OPINION
The University Daily KANSAN
January 31, 1984 Page 4
The University Daily KANSAN
Published since 1889 by students of the University of Kansas
The University Daily Kansas (USPS 650-446) is published at the University of Kansas, 118 Stainoff Hall, Lawrence, KS 60045, daily during the regular school year and Monday and Thursday during the summer session. Exemptions apply to students with disabilities or to students who are required by mail are $15 for six months or £7 in Douglas County and $18 for six months or £3 for a year outside the county. Student subscriptions are $13 per semester through the student activity page. POSTMASTER Send address changes to us@usps.edu.
DOUG CUNNINGHAM
DON KNOX
Managing Editor
SARA KEMPIN
Editorial Editor
JEFF TAYLOR ANDREW HARTLEY Campus Editor News Editor
DAVE WANAMAKER Business Manager
General Manager and News Adviser
CORM GORMAN JILL MICHTHELL
Retail Sales Manager National Sales Manager
JANCE PHILIPS         DUNCANCALIHOU
Campus Sales Manager    Classified Manager
Naive approach
Congress will be debating certification of human rights progress in El Salvador in the next few weeks. It will also be discussing U.S. military and economic aid to the Central American country.
JOHN OBERZAN Sales and Marketing Adviser
The Reagan administration has already shown that, although it considers the human rights issue important, it is unwilling to hold the Salvadoran government accountable for improving such rights.
Therefore, it is up to Congress to provide the crucial link - tying improvement in human rights directly to economic aid. By making this link, Congress will give the Salvadoran government more concrete reasons to make changes.
With nothing but a stern message from the Reagan administration, the Salvadoran government has no specific human rights goals that must be met, nor does the United States have any established yardstick by which to gauge improvement.
The Reagan administration has already shown a lack of serious concern for the situation. It has based its information about human rights abuses largely on statistics provided by the Salvadoran government.
These statistics are hardly an objective report. The figures produced by the Salvadoran government's Human Rights Commission claim that human rights violations numbered 1,002 in 1963.
But the Roman Catholic Archbishop's office, often considered to be the most thorough and reputable of the groups recording human rights abuses in El Salvador, has documented over 5,000 cases.
Three years have passed since former Kansas legislator John Simpson donated "Salina Piece" to the University of Kansas, his alma mater. Those years have been marked by a bitter campaign by some students and Lawrence residents to prevent installation of the 40-ton abstract sculpture.
The decision to make economic aid to El Salvador incumbent upon improvements in human rights in that country must come from Congress. The administration has exhibited naivete by thinking that talk alone will get the message across.
Scrap-iron monument
Simpson, in the meantime, has calmly and confidently awaited the final decision.
"It's a great piece of art," he said in late 1981. "I hope people will reserve comment until after it's up, and not while it's unassembled."
Construction workers lifted "Salina Piece" into place Friday and, at the same time, permanently destroyed the beautiful landscape of West Campus.
It is no wonder that this hulking slab of scrap iron — 776 feet square at its base — has been attacked by vandals and maligned by residents. The sculpture, which consists of a huge inclined plane supported by
angled girders, closely resembles a World War II-era rocket launcher.
The University administration understandably feels obligated to honor Simpson's generosity. But the decision to install "Salina Piece" establishes a critical precedent.
Will the University be forced to display the "artwork" of any alumnus who feels inclined to donate? And should benefactors donate gifts to the University on the assumption that such display is guaranteed?
Certainly not.
University administrators could have accepted "Salina Piece" on the understanding that it would be sold to strengthen KU's endowment. They also could have politely rejected the gift.
Instead, we must forever endure the everlasting ugliiness of "Salina Piece." It is fitting that the sculpture will remain at KU as a monument to the feeble-mindedness of the present administration.
Idea is not up to snuff
Just call it The Big Chew.
Legislators across the country are slowly chewing away at the rights of teenagers with laws governing drinking age, driving age and the sale and use of contraceptives.
But a member of the Kansas Legislature has bitten off a plug too absurd for us to chew.
State Rep. Elizabeth Baker, R-Derby, introduced a bill in committee last week that would prohibit the use and sale of all tobacco products by those under 18 — most importantly to Baker, smokeless tobacco.
Baker said a state law would help avoid the alleged health hazards associated with snuff and chewing tobacco.
Baker also said, "I have a son who took it up when he was 18; now he's
Laws against minors smoking were passed both because of the overwhelming documentable health hazard to the smoker and those who had to breathe the exhaled smoke.
But if the few studies on chewing are to be trusted, a cancerous lip cannot be equated with a cancerous lung or diseased heart.
And while chewing is not a particularly visually appealing habit to those who have to watch, it does not present a health hazard.
21. I've told him what's going to happen and he knows it, but he just says he can't quit."
Such logic is to be resoundingly eschewed.
Lawmakers might be better served by sponsoring laws with substance instead of pinching the cheeks and gums of Kansas teens.
The University Daily Kansan welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced and should not exceed 300 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 individual applicants who should invite column. 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.
Kansas really not so bad
somethingakin to school loyalty floods my body when people insult my home state of Kansas. It's a peculiar feeling — somewhere between breathless pride and nausea.
You can imagine my dismay when Michigan Gov. James Blanchard said that Kansas was a boring state compared to his state. His comments hit me where I lived.
Before I dropped my letter bomb in the mailbox (actually, it was a cluster bomb, filled with thousands of sunflower seeds), care of the Guv, I calmed down and thought it over. Was there some substance to the governor's offhand comments?
One specific item mentioned by Gov. Blanchard on WKAR radio in East Lansing, Mich., was that a Kansan's idea of a fancy hotel
Maybe I'm such a Kansan that I don't realize it, but I think that
the lawrence Holidome is part' near the fanciest place to hang your gol-durned hat in the River City.
Not only does the "dome" have a cement pond right thar' in the middle of the lobby and one of the most finger-lickin' good cateries in these parts, they also have hot water and even indoor plum.
And doggone if they don't have the shiniest yellow surreps with isinglass curtains you kid in a playhouse there's a change in the weather.
And the rest of the state ain't so bad, neither. Did you know that Kansas is the home of the world's largest prairie dog? It's right in the middle of it in Western Kansas, a lonely sentinel at home on the range.
And what about two of the most famous gardens since the ones in Babylonia? I'm talking about the Reptile Gardens and the Garden of Eden, as seen on That's Incredible! "I hear you can pay to see the actual creator of Eden, lying in his glass-topped coffin, decomposing quietly. Now that's Kansas!"
Traveling southwest, you can see the famous O.K. Corral in Dodge City and visit Boot Hill,
On the way there, you'll travel through the Flint Hills, the most exciting geological formations in the potholes on 23rd Street.
one of the most famous tourist traps in the Midwest.
Am I going too fast for you?
Well catch your breath, there's more to come. And he said Kansas is boring!
You can see Doris' house (of "Wizard of Oz" fame) in Liberal although it isn't really a Wizard. You'll look likes her house kind of
One more thing — President Dwight D. Eisenhower (we call him Ike), was born over in Abilene, and you can visit his library or see the memorial tourist trap there.
When I die, I want someone to erect a tourist trap in my memory. Call it "Harry's Reptile Wax Museum and Ant Farm" or, perhaps, "Mallin's Chicken and Brakes," where you can pay to see my body decomposing quietly in a glass-top coffin.
LETTERS POLICY
line. Michigan, famous for the grandeur of its smokestacks, has an unemployment rate of 11.7 percent. Kansas is 4.4 percent. That Michigan doesn't spend on what it checks, it spends on snow removal.
But let's get down to the bottom
Kansas may be boring, but its people aren't bored. They're too busy working. That's w-o-r-k-i-n-g. Gov. Blancard, at a j-o-b.
So, really, Gov. Blanchard, what's the matter with Kansas? And what makes Michigan so great? Auto production? Take a look at what we see that we're no slouchs when it comes to making autos.
Remember, governor, we also have more nuclear missiles than Michigan. Watch your mouth or we'll make Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.
At least we have an 82,000 square mile rectangle with a chunk out of the corner, and not a measly 58,000 square mile state that looks like a mitten . . . in two chunks, no less.
Banner year for the censors
WASHINGTON — Last year was a banner one for America's censors. In 48 of the 50 states, there were attempts to remove, alter or restrict textbooks, library books, teaching materials and courses that don't match the censor's view of the world.
It is clear from this that censorship is not a small-town, Midwestern, or Southern phenomenon. National censorship data confirm that attempts to restrict reading materials occur as often in California or New York as they do in Iowa or Mississippi.
In fact, there are usually more censorship attempts in metropolitan areas than in small, rural towns. Big
BARBARA PARKER
Activist
city school systems and libraries offer a greater diversity of books and ideas, which makes it easier for people to find material they don't
By and large, however, scattered attempts by women's groups and minorities to remove books because they are 'racist', 'sexual' or 'oppressive' may be successful, in part because of the prevailing wisdom that holds that to inhibit
Teaching materials removed from New York's school systems included the Catcher in the Rye, "Norma Jack," and "The Kite Runner" Me'i' and a high school health text.
Just as censorship knows no geographic boundaries, neither is it confined to one end of the political spectrum. Whether from the right or the left, the censors have in common an attitude that shows little regard for the reader's ability to arrive at his own conclusions.
'Last year, in Folsom, Calif., 146 volumes of "The American Heritage Dictionary" were banished to a storage room — before being returned to the publisher — because of 13 "inappropriate" words.'
discussion of discrimination and intolerance only perpetuates them.
On the other hand, attempts by ultra-fundamentalists to ban textbooks and literature that probes past and present social problems are becoming increasingly successful.
The shibboleth invented by the far right — "secular humanism" — has been used effectively to label any book or teaching material that isn't God-centered as inevitably man-made, and therefore, unacceptable.
The charge of "secular humanism" has been used to ban books and courses that explore the theory of evolution, the controversy over Vietnam, the Watergate experience and present national problems such as poverty, teen-age pregnancy, unemployment, drug use, the arms race and shifting roles in the American family.
Anyone who's not convinced about who the winners are in the present struggle need only to look at a video of victories over the mail several years;
- In 1891, Laidlaw Brothers, a division of Doubleday, bowed to demands of the "scientific creationists" and deleted the word "evolution" form its only high priority in a new school. His higher said that the word was omitted "to avoid the publicity that would surround a controversy."
- In 1982, members of Phyllis Schiflahy's Eagle Forum succeeded in eliminating all required reading lists from the high school English curriculum in St. David, Ariz. Targets of the course are "Lord of the Flies" and classics by Poe, Hawthorne, Stevens and Hemingway.
- Last year, in Folsom, Calif., 146 volumes of "The American Heritage Dictionary" were banished to a storage room — before being returned to the publisher — because of 13 "inappropriate" words.
The 'questionable' material included Isbn's "A Doll's House." The Diary of Anne Frank" and Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem."
Censorship today is more than just an ugly word. It is a frightening and increasingly powerful political phenomenon. If it continues to go unreported and unchallenged, its impact will be even more far-reaching than the child it costs on public school classrooms and libraries.
What is at stake in censorship struggles is more than the freedom to learn. Our tradition as a pluralistic democracy begins in local communities — and in the public schools.
Barbara Parker is director of the freedom to learn project of People for the American Way, a citizens' group that defends the First Amendment.
Tax indexing is responsible and also fair
WASHINGTON — Income-tax indexing, one of the most important aspects of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1801, is scheduled to take effect in 11 months. This provision is both fair and fiscally responsible.
It is imperative that Congress refrain from interfering with indexing — in a misguided attempt to overwhelm civilians through repeal or revision.
Instead of attacking over-spending, which is the true cause of the deficit, some members of Congress would prefer that indexing be done and thus continue to profit from inflation at the taxpayers' expense.
Without indexing, we will continue to see automatic, non-ligated tax increases caused by "bracket creep," the process by which unsuspecting taxpayers are shoved under tax brackets because of inflation.
It raises tax liabilities as a percent of income even when real income does not rise. Presently, because of this country's graduated tax system, every 10 percent rise in aggregate prices and wages pushes taxpayers' federal income tax up 17 percent.
Indexing is designed to counteract "bracket creep" by adjusting tax rates to inflation, allowing higher
DONALD T. REGAN
DONALD T. REGAN
Secretary of the Treasury
taxes only when real income gains are made.
Under indexing, all tax rate schedules, including the zero bracket amount, will be adjusted by Dec. 15 each year to reflect any increase in the Consumer Price Index. The $1,000 personal exemption will also be adjusted to reflect increases in the index.
Yet some legislators are growing nervous, and as the time when indexing will take effect draws near, they are pushing policy progress to revise or scuffle the policy.
Repealing indexing, or revisiting it to water it down, would have serious long-term consequences for the entire United States economy. External spending lies at the core of the economic problems in this country.
If lawmakers know they can count on continued, easy revenue increases through "bracket creep," they will have little incentive to spending practices. And the tax-spend re-elect cycle will continue.
This is $100 billion collected in taxes without a single vote being cast in Congress. Taxation without representation was a primary reason for one American revolution because it allowed American revolution — this time a revolution in the economic thinking of both Congress and the taxpayers.
Inflation is the key here. The higher the rate of inflation, the faster tax revenues accrue to the federal Government. This is why some legislators (to the extent that it is politically feasible) would favor and even welcome some degree of inflation.
Opponents have said that by reducing federal tax receipts, indexing will drive deficits up even more. This argument is mathematically faulty and demonstrates the free spenders' refusal to concede that the problem is excessive outlays, not inadequate revenues.
The importance of indexing is illustrated in the following example. Our estimates show that inflation-induced "bracket creep" will cause income tax increases totaling almost $100 billion for fiscal years 1983 through 1988, if indexing is not in effect.
For these reasons, opponents of indexing will inevitably be on the defensive. And whether the smoke screen arguments of the opposition actually prevail may well be determined in the voting booth.
This administration promotes indexing as a cornerstone to its tax program. No one can argue that indexing is inequitable or irresponsible. To American taxpayers, the tax law is not real than a legislated tax increase.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Lacks social tact
To the editor:
In response to the present debate as to which state is more boring, Michigan or Kansas, on behalf of my fellow Michiganians I would like to
apologize for the comments made by Gov. James Blanchard.
Blanchard's remarks were unnecessary and clearly show that social tact is one of his noted inabilities.
However, the foolishness of this debate continued when Gov. John Carlin's staff members, Mike Swenson and Jack Brier, stooped to Blanchard's mentality by making excessive replies that were childlike.
As a resident of Michigan and a student at the University of Kansas, I am offended by such inappropriate becoming of government officials.
I think that it is unfortunate that our elected governmental leaders and their aids are so narrow-minded that they cannot see the positivic aspects that make every state unique to all the rest.
Mark S. Reed
Horton, Mich., junior