OPINION
The University Daily KANSAN
February 9, 1984 Page 4
The University Daily KANSAN
Published since 1889 by students of the University of Kansas
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Pull-out overdue
President Reagan's decision to withdraw the Marines in Beirut from their present, exposed positions on land to ships near shore is a welcome one. It also is long overdue
But the president's decision was like a sugar coating, placed there to make a bitter pill easier to swallow.
Reagan's bitter threat is to authorize — for the first time — U.S. naval and air retaliation for any Syrian-controlled strikes against Beirut.
The decision to allow such retaliation is an ominous sign in the endless litany of explosions and broken truces. Although the 1,470 Marines are being withdrawn to what are certainly safer places offshore, the United States might merely be trading one kind of warfare for another.
Of course, it is ludicrous to expect that American soldiers not defend themselves, hence the policy of
shooting back when the peace-keeping force was under fire. And of course, if the soldiers are to be there, it is reasonable that they do something, such as try to keep peace in Lebanon.
Unfortunately, the parties involved in the war continue fighting. Indeed, immediately after the withdrawal was announced, increased fighting was reported.
A complete withdrawal would have shown Syria and others in the region that the United States was abandoning the area. But a better course than the present one can be found.
Clearly, the situation in Lebanon is deteriorating. The withdrawal of U.S. Marines is encouraging, but only slightly so. Now the United States must find some way to make its policy in the troubled area a reasonable one that will accomplish U.S. objectives.
Big strides being made
Not since 1969, when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, have such important steps been taken in space.
Tuesday, the Challenger astronauts succeeded in taking a free-floating walk 300 feet from the shuttle without using a lifeline. Clad in pressure suits, they ventured into the atmospheric void without any rope to keep them from straying too far.
Wearing equipment that weighs 700 pounds on Earth, the astronauts used bursts of nitrogen to start and stop during their time outside the shuttle. They relied on the inventions of other human beings to keep them from flying off into the universe.
Their feat should go down in aerospace history with as much note as Armstrong's famous steps on the moon.
But other events that have marred the space shuttle's 10th flight have taken away some of the glow of the astronauts' accomplishments.
The loss of two satellites, now spinning in useless orbits, and the tracking balloon that burst while being inflated have been frustrating for everyone following Challenger's progress.
Had these devices worked, they too would have added to the advancements in space technology.
But the success of the spacewalkers should help ease the disappointment of the three failures.
As the first humans to ever venture into the vast world above the Earth without a tether of any sort, nor the gravity that kept Armstrong on the surface of the moon, the astronauts have made significant strides in the challenging world of space.
Hunger is widespread
A recent report by the Citizens Commission on Hunger in New England blamed the Reagan administration for widespread hunger in America.
Inflation, unemployment and stingy government policies have intensified the hunger problem, increasing the misery of millions of Americans struggling to fill their bellies with nourishing food, the report said.
Hardest hit by cuts in welfare and food stamp benefits, according to the study, were poverty-striken new-born babies, elderly people and families supported by only one breadwinner.
The New England report offered a sharp contrast to the recent findings of a presidential task force set up to study hunger in the nation. The group stated that they found no evidence of "rampant hunger" and
Clearly, both reports cannot be correct. The commission studied hunger in New England for five months as well as every public and private study of hunger in America taken since 1980. It appears to be better researched and documented than the government report.
no reason to increase food assistance programs.
The New England commission's report titled "American Hunger Crisis," asks Congress to increase financing for federal food assistance programs.
Obviously hunger in America is increasing. And the problem cannot be glossed over by the administration any longer.
Such increases might be difficult to obtain, given Reagan's 1985 budget proposals. But legislators can no longer ignore the needs of the poverty stricken.
The University Daily Kansas welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typewritten, 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 faculty or staff name, the Kansas the latter indicates and groups to submit guest columns. Columns and letters can be mailed or brought to the Kansas office, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansas reserves the right to edit or reject letters and columns.
LETTERS POLICY
When glory costs too much
"I'm a one-in-a-million guy, the Boston Celtic basketball player said.
My first thought was that the room wasn't going to be large enough for everyone, given the size of M. L. Gars' egg. But as he explained his remark, what he had to say made a lot of sense.
The point he made to the group of youngsters with basketballs clutched under their arms was
MARGARET
SAFRANEK
Staff Columnist
that of all the millions of guys who dreamed of playing professional basketball, very few actually made it.
Another Celtic player at the time, Nate Archibald, shared similar views.
"When I hire a plumber, I like to know I'm getting a plumber who knows what he's doing," he said. "You think that when I go to the doctor I don't want the very best doctor around?"
"Not just someone who's got been by, just barely made it through school. I want someone who really wanted to be a doctor and learned all he could to take care of me."
"You take all of the guys like you who dream about playing professionally," Carr said, "then figure how many make it on to the high school team. The number from the high school teams that are recruited to play in college is fewer.
Both of the players told the youngsters how important it was to enjoy basketball for all it had to offer. But they also cautioned them against putting all of their eggs in one basket by thinking they would make it in the world of professional sports.
"And when you start talking about the number of college players who actually make it in the pros, you're talking about very small numbers."
Maybe if Larry Brown and Cedric Hunter had considered the importance of academics versus athletics in the first place, the visit to Professor David Katzman would never have had to take place, let alone become an issue at the University.
Carr's advice to the young, dreaming-to-be players was to take their schooling seriously because for most of them, in the early years they be a career other than basketball would be their means of livelihood.
What these two professional players had to say to inner-city kids in Boston should be etched in every school's athletic building.
Unfortunately, the pressure to win sometimes doesn't give people involved in collegiate sports a luxury of focusing on academics.
The record salaries paid to coaches, the frequency of firings and hirings, the recruitment scandals and other activities of the sports world are proof that the emphasis on winning takes precedence over many other things.
Academic records are of less concern than a potential player's athletic ability. If he can play, he will be able and worry about his grades later.
There are of course, two sides to that proverbial coin flipped at the start of many an athletic contest.
The one side does have coaches who take responsibility for having their players' athletic skills and academics work in tandem, making for a well-rounded athlete.
But in the game of sports, it's still a no-win situation. On the other side of the coin are the demands placed on a college athlete. The rigorous practice schedule, the number of games and the travel time involved would take their toll on anyone's
After graduation, these coaches are able to tell their players goodbye knowing that they've helped prepare them for careers that don't revolve totally around the world of sports.
--study habits, grade-point average and academic pursuits.
Perhaps this would help reduce under-the-table payments, the alumni pressures to have a winning athletic program and the worry of academic eligibility of players.
A state senator from Nebraska, Ernest Chambers, has even advocated paying college sports players — in effect letting them assume a semi-professional status.
But it also says something about the position we've let sports assume in our lives.
Sure, there is a feeling of euphoria that comes from a win
explora that comes from a win. When we sit in the crowd, we will throw a good pass, the batter to get a hit and the basketball player to make the crucial free throws.
Somewhere down the road, when the plumbing has to be redone or we're under the doctor's scalp, our concerns may different. Then we might realize he edits the value. But for now, let's just give the poor player his grades so he can lead us to victory.
Walker's sacrifice praiseworthyv
Walker sacrificed his time and his privacy to make Student Senate elections more fair.
Kevin Walker, former candidate for student body president, deserves the gratitude of every KU student. He will be a leader in government and the election process.
presidential candidate.
"In the last two years, Momentum has done exactly what we originally set out to do, and that is to let the student body know that Student Senate's elections entitle to manipulate incidents and voter fraud." Walker said.
Although his financial woes were reported for public scrutiny, Walker never faltered from his pursuit of arousing interest in student government by encouraging a responsible election in place of last fall three-ring circus.
If Walker had not appealed the results of the fall election, none of the vote-counting inaccuracies resulted. For the first time Mark McKee, Momentum's vice
Vote counters came up with different totals several times. Now, thanks to the publicity generated by their faulty efforts and Walker's appeal, the Lawrence chapter of the League of Women Volunteers probably
KIESA
HARRIS
Staff Columnist
will supervise the voting process, and voters will use voting machines.
Walker himself asked the league about monitoring the new election, but the Senate refused to change the election process for the fall election.
The appeal Walker made forces the Senate to clarify vague rules concerning write-in campaigns.
Without his efforts, Priority candidates would have stayed in office despite the inaccuracies of the fall tabulation.
Opponents protest that Walker had no right to appeal the vote because he was not an enrolled, student at the time of his appeal.
But Walker courageously defined red tape and acted on the belief that students deserved a fair election, although he was not technically a student at the time.
Authorities agreed that the election needed to be conducted again, and Jan. 5, Chancellor Gene A. Budig called for a new election for what appears to be the first time in KU history.
Although Walker may not have been enrolled, he said that his problems were financial, not academic. No one should be forced to ignore personal convictions because of a financial situation.
His financial status matters far less than his courage and the gift of a fair election that he has given KU students.
Walker and McKee decided not to participate in the new election, which only proved that they did not want to be elected for personal benefits alone.
Walker's wife and two children,
his education, his desire to enter law
school all supersede his desire for
the training of student body president,
he said.
The changes that need to be made in Student Senate stretch beyond the limits of the shortened term that the winning coalition will have. McKee
Thanks to Walker and McKeen, long-needed changes will be instigated for the student body presidential election Feb. 29 and March 1.
May the changes they have initiated on this campus continue long after the two have left the University of Kansas.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
An open letter to David Katzman:
To say that Coach Larry Brown is not concerned about the academic standards at the University is quite frankly, Mr. Katzman, an uninformed comment.
Top-notch academics, my friend, are a key haring tool for recruiting whether you think so or not.
When all the smoke clears over the Cedric Hunter incident, and it is decided that Mr. Brown has or has not overstepped his ground, a point that does not justice against athletes does occur at this University.
There is no way in the world that any coach can persuade a professor to change an athlete's grade from B to A.
Mr. Brown does have the right to know what's going en with his athletes in the classroom. He is not obliged.
As a former athlete at the University of Kansas, I know how tough it is to meet the academic requirements. It personally cost me GPA points another year of school because of the commitment.
Granted, I agree that there is no room at KU for such a thing as special treatment for athletes. However, saying that Coach Brown or any coach not interested in academic integrity is ludicrous.
Mr. Katzman, if you did not give Cedric the chance to make up his missed assignments because of enrolling in the class a月 late day, you would have collaged collegia. It is not, you not Coach Brown, who
The constructive action needed in this case is on
your behalf, and all faculty members who think that coaches and athletes are lacking integrity or seeking special treatment and different standards.
If you are among the few professors at KU who are along these lines, it is your integrity that is in question.
Mark Ewing
Mark Ewing McPherson senior
Senate would have to approve it.
Clarifying stance
In response to Ed Stamm's response to my response, published in the University Daily Kansas Feb. 6, I'd like to say, Ed, I wish you could have read my letter before it was edited.
To the editor:
Maybe then my thoughts on this subject would have been clearer.
No, I I'm not a "mindless stormtrooper," and I'm not going to jump off the bridge just because everyone else is. However, I do believe that since we have gone through so much to gain our freedom, it would be a crime — no, it would be absurd — to just throw it away.
True, our system has a few bugs and no doubt some day you will discover the "perfect" system that will manage to please all of the people all of the time. Good luck.
To reinstate the draft, both the House and the
By registering for the draft you tell your government that they can call on you if they need you. Draft registration does not condemn you to fighting some fanatical war.
It seems to me that if we are going to live in and enjoy the benefits of a free society, we ought to be willing to defend that society if need be. If not, why are we here?
To the editor:
I'm glad you maintained your right to say no.
Just remember, not all people in this world have
that right. Remember, too, who it is that protects
your rights — the American servicemen.
Doug Sikora
In his letter to the editor, "Really a big deal," in the Feb. 3 University Daily Kansas, Steve Schwalm voiced an opinion to which I am compelled to respond.
I
Springfield, Va., sophomore
Need courage to say yes
Mr. Schwalm stated that he hoped "there were more people with Ed Stamm's courage. The courage of all."
I wish to respond to this statement by saying that it takes a severe lack of courage to run away from an important responsibility such as draft registration.
If our ancestors had behaved as Ed Stamm does today, we would no longer live in a democracy where Mr. Stamm could show us his "courage" or lack thereof.
As individuals in a democracy, we are obligated to help preserve the ideals and concepts of a free society. Moreover, this obligation must be carried out for future generations so that they, too, may enjoy the freedom to which we have become so accustomed.
Our country would be a much better place to live if more people had true courage. The courage to say "yes."
Curt Davis
Kansas City, Kan., freshman