4 Friday, October 19. 1990 / University Daily Kansan Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Gubernatorial candidates face tough problems, but Hayden seems to have more concrete plans As natural resources are depleted and water sources run dry, this state's two gubernatorial candidates must consider difficult environmental decisions. Gov. Mike Hayden, the Republican candidate, considers the environment the most important issue facing all governors. Although the Democratic challenger, State Trgasuer Joan Finney, seems interested in the environmental issues, she has offered no concrete plans for action. In September, Hayden signed an order requiring the use of ethanol-blended fuel for all state vehicles and since then has mandated that each state agency recycle disposable materials. He also initiated a state-piloted recycling program, a good example for the public to follow. Finney plans to prod private industry into using alternative fuels and recycling. She also wants to encourage recycling on a municipal or county level and to expand the state's role in aiding that process. However, she has offered no specific plan of attack. Both candidates support the development of expanded water sources for the state. With existing water sources slowly dissipating in western portions of Kansas, the candidates each are proposing increased financing for aggressive research. During his two terms, Hayden passed the state water plan and initiated a study of water quality in Kansas. He backs research into dry farming, including growing alternative crops with reduced water demands. Finney suggests a solid commitment to financing the water plan and asks for stronger federal involvement. Hazardous waste dumping also concerns the candidates. Finney wants more financial support — though she hasn't said from where — for locating new toxic waste dumping sites. She also wants to implement a statewide plan to manage hazardous material emergencies. Hayden joined an interstate compact to dump low-level toxic wastes in Nebraska. The future of Kansas depends upon prudent management of available resources and the foresight necessary to realize new options. Although both candidates share a desire to meet such goals, Gov. Hayden's past and present suggest that he deserves the responsibility the environment carries. Ideas are noble, but plans are practical. And in the latter area, Joan Finney lags behind. Christine Reinolds and Buck Taylor for the editorial board Qualified admissions Proposal could save money, solve overcrowding A legislative committee this week discussed a Board of Regents proposal to reintroduce the tax. that requests the Kansas Legislature to initiate qualified admissions at Regents schools. Kansas is the last state in the nation in which all high school graduates are accepted into all state universities. The Regents say the state could save $3.9 million each year by introducing admissions requirements. Under the Regents proposal, the universities would adhere to admissions standards that required all students to achieve one of the following: ACT composite scores of 23, graduation in the top third of their graduating high school classes, or completion of recommended college-preparatory coursework with 2.0 cumulative grade point averages. Opponents of the qualified admissions proposal argue that the state is obligated to offer a state university education to anyone who graduates from a Kansas high school. They claim that test scores and grades are not adequate indicators of how a student may perform in college. The University of Kansas needs qualified admissions. The University already is trying to curb enrollment increases because of overcrowding. The Regents plan would limit. enrollment, saving class space and instruction time for the students who are better prepared to learn at the college level. All Regents schools, however, should not fall under the qualified admissions proposal. If the smaller universities retained open admissions, students still would have the opportunity to go to a Regents university. Also, Kansas has an outstanding network of junior colleges, which can bridge the gap between high school and college for many students and later open a door for them at universities with qualified admissions. KU, as the largest university in Kansas and in the Big Eight, is the flagship of the Regents system. With qualified admissions it would progress further in that role, instead of being hindered by overcrowding. Similarly, Kansas State University may benefit from enrollment control with qualified admissions standards. By leaving admissions open at the smaller universities, there are no doors slammed in the faces of prospective college students. But for the two Big Eight universities, the qualified admissions proposal would best solve overcrowding and save money for the good of the students and the state. Julie Mettenburg for the editorial board Keep K-10 the decent highway it is If you ever drive between Lawrence and Kansas City, this little exhortation is for you. Thousands of people from Lawrence and KU drive down Kansas Highway 10 daily, and as highways go, it's not too bad a drive. The road surface is good, the traffic isn't too heavy, and for a freeway of its type, it has remarkably little truck traffic. Right now, that is. That could change. Soon. Voters in Douglas County could decide to turn K-10 into a major truck route next month. But students who drive the road and want to keep it safe and easy can help keep K-10 the cheapest and simply say "no" in the election So they instead travel north on I-453 and get on the turnpike, and then go west, or vice versa. They may not like it because a turnpike toll for a truck is expensive. But it beats the major bottleneck of Lawrence. Tim Miller Guest columnist Here's the scenario: Thousands of trucks, including a lot of the biggest, heaviest multi-trailer ones on the road, head west out and east into metropolitan Kansas City every day. For quite a few of them, the end or start of the truck is the part of the Kansas City area — Lenexa and Overland Park. But they don't take K-10 between Kansas City and Lawrence because Lawrence is a bottleneck. For a big truck to get through Lawrence, it has to negotiate a narrower route through hills, stoplights and general traffic halls. What trucker needs that? las County. They want to eliminate the Lawrence traffic bottleneck by building a bypass highway that would extend from the existing K-10, around the south edge of town and west to the turnpike west of town. Trucks could avoid 23rd and Iowa streets completely. And they could avoid the turfmanly county called the South Lawrence Trafficway, although I think South Lawrence Truckway is a more accurate name. The implications of the plan for K-10 as you and I know it are sobering. If you've ever driven on a highway with a lot of big trucks, you know just how unnervous the experience is for drivers. When you're driving on the car, the more unnervous it gets. Enter the people who govern Doug- But that isn't all. It's hard to believe, but the Kansas Department of Transportation says that a fully loaded big truck, the kind K-10 would suddenly be full of, does 10,000 times this pressure. It does that the good surface the highway now has would deteriorate rapidly. Then it would be time to rebuild the roadway. Financing for such a project would come out of our highway taxes, which could increase. The project would also mean months or years of dodging orange barrels. Shades of I-451. There are other reasons to vote against the Truckway and the East Lawrence Bypass, which also is on the November ballot. Both roads would create serious environmental problems and would increase taxes – hiking the rent on your apartment. What you’ll notice more than anything else, however, is all those trucks the entire length of K-10. So what's the alternative? It's to stop the ill-conceived K-10 extension from being built. Lawrence votes will vote on the proposal at this fall's general election November 6. If you are 18 years or older and a U.S. citizen, you can vote in the city or town in which you live, or in Lawrence, that means Lawrence. If you're not registered to vote in Lawrence, you don't have much time left. You need to get down to the Douglas County courthouse, at the corner of 11th and Massachusetts 18th streets, for the satellite registration sites, today. Voting here once doesn't mean you have to do it forever. If you like, in the future you can re-register at your parents' home and vote there. As a rule, voting here doesn’t affect your legal residency. I drive on K-10 myself, and I’ve also driven on freeways in Los Angeles Chicago and a lot of other cities. The K-10 is a pretty pleasant highway. I suggest we try to keep it that way. Register to get. Get out and vote "no" on the South Lawrence Traffic- way issue Nov. 6. And take a friend. Tim Miller is an assistant professor of religious studies. Successful road trips require selfishness, carelessness and contemplated disorganization T the road trip — that venerable college experience that great memories and long police records are made of. A successful road trip does not happen by itself. Planning and forethought are required to make certain everything goes off without a hitch. The most important consideration on any road trip is choice of transportation. It been said that there is one hard and fast rule where to have a party: someone else's place. The same holds true for road trip vehicles. Avoid using your own car all the time, conditioner sometimes beaches noxiousumes for no apparent reason, or tell them about the time your front wheels mysteriously fell off, causing a 78-car pile on K-10. Donovan Finn Staff columnist Even better than someone else's car is someone else's parents' car. As a rule parents' cars are newer and larger, and they have more nifty accessories. Sports cars are nice, too, but mini-vans and Jeep Wagoneers are much better people-movers. The next important item is a gas card. Again, someone else's parents' card is best because they may not know where the car is when the return home to be as exciting as the rest of your trip, steal your dad's gas card. He should be tickled pink to see you by the time you get back. Be sure to bring plenish of music. It won't matter, of course, because no one will ever agree about what is right and wrong; but the arguments will pass the time. The importance of a radar detector cannot be overstated. Not that you're in a hurry to get anywhere, but driving fast is so much more fun. Besides, those in the back seat looking for something to do can bug the driver by making little beeping noises every few miles. A cooler is important not only as a place to keep food and beverages, but also serves as an extra seat for any group of guests. In the way Coolers also are a source of cheap entertainment, for someone invariably will leave the drain plug open, allowing melting ice to turn the water cold. It's nothing resembling a Florida marsh. A camera offers another form of bargain-basement entertainment. Take pictures of everyone drooling while they're asleep and later threaten blackmail. Snap a photo of the whole gang with the state trooper — by a milepost if possible — after the driver ignores the fuzzbuster rendered useless by so many little beeping noises from the back seat. Get a picture of the low-flying bird that hits the windshield and sticks underneath the wipers when the driver uses them to remove the bird. Always forget the camera when you stop at the attractions, such as the world's largest prairie dog Here are some things never to bring on a road trip: Maps. Someone always knows where the group's going, or at least thinks he does. Besides, when you think about it, it's all a big circle anyway. Don't bring a watch, and ignore the clock in the car. No place is worth getting to if you don't enjoy yourself on the way there. Whatever you do, don't bring nearly enough money. Mooch on everyone else and steel granola bars when you run out. Don't bring spare keys either. Plan to bring an extra set but accidentally forget and leave them on the kitchen table. No trip is complete without locking your keys in the car at least once, and calling the locksmith at it in the morning will make a great story when you return home. Most important, don't leave on time. Nothing condemns a trip to dullness more than leaving right on time without forgetting something. At least go across town to get some meals before the local places for breakfast and cruise through the local electronics store for a new radar detector. That way, you will be at least an hour behind schedule, everyone will be arguing and you already will have spent $20. Just sit back and enjoy the right foot. Flip on the fuzzbuster and crank up the Beastie Boys. The fun has just begun. Donovan Finn is a Topeka sophomore majoring in journalism. KANSAN STAFF DEREK SCHMIDT Editor KJERSTIN GABRIELSON Managing editor TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser Editors Editors News Julie Mettenburg Editorial Mary Neubauer Planning Pam Solliner Campus Holly Lawton Sports Brent Maycock Photo Andrew Morrison Features Stacy Smith Campus sales mgr...Cristhol Dool Regional sales mgr..Jackie Schmalzmarl National sales mgr...David Price Co-op sales mgr...Deborah Salzer Production mgr...Missy Miller Production assistant...Julie Axland Marketing director...Audra Langford Creative director...Gail Einbinder Business staff Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's name, date of birth, and a contact number. The writer must include class and homework, or family or staff position. Letters must be legible, and no punctuation except a semicolon or a period. The 700-word test will write him MARGARET TOWNSEND Business manager MINDY MORRIS Retail sales manager JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed. The Kansas reserves the right to object or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kansas newsroom, 111 Staffer Hall, Lent Hall, columns and cartoons are the opinions of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kansas Editorials are the opinions of the Kansas editorial board. Three Imaginary Girls By Tom Avery