4 University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, April 1, 1992 OPINION Student Senate candidates leave fun out of elections Many years ago, when the world was young and I was in high school, Student Senate at KU was somewhat of a joke. Coalitions had names like the Costume Party, Fresh Vegetables and my personal favorite. Apathy (the slogan was, "It just doesn't matter"). The defining issues in the campaigns were whether you favored using the student activity fee to buy cheap bikes for everyone on campus, and Student Senate was playtime. Of course, Student Senate is still playtime really, but those who run for office now don't seem to realize this. They give their coalitions grim, serious names like First Blood and Sudden Impact, and they make a nuisance of themselves on Jayhawk Boulevard, speaking earnestly about the Very Serious Issues they plan to address if elected. Although this in itself is not without humor, it does get a little old. Aside from taking themselves too seriously, Senate candidates of the past few years have engaged in a distressing similarly rhetoric. "Coalition X wants to give Senate back to the students. We have a master plan for the future of the University, and we seek closer communication between the administration and the students." These are nice sentiments, but after a while one wonders if there is some Master Campaign Kit that every candidate uses. Just for a change, wouldn't it be nice to have, say, a fascist coalition that espouses an organic theory of the student body and has ambitious, imperialist plans to conquer K-State and make Wilidac the our personal slave? How about a socialist coalition that would assign Mark Coatney Staff columnist grades on the basis of need, so that we all get 4.0's and good jobs? How about a Marti Gras coalition that would spend the activity fee on kegs, bands and other mind-altering substances and throw really cool parties? In the absence of such good student initiatives, we should at least realize Student Senate elections for what they are — popularity contests that have less to do with which candidate is qualified to spend the $1.5 million activity fee each year than with which one knows the most people. Ideally, the University should be able to get along without Student Senate. However, somebody has to decide what we should do with the $50 we each kick in to the University community chest. I mean, I'm sorry, but I really don't care whether the Albanian Club gets all the funding it asks for or not. So having someone who does care is a good idea. But if we insist on treating Student Senate as a serious matter, then we can and should reform the system. First, don't pay any salaries. The student body president gets $400 a month. Please. Let 'em get real jobs. Membership in Student Senate looks good on a resume, and that should be enough payment. Second, we as students should have more input on how our money is spent. Just because I don't care if KU Young Anarchists have enough money for small thermonuclear devices doesn't mean the rest of the student population isn't very passionate on the subject. Anarchy at KU might be what everybody wants to spend money on, and there should be other ways for students to express this desire than to simply "talk to your senator." third, take the $30,000 we spend on lobbying the state Legislature and put it to better use. Lobbying the Legislature is probably a good idea, but we can get a better return on the investment by abandoning the pretense of lobbying. Why don't we just be direct and bribe some state representatives like we would do if KU were an S&L? Finally, since Student Senate elections are such popularity contests anyway, let's make them more fair to those students who are not as sociable. Set a certain number of seats aside for the other students besides the popular ones. Have five seats, for instance, as the athletic seats and conduct a campus one-on-one tournament to see who the seats. Have one seat be the poet's seat and give it to the student whose writing most closely resembles that of Lord Byron. Have a lottery for another (since we don't want to discriminate against lucky students). This is just a modest proposal. Most of us are here only for a few years anyway, and it would be nice if Student Senate were able to make those years more enjoyable. Mark Coatney is a Linwood graduate student in political science. THE UNIVERSITYDAILY KANSAN Don't have unprotected sex Prophylactic variety abounds and usage is a better option than contracting a deadly STD Fact: AIDS is spreading at an epidemic rate. There currently is no cure. Fact: Using a condom during intercourse effectively reduces a person's chances of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. The solution to the problem of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases seems simple: use condoms. But many people still are willing to gamble their lives rather than take this precaution. A meeting of experts from 17 nations recently was conducted to discuss the problem of the spread of STDs. Several experts, including one from the United States, stated at the meeting that many men were offended when asked to wear condoms. This is ridiculous. Some men say the reason they do not use condoms is that condoms take away the romance or spontaneity of a moment. Another excuse is that condoms feel unnatural and that they reduce the amount of stimulation a man feels. But how natural does it feel to have a disease? How romantic is it to have AIDS? The reality is that people die every year because they have had unprotected sex. A dead person feels no stimulation. Condoms do not have to be viewed negatively. A couple can be creative with how condoms are used. Condoms are now made in a wide variety of colors and styles, some even glow in the dark. There are flavored condoms. There are even specialty stores that only sell condoms or merchandise made with condoms, such as earrings. With all of these options available there is no reason why condoms should not be used. A couple having sex should feel comfortable with each other. A person should not be afraid to wear a condom or ask a partner to wear one. Condoms can even help to bring a couple closer together. A couple can choose together the type of condom that meets their needs. Both people also can participate in putting on the condom. But both men and women should remember that if a partner says no to condoms, the other should say no to sex. It might not be an easy thing to do, but neither is trying to live with a STD. FBI investigation is justified Amy Francis for the editorial board Investigators should have the right to aggressively pursue the killers of fallen comrades On March 11, Special Agent Stanley Ronquest Jr., of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was shot to death while attempting to break up a robbery. Ronquest was off duty and in plain clothing, so there is no suspicion that this violence was directed at a law enforcement agent. Much criticism has come upon both the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department for conducting an extremely aggressive investigation. Critics say this case is receiving more attention than other murders. For members of law enforcement who are gunned down in the line of duty, the public should expect no less. Every day, thousands of men and women in law enforcement place their lives on the line so that citizens can have a little more safety. Police deal with society's problems in environments that others would not. They are forced to deal with tremendous stress and often have their accomplishments overshadowed by the mistakes and abuses of a few For the FBI and Kansas City police to pursue Ronquest's suspected murderers more aggressively is only to be expected. If law enforcement officers cannot effectively enforce the laws in the murders of their fallen comrades, how can officers be expected to gain the confidence of the public in general investigations? Furthermore, not to allow fellow officers to be a part of investigations of their fallen co-workers could completely dishearten the officers and leave them feeling powerless in the wake of such a tragedy. Clearly, there must be a point where the investigation no longer justifies having so many agents and officers assigned to the case. However, those decisions should be made by the appropriate officials at the time. Within the first five days, 326 leads were worked on in Ronquest's case. Law enforcement officers are special people. They are willing to risk their personal well-being and their lives to protect us. While no lives are more important than any others, perhaps some deaths are. Stephen Martino for the editorial board The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer on the Democratic presidential race: In announcing the end of his spirited and even inspiring campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Paul Tsongas said he did not want to be "the agent of the re-election of George Bush." Jerry Brown obviously has no compunction about playing that role. Whatever his faults, Bill Clinton, by most accounts a good governor of Arkansas, has demonstrated broad appeal, an ability to mount an effective campaign and the resilience to survive potentially devastating personal attacks. Those aren't necessarily qualifications for being president, but these days they are qualifications necessary for becoming president. Brown has every right to keep running, of course, but he cannot stop Clinton now; he can only weaken him and his party for the fall campaign against President Bush. National perspectives If Brown is hoping for additional personal revelations that will force Clinton out of the race and let him claim the nomination, he is kidding himself. Those circumstances would bring other candidates into, or back into, the contest. It is hard to imagine any circumstances under which Brown would be the Democratic nominee. When he first ran for president 16 years ago, Jerry Brown was a youthful, refreshing, somewhat visionary if flaky new presence on the national political scene. Today he is a sort of bitter, whining presence and, except for a flat-tax proposal that deserves serious analysis, has added little of substance or excitement to the campaign. If Brown wants the Democrats to mount the kind of challenge to the incumbent that, whatever the outcome, would help the country come to grips with its problems and clarify its vision for the future, it's time for him to get out of the way. Once again, President Bush is trying to have it both ways. And this time, millions of women are paying the price with a chunk of their already battered reproductive freedom. His move to clarify the so-called gag rule on abortion counseling at federally funded clinics Daily News, New York, on abortion counseling is a shameless attempt to placate angry women and keep the rabid right quiet at the same time. Under Bush's rules, only doctors would be permitted to give advice on abortion — and even they would be restricted in what they could say. Yet, as Rep. Les AuCoin, D-Ore., correctly points out, most counseling in low-income clinics is done by nurses and social workers, not doctors. The regulations will, in effect, deny abortion advice to many poor women — though women wealthy enough to afford private doctors can get all the advice they want. Such unfairness apparently means little to the Bush administration, which – in abandoning women's rights and freedom of speech – has reached a new low in pandering for votes. La Crosse (Wis.) Tribune on Paul Tsongas: With those words, Paul Tsangas departed the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Through bloodied, Tsangas even in the end was unwilling to compromise his message "We stood for something." The former Massachusetts senator's wifi and dignity never left him during his 10-month candidacy. To many people tired of slick politicians, Tosgans was a welcome change. Dull as a pair of frogs. But 'tssongas' message was hardly comfortable. of hard choices just to win the White House. ne sought to push, pull or lead America in a different, unsugarcoated direction. Hiscaster-oil cure for the nation's ills — contained in a ubiquitous 86-page economic program — eschewed all promises except that things would become more difficult before they got better. His no-nonsense approach attracted support from business people and the well-educated, but Tsongas never was able to reach those hurt most by the recession. To them, the proposals for a middle-class tax cut were more attractive than the long-term trickle-down ideas that were the cornerstone of Tsongas' recovery programs. The race for the Democratic nomination now appears to be Clinton's to win or lose. The nation may be slowly out of the official recession, but for the typical middle-class family, a "recession" produced by federal taxation shows no signs of abating. As pointed out by economist Ed Rubenstein in National Review, federal exactions have been causing average Americans' income to recede for the whole of the Bush reign. It's a trend that reverses what happened under Ronald Reagan. After paying federal taxes the typical American household was left with $39,942 in 1987, 37 percent more purchasing power that it had at the start of the Reagan administration. But the ensuing years, with the massive tax increase signed by George Bush, have been considerably leaner — except for government. - The Orange County (Calif.) Register on taxation: KANSANSTAFF What's a guaranteed way for his challenger to make George Bush squirm in this coming fall's debates? By looking into the camera and repeating Ronald Reagan's famous line: "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" Thanks in part to our president, millions of Americans can only say no. 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