4 --- Wednesday. June 9. 1993 OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN IN OUR OPINION College World Series adds to year of success As the College World Series continues, the baseball devotees assembled in Omaha, Neb., will slowly lose their memories of the Kansas base- ball team, thanks to its early exit from the Series. bal team, thanks to its early exit from the But in Lawrence, Jayhawk fans will not forget the outstanding season put together by Coach Dave Bingham and the team. The team finished this year with a 45-18 record, the best in the history of Kansas baseball. That record put the Jayhawks into the NCAA tournament for the first time in the University's history. Kansas jumped into the baseball elite this year, qualifying for the eight-team tournament after battling to victory in the Mideast Regional in Knoxville. Tennessee. It was a season to remember, and those memories should include the five seniors who labored for three years before reaping the rich fruits of success: pitcher Jimmy Walker, catcher Jeff Niemeier, pitcher/infielder David Soult, second baseman Jeff Berblinger and first baseman John Wuycheck. The contributions of these five will be felt for years to come. The baseball team capped a year of success for Kansas athletics. Kansas is the only school in NCAA history to have its football team win a bowl game, send its basketball team to the Final Four and its baseball team to the College World Series in the same season. Add to that the success of the women's basketball, softball and men's golf teams, which all qualified for NCAA tournaments. Women's swimming and women's tennis also took Big Eight Conference titles. It was a year that will never be forgotten. MANAGING EDITOR Clinton should learn from nominee mistakes The blundered nomination of Lani Guinier for assistant Attorney General has The White House singing a familiar tune. "We've made some mistakes with the nomination but we are learning from our mistakes so we won't make them again." For the third time, the president withdrew a nomination because of not enough or incorrect information. His aides did not catch that Zoe Baird hired an illegal alien for domestic help, that Kimba Wood had failed to pay social security for a domestic employee and that Guinier's writings would signal theories contrary to the president's beliefs on civil rights. Four months into the presidency the president and his staff should have realized that early research prevents future embarrassment. Guinier's nomination failure may have come from another problem plaguing Clinton - cronyism. Critics say the president's failure to read Guinier's writings prior to the nomination may have stemmed from their friendship that dates back to their years at Yale Law School. For a president with a 36 percent approval rating, another hint of cronyism will not bolster the people's faith in him as an objective leader, and the lack of background research on candidates will not illustrate to the people his ability to work through the political process. If the president has any hope of recovering from his recent mistakes, he had better start learning from them and not re-enacting them. TERRILYN MCCORMICK EDITORIAL EDITOR Evolution of the Job McDonald's hamburger starts heated argument One thing that surprises me about vegetarians is their ferocity. I would have thought that people who nibble at buds and plants would be more doe-like. But to my chagrin, I have recently learned otherwise. Not long ago I noted that anti-beef vegetarians were waging a crusade against McDonald's because that company does not offer a veggie burger. This struck me as illogical. If I wanted a glass of buttermilk, I wouldn't go to a tavern for it. And I wouldn't picket the tavern for not keeping some on hand. So why would vegetarians nag a company that has prosoged by selling beef because it doesn't offer an item of limited appeal? Oh, my, you would think I had come out in favor of eating babies. Consider the response of one Scott Palczak, 36, a computer graphic artist, who lives in Longmont, Colo., and is a dedicated vegetarian. Putting his graphics skills to work, he created and distributed a poster that shows me with horns coming out of my head, with the title "Weak-Willed Wimp -- Chicago Tribune Hedonist." "The more I look at Mike Royko, the more he looks like the son of Rudolf Hess - with the personality to match." And he wrote: (Forthose weak on World War II history. Hess was a top aide to Adolf Hitler and was a loony. I don't know if I look like his son, never having met the unfortunate lad.) Palczak goes on "Here a man so hedonic that he probably can't go three hours without a cigarette and a martini or a raw steak." (Actually, I can go as long as four hours without any of the above. Not that it's any of Palczak's business, since I don't ask how long he can go without eating a radish. "Look closely and you'll agree. His crusty, alcohol-diluted mund cares neither for his fellow creatures nor even his own body. This man lives only for today." (That's not entirely accurate. I also live for westerdays, when every special-interest tiwi didn't try to impose his fanatical beliefs on the rest of us.) "If you go to a McDonald's, you may see Ryo roky hiding in the corner looking like a dirty old man with a bottle of Red Rocket, a pack of Lucky Strikes and a stack of Macs. He'll look as content as you'll ever see him outside of a stripper bar. "He and many others like him are what I call Weak-Willed Wimps. They will eat until satisfied and then eat some more. Various vices control their lives; they live and breathe only to eat, drink, smoke -and if they're lucky, have sex." "They are shallow, calloused, selfish people concerned entirely with their own immediate gratification. Sure, once in a while, they do a good deed to relieve their guilty conscience, but it goes against their nature. And never do they want to be reminded that the steak they're eating was once a live, feeling animal. (Luck? If you depend on luck for sex, Palczak; maybe you should order a steak now and then.) "His cynical, cholesterol-saturated brain sees every worthwhile cause as just another pain in his wrinkled butt. He doesn't want to be bothered by animal rights. His small, unevolved conscience doesn't want to be reminded that there may be a right way to live. But he sure cares about eating his raw meat. Would you like some blood for dessert, Mr. Royko? How about plasma?" All that because I believe that if a company wants to sell hamburgers and not veggie burgers, it ought to be able to sell hamburgers and not veggie burgers. And if a person wants to eat veggie burgers, they should go to a restaurant that sells veggie burgers. Is it unreasonable? If so, what about the fact that I like an occasional pork chop? And, dare I confess, a hot dog? Never mind Rudolf Hess' son—I could be Hess himself. A phone call to Palczak's number in Colorado was answered by his mother. She said he was out for the day. Possibly nibbling on leaves? She didn't say. But his mother did say that her son "is as vegetarian as you can get. No meat, no eggs, no chicken, no fish. Me, I'm a fish eater. But I have to admit, when you eat meat, you get bloated." And she said her son is a staunch environmentalist. "All the causes. You name 'em. Anything that moves." I made me have a hearing and know. Why, if one may ask, does his mothgizes for its publication "He lives here. Intermittently." A computer artist. Age 36. And he lives with his mom and says that sex is a matter of luck. And he calls me a wimp? It's enough to make me chuckle over my prince rib. Mike Royko is a syndicated columnist with the Chicago Tribune. AN APOLOGY This use of her surname was inap propriate and not in accordance with Kansan policy STEVE PERBV On Page 14 of the April 29 issue of the University Doily Kansan, a personal advertisement contained the surname of Nikki Millard, Lenexa junior. STAFF COLUMNIST Naw. they'd never buy it. Then I considered renting. Sure, that would work. Wanted. One husband and child for 10-year high school reunion weekend. Must be handsome, well-spoken and carry business cards alluding to a high-paying job. Need both to pose for wallet-sized photos before event. Being a graduate student gives me a certain escape from the reality that many of my friends share. The pleasures and perils of marriage, children, homeowning and, of course, the real job, are all things I hear them talk about. I listen and give the understanding nod when Johnny was out of school all last week and the mortgage payment is due and all husbands are clob. But, that is not my world. In the university setting, my biggest worries are making rent and finding the perfect thesis topic. I admit it. I am a slacker, but it's okay because the '90s have granted the slacker a position of Well, in this town anyway. This isn't the five-year reunion. I'm talking the big 10. And it's got me scared. "Be sure to bring your spouse and children to our picnic." "I read Impending high school reunion stirs a few fears Spouse and children. Immediately, I tried to come up with probable excuses. "Well, my husband is at an economic summit meeting in Geneva, and couldn't get away. You understand how it is. And dear little Clare is busy practicing for the international equestrian championships." I assumed that I could enjoy this position indefinitely. I mean, at least until I graduate. But a letter arrived the other day that changed all of that. When opened it, I saw my world with different eyes. No longer was I a laidback college town inhabitant, sipping the occasional capuccino and discussing politics with other like-minded inhabitants, who wear Birkenstocks and don't worry about their hair length. I was now just an unmarried student who owns very little property and is childless — unless you count a very spoiled six-year-old cat. What could destroy such bliss? I had just received an invitation to Well, that could present some problems. What if someone recognized him from America's Most Wanted as a fugitive from a five-state killing spree? Now that would take some explaining. The Kashmir Regret that the advertisement was published and apolio I had just received an invitation to my high school reunion. Of course, I could just not go. But then I would be wondering forever — or at least until the 25-year reunion — what everyone was doing. SPRING BUSINESS MANAGER A friend I went to high school with, who also owns no property to speak of and is childless, helped to put things in perspective for me. "Do you like what you're doing?" she asked. "Well, yes." I admitted. "Are you contributing positively to society?" "I haven't killed anybody, if that's what you mean." "Then what do you have to be ashamed of?" "Nothing I guess." I know she's right. But, just to be safe, I thought I'd keep a copy of my ad. You never know when a good man might come in handy. Val Huber is a Lawrence graduate student majoring in journalism KANSAN STAFF DAVID MITCHELL Copy Chief General manager, news adviser JAY WILLIAMS Managing editor BILL SKEET, Technology coordinator MAURITIUS Editorial Teredyn McCormick Campus Planning Jess DeLavenne Campus News Will Levi Photos Millennium Lakes Graphics John Paul Fogel Copy Editors Copy Chief Tracy Ritchie Christy Corder Gennifer Leaves Territh McCormick Beth Randoph Honoree Reporters Lina Coombolo Katie Greenwald Todd Punnett Jennifer Swan Curtis Taliano Photographers Valerie Bontrage Doug Hesse Doug Hesse Angle Lower Heather Lofflin Julie Richardson James Wilcox Letters should be double, double spaced and lower 200 words. They should not contain a reference to any university or institution. Writers affiliated with the University of Kansas must include class and department names. Letters should be submitted by May 15th. Guest letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. 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