4 University Daily Kansan / Friday, April 24, 1992 OPINION Protests inappropriate at AIDS funeral service A memorial service is a time when the loved ones of someone who has died gather to mourn their loss and remember the deceased. It is a step in the grieving process; a chance to say goodbye. It is not a political event. On Wednesday I drove to Topeka to attend the funeral of a close friend, Ken Scott, who died Saturday of AIDS complications. I knew Ken for several years, and he was a student at the University of Kansas from Fall 1990 until last month. I was aware of the possibility that there would be a group of people picking the church where the service was because this group had picketed a number of services in Topeka and Wichita for men they believed had died from AIDS. I discussed this with Anne, another friend of Ken's with whom I was driving. However, since the Topeka newspaper didn't run Ken's obituary until Wednesday morning, I thought perhaps the picketers would not show up. I was wrong. As I approached the church, Anne said, "There they are," and there they were, holding signs with bible verses along with signs that had the words "SHAME" "LIES" "FAGS" and "AIDS" splattered across them in brightly colored letters. After the initial shock, I was struck by the absurdity of the situation. Here were these people, claiming to defend Christianity, who were shamelessly committing a most un-Christian act. William Resnick Guest columnist Clearly, the picketing of a funeral could only be done with malicious intent. By this weekend, in all probability, a bill will be signed into law that will prohibit such behavior in Kansas. This will come a little late for Ken's family and the nearly 200 mourners who attended Ken's memorial service. Although we were not spared the ignorant hatred spewed forth by Fred Phelps' clan, Ken had, before he died, discovered a way to counteract their demonstration. On his deathbed Saturday, Ken requested that the Phelpes be invited to his service. Before the service began, two of Ken's sisters approached Fred Phelps, the patriarch and leader of the misled, and invited him into the church. Fred ignored them. I don't think he wanted to know who Ken was as a person, for that would have diffused for him what Ken was as a symbol. Ken's sisters do not profess to be religious, but I think it is obvious who acted in a truly Christian manner. We further countered the hatred by passing out copies of the following entry from Ken's journal, dated December 19, 1989: Are you: Dead? Homeless? Jailed? Addicted? A skinhead? A fundamentalist? A yuppie? (One of those 11 p.m. shower ideas.) Season's Greeting! Happy New Year! If you answered no to all of the above then — Congratulations! You have successfully survived the 80's. Welcome to the 90's! There is much work to be done. Your help is needed. Suggested ideas: Feed the hungry, shelter the cold, wake up the zombified, heal the hurting, love those who hate, educate the ignorant, smile at the humiless, question authority, stand up to an oppressor, nurture the children, spread hope, imagine peace. Do the right things and we'll have cause to celebrate the 21st century. If you would like to take some positive actions, show up this Sunday at Gage Park in Topeka, 10th and Gage streets, noon to 3 p.m. for "Food for Thought: A picnic promoting love, understanding, and inclusion." This event is sponsored by a group called Sunday in the Park Without Fred. I know Ken was looking forward to seeing there. William Rennick is a lawrence senior major in English and premedicine. THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN KU housing decision is poor Policy to hire only University hall residents will create problems with enforcement The Department of Student Housing has decided to enforce a policy with regard to how it hires employees within the department. Currently jobs such as residence halls security and desk monitors can be filled with any person who is enrolled at the University, on or off campus. However, this enforcement change in housing policy now requires a person to be a resident of University housing. This decision is a poor one. One of the reasons why non-residents were solicited for the positions in the first place was that there were not enough residents for the jobs. And that was before the housing system experienced a substantial decrease in residents. The number of jobs being offered has not decreased as rapidly as the number of students living in residence halls. Will housing decide not to enforce the policy next fall if they do not receive enough applications? Or will unqualified, irresponsible housing residents be given jobs just to insure that the policy is adhered to? ment are multifold. Individuals who live in the same residence hall they work in are going to be less efficient. They are going to be less likely to enforce department rules concerning alcohol and noise if they have to write up their roommate or other friends. Residence halls are able to maintain an appropriate level of living pleasure because they have rules that protect residents. If anything is done to compromise these policies, housing will see its numbers decrease even more. The problems created by this new enforce- Furthermore, failing to grandfather the current employees out of the system was rude and irresponsible. When housing needed these students they were there. They do not have the same problems that plague resident employees. They can afford to be impartial to residents and enforce the rules. Within a few years, these people will be out of the system, and housing can hire exclusively from within the system. For the benefit of residence hall residents and the off-campus students who currently work in the system, student housing should reconsider this rash decision and think of the best interests for students. Tattling needs to be stopped Stephen Martino for the editorial board Recent tendency to encourage spying on neighbors and family only breeds suspicion in nation "I'm gonna tell" is one of the first things little kids say when things are not going their way. Rather than resolve going their way. Realize that most children problems among themselves, kids will run to mom to settle things for them. Increasingly our society is showing an unfortunate tendency to encourage this kind of tattletale behavior in both children and adults. Two recent events illustrate this trend. One is a program called D.A.R.E., carried out by police departments nationwide, that encourages children to turn their drug-using parents in to the police. The other is the case of the California town that has established a $100 bounty for anyone who dials 911 and gives information that leads to a drunken driving conviction of the person reported. In Germany after reunification, the opening of the files of Stasi, the former East German secret police, revealed that as many as one in four citizens worked as informers for the government. Brothers, neighbors, spouses — everyone watched. Do we really want a similar situation here? It is not a healthy society that splits up families. It is not a healthy society that sows distrust and suspicion among its citizens. In a time when everyone decries the breakdown of the family, when urbanization and mobility have made strangers out of our neighbors, do we really want to encourage snitches? There is a difference between someone who dials the police and reports a car wreck and someone who calls to report that a person who may be drunk is driving away. The difference is motives and integrity. In the former case, one is reporting a fact, something that requires action by the police. In the latter, one is intruding upon the affairs of another, often for personal gain, whether it be for money or revenge. Should society reward the bartender with $100 every time he calls the police after watching a patron stagger to the car? Is prosecuting the "War on Drugs" more important than a little girl's relationship with her parents? The answer to both is no. A better solution would be for everyone to grow up and stop spying on their neighbors. Mark Coatney for the editorial board Give respect to Relays In response to the Kansan's article on April 16, 1992, concerning the Kansas Relays, I have a few comments to make. A press conference was conducted on the first day of the Relays. Kansas coach Gary Schwartz was available to answer questions. A Kansan reporter did not show up. He would have learned that the 1992 Kansas Relays increased its participating athlete numbers from last year. In fact, these numbers represent a Relays record. As a member of the Kansas sports information staff, I have seen many hours dedicated to making the Relays a success. I have seen no failures in the race. Doily Kansen, the University's own newspaper The photograph that appeared with the story seemed to fit the Kansan's need as it pictured a female runner competing in last year's Relays. The picture showed only officials in the stands watching the event. What the Kansan failed to include in the outline was that the event occurred on either Wednesday or Thursday, when people were working or in school, and attendance numbers were not expected to be high. Had a photographer taken the time to shoot Saturday's events, he would have seen a much larger crowd. Each one of the contestants has trained long and hard for Kansas Relays. They practice just as many hours as the football and basketball teams do, and they deserve the same respect. To many of them, the Kansas Relays is a big deal, and to read in their own school newspaper that this meet — their meet— is pointless and not worth the money, I find that cruel and demeaning. Lettersto the editor Crissy Causey Tulsa, Okla.. senior Campaign helps needy Dear "Doctor" Martin Schershlu, the Great Evaluator of Sincerity: If you think that the intent of our Homeless Campaign was to look down at the homeless, then you did not make an effort to walk on the side of Jayhawk Boulevard that we were on. The bulk of your criticism is based on the assumption that we were pretending to be homeless or emulating homelessness. However, we clearly stated things that either fell in your blind spot because of ignorance or were missed as a simple result of bad reporting: 1. Our efforts were directed to raise money and awareness for the homeless in Lawrence, Missouri. 2. We clearly stated that we were not trying in any way to be martyrs or act like the homeless. We were just drawing attention to a growing problem that is affecting our community in a big way. Apparently, living with your parents in Leneax in a big white house does not let you see the problems of our community. Perhaps you should go to some popular spots like the public library or the shelter and talk to people who are homeless — people we tried to help. See if you are not too insulated to be touched by this sad but persistent thing we call reality. I am sorry if our methods offended you, but of course I would not expect your lab experiment of a paper to editorialize constructively. However, if you have a worthwhile suggestion for increasing awareness, tell us. Facing these problems head-on is of huge importance. Without controversy there can be no progression, so please understand our efforts for their positive outcomes and look past your textbook education, or worse, your quasi-passionate attitude. Next time do a little more reporting and less criticizing. Marc Levitz Overland Park sophomore Homeless need more In support of Martin Scherstuh's editorial — it is not the real world of the homeless. At one point, I felt that what Alpha Epsilon Pi had done was a wonderful way to raise funds. Recently, I myself became homeless. This situation came out of the blue. One day you have a home, the next you are out on the streets. For myself at least, I did not know where to go. Let us face the facts, being on the streets is no fun at all. Feelings of hopelessness, no trusting and not knowing where to turn. Consider the rain storm received last weekend. I will say I did not know where to turn to stay dry. There were feelings of the possibilities of being arrested. I do applaud what Alpha Epsilon Pisces. But please let us look at the real problem. It is way too easy to sit in a box if you always know that you have a home to return to. This is not reality. The problem of homelessness is real and a very big eye-opener when thrown into it. Myself, I will do what I can do to help these men and women on the street. Michael Prudhomme Homeless KANSAN STAFF TIFFANYHARNESS Editor VANESSA FUHRMANS Managing editor TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser TOMEBLEN Editors News Mike Andrews Editorial Beth Randolph Planning Lara Gold Campus Eric Gorski/Rochelle Oleson Sports Eric Nelson Photo Julie Jacobson Features Debbie Myers Graphics Alimee Brainard/Jile Meesey JENNIFER CLAXTON Business manager JAYSTEINER Retail sales manager JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser Campus sales mgr .. Bill Leibengo Regional sales mgr .. Rich Harsbarger National sales mgr .. Scott Hannah Co-op sales mgr .. Arne Johnson Production mgrs .. Kim Wallace Marketing director .. Lisa Keeler Creative director .. Leanne Bryant Classified mgr .. Kip Chin Business Staff Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of Kansas must include class and hometown, or faculty or staff position. Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed. The Kanana reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kanana newsroom, 111 Stuart-Flint Hall. Stick by David Rosenfield