4
Friday, October 22,1971
University Daily Kansas
KANSAN comment Editorials, columns and letters published on this page reflect only the opinions of the writers.
Cambodian Dilemma
Still liking their wounds from injuries suffered after the South Vietnamese non-election, ad- ducers of the office are now faced with another dilemma.
While we were busy insuring that the South Vietnamese could have a fair election and exercise self-determination by choosing among a field of one candidates, Lon Nol, premier of Cambodia, was busy setting the stage for a new set of administration ulcers.
Wednesday. Lon Nol ended the name of democracy." for Camphidh's victory.
Surely this must be the death knell for that old standby phrase that we've heard from Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon about being in Singapore so the people can be free to choose their form of government.
The fact is that after spending millions of dollars and thousands of dollars in the construction of a residence in Southeast Asia, the people are no more free than they ever were.
The Cambodian democratization comes at an opportune moment for our government, because the Senate will soon consider the fate of American aid to that country. Administration officials are pushing for an open-ended bill that will allow them to use funds at the President's discretion to help the Cambodian government.
There can no longer be any semblance of an excuse for continuing to support Cambodia, or for supporting the whole Southeast Asian effort.
The last tired excuse for being there has been laid to rest. It has long been past time to come home. Perhaps now we can.
The Senate is wary of this action, and should now be able to reject such folly out of hand. Hopefully but no preemptively, Kansas Senator Dale and Pearson will join with their colleagues and limit spending in Cambodia.
—Mike Moffet
James J. Kilpatrick
Amendment Unnecessary
"Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."
WASHINGTON—At least once in every session of the Congress, an hour arrives when all of a sudden it is time to talk of amending the U.S. Constitution. That hour crept a little closer when the House voted 354-23 for an amendment that would read:
THIS IS, of course, that hardy annual, the equal rights for women amendment. It has sprung up every year for nearly a century. The Senate has twice voted for the proposition, and the House has voted for it once, but the two chambers never have voted for the same version at the same time. The amendment has been endorsed by the Democrats, in their favor, and by the Republicans, and by the Republican for 30. It is like apple pie: Almost everybody loves it.
Yet the amendment always has eluded full approval by the Congress, for this excellent reason: However playful or capricious or business-like the other times, it tends to view constitutional amendment as a serious matter. When it comes to the awesome moment of altering our fundamental law, the tendency is to ask a soul-searching necessary? It very rarely is.
AND FOR ALL, the impressive support that has been marshaled behind the women's amendment, the same objection ought to prevail this time. As an abstract proposition, the concept may well be desirable. As a device for achieving certain useful changes in life, it is not necessary. These changes can be achieved—they are being achieved—by less dramatic measures.
One large area of legitimate criticism, for example, has to do with the terms and conditions of employment. Until a few years ago, the universal practice, both in private employment and in the workplace, was lesser, or at least different, human beings—in brief, to discriminate against them. Part of this was a function of the marketplace; women were willing to work at lower wages than men demanded to perform a certain task on behalf of their manager, out to make a profit, would have been an idiot not to hire them.
inally, some of the very women's organizations that now are whoooping it up for equality or justice. The laws inequality. The laws that require certain rest periods for women, that prohibit the employment of women in coal mines, that fix limits on the physical labor a woman can do in the form—the laws were not the casual products of gallantry; they were the consequence of hard work by women's groups particularly wanted the laws' product.
ONE EFFECT OF the pending amendment would be to wipe this entire body of law off the books. Do women truly want this? It seems doubtful. Most of the ladies who have testified in support of the measure are aware of the professional profession of being professional women. It is a different story at the grubber levels.
Miss Ruth Miller, speaking for 300,000 women members of the Amalagamated Clothing Workers, told the House committee, flatout, that "we oppose the equal rights amendment." And Why? "Because it would, in one felt swoe, wipe out those remaining
protective labor standards—standards we took decades to win
pricked standards we took decades to win and their elimination would be dangerous to the lives of many working women."
MISS MILLER'S POINT on view commands respect. It probably is widely if in a case where the truth as times and attitudes change, some of these protective laws become obsolete. Many such laws, on court challenge, are being found in conflict either with the Fourteenth Amendment or with the Fourteenth Amendment. New Jersey's statute against female bartenders thus fell by the wayside last year. Weight-lifting laws in California and Ohio have been invalid. The old order changes.
And in so complex a field of law and custom, having so many subgraduations and conflicting ought to be resolved. It simply is not necessary to perform radical surgery on the Constitution. Both the law and the ladies will benefit from such care, equipped with patient, deliberate care.
(C) 1971
The Washington Star Syndicate, Inc.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
THE UNIVERSITY BODY
KANSAN
America's Pacemaking college newspaper
Kansan Telephone Numbers
Newaroom-UN-4 4810
Business Office-UN-4 4238
Published at the University of Kansas daily during the academic year except holidays and examination periods. Mail subscriptee $10 to KU.edu/academics; Guest $604 to kku.edu #6044. Goods, services and advertisement offered to all students without regard to color, creed or national origin. Opinions expressed are not necessarily intended as an offer to purchase goods.
NEWS STAFF
Editor
Daniel Bardel
Campaign Editors
Dick Hammett
Campaign Managers
Ekram Kramer
News Editor
Joyce Newman, Barry McKenna
Deanne Hay, Ann McKenna
Page Editors
Mike Moldet
Editorial Editors
Pat Malone, Mike Moldet
Sports Editor
Scott Mather
Institutional Sports Editors
Maitai Berg
Feature Editor
Binka Berg
Feature Managers
Barkey Berg
Make Up Editors
Bila Haugh, Joe Goodwin
Tailor of Photographs
Jan Kunzler
Greg Sorber, Hack Hown, Ed Lall, Edd Wong
Photographers
News Adlyser . . . Del Brinkman
Senate Swat
RUSINESS STAFF
To the Editor:
Business Manager
Construction Manager
Australian Bank Manager
Industrial Advertising Manager
National Advertising Manager
Promotion Manager
Promotion Manager
Member Associated Collegiate Press
Business Adviser ... Mel Adams
The Student Senate has, in an uncharacteristic attack of conscience, decided to consult its constituency on the burning issue of activity fees. Unlike past performances, the current referendum was not forced upon the SS, but appears as an act of free and benevolent will. It benefits benevolent ourselves with a plausure, let us examine the Hubson's choice be offered the student body.
Carol Young
Norm Duncley
Susan Ege
Martha Winterburg
Sarah Conrad
Glenn Schmidt
Clancy Schmidt
Readers Respond
After the trauma of having their collective hands slapped in the last two referendums, the "older statesmen" of the SS have carefully hedged their bets on the current question. The student may feel overwhelmed by the pressure to answer the "Preference Ballot"; a careful examination will reveal the actual penalty of choice.
The Student Senate has made a genuinely remarkable assumption that the campus activity in which students show the most consistent lack of interest (witness all campus voting records for the last five years) is the activity which must be fundred before all else. An examination of the choices offered will reveal that only by choosing the Nihilist Special (Option H) can the student body withdraw support from the perhaps the most questionable activity on the Hill, that venerable institution known as the Student Senate. Only if the student body is willing to take action (HK, IM, The Concert, Center concert, etc.) can funding be withdrawn from the SS.
It is also interesting to note that the SS boys were very careful that the referendum not “be construed as binding the Student Senate.” In other words, contempt for the roman form insurance is insured. Fear not, the Student Senate’s private debating and mutual admiration society will continue to grace the halls of academe on Mount Oread. Do you begin to get the realization that we’re being screwed again?
James E. Beckmar
Concordia,
Graduate Student
Lawrence, Senate, Blood...
★★
Band Barb
I believe the comments made by Robert Foyter regarding the Kansas State University marching band were unwarranted.
Female participation in a
massive mass media
"hassy" as Mr. Foyter maintains,
but rather it helps to demonstrate
equality in a coeducational in-
troduction.
It is time that the University of Kansas campus "saw the light" and thought about providing opportunities for all students.
To the Editor:
The SMU all-male Mustang Band has recently undergone severe criticism by members of the student body, faculty, and administration for its discrimination against women's students.
Ann E. Bidwell Sophomore, Southern Methodist University
★★
All American?
Indeed I, as well as every black, Indian, or Mexican-American who represents this city, the city of Lawrence is required to the city of Lawrence is in the race for All-America. However, upon reflection, I do feel that the recognition since it, along with most of the other cities in this country, represents the epitom of justice. In fact, JusticeLawrence has made the list for finalists given us people of color, a very diverse group of citizens whose city must possess to become the All-American City. This further substantiates the old slogan, "America must be judged below the Canadian Border."
To the Editor:
Aimad Ismael
Graduate Student,
District of Columbia
Blood Drive
★★
To the Editor:
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Kansas University students who donated blood at the drive on help Wednesday. A total of 548 pints were collected. This is a record for KU.
The Red Cross was astounded at the turnout by the KU community. Unfortunately there was a lack of professional help which caused many students and many students to be turned away. We hope that we have not lost the prospective donors and that they will return for the spring drive. We hope to have a larger donor area and increase volunteers to handle the increased numbers in the spring.
most of all their blood donations.
MIDDIE DRIVE COMMITTEE
Pershing Rifles
Halconi
Jess Labbe
Caddief commander
Auxiliary
Again, we would like to thank and to commend KU students for their enthusiasm, patience, and
Computer Plea
★★
To the Editor:
I would like to discuss the termination of 24 hour service at the computer center. In the past I and a number of other people worked between 10:20 midnight and the time between 12:00 midnight and 5:00 a.m. working at the computer center. This was due to the short turn around time and decreased demand on the computer. The enabled me to run as many as 15 programs in a single night, many being special programs that
could only be run at night and on weekends. With the adoption of the midnight closing police I will be forced to do this work during the day. The computer must be greater demand on the very limited facilities. I will be fortunate to get 5 programs run per 24 hours, with a great increase in training. Since the computer must be operating 24 hrs. per day this means that it will not be used in an optimal way thus wasting the taxpayers money. It will also finish my thesis work (thus my degree) and it will decrease the amount of work I can get done per hour in fulfilling the requirement of my research assistance.
It seems to me that the tax-payers money would be more productive if they knew better how to work-study people to staff dispatch 24 hours
per day or perhaps 22 hours daily at a minimum. This would provide for both more efficient student patter and employment for students who need to work in order to meet the costs of styling in school. If the University is necessary to hire these people they could station one of the campus security officers to teach him how to put cards through the card reader. That way one person would be able to important functions increase the safety guard the computer. In view of the financial crises facing the University the latter procedure was used in other situations as well.
Jon William Robinson
Graduate Student in
Systematics & Ecology
Low Profile
THE SAD THING is that the hunt
Johnson's Self-serving Serving-up
Garry Wills
It does seem silly, I know, to punish Johnson for what he says about Vietnam, when we can do nothing about what he did in Vietnam. But it seems worse to punish Ellsberg for what he revealed about Vietnam.
Things being what they are, I doubt that anyone will put Lyndon Johnson under citizen's arrest next week while his memoirs continue to be serialized. He is using and quoting classified documents, just as Daniel Elsberg did; but his motive is retrospective and self-justifying, while Elsberg was "a dogma-making man" and repeating what Johnson wants to justify.
readers on. Next week, white newspaper goes on. Johnson's self-serving serving up of cooled-off documents, the papers, to testify about the Pentagon attacks.
One of those called to testify is Ralph Stavins, co-author of *Washington Plans an Aggressive War*. The book is suspect because too knowledgeable, and Mr. Stavins is not summoned because the book is false—only because it is too
A political criminal is one persecuted for not what he does, but for the side he takes in doing it. Officialdom constantly leaks "secret" information
favorable to it—sometimes information it was illegal to gather in the first place (as in the FB's leaking of the bugged conversations of Dr. King). Tame journalist run no danger trafficking in the material, and from "secured law," and "classified" rules.
THE ONLY TROUBLE is that journalists who thus play it safe help perpetuate the one version of events that authorities, with all their resources, try to build up no more than five million of the election the electorate would have about as much choice offered them as the voters for Premier Tieu had last month.
IJ
The test, then, is not what you do, but who you are. As an ex-President, you may publish away and be counted a patriot—just keep all the material on the side of what we as a nation have done.
But if you are a critic of policy, you may not consult with ex-officials, check the authorities' partial leaks against whole documents, discuss policy alternatives with experts from various fields, compare specialized knowledge. If you do, you are subpoenaed, asked for your sources, and ordered to provide very same confidentiality observed by recipients of official leaks.
Lyndon could tell William S. White anything he wanted, and White could print it. But Pontchartrain officials cannot remember what happened to Lyndon. That is a crime, we are told.
But being told that is the real crime
Copyright, 1971 Universal Press Syndicate
Griff and the Unicorn
By Sokoloff
"Copyright 1971, David Sokoloff."
Letters Policy
Letters to the editor should be typewritten, double-spaced and should not exceed 500 words. All letters are subject to editing and condensation, according to space limitations and the editor's judgment. Students must provide their name, year in school and home town; faculty and staff must provide their name and position; others must provide their name and address.