OPINION
The University Daily KANSAN
The University Daily KANSAN
Published since 1889 by students of the University of Kansas
January 11, 1984 Page 4
The University Dayan Kakam (USPS 606-640) is published at the University of Kansas, 118 Staffer Fint Hall. Mail USPS 606-640; daily during the regular school year and Monday and Thursday during the summer sessions, excluding Saturday and Sunday. Mail postage rate for periods 1 and 2. Second class postage paid at Lawrence K. Kanem 606-640. Subscriptions by mail are $1 for six months or less. Subscription fees for periods 3 and 4 are $3 a semester paid through the student activity fee POSTMASTER. Send address changes to the University Office of Postmaster General.
DOUG CUNNINGHAM
Editor
Editor
DON KNOX SARA KEMPIN
Managing Editor Editorial Editor
JEFF TAYLOR ANDREW HARTLEY
Campus Editor News Editor
PAUL JESS
General Manager and News Adviser
DAVE WANAMAKER Business Manager
CORT GORMAN
Retail Sales
Manager
JANCE PHILLIPS
Campus Sales
Manager
JILL MITCHELL
National Sales
Manager
DUNCAN CALHOUN
Classified
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JOHN OBERZAN
Election fiasco
JOHN OBERZAN Sales and Marketing Adviser
Two years ago, after a student senator was officially charged with stealing $20.425 from the campus bus system, we urged the Student Senate and the University administration to work together to ensure proper control of Senate funds. "Blame is not needed now," we said. "Responsibility is."
This week's revelations about the Senate's election problems have brought the Senate under public scrutiny once again. This time, however, several student leaders, candidates and University administrators failed for different reasons to even address those problems before they came to light. The result has made a mockery of student government and has destroyed what little credibility the Senate had with students of this University.
Sometime this semester, KU students will be asked to vote in a new election for student body president and vice president. Chancellor Gene A. Budig ordered the new election Jan. 6, after concurring with a decision released before Christmas by the University Judicial Board.
The board, headed by Doug Whitman, associate professor of business, found the Nov. 16 and 17 presidential election to be "fraught with inconsistencies and ambiguities" that seriously affected its fairness.
The Judicial Board acted with admirable speed in addressing the campaign complaint, which was submitted by the Momentum Coalition. It is unfortunate, however, that Student Body President Lisa Ashner and the 1983 Student Senate failed to seriously consider another ruling made nearly a year earlier by the same Judiciary Board.
That ruling was simple, concise, direct: "The Board recommends that Student Senate scrutinize its own procedures and take steps to eliminate elections irregularities in future years that may have occurred this year. One possible step is to arrange for an independent agency and staff to coordinate and supervise the election process."
No student senator ever introduced a bill that would have brought in an independent agency to coordinate the election. Ashner has expressed her disapproval of the plan, and she has said that a University committee should supervise the elections. She made no attempt last semester, however, to organize such a committee.
David Ambler, vice chancellor for student affairs, and his office also appeared to be less than thorough in advising the Senate on possible problems with the elections. We do not think that Ambler should have told the Senate exactly how to run its elections, but his office should have tried harder to persuade Ashner, Student Body Vice President Jim Cramer and the Senate to adopt a more comprehensive elections policy.
Ambler apparently did not give such advice to Senate leaders, however, and he has now been asked by Chancellor Budig to ensure that the next Senate elections are timely, well-organized and fair.
Chancellor Budig also must share in the blame, because he has recommended that the newly elected Senate conduct the elections. That recommendation conflicts with the Judicial Board's earlier report, which suggested that an independent agency conduct the elections.
In effect, Chancellor Budig has prescribed the course of future Senate elections without letting the Senate make its own, long-awaited decision on the issue.
We also are amazed, and stunned, by problems surrounding the enrollment of presidential candidate Kevin Walker. It is inconceivable to us that the University's Judicial Board could recommend a new election for Walker, who was not enrolled as a student at the end of the past semester. We also find it difficult to believe that Chancellor Budig would have concurred with the board's decision.
Certainly, the spirit of the Senate's rules and regulations is clear. To be an official candidate for student body president, students must prove that they are enrolled. To take office, the student body president must be a student.
Several KU administrators knew that Walker was not enrolled when he filed his judicial appeal. Whether that question was raised during the appeals process is unknown, because the board's meetings are closed to the public.
Walker contends that he was officially enrolled as a student at the time of the election. But for years KU administrators have said that students are not officially enrolled until they have paid their fees.
Walker was withdrawn, he says, because he was unable to pay tuition and academic fees. According to long-held KU policy, Walker technically should not have been considered a student at all last semester.
Although many of Walker's problems are personal, they underlie the need for an immediate review of the election process. Try as it might, the Senate will be hardpressed to convince the University that it can conduct a fair, well-organized student election.
Inconsistencies in election rules and problems with educating poll workers have been common complaints throughout the Senate's history. And they will be problems for many years to come, if the Senate follows its present course.
The only permanent solutions are simple. The Senate should employ an independent agency to conduct its elections. If no agency agrees to take on this task, the Senate should allow the office of student affairs to designate a University organization that is capable of independently organizing and supervising the Senate's elections.
We welcome Ashner's decision to create an ad hoc committee to supervise the elections, but her attempts can only be regarded as a temporary solution that came too late. This committee, like the Senate, will be hampered by constant changes in membership. Therefore, the elections process each year will be as different as the ad hoc committee members from year to year.
We do not doubt that a group of University students, ideally, are intellectually capable of conducting an election. But we also know, realistically, that those same students might consider adopting election rules that would unfairly help a few friends.
Above all, the Senate must remove itself from its own elections process, which threatens to tarnish future attempts at student government at the University of Kansas.
Paper offers news early
We want to give you the most timely news possible. When you come to campus for your t: 30 class, bring a bag of snacks and a book for war in the distribution boxes.
to our readers, a hearty "welcome back" from the staff of the University Daily Kansan.
News stories about the campus will be grouped together for easy reading. If you want the latest information Senate turn to the Kansas
We want that Kansan to contain the information you need about the campus, city and world.
If you want to know what state officials are doing to resolve problems with the University payroll, turn to the Kansan.
But when you pick up a Kansan each morning, you get more than just stories about the big things. You can find out what's happening On Campus through our calendar, each day as a public service.
In short, you will find the most up-to-date information we can give you about the campus and the city.
Each morning, you will see stories about the interests, concerns and
But the campus is hardly the sole concern of most students. Many students come from other parts of the United States or have relatives in other areas. Some students come from New York City, some to colleges and photographs from United Press International help us give you information about those places.
research of students and faculty.
Whether your interest is in state national or foreign news, you can
find it in the Kansan. Subscribe to other papers; indeed, please do but we think that when you compare, the paper impressed by the Kansan's coverage.
Of course, the University and its students are our primary concern. To better serve our readers, we need to count the amount of campus news in each issue.
The "Opinion" page of the Kansan gives you — the readers — a place to sound off.
Editorialists on the left side of the page represent the opinions of the newspaper. The Kansas Editorial Board will answer the stand it will take on each issue.
But more than that, the Kansan provides other forums and services. If you want to read "Bloom County" during the week, turn to our website. If you want the details of last night's game, turn to the sports pages.
We welcome hearing your comments about our coverage and editorials. The newsroom number is 850-643-3910, which the business office, call 804-4358.
My name is Doug Cunningham.
I'm the editor. Don Knox is
the managing editor. If you have a
question, compliment or problem,
call us up. If we can't help you,
we'll find someone who can.
If you want to stop by, the newsroom is in 111 Stuart-Fluent Hall. We have done our best to meet you and we are possible. And we've done it for you.
We will have more humor on the editorial page. Sometimes editorial
A page to interpret the news
Our staff columnists are some of the best and most experienced writers on the paper. They will do their best to write more about local issues while also commenting on national events.
The job of the Kansan editorial writer is to interpret such news events to help readers make better sense of complex issues. The editorial page this semester will continue its tradition of exploring a variety of issues that would interest and benefit readers.
The death toll of U.S. Marines in Lebanon is steadily increasing. The United States has become more deeply involved both militarily and economically in Central America. This has led to address issues dealing with education, water, prisons and surrogate mothers.
The city of Lawrence is coming closer to a proposal for downtown redevelopment. And for what appears to be the first time in history, the chancellor of the University of Kansas has ordered new Student Senate elections because of "inconsistencies and ambiguities."
writers tend to take what they are doing too seriously; humor has a definite place on the page.
We will also feature editorial cartoons and illustrations by two staff artists who have had professional experience.
This semester the Kansan will feature columns by two Washington correspondents — journalism students who are doing internships in the nation's capital. They will comment on legislative issues and
We want the editorial page to be a forum for comment from readers. Letters to the editor and guest columns are welcome.
events stemming from this year's presidential election.
SARA
KEMPIN
Editorial
Editor
Editorial
Editor
about editorial content or policy can discuss it with us. The board member have been selected from our staff and will set most editorial page policy
To be more accessible to students, our editorial board will meet at 6 p.m. every Sunday. Anyone with a legitimate question or complaint
Letters to the editor should be restricted to 300 words or less. A letter that is longer than recommended will have much less of a chance of being printed than a short letter. We will run as many letters to the editor as we can, but it would be impossible to print them all.
Although we encourage readers to submit guest columns, we will not print anonymous columns or those written by more than one person. Columns and letters will be subject to editing and modification of their contents. A picture of the person who wrote the column will accompany his work.
Please let us know if you wrote a letter to the editor at the end of last semester that we did not print. We will try to run it this semester.
Because we are working in a university atmosphere, there should be more desire by readers to comment on issues. We invite you to join us in doing so on the editorial page of the Kansas.
Extra!
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about it
While the rest of you were sking, tanning or eating during your Christmas break, 1, your humble servant, was diligently compiling a report of worldwide events that occurred during your lengthy hiatus. Sources tell me that some people actually depend on this newspaper as their sole source of world news.
So much has happened since_you flagged your HDL final that you had better brace yourself for a shocking onslaught of realizations.
"I is sick of following this story, but it is news. Cabbage Dolphins have taken over New Jersey. Before you left KU in December, you probably read of the nationwide shortage of those cuddly, little stuffed dolls you'd love to drop into your La Machine for some tasty colleawal. Coleo, the manufacturer, somehow shipped its entire supply to New Jersey, where the dolls took over the state government in a bloodless and stuffing less cop. No information has escaped the state since New Year's Eve. But who cares about New Jersey, anyway?"
In a shocking disclosure just before Christmas, first lady Nancy Reagan admitted to having a history of overweight with a famous heavyweight mean person.
While sitting on his lap, Nancy Reagan actually kissed Mr. T's partially shaved head.
Mr. T., who was wearing a sleeveless Santa Claus suit and his usual around-the-neck scale model of Fort Knox, admitted to the press, "Now there's your scandal!" Mrs Reagan confirmed, saying, "I pity you the suicides in the country." He's gonna understand pain, "real bad." The president was unavailable for comment.
The weather was big news during the vacation. (Rhetorical question) When they let the anchorman on the local news talk about the weather, does the weatherman get to chat with him? Does the temperatures broke records all over the country, causing several runs on local record stores
Sources close to the National Weather Service admitted that the unusually cold weather was actually the beginning of the dreaded "nuclear winter," caused by fallout from "The Day After," a TV movie that put Lawrence on the map and blew the Kansas City area off the map. Students who hailed from the nearby metropolis were shocked and disappointed to discover that their hometown was actually destroyed for the movie ABC-Circle films apologized, but said the destruction contributed to the artistic reality of the film. Damage estimates on Kansas City and on surrounding suburbs exceed $500.
Pornography was banned in Minneapolis. Women said that it degraded the female body. Officials of the city were not sure what qualities the women were asking for. Questionable entries should be sent to me, in care of this newspaper
Also in the area of pornography, Larry Flynt, president-elect of the United States and publisher of Hustler magazine, has banned Minnesota from the Union, claiming that the city was degrading the rest of the country. The city council was unavailable for comment because the men were studying the pornography issue behind closed doors and the women felt too degraded to comment.
And finally, the Rev. Jesse Jackson has agreed to a request by the KU administration to go to Kansas State University in order to beg for the release of our beloved KU Chancellor Gene A. Budg, last seen by his wife when he left for Manhattan in November.
And that's the way it was, winter break. 1983.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Who is willing to defend American freedom?
To the editor:
Lawrence, Kansas – is there anyone out there — anyone at all— who is willing to stand up for whoso freedom and priceless freedoms and heritage?
I watched with more horror the aftermath of the film "The Day After," when, on "Nightline," a hall full of citizens of Lawrence and a panel seemed unanimous in getting across the impression that it would
There was one brave housewife on the panel who said she would have to be like Patrick Henry and fight for what we have in our lives. They all loved him and hugged!
be better to just surrender everything rather than to risk a nuclear bomb.
It seems that people in Lawrence have lost their vision and are willing to lay down everything out of fear. To me, and to many others, this was
real horror of "The Day After. I have cousins who went to your university at Lawrence, and I have relatives living nearby. My grandmother was one of the pioneer women who helped tame Kansas sod and prairie, homesteading near Phillipsburg, where my father was born. I grew up in the Kansas-Nebraska area.
the real horror of "The Day After."
I do not believe that the true people of Kansas are like those we
saw portrayed on TV and in the panels and the audiences after the showing of the movie. I believe they still have the pioneer and patriotic spirit that they did when I lived in the area years ago.
If so, I think that now you should stand up and let your voice be heard. Stand up for America!
1
Mrs. H. Grove
Nashville, Tenn