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UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN editorials
Unsigned editors represent the opinion of the Kansan editorial staff. Signed columns represent the views of
August 27,1979
Speech policy urged
Before he graduated, Rubald Kuby wanted to make one final statement about the Kansas University Endowment Association's investments in South Africa. But the University police did not like the way he made that statement at last spring's Commencement.
When Kuby unfurled his banner proclaiming "KU Out of South Africa" about 10 minutes into the graduation ceremonies, he began a controversy that has carried through the summer with KUB administration with KU administrators for a while.
Unfortunately, Kuby's arrest, for failure to obey an officer's request to remove the banner, has not brought about any changes in Endowment Association investments or even any additional discussions on the matter. Instead, the controversy has centered on freedom of speech rights at KU.
Kuby says his arrest was possible only because of a vague University regulation banning "political advertising in enclosed areas during non-political events." He contends that he was selectively arrested because of the nature of the banner's statement and because he argued with police about possible violations of his right to freedom of speech.
But the question of whether the
banner falls under the classification of political advertising is lost in the search for a well-defined policy on freedom of speech, including banners, at the University. There are explicit statements on distribution of literature rights and other types of speech on campus, but banners are not included in this category. The regulation banning all displays of banners at non-political events.
Compounding the problem, the codes on political activity are vague and consequently widely construed and incorrect, leaving plenty of room for abuse.
The KU chapter of the American Association of University Professors has recommended to Chancellor Dykes that a clearly defined statement on the display of banners be made by University governance bodies.
We support that recommendation and strongly urge the chancellor and the governance bodies to adopt a policy that protects the principles of freedom for students, workers and the survival of unfettered thought and expression on any university campus.
Although Kuby's banner was visible only for a few minutes, it is our hope that the issue he has brought attention to has been addressed before the University for years to come.
Congress needs kick in pants, not Carter
The American public has pointed the finger at President Carter as the primary reason for the nation's problems of inflation, taxes, unemployment and energy. He has been blamed for ineffective legislation and labeled a weak, incompetent leader because the country has not resolved and, indeed, continue to grow.
Many bills have been almost completely rewritten by Congress, including Carrier's energy programs. And there is no doubt that if Congress has its way, it will pass the 121 billion energy proposal aimed at ending America's dependence on foreign oil.
There are several reasons for this reluctance, indecisiveness and laziness. One reason is the influence of special coups and lobbyists on lawmakers.
But perhaps the finger should be pointed at Congress and not at Carter.
In the past several years, lobbying has had damaging results on major issues such as whether they hate to admit, thrive on special interest groups' support, favors and money, and they are more than willing to make changes in legislation to keep them out.
COLUMNIST
pointed at Congress and not at Carter. Carter has run into strong resistance from some of the officials in the office. His efforts to pass important legislation to help ease the problems of inflation, taxes, unemployment and deflation have been organized by Congress in nearly every instance.
Congress also has been ineffective in dealing with important national issues. It has been slow in responding to important issues, and it is not providing energy program or the SALT I agreement.
John
fischer
But when 535 congressmen are being
Unless hard-pressed by the public or confronted with a national crisis, Congress lacks initiative and appears sluggish in dealing with difficult issues. For example, a bill providing for sympathy payments is more than two years to be passed recently.
pulled in hundreds of directions by thousands of different groups, legislation moves slowly and becomes ineffective and confusing.
The importance of the power structure and the many government committees is that they are an ineffectiveness of Congress. One person with enough seniority can kill or completely end the system.
With about 240 committees and subcommittees in Congress each doing their own thing irregardless of the other, leadership problems in the House and Senate have developed. And if the House does not want to address thegress, how is Carter supposed to lead?
Another reason for the indecisiveness of Congress is that congressmen are concerned about re-election—sometimes they are so worried in the way of what is good for the nation.
In their hopes to be re-elected, they play down important national issues that might cost them a vote, even though the issue may, in the end, be important to their constituents. The result has been positive for their relationship problems in the House and Senate.
Congress is hurting the country through its ineffectiveness and opposition to the president in trying to resolve America's problems, Congress is creating new troubles, and it has tried to undermine on Cartel for the nation's problems.
According to the latest Hearst Poll, public approval of Carter has dropped greatly as cries rise from the people for a president to resolve the nation's woes.
But perhaps what we need is not a new president, but a new Congress.
That huge concrete and glass menderia of stores planned for south Lawrence might instead be built downtown, thanks to some local investors. But the leaders of Lawrence business and civic leaders.
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
The saga of the shopping mall began last year when a development firm of Jacobe, Vusconi and Jacoba announced plans to build a regional shopping mall on lows, just south of the city
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The turnover represents a change of heart on the part of the developers, who faced bitter opposition to the original design. The managers realize that a downtown mail would make most everyone happy, especially downtown tenants, while still being economically profitable.
The mall would follow the usual pattern: two or three large department stores connected to each other by umbilical cords lined with 60 smaller shops.
Some city commissioners said, however, that the basin would not be good enough and that the floodplain should be floodplain. Commissioner Don Bims said he opposed any building on floodplains, and Mayor Barkley Clark cautioned that the floodplain could affect the commission's goals.
IT APPEARS that the development company finally began to realize the strength of opposition to their mall.
BEFORE ANY CONSTRUCTION one the mail could begin, the level of the floodplain the mail would reach, three feet. About one-third, or 20 acres, of the site is in the floodplain that would have been reached.
In June, one week before they were to request a request asking the city to change the tax code, Mr. Trump announced that he commercial, the developers asked for an indefinite delay of the rezoning. The request
The developers argued that the mall would not be in any danger of flooding, but said they would construct a 12-acre water retention basin to contain any water runoff.
Mall plan fits in better downtown
Late last spring the Lawrence City Commission voted to annex the land the mall was to be built on. The land had been owned by the county, but the commissioners wanted to annex the 40-acre site so they would have final say on whether the mall would be included. As the developers that part of the land was in the city's 100-year floodplain
He cautioned, though, that the developers might go ahead and try to push the southern location of the mail through the city community since they still have an option on the land.
Despite opposition, the developers continued planning for the center. Finally, the city decided to sten in.
and civic leaders about the possibility of building the mall in the downtown area. A four-block area near Seventh and Rhode Island has emerged as one of the most likely locations.
But Warren Rhodes, president of the First National Bank and the Action 80 Committee, which is meeting with the developers, will try to get formal and that no commitments had been made, even though he said the developers soon would submit a preliminary plan for a bank.
THE ACTION $0 COMMITTEE is composed of Lawrence businessmen and civic leaders, including several members of the University community. Its purpose, RHodes is to iron out the differences between the university and its developers to ensure that the mail is built.
They feared that the mall would lure Lawrence merchants southward, away from the downtown area, in a renovation of the downtown area. They feared that downtown Lawrence currently serves as the economic base and fate of the central areas of other communities, whose downtown resemble ghost towns.
DESPIETE THE $15 million the mall would add to the local tax base and the 700 to 800 jobs that would be created, city officials had reservations about the center's location.
Nevertheless, it appears more and more likely that if the developers decide to build the mail, it will be built downtown.
ITS A LOGICAL location, being close to major traffic arteries and the KU campus, with millions of dollars of potential buying power from more than 23,000 students.
Since June, the developers have been meeting quietly with downtown merchants
Some city officials worried that the mall would not fit in with the city's overall plan of growth, and they reasoned because it outlines Lawrence's growth through 1986, envisions some development goals for the future.
respondents favored construction of the mail.
"did not anticipate such an intensive concentration," according to one official.
john
COLUMNIST logan
LOCAL, BUSINESSMEN, many of whom still are paying off their shares of the $1 million downtown renovation, also an attorney to the mural lawyer for the Downstairs Association, the umbrella organization for downtown merchants, filed a report with the Lawrence Planning Commission, saying the mail would be in conflict with Plan 75.
The attorney, Jane Liddlegret, said in the report, "Our southern boundaries should be extended into the Caribbean, but they should be extended in a piecemeal fashion for a proposed use that is a clear violation of the national laws."
INDEED, IT BECAME hard to find a group in Lawrence that was completely in favor of the mail. Even the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, the guardians of economic development in Lawrence, found that its ranks were split over the Mail. That meant that more people had access to 400 Lawrence residents last spring. In poll, slightly less than 50 percent of the
Neighborhood associations near the downtown area, fearing the possible decay of downtown, also have resisted the mall. Both the Pinkney Neighborhood Association and the Oread Neighborhood Association passed resistences opposing the location of a high-rise apartment building. Improvement Association announced that it favored a strong downtown area.
And it would make just about everybody happy. The city would have its tax base, housing, and infrastructure area, and the downtown businesses would be able to tap the steady stream of traffic that would pass through going to the mail. The city would have shoppers who previously stayed downstown. From all angles, a downtown shopping mall would be a real boon to Lawrence and its residents.
Woody Allen laments mankind's fate
Bv WOODY ALLEN
V. Y. Times Special Features
NEW YORK—More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One way is to help the poor, the hopelessness. The other, to extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose
I speak, by the way, not with any sense of futility, but with a panicky conviction of the absolute meaninglessness of existence, which he does not dismiss as pessimism. It is not. It is merely a health concern for the predicament of modern man. (Modern man is defined here as any person born after Nietzsche's dict that humanity should not be recording "I Wanna Hold Your Hand.")
This predicament can be stated one of two ways, though certain linguisticographical features are often ignored in mathematical equation where it can be easily solved and even carried around in the brain.
PUT IN TWSS its simplest the problem is: How is it possible to find meaning in a finite world given my waist and shirt size? Can we realize that science has failed us. True, it has conquered many diseases, broken the genetic code and even placed human beings on the moon. And yet when a man of 60 is ill with diabetes, he can't cocktail waitresses, nothing happens.
The answer is: because the real problems never change. After all, can the human soul be glimpsed through a microscope? or be obscured by those very good ones with two eyewitnesses?
We know that the most advanced computer in the world does not have a brain as sophisticated as that of an ant. True, we could say that of many our relatives, but it is much less likely to be weddings or special occasions. Science is something we depend on all the time.
IF I DEVELOP a pain in the chest I must take an X-ray. But what if the radiation from the X-ray causes me deeper problems? Before I know it, I'm going in for surgery. Naturally, while they're giving me oxygen an intern decides to light up a room or put a camera inside Mei rocketing over the World Trade Center in bed clothes. Is this science?
True, science has taught us how to pasteurize cheese. And true, this can be fun in mixed company—but what of the H-13 virus? What if it were one of those things falls off a desk accidentally? And where is science when one ponders the eternal riddles? How did the cosmos originate? How long has it been alive? How long has it lived by or by the word of God? And if by the latter, could he not begin it just two weeks earlier to take advantage of some of the warmer weather? Exactly what do we mean by pasturing cheese is mortal? Obviously it not a compliment.
RELIGION, TOO, unfortunately has let us down. Miguel de Unamuno writes biblitzely of the "internal persistence of consciousness," his work that explores comforting reading Thachery. I often think how comforting life must have been for early man because he believed in a powerful benevolent Creator who looked after all mankind and helped to educate when he saw his wife put on weight.
Contemporary man, of course, has no such peace of mind. He finds himself in the midst of a crisis of faith. He is what we call a brave warrior, but he has seen the ravages of war, he has known natural catastrophes, he has been to singles bars. My good friend Jacques Monod spoke often of the randomness of the cosmos. He believed everything in life was possible except of his breakfast, which he felt certain was made by his housekeeper.
NATURALLY, belief in a divine in-
vision, we are called to be free
from free as from our human responsibilities.
Am I my brother's keeper? Yes. In-
spiring and faithful, I share that honor
with the Pope's Faith Center.
Feeling godless then, what we have done is make technology God. And yet can technology really be the answer when a child falls? We all do it on our associate, Nate Persky, winds up in the window of Chicken Dish and causes hundreds of customers to scatter. My daughter was always four years. I follow the instructions and push two slices of bread down in the slots and secondly later they riffle upward. Once they reach the nose of a woman I loved very dearly.
ARE WE counting on nuts and bolts and electricity to solve our problems? Yes, the telephone is a good thing—and the refrigerator—and the air conditioner. But not every air conditioner. Not my sister's air conditioner, for instance, no noise and still doesn't cool. When the man comes over to fix it, it gets worse. Either that or he tells her she needs a new one. When she complains, he says not to bother her anymore. Only is he alienated but he can't stop singing.
from what goes on in the Soviet Union. He went to school, and person merely caught whistling is sentenced to 30 years in a labor camp. If, after 15 years, he still will not stop whistling the noise.
I AM NOT denying that democracy is still a neat form of government, yet liberals are upheld. No citizen can be wiltly tortured, imprisoned or made to sit within certain limits.
The trouble is that our leaders have not adequately prepared us for a mechanized police force, and we must either incompetent or corrupt, sometimes both on the same day. The government is unresponsive to the needs of the little man. The police must be able to get your congressman on the phone.
Along with this brutal fascism we find its handmade, terrorism. At no other time in history has man been so afraid to cut into his veal chop for fear that it will explode. The same is true of the prediction that by 1990, kidnapping will be the dominant mode of social interaction.
OVERPOPULATION will exacerbate problems to the breaking point. Figures tell us that children need not be weaned than we need to喂 even the heaviest piano. If we do not call a halt to breeding, by the way, it is possible that the dinner unless one is willing to set the table on the heads of strangers. They must then
Of course, energy will be in short supply and each car owner will be allowed only enough gasoline to back up a few inches.
Instead of facing these challenges, we need to have a culture that is sex-neutral. We need to be too permissive in society. Before have has pornography been this rampant. And those films are lighted so they can be seen.
We are a people who lack defined goals. We have never learned to love. We lack the skills to help others form a spiritual center. We are adrift alone in the cosmos wrecking monstrous violence one more time.
Fortunately, we have not lost our sense of proportion. Summing up it, is clear that the trick is to avoid getting hitdrops with pitfalls. The trick will be to avoid the pitfalls, since the opportunities and get back
WOODY ALLEN IS AT WORK ON A
WOODY COMEDY FOR RELEASE IN 1980.