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Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Lindsey Henry, *Editor* Marc Harrell, *Business manager*
Dave Morant, *Managing editor* Colleen Eager, *Retail sales manager*
Kristie Blasi, *Managing editor* Dan Simon, *Sales and marketing adviser*
Tom Eblen, *General manager, news advisor* Justin Knupp, *Technology coordinator*
4A
Friday, March 20, 1998
SIGNEllisJacort
"THEY LOOK CUTE, BUT ONCE THEY'RE HOME, MOST OF THEM JUST START ABUSING AND NEGLECTING THEIR PETS AGAIN."
PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS
Editorials
Failure to remove Revue skit sent University down the wrong path
The University of Kansas has reached a fork in the road. And it has taken the wrong path.
The skit "Don't Drink the Water" should have been removed at the Rock Chalk Revue.
The events surrounding the skit, which was protested by minority student organizations, faculty and other students, have served only to illuminate a growing disdain by minority groups about their treatment on campus. There are many different views about what happened at the Revue, and there are many opinions about whether the material in the skit was appropriate. One fact that cannot be disputed was that minorities were mad and they wanted to let the rest of the University know it.
Students who stand by the Revue's
decision to keep the skit cite the importance of free speech and expression, especially in an academic setting. They also note that the Revue does a tremendous amount of good for local charities by donating thousands of dollars and hours towards community service. Students who believe that the decision was irresponsible point to the fact that no minorities were consulted early in the skit selection process. They also point out the negative cultural stereotypes that they believe the play promoted. These are all convincing arguments to some extent.
We know the decision, but have we seen the full range of consequences? What do we sacrifice as a community when we choose financial benefit instead of cultural sensitivity? What do
we gain by trading human respect for legal rhetoric? How do we achieve any of our goals as a community of people by ignoring brotherhood for the self-righteousness of charity? No one attacks financial aid to the needy or legal rights or charity, but we must recognize that people matter because they are people, not because they are people who need help.
We cannot say that we want to help and then hurt. We cannot accept that the end justifies the means. We cannot take the easy high road of majority privilege, but instead we should pursue the low road of equality. The University reached that fork in the road at the Revue. The skit should have been removed. When it wasn't, we took the wrong path.
Leonard West for the editorial board
If vacationing abroad, avoid drug use
Students should resist the temptation to use drugs if their spring break travel plans include a trip out of the country. The risk of foreign legal trouble is far too high for a few hours of drug-induced entertainment.
We don't want to sound as if we are anti-drug. That is a personal decision all students must make for themselves. But students traveling abroad have more factors affecting their decision than recreational drug users who stay inside American borders.
For one thing, if you get caught using or possessing drugs in the United States, you have an extreme advantage: You are in the United States. Here, students would be protected by the Constitution and a legal system that presumes innocence. Abroad, students are not necessarily afforded those same rights.
Second, getting caught at home means that your resources — family, money and legal advice — are accessible by a phone call. Abroad, that luxury could vanish. Even though a consular officer of the United States government could visit you in jail, he or she could not help get you out or otherwise interfere with the judicial process. And flying in an expert in international law will be a lot more expensive than hiring one of those brummagem barrists who advertises during World Wrestling Federation matches.
Finally, despite all the Dateline specials and editorsials about problems such as overcrowding, American jails are veritable Marriots compared to some foreign jails.
ment's Bureau of Consular Affairs, there are increased efforts in foreign countries to stop the flow of narcotic traffic and use. If you think there is no danger in buying a little pot for the evening, think again. Americans traveling abroad have been arrested for possessing as little as a gram of marijuana.
American tourists traveling abroad are not immune from the laws of other countries. Ignorance is no excuse, and the State Department has warned that it is possible to spend months or even years in foreign jails awaiting pretrial matters about narcotics cases.
According to the U.S.State Depart
So resist the temptation to use drugs abroad. Wait until you're back on American soil to smoke another country's grass. We won't mind if you get arrested here.
Kansan staff
Andy Obermueller for the editorial board
Paul Eakins ... Editorial
Andy Obermueller ... Editorial
Andrea Albright ... News
Jodie Chester ... News
Julie King ... News
Charity Jeffries ... Online
Eric Weslander ... Sports
Harley Ratliff ... 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
Lachelle Rhoades ... News clerk
News editors
Advertising managers
Kristi Bisel . *Assistant retail, PR*
Leigh Bottiger . Campus
Brett Clifton . Regional
Nicole Lauderdale . National
Matt Fisher . Marketing
Chris Haghrian . Internet
Brian Allens . 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
"After all there is but one race — humanity." — George Moore, The Bending of the Bough
Letters: Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and home-town if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
Guest columns: Should be double-
spaced typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
How to submit letters and guest columns
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stuaffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Paul Eakins (eakins@kansan.com) or Andy Obermuerell (andyo@kansan.com) at 864-4810. If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4810.
Perspective
Rock Chalk Revue skit creators tell their side
We, the directors who own the protested Rock Chalk Revue skit, "Don't Drink the Water", wish to explain ourselves, for our side of this controversy has not been adequately represented. We are not defending our show because of the time, effort, community service or money our members and organizations had invested in the skit. Instead, we simply wish to voice our stance and our concerns about the issue.
First, the purpose of our show was not to offend or exploit, but rather to accomplish the opposite. We wanted to make a small social commentary against the exploitation of other people or places with a skit in Rock Chalk. Our intent was to preserve the essence of indigenous cultures, the way they existed before imperialists destroyed their way of life. In fact, the antagonist in our show was modeled after the very "colonialist" stereotypes of which we've been accused. Is it wrong to expose to the University community a character's evil intent, especially if he is the show's antagonist?
Theater is a forum for expressing such inhumanities.
Second, our belief in freedom of speech protects our right to support and perform our show, as well as the right for all people to share their viewpoints. Both sides should have equal voices in disseminating their opinions. However, the disruption of our show last Thursday night threatened everyone's freedom of speech. It is espe-
It is not productive to let biases and anger cloud the channels of communication. To do so could further inflame relations among the University's communities. We implore all those concerned to try to look at the issue from all perspectives. We are striving to do the same. We have learned from this experience and hope that future dialogues will result in a better understanding by all concerned.
Finally, as an effort in good faith, we met with those groups voicing dissatisfaction with our show, and happily made changes that they requested. We and Rock Chalk Revue thought the changes we made were fair and appropriate considering that the complaint was submitted less than 48 hours before show time.
Rock Chalk Revue directors for Lambda Chi Alpha and Alba Delta Pi;
Mike Cole, Mission Hills senior
Amy Hilbs, Topeka senior
John Fetto, Loawood senior
Amber McGraw, Marshall, Mo., junior
Mike Haverkamp, Merriam junior
Cate Pugh, Wamego junior
Mike Payne, Merriam junior
'Scream When You Burn' and never be satiated
The title of this column is filched from a short story of the same name by Charles Bukowski. Those of you familiar with Bukowski know that he was a
champion drinker and a pretty good writer. Those of you who aren't should read him, so long as you maintain a healthy interest in his words. Otherwise, a pint of vodka might end up replacing a bowl of Fruit Loops or a bagel as your typical breakfast fare.
One of Bukowski's mantras was the phrase, "scream when you burn." I love this. I have adopted it as my own.
Ryan Devlin opinion @ kansan.com
What made Coltrane spectacular was a burning desire for a truth he knew he would likely never possess. To most people, the idea of exercising such a desire seems incomparably futile. But Coltrane explored the gap between desire and attainment and found uncertainty. He also found expression, and expression transformed uncertainty from something painful and threatening into something exhilarating. He realized that it wasn't the destination of the journey that mattered, it was how he traveled.
John Coltrane, the greatest tenor saxophonist ever to grace humanity, exemplified this idea in his art. It is 2 a.m., and Coltrane is weaving a tapestry of madness and passion with his music, in my room. Soon my record player will explode.
"The truest mark of greatness is insatiability."
Henry Fielding.
Insatiability. It's what makes Fielding, Contrane, Bukowski, and countless others shine like quarters bathed in kerosene on a sunny August afternoon on the pavement of history.
To a greater or lesser extent, insatiability motivates most of our actions, both noble and ignoble. It propels us all. It is present in the CEOs of major corporations and in the voices of the heads of labor unions. It's what compels someone to go into the Gap and buy six sweaters they don't need. It's what makes that woman on Oprah go thousands of dollars in debt buying commemorative
plates on the Home Shopping Network. It is in the eyes of men of God and the sinners they condemn alike. It propels Bill Clinton in his alleged quest for daring sexual exploits with White House interns and volunteers, as well as in his actions as leader of the most powerful nation in the world. It is present in our need to be loved or feared. It is in the voices of those who fight for social justice and those who preach hatred. It is in the voices of our greatest teachers. It is in the eyes of our best students. It's what drives one student to seek a 4.0 in school and another, or perhaps the same student, to drink until he passes out in the back of a convertible Cadillac cruising down a main strip in South Padre, Texas, during spring break.
Insatiability is in the hearts of entertainers and sports heroes. It's what propels Roy Williams and Paul Pierce, Marian Washington and Lynn Pride, to chase a national championship year after year, regardless of the result. Michael Jordan is insatiability. It is in the eyes of the single mother. It makes the idiot who lives across the alley from me scream pointlessly from his balcony at 2 a.m. Insatiability is why I write this column.
There is a frustration which arises from insatiability and uncertainty, a frustration that makes our souls burn like those shiny quarters on the asphalt. It is in the act of screaming that we take the pain of a burning soul away.
Here's a secret: We are never satisfied. We never will be. This is the human condition, and it's alright. Uncertainty and insatiability are the qualities that make life worth living. The world is perfectly imperfect. The fact that we strive for perfection is the greatest quality we possess, even if our struggle fails, as it often is destined to do. This is how greatness is achieved. It is the beginning of expression.
Keep in mind that it isn't necessarily to what end you scream, but how you do it.
Today as I head north on i-35 toward the Canadian border, I'll be burning and screaming all the way.
During spring break, listen to the qualities of other people's screams. Listen to the qualities of your own.
Ryan Devlin is an Overland Park senior in English.
Feedback
Students should keep an eye on president
Yesterday's article about Student Body President Scott Sullivan's attempted veto of a piece of Student Senate legislation perpetuated an offheld misconception that I feel it necessary to refute.
The spin of the story centered on the supposed prevalence of "personal attacks" in the debate surrounding the issue.
When I look up personal in the dictionary, the definition I find says: "concerning a
particular person and his or her private [emphasis mine] business, interests, or activities."
Please understand that as student body president, Scott Sullivan is an elected representative and, as such, can and should be held responsible and called-out for his action and missteps while in office. This is what was done Wednesday night in Senate and it was both a proper and necessary course of action to take.
Finally, I would like to encourage others to look more critically at the actions
taken by Sullivan on their behalf. However, I do recognize that as a senator and political activist I am in a better position to take certain responsibility upon myself, I, and others, will continue to fulfill this role until Senate and its officers become truly representative, as they are meant to be. Please take it upon yourself to vote in Senate elections April 15 and 16.
Jason Fizell CLA&S senator and Olate senior
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