Friday, November 16, 1990 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Persian Gulf crisis
Bush enriches his word power, but he still can't communicate
P resident Bush added a new word to his vocabulary last week, and it was a whopper: "of-fen-sive."
In an about-face from his previous insistence that Americans would fight and die only in defense of Saudi Arabia, the president started talking about driving Iraqi troops from Iraq to Riyadh in Riyadh is far different from going to visit him in Baghdad.
But Americans have not signed on to the idea, and the president needs them most.
International support for attacking Iraq seems to be growing. Several United Nations diplomats said yesterday that they expected the United States to introduce a resolution this month calling for the expulsion of Iraq from Kuwait.
If fighting eruptions, the flow of body bags and pictures of grieving families and friends will test public commitment to U.S. involvement. When people start asking themselves, "Why are we there?" they will require a concrete answer.
Bush asserts that U.S. interests are at stake, but he has not demonstrated how those interests affect Americans' daily lives. Except for paying more to gas-up the ol' jalopy, most Americans feel no direct threat from Saddam.
Before public confidence erodes, Bush must convince the public that removing Saddam is worth war. The last Texan to be president, Lyndon B. Johnson, learned that governments could not effectively fight without public support. They still can't.
Derek Schmidt for the editorial board
Political promises
President Bush hopes the public again will listen to the rallying cry that helped him reach office two years ago. Read his lips: No new taxes.
Taxpayers tired of lip service
Taxpayers are expected to believe the unbelievable. Bush thinks that the nation can afford to send more troops and supplies to Saudi Arabia while maintaining current tax levels. Current taxes also are supposed to be adequate to pay the debts of failed banks and savings and loans. And while the economy settles into a recession, the government is somehow expected to trim the massive federal budget deficit.
And taxpayers are expected to believe Bush, even though a brief journey to fiscal reality resulted in his supporting a tax increase for 1991.
Bush's lip smack of baloney, or perhaps pork rind. He expects taxpayers and voters again to believe what they should never have believed in the first place. At the same time, he calls those from those Republicans he deserted just before the past election.
Taxpayers are catching on to the simple formula that equates larger bills with increased taxes. Lip service is free; real services are not.
Rich Cornell for the editorial board
Competing rights
CNN clouds Noriega tape case
once again, a media source has given the world a reason to bash it.
Cable News Network last week broadcast excerpts of tapes of telephone conversations made by Panamanian General Manuel Norigea from his jail cell. It is standard procedure for telephone calls from jails and prisons to be listened to and government also was taping telephone calls between Norigea and his legal counsel.
It is a basic principle of U.S. law that attorney-client conversations are kept confidential. The government has jeopardized its case against Noriega by violating the principle.
It seems that CNN broadcast the tapes against the order in part just to defy the judge. Now, Norioga has an even stronger argument that his case should be dropped because, as his attorneys have said, he would not be able to receive a fair trial when there is the possibility that the defense strategy could be aired to millions of television viewers.
But by broadcasting the tapes, CNN shifted the focus of the story to itself. The headlines read that CNN defied the judge, instead of that Norigea's conversations with his defense counsel were listened to and taped.
CNN should have broadcast the story, including information about the judge's restraining order, but not excerpts from the tape. The network should have fought the court in court with its goal of unstead of deliberately defying a judge's order to make a point.
Julie Mettenburg for the editorial board
News. Julie Mettlenburg
Editorial. Mary Neubauer
Planning. Pam Solnier
Campus. Holly Lawton
Sports. Brent Maycock
Photo. Andrew Morrison
Graphics. Brett Brenner
Features. Stacy Smith
TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser
KJERSTIN GABRIELSON
Managing editor
Editors
TOM EBLEN
DEREK SCHMIDT
Editor
Business staff
The next change took place before the commencement of the 1989-90 season. Half of row three was taken for the accommodation of VIPs and "coach's guests." Two adjoining courts were available, other game through the season. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Under the notion that the seats were available, students would occupy them, only to be removed for ticket-holding "guests." That often forced those students to search for available seats in the game. The time spent waiting for the choice seats proved to be in vain.
Campus sales mgr. Christ Dool
Regional sales mgr. Jackie Schmatzlared
National sales mgr. David Price
Production manager Debbie Dobbs
Production mgr. Missy Miller
Production assistant. Jule Axland
Marketing director. Audra Langford
Students deserve seats
This season began with another surprise to the students as many of the best seats available to students were given to non-student, reserved ticket holders. Again, additional reserved tickets were given for seats in the student section (the same two seats in the question above). Clear marking of these seats would alleviate this problem.
In the 1985-86 season, permanent bleachers were installed in Allen Field House to increase seating. The student section included the entire bleacher floor and some seats. Inevitably this created problems for the alumni sitting directly behind this student section, as it forced them to stand for the duration of the games. In the 1986-87 season, the second row behind the bench was cut off, leaving only a few given for the change was, "seats needed for recruiting purposes."
We are writing in regard to the loss of student seating at mns basketball games, particularly those behind the home bench. We have watched the number of student seats diminish over the past four years. This has been the cause of great concern among dedicated fans.
Letters should be typed, double spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of Kansas will not receive letters without their signature.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
MINDY MORRIS Retail sales manage
Great columns should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed.
The Kansan reserves the right to object or edit letters, go guest columns, themes. They can be mailed or brought to the Kansman newroom, 111 Staircase-Flint Hall, Lesters, columns and cartons are the opinion of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kansan. Editorials are the opinion of the Kansan editorial board.
JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser
Student input is not weighed heavily enough to sway seating decisions, given it is the students who generate the excitement. The success of any program is largely influenced by the atmosphere created by enthusiastic fans. The fans responsible for this excitement at the field house are the students. Without students general knowledge of the generate revenue. In all programs there must be a delicate balance between student and alumni considerations 4 the preceding references of losses in student seating provides clear evidence that the balance is in jeopardy.
MARGARET TOWNSEND Business manager
KANSAN STAFF
In no way do we intend to diminish the importance of KU alumni support and contributions. We realize that the financial well-being of the University is dependent on alumni. However, our students are tamorrow's alumni.
The objectives of those concerned are to see that current student seats are not taken in the future and that priority is given to students. After all, they are the ones responsible for creating the spirited atmosphere and tradition of the field house that we all love.
Phil Boatman, Lenexa junior; Robin Philips, Shawnee senior; Lisa Bushouse, Lawrence graduate student; two other students
Other schools see the value of putting their students right by the court. It creates atmosphere and is an asset to the home team. Basketball teams, for example, have four sides of the floor to its students, who make each game a creative nightmare for the visiting team. After all, who does the real cheering at the games? It's not the reserved-ticket holders. They're too busy playing. It's the postgame traffic. Of course it's the students because it's their school.
Give seats to true fans
The revenue generated by giving these seats to non-student reserved season ticket holders is a whopping one-sixteenth of an $8-million target to finance building maintenance and scholarships. I cannot, however, respond to the visibility problems created by standing students. Hey, it's a basketball game, and Jayhawks love their basketball. Besides, is anyone seriously worried about a basketball game not selling out?
The Kansas Athletic Department seems to think that Jayhawk basketball is for anybody but students. This is evident in the redistribution of student seating at Allen Field House students lost 26 seats behind the bench.
I realize that 26 seats doesn't sound like much in the 15,000-seat fieldhouse, but basketball fans will attest to the fact that those seats are as good as gold. Besides, the students already are banshed to essentially one corner at courtside. If things go well, the idea for student fans to start looking into a pay-per-view option for Jay-hawk basketball
Military operations are quite different from those of a corporate office or a manufacturing plant. After a hard day's work in these private sectors, you return to your home and to your personal lifestyle. You are not always the case in the armed forces. Hence, the conflict arises.
Now I'm not saying that we don't appreciate the alumni, because we do. I'm graduating soon, and I'm already looking forward to coming back for the next year. And though I will be great to close to the action, I won't going to forget that it is someone else's turn. Give KU students back one of KU's greatest traditions: Let them actuate basketball in their own field houses.
Robert Kirkman Salem, Oregon, senior
Military is different
Such was the case of Buck Taylor's editorial about Sgt. White. In it, he writes, "sexual preference in no way hinders job performance, military or otherwise." Mr. Taylor apparently has spent time in the armed forces.
With the help of Greg Hughes, ASK director, I found out that the county clerk had become too busy and did not have time to send out the needed letters. I would speak for everyone, this excuse is completely unacceptable. As a U.S. citizen older than 18, voting is not a privilege but a right. Because of a lack of time, I as well as others, had to go home early in the morning to hope the county clerk remembers this during the next election and plans accordingly.
For instance, it never ceases to amaze me, the knowledge possessed by some journalists. In fact, some of them are so well versed on the ways of the world that they can voice their thoughts and influence public opinion on issues on which they have absolutely no experience.
The human mind is an amazing thing. Although many experts claim to have a complete understanding of everything, I still don't believe them.
”
Allowing homosexuals into the military presents a couple of problems. The greatest of the adverse effects of widescale homosexual enlistment would be the negative influence on heterosexual enlistment.
The military focuses on national security. Every job and its performance determines the success or failure of a mission.
heterosexual enlistment. The numb of recruits would decline with the knowledge of community living conditions with homosexuals.
Allowing homosexuals in the military presents a couple of problems. The greatest of the adverse effects of homosexuality would be the negative influence on
"Register to vote! Register to vote! It's your right and duty! Have you registered to vote yet?"
These were the cries heard on campus earlier this semester. After hearing about the importance of the coming election, I decided this would be a good plan. In early October, a representative of the Associated Students of Kansas came to my residence hall to sign people up with the Douglas County Clerk. As I later learned, I was not registering to vote but merely requesting the proper form to vote. Jack Haskell bested the sole problem. I would have had no objections. Unfortunately, I didn't find out this was the case until I went to vote Nov. 6 only to find the county had no record of me (as well as at least eight other people in McColm Hall alone).
In addition, there is also the problem of health concerns with the gay community, namely the AIDS issue. Such matters should not be inflicted on the military and its personnel. Why risk the decay of our highly structured system of national security*? It is a situation with which we experience, especially during the current political unrest in the world.
After reading these carefully considered statements, you can refer to me as "a homophobic." The term has an edge in its meaning, but that it doesn't pick the punch it once did. I simply feel that questions about the security of our nation should be closely analyzed. Public acceptance is a crucial element in Military acceptance is another.
Voter registration fails
Michael Sinnott Kansas Air National Guard member
Kenneth McCain Lebanon, N.J., sophomore
Three Imaginary Girls
By Tom Avery