Opinion
The University Daily Kansan
Laura Roddy, Editor
Sarah Hale, Managing editor
Kristi Elliott, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser
4A
Shauntae Blue, Business manager
Brad Bolyard, Retail sales manager
Matt Fisher, Sales and marketing adviser
Scott Valler, Technology coordinator
Monday, May 1, 2000
Clav McCuistion / KANSAN
Editorials
Kaw River an important resource should be revitalized immediately
Passing from South to North Lawrence on Massachusetts Street involves crossing the Kansas River on a bridge that paints picturesque images of the waters of the Kaw shooting past below.
Below this greeting-card image lies a problem — one that KU Environs addressed at the Earth Day forum on April 20th.
The Kansas, or Kaw, River, one of the state's most beautiful natural resources, is dangerously polluted. As one of the nation's most polluted rivers, activists have worked to enact legislation and bring this problem to the forefront of public and environmental policy.
The river's pollution and the need for this concern to be addressed immediately by Lawrence residents and the Legislature is one that simply cannot
Sand dredging has damaged the river irreparably; further damage is inexcusable
wait, as the correct thing to do is clear. Industrial and agricultural practices cannot stand in the way of the revitalization of the river, which under current conditions is in violation of the Clean Water Act.
Its not a matter of ideals. Its an issue of
legality — a clear and overwhelming
intriguation of our rights to healthy
drinking water.
It's an issue of great resonance in our campus community and nationally. Recently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaking on the KU campus about the need for
persistence in seeking environmental preservation and awareness, encouraged the audience to take stock in one of the state's greatest national resources. Kennedy urged a more fevered environment of legal action against policy makers and pesticide companies responsible for the poor quality and pollution of the river's waters.
In-river sand dredging already has damaged irreparably the Kansas River itself. The atrazines used in certain pesticide practices are ingested through our drinking water at unacceptable levels as runoff from crops empties directly into the river.
KU students and the community in general should take an active and immediate role in the rescue of the Kaw, and the improvement of our water supply.
Matt Dunehoo for the editorial board
Drug companies should be evaluated
The idea of a welfare state angers many Americans. Why, some ask, should taxpayers foot the bill for others who can fund for themselves? While the 104th Congress repealed much of the litany of welfare statutes, it allowed corporate welfare to escape its gaze.
In no industry is this more apparent than in the pharmaceutical industry. It makes millionaires out of entrepreneurs and scientists and all the while gets subsidized for its trouble. To be sure, these subsidies need to be reviewed.
A recent New York Times article outlined how pharmaceutical companies have been allowed to reap substantial profits from government-funded research. The common argument to support these subsidies is that they advance scientific knowledge and further the well-being of mankind. While this holds merit, it is important to ask why medicine prices must skyrocket to further our well-being.
For an industry so lucrative, isn't there enough payoff absent government subsidies?
A recent report shows that pharmaceutical prices are outpacing inflation. For an industry so lucrative, isn't there enough payoff absent government subsidies? And if not, why doesn't the United
States get to share in the abundant riches created by subsidized discoveries?
Either way, the drug companies have been allowed to conduct an odd sort of risk-free entrepreneurship. The government pays for the research, and the company reaps all the monetary reward. At the same time, that company gouges the consumer.
The research that accompanies these advancements in the pharmaceutical industry must be encouraged. But can't we hold the companies accountable for setting reasonable prices? In the end, they still will profit. And with these reasonable profits, our tax money will be well-spent.
Jeff Engstrom for the editorial board
Kansan staff
News editors
Seth Hoffman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Editorial
Nadia Mustafa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Editorial
Melody Ard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . News/Special sections
Chris Fickett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . News
Julie Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . News
Juan H. Heath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Online
Mike Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sports
Matt James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Associate sports
Katie Hollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Campus
Nathan Willis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Campus
Heather Woodward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Features
Chris Borniger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jayplay
T.J. Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photo imaging
Christina Neff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photo
Jason Pearce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Design, graphics
Clay McQuistion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wire
Becky LaBranch . . . Special sections
Krista Lindemann . . . Campus
Ryan Riggin . . . Regional
Jason Hannah . . . National
Will Baxter . . . Online sales
Patrick Rupe . . . Online creative
Seth Schwimmer . . . Marketing
Jenny Weaver . . . Creative layout
Matt Thomas . . Assistant creative
Kenna Crone . . Assistant creative
Trent Guyer . . Classifieds
Jon Schilt . . . Zone
Thad Crane . . Zone
Cecily Curran . . Zone
Christy Davies . . Zone
Advertising managers
Broaden your mind: Today's quote
“What's the good of being forgiven, if I have to promise not to do it again?”
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.
—Ashleigh Brilliant
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.
Guest columns: Should be double-
spaced typed with fewer than 700 words.
The writer must be willing to be photo-
graphed for the column to run.
If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (apinionat.tansan.com) or call 864-4924
Perspective
Student elections have high stakes in Palestine
Political life is buzzing here at Birzeit, Palestine, as the university wraps up the single most anticipated event of the year student council elections. Campus political parties organize elaborate campaigns full of the rhetorical power, mudslinging and fanfare characteristic of many government elections.
Students are free to discuss politics as they wish and to consider the issues most relevant to student life without the fear of arrest by the Palestinian National Authority, which is notorious for cracking down on students who criticize the ruling body. The most active students even temporarily change their place of residence for fear of arrest by the Israeli government. Discussions about the Middle East peace process and
Almas
Sayeed
columnist
opiniononkansan.com
Palestine's future as a state rule party agendas.
State's future as a state rule party agenda.
The elections come at a particularly interesting time as the Palestinian Authority Chairman, Yassir Arafat, just completed a trip to the United States to step up negotiations about the region with President Clinton. Press coverage of the meetings suggested that the results were largely positive and that negotiations are to continue.
For a number of people, particularly Arafat, the trend of students voting for the Islamic Bloc is alarming. (It is even rumored that Arafat pressured the administration to cancel the elections for fear of another victory for the Islamic parties.) I was overwhelmed to hear the Islamic parties chanting "CIA! CIA!" during a debate among the candidates, accusing Shabiba of collaborating with the U.S. secret service. One party from the left wing even went as far as publishing the names of students suspected to be members of Fateh Security Forces, or secret police.
But direct quotes from Washington suggested that the United States is smarting at the Palestinian pronouncement to establish a state throughout the entire West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, lost during the 1967 war. One senior U.S. official was quoted as saying, "Nobody can obtain 100 percent of what he asks for." Simultaneously, Arafat hopes to declare the existence of a Palestinian state before the end of 2000.
The students of Birzeit University, one of the political hot spots of the Occupied Territories, also are wary of reports that reflect negotiations as outright positive. Students have heard promises about the country's sovereignty in the past. Many students blame the party currently controlling the Palestinian National Authority, Fateh, of which Arafat is the leader, for the lack of an official state.
It is unclear what these voting trends represent in terms of Palestine's future. What the elections do represent, however, is the democratic process at its best. The elections represent a democratic breakdown of votes with seats allocated to parties depending on how many votes each party receives. It takes about 51 votes for a party to earn one seat of the 51 total seats in the Student Council.
Students are compelled by the argument that the status quo will never bring statehood as Arafat consistently buckles down in the face of the United States and Israeli pressure. Students point to the 1993 Oslo Accords as proof of their disappointment, which only gave Palestinians some level of autonomy — but not full sovereignty — within the territories.
In answer, Birzeit students have been increasing their support steadily for the Islamic parties during the last four years. The three Islamic parties have continued to gain more seats in the Student Council, overshadowing Shabiba, the Fatehs youth movement and the left wing parties, which range from the Communist to Democratic factions.
In addition, student elections at Birzeit represent a hopeful future for the nation of Palestine, in which critique of the system is embraced and there always is pressure on those in power to change things for the better. The elections at Birzeit provide the necessary forum to critique the status quo and to dream about how to change the system for the better.
Sayeed is a Wichita junior in international studies, women's studies and philosophy. She is studying in the West Bank this semester.
Pets are not textbooks, shouldn't be disposed of
The end of the spring semester marks much more than the beginning of the summer for thousands of University of Kansas students. It's the start of a new career, a departure to a far-away vacation spot or a journey back to the hometown to visit friends and family.
But the exodus from college campuses in Lawrence and across the country marks an end for others, for companions and friends that have seen many students through the academic year our pets
While students countdown to the summer and dream of what may come, employees at humane societies across the country prepare for the worst season of the year that begins in May and ends in October, hitting a peak in the summer, the natural breeding season for animals.
Unfortunately, the employees have no reason to believe that this year will be any different than previous years. It's a disgusting, recurring cycle — a form of cruelty to animals students don't often consider. Students finish
Lor O'Toole columnist opinion@kansan.com
their finals, turn in their papers and keys and leave town quickly. And students turn in about 25 animals every May to the humane society while employees find about 25 more abandoned in houses, apartments and yards in the area. Sure, many of these and the average of 700 to 800 other animals dropped off at the shelter find homes. But in Lawrence, about one in four dogs and one in three cats left at the humane society must be killed by lethal infection.
And Lawrence isn't alone. The Wichita Eagle reported last summer that three out of every four unwanted animals dropped off at area shelters were killed — about 9,000 during the summer of 1998. And last year in Baldwin, a town 20 miles away from Lawrence, shelters took in four times as many animals in June and July as they did in January, February and March combined.
For college students, the excuses for giving up their pets during this time of year often include travel complications or parents and landlords
who won't allow the animals in their houses. But the problem exists when there are hundreds of students with excuses like these — however valid they may seem.
This problem could be helped if students who really don't have the means to support pets or can't afford pets would wait until it's more practical to adopt one or more. For example, last summer a co-worker of mine, a recent college graduate, was far away from her friends and family and lonely. So she sucked up the $75 adoption fee — what she believed to be the most expensive part of being a pet owner—and brought home her new 24-hour canine companion.
The same dogs and cats that were irreplaceable companions during the academic year become almost as disposable as unwanted textbooks at the ends of the semester — maybe even more so considering the students can't return the animals in for a small monetary refund.
But her solution to her loneliness may have caused more problems than she realized. The pooch was locked inside a tiny cage during the day while she was at work. And it wasn't cared for as it should have been, as I discovered when I asked her if the veterinarian bills for its required shots were expensive. Battered her eyes at me and said, "They don't really need all those shots and stuff."
Pets not only need those shots and stuff, but they also need to be walked, they need attention and they should be spayed or neutered. They require time and money — two things most college students have very little of to spare.
If you have a pet and are wondering what to do with it this summer, ask around to see if you can find a home for it rather than dumping it off at the humane society or abandoning it in a yard. Lawrence also offers many boarding options for pets. Look under "kennels" in the yellow pages — there are more than a dozen companies listed.
Pets are a financial and emotional commitment. They are living creatures, not a recyclable textbook that can be returned for the next demanding customer.
Humane society employees have a very difficult, disheartening season approaching. It's too bad college students contribute to it as much as they do.
D 'Toole is a Wichita junior in English and journalism.
Feedback China doesn't deserve permanent relations
In Wednesday's Kansan the editorial board asserted that the People's Republic of China should be granted permanent Normalized Trade Status with the U.S. He stated that this should be done to avoid a situation similar to that now experienced between North Korea and the U.S., one in which economic sanctions have closed all avenues of communication. This comparison misrepresented the stance of the vast
majority who are against granting the PRC permanent status. The stance of these people, who include myself, is that the U.S. should engage China but not write it the blank check that is irrevocable Normalized Trade Status. We wish that bodies such as the US Congress, who have on several occasions denounced the PRC's human rights abuses, have the power to revue progress in this area on a yearly basis and decide how to proceed from there. Permanent status will allow US business
to reap a windfall of revenue from China (at the expense of unionized American workers) and conveniently ignore human rights issues. We believe this must not be allowed to happen, as it has so many other times and in so many other countries.
Erik Goodman Dayton, Ohio, junior