4 Wednesday, October 3, 1990 / University Daily Kansan Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Teamwork needed KU must work with other universities to end Department of Defense's discriminatory policies University Senate's vote last month to allow ROTC courses to continue to count toward graduation may have count toward graduation may have solved KU's administrative dilemma concerning Department of Defense membership policies. But KU officials have said that won't be the final action on the issue. Nor should it be. Del Shankel, interim executive vice chancellor, said there was no doubt that the vote left a contradiction between the University's anti-discrimination policy and Defense Department policies. University policy prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, sex, disability, national origin, political affiliation, age, ancestry or sexual orientation. Department policies exclude members from receiving scholarships and being commissioned based on sexual orientation. But Shankel said that one university's actions against the department would not be effective. A push to change department policies will be effective only if several universities that are concerned about the department's policies band together to lobby the department, he said. If KU wants to work with other universities for change, it should follow the leadership of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This fall, Wisconsin faculty, staff and students created a task force to coordinate lobbying efforts. Jeff Iseinger, a reporter for the news service at the university, said Wisconsin faculty members were the first in the nation to take action on the ROTC discriminatory policy. They acted a year before a ROTC controversy erupted in December on the Wisconsin campus. Faculty members voted and decided they would give ROTC four years to change its discriminatory policy against gays and lesbians, or they would recommend that the Wisconsin Board of Regents sever its contracts with ROTC. Two recommendations, one from Wisconsin Chancellor Donna Shalala and another from Kenneth Shaw of University Systems, were sent to the Wisconsin Board of Regents in opposition to the faculty vote. They thought other strategies would be more effective. In February, the Wisconsin Regents decided that the faculty, staff and students must work within the system and lobby for change rather than expel the ROTC program Iseminger said Shalala had the issue at the top of her priority list. He said she was working within national networks such as the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges to change Department of Defense policies. Shankel said he and other KU officials also planned to work with national organizations to lobby for department policy changes. These organizations could include the American Council on Education and the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. Shankel said that he and other KU officials planned to travel to Washington to meet with Senate Minority Leader Bole Dole, R-Kansas; Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum, R-Kansas; and national organization leaders. The plans for the trip will be made final as soon as schedules allow, possibly within the next few weeks. he said. Universities concerned about department policies should contact national organizations to receive information about lobbying efforts by other universities. Through those national organizations, universities could then band together and push for changes. The University of Kansas could be a leader in changing department policies, but only if university administrators follow through on their plans to meet with national leaders. One university alone may not have an effect on department policies, but one university must take action that will encourage others to follow. We hope KU will take the proper steps to end discrimination. Sarah Biy and Mary Neubauer for the editorial board Maintain sanctions Commitment to end apartheid remains reversible last week President Bush told visiting South African President F. W. de Jong end Klerk that he supported an early end to U.S. sanctions against South Africa, saying that the move by de Klerk to end apartheid was "irreversible." Maybe Bush was just excited to have a South Africa head of state visit Washington, the first to do so since 1948. Otherwise, what was going through his head? It is still much too early to begin thinking of ending our sanctions against South Africa to help end apartheid. Bush did say that such an end would be several months away. The South African government still has to meet two of the four conditions set by the United States before sanctions can be lifted. They have ended the ban on the African National Congress and have opened negotiations between White government leaders and Blacks. Conditions still to be met are the release of all political prisoners and the end of the state of emergency imposed by the government to curtail violence and protests. Bush said once these conditions were met, sanctions should be ended because he didn't have enough money to pay them. However, the Rev. Desmond Tutu said at a news conference during his visit to the University of Missouri-Kansas City, which happened to coincide with de Klerk's visit, that it was too early to consider lifting sanctions. "I would say some are jumping the gun," he said. "I won't contest that de Klerk is irreversibly committed to change. This does not mean the process itself is irreversible." Mbeki is quoted as saving in a Sept. 27 article. The Kansas City Star reported that ANC Thebo Mbeki disagreed with Bush's comments Also, members of the pro-apartheid Conservative Party are denouncing everything de Klerk says, and rejecting de Klerk's attempts to negotiate a power-sharing government with the Black majority. This adds to the feeling that it is too early to talk of ending sanctions. They are arguing that South Africa who want to make sure any changes ending apartheid cannot become irreversible. In a meeting with members of Congress, de Klerk said the United States needed to understand apartheid was no longer an issue. Apartheid will remain an issue until all are considered equal in South Africa and therefore have the same basic rights and say in the government. It doesn't look like that time will be here in the next few months even though Bush is honing it will be. Bush says we shouldn't set goals for a government and then make them tougher once the initial goals have been reached. Perhaps this is considered good diplomacy. But shouldn't the United States' first priority be to listen to the people whom we are trying to help Jill Harrington for the editorial board —the oppressed Blacks in South Africa? Let me think when the process to end apartheid is improved. Activist 're-educates' listener Angela Davis is a communist. Period. And thus, my education on one of the most important civil rights activists was complete. guess I was fortunate to even hear her name uttered in high school. We all know how few African-American people are mentioned in any class, let alone an African-American female-communist radical-civil rights activist. It seems as if many people on campus had the same type of Angela Davis education, or shall I say "mis-education," that I had. Almost immediately after the campus heard that Davis was to speak, I could hear gaps, ("Damm communist!") and sighs, ("I'll go, but I won't agree with anything she has to say.") What Angela Davis was about Friday night was not communism. True, she is a communist (she ran on the communist party ticket for vice-president in 1980 and 1984). But her speech was not about communism. Of course, the fliers didn't help. Angela Davis: Communist. Yeah, they added drama and lured a few more. We did a disservice again, we were done a disservice. Tiffany Harness When we say that Davis is a communist and leave it at that, a red flag goes up in our minds. Some of us can't hear what she has to say. We Staff columnist can't feel her message. We can't think about her speech. Suddenly, visions of U.S. action flicks hit us. We see U.S. vs. bad; just vs. inj, vs. then vs. then. But Angela Davis is one of us. When she says that when oppressed people are free, everyone is freer, she is referring to all of us. Friday night, 2,600 fortunate people had the chance to be educated by Davis, the chance to understand the struggle for equality. We also had the chance to learn about ourselves. I learned from Davis. I never learned in high school that she was a professor at San Francisco State University. I didn't learn that she was active in prison reform. I wasn't taught that she was concerned and actively seeking change for the freedom of all people, regardless of national origin, sex or sexual orientation. I learned that she was a communist. I was re-educated Friday night. I was re-educated Friday night. I was reminded of the importance and power of words. She said that some words were "weapons and they are designed to hurt." Even if we don't mean for them to be harmful, they can perpetrate oppression, she I was told again about hate and what it did to our society. Davis talked about unity, not domination. She encouraged us to "go as far as we can together." Each part of me, an African-American female student journalist, learned from Davis. And yet, as I walked out of Hoech Auditorium, still in a slight daze, I could hear people still uttering and muttering. "She was good, but I just didn't agree with what she had to say." The only explanation for that attitude I can think of is many of us have been so conditioned to be anti-communist and have developed so many preconceived notions about Davis that we frighten our eyes, plugged our ears and turned off our brains. I hope that most of us who went really heard her speech and forgot about what we had heard about her. And those who didn't go because she was a communist missed a big chance to learn about themselves, justice and equality. Tiffany Harness is a Hutchinson senior majoring in journalism and African-American studies. LETTERS to the EDITOR In recent months, disturbing reports have come to us of acts of discrimination against students and colleagues including those who are African American, Hispanic, Native American or Asian; who are women, who are gay or lesbian or who are from other cultures. Equality pledged to all In my address at the University's opening convocation in 1983 I made clear that the University will ensure bigary and discrimination. The University must be a place where diverse cultures, ideas and lifestyles are celebrated. Regard-ment of the diversity in sexual orientation, ethnic diversity or religion, that person has the right on our campus to be free of tolerance and harassment. Acts of violence are particularly abhorrent. We will not tolerate violence against individuals or disruption of our academic programs. We cherish our diversity at the University of Kansas. We are committed to preserving and enhancing that diversity. We pledge to commitment to all members of the University community and to continue to work to find solutions to those concerns. Gene A. Budig Chancellor Women still concerned Now that the fall semester is well under way, we in the Women's Student Union are anxious to maintain and further develop the line of communication established with the administration last spring with Judith Ramaley, then executive vice chancellor. representatives from the Women's Student Union met with Ramaley to discussed a list of our concerns. While acknowledging that the list was by no means exhaustive, the group nonetheless stressed that the issues listed were pressing. Our group was assured that action was being taken regarding many of our concerns. Specifically, we were told that plans for increased lighting on campus existed but were being held back by a lack of finances, that a University policy on sexual assault was developing and that a pro-active plan involving peers to coordinate the University's response to rape and sexual assault also was being developed. The Women's Student Union then investigated the Sexual Assault Forum. We stand in strong support of its efforts to draft a University policy on sexual assault. We also support its work on a proposal for a rape and sexual assault response team that would include a permanent, paid position. We have not seen the fruits of those proposals. Ramaley assured us these concerns would be addressed despite her departure. We are still actively concerned about the issues raised last spring and have solicited more input from the campus community. Our interest has not faded because the issues have not faded. Pam A. Detrike, Rick McGury, Justin Palmer, Rick Piper, Kristin Adrian, Jennifer Kline, Brewer, Kristin Lange and Tracy Edwardson Women's Student Union members KANSAN STAFF DEREK SCHMIDT Editor DEREK SCHMIDT Editor JKESTER GABRIELSON Managing editor TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser Editors News Julie Mettenburg Editorial Mary Neubauer Planning Pam Sollin Campus Holly Lawton Sports Brent Maycoy Photo Andrew Morrison Features Stacy Smith MARGARET TOWNSEND Business manager MINDY MORRIS Retail sales manager JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser Campus sales mgr. Christ Dool Regional sales mgr. Jackie Schmalzriad National sales mgr. David Price Co-op sales mgr. Deborah Salzer Production mgr. Missy Miller Production assistant. Julie Ackland Marketing director. Audra Langford Creative director. Gail Einbinder Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the user's signature, name, address and telephone number. 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