Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Julie Wood, Editor
Laura Roddy, Managing editor
Cory Graham, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser
Brandi Byram, Business manager
Shauntae Blue, Retail sales manager
Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser
Scott Valler, Technology coordinator
Wednesday, November 17, 1999
Seth Jones / KANSAN
Editorials
Kansan report card
PASS
- **Fireworks** — Douglas County Commission approves fireworks sales for New Year's Eve. Could be dangerous, though: Are Roman candles Y2K ready?
**Women's history** — New Ken Burns documentary highlights the lives of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Burns no doubt did justice to these pioneers in United States history.
HMO reform — United Healthcare says it no longer will overuse doctors' decisions. It seems that doctors do know more about medicine than insurance bureaucrats. Is anyone surprised?
FAIL
Bomb threats — Causeless, wanna-be cool guys threatened to blow up campus buildings, then didn't do it. Did they finally beat Quake and run out of things to do?
- Texas courts - Judge in Jasper, Texas, dragging case orders CBS News producer to jail for withholding unused interview tape.
Football attendance — After impressive games versus Missouri and Nebraska, football fans reward the team with sparse attendance at the Baylor game. You have one more chance; show up this Saturday at the Iowa State game.
Trying children as adults bad solution
Nathaniel Abraham, a 13-year-old Michigan boy and possibly the youngest murder defendant in American history, was on trial for murder last week as an adult. Yesterday, he was convicted of second-degree murder and could serve as much as a life prison sentence with the chance for parole.
Abraham was tried as an adult for a crime he committed at age 11. He was in the sixth grade when police came to his school to arrest him in the shooting death of an 18-year-old man.
After the conviction, there seems to be little doubt that Abraham actually fired the fatal shot. What is at issue is whether any child so young should be tried as an adult — even for a heinous crime such as murder.
Trying Abraham as an adult and sending him to prison to serve an
Michigan juvenile murderer should be punished,but adult treatment will not work
adult sentence for his crime will accomplish nothing except to make Abraham a more efficient criminal. He will learn quickly to emulate those around him to secure his own safety in the brutal world behind bars.
Taking a human life, whether accidentally or intentionally, is a serious offense and should be treated as such. Abraham ought to pay for his actions, but treating him like the adult he is not is no way to serve justice. It has been said that everyone and no one is responsible when a child commits a crime. However, some in this case have called for a sensible middle
ground in assessing this child's responsibility in the death of another human being. Prosecutors have said they will ask for a blended sentence that would put Abraham in a juvenile detention center until age 21, when his sentencing then could be reviewed.
This remedy makes the best of a very bad situation, and the justice system in Michigan would be wise to take this approach. A Michigan assistant county prosecutor said the conviction actually was a victory for both Abraham and the victim's family because Abraham can be rehabilitated and the victim's family will know Abraham is being punished. There is a fine line to walk when punishing and rehabilitating a child, but it is in the best interest of society to give it our best effort.
Kansan staff
Jennifer Roush for the editorial board
Chad Bettes . . . . . . . . . . Editorial
Seth Hoffman . . . . . . . . . Associate editorial
Carl Karninskil . . . . . . . . News
Juan H. Heath . . . . . . Online
Chris Fickett . . . . . . . Sports
Brad Hallier . . . . . . . Associate sports
Nadia Mustafa . . . . Campus
Heather Woodward . . . Campus
Steph Brewer . . . . Features
Dan Curry . . . . . . . Associate features
Matt Daugherty . . . . Photo
Kristi Elliott . . . Design, graphics
T.J. Johnson . . . Wire
Melody Ard . . . Special sections
News editors
Becky LaBranch . . . Special sections
Thad Crane . . . Campus
Will Baxter . . . Regional
Jon Schlitt . . . National
Danny Pumpelly . . Online sales
Micah Kafitz . . Marketing
Emily Knowles . Production
Jenny Weaver . Production
Matt Thomas . . Creative
Kelly Heffernan . Classified
Juliana Moreira . Zone
Chad Hale . Zone
Brad Bolyard . Zone
Amy Miller . Zone
Advertising managers
Broaden your mind: Today's quote
"All my life, I always wanted to be somebody. Now I see that I should have been more specific." —Jane Wagner
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.
How to submit letters and guest columns
Guest columns: Should be double-spaced typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photocarried for the column to run.
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stuaffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Chad Bettel or Seth Hofmatt at 849-4924.
If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4924.
Telemarketers really can push your buttons
I am not interested. If this statement would compel you to a) pretend you don't understand, b) verbally harass me, or c) call me on a daily basis (preferably if I am either sleeping or eating), might you be a telemarketer.
Perspective
I possess this deep understanding of the psyche of
I possess this deep understanding a typical telemarker mainly because I talk to one of them every 47.9 seconds on average. After all, I am a college student, so naturally I must be in dire need of a $1 million-limit credit card, a long-distance telephone service that allows me to call Egypt for just five cents a minute or a subscription to Elk and Pheasant magazine.
Sarah
Smarsh
columnist
opinion@kansan.com
Have you ever been preyed upon by a telemarketer? Studies show that five in five people have been, so here are some signals that you can
look for to assess the situation and obtain the umper hand.
First, you will hear an unrecognizable voice ask for you by first name, in an endearing, we-haven't spoken-in-years tone of voice. Next, even if you assure the caller that "Sarah moved to Texas to start an anti-telmarketing militia," you will hear about interest rates, special offers or now-or-never benefits.
Assuming you foolishly decide to pass up these great deals, here are some suggested responses:
"My mommy won't let me have a credit card. Do you want to talk to my baby sister?"
what? Huh? I can't hear you. It's breaking up." "I'm on my way out the door, but could I get your home phone number? I could call you around dinner time."
I really do try to be polite with telemarketers. I mean, it's their jobs, not necessarily their personalities, that call for them to be pushy. Someone has to do it.
But why does someone have to do it? Because it's a lucrative medium of product solicitation.
Next question: How is it lucrative? Because someone is buying this stuff. Who are these buyers?
Impressionable youth? Mentally deteriorating elders? Nah, I think it's just good, plain ol' folks who find it difficult to say no. For the love of all that is sacred, just say no. Just say no so that magazine publishers and Visa representatives around the globe will have to find something else to do. I just can't take it anymore!
Think of how the world without telemarketing would be. Blood pressures would be lower. Answering machines would record fewer messageless beeps. I could sleep in. Household debt averages would be lower. Then again, judging by the number of pesky calls I receive each week, an alarming number of people would be without jobs.
Regardless of my disgruntled rantings, the fact remains that between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., we are fair game in the diabolical hunt for willing consumers. But if you're as annoyed as I am, there are things you can do about it.
After a flustered call to our area Better Business Bureau, I learned that while there are no laws citizens may cite to end telemarketing calls to their residences, taking a few simple steps might alleviate the problem.
First, don't just yell at or hang up on telemarketers. They undoubtedly will call back, as they're paid to do. Instead, ask for the representative's company name and address. Write a simple letter stating your wish to be removed from the contact list, taking care to keep a copy for yourself. It's after this step that corporations can get into trouble for harassing you.
Another suggestion is to write to Telephone Preference Service, an organization in New York City that controls the phone lines telemarketing firms obtain. (Instructions are on the organization's Web site.) Finally, prevent the calls in the first place by being selective about giving out your home information; for example, maybe you shouldn't fill out a non-committal credit card application in front of Wescoe so you can get a Kit-Kat.
Sheesh. Don't we all have enough to worry about without buying a book of stamps for a plea by mail to be left alone? Oh well, it's all about taking control of your life and all that affects it — such as telemarketers. In that, I am interested.
A journalist's research Can beer make me sexy?
Smarsh is a Kingman sophomore in English.
Anyway, as I was working on my graduation paperwork, dawned on me that I'm preparing to receive a bachelor of science degree. While it doesn't shock me that the initials B.S. are associated with the degree, I was agast. Here I am, about to be presented with a prestigious degree in the sciences, yet I haven't done anything in the sciences since my freshman year.
No scientist immediately takes a question and starts experimenting with it. Painstaking research must be done, so I began looking up other studies on the question. While no one had done direct research on the question, there were two similar studies — the Knoboskatich Institute Survey on Beer Consumption and Sexual Patterns (Knoboskatich et. al, 1992) and the classic 1973 Jimmy Buffet inquiry "Why
It dawned on me the other day that I'll soon be getting my degree in journalism. That's certainly something to be proud of, but not as impressive as graduating with an engineering degree. However, it is more impressive than selling your body for crack, if only just a little bit.
Nick
Bartkoski
columnist
poning@ kansan.com
To amend this situation, I figured I could strap on my goggles and put on my lab coat to do some hard scientific research. After considering many different questions, I decided to consider the timeless query, Does he make one
Don't We Get Drunk and Screw."
query: Does beer make one more attractive?
So with my research in tow, I boldly set forth to experiment, a soon-to-be recipient of a bachelor of science degree bent on the pursuit of knowledge.
The conclusions of the Buffet study were clear:
Getting drunk leads to screwing.
The Knoboskatich conclusions were more inductive:
Giving alcohol to scientists causes them to vomit on the Bunsen burners. This causes both cool flames and a disgusting mess for the custodial staff.
Bee 1: Hypothesis — This beer, while not making me overwhelmingly attractive, will improve my haircut and add 20 pounds to my perceived bench max.
Conclusion — I began my study with Natural Light, a mistake that caused me to spit the horrific brew 15 feet across the bar onto some sorority girls.
Conclusion — Attempting to walk in elevator shoes is both immediately noticed by members of the opposite sex and incredibly difficult to do while buzzed. Additionally, the stickiness of bar floors never comes off one's face.
I learned to start with good beer and move to bad beer later. The sorority girls did not seem to find me more attractive.
BEER 2: Hypothesis — With my second beer, I should grow an extra five inches. With my now ruggedly handsome 6" frame, I will need to beat off the girls with a stick.
Conclusion — After a certain amount of alcohol, any gift of seductive speech is revoked through slurring. And in answer to all of the women's counter questions: I'm not looking for my friend Rex, I know your dress isn't blue, I'm not talking you into voting for Donald Trump and I don't want a buck.
Conclusion — Having tested said theory on the dance floor, the experimenter now understands why one should never, ever attempt to jostle an inebriated man. In related information, club soda does do an admirable job of removing vomit.
Beer 6: Hypothesis — This could be the breakthrough beer. The one that inevitably draws all of femininity to me.
Beer 5: Hypothesis — This beer will round out my attractiveness by giving me the ability to speak to women beautifully and seduce them in my brilliance.
Beer 3: Hypothesis — After three beers, I will be able to look at a mirror and make my pectorals dance.
Conclusion — The KU Committee for Social Norms arrested me after taking one sip. They are incredibly devoted to discouraging binge drinking and incredibly cruel in their torture of those who break the norms. On a related note, while beer itself won't increase your height, an hour and a half on the rack will.
so what can we conclude from the entire study? Science, like journalism, isn't a pretty thing, especially when either is practiced by me.
Barkoski is a Basehor senior in journalism and English.
Conclusion — The Wheel does, in fact, rigidly enforce the no shirt, no shoes, no service policy.
Beer 4: Hypothesis — Because many attractive men are wonderful dancers, this fourth beer should instill the ability to dance in me.
Feedback
Reaction to sex issue was disappointing
I guess I shouldn't be too shocked at how much negative feedback the Kansan got on its Sex on the Hill section, but I am gravely disappointed.
Sex isn't discussed in an open and honest manner in this society. As much as sex is trivialized and used in advertising, we are still a sexually repressed country. Monday's guest writers, Erin Downing
and Andreleita Schultes, seem to believe that talking about sex is leading to the decline of our society. It is obvious to me that what got us there in the first place is our denial and ignorance of human sexuality and its importance.
Teen pregnancy is, in my opinion, the most dangerous epidemic in our country right now, and it springs from the fact that a large number of our children get an abstinence only sexual education instead
of one that addresses what it really means to be sexual, how to respect your body and how to make choices to take care of your sexual health.
These issues are important to teens and to everyone in the country. People have the right to be fully educated. So amo to the Kansan for treating its readers as adults and respecting the fact that not everyone on this campus represses sexual thoughts and feelings.
Dora Naughton
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