OPINION
July 25,1984 Page 4
The University Daily KANSAN
The University Daily KANSAN
Published since 1889 by students of the University of Kansas
The University Daily Kansan (USP 650-640) is published at the University of Kansas, 118 Slaffer Stfint Hall, Lawn, Kanon, 76063, daily during the regular school year and Wednesday periods. Second class payment is available excluding Saturday, Sunday, holidays, and final six months or $2 a year in Douglas County and $18 for six months or $3 for a year outside the county. Student subscriptions are $3 a semester paid through the student activity fee and send address changes to the University Daily Kansan, 118 Slaffer-Stfint Hall, Lawn, Kanon, 76063.
JAMES BOLE KAREN DAVIS
Editor Business Manager
SHARON BODIN JILL GOLDBLATT
Managing Editor Retail Sales Manager
JILL CASEY ROB LEONARD
Campus Editor National Sales Manager
CHARLES HIMMELBERG KRISTINE MATT
Editorial Editor Classified and Campus Sales Manager
MIKE KAUTSCH JOHN OBERZAN
News Adviser General Manager and
Sales and Marketing Adviser
Good news
Good news in the final months of an election campaign is always welcome, and President Reagan has had plenty of it.
In last night's news conference he proudly pointed to the recovery of the economy, and he said he would not run "against" his opponent, but on a respectable agenda of accomplishments.
And it's true. Unemployment has fallen to 7 percent, the lowest rate in four years, while the inflation rate is at a modest 4.1 percent. What the optimists in the Reagan administration had hoped for only in secret has actually happened. The gross national product has grown by a phenomenally strong 8.8 percent.
Understandably, Reagan hastens to take the credit for all that good news.
He says his administration "is the first in two decades that has reduced unemployment and inflation at the same time."
That's true. Does he deserve the credit? Certainly, part of it.
His staunch line on labor and his drive for deregulation certainly have made the economy more competitive.
But credit should also go to the Federal Reserve Bank, which resisted the temptation to increase the money supply in order to finance government programs and budget deficits a policy that has always been connected to increased inflation.
However, there is bad news, too.
The 1983 federal budget deficit was the biggest in U.S. history, the bulk of it being, of course, military expenditures. Except for Donald Regan, secretary of the treasury, nobody believes this leaves interest rates unaffected.
And we shouldn't forget that the economic recovery has been achieved at the expense of social programs.
But it's the budget deficit, which theatens future prosperity, that demands action now.
Freedom can mean making mistakes
In a few months, Vanessa Williams, the first Miss America to give up her crown, will fade from the public eye. Another Miss America will be selected. Another issue of Penthouse will hit the newsstands.
Vanessa Williams tried to drive down the road to the Miss America pageant knowing she had one bad spot on her driving record.
That bad spot is the series of sexually explicit photographs she posed for two years ago, when she was 19 years old.
Although it is unclear whether she explicitly agreed to the release of the pictures, it is clear that she was not coerced to pose for them.
It was her decision to keep the photo session to herself and continue down the road.
This week, her past record came to light when Penthouse published the photographs.
Bowing to pressure from pageant officials, Williams resigned as Miss America, saying, "It is one thing to face up to a mistake that one makes in you, but it is almost totally devastating to have to share it with the American public and the world at large . . ."
Americans value freedom. Williams has the freedom to pose in any picture, no matter how explicit, but she runs the risk of having them become public.
Bob Guccione, Penthouse publisher, has the freedom to print any picture he wants, but he also runs the risk of being sued.
Albert Marks, organizer of the Miss America pageant, has the freedom to claim that Miss America epitomizes ideal and wholesome values.
But, he may also crown a Miss America like Vanessa Williams, someone not totally perfect.
LETTERS POLICY
The University Daily Kansan welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typewritten on two sheets of paper, double-spaced and should not exceed 100 words. They should include the writer's name, address and phone number. If the writer is affiliated with the University, the letter should include his class and home town or faculty or staff position. The Kansan also invites individuals and groups to submit guest columns. Columns and letters can be mailed or brought to the Kansan office, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit or reject letters an? columns.
Don't pass up chance to see city in action
No, not "The A-Team." Not "Three's Company." Not even "Late Night with David Letterman."
Last night nobody watched the best show on television.
If you'd have clicked the dial to channel 6, you could have caught the weekly broadcast of the Lawrence City Commission meeting on Sunflower Cablevision. Live, in your living room, you could have seen the city's five commissioners discuss issues related to rezoning requests, street repairs, community development projects, the spending of YOUR tax dollars.
But you changed the channel, didn't you? You passed up a chance to observe city government in action for Mr. T.
"But ... but ... I don't have a cable hook." you stammer.
That's no excuse. The commission meetings are free and open to the public, scheduled for 7 p.m. every Tuesday at City Hall. (You know, that big building down at Sixth and Massachusetts streets.)
Probably not. And even the city commissioners themselves don't expect you to show up.
So next week you'll zip down there and grab a front row seat to see the show.
"The meetings are reasonably routine," Commissioner Howard Hill admits. "You don't get people to turn out for most issues."
Commissioner Nancy Shonta agreed, but found it ironic that people all over Lawrence were arguing about Mondale and Reagan and Poland and Lebanon — but they showed little interest in issues closer to home.
"Big issues are more attractive."
Shortz says, "People don't want to be bullied."
Are there any big potatoes in Lawrence?
Ever heard of the Lawrence Opera House? The proposed half-cent county sales tax? The downtown redevelopment project? The $1.7 million 15th Street extension project in West Lawrence?
Does anybody out there give a damn?
"Sure, people turn out when they have a strong personal interest in an issue," Hill said, noting the crowd at last week's meeting who supported
JULIE
COMINE
Staff Columnist
issuing industrial revenue bonds for the Lawrence Opera House renovation. "But they usually turn out to oppose the commission's stand. Those who agreed with what we did weren't there."
So there, you say. It doesn't make any difference whether or not we go to the commission meetings, because they are usually not very important to any attention to what we have to say.
And besides, you buost, tugging proudly at your crimson and blue T shirt, "I only go to school here. I know what goes on in Lawrence."
Suit yourself, but I'm warning you. It's rough out there. There are big bad government officials. Taxes. Bond issues. Rezoning fights. Every student should at least know how the system works.
Reporting students in the School of Journalism are force-fed commission meetings. They not only have to show up on Tuesday nights, but they have to understand what happened at the meeting and turn in an intelligible story the next morning.
I remember my first commission meeting. I'll admit it; I never thought it was going to end. But in retrospect, I learned more about government listening to the commissioners argue about sign variances than I ever did from my Poly Sci 110 text.
Lawrence's commissioners are only part-time government officials, raking in a whopping $40.37 every two weeks. All five commissioners have other jobs: Shontz is a homemaker; Hill is general manager of KANU radio; Ernest Angino is chairman of KU's geology department; Mike Amyx is a barber; and David Longhurst owns a copying business.
And when you're right there — five feet from your elected representatives — the democratic process is kind of fun to watch.
In this election year, we're all being urged to register to vote, write our congressmen and contribute our time and money to political campaigns.
If you can't handle any of those, try something smaller. Stop by City Hall some Friday afternoon and pick up the agenda for the next week's commission meeting. Look it over. There just might be something on there that interests you.
Flushing out privy trivia
There are a lot of things to worry about when you're a student at the University of Kansas. Fortunately, you'll never have to worry about finding a bathroom.
Last week I decided that I had to investigate that little bit of information about KU. Don't ask me I guess I'm slightly potty at times.
Calling KU Information seemed like an easy way to obtain the magic number. They're supposed to know everything.
"If they know the number of trees on campus, then they'll surely know the number of bathrooms," I said to him with confidence as I dialed 864-3506.
"Let me check," he said. I heard paper rustle in the background. I think they do that sometimes when they know that they don't have an answer. They want you to think that they're checking it out anyway.
David Kuo, Lawrence junior, was the recipient of my million-dollar question.
"No bathroom information," he said. He told me to try facilities operations, so I called there next. The woman who answered said that her supervisor was out to lunch, and that she personally couldn't begin to work in the office. For the sake of attribution I asked for her name and position.
"We're not supposed to give out that information without approval," she said.
I asked who could let her give out the information, and she said that her supervisor could. I pressed the issue a bit, and asked if she was a secretary. She admitted that she was, but I couldn't print that without approval. she said.
had been in and just left.
She told me to call back later, which I did. This time she put me on hold for awhile, and then came back on the line to say that her supervisor
I spent a total of 16 hours, mostly at night, looking for johns inside KU's buildings. This sort of work has the
PHIL
SCOTT
Guest columns
potential for embarrassing situations, and, as Shakespeare once wrote, "The better part of valor is discretion." So a female associate (who prefers to remain unnamed) helped me during part of my investigation.
I only went into buildings that are used primarily for classrooms, so my figures don't include residence halls, office buildings, Allen Field House, or Memorial Stadium. Someone else can count the jobs in those places. I don't want to touch myself as someone who hogs bathrooms.
I found 269 rest rooms. The building that had the highest number was Haworth Hall, with 24.
I spoke with someone who identified himself only as "the man peeking through the bushes." He said he had never been a men's room at one time.
The Military Science building had a bathroom marked "women" on the first floor, but on further inspection my associate discovered that the room had three urinals.
"They converted it logistically so
women could have an equal shot, he said. He observed that, for women, the probability of getting hit was lower.
In case you're wondering, six johns said "rest room," 99 johns were marked "men," and 78 said "women." There were 78 bathrooms for "gentlemen," and 47 for "ladies." The largest number of bathrooms for "men" and "women" were located in science buildings, while rest rooms for "ladies" and "gentlemen" were usually found in liberal arts buildings.
I wonder if this is a sign that liberal arts students are more refined than students of the same field.
The men's room in Wescoe cateteria was marked with both "men" and "gentlemen" signs. The women's room was similarly marked with a "women" and a "ladies" sign
I guess that's so students from all schools and departments can go to
I was perplexed as to why I couldn't. I could pay, couldn't I?
capped it was an impossible dream.
He bluntly stated that people like me could not fly alone; it had never been done.
If you haven't figured it out by now,
I didn't just leave my research at the
door. I went to the bottom of things,
and flushed out the numbers.
In those 269 john I counted 709
toilets, 317 urinals, 661 sinks, and
89 shower heads. Learned had two
showers, Murphy Hall had eight,
Malot had one. The rest were in
Robinson Gymnasium.
In my opinion, the biggest design flaw in all of these restrooms is in the entrance doors to the johns on Wescole's fourth floor. Those doors swing both ways, so you can get hit by someone who's going in when you're coming out, and vice versa.
Try to wait until someone on the other side makes a move, then grab the phone.
Just take that as some good, sound advice from someone who has seen a lot of bathrooms.
(Phil Scott is a Senior majoring in English.)
Doors not open for disabled
To the vast majority of people on this planet the mention of America ushers forward the unheralded words of opportunity and freedom. The inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty signifies this by saying: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
Vice presidential hopeful Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, an Italian Catholic, proudly proclaimed that "In America, anything is possible if you work for it. American history is one of the doors of opportunity for everyone."
Her declaration reminds me of that Wendy's commercial where the woman yelled into the phone "Where's the beef?" Now it should be "Where's the opportunity from that open door?"
Undoubtedly, it should have a clarifier included that describes the specifications to receive the above liberty — an open door — since it is not a guarantee for all.
What happened to me is a veritable possibility for you. I was driving to my parents home in Hutchinson from Emporia at the onset of Thanksgiving break. I was a normal, happy, active and involved upperclassman at Emporia State University.
My VW stationwagon was struck on an icy highway by a semi-truck that had jacked-knifed in front of my car. It was a near head-on collision that should have cost me my life. What it cost me was my position in society as an American citizen: I became what is known as a "disabled" person. Society value me when my body conformed to its standards. Now I don't even get the consideration given to illegal aliens.
That dilemma is solely mine. It couldn't happen to you. It never will. Right? You are like everyone else — exempt. So why worry?
Yes!
The people of this bountiful land of opportunities had a president who utilized a wheelchair, Franklin D. Roosevelt. For thirteen years a person with a body that was different than most people's served as leader of this country. When I asked a person why there should be any difference between the average wheelchair user and a president, the reply was simply, "there just is."
I recently read a book written by Robert Schuller entitled "Tough Times Don't Last But Tough People Do." He said that "attitudes are more important than facts."
DEB
ORSBORN
One of KU's senate leaders, Dennis
Guest Columnist
Not much time had elapsed since my announcement of my intended venture to Washington, D.C. before my father told me what a friend of ours had said. This friend asserted that because I was multiply handi-
"Boog" Highberger, who himself is disabled, told me that it's hard to be different. People stigmitize anyone who defies the norm. They try their damn best to ostracize them from society. They "invent" disabilities to add to the original ones.
Following my accident, I took classes at Wichita State University. The idea occurred to me, as I read a brochure, to go to Washington, D.C. So I went there with the delusion that would finally be rid of these barriers.
That causes me to stop a moment and analyze. President Reagan called the disabled the nation's "untapped yet vital resource." Out of one face he declares that which was just stated and from another face does away with laws which require that public transportation be accessible. Logical?
If the nation's president can contradict himself like that, should its populace be expected to demonstrate the converse?
Most often I don't inform people in advance that I use a wheelchair, or that I have an auditory disability, because I don't want them to be biased toward me or treat me differently from other students.
For instance, when I first met the editor of this publication, I didn't mention that my auditory system was not perfect. The editor discovered the truth and started talking a lot louder "to be helpful."
Loudness does not help me. Before people try "to be helpful," may I suggest that a person ask the person if a certain action will benefit him.
Before my accident I couldn't and still can't understand the majority of people that were born disabled. They are reflections of society's attitude toward them, an attitude which tells them to be dependent: "You're no good. Stay out of society. You have no right to be here. You're different."
But I would quote to them the inspirational words of "Desiderata"
— "... you have a right to be here.
Strive to be happy."