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Friday, September 29, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Teach students math skills before they get to college
Who do we blame for students not being able to pass Math 002? Do we nail the blame to the University of Kansas, which inherits the students? Or do we blame the public school system, which didn't educate the students well enough in the first place?
Because of the low average of nationwide math skills, Kansas students in three different grade levels will be getting their arithmetic skills tested in Spring 1991. The University has been asked to administer the test that is planned for third-, seventh- and tenth-graders.
That's the perfect time for students to be tested because it seems that by the time they reach the University, many students are well behind in their math skills. They come to KU, enroll in Math 002 or another self-taught remedial course and find that they can't pass the weekly tests in time for the deadline.
It doesn't seem fair to blame the University. Although it does seem illogical to have self-taught courses for subjects that students can't grasp, it also seems impractical to waste University and state money to educate students in remedial subjects.
By the time students reach the University, they should have a firm understanding of basic math skills. Many, however, do not.
The state is beginning to address this problem with the new test. It will show students where they are in math skills and how far they need to go to have a basic understanding.
The Commission of Education is doing a good thing. They are trying to correct a problem that has already gone too far. If the test is successful, perhaps future KU students won't see Math 002 in the timetable.
Deb Gruver for the editorial board
Throwing old books away was unnecessary, wasteful
Tsk. tsk. tsk
The 900 books Watson Library threw away on Monday surely could have gone somewhere better than in the trash.
The books were mostly duplicates of books the library already owned.
For two days, the library tried to sell the books to students and people in the community.
Finally, for half a day, the library attempted to give the books away.
Unfortunately for 900 books, no one was there.
A library official said Watson didn't have the manpower to take the books anywhere farther than the trash dumpster.
But to get rid of the books all the library had to do was load up a car and take them to the local Salvation Army. The Salvation Army is in the business of taking things that some people don't seem to have a use for but that others do.
Actually, the library could have done less than that
The assistant manager of the Salvation Army said that not only would the organization have gladiated take the books, they would even made the long trek up the hill and picked the books up in a Salvation Army truck.
Or perhaps the library could have contacted a relief agency and had the books sent outside of the United States.
The books could have meant something to someone. Two days just wasn't enough time to find out.
at the most, someone could have read them.
At the very least, someone could have used the books to even out an uneven bed.
It's too late to do anything for the books the library threw away. By now, they've probably floated out to sea.
But throwing a book away in these days of mass illiteracy and poverty just doesn't seem to make any sense. It's one of those things that makes you scratch your head and say, "What were you thinking?"
Tiffany N. Harness for the editorial board
News staff
David Stewart...Editor
Ric Brack...Managing editor
Daniel Niemi...News editor
Candy Niemann...Planning editor
Stan Diel...Editorial editor
Jennifer Corser...Campus editor
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Stephen Kline...Graphics editor
Christine Winner...Art/Features editor
Tom Eblen...General manager, news admin
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Few tears will be shed for Marcos
Ding, dong, the dictator's dead.
I almost got choked up yesterday morning when I turned on the television and the newscaster told me that Ferdinand Marcos had died.
The star of home movies and repression had gone to that great totalitarian regime in the sky.
Marcos spent 20 years as the head of the Philippine government, grafting, murdering and embezzling his way to a large personal fortune at $10 billion. Great way to make a living.
Marcos was said to have had a softer side that was clearly shown by the many home videos he and his wife, Imelda, made. The tapes, which became public last year, show the Marcoses' expensive guests, expensive clothes and expensive decorating. They also show Imelda shining.
Outside the gates of Malacanang Palace the life of the typical Filipino was not quite as luxurious. Poverty and unsanitary conditions were common on the streets of Manila. Opposition to Marcos was brutally repressed. I doubt Imelda's singing would have helped.
It didn't help me. I heard her singing on television when she did an interview with one or another of those TV journalists. Her warbling voice sounded like a broken teapot. Her video made me want to watch Lawrence Welk again and again.
Imelda also was well known as the Queen of Shoes. Her closet could have put a Payless Shoe Source warehouse to shame. Her shopping trips to
Brett
Brenner
Assoc. editorial editor
New York gave her more frequent-flier miles than the U.S. Air Force.
Marcos' son said that his father was going "to a higher place." I find that hard to believe. I'm no saint and would be the last to judge most people, but if Marcos meets me at the pearly gates, I'll be surprised.
There ARE supporters of Marcos in the Philippines and the U.S. government. It's amazing that these people can overlook the role Marcos and his cronies played not only in repressing the people but also in trashing an economy. He did keep the advance of communist rebels in check, but there would not have been as many rebels if conditions had been a bit better.
Gerald Solomon, a former member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that Marcos was "a true friend and ally of the United States." The only thing Marcos did for the United States was to let us keep some military bases and to slow the system when the Filipinos sued him for their money.
Perhaps Marcos' greatest feat, at least where
murders are concerned, was the assassination of Benigno Aquino in August 1983. Granted, Aquino was returning to the Philippines from exile in the United States to challenge Marcos' power. But Aquino had just stepped off the plane when he was shot in cold blood. Marcos was never tried for the murder, but in the minds of many Filipinos his hands were irreovocably stained with blood.
Marcos fled to Hawaii after he was ousted by Corazon Aquino in February 1986. Nice place to go into exile. The Soviet government sends theirs to Siberia, the Chinese government kills theirs, and gets his own personal Club Med. Maybe I should umbeble 10 billion so I can be sent to Hawaii.
Marcos also should be in the running for an Oscar for the longest running death scene. I think it was beginning to become a regular media event. Marcos is slik. Marcos goes to the hospital.
Now the question becomes whether Cory Aquino will allow Marcos back into the country for burial. She mixed the idea of him returning alive, and she has yet to change her position now that he is dead. Would it be a good idea to give his supporters a symbol to rally around? But then again, if the leader is dead, it might not be such a bad idea.
In parting, I find it hard to grieve for such an evil man, a man who had no regard for human rights or even for human life.
In short, good riddance
Brett Brenner is a Wichita senior majoring in political science and journalism.
Batman becomes joker in Chicago
In Chicago, there is an architectural firm by the name of Zar and Hicks. One of the firm's partners
I wanted to wait until the Batman craziness that seemed to last all summer had ended before I told you this story. This is the best Batman tale that I know, but I didn't want to seem to be promoting the movie. This is much better than the movie.
In 1970, when he was just starting out, Hicks had to take the state license test to become an architect. The test, he said, had nine sections. Hicks passed all but one.
He had to reapply in order to take the one section he failed. First, he said, the licensing board claimed that it had not received his new application. Then the board said that it had received his question but not his money. By the time the board found his money, it was too late to retake the test.
"So, I had to wait a full year to reapply to take that one section," Hicks said.
Bob Greene
Syndicated columnist
He put the Batman costume on at home. Then a friend drove him to the test site in downtown Chicago. "People on the sidewalk had children in strollers, and they wondered what was going on." Hicks said. "My friend had a Dodge Charger. It
"I read the law concerning the licensing of architects," Hicks said. "It set guidelines for performance, but nothing you had to look or dress a certain way."
"i rented a Batman costume for $30." Hicks said. "It was silk and it had a hood and a leopard. The leopard."
So, in 1972, when it was time for him to take the architectural exam again, Hicks decided to make a personal statement.
was orange with a black top. It was the appropriate car."
Hicks went inside to take the test. Administrators were supposed to match each person with that person's photo ID. "I had to disrobe some," Hicks said.
Most other people who were taking the test "were dressed in Brooks Brothers suits," Hicks said. "Much more pompous." Hicks remained dressed as Batman.
"All I wanted to do was walk into the exam and frustrate them," he said. "The same way they had frustrated me."
Hicks did well on the exam. He couldn't be failed on the basis of his performance.
"But I had to 'meet with a committee of architects,' Hicks said. "They told me, 'We don't agree with what you did. We want you to apologize' and mentioned that I wanted it 'not to practice architecture."
Hicks went to the American Civil Liberties Union to request assistance. "They told me to cool off," Hicks said, but then things started to get complicated. It looked as if the whole matter had reached an impasse. The young architect had passed the exam but he had done so dressed as Batman.
In May of 1973, Hicks received a registered letter from Dean Barringer, director of the Illinois Department of Registration and Education. The letter began:
"Dear Mr. Hicks; Enclosed is your registration certificate to practice architecture. It is issued with grave misgivings. We recognize that you have demonstrated technical competence by passing the examination, but your actions indicate an alarming degree of emotional and social immaturity and a fundamental lack of understanding of the practice of architecture and the general fitness required of an individual to assume a responsible professional role.
"We strongly disapprove of your appearance . . . dressed, as you were, in the bizarre costume of Batman, with the acknowledged purpose of disrupting the examination at the expense of your identity." The text also states that the 200 candidates was evidenced in their complete lack of interest in your caper.
"Your general attitude evidences a lack of respect for your peers and the great traditions of the architectural profession. We trust, that with maturity, you will come to have respect for authority and a higher esteem and consideration for your profession and its members."
And with that admonition, Hicks was granted his license to be an architect. He remains one today, and is amused that now, everywhere you look, people are wearing Batman clothing.
Would he take the architecture exams dressed as Batman no? No, he would not.
▶ Bob Greene is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
CAMP UHNEELY
BY SCOTT PATTY