OPINION
September 10, 1984 Page 4
The University Daily
KANSAN
The University Daily KANSAN
Published since 1889 by students of the University of Kansas
The University Daily, Kansas (USP5 606440) is published at the University of Kansas, 118 Staffer Fint Hall, Lawn, Kansas 76092, daily during the regular school year and Wednesday and Friday during the summer session, excluding Saturday, Sunday, holidays and final periods. Second class postage paid at Lawn, Kansas 606440. Subscriptions by mail are for $1 six or more months or $2 a week in Douglas County and $18 for six months or a year outside the county. Student postage paid at Lawn, Kansas 606440. Subscription changes to the University Daily Kansas 118 Staffer Fint Hall, Lawn, Kansas 76092.
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Football season
The thrill of victory can lead to euphoria. The Jayhawks opening-game victory needs to be kept in perspective.
opening game victory needed. Certainly the KU football team deserves hearty congratulations for its victory Saturday over Wichita State University. The Jayhawks, with the help of an altered defensive alignment and some inexperienced players, put together a winning performance.
One victory, however, does not a season make; in the case of the football Hawks, that is true for two reasons.
First, the team faces a difficult schedule; for example, highly rated Florida State University is KU's opponent on Saturday.
In addition, the academic eligibility of seven members of the team is in question; the status of the seven is to be updated later this week.
The eligibility question appears crucial in light of the fact that four other players have already been lost for the season because of problems with grades. Plus, many of last season's key players are gone.
Ultimately, all student-athletes are responsible for their grades, as are all students. Athletes experience many demands on their time and energy, and a recent report by the University of Kansas Athletic Corporation gains added urgency from the latest academic eligibility problems. The report stressed the need for better academic standing among athletes, especially those in revenue sports.
Undoubtedly, KU has high academic standards, and administrators deserve praise for their efforts to enforce those standards.
An autumn afternoon can be spent in much worse ways than to enjoy a hard-played game of football.
Alf Landon at 97
Aft Landon's walks these days are limited to half-hour strolls around his estate in Topeka.
Such exercise, however, represents the same tenacity that took him on the campaign trail for a chance at the White House in 1936.
Landon, who celebrated his 97th birthday yesterday, suffered a broken hip last year, but this accident was not enough to keep the former presidential contender down. Landon has made a valiant recovery, progressing enough to leave his steel walker aside and rely only on a cane or an aide's arm as he takes his daily walks.
Although he was soundly defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his bid for the presidency, Landon recovered from this setback as well. He did not run again for office, but continued his participation in politics and the Republican party in particular.
History already tends to treat him kindly, recalling his loyalty to the GOP and his years as governor of Kansas in the early 1930s.
In his golden years, Landon's reputation as one of the state's finest politicians glows ever brighter.
President Reagan told Landon, "You're kind of an inspiration. It makes me feel good about the whole business."
As the 1984 presidential race nears the finish line, Republicans are attacking the Democrats and the Democrats, the Republicans.
But people in both parties acknowledge All Landon's contributions to the world of politics.
Change of heart
Anderson's endorsement of Mondale is curious and ironic. Many pundits blamed the Anderson campaign's siphoning of potential Carter-Mondale supporters for the Democratic picket's loss in 1980.
Former presidential candidate John Anderson has emerged from political obscurity and stepped up on the stump for Walter Mondale.
His decision to endorse the man he helped defeat four years ago should have no measurable impact on the election.
The people who have the most to lose are the millions of Americans who believed his pitch in 1900. He was tired of politics as usual, he said then, and was convinced that a third party could offer politically meaty alternatives to the major parties.
His decision to endorse Monday, the gray, old plow horse of the Democratic Party, repudiates his 1980 catechism. It also threatens to undermine the possibility that a viable third party will someday emerge in this country.
If Anderson's National Unity Party does, in fact, endorses Mondale and does attempt to transfer $7.8 million in public funds to his campaign, it will betray both the voters who broke from the major parties in 1980 and the system itself.
Bangor (Maine) Daily News
Women still must strive for equality
A man's brain is much larger and finer than that of any brute. Woman's brain is smaller than man's. ... The brain of the uneducated male somewhat resembles in size and form that of the educated female. ... Because of the finer quality of woman's brain, she is man's equal in most respects, and in some particulars his superior. ... A Greek proverb reckons it as the extreme displace of sloth to be governed by a woman. — "Our Thrones and Crowns." J. I. Potts, 1885.
In those immortal words from advertising land - you've come a long way, baby.
At least that was the tone of comments by everyone from Bella Abzug to George Will at the Democratic convention after Walter Monroe's death and the Republican of Rep. Geraldine Ferraro as vice-presidential running mate.
The honeymoon, however, has ended for Fritz. Gerry and the Democrats, and the post convention euphoria has given way to financial allegations and attempts to outsell an incumbent who's quite a salesman.
Feminists have not reached the point to rest on their laurels.
A Gallup poll just days after Mondale's announcement in July indicated that, assuming both candidates were equally qualified, most of those questioned would be more likely to win in the highest office in the land.
Of the men, 57 percent surveyed said they thought that a male president would do a better job on foreign policy, and 60 percent of the females thought that foreign policy was a man's job.
And on Soviet and Central American policy the economy and unemployment, the majority of those who were employed by a man was better suited for the job.
For the conduct of foreign affairs, 59 percent favored a man, 9 percent favored a woman and 26 percent said his country's sex did not make a difference.
In one category, however, females were favored
A whopping 34 percent said a woman would do more to improve
"the quality of American life"; 29 percent said a male would do more, and 31 percent indicated no difference.
The survey failed to elaborate about what must happen for the "quality of American life" to improve. It seems odd that a woman
Staff Columnist
would be a better choice to improve the quality of our life, yet a man would be a better choice for foreigners, unemployment and the economy.
better blueberry muffin, or to maintain a home (or several) and family and still be able to hobbin comfortably with the politicians in Washing
Maybe improvement in the quality of life means the ability to bake a
Perhaps a better indication of where women stand in the equality movement is that two years ago, and again last year. Congress failed to support the addition of three short sections to our governing document: that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex, that Congress shall give women equal rights in provision, and that the provision shall be in effect two years after ratification.
Studies still show that women are earning less than men, at an average of 62 cents to a man's dollar.
All the usual explanations for the difference, such as that men have higher career goals and expect to spend more time in the work force, are losing ground, and don't justify
the predominance of males in some fields
The argument that other variables hurt women in the eyes of a potential employer and cause them to earn less — marital status, education, hours and weeks worked doesn't account for the gap that still exists.
The women's movement has increased the acceptance of the principle of equality, but the opinion that women are not as capable as men in many leadership positions, fields such as engineering, science and some skilled labor jobs, is still too prevalent.
In another Gallup poll this summer, 80 percent of the respondents said they would vote for a qualified female presidential candidate of their party, an increase from 31 percent in 1937 and 58 percent in 1969. So, "baby," you've come a long
pee, peep, puffs, and
So, "baby," you've come a long way.
But you have a long, long way to go.
MALE
"Reagan wanted to devastate the program," Slattery said.
Students can back financial aid cuts
"It's cool for young people to be conservative now," says Democratic Rep. Jim Slattery.
According to Slattery, however,
many of these trendy conservatives
are not really conservatives. When
they see the issues, they're not
conservative.
Although I doubt that many KU students choose their political beliefs on the basis of whether they are "cool" it must nonetheless be a great relief for consenters on KU to choose to support them at a "cool" political philosophy.
In an apparent attempt to provide an example of such an issue, Slattery cited President Reagan's lack of sympathy for students in his policies, specifically those that would cut back on student financial aid.
Obviously, Slattery was counting on such a remark to shatter the illusions of college conservatives and bring them back to their fiscal senses. Vote for me, Slattery says, and I will go to Washington and vote for an increase in the amount of
money you can get from the federal government
Disappointingly, many students will see the benefit of having such a man in Washington as the voice voting decisions like this are easy because they
invoke little more than the autonomic nervous system
But widespread support for Reagan on college campuses indicates that some students must be willing to forego financial aid in favor of fiscal austerity and adherence to principle.
For the benefit of the congressman and his perplexed campaign strategists, here a area team might be willing to go along with cuts to federally
financed aid.
The most urgent reason is the necessity of further budget cuts in the face of runaway budget deficits. With programs such as Social Security and food stamps facing tightening, it sounds a little selfish to demand federal dollars for student financial and cheeks.
It is also a worn but still valid argument that education is the responsibility of the states, and that the states are responsible for the providing of financial aid. In fact, the states and private sources provide the majority of financial aid to college students, and the cutting off of federal sources would not have catastrophic consequences.
Finally, the most interesting argument questions whether the proper role of the federal government is to provide financial assistance to students pursuing undergraduate and, in particular, graduate degrees.
Education, the traditional argument goes, is a "public good," that is, a free society benefits from the use of education. The other aspect of the argument is, particularly valid at the
basic levels of education Knowledge of how to read and write is important so that the members of a free society can make informed and intelligent
This argument, however, becomes progressively weaker at higher levels of education. The benefits from higher education are more private in nature. College graduates earn higher incomes and also derive benefit from their education in the form of such intangibles as social status and an educated outlook on life.
Because higher education entails so many elements that are, in fact, private in nature, and because the primary benefit to society is accomplished by the time one graduates from high school, these students have a "right" in some absolute sense to higher education.
For all of the above reasons and others not mentioned here, it is indeed conceivable that many students might hesitate to secure a more comfortable life at the expense of their neighbor's tax dollars.
God and man at the White House
While I was driving through Arkansas last week, I tuned in a nighttime radio call in show just in time to hear a rustic ask the show of "How come all them liberals are again 'God'?"
The show's host blainly said, "I just don't understand that myself Maybe somebody out there has the answer and will call us."
Nobody called to explain the evil ways of liberals; nobody called to dispute the whacky statement.
The Rev. Jerry Falwell and company have succeeded. They've
Syndicated Columnist
MIKE
ROYKO
managed to convince many people that God is a conservative Republican.
Among those who have seen the light is President Reagan, who is now
saying that "religion and politics are necessarily related." He says that those who are against such things as school prayer are "intolerant of
I've spent much of my adult life observing politicians double-dealing, double-talking, side-stepping and backtracking.
You would think Reagan spends half of his time on a special hotline to heaven.
Yet he hardly ever sets foot in a of course. Reagan can seek spiritual guidance anywhere; in the
Reagan and others who are puffing school prayer have little patience with those who say that nothing stops students from praying silently in
Churches debate homosexual role
Most church bodies continue to oppose any official recognition or rights for homosexuals within a church and continue to stress that homosexual activity is contrary to the Bible and Christian belief
Oval Office, his jet or his body building room
How can we be sure he does? For that matter, how can we be sure that his staff prays?
At the same time, however, groups organized to defend homosexuals within churches say they are growing in strength.
United Methodists, who have been arguing over the question of the role of homosexuals for more than a decade, are considering another chapter in the long debate.
Here we have the President asking us to take his word that he prays, yet he doesn't trust schoolchildren to offer up a few silent words of their own.
At an October meeting, Methodism's Judicial Council will decide the legality of a prohibition on the ordination of homosexuals that was adopted by the denomination's highest legislative body.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Coalition for Gay Civil Rights is battling with a prominent Catholic leader, New York Archbishop John J. O'Connor.
The coalition, which claims a membership of 3,500 priests, theo
DAVID E.
ANDERSON
United Press International
O'Connor and officials of the Salvation Army have said they would
not sign a city directive that requires all private agencies doing business with the city not to discriminate
loggers, pastoral workers and members of Roman Catholic religious communities, is fighting O'Connor's opposition to a New York City law that bans employment discrimination against homosexuals.
It has begun a program to identify congregations that have "inclusive ministries" for homosexuals
The group, comprising about 300 homosexual and heterosexual members, gathered in St Paul Minn. less to confront the church than to affirm members' problems of commitment.
The New York archicadee, which has $75 million in contracts with the city, especially in child-care facilities, said that to sign the directive would violate church condemnation of homosexuality.
If Reagan is really sore about the importance of daily prayer in the school, why doesn't he set an example - daily prayer on the White House lawn
Another group, Lutherans Concerned for Gay and Lesbian People, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.
If you think about it, who is in greater need of wisdom and goodness — some runny nosed 80 year old or the powerful people of the White House?
Naturally, nobody would be required to pray. A presidential aid could offer personal reasons to decline After all, the advocates of classroom prayer say that students would have that right
There might also be a problem in the selection of a suitable, all-purpose prayer that wouldn't offer anyone
These problems, however, can be overcome. If he finds them difficult the president can always pray. $ \textcircled{1} $
If he does that privately, too, we can never be sure, can we?