4A
Monday, January 30,1995
OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
THE ISSUE: NEWSPAPER SERIES ON POLICE SPENDING
Report revamps news integrity
ust when when the line between good journalism and tabloid journalism was becoming indistinguishable, The Kansas City Star helped put the word integrity back in the definition of journalism.
The Star staff writers Bob Lynn and Karen Dillon put the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners on trial in a three day investigative series examining the unchecked spending habits of the board.
On Jan.24, the day that the series concluded, Missouri Gov.Mel Carnahan ordered an investigation into the board's operations.
The investigation will examine the board's financial operations and its compliance with state law.
Talk about action. Electricity seemed to surge from the pages. One could almost hear high-ranking officials slamming copies of the paper down to their desks in disgust.
According to The Star, certain high-ranking members of the Kansas City, Mo., police department have labeled the report an attack of the department itself. But the series didn't attack the department or the officers. It didn't need
An investigative series in the Kansas City Star last week got immediate results; Gov. Carnahan ordered an investigation the next day.
to. The Kansas City Police force is recognized nationally for valor and service to its community.
The board that oversees the spending of taxpayers money acted, in the words of The Star's report, as a "virtual rubber stamp for the organization." Lynn and Dillon discovered that the department has conducted illegal meetings to decide how millions of dollars should be spent.
They also found that the department has collected millions of dollars in a virtually secret, unbudgeted fund called the Treasurer's Account, or "T-account."
The Star has pointed out, with the board's natural insulation—four of the five members are appointed should come responsibility and accountability, neither of which the board displayed.
The Kansas City Star should be applauded for following the tenets of good journalism and for finding the truth.
MATT GOWEN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD.
Spotlight shines on both sides
THE ISSUE: ATHLETES AS CELEBRITIES
With all the local media attention that June Henley's
private life has been attracting, Henley may be asking himself, why me?
Unfortunately for athletes and other public figures, their lives are always examined under a microscope. Therefore, their personal lives are perpetually susceptible to public scrutiny.
The Supreme Court interprets public figures as people who seek the limelight or inject themselves into a public debate. June Henley definitely fits this category. He made this decision when he signed his letter of intent to play football for the University of Kansas.
Unfortunately for Henley and other public figures, the limelight they seek for their positive accomplishments in turn seeks them out for their negative ones.
Public figures need to understand that there are two sides to publicity, one good and one not so good
In the past, Henley had been rewarded for his athletic ability.
The front-page articles in the sports sections praising him for good games are proof of this. It should then come as no surprise to Henley, or anyone else, when his off-field antics wind up on front pages, also.
Like it or not, our society holds athletes and celebrities on a higher moral plateau.
Anyone who qualifies for this elite group should be well aware of this by now and should live their lives accordingly.
The trials and tribulations of athletes and public figures follow the adage perfectly. The taller they are, the harder they fall.
Maybe June Henley should ask Nancy Kerrigan for help on this subject.
TIM MUIR FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
The gist of the push for term limits in Congress is that we don't trust those career politicians as far as we can throw 'em.
Jeff MacNelly / CHICAGO TRIBUNE
And, goodness knows, trying to hurl Ted Kennedy for any distance would put one hell of a strain on the lower back.
Whoa, that was a long intro. I must have been using that "State of the Union" approach to idea dissemination. So forget the politics, let's talk rock and roll, er, rock, and roll with a little help from the idea men in Washington.
Those who claim to know label term limits as old-time Populist stuff. Put the power back in the hands of the people (See California and its interesting referendum system to see how this plays out. Every organized John Doe with a Christ complex about taxation can pull the trigger on footshooting legislation that pushes California closer and closer to qualifying as a United Nations aid recipient with development nation status).
We could debate the merits of term limits until, well, until a more popular and equally shallow issue comes along with which to torture the American public into yet another soundbyte shell game. But, as Dennis Miller's cleverness let us know during President Bill's speech, none of it means squat. Basically, the little peeling contests the boys in D.C. hold are commercials for the O.J. miniseries.
Forget politicians, old rock stars should have term limits
STEPHEN MARTINO
Editor
DENISE NEIL
Managing editor
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
Business Staff
Editors
JENNIFER PERRIER
Business manager
MARK MASTRO
Retail sales manager
CATHERINE ELLSWORTH
Technology coordinator
News ... Carlos Tejada
Planning ... Mark Martin
Editorial ... Matt Gowen
Associate Editorial ... Heather Lawrence
Campus ... David Wilson
... Colleen McCain
Sports ... Gerry Fey
Associate Sports ... Ashley Miller
Photo ... Jarrett Latt
Features ... Nathan Olean
Design ... Brian James
Freelance ... Susan White
Campus mgr ...Beth Pola
Regional mgr ...Chris Branman
National mgr ...Shelly Falevis
Coop mgr ...Kelly Connelys
Special Sections mgr ..Brigg Bloomquist
Production mgr ..JJ Cook
...Kim Hyman
Marketing director ..Mindy Blum
Promotions director ..Justin Frosolone
Creative director ..Dan Gler
Classified mgr ..Jlea Kulseh
Those new kids on the block in
jeans and a good blues guitarist, to name a few. Old rock stars are not in that select company.
Some lecherous 50-year-old swinging his lycra-pouched package around with a face skin-grafted from the leathery ass of a rhino stopped being a rock and roll musician worth my time somewhere between his fourth blood transfusion and his second grandchild. Rock rule No. 1: groups peak. They reach a level of artistic success, and then they only go down. The Stones peaked. They fell. Aerosmith peaked (maybe). They plummeted. The Eagles peaked. They got the hell out of Dodge.
O yeah, I forgot their reunion tour.
How the hell does that happen?
We live in an age, call it the Baby Boomers as Decision Makers Age, where the easy-listening muzak on a Chevy commercial or in a dentist's waiting room is the same music played by most of the rock-format FM radio stations around town. Hey, the times they are (not) changin'. This crap on the airwaves is OLD dudes. Hey, I'm as age sensitive as the next guy, but I appreciate life with a few basic rules. Some things age better than others: wine, fish stories, blue
"She has more of a social life than I do. She meets a lot of dog friends."
Henley: "Hey, man, you know that inflated-junk-bond mess of the '80s really caught me off-guard."
Walsh: "What do you say? Line up some gigs? Charge at least $100 a head?"
Frey: "Dude, I hear you. I got so unliquid when the SoCal real-estate curve flattened out."
When the term is up, get out, get a life, find God, count your money, do anything but subject us to any more bizarre "do me" lyrics with underlying statutory-rape/masturbation themes. For God's sake, buy a cabin in Missoula and chop some wood.
Generic old roadie dude: "Cool"
Henley: "Hey, wait. Was that gross or net?"
Guys, give us a break. You should have invested in government bonds or something else secure and kept those raggedly butts off the stage.
Congress gave me a great idea: term limits for rock stars/bands. Ten years or six albums, whichever comes first. Bands can tour as often as they like during that period. Also, two bonus years will be added for the untimely death of a band member (The Bonham rule — Led
John Martin is a Lawrence first-year law student.
STAFF COLUMNIST
"I've been here seven years, and every time I walk out through that tunnel under the scoreboard I get little cold chills. And the day that those stop happening is the day I stop coaching."
"Face it, Robinson sucks. It's hot. It it's ugly. It's crowded." Ami Hizer, Teopka junior, on the need for a new recreation center.
Zep) with a limit of two deaths for an additional four years to limit taking one for the team (the Cobain rule).
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"You have to be restless, never satisfied. There will be good days and bad days. You've got to believe in what you are doing. The best people are covered with scars." —Ross Perot, in a recent speech to students at K-State University, on the need to work hard for the future.
"Iknew she wasn't going to press charges. She didn't want to see me go to jail." — June Henley, Kansas sophomore tailback, after the district attorney's office didn't file charges against him involving an alleged assault Jan. 12.
—Ross Perot, in a recent speech to students at K-State University, on the need to work hard for the future.
compiled from Kansan staff reports the week of Jan. 23
Don't look up; keep reading for tips on talk at the quiet KU
Shhhhhh.
Be quiet. Don't talk to anyone.
That person sitting next to you?
Don't look! Keep your eyes forward, and pretend you're really involved with this column. Nod your head in agreement, perhaps make a "hummm..." sound. You don't know
that person, so don't talk to them.
don't talk to them.
What am I talking about?
No one's talking. The KU campus is an area crowded with thousands of students, yet the conversations, especially among strangers or casual acquaintances, could be counted with only two hands. With the advent of television and other exploding media, the art of conversation, the game of words, is a vanishing discipline. In buses, elevators and classrooms across campus, students would rather stare than say hello.
But wait! Before you turn and participate with your neighbor in casual discussion, here are a few tips. First, and a well-noted stumbling block to giving good word is the phrase "not much." Example is as follows:
"Hey! What's up?"
"Not much"(Sigh)
If you are asked what's up or what's going on, don't say "not much" unless you are particularly repulsed by this person's mannersism or halitosis.
Think back to what you've been doing for the past two, five, 12 hours, and ANSWER THE QUESTION!!
That's the idea, after all.
They are a performance of sorts, with an audience of one. There is no need to act because you're playing a familiar role that requires little practice since it has sprooted from the campfire and the tribe.
Second, don't be afraid to ask the person who in God's green earth they are. Perhaps the person seems vaguely familiar, but you've forgotten. A conversation does not go well if your mind is busy racing through its filing cabinets. How many times have you heard someone say, "I'm terrible with names." Of course you are! Who isn't? Don't be ignorant and continue with a ridiculous conversation with an anonymous person. It is comfortable to hear your name being said by your partner. But Dude, man, guy, you—none of these are as satisfying as what you are called and what others call you.
They are spontaneous. The linguistic route shifts at random, being furthered by unknown strands of conversations past. They cultivate the language — countless symbols, infinite varieties — adding to your vocabulary and to the knowledge of the world you live in.
So, now you can impose on someone else's blank-paper world. You can end the quiet, boring atmosphere. You can learn, and you can teach.
Third, never bring up the weather unless it is of catastrophic proportions. It's the No.1 killer of promising conversations. Example:
They are a challenge, forcing you to be yourself as much as you can without embarrassment.
Glazed stares, thoughts of breakfast. What to talk about? Simple, pick a topic of mutual interest and ramble. Don't be concerned about what the other person will think. Think you're ready? Wait. What is so wonderful about conversations anwvag?
Conservation of conversation.
Hev. I like that.
"Hello, how are you?"
"Fine."
"Boy, it sure is nice outside, isn't it?"
"Yep."
David Day is a Wichita Junior in magazine journalism and creative writing.
HUBIE
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By Greg Hardin