4
Friday, October 13, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Restrictions on aid to art disregard a basic freedom
Quick, close your eyes.
You might accidentally see something Congress finds offensive.
The House of Representatives approved restrictions on federal aid to obscene art. The measures, though not as severe as those proposed by Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., are still a nose around the neck of freedom of expression, and someone is about to kick the horse.
The measures call for the denial of federal money for exhibitions that include what officials consider obscene. This includes works that show sadomasochism, homoeroticism, sexual exploitation of children or people engaged in sex acts.
OK, sexual exploitation of children is inexcusable to say the least, and sadomasochism doesn't rank high on the list of popular art topics. The key word in the phrase is "includes." What else do they consider obscene?
the officials must also find a lack of "serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value."
The officials mentioned in the measures are associated with the National Endowment for the Arts. They may not see some art as obscene, but for the sake of their jobs they cave in to pressure from close-minded conservatives who have nothing better to do than complain about art.
If they don't want to see it, they shouldn't go to the exhibits. The National Endowment for the Arts is an important sponsor of art exhibits, and without the flow of public funds into the arts there won't be many large exhibits left.
Imagine the Venus de Milo banned for partial nudity, the Mona Lisa removed for her suggestive smile, the works of Rubens, Gauguin and others thrown into the closet because of sexual themes. If the Sistine Chapel were in North Carolina, Helms would probably pay for a new coat of Sherwin-Williams off-white paint.
It seems the only hope for artistic freedom, besides a sudden rush of common sense in the Senate, is that the officials mentioned in the legislation be open-minded and withstand the pressures of those who wish to limit our freedom.
Brett Brenner for the editorial board
Protesters should ground attempts to stop Atlantis
Protesters have tried their darndest, but the shuttle Atlantis is going to fly.
A federal judge ruled that even though the shuttle would be carrying 49.4 pounds of plutonium into orbit as part of the Galileo space probe, Atlantis could continue its countdown
About an hour after that decision, a decision that NASA officials had been praying would be in their favor, those same officials stopped the launch themselves because of a possible computer malfunction.
That shows that NASA is not so trigger happy that they will rush to get the shuttle into space. NASA knows the dangers; NASA doesn't want another Challenger explosion.
Nor does NASA want every person on the face of the earth to die of plutonium exposure. They have taken every precaution against that happening.
One astronaut said that the only way the plutonium could hurt anyone was if it fell from the sky and hit someone on the head.
Now, there's someone who's going to be sitting right on top of the thing. And he doesn't seemed worried at all.
The protesters are fighting for what they believe to be right; that is commendable. What they have done and what they are doing to try to prevent the launch is their right.
But a group of Florida protesters has said that it will storm the launch pad when the shuttle is set to go. According to recent reports, that should be Tuesday afternoon.
NASA, of course, will guard the pad as best they can. Although they will use "minimal force" to stop the protesters, they will be equipped with rifles and semiautomatic weapons.
Thus, the protesters need to wonder whether they have gone too far. Lawsuits and appeals are fine, but NASA has proven that it is trying its hardest to make sure that the plutonium goes to Jupiter. The protesters now should try their hardest not to get shot trying to stop the launch.
David Stewart for the editorial board
Atlantis will fly. The protesters should at least try to live long enough to find out whether their protests were valid.
News staff
David Stewart...Editor
Ric Brack...Managing editor
Daniel Niemi...News editor
Candy Nimmann...Planning editor
Stan Diel...Editorial editor
Jennifer Corser...Campus editor
Elaine Sung...Sports editor
Jason Wu...Photo editor
Christine Winner...Art/Features editor
Tom Eblen...General manager, news adviser
Business staff
Linda Prokop...Business manager
Debra Martin...Local advertising sales director
Jerro Medford...National/regional sales director
Jill Lowe...Marketing director
Tami Rank...Production manager
Carrie Staninka...Assistant production manager
Margaret Townsend...Co-op manager
Eric Hughes...Coffee shop manager
Charlid Doolel...Classified manager
Jeff Meesey...Teamsheet manager
Jeanne Hines...Sales and marketing adviser
Letters should be typed, double-spaced and less than 200 words and must include the writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. If the writer is affiliated with the University of Kansas, please include class and hometown, or faculty or staff position.
Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and less than 700 words. The writer will be photocopied.
The Kansan reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer Flint Hall, Letters, columns and cartoons are the opinion of the writer or cartoonist and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University Daily Kansan. Editorials, which appear in the left-hand column, are the opinion of the Kansan editorial board.
The University Daly Kaneen (USPS 850-640) is published at the University of Kansas, 118 Stairwater Flint Hall, Lawn, Kan. 60045, daily during the regular school year, excluding Saturday, Sunday, holidays and finals periods, and Wednesday during the summer session. Second-class postage is paid in Lawrence, Kan. 60044. Annual subscriptions by mail are $50. Student subscriptions are $3 and are paid through the student activity fee.
Postmaster: Send address changes to the University Daily Kansas, 118 Stauffer/Flint Hall, Lawrence, KC, 68045.
PETCH BOOTH UDK 89
Don't know much about history. . .
The National Endowment for the Humanities released the results from another of those "How Ignorant Are American Students?" studies. Of the students surveyed, almost one-fourth did not know that Columbus landed in what he thought was India in 1492. One might conclude that these students are in grade school or, at worst, in junior high school and taking their first U.S. history course. Even then, they should have been taught early in their education that "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." However, the students in this survey were seniors in college.
That's right: Students soon to earn degrees and graduate to the post-secondary world don't know basic facts about history and literature. For instance, 58 percent did not know that Shakespeare wrote "The Tempest," Arguments about the play's authorship aside, schoolchildren are taught that Shakespeare wrote many famous plays, and college students are taught that "The Tempest" is one of them. Similarly, 58 percent did not know that Shakespeare was during the Korean War (Fourteen percent thought that it was fought while John Kennedy was in office). Also, 42 percent could not tell in which half of the 19th century the Civil War was fought and 55 percent could not tell what the Marna Carta was.
David White
Even more disturbing are the results of a question about Karl Marx. Twenty-three percent thought that Marx's saying, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need," was in the U.S. Constitution. Granted, not many students know more of the Constitution than the preamble and the Bill of Rights. (This is indeed saddening.) However, even a limited understanding of why the Revolutionary War was fought would suggest that the statement in question was not at all part of that struggle and the government it spawned.
Staff columnist
Based on a standard of 60 percent correct for passing, 55 percent of the students failed the test. Furthermore, only 11 percent earned an "A" or "B." And this is just the history test. Only 32 percent passed the literature test.
As for literature, much of what is written today has its basis in classic writings. The plays of Shakespeare have spawned thousands of imitations, and the writings of the Stoics have inspired a philosophy of life. Historians study literature in addition to politics and economics, and much of classical literature relates historical events.
What does this say about collegiate education in the United States? Not much. It is too easy to place the blame on college educators, though. Surely these students were taught these basic facts at some time during their educational careers (one would hope). But learning once, and then only to pass a test, does not constitute a good education. So why should we be so concerned that on this continent is irrelevant; yet, it is a fact that has been drilled into the minds of every U.S. child since the first schools were opened.
The history test had 49 questions and the literature test 38. Of these 67 questions, 33 were from a 1966 survey of 17-year-olds and five were from tests given by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to prospective U.S. citizens. Self-administered examinations were turned in by 696 seniors from 67 four-year private and public colleges and universities. Although 696 is not hundreds of thousands, it is enough to examine as a microcosm of the U.S. student.
NEH Chairman Lynne Cheney has proposed that colleges and universities adopt core curricula, which many already have. The debate about the core curricula is far from over. It is close to the end of time. All the same, students are not learning.
All forms of communication frequently contain historical and literary allusions. If the listener or reader does not grasp the connection, the communicator has wasted his time. One might argue that such attempts at communication can be explained, but the point is then moot because the purpose of the allusion or comparison has not been served.
Knowledge of basic history is paramount to understanding why people are who they are. To know what has occurred is to know what to avoid. History tends to run in cycles, and familiarity with them can be a tremendous aid to the understanding of why people take a avoid certain actions.
To know the past, both historical and literary, is to understand the basis of U.S. culture and other societies and cultures. And the more one knows, the better one understands.
► David White is an Atchison senior majoring in journalism and history.
Greed further spoils Kraft contest
Remember that big contest foul-up earlier this year? The one involving packages of Kraft cheese?
to refresh your memory: On a weekend early in June, Kraft Inc. inserted promotional filers in newspapers in Chicago and Houston. The filers were part of a Kraft contest called "Ready to Roll."
There was supposed to be one grand prize — a 1900 Dodge Caravan van, worth $17,000. The odds against winning the van were 15 million to 1.
It soon became obvious that virtually every package of cheese contained a game piece that matched up as a winner with the game pieces printed in the newspaper filers.
Kraft announced that if customers with "winning" game pieces mailed those pieces to the company by midnight the following Friday, it would do its best to be fair. Yes, the printing mistake had been made. But if the "winners" mailed in their game pieces, Kraft would send those "winners" $250 for every game piece that was a van "winner."
There would also be a drawing from among the "winning" pieces that were mailed in. Four vans would be given away, as would 400 bicycles, 2,000 skateboards and 32,000 packages of cheese. Kraft asked that only one "winning" game piece from
Bob Greene
Syndicated columnist
each household be sent in
In the end, Kraft spent $2.8 million in compensatory payments to the "winners," who were winners only because of the printing error. Nearly 10,000 people sent in "winning" tickets for the van. Each of those 10,000 people received $250.
The country seemed to get a good laugh out of this. Here was the corporate giant that, because of the printing goof-up, was getting soaked.
There is another viewpoint, though, and it is worth listening to. The viewpoint does not come from Kraft. It comes from Jeanne Vogt, 42, who is a window clerk at the post office to which the game pieces were to be mailed after Kraft had realized its mistake and had explained what happened.
we muu 19,000 certified and registered pieces of mail from these people." Vogt said. "That was just a matter of time."
on it. We had to write up each one. I'd say there were at least 15,000 regular first-class letters, too.
"All this greed was so disgusting. All through the publicity you heard, 'I want my van. I want my van.'
Looking at the tens of thousands of letters, all that Vogt could think about was the people who knew that Kraft had made a mistake and who could not wait to cash in on that mistake. And what struck her most of all was the number of people trying to cheat.
"The number of people who mailed in more than one envelope — they were especially noticeable." Voigt said. "Different stationery. Different ink. Oh, but you could see it was the same."
She was absolutely certain that a good number of the "winners" went out and bought packages of cheese after the contest mistake had received national publicity.
"People would come in after the deadline, trying to mail letters to Kraft," Vogt said. "I told them it was past the deadline. They'd say, 'I want to mail it anyway.' You could just see the dollar signs in their eyes.
▶ Bob Greene is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
CAMP UHNEEELY
I'VE GOT ONE PLAY THAT
I DIDN'T SEE A RULE
ABOUT IN THE BOOK.
HERE'S A LIGHTER.
GIVE IT TO LENNY
AND TELL HUM
RUN THE FLAMING
TORCH PLAY.
WHISTLE!
BY SCOTT PATTY
---