Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Julie Wood, Editor
Laura Roddy, Managing editor
Cory Graham, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser
4A
Brandi Byram, Business manager
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Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser
Scott Valler, Technology coordinator
Thursday. November 11. 1999
Patrick O'Connor / TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
Editorials
Student fee allocations should not be based on individual views
Tuesday, the Supreme Court began hearing arguments in Board of Regents, University of Wisconsin vs. Southworth, a case with important implications for universities across the nation. Christian students at the University of Wisconsin have brought suit against the university, claiming that they should not be forced to pay student fees that are allocated to groups that espouse views with which they do not agree. While there are important principles supporting both sides of this case, it is necessary that the court find in favor of the university.
Higher education stands apart from other schooling because of the opportunities students have to get involved in activities that affect their community and their world. Colleges create a forum
Hearing diverse viewpoints is an essential part of every student's higher education
where political speech is as much a part of one's education as those pesky Western Civilization classes.
These students are merely subsidizing a forum accessible to all viewpoints, including their own, which is integral to the learning process. Students are constantly confronted with things that they must pay for even though they may not wholly agree with them. For instance, the minority of students who voted against the Recreation Center will have no recourse but to pay the student fees that will inevitably be tacked on to their
yearly bill.
The Wisconsin students claim that they just want to be exempt from paying fees that support viewpoints that they oppose. While principally easy to grasp, it is hard to envision a fee structure that would accommodate this position. Pro-rated fees would be unconscionably difficult to allocate. Creating different funds for different groups would create new headaches for student governments that already find it difficult to deal with the money they receive.
Practically, a decision in favor of the students bringing suit against the University of Wisconsin only would hurt all of the students at the University of Wisconsin. In the end, students across the nation would feel Wisconsin's pain.
Jeff Engstrom for the editorial board
Students should remember veterans
For most University of Kansas students, Veteran's Day is just another day that they won't get their mail. The college generation is too far removed from the world conflict that affected its grandparents. The only wars it knows happen on television and in the newspapers.
A World War II monument, planned for Washington, would remind this and future generations of the war that preserved democracy, freedom and peace in the world.
The $100 million monument will be built from private donations. Supporters of the fund-raising campaign include former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, Saving Private Ryan star Tom Hanks and Wal-Mart. As of June 1999, $60 million had been raised.
The monument will be on a 7.4 acre
World War II soldiers deserve a memorial to commemorate their historic sacrifice
rectangle of land between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument on the mall in Washington. Outside, 50 40-foot columns will represent each state, while inside walls will list WWII battlefields and cemeteries.
The monument will commemorate the 16 million who served in the U.S. Armed Forces, the 400,000 who lost their lives and those involved in the war effort at home. They were at the Battle of Midway and the invasion of Normandy. They fought at Iwo Jima and Guadalcaina. Back home, they made
rivet guns and rolled bandages. They are all heroes who need to be remembered. "It's time we say thanks," reads the Wal-Mart memorial Web site. On Veteran's Day 1995, the site was dedicated with these words: "...We, the children of freedom, owe these men and women who rose above the common measure and wrought victory over tyranny, preserving freedom for this generation."
Today is a day to reflect on the price the United States paid for its freedom and thank the U.S. veterans, living and dead, who dedicated themselves to that cause.
If you don't know a veteran to thank, go to Wal-Mart and donate a dollar to the World War II Memorial.
Kansan staff
Katrina Hull for the editorial board
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Broaden your mind: Today's quote
"Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education."
—Bertrand Russell
Broaden your mind: Today's quote
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.
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All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stuffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, to cut length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Chad Bottel, or Seth Hoffman at 864-4924.
How to submit letters and guest columns
If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4924.
The world passively has watched the Augusto Pinochet trials this year without knowing why a man who killed thousands in Chile is in England with his extradition being demanded by Spain. Pinochet's case can be used to explore many aspects of politics.
Cassio
Furtado
columst民
joinin@kansan.com
Extradition of Pinochet to Spain is wrong move
law, human rights and democracy in the world
Perspective
Pinochet started his political career as a member of the Chilean Communist Party in the 1950s. He rose to the top ranks of Chilean military in the 1960s and 1970s. In June 1973, President Salvador Allende, the head of the left-wing Popular Unity government, declared Pinochet commander-in-chief of the Chilean military.
In September 1973, Pinochet led a military
Second, British authorities are helping Spain in the effort to undermine international law. On Oct. 8, the United Kingdom granted Pinochet's extradition to Spain. The British people are against the extradition for a number of reasons — mainly because Pinochet is 83 years old, and he has several health problems. His only chance of being released and sent to Chile lies in the hands of British Home Secretary Jack Straw, a centrist politician who sometime ago ruled that an 87-year-old woman who was accused of treason was not going to be brought to trial. In addition, Straw has been facing criticism from British citizens who consider Pinochet an old ally. British companies also are criticizing Straw because they are losing money because Chileans don't want to buy British products while Pinochet is in custody.
coup that killed President Allende and thousands of his supporters. Pinochet also tortured thousands of citizens and sent many others to exile.
In 1974, Pinochet closed the Chilean Parliament, prohibited all political and trade union activity and declared himself president.
Pinochet's case is extremely dangerous because it can undermine principles of international law as a whole. I certainly know that Pinochet is everything we don't want a human being to be. He is a murderer, torturer and a threat to our most valuable rights. His judgment and condemnation is imperative, but not in Spain or Great Britain. He needs to be judged in his country. This needs to happen so that we don't forget his unfavorable crimes, and Chile doesn't send a message of approval of Pinochet's behavior. I agree with the British population but for different reasons. I'm not particularly worried about his age or his health, but I'm worried that a wrong precedent can be set.
His period in power was characterized by disrespect of human rights and by strong economic development. However, the Chilean population started to significantly protest against him in the late 1980s. Those protests forced him to step down in 1990. Although he had left the presidency, he didn't leave public life. Pinochet had guaranteed in the 1980 Constitution that he would be senator for life once he left office.
Pinochet remained a senator when he traveled to London in 1998 for back surgery. Spain requested his extradition on the grounds that he had killed Spanish citizens in the 1970s.
This demand raised several problems that need to be analyzed.
First, Spain wants to play the role of international court, and British authorities are clearly
accepting that. The Spanish argue that crimes against human rights could be judged everywhere, no matter where the violations had taken place. They are clearly wrong.
He needs to be sent back to Chile, and the decision to judge him or not should lie entirely with Chilean authorities. If they don't intend to judge him for his atrocities, it's not Europe's duty to play world court. If they want China to be home of atrocities, it's their game. As Robert Kennedy once said, "Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves."
Furtado is a Pelotas, Brazil, junior in journalism and political science.
Feedback
KU Bookstores need to give students a break
This letter is in response to KU Bookstores refusing to give student dividends. I handed my receipts expecting a little excess cash that all college students need. The lady up there said they terminated the program and I quote "...It didn't profit so discontinued it" (that is the dividends). She said there was an ad in the UDK, but I have read every issue and I haven't seen it. Also, There was another student behind me that wanted to cash in her receipts as well.
I am tired of the University treating the students like pawns in a chess game. This was one "break" a student got and now the university is taking that away too. We deserve our break today!
Russell Warren
Lecompton sophomore
I would like to thank everyone who helped with the Voter Registration Drive - it was a huge success. We recieved 107 completed applications which is excellent considering there is no election this year. The Kick-Off Debate between the Young Democrats and College Republicans also went very well. Thanks to those who stopped by and listened in.
Voter registration a huge success
Andrew Bailey SLAB Education & Forums
Kansan writes strong political commentary
I have been at the university for five years now, and I have to say this semester has been very fruitful with your writing talents! More so than ever before. I think your columnists are right on, even if there have been a few I don't agree with. The writing is clear, well researched, and funny as hell in some cases. I am a big fan of Jenny's column as well as Nick's (in fact, I would like to see him write more often than he does).
But what really inspired me to write this letter is Mike
Surely, he considered the fact that Catholics or others might find his depiction just slightly insulting. Was it even considered that others might be offended by this? Perhaps he was just careless or maybe your editors did not consider that many might not approve of mixing what others consider the seriousness of an event such as the Last Supper with something as trivial as the current alcohol policy.
I wanted to express my opinion about an article in the opinion section of the November 11 newspaper. I found Mark McMaster's article on the alcohol policy quite distasteful. Of all the possible forums he could have used and the multitude of other ways he could have addressed this issue, he chose to mock an important event in the Catholic faith, the Last Supper. I want you to know I dissapprove of this and find it insulting and degrading.
Catholics upset by column's depiction of Last Supper
Loader. His column in today's paper about Pat Buchanan is brilliant! Please pass that along to him for me. Good political commentary is hard to come by, and Loader certainly has a knack for it. I'm a bed wetting liberal and it has been a while since I've seen a columnist who shares my views on a lot of things, it is quite refreshing.
Please do not trivialize and brush my email aside as another right-wing, religious fanatic trying to shove their religion down other people's throats. Instead, please take the time to consider what I have said as constructive criticism. In the future, I ask that you please be more sensitive and considerate of the beliefs and values of others. I hope in the future this newspaper will be more careful in
Thank you very much!
In either case, I find this "mock-interpretation" inappropriate to say the least especially at a university that prides itself on acceptance and sensitivity to many cultures, many races, and religions.
Dora Naughton Columbia, MO, senior
avoiding insulting their readers.
There is also an important, theoretical reason. Creation science is wholly devoid of scientific merit. "But if this is so," the reader may protest, "why not let the public decide?" Well, one can here in 1999 hire a lecturer who asserts that the earth is flat of that African Americans are genetically inferior to whites. If Bettes is to be consistent, he must demand that we consider these viewpoints as well, for they are not one whit less plausible scientifically than is creationism.
Lawrence graduate student
Creation science devoid of merit
Bettes's viewpoint is, I suspect, shared by many; and it is thus of manifest importance to understand why it is confused. The confusion is one of elementary scientific methodology. For practical reasons, the legitimate scientific community disreagrads crack-pot ideas like creations; they do this of necessity, since if every person who wants to question the orthodoxy were heard in the community, no science would get done.
Brad Majors Baldwin City senior
In "Intellectual pursuit only goes so far in academia" (Nov. 5), Chad Bettes alleges that we at KU are somewhat narrow minded and dogmatic in that we failed to promote and attend the lecture of a visiting creationist to the degree found appropriate when Stephen Jay Gould came to Lawrence.