking with one of the women's students here today, and we were talking about feminism. And the question was, is feminism a dirty word?

Was it then, isn't it now? I don't know. We had a lot ofisms at the time. Yes, we did. Well, at least for Kansas, and at least for this cave, it was kind of new. And we had all been active in other left-wing organizations prior to 72. And when did any better in those left-wing organizations than they were in the rest of society? So when start tweaks are their rights, I think we did kind of get put down. So yes, I do think feminism started out as being a bad word, if that's what you want to say. I don't know. I always just thought I'm a radical feminist. I didn't like it. That was just too bad. That was their problem. There's a lot of different ways of putting women down, and putting down a term, a feminist, just another way, as far as I'm concerned. What do women today think feminism?

What are students today? Well, from the woman I was talking to, she said there still seems to be a lot of hesitation for women to identify themselves as feminists. I've run across that too. It's like, well, I'm not a feminist, but I want what I want. Thank you. We'll admit to it if they can qualify. I'm not a feminist, but I believe that I should get equal pay. I should have to pull up my own body. That's where we were. I think we've come a circle higher, but that's where we were. Well, our group has tried and tried and tried to get a women's clinic, and we can't do it. Well, I want to be the president in general mode, and it's really set up for men. I feel this. I think women should go as far as they can go, whatever action they want to go. But when they hit a stopping place, look around, because the solution is political. It's not necessarily personal.

And to me, feminist political term, not even really a philosophy. Your philosophy is how you as a woman relate to the world, but feminism is a political cause. I think it seems to me that the students are making, and they just do that. As Christine says, they think, oh, well, if I don't say I'm a feminist, then I'll get that good job. And then when they get out there, then they're going to get radicalized. They're going to say, well, why did they hire her? Him and over me. Why was he given that increase in paying? Instead of me, I've been here longer. I do this. He's only done that, and I have better education, and they're paying him more than me. They're going to have to face that, and before they become political, and say, oh, I am a feminist, we have to fight these things together. Well, my concern is, I don't think that the women, two decades later, have met your protrusion of having a collective consciousness. I think that was one thing we had going for us through the 60s. And the 70s is that we took care of each other.

We had a common cause, and we could see over personal differences in groups, and work for a common cause. And I think that the women today from what I've seen are much more individuals, much more... And how are they going to combat? You know, once they do become dissolution, what are they going to do about it? Because they have a tradition of fighting these things on their own. I don't know how effective they're going to be. It's very difficult to fight it on your own. I can't tell you all that. Kansas was the last date in the nation to create a housing office, and it did so only after the federal government mandated each state have a central agency and a housing plan in place. Today, Kansas has an office and a plan. Former housing officials say it has little else. Thousands of Kansas are currently on waiting list for affordable housing. And advocates like Noel St. Clair say, the legislature needs to understand there's a definite need in Kansas. We have a problem in the state with affordability, and we need to address that, and we need the people who can do that.

And we don't have it. In order for the state to have a more coordinated housing effort, the governor proposes the creation of a department of housing to coexist with the Department of Commerce. Many believe the change would elevate the importance of housing in state government. Thomas Hildebrand, a former federal housing official, says the state needs such an office in order to help Kansas secure funding and resources to find affordable housing. Certainly home builders want to build. The architects want to design. The problem has been the financing that people have not been able to afford. The financing of either a new home or a used home or a rehabilitative or existing structure. Hildebrand says a full-time pool of housing officials could cut through the federal paperwork and eventually be the glue that binds federal state and local housing efforts together. Realistically, housing advocates like St. Clair say, the governor's concept is the best first step, but she adds it's not the complete solution to the state's housing problem.

Separate department with the anxiety and capabilities is what the majority of our membership would like to see happen. But in light of the fact that we have budget restraints within the state, we see this step of leaving it in commerce, tying it to economic development, utilizing what resources we have there as far as facility, space, staff, that's going to be the best use of our dollars. And for right now, this is the next best step. But St. Clair believes it's a step to state must take in order to ensure federal funding. She says Kansas should get a housing department up and going and then a year or two to find a real need to make necessary changes. Senator Dave Kura has been a vocal critic of the governor's housing plan. He chairs the committee currently considering the proposal. The Republican lawmaker believes the legislature now has a great opportunity to improve housing. And instead of blindly endorsing the governor's plan, Kura suggests a deeper study of the state's housing problem.

We ought to create it right rather than hastily tacking it together. Perhaps incorrectly before we know what the needs are in Kansas. Kura does say the governor's effort is more right and wrong because he believes housing does need attention. Besides Kura's concern of rushing into the proposal, he also fears the existing Department of Commerce may deteriorate in that economic development programs could suffer if forced to share funding and attention with housing. But housing advocates argue, home starts and affordable housing are sources of economic development and could attribute to a healthy economy. For Kansas Public Radio, I'm Taylor Wagner at the State House. Last spring, Lawrence residents Willie and Orin Severe called the local police department for help. Their son Greg had locked himself in his bedroom with a knife and they were afraid he might try to kill himself. But when two officers arrived at the severe home, something went wrong. Four and a half minutes later, Greg Severe was dead, shot six times by the police. The officers say they were forced to defend themselves because Greg had attacked them with the knife.

Mr. and Mrs. Severe believe the officers went too far. I don't think the police handled that situation very good. Mrs. Severe sits at the kitchen table just down the hall from where her son was shot. The table is covered with newspaper clippings about the incident. Mrs. Severe says her life would be different today if police had used other tactics when answering their call for help. I think Greg would be alive today if the police were. That's what I'm saying now is they had more training to deal with this kind of situation. It wouldn't have to be here today. Relations between police and Native Americans were at an all time low following the shooting of Greg Severe. The incident was just one of a series of controversial Native American deaths. Since 1988, there have been four other unexplained deaths. When Severe was killed, some Lawrence residents began charging the police department with racism, prejudice and police brutality. As a direct result of the public outcry, city commissioners and paneled a special committee of mostly law enforcement experts to evaluate local police.

After nearly seven months, the committee issued a report saying there's nothing wrong with the substance of the Lawrence Police Department's use of lethal force policy. The report only suggests that the policy be reorganized to make it easier for officers to understand. Police Chief Ron Olin says that while there are no major changes recommended by the report, he says it is significant. What we see with these recommendations is a very detailed examination of the Lawrence Police Department encompassing not only interviews but hundreds and hundreds of pages of documents reviewed by very important and educated people in a diverse number of fields associated with law enforcement. All of these experts have looked at our department and concluded that only minor changes are necessary. I think that's an endorsement that we are a very good police department. We are not adverse to improvement and we will use this in any way we can to improve our service in this community. Olin also notes that in 1990, his department responded to nearly 60,000 calls and had only 25 citizen complaints.

The peer review committee also says there isn't anything wrong with the local department's policies for handling domestic disputes. The report suggests police develop a more specific policy with more scenarios for officers to learn from. Dan Wildcat of the Lawrence Indian Center says the peer review report is merely political rhetoric and that it does little to improve the community's trust of local police. The problem in Lawrence is that there are many from the lower socioeconomic status, whether they be white, African American, Native American, that many of them feel that maybe there isn't always equal treatment. Wildcat notes that some members of the Native American community believe that police wouldn't have shot and killed great severe if he'd been wealthy or white. Police chief Ron Olin emphatically denies any charges of racism or prejudice. He says people sometimes expect too much from officers. We still hire human beings and we train those individuals because of their deep love of trying to help people. When those folks are placed into situations in which they are asked to make instantaneous decisions regarding life and death, I would suggest to you that sometimes they make excellent decisions and we've seen a lot of that here.

And sometimes they make less than excellent decisions, but ultimately they are human decisions. We do expect police officers to act at a higher level of competence and ability in stressful situations, but we do not expect our police officers to die for us. And Wildcat says he doesn't expect officers to die for the community. He does expect more specific and substantive changes in the police department's use of force policies than those offered in the peer reports. Wildcat says Lawrence needs a special panel made of civilian representatives to hear and resolve citizen complaints. Wildcat believes the committee is needed for people who don't trust local police because of the way they've been treated in the past. I think taxpayers, I think the public has a right to want to know and be involved in reviews when there are allegations that are made that something that's occurred is not right. It's not fair that there has been some injustice.

Olden says a citizen's complaint review committee is unnecessary is not the city commission a citizen's elected review board where if we have a specific complaint such as a complaint on use of lethal force, for example, is it not the city commission's responsibility also to review through the city manager and the chief of police review of that incident. I would suggest to you that we already have a citizen's review board in place and duplicating that is not in the best interest of the Lawrence police department or the city of Lawrence at the present time. While the peer review report agrees that a citizen's review board is unnecessary, it does say the police department should find ways of ending any real or perceived fears about use of lethal force. The report suggests that police learn from past cases. Or in severe says she doesn't think the peer report is specific enough to make a real change. She points out that the report fails to address suicide calls like the one she and her husband made last April. Nothing is really changing here. It's basically the same. It just reward it a different way. I mean, when I read it, that's what struck out in my mind. But some members of the peer review committee believe their report will help prevent future incidents like the severe shooting from happening again. Mike Tosi was the only Native American on the committee and is a former FBI agent.

He says the report will help by simply drawing attention to the issue of deadly force. I think this helps to some extent. Once you clarify a situation like this or some of the policies and procedures, then it just makes people take notice and pay more attention to what's out or what cost it in fact. And so I think sure it helps in that respect. Tosi says the report will cost police to be more cautious when using force. City commissioners have not yet reacted to the report. They plan to hold a televised public meeting about the police department next month. For K-A-N-U, I'm Rob Hilton.