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University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, February 18, 1992
OPINION
Presidents Day is holiday to commemorate all leaders
Yesterday was Presidents Day, the day Americans get rip-snorting drunk, line the streets to watch parades, dress up in green and sport buttons with witty sayings like, "Kiss me, I'm a President."
Well, maybe not. Actually, it's the day we don't get any mail and can't get any money out of the bank. But this just goes to show the confusion associated with the holiday. For example, despite what your calendar and the first sentence of this column say, it's not actually Presidents Day. While that is the common name for the holiday, the title has never been formally changed to Presidents Day.
After all, the formal name celebrating President George Washington's birthday, Washington's Birthday, is far more original. You gotta love those bureaucrats.
However, because President Abraham Lincoln also was born in February, the holiday has become associated with both men. And deservedly so, because Lincoln will forever be remembered as The Great Emancipator, Honest Abe or That Tall Guy with the Dorky Hat.
Washington, on the other hand, was the Father of Our Country, the Man Who Could Not Tell a Lie and the eighth President of the United States.
While Washington is commonly referred to as the nation's first president, he technically does not deserve that honor. Washington was the first
David Mitchell Staff columnist
president under the Constitution and the first president elected by the people.
However, the first president of the United States was John Hanson. That's right, John Hanson. Now if you're wondering, "Who the hell is John Hanson?" reread the first sentence of this paragraph where it says, "The first president of the United States was John Hanson."
Hanson, a representative from Maryland, was elected president under the Articles of Confederation in 1781. Six more presidents followed before Washington was elected president under the Constitution in 1789.
Before Hanson became president, he served several years in the colonial government. He helped to organize resistance to British taxes and organized troops when the Revolutionary War began.
Washington's predecessors are not given the same status as presidents elected under the Constitution because of the failure of the Articles of Confederation. They also served only
brief terms and were elected by Congress, not the people.
Though it is odd that our first president is a forbidden man, it is not uncommon. Many of our leaders have slipped through the cracks of the history books. Unless a president serves in times of war, economic depression, scandal or other crises, he is likely to be forbidden.
Hanson himself died in 1783 while the new nation was just beginning to walk. But if history had turned out a bit differently, we might have celebrated Hanson Day yesterday. School children would confuse Hanson state with Hanson, D.C. Fruit pickers would gather Hanson apples. And the Super Bowl Champions would be the Hanson Redskins.
To make a short story long, Presidents Day should not be just a day of rest for postal workers, but a day to remember all the presidents. Men like Washington and Lincoln should be remembered because they led the nation through difficult times. Men like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan should be remembered because we can learn from their mistakes. Finally, men like Hanson, Franklin Pierce and James Polk should not be forgotten because they contributed to our long, proud and controversial history.
David Mitchell is a DeSoto senior majoring in journalism.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tyson trial sends right signal
Conviction shows that juries will not be swayed by power and wealth when dealing with rape
The great champion takes a fall and the result is a knockout by millions of women victimized by rape and sexual harassment.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson's rape conviction sends the message to women that the law in many cases will protect the victim and convict the assailant, regardless of who he is and how much power and wealth he possesses.
During the William Kennedy Smith trial and Clarence Thomas nomination hearings in 1991, women's rights in general were decimated. Women who stood up and tried to prove that politically and economically powerful men had raped or sexually harassed them, were dealt critical blows.
Anita Hill many times during questioning in the Thomas hearings worked to convince the Senate hearing committee that she wasn't lying. This circumstance with the questioning that harassment and rape victims receive is not uncommon but rather a pitiful hole in the U.S. legal system that continues to bury victims of these sexual crimes.
During harassment or rape cases, the credibility of the victim is questioned rather than the validity of her plea.
It is hoped that Tyson's recent trial and conviction marks a prelude to what will become a period for recognizing the inequalities dealt to women in our complex legal system.
More condom sense is needed
Frank Williams for the editorial board
The condom may not have been the most popular topic Feb. 14, but it should not be ignored
Safe sexual practices need to be publicized. And Valentine's Day was the perfect time to emphasize them. For some people, starting Condom Sense Week on Valentine's Day is a blunt way to take the romance out of that day. But the timing was appropriate because Valentine's Day is the day of love.
The advertisements promoting Condom Sense Week use a cartoon character to illustrate the proper use of a condom. This may not be the most serious approach, but it is a practical way to deal with a sensitive issue. The use of a condom is something personal and private, but it is also something that people should be more aware of. Condoms are only effective when used and used properly.
Condom Sense Week is a way to bring awareness to people. Condoms may not be
romantic but neither is a sexually transmitted disease. The World Health Organization is predicting that by the mid-to-late 1990s, 15 million to 20 million adults will have the AIDS infection. The organization had originally predicted that such a number would not be reached until after the year 2000. This makes it painfully apparent that if people are aware of ways to prevent the spread of STDs, they are not using the methods available to them.
Increasing awareness of condoms may lead to increased use. This is important. Many think it is impossible for them to contract a disease, but usually those are the people most likely to contract a disease because they use no form of prevention. Many STDs are curable, not all of them. People need to be aware of preventive measures and should use them. That is why Condom Sense Week is important, even though it may not be romantic. Valentine's Day lasts for only 24 hours, an STD can last for days or a lifetime.
Amy Francis for the editorial board
Editorialists reflect the majority opinion of the University Daily Kansan editorial board. Opinions expressed in letters, cartoons and guest and staff columns are solely those of the author or artist. Views expressed in columns and cartoons are not necessarily shared by the Kansan.
Members of the editorial board are: Alexander Bloemhof, Jim Brown, J.R. Clairborne, Mark Coatney, Amy Francis, Tiffany Harness, Tiffany Lasha Hurt, Kate Kelley, Julie Eileen Litt, Stephen Martino, David Mitchell, Chris Moeser, Beth Randolph, Martin Scherstuhl, Tiffany Frank, William Williams and Sarah Zercher.
Indian Express, New Delhi, India, on Boris Yeltsin and Western aid:
In his public utterances during his just-concluded tour of the United States and Europe, he repeatedly spoke of the threat he faced at home both from fascists and communists.
Boris Yeltsin...is greatly disappointed at the trickle of emergency aid which has so far reached the Russians who are starved of most daily necessities.
If, despite this, he feels let down by the Western aid givers, the reason is his apparent lack of grasp of the processes of democratic governments.
The danger of Russia's relapse into dictatorship of one kind or the other as a result of economic misery and political chaos has, however, never been overlooked in the West.
International perspectives
**Arab News, Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, on Bill Clinton:**
The media orgy on Gennifer Flowers' revelations of a supposed 12-year love affair with Arkansas governor and leading Democrat presidential candidate Bill Clinton raises more questions than it answers.
First and foremost is the question: Who cares? A lot of people, judging by the public's opinions, are unaware.
affair.
Maybe it's a result of relentless media frenzy in tracking down every bit of dirt on politicians that they can get their hands on. But large sections of the U.S. voting public have expressed concern over the private life behavior of presidential candidates. For them, a distinction between private and public morality is nonexistent.
For many others, what a candidate does in his or her private life, as long as it doesn't affect their public performance of duties, is absolutely irrelevant to how they judge that person, or whom they vote for.
The shortage of food and the fall in real earnings aren't enough, at least yet, to blow the cool of the Muscovites. But it seems that people who are in opposite camps of thinking are organizing themselves politically.
There is a very colorful collection of political groups that goes under the name of the opposition. It is somewhat ominous that in their
■ Helsingin Sanomat, Heinsinki, Finland, on the former Soviet Union:
speeches, in increasingly angry tones, they bring up the themes of Russia's national losses and humility.
It must be recognized that there is a great amount of frustration in Russia for political demagogues to feed on. The difficult task of the leaders ... is not to fall prey to the temptations of the demagogues and to ensure that the forebodings do not realize themselves.
Gulf News, Dubai, United Arab Emirates,
on Boris Yeltsin:
What a change from the glorious days in August last year, when Muscovites defied the coup plotters in the Kremlin and President Boris Yeltsin stood on a tank to celebrate democracy as no leader had done before in Russia.
The communists, who bitterly bemoan their fall from power, staged a protest march in Moscow and other cities and shouted slogans against Yeltsin, demanding his resignation and urging a return to the old order. Not to be outdone, Yeltsin's supporters also held a rally in Moscow, albeit on a much smaller scale ...
No doubt, the two rallies demonstrated that the ideological struggle between communism and Russia's new-found democratic principles is not over.
But it is the three or fourfold rise in consumer prices following Yeltsin's drastic economic reforms — and the continuing food shortages — that have provided the fuel for the protest and embolized his enemies to try to unseat him.
Russia is really embroiled in an ideological battle — with rival groups still divided over what should be the republic's political and economic system. Sure, the Russian people voted for democracy and market reform when they elected Yeltsin, but if they are to do so again at the next election, assuming there is one, they will want to see some results for Yeltsin's reforms.
Just now, it is not only Yeltsin who will have to keep his nerve but also the West, if the battle to save Russia for democracy is to be won.
El Mercurio, Santiago, Chile, on Venezuela;
One of the most serious sequels of the failed military uprising in Venezuela has been the press censorship, based on the temporary suspension of constitutional guarantees.
The Venezuelan armed forces have felt the impact of the bad economic situation, and certainly their ranks feel the influence of the frequent reports of corruption aired by the media.
The coupattempt caused a sour feeling in the Latin American community, because Venezuela was always seen at the various regional political forums as having a consolidated image that was worth being imitated.
The reaction by many Western leaders was quick, and President Carlos Andres Perez immediately received the support from other leaders. The coup in Haiti, Latin America had not had a similar experience. Democratization in the region was a fact in recent years, with the approval of the United States. Besides, the small number of the Venezuelan plotters made it clear that their movement didn't have enough support and was unable to endanger the stability of the democratic regime.
La Stampa, Turin, Italy, on Algeria:
Algeria's declimated Islamic Salvation prince is certainly not able to loose an armor of his own.
The generals know this. But they also seem not to understand that, by cutting the legs off the ISF, they are clearing their way for radical Islamists who were kept at bay by the moderate Islamics.
This abortive democratic situation has injected a crazed mix of injustice and frustration into the poor.
KANSAN STAFF
TIFFANYHARNESS Editor
VANESSA FUHRMANS Managing editor
TOM EBLEN General manager,news adviser
Editors
News        Mike Andrews
Editorial     Beth Randolph
Planning      Lara Gold
Campus       Eric Gorski/Rochelle Olesn
Sports        Eric Nelson
Photo         Julie Jacobson
Features      Debbie Meyers
Graphics     Aimee Braindan/ Jeff Meesey
JENNIFER CLAXTON Business manager
JAY STEINER Retail sales manager
JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser
Business Staff
Campus sales mgr ..Bilbeebengo
Regional sales mgr ..Rich Haharburger
National sales mgr ..Cotta Hanna
Co-op sales mgr ..Arjone Johnson
Production mgrs ..Kim Wallace
Marketing director ..Lisa Keeler
Marketing director ..Kim Claxton
Creative director ..Leen Tan
Classified morr ..Kio Chin
Business Staff
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