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September 24,1984 Page 4
OPINION
The University Daily KANSAN
The University Daily KANSAN
Published since 1889 by students of the University of Kansas
The University Daily Kansan (USPK 626-640) is published at the University of Kansas, 118 Staffer Flint Hall, Lawen. Kanek 6005, daily during the regular school year and Wednesday and Friday during the summer session, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and final periods. Second class payment atLawen. Kanek 6004. Subscription by mail are $15 for six months and $2 a year in Douglas, County and $18 for six months or $3 a week in Dodgeville. See PASTMaster. Send address changes to the University Daily Kansan, 118 Staffer Flint Hall, Lawen. Kanek 6005
DON KNOX Editor
PAUL SEVART VINCE HESS Managing Editor Editorial Editor
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General Manager and News Advisor
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GLSOK vote
All too often, students assume that referendums are effective because they gauge as accurately as possible the opinions of all students.
opinions of all students. The latest attempt at a referendum, however, cannot possibly be effective. Its will is misdirected. Its purpose, hidden.
hidden.
Last semester, a petition that was circulated on campus questioned whether the Student Senate should stop financing Gay and Lesbian Services of Kansas, a campus organization that counsels homosexuals. The petition called for a referendum — an election — that would let the students, not the Senate, decide whether GLSOK should be denied a share of the student activity fee.
GLSOK received $505 this year.
Now the petition, signed by about 2,500 students, is before a Senate subcommittee that will try to verify the signatures. If the signatures are verified, an election probably will be scheduled within a few weeks, and the Senate will be bound to comply with the will of the students.
And so, according to the petitioners, the democratic will be unplayed and justice will be served.
Not so.
The supporters of this petition say it is not a referendum to accept or reject homosexuality as a way of life. Instead, the position taken is financial. Is GLSOK self-supporting and, if so, shouldn't it be denied a share of the student activity fee?
This petition, however, is targeted only at GLSOK, and not at dozens of other groups that also could be considered self-supporting. In effect, the petitioners are unfairly singling out GLSOK, whether that is their intention or not.
singing out our GLSOK, the issue. The issue, then, is not one of finances. The issue is, as GLSOK president Ruth Lichtwardt says, "... that our membership is largely gay. That is what people object to."
This petition is unfair. Its real intent — to prompt a vote on the worth of financing a group that encourages homosexuality — is obscured by its petitioners' stated intent.
arity - is obscured by peeling
Unfortunately, it might be too late to derail this referendum before it is railroaded into effect. It might be too late to have a referendum on this referendum.
to have a referendum on this issue.
The issue, most likely, will come to a vote
The issue, most likely, will come to the fore. Students should not consider this referendum an opportunity to condone or to condemn homosexuality at KU. The referendum, as stated, does not seek such.
Nor would it be fair to vote to deny the financing of GLSOK without having the chance to vote to deny the financing of other student organizations that also could be considered self-supporting.
self-supporting. Nor would it be wise to abstain from voting, even though the referendum would not be valid if less than 10 percent of the student body votes. Most Senate elections, no matter the issue, have drawn at least 10 percent turnout.
The only way to counteract this referendum would be to vote no. A "no" vote doesn't guarantee financing. It guarantees that the Senate will consider the financing of GLSOK in the same way it considers the financing of all other student groups.
Senate flag-waving
WASHINGTON — Under terms of legislation approved earlier this month, the U.S. Senate soon will have an official flag. The design of this flag will be chosen from a competition among "at least six firms proficient in the field."
Admittedly, I'm no Betty Ross when it comes to designing flags and have no credentials to attest to my proficiency
be red, white and pink.
According to photos taken before the Capitol was air conditioned, senators once favored ice-cream suits in the summer. Hence the white in the senatorial flag.
rampant on a goal in the
so much for the colors. Now
arises the delicate question of size.
Although the resolution expressly prohibits display of the flag "for commercial purposes," it makes no mention of the occasions when a senator could appropriately fly his own special ensign.
my promise.
For a number of years, however,
I have been observing the U.S.
Senate in action. Therefore, I feel
proficient enough to offer a few
suggestions.
Obviously, however, the size should fit the purpose
The banner I have in mind would be red, white and purple.
Let's say that a senator is authorized to fly the flag on the bumper of his automobile.
while in a car.
The red, as might be assumed,
measures the color of their eyes.
The purple, a royal hue, stems
from the prose emanating from
the stump when senators are
running for re-election.
running for 14 courses.
My proposed design would consist of a red, white and purple field campant on a gust of hot air.
in that circumstance, it should not be so large that it might
DICK WEST
United Press International
Nor should it be so small that it would be obscured by the starry banners of generals and admirals at committee hearings.
interfere with the driver's line of sight.
As for stars, they could designate the chairmen of committees and subcommittees — a large star for the flag of a committee chairman, a smaller one for the head of a subcommittee.
Most people agree that the struggle between the forces of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and the forces of City Council Chairman Ed Vrdolyak is bad for the city.
What color should the stars be?
They would have to be either red or white.
I would say that one of the colors — purple, perhaps — should be used for hash marks, one for each term a senator has served. These stripes would give the flag a link with Old Glory
Red stars already have been usurped by another country, so the star of a Senate committee chairman probably should be white.
Politics in Chicago lacks gray areas
To hear the mayor tell it, the struggle is between the forces of sweetness and light (his side) and the forces of darkness and evil (Vrdyak's side). Washington says that he just wants to reform City Hall but that his enemies want City Hall to continue its nasty, pocket-stuffing ways.
Every time Washington solemnly announces that Vrdolyak and his supporters are horse thieves, low lifes, rodents, crocodiles, gutter snipes or doggy-do. Vrdolyak's defenders cry, "How can the mayor of Chicago say terrible things like that?"
Some chairmen, alas, think of themselves as galaxies, but I'm sure that the competing flag companies can come up with something proficient for that.
that.
"Every time Vrdolky or fellow Hardin Eddie Burke stick out a foot and trip the Washington administration, the mayor's admirers cry. "How can they do terribile things like that?"
The two sides can't even agree on what the issues dividing them really are.
Although Washington might be sincere, his supporters include many
But don't believe any of it.
people who think that the definition of reform is, "It is now my turn to grab." Given the opportunity, they will.
So what is the real issue that divides them? Well, it's something
And most of Vrdolykas's followers really don't want to have a big say in how the city is run. That's too much work. They just want a fair share of them.
Syndicated Columnist
MIKE
ROYKO
because it is basic and all
All the talk of reform and
democracy and obstructionism and
bossism is silly.
It'a a racial struggle, and that's all it has been since the last of the votes for mayor were counted.
Washington wants as much power and privilege for himself and Chicago's blacks as he can get, and the Vrdolak bjoe wants as much power and privilege for themselves and Chicago's whites as they can get.
micho's writes as they write
And so there isn't going to be any
compromise. Washington is going to keep fighting until he gets what he wants — or is defeated. Vrdolyak is going to fight until he gets what he wants — or is defeated.
there might even be some benefits in the struggle that haven't been recognized.
Until one or the other happens, we might as well relax, sit back and take in the show.
It's generally agreed that a strong two-party system is desirable, but Chicago hasn't had such a system for more than 50 years. Besides a few seedy Republicans or dreamy eyed independents, Chicago's regular Democrats have had little opposition.
Now we have a genuine two party system, the white party and the blue party.
Unlike traditional two-party confrontations, phony issues aren't created just to have something to bicker about.
We couldn't ask for a political situation that more precisely reflects the thinking of the general population.
Here the issue is simple and genuine: I'm white and you're black. I'm black and you're white. So let's fight.
So what's unnatural about that being the dominant political theme in Chicago? It might even be therapeutic.
There are black neighborhoods that a white person can't go to without being plucked like a chicken. There are white neighborhoods where a black can't go without being caressed with a tire iron. Racial distrust and dislike — by both sides
is still the dominant common emotion in Chicago.
We turn on our TV sets and see Harold Washington coming up with new and imaginative epithets to describe his enemies: the lowest of the low, the vilest of the vile, the most degenerative of the degenerates.
It's like watching a war movie, a boxing match or a football game — enjoyning the violence without getting our own heads bashed.
Then we turn on our televisions and see one of the sly Eldies explaining their latest tactic to cause the mayor's stomach acids to churn, and whites feel better and say, "That's keeping them in their place."
Blocks can feel better and say, "Hey, that's just what I was thinking."
Who knows, maybe the two sides — by being suspect roiotes — are promoting racial detente, if not harmony, in Chicago.
The question is, when will it end? Now that they've had Harold, most blacks won't be satisfied with a white mayor. And now that they've had Harold, most whites won't be satisfied with a black mayor
Is there room for compromise?
Maybe.
Carter and Exprezway
WASHINGTON — Atlantans wonder about Jimmy Carter and a born-again highway.
They ask: Whatteacher happened to the Jimmy Carter who was hailed at the Democratic National Convention as "the best environmental president we ever had"? Even as governor of Georgia, he stopped a projected freeway that would have cut through dozens of neighborhoods.
Now, however, he's fighting for the razed, near-downtown acreage he saved from the last paving project in order to build his presidential library
FRANCESA
LYMAN
New York Times Syndicate
there — only this time it would be reached by a version of the parkway he once opposed. He doesn't oppose it now, and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, who served in his administration and who once campaigned against it, is behind it, too.
It doesn't seem to matter to Carter that people could take Atlanta's brand new subway system and walk the few short blocks to his archives. Or that the proposed 2.4 mile highway would disgorge five lanes squarely in the heart of a group of historic neighborhoods and into a unique series of parks or streets designed by New York City's Central Park fame. Or that the Department of Health and Human Services objects to the extra lead in the air that the traffic would cause.
The road plan has become so controversial that even though the Federal Highway Administration gave it the go-ahead in the spring, it is being reconsidered by the Council on Environmental Quality.
Moreover, three federal agencies
Moreover, three retirements — the Interior Department, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation — have come down against the project.
The road would feature 37-foot high bridges and chain-link fences, and would make the archives virtually inaccessible to pedestrians. It would desecrate Atlanta's charm and landmarks. It would slash through some of the most scenic Olmsted's work. (In fact, Congress is considering legislation to preserve Olmsted's legacies in cities throughout the country.)
For many residents, Carter's approach to the archives has come to symbolize everything they least expected from him. The non-stop expedition to energy needed would run parallel to the subway system.
The Carter library and policy center, where international leaders might come to arbitrate disputes, seems almost an afterthought to the enormous roadway running alongside it. Virginia Taylor at a University of Texas station would be like an Exxon station on a highway median strip.
Francesca Lyman is editor of Environmental Action magazine.
No one is saying that the library should not be built or that the public should not have access to it but Atlantans feel betrayed and have taken to calling the archives the Peanut Palace, and the road, the Expresway
As such sentiments grow, Carter's reputation as a peacemaker will become even fainter.
Affirmative action and equality
The words still ring in my ears.
The words still ring in my ears.
I was talking to a potential employer about whether he had decided to hire me.
You may know the job — it's the one that you want more than any other, the one that you know is the best for you, the one that you're the best for and that might take you places.
"Well, I'm interested," he said, as my heart pounded.
"I'm really interested," he repeated, but this time my pounding heart had slowed.
A bubble was about to be burst, a crest about to fall as I heard an impending "but" in his tone.
"Well," he said, "well, we're looking at this black girl, and we don't have any minorities on our staff."
My naive ears were shocked and I was enraged — enraged that a person's color should take precedence over ability and enraged that he would tell me about it.
Yes, affirmative action had struck again.
grant.
Once I had cooled down, I realized hat I could not blame the employer or his color consciousness
for pts in as he was under pressure to hire the best-qualified person, he was under pressure to comply with affirmative action policies.
This year, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, while it was being accused of pandering to a conservative administration, has demonstrated a new attitude toward affirmative action in an effort to assure equality instead of preferential treatment
The Supreme Court, however, ignored the administration's opinion and refused to disturb the affirmative action plan of the Detroit police department. The plan required that one-half of the officers promoted be black
When the Civil Rights Act was in its infancy 20 years ago, overt affirmative action policies would have been necessary to balance the scale. Overcompensation is sometimes necessary to make things equal.
Since then, affirmative action has raised as many questions and problems as it has addressed, and no one can be accused of denying rights to anybody by trying to clarify those problems.
On the whole, quotas probably hurt more innocent victims of equal or better qualifications than help po
Quota. It's an ugly word and the principle is even uglier. Mert sounds much better. Yet quotas, implicit or explicit, are not unusual in the hiring and promoting practices of some organizations.
JENNIFER FINE Staff Columnist
tential discrimination victims, as the quotas muscle in on merit and seniority considerations
Hiring quotas do not always mean firing quotas, and the last fired first fired concept has been abandoned to keep some quotas intact
Although action is still necessary to ensure the underlying principal of affirmative action — equal opportunity for all minorities — the solution to past discrimination is beginning to go away
It is not quite time to stop the policing of hiring practices, but it is time to bring color conscious hiring into the open and crack down on quotas or any other "goals" to hire a
specified number of a particular rpc.
And though some people might be screaming "reverse discrimination" a bit too quickly, it's time to evaluate the complaints
Now we can quit over compensating and begin to allow things to even out naturally
Discrimination is discrimination is discrimination, regardless of the group or race or sex. The "majority" group has the same constitutional rights as everyone else.
Even those in minority groups probably would agree that selection based on skin color or ethnic origin is not fair, and that attempting to work out the kinks in affirmative action is not wrong.
Affirmative action, to a degree, makes sense. So do color-binding and promoting practices. A compromise must exist.
My encounter with color consciousness has a happy ending. I got the job despite my skin color. My employer was correct, there were no minorities on the staff. I am confident, however, that that was not because of any racial discrimination.
It just makes me wonder whether somewhere down the road, that employer and others like him will succumb to the pressure and hire the person of the necessary race instead of the necessary qualifications. Somewhere out there, discrimination will thrive.
EDITORIAL BOARD
The University Daily Kansan editorial board meets at 6 p.m. Sundays and 7 p.m.
Wednesdays to discuss editorial policy of the paper.
Members of the board are Jennifer Fine, columnist; Vince Hess, editorial editor; Charles Himmelberg, assistant editorial editor; Don Knox, editor; Michael Robinson, columnist; Margaret Srafrak, columnist, and Paul Sevart, managing
The board invites students and members of University or local groups who want to discuss editorial concerns to attend a board meeting.
Call the editorial editor to make arrangements.