Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Lindsey Henry, Editor
Dave Morantz, Managing editor
Kristie Blasi, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser
Marc Harrell, Business manager
Marcel Eager, Retail sales manager
Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser
Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
Monday, March 30, 1998
SAN ANTONIO NEWS-EXPRESS
Editorials
Buyer beware: 'Great deals' may not be all that they seem
College students can be the best bargain hunters in the world. Whether at the grocery store, buying textbooks or selecting credit cards, students are learning that there are significant differences in costs for services and products. But students should take special care when making purchases and signing deals. The capitalist world is an ocean full of corporate sharks waiting to take a bite out of consumers' wallets.
Most students have seen deals that are "too good to be true." Companies have created special discounts, "unbelievable" savings, and other deals to draw the interest and attention of consumers. On college campuses, these companies can reach many consumers. Often there has been a mutual benefit for both the companies and the students. But sometimes unsuspecting students, in their attempts to save money, are suckered into money-losing deals.
Students should be fully knowledgeable of products services before purchasing
An example of a too-good-to-be-treal deal is the Sprint Sense FONCARD. To get students to use its long-distance card, Sprint has a special 10 cents a minute flat rate for all calls in the United States.
Compared to most other calling cards, this deal seems to be the best. Unfortunately, all that glitters is not gold. What Sprint fails to publicize with its deal is the 90 cent connection applied to all collect and FONCARD calls. On the agreement sent to customers, the only mention of the connection fee is stated as a per call surcharge that may apply to calls made with the Sprint FONCARD.
Thus, the bill for ten one minute calls actually would be ten dollars, rather than the expected one dollar.
This is not an attack on Sprint, but simply an example of a situation in which students may not get what they think they are paying for. Students must be cautious about purchasing any product or service. It is the responsibility of the consumer to know everything about a product before purchasing it. Students are no exception. A careful examination and understanding of seemingly great deals will help students save money — and avoid the snapping jaws of the corporate sharks.
Aroop Pal for the editorial board
Clinton investigation a waste of time
Kenneth Starr has gone too far. For 4
1/2 years, Starr has to tie topple President Clinton, and the only thing we can be sure of is a $40 million price tag.
Starr has been beating around the bushes for too long. Instead of sticking to the issue at hand, trying to find if the president acted illegally, he has used his power to silence his critics, in particular White House aldee Sidney Blumenthal. No new information has come from Blumenthal's testimony. Starr merely wasted more of our time.
Starr also wasted valuable time when he dragged Monica Lewinsky's mother into court. What did he hope to get from terrorizing Ms. Lewinsky? Did he expect Monica to have told her mother about the alleged affair with the president? Yeah, right. Clearly, Starr just
Kenneth Starr has overstepped his bounds and overspent American taxpayers' money
wasted more time.
Starr also has tried to get Secret Service agents to testify against the president. Though executive privilege may have been a poor excuse for Nixon during the Watergate scandal, it most certainly is a sound reason for the president's personal guards not to testify. They are trained to be loyal and faithful to the president. The vital trust between the Secret Service and the president should not be broken to satisfy Starr's curiosity. Starr should have known and respected that. But he
just wasted more time.
Then there's the money we've wasted on this case. Forty million dollars is a lot of money, which easily could have been put to a more productive use. Forty million dollars would go a long way toward improving our children's education. Forty million dollars could have been used to help the poor. Forty million dollars could help reduce the deficit. Forty million dollars could have been used for any number of important things. This case isn't one of them.
Starr needs to give up. He's wasting our money and our time. If Clinton's pulling the wool over the public's eyes, then he's good. But we didn't need $40 million and Kenneth Starr to tell us that.
Aaron Marvin, special for the editorial board
Kansan staff
News editors
Paul Eakins ... Editorial
Andy Obermuelter ... Editorial
Andrea Albright ... News
Jodie Chester ... News
Julie King ... News
Charity Jeffries ... Online
Eric Weslander ... Sports
Harley Ratiff ... Associate sports
Ryan Koerner ... Campus
Mike Perryman ... Campus
Bryan Volk ... Features
Tim Harrington ... Associate features
Steve Puppe ... Photo
Angle Kuhn ... Design, graphics
Mitch Lucas ... Illustrations
Corrie Moore ... Wire
Gwen Olson ... Special sections
Lachel Rheades ... Needs clerk
Advertising managers
Kristi Busel . Assistant retail, PR
Leigh Bottiger . Campus
Brett Clifton . Regional
Nicole Lauderdale . National
Matt Fischer . Marketing
Chris Haghirian . Internet
Brian Allers . Production
Ashley Bonner . Production
Andee Tomlin . Promotions
Dan Kim . Creative
Rachel O'Neill . Classified
Tyler Cook . Zone
Steve Grant. Zone
Jamie Holman . Zone
Brian LeFevre . Zone
Matt York . Zone
“Birth. n. The first and direst of all disasters.” — Ambrose Bierce
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Feedback
Sports columnist's objectivity refreshing
As I recall, a couple of them were angry and frustrated, just like the majority of us. I don't think that Rattiff ever meant to personally attack one player or coach. "Mr. Regular Season" just refers to the fact that Coach Roy Williams has come up short the last couple of years. It is nothing personal. I'm sure Rattiff thinks everybody on that team is a solid human being, just like the rest of us do. However, they are some of the best college basketball players in America, playing for the best college basketball program in the nation. Results are expected year-in and year-out. Out of the top eight most successful programs in the 90s, we have the highest winning percentage. The only other team out of those eight that hasn't won a national championship is Princeton.
It has finally happened. After years of reading one-sided sports commentary concerning the basketball program, someone has stepped forward and sternly questioned the results of another shocking end to the University of Kansas's men's basketball tournament run. Harley Rattif, kudos to you sir. You had enough gall to put your heart aside and not make any excuses for the team. If anyone listened to the post-game interviews that some players gave, they would have heard that the players had no excuses either.
We all know that our team is far and above better than the team at Princeton. Yet year after year it has become almost expected for us to be bounced out of the bracket before we even get a chance to play for the title. I know people talk about the regular season records and Big 12 tournament titles, but I bet that every single person on that team would trade them all in just to step up on the ladder that special Monday night and cut down the nets. This is the goal of every coach and player that steps onto the court at the beginning of the season.
1
Sal Wolf
We have had the talent to win it all, and we will have the talent to win it all. This year the road could not have gotten any clearer for us to make it.
Sal Wolf Overland Park senior
Cartoon belittled Jayhawks' success
Instead, I found a paper that ran an editorial cartoon asking Coach Williams, "Who's to blame this time, Roy?" Since Coach Williams took over our program he has had more victories in his 10 year career than any other coach in NCAA history. Has he not also provided us with the longest current home winning streak in college ball? He has a glowing respect for his student athletes and he works tirelessly to provide us with one of the best teams in the nation. He is probably the most widely recognized and respected ambassador of our University.
After the Jayhawk's recent loss in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, I turned to The University Daily Kansas for local insight regarding how Coach Roy Williams and the team were faring. Intended to find a supportive University publication reporting on its team's recent misfortune, while celebrating one of the greatest seasons in KU basketball history.
The expectation of a Final Four appearance is a gift he provides us year-after-year. By running this cartoon you have taken that gift and thrown it in his face, and back at a team that does an unequaled job of representing us. There are thousands of college students that would love it if their team had a winning record, let alone, the hope of going to the Final Four. You've turned a gift into an expectation, and an expectation into self-pity. I'm embarrassed to see this happening at a university that I'm so proud of and to a basketball team that deserves nothing less than your most exceptional praise.
As Williams said on his talk show Monday night, "People who say we choked have never put themselves in a position to achieve great things."
It is obvious that the editors at the Kansan should consider these insightful words the next
time they question anyone's accomplishments, especially Williams'.
Tracey L. Shank Class of 1988
Culture belongs to its members,not others
In the "Overheard" section March 17, Dion Jones made a statement that Native Americans have a very rich culture that everyone should be able to enjoy. This statement speaks volumes about the unacknowledged white privilege that permeates the University of Kansas. If you don't think so, ask yourself a few questions.
First of all, where do you think the term 'Native American' comes from? Whether you agree with it or not, you should know where it comes from. Otherwise, how can you make an informed decision about its accuracy or any possible hidden meaning?
Furthermore, what gives everyone a right to enjoy indigenous culture? This statement was a blatant indication of unacknowledged racism. If you don't think so, ask yourself why would someone think that everyone should be able to enjoy indigenous cultures? I do not have a right to enjoy what is not mine, and in a just world, neither does any other person.
Unfortunately, we live in a world rife with unearned skin-color privilege, which recently manifested itself here at the University in the skit. "Don't Drink the Water" at Rock Chalk Revive.
Nicole Pewewardy Chickasha, Okla., graduate student
Dose of PC applied to Rock Chalk Revue
As an alumnus of the University of Kansas now living in North Central Kansas, the articles and columns n the March 16 issue about the protests regarding the "offensive" skit performed by Alpha Delta Pi and Lambda Chi Alpha at Rock Chalk Revue caught my eye.
The whole thing certainly appears to be much ado about nothing. For years, the rallying cry of those connected with any university and especially the University of Kansas has been to hold sacred the free and open expression of thoughts and ideas. I find it ironic that Spike Lee and others are provided access to University facilities and forums to express concerns and expressions that are deemed relevant to those who are now termed "people of color," while the freedom of expression of a mere skit in Rock Chalk Revue is questioned by many.
Make no mistake about it, I firmly believe in the rights of all on Mount Oread to express freely and openly questions and concerns about our society. This certainly includes those views that emulate from the political and social left side of the spectrum. However, this right of freedom of expression is not one that is unilateral in nature.
All societal views, regardless of the perceived correctness of the content should be tolerated and allowed. Viewing this matter from afar, it sure seems like a heavy dose of political correctness is being applied by some to achieve a chilling effect on free speech.
William Q. Martin
Class of 1977
Protesters sought to stifle free speech
I was discouraged by the Native American protest staged on March 14 in front of the Lied Center prior to Rock Chalk Revue. What I saw of the protest was in every respect orderly and the protesters conducted themselves in a proper manner and had every right to be there and stage their protest.
I was discouraged because what the protectors were protesting was free speech. The protesters were offended because they believed that one of the shows ridicued Native Americans. I could not figure out what the show in question had to do with Indians, but let us assume for the sake of argument that the show did in fact ridicule Native Americans. So what?
Freedom of speech allows freedom for the speech we hate.
Freedom of speech allows ridicule, satire and opposition toward anything, including white supremacy hate groups.
Bill Clinton, Ku Klux Klan,
Republicans, fat girls, Christians,
Hispanics, short men, Texans,
Democrats, KState football
fans, whites, blacks, and yes,
even Native Americans. Freedom
of speech is exactly what its
name implies. Freedom.
Kansas is the home of William Allen White and Rousseau Burch, two of the great champions of free speech of this century, as well as the Kansas Supreme Court, which issued decisions culminating in New York Times vs. Sullivan, one of the fundamental expressions of free speech laid down by the United States Supreme Court. Kansas has long been the bastion of free speech in this country and perhaps no other state has so consistently been in the forefront of preserving and maintaining a broadly interpreted right to freedom of speech.
The protesters in front of the Lied Center sought to prohibit the free speech of the author of the show in question and to limit the right of free speech solely to the ideas favored by them. The fact that the protest was styled under the thin glume of preserving cultural diversity made it all the more pernicious. Attempts to limit free speech frequently masquerade under the politically correct extiguiations of the era. The protest in front of the Lied Center was another attempt to stifle and subvert the First Amendment right of freedom of speech.
Philip Ridenour Kansas Law class of 1970
Kansas Legislature should pass snake bill
It appears that Kansas will continue to host one of the most barric events in the civilized world. No bill was ever introduced during the 1989 Kansas legislative session that would have banned the rattlesnake roundups that are held in Wallace County. One bill that would have stopped the commercial use of rattlesnake parts never made it out of committee, and another that would have restricted the importation of non-native venomous reptiles into Kansas also never made it out of committee. Both were in the same committee, and the chairperson of that committee, Representative Joann Flower, let it be known that she never had any intention of hearing testimony on either bill. The fact that Flower received hundreds of e-mail messages from around the world as well as phone calls and letters from a diversity of concerned people did not have an effect.
Several Kansas organizations, including the Environmental Action Class at Topeka College School, campaigned hard to either stop or better control rattlesnake roundups in Kansas. Some of the same groups, as well as medical groups, educators, hunters, fishermen, ranchers, and farmers tried to get Flower to at least consider the bill that would have better restricted the importation of non-native venomous reptiles into Kansas. That bill did nothing to ban rattlesnake roundups, but it would have helped keep deadly animals such as western diamond-back rattlesnakes out of the state. For some unknown reason, Flower does not like Kansas rattlesnakes, but she is not willing to help pass legislation that would keep some of the much more deadly non-native rattlesnakes out of Kansas.
The rattlesnake roundups will continue in Kansas for at least another year. The image of Kansas will not improve in the near future. Time will tell if the roundups are having a negative impact on other forms of life in the roundup areas. Kansans and the world will wait for someone to be killed in the state from the bite of a non-native venomous reptile such as one of the many western diamondback rattlesnakes that are brought into Kansas every year from nearby states.
At least people such as the students in the Topeka Collegiate School Environmental Action Class know they did their best. They researched the issue. They gathered documented facts. The facts were presented. However, they, and lots of others, learned that legislation is not always based on the facts.
Joseph T. Collins
Joseph T. Collins Director, the Center for North American Amphibians and Reptiles