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Thursday, April 20, 1972
University Daily Kansan
KANSAN comment
Editorials, columns and letters published on this page reflect only the opinions of the writers.
Hearing Manners
The purpose of an open hearing is to allow a group to present its proposal and to provide a time for any criticisms, recommendations or compliments that the plan may merit. That purpose was only grudgingly achieved by opening the open hearing on the Parking and Traffic Board's now famous, or perhaps more accurately, infamous, proposal.
The people who went to the hearing were so mad that they wanted to dispense with the formality of an explanation of the plan. They wanted to bring growing meters. They wanted to begin with vigorous criticism of the plan.
The few facts that the board's chairman, Mr. Malinowsky, was able to utter between verbal assaults made it clear that some of the anger was based on misinformation. For instance, the parking meters were not to be placed all along Jayhawk Boulevard and there would be a lane which would allow for two-way bicycle traffic. Someone in the police department suggested that everyone calm down and listen to the board's explanation. He pointed out that we all might learn something.
The crowd listened to the board's presentation, although it seemed to take a lot out of them; they grumbled the whole time. Often questions and expressions of discontent could not be contained. Any declaration of good will by Maalinowsky was either hated at or laughed at by the audience. I find it hard to believe that he is the blackguard many people at the hearing seemed to think he is. Emotions had so overtaken people that they had as much trouble sitting still as a group of five-year olds would have.
It is unfortunate that people who suggested worthy counter-proposals felt they had to shout them. People repeated earlier statements of criticism, often louder and more rudely than former speakers.
One of the most obvious effects of the crowd's irrational overreaction was that it made those on the panel defensive. They were forced by the crowd to defend not only the plan but themselves as well.
It disturbed me that in this community, in this era, the hearing turned out the way it did. In an era when people are supposed to be recognizing as vital the virtues of tolerance and understanding, the "University people" at that hearing displayed what can only be described as a disdain for both those virtues as well as any compassion for people in difficult positions. This community was founded as a place for the development of the intellect. Here knew how to act on fact. However, students at the meeting did not want to be bothered with the board's presentation of the facts, much less any rational consideration of them.
I did not like the proposal when I went to the hearing and I still do not like it. Nevertheless, I think the board should have been given a fair chance to present the thing. As it was they were forced into a corner and had to listen to loud criticism, some of which was unduly harsh.
I am certain they would have listened to objections presented calmly and rationally. Such a presentation would be discrediting the proposal without discrediting those who spoke against it.
Mary Ward
Loyalty Oath
The Supreme Court Tuesday upheld the constitutionality of a loyalty oath required by the state of Massachusetts for its state employees. This ruling seems to reverse the trend established during the years of the Warren Court of ruling such oaths unconstitutional under First Amendment guarantees.
The requirement of an oath is, of course, a stupid idea. If the revolution is acumin' I doubt that the first wave of bombers and burners is gone in the war. It may be that once upon a time they signed an oath of allegiance to the country.
Such oaths are simply offensive. Most of us, I imagine, are irritated at having our patriotism questioned and having to swear that we believe certain things in order to get a job. We have to be given statements contained in an oath, the idea of signing a document that binds one to certain beliefs as a
requirement to work, seems
to have with the essence of the
First Amendment.
However, the fact that loyalty oaths are now to be considered constitutional is not important. The fact that such a ruling clearly establishes the Supreme Court on which the state has involved individual rights as opposed to the rights of the state, is of utmost importance.
The individual is often the dissenter in the society. When the court swings to the side of the government in such cases, a dangerous situation arises, for now the courts, in giving the government the benefit of the doubt, may tend to quash dissent.
And if dissent is quashed, and is thereby allowed to be fermented, we may indeed find ourselves in a situation those loyalty oaths sought to avert.
Associate Editor
James J. Kilpatrick
Compare Rulers in Greece
WASHINGTON-IT is a familiar part of politics, known to every student of the ancient art, that the people seldom have a choice between two courses almost equally good, or between one course that is altogether good. Politics, alas, ordinarily offers little more than a choice among evils.
the trumis may be seen in Greece today. Since the revolution of April, 1967, the country has been dominated by a junta of right-wing military leaders. These are the famous, or infamous, "colonels," led by George Papadopoulos. Arrayed wing counter-revolutionary factions identified with former Premier Andreas Papandreou. If the people were in a position to make a peaceful free choice, what would they do? Would they turn upon the colonels and throw the rascals against them, not—so long as their only alternative is to throw the Papandreou racsals in. With all
its repressive aspects, the present regime is infinitely better, which is to say infinitely better. It makes that would like to take over.
Two events in recent weeks tend to buttress this view. I have in mind a recent speech by Papadopoulos and a letter—a curiously unpublicized public letter—addressed by Papandreu on October 10 to a meeting of his exiled followers in Vienna.
In his message, the prime minister made several gestures that merit a favorable word. To be sure, he did not proclaim the resumption of a freely elected government in a country exiled King Constantine, much less the monarch's meddied mother, to come back to Athens; he did not empty the prisons of all persons under political detention. But Papadopoulos did announce the end of martial law over two-thirds of the country and he did not allow anyone to enter including both military and political fees, who may now return to their homes. It is not
much, perhaps, but it is something—a small step in the right direction.
By contrast, one may contemplate the direction indicated by Papandreou in his
James J. Kilpatrick
October letter to his followers.
For nearly five years, Greece has enjoyed internal peace, public order, and general stability.
What does the leftist Papandreou have to offer instead?
He writes from exile in Ottawa:
"There is absolutely no
possibility for an evolutionary solution of the Greek problem." How then, then can change be achieved? Papandreou, taking a hard line to make his position "perfectly clear." It is impossible, he says, for change to be achieved without "a dynamic armed struggle and harsh confrontation"—in brief, a balky revolution and civil war.
"Such a struggle," he continues, "requires the creation of a political-military national liberation movement in the classical context of the third world."
Papandreou goes on to define his goals. If he can overthrow the colonels, "Greece will be a neutral country"—i.e., Greece will withdraw from NATO and ant-Communist posture of the reformers for the defense of its affairs. Greece will become "socialist (and not simply social democratic);" That is to say, Greece will become socialist as the term is defined in the Soviet
Union, rather than socialist in the pattern of Sweden.
The people of Greece reportedly are unhappy that the colonels have failed to restore free elections. Would they regain power in a revolution? No, indeed. Papandreou offers only a "socialist community surpassing the petrified parliamentary life" he proposes "new lively forms of participation by the people."
"It is not so curious that Papandreau has failed to arouse much of a following in Greece. They were the traveling movement, with its ritual denunciations of "American imperialism," has attracted the support of so many Americans, like the Americans. Given a Hamlet's choice between "the ills we have" and "others that we know not of" it is small wonder that Greenland sticks with the rares they have.
Copyright, 1972, Washington Star Syndicate, Inc.
Readers Respond
George, Gus, Barry, Randy . . .
Di Zerega
To the Editor:
Vive la Democracie! Student
somente ha llorado con la democa-
tiva para dos de las da Giuia D
Zerega tells you to do; otherwise,
bald Bad Wolf is going to kick
him.
Claire L. Dehon Graduate student Lawrence
Ombudsman
To the Editor:
been criticized and questioned for its role as a co-paintiff in the complaint filed against the February Sisters last semester. In response to this, the charter of the school was changed somewhat, to produce the following goals and purposes:
To the Editor:
The Office of the Ombudsman
at the University of Kansas has
1. To provide an independent office to counsel investigate and mediate student, faculty or administrative grievances.
2. To refer valid grievances to the appropriate University organization.
3. To seek out intra-University injustices and inequities.
The Ombudsman Office is based on the principle that members of the University community should have their questions answered by the University investigated and remedied without resorting to judicial measures. Problems among students, faculty and researchers are more readily solved by mediation than by litigation.
To promote this end, the office shall refrain from serving as counselor for either side of a judicial proceeding, or as a party to any court case, in order necessary to maintain an independent and unprejudice*
Changing of the guard in Vietnam
Bv Sokoloff
agency able to arbitrate in an unbiased manner.
To the Editor:
The office can perform a personal service in a totally independent, confidential manner for a person who does not have where or to whom his question should be directed for answer.
Griff and the Unicorn
--Mike Weiser
--Geary N. Group
For the KU Ombudsman Office
Albin
The Traffic Court's treatment of Prof. Hanson's case is outrageous.
Nan C. L. Scott
KU Alumna
1638 Barker Ave.
Gould
This letter is to serve notice to Mr. Albin and any other "justices of his ilk that I have given you permission to Kansas tax lawyer and member of the general public just because I am, heaven help me, a faculty wife; that I will take my children home for college at Museum and park in the section reserved for museum visitors whenever I wish to do so, and that neither my husband nor I will pay tuition while I am doing this.
However, there is one part of interview that makes the difference. Yoward is the end of that interview (Kansas, April 14) it is stated that Shaw was a lawyer who struck out the charges in Lawrence were dismissed. Nothing is further evidence.
The insincuse of Barry Albin, named in Professor Hanson's April 17th lecture as the judge in a trial for his own misapplied match by his ignorance of young children. I have a son of two years and three months who has been looking at and naming animals in the Natural History Museum's dioramas. I am sure that by the time I am ready and even if the interest there
I first wish to thank you for giving me a chance to present our side of our legal hassles with the federal and state governments. We have generally been denied opportunity by the news media.
"Copyright 1972, David Sokoloff.
I believe the state of Kansas dissolved those charges only when I was available. (A spectator in the courtroom even overheard the judge tell the assistant county attorney, "Think of what thinker else to do.) I thought of anything else to do.) As a result of the support of a lot of people for the attention our cases have received, the state still would not have dropped their ridiculous accusations.
Remember that I was charged in the first place on no more than $200,000 for the preliminary hearing—none. Remember that it cost my family, friends and myself thousands of dollars of fear and emotional strain just to get to the point where Kansas had to dismiss charges which never should have been charged, or forget that it cost us over $3 million.
$60,000 worth of bonds to just keep me out of jail these nine months that it took us to get Kansas to admit it had no case.
Throughout this particular case I have seen a judge (federal) deny defense motion to take everything the government has asked (including a continuance of our trial which is moving past the month and a half stage—we've never had it before, and later we still waiting). We've seen that same judge overrule defense objections before they are admitted. We also see those that haven't been made. And we've seen that judge invoke maximum security (frisking), metal detectors, armed guards, or in any reason than to try to keep spectators from the courtroom and to paint an image of my "corporate death" deadly criminals. And finally I've seen how the judicial system has and is treating Arnold (you get sentence reductions if you mouth it like you're getting felony charges if you don't.)
Further I've seen too many good friends locked away in jail and even some who've been seen people sturge from Douglas county juries simply brown, red or brown, red or connected with the university. And that's just a little more.
I did indicate to your reporter that I have a new faith in jurors, but that is because of my belief in the justice system, people actually know what is going on, they react in a progressive way. And I indicated that I believe that a reasonable judge can in a few instances affect its working. But I'm afraid that overall my experiences of the past year have only grown more judicial system itself really is.
Randy Gould Former Student
McGovern
Congratulations to the students.
They have been working on the state who have been working on the local and county level in the candidacy of George Govore.
Here in Oklahoma we are working just as hard to get representation on the precinct elected at the district level for the national convention. I am sure that there must be students at KU who are from Oklahoma and who are not there. In lieu of them, them that our precinct meetings are May 5 and at these meetings delegates will be elected to the county council. We are down from KU to a hometown in Oklahoma and the effort to attend a local precinct meeting could be very beneficial. And one can write friends at out and do the work necessary.
In their eagerness to participate at KU students from Oklahoma and from other states should not forget what they can do with the equipment any of you I can who are from the KU-field Field County area.
J. T. Moore (KU, Ph.D. 1970)
Garfield County Coordinator
McGovern for President
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