4 Monday, February 10, 1992 / University Daily Kansan OPINION LIFE IN HELL 1992 BY MATT GROENING Letters to the editor RA association functions well In response to Brian Doyle's letter: As members of the Association of University Residence Halls executive board read your letter, we first hunched over in laughter, wondering if you were really serious. We hardly thought it worthy of a response. However, since you questioned the credibility of the association, we think that it is important to tell you that AURH is more than a group that throws pizza parties and rents movies (both things that this administration has never done). AURH has accomplished much more than in your philosophy. Any involved person would be aware of our success. This year alone The Association has: - organized a leadership conference, with still another one on the drawing board - ■ organized the Rock-A-Hawk event last August. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Kansan completely forgot about the gathering, although it involved almost 4,000 students on campus. - introduced low-flow shower heads in the halls as a water conservation plan - plans to introduce an all-hall recycling program (aluminum, newspapers, glass, plastic) produces a newsletter that proposes and publicizes concerns of residents battled and continually fights against rate increases on behalf of students - plans to bid for the school of the year at the nations Residence Hall Conference - is making unprecedented strides for movie rights and cable - emphasized communication between residents and University department, such as our food chair with food service. If you are still not convinced, come and see yourself. You only need to attend one meeting to see that you have the wrong image of AURH. Never make the mistake of judging an organization by its administration. Elections occur once every year. Though you may have been unsatisfied with AURH in the past, this administration does not deserve your criticism, unless you know first hand how we spend our time. It is obvious that you do not. Fear does not discriminate Ms. Bhana, your perspective (in your letter to the editor Jan. 30) on the reasons for the recent concern over gang initiation involving rape of sorority girls is a ridiculous blend of over-generalization and Freudian po psychology Granted, it would be better if police patrolled more often to prevent the rapes that occur so frequently. And yes, the Panhellenic Association could always better inform sororities of safety precautions in order to avoid rape situations. When a city becomes aware that these senseless activities may become a reality, it naturally is going to mobilize to combat the potential problem. One might compare it to a bomb threat at a university building. People are evacuated because they could die. People are not evacuated because of some prejudice against the person who made the bomb threat. But after you make these points, you suddenly rumble into a long account of how the white man has been afraid of the African American or Hispanic raping the white woman because the white woman is the "repository of white civilization." What? But using them as a basis for a group's fear of gang activities is very far-fetched. Gangs scare people. Gangs hurt people. Gangs conduct drive-by shootings, killing innocent portions of this has been connected to gang initiation activities. OK, maybe you've had some sort of psychology or philosophy class that gave you this idea, and it's fun to explore these theories. Many gang members may be African American or Hispanic, according to statistics, and media coverage may reflect this, connecting these racial groups with gangs. But I think that most know there are also plenty of white gang members. We mobilized against threats of attacks from these gangs because of rumors that some initiation rights may entail rape, dismemberment and decapitation. When a specific group is to be targeted — sorority women in this case there may be cause to think that specific activities could be in the works for possible violence. A city would be foolish not to respond to this. If a three-headed, green Martian and his gang of purple friends threatened to do things to me that these rumors described, yes, I would be scared and expect protection. And, trust me, it would have nothing to do with discrimination against three-headed, green Martians. I don't discriminate against different racial groups. I never have and never will. But I do discriminate against anyone who wants to rape, dismember or decapitate me. People are going to discriminate against gangs that do this, regardless of the racial groups that make up the gang. - Meghan Wright - Overland Park Junior Fans really are just hams Overland Park junior You know, it's kind of sad when fans cheer more for the camera than for their own team. - Anne Weist, Omaha, Neb., Junior, - Amy Kraybill, Overland Park Junior THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN State primary lacks relevance Candidates will be determined before Kansans vote in April; earlier election would be better One of the lesser accomplishments of the 1991 Legislature was to pass a bill that created a presidential primary but did not set aside any money to pay for it. Now, as the April 7 date for the primary draws near, legislators realize that the state is tapped out and cannot come up with the $1.5 million needed to finance the election. There is now talk of dropping the primary because of lack of financing. We support the idea that the primary should be canceled, not merely because the state piggy bank is out of quarters, but also because a primary held so late in the season is close to being meaningless. That the Kansas primary lacks significance is seen in that only one prominent candidate from either party, Democrat Bob Kerrey, has sent the state the $100 filing fee. Most of the other candidates who have filed, such as Pat Paulsen and David Duke, have little chance to win either party's nomination. They appear to be using the primary as a means of raising enough money to help them obtain federal matching funds for their campaigns. It is doubtful that the big candidates will spend much time or effort on an April primary in Kansas. Most of the sorting out of candidates will have been accomplished by then. A primary gives voters a strong voice, and that is priceless in a democracy. But an April 7 date gives Kansas voters the voice of a church mouse rather than a Churchill. The Kansas primary is not a good idea as it currently stands. If the primary were held earlier in the season, or if the political parties themselves would pony up the $1.5 million rather than Kansas taxpayers, the system would be more meaningful. As the primary now stands the Legislature should reject it. Mark Coatney for the editorial board Speech should remain free The constitution's guarantee of freedom of speech applies to campus speech University Council acted responsibly Thursday when it rejected a policy statement on verbal harassment. The policy condemned speech "that is addressed directly to individuals and meant only to threaten violence, property damage or imminent lawless action and that has no essential part of any exposition of ideas and (is) of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from (it) is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality." Faculty and student representatives at Council differed widely in their interpretations of the scope and implications of the policy. The differing views illustrate the policy's inherent weakness. Ambiguity. What does truth means? What does order and morality mean? And who would determine the meaning? When we deal with a policy in the realm of the right to free speech such ambiguity is dangerous. The faculty and students who drafted the policy may have had the best intentions. They addressed a problem that raises its ugly voice on campuses across the nation, including ours. White supremacists who spray-paint racial slurs on the walls of elevators and toilet booths in residence halls, sexists who whistle at female students in the stacks of Watson Library and homophobes who yell insults from the cockpit of a bus at two men holding hands spoil the climate at the University. Their behavior is intolerable and their victims need redress. The University needs to make it clear that it disapproves of bigotry. But a policy statement alone will not increase tolerance. And when 50 bright and well-educated representatives disagree on whether a policy on verbal harassment provides that redress, and nothing more, that policy has the potential to be more harmful than beneficial. Alexander Bloemhof for the editorial board Fluffball tabloid tales seduce reader with fiction, not reality I don't usually read tabloids like "The National Enquirer" and "The Star", except for perusing the front pages in the racks at grocery store checkouts. These papers always have something about Roseanne Arnold, Liz Taylor, a lot of alien visitors, long lost children popping up to claim their famous parents, and my favorite kind — unusual births. Kate Kelley Staff columnist I read the story thinking what a fun job tabloid writers must have. They can make up anything they want and write it with absolutely no regard to truth. If they want a name or a picture, there are always those people who will save or do anything for the right price. Once read an entire article — Iwas in a beauty shop waiting for a haircut and there was no other reading material — about a boy born half-human, half-chicken. The story included full pictures of the chickenboy who looked like a regular kid except he had a chicken beak and comb on top of his head. I think he may have had some feathers, but the picture mightn't that clear, as you can probably imagine. There was a picture of his anguished mother and her even more bewildered husband, who also was not a鸡 chicken. I guess we can assume there was some foul plav involved. Most people who read these rags know, deep down inside, that the storiesaren't true. I mean, if aliens really had sired so many offspring on earth, why don't we see them walking around? Why hasn't there been a coalition to battle for the rights of fluorescent extraterrestrial beings whose fathers live on Pluto? And have you ever seen even one on Geraldo? I think not. If we know that these papers print purely fictional garbage and pay huge sums of money to anyone who will publicly lie, why do we pay them any serious attention at all? I think it's about time the American public shake the clutter out of their brains and realize that if you read it in "The Star" or "The National Enquirer," you can bet the farm is fiction. If we don't get a hold on reality soon, we may find ourselves supporting the likes of chickenboy for president. Kate Kelley is a Fort Leavenworth junior majoring in English. 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