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Wednesday, October 31, 1990 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Cycling control
Police should assign bike patrols to serve as friendly role models
U police no longer will tolerate free-wheeling bicyclists who criss-cross campus streets and sidewalks at the peril of everyone around them.
Don't complain. The department's action is a thoughtful response to complaints voiced this semester by students and faculty members concerned that many cyclists are out of control.
control.
KU police could go one step further. Department leaders should assign one or two daytime officers to bicycle patrols on lajhawk Boulevard.
The practice has worked in cities as large as Chicago and Phoenix. A few in the University community might remember when John Mullens, now a leutenant with KU police, began the department's first bike patrol in 1975.
Mullens benefited from his cycle's ability to circumvent 5 p.m. traffic each day, he said. He could ride from one end of the Boulevard to another more quickly than he had been able to in a patrol car with flashing lights and a siren.
The advantages of such a patrol do not stop there.
the hiking/peeling. For cyclists on bicycles would appear more personable to those they served, making the officers more available to help. A cycling officer also would serve as a role model for other cyclists.
First, officers on bicycles would appear more personable to those they served. A cycling officer also would serve as a role model for other cyclists. And an officer on two wheels more easily could catch offending cyclists who don't respect car-bound officers.
Of course, bicycles cost less and are less taxing to the environment than are patrol cars. The newest cruisers cost $12,000 each and will be replaced in four years. Between now and then, more than $12,000 more will be spent to fill each car's gasoline tank.
A bicycle would cost about $350, and a trifle more each year to maintain.
Enough has been said about pollution on the Boulevard to recognize that an officer straddling a bicycle would be kinder to the air than one blasting the air conditioner of an idling cruiser.
Finally, further emphasis on the importance of bicycles on campus eventually would guarantee the fulfillment of another need — bicycle lanes on the Boulevard and adequate bicycle parking.
Rich Cornell for the editorial board
Ending race hate
Anti-KKK protest a wise step
The unexpected happened this weekend. Something positive came out of a controversial event — the Ku Klux Klan rally Saturday in Springfield, Mo.
The positive result stemming from the event was the wise action taken by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in setting up a peaceful counter-protest in a church across town.
The counter-protest, its purpose being to promote unity among all races and ethnic groups, featured speeches by government and community officials and civic leaders, including Springfield Mayor Tom Carlson, and a high school music group singing the need for all people to unite. About 400 people attended the counter-protest, while about 250 protested at the site of the KKK rally.
The peaceful counter-protest was a wise and productive move by the NAACP for several reasons.
First, by having the counter-protest away from the KKK rally, concerned citizens could come together to protest the Klan and what it stands for, without the potential for violence that comes with direct confrontation.
Second, the counter-protest split public attention between two areas, taking publicity away from the KKK rally and protest there. Protest is what the KKK wants. As Tom Robb, the national director of the KKK, was quoted as saying in the Oct. 28 Kansas City Star, "We get a lot of attention from this, from these people yelling and screaming at us. It serves our purposes."
That 400 people chose to attend the counter-protest is a positive sign. But 250 others protested at the KKK rally and, although perhaps inadvertently, continued the cycle of hate and fear by exchanging taunts and insults with the KKK.
As one Springfield resident said of the counter-protest in the Oct. 28 Springfield News-Leader, "These were expressions of frustration."
Other communities faced with a KKK rally should take note of the wisdom and success of the NAACP's peaceful counter-protest in Springfield.
Jill Harrington for the editorial board
KANSAN STAFF
MARGARET TOWNSEND Business manager
DEREK SCHMIDT
Editor
KJERSTIN GABRIELSON
Managing editor
TOM ELENB
General manager, news adviser
MINDY MORRIS Retail sales manager
TUESDAY. I was sitting at the 13th Street stop sign awaiting
JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser
Cyclists have responsibilities also
a pole position and anyway
Backboard. Traffic was heavy, as we
faded on the street. Chevy Nova across the street, but I saw a potential break in the flow.
Editor's
News... Julie Mettenburg
Editorial... Mary Neubauer
Planning... Pam Sollin
Campus... Holly Lawton
Sports... Brent Maycoy
Photo... Andrew Morrison
Features... Stacy Smith
Editors
I stopped (quite detaily) I thought) just short of sending her on a voyage that would permanently impale her aton the traffic control booth.
I hooked both ways, twice even, and hit the accelerator to lurch the mighty wagon forward.
Halfway into the intersection, I gazed right (on the odd chance a maniacal mountain biker would blow the stop sign, barrel into my fender, flip over the hood and end up heaped and bleeding in the street), only to find a 10-speed rider frantically swerving to avoid me.
Campus sales mgr... D Christian Dool
Regional sales mgr. Jackie Schmalzmier
National sales mgr... David Price
Co-op sales mgr... Deborah Salzner
Production mgr. Missy Miller
Production assistant . Julie Akland
Marketing director. Audra Langford
Creative director. Gail Einbinder
She shot me a disguised grimace but quickly regained her composeure by pedaling off toward densely packed stucco walls with an off color hand gesture and with an off-color hand gesture and
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 receive a reply.
Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be encouraged.
dropped that much money for items so easily stolen only to receive $15 tickets while notuting them to use.
I'm told cycling can be safe and fun if one just practices the rules of the road.
I mean, there were no warnings of this crackdown from the police, and who knew that using hand signals and lights were mandatory for bikers.
Because if the cops don't get you, just remember those of us in cars who have poor depth perception and impaired peripheral vision. Sometimes bikes are so difficult to see ... Have a great ride!
The Kanaan reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest column and cartoons. They can be mail ordered or brought to the Kanaan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. Letters, columns and cartoons are the opinion of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kanaan. Editorials are the opinion of the Kanaan editorial board.
Anyway, here's a tidbit for those of you with well-defined pedalers' calves. A white light must be placed on the front of your vehicle that can be seen by motorists like me from afar and give your intent at every intersection.
Staff columnist
Buck Tavlor
Well, this is where you are wrong. As a former bike owner (a Sears three-speed in junior high), I'm a guy dedicated to exposing wrongdoing against my fellow students. I still feel kind of bad for those of you who
Moreover, you might be labeling me a traitor because I seemingly advocate (and enjoy) watching my academic counterparts being harassed by over-zealous police officers.
Buck Taylor is a Winnetka, Ill. senior majoring in journalism.
Now if you're a bike enthusiast and have read thus far, perhaps you're calling me an insensitive journalist who hasn't researched and could never know the invigorating sensation that stems from riding one's $350 investment at top speed through morning traffic.
Painted nails bring out homophobia
This weekend, I had a truly eye-opening experience that brought home the problems of homophobia here on campus. It all started innocently enough. I went to a friend's Halloween party Friday night dressed as a woman. Wanting to be convincing, I wore women clothes, had my hair curled, wore make up and painted my fingernails. No problems; that is, until the next day.
Saturday, I was sitting on the hill with friends watching the football game, thinking nothing of my still-pink fingernails. Unfortunately, they had a rather dramatic effect on a couple of my fellow male college students. During the game, half of the hall was remarked, "Nice fingernails!" I replied, "Thanks," and continued to watch the game.
In fact, the Kansan reported last week that extra campus police offi-
Granted it seems a little ridiculous, I mean I hope there are higher crime priorities for our tax dollar. Why it's about your time for a little action
WEDNESDAY  Revenge. In a 10-minute time period I witnessed two guilty cyclists curbed by KU police squad cars. The two offenders couldn't believe their predicaments as the citation books opened and ballpoint touched paper. These cops weren't kidding around.
finally proceeded through the intersection.
Apparently the KU police haven’t been kidding around with bike riders violating the law. Nope, our navy blue crusaders are spending a hefty chunk of patrol time handing out tickets to unsuspecting cyclists.
cers were being assigned to crack down on the two-wheeled offenders.
They stopped, demanded to know why I had pink fingernails, and did not even listening to my explanation. One of them launched into a verbal assault, that because I had painted nails, I was homosexual, specifically calling me a "pansy." "faecet" and "homo."
I tried to explain to him that painted fingernails had nothing to do with his sexuality. Not listening, he continued, saying that he wasn't afraid of me and wanted to start something. His friend, meanwhile, also was
Dale Miller
Guest columnist
treatening to bodily rearrange me if I don't stop harassing his friend. Fortunately, no violence came of this, although the incident has disrupted it, and has made me point the issue of homosexuality on campus today.
First of all, this event really shake me up. Not being gay, I never expected to be the target of homophilia. I have regarded the events of the past months with a quiet indignation mixed with genuine surprise at the level of intolerance and complacency at KU, but I hadn't thought I'd ever see such a happening, let alone be in the middle of one.
”
Now put yourself in my position. What if, for some reason or strange
I tried to explain to him that painted fingernails had nothing to do with one's sexuality.
set of circumstances, someone approaches you in a hostile manner, assumes you are gay, and threatens to physically assault you. Imagine your helplessness. It is not a pleasant position to be in believe me. Now who can walk away from the encounter, as I did, thinking that pink fingernails were the sole cause of that homophobic attack. A homosexual would know an inseparable part of his or her being caused the attack, not something that could have been created, creating a pain I only can imagine.
These past couple days have only reinforced my belief that homosexuality must be not just tolerated but accepted to ensure equality among us. However one looks at the whole spectrum of relationships, or religiously, homosexuals are simply people with a different lifestyle. No more, no less.
Dale Miller is a Topeka senior majoring in political science and German.
This year, Student Senate has spent $72,000 subsidizing the KU on Wheels program. Shouldn't an equal amount of money be spent encouraging people to cycle?
I sincerely hope that you, whether student, instructor, staff or area resident, consider the possible impact of what you say and do that could hurt others. We all have differences, some large, some small, but none that cannot be overcome with some intelligence and rationality.
Peter Hook Kirkwood, Mo., sophomore
Cyclists should have the right of way at all intersections as well as their own lanes of traffic. The parking spaces along Jayhawk Boulevard should be converted into pedestrian paths for safety and encouraging more people to walk or cycle.
Bikes reign supreme
In response to complaints from angry motorists, KU police are enforcing traffic laws for cyclists. This action, though beneficial in protecting lives, is misguessed. Traffic laws should reflect the supreme status of the cyclist.
Peter Hook
After all, it is not the cyclist who is depleting our nonrenewable resources and destroying the environment.
Three Imaginary Girls
By Tom Avery