OPINION
November 12, 1984
Page 4
The University Daily
KANSAN
The University Daily KANSAN
Published since 1889 by students of the University of Kansas
The University, Daily Kansan (UNPS 610600) is published at the *University of Kansas*, 118 Staffer Fint Hall, Lawrence, Kane 60493, daily during the regular school year and Wednesday and Friday during the summer session, excluding Saturday. Sunday, holidays and final periods. Second class postpaid帖位 at Lawrence, Kane 60443 Subscriptions are mail are $15 for six months or $12 a month, or $12 a year outdue to the country. Student subscriptions are $1 and are paid through the University. Address changes to the University Daily Kansan, 118 Staffer Fint Hall, Lawrence, Kane 6003
DON KNOX Editor
PAUL SEVART VINCE HESS Managing Editor Editorial Editor
DOUG CUNNINGHAM Campus Editor
DAVE WANAMAKER Business Manager
LYNNE STARK MARY BERNICA Retail Sales National Sales Manager Manager
SUSANNE SHAW
General Manager and News Adviser
JILL GOLDBLATT Campus Sales Manager
JOHN OBERZAN Sales and Marketing Adviser
Coffelt/Boller
The Kansan Editorial Board endorses Chris Coffelt and Tim Boller for student body president and vice president as the strongest in a surprisingly large field of candidates.
Unlike their electoral competitors, Coffelt and Boller, of the & Toto Too Coalition, see organization as the Student Senate's most threatening problem. They propose an extensive reorganization of the Senate, as well as the formation of a seven-member council to assume the responsibilities of the president and vice president.
Their proposals, they say, are logical steps in the evolution of the Senate that began after the election of Carla Vogel, student body president, and Dennis "Boog" Highberger, student body vice president. Vogel and Highberger are running for Senate seats as members of & Toto Too.
Presidential candidates from six of the seven coalitions discussed their platforms in interviews last night with the Editorial Board
Many of the candidates offered plans to improve campus security and to correct inadequacies in the financing of student groups, but & Toto Too's plan for reorganization serves in many ways as a blueprint to address structural problems that now affect nearly all the Senate's decisions.
Coffelt and Boller realize that many students do not know their Senate representatives and, because of this, have few ways of raising concerns.
Under & Toto Too's grand plan, senators would not be elected from their schools but from their living groups. Each fraternity and sorority and scholarship hall would elect a senator, as would most floors of residence halls. In addition, many off-campus areas heavily populated by students would elect senators.
The proposal has two weaknesses.
First, more senators inevitably would be added to the rolls. Just four years ago, the Senate voted to halve itself after it realized that its size interfered with efficiency.
Second, the proposal to abandon the presidency in favor of the seven-member council might lead to the possibility of government by committee — sometimes an agonizingly long process.
Nevertheless, their ideas show much promise because, in many ways, they attempt to resolve the chaotic structure on which Vogel and Highberger stumbled last semester. Because the student body president rarely is engrossed in a crisis that demands immediate action, the proposal of an assembly seems an appealing and democratic way in which to work.
Coffelt and Boller together have four years of experience in the Senate - a positive sign that shows consistent concern for student governance. Coffelt, as a journalism senator, served as the Senate's representative to the University Daily Kansas Board, which elects the paper's editor and oversees the paper's budget but which has no authority in day-to-day decisions made by the editor. Another senator has since been appointed to replace her.
The other candidates offered a variety of solutions to a variety of problems. Some candidates proposed huge increases in spending to pay for projects such as the improvement of campus security, and others contended that campus security was no problem at all.
All too often, study groups and ad hoc committees were seen as the way to improve student participation in University decisions. Others sought to poll the students on virtually every decision, which seemed to undermine the purpose of representative democracy.
Chris Admussen and Torn Rodenberg, of the Fresh Vegetables Coalition, cited bigotry and human rights violations as the most pressing problem on campus and said that a task force recently established by David Amber, vice chancellor for student affairs, was the best way to resolve those problems.
Frontier candidates William Easley and Jeff Polack offered an extensive plan for improvement of campus security that possibly would be financed by the state Legislature, the University administration, the University of Kansas Alumni Association and the Senate.
Navy Jack candidates Tom Crisp and Jackie Hirbe have said that threats to free speech endangered many students. Last night, Crisp stressed that the creation of a Free Speech Committee would encourage the publication of more diverse views.
Mark 'Sump, presidential candidate of the Momentum Coalition, said that he would begin an investigation of the campus Parking Service, which, he said, had for years been in the business of manipulating students. Charles Lawhorn is the coalition's vice presidential candidate.
Reality candidates John McDermott and Pamela Rutherford failed to attend last night's meeting of the Editorial Board but have said they were ideologically close to the students. They oppose financing of Gay and Lesbian Services of Kansas because, they say, many students view the group as immoral.
Nathan Collins, presidential candidate on the Beautiful Day Commission, said that he hoped to increase accessibility to the president's office and that he would consider changing the campus bus system. Too many buses, he said, have been running at night with too few riders. His running mate is David Spear.
If you keep asking yourself why the killing never stops you would do well to remember that the motives of those who advocate one religion over another are usually of a very high caliber.
©1984 www.S WORKH
Enough excuses
Now that all of us ignorant, racist, fascist, greedy, upper class, middle class, no class, nationalistic, militaristic, apathetic and just plain pathetic young people have helped re-elect President Reagan, let us mirrify dun sackcloth and ashes.
Have I left out anything? Oh yeah - we're also patriotic.
As excuses roll in on top of the landslide, several stand out. One such excuse is that Reagan is the Tefion president, that he is just personally intelligent If that is so, what is his opinion? In 1962*
Another excuse is that voters supported Reagan because he made them feel good; indeed the theory goes, many people voted for Reagan even though they didn't agree with him on all the issues. He made voters agreed with his stand on a quarantine of Nicaragua.
In addition, we are told, sup porters of the Democratic ticket disdained greed and instead
VINCE HESS Editorial Editor
showed a genuine concern for the future of the nation — especially those devilish defects, which, of course, are all Reagan's fault.
Perhaps voters of Minnesota and the District of Columbia will now act to show their willingness to sacrifice for the good of the nation, as Mondale so often urged the public to do. How about an auction of players like Kent Hrbek in Minnesota Twins — and Joe Theisman in Washington Redskins — with the proceeds to go toward reduction of the deficit? Are you listening, George Steinbrenner*
Seriously, the preparation by Reagan to repeat the oath of office should be a time for celebration and celebration. One must recognize the fact that
Reagan has come out on top in two landslides.
Moreover, he has helped lead a restructuring of the political debate in the country.
in economics, what was once derided as "Reaganism" has turned out to be incentive for opportunities and job creation in the private sector. Thus, one of the questioners at the first presidential debate on Monday whether his promised tax increase would hurt incentives.
Now that tax rates have been reduced and indexing has been approved by Congress, nationally prominent political leaders have come forth with serious proposals for some sort of flat tax to help the private sector. These leaders include two people notable for their greed — Sen Bill Bradley, D.N.J., and Rep Jack Kemo R-N.Y.
In foreign affairs, Reagan's dangerous opinions have been echoed, at least in part, by all sorts of warmongers. For example, a past president — internationally despaired saber-rattler Jimmy Carter — once commented about how the rape of Afghanistan had shown him the true nature of the Soviet Union.
Meanwhile, a Reagan-appointed commission on Central America was exposed first hand to the ambitions of the pure, innocent, virgin Sandistas in Nicaragua Among the members of the commission were the infamous fascists Henry Kissinger and Robert Straus, former national Democratic chairman.
Shifting our focus back home again, Reagan, enemy of all women, named three women to his Cabinet — disingenuous chauvins Elizabeth Dole, Margaret Heckler and Jeanne Kirkpatrick, and Ruth Jones, the man jurist to the Supreme Court notorious sexist Sandy Day O'Connor.
Reagan won in 49 states. He has whatever mandate he can achieve through wheeling and dealing with Congress to improve the nation's infrastructure. The future Goodbye, Geraldine. The Jelly bean's here to stay.
I am optimistic
So here we go again.
The dirty deed is done. The prospect of four more years has become the reality of four more years.
After an election, there is a tendency for supporters of the losing side to become depressed. The future can appear bleak Even if the election's outcome was not unexpected, the morning after the heat of cold hard truths that skips the faces of the losers. It stings.
All is not lost, however. There is reason to be hopeful.
One of Ronald Reagan's favorite campaign themes was that his supporters live in anticipation of
JOHN SIMONSON
staff Columnist
the future because they know it will be great. Those on the other side of the fence, Reagan said, fear that he would be to a repetition of past failures.
I don't see it quite that way. I think that the anti-Reagan crowd has much to be optimistic about over the next four years.
For instance, I am optimistic that the country's political pendulum soon will begin its swing left. And it is a right-forward, active right, as is its historical wont
I am optimistic that Americans will understand that they must live on the same planet with "the bear in the woods."
I am optimistic that Americans will realize that diversity of opinion and culture among citizens is not a burden, that it is necessary to the function of a democratic government.
I am optimistic that Americans will understand that legislating morality is wrong, that the best religious message is "do unto
others as you would have them do unto you."
I am optimistic that Americans will realize that ketchup is not a vegetable.
I am optimistic that Americans will remember that theirs is a peace-loving nation and that art requires much practice. The art that requires much practice.
I am optimistic that Americans will understand that they really de share a certain amount of response to questions in meeting of less fortunate Americans.
I am optimistic that Americans will not elect another Hollywood actor as president.
I am optimistic that college students, ever motivated by fashion, will eventually discover that mankind is "out," that liberalism is "in."
I am optimistic that Americans will realize that taxes are not evil, that they are necessary to ensure, among other things, a strong educational system and a safe highway system.
I am optimistic that Americans will reject the notion that trees pollute and view preservation of woodlands as a vital than the profits of businesses.
I am optimistic that Americans will eventually realize that a feeling of guilt should accompany United States citizenship as long as there are other persons on this planet who do not have sufficient food, shelter or basic human rights.
I am optimistic that not very much time will pass before we begin seeing bumper stickers that don't blame me. I voted for Mondale.
I am also optimistic that the Democratic party will learn from the inner conflicts of its presidential primary campaign, and rally around one strong and visionary individual for the 1988 presidential campaign.
So I reject our president's idea that his opponents have only fear of the future. On the contrary, there is much to look forward to. Things can only get better.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Book exchange would avoid gouging
To the editor:
At the beginning of each term, every student has to deal with the frustration and anger of paying ridiculously high prices for textbooks. One may choose to purchase used books, which will save one money although it is still necessary to pay the middleman 25 percent more than they originally paid students. Or one may choose to buy new books with their high prices, high because their publishers possess a monopoly, and know that students must have these books.
Is there a way to avoid paying these inflated publisher's prices for books? Is there a way to avoid the additional cost of the middleman?
One proposal has been to post great lengths of people and their old books, allowing others to contact them for an exchange. There are many problems with such a system, however. What if the person has
already sold his book? What if you have to chase down five to ten people all over campus for your books? What if they ask an unfair price? More importantly, the odds that one can make an even exchange for books are extremely slim. A person will still find it necessary to pay out a great deal of money for books each term, new or used.
I believe that there is a solution in the form of a student book exchange. I would like to present it here in a brief outline form.
Let us assume that a central collection area is set up where students may turn in their books. A clerk would check each book against lists available from the Union Bookstore to determine if there's a book in stock. The clerk would then assess a point value to the book based on the original purchase price and present condition. This would be recorded, as well
Upon finding that there will be a sufficient number of match ups, then we sort the books and fill the orders of students that contributed.
as the courses that the students will be taking next term. A copy of this information would be made available to both parties
After collection, the contributed book's title could be punched into a computer to match them up with book requests for the next term. If it is found for some reason that there are simply not enough match ups to make the system work, all we have to do is return the books. No financial loss or legal liability is incurred by anyone. The only risk is that of the time and effort of those willing to make it work.
As I said earlier, this is a very simplicistic outline. I have not dealt with areas such as scheduling, deadwood books, excess points, etc. But none of these presents serious problems.
If a student book exchange was started, there would be many advantages and few costs. We would eliminate the costs of the middleman. More important, we would be undercutting the necessity of students having to shell out $100 for $150 a term for new books, for the books they already possess have a value, a point value. And this point value is as good as money in an exchange. This system stands to save hundreds of students thousands of dollars — maybe more.
A student book exchange will provide students an alternative to paying price-gouging sums every term and allow them to exchange books for books. Why pay when you can trade?
Several other students and I are seeking support for such a student book exchange.
Tom Van Holt
Penfield, N.Y., senior