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University Daily Kansan
Opinion
Friday, Oct. 18, 1985
Meese and Miranda
After all, Edwin Meese is head of the Department of Justice.
And justice seems in-service when someone who is obviously guilty is set free because some harried cop forgets to read him his rights or some zealous but well-meaning investigator gets evidence illegally.
The injustice of this spurred the Supreme Court last year to permit the use of improperly obtained evidence if the police can show they gathered it in good faith.
But Attorney General Meees is not satisfied. He has taken aim at the court's 1966 Miranda ruling, which requires that suspects be told they have the right to have an attorney present during police questioning
Meese's complaint? Miranda only protects the guilty, he says. He recently told U.S. News and World Report, "You don't have many suspects who are innocent of a crime. If a person is innocent of a crime, then he is not a suspect."
For years, junior high civics teachers have taught that the
U. S. system of justice considers a suspect innocent until proven guilty.
But Meese apparently thinks otherwise. Under his formula, the police determine the suspect's guilt when they make the arrest. The courts then only need to stamp their approval on the police report.
The Supreme Court, in devising the Miranda ruling, wanted the added guarantee that defendants do not lose their right to a fair trial by ignorance or default.
Greater efforts no doubt need to be made to fight crime. But police departments have adapted to Miranda, and more cases now end in convictions.
The Constitution considers fair criminal trials important enough to devote three amendments — the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth — to protecting the rights of the accused.
If Meese wants to do something about crime, he might try swinging more money for prison construction and do something about the glutted courts.
But he should leave the Constitution alone.
The sound of success
At the far left end of the FM dial sits a most unlikely success story — campus radio station KJHK.
Ten years ago this week,
KJIHK-FM 90.7 began broadcasting in a tiny studio on the north end of campus. The station, which is run by students, struggled to survive on nine watts of power, second-hand equipment and an annual budget of less than $2,500.
For its first few years on the air, KJHK tried to compete for listeners with about 30 stations in the Kansas City-Topeka area — stations with slick Top 40 play lists, eye-in-the-sky traffic reports and big-mouthed morning DJs promising $500 in instant cash for caller number six.
As incredible as this may sound to fans of "the Sound Alternative," KJHK tried to fit into the music mainstream.
It didn't work.
So in 1979 the station switched to a more progressive format, playing a mishmash of
jazz, hardcore rock 'n' roll,
reggae, blues, soul and oldies.
It boosted its power to 100
watts.
And the students tuned in.
KJHJ quickly evolved into one of the top college radio stations in the country. It played music never heard before in the Midwest, and helped bring several lesser-known artists to perform in local clubs.
Today, the students still run KJHK, with the help of a faculty adviser. For only a few credit hours, staff members keep the records spinning 24 hours a day and broadcast several news and sports reports.
Station workers say they need additional funds for new equipment and other improvements. But even without these luxuries, KJHK continues to provide innovative, provocative and always unpredictable programming.
After 10 years, KJHK-FM certainly can be called a resounding success.
Integrating Oliver Hall
One of the University's bastions of segregation may finally fall next year.
A deplorable or annoying situation to some, apparently.
At Oliver Hall, women and men live on separate and presumably equal floors. In some years, men have occupied the top floors and women the bottom ones. This year, men live on floors two through five and women occupy floors six through 10.
The Residential Programs Advisory Board, which makes decisions about these kinds of things, on Tuesday tabled a proposal that would put women and men on the same floor, in separate wings.
The proposal is scheduled to be discussed at the board's Nov. 1 meeting.
Last month, Oliver residents were asked in a survey about
the idea, and 67 percent responded. Of those who responded, 77 percent — or 48 percent of all hall residents — voted in favor of it.
Andrew Blossom, president of the Association of University Residence Halls, said last week that integrating males and females could reduce vandalism.
The idea, of course, is that the male residents — who can get destructive when bored — will cease to be bored when women are put on their floors. Perhaps a better reason is that some floors will cease to have an Animal House atmosphere.
And some female residents conceded last week that such an integration might spur merriment at Oliver. Certainly, mingling would take less effort.
The idea is a good one; this is the 20th century.
Rob Karwath
Editor
Duncan Calhoun Business manager
John Hanna Michael Totty
Managing editor Editorial editor
Lauretta McMillen
Campus editor
Susanne Shaw
General manager, news adviser
Brett McCabe Sue Johnson
Retail sales Campus sales
Megan Burke National/Co-op sales John Oberzan Sales and marketing adviser
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The computer: a user's best pal
This column is for anyone who does not know how to perform a cold boot on an H800 from OPCOM. Don't worry, I promise to be reader friendly.
It's time I clear up exactly what the computer term "user friendly" means. I've been seeing a lot of unfriendiness lately, and it's not from referring to the anti-techs of the internet that think "user friendly" is a manuten
Really, a computer can be friendly if you just treat it like your best pal. And you shouldn't pound on your best and blame him for your woes.
The single prerequisite to successfully interacting with a computer is that it be a good user. This poses a problem because many people refuse to become users.
Rick
Zaporowski
Staff columnist
You prefer the task of punching words that smear on paper to entering words that glow on a monitor. You'd rather scratch out .erase or
You nonusers know who you are.
You're the person who clutches your
typewriter under one arm and fights
off the word processor with the other.
cover up mistakes than punch "delete character" and "insert character."
And you'd rather take a long time to transfer ideas into text.
Hey, it's not that bad using a word processor. You can type much faster and can do it without the strain on the backs of your hands.
The entire path of the world could have taken remarkable leaps forward a few hundred years ago with just one word processor and a good printer. (Of course, they would have needed their own power sources because of the lack of wall outlets to plug into.)
Just imagine, if Shakespeare had had a microcomputer, we could be studying "Hamlet II" in our English classes. If Plato had come
municated to a mainframe computer with a modem — that's the thing that hooks you up by telephone to a large computer — we'd have hundreds more pages of Socrates' discourses
I could list more advantages to the electronic media, but I need to address the already established users who aren't friendly to their binary-based buddies.
You know who you are, too. You sit down in front of a terminal and immediately mess something up. Yes, you messed it up, not the computer, so don't go passing the buck too quickly.
You unfriendies are the ones who tie a computer's circuits into knots, expecting it either to balance your checkbooks and write best sellers or take the blame for any mishaps.
Forget it. Blaming the computer would be like faulting your car's transmission if you drove into a tree. A machine can't make up for your shortcomings, although many do a great job of faking it, which is one more advantage for using computers.
Computers are like precocious children. They can achieve great things if you ask them the right way. But if you get on their wrong side, they'll stubbornly respond to your exact words, usually causing small disasters. You either learn to be precise or you face a frustrating experience.
I completely understand the anxiety one feels when a computer acts obnoxiously. But listen, it's just reflecting our carelessness. Unless it is sick, of course, at which time it needs your loving care just as any precocious child does.
In all, computers don't have the final say on your finished scripts, your final grades, your income tax statement or whether the whistle blows at 20 minutes past the hour. People have the last word.
And that word can be damned effective when it travels at the speed of an electric current. Give it a try.
Capture of terrorists boosts patriotism
Until last week's capture of four Palestinians who hijacked the Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro, many Americans were disgraced by their government's ineffective response to terrorist back stabbings. Politicians and newsmen have been assassinated, civilians have been slaughtered and embassies have been bombed.
Until last week, the United States virtually had done nothing to prevent the terrorism - partially because of the bombings taken by previous administrations.
The capture of the hijackers is the first anti-terrorism action taken
by the Reagan administration that received praise from an overwhelming majority of the American people. Many liberals had condemned the Grenada invasion.
The 1983 Grenada invasion marked a turning point from the passivity of the Carter years. It showed the world that the United States could take quick, accurate and successful military action.
Evan Walter Staff columnist
The apprehension of the Palestinians hijackers was an act, not of brutality and violence, but of police-like action. The United States performed like an officer of justice in the world of injustice — not like a weak diplomat.
And although the Grenada invasion differed from the capture of the Palestinian hijackers in not being aimed at terrorists, both military moves have boosted the public's confidence in the U.S. government.
try strongly support a national interest.
While some constituents have in the past scorned their allegiance to this country, the virus of terrorism
The United States performed like an officer of justice in the world of injustice not like a weak diplomat.
Since last week, it's been "thumbs up" to the president. Even Jimmy Carter, that patron saint of cowardice, proudly congratulated the president.
It's encouraging to see people of differing political beliefs united on a single cause. That's what patriotism means — when the people of a coun-
has bonded the interests of the majority.
Those who congratulated Reagan weren't doing so because they were conservative or liberal, but because they were American. And they didn't react because of their like or dislike of the president.
States grabbing hold of terrorism.
Although this new-found patriotic spirit is good, some of us are going overboard.
"Never again will the United States avert its glance or permit its citizens to be victimized by men who speak the language of violence." Sen. Pete Wilson, R-Calf, said last week.
"Never again" is a long time. Remember, before last week's capture of the Palestinians, most Americans would have said that their country was disgraced by the deeds of terrorists.
But the United States' strong retaliation against terrorism must continue. Sen. Wilson's expression of high hopes is a goal. And last week's interception of the Egyptian airliner was a step in the right direction.
Although four terrorists were captured, one of their leaders, Mohammed Abbas, has escaped prosecution. He and other terrorists probably will retaliate again. They still have their heads up.
Our battle against terrorism is far from complete.
Mailbox
Israel's wars upheld
The letter by Ramzy Harb in the Oct. 14 Kansan deserves a reply. He makes a series of ludicrous statements that border on the absurd. Then he mixes in some emotionalism and concludes with even more absurdity.
First, he says that in 1948, Israel attacked and occupied the Palestinian homeland and kicked out the Palestinians trying to do with what actually happened.
In 1948 the United Nations partitioned Palestine into Jewish and Arab sections. The Jews accepted the partition and the Arabs rejected it and attacked the newborn Jewish state. Palestine was invaded by five foreign armies, those of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iran.
The Palestinian Arab population and the Arabs fied their homes on order of the local Arab authorities, who told them they could return to their homes after all the Jews had been murdered.
When the war finally ended, the invading Arab armies had been destroyed and the Palestinian Arabs who had left their homes had no place to return to.
Harb then says that Israel attacked Egypt in 1956. Of course Harb fails to mention that Egypt was sending terrorists across the Egyptian-Israeli border to murder Israeli civilians, and that Egypt was illegally blockading Israel shipping through the Gulf of Agaba.
The last act is, according to international law, an act of war that justifies warfare on the part of the victim.
Mr. Harb goes on to state that in 1967 Israel attacked Egypt, Jordan and Syria. In 1967, a war broke out between Israel and Egypt after Egypt reimposed the illegal blockade between Israel and Jordan between Israel and Jordan and Syria occurred when these two nations attacked Israel.
Then he states that "we will never accept spending 3,000 years scattered around the world." This is probably true; I suspect that most Palestinian Arabs will assimilate in their new countries within a generation or two.
Harb's conclusions are worth noting. First, he states that "we will never accept losing our homeland." Well, you have lost your homeland and you will never get it back.
Then he states that "in a matter of time, Israel will give us back our homeland." Please don't hold your breath waiting for this startling course of events to occur.
S. M. "Sandy" Jordan Kansas City, Kan. graduate student
Alumni privilege
As a season ticket holder for the 1985 football season, I have noticed some inconsistencies in the enforcement of rules in Memorial Stadium.
During the game against Eastern Illinois, some people in the student seating section were confronted by police because they brought liquor into the stadium. I understand that it is illegal to bring liquor into the stadium, but the rules should be enforced for all fans attending.
Perhaps the illegal consumption of alcohol is an alumni privilege illustrating the old cliche, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you."
Lynn Rouse Deerfield, Ill., junior
I was appalled at the blastent use of alcohol I saw as I walked through the alumi sections on the west side of the stadium.
The cameras in the press box are focused on the student section. I wonder whether there are any cameras focused on other parts of the stadium.
A mother's reply
In regard to "Expensive Family Fun," Oct. 7 Kansan editorial;
If the experiences of college athletic departments are similar to those of high school athletic departments, parents should pay more — not less — for children's tickets.
Seating space isn't the problem.
Parents do not supervise their children and, therefore, extra personnel must be hired to keep children in the stadiums, concession stands and patrons' automobiles.
If parents realized that supervision of their children was their responsibility, maybe the children would be welcomed.
Arluvene Thompson Holton resident (and mother of eight well-supervised children)