Opinion
Kansan
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Thursday, April 29, 1999
The Chicago Tribune
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Alumna congratulates men's bowling team
I would like to extend my congratulations to Coach Mike Fine and the KU Men's Bowling Team on its national championship appearance this year.
KU bowling, while not well known on campus, was an important and enjoyable part of my undergraduate experience as a Jayhawk. Most people on campus probably do not realize what an accomplishment it is for KU to hold its own against the likes of Wichita State and West Texas State, perennial national champions in collegiate bowling. These players spend not only their time, but often much of their own money on their sport, usually for little recognition or glory.
Thanks also to the Kansan for covering their accomplishments this year.
Donna Kirk-Swaffer
KU Women's Bowling Team 1985-87
'Turkish Republic' blurb ratifies illegal country
I am a graduate student from Cyprus. I am writing to complain about the column about Ocalan printed in the Kansan on Friday.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I would not want to argue the content of the article. But what I protest is the fact that the Kansan printed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as the country of origin of the author.
The TRNC is a state that the United Nations and the European Union do not recognize and have declared illegal. The only country in the world that recognizes it is Turkey, which has occupied half of the island of Cyprus since 1974. There are more than 2,000,000 soldiers from Turkey in Cyprus occupling the island.
Since 1974, there have been more than 200,000 refugees in Cyprus, including my family, and there are 1,619 people missing. My great aunt is missing, and my uncle was held as a prisoner of war in a Turkish prison for three months. He was tortured and almost died, and
he still has nightmares to remind him. He also sees the Turkish flag every day in occupied parts of Cyprus.
We lost everything because Turkey invaded our country. They took our houses, our land and even dared to declare the part of Cyprus they occupy an independent country.
Varvara Pasiali Cyprus graduate student
United Nations recognizes one republic in Cyprus
I have read a column that was published in Kansan on Friday written by Husey in Sevay about the capture of Ocalan, the Kurdish leader.
Even though I disagree with my friend Huseyin on many points of his column, I respect his personal opinion.
The reason I am writing is to complain about the reference to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus." There is only one Republic in Cyprus recognized by the United Nations, and that is the Republic of Cyprus. The "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" is an illegal state recognized only by Turkey and has been condemned by the UN resolutions. I am a refugee from Famagusta, which is being controlled by the Turkish occupation forces in north Cyprus right now, and any reference to a "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" by the Kansan is offensive.
Panikos Economides Famaausta, Cyprus, junior
My first point is against the claim that a Kurdish person is granted the same rights as any other Turkish citizen. Anything else I have read from international organizations, including Amnesty International, says the opposite. It is known that Turkey is one of the countries where human rights are violated continuously. Kurdish people are harassed, oppressed and persecuted. Their villages are burned down. People struggling for their freedom are tortured till death in the prisons, and others are forced to even leave the country.
Turkey's human rights record tarnishes arrest
I am writing to comment and express my disagreements in several points of Friday's column titled "Kurdish leader's capture helps stem tide of terror."
Kurds are struggling to obtain their independence. They are the largest minority in the world and the largest ethnic group without its own country. Kurds have their own distinct culture, and they have been in the area before even the Turks. The Kurds were promised their own state in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres, but Turkey forced a renegotiation of the treaty.
Ocalan was the leader of the Kurdish Workers Party, whose main purpose is the creation of a Kurdish state. How can he be described as a terrorist while the atrocities by the Turkish army are totally ignored? I don't know if the number of deaths attributed to him are right, but we should be realistic. The equipment and the trained manpower that the Turkish army has caused most of those deaths against Kurdish civilians. Human rights groups have criticized both sides. But one of those sides is the official army and police of a country.
Ocalan's arrest was the reason for a series of protest actions in 16 European cities. Why would thousands of people put their bodies on the line to aid a man wanted for terrorism? Turkish government and military has never been friendly to the Kurdish population but has rather tortured those people. I am afraid that with Ocalan's arrest, their operations against those people will be even easier.
By the way, if the Greek or Greek Cypriot government has given any kind of help to Oceanal, it is totally unclear. But if it actually provided asylum to him, that does not mean that it is the reason for the continuation of the existence of the group. The reason for its lasting is the continuing mistreatment of the Kurdish population and their determination to gain their independence.
Marilena Neocleous
Paphos, Cyprus, sophomore
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"We shall never be content until man makes his own weather and keeps it to
Broaden your mind: Today's quote
himself." —Jerome K. Jerome
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Tolerance, appreciation could stop teen violence
Perspective
I think that everyone is aware of the recent tragedy in Littleton, Colo. The most deadly in a disturbing series of school shootings left one teacher and 14 stu-
Robert K.
Funk
jonition@kansan.com
deaths dead and 23 more people injured, some very seriously.
The damage was done by two male students, ages 17 and 18. The boys were armed with two sawed-off shotguns, a semiautomatic 9mm rifle and a semiautomatic 9mm pistol. They also planted more than 30 rudimentary explosives at various locations around the school.
I think it's clear that the boys couldn't find the respect that they needed to survive emotionally and subsequently, physically. Initially, they probably tried to find respect in the traditional ways, through sports, girls, cars, etc. Failing there, they turned to alternative sources such as the occult and weaponry. When that didn't work, they snapped, and there apparently wasn't a support structure to save them or their victims: Quentin Tarantino meets Revenge of the Nerds.
Apparently, there were warning signs. Both boys had criminal records for breaking into a car. Both were members of a strange social circle called "The Trench Coat Mafia." The group reportedly dabbed in Satanism, guns, and explosives. They even had a web site that reflected their preferences.
Adolescence is a very difficult time, and there always will be more and less popular students. Those things will never change. However, there are some things that we as a society can change.
ditional sense, and both apparently took a lot of grief from the more popular kids, especially the athletes. It has been reported that the boys targeted athletes during their bloody rampage, although it seems that they weren't very picky about it. It also has been reported that they were laughing the entire time, apparently enjoying themselves in a warped sense.
Both boys apparently idolized Adolf Hitler, to the extent that they tried to learn German to emulate their hero. It has been reported that both boys often spoke in broken German in front of friends and family.
We can place less emphasis on things such as looks or athletic ability and appreciate people for other qualities they might have to offer, such as intelligence, generosity, or a sense of humor.
Seventeen families have lost loved ones, and countless other lives have been negatively impacted to various degrees. We have to ask why this happened and more importantly, what we can do to keep it from happening again.
Neighbors reported hearing the boys breaking glass in one of their garages on the nights leading up to the rampage. The glass would be packed into aluminum baseball bats, serving as hrapnel for their primitive explosives. Plans for the massacre dating back at least a year were found in one of the boys' bedrooms after the fact.
In general terms, we should be nice to and tolerant of others, despite the differences we might have.
Finally, there have been reports that the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department had received an anonymous tip that this type of thing was going to happen, although department officials are vehemently denying such reports.
According to the plans, the boys wanted to continue their shooting spree into the neighborhood surrounding the school, hoping to kill hundreds of people.
Neither of the boys was popular in the tra-
The damage has been done, and there is nothing we can do to change that.
If you can't be nice to someone for moral reasons, do it for practical reasons.
Between the likely possibility of copycat criminals and the easy availability of guns and explosives in our society, it could very well save your life.
Funk is a Scott City graduate student in law and business.
Peace,unity can emerge from Littleton shooting
T the massacre in Littleton, Colo., hits close to home because I am a native of Colorado. Columbia High School is the stereotypical heart of suburbia, where
schools are free of gangs, violence and drugs — or at least in this type of setting, you are supposed to feel safe.
This is an area where I grew up playing in nearby Clement Park, and I never questioned my safety. Littleton is a community like any suburban neighborhood full of nuclear families. No danger ever would harm this community where
Jake Kilgore
Guest columnist
everybody gets along and neighbors converse while mowing the yard, right?
We all have seen the brutal pictures on CNN and heard the heart-wrenching stories from the students at Columbine High. We are faced with the realization that this could happen anywhere, often when least expected. And yes, it has happened to the perfect little community of Littleton.
The real questions are: Why is this all happening? Why would God let innocent teens be so brutally murdered at the hands of these feeble individuals?
of these nee be naive hastly tragic this realize how devastatingly tragic this atrocity is. I know it is going to take a long time for the investigation to be complete and for the community to come to grips with what has happened, but it is time to look at the good that can come from this tragedy.
One verse I remember from the New Testament of the Bible says, "God sends his children into the arms of evil, so they can experience evil's pain and then turn back to the ways of God."
I know people out there are asking. "How can this guy think of anything good from this horrible demonstration of violence?"
Well, folks, I promise that I am not jumping the gun or putting aside the situation at hand. Being an optimist, I must come up with something that will help me reason with what has happened to these teens and will allow me to sleep better. That something is the unity of the cliques in high schools across America.
I have faith that God is using this example to show the world that we all are created equal and that we need to treat one another in such a manner. It is a plain and simple fact that we need to love our neighbors and ourselves.
Both suspects thought that because the jocks and popular students treated them so poorly, they should stick together and become a part of something that was important to them. All they had to turn to were the negative aspects society has to offer. Adolf Hitler, Marilyn Manson's music, Satanic Web sites and violence seemed to be the only things that interested them. It seems that other students did not have time for these meaningless entities because they were all at social events with their friends, boyfriends and girlfriends. The two detached boys seemed to be forgotten through it all.
what it:
The suspects were a byproduct of how poorly students treat one another today. They had no friends outside of each other and seemingly had no one who sincerely cared for them. All they had was each other.
rooks, this is a time in our lives of selfishness and insecurity.
People are worried about their image and with whom they are seen. Life is too short not to take the time to get to know as many people as you can.
If you have your life in order and you see a person who is hurting inside, then it is time to start reaching out. The two suspects must have been beyond sick. They had to be so far gone by the time they decided to go on this rampage that there was no turning back. They must have been the most neglected, the most ridiculed students within that school because they did not receive an ounce of love.
It is time for students all across this nation to start binding with one another through love rather than hatred.
I have heard several interviews from Columbine students who said this was going to bring them all together and make them appreciate one another's special qualities. That is the attitude we all need to have.
Why must there be segregated groups in high schools today?
The suspects did not have the right to take lives because they were neglected. I am asking the question, "What if everyone treated one another as friends and occasionally spent time together?"
Life is fragile.
Never wait to tell the ones you love how you really feel because you may never get the opportunity again.
What if?
Kilgore is a Denver senior in communication studies.
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