UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN editorials
Unsigned editors represent the opinion of the Kansan
owners. Signed columns represent the views of
only the writers.
Mav 2.1980
Rosie's scam righted
The Boston Athletic Association has recently made a decision that proves it does make a difference whether you win or lose. The Browns did not parently did not play the game fairly.
The decision stripped Rosie Ruis, a 26-year-old Manhattan, N.Y., office worker, of her Boston Marathon women's division victory. Ruiz 'victory in the 26-mile, 385-yard race was dimmed by controversy almost from the moment she collapsed at the finish line. There was some question as to whether Ruiz had indeed run the entire distance of the course or had merely finished it after slipping into the race somewhere along the way.
A few other runners said they had reuzi earlier in the race, but there was more evidence stacked against the idea that she had won the race legitimately. So after reviewing thousands of slides, in none of which do Ruzi or her number appear, assouadine of judges ruled Tuesday "beyond any chance" that Ruzi did not run the entire course. She was disqualified as winner and Jacqueline Gareau of Montreal became the official victor.
Despite the obvious heartache the situation has caused Ruz, who claims she actually ran the race, officials made the right decision. Unworthy claiming a victory is wrong. If such an erroneous claim were not challenged by more evidence, so many more people—who really did go the full distance, regardless of where they placed—would be devastating.
In the 1972 Olympics, U.S. runner Frank Shorter led that marathon nearly all the way to the finish line, or at least he thought he was leading it until he reached the Olympic stadium. As he started to circle the track for the final leg of the race another runner appeared in front of him, a runner who had slipped onto the track unseen by Shorter.
The dishheartening effect of this runner on Shorter was evident to those who saw the race. Nevertheless, officials were able to reach Shorter in a word that he was, in fact, the leader and he went on to win the gold medal.
Art Buchwald, nationally syndicated column, thanked Rosie Ruz in a recent column for striking a blow on all of the non-runners in the nation.
"If Rosie really pulled a marathon sting operation," he said, "she surely deserves the title of the non-runner's Woman of the year." All lethargic people have fantasized about winning Marathon without having to run it.
"Some might call it cheating and usportsmanslike, but I like to think it's just getting even—getting even with all of the people we need to use non-runners on our own thing."
The man has a point. One person's Bill Rodgers may be another person's Rosie Ruiz. Nevertheless, honor in victory comes from winning in conjunction with, not in spite of, the rules no matter how long or hard the race is.
Sale of Iran photos raises ethics question
Guest Columnist
BY LUTHER C. ALEXANDER JR.
It was an obscure reference in a much bigger front-page story in the April 9, 1980 issue of the Washington Post which was written by Networks Pay $3,000 for Hostage Film.
"I don't know if this is a way to help funding or not, the clergyman said."
Hidden inside on page A-17, the reference read: ... Explaining that the Kansas Association Crisis Resolution that sponsored the clerics trip was 'in a big financial bond', the leader of the delegation asked a reporter about the white photographers to which he had accited.
In the opinion of some clerics and journalists alike, the proposed method was definitely not the way.
Although no one this writer talked to was sure who the unnamed clergyman was, the Rev. Jack Bremer, a lawrence United States diplomat, quoted because he was the de facto leader of the delegation and had acted as the “courter” of the marketed photographs. Bremer said he was insure whether he got the Post reporter about the photograph sale.
Although few would question the legality of the photograph sale, if the ethics of marketing photographs taken by the hostages remains under a cloud, then the role of a clergyman in such a transaction should certainly be the target of a deluge of complaints. I suggested that a man of God permit his office to be used in usach a way. After all, so far only clergymen, the Red Cross and the police have been permitted to see the canvases.
THE POST STORY did not describe the details of Bremer's involvement and made no attempt to do so.
In a telephone interview, Bremer discussed his role in the securing and eventual sale of photographs taken in the U.S. Embassy.
First, the photographs were sold by the Committee for American-Iranian Crisis Resolution to the Kansas City Times and United Press International for a total of
$1,400 ($400 to the Times and $1,000 to
for exclusive regional and international
rights respectively. All proceeds went to
Foster associate professor of social welfare.
Second, Brenner said that photograph he had taken with his camera within the embassy had been made available to churches and monasteries. He added that he had paid more than $400 of his own money to finance the trip and had neither sought nor received monetary payments.
"MY ROLE STRICTLY was that of a clerkperson," Bremer said.
But the question that has eluded most newsreaders but continues—even at this late date—to graveyard in the bowels of a newspaper is how to Breem acting strictly as a cleggerman?
Since Constantine made Christianity a legitimate "faith" in the fourth century, Christ was not alone in society and society a measure of privilege. They also ate at the tables. The represented human dignity and freedom and the persons who wore it were presumed above the taint of compromised humanity.
Brenner said he saw no conflict in his taking the film from the Iranian captains within the embassy and delivering it to the Committee.
BUT CONSIDERING the fact that only other clergy men were in such a position to deliver, one wonders that "someone else" might have been.
Said he, "I think that's a legitimate thing ... Someone else could have delivered them."
"My privileged role had nothing to do with the taking of those photographs," he continued. "I did not exploit my role as clergy and were not active as a counter." I was only acting as a counter.
Still, Bremer maintains his actions were ethical, stating, "I feel perfectly comfortable with my role. . . . I don't feel any uncomfortable in any way."
Luther C. Alexander Jr. is a campus minister at the University of Kansas with the Baptist Student Union and is a special student in the School of Journalism.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Ten years ago, William Schroeder faced the same problems that students have today. Finals were coming; he needed a summer job; he was ready for the semester
Kent State tragedy is not forgotten
William, an A student, had a typical case of over-land. And as he walked on campus, he stopped to observe trees and flowers. But soon, bullet would strike William down. At age 19, William down.
On May 4, 1970, William and three fellow students died from gunshot wounds inflicted from National Guardsm's bullets. The four students had only a few things in common. They happened to be students at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
IN A SPAN of 13 seconds, 6 gunshots killed William, Jeffrey,andra and Alison, and wounded nine others. These students were not fighting in the trenches of Vietnam, they merely were seeking degrees at university sanctioned for academic freedom.
Sandra Lee Scheuer was a soft-spoken girl who loved to be alive. On this day, she would die.
Freemag Glemm Miller could not want to go home to his family at Long Island. But Jeff would never see his folks again. On this day, he would die.
KU students even knew the students who were killed. But this Sunday, May 4, their short-lived college careers will occupy many minds.
Their deaths certainly were senseless.
The demonstration was a peaceful one. To this day, it is not known who ordered the execution of these men. It is unclear whether an order was made.
Alison Krause was on her way to class.
She was an honor student majoring in art history. Before she could get to class, she was shot down. On this day, she would die.
Without displaying a sign or committing an act of violence, William, Jeffrey, Sandra
COLUMNIST
david lewis
and Alison helped fuel the greatest student movement in the history of our country. Before May 4, 1970, Kent State students were apathetic. But the death of these four students united Kent State as well as the rest of the city. In Washington, 100,000 students joined actions the National Guard. Activism became commonplace around the country.
ONLY TWO WEEKS earlier, the University of Kansas had experienced a bitter taste of activism. The Kansas Union was burned. Gunshots ran out from
Before the National Guardmen fired the fatal shots, some Kent State students had committed serious offenses of their peers and others from their student teams, invaded downtown Kent, Ohio, breaking numerous windows and attacking them next day, the ROTC building was set ablaze.
Jayhawk Boulevard. However, nothing at KU could overshadow the tragedy at Kent State.
UNFORTUNATELY, APOLLOIES will not do any good. The lives of the students cannot be replaced. Ironically, students did not learn what to watch while watching their fellow students fight for a cause. The students will never know what to do when anti-Vietnam war causes. Even more important, the loss of their lives made more people realize that violence was not the way to prevent it. We have learned that lesson the hard way. Students of today have occupied their minds with materialistic goals. Career aspirations than causes. Students, at least for the time being, are striving to assume responsible roles. Sandra, Alison and Aisson never got that chance.
By this time, the National Guard had arrived.
On May 4, Kent State students protested the presence of the National Guard on their campus. Two dozen students, the students, about 500 in number, to disperse. The guardsmen persisted, although the students were peaceful. But most of the students were just watching.
WHEN THE CROWD would not disperse, the guardians fired. Four innocent students were killed. The National Guard had unmercifully spilled the blood of four
Still, ten years later, the deaths of these students are difficult to accept. Few, if any,
Scattered across the southern edge of the Flint Hills, tucked out of sight, lark government-approved killers. Each of the 18 Titian missile silos surround Wichita are capable of destroying a large city, and they also protect family farms who sleep within sight of them.
The Titans are ICBMs, Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles that can be armed with nuclear warheads. They were placed in
Missiles may lead to Titanic disaster
kate COLUMNIST pound
Not all of the missiles in Kansas are armed but most are equipped with nine large, hardened barrels called the Titans were awesome, massive things, perhaps the most powerful weapons in the world. The Titans have confidence in national security as they inspired Russian fear in American nuclear nuclear
their sites near Wichita in 1963, ostensibly to protect them. They are contained, guarded and armed by the Air Force Strategic Air Command at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita.
Now, however, the missiles are more than seven years out of date. Their importance declined and they became nearly obsolete in the mid-20th century. Minuteman missiles. The Titans, however, have not been scraped in favor of more modern weapons, because according to a report in 1985, the U.S. Committee, they are the largest weapons the nation possesses. They look impressive.
IMPRESSIVE.—sounds logical to keep lookers in mind, simply because the looker might require his tactical value or safety. But shark are not looking for the looker who really wants to have one in their bathing!
Aside from its insanity, that line of reasoning is terrifying. The aging Titans pose a serious threat to Kansans living in and around Sedgewick County. The missile casings and shells are weakening and have the potential to leaking toxic liquid fuel oxidizers.
Since 1978, there have been two major leagues in Kansas. The first, in August of 1978, was the Pittsburgh Pirates, who evacuated of a large area near Rock, Kan. The second leak, which occurred last week, was less serious, but required the destruction of the rooftops. Although the families were allowed to return home at the end of the day, they must have been transported to a livestock have been contaminated by a deadly chemical. No one, not even the military, yet knows the long term effects of the leak.
THE POTWEN LEAK was not a fluke. It was the fifth Titan leak in the nation this year; the other four were minor enough to escape public. Since 1975, there have
be at least 125 Titan leaks serious enough to force surrounding areas to be evacuated. Missile had to be drained, warehoused removed and missile sites be on alert.
The leaks are dangerous not only because of the oxidizer gas put into the air, but also because of the nuclear warheads mounted on the missiles. They would oxidize the movement to the fuel failed—and they have failed before —an explosion could occur that would destroy the missile casing. Although there would not be a nuclear exposition, the materials would be released into the air.
THE AIR FORCE has been asked by Congress to make a study of the Titans' safety. The study, which will be released soon, states that a "reasonable" number of
the missiles can safely be kept on alert status for sometime. What constitutes a reasonable number only the Air Force knows.
The Titans have kept and will continue to be kept on alert for three major threats, the Islamic State and the military had hoped to use them as barter in the Strategic Arms Limits Treaty negotiations with the Soviet Union. The Russians, however, haven't been interested in acquiring them.
THE SECOND REASON is simply that the military has nothing to replace the Titans. in an era of international paranoidism, the military needs to be more megatamorph, obsolete or not. The third reason is closely linked to the second: there need to replace 54 ICBMs. The Department budget to replace 54 ICBMs.
So while the Pentagon and the Strategic Air Command trade alibis and platitudes, the Kansasans of Sedgwick County are weapons in their pastures. The nuclear weapons in their pastures.
The necessity and mortality of planking in ICBMs down in the middle of the prairie is not only due to the difficulty of maintaining a defective missile system, it is to say the least. Fracture. A more apt adap- tion must be made.
CONFIRMING THE PENTAGON'S INSTINCTY
the Titans are by an insurgent the Titans are
by an insurgent the Titans are
the sophisticated guidance systems of more
modern weapons. The Titans, in a world
of advanced technology, travel across the world and land within d
mile of their targets, can't compete
So the United States military keeps a missile system that is more likely to endanger the very people it is supposed to protect. The threat of missiles, in their quiet, below-ground sites, pose a direct threat to several thousand people and families. The Titans ought to be removed and their sights should be equipped with weapons less dangerous to Americans or others.
The American government has a duty to protect its citizens. The Titans represent a willful, irresponsible neglect of that duty; someone ought to be ashamed.
Pirnazar's quotes out of context
To the Editor:
The story "Hostages" release called unlikely" in the April 28 Kansan took some of my quotes out of context. This letter is used to clarify and clarify the points made in the story.
1. There was no mention of the fact that the sole purpose of the comments was to answer rather narrow questions and that I did not mention this gave the story the appearance that I took a personal position on the issues and logical answers to specific questions.
2. the comment about the Ayatollah Khomeini's rise to power being helped by his correctness. First, my statement answered a question about why the Ayatollah was reluctant to release the hostages. The second, that he was cared for asking his impeccable credentials in Iran, as a result of being accused by opponents of favoring the United States from the United States to rise to power. I also did not say that his rise to power could have somehow changed the course of the revolution. Secondly, I did not want him to be evaporating. I merely stated that the cause of topping the shah created greater support for him at the time of the revolution than he
3. I did not say that "another rescue attempt should be made as soon as possible" I did say, however, that another one would be needed to have the administration and that it appeared likely
4. On the issue of the student captors' autonomy, I simply pointed out that the Iranian government obviously would prefer the custody of the hostages was not official.
5. I might add that the fact that a number of potentially rival ayatollahs are kept in
S. Pirnazar
Qom is in line with the Imam's desire to assure a degree of national unity in Iran needed for reconstruction.
Assistant instructor in political science
Book burners show what they believe in To the Editor
After reading Kate Pound's editorial, I was surprised that she asked myself why Pound on openended supporter of individual liberty, would lable the choice of local church members to burn books.
It was clear to me from the Kansan story about the event that those who acted did so of personal choice. Their decisions to take the role were strictly a voluntary basis. Comparing the church members with the Nazis, however, suggests that they were somehow coerced into burning the books—that the church told them not to burn their books or else. This was not the case.
Each church member individually choose what he felt was a bad influence. For Pound to say the event was a "rite" that the church needed, it is more important for its congregation's spiritual health is a serious misinterpretation of the event. It was church sponsored, yes, but only in that members wanted to personally rid them of the wrong records. Call it instead an opportunity.
Concerning their desire to rid themselves of what they felt was a bad influence, don't let them be told that you are not welcome today, people go along with the crowd, even though they often want the opposite. We all have individuals who want these individuals to be able to stand up for what they believe is true freedom is all.
To say this event was a threat to freedom,
UNIVERSITY DAILY letters KANSAN
Eric N. Wynkoop
Wichita sophomore
however, is to misunderstand freedom. They demonstrated freedom in their decision to do what's right in the midst of a crisis. If they were forced power to make a stand for what is morally right, is rare. I'm sure that those who believe in the power of freedom comes not from themselves. They are partakers of an external, supernatural strength given to all those who choose freedom.
President correct in rescue decision
To the Editor:
irresponsible even for a college newspaper editor.
When did Kate Pound become an expert on military and foreign affairs? Her offhand observations in Tuesday's Kanran are
It is time the media stop second-gazing the president's decision to attempt to persuade the American people that the mission had a high probability of success, and we have no reason to doubt it. We should position to make such a judgment. That responsibility is a part of the office to which the president is accountable.
The tragic loss of eight American lives could have as easily happened in the deserts of Arizona on a routine training session. Let us also not forget that the longer the 53 remains remain in Iran, the greater the harm it causes physically, and worse, psychologically.
I whole-heartedly support the president's decision, and regret only that it did not lead to the immediate release of the hostages.
Dayid H. Alien Atchison senior
Letters Policy
The University Daily Kansan welcomes letters to the editor and guest speakers to the different points of view about topics of interest. The must be typed, double-spaced and no longer than 500 words. The Kansan reserves the right to edit all letters and manuscripts. The student must include the writer's address and phone number. If the writer is affiliated with the University, the letter should in-text include the student's home tone or faculty or staff position.