LJWorld.com / Governor's staff hears students' sex class views

Archive for Saturday, April 12, 2003

Sebelius urged to veto budget amendment

April 12, 2003

Three Kansas University students from professor Dennis Dailey's human sexuality class met Friday with members of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' staff.

"It went really well," said Jen Hein, a sixth-year senior from Topeka. "We got all of our points across, and they were open to hearing what we had to say. It seemed like they were very objective."

Sebelius was in El Dorado for the Governor's 17th Annual Turkey Hunt. She did not meet with the students.

The students urged the governor to veto a budget amendment, introduced by Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, aimed at cutting funds to Dailey's class and the university's School of Social Welfare.

After receiving the bill Friday, the governor has 10 days to strike the amendment from the bill before it becomes law.

"A decision has not been made, but I expect it will be shortly, within a few days," said Matt All, Sebelius' chief legal counsel.

"This isn't going to be dragged out any longer than it needs to be," All said, noting that staff members were analyzing the bill's contents.

Wagle introduced the amendment after sources familiar with Dailey's course accused him of showing pornographic videos and displaying photographs of children's genitalia.

Hein and others in the class insist the videos were not pornographic and the photographs of genitalia were part of a class on sexual development.

"There seems to be a lot of misconceptions floating around about the class -- that it's somehow degrading to women, uses pornography or somehow promotes sexual anarchy," said Richard Sullivan, a Lawrence senior majoring in English.

"We contest that very strongly," Sullivan said. "In fact, we think it does just the opposite."

The meeting, attended by All and four members of Sebelius' staff, including former Lawrence legislator Troy Findley, lasted about 30 minutes.

"I think they know where we're coming from," said Kyle Rohde, a sophomore from Delafield, Wis., who took Dailey's class in the fall.

KU's University Council passed a resolution Thursday encouraging Sebelius to veto the amendment.

Other groups calling for a veto include the Faculty Senate at Kansas State University, the Lawrence City Commission, KU's Student Senate and the Council of University Faculty Presidents, which consists of the six faculty presidents from state universities in Kansas.