PAGE SIX
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
APRIL 23,1947
Kansan Comments
An Obligation Or A Privilege?
On the eve of the spring student election it might be well to call attention to a 146-year-old statement of Thomas Jefferson:
"The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation for any government."
The events of the past few weeks have made it more apparent than ever that Hill politics need cleaning up. Our student government has been hamstrung for too long by bickering, self-seeking party groups.
Few will question the need for student government. There is a real job in a university community of nearly 9,000 students for a representative group to handle student affairs and promote the common welfare of the student body.
But, to paraphrase Jefferson, a government that does not rest on the will of the governed is on a shaky foundation indeed. Too often that has been the case at K U.
But the immediate goal is a truly representative election. K. U. students should make tomorrow's election the opening gun in a campaign to improve Hill politics. To vote is an obligation, not merely a privilege.
If the students at K U wake up and demand an end to such shenanigans, student government can achieve the position it should occupy on this campus. The recently formed Student Voter's League can be a constructive force in such a movement, providing it remains independent and receives sincere support from those who believe in the benefits of democratic student government.
If we continue on our politically apathetic way, we will only reap the truth in the old axiom that "A people's government is only as good as they deserve."
A Summary Of The A. & M.Issues
The following is an effort to crystallize impartially the issues involved in this question.
Tomorrow K. U. students will have the opportunity to express their opinion on the question of whether Oklahoma A. and M. should be denied admission to the Big Six conference because of its policy of race discrimination.
Conference Policy: At its meeting May 18, 1946, the Big Six athletic committee decided that the conference as a whole would impose no discriminatory rules to keep Negroes from competing in athletics.
At the present time the Universities of Missouri and Oklahoma are the only two conference members imposing specific discrimination in accordance with their state laws and established customs.
However, it gave to each member school the power to decide this matter in conformity with respective state laws. Each school now has the right to bar colored athletes from participating in games on its campus if it so desires.
University Policy: Chancellor Malott has on several occasions reaffirmed the policy that any regularly-enrolled student at K. U. may try out for intercollegiate athletics, subject only to the specific eligibility rules of the conference.
On Nov. 20, 1946, Ernest C. Quigley, director of athletics, made the following statement to the Kansam:
"Any regularly-enrolled student
may try out for any University athletic team."
(It should be pointed out that the recent University administration decision in favor of barring A. and M. was made for reasons other than this racial issue.)
Oklahoma A. and M. Policy: The policy on this matter at A. and M. is of necessity in conformity with the state laws of Oklahoma. An excerpt of its segregation laws states:
"It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, or association of persons to maintain or operate any college, school, or institution in this state where persons of both white and colored races are received as pupils for instruction."
As a result of the conference ruling, granting to host schools the power to decide whether colored athletes shall be allowed to compete on their campuses, and in view of the segregation laws and customs of Oklahoma, it is reasonably certain that A. and M would invoke the same restriction as M. U. and O. U., that is, Negro athletes from other schools could not participate in games held on their campus.
Those in favor of admitting A. and M. maintain generally that the school would be a worthy asset to the conference. They point out that the present policies of M. U. and O. U. already impose indirect discriminatory pressure on other member schools and barring A. and M. would accomplish no improvement in the present situation.
Those opposing A. and M.'s admission maintain that if that school is admitted, the present condition will only be worsened. The ratio of schools in the conference practicing race segregation will be increased. This will make efforts more difficult to allow colored students in the other member schools to participate in athletics.
They further point out that we have carried on athletic relations with the school in question for many years and will no doubt continue to do so whether it is a member of the conference or not.
They say further that coaches in the non-discriminating schools are thus placed under an even greater pressure not to use Negro athletes because of the need to build teams they can use throughout the season.
These opponents also point to the more liberal trend in many other conferences regarding this question and put forth the argument that our conference would be taking a backward step in strengthening the discrimination faction in the Big Six.
Member of the Kansas Press Assn., National Editorial Assn., Inland Education Delegation, College Press. Represented by the National Advertising Service, 420 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10026.
The University Daily Kansan
Student Newspaper of the UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Managing Editor ... Marcela Stewart
Asst. Man. Editor ... Martha Jewett
Editor in Chief ... William Crawley
Editor in Chief ... LeMoyne Frederick
City Editor ... Wallace W. Abbey
Telegraph Editor ... Marion Minor
Art Editor Manager ... John D. Mormick
Advertising Manager ... Calvin Arnold
Circulation Manager Thomas S. Cadden
Editor in Chief ... William Crawley
National Adv. Mg.. Frank R. Schultheis
Promotion Manager ... William K. Brooks
York City.
Dear Editor--toward government by and for all of the people.
First, let me say that I am not a member of any staff. I belong to no clique. I am just a bystander, interested in the long term view of the past and the future.
Liberal Changes Past And Present
The Dove has made its mistakes, one of which was that pink paper. Such a stupid blunder was certainly asking for it. But the Dove has never made the mistake of claiming to represent all of campus opinion, for it is common knowledge that much of the opinion at K. U. is anything but liberal.
Now about that long term view, the barons of 1215 began the fight on centralized power. They were the radicals of their day. Parliamentary government was born in England after 50 years of travail but it has survived and grown there for more than 250 years.
The Revolution of 1668 served to broaden the base of sovereignty with the creed that the King derives his authority from parliament; that the law itself is the source of that authority.
Liberalism appeared again in England in the Reform Bill of 1832. But no progress is ever achieved without a struggle. Every Gladstone has had his Disraeli. In spite of those who dug in their heels in an effort to defy inexorable change, England has witnessed the suffrage reforms of 1832, 1867, 1884, 1918, and the "Flapper Bill" of 1928.
She achieved the court reforms of the 1870's, and the Parliamentary Act of 1911, which subordinated the House of Lords to the House of Commons. Always the unmistakable trend has been away from power vested in the few toward participation by the many.
Today, in spite of the considerable reaction of much of the press, we find socialist governments in most of the capitals of Europe.
The Hitlers, Frances, Perons, and Pauls are passing phases, remnants of autocracy, surviving for a brief span only to be trampled finally by the irresistible march of history
Freshmen, Sophomores Must See Advisors
Married students will get a break when they go to see their freshmen and sophomore advisors this week. They can request that their failure grades not be sent home. However, the parents of single students will be informed of the grades after student-advisor conferences.
Freshmen and sophomores must see their faculty advisers between Monday and Wednesday. Conference hours are listed on a bulletin board in the east hall of Frank Strong.
A very wise man on this campus said to me the other day, "If you undertake change, you will have to combat two forces: inertia and momentum." At first I thought it was a paradox; but it is true.
We must realize that we are living in the twentieth century. We cannot turn time back; we cannot preserve the status quo, for change is fundamental and even reaction must eventually tag along.
G. Mendenhall College senior
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