Opinion
Kansan
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Lindsey Henry, Editor
Dave Morantz, Managing editor
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Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
Thursday, March 6, 1998
STUDENT INVOLVEMENT ON CAMPUS
Editorials
Hats off to Chancellor Hemenway for helping students help themselves
Chancellor Robert Hemenway should be lauded for his effort to help Asian students affected by the financial crisis in the Pacific Rim.
Students from East Asia have felt the impact from the events that caused the headlines that most students only read in the Wall Street Journal. Some students' currency has been devalued by up to 80 percent — making it impossible to make ends meet.
Even though some students never realize it, the University community is an international community, with representatives from around the world. When tragedy and devastation strike abroad, it also hits close to home. These students are our neighbors, our teachers and our friends. And they deserve help.
He's offered to help find jobs for International students hurt by the financial crisis in East Asia
Enter Hemenway.
He has made a pledge to any student affected by the financial crisis in Asia—he will help them find a University job
Many international students are in this country on a visa that will not permit them to go get a job anywhere they like. So instead of working as a waiter or any other normal student job, most international students legally only can take a University job—like working in the library or in an academic department.
hienenway hasn't promised easy office work or some cushy "Special Valet to the Chancellor" post, he has promised any job he can find. But that means a paycheck, and that is what these students need.
It's hard to ask for help when you need money, even in cases where the circumstance are out of your control. No matter who you are or where you are from, it's tough to swallow your pride and ask for help when you are used to helping yourself. And if you can find a way to improve your situation mostly on your own, then you can even feel good about it
Helping these International students was a kind, decent thing to do, and we are proud of this act by Hemenway.
Our hats are off.
Andy Obermueller for the editorial board
Delta Force senators did the right thing
The Delta Force senators did the right thing Wednesday night by not leaving the marathon Student Senate meeting early, and they deserve to be recognized for it.
Delta Force, a campaign coalition for Student Senate, officially kicked off Wednesday night at the Granada. Bands played, speeches were made, and maybe even some beer was consumed — by the legal, of-age drinkers, of course.
But some of the partyers got there late. About 12 of the Delta Force senators didn't arrive until well after the party had started, including Matt Dunbar, student senator and Delta Force vice presidential candidate. Student Senate lasted until 12:30 a.m., and the Delta Force members stayed through to the end.
We are glad to see that no one left the Student Senate meeting early to go politick
Emily Heath, Delta Force presidential candidate, had said that her senators wouldn't leave, and she proved to be as good as her word.
"It never was discussed that they would leave early," she said yesterday. "Senate, not campaigning, is their first priority." We agree.
Campaigning — or even just hanging out at the Granada and listening to The Norman 360 — is undoubtedly more fun than listening to Associate Provost Lindy Eakin answer questions about smart cards for two hours or debating emergency funding for Headquarters. And kickoff parties are especially fun for candidates.
Had the Delta Force senators left the meeting early, they would have sent a poor message — one indicating that they cared more about winning another seat than they do about the one they hold now. But instead they sent the
opposite message; that they are concerned and conscientious senators who will fulfill their obligations.
We didn't think that the kick off party should have been during Senate in the first place simply because of the temptation to drag senators away from their duties or to alter the agenda to suit their schedule. But this temptation was resisted, and we want to give credit when credit is due.
Kansan staff
Andy Obermueller for the editorial board
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“Persecution for opinion is the master vice of society.”
—Frances Wright, 1829
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Perspective
Abolish the drinking age and legalize everything
don't think the drinking age should be lowered to 18.
Student Senate and the University Daily Kansas columnists have gone on the record
as favoring the reduction,
but I can't join them. Let's be realistic here. It's not as if the law stops any determined youngsters from drinking whenever or however much they want.
Clay McCuition
juqin@kakan.com
There shouldn't be any age limit at all.
Don't gasp and ac- offended. Think of all the youngsters out there — ages 0 to 20 — who can't enjoy getting blitzed legally. It makes me sad to think about all of the brain
cells in this country that are actively functioning, instead of being vaporized by huge quantities of ethanol. It's time, my friends, to get the little kids hooked on booze.
get the little kids hooked on I think having alcohol readily available to grade schoolers would have a lot of advantages. First, there wouldn't be any danger of them getting into cars, driving crazily down the highway, and killing people. At worst, they might crash their bikes.
Parents and critics may argue that such a program would lower the life expectancy of children, thus depriving future ages of great authors, scientists, and teachers. To these well-intentioned, though misinformed, critics, I say, "Pah!" We're all going to die eventually anyway, and the universe will collapse in on itself in a few more billion years, so why sweat over these insignificant details?
Though I've seen some pretty nasty bike accidents in my time. I'm confident that significant head injuries could be avoided by wearing bicycle helmets. Perhaps liquor companies could include coupons for a free helmet on the labels of their products.
These arguments I'm making naturally lead into the thorny area of drug legalization. If I'm willing to call for the total banishing of any drinking age, then how do I feel about other substances that make people happy? I think the answer is obvious — we should hook children on as many substances as possible. That way they'll learn that the only true way to happiness is through a chemical of some kind. Think of how many years the average college student has wasted coming to this conclusion.
What's more, existing programs could be utilized to make sure kids are getting as addicted as possible. Drug-information classes such as D.A.R.E. could be overhauled to teach the best ways in which to take drugs. If we simply educated police officers in drug consumption, they could pass that knowledge on to the next generation of Americans.
I fear I digress, though. Sometimes the excitement of proposing policy changes carries me away. I would simply like to urge everyone who reads this — students, teachers, legislators, and ordinary folks — to remember the advantages of eliminating any age limit for alcohol and legalizing all drugs. Put aside your preconceptions about addictive substances, and embrace them whole-heartedly.
'Of course, that's just my opinion. You might think differently.
I'm also thinking of the poor, victimized liquor companies. They can't even advertise their hard stuff on television. Doctors recommend that pregnant women not imbibe and advise patients not to drink heavily. How can these honest businessmen and businesswomen survive? Imagine how their profits would soar if they peddled their mind-altering liquids to children. Little children have no concept of mortality, so they would freely ignore the doctors' warnings.
As alcohol is a depressant, it also would be wonderful for harried grade school teachers. If the little tykes in Mrs. Brown's second-grade class got too rambunctious, she could serve them all a couple of stiff gin-and-tonics to quiet them down. What's more, the second graders wouldn't complain. I know that when I was a grade schooler, I often got tired of drinking milk 15 times a day — or however often they forced it down our throats. Some nice mixed drinks would add variety.
McCuistion is an Andover freshman in journalism.
Stop freaking—rec center isn't the local crack house
Could someone please let me know the potential disasters inherent in a recreational center. Everyone says they are so
eager to support the community, but not in their backyard.
This country seethes like an unidentified mass of moral pygmies, with its rehabilitative programs for the health of mankind. Yet, even in Lawrence, people willing to act on their celebrated claims are as hard to find as a narcoleptic bus driver.
For reporting class I was forced to experience my first Lawrence City Commission meeting. Not only was I outraged by the three
Jenny Oakson
 opinion@kansan.com
A 7-acre plot of land in the 1100 block of Kasold Road is up for bid. The Commission is considering the site for a new community recreation center to be funded by the 1-cent county sales tax. Believe it or not, the Lawrence homeowners are atrue, to say the least, about having such a horrible institution take over the location. You may ask: What are the negative arguments to such a project?
The concerned citizens claim that not only would a recreational center lower their property value, they also would have to tolerate literary youths gathered at the center, perhaps starting fights, listening to loud music, or breaking their precious fences. Personally, I never have been involved in the violation of a yard fence and I, in my day, was considered quite the "party girl."
and a half hour consumption of my time, but the interests of the community. What was the most pressing issue of the night? War? World Hunger? Poverty? Pornographic photographs with tennis raquets? Oh no. The loyal Lawrence locals were bickering about where to put a new rec center.
As for the wild behavior of such mothey crews, let me post a bulletin to the public. The cool kids, with their ghetto blasters and patented teenage angst, never hang out at the rec centers, anyway. So unless a heated debate about handball or chess breaks out, the neighboring families are in the clear.
another childish complaint I heard was that
the quiet demeanor of the subdivision would be disrupted by children and traffic.
Wake up people, you live on a major thoroughfare — near Harvard Road and Kasold Ave. — with several suburban, young families popping out kids like Pez dispensers, and plenty of cars wasting gas. I understand that construction may disrupt your lives a bit, but consider how happy the little tots on your block will be when they know they have a designated place to romp and play.
As I see it, these residents should be happy that a major developer won't be able to come along and tear down the 83 beautiful trees in the area and throw up 42 semi-beautiful duplexes. Better yet, I'd like to see how the area whinners would feel if I bought the land and built a crack house. I guarantee you that my many prostitutes and dealers will be grateful to roam such a nice, cash-plentiful area as the 'burbs.
But the most neglected topic on Tuesday night proved to be the beneficiaries of such a recreational center. Supposedly, the most important members of our community are our youth, probably because they aren't yet the screw-ups we have proven to be. I can't recall how many times I've heard older Americans complain of the recklessness and vandalism of today's teenagers. My opinion, as it was when I was a teenager four months ago, is that most children are mean, rotten, rude, or violent simply because they are bored. Sure, a rec center isn't going to help the high school kids, but if we as a community, can get children involved while they're young, they may grow up participating in productive activities.
At the Commission meeting Commissioner Bob Moody said, "The question that comes to my mind is 'Where CAN we put this stinkin' rec center?' "
No matter where the Commission decides to put the project, people will complain. That's fine. That's their right as citizens — but they shouldn't be selfish.
If they really think a rec center is the worst thing that could happen in their neighborhood, then they should let me know. My topless dancers are waiting. A recreational center is not the most horrifying thing that can happen to their precious neighborhood. Don't make me prove it.
Oakson is an Overland Park sophomore in journalism.
Feedback
rupping rewards for good service
This letter is in response to Jeromy Horkman's letter about tipping pizza delivery people and other food servers.
If the social custom of tipping ceased to exist, servers would have absolutely no incentive to provide customers with quality service. Tipping ensures that customers are treated well. If a server fails in this respect, the customer has the
opportunity to directly with hold the server's pay. Stiffing servers on the premise of a high-minded, anti-business philosophy is silly and rude.
Sarah Lee
Ottawa sophomore