4 Tuesday, September 25, 1990 / University Daily Kansan Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Korean Memorial Monument will honor those who served nation and remind us of sacrifices to protect freedom Construction of KU's Korean Memorial could start as early as this year if design and financing schedules allow Teams of designers, many of them KU architecture students, are working together to produce a memorial that will pay reverence to those courageous students who deserved much more than we could give them now. the memorial will serve to remind us of the sacrifices former students and faculty put forth while serving and protecting this country. It will honor the students, not the war. During this time when the men and women of the armed forces are on our minds daily, we all should take a moment to remember those who have fallen to keep this nation free. The Korean Memorial will be a physical reminder that will not let us forget. Buck Taylor for the editorial board We commend those who have donated to the worthy cause, and we look forward to the Billboard. Alternative fuels Hayden's order to use ethanol blends welcomed A an executive order signed this month by Gov Mike Hayden encourages the use of blended fuels in state vehicles. Bravo The order requires state agencies that maintain fuel-storage tanks to stock fuel consisting of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline. The order also encourages, but does not require, traveling state employees to use ethanol blends whenever possible. Using more ethanol, which is made from grain, can provide new markets for Kansas farmers, as well as help reduce dependence on foreign oil. And because it burns cleaner The order is long overdue. Hayden's announcement surely was timed to dovetail with his re-election campaign's new television ads, which portray the governor as an avid environmentalist. than gasoline, everybody who breathes benefits. But from a citizen's standpoint, the policy should be welcomed regardless of what spurred it. The state should play an active role in developing markets for alternative fuels, and this executive order helped do just that. Derek Schmidt for the editorial board Members of the editorial board are Sarah Bly, Rich Cornell, Kiersten Gabrielson, Sally Gibbs, David Harger, Jill Harrington, Stephen Kline, Julie Mettlenburg, Mary Neubauer, Christine Reinholtz, Derek Schmidt, Carline Shiny and Buck Taylor. The 'War for Decency' is obscene censorship, freedom of spec., obscurity add environ- mentalal and recycling to that life you've got the five burrowz of the 1990s. Across the country, self-appointed consumer watchdog groups are on the rampage, cleaning up the United States, and filming movie theaters and concert stages. Reports from the frontlines of the War for Decency: ■ The Empire, Calif., school board announces that it will be pulling all copies of "Little Red Riding Hood" from the district's libraries. The motivation? Some parent groups and administrators are disturbed that Miss Hooshaward teaches Miss Hoooshaward her picnic basket. No self-respecting school board wants to be held responsible if little Johnny entrehals住 age 6 because Little Red Riding Hood said it was okay to drink. Meanwhile, libraries across the country pull other titles, such as Wilder, John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss. ■ The Motion Picture Association of America gives an X rating to the film "Tie me up! Tie Me Down!" because, in the words of one association member, "They made love too realistically." No severed human heads, no Pagan rituals, no child pornography. Just realism. Washington D.C. C: Corcoran Gallery cancels a scheduled exhibit of photographs by the late Robert Mapplethorpe, bowing to pressure from community officials who label the exhibit as unauthorized director of a Cincinnati museum is arrested on abscessity charges for displaying the same exhibit. In Broward County, Fla., members of the rap group 2 Live Crew are arrested for performing an obscene concert. Their record, "Nasty As They Wanna be," also is banned in that county, where some record store Donovan Finn Staff columnist clerks are arrested for selling it despite the law. The album also is pulled of the shelves of every Musicland record store in the country. ■ The Recording Industry Association of America notes that it is the first album in the history of modern music to be banned for being judged obscene, even though band members voluntarily placed warning stickers on the album and released both a "clean" and a "nasty" version. 'Meanwhile, libraries across the country pull other titles, such as Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World', John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' and 'The Lorax' by Dr. Seuss.' ■ The state of Florida also bans the newest album by Los Angeles rapper Ice T. The aptly named release is entitled "The Iceberg: Freedom of Speech while fellow L.A. great NWA's album 'Straight Out Compton' is banned in Pennsylvania. Both bans allegedly are a reaction to the blatant sexual nature of some of the albums' songs. The artists, however, claim that stem from the radical social and visual views expressed on the albums. Patrol has had quite a heyday in 1990. The organizations that have worked so hard to obtain these ends have also been distasteful for what they see as Yes, it's obvious that the Decency Patrol has had quite a heyday in 1990. obscene: overt sexual imagery obscene language, and disrespect for traditional American values. There are many reasons a different view of what is obscene. Is it obscure that politicians and store owners can decide for the American public what is proper and what is wrong in their lives, people decide for themselves? Is it obscure that a woman like Tipper Gore can use her power as a "Washington Wife" to decide for the parents of America what their children should and should not be able to listen to on their Walkmans? Gore's Parents Music Resource Center has become one of the most vocal advocates of music stickering and censoring in this country. But would this group be so influential were Gore not the wife of a U.S. Senator? Is it obscure that elected officials like Jesse Helms have the power to spend taxpayers' money to impose their own morality on the country at large while one of the world's largest emirates is caught in a walking distance of the White House? The powers of decency and morality in this country will not admit that many of the problems expressed in many of these works really do exist. Many of the artists in the public eye of late have been there because their works have inspired anger and thought and action. That is obvious, or no one would care what they say. Artists realize that the only way to move a country of ignorant and unmotivated people to action is to shock them, hit them close to home and move them to action. That people expend so much energy to convince them is proof that their tactics work. Will deny that racism, homelessness, drug abuse, poverty, and violence exist be enough to make a difference in the world. Don't good. Art, after all, imitates life. Donovan Finn is a Topeka sophomore majoring in journalism. 'Official silence' is no solution Reading of recent homophobic events at the University of Kansas, I can't help thinking that history is repeating itself. Does anyone remember the "agist buskers" of the mid-1800s? Has the University's collective conscious become so faded? For the benefit of those who weren't here or who have forgotten, here's a brief recap. Through all this, Chancellor Gene A. Budig's response was "official silence." As the coercion mounted, a group of protesters had leave campus. Some still won't A group of particularly bigted students decided to do the University a favor by driving all of the "tags" of town. They printed "flag busters" T-shirts and wore them openly on campus. They challenged the financing of Gay and Lesbian Services of Kansas in Student Senate. They did everything they could think of to make lesbian and gay people suffer. Violence soon began to erupt. Tires were slashed, lug nuts loosened and brake lines cut on vehicles owned by student members of GLOSK. Several assaults occurred. Many violent acts were unreported. Gay and lesbian students rightly feared the increased violence that publicity would bring. Christopherh Craig Guest columnist come back to visit Finally, pressured by the faculty and University Council, Budig denounced the hamburgers, but it was too little too late. During the Spring 1990 semester, a Black woman was assaulted and stung with racist words at a KU fraternity. Budig's response was "official silence," until forced to speak by campus demonstrators. This fall, ROTC students carried "No fags in my bootie" signs, proudly and "without regret" displaying their ignorance and preju Budig's response has been "offical silence." One warm evening this semester, students quietly gathered by candlelight at Budig's official residence Rather than hear their complaints, Budig waited on the demonstration in the Alumni Center parking lot. Those of us who were there heard the whole procedure over a police radio that was turned up a little too loud Later, a minor administrator arrived to tell the bold-facedie: "No one knows where the chancellor is right now. He hasn't been home for some time." That's a lot of extra trouble just for a little "official silence." If any other group were experiencing the same discrimination at KU, voices and actions would be at a much higher pitch. Can you imagine signs that say "No darkies in my foxhole" or "No Jews in my foxhole"? Would they be tolerated for even one instant? Free speech is an important right. Prejudiced speech often cannot and should not be censored, but that makes it all the more important that he declared "Official silence" gives the impression that bigamy is acceptable. In the past, "official silence" led to violence. Today, "official silence" is not good enough. I call upon Budig to summon up a wee bit of courage and begin to speak out early and often when prejudice rears its ugly head. The University needs leadership to start making progress and the time to start is now! > Christopher Craig is a 1979 KU alumnus from Topeka. More spaces would solve parking problem Every semester, complaints about parking resound throughout campus. This year is no different. These complaints are not without basis, but it is important to put the parking problem at the University of Kansas in perspective. Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that there is an average of X number of cars requiring parking on or near campus each day. Let's assume that in a 600 acre, a nice round number that serves the purposes of this illustration. David Harger Let us also assume that there are Y number of legal parking places and Z number of places where one shouldn't park but does anyway (don't act shocked — you've done it too). Again for the sake of illustration, let's arbitrarily assign a round value, 20.000, to (Y plus Z). Staff columnist What those on campus must realize is that 30,000 is greater than 20,000. As long as X is greater than (Y plus Z), no increase in the number of parking parks and no rezoning of existing parking places is going to happen. At the 30,000th driver trying to find a place to park on or near campus. . complaints about the designation of a few parking places on campus as red, blue or yellow zones and other problems in problem either. Although a certain feeling of fulfillment is achieved after nursing one of these complaints, the only accomplishment is the agitation of our friends at the Parking Depart- Another important factor in the parking equation is the growth of the student body. As the number of people attending the University grows, the number of drivers who end up following pedestrians in parking areas or for a chance opening to appear in time for class groups proportionately. From this perspective, what possible solutions exist to the parking problem at the University? We could hire a gunman to kill 10,000 of the drivers looking for places to park. But the problem of a future increase in the size of the student body would remain unsolved. We could charge $1,000 per semester for a parking permit. Surely that would reduce the value we assign to X. We could make it the responsibility of every student and faculty member to find a new illegal place to park. Of Why not ask the University to build parking spaces on the south side of campus behind Oliver Hall? This field is used for parking during basketball season but is not used for other sports. Students can walk from 19th Street into the field has been built, but the driveway serves no purpose to the commuter trying to find parking in close proximity to campus. Although the vacant lot occasionally is used by a small team, it doesn't throw a football, the greater good would be served by using this space for parking. There are, near Watkins Memorial Health Center and only a short distance away, large fields that would serve the recreational purposes of the few who use the vacant course, we would end up paying $1,000 or more for parking tickets. The logical solution is to increase the number of legitimate parking places on or near campus. We, as a body of University students and faculty, should join together and ask the administration to increase the number of parking places on or near campus. That is the only logical way to ensure that Y is greater than X, which is what we all want. David Harger is an Olathe first-year law student. 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