Opinion
Page 4
University Daily Kansan, July 1, 1983
Allen is not big enough
Ah, life around the University can be so interesting and educational. Just recently, an announcement was made about building another structure on campus.
Athletic Director Monte Johnson said that plans were in the works for an indoor training facility. A splendid idea, but hasn't this idea been kicked around before?
Indeed it has. Five years ago, similar plans are made. Those plans even got as far as an architect's scale model. But the money never came in for the project.
This time, we're told that money is not going to be a problem. Instead of a fund drive, the athletic department will use some private donations.
But there isn't any money yet.
Although the lack of tangible funds disturbs us slightly, we want to wish the athletic department the best of luck. The proposed facility can only improve the current situation.
Allen Field House was never built to be an all-purpose sports facility. It comfortably houses basketball, and you could easily squeeze one track team in there. But KU fields two
basketball teams and two track teams.
basketball teams and two track teams. The list of teams that use Allen Field House doesn't end here. During the late winter and early spring months, the baseball, softball and golf teams need to practice indoors. It must look like an artillery range at times. Or a bus terminal during the Christmas holidays.
The cramped quarters create other problems besides lack of space. The scheduling of practice times must be the work of a magician. Plus, one can only go so far with "creative use" of a building that was primarily intended for basketball.
And while the sporting troops have made the best of the situation, we can't help but wonder whether our performance on the field wouldn't improve with better housing in which to train.
But these plans go beyond the construction of a building that meets the needs of our athletic teams. The landscape should be taken into account. It should it not look as if it dropped from the sky.
We hope that, this time, the plans are on solid ground and not built of dreams.
Power battle shifts as veto is vetoed
When all the smoke has cleared and all the bickering is over, one fact will remain clear — Congress has been relieved of some of its power, for its own good and the good of the country.
In what an Associated Press article referred to as "a momentous shift of political clout from Congress to the presidency," the Supreme Court ruled that, by declaring the "legislative vote" unconstitutional,
The process worked like this: Congress would pass a law, allowing the president or certain agencies like the Federal Trade Commission or U.S. Department of Justice to make recommendations to the law.
Congress then had the option of vetting those recommendations within 30 days before they
The "legislative veto," developed in 1932, played a major role in the 1973 War Powers Act.
peeled a major role in the 1973 War Powers Act. Overriding President Richard M. Nixon's veto, Congress passed a law giving it the authority to withdraw American military troops from hostilities if both houses of Congress approved such an agreement.
Following last week's court decision, officials from both political parties disagreed in their views.
Rep. Elliot J. Levitas, D-GA, said in a New York Times Service article that the decision would "cripple the things that this president or any president will be able to do."
At the same time, an Associated Press story quoted Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speakes an saying that President Reagan was "pleased" with the court's decision.
Is it possible that Reagan would be happy with a measure limiting his power?
It remains true that within the political arena, varying opinions on issues seem about as common as clowns at a circus. And, it is also true that; since the origination of the separation of powers, a continuing battle of power has existed between the executive and Congress.
However, the issue of who has the most power
should be placed aside in an effort to accommodate both sides and the country.
WARREN BRIDGES
The court's decision abolishing the congressional veto, while temporarily appearing to create more conflict than resolution, should prevent one thing that sets aside the power struggle.
Despite Congress' loss of power, it is not without means of protecting its interests.
Theodore Olson, assistant attorney general and head of the Office of Legal Counsel, said last year that Congress can "place specific and precise limits" on those agencies that issue rules. According to Olson, Congress can override those rules with legislation.
It can also authorize a federal agency to work within a specific amount of time, he said.
Regardless of its alleged power, some officials feel the decision has a direct effect on law enforcement action.
For example, Stanley Brand, chief counsel to the House of Representatives and the lawyer who lost decision, said as long as Congress possessed the power to veto, it was more lenient with the recommendations made by the agencies.
Now, according to Brand, Congress may be more strict in developing original laws.
"And that might not make for good government in many instances," Brand is quoted as
All too often, disagreements between Congress and the president resemble a childish argument over who owns the toy the two are playing with at the time.
Maintaining a checks and balances system of government should be of utmost importance to the people.
That system should be ensured with the new decision
Both Congress and the executive will have to work together to develop more concise, less
And that folks, makes for good government in mary instances.
Doubtest, additional reports will come from officials, voicing different opinions.
But, perhaps when Capitol Hill has settled down to do its job, it will realize that the most important job in running a country, is not who owns the toy, but rather, who is willing to take the first step toward mutual ownership of that toy.
White students learning truth about blacks
By RUTH YOUNGBLOOD
ACTON, Mass. — When a third-grade teacher asked her students what they knew about black Americans, the youngsters in the all-white school said they made good athletes, dancers and musicians.
United Press International
One no knew a single black professional, one girl said her father would never hire a black
"I wanted to determine what they were thinking and the degree of awareness," teacher Terry said.
The old stereotype that educators thought they had lied after the civil rights movement of the 1960s was now widely accepted.
The children's perception of blacks as fit for mental jobs "obviously came from their parents or television," said Quinton Brathwaite. He is with Citizens for Multi-Cultural Awareness, a group of teachers and minority parents formed to remedy the situation.
Braithwaite said the lack of a single black teacher, administrator or staff member in the
Acton and neighboring Boxborough school
outcome independently reinforced a stereotype
The 24-member group is working with school officials to effect changes.
"It was not a case of overt bigotry but the type of problem that sneaks in." Brathwaite said, noting black and Hispanic students make up only 2.6 percent of the area's school population.
Educators and parents cite Jacobs as a positive example of responsiveness. After starting a unit on black history, she *brainwav*ed ways to get the children aware of blacks.
"We talked about what contributions they were making, famous black Americans, and read poetry by black authors," she said. Each child did a report on a prominent black
Braathwaite said, "There has been a real lack of sensitivity." He cited inadequate educational materials, omission of formal black history instruction starting in the early elementary grades, and lack of contact with blacks of stature.
"Awareness does not come from lecturing," she said. "1 let sensitivity evolve within the class."
Assistant Teacher Superintendent Gary Baker described the initial views of the 3rd grader as
He said school officials were seeking qualified black teachers and other staff members for the fall.
There are 162 blacks in Acton out of a population of 20,000.
Rubin Williams, the father of two elementary school girls, said, "There is a real concern that black children learn who they are.
"How many youngsters know of black participation in the space age? They learn about John F. Kennedy, but what about Martin Luther King?"
"There is a need for black history instruction from kindergarten on up," said Williams, who is the editor of *The New Yorker*.
The citizens' group's goals also include sensitivity training for teachers on the needs of minorities, introducing textbooks that more fairly represent the role of minority groups, raising awareness among speakers and organizing career days in which minority professionals would participate.
Reagan sidesteps questions about briefings
WASHINGTON — Much as the White House wishes it will all go away, the furor over the purported Carter debate briefing papers is not expected to die down immediately.
UPI White House Reporter
Rv HELEN THOMAS
in news conference. President Reagan was bombarded with questions about the propriety of his aides in obtaining and using documents that were prepared for President Carter for his administration.
But he defyly sidesteped the issue of whether it was right or wrong.
Around Washington, speculation runs rampant on who might have passed the documents to the Reagan camp.
At the same time, Reagan said politics "should be above rework."
Meanwhile, Carter aides are suggesting that "dirt tricks" may have been involved.
reign camp.
So far, no one has come forward to claim the honor. Nor has the White House identified, publicly at least, anyone who might have had a
Reagan himself said that he did not know that they existed and only learned about them from the government.
White House aides are chagrined. Deputy press secretary Larry Speakens first dismissed the briefing book questions, saying there was no inquiry in the White House. He then passed off the issue as something that is "done in politics," and not too unusual.
The mystery is how four administration officials could have received such papers as these.
hand in securing the secret papers on strategy and tactics.
On that score, the president got a boost from Speaker Thomas O'Neill who agreed that Reagan would have won the election because Carter was unpopular, he said. He also seemed to agree with the president that it was "much ado about nothing."
But some aides wish they had never seen the papers. They insist that they did not aid Reagan in the debate with Carter and that he would have trumped anyway.
Nevertheless, questions remain unanswered.
and with the Justice Department conducting an inquiry, it appears the White House will be indicted.
Carter aides are saying they believe that more than the debate books left their campaign premises. If that is true, the plot will thicken.
The president, meanwhile, says of the ethical question, "I think that campaigning has always, in the eyes of the people, had a kind of a double standard and I have deplored it. And there are the people who've said — people that are otherwise totally honest — have said, when they hear about something, they've said, 'Oh well, you know, politics.'
"Well. I don't happen to believe politics should have a double standard. No, I think it should be above reproach. And there shouldn't be unethical things done in campaigns, even such things as accusing the other candidate of being a racist, and things like that."
Reagan indicated he was still chafing a remarks made about him in the last campaign.
With another campaign coming up, all candidates will have their work cut out for them.
Letters Policy
The University Daily Kansas welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced and should not exceed 500 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 Kansas reserves the right to edit or reletter.
Letters to the Editor
Americans should open eyes to other views of our world
I have just returned from a year of study abroad in Bordeaux, France. My fellow student abroad, Brad Jordan, LA&S senior, and I would like to share a few comments with you about the experience of studying at Elvius Costello sang in 1979. "what's so funny about peace, love and understanding?"
To the editor:
Brad writes from Bordeaux: "I still have our copy of 'Delusions about Soviets dangerous,' (April 26 Letter to the Editor), which was sent to us a while back. I read it just yesterday, and the little gem still has that same rapt, gripping quality to it. John Andra, its author, clarified a few points which more than a year in Europe had clouded for me:
"1. The Soviet Union is a very bad place.
*22* Nazi Germany was a very bad place, bad. *23*
Nazi Germany are well, two real bad places.
"Besides an unusually ill-placed quotation from Patrick Henry, most of the letter stressed this 'worldview' which is shared by many Americans (John did not invent phrases like 'the initial American fight to overthrow oppression . . .'). John said a lot of things about a great many people, which would not bother me in real life. I remember our armament vision of the world, based on catchwords like good, evil, liberty, oppression . . ."
let's contemplate instead the worldview of individuals who do not possess John's frightening attitude. I mention Brad's worldview as he prepares to study July studying Russian in the USSR; the worldview of Slava, (the step-father of Lena, a Bordeaux resident and a friend from the USSR) as he prepares to make his first trip to "a capitalist" country, France; the worldview of Timi, a Finn who teaches high school in Sweden and who is visiting Chicago to see friends and to absorb the Black-American jazz and dialect; the worldview of Nathale, a Jewish French medical student who plans to spend a year studying medicine in the United States.
Before we throw ourselves into that bottomless and pointless abyss we call politics. Brad warns,
Brad writes that the most important thing he was able to do in his last days in Bordeaux was perhaps to attend with Jill Conley, a Colorado University student, a pre-school end-of-the-year gala the other night: "There were, of course, the obligatory dancing flowers and trees who did a terrific 'Nutcracker Suite' for a captive audience. The evening's program included a rather surrealistic beach set with festive waves and a sea of chapels, where Janus who were clad in bathing suits and dark glasses. The whole thing came off mightily well, but for the DJ who showed a great affection for David Bowie's 'Let's Dance,' which has its merits but which nevertheless failed to catch the spirit of the occasion. Some things you never get used to."
Daniel Shaw
Graduate student
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