Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
4A
Lindsey Henry, Editor
Dave Morantz, Managing editor
Kristie Blasi, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser
Marc Harrell, Business manager
Colleen Eager, Retail sales manager
Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser
Justin Knapp, Technology coordinator
Wednesday, Jan. 28, 1998
W. David Keith / KANSAN
Editorials
Proposed escort program would add to the safety measures now in place
The University of Kansas is committed to a safe campus, and through programs such as Saferide, Crime Stoppers and the blue-light emergency phones it has come close to accomplishing this.
But for both the safety of students and their peace of mind, more needs to be done. A University-wide escort program is the answer.
Seth Hoffman, ASHC senator, said he wanted the University to establish an escort program that would provide students walking to and from campus buildings late at night with two security escorts. These paid student escorts, a man and a woman, would help deter crimes that sometimes happen when students travel alone: after all, there's safety in numbers.
A similar program is used at Kansas State University. The service there uses
Despite the cost and trouble of creating a new system, students should feel safe
paid student employees to escort students from one campus location to another, 24 hours a day.
The University of Kansas program would probably not run 24 hours a day, but at night when students feel the least safe. The program would ease the minds of students who may be worried about walking in the dark late at night.
The escorts, who would walk regular routes until needed, would carry radios that keep them in contact with a dispatcher. Students needing an escort could call from a campus phone. Hoffman said he hoped the blue-light emergency phones could one day be used to call the escort program.
The program could be paid for by a $1 per semester increase in student fees, which is a minor cost for creating a feeling of safety.
Another benefit of the program would be the deterrence of thefts and vandalism. The constant presence of escorts on campus may make would-be criminals think twice.
There are of course many details to iron out, such as how to coordinate the system and with whom—perhaps Saferide or the KU Police—and doing background checks of the escort program employees. But it would be worth the time, money and effort. KU students need to feel safe on their campus at all times, no matter how late it may be.
Paul Eakins for the editorial board
Escort program unneeded, infeasible
The escort program is a bad plan.
The students who are promoting it have good intentions: they want to ensure that students walking home from the library or other campus locations can get to their destination safely.
But a campus escort service is not the solution.
One argument against the program is simply that campus is a safe place. Crimes occur, of course, and sometimes students may feel unsafe, but we are fortunate to live in an area where crime is low. Most campus crimes are theft or vandalism. This is not an urban campus like Boston College or Depaul in Chicago where students come into contact with more unsavory elements on campus. A 24-hour, campus-wide program in Lawrence—and on the Hill at that—is overkill.
Lighting, blue phones,the bus system and a little common sense make campus safe
There has been only one report of oncampus violence this semester, and that was a fight after a party, not an ambush of an unsuspecting student walking between Blake Hall and Watson Library.
sible. Training could help esclarts learn how to avoid unsafe situations. But real risk-management measures—like arming the escort or self defense training—to combat potential violence directly is another matter altogether.
But a second argument against the program is stronger. The campus escort program raises serious liability issues for the University. If a student was the victim of a crime while under the protection of the service, the University could be held responsible. If an escort was injured in an attempt to thwart a crime, the University could also be held respon-
If escorts were confined to campus, then the University conceivably might be willing to accept the liability. But it is too much to ask that the University underwrite the risk of safety for the outlaying community. A campus-to-campus escort program would only be able to serve the residence and scholarship halls.
The University has good lighting, emergency phones, Saferide, and even a bus system that runs free at night. These things, combined with student's good judgment, lowers the risk of a crime to a near improbability.
Kansan staff
Paul Eakins . *Editorial*
Andy Obermuller . *Editorial*
Andrea Albright . *News*
Jodie Chester . *News*
Julie King . *Nees*
Charity Jeffries . *Online*
Eric Weslander . *Sports*
Harley Rattliff . *Associate sports*
Ryan Koerner . *Campus*
Mike Perryman . *Campus*
Brynn Volk . *Features*
Tim Harrington . *Associate features*
Steve Puppe . *Photo*
Angie Kuhn . *Design, graphics*
Mitch Lucas . *Illustrations*
Corrie Moore . *Wire*
Gwen Olson . *Special sections*
Lachelle Rhoades . *Nees clerk*
Andy Obermueller, dissenting
News editors
Kristie Bisel . . . . Assistant retail, PR
Leigh Bottiger . . . . Campus
Brett Clifton . . . . Regional
Nicole Lauderdale . . . National
Matt Fisher . . . Marketing
Chris Haghian . . . 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
Advertising managers
"Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser."
How to submit letters and guest columns
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.
Adm. James "Bud" Nance, US Navy (ret.)
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.
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Staufer-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 Obermuerhell (andyo@kansan.com) at 864-4810. If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the staff group (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4810.
Perspective
Legislature should stop coiffing up for barbarism
A after my column last week, a few of my guy friends told me that I had come hither eyes in the photo that accompanied my column.
Come-hither eyes? No comment about the depth of my column or the inspiration behind the writing? You're commenting on something superficial and two-dimensional! You wouldn't know high-quality literature if it ran over you like the Joad's jalopy.
Erin Rooney
opinion@kansan.com
I think one of them uttered, "Uh, your hair looked nice, too," but that was said somewhere in the awkward silence that follows a good outburst.
At this point, I knew all
hope was lost for my friends. They were with out the yearn to learn, and I'm making a large assumption that they have brains in the first place. There are puddles with more depth — or so I thought.
A few days later, my friend Bryan called and asked about where I get my hair done and what I think of the woman who does it. My beautician would be thrilled to know that people are talking about her creation, but these worthless conversations had to stop.
As I started to belittle Bryan, he interrupted and said he was calling my attention to issues being discussed in the Kansas Legislature. The hair of everyone in the state was discussed, not just mine specifically.
I was dumbfounded. He wasn't talking about my column. I expected state leaders to care more about crime and lowering taxes than hair. Unfortunately, I was incorrect.
I discovered the Legislature voted to impose continuing-education requirements on the state's cosmetologists last year. However, the Kansas attorney general's office found that virtually every beautician in the state soon would be out of work because of the way the legislation was worded.
Of course, the legislation passed into law before any of the legislators realized that they would no longer be able to have their hair legally cut. Within days, the legislation was recalled and reworked. It will come to a vote again this year.
A senator has written the legislation to kill the continuing-education requirements and getting a haircut has become one of the most
controversial issues in the state. The details of the legislation are not that exciting, and a play-by-play of what the legislators are saying is about as interesting as the chemical compound of salt.
However, it is the heart of this issue that begs attention.
To get paid for styling someone's hair, a person must have a cosmetology license issued by the state. To get a cosmetology license, a person must graduate from a state-licensed cosmetology school, pass an exam that costs a fee to take, pay for relicensing every few years and jump through a number of other hoops. All of this is supposed to protect health and safety.
It all sounds simple, but it's not. What the licensing board fails to mention is that cosmetology school costs between $700 and $1,200. A student is required to go through 1,500 hours of education, but only 150 of those hours have anything to do with health or safety. Ninety percent of a cosmetology student's time in class has nothing to do with the reason they are required to get a license.
A haircut from a licensed beautician is not guaranteed by the state. In fact, the attorney general probably would laugh you right out of the office if you came in complaining about your new coiffure.
Beauticians want to make money. If they don't give you a good haircut or if they make your hair fall out, then after a while they will not have any customers. No customers means no income.
A few years ago, Monique Landers, then 15, opened her after-school hair-braiding business. When she won an award from the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship for her ingenuity, the state quickly ended her business in the grounds that she was practicing without a cosmetology license.
If the state was trying to secure health and safety, Landers could have stayed in business. Braiding hair does not necessarily require the use of scissors, dyes or chemicals.
I'm glad that the state is there to protect me from the beauticians. How could I have ever get along without them?
All in all, the state is wasting money, time and effort—all in the name of hair. They need to turn over the state board to a privately financed organization.
I have better things to do with my time and so should the legislature.
Erin Rooney is a Topeka senior in journalism. The formula for salt, incidentally, is NaCl.
Legislation before Senate Committees
The following bills will be debated by Student Senate Committees tonight. For more information, call Student Senate at 864-3710.
Sponsor: Partha Mazumdar, SenEx
A Bill to Amend Rules and Regulations
Calls for any representative who misses more than two University Committee or Board meetings in one semester to be immediately suspended from that group.
Referred to University Affairs and Student Rights Committees
Sponsor: John Colbert, Engineering Senator Referred to University Affairs and Finance Committees
A Bill to Fund the KU Chapter of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association
Calls for allocation of $135.
A Bill to Co-Sponsor and Fund the Spring 1998 American Red Cross Blood Drive Calls for allocation of $670.20 to help fund blood drive.
Sponsor: Julie Numrich, Panhellenic Senator
Sponsor: Brian Goodman, Law Senator Referred to University Affairs and Finance Committees
A Bill to Fund the KU Water Slide Complex
Calls for a new student fee of $7 per semester
to finance a water slide on campus
Referred to University Affairs and Finance Committees
A Bill to Fund Spiritual Human Yoga
for allocation of $200
A Bill to Fund Jayhawk Communications
Sponsor: Sarah Schreck, LA&S Senator Referred to University Affairs and Finance Committees
Sponsor: Sarah Schreck, LA&S Senator Referred to University Affairs and Finance Committees
A Bill to Fund the Malaysian Student Association
Calls for allocation of $2,130 for Malaysian Night.
Referred to Multicultural Affairs and Finance Committees
Sponsor: Michael Young, Nunemaker Senator.
A Bill to Fund the Asian American Student Union Festival and Leadership Conference Calls for allocation of $5333.30 to sponsor a High School Leadership Conference and an Asian American Festival.
Sponsor: Michael Young, Nunemaker Senator Referred to Multicultural Affairs and Finance Committees
Feedback
Field house officials correct in not paying children full wage
As much as the masses delight in raging against the machine that is the establishment and cheer in glorious delight as our heroes vanquish their foes, real life seldom accommodates itself to such a pattern. The athletic department, alas, is not an evil monolith, looming above the hopes and dreams of those poor, sweatshopped children.
Ron Penny is not an evil man, destroying their muted struggle for learning and travel. I react with curiosity that you believe the biased, sensational pleas put forth like a docu-rama by the Kansan, publishing anonymous statements of brave informants. Hard Copy would be proud.
The fact remains that the job was not done to any degree of adequacy, and Ron Penry, in doing his duties by correcting their failure, was demonized by the media who could find nothing of merit to report on.
Nathanael Hevelone Manhattan senior
Coat hangers prompts a new consideration of 'Never again'
To Deidre Black, the Lenexa
Murder by coat hanger is no different than murder by a surgical tool. Let's not trick ourselves into thinking that surgical murder is somehow better because it at least saves the life and happiness of the mother.
Having rights gives us the liberty to to put our individual interests first. However, I submit that our responsibilities are more important. Having responsibilities grants us the opportunity to put someone else first, like giving an unborn child a chance to live out his or her purpose and place in he world in spite of the inconvenience to our own lives by pregnancy and motherhood.
senior who responded Jan. 27, I am a non-caucasian woman with financial troubles of my own. I may some day have to experience an unpleasant pregnancy but never an abortion. This is because I fear God, not middle-aged, upper class white men. There are plenty of such men who are pro-choice as well. What are you basing your judgment on whether the advocate is a rich white man?
To those of you who hung the ornaments in our campus trees, thank you. You have inspired me to contemplate the slogan, "Never again." Never again will I think a fetus in the womb is less than a whole child. Never again will I question when life begins I have the confidence of knowing that abortion is murder. I don't have to conceal my identity like the coat hanger propagandists.
Jacqueline Nugent Lawrence resident