4
Monday, May 3, 1976
University Daily Kansan
KANSAN Comment
Oinions on this page reflect only the view of the writer.
Dykes the optimist
Chancellor Archie R. Dykes, KU's eternal optimist, began his state of the University address Thursday on a note of doom. He read tales of other schools throughout the country who were in financial straits because their state legislatures had approved cutbacks or only minimal increases in funding.
Then Dykes got to the good part and listed the gains the University had made through the legislature this year.
DYKES POINTED to the 8 per cent increase in salaries for both classified and unclassified employees. He also cited other gains: a 10 per cent increase in funds for operating costs, approval of 74 new unclassified and 27.4 new classified positions for next year and construction funds for the computation center.
Dykes praised the work of leaders among the faculty, student body, alumni, administration and Endowment Association. He stressed the work of these supporters of the University as invaluable to its progress.
"In this year I think I've seen a coming together of faculty, students, alumni and people throughout the state and their support for the University," he said.
The future is very uncertain, he said, because of the projected decline in the total number of college-age students. He emphasized that to ensure the security of the University, KU supporters would have to work to increase public comfort with the university's presence throughout his address. Dykes placed the burden of this effort on the faculty.
"Much of what the future holds can be determined by those in the institution," he
The strength of any university lies in its faculty. Dykes said it was the duty of the University to serve the public and thus impress on them the value of education as a resource that must be developed. He said an administration
plan to build confidence was being developed and would be implemented this summer.
BUT THE MOST important factor in building confidence is the quality of education available to KU students, and this primarily involves the faculty. Dykes emphasized the importance of teaching and congratulated the faculty on gains made in their course. He satisfied with their education, they become "ambassadors of good will." he said, and they promote support of the University.
By working with the legislature the faculty can influence the direct source of its support. Dykes stressed the importance of personal contact with the legislature. Faculty government and the American Association of University Professors offers specific vehicles for action, according to Dykes. The final means he mentioned of developing confidence was an effort by the administration to inform the legislature and the people about the University.
DYKES SAID he feared a lack of knowledge about the University far more than he feared criticism that arose from information concerning problems
Overall, the optimism of Dykes once again permeated his message to the University. He said that if all those who were connected in anyway with KU would just "rally" together, the future would be bright.
He challenged the faculty and others interested in the University to actively express their concern. If the enthusiasm expressed by the chancellor can be funneled into the efforts of those concerned individuals, the confidence of the people of the state will undoubtedly be strengthened. If the challenge is met, the optimistic goals of Dykes for this University will probably be attained.
By John Johnston
Contributing Writer
Readers Respond
Intramurals criticism challenged by official
I read with interest John Johnston's editorial April 27th titled "Intramurals Offer Top Challenge." As an official in six sports of various age levels for six years, and an intramural player in the top official's side should be presented contesting Johnston's "expert" intramural participant comments.
To the Editor:
Johnston seemed to dwell on the inconsistency and interpretations of rules among the intramural department. His animosity should not, however, be thrust upon the intramural department, but rather on the parallels between the roles he is recording the rules of the game.
Before every sport season the intramural department proffers to all teams and individuals involved a set of rules for that particular sport. In major sports, such as basketball, ice hockey, or soccer, managers meeting is held to provide additional comments and interpretations to the managers. Having officiated
many games in these sports, it is manifest that most participants and teams do not see it necessary to read these rules. They may forget that the majority of arguments and comments posed to officials are not judgment calls at all, but written rules in official rule guides or intramural changes that participant have failed to know.
ALL OFFICIALS in the intramural program are student volunteers or officiating class students. Each official is viewed by one of numerous supervisors and is being evaluated on their performance through our I will course. Those existing as aulty of poor judges, any student organization, including the Kansan, has some levels of incompetence.
I challenge Johnston to officiate a few games for the intramural department. As he will quickly learn, it takes extraordinary patience and judgment to officiate, especially on the college intramural level. But if by
chance the editorial author's outlook persists, may be remember the astonish person's life if you like it, maybe like the weather-move!"
Terry White
Overland Park Senior
Eloquence is precious rare
For some years now, authorities on the use of language have been complaining about the degenerate nouns used in the language usage. Theodore Bernstein, Russell Baker, William Safire
writing a definitive book on the matters of usage and grammar.
ALL OF us who have been fortunate enough to take Bremner's editing jobs have been extremely sensitive for clarity, good
By John Hickey Contributing Writer
grammar and the correct use of words. That is because Bremner is a dynamic teacher and perhaps the nation's leading authority on the English language.
Thus it was hard for me to become inspired enough to start writing. I am aware of the world of language pollution. I scowled at television ad-
and Edwin Newman have written eloquently about the lack of eloquence. They have attacked the imprecision, objection and exaggeration and solemnity that nerved today's language.
John Brenner, professor of journalism who is now in Australia on sabbatical from the University, is I, hope.
vertements, held my ears when the radio offended, scrawled copy markings on errant newspapers and announcements, a grammar of my friends. I edited copy for the Kanran for three semesters, carrying on a personal crusade against pollution in the forms of fad advertisements, passives and gobbledygook.
I winced when my professors tacked "situation," 'level" or "power." The grocery clerks gave me quizzical looks when I told them their signs should read, "Five items, or fewer." instead of
of language for last semester's Kansan.
I read Bernstein's "The Careful Writer" three times, learning to distinguish "concern" from "that" from "which" and "practicable" from "practical." Inspired by Newman's work, I wrote a somewhat virulent column about the degradation
REGRETABLY, my crusade didn't do much good. My friends still use "hopefully" to mean "I hope." The Kansan was still full of mistakes after I had helped edit it. The signs at the grocery store still read "I'm hungry up." After all, even Bremner couldn't correct all the mistakes of his own students.
Bernstein went as far as suggesting that we give up the grammatical distinction between "who" and "whom." He argued that because the two words were so often confused, "who" should be used exclusively except when it imitates a formal preposition. Thus Bernstein would have us say, "Who do we play next?" but "To whom it may concern."
How could I hope to make any headway when Bernstein is giving up on "who" and
"whom" and communication was "viable information transfer" with the purpose of "securing input and feedback accorded to making an evaluation in terms of a response"?
NOW I have decided (formulated a decision) to take (implement, institute) a positive approach (position with regard to this situation). I will henceforth accept outright abuse of the English language as a normal circumstance. I will attempt to paint pain and discourage when I encounter such abuse. Instead, I intend to seek eloquence, grace and beauty.
The rare examples of these qualities deserve recognition and commendation. Only when one encourages the vestiges of clarity and eloquence that have been salvaged from the forces of obfuscation, imprecision and verbosity.
Anti-arms marchers keep on trudgin'
WASHINGTON—The happy news is that the Russians do understand the stupidity of the
fulfill the object which the Governments have set before themselves . . . It appears
arms race, as excerpts from this official state paper show: "in proportion as the armies increase," so they less and less increase, so do they less and less
evident that if this state of things were prolonged, it would inevitably lead to the very worst of things. To avert ... To put an end to these
"WELL HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW HE WAS ONE OF US?"
1976 NITT SPECIAL FEATURES
incessant armaments . . . such is the supreme duty which is today imposed on all States."
The not-so-good news is that the above was prepared by the Czar for the 1888 Hague conference on disarmament. So where does that leave us? Just walking east along a highway near the Arizona-New Mexico border.
These 25 hikers are the core group of the Continental Walk for Disarmament and Social Justice. Since setting out in 1984, they report several thousand people have walked a portion of the way with them. When they reach Washington in October they will be joined by other walkers from New Orleans and New England.
Pretty frail stuff with the airwaves clogged with talk about better bombers and slicker missiles. Besides their bulletproof uniforms, unmarked upon pedestrians have is the peace sign. Dick Nixon, Sammy Davis Jr., J. Walter Thompson, Ed Muskie and Hollywood are finished with the most symbolic symbol eschokes to them.
The symbol—thought to be a stylized atomic mushroom—isn't an artifact of the '80s but of the previous decade. If you use it in your clothing, trudging, unafended by the national media, down the side of the road, clad only in jeans and ideals, you have no conception of safety. Faggy, the disarmament people of the '80s appeared.
That was the period when the hysterically chickenhearted Nelson Rockefeller was running around like a duck with its head up. In a few years, cover, and clergymen were debating the ethics of shooting a stranger who might seek attribution to the backyard boy. Then national air raid drills, and in New York failure to clear the
streets when the sirens sounded could get you as much as a year in jail.
Against that 1958 background 28 individuals defied the air raid wards. They were people like Dorothy Day and Ammon Hennacy of the Catholic Workers' Club, a Member of the Resisters League and novelist Paul Goodman. Goodman may not have taken part in that particular demonstration, but he was the kind of person who did, the sort of political clarvoyant who is ignored by the prestigious organizations and are regarded as responsibly authoritative voices until it is too late.
in due course the 28 arrested that day were found guilty, and the Supreme Court, ever eager to play hangman for the executive branch, could find no reason to overturn the verdict.
Letters Policy
The Kansas welcomes letters to the editor, but asks that letters be typewritten, double-spaced and no longer than 400 words. All letters are subject to editing and condensation, according to space limitations and the editor's judgment, and must be signed. KU students must provide their name, year in school and hometown; faculty must provide their name and position; others must provide their name and address.
Nevertheless other idiots for peace stood up, like the four Quakers who sailed the ketch, Golden Rule, into the restricted airspace of humanitarian warfare were about to detonate a series of hydrogen bomb tests. Sixty days in jail for the crew of the Golden Rule, the fallen soldier's fallout could give babies cancer in the bone marrow.
Peace marchers cultivate a tenacious simplicity. The entire world whispers complexities in their ears to convince them of the importance of practical or not altogether desirable. The spring rains further harvests, and munitions further prosperity but the crops aren't guns or butter; it's make the guns to get the butter.
Unilateral disarmment? Leave your country naked in front of her enemies? Call that God for what we want, what about our allies? Naturally, you're naive enough to believe the Russians are dead. And that's why Thank God we didn't have to depend on you at Pearl Harbor.
If you can fight off those objections, you might want to go marching. Proceeding down the highway, you find America hasn't bargained in good faith either, and isn't the strongest power the one which must marshal it against us. After 80 years of international peace conferences
that didn't come off, oughtn't we to know that the lesser power will never consent to locking itself into military influence? We'll come down first, for if wars issue out of nations pursuing each other to gain equal strength, then peace must be achieved by learning the history books. No weapon placed in the hands of the state isn't ultimately used, so let us arm our governments with wet noodles and send them forth to the field of national honor.
There was a short moment a few years ago when pacifists weren't looked at as wholly wrong. She was an American. America is on the biggest arms binge since Jack Kennedy went berserk in the gun store and bought out the place in the dressing room that turned so fissely that Ford is afraid to use the word detente in public, and Kissinger, the man who served as the model for Dr. Kline, of closest nanny-pambiamo.
Strength is the vogue word of the hour. America, second to none, first in war, always at war, we are again a nation of eagles. Or are we? Do you mean to tell me, is it possible that no one will come out on that highway, that those 25 unarmed men who stopped for afternoon sunrise of such incomparable beauty that it's a shame there will be none to remember it.
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