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Vol. 63, No.2 LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY AUGUST 26, 1991 20 PAGES AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER FREE
University student files lawsuit,
wins temporary court injunction
ByTHOMASPACE
Staff Writer
A suit asking that a st:Jte law requiring
mandatory student health insurance be
declared unconstitutional has resulted in
the University of Louisville and other
State colleges dropping the requiremClll,
at least temporari ly.
The uit was filed in Franklin Circuit
Coun Aug. 5 by U of L senior Michael
Kessler and Julie Pincombe, a nursing
student at Ashland Community College
(part of the University of Kentucky's
community college system). against
KClllucky 's Depanment ofl nsurance and
state Auomey General Fred Cowan. U of
Land UK are also defendants in the case.
"I reviewed the situation, and it was clear to me what
was being done. I felt it to be unconstitutional and
wrong .I will receive no payment. Sometimes you do
things because it is the right thing to do ."
Attorney David Holton,
on his reasons for representing the students
singled out when 700,<XX>pcoplearenot."
Kessler said. "I am an elected represen·
t:Jtive at U of L, and my constituents see
this as an unjust thing. Weshouldn'thavc
to st:lnd for it"
Pincombc, 20, agreed, saying thcst:lte
has no right to force health insurance on
students.
the state's constitution.
"We really don't have any opinion,"
Miller said. 'lhc only reason we arc
involved is that the constitutionality of a
state law is challenged."
Jennifer Carrico, U of L's Student
Govcmmcnt Association presidenl, sided
with Kessler and Pincombe.
Kentucky colleges or universities are re­quired
to carry health insurance by Sept
I, 1991.
Under the law, anyone who docs not
meet the minimum health insurance re­quirements
will have $60 tacked onto
their tuition bill and will be provided with
a policy.
Thepolicycovershospilaliuttioncosts
for up to 14 daysand50percentofdoctors
fees. It also covers costs if the patient is
admiued to the emergency room.
Kessler said the additional charge is
unfair.
"I feel as though it is hard enough to get
an undergraduate degree without people
adding more to the bill," he said.
Preparations for the suit began in
February, when SGA presidents from
several Kentucky schools began seeking
legal advice regarding the law.
Ivan Ramirez,
at left, of El
Salvador and
Christian
Gamarra of
Bolivia
returned from
a VISit to the
new
Multicultural
Center,
temporarily
located In the
Red Barn
until Its new
$1 .3 million
home can be
constructed.
Kessler and Pincombe also asked for
an injunction Aug. 5 to keep the law from
being enforced. At an Aug. 12 hearing,
thecoun granted Kessler and Pincombe 's
request, ruling that neither will be affected
by the Sept. I dcadli ne.
Because of the ruling, U of L decided
not to waive the mandatory student health
insurance, at least until the case is settled.
Other schools who will not require the
in urance include Eastern Kentucky
University, Western Kentucky Univer­sity,
Murray State and UK.
"The way I look at it is the thing is
unconstitutional," Pincombe said. "It's
like they are in here to pluck peopleoutof
a hat."
Palrick Watts, counsel for the Depan­ment
of Insurance, disagreed, saying the
sUKicnts should pursue a differCllt avenue
if they want the law changed.
"The unconstitutionality of it is bla­Lanl,"
Carrico said. "It is a blatant class
legislation. I think the plantiffs' chances
are superb."
Carrico said the current debate over
mandatory health in urancc stems from a
larger problem in society.
Once the presidents' auomeysadviscd
them totakethecase tocoun,asearch for
plantiffs was conducted. Each state school
was responsible for finding 10 plantifs
apiece.
Eighty planliffs were selected, and
attorney David Holton, who was hired by
the presidents to represent the plan tiffs in
April, selected Kessler and Pincombe in
late July.
Cultural center opens its
doors to U of L students
Kessler, a 26-year old history major
and a memberofU ofL's student senate,
said although only two percent of
Kentucky's college students will be af­fected,
the law is till unfair.
"It is unjust and unconstitutional for a
small portion of the population 10 be
"We disagree with the allegation that
the suit is unconstitutional," Watts said.
"lf the students feel it should be repealed,
they should contact their legislators and
go through the means provided there."
Phil Miller, a spokesman for the state
AuomeyGeneral, would not comment on
the suit iLSCif, saying Cowan's office L~
named only because the suit pertains to
"My opinion is an auempt should be
made to remedy a weakness of society
rather than change a resuiL," she said.
"(The problem is) students who don't
have insurance ... We need to get to the
root of the problem."
The law, which was enacted by the
1990 Kentucky General Assembly, states
that all full-time students and those carry­ing
at least 75% of a full -time load in
"I reviewed the si tuation, and it was
clear to me what was being done," Holton
said. "I felt it to be unconstitutional and
wrong. I will receive no paymenL Some­times
you do things because it is the right
thing to do."
Although the suit has not been settled
yet, Pincornbe said she's still confident
about it's chances.
"Everything's looking grcal," she said.
"Everything has been good so far."
By JACKIE HOLLENKAMP
Staff Writer
When a group of black students
approached University of Louisville
administrators in the fall of 1989 with
a list of grievances, the idea for a
Multicultural Center was born. Nearly
two years later, it is a virtual reality.
The students, many of whom were
members of the Black Student Alli­ance,
went to U ofL President Donald
Swain and Vice President of Student
Affairs Dennts Golden with co~
cems about the treatment of minori­ties
on campus and requested a place
where minorny st udents could
gather. The center was created in
rc ponse to those demands a~ a place
where the students can meet for
presentations, v1cw cxh1bits or just
relax.
The offic ial openmg of the
Sec CIJL TURAL
Page3 Carrico finds her niche as head
of U of L's student government RESTRUCTURING AT U OF L
By THOMAS PACE
Staff W riler
When Jennifer Carrico was a high school studenl, she
didn'tcare about what went on around her, and she didn't
think she had much to offer.
Changes within A& S include both
immediate and long-term planning
Now. as president of the Student Government Associa­tion
at the University of Louisville, Carrico's altitudes
have undergone a complete turnaround. She said her ex­periences
at U of L have made her reali7~ how damaging
her former state of mind was.
"I was a walking example of someone who does not
invest in themselves," Carrico said. "I didn't care- not
about my urroundings, my world. I showed no respect to
my peers and was mediocre, at best, in my classes.
"Put it this way, I would not be moved to go back to the
reunion. And that was not the school's fault, it was mine."
By DONNA HEOOESPETH
s tafT writer
As pan of U nivcrsity-wide reslruetur­ing,
the College of Ans and Sciences has
undergone many dramatic changes to re­flect
new academic demands of its stu­dents.
A new tw~tiered organizational
structure has been established to address
these needs.
One change that will directly affect
incoming A&S students is the creation of
a new position, Associate Dean for Un­dergraduate
Education. The new dean
will be responsible for overseeing the
advising of freshman and sophomores.
Hynes sees the establishment of the
new dean as a continuance of A&S' ef­fons
to assist new students with Univer­sity
procedures.
II was with this auitude that Carrico entered U ofL in the
fal l of 1987 and slowly began to change her outlook.
"I came here and mel so many people who cared so
much about their surroundings," he said. "That was truly
iL I saw thauhemore you get involved, the more you invest
in yourself."
Student Government president Jennifer Carrico.
recruiting volunteers to go to Frankfon and lobby to stop
tuition hike . "
The rcorgani7A!tion caiJs for three units,
the DivisionofScienceand Mathematics,
the Division of Social and Behavioral
Scienccs,andtheDivisionofHumanities
and Fine Ans. Although each division
will be headed-up by a Vice Dean, the
president's report clearly makes provi­sions
for a Slrong dean in A&S "to provide
overall leadership."
"Right now weareauernpting to build
upon our initial steps to help students," he
said." Approximately four years ago A&S
appointed an Assistant Dean for Advis­ing.
This is a pan of an evolution of
positions our office has established to
assist students."
It was in her fre hman composition cl that he found
theopponunity to start making a difference for herself and
her environment
I! was on this trip that Carrico felt she should get more
mvolved with student government and decision-making
at U of L.
A n o th e r
change in the
report provides
fora Women's
Center to "ac­knowledge
the
imponance of
women's is-
"1 had always wanted to be a lobbyist," Carrico said.
"(Former SGA president) Doug Devine and Tim llagcny,
who was director of student advocates for educmion, were
That pring, she ran for and won a seat on the College
of Ansand Sciences' student council. During her one-year
"The theory is a structurally organized
scheme headed by Vice Deans of divi­sions
will result in improved communica­tion
and decision-making at all levels of
the College," said Thomas Hynes, Acting
Dean of A&S.
Welcome
Back!
W,t~ !r>,s spec'a' back-to·
SChOO' Pd'tiO" Tilt- LOUISVIlle
Card,nal reSu"'PS publ,cat1on
'o· t••e •a;' SP"'Pster The
Cardmal wil oeg,r 1ts normal
Thursday de:,ve-y w1th the
SeotP""bP' 5 ed't'on
INDEX
See INVOLVEMENT, Page2
Marriott replaces PFM in U ofL 'food wars'
By PAUL A. FUL Tl
Staff Writer
StudcnL~ retummg to the Umvcr ily of Lou­isville
this week may notice several changes in
the school's cafetena~ and rest:Jurants. That's
because a new company, Marriou, has replaced
Professional Food Management (PFM) as U of
L' food rvice vendor.
Oncoftheb1ggcst hanges isanewcomput­ent.
cd cash regi tcr ystem de igncd to reduce
the amount of time customers <;pend m line.
Evcryonebuymgameal plan will pay money
up front and receive a card foruse1npurchasing
food. A arc uh, cashiers won't have to count
money or make change as often, theoretically
speeding up lines. U of L 's meal plans previ­ously
used a imilar system, but it did not have
the the current plan's computerized support
Other new services offered by Marriott in ­cludea
menu lineat588-6625 that students can
call for the latest information about food offer­ing
. The line features a recording that will be
changed daily. Students with complaints or
questions about service can air them by calling
Marriott's customer service line at 1-800-277-
6625.
According to Paul Kinney, U of L's A i -
Lanl Vice-Pre idcnt for Contract Administra­tion,
the University decided last spring to seck
bids from several food service vendors, includ­ing
PFM. Kinney said the search, UofL's fii'St
during the 12 years it employed PFM, was not
prompted by any specific problems with that
company.
"We believed that the campus had stabilized
as far as new buildings and thought it was time
to go out and actively rebid for the food service
operations," Kinney said." ... PFM could have
won that just as much as anyone else."
A total of five companies were finali ts for
the position, Kinney said. The finalists were
ranked one through five based on comparisons
of co ts and type of services. Marriou came
in first; PFM wa ranked third.
See MARRIOTT
Page4
DESTINY'S
DARLING:
u of L football
coach Howard
Schnellenberger
ruminated on
new strategies
to capture
another Bowl
victory. See
the coach's
column In the
Football
Preview
section, pages
10 and 11 .
sues." The report said the center will be
designed to meet any special needs fe­male
faculty and students may have.
'lhc idea is to provide progress in
dealing with issues pertaining to gender,"
Women's Studies professor Mary
Hawkesworth said. "We hope it will be of
interest to the whole population, though.
The center will do things for women
faculty, staff and students."
Faculty reaction to plans for the center
have been posi tive, according to
Hawkesworth, and the dean's office has
t:lkcn an active role in expediting the
process.
See ARTS
Page4
Arta 6
Football Preview __ 1 0
Sporta 14
Claaalfled Ads ---17
Edltorlala 18
Comlca 19
J. B. Speed Art
Mu eum offers
fami ly fun
See Story, Page 7
U of L tackles
EKUin
season opener
See Story, Page 14