4
Tuesday April 19.1994
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
Holocaust ad is a lie not freedom of speech
The Holocaust was a horrible atrocity. It is disturbing, then, that a college newspaper decided to print an advertisement questioning the event.
The Miami Hurricane, the newspaper of the University of Miami, recently ran an ad claiming that the Holocaust Museum in Washington offers no proof that millions of people were killed in gas chambers.
The ad has run in around 25 college papers in the United States. Other ads by the same person, Bradley R. Smith, question how much of what we have been told of the Holocaust is truth.
"A responsible newspaper lets the reader know the different points of view," Hurricane business manager Julio Fernandez told the Associated Press. "Now they know there are people like Mr. Smith out there."
However, denying the occurrence of the Holocaust doesn't represent a "different point of view." It represents a lie.
Individual testimonies, films of bones and graves, speeches of Nazis bent on destroying the Jewish race — too much proof exists to deny the Holocaust.
More important, denying the Holocaust has the same racist overtones as claiming that millions of Blacks didn't die as a result of slavery. Most papers probably would have a hard time printing an ad that called for people to join the Ku Klux Klan.
Some may consider running the ad a freedom-of-speech issue. But not running the ad would in no way constitute censorship. Smith can print and distribute his own ad if he wishes. Newspapers are not required to print every ad submitted to them.
When we deny the deaths of millions of people, the Holocaust comes closer to happening again.
NATHAN OLSON FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Arafat must condemn attacks against civilians
Palestinian Liberation Organization chairman Yasir Arafat has failed to make a complete condemnation of the terrorist bombings on Israeli civilians. Until he goes beyond regretting the incidents, the peace process is in trouble, and the work of Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin may collapse.
Arafat regretted and rejected actions directed against innocent civilians in a letter to President Clinton that arrived after a bomb detonated and killed six Israelis. Michael McCurry, State Department representative, said it was a stronger statement than the one released after an earlier bomb exploded on a bus and killed seven.
As long as Arafat continues to weakly denounce these attacks, Hamas, the militant Palestinian group taking responsibility for both bombs, will perceive that their actions are supported, even if that support is slight. Additionally, Arafat is losing power as he takes a fence-sitter stand on these attacks.
Rabin continued peace negotiations despite Arafat's noncommittal stand. The peace process is continuing, but agreements are becoming harder to reach. The latest negotiation allowed the deployment of Palestinian police in Gaza and the West Bank town of Jericho. Continued terrorist attacks on Israel weaken Rabin's support and make him less willing to compromise the Israeli presence.
Arafat must take a strong stand against the terrorist attacks and the terrorists themselves. Failure to do so could mean a rebirth of the conflict that Arafat and Rabin have tried to end.
CHRISTOPHER LIVINGSTON FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
BEN GROVE. Editor
LISA COSMILLO, Managing editor
TOM EBLEN
TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser
JUSTIN GARBERG Business manager
BILL SKEET, Systems coordinator
Editors
JENNIFER BLOWEY Retail sales manager
AUSSIE TELECOMS
Aust Managing Editor ... Dan England
Assistant to the editor... J.R. Clairborne
News ... Kristi Fogler, Katie Greenwald
... Todd Selfert
Editorial ... Colleen McCain
... Nathan Olson
Campus ... Jess DeHaven
Sports ... David Dorsey
Photo ... Doug Hesse
Features .. Sara Bannett
Wire .. Allison Lippart
Freelance .. Christine Laue
JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser
Business Staff
Campus sales mgr...Jason Eberly
Regional sales mgr...Troy Tawerate
Retail cost mgr...Justith Standley
National A Coop sales mgr...Robin King
Special Sections mgr...Shelly McConnell
Production mgr...Laura Guth
...Gretchen Kootterhilleinch
Marketing director...Shannon Reilly
Sales representative
Classified mgr...Kelly Connely
Tearsheet mgr...Wang Chan
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'Jeans day' shows diversity of biased students' wardrobes
I have a riddle: Why did the girl in the classic fit, sandblasted Gap blue jeans change clothes? Because she felt sooo gay!
No, that's not a really bad joke I made up between picking my nose and chewing my toenails. That little brainstater summarizes most of the conversations I heard around campus Tuesday. I have never seen as many knit leggings, khaki pants and warm-up suits in one day on campus as I did on "Wear Jeans If You're LesBiGay Day." Now maybe everyone had to do laundry, but I sensed a definite prejudice in the air.
I thought that the point of "Wear Jeans if You're LesBiGay Day" was to treat it like any other day. So many people wear jeans nowadays that you can't tell if they're declaring their sexual orientation or just bumming around. Hence, we abolish sexual stereotypes and live happily in a politically progressive world.
Not so in Lawrence, Kansas. I have no respect for the people in my residence hall who went around deliberately cautioning each other not to wear jeans on Tuesday. I almost pitted the guilt-racked individuals who couldn't decide whether to be loyal to their politically correct, "open-minded" users on lesbians and gays or to their unspoken but ever present homophobia. These are the people whose "jeans were all dirty," or who had to "look nice for a presentation."
20 minutes before my eight o'clock class, I really didn't care what people thought about my clothing. As for sexual orientation, isn't that really only important to the people directly involved in the matter?
I did notice that the people who were wearing jeans seemed relaxed, confident and busy. I myself wore a pair of very wrinkled jeans that probably should have been laundered, but
Not only do people care far too much about what others think about them, but also their insecurity nourishes the narrow-minded mentality to which they conform. What really appalls me is that these ultra-conservative views on sexual orientation are present on a dynamic college campus, where liberalism and intellectual stimulation are supposed to run free. I understand that older generations formed their personal and political views of society in a more conservative environment than ours did. I don't think that's an excuse for people like the Rev. Fred Phelps to go around gay bashing, but I understand that facing homosexuality openly is a new experience for them.
People in our generation, though, grew up when more homosexuals started coming out of the closet.
We're witnessing a permanent change of society, and we aren't dealing with it very well. The United States certainly can't claim to be a "melting pot" as long as any form of prejudice exists. I've never seen a stew where the ingredients started battering each other.
There is no documented evidence of sexual orientation affecting job performance. And homosexuality can't be caught like a disease. Some people brush with Crest, some with Aquafresh, and you know what? They all have clean teeth.
The world is a crazy place. Between homosexuals burning in hell, Asians taking over the world, feminists bashing men, Blacks and Hispanics butchering each other in gang wars, abortion-rights advocates killing babies, and long-haired grune types shooting up heroin, it's a wonder anyone has time to decide what to wear. I think we should all just go nude.
Alisha Arena is an Overland Park freshman in biology and English.
Kansan ignores HALO conference
In fact, there were eight workshops
GUEST COLUMNISTS
"We live in a society that doesn't understand us or appreciate our values. A society that somehow thinks that because we have good manners, we're meek. We don't need to be loud, and we don't need to shout or be ill-mannered in order to be heard. We won't change in order to fit in!" Such were the words spoken by Raul Yzaguirre, president of the National Council of La Raza, the largest and most respected Hispanic organization in the country. Yzaguirre sums up our frustration and anger at the University Daily Kansan for its lack of respect toward our Hispanic community.
More than 250 students, administrators and members of the community attended the Hispanics of Today Conference hosted by the Hispanic American Leadership Organization. Unfortunately, the Kansan failed to adequately report on this event, which was held on the KU campus from April 8-10. The Kansan had a small article regarding one workshop on financial aid. However, the significance of the conference was ignored.
Betances spoke about self-determination, child abuse and the importance of respecting women. These topics are not new, nor are they limited to Hispanics. They are issues relevant to all people. The Kansan had an opportunity to explore, learn and be
educated on another segment of Americans, yet it chose to ignore us
and three keynote speakers that addressed various relevant issues ranging from the devastation of AIDS to the importance of community involvement and the value of education. We were fortunate to attract Raul Yzaguirre and Samuel Betances, professor of sociology at Northeastern Illinois University, two of the most highly recognized Hispanics in the country, to the conference.
Yaqiruagire illustrated this lack of respect on the part of the media in its portrayal of minorities by stating, "The media projects Hispanics as a gardener, maid, prostitute and criminal, but never as a three-dimensional human being. We are not portrayed as people who bleed, hurt, feed their families and take care of their parents." By failing to recognize the efforts of the students who are working together to educate our campus and community, the Kansan succeeded in continuing the unfortunate trend of not recognizing positive achievements made by Hispanics.
It is imperative to understand the many obstacles we face as Hispanic Americans. HALO students are among the six percent of Hispanics throughout the United States who will obtain a college degree. This comes at a time in our society when there is an increasing need for a college education. By virtue of attending this University, we are the role models and the future leaders in our community. We don't have a choice Therefore, these students should be recognized for their achievements rather than being penalized for the ignorance of others.
You may ask, how does this affect me? During his recent visit, Corneie West, explained it best by stating that we are all part of the same ship. A ship with one hole still will sink no matter what compartment you choose to live in. In essence, we are all part of the same ship. We must learn to respect and work together to solve our problems. Hispanic problems ultimately are America's problems.
Lastly, I would like to thank Yorkia Velasco, Richard and Gina Ruiz, and HALO for providing me with the best HOT Conference I ever have attended. This conference was about commitment, caring and improving our community, values that too often are ignored and belittled. By decrying the lack of adequate coverage, we are making a single point: We simply want respect.
Eladio Valdez III and John Augusto are co-founders of the HOT Conference.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Editorial unfairly critical of KU dining services
I strongly disagree with Colleen McCain's April 11 editorial, in which she stated that the residence hall dining services were somehow at fault for not accurately guessing how many students wished to eat matzo during Passover. Far from being "weak excuses," the dining services' two main reasons for not serving matzo throughout all of matzo were quite valid: First, matzo was not available through normal purchasing routes; second, the dining services were not given adequate advance notice of a demand for matzo during Passover.
This second reason was the most significant. The dining services simply had no way of guessing how many of their patrons were Jewish,
not how many among that number wished to remain kosher during Passover by eating matzo. The dining services went out of their way to provide matzo once the demand for it was made known, and they should be congratulated for it.
If anyone was at fault, it was those students who failed to make their heeds known in a timely fashion. The dining services are not responsible for keeping track of religious holidays and dietary laws, whether they be Jewish, Christian or otherwise.
McCain makes the mistake of confusing respect for religion (which is incumbent upon all of us) with the responsibility for observing specific religious customs, which falls solely upon those who wish to practice a certain religion.
Hays Graduate Student
LesBiGaySOK celebration an unnecessary waste
Could someone please explain to me why, with all the problems in the world, we are wasting time and energy on "Wear Jeans if You're Les-BiGay Day." Don't get my wrong. I have nothing against homosexuality. I just don't care. I don't want to know if the person sitting next to me is homosexual or not. A person's sexual practices should be a private, personal thing.
Everyone has different sexual preferences. Some people like to do it in the dark. Some people like to leave on the lights. Some people do it on the kitchen floor. Some people do it in public bathrooms. The point is, I don't want to know these things about people. I don't care! Why must
we all know all the sordid details of everyone's personal sexual life? If a person is homosexual or heterosexual or bisexual, it doesn't matter.
A person is not identified by his or her sexual preference. I don't decide to sit next to someone at a party because of his sexual preference. I wouldn't loan someone a dollar based on his sexual preference. What does a person's sex life or sexual orientation have to do with anything? We don't need to know these things about each other. It isn't necessary, and basically, I don't care! Help support something other than people's curiosity and voyeurism. Have a "Wear-jeans-support-world-peace-day" or a "Wear-red-end-world-hunger-day."
Lisa Werner Independent Study office assistant