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Wednesday, September 7. 1988 / University Daily Kansan
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
At last, long-awaited hope for performing arts patrons
Opinion
Bravo! The University of Kansas finally will be getting a new performing arts center. After more than a half-century of complaints from students, faculty and performers who reject theorum as a substitute for the real thing, the办堂 will be hushed.
So bravo for Campaign Kansas, the largest fund-raising drive for private donations in the University's history. The drive had an initial goal of $100 million, but that was raised to $150 million because of the campaign's success. In only four months Campaign Kansas has netted $81 million, and the drive still has more than four years to go.
Most of all, bravo to the Lied Foundation of Omaha, Neb., which donated $10 million needed to help finance the center. Thanks to this donation, future KU students will have more of an opportunity to see top performers, concerts and plays. The University finally will be able to attract artists who have refused tuition because of Hoch's bad acoustics and other inadequacies.
But most of the praise will come from the audiences who have attended performances at Hoch throughout the years despite its faults. Finally, they will be able not only to enjoy better performances, but also usably, high-quality acoustics that Hoch never could provide.
Although the Lied Center is not scheduled to be completed until 1992, a four-year wait will not seem long when the University already has been waiting more than 50 years for the real solution to a bad performing arts center.
Julie Adam for the editorial board
Charging for churches
Hardly hath the dust settled from stories about the greed of Oral Roberts, the indiscretions of Jimmy Swaggart and the excesses of Jim and Tammy Faye when the story of a Nebraska church comes across the wire.
It would seem that the church elders at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Lincoln came upon a new and convenient way to increase contributions.
The congregation has installed several machines behind the church to help members to wipe out their plastic, and give to the church.
'On the surface, tithing on Master Card seems a little sacrilegious.
So far the idea has been a success. Lagging contributions are up.
Imagine the fun Madison Avenue advertising executives could have thinking of religious jingles to accompany campaigns to get churchgoers to use their credit cards. Official visit might visit be one. Don't go to church without it, another.
Still, here in the largest debtor nation in the world, convenience and credit seem almost as natural as God and the Bible. And then there's the real threat.
If this catches on, it might even get people to pay off their credit card bills on time.
Who would be daring enough to refuse to pay Visa if God were on the tab?
Michael Horak for the editorial board
Other Voices
Looking for parking solutions
The start of classes Wednesday has brought out one of the many eternal problems at the University of Oklahoma — lack
The cost of parking permits for housing and students has gone up to $40. For the extra money, all they getting is a hunting license. Students have to walk for as much as 15 miles in order to drive there and drive around and waiting for someone to leave.
The Oklahoma Daily
Perhaps extra money could be found to build a multi-level parking garage to ease the parking problems students are facing. This proposal would mean another increase in parking space for $0 to $30 to a far sighter better than paying $40 to buy it.
The Oklahoma Daily University of Oklahoma
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Christmas, 1988: Why Santa failed When schedules don't follow tradition, neither does St. Nick
Six-year-old Patty Proffid had a dream: She *wished* her dream came true. Her dream came true. Most U.S. youngsters entertained themselves with visionary sugar plums. Patty snaked downstairs on a quest for St.
What she found amazed her.
Sitting on the living room hearth beside a roaring flame sat the jolly old fat man wearing red and sporting a white beard. He held a stack of final exams, but no toys.
"Santa," cried Patty. "Why are you grading papers like my daddy does?"
Derek Schmidt
"That's a mighty long story for such a little girl," he finally replied.
"Please, Santa, tell me. Please."
"Very well," mused the jolly one, a spark in his eyes. "There's been turmoil in the Arctic this year. The North Pole is not a simple place; it's full of factories. The elves are terribly demanding, demanding, demanding. tenure Dasher and Dancer are always leading the liberal reindeer in demonstrations for animal rights, while Rudolph must constantly defend himself against charges that he's a Red. And this year — get it — Mrs. Claus gave me a speech himself against charges that he'd demanded that I let her ride in the sleigh tonight.
"In order to accommodate all these conflicting
Staff columnist
"What's this have to do with my toys, Santa?" "Dear child, this is where it gets complicated." Wear a suit and satisfy both, because the law says that all toy companies must operate for 80 days each fall
interests while maintaining peace and harmony within our community, we North Polers have developed a rather complicated system of self-government.
"One part of this bureaucracy is called the Polar Calendar Committee. It sets the elves' work schedule — so many Cabbage Patch Doll communities use them." *The last time I was during the Rampo/commando toys season, etc.*
"The Polar Calendar Committee was caught in the middle of a crisis. They compromised by shifting the fall schedule back a week. This was terrible for morale, because while workers from other toy factories were enjoying their Christmas vacations, the North Pole elves still were studying their computer programs (the LATE) exams. Some elves didn't finish testing until Dec. 23, too. Date to make it to relatives"
for Christmas "
"But what about my toys, Santa?"
"Yes dear, of course. You see, as the chief educator at the North Pole, it is my job to correct all of the elves' exams. I'm so busy doing that that I haven't had time to deliver toy this year. I just picked a nice-looking house, parked the sleigh and dropped in for a relaxing evening of paper-grazing. Curiously, the scores haven't been as good as past. Now past, run along, child. I have work to do."
"True, but education must come first. I have my priorities."
"But Santa, it's Christmas."
pronites. "Santa
"less, little girl! Let me work, or I miss New Year's, too. If you must stay around, you can get him to work on your homework."
Patty left for the kitchen and returned after a few minutes with a glass and platter. The man in red bushy was marking up the papers to match his outfit.
"Santa," whispered the little girl, "Could you at least give me a, 'He ho-ho'?"
The jolly one looked up and smiled wryly, "I'd like to, but I can't find anything about this to laugh at."
Derek Schmidt is an independence junior major in journalism.
Quayle took the right sidestep after all
Hundreds of readers demand to know why I sent the son of one sen. Lloyd Bentens' son to the National Guard.
Others have asked why I haven't mentioned that Sen. Bill Bradley, the former basketball player, also has an interest in
And many have said that I have shirked my journalistic responsibility by failing to mention that Gov. Michael Dukakis was in college during the war, "and didn't go into the army until that war had ended.
They raise a valid point, and I'm going to answer them.
I haven't written about these other non-combatants because I now realize that I was wrong to criticize Sen. Dan Quayle for using family influence to combat the National Guard and avoid combat in Syria.
Yes, I was wrong and I publicly admit it.
I've listened to Vice President George Bush defend Quavle.
Syndicated columnist
I have listed to Pat Buchanan and other prominent conservative journalists defend him. I've heard from thousands of rank-and-file Republicans, all of whom praised him.
And I was not ashamed to confess that they have persuaded me that, I was mistaken about Opayya.
so it stands to reason that if what Quylee did was right, the same holds true for Bentsen's son, Son Brendley. Gov. Dukas and every other U.S citizen or another, did not take an active part in the war.
persuaded me that I was mistaken about Quayle. In other words, I now believe that what Quayle did was right. Not only right, but honorable and brave and true-blue American.
Therefore, it would be wrong of me to criticize Bentsen's son and the others for doing something I
Mike Royko
now believe was right.
Ben. Sents insists that he didn't help his get around the draft. If he didn't help, I ask: "Why not?" What kind of father is he if he wouldn't put in a little fix for his own flesh and blood? If but he did use his protection to protect his lad, I say more power to only did what my decent father would have done.
As countless readers have pointed out, staying out of Vietnam was the intelligent thing for a young woman. We are all part of her intelligence. And since we want our leaders to be intelligent, he has increased his credibility as a leader.
Before recognizing the errors in my thinking, I was also critical of Quayle's family for interceding in his behalf with National Guard contacts. As Quayle himself said: "Phone calls were made."
But after rethinking that issue, I realize how misguided I was. The most important unit in U.S. life is the family. And if a family won't help one of our neighbors with her job will – the neighborhood gas station attenderd?
If we are to survive as a great nation, we must be pragmatic, not giddy and silly. And if we are going to be pragmatic — as many readers have urged me to be — we must face facts.
And the fact is, young men such as Quayle.
Bentes's son and Sen. Bradley have fine family backgrounds and have been exposed to excellent education. They are a national resource — the best of them, the potential to rise to positions of national leadership.
So does it make sense to let them go to some far-land to land in fight in a war and risk dying? Do we want to squander our finest resources that way? Obviously, the answer is no.
If wars are to be fought, then it is far more tactical to allow those who are expended to die.
I'm not being cold-hearted. But if anybody is going to get blown away in a war, doesn't it make more sense that it be someone with a ninth-grade education and few prospects for the future?
I mean, face reality, does your average, undequated ditch-digger have even the faintest chance of success?
We must have priorities.
So I now agree that it is ethically and morally possible to be a hawk while at the same time not to be a hawk. But we are not only possible, it is a responsibility. Sure, confront the communists when the chips are down. But we should not squander our future leaders because we are more than enough future followers to do the job.
As Nathan Hale might have said, if he had given it a bit more thought: "I regret that I don't have 10 lives to give for my country. Then I could give nine of them and still stick around."
Mike Royko is a syndicated columnist who writes for the Chicago Tribune.
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed