4a
Opinion
Thursday, September 28, 2000
For comments, contact Ben Embry or Emily Hughey at 864-4924 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com
Perspective Prisoner deserves clemency
We cannot always trust our government. Unfortunately, this information is usually filed away in the "I don't want to think about it" part of our minds. Nonetheless, we must face up to the circumstances in which our government grievously wrongs groups or individuals. Such is especially the case with imprisoned First Nations activist Leonard Peltier.
In the early and mid-seventies, Leonard was a leader in the American Indian Movement (AIM). The FBI had recently destroyed the African-American movement initiated by the Black Panthers, culminating with the murder of Panther leader Fred Hampton. The FBI next turned its attention to AIM.
The Bureau turned its attention to AIM organizer, Leonard Peltier, who had been under its surveillance. Meanwhile, all the AIM members and supporters involved in the shootout went into hiding; Leonard fled to Canada. He was arrested there in 1976 and extradited back to the United States because of the testimony of Myrtle Poor Bear, a Pine Ridge resident.
Within three years, during a time of conflict between First Nations traditionalists and gov-
ever was carried out, the FBI immediately raced to find someone whom it could convict for killing the agents.
ermitted support for assimilationists, more than 60 individuals on the Pine Ridge Reservation (a home of AIM support) were murdered, most likely by an FBI-backed group calling themselves the GOON squad. In this climate of fear and mistrust, even more tragedy occurred.
Before Leonard was tried, the FBI switched judges from the first trial to one it felt would be more inclined to favor it. In an unethical move, the FBI even met with this judge before the trial to secure his sympathies
In June of 1975, two FBI agents and an AIM member were killed in a massive shootout. While no investigation of the death of the AIM member
Erik Goodman
guest columnist
opinion@kansan.com
Poor Bear stated that she was Leonard's girlfriend and that she had witnessed him kill the agents. However, she did this under the threat of violence against her and the threat that her children would be taken away. In fact, Poor Bear never met Leonard and was not present when the agents were shot.
The judge went on to ban testimony from Poor Bear and her family, all of whom were going to testify that she had lied and been coerced. The judge also allowed the jury to be intimidated by being treated as if it was under threat from AIM members, a notion that was completely false. He continued this trend by banning evidence of previous setups by the FBI against other AIM members and also by banning evidence of similar FBI tactics against other groups, things that were not happening because of an uproar about the murderous and unconstitutional treatment of the Black Panthers.
During the trial, an FBI ballistics expert testified that, while he could not do the best available test on a rifle that the FBI connected to Leonard (it had been damaged), he did find that the rifle could have been the one used to kill the agents. In truth, it was found after the trial that the expert was able to do the best available test and that the rifle connected to Leonard was not the one that fired the fatal shots. The man had simply lied.
Leonard was found guilty, though the prosecution has since stated, "We did not know ... who shot those agents." He has been imprisoned for more than 24 years, his appeals are exhausted (though one of his appellant judges now supports him), and a biased parole board is unlikely to let him out any time soon. Thus, Leonard's last, best chance is executive clemency from President Clinton.
So, it is up to us, as citizens of the United States, to join the late Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama and former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark (among millions of others worldwide) to work for Leonard's release. Simply writing the White House or calling it at (202) 456-1111, for the rest of Clinton's term, would be a tremendous step in the right direction.
Goodman is a Dayton, Ohio, senior in political science.
Shaun Morrell / KANSAN
Kansan report card
Pass:
- Olympic medal race. Once again, America is ahead in brawn, not brains.
Student section at football games. Despite the lack of alcohol at Memorial Stadium, the football team has finally drawn a crowd of raucous supporters.
University's student retention rate increase. No longer a leader in party school rankings. No longer a bastion of academic achievement. Now that the University has achieved mediocrity, students want to stick around. Huh?
Fail:
University of Wisconsin at Madison. In a move to illustrate racial harmony, the university instituted a new policy by doctoring a brochure cover to include minority students. Its creators cut and pasted a black person in the middle of the crowd in an attempt to show its diverse enrollment.
Lawrence Police Department. Maybe riot gear wasn't the best way to deal with the bike rally last Thursday.
Perspective
Mr. Wong and icebox.com. There's a big difference between satire and outright idiocy.
Road-rage incident reveals perilous trend
Early last week, I was briskly walking up Mt. Oread in an attempt to make it to my 8:30 class on time. As usual, time had gotten away from me while I was eating my Honey Bunches of Oats for breakfast. So, like many other students at this time of the morning, I was in a hurry. Perhaps I had tunnel vision that morning, or maybe I was just spaced out thinking about the quiz I had
later that day.
Regardless of what I was thinking, I was about to be hit by a car.
I heard the screeching cry of the breaks as I was about halfway through the pedestrian crosswalk on Sunnyside Drive between Robinson and Summerfield. Adrenaline pumped through my body and I instinctively, and rather athletically, lunged forward out of the intersection.
Fortunately, as I looked over my shoulder to see how close I came to being road kill, I saw that the Ford Festiva had stopped well in front of the white rectangular boundaries of the crosswalk. Thank goodness the Festiva was equipped with some well-made Goodyears, or I might have been a casualty of ignorance in that crosswalk. Or was it my fault?
The driver of the lightweight economy car, whom I lovingly refer to as the Road Zombie, might best answer that question. As I began to put my hand up to wave "thanks" or "sorry" or whatever symbolic gesture I could give for him not hitting me, Mr. Zombie flipped me off.
Corey
Snyder
columnist
guion@ikhanan.com
At this point I could have gotten nasty with him, but I was more in shock that he made such a big deal out of such an innocent and unfortunately, everyday occurrence for pedestrians at the University of Kansas.
Mr. Zombie proceeded to tell me in the most colorful way to, "Take your head out of your blankety-blank! I can't believe you took so blanking long to walk through the blanking intersection. Blankhead!"
I replied with, "Have a nice day!" And then mumbled some other choice words under my breath as I kept walking up the Hill.
What is the problem with the people driving on campus?
As the week continued, I witnessed at least three other instances of automobile/pedestrian road rage. It is clear that those of us who choose to drive through campus have lost the patience for those on foot.
Road rage now is taking a new form, and it is starting right here in Lawrence, Kansas. I wouldn't be surprised if in the next few years, serious and intentional crimes are committed against pedestrians because John or Jane Doe behind the wheel feels that it is their God-given right to drive as they please and bend the laws.
In my case, Mr. Zombie, who I apparently made late for his rabies shot, lost all sense of reality considering the fact that it is the law for all vehicles to yield to pedestrian traffic at a marked crosswalk.
Eventually, someone will get hurt.
Snyder is a Topeka senior in pre-physical therapy.
Editorial
Coach Allen is part of a systemic problem, not the only party to blame.
Handbill accusations off-target
Two weeks ago, 12 students handed out handballs at the first KU football home game of the season, calling awareness to the incident of sexual assault of a female KU soccer player by two KU football players last February. The students took an admirable initiative in attracting attention to the case, and the timing and location were smartly chosen.
However, in the aftermath of the incident, we need to remember that Terry Allen alone was not responsible for the players' punishment, and all the accusations need not be directed toward him.
Terry Allen is only a part of a much wider system that has allowed the incident to occur and has almost succeeded in letting it go unpunished. The perception that those two players obviously have, that sexually assaulting women is OK, was not instilled in their minds by Terry Allen. Unfortunately, this attitude and mentality can be found not only in the University or our athletic department, but also in an alarming number of schools and athletic departments around the country, as is demonstrated by the numerous cases of athletes committing sexual assault.
Calling attention to the case is not only commendable, but of vital importance in working toward a permanent solution to the problem.
Nonetheless, attacking and focusing on individuals that deserve only part of the blame is not a constructive way of dealing with it. When undertaking a task as major as seeking to change a societal attitude, launching campaigns against specific individuals — who, again, deserve only part of the blame — is not the way to go. The only effective means of changing attitudes is awareness and education, advocating positive changes and addressing the core of the problem.
Although undoubtedly the purpose of handbills was to promote awareness and in the long run change attitudes, the attack on Terry Allen narrowed the focus of the issue.
Cynthia Malaksis for the editorial board
free all for 864-0500 864-0500
near or all callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Standerous statements will not be printed. To read more, go to www.kansan.com.
Too bad we don't have cool professors.
if bike riders don't deserve bike lanes until they obey traffic signs, does that mean drivers who don't obey traffic signs don't deserve driving lanes either?
if bike riders don't deserve bike lanes until they obey traffic signs, does that mean drivers who don't obey traffic signs don't deserve driving lanes either?
I think it's funny that Coke has a monopoly on this campus, but it can't keep its machines stocked.
Girls fake orgasms because they think guys care.
if bike riders don't deserve bike lanes until they obey traffic signs, does that mean drivers who don't obey traffic signs don't deserve driving lanes either?
the night campus bus driver needs to stop berating students who rarely ride the bus for not knowing the bus route.
If the Free for All is an open public forum, then how come I've never been published?
If students don't see a choice between Gore and Bush for president, then vote for Ralph Nader. He has strong opinions on minority issues and women and provides a good third party option.
the night campus bus driver needs to stop berating students who rarely ride the bus for not knowing the bus route.
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I'd like to thank the doctors at Watkins Health Center for diagnosing my broken foot as a muscle strain and for the two minutes you spent with me. It's comforting to know that the well-being of 25,000 students are in your hands. May God help us all.
Sen. Brownback uttered the most ignorant words ever published in the Kansan. He said the entertainment industry should enter a voluntary code of conduct. If we're speaking purely hypothetically, he should have said people should stop killing each other. Kudos, Mr. Senator, on ducking any real issue.
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If there's a parking problem on campus, why are freshmen allowed to have cars?
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