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Wednesday, November 16, 1977
University Dally Kansan
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Comment
Opinions on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Kansas or the School of Journalism
Bibb's role unneeded
University of Kansas administrators have been busy lately fighting the annual Battle of the Budget—the predictable sparring over how much money KU should get for the next fiscal year. As the drama continues to unfold, it is puzzling to note the superfluous part that is being played by James Bibb, state budget director.
Bibb's job is to trim, slash and eliminate funding requests from Kansas Board of Regents' institutions. The charade of axing the requests filtered to Bibb through the budget process is part of a ritual, a dollars game that must be honored whether the budget director likes it or not.
Regardless of what Bibb does, final decisions still are up to Gov. Robert Bennett and, ultimately, the Kansas Legislature. This year, as in previous years, University funding requests were reduced drastically after passing through Bibb's office. But the point is that it is not matter what his political dice for criticism on cuts that just as easily could have been made by Bennett in the first place.
THE LEGISLATURE'S POST audit division has registered its complaints about the way Bibb estimates the budget each year. Henry Bubb, retiring member of the Regents, said they didn't want it but they didn't want to put up with budget bearers that they "damn silly."
sumb's criticism of the budget hearings is on target. Budget hearings force administration to specify of their schools' funding requests. The same justifications could be
made directly to Bennett. They could be made without public hoopla and without Bibb as an intermediary.
Admittedly, the state budget division must sift through the funding requests to save the governor time. But the hearings serve only as a way for the governor to win approval for looking pro-education in relation to a seemingly hard-line budget director.
cause of Bibb's latest cuts are indeed cause for concern. The antiquated conditions in Watson Library have no place at even the smallest cattle college, let alone at a university. They must mercuriously and even completely eliminated $100,000 for continuing a cataloging system.
ALL TOO OFTEN, the outcome of the hearings is that they stereotype fiscal villainy, focusing it on the budget director when he makes the cuts that are expected of him. Criticism of those cuts is best directed by the director and legislature, who can override Babb.
It is easy to criticize Bibb for the numerous cuts he makes; for the Watson decisions, he has it coming. But students concerned about their library and overall learning environment keep their eyes on the ball and direct their opinions to Bennett and hometown legislators.
Perhaps a better way to handle Regents schools' funding requests would be to eliminate Bibb's role as lightning rod in public耳鸣s. Administrators should be required to take an annual trip to Topeka for what has become a budgetary anachronism.
Trust replaced by pacts in world of negotiations
By RONALD STEEEL N.Y. Times Features
NEW HAVEN—The other day I went to a meeting at one of those august foundations where men and women of earnest purpose met at around to discuss the public dilemmas of the moment. In this case, the topic was arms control, and how—and indeed an account with the Russians to limit nuclear weapons.
THAT PART lasted about five minutes. After this, agreement ground to a halt.
The rest of the evening was spent arguing over whether it was possible to do anything this lamentable state of affairs.
From the outset everyone agreed that the arms race was perverse, if not suicidal; that America and the Soviet Union can destroy the other several times over, even after a surprise attack; that the money could be better spent in almost any other way; and that unless drastic brakes were applied, the nuclear war would end suddenly.
Then, in the midst of this intellectual badinage, a youngish man took the floor and demanded that he didn't like the Rusks.
Astronomical figures of megatonage and throw weight were hurried across the table; mythical and historical figures were recalled in Zeus, Titan, Minuteman—with their evocations of extraterrestrial judgments; calculations of "credibility," "nationalism," "literature" and even "tribalability" were called into the dizying equation.
THEY HAD DONE terrible things to the peasants in the 1920s, to the intellectuals in the
1930s to the East Europeans in the 1940s and ever since. They ran a police force. They want the whole world to be Communist. They are nasty, brutish and duplicitous.
"I don't like them," he declared in tones of awesome funality, "and I don't trust them."
That being the case, he'd be damned if he'd ever sign an arms-control agreement with them.
A hush settled momentarily over the room. It was as if, while the Titanic was sinking, he had not heard passengers announced that he preferred to finish his dinner and then climb in rather than climb into a lifeboat.
It presented the kind of question that scholars and political analysts love to muse over.
SO FOR THE next hour or so we discussed whether the Russians were to be trusted, which international agreements they had respected and which they had broken, what the extenuating circumstances were, how perfidious they were by mankind, why we should be to sign any agreement with a nation that any, from our vantage point at least, behaved so innocently.
It was all very exhilarating, an intellectual equivalent of jogging: One never got tired. He must surely be of some value.
and it was. But not because it resolved the question of whether the Russians deserved the honor of being allowed to negotiate an accord with the Russians. It is well thought that had been resolved years ago with the test-ban treaty of 1963.
AS IT TURNED OUT, the Russians have observed the
treaty—with all the loopholes that both we and they insisted upon. We served all treaties that they feel coincide with their national interest. In this respect, they have been joined in United States, or any other nation.
Treaties do not rest on trust, but on self-interest. If nations trusted one another there would be a lack of confidence; individuals would have no need for contracts. They are a substitute for trust, and an acknowledgment that both parties have the advantage in the agreement.
When that condition ceases to exist, one side or the other will wheedle out of the treaty—just as the United States will, sooner or later, wheedle out of its defense treaty with Taiwan.
THE IDEA THAT nations are supposed to like one another is too romantic for serious politics.
I wanted to tell the man who didn't like the Russians that there were more important things to talk about than his notions of political aesthetics. But that, to his mind, would no doubt have been a frivolous objection.
At least not any more than they trust us.
Trust the Russians? Of course not.
Ronald Steel is a columnist for Politicks magazine.
Campus no place for darting bicycles ..
Bicycles are getting out of hand on campus. It's time they road off into the sunset.
Negligent riders, whether the exception or the rule, are abundant on the roads. Violations have been issued by the KU police department to riders who failed to obey stop signs or siren or to have lights at night. One trick to evade an officer on a street
Such is the arrogance of the new bicycle age, brought about by more and more people who see bicycles as a challenge. Unfortunately, the carefree easy rider spirit of riding with wind in hair, bugs in teeth, often evokes a spirit of lawlessness. A nonchalant urge to crust bicycles over an ordinary cruiser or weave in and out of light places.
tickets. All that for a campus of 9,000 students. How much more, then, is the need for such an action on a campus of 25,000.
Some even speed. At Central Washington University, campus police have begun using radar guns to nail them. They are sparked when an elderly man was the victim of a hit and run bicyclist. Though the man suffered only a bloody nose, police began enforcing a new campus at speeds up to 2 mph. Then, they began handing out
Rick
Tbaemert
Editorial Writer
REGARDLESS OF lawlessness, bicycles are intrinsically dangerous. They're difficult to see. And, they're hard to find. The lumber down Jayhawk Boulevard to avoid small targets, bikes can speed quietly along, using the entire street as a path. Cyclists lift where ridden there, necessarily where they are supposed to ride.
Perhaps bicycles are most dangerous from an accident standpoint. Campus pathways are not designed to be free
At night, bicycles become more difficult to spot, even if well lit. A light no bigger than a lighthub is little warning on dark campus pathways. Furious owners bother to wear bright or reflective clothing needed for complete safety.
flowing trafficways. They are for necessity and emergency. That's why they're restricted to persons who need to have vehicles on campus. Bicyclists, in general, do not. But, when they use pedestrian-centered University pathways as their own private speedways, students must be careful with accidents. To mix darting students with darting bicycles is dangerous. And, when an accident occurs, both suffer.
THE DEFENSES for bicycles on campus are few.
Economy. Obviously, some people use bicycles because they are their only way of transportation. That's unintended. But once the students of KIU have ride skiers to park off campus and walk like those who drive cars. Because they are classified a vehicle and enjoy many of the same rights as other vehicles, they should be prepared to meet the same rules. You can be a ticket or buying a parking permit.
Health is another defense. Bicycles are good exercise, but it's doubtful that those exercise bikes would suffer a physical injury if asked to park in the X- or O-Zone.
Lastly, bicycles are time-savers. Students can grab an extra five minutes of cram or an extra three to gobble down a sandwich in the time saved by a bike. The ten minutes in between classes usually is ample time to get to or from all parts of the University. When it isn't, professors usually employ compassion.
IN SHORT, students walking on campus shouldn't have to sacrifice their peace of mind crossing a street, just so a child can see you. And some fish or save a 30 cent parking fee.
Perhaps a compromise can be reached. At the University of Colorado, according to a KU policeman, bicyclists are required to dismount and walk their bike in certain areas where pedestrian traffic is heavy. On other campuses, a bicycle path has been established to provide both bicycles and pedestrians.
Two good ideas. Unfortunately, KU has employed neither. Until it does, it would be hard to imagine which students, faculty and administration could walk and enjoy the beautiful campus without constantly playing for an unexpected bale out of hell.
... Until they're given bikepath network
By BERNARD BROWN Guest Writer
The shock of getting a ticket for running a stop sign on my bicycle has had a chance to sit down now. It may be a shock, but I have been having a pedaleman palp up beside me and tell me to pull over, or the fine I had to pay, but the issue that sticks in my mind right now is the broader question of how the police are treated, and how they ought to be treated.
The city government of Lawrence and the University have done almost nothing for bicycles, even though many ways to support them are available.
The sudden regulation of bicycles around the campus marks a big change. The police have finally been compelled to treat bicycles like other vehicles and not give them a place on the roads numbers grow the police will presumably require that they observe more and more laws—not just those concerning lights at night and stop signs. And this is fair enough, since this law the bicycle traffic is good for all involved.
But if bicycles are to be disciplined they should also be supported. So far only the campus police have come to accord them significant recognition, and that is what has been achieved. Meanwhile, bicycles are generally not as legitimate, practical vehicles. Specifically, the city government of Lawrence and the University of Kansas even though many ways to support bicycles are available.
FOR EXAMPLE: In 1976 the federal government allotted funds to a number of cities throughout the United States for demonstration bikeway programs. The city of Manhattan, through concerted assistance from Kansas State University, won acceptance for its plan. Bob E. Smith, professor of civil engineering at
KState, told me that Manhattan expects this December to me put the finishing touches on its network of bikepaths and lanes and to initiate a coordinated program of bicycle traffic law enforcement and education about the new cycling system. In 1978 Lawrence's proposal for a "Pedalplan" grant under the same federal program was rejected. Federal government officials cited the proposed decision as a deciding factor. Then too, only one person worked for the Lawrence government to prepare the plan, and he was forced to do a rush job.
FURTHER AFIELD there are much better examples of bicycle support to contrast with the inertia of Lawrence and KU.
Quoting from a pamphlet published by the Oregon Department of Transportation: "Both Oregon's state parks and beaches are deeply committed to bikeway development . . . Oregon law provides that footpaths and bicycle trails shall be established generally whenever a footpath is constructed, reconstructed or relocated.
By law, since 1971, 1 per cent of Oregon state highway funds have been allocated to building and maintaining bikeways. Dona Shaffer, bicycle route engineer for the state highway department, told me that the bikeway allocation amounted to
$600,000 a year (Manhattan's plan totals
$800,000), and added, "We'd like to do more." He also described one particular
federal fund, that would cost $6 million
RUTH BASCOM, chairman of the Oregon State自行车 Advisory Committee (and a native of Kansas), told me about the extraordinary bicycle course he designed for the U.S.-in Eugene. She liked Eugene to Lawrence, pointing out similarities in terrain, size, and student population. Both Bascom and Shaffer insisted that such bicycle programs are workable and if available opportunities are put to use.
Given these and many other models for bicycle plans we are left only with deciding whether bicycles ought to receive that kind of support. Even aside from the issue of the purely negative treatment they now receive, the bicycles we have are underwhelming; arguments against them are hard to imagine.
Bicycles don't pollute. They don't use energy. They don't kill people, they don't cost much, they are an excellent form of exercise, they don't make noise and they are a healthy pleasure to ride. One person on a bicycle goes places just as one person in a car goes places, so which should we encourage?
really large numbers of bicycles in use, especially substituting for cars. It should come to be that we strongly appreciate the streets with bicycles instead of cars.
If we promote bicycles in the right way it might even become "uncoo" to roar around in the usual chrome barge instead of pedaling around on a bicycle.
Lawrence would be just the place for such an effort: It is small enough to make bicycles very practical, with a lot of young people who use bicycles, but naturally beautiful environment that deserves protection. The future beckons.
IN THE long run we should hope to see
ON THE face of it, all of this stir about supporting bicycles may seem a tempest in a teapot—bicycles can never perform many of the tasks that cars perform, so they must seem to be a little thing. But, on the other hand, look at the ideas being upheld through bicycle plans: concern for safety, health, energy, health, etc. Bicycles are thus to some extent a pawn in a much bigger concern: raising the quality of life through simple expedients. Along these lines supporting bicycles is a unique opportunity to oppose some of the worst excesses of our American culture. And, these ways in mind, it is not to be angry if BU and Lawrence remain unconcerned.
We should have a coordinated bicycle plan. Law enforcement, a spirit of teamwork, the ability to vehicle users, imagination and innovation all will be necessary. The first step, though, is appropriately simple: make sure the bicycle is in the Lawrence and KU administrations.
Bernard Brown is an Overland Park law student.
Students pav too much for too little
To the editor:
I am becoming increasingly concerned about overpriced student activities at the University of Kansas. Students should be offered a variety of activities at a reasonable cost. Though some lectures, recitals and drama productions are reasonably priced, other things are much more expensive in other colleges and universities are getting some of the same high-class performers for about one-third the price.
I am asked to pay $100, including food, to stay in my residence hall over Christmas vacation. To see one football game I must pay $8 or more. Much of the merchandise at the bookstore can be bought cheaper than tickets. Tickets for George Carlin were $6 and $7, Steve Martin, $7, and the Beach Boys $6.50 and $7.50.
It is really fair for a rich institution such as KU to make so much money from its students? Do we want this school to be free? Do we want everyone enrolled to really feel a part of the school?
KANSAN
John Cameron
Prairie Village sophomore
Letters
Senate funding lacks judgment To the editor
The Student Senate has again deemed it wise to maintain its policy of giving away student money to those organizations that reflect these themes currently popular among social media users. To prevent a past allowed student fees to be dispersed in such a manner without raising any objections, I must now vigorously protest.
The value of funding groups with names such as Douglas County Legal Aid, Douglas County Rape Victim Support Service, Kansas Defender and Environmental Services must be questioned. The money these groups receive from the Student Senate is derived from the students at the University of Kansas. The money should only go to those organizations that
provide direct services and benefits to the University's student population.
The value of continually funding expendable items should be carefully determined. The purchase of $84 worth of whistles, even if they were the first ones purchased, must be emulated on the side, must be questioned. These whistles, although used for a very worthwhile purpose, will eventually disappear from the University through loss, the University being able to whom it was given or simply by being tossed into the back of the toon dresser drawer.
The funding of women's athletics should be provided by the University, not the Department, when questioned about women's athletics, administrative officials quickly point to such organizations, but mention the source of funding.
I would suggest that student senators consider for priority the funding of those organizations that can indicate a self-supporting status which is reasonable. True, items funded such as rape counseling will never be of a self-supporting nature. One
The quality of student life would be enhanced more by Senate funding of projects which would have an impact on the entire student body. This is not to say that every student should benefit from a particular project, but rather than any student have the potential to reap the benefits or services they desire.
The motives, interest,
honesty and responsibility of
the Senate must be questioned
the senate. The number
senators present is the
number required for a quorum.
It appears that the activities of
the KU Student Senate parallel
those of the U.S. Congress. The
senate and procedural squabbles are
man reasons for their existing.
must wonder, however, why,
with all the expertise in psychology,
social work,
counseling and medicine on campus,
this service is not
provided by the University.
Edward Asmus
Lawrence graduate student
Published at the University of Kansas daily August through May and Monday through Thursday during spring. Second-class postage paid at Lawrence, Kan. Second-class postage paid at Edinburgh, UK. A year in Douglas County and $10 a semester or $4 a year outside the county. Student subscriptions are the Editor. Business Manager Jeb Seti. Books editor. Publisher News Advisor David Dary. Rick Musker
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