OPINION
University Daily Kansan, April 16, 1985
Page 4
The University Daily KANSAN
Published since 1889 by students of the University of Kansas
The University Daily, Kansas. (UNSP 626-640) is published at the University of Kansas, 118 Staffer Flint Hall, Lawrence, Kan. 66045, daily during the regular school year and Wednesday and Friday during the summer session, excluding Saturday, Sunday and final periods Second class payment帖位 Lawrence, Kan. 66044 Subscriptions by mail are $15 for six months or $25 for six months and $18 for six months or $3 a year outdoor the county. Student subscriptions are $1 and $2 per month. Address changes to the University Daily, Kansas. 118 Staffer Flint Hall, Lawrence, Kan. 66045
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Stirring blood
"It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood."
- Shakespeare, in "Macbeth"
Will they wait?
In that section of the State Department that concerns itself with issues on the African continent, especially the southern part of that continent, the question lingers. Geopolitical factors are weighed and economic considerations are taken into account. How much pressure can safely be exerted? How much progress is enough?
Thousands of miles away, in the nation of South Africa, a government under siege also measures its options and tries to balance the demands of those clamoring for change with those rooted in the past, in segregation, in apartheid.
When the killing becomes enough of a problem, when the United States is about to make a foreign policy statement, the government makes some concessions.
The latest is that black and whites who sleep together or who marry no longer will be subject to trials where their bedsheets are used as evidence and will no longer be subject to prison terms. This will be hailed by some people as a significant step forward, a sign of enlightenment.
But the places they will be allowed to live will still be restricted. Surely one indication of how bad the situation has become is how much we make of the most basic steps forward.
But already the signs are evident that South Africa is a nation coming apart. Saturday, 29 black victims of racial violence were buried at a funeral, and all 29 had died within the last two and a half weeks. Most were killed by policemen, but others — police and government officials seen as siding with whites — were murdered at the hands of fellow blacks.
"We cannot have violence among ourselves." Nobel prize-winning Bishop Desmond Tutu said at the funeral. "This is not the way."
But will the 22 million blacks that are apartheid's victims listen? Will they wait?
"As I stand here today," said the Rev. Allan Boesak, president of World Alliance of Reformed Churches, "I am filled with grief and sadness. When I look at those coffins, I am filled with rage."
That rage is spreading like a bloodstain across a shirt, while the possibilities are measured and the repercussions taken into account.
And they wait, for now.
Tax tug of war
There is a tug of war going on over $63,832.78 these days, and whichever side wins, a lot of people are going to be angry. The bundle of loot up for grabs is the 1984 personal property and real estate taxes owed on the Adams Alumni Center.
On one side are the Douglas County taxpayers, represented by County Appraiser Don Gordon; on the other side are many members of the Kansas Legislature and Alumni Center members. The latter are intent on exempting the Alumni Center from all real and tangible personal property taxes.
On Dec. 19, the University of Kansas Alumni Association paid $32,000, a half year's payment, under protest. It claims that the building is utilized exclusively for educational purposes so, as such, should be tax exempt.
Gordon, disagreeing, argues that the private club and restaurant in the center serves a social purpose rather than an educational one, so the Alumni Center should have to pay its fair share of taxes. And, we might add, the Alumni Association has at least as much of an interest in maintaining an efficient and effective county government as the rest of us in the county have.
For Douglas County residents, the consequence of the Alumni Center attaining tax exempt status will be a $64,000 drain of the public purse. This means that to keep the level of government services constant, other property owners will have to fork out that much more in new taxes.
The county and the Alumni Association will present their respective cases before the state Board of Tax Appeals this Wednesday. Whatever the outcome, however, it probably will be rendered obsolete soon. The Kansas Senate has passed a bill that exempts all alumni centers from property taxation. Passage of the bill in the House looks assured.
KU alumni in the legislature, it appears, are going to grant themselves a new deduction while Douglas County taxpayers are left with the bill.
The University Daily Kansan welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typewritten and double-spaced and should not exceed 300 words. They should include the writer's name, address and phone number. If the writer is affiliated with the University, the letter should include his class and hometown, or faculty or staff. The Kansan also invites individuals and groups to submit guest columns. Columns and letters are or brought to the Kansan office, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit or reject letters and columns.
LETTERS POLICY
Tolerate — if he could,so can we
Wednesday around noon I was drawn toward the Kansas Union by the sight and noise of a small crowd. As I got closer, it became evident that what I heard over a loudspeaker was an anti-homosexual speaker aiming rather derogatory remarks at a group of people carrying signs in support of homosexual rights. Others carried signs supporting the speaker's message — that homosexuality is a social evil, particularly because of AIDS.
I looked again, down from the signs to the people carrying them. Standing side by side, but carrying opposing messages, were people I call my friends. They didn't seem to know each other. This polarizing showdown made me wonder if it was possible to bridge the impersonal gut between these people — my friends.
This polarization of people reflects my own divided opinions on homosexuality. I'm a committed Christian; that I seek to know, really, what Christ did and said and then to
KAREN MUELLER
Guest Columnist
live by that. For starters, I've noticed two things about him: first, his uncompromising stand on moral righteousness; and second, his unceasing love for people, especially those whom society had ostracized.
That sounds contradictory, but it's important because each camp in the homosexual issue is quoting one characteristic at the expense of the other, hence the polarizing. Here are a couple of examples.
Jesus didn't specifically address homosexuality, but he had a lot to say about sexuality in general. We all recall Jimmy Carter's famous confession to Playboy that he had "lusted after a woman in his heart" and thereby was guilty of something, somehow. But maybe there's more to that than a good chuckle...
If you think about it, what Jesus said — that lust was equal to adultery — makes sense. The point is that going through the motions of being good isn't enough. A pure attitude must include a conscious awareness of the existence of an absolute moral standard, namely God.
The same held true for murder. Jesus offered the old law against it but challenged people further by saying that hating is cruel.
OK, so if Jesus was serious about morality, what about love and non-judgement? The clue to this is found in the quality of the relationships Jesus established. He most often confronted his friends about their lifestyles.
Jesus socialized with the outcasts, such as prostitutes and tax collectors, while debating with the self-righteous religious teachers. And he probably wouldn't have hesitated to befriend a homosexual, either. He cut across all social boundaries to reach people where they were — in the midst of adultery, embezzling and hypocrisy. His message was, and still is, one of change. But it isn't just a "turning over a new leaf." He totally recreated people so they became able to reflect a pure God.
The scene in front of the Union showed me that we have a long way to go. We must move beyond polarizing ourselves on one side or another and make an attempt to understand what another person is really about. If Jesus could be friends with prostitutes and tax collectors, then present-day Christians must step off their pedestals and become the friends of people they disagree with — such as homosexuals.
--organization and change to a different school? Better yet, why don't they stay home where they belong, barefoot and pregnant?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Karen Mueller, Winfield senior, is double-majoring in English and art history. She is also a leader of the Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Brutal showing
To the editor:
Something truly appalling has happened recently at the University of Kansas I do not mean the extremist views of Paul Cameron or Louis Farrakhan, nor do I mean the attempts of some people to suppress gay students at KU. I truly disturbing is the alleged brutality of certain KU football players.
Although all the facts may not be in, the whole idea that a couple of human beings would use their physical size and strength advantage to intimidate, humiliate and harm other individuals grates against my sense of justice.
Football players have been given a special status in our University and in our society. Being in the public eye, these athletes have the opportunity to either advance the reputation of the sport and of the University or to bring disgrace upon both the sport and the University.
The time has come for these individuals to accept the responsibility given them by the student body, society and their fellow athletes instead of showing a reckless disregard for their position.
Steve Bickley
Women's place
Leawood senior
Being male engineers, we know quite a lot about women engineers. After seeing the April 11 article concerning women in engineering, we begin tohten the campus about the red situation. It is not a pretty sight. Literally.
These women (if you care to call them women) are very self-centered. They enter the School of Engineering and join organizations that use our money. If they truly want to be treated as equals, they must take their jobs with little cubs and prove themselves worthy of being engineers.
To the editor:
What good does it do to come to the School of Engineering and hide away in a little group? If they must attend another school, they must work for some other degree?
Brad Kieffer
Hays sophomore
Paula Barter
Shawnee sophomore
The Women's Society of Professional Engineers has widened the gap that they supposedly are trying to close. Why don't they disband their
The few women engineers that do exist really had to fight to get there. Why? So they can get into big companies and form more groups that accomplish nothing. It seems rather silly.
A gay quarantine
To the editor:
Paul Cameron was on campus Wednesday calling for a quarantine of gay men. He apparently would use Hitler's methods to identify gay men, lock them in their own homes, provide a special police unit to enforce the quarantine, and prevent any more people from explosives (Kansan article, April 11.) These measures would be taken to prevent the spread of AIDS.
I think it's a great idea Loyal Japanese-Americans will remember how fair their quarantine during World War II was. The quarantine certainly would prevent the spread of AIDS, especially if we also quarantine, hemophilics and people who receive injections or transfusions.
While we're at it, we could quarantine victims of cancer, lung and heart disease, flu and the common cold until we have cures for those ills. Anyone who has ever had a cold could be locked into their home until a cure is found.
Another great idea is simply to throw out the U.S. Constitution; it was written by left-wing commite tags anyway We could appoint Cameron as Lord of the Realm and chief protector of our lives.
And anyone who didn't like our new system could be drugged or detonated by Cameron's special police squad. Using Hitler's methods, I'm sure we could easily find these malcontents.
What a perfect world we would have if Paul Cameron got his way! It's such a shame that our national leaders haven't made the change.
Chris Bunker
Shawnee Mission law student
Pushing too far
To the editor:
Since I have been at KU, I have been forced to look at many controversial issues. However, the issue that comes to my mind repeatedly is the issue of gay and lesbian rights. The reason is that someone is continually shoving the issue in my face!
I appreciate GLSOK's need to educate the public about themselves. However, I feel that they have pushed the issue too far.
The efforts of the GLSOK are to impress upon the community that they are no different than anyone else on campus. To do this, they have instigated a "Wear jeans if you're not sure" campaign and stress their differences by sponsoring a 'GALA' week in which gays and lesbians participate.
Later, there's a GALA dance followed by church services. I ask you, does this help the community to accept gay people as just anybody? Instead of enforcing that a gay person is no different from anyone else, except for sexual preference, they separate themselves from others. They have clubs, dances, church services and days to wear jeans.
They have a seminar about alcoholism sponsored by Gay Alcoholics. Anonymous. Are gay alcoholics different from heterosexual ones?
With this in mind, I have made a few predictions for future generations at KU:
—"Wear tennis shoes if you're a redhead day."
—"Wear a KU hat if you are flunking Physics 114 week."
-Seminars presented by Heterosexual Alcoholics Anonymous.
Sweetheart dances sponsored by the BABA club (Brunette and Blonde Awareness Club).
member of TRHOL
-Church services for the Early Morning Joggers Club
Where do we draw the line?
Missv OffiH
I appreciate the efforts of GLSOK. However, I feel that they are not accomplishing what they have set out to do. As a student and member of the heterosexual community, I simply ask that the gay and lesbian community respect my preference as I respect theirs.
(Tail Redheads of Lawrence)
Need for respect
To the editor
I would like to commend the authors of the letter to the editor that appeared in the April 12 issue of the University Daily Kansan titled "Black is beautiful." I completely agree with the members of Phi Beta Sigma, Omega Psi Phi, Alph Phi Alpha and Janine Kaye Woods, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
As a black woman and an individual who plans to pledge a sorority, I can no longer be silent I am appalled and outraged at the ignorant and counterproductive display of degradation demonstrated by the Kappa Alpha Psi Mu Chapter at their annual "Dog Show" The Kappus not only insulted Wood; but they insulted me too. Did they not hear and understand the words of the Rev. Louis Farrakhan? Obviously they did not. It also is obvious that they have little respect for themselves as black men.
It is time for more black students to come out of silence to protest and put a welcomed end to these senseless dog shows. Black students have to start respecting one another, and this is certainly not the way to go if you are in danger that respect. This incident should be the major force in uniting us.
Yes, I am condemning the actions of the Kappas, but I also offer an alternative. Instead of having a dog show, why not have a "Show of Excellence" in which black students who have excelled in their chosen academic fields are spotlighted. There is a significant number of black students who do excel and have contributed to the University. However, they are too often overshadowed by black students who see fit to hold public shows of degradation against members of their own race and other students whose major concern is displaying their "assumed prowess" at fraternity parties and engaging in local barroom brawls.
Although I am saddened by the lack of self-respect illustrated by the Kappas, I am glad to know that there are men at this University who not only respect each other as black men but also respect me as a black woman. I applaud all of you.
Gwen Cabe Kansas City, Kan., junior