Opinion
The University Daily Kansan
Laura Roddy, Editor
Sarah Hale, Managing editor
Kristi Elliott, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser
Shauntie Blue, Business manager
Brad Boley, Retail sales manager
Matt Fisher, Sales and marketing adviser
Scott Vallier, Technology coordinator
Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Chan Lowe / TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
Editorials
Kansan report card
PASS
■ Iron Chef — New combative cooking show could knock Martha off her snooty pedestal. The winner: iron Chef!
- John McCain — Despite the country's denial of wrongdoing toward American POWs, McCain returns to Vietnam to try to bridge the gap.
FAIL
- **Columbine tapes** — Tasteless individuals market bloody aftermath of Columbine tragedy. Do not purchase this tape.
■ Spears rumor — She's not coming. Reports of Brinley's campus visit have been artificially inflated.
■ Blackout — ABC's wiff with Tiff Warner leaves subscribers Regis-leased during sweeps eagle. Actual quote
from outraged victim: "I'm not going to see the second half of Arabian Nights. This is the worst thing that's ever happened."
Natty Light - New report links cheap beer to increased Gonorrhea risk. Next study: Cheap beer linked to drunkenness.
City bike lanes bring hope for safety
Lawrence cyclists soon will be able to ride a little easier, because the Lawrence City Commission has approved bike lanes on Naismith Drive and 15th and 19th streets. In light of recent accidents involving cyclists and cars, this move is good and long overdue.
Because Lawrence is a college town with a large population of students who ride bikes to class, it is a wonder that more bike lanes weren't created earlier. Now, cyclists can ride in their own lanes without the fear of being hit and without the constant flow of cars buzzing around them. It also will make it safer for car drivers because there will be a distinct area in which drivers cannot go. They
City Commission has approved bike lanes, street widening to protect Lawrence cyclists
will be able to feel like they are sharing the road, instead of viewing cyclists as nuisances.
To go along with the bike lanes, the commission is setting a great precedent of making Lawrence a more cyclist-friendly city. The commissioners also are planning proposals for bike routes and paths, as well as for the widening of new streets to 36 feet instead of 31 feet to accommodate future bike lanes. This latest move by the commission is encouraging and was made with students' safety in mind.
Not only does the approval of bike lanes provide immediate relief, but it also provides hope and optimism about integrating more bike lanes into the streets of Lawrence in the future. It is hoped that this trend will continue and that the commission will put a bike lane on Ninth Street, which also is a thoroughfare for cyclists.
It is good to know that Lawrence is trying to make students' lives a little easier, and that the commissioners care. It is hoped that they will approve the bike lane on Ninth Street as well.
Kansan staff
Seth Hoffman . . . Editorial
Nadia Mustafa . . . Editorial
Melody Ard . . . News/Special sections
Chris Fickett . . . News
Jule Wood . . . News
Juan H. Heath . . Online
Mike Miller . . Sports
Matt James . . Associate sports
Katie Hollar . . Campus
Nathan Willis . . Campus
Heather Woodward . Features
Chris Borniger . Joyplay
T.J. Johnson . Photo imaging
Christina Neff . Photo
Jason Pearce . Design, graphics
Clay McCuistion . Wire
News editors
Eric Borja for the editorial board
Advertising managers
Becky LaBranch . . . Special sections
Krista Lindemann . . . Campus
Ryan Riggin . . . Regional
Jason Hannah . . . National
Will Baxter . . . Online sales
Patrick Rupe . . . Online creative
Seth Swimmer . . . Marketing
Jenny Weaver . . . Creative layout
Matt Thomas . . Assistant creative
Kenna Crone . . Assistant creative
Trent Guyer . . Classifieds
Jon Schlitt . . . Zone
Thad Crane . . . Zone
Cecily Curran . . . Zone
Christy Davies . . . Zone
Broaden your mind: Today's quote
“You don't get to choose how you're going to die, or when. You can only decide how you're going to live now.” — Joan Beaz
How to submit letters and guest columns
Letters Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name address and telephone number plus class and hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
Guest columns: Should be double-
spaced typed with fewer than 700 words.
The writer must be willing to be pho-
tographed for the column to run.
All letters and guest columns should be e-mailed to opinion@kansan.com or submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Nadia Mustafa or Seth Hoffman at 864-4924.
If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kanan.com) or call 864-4924
Perspective
Real roommate hate? Find out in three steps
I ate my roommate's turtle cheesecake on Friday. And I had more again for breakfast on Saturday.
I had to scarf it down; it was on my side of the freezer. Anything that lands on the left side of Carrie's ice tray is mine; anything to the left is
Tracey's. So when Tracey's dessert was placed on top of my broccoli-and-ch cheese rice, I had no choice.
This is my living situation. I devour her food and she jumps in the shower before I do just to make my shower water cold. When she talks on the phone for four hours per day, I call time and temperature the next day to ensure phone usage.
Amanda
Kaschube
sports writer
opinion@kascan.com
My roommate situation has turned for the worse and there's no turning back.
signs that your roommate hates you, just as much as you hate him or her.
1. You are restricted in the amount of food you buy at Dillons. Not because you're enrolled in Jenny Craig, but because there's no room in the fridge.
Between my good roommate, Carrie, and myself,
our edibles occupy one out of the three shelves.
Tracey's four loaves of wheat bread (all half full)
sit on the top shelf, while her three orange juice
containers, a gallon of milk and syrup fill the bottom
shelf.
Who keeps Aunt Jemima in the refrigerator? Certainly my half-gallon of milk should get precedence.
So being a lover and not a fighter, both Carrie and I have resorted to buying food that can be stored in the cabinets, our intake of cereal and chips is a normal person's carbohydrate count for an entire month. If we buy extra yogurt or eggs, they will go bad because Tracey's Tupperware of salad holds more importance in the hierarchy of food. She helps us.
2. You spend so much time at Burger King's pay phone that its funky smell doesn't bother you anymore.
For Christmas, I asked for calling cards so that I could spend more time at fast food restaurants — not to pick up an employee, but because I simply can't ever use the phone at my apartment.
The long-distance phone bill is ridiculous: $200 per month, and it's all Tracey's. She calls her family in Dallas and her friends in Boston. But I've figured out that her four-hour calls aren't signs of affection, but parts of a plot to frustrate me.
If someone does call while she's on the phone, I find out about it a week later. I had a hot date with Ben Affleck, but because I called him back a week late, he started dating Gwenyth. She really hates me.
3. And the most obvious: You paid the electric bill on time, but every time you jump into the shower, the water is frigid.
When I get home at 10 p.m., Tracey is on the phone. But the moment I decide to bathe, she has the sudden urge to too. Coincidence? Nope, she hates me.
She also does laundry when I'm in the shower to turn the water from hot to cold. Or she "washes her hair," but later emerges with the same dry ponytail with which she entered the bathroom.
It was funny the first time, but now, I can take a shower faster than a speeding bullet.
These signs are universal. Everyone has roommate troubles, but with these steps, you can identify the problem and start annoying her even more. I have — Tracey buys the best cheesecake.
Kaschube is a Flossmoor, Ill., junior in journalism.
Kansan opinion editor biased by ties to coalition
In his April 19 column, Seth Hoffman wrote, "If they meant that the Kansan was biased against them, they [United Students] were wrong, because, simply put, we're not." That claim of nonbias as co-editor of The University Daily Kansan opinion page is entirely false. It is almost impossible for someone who is very involved in a specific political organization to distance him or
specific political organization herself from bias when writing about student politics.
ng about student politics.
Specifically, Hoffman's involvement with Delta Force for three years before becoming the opinion page co-editor at the Kansan definitely has colored his columns and, I believe, the opinions of the entire editorial staff. During the recent Student Senate campaign, there were no articles praising United Students student body presidential and vice presidential candidates Ben Walker and Marlon Marshall.
Eric
Ohlsen
guest columnist
opinion@kansan.com
marshall and Walker won the election by more than 400 votes. One would think that with that margin of victory, at least one columnist would have favored Walker and Marshall enough to write a positive opinion. Therefore, I believe that either Hoffman dictated what opinions would be written by the editorial staff, or most writers simply were hired according to their views instead of their writing abilities. Either, of course, would be an indication of severe conflicts of interest.
Neither Hoffman nor anyone else at the Kansan made any effort to contact me, a person referred to in his column, for comment before or after the column ran. Granted, as a columnist, he has the right to criticize the actions of individuals; however, I do not believe that he has the right to sink to petty name-calling. Calling me "some sort of lackey"
The argument certainly could be made that any editor will have his or her personal opinions. That can hold some water. However, even though there are two opinion page editors, hiring even one with blatant public opinions on not just policy issues, but also on individuals, is not a feasible way to maintain disinterest on the opinion page.
It is time for action to be taken. Maybe if more rationality were utilized and opposing viewpoints were expressed, readership would increase. Until that time, we should simply assume we are reading one side of a story, a side seen through the blue and yellow tint of Delta Force.
While I'm on the topic of idocy, I should address the stolen newspapers issue. I do not — I repeat. I do not — condone the actions of those four individuals. However, holding Walker and Marshall financially responsible is absolutely ludicrous. Walker was adamant regarding the newspapers; he insisted that no action be taken. I know; I was with him all evening. The only thing Walker did not do was sit by their bed sides and make sure they did not make any irrational decisions. Holding our new student body president and vice president financially responsible is identical to holding a Democratic presidential candidate responsible for the illegal actions of a fellow Democrat running for a seat in the U.S. Senate. It doesn't make any sense, and the constant rallying of the Elections Commission by the editorial staff indicates personal feelings might play a significant role in what is published on the opinion page.
Ohlsen is a Utica, Neb., junior in political science and journalism. He was a campaign adviser for the United Students coalition this spring.
I would like to commend Lori O'Toole for writing a really well-done May 1 column on abandoned pets. I am a staff member at the University of Kansas, and during the years, I have watched as pets are abandoned in Lawrence when school is out of session.
lacks the journalistic integrity that an editor should possess. Not only that, but the focus of the column was that Hoffman claimed he was victimized last year and that Walker and Marshall should pay reparations for the newspaper theft — a crime they did not even commit. That logic astounds me.
Feedback
Many abandon pets at end of school year
We walk quite often at noon and see students walking adorable puppies, especially Labrador retrievers, and know that they probably will be left behind either at the Humane Society or in the streets or yards in the spring.
I'm glad that someone has publicly acknowledged the problem. Good Job!
Linda Orr executive secretary to the assistant to the chancellor
Arab leadership halts peace in Middle East
I'm writing in response to the April 20 editorial expressing optimism that the Middle East peace process might be positively advanced by acts of good faith and concessions from both Israelis and Palestinians. I'd suggest, however, that there will never be peace in the Middle East as long as Arab leaders define peace as meaning the destruction of the State of Israel and the eradication of the Jewish presence in the region.
Anti-semitism of the nastiest, most diabolical sort is so deep-rooted in the leadership of much of the Arab world that Israel's leaders would be fools to offer further territorial and security concessions to the very people who plot their destruction. Everything from Holocaust-denial to fabricated stories of Jewish atrocities regularly drip from the
mouths of Arab leaders and are popular topics in the state-controlled media. Consider just one example — among dozens — from the July 2,1998, edition of the official Palestinian newspaper, A*Hayat Al-Jadeeda: "The truth is the persecution of the Jews is a deceitful myth which the Jews have labeled the Holocaust and have exploited to get sympathy."
It gets worse — much worse. Be assured, there are powerful people in the Arab world looking to finish what was begun at Auschwitz and they can't be bargained with, reasoned with or coddled into changing their minds. They must be opposed at every turn. And Jews worldwide must realize that while Yasar Arafat and his ilk might extend a hand in friendship, the other is quite possibly clutching a knife.
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John H. McCool
Evansville, Ind., graduate student