THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
SPORTS
INSIDE KU’s availability of menstrual products is lacking compared to other universities p. 2
Emotional senior speeches cap off Kansas basketball’s win over Texas The University Daily Kansan
vol. 136 // iss. 14 Thurs., Mar. 1, 2018
Comedian Pete Holmes turns painful experiences into comedy series p. 5
SEE SENIOR NIGHT • PAGE 7
$25 student fee increase moves forward Student Senate will be voting on a proposed fee increase for next year, including a 25-cent allocation for MSG
Miranda Anaya/KANSAN Constanza Castro, Multicultural Student Government vice president, discusses the passage of block allocation funding at Finance Committee on Wednesday.
SAVANNA SMITH @savsmith20 Student Senate Finance Committee approved funding for the Multicultural Student Government through the campus fee bill and voted to raise the fee by $25.20 on Wednesday night. “We’ve been nickel and diming people for a long time,” Maginness said during the committee meeting about the organizations who request funding every year. This is the highest fees
would have been raised since 2009, making them $482.45 per semester for the 2018-19 school year. The fee increase will move to full Senate next week for a final vote. Part of this bill is funding for MSG, an organization that has seen much turmoil in recent weeks. In the bill, MSG would receive funding via a 25-cent increase to the Multicultural Education Fund, which would allow MSG to host its welcome event in the fall without relying on funding that was in-
“We’ve been nickel and diming people for a long time.” Chance Maginness finance chair
cluded in the Memorandum of Agreement, a contract that is in jeopardy while its validity is being reviewed by the University’s general counsel team. “Our executive team is really focused on making
sure the next executive team is in the best position they possibly can be,” MSG Vice President Constanza Castro said after the meeting. “We don’t want to leave them high and dry.” If the MOA is deemed valid, MSG funding will continue through line allocations at the original $44,270, and the funding granted through MEF will be returned. That increase would then go toward benefiting other multicultural student groups, Finance Chair Chance Maginness
said during discussion. The MEF increase was one of many increases to required student fees voted on in Finance Committee. Major increases included money for Watkins Health Center, the Ambler Student Recreation Center and Student Senate. The rec center’s fee increased by $10. Maginness said this was the fee increase he was the most proud of, as it provides increased resources for maintaining student health. In the long term, this fee would allow
the rec to enter into a third expansion phase. “This affects students’ well being,” Maginness said. “I can’t stress enough to you all the importance of having a good rec center.” The Student Senate activity fee increased by $3.20, and the health services fee increased by $6.25. Maginness said many of the increases were to account for inflation, and he said he hopes the fee will not have to increase again for the next three years.
Anti-trans resolution won’t deter LGBT advocacy SYDNEY HOOVER @HooverSydney After the Kansas Republican Party voted to “oppose all efforts to validate transgender identity,” organizations such as Spectrum KU and the Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity are continuing to push for equity for the LGBT community. Eric Teetsel, the proposer of the resolution, told the Wichita Eagle on Feb. 18 that the decision was reached in an effort to “bring us back to what we know to be true and good.” For Nathan Stucky, a senior from Oregon, Missouri, and transgender man, the decision is nothing new. “Trans people have been around for decades, you know, we have a rich history that has been erased because people don’t un-
derstand it,” he said. “They don’t understand it, and they fear what they don’t understand.” Although the decision of the political party “has no material effect” at the University, according to Director of News and Media Relations Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, Stucky worries it will only promote underlying discrimination of LGBT people on campus and across Kansas. “We don’t have a lot of trans-related resources on campus, there are very few gender neutral bathrooms around, and it’s really difficult to have professors call us by our true names and pronouns,” Stucky said. “The fact that the dominating party in Kansas has come out and stated this, it’s going to make it a lot harder for students, for trans students specifically, to be validated in their
Yusra Nabi/KANSAN Students protest on Wescoe Beach against mistreatment of transgender children in March 2017. class and feel safe.” Kansas College Republicans and the Kansas GOP did not respond to requests for comment on the issue. However, as vice pres-
ident of Spectrum KU, Stucky is hoping to continue making the University a welcoming campus for LGBT students with the help of organizations such
as the Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity, despite the Kansas GOP’s decision. “It doesn’t change what we do. We will continue
doing the work we do every day to make the University more inclusive and more informed,” SGD Interim Director Saida Bonifield said. Spectrum KU has a number of events coming up to celebrate diversity, including “TRANSlation” meetings, guest speakers from the LGBT community and its annual “Gaypril” celebration during the month of April. SGD is involved with these events, as well as others. “The vision is to ensure KU is an environment that represents our national and global society, accepts and values everyone, appreciates our common humanity and understands our multiple differences are the cornerstone of academic preparation, professional excellence and distinction,” Bonifield said.