4 Friday, September 3, 1993 OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN VIEWPOINT THE ISSUE Street maintenance and repairs are needed around Lawrence. BACKGROUND Many roads have treacherous potholes left over from the heavy snowstorm and summer rains. THE OPINION Better plans, repairs needed for city streets The road conditions and problems are nothing new to Lawrence residents, and most problems can be blamed on the terrible weather that seems continually to beleaguer this area. But bad planning by the city and short-terms repairs are costing more in the long run. Record snowfalls last winter and a record rainfall this summer have made huge potholes in many of the city's streets. The City of Lawrence should have addressed the problem immediately after the snowfall, and they should have taken steps to save themselves the monetary burden of having to repair the same streets after every bad storm. One would think that the entire summer would be enough time; after all, a problem of this nature is not going to get better with 20,000 more people traveling these streets. City officials blamed the delays on the inclement summer weather, but this is a problem, for which a solution should have been initiated before the July rains. By postponing these repairs, the city is inconveniencing more and more people. The lane obstructions that cut traffic down to one lane each way on Iowa Street near the 23rd Street intersection are another example of poor planning. This construction is not scheduled to be completed until November 1. Steps were taken, however, to make a long-term commitment to correct the road conditions when the city chose to repave most of 23rd Street — which was done in a couple of weeks and before classes started. This is the kind of planning that will make that road last much longer than had they simply filled each hole. This is the kind of long-term solution that many of Lawrence's streets need. DAVID WANEK FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD Under-21 crowd, bars should work together One of the things that makes Lawrence a great place to live is the vibrant and diverse local music scene. Unfortunately, a significant segment of KU's student body cannot experience much of the quality live music available, because of the 21-year-old age requirement of Lawrence bars. The anxiety of bar owners caused from admitting 18- to 20-year-olds is certainly understandable. It may seem like a legal and economic hassle to admit people who cannot buy beer. But with cooperation from all concerned parties, more 18-and-over shows in Lawrence is a realistic prospect. The primary responsibility for gaining access to local shows falls on the shoulders of those under 21. A few bars now have periodic 18-and-over shows, which should present an opportunity to demonstrate to bar owners that admitting underage patrons is good business. If these shows continue to be successful, perhaps other bar owners will be persuaded to open their establishments to a wider audience. But even a few incidents of fighting, drinking or other disruptions could mean that many KU students will continue to be denied access to quality live music. KIRK REDMOND FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD KANSAN STAFF Complications at KU? It's the Martians' doing KCTRAUER, Editor KC TRAUER, Editor JOE HARDER, CHRISTINE LAUE Managing editors TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser It was not too long ago that I figured out how to find a non-Western Civilization class in the timetable. Yesterday, to be precise. Or maybe the day before. No matter. All know is that a non-Western Civilization class is very, very important, for a number of reasons: (1) I needed it to graduate. Parking Department After eight semesters of not knowing how to distinguish a non-Western Civilization class from, say, a barnacle, I stumbled across an important discovery: You have to look at the timetable through a piece of smoked glass. But I don't have it nearly as bad as the freshmen. They haven't had the benefit of understanding what exactly goes on at KU. Sure, figuring out that GSP stands for "Get Some Perfection" is easy. But I'm talking about more complicated things. Things that should — but for some reason don't — exist in a parallel universe (which is a rather interesting phenomenon caused mainly by Democrat presidents). So I've compiled a list: WILL MICHAEL JACKSON TOP THIS CHART? BILL SKEET, Systems coordinator Which all goes to show how complicated things can be at KU. Things such as enrolling or going to class. This is college, for Pete's sake, not real life. Why should I have to worry about these little things when I've got bigger problems to deal with, such as which bodily fluid should I give up next to raise money for groceries? Assistant to the editor J.R. Clairborne News Stacy Friedman Editorial Terrynn McCormick Campus Ben Grove Sports Krietl Foster Photo Kip Chin, Renee Kneeer Features Erza Walle Graphics John Paul Fogel This is an extremely nasty and evil place. Here, bloodless employees slave over Cray computers, trying to figure out all the different combinations and permutations of how to make each student's life worthwhile, in the sense that they want all our worth while we're here. Seriously, it's A unscared proposal for transporting students from the parking lot at Robinson to Wescoe. This plan was scrapped, however, when the same Martian engineer who designed 23rd Street one day came up with another solution by slapping himself on the forehead and exclaiming, "I'll design Wescoe so that it actually slides down the hill and will one day join with Robinson and form a new continent." AMY CASEY Business manager AMY STUMBO Retail sales manager JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser Of course, this isn't the entire list. I have yet to mention such things as the Martians in Strong Hall, or the fact that Chancellor Budig can physically remove his face. And let's not forget; there no way in Parking Department you're going to graduate on time. Todd Punteny is a Manhattan senior majoring in Journalism. Inventor of basketball. Also, one of the people in those old pictures on "Cheers." Also, a famous and quite retired quarterback. Campus sales mgr Ed Schager Regional sales mgr Jennifer Pierrier National sales mgr Jennifer Evanson Co-op sales mgr Blythe Focht Production mgrs Jennifer Blowey Marketing director Study McConnell Creative director Brian Fusec Classified mgr Jane Davis This is a complicated and highly prudent means of providing people with easy transportation routes and sharpening their reflexive skills. Also, state law regulates road construction by using simple mathematical formulas, such as: the amount of construction is directly proportional to the arrival of students, or the number of barrels minus the number of side streets used divided by 27,000 students equals the IQ of the construction engineer, which is somewhere close to a turnip's. Ski lift up Mt. Oread Business Staff James "Joe" Naismith Clever, nifty devices whose most notable accomplishment is that they were invented by Martians and work for exactly two seconds a day, depending upon the moon's cycle and whether Congress is in session. Road construction Dollar-bill changers See also, Kamikaze No definite pronunciation. Commonly referred to as "that big tall thing on the Hill." Multicultural center not necessary; University just jumping on bandwag STAFF COLUMNIST Campanile **Letters** should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of Kansas must include class and homework, or faculty or staff position. **Great columns** should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be The KU Multicultural Center ... The KU Black Student Union ... The KU "We're not racist!" building ... The KU Politically Correct Center ... photographs. The Kauai reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be furnished or brought to the Kauai newman, 111 Sturner Fint Hall. So named because only one out of every 23rd attempt are you able to successfully complete a left turn out of Dillons or McDonald's. You'd have a better chance in Parking Department than you would crossing the street here. an office policy. Even the roving tick-etissuer have mini-Cray computers. Of course, those are just attachments to the rest of their android bodies, because they are really Martian robots sent here to suck the brain juices from our body and give us gas. Also, the words "Parking Department" are common in everyday speech as a substitute for expletives, such as "Burn in Parking Department," or "Go to Parking Department," or "When Parking Department freezes over." Isn't the Kansas Union already a multicultural center? And the Burge Union as well? LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 23rd Street See also, Gestapo. Come on people. Why segregate ourselves even more? Running away and having your own clubhouse built reminds me of my preschool mentality. The unions can't be too crowded or booked to house multicultural activities, and if I'm wrong and they are, if there simply isn't enough room to provide meeting areas for students of diverse ethnic backgrounds, then they need to expand. Yes, I know. Other leading universities have them. Well, KU go right ahead and follow the leader. Jump on the bandwagon. The cud with the rest of the herd. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Kevin Beckwith Broken Arrow junior We must never forget what makes being female so special and realize that anger and resentment will only hurt our children and ourselves. STAFF COLUMNIST Equality between the two sexes, within a single sex, will never be passed out at the door. For women, the struggle for equality may always remain, but it makes us stronger. The lesson that must be learned is that men are not our enemies, and blaming them only hinders our growth. So I stand here in this unfamiliar territory clinging to my understanding of what feminism should be: A woman who does what she feels is necessary, whether it is stripping at a night club, running a nation or tending the home in order to maintain and support herself and her family while standing equal in the eyes of men and women. But there can be no equality without respect, and that is something that must be earned. Anne Bailey is a Denver sophomore majoring in psychology. Targeting men wrong if feminism to succeed ANNE BAILEY For the Birds Somewhere along the way, I got lost. I entered unfamiliar territory that only moments before was recognizable and sensible. I'm still not sure when it happened, but feminism took a turn for the worse. ALL THESE GUYS JUST STAND AROUND WITH ONE EYE ON THEIR QUARTERS AND THE OTHER ON THEIR BEER Independence and a strong will was something I inherited from a long line of Southern women. My grandmother was the second woman to receive a Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, and I was raised by a single, working mother who has some amazing accomplishments of her own. In this day and age, I whole-heartedly believe that condemning men as a whole for the conduct of a few only perpetuates a negative stereotype that will undoubtedly push the two sexes farther apart. Placing the blame is no longer a valid weapon, and I question whether or not it ever was. I don't believe you can solve your problems by blaming someone else. or better or for worse, I have stood up for what I believe and have handled situations accordingly. I still believe that girls with the will and knowledge can compete successfully with boys of similar status; and that women and men should work together for the equality of each other. In a class over the summer, I found myself defending the white, middle class man to a group of angry women. While making them more angry by understanding their plea, I tried to explain why simply blaming the actions of men that happened years ago would not help their campaign today. These women were so full of hate that they began to cloud the issue of feminism. They were more concerned with defacing men than celebrating how far women have come and how far they can go. Unfortunately, feminism has snowballed into a war against men. Don't get me wrong, I realize that women are portrayed in confining roles mainly because of a male-dominated society. But when do we as women stop placing the blame on the shoulders of our male counterparts? THEY JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND THE SUBTLE BEAUTY OF THIS GAME... by Jeff Fitzpatrick ---