4 Wednesday, September 5, 1990/ University Daily Kansan Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Domestic violence Everyone must get involved to help stop abuse before the problem requires hospitalization E every 15 seconds a woman is beaten by her husband or boyfriend, according to FBI statistics. This alarming fact should remind us that the abuse of women is a problem that desperately needs the attention and cooperation of all who come in contact with abused women. This includes medical personnel in the emergency room. A study recently published by the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed emergency room records that showed women who are victims of domestic abuse often are discharged without made for their safety, returning them to the same potentially dangerous situation. Locally, it does appear that an effort is being made to give abused women options. At the Lawrence Memorial Hospital emergency room, the emergency staff will approach a woman suspected of being abused and encourage her to report it to the police and/or go to a safe place away from the abusive environment, such as the Women's Transitional Care Service in Lawrence Watkins Memorial Health Center personnel encourage abused female students to call the police but will counsel them about other options. The staff at Watkins also attempts to prevent abuse by counseling women about potentially abusive situations. There are two stumbling blocks to helping an abused woman. First, women who are abused often do not want to admit it, and second, other people usually do not want to get involved. People shy away from involvement because they think it is not their business, be a job of doctors who say it is a job for a psychiatrist, or neighbors who say it is a job for a friend. However, in the case of domestic abuse, we need to act as human beings and not worry about it. Every 15 seconds a woman is beaten by her husband or boyfriend. This fact cannot become just another statistic we cringe at when reading the paper, then forget as we turn the page. The solution never will be easy, but efforts need to be made. Emergency room staffs need to confront possible abuse cases serious enough to warrant hospitalization, as staffs appear to be doing in Lawrence. But everyone needs to take an active part in stopping domestic abuse before it requires hospital treatment. Jill Harrington for the editorial board Watkins parking Parking spaces should be designated for use by patients who have daytime emergencies A after stepping on a rusty nail, spraining an ankle or experiencing any other emergency injury, the last worry on a student's mind should be finding a parking space at the hospital. However, daytime parking constraints surrounding Watkins Memorial Health Center have prompted many student complaints during past semesters. One Watkins official said parking continually was listed in the top three complaints reported by patients surveyed about the center's performance. Although parking lots are at the south and east corners of Watkins, no concessions have been made in those lots for Watkins emergency patients. Metered spots in the yellow permit lot south of the center that could be used by elderly residents may mornings and stay full until late afternoon. The lots behind Watkins are guarded by signs that state, "No outpatient parking." we believe that if Watkins is to continue provisional alternatives, we should at least two parking spots for daytime emergency patients. It is disheartening and traumatic enough to endure emergency medical care without needing to walk three blocks to the car to find the all too familiar yellow slip under the wiper. We propose freeing several spots in the blue lot behind Watkins and posting signs designating emergency patient parking only. Parking control officers would monitor the spaces as usual, giving tickets to apparent offenders But emergency patients would have no reason to worry. A Watkins staff member would be responsible for dispensing validation ships along with prescriptions. By turning in the slip with the ticket, the patient would be absolved of the offense. This process would be sensible and would allow Watkins clinicians to arrange for those patients needing parking spots. Through the use of this system, patients would have to nurse only the headache from the accident and not that from the parking ticket. Buck Taylor for the editorial board Members of the editorial board are Sarah Bly, Rick Cornell, Kjerstin Gabrielson, Yali Gibbs, David Harper, Hairy Harness, Jill Hartmann, Stephen Kline, Jille Mettlenburg, Mary Newaubel, Christine Reinholds, Derek Schmidt, Carol Shiren, Chris Snyder. Other Voices The U.S. people may have more of a picture-window view of the Kuwait crisis than they think. Since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the Senate has passed a bill that would allow oil exploration on sensitive federal lands. Granted, with the situation in the Middle East, we can hardly afford to discard energy supplies. But instead of lifting restrictions on protection of the environment, Americans should do their part to conserve. It's one thing to write our senators and representatives. But while the post office is delivering our pleas for help, we can do some things at home. Simple things such as walking, biking and car-pooing are just a few. From the Daily Nebraskan. KANSAN STAFF DEREK SCHMIDT MARGARET TOWNSEND Business manager KJERSTIN GABRIELSON TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser News Julie Mottenburg Editorial Mary Neubauer Planning Pam Solliner Campus Holly Lawton Sports Brent Maycoy Photo Andrew Morrison Features Stacey Smith MINDY MORRIS Retail sales manage Editors JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser Managing editor Campus sales mgr. Christian Doe Regional sales mgr. Jackie Schmalzier National sales mgr. David Price Co-op sales mgr. Deborah Salzer Production mgr. Missy Miller Production assistant Julie Ayland Marketing director Audra Langford Creative director Gail Enbinder Letters should be typed, double spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's name, address, name and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of Kansas will receive a special note. Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed. The Kuwait reserves the right to inspect or edit intents, guest columns and cartoons. They can be used in conjunction with the wiki editor and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kuwaiters. Eiflorelates are the repriments of the wiki editors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kuwaiters. ROTC deserves praise I would like to respond to the letter by Allan and Louise Hanson of the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice in the July 25 Kansas. That letter expressed offense at the picture displayed on the cover of the Fall Timetable. The picture shows three students: two White females and one Black male cadet. This is supposed improperly because it sup- "HI, REMEMBER ME? I FREED EASTERN EUROPE, DESTROYED THE COMMUNIST FARTY, AND WAS CONSTANTLY IN THE NEWS LAST YEAR. NOW WITH ALL THE GOINGS- ON IN THE PERSIAN GULF, NO ONE KNOWS WHO I AM, THAT? Football quiz reveals apathy Just who is the coach of the KU football team? That is the question I posed to students across campus during fee payment. The results were astonishing. Astonishingly pathetic. First, stopping 20 students at random, I asked them the seemingly easy question, "Who is the coach of the KU football team?" Eleven people correctly identified Mason as the man behind the clipboard. Only six people could identify Glen Mason as coach. Yet, all but four knew the name of KU's basketball coach. Roy Williams. Three people thought Athletic Director Bob Frederick was running the KU football snad These results frustrated me so much that I decided to make the question considerably easier. I polled 20 more students asking the same question as before. But this time, I gave them five answers to choose from. The first was Glen Mason, c. Roy Williams, d. Tony Sands and c. Bob Barrard. Rich Bennett Staff columnist One lost soul thought Roy Williams had two jobs. Talented tailback Tony Sands got three nods as head coach. Finally, Bob Garrard, who just happens to be my uncle, received votes of confidence from two misguided students. While my uncle is a big KU football fan he is not, and his will can be, the coach of the football team. Before obtaining these results I was skeptical about how closely students followed KU football. Now it is apparent that most KU students know next to nothing about Jayhawk football. At 265 pounds, guard Gilbert Brown could not have surprised me more by flattening me from behind. so KU students could not fail I was determined to fudge the test So I offered five new answer choices to 10 other students: a) Glen Mason, b) Jackie Mason, c) Marsha Mason, d) Perry Mason, e) Paul Two out of 10 managed to blow that one, choosing comedian Jackie Mason. Over the last decade, Lawrence has become a city where basketball is king and football the court jester. Since its last bowl appearance, in 1901, the gridiron team has been but abandoned by its fans. Sparse out of Memorial Stadium at halftime have become the norm. Recent KU teams haven't given pikers in fans much to cheer about. It's a great shame, however, that some of the nationally famous Allen Field House enthusiasm can't spill into the crowd. And that football season has rolled around. It wouldn't hurt to know a little bit about the team, either. ▶ Rich Bennett is an Overland Park junior nursing in Journalism. Some are learning to make life meaningful alking down the sidewalks of the campus and watching faces, I impressively realize I have begun to classify my fellow students. Not in a peremptory fashion, but in the casual way one notes and analyzes the people and things around them, leaving the doors for adaptations and modifications, as the case may be. The first group falls sadly, to my way of thinking, into the stereotype student pursuing the "American Way of Life". Optimistic, eyes turned toward the next party and confident enough to be read to make the necessary grade but not to study. Marian Horvat Staff columnist Certain students are fools, and will remain fools all their lives. They display the greatest subtly in discussing nonsensical subjects and can wax eloquent for hours on equal rights and liberty to do everything but think nothing. They will be the businessmen of the future who no longer take a certain pride in discussing the important issues over lunch with follow-up colleagues of distinctionment, but indulge in silicious chittered oil bran and jogging. Other students are fools, but something in life may stir them one day to greater horizons, greater questions and even the heroism of crusades. They fall into the second group, those students who feel a certain weariness or unease, or who find themselves at home and reveal themselves in a variety of ways — a look in the eye, a certain frown, an easy style of dress or haircut. I have a brother who graduated illiterate some years ago from high school (a thing not uncommon these days, I might add). But an amazing thing happened. He began to read books. He became interested in the current events around him, he opened his eyes to the greater questions of life and he even dared to venture into the choppy waters of religion and world affairs. And then, he told me recently, he realized he had not really been living until now. The adventure began of a life lived seriously. The part of man that dies a daily death with commercials, soap operas and rock music is rekindled before it is totally extinguished, and in those first sparks one senses the madness that has created. A mind was created. And one begins to find a significance not only in the big things, but also the little things of life. Marian Horvat is a Bonner Springs graduate student majoring in education and education. posedly implies that one-third of the student body is in the ROTC. The simplistic logic displayed by the Lawrence Coalition could be extended to say that a better picture would have left out one of the females and the Black male and added a White male (not in a cadet uniform, course) in his place to better reflect the demographics of the University. I strongly question the sincerity of the Lawrence Coalition. I judge from the results that they support that they are trying to accomplish the destruction of the military of our country through disguised arguments. Instead of denigrating those who, with such altruism, risk their We all should feel pride in our three ROTC units at the University of Kansas. lives in the defense of our freedoms through military service, we should show support. Jon D. Snyder Lawrence graduate student 'Girls' comic offends I would like to express my concern and anger over a comic strip appearing in the Kansan. The strip titled "Three Imaginary Girls" drawn by Katherine Ainsley is meant to hide his stereotype of women at college behind the word "imaginary". is a clear sign of the lack of thought that went into his strip. Does Avery consider himself a man or a boy now that he is in college? A comic strip is a place for humor and satire, not for the degradation of women in our society or the further-ance of destructive stereotypes. Aside from the strip's appalling depiction of women, it lacks any degree of humor. I'm sure you offended a lot of women with your cartoon, Mr. Avery. I just wanted you to know that you offended a man as well. Ken Smiley Ken Smiley Leawood law student Three Imaginary Girls By Tom Avery 1