Opinion
Page 4 University Daily Kansan, February 10. 1982
Proving its worth
The Associated Students of Kansas are trying to prove that throwing money at problems makes them go away.
The University of Kansas has been a member of ASK, a statewide student lobbying group since 1978. During that time, the group has been plagued by problems, including a serious lack of student interest and participation, and its general ineffectiveness.
Last spring, the Student Senate voted to approve a 60-percent increase in the amount the University pays for membership in the organization. This year, KU students are paying $14,652, through their activity fees, to belong to the group.
In addition, ASK receives $1,500 from the activity fee money Senate allocates to itself to pay for office supplies and miscellaneous expenses.
ASK uses the money KU and the other member schools contribute to pay its operating costs and the salaries of the campus directors and the legislative director in Toneka.
Steve Dunn, KU's ASK board member,
has now written a bill asking Student Senate to allocate additional money, $360,
to pay the salary of a second KU campus director.
The primary responsibilities of the
position, paid from the Senate's unallocated account, would be to coordinate ASK activities in Topeka.
The other campus director would be responsible for improving ASK membership on the KU campus.
This semester the Associated Students of Kansas is promising to become a more active and valuable organization, through such projects as the Kansas Legislative Information Network and a voter registration drive. And the group is sending a larger delegation to this weekend's legislative assembly then it has in past years.
But if the ASK leaders in Topea think that another KU campus director is necessary, they have the option of finding room for the position in this year's budget.
Or, if the duties of KU's campus director need to be split, maybe the salary should be split also.
Senate approved the membership fee increase with the understanding that it was sufficient to solve ASK's internal problems and establish the group as a strong student voice in Topeka.
It is too soon to tell if the group's problems have been solved, and too soon for ASK to stick its hand out to the KU students for more money.
Bad reports could result from KU close encounters
Who can say with absolute certainty that extra-terrestrial beings have never visited the KU campus? What if one did? What if he disguised himself as an earthling and learned some English? What report would he send to the folks back home?
The following is one possible account
"Commander Targ, this is Otto. My expedition to Earth was both dangerous and enlightening. What I saw there will be of interest not just to you and me, but to all loyal Gorfians."
"I had originally intended to make contact with the earthlings in my true form, but sub-
tlety," he recalled.
TOM
BONTRAGER
what I thought to be the best place to observe the finest humanity has to offer; the campus of an institution of education. This is what I observed.
"When I landed, I saw all around me the humans' main mode of transportation, a four-wheeled vehicle so plentiful it might easily have been taken for an alien species itself. These machines rested in great cement fields. Periodically, humans in smaller, three-wheeled carts would drive through the fields, leaving small cards affixed to the larger vehicles. They seemed to take great pleasure in the task. I wondered if it was a form of entertainment.
"It may have been a language game, because whenever the owners of the machines lucky enough to receive cards returned, they would words I cannot find in my English dictionary.
"I was content to wait until nightfall, when I went out onto the campus. I ventured into a huge edifice called a 'field house.' I heard shouting and whistling. I expected to find a political rally or inspirational lecture of the kind so common on our planet. As I approached the center of the building, I was disappointed to discover nothing more than a sporting event, in which humans attempted to toss a sphere through an elevated ring.
"They were getting good exercise, I thought, and they had a sufficient reason for so many others to cheer loudly."
"I presumed the building was not a part of the camp, and left it to continue my observations. I decided to explore a dwelling known to the earthlings as a "dorm." I entered an elevator and ascended to the top most level, where a sequence of unsettling experiences began.
"I passed a number of doors until I found one open. I entered the dark and foreboding chamber, hoping to meet with students of the University. In the dim light, I could barely make out the shapes of other beings, apparently human, all seated in chairs and facing in the same direction. My gaze followed them until I noticed the object of their fixation, a curious box, outfitted with knobs and dials, from which etheral sounds and images enunciated.
"I understood immediately that it was an object of worship. Had I stumbled upon some sacred rite?
"A member of the group, perhaps a high priest, walked to the box and turned a dial. The images changed rapidly, but they remained the same in one respect, they were images of destruction. A building burned, a woman slapped a man,imailed him, and then dragged him on the ground, killing his opponent. Just as I could not bear to watch further, the picture stopped changing.
"In the box, a man was conversing with a small, ugly animal. Was this the climax of the story?"
'Horrified but fascinated, it turned back to the audience. In the twilight of the idol, their faces appeared blank, devoid of both passion and reason.
"They had given their minds to the box.
"I was determined to communicate with this strange congregation, whatever the price. Summoning courage from deep within me I pointed at the box and stuttered, "What is it?"
"The person nearest to me turned, as if in a trance, and uttered a profaned reply," *Bedtime*
"I ran from the room, fearful of the implications of this expression. Perhaps Bonzo was the barbaric deity that encapsulated the other, and I wanted to box. I would not risk my life further to find out.
"I entered the elevator and descended to another level. When the doors opened, my ears were assaulted by raucous, rhythmic noise. A group of people were yelling, singing and jumping about. It was a far cry from the somber landscape of the city, dwelling must house a separate tribe of students, each with its special beliefs. This tribe was, no doubt, the most primitive.
"A proselety from the group bade me come join him. Against my better judgment, I accepted the beverage he offered me. At this point, my observations become unclear. *
"Soon after I emptied my cup, I became unsteady and light-headed. Before long, I was also yelling, singing and dancing about uncontrollably. How I spent the next hour or so, I found myself in a kind of panic and made my way to the dorm's first level. There, I encountered my greatest horror of all.
"I spied a row of machines with image-producing boxes like the one I described earlier. Humans stationed in front of the machines manipulated levers and buttons while, on the screen, more images of destruction were projected."
"I imagine my complete terror when I saw on a screen perfect replicas of our own race being slammed mercilessly by the human at the controls. We can see so close to be more coincidence, Commander."
"The crucial difference here was that the humans played an active part in the destructive nature of it."
"Not only are the humans barbaric, they are crafty as well. They have known about us all along and are now training spaces of space that we need us. This is the meaning of our education!"
"I immediately boarded my craft to warn you of the imminent threat to our very civilization.
"If the humans do not eliminate themselves, they may eliminate us."
KANSAN
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People read about plane crashes every day. They read about them so often, in fact, that one more crash is of little significance—unless, of course, it happens to be a big one.
Then, for a few days, the topic pervades dinner conversations and sparks debate over the safety of air transportation. But soon the conversation turns to more familiar channels, like the weather.
To most Americans, the threat of a nuclear accident is about as immediate as a plane crash.
Nuclear accidents easily accepted
Nuclear power mishaps seem to have taken a similar course. When the big crash—Three Mile Island—came along, people were shocked by the risk of nuclear power suddenly became tangible.
The accident pricked consciences for a while and provoked feverish arguments over the safety of the nuclear power industry. Public opinion forced tighter control of the industry, but shortly, other events overhit it. We have also heard conversations steered back to the weather.
Like plane crashes, nuclear power accidents have become another hazard of daily life. Each successive accident decreases the importance of following accidents.
ago in Ontario, N.Y., produced barely a sight of disapproval, people who were violently shocked.
Accidents aren't the only thing scientists are worried about. Reactors can be sabotaged by fire.
The mishap at the Ginna plant two weeks
Another danger of nuclear power lies in the highly toxic radioactive waste generated by reactors. There is no way to render such wastes harmless. They must be stored and guarded until the natural decay has run its course, and they remain deadly for tens of thousands of years.
And the president's 71st birthday probably got more attention this week than the news that one-third of the nation's 72 nuclear plants are shut down because of problems that in-
lease enough radioactive material to cause death and birth defects to people exposed to it.
TERESA
RIORDAN
But the problems of nuclear power have been in the public's eye since the nuclear power program was started in this country. The biggest problem with nuclear power has been the public's complacency toward letting it undergo more dangers, to continue on a massive scale.
It seems strange that the public is so willing to accept nuclear energy as an alternative energy source, when it has so few answers to the safety problems that keep cropping up.
clude a hydrogen explosion and equipment failures leading to radiation and water leaks.
The frequency of nuclear mishaps has made them recently seem like any other accident. However, nuclear power is still very much at the experimental stage, and the safety problems are legion and well-known, although the public chooses to ignore them.
Nuclear plants have the potential of having truly catastrophic accidents. The danger is a sudden release of lethal, radioactive material that can cause serious injury or nuclear accident—a meldown—could re-
Americans have grown so accustomed to nuclear power—and its dangers—that the threat of a nuclear accident has become just as alarming, asigned, as a plane crash on the East Coast.
Letters to the Editor
It is indeed unfortunate that Ann Wylie's Feb. 2 article on the resignation of five traffic judges neglected to relate the true reasons for the rulings and many facts given to her which were not reported.
To the Editor:
Not all facts presented in resignation article
Wille failed to mention that the funds we were trying to get would not be appropriated until fiscal year 1884. We will all have graduated by 1930, and would have received no benefit from the progress.
We are specifically sanctioned by the Kansas Board of Regents in the Kansas Administrative Regulations, Section 88-4-8. We are one of two bodies given this status by the state and the Board of Regents. Obviously, the governing body of state universities saw the necessity to make a distinction between this board and University committees.
The article failed to mention the distinctions our board and the University committees
We do not act in an advisory capacity, but make actual decisions that aid in making the traffic rules and regulations consistent and enforceable. We are a completely autonomous body. All appeals heard from our decisions are reheard by the same body en bane. From there, all appeals go directly to the Douglas County sheriff, who is accountable to any other University assembly.
Our decision was truly based on the premise that we should no longer designate our time to perform the administrative details of the Board of Parking and Traffic Appeals Our Office provides such services as administration on the parking service. We have all remained on the board as judges.
We have direct control over a large amount of money, more than $10,000 during a school year. I would be hard pressed to find many University committees with this kind of authority.
We took the job believing that we were providing a useful, necessary function for the student body and the University. We performed our duties diligently, conscientiously and seriously. We met twice a week and over breaks to try to get the docked casket up. We started out one and a half years behind, and have brought the docker to within six months of being current.
The decision to seek reimbursement for the time the judges spend weekly was a policy decision on the part of the judges and the Parking and Traffic Board. The action by the University Senate executive committee, made without the assistance of the judges or board, showed a lack of respect and a lack of confidence in the court and its administration.
Our resignations are in response to the attitude taken by SpenEx to our function in the University
community, not the refusal of funding. The University Daily Kansan acted irresponsibly in failing to relate these facts and the real reasons behind the resinnations.
Kari S. Schmidt,
Lawrence law student
No exceptions allowed To the Editor:
In our society people who break rules are punished. It has come to my attention that some of the "KU on Wheels" bus drivers are in need of punishment. They are disobeying the plainly displayed "No Smoking" signs inside their buses.
Are bus drivers a special exception? No. Their cigarettes and pipes fill the buses with the same disgusting smoke. Don't, tell me that a slightly algera window allows them to break the no smoking rule. The rule is clearly posted with no exceptions.
Angie Sutcliffe,
Wichita sonhomo
Can a bus driver steer safely while smoking? No. Driving a motor vehicle requires the complete concentration of the operator. I would think that driving a large bus packed with precious human lives demands an even more intense concentration. And because these smoking bus drivers have divided their attention, they cannot be safe drivers.
Attention:Student Senate, Lawrence Bus Co. and all KU students. The ignorance of this rule
Objections not valid
To the Editor:
I would like to express some disagreement with Tom Bontrager's column about the "New Federalism." (I might add that I enjoyed his previous two very much.) I am not familiar with De Morgan's reagent Reagan's proposal, but I am not sure Tom Bontrager's objections are completely valid.
He considers the probable delay in implementation to be a drawback. It is that relevant to the idea's validity? *L* legislation almost always seems to take too long. Perhaps it is an intolerable error. It can counter some of the "burden" to the state if it the national government can't act quickly enough.
In addition, farsightedness is one of the positive aspects of the conservative philosophy, and has always been sorely lacking in our government. Perhaps federalism is "plausible" in the long term. State governments need not remain "less - qualified" to handle these programs. (Besides, doesn't government tend to grow more easily than it reduces?)
nth sI
I think it is more appropriate for local authorities to administer aid to the poor for several reasons. Often, aid should include education or other personal attention (give a man a fish and he eats for a day . . .). This might be more efficiently and appropriately done at the local level, with innovation flourishes most readily.
Innovation is very important; many local authorities are finding new ways of aiding the poor at a streamlined cost, and often utilize it better than the national government can.
When individuals have to be considered, generalization and centralization should be avoided. (Think of your own experiences with centralized authority.) San Diego's mayor calls decentralization of "resources and discretion . . . good managerial practice."
Also, the "adjustments" needed for geographical differences would be far from a "simple matter . . . on the federal level." I would assume that this is already being tried, and that some lack of success is a motivating factor behind this idea. Such adjustments require communication and red tape, which becomes garbled and proliferated in Washington. Besides, why do it in Washington if it can be done better at the source, eliminating a level of bureaucracy?
Some state and local officials are panicking, but added responsibility is usually frightening. Others have voiced agreement that they would be more efficient in this area of service. Most feel that, at the least, a reassessment of the distribution of responsibility is necessary.
Let us hope that our elected representatives act with great care and courage on this impending occasion.
Nancy Ives Overland Park senior
Letters Policy
The University Daily Kansan 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 Kansan reserves the right to edit or reject letters.