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Thursday, September 9, 1993
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
THE ISSUE
The Lawrence Jewish Community Center was vandalized on Sept. 4.
THE BACKGROUND
There has been a nationwide resurgence in hate groups, in particular skinheads. The last year has also seen a frightening rise in neo-Nazi activities in Germany.
THE OPINION
'Terrorism' from hate groups must end now
Lawrence is believed by most of its citizens to be an oasis of tolerance and humanity. This vision was shattered for many by the recent vandalism of the Jewish Community Center. The swastika, which was part of the graffiti, is a symbol of importance to many hate groups, including the skinheads and neo-Nazis. The attack last weekend may have been just a couple of kids who went too far in misbehaving. However, the perpetrators knew what to target and with what symbol; this makes it dangerous.
When the economy in an area or nation declines, the incidents of racial and/or ethnic violence rise. Simply, this is due to many people's need to have a scapegoat. One must ask: Are the youth of Lawrence following the trend of rising hate groups? According to a report from the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rithin in New York, the number of white supremacist skinheads has grown from 1,500 members in twelve states in 1988 to an estimated 3,500 in forty states this year.
Those facts, along with the violent rise of neo-Nazism in Germany, should cause everyone to ask what he or she can do. Whether the action would be to educate a younger sibling or to write government officials insisting on hate-crime legislation, this type of terrorism must be stopped.
MICHELLE SMITH FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
New enrollment process will save time, money
The list of complaints surrounding the University's present enrollment system is as long as the enrollment lines.
However, many students' wishes will come true when computer enrollment is implemented at KU during the summer of 1994. Adapting a computer enrollment format is a progressive step that should prove to be beneficial for all students.
The new system, called distributed enrollment, will streamline enrollment as students will enroll from numerous computer terminals throughout the campus. Students also will be able to add and drop classes, change their addresses and obtain transcripts through the computer system.
Distributed enrollment will benefit both students and administrators. Students no longer will be faced with long, frustrating enrollment lines, and administrators should receive fewer complaints with the new approach.
The effectiveness and cost efficiency of distributed enrollment have been proven at other universities. Only minimal expenditures are required to initiate distributed enrollment, and student support for distributed enrollment is great.
Distributed enrollment is a much-needed system that will benefit the University as a whole. Students and administrators should applaud the decision to implement distributed enrollment.
COLLEEN McCAIN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
KC TRAUER, Editor
AMY CASEY Business manager
JOE HARDER, CHRISTINE LAUE
Managing editors
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
BILL SKEET, Systems coordinator
AMY CASEY
AMYSTUMBO
Assistant to the editor J.R. Clairborne
News Stacy Friedman
Editorial Terrilyn McCormick
Campus Ben Grove
Sports Krietl Foster
Photo Klp Chin, Ramese Kneeer
Features Erza Wiese
Graphics John Paul Fogel
AMY STUMBO Retail sales manager
JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser
Business Staff
Campus sales mgr ... Ed Schagar
Regional sales mgr ... Jennifer Perrier
National sales mgr ... Jennifer Evanson
Co-op sales mgr ... Blythe Focht
Production mgrs ... Jennifer Blowey
Kate Burgess
Marketing director ... Shellie Hickman
Brian Funco
Classified mgrs ... Janice Davis
Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's signature, a reference line, the class name, the class and hometown, or faculty or staff position. **Guest column** should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be asked to request the right to re-edit letters, guest column and cartoons. They can submit their work online at www.kansas.edu.
Lessons learned shopping not in classes, libraries
Frustrated with the quality of your education? Dissatisfied with your classes? You're probably looking in the wrong places. Most people think of classes and libraries when they think of their university education. Wrong-o. Don't feel bad, I used to have that very same misconception. My eyes were opened, though, the other day in the supermarket.
"You ever had these? These crackers?" He pointed to some crackers behind me, which were on sale. "I always get some of these. Every time I go to the store, I get some of these. They're better than the name brand ones. Not too tough; and crunchy, but strong enough so that you can spread peanut butter on 'em. They don't make a big crumble mess when you eat them, either. You can practically live on these things. Put peanut but-
All I needed was some coffee. So I went to the coffee aisle (What an inspired idea). Behind me, I could hear a man asking someone something. No one answered. He came over closer to me and asked again, louder, so that I could hear. I turned around and found that he and I were the only people there. Quickly deduced that he must be asking his question of me. Unfortunately, I was so busy deducing that I didn't hear the question. He asked again:
STAFF COLUMNIST
ter, cheese, bean dip, jam, anything on 'em. Or just eat 'em plain. And they're on sale right now, too. They do that here. Every couple of weeks, they put these things on sale. Seventy cents a box. Can't beat that."
I suspected this guy was paid to impersonate a shopper and go around playing up the sales in the store. I guessed he'd done his job, and would go away soon. Wrong.
"When that happens, I stock up. Seventy cents a box, you can bet I'm gonna stock up. I fill two or three carts with just these crackers. Let 'em sit on my shelf instead of theirs. I mean, they're just gotta jack up the price again. Get 'em while the gin's good."
"I try to do that whenever I can. Reminds me of when, back in the Carter administration, I would wait for a sale on toilet paper, then buy it by the case. That was when I still had
all of my property, and they were taxing like crazy, so I was pretty bad off. That’s where they went wrong, you know. Taxed too much and used it to pay off the deficit — didn’t put enough of it back into the economy. “Course I got rid of all my property, thank God. Now that Clinton guy wants to do the same thing. Tax, tax, tax, and put it all toward paying off the deficit. He’ll end up screwing up the economy. You can bet on it. I'm just glad I don’t still have my properties. I lost money on them then, and I’d lose even more now.”
I said something, but I don't remember what, because I was in the middle of a huge discovery. The place to really learn is the coffee aisle in the grocery store. Upon my startling realization, I looked to my newfound paragon of knowledge in order to absorb more wisdom, but whatever I said must have been a farewell type of thing, because he was waddling away toward the paper goods, skillfully piloting two carts overflowing with crackers, wishing me happy shopping and successful bargain hunting over his shoulder.
Ryan Mcee is a Worland, Wyo., sophomore undecided on a major.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Focus on issues other than blame
I'm happy Anne Bailey grew up with a strong will and a sense of independence. Unfortunately these qualities alone don't begin to address the issues that women face today. A sense of independence doesn't alter the fact that women routinely earn less money than men, that studies of women's health issues are inadequate, that 78 reported rapes occur every hour, or that a woman is the victim of abuse every 15 seconds in this country. A strong will doesn't change the fact that the leading cause of death in the workplace for women is murder.
Ms. Bailey is correct. It's time for the blaming to cease. But let's not confuse blame with responsibility. Both sexes must take responsibility for their actions and attitudes. Women must start by valuing all the choices women make, take a stand against the violence that affects them, and say no to unwanted advances. Men must start reexamining beliefs that say "she asked for it," she made me hit her, "a woman can't be as effective as a man," etc.
Janet Cull Lawrence sophomore
Watkins needs to improve services
STAFF COLUMNIST
Slowly I stagger into a chaotic room and an signaled to take a seat. I sit down and demand to thumb through a 1974 issue of Good Housekeeping but feel a little too ill. I look up at the clock and realize I must have lost consciousness because 45 minutes have gone by. Looking around the room, I see the same people are there exchanging germs and diseases. I begin to realize that by the time they call my name I'll either be twice as sick as when I came in or I'll be completely over my illness. Finally a nurse emerges and calls a name, but it is not mine.
If this sounds familiar then you have been one of the fortunate students to visit Watkins Memorial Health Center. Also known as Student Death, this is one place where rumors prove to be true. If you want to wait for hours, be misdiagnosed and buy unnecessary medications, then this is the place to
go.
One time I was allowed to diagnose myself. I went into the examining room and the doctor asked, "What seems to be the problem?"
Without looking at my throat he said, "Well, you're right. You must
I said, "I think I might have strep throat." He asked why I thought I had strep throat, and I said because my throat hurt.
have strep. "With that he wrot me a prescription and sent me on my way."
Instead of spending half the day in the waiting room to see a doctor I could have been in bed recovering. I could have simply walked up to the pharmacist and said, "Give me the strep throat package" and saved a lot of time by skipping everything else.
Now I can't say every experience at Watkins has been horrendous, but I always leave feeling edgy about my diagnosis. A friend of mine made several visits to Watkins and tried several different medications before the doctors were able to correctly diagnose a simple illness. Someone else I know was given two different medications, which all counteracted each other. It is instances like these that make people ridicule Watkins.
Unfortunately, I don't have a solution on how to fix things at Watkins.
but I do have some suggestions. The doctors should be qualified and not be afraid to look things up, I would rather have the physicians do this than guess about an illness or proper medications. Also, the Watkins itself needs better organization. Anyone who has made a visit there knows how chaotic it can be. And last, people should not have to spend hours in the waiting room.
For a student health facility we could probably do a lot worse, but we also could do a lot better. I feel the Center needs to put as much concentration into its health care as it does for its specialized programs. The specialized programs are great, but the basic health care needs work.
For the Birds
Tisha Heyka is a Leaward senior majoring in psychology and creative writing.
by Jeff Fitzpatrick