Monday, September 19. 1988 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Dukakis' student loan plan a relief from usual rhetoric
The Democratic presidential nominee recently offered relief by introducing a promising and progressive college student loan program.
Thanks to Michael Dukakis, a break in the long, hard battle issues in this fall's presidential campaign finally come.
It was a breath of fresh air compared with the garbage, mostly the Pledge of Allegiance smear campaign, Vice President George Bush has been spewing. Dukakis' plan addresses a real problem facing college students and shows particular concern for the plight of students from low- and middle-class families.
Under the Dukakis plan, the federal government would guarantee students' loans from private banks regardless of the students' family income. The students would pay back the loans throughout their lifetimes through an automatic payroll withholding plan, in which a small, fixed percentage of their income would be deducted for payment on the loans
It would work much like the collection system under Social Security, except that the reward, a college education, would not be given.
Dukakis' plan is a pragmatic and compassionate approach. Many graduates now enter the working world with a mountain of debt from student loans, and they are pressed to pay it back. They need to be disciplined in their financial planning to set up a solid financial foundation for themselves.
The Dukakis plan ideally would allow young people to plan for their futures without worrying about defaulting on their student loans. The loans would be paid in full — the payments are automatic — and the burden would be minimized.
It also would help the people who most need help to pay for a college education: the poor. Bush's answer so far has been to create tax-free savings bonds to encourage families to save for college tuition. That's well and fine for families that can afford to put money aside for use 20 years later. But Bush's plan would do nothing for people who need all of their checks for necessities such as food and clothing and need student loans the most.
Dukakis' plan addresses the issue, aids those who need the help and offers young people an easier start.
Let's hope Dukakis and Bush can offer the voters more ideas like this one this fall.
Todd Cohen for the editorial board
U.S. got burned by policy
Rules were made to be broken. This is especially true when a national treasure is burning down.
Yellowstone National Park has been scarred by fires during this drought-striken summer. Nearly half of Yellowstone's 2.2 million acres have been burned in the past two months because firebreaks protect the policy that says fires started naturally shall be allowed to burn.
This policy was enacted for a good reason. In the past, natural fires were put out immediately. This led to a large build up of underbrush that acted as a potential power keg to suppress. Under normal conditions this policy worked well for 16 years.
But this year was the exception to the rule. The drought left the land unusually dry and hazardous. When fires began in Yellowstone, they spread quickly, but the National Park Service stuck to its principles and let the fires burn. After it became evident that these fires would not burn themselves out, firefighters decided to fight them. But by then the fires were out of control.
Homes have been destroyed, wildlife hurt, tourists endangered and acres of vegetation wiped out needlessly. This week, after rain and snow finally slowed the fires, the federal government has decided to revise the "let-it-burn" policy
The National Park Service had only the best intentions for the ecology at heart, and we can only hope the government does not react too drastically to public outreach by reverting to a more serene way of protecting fire immediately. This would only lead to rupee problems.
But our leaders must realize that exceptions to even the best policies must be made when we are in danger of losing so
Julie McMahon for the editorial board
News staff
Todd Cohen ... Editor
Michael Horak ... Managing editor
Jill Adam ... Associate editor
Stephen Wade ... New editor
Michael Merschiel ... Editorial editor
Noel Gerdes ... Campus editor
Craig Anderson ... Sports editor
Dave Niegallberg ... Photo editor
Dave Eames ... Graphics editor
Allison Features ... Artificial Intelligence
Tom Ebien ... General manager, new adviser
Business staff
Greg Knipp  Business manager
Debbie Brush  Regional sales manager
Chris Cooper  Campus manager
Linda Prokop  National sales manager
Kevin Penfusson  International manager
Sarah Hidgson  Marketing manager
Rachel Lentner  Production manager
Michelle Gailand  Asset classifier
Michelle Lehman  Classified manager
Salees and James  Sales and management
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Quick fixes for KU controversies A simple solution for parking problems and KJHK commotion
This started out to be a column about trying to freshen up my bachelor pad. I was all set to buy one of those room deodorizers that you find in the check-out line of most supermarkets when this thought struck me: When you peel off the back of a stick-on room deodorizer that bears the likeness of Garfield the cat, what does it smell like? Not to bother room freshener with the Playboy bunny Logo.
No, no, no, said my editor. The faculty, staff and students at the University of Kansas don't give a damn what your apartment smells like. They'd rather read about something relevant, something topical, something of pressing interest here on campus. Like what, I asked, with the facial expression of someone who is paying too close attention to the pennant races to care about anything else.
Picking up some recent copies of the Kansan from days when my column hasn't appeared, he showed me story after story and letter after letter about the kids in school and the parking situation. KILH is rocked with love for that time. The station is trying like crazy to find a formula that will appeal to the majority of the students while a sizable number of disc jockeys insist on playing whatever they want and not going by any other. That's where who determine parking are taking away yellow cars sometimes replacing them with red parking
Bill Kempin
Staff columnist
spaces that hardly anybility qualifies for. Students have no choice but to park five miles away from their classes and walk past row after row of empty spaces and walk past row after row that is the kind of stuff you could write about.
What's the big deal? I have a solution that will proverbially kill two birds with one stone. Make KJHK-FM the nation's first all-parking radio station. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. A parking lot on campus on the best parkings on campus. All parking all the time. The Parking Ticket Alternative.
Oh, there will need to be some initial expenses incurred; one or two FM-91 jetopters to hover over the campus on the constant watch for drivers pulling out of choice locations; mobile units by the campus to monitor traffic and any red-sticker vehicles that inadvertently leave their vehicles in a yellow zone denying some poor, out-of-shape business student the chance to park nearby. You can find these radios and cellular phones for instant communication.
tion between traffic reporters and the parking
anchormen and anchorgemen at Sullivan Apees.
But think of the response: Every car radio route to the hill tuned in to JKHK to see if there any room to park at Quigley Field; students ambling to their next class suddenly dashing to their cars because they've heard on their portable radios that parking offices are ticketing vehicles on the third level of Lot 62; a lecture class slowly becoming disjointed because everyone has turned off their earphones to see who has won JKHK's Free Parking Spot for a Week contest.
Not only would this alleviate KU students' parking woes, but it would clear up the contrary. Students in FM-91. With practically the entire student population listening anyway, you could go back to the way things were before and let the jocks play any thing they wanted in-between traffic reports — azz, jazz, pop, hip-hop, rap — and exercisees, typewriter dictation. The bigwigs at KJHK would much sooner hear slash music on the radio than watch people slash each other's fires in front of Jolifé Hall
Now, if that settles those two crises, can I be left alone for a while so I can figure out the Boston Red Sox game?
Bill Kempin is a Lawrence graduate student.
K·A·N·S·A·N
MAILBOX
Police overeager
Shame, shame, shame KU partygoers! You should know better than to stay up past 11 p.m. And having good time — a capital offense indeed. I'm so glad we have the mighty army of the Lawrence Police Department to put a stop to such debauchery.
But seriously, folks, what overkill! I went to a party in the 1100 block of Ohio Street a week ago Saturday and half the Lawrence Police (even a sheriff's deputy) crashed it after the band was done playing at only 11 p.m. A friend of mine who was helping remove the band's equipment saw that she went back into the house; she would be arrested for criminal trespassing and resisting arrest.
Harassment and show of force (overkill) will lead only to public disrespect. Get a clue, local law enforcement officials. Work with KU students, not against them.
This is ridiculous! Usually, one cup stops by a party and reminds people to shut down at an event. We know that it won't be useful to check on the progress. Now it must be Lawrence police "big bonus for petoffe offense."
Even the KU police are ruffling their feathers. I've been harassed for being on campus just because it was Easter weekend and "all students should be at home." On the street, I've been pulled over for everything from "driving under the road," to "coming through the campus twice — slowly." What are they out to prove these days anyway? Are they a superior race of human beings? I think not.
John Stansifer
U.S. concern is phony
There is a recent U.S. foreign policy development that illustrates that the U.S. government, and specifically the current administration, has worked with foreign experts to preserve History reminds us of your track record, a record of exploitation in countries such as Cuba, Vietnam, Chile, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Lebanon.
The U.S. government is organizing forma. protest of the use of chemical warfare by the Iraqi army against the Kurds in northern Iraq. But I have to ask: How long have you been asleep? Where were your protests and grand proclamations when the Iraqi army was using chemical weapons? Where are the southern and western Iran and killing hundreds of innocent Iranians? Why were you silent then?
Was it because there was no profit gained because Iraq bought the chemical bombs from Germany and France? Were you so upset that those countries made the money that you could have made? Usually those NATO countries won't even give you the money without permission from the United States.
Or do you have other motives? Are you condemning Iraq in order to win favor with Iran or trying to create a world where we pursue more economic rage of the people? The U.S. government would be wise to realize that
In Third World countries don't need the United States to worry about them because the concern is too great.
Mohammad Aliani Iran junior
Free speech attacked
At the Wednesday, Sept. 7 forum on free speech, Executive Vice Chancellor Judith Ramayne said, "At a university which prides itself on being an institution always interpret those rules as far toward preservation freedom of speech as we can." Quite an ironically idealized sentiment, considering that she is a teacher, Ramayne always interpret those rules as far toward preservation freedom of speech as we can."
Those in power would have us believe that format changes at the station have excluded only thrash music at the request of students who had unreleased survey of campus radio preferences.
Anyone with one ear tuned to KJHK knows better. The powers that be in semi-dictomatic fashion, have eliminated anything that could be controversial from the playlist, not just thrash.
The same Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs who were hailed at the River City Reunion as examples of austerity, the same John KJHK, have been strenken from the airwaves. There's no talk show this year, either. We've had a few in recent years; controversial on college radio, would we?
To paraphrase Shakespeare, something's rotten at KJHK. What will Ramalay or any other enlightened members of our university do about it? So much for free speech.
R. F. Baker Lawrence resident
BLOOM COUNTY
bv Berke Breathed
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