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Opinion
Universitv Daliv Kansan, November 5, 1981
Some are 'more equal'
A new "non-uniformity" between KU men's and women's athletic programs has been brought to light, and it concerns tools of the academic, not the athletic, trade.
It seems the athletic department has a practice of loaning textbooks to male athletes who receive full scholarships from the University. At the end of each semester, the men are supposed to return the books. Whether they really do is a question that merits asking, because NCAA rules forbid them from receiving and keeping books as part of their financial aid.
But even if all the male athletes are extremely honest and play by these rules, the athletic department is still in essence buying books for them. Many textbooks, especially paperbacks, can be used for only two or three semesters before they are out of date.
The female athletes, on the other hand, have never had a budget that allows them the luxury of "borrowing" textbooks. They shell out big dollars at the book store each semester, just as the rest of us do. It's "possible" that the women could receive books in the future, but no one knows when or whether they can count on them.
And speaking of possible, it's "possible"
that the Department of Education will issue, sometime this semester, its ruling on KU's compliance with Title IX, the law that bans sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funding. That ruling will tell the University whether it needs to make changes in the way it allocates money and services to athletics—changes that could effect fundamental things like equipment and textbooks.
Unfortunately, the Title IX review process has been nothing but a series of delays, in true government fashion. A team of investigators spent four weeks on the KU campus last fall, but the department's report on their findings, originally expected in January, has been bouncing between the Kansas City and Washington offices ever since, as "revisions" are being made. KU was one of eight schools chosen for test reviews of Title IX violations, but at this rate, we'll be lucky to get a ruling before President Reagan has a chance to abolish the Department of Education.
In any event, KU's female athletes can continue to hope that the inequalities of the funding system—including the textbook issue—will be cleared up in the not-too-distant future.
But if they're smart, they won't hold their breath.
America's love for handguns triggers accidents, murders
When will the shooting stop?
Thirteen-year-old Daniel Breaux of Baton Rouge, La., decided to go trick-or-treating last Saturday night as a soldier with a toy submachine gun.
He knocked on a neighbor's front door. A man answered, shut the door, came back with a 357 Magnum revolver and shot the teen-ager. Breaux later died.
Someone is murdered with a handgun in this country about every hour. Seven o'clock was the day of execution.
The statistics concerning violence and hands gun use in this country are anallosing. Last week
KARI
ELLIOTT
there were 23,000 murders in the United States; half were committed with handgun. The British soldier who was killed was a German.
During the same period, 2,000 Americans were accidentally killed with handguns. Recently, a Tonganoka couple's 22-month-old son accidentally shot himself in the stomach after he found his parents' 22 caliber revolver hidden behind the waterbed. Fortunately, the boy lived.
One in four Americans has a handgun lying on a night stand or tucked away on a closet shelf or possibly stashed under his belt. Even Nancy Reagan has a little gum near her bed.
Americans are toting around more than 50 million handguns, making this country the most heavily armed population in the world. In addition to handguns, there are 120 million rifles and shotgun
The United States has the highest murder rate in the world-9.7 each year for every 100,000 people. Japan has 1.6 and West Germany and Great Britain have 1.3 each.
Those countries also have strict gun control laws that keep handguns out of circulation. In Japan, only police, soldiers and some marksmans are allowed pistols. West Germany restricts guns to registered hunting-club members. In Britain, even the police don't carry guns.
Those countries also have strict gun control laws that keep handguns out of circulation. In Japan, only policy, soldiers, and some marksmans are allowed pistols. West Germany
Four American presidents have been murdered, and two others have been victims of assassination attempts in the last five years. The president has never had a prime minister assassinated.
Gun control, or the lack of it, comes down to a question of freedom. Should Americans have the freedom to carry guns at the expense of a high murder and violent-crime rate?
Our country's liberal attitude toward citizens carrying weapons is unusual compared with other democratic countries. Americans consider the right of self-defense a true right that is guaranteed by the Constitution.
Pro-gun advocates, however, are shooting blanks with the constitutional argument. The right to bear arms, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment, was enacted in 1708 when the country needed to raise a militia.
In 1981, with MXs, F-16s and AWACS, there is no need for a militia or the amendment.
Gun advocates also argue that gun control laws will punish ordinary citizens in high-crime areas who need guns to supplement inadequate law enforcement. These targets also need guns to feel more secure in their homes.
However, this is another fallacy put forth by the pro-gun lobby. Security may be a warm gun for some Americans, but in actuality, owning a gun creates more problems.
Handguns are more likely to kill family members and friends, more likely to be stolen for use in violent crimes and more likely to be used in suicide attempts than in protection from assailants, according to Janet Baker, Dakar, Kansas City Committee for Handgun Awareness.
Handguns simply give Americans a false sense of security.
In order to stop our outrageously high murder rate, Americans must end their love affair with guns and be willing to give up their freedom to own one.
They must change their Wild West mentality. America is no longer a frontier country with the good guys beating the bad guys to the draw. Today, it's the good guys who get shot down.
To lower the number of murders by handguns the United States needs to enforce three laws: national gun registration, a ban on the sale, import and manufacture of handguns; and a mandatory sentence for a crime committed with a gun.
Citizens won't need to turn in handguns that they already own. But with restrictions on the sale and importation of other guns, the number of guns in circulation should drop, and the cost of black market guns should rise so sharply that they would be too expensive for street criminals.
In March 1968, Robert Kennedy said, “No one—no matter where he lives or what he does—can be certain that will suffer from some senescence.” He is on and on and on and on in this country of ours. Why?“
With strict gun control laws, the shooting may stop in America. Until then, no citizen can feel安全.
Kennedy was assassinated three months later. The weapon was a bandage.
Senseless acts of bloodshied still occur 13 years later, because Americans still love guns. They buy them, they sell them, they own them.
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Tense times on Sweden-Three
Captain's log, Stardate 10.27. The Enterprise was bat'ing a dangerous alien thing when an urgent call came in from the Federation.
"Kirk here. What is it, Federation? We're busy battling this unknown thing."
"Forget the thing, Enterprise," the Federation said. "There's an interplanetary crisis going on. You're needed in the Scandinavia star system, where a Klingon battle cruiser has accidentally crash-landed on the small world of Sweden-Three. You're needed to insure that the Klingons don't try to overrun the planet."
"Spock," Kirk said, turning to his first officer, "what do you make of this?"
"A dangerous situation, Captain," Spock said with raised eyebrow. "The Klingons have been violating Swedish territorial space for months. It is most illogical. The defenseless Swedes can do nothing. All they do is make cheese."
"What do you suppose the Klingons are up to?"
"The Swedes are neither Federation members nor part of the Klingon empire. They've been balancing on the fine line of neutrality, and the Klings may be wanting to upset that balance. Besides, you know what snappy little devils those Klingons are."
"You've got a point there," Kirk said. "In fact, you've got two points."
At that instant, a panicked Lt. Uhura ran from her console screaming, "Captain, I'm frightened."
"Shut up, Uhura," Kirk ordered. "Mr. Chekhov, your evaluation?"
"How could dose imperialistic Klingsons do sometik like dis?" Chekwh asked.
“Well, we'd better get over to Sweden. Tree and find out what's going on.” Kirk said.
Scotty's voice blasted over the intercom, captain, we canna warp nine feet long!"
Kirk looked in over at Spock and asked, when are we going to get a V-8 in this thing?
Captain's log, Stardare 11.05. In less time it than takes for four commercials, we
DON
MUNDAY
arrived in orbit around Sweden-Three. Spock,
the Klingon crashshake, have beamed down to the
Klingon crashshake.
"Spok, look over there—a bunch of the native villagers are gangging up on one of the Klingons. Let's go," Kirk said. "All right. We've got things under control." Federation. We've got things under control."
"Don't talk tough to me," Kirk growled, "that's my job. We want answers. What was your ship doing coming so close to this planet that you crashed?"
The ugly Klingon stepped up to Kirk,
giving the commander the downed ship, I demand it get on top.
"It was an accident!" the Klingon pleaded.
"We were going along, minding our own
business, when these belligerent Swedes went and planted a planet in our way. We couldn't help but put it!
"A likely story!" McCoy said. "We know you've been provelling this area of space for months. Why don't you just admit you want to take over?"
'Bones, let me ask the tough questions,' Kirk said.
"My government demands that you allow your oar ship away," the Klingon said. "Wow."
"Oh, yeah?" McCoy asked. "You and whose uncle?"
"You're not going anywhere until we get a written promise from you Klingons that you'll never, ever do anything like this again," Kirk said.
"Yeah, that goes for us, too," the villagers said in unison.
"Offhand, Captain, I'd say it was the Enterprise crashing onto the planet's surface."
Kirk continued, "So you can just sit tight
and play the piano, what was that blinding
flash and sonic boom?"
"So what are we going to do now?" Kirk asked.
"Spock—you didn't put on the parking brake?"
"Vell, for one ting, you gonna stay around here with de Kingson," the head villager said. "We've had enough of you pushin us around."
"No, captain, I thought Sulu did it," Spock said.
"No, listen!" Kirk pleaded as the villagers bed him away. "It was an accident! we didn't mind." He smiled.
Letters to the Editor
To the Editor:
Banning Jayhawk unfeasible, un-American
K-State has spies on campus. I know they're
there. They're there. We want to rid of the mascot!
Kenypoo. they want to get rid of the mascot!
Seriously, how, not why, would anybody get rid of the Jayhawk? What are we going to do—send out Jayhawk death squads to patrol the streets, tearing stuffed Jayhawks from tiny tots, ripping up "Big Blue" shirts and shattering Jayhawk-fooled car windows?
Or do we mount a regionwide ad campaign? "Trade in those old worthless Jayhawks for the new improved Kansas Hawk—part of the past but streamlined for the future."
Wouldn't K-State love that? We beat them in football and then we trash our monument of victory. They'll brutalize us! We take a year or two for people to get used to the new mascot. What do we do in the meantime? We'll be defenseless!
What's wrong with the Jahawk anyway? There are those who would say he's not a real part of the past. They would have us believe that they were right about the legacy of the past and a more suitable mascot.
Legacy of the past? Big deal! If we want a legacy of the past, why don't we just get a rock? Just think of the advantages a two-ton slab of granite would have. It only takes 22 men to wheel it around, and if we lose we can use it to smash the other team.
All this heretical babbling from a bunch of wet-blanket leftists won't deter us true KU fans out here! Not only it would be unfeasible to change the mascot, it would be un-American.
We will not allow this to happen.
Michael Halleran Lawrence freshman
Limited parking unfair
To the Editor:
This letter is in response to the Oct. 30 story by Sharon Appelbaum about limited parking for KU students.
I disagree with the parking board when they say that they want "to keep some spaces open just for the faculty who teach at night or other times" and then turn to their offices to burn the midnight candle."
I am an unclassified staff member. I came to campus one night to 'burn the midnight candle' and I received a $7.50 parking ticket. When I complained, I found out that only those faculty and staff with daytime permits could park in lots reserved for faculty and staff after 5 p.m.
If I want to work at night, I have to park at least two blocks away because I have not paid $42 for a daytime permit. The reason I did not pay for parking in the day is that I park off campus and wait to work. But in the evening it is safe to walk in through the parking blocks, there is a good chance of riffle rafting.
I know of few other employers who would put a profit motive above the safety and convenience of their employees, or who would fine them $7.50 for going to work in the evening.
Mary McCue
KU rock fans, unite
Research assistant for the office of institutional research and planning
To the Editor:
Exactly what is the cause of sluggish ticket sales for such excellent rock outfits as Molly Hatchet or George Thorgood and the Destroyers? I find it extremely difficult to believe that a mass exodus of rock fans from the area is the reason.
So, granted that the fans are here, why are they not willing to attend concerts? Could it
perhaps be an unspoken strike over high ticket prices? Or maybe it is that students are short of money, as Irene Carr suggested in the Oct. 30 declining ticket sales threatened KU concerts').
Evidently, apathy has replaced VD as the rampant social disease on campus. We've seen an apparently terminal case of it at the football stadium, despite harrowing, exciting games and a winning record, for once. But now, the rancid disease has infected something that I, as well as others, place a great deal of importance on. I am sneaking of rock concerts.
Whatever the reason, the biggest question of all is what are we, as KU rock africanados, going to do about this situation? Certainly, we cannot allow ourselves to bask in the memory of prior successful concerts, when KU packed them in to the Dauas Brothers, Cheap Trick and Knicks.
Now is definitely the time for KU rock fans to rally and show promoters that we actually care whether high-quality entertainment is brought to this campus. Those of you who were displeased over having to travel to Kansas City to see the Tubes can share my sentiments.
I, for one, have enough eats for good music that I refuse to give in to this disease of apathy. I only hope that there are enough people who feel it and we can bring it to remission, if not a total cure.
Jeff Cowger
Topeka freshman
Letters policy
The University Daily Kansan welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced and 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 the class and home town or faculty or staff position. The Kansan reserves the right to edit or reject letters.