4A
Tuesday, November 8, 1994
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
Elections give citizens a voice in government
Today is Election Day, and the idea it advances — free citizens in a democratic country voting for their government representatives and leaders should be practiced by everyone. including you.
Today, 35 seats are up for election in the U.S. Senate. All 435 seats of the U.S. House of Representatives are being contested. The state of Kansas will elect a governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer and insurance commissioner in addition to all 125 seats in the Kansas House of Representatives. Each one of these seats matters and so does your vote.
People have been led to believe that their vote does not count. That is wrong.Clearly,it is easy to look at the results of a national election and wonder how one vote out of 100 million cast makes a difference. But if everyone took that view then the foundation that this country was built upon would crumble to the ground.
The Kansan has interviewed candidates and made its recommendations. You may agree with some and disagree with others. We think government would run better if the people we endorse are elected, but the most important piece of advice we can give you is this: Go vote.
Especially on state and local issues, voting is one of the most powerful and influential actions a citizen can take. Races for local and state offices are often close, and every vote impacts the outcome of the election.
The Kansan endorses:
U. S. House of Representatives — 2nd District Sam Brownback (R)
U. S. House of Representatives - 3rd District Judy Hancock (D)
Kansas governor:
Jim Slatterv (D)
Kansas state treasurer:
Sally Thompson (D)
Kansas commissioner of insurance:
Kathleen Sebelius (D)
Kansas House of Representatives 44th District Barbara Ballard (D)
Kansas House of Representatives — 45th District Forrest Swall (D)
Kansas House of Representatives — 46th District Troy Findley (D)
Douglas County Commission — 1st District:
Mark Buhler (R)
Ballot question:
Shall a county-wide retailers' sales tax in the amount of 1 percent be imposed by the Board of County Commissioners of Douglas County for the following purpose: expansion and operation of the county jail; acquisition, construction and improvement of facilities for the Bert Nash Mental Health Center, the Douglas County Visiting Nurses Association and the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department; and development and operation of parks and recreation facilities and programs? YES
Ballot question:
Shall Unified School District No. 497, Lawrence, issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $36.9 million to pay for the following improvements: construct and equip a second high school; renovate and remodel six elementary schools and two junior high schools; and various other structural, educational and athletic improvements to district schools? YES
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Editors
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like if the Spanish government had not allowed Junipero Serra and his merry band of Francisans to found outposts in the wilderness that was to become California?
Proposition 187 is commical at best
Proposition 187. What a wacky idea, huh? Why is it up always the Californians that come with the best ideas, any-way? Maybe it's the smog or the long hours of being caught in rush-hour traffic. Nevertheless, these nutty, sunkabed Californians come up with some of the most inane yet influential ideas in the country.
So let's take a look at good ol' Prop 187. Should California have the right to deny basic services and opportunities to illegal aliens? What is an illegal alien, anyway? Does the fact that California belonged to Mexico longer than it has to the United States have any bearing on the issue? Don't you think that we should go back a little further than the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, anyway? Why not go all the way back to 1848 or even 1492 for that matter? Wouldn't that be interesting?
We would definitely increase transatlantic traffic. That's right, the Atlantic Ocean. The mass exodus of people would not be headed toward the south, it would be headed toward
the east. So all of you white, Caucasian, gringo, honky, melanin-challenged European Americans would be headed home. Round 'em up boys. It's nothing personal, really. Some of my closest friends are white. I mean, I'm not prejudiced. In fact I even listen to country and western music. But I'm kind of tired of these people coming to my continent and taking jobs from real North Americans. I mean we were here first, anyway!
NICOLAS SHUMP
One advantage would be that all the white males, who have been crying so
All right, I suppose that we could allow some of the European-American interlopers to stay but only under certain conditions. First, they would have to have national identification cards that would serve as proof of their alien status. Second, they would have to try to find gainful employment rather than sponge off the government. Finally, they would have to be able to speak the native language of whatever state or area in which they lived. For instance, Californians would need to speak Spanish, whites in South Dakota might have to learn Sioux or another Native-American dialect. It's only fair, especially if they want to stay in our country. I mean, America should not be open to just anyone, right?
hard about the preference for minorities, could go back home to compete for jobs. No more need to worry about preferential hiring. Of course, this would severely damage some of our sports leagues like the PGA Tour or the Professional Bowlers Association, not to mention the impact on the tennis circuit. Caucasians are sure good at those sports, aren't they? Must be genetic.
Naturally, the geographical makeup of the country would change a bit. The Midwest and most of the South would have to be given back to the Native Americans. Ditto for parts of the Dakotas and some of the Southwest. Of course this would be contingent upon the various tribes making arrangements with the Mexican government, who would be in control of the Southwest once again. As for those whining Californians, they could just as easily be living in a state controlled by the Catholic Church. After all, the church established all of the major cities in California, anyway. Who knows what California would be
Nicolas Shump is a Lawrence senator in comparative literature.
Matt Hood / KANSAN
Immigration proposition could spread, hurt the United States
Californians will be voting on an issue that could contaminate the rest of our nation. We've all heard the reasons for Proposition 187. The people of California claim that they are constantly living in fear of crime and are suffering economic hardships. Who do they blame? In a less than politically correct response, here is what many think but don't say in public, "Those damn webbacks take our jobs, and those lazy women come here to have their kids... Prop. 187 is the only way to ensure an America for Americans."
Ironically, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and, yes, California were all property of Mexico. Time may have changed boundaries but not attitudes. Mexicans come here for family reunification, for jobs and to flee persecution. This column challenges those of you who are convinced by political rhetoric to favor Prop. 187. I hope this column will open your eyes to see the real problems and consequences of this proposal.
First, everyone talks about how immigrants cost Californians. According to research published this year, immigrants in California contribute about $30 billion in taxes and receive only $18.7 billion in governmental services. Only 3.8 percent of California's long-term immigrants receive welfare, Social Security or other types of assistance. In fact,
GUEST COLUMNIST
SANDRA OLIVAS
immigrants tend to avoid any institution that even resembles government authority for fear of deportation.
Second, immigrants don't take jobs away from U.S. citizens. Immigrants work in jobs with extremely low wages and such deplorable conditions most Americans wouldn't stand for.
Third, on the surface, the proposition denies education to illegal aliens and their children. But it does much more than that. If it passes today, more than 400,000 kids will be kicked out of school. This violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court said, "Denying schooling will impose a lifetime of hardship on children who are not responsible for their status." Moreover, it would create and perpetuate an illiterate underclass.
If Californian们 are worried about crime now, they better be really scared if Prop. 187 passes. Immigrants should be just as worried. If passed, criminals would prey upon the entire immigrant community with greater frequency because witnesses and victims would not report crimes for fear of deportation.
Prop. 187 has one more suspicious clause. Anyone suspected of being illegal must be reported to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Who would be the suspects? Whites? I don't think so. Look at my picture... under Prop. 187 I would be asked to show proof of my citizenship because of the color of my skin.
Look at my picture again. Look at my face, hear my voice. I have lived illegally in this country for 18 years and have finally acquired proper documentation. But papers or not, America has always been my home.
Some politicians are just waiting to see if Prop. 187 is passed so they can propose it in their own states. In the beginning, I said this issue could contaminate the nation. If you discover cancer, it is best to kill it before it spreads.
Call your state representatives and urge them to voice their disapproval. Viva la Causa!
Sandra Oliva is a Kansas City, Kan., Junior in Journalism.
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
Reminder to recycle does not do enough
I may not be able to tell you why Democrats and Republicans smell more like fetid Camembert come election time; I may not know why the Ahabs of this world can't get their whales; I may not be able to say which U.S. state scored lowest in geography, and even if I could. I might not be able to find that state on a map; I really can't say if we'll have another World Series or if I should care; yea, of all the great, unfathomable mysteries of life one small anchor of wisdom holds me within the comforting fold of sanity: the University Daily Kansan staff responsible for the cute remind us to "Keep It Clean" has not been to class in the past two months. Otherwise, they would have discovered the discarded paper lining the floors of classrooms like cedar chips in a hamster cage. If you are to promote recycling efforts on campus, consider investing in recycling bins for every building and divesting yourselves of bad parenting, or drop the idyllic ad from the paper.
Kelly Dunkelberger Graduate student
Affirmative action equalizes America
Jenny Branman's article in the the Daily Kansan (Nov. 1) raises important issues for the workplace. What the issue has become is that the white male culture is being challenged by equality in the workplace.
If the benefactors of affirmative action receive jobs they are underqualified for then their lack of qualification will soon be uncovered by poor job performance. Minorities and women should not be seen as receiving jobs because of affirmative action but as earning jobs because of their qualifications.
What has resulted from this uphill crawl towards equality, besides more jobs for minorities and women, is a paranoia. A paranoid that is quite similar to that expressed by white farmers in the Union States after the Civil War and the emancipation of the slaves into a more subtle slavery. That post-emancipation slavery is still in effect. Affirmative action, while not always a positive in society, has resulted in the opening of the work force to women and minorities. That is obviously a positive.
Patrick Cliff
Patrick Cam
Grosse Point, Mich., sophomore
HUBIE
By Greg Hardin