Pittsburg State University - Kanza Yearbook (Pittsburg, KS)

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r Touching your nose is easy when you are sober. Missy Scantlin, Humboldt junior, shows Sgt. T.J. Duncan that she has no problem performing this task during a demon- stration. ▲ Ragan Todd

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 ■ Giving workshops is just one of the jobs of Michael McCurdy, campus lawyer. In addition to this Landlord Tenant workshop he repre- sents students on a wide variety of legal matters. ▲ Ragan Todd V 28 ▲ Legal Services Take it to Court I he Case: you’re having problems with your landlord. For half a year, you and your room- mate have tried to get him to fix the front porch--which shows ■every sign of collapsing under- neath the next delivery man from Pizza Hut. Complaints haven’t worked. Neither has threatening to move out. This sounds like a good case for Judge Wapner... but since he isn't around, who can you turn to? Enter Michael F. McCurdy. He may not be able to get you on TV- -but he can help you with your legal problems. Michael McCurdy has been the Legal Aid advisor for PSU since 1982. During the last six years, students have come to him for free legal aid and in some cases, a request to accompany them to court. I used to see thirty cases per month (in a nine-month period), but that’s risen to fifty,” said McCurdy, who added that most of these cases fall into one of three types: landlord tenant problems, consumer cases, and traffic offenses such as speeding tickets and DUI charges. Most of the work McCurdy does, however, is done outside of the courtroom. Under his contract, he can perform a variety of services for students, including drafting wills and deeds, negotiat- ing contracts between landlords and tenants, and assisting with consumer complaints. It sounds simple, but McCurdy said that some cases do present problems. “In one of the cases I’m working on at the moment a student had purchased a car, but he didn’t have a title for it and the owner, a foreign exchange student, had moved home. We tried to get the previous owner's signature to release the title, but we’re having trouble finding him. Right now we’re writing to the company he works for and trying to track him down.” McCurdy also said that most students do not realize that his service exists. I’ll have juniors and seniors come in who had never realized that there was a legal aid service,” said McCurdy. Because of this, Pittsburg State does try to inform students about it. We try to let students know that a legal aid service exists,” said Michael Shonrock, Director of Student Affairs. “With articles in the Collegio, the pamphlets which are distributed during enrollment, and posters in the residence halls and around campus, we try to make students aware of the service. Shonrock also said that the university would also be offering legal workshops for students in further efforts to help students with legal problems. We’re going to offer workshops in the near future . . . this spring we’ll offer one on landlord tenant prob- lems, said Shonrock. Other than that, Shonrock said that he sees no further plans to expand the program, as both he and the S.G.A., which co- sponsors the Legal Aid program, feel that the program is meeting the needs of the students. “We sincerely wish that students utilized this service ... they should feel that we’re willing to listen to any suggestions to improve it.” The next time someone tells you to take it to court,” take it to Michael McCurdy first. Not only will he give you as much help as possible, he may even save you some money. A Rick Steffens

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Up in Smoke ft A n act regulating the smoking of tobacco products in --------------------------- public places and at public meet- ings; declaring certain acts to be misdemeanors and prescribing penalties for violations.” This describes the no smoking law that has affected the lives of Kansans. The bill was ratified on April 14,1987, but did not go into effect until July 1. The bill describes a “public place” as “any enclosed indoor area open to the public or used by the g ener- al public. Naturally, this covers just about every place imagin- able: restaurants, buses, museums, even restrooms. (Can you imagine? First they charge the public to use them, and now they can’t be smoked in.) Smoking and non-smoking areas are designated by the owner or manager of the facility. As is noticeable around campus, the areas must be dearly marked. If they aren’t, the estab- lishment receives a fine of up to $50. In some restaurants, deco- rations in the smoking areas are not as nice as those in the non- smoking sections. Sometimes, the areas are placed totally out of the way. Is this discrimination? Lisa Campbell, Kansas City sophomore, states, It’s terrible, 1 feel like it’s segregation. Ifeel like we’re going back in time.” Many smokers share the same opinions as Campbell. The general feeling is one of displace- ment. They ask, Whatever happened to equal rights? Discrimination and segregation are just two of the many problems caused by this new law. Smokers are limited as to where they can indulge their habit. Small rooms in office buildings are reserved as break rooms for smokers. What if a smoker “lights up” in a no-smoking area? Well, if he or she doesn’t get caught, obviously nothing happens. If the person is caught, however, he or she will be fined. The maximum fine is $20. Repeated violators can be taken to court by the Health Department. Universities are listed under the heading of public places. No smoking signs are posted nearly everywhere: the Gorilla Grill, campus buildings, resi- dence halls, and, yes, even restrooms. According to an interoffice memo from Larry Nokes, director of the Physical Plant, and Clifford Beougher, vice president for busi- ness and fiscal affairs, the people in charge of specific areas of the buildings decide where the smok- ing sections should be. Beougher can order a smoking section to be changed to non-smoking if the need arises. The memo also claims that the Physical Plant is in charge of distributing the signs that tell everyone, “Smoking is Prohibited by State Law Except Where Posted.” Each individual office is allow- ed to choose whether it will be smoking or non-smoking. According to Nokes, there is no specific person in charge of each building. Some people have volunteered, or through the evolution of the university” have been appointed to the position. One of these people is Dr. Richard Welly, dean of College of Arts and Sciences. Because of his seniority in Grubbs Hall, he was asked to determine where the smoking areas should be. Welty called a meeting of the chairpersons and other staff members of Grubbs Hall. After debating the issue, they decided a smoking area should be a place that non-smokers can avoid. The lobby was considered, but rejected because it was too 30 A No Smoking