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Tuesday, October 2. 1990 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
A cop-out on ROTC?
Student president alters views on program, shifts focus to more clear-cut concerns
Student body president Mike Schreiner viewed the ROTC course credit issue differently after the Sept. 24 University Senate vote. The 270-359 vote could be considered by supporters as close, but the body determined that academic departments should have the opportunity to form their own rules.
Consistency gave way to autonomy. Schreiner said yesterday that before the vote, he wanted ROTC courses to no longer count toward 124-hour bachelor's degree requirements. Since then, his stance has softened.
Schreiner wants to unify the campus community to push the Department of Defense to change its policy everywhere. Most everyone agrees that the department's fear of gays and lesbians is wrong, he said, but many who have agreed upon that differ on how to fight the department's inconsistency with our own policies.
bones
Schreiner didn't directly call earlier effort
to change the department's policy a threat to additional Margin of Excellence financing. But he did say that an overwhelmingly negative reaction by Board of Regents members at last month's Regents meeting caught him by surprise. They suggested that KU's stance was too harsh.
So Schreiner's new strategy calls for us to write to our U.S. representatives and support University Council's recently formed committee to push Pentagon officials to conform to university policies nationwide.
Meanwhile, Schreiner intends to attack a stack of concerns of various campus minority groups. Those concerns, he said, are more pressing and can be solved more easily locally than could the Defense Department inconsistency.
This approach can be considered,depending upon one's point of view, as an intelligent change of focus or a cop-out.
Rich Cornell for the editorial board
Baldness not a physical deformity
Hey, I read that letter from Kelley Havenly in the Sept. 27 Kansan about the paper's inaccuracy and insensitivity concerning the cultural sensitivity workshop article in the Sept. 20 Kansan. The paper reported that the leader of the cultural sensitivity workshop "asked the group to break into categories that included bald men." Hayden brought this problem to paper's attention with a wonderful style. A polite, obtuse,刃具-wielding sense of humor leaves no cuts or punches. But (if you forgive me) for starting a sentence with an for starting a sentence with an otherwise beautiful letter.
In the last sentence the possibly offended (or elitist?) bald group was referred to as being "burdened by a physical deformity." I am of the opinion that one's feeling burdened is because of one's own attitude.
I did not know that baldness was a physical deformity, either. I thought it was one of those things that just got old over time. But there are four of four-foot-ten, or in having straight
hair instead of curly or maybe curly hair instead of straight. Baldness is often genetic Heck, some people have a bald spot. You choose to have a physical deformity*
Maybe it would be wise to think about the possible benefits of baldness. Is that sexy, virile stereotype of baldness mentioned in Hayden's letter true? It's a stereotype, but let's take a poll to see how many people are offended. Would there be a statistical difference between the sexes?
I suppose baldness could be referred to as a physical deformity if it were caused by a disease or maybe if it were a side effect from a medical treatment. But the term "physical deformity" generally conjures up different images than ingrown toenails or balding. If I may be stereotypical for a second, or, rather,
historical. I believe the term has
carried a more negative image.
Perhaps another poll conducted by the paper could get a good-sized cross section of people's first impression upon bearing the phrase, and, for some real fun, some other words and phrases too.
Anyway, "physical deformity" could be construed as insensitive, an ironic twist to the purpose of the letter. Having empathy for these bald people could be compared to having empathy for people who have brown eyes instead of blue or blue eyes instead of brown. A dew a mere fact as a deformity, then a need for empathy does not exist.
Try to understand those who make judgments on such all-important matters as skin color, body shape, or the wearing of pink-striped, purple coats with three antennae instead of the balanced, normal, obviously superior two. They are the ones with serious maladjustments.
▶ T. J. Meehan is a Lawrence graduate student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
France slur unfair
I usually enjoy reading the Kansan, but on Sept. 25, I was appalled by Michael Paul's sub-student article on arms sales. His stereotyping of the French as people who would get them and they got him enough bid" was simply ludicrous. But his idea that the United States can call a country and force it to "become a democracy by Tuesday or we'll bomb the hell out of ya" is an insult to one's intellect. Maybe if he knew about sovereignty, self-determination and the right to support dictators, with arms and money, he would not write so flipppant.
Some of the most notorious U.S.-backed tyrants have been
Ferdinand Marcos of the Phillipines, the Shah of Iran and, at one time, Saddam Hussein.
Arms sales are dangerous and immoral, true enough. But the United States and other Western powers are the main players in the market, both as buyers and suppliers.
Miguel Roca La Paz, Bolivia, senior
Blacks should question
Unfortunately, there is a place in government for Julie Mittenburg. Her "ideal future" is based on the premise that if Blacks stop questioning authority and celebrating their identity, they will be colorblind and will have a home address in Never-Lever Land. Like the above statement, her theory is absurd.
to celebrate diversity is, in a sense, a celebration of unity. These items should not be mutually exclusive and Blacks and their culture help the open minded understand the obstacles
Blacks encounter that Whites don't.
Recently, I was a victim of a theft. The person that stole from me fits the stereotypical mold of a troublesome young Black man. He has not yet met my girlfriend, he wears a great deal of gold jewelry and a pager on his belt. He is not the true problem. Inadvertently, he has come to lack self-esteem and lacks the ability to make the world work in his favor.
It is unfortunate that Blacks continue to be among wards of the state, but it is not entirely their fault. Some of the problems minorities, such as Affirmative Action, operate ineffectively and are usually powerless to make a change for the better. I have struggled with anything, nothing, but more than likely, I will leave KU a step ahead of my black peers.
Brock Everett Lawrence senior
The Great Escape—Part I
Combat racism with hard work
Lately there has been a lot of hoopla about racism on campus, and frankly, it is an issue I did not intend to write a column about. I have long felt that the only way one can effectively address racism is by personally not being racist and by letting actions set an example for others. Because of all the recent interest in racism, however, I decided to do a little bit of looking into some of the predominant minority activities at KU.
Those students who have not yet done so might enjoy reading the September 1996 issue of Black Perspectives, a journal that covers topics in black culture.
the President's Corner column on page two is especially interesting. In it, BSU president Cedric Lockett says, "Unemployment is still rampant among Blacks. A college-educated Black will probably make less than a White high school dropout. . . Although poor Blacks don't have the capital, technology or manpower to import or buy large quantities of drugs, they have been the target of the 'War on Drugs.'
"News specials... often fail to state that the majority of drug users are White middle- and upper class individuals. In addition, universities refuse to make adequate finances available for middle class Black students many Black families who were unable to start a college account won't be able to send their students to college."
The tone of Mr. Lockett's column suggests that these woes result from Whites singling out Blacks for abuse. I find that belief to be unfounded, if not ridiculous. It is true that unemployment among Blacks is generally quite high. I think this results from a general lack of education among large segments of inner-city populations.
It is unfortunate that the poor get the short end of the stick, but it is also universal. Black or White, if you are poor, you get shoved aside, and it is tough to pull yourself back into society.
Considering the length of time it takes for most members of society to change attitudes, it may be that some Blacks are still discriminated against in the workplace. Nonetheless, I cannot accept the statement that, as a rule, a White high school dropout will make more money than a Black college graduate. It is recognized that a college degree is not a requirement for making a lot of money. Nor is it a guarantee.
About the "War on Drugs." Mr. Lockett is probably correct that most illicit drugs are used by middle- and upper-class Whites. I have read several statistics elsewhere. This has little to do with the reason the "War on Drugs" is felt so keenly in lower income areas. Because illicit drugs are expensive, drug users with little or no income, often will resort to crime to support their addiction.
I argue that the "War on Drugs" is really a reaction to all the crime and killing attached to the high price tags on drugs. That sort of violent crime is not often found in middle- and upper-class neighborhoods, where residents are primarily Black, Hispanic, Indian or White. Consequently, police activity is significantly quieter here.
Mr. Lockett's complaint about Blacks not getting enough financing to go to school is also only half the story. The situation he describes is by no means unique, but it is a real one. At Duke University, descent here, and at Purdue University and the Univers-
Brandt Pasco
Staff columnist
sity of Indiana, have financial problems. Almost all of them would love to be able to get financial aid, and cannot understand why they do not qualify. That is not the case with government's way of treating everyone equally poorly.
M. Lockett concludes his column with a call for Blacks to unite "And to the sell-outs, I loudly say, WAKE UP! If you alienate yourself from the Black community, who will support you when you are discriminated against? Will those you now call your stands stand up to their peers when a racial attack is hurled directly at you?"
The answer is an emphatic yes. I have several friends from various backgrounds. One is Black. Most of his friends whom I have met are White. The only discrimination I have seen against him is by other Blacks who share Mr. Lockett's views and are quite militant about them. He has been called some truly awful things because he associates with Whites. What are we to think of this view? It certainly doesn't promote interracial harmony.
There will always be idiots, and nothing will keep idiots from acting idiotic. Bigots, of whatever race, are idiots. We will never be free from them, no matter how many protests are held or how many newspapers are buryed.
To fully understand the most effective method of fighting racism, all minority groups would do well to study history. There have been few racial groups more heavily persecuted than the Jews. Anti-Semitism has long been since before the Middle Ages. Throughout almost all of history, they were the scapegoat for the world's ills.
"Their solution? It did not involve demonstrations, petitions or violence. As individuals, they worked hard to improve their situation. They did whatever it took to go to school. They went out on a limb and often started to walk alone in the street. They always succeed, and in some parts of the world have not yet succeeded. But their approach is paying off.
The best way to fight discrimination is to work. And work. And work. And keep working, until you are beyond the reach of those who would discriminate against you. Rights can be given, but respect must be earned. How can we help how wrong they are to consider anyone inferior because of something as trivial and unimportant as ancestry.
Q. Roberts, in an article also in Black Perspective, relays this sentiment better than I. "People who succeed realize that the world is unfair, but continually persist, as it were, in order to obtain their goal."
Get rid of that chip on your shoulder. If you look for discrimination hard enough, you'll find it. Nobody wants to be the friend of someone who studies colors rather than people from other cultures and races like you. You'll like it.
Brandt Pasco is a Lawrence junior majoring in political science.
Female forces can fight
If Iraqi troops attack U.S. forces situated in the Saudi Arabian desert, women may be among the first casualties.
Although regulations prohibit females from combat, the U.S. forces sent to the Middle East as part of Operation Desert Shield included
Other Voices
If ( females are going to be recruited, trained and sent to a crisis situation, it seems foolish to protect themselves by male make troops are allowed to fight.
"We get paid the same," noted a female Army lieutenant who was deployed as part of Operation Desert Shield. "We have an equal opportunity."
ntry to die for our country." It's a prime — albeit bietl — test of this nation's commitment to equality. We hope the situation never arises that we encourage the opening of equal opportunities for female soldiers.
KANSAN STAFF
DEREK SCHMIDT Editor
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Home Remedies
By Tom Michaud