UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN editorials
Unsigned editors represent the opinion of the Kansan editorial staff. Signed columns represent the views of
JANUARY 30.1979
Penal reforms needed
A new era in Kansas penal corrections was ushered into being last week with the appointment of Patrick D. McManus, head of the Minnesota community correction programs, as the new secretary of corrections for Kansas.
It didn't take long for McManus to establish his credentials, saying after his appointment that he would resign as penal director rather than carry out a death sentence if Kansas adopted a new capital punishment law.
The appointment of McManus signifies a full endorsement of the community corrections program in Kansas, and places a lid firmly on the idea of a new medium-security prison in Kansas.
THE FORMER secretary of corrections, Robert R. Raines, resigned in August 1977 during a disagreement with the Kansas Legislature over the need for a new medium-security prison. Raines and former Gov. Robert F. Bennett favored the prison, while the Legislature opposed it.
The Legislature instead passed legislation in 1978 that gave cities incentives to establish programs designed to keep, in their own towns, non-violent
inmates capable of returning to society, and to ease the adjustment of those inmates into society.
The election of Carlin, who opposed the death penalty, and the appointment of McManus, who favors the community corrections approach, are encouraging signs for those who favor a new penal philosophy in Kansas.
COUNTLESS programs have shown that community-oriented corrections programs can cut the rate of recidivism, the percentage of released inmates who return to prison, by as much as three-quarters. At the same time, studies show that prisons in the United States are continually ineffective in both rehabilitation and public protection.
MeMansu seems to recognize this, saying that new prisons "are really boxes to house people. They rarely solve any problems; at best they put them off for awhile.
"I don't see that as the keystone of the direction I think the state is intending to go."
Neither do we. Perhaps with McManus at the helm, Kansas can build a penal system designed to help, rather than incarcerate. It is important, at least, that someone try.
Air quality no better
Who says big government is unresponsive in solving problems?
Why, just last week the federal government solved Lawrence's air pollution problem.
No, it wasn't a new air cleaner or a crackdown on major air-polluters. The Environmental Protection Agency simply lowered its standards until Lawrence could meet them.
WHILE THAT may come as a major relief to the Chamber of Commerce, it fails to excite those who like large doses of oxygen in their air.
Nevertheless, the EPA says the new levels will not endanger human health. But that has not stopped groups like Environmental Action in Washington D.C. from proclaiming the new standards to be a victory for industry.
"Scientific evidence shows that the new level of smog permitted will increase our vulnerability to infectious respiratory ailments," the group said.
"While it may only cause eye irritation, shortness of breath, and increased colds in healthy people, it can be positively dangerous to those already suffering from respiratory ailment problems."
STILL, THE EPA's only response has been to state that the new standards are based on scientific evidence. But with the increasing evidence of the dangers of air pollution, it must be wondered how the EPA can justify lower standards. The prime goal of the agency should be the elimination, or at least reduction, of current air pollution levels.
But that means taking on industry, a prospect that fails to excite most federal agencies. So instead we are left with weakened standards and a town full of billowing smokestacks. While the new standards might be a public relations blessing for Lawrence, it does nothing to improve the quality of life of its citizens.
Supposedly that is what government is all about, but perhaps the EPA is teaching us some new lessons on the power of industry and the importance of profits.
Carter should choose minority, women judges
The paucity of minorities and women in the federal judiciary is another one of those areas about which muchruch has been said and understood. The number of substantive change has come to pass.
This is a responsibility that Carter cannot take lightly.
The president and the attorney general have already indicated that their selections for the 152 lifetime positions will be removed from the political tradition of letting senators nominate judges in their states. This change in method of approval is in itself an important first step in ensuring the implementation of public policy. One need not look very far beyond the term "congressional segregationist judges who have occupied our federal courts and thwarted the adoption of civil rights legislation.
UNDER THE NEW arrangement, citizen advisory boards are being set up. Candidates for judgeships are supposed to be recommended on the basis of merit, an elusive qualification that is almost impossible to define. Several of the citizen advisory boards have been called “merit,” defining it as including 15 years experience, as if 10 or 12 won't do.
Obviously, new judges should be selected on the basis of their legal competence. An unfit judge, besides becoming an embarrassment to the party that named him, should be acquitted by a white judge, cruelly determine the fate of a white class of people, as history has proved.
But just as obviously, blacks and women who quality should receive a majority of the
Why a majority? Because minorities are
rarities in the federal judiciary. By weighing his new appointments in favor of minority candidates, Carter can make the case for a more representative of this nation's diverse population.
THE EXCLUSION of minorities on federal benches, particularly in the South, was recently the focus of a study by the Southern Regional Council. The SRC study found that two-thirds of the federal courts in the South employ five or fewer blacks. In the Northern District of Illinois, clerk. Block circuit law clerks, librarians or assistant librarians are not to be found.
And even in clerical and secretarial jobs, where fewer than 8 percent of such employees are black, there are continual blocks. Out of 3,000 employees of federal district and circuit courts in the South, only 6 percent are black. In the South, but in the federal indicty.
Now Carter can break the vicious pattern. The 121 new judges he intends to nominate by April could begin to change the prevailing system of racial exclusion. There is no shortage of qualified minority judges and lawyers.
Given the administration's emphasis on austerity and its lack of bold new social-service initiatives, the appointments provide Carter with a unique opportunity to change the federal judiciary and perhaps insure his own political survival.
Of the 138 federal judges in the South only one is black. One U.S. attorney out of 29 is black. Only three blacks are U.S. marshals. Only four blacks are U.S. marshals are black according to the study.
Two bills introduced into the Kansas House and Senate recently may pit conservationist legislators against big business legislators over the issue of litter.
Bottle bill would help litter, energy
One bill, called the bottle bill, would require a 5-cent refund deposit on all purchases made at a consumer center, and consumer would pay an additional 30 cents for a six-pack of whatever beverage chosen and would receive it back if all empty bottles were returned. The bill is favored by conservationists.
The other bill, known as the litter control bill, would tax retailers a maximum of $30 annually and manufacturers and distributors up to $2,000 annually. Bottles, cans, newspapers, food containers, plastic items, food products, prone items would be considered taxable. That bill is favored by beverage container manufacturers.
THE APPROXIMATELY $1.6 million generated by the tax would be used for litter clean-up, new litter receptacles, anti-litter education and recycling projects.
kansas needs a bottle bill. The bill currently being considered is similar to one that has been successfully tested in seven other states.
The bottle bill will cut down the amount of energy required to process the food. It will help the heavy
The bottle bill is an attempt to stop litter, while the litter control bill is an attempt to stop plastic bags.
Jake
Thompson
load of solid waste accumulating in mountainous heaps around the countryside.
And, according to State Rep. Bob Miller, R-Wellington, a co-sponsor of the bottle bill, the litter control bill is being sponsored "simply to stop the bottle bill."
THE LITTER control bill, sponsored by State Sen. Ron Hein, R-Topea, is supported by an organization of brewers, bitters, beer makers and farmers, called the Kansas Environmental Council.
They fear the bottle bill could result in a loss of jobs in the container industry, in inconvenience for consumers and in increased cost of managing the bottle and collection.
But a similar mandatory deposit on all containers has been in effect in Oregon, but only 20 percent have been years. In Oregon, the bottle bill law is the pride of the state. It cost the state a mere $3,000 to manage last year and more than 90 percent of container sales in time were returns.
At 5 cents a container, cleaning the highways, streets and alleys can be profitable to any person willing to take the time.
Nevertheless, Kansas state legislators should not succumb to pressure based on the actions of a relatively small number of states. The issue should be examined carefully, particularly from an energy consumption perspective.
IN ADDITION to the Oregon example Iowa enacted a bottle bill Jan. 1.
Refined oil is one of the primary ingredients in manufacturing beverage containers. As imported oil prices continually rise and the supply fluctuates, it becomes apparent that the United States should be more conservative in its use of oil.
Miller said one of the reasons he sponsored the bill, which has been sponsored in some form for the last eight years, was to encourage that energy used to produce all containers.
BOTH BILLS would prohibit the use of pull tabs on containers, which the Adolph Coors Co. says requires six times as much energy to produce as is needed to produce the rest of the container. And a huge number of containers will be produced this year.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 5 billion containers will be delivered by 2019.
Because the bottle bill would require the manufacturing industry to collect all its containers for reuse or recycling, the industry would cut down the production of throw-away containers to save costs of collection.
That would be a positive step toward conservation of energy.
The relatively high deposit required on each container would force consumers to invest more in cleaning and a positive step toward cleaning up the litter scattered around the state. And if more reusable and recyclable containers are made, it could decrease the overall amount of solid waste.
THAT WOULD decrease the amount of
plate that is piling up in solid waste disposal
plates.
Ten percent of the revenue accrued from the litter tax would be used to administer the program, an expansion of an already unwieldy bureaucracy. The bottle bill almost administers itself, as demonstrated in Oregon.
Beverage container manufacturers do not want to alter their industry, because change means a loss of money. In other words, they bring in new containers away from containers than on unreusable ones.
But, alteration is necessary when Kansas is faced with more trash and a proliferation of containers scattered over the countryside.
Further taxation is not the answer to the litter problem. Tightening the belt and recycling all available materials will become mandatory as resources dwindle.
Kansas legislators should take the opportunity to voluntarily conserve energy
Article promotes religious prejudice
To the editor:
Recently you have been taking a strong stand in favor of freedom of speech. I'm sure that your stand would be as strong for freedom of press. My particular interest is your failure to defend freedom of religion, in connection to the denial of religious freedom.
Because I think it is unintentional, I wish to explain. As a member of a religious minority I feel threatened from time to time by your newspaper. The last statement in Lori Lienberger's article on the Jonestown/suicide symposium in Smith Hall was, "The inmates are known to die in murders and shout, 'It is better to die than to be without (Sun Myung) Moon.'" She said, "Yes, it could happen again."
The implication is made that a mass suicide could happen again, especially among the Moonies. The speaker is Jan O'Neill, assistant professor of social welfare.
I want to point out that (1) this is religious prejudice and (2) it is not objective.
1. Many people read the above statement superficially and accept it as fact. Few question if in fact this is a true statement, 1, of course, doubt it very much. You are guilty of subly perpetuating or planting religious prejudice.
Suppose the statement read, "Blacks have been known to stand up in stadiums and shout, 'Kill the ump.' Yes, it could happen again." That would be subtle racism. Suppose the statement was, "Reporters have been known to lie to get a story. Yes, it has been known to be stupid." That would have been known to be dumb." or "Jews have been known to have big noses." All of this is subtle prejudice, social, racial, or religious.
3. It is religion prejudice because it is the last statement made in the article. You, the
2. It is religious prejudice because no where else in the article are the Moonies mentioned. The symposium had nothing to do with the Moonies at all. Such a comment was not objectively reporting the events of the symposium, but was editorializing.
Religious Prejudice
UNIVERSITY DAILY letters KANSAN
editor, are responsible for how an article ends. You have shown religious prejudice by making this imagery the last impression that one receives from the article.
Many minorities have felt the sting of such unconscious reporting. Thousands of people who read such things without reflection or prejudice may be unwilling to prejudice. Many now assume that Moonies (1) stand up in stadiums and shout, (2) would rather die themselves than lose Rev. Robert Jackson. As a result, suicide. This is an absolutely false portrayal, as anyone who knows us will testify.
Non-Objective Reporting
1. Iris statement was entirely out of context. I personally attended the symposium and Prof. Larson made the commentary. I missed a lot of the discussion. I thought she was not serious. I also thought it was an irresponsible thing to say. Your article implied that it was her considered and professional approach to welfare. This was not objective reporting.
2. It is a common phenomena that we attribute expertise in one field to a person who has shown success in another. That's why we let famous actors tell us what kind of deodorant to buy. It does not follow that a professor of social welfare can make pronouncements on the validity of a new religious belief. Theologies are obvious. This is not objective reporting. Editorials are for the editorial page.
3. 1 am grateful to Robert Shelton, chairman of the department of religious studies, for his strong defense of religious freedom. History has shown what happens when people and legislatures begin to decide who is right or wrong. We have plenty of laws governing the behavior of individuals. These are sufficient to govern the members of any and
Jim Stephens
all religions. Let us all be judged by our fruits.
Director of the Unification Church of Lawrence
Closed parking lots unjust for students
To the editor:
Since this column is most often used to cite examples of violated rights, both as students and citizens. I feel I must bring a message to the attention of my fellow students.
For some time, the students who utilize the facilities in the immediate vicinity of Allen Field House, (most specifically Murphy and Green Halls), have suffered injuries during their basketball facilities are concerned. The parking lots located north of the field house are available, as are most university parking lots, to the students for parking during the evening hours. However, there is one excuse—the evenings of home basketball games.
On these evenings the lots are barricaded as reserve parking for some unidentified persons. For many areas of the university this would cause no problem, but for those students who have either rehearsal or practice times scheduled almost every night of the week, a problem results. This situation leaves the students no place to park as well as causing them to be late for their appointments due to the lack of parking and we feel unnecessarily inconvenienced.
The congested traffic obviously cannot be helped, but the parking situation is another matter. The entire lot, or at least a portion of the lot should be "reserved" for the green area, and it should be surrounded by the other surrounding buildings. The students who are rehearsing or studying in
the evening are pursuing academic growth, a process which is hindered by these unpleasant realities.
I feel there is enough parking space available with O-zone and the Allen parkings lots that the Murphy and Green lots should be left for the students of those departments. As hard as it may be to believe, not every student has the time or the desire to attend basketball games. For those of us, our area of study is more import-
In summary, I feel our rights as students of the university are being violated by these unjust park situations. I cannot recall any situation where the clencher or O'Leane came to a theatre event. If so, the reverse inconvenience would be understandable.
Dennis Lickteig
Lawrence sophomore
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