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Opinion
Friday, February 11, 2000
World progress halted by creation of PONG
Video games improve coordination,but probably crashed Skylab
D despite the amount of progress we've made, as a society we're dumber than we used to be. I know what a lot of you are thinking.And yes.I too would
rather be reading the finest in hard-core
pornography, but we make sacrifices.
Additionally, I'm sure many are thinking,
"But Nick, back in the old days, people dropped out of school in the first grade.
How society dumb be?"
My answer is that while people did finish their educations earlier than we do now, they were smart enough to accomplish things in their life. I could attribute this fact to a higher sense of responsibility, but I'd rather blame video games.
If you look at America's past, you'll see that we've been capable of great accomplishments. We pulled our act together and won World War II. We played catch-up to the Russians and made it to the moon first. We fought against the British Invasion and brought on a new age of bad 708 rock. You get my point.
But in the late 70s, things began to change. The introduction of PONG set
back the world.
What worthwhile task has anyone done since video games revolutionized the world? We don't send astronauts to the moon anymore.
We're kind of taking a risk to build another space station after Skylab crashed while the guy in charge of it was playing Ms. PacMan.
The most impressive ac complishment we've made since PONG is the introduction of more impressive games. The Nintendo 64 sitting in my room has more computing power than
NICK
Bartkoski
columnist
opinionkanasan.com
the rocket on which we sent men to the moon.
Even computers are becoming more impressive for games. The Pentium III is powerful enough to be considered a supercomputer and was initially barred from
export for that reason.
People aren't buying these computers for up-to-date word processing programs or the best Web browser. I can run those programs on my old-as-dirt Pentium-90. The programs I can't run are the top-of-the-line games.
And while people in this society are better educated, they are somewhat dumber anyway.
I have 17 years of education. One would think that I'm a man of sophistication. So let's look at an average night for me.
My planned schedule for the night: Finish reading some material for a class, surf the Internet for some information, work on some grad school application stuff, find the cure for cancer if I have a spare moment and to bed with a sense of accomplishment.
What I did that night: Played Wrestelmania 2000 on the N64 until I was too tired.
I can't believe I'm the exception to the rule. Instead, I believe that most of the people who picked up Atari or Nintendo com
troller in their youth still play video games on a fairly regular basis.
I used to read books. I used to be a good student. I used to write columns on a semi-regular basis. Now it's all been sacrificed to the pixilated god.
mark of our
But it's not all bad. For example, my hand-eye coordination is great. At least
society today is that we have enough leisure time that we actually can spend our time on frivolous pursuits.
I just hope that my greatest mark in society will be more than beating Donkey Kong 64.
Editorials
Bartkoski is a Basehor senior in English.
Hillary's candidacy to invigorate race for New York's Senate seat
Like it or not, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton officially has declared her candidacy for the U.S. Senate and has become the first U.S. president's wife to seek political office.
Even though many people question Clinton's motives and the fact that she is not from New York, her candidacy will shine a spotlight on the state's Senate race.
Many criticize the fact that she is from Illinois, has lived in Arkansas and Washington D.C. — following her husband — and has never lived in New York. Her opponent, Republican New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, will bring attention to the fact that he was born and raised in New York and that Clinton is an "outsider." Despite being por-
Clinton's legitimate declaration will shine spotlight on the state's November election
received by this race could rival the simultaneous presidential campaign.
trayed as such, however, Clinton is not breaking any laws or setting new precedent with her candidacy. Robert Kennedy, for example, moved to New York in 1964 to run for a Senate seat, which he ended up winning.
The campaign between Giuliani and Clinton should provide good fodder for pundits and voters during the next few months. Both candidates have made personal attacks at each other on national TV and have hit the talk show circuit. The staggering amount of media attention
Polls indicate that Clinton and Giuliani are running neck and neck, with Giuliani pulling just slightly ahead. But in typical Clinton fashion, Hillary's campaign already has been clouded with some controversy. Giuliani has claimed that Clinton had taken 50 or 60 trips around the country using taxpayer money.
These allegations may be just that allegations. However, it is hoped that Clinton is running a clean, legitimate campaign within the scope of the law and campaign ethics.
In the end, it's all up to the voters of New York. But until then, all of us can sit back and enjoy the race.
Eric Borja for the editorial board
Death penalty should be suspended
Kansas and the other 36 states where the death penalty is legal should take heed of Illinois Gov. George Ryan's moratorium on capital punishment. These states should follow in Illinois' footsteps. Capital punishment certainly is
Capital punishment certainly is an institution that needs close study and reform.
The fatal flaw of capital punishment is that innocent people too often are in jeopardy of the death penalty. A Tufts University study found that in the last century, 350 people were convicted of murder and later found to be innocent. In 23 of these cases, innocent people were executed.
But guilt or innocence isn't the only issue. Overt racism and class discrimination are not nearly as dangerous as subconscious preju
Capital punishment needs reform to prevent execution of innocent people
dice. Minority defendants and the economically disadvantaged do not have access to adequate legal defense, nor are they provided proper council during pretrial investigations. As a result, they are more likely to be found guilty and sentenced to the death penalty.
Inexperienced public defenders often soft-peddie their defense of a clients' innocence in order to get leniency during the sentencing stage. Absent the death penalty, defense attorneys could better defend their clients.
The legal system itself is the greatest problem. In many capital cases, juries are charged with determining the guilt or innocence of the accused as well as the punishment. Often these instructions are confusing.
Even if a criminal deserves the death penalty, nothing can redress the injustice of executing an innocent person. No conviction of any criminal is certain when the system puts such high burdens on the defense.
The Illinois moratorium is the best course of action at this time. As long as the current system prevails, it is likely that many people will be treated unfairly by the criminal justice system. We should suspend the death penalty immediately and study these problems.
Brett Watson for the editorial board
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Feedback
I would like to applaud the KU athletic department, in particular the person whose idea it was to take down the old, spray-painted, ratty sheet telling the visiting teams to "Beware of the Phog" and replace it with a slick, smaller, plastic banner.
If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinionk@ansan.com) or call 864-4924.
Fieldhouse changes destroy tradition
This is a great idea. Kansas fans have devoted too much energy into cheering for a sports team. I hope that their next decision will be to tear down the ancient Fieldhouse and replace it with a much larger, more airy (and, hopefully, quieter) arena. It's time for tradition to step aside and to make way for modernization.
In addition to this progress, I ask that the architects who will soon be hired for that job listen to a few of my suggestions. They should make the student section smaller to give more seats to the season ticket holders, who, after all, do pay much more to attend the games. The smaller student section should then be placed high up in the rafters so that its noise and horrible tendency to stand throughout the entire game won't be as much of a nuisance. Perhaps students could also serve the elder attendees a meal during the course of the game. I've heard that wine and cheese is a tasty combination.
Jason Caudle Topeka Freshman
Chalmers' actions prevented chaos
Seth Hoffman's column about former Chancellor Larry Chalmers in the Feb. 4 Kansan brought back some vivid memories for me. At the time, I was the psychiatrist for what was then called the Mental Health Clinic in the Student Health Service at Watkins Hospital.
Events on the campus and in Lawrence seemed to threaten the existence of the University. If Larry Chalmers had acted in the authoritarian way that many influential and powerful people in Lawrence and Topeka wanted him to, the disturbances would have escalated and probably would have resulted in more violence.
The convocation at Memorial Stadium was a masterful piece of strategy, in my opinion. The chancellor was criticized by some people for taking this action. Chaos could have erupted among those 15,000 people, mostly students, but the meeting proceeded with minimum disturbance.
I think Larry Chalmers should be regarded as a hero by all of us who love the University of Kansas.
After that day, the atmosphere on campus quieted down. By the time classes resumed for the summer session and fall term of 1970, it was possible to carry on peacefully the business of education and learning, which is the function of a university.
Sydney O. Schroeder Former head of the Watkins Mental Health Clinic
Recreation center will harm neighbors
I agree with Caleb Morse's objections to the recreation center project (Feb. 2 Feedback).
To re-quote the University of Kansas: "Continual cooperation and communication with representatives of neighborhood groups should be the rule. The protection and preservation of surrounding neighborhoods is in the University's interest." Really? University Place
Really? University Place must be the exception.
In the Jan. 27 recreation center article, Warren Corman said, "We try to be good neighbors," but follows with hypocritical philosophy and immature rudeness ("None of their damn business.") Corman's flippancy is my thanks for spending five years working at and attending the University, donating to the University, and pumping up visitors on the greatness of University.
Meanwhile, University Place's streets are packed with cars daily and are overrun on game nights. Our basements are segyg, and our yards are full of trash. We've stood by with little complaint (considering the toll on our properties) because we love our neighborhood and the University, (Many alumni, staff and faculty live here).
The lawn south of Watkins Memorial Health Center, besides providing space for sports, has given visual and psychological space to residents of a historic neighborhood. Continued building on the University's south side will have an impact, and because University Place lies below the campus, it will bear the brunt.
Burgeoning development on Lawrence's west side assures that a West Campus recreation center will serve a growing student population. Doesn't it make sense to expand where there's room?
However, as Corman so elegantly says, voicing concerns is none of our "damn
business," so the next time the University calls me asking for money, I know exactly what I'll say.
Kristin Dempsey University Place block representative
Southworth claim is constitutional
I am writing in response to the Feb. 9 opinion column regarding the Supreme Court's upcoming decision in University of Wisconsin v. Southworth.
Nadia Mustafa argues that college is all about learning new and varied ideas and that students don't have time to raise funds. However, she failed to mention that 70 percent of private student groups at Wisconsin never apply for funding and that they seem to be able to promote their message just fine.
More importantly, Ms. Mustafa fails to point out that the money given to Wisconsin organizations was not being spent on campus activities, but rather was being used to funnel money to political groups. The Senate gave money to various groups for activities unrelated to any educational goal.
Campus Women's Center got $34,200 for its newsletter to promote its pro-abortion stance. Wisconsin Greens got $6,905 to lobby the Wisconsin legislature and to distribute literature for the Green Party. Ten Percent Society received funding for its Internet home page to advocate same-sex marriages.
These things have nothing to do with getting a college degree, and people who don't condone gay marriages, abortion and the green movement should not be forced to pay for their advancement. Generally, there is a First Amendment right to maintain whatever position one likes, but "there is no right to have speech subsidized by the Government" (Federal Election Commission 479 U.S. 238).
Finally, I suggest you look more closely at Rosenberger. Justice O'Connor strongly suggested that "although the question is not presented here, I note the possibility that the student fee is susceptible to a Free Speech Clause challenge by an objecting student that she should not be compelled to pay for speech with which she disagrees." This statement by O'Connor is the basis for Southworth's case and contrary to Ms. Mustafa's statement. The case will not need to be overruled, but will in fact be relied upon for a decision in Southworth's favor. Simply stated, the law favors Mr. Southworth, and rightfully so.
Devon Reese
Reno, Nev., third-year low student
Broaden your mind: Today's quote
"Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards."
Aldous Huxley