OPINION
The University Daily KANSAN
The University Daily KANSAN
Published since 1889 by students of the University of Kansas
10.
The University Daily Kansas (UNDS) journal is published at the University of Kansas, 181 Stauffart Hall, Lawnere. KA, 6005. daily during the regular school year and Monday and Thursday during the summer session, excludes weekdays from Monday to Friday and Tuesday through Saturday by mail are $15 for six months or $2 a year in Douglas County and $1 for four months outside the county. Student subscriptions are a $3 semester fee while students go through the student activity fees. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
April 13,1984 Page 4
DOUG CUNNINGHAM
DON KNOX
Managing Editor
SARA KEMPIN
Editorial Editor
JEFF TAYLOR ANDREW HARTLEY
Campus Editor News Editor
PAUL JESS
General Manager and News Adviser
DAVE WANAMAKER Business Manager
CORIT GORMAN JILL MICHELLI
CERT Sales Manager National Sales Manager
JANCE PHILIPS   DUNCANCALHUN
Campus Sales Manager    Classified Manager
Making progress
JOHN OBERZAN Sales and Marketing Adviser
Other good-news statistics from the Census Bureau announcement indicated that the number of women working in professional specialty occupations, including architects, engineers, judges and lawyers, had also risen dramatically.
The census bureau reported Tuesday that the proportion of women employed in traditionally male- dominated executive, managerial and administrative occupations jumped 12 percent between 1970 and 1980.
In 1970, 18.5 percent of these prestigious jobs, including public administrators, financial managers and personnel managers, belonged to women. By 1980, that figure had risen to 30.5 percent.
Census Bureau spokesperson Suzanne Bianchi interpreted the figures to mean that more women were employed in the more highly paid managerial and professional occupations because of improvements in the educational qualifications of women in today's workforce.
Also, women still have to work for a salary of 62 percent less than a man doing the same job.
These positive gains for women are a step in the right direction, and U.S. employers should be applauded for making better use of the talents of many women.
About 42 percent of the labor force is made up of women. The only category of women holding prestigious positions to match that percentage are writers, artists, entertainers and actresses.
Surely, women have yet to gain the full respect and benefits available to men in the U.S. economy. However, the trend revealed Tuesday is encouraging.
However, statistics also show there are still many imbalances in U.S. treatment of men and women workers.
The neutral language
To most of personkind the words probably won't taste good at first. Sifting through texts devoid of masculine pronouns is bound to cause difficulty for some.
But both man and woman are already subjected to the partial neutering of our language, and he and she are somewhat prepared.
Hupersons, in correctly striving to lessen bias, improve and balance language, have fought for the use of such words as chairperson and spokesperson. Further changes were inevitable, if uncalled for.
Some changes, however, are reasonable and needed. For example, the substitution of firefighter for fireman and letter carrier for mailman avoids stereotypes.
Destined for removal are such titles as, "Genetics and Man,"
And now, the University of Kansas office of affirmative action has requested that such pronouns as he, his and man in course titles be substituted in the undergraduate catalog.
We forget, however, in trying to make the language equitable, that "man", as used in these course titles, is of common gender, not masculine gender. The word "man" is a derivative of the Anglo-Saxon "mann", meaning human being.
"Plants and Man" and "Molecules and Man."
Some changes in our language are deserved. But others are simply butchery and should be fended off like other forms of perverse personipulations.
Besides changing the titles of some courses, another example of extremism is "womyn." What is next, substituting personal for manual?
Balancing or eliminating masculine pronouns is not extreme.
The test, then, is that any changes to avoid bias in the language should be done with a full understanding of what is being changed, not just changed at random.
And the changed word should,
with time, taste good when said.
Era of disillusionment
This has been an era of disillusionment for those heirs of the Enlightenment who wish to believe in the moral progress of mankind.
The slaughter of World War I, Guernica, Hitler's final solution, government massacres . . . these are proofs of some profound human malice that no reform movement has yet been able to eradicate.
With the recent publication of its book, "Torture of the Eighties," Amnesty International carries forward a long and difficult campaign to"end the use of torture as a tool of state policy."
It is the great virtue of the Amnesty book that the reasons for torture are explained clearly and simply.
Yet, as the Armnety book insists, knowledge of the horror must be the first step on the road to abolition.
"Torture," it says, "is usually part of the state-controlled machinery to suppress dissent." Governments torture to preserve and perpetuate their power . . .
The evidence of torture and ill-treatment in 98 countries, compiled case by case with meticulous
Amnesty has taken the first simple step by exposing the horror. The next steps, the difficult ones, will be up to everyone who has heard the bad news.
care, makes for depressing reading.
Boston Globe
The University Daily Kansan welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typewritten on one sheet of paper, double-spaced and should not exceed 200 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 province. The Kansan also invites individuals and groups to submit 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 and columns.
LETTERS POLICY
The Life Of . . .
Taking look at athletics
There is no place like Nebraska.
Kansas will spend more than $5 million on intercollegiate athletics this year. That's about one-half of what's being spent at Oklahoma and
- The University's public response to NCAA sanctions, from the chancellor himself an NU alumunus' down, was to stonewall. Even in secret KUAC Board counsel went out of her way to characterize the guilty acts as mere technical violations of the law. But there obviously was more. I've never heard anyone even admit there was wrongdoing, much less apologize or express any remorse.
- In the controversy surrounding the meeting between the head basketball coach (who, I must confess, is my personal hero) and a professor, the athletic director anger criticized the University
Nebraska and less than every other conference school except Oklahoma State, which spends about the same, and Kansas State.
If we are to that fate, it will be only because athletes at KU is made to be accountable. A self-evident truth, perhaps. But one in a few who have served as rector and other powers-that-be have shown little interest. Consider:
In December, for example, the KUAC Board went into executive session for the permissible purpose of discussing personnel matters and raising concerns, however, subjects completely unrelated to personnel also were discussed.
*As a matter of law, it isn't clear whether Kansas' open meetings and open records laws apply to the KUAC. As a matter of practice, the corporation resolves all doubts in favor of secrecy.*
*Finally, there is the KUAC Board, a group of faculty, alumni and students that, according to the board's by-laws, sets athletic policy. If you believe that, you'll believe pigs have wings and fly.
The implications of that statement are staggering. And all the more illuminating because made in a moment of anger and not one of cool preparation At best, it suggests the athletic director has little experience dealing with the news media At worst, it suggests he thinks one must support athletics blindly, or not at all.
Daily Kansan for a series of objective stories on the controversy, saying the Kansan needed to develop "an appreciation for trying to do its part in helping create a strong athletic program at the University."
The board meets only four or five times a year, and those meetings are largely informational; seldom does the board take any action, and when it does, it's almost always by consensus.
The only real information board members have at their disposal is that provided by the corporation itself, and even then it frequently is released at the last possible moment.
None of these weaknesses was addressed in the reorganization of the board, which faculty and alumni railroaded through the KUAC meeting and down students' throats this week.
Instead of 21 voting members, the board now will have 17. Faculty proponents argue, essentially, that the kennel has too many barking dogs to be effective. I don't buy that. If anything, the kennel needs more barking dogs to counteract the flies all the sheep. And the fuges guys.
Even assuming that smaller is better,however,this particular plan
'Until we get a stronger chancellor, we're likely to see no change in the status quo.'
But as Larry Bray is fond of saying, the world is round. When the KUAC looks to students for increased financial support, perhaps the actions of the board this week should not be forgotten.
is grossly unfair Students were underrepresented on the board to begin with and now are being forced to be proportionate share of production.
Student membership on the board will be cut 25 percent, alumni only 16.6 percent and faculty only 12.5 percent
That may sound fairly innocuous, but a motion to require it died at Tuesday's meeting. Projections of income and expenditure were said to be too speculative now to tie the corporation to a specific bottom line
That's politics. I congratulate the faculty and alumni for winning a battle they could not possibly have lost.
Athletes can be made accountable at KU. But the answer lies not in merely adjusting the size of the board. Without radical changes, the board can never be more than a Magnet Line to accountability.
I love athletes and I support increased financing for KU's athletic program. But I worry about the future of my alma mater. I worry that as our cheekbooks are lying open, our minds and eyes are closing.
And that someday soon there will be a place too much like Nebraska right here on Mount Oread.
The answer lies in establishing some sort of institutional spending lid. At the very least, the KUAC should have paid 10 percent in it says it will in its annual budget.
If true, that only underscores my point that the board's annual vote on the budget is a huge charade.
Until we get a stronger chancellor,
we're likely to see no change in the
status quo. That's unfortunate,
because what we've got now isn't
Steve Young, Topeka law student, is a member of the KUAC Board
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Clarifving story
To the editor:
I shouted, "This system is a fraud." What other conclusion can there be when a system, supposedly democratic, provides such efficient means of stifling dissent while upholding "free expression?"
To clarify my words in "Senate allows four accused of bias to stay." (University Daily Kansan, April 6). I understand how difficult it was for the reporter to hear exactly what was said.
But especially because so many words have been used and so little understood, it's important to set the direct straight on what I said and why.
That Student Senate meeting was a case in point. Before all who wanted to speak, the question was discussed endorsed and a vote taken.
Several people were prevented from presenting their evidence and argument.
So much for the redress of grievances and a fair hearing. So much for freedom of expression. "Free speech" apparently applies only if it's expression of the right variety.
I did not shout, "You people are all
Those who so valiantly defended "free expression" in one breath and in the next so willingly allowed its suppression by parliamentary maneuver know they are; those who understand the meaning of the word "hypcrite" know where it applies. I also called them charlatans. They might want to look that up too.
hypocrites." I don't think all the senators are hypocrites.
Stu Shafer
Avoiding doom
Lawrence graduate student
In his column (University Daily Kansan, April 9), Jesse Barker sets out to prove President Reagan's "Star Wars" defense plan to be a farcical waste of the taxpayers' money.
To the editor:
Did it even occur to him that the only means by which this nation avoids obliteration now is by the threat of retaliation against the Soviet Union?
Let's face it, as long as the superpowers see a potential advantage in possessing nuclear weapons, they will never give them up.
With all the uprair concerning the immorality of nuclear weapons, it would seem to me that an initiative such as this, which seeks to make these awesome weapons obsolete,
would be cheered by both advocates and proponents of nuclear weapons
President Reagan, rather than harp about the nature of the Soviets, or the morality of nuclear arms, has had the foresight to propose a system, within our control, by which these nuclear weapons can be rendered ineffective.
It is therefore necessary to have some sort of defense against these systems.
Enjoy your drink, Jesse.
Given a choice between the security of his nation, and a shot of vodka, Jesse calls for drinks all round. But ponder this while you are sipping your martini, Jesse: if the Soviet Union found it necessary to launch a nuclear attack, would you fight in its faces, faced with imminent destruction, to have to choose whether to obliterate the USSR in response?
Or would you want them to have the ability to wipe out the attacking waves of missiles and aircraft, before they had wrought the destruction that they are so capable of?
George Crawford Lawrence senior
'Nixies' laud performances by politicos
In attempts to capture a larger share of the viewing audience's attention, the political world has tried recently to package itself as a platform.
It has done everything from calling one day of Democratic primaries "Super Tuesday" to allowing congressional sessions to be broadcast on the C-SPAN cable channel
HELAINE KASKEL
And with the genius for exploitation that has become the hallmark of
Staff Columnist
U. S. political strategists, the Academy of Political Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will this year present the Nixies.
Each winner of a Nive Award will be presented with a gold statuette modeled after the former president himself. Awards will be given to recognize those people and events that have done the most to make the often drab world of politics worthy of being called entertainment.
The Nixies were named in honor of former President Richard M. Nixon, whose contribution to making poli- cies more democratic is unprecipitated in political history.
In keeping with the theme of politics as entertainment, the Academy has decided to borrow the awards categories from the Oscars.
For best picture, "The Bigger Chil" should be a shoou-in This pungent story of the 10-year reunion of the men who attended the ill-fated 1863 START talks warmed hearts of kids of clownery leaves
Set in the cozy atmosphere of a top-security wing of the Kremlin, the movie is a sensitive and haunting account of two years and the men who lived them.
Especially memorable is the scene in which four former intelligence agents dance around the Kremlin kitchen playing catch with a bottle of Stolichnikova vodka to the chef. He heard it Through the Grapevine.
For best actor, the winner should be Gary Hart for his portrayal of John F Kennedy in "Camelot Revisited." The senator spent months practicing his JKF imitation, and by the time the movie was released, he had become almost indistinguishable from the real Kennedy.
Despite stiff competition from Ronald Reagan, playing himself in "The Man Who Would be King," the clincher should be Hart's straight faced delivery of the immortal lines that have been used to not what your candidate can do for you, ask what you can do for your candidate."
For best supporting actor, George Bush is the obvious choice for his eye-catching appearance as the president's sidekick in "The Invisible Man Goes to Washington." Bush got rave reviews for his singular work as a lead character who is never shown onscreen.
In the best actress category, Margaret Thatcher's performance in "The Right wing Stuff" gets in just under the wire ahead of Rita LaVelle in last year's tribute to the consequences of bureaucracy native "Educating Rita", Maggie Gyllenhaal. She made sincerity as a British imperialist who was born a century too late.
Best supporting actress should go to Nancy Reagan, for her stirring effort as a fashion queen masquerade host. The social worker in "The Dresser"
Filmed on location in the Falkland Islands, the movie was heralded by critics who said "the best island movie series" *The Blue Haze* — both Brooke Shields and Maggie Thatcher look wonderful wet.*
The award for best film editing is a sure shot for the Soviet state-owned corporation's job in the film industry. The True Story of the KAL 747
The fancy slicing in this film accomplished the astounding feat of making it appear that the KAL 747 glided to safety on the other side of the Sea of Japan after being shot at by unnamed Western sympathizers.
The Academy is still considering the creation of a special "persuasion" award for the Soviets achievement in convincing a group of actors and actresses to portray flight travelers as they get off the plane.
For best foreign film, "All Quiet on the Middle Eastern Front" should be this year's trump. The film, a documentary, shows rare footage of Yasir Arafat and Amn Gemayel engaging in a friendly game of Space Invaders in one of their premier video games arades.
And now, the envelope, please