Opinion
Page 4 University Daily Kansan, December 1, 1980
A list of things to do
Thanksgiving break is over and now the 1900 fall semester will soon be history—or geography or calculus or biology. As hard as it is to believe, finals are approaching yet again.
To be sure, the next few weeks will be busy ones. Many instructors will be assigning term papers or final projects and perhaps having a test. Let's not forget that this all happens right before finals.
And let's not forget to do the holiday shopping. And let's not forget plans for the next academic semester. And let's not
forget plans about that trip during the semester break. And let's not forget about the chilling winter season that will soon be with us.
It is all too simple to forget something. Therefore, making a list of things to do each day may make life more organized, if not easier. And crossing off items on the list often makes one feel like something has been accomplished.
A list wouldn't be a lifesaver perhaps. Yet that little extra something might make the next several weeks just a little less hectic and a little more bearable.
Cities' survival on the line as Republicans cut taxes
Part of the Republican Party's plan to convert the economy from a lumbering heavyweight to a supple middleweight is to cut taxes 10 percent a year for the next three years.
Two of the cities to watch to find out if the plan works, assuming it is presented to and approved by Congress, are Detroit and Houston.
Detroit's unemployment rate is running at about 18 percent and its inflation rate at about 20
Those two cities are at the extreme poles of the economic picture.
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percent. As an indication of the frustration felt from those figures, its murder rate is 47 for every 1,000 citizens.
In a study completed earlier this year, Detroit was ranked with 11 other big cities as "most depressed." The voters have reacted by placing two socialists on the city council.
Detroit has not been helped by the Michigan State Legislature, either. In 1969, Detroit's present mayor, Coleman Young, helped pass a compulsory arbitration law for municipal employees who are represented by unions. The city's police and firemen have invoked the law in several negotiations and have become the nation's highest paid in each category. As a result, the city will pay out $50 million this year, in what could be considered unjustified wages.
The population, almost 50 percent black, will
buy about $140 million more than
about $140 million more.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Houston's unemployment stands at about 5 percent and its inflation rate at about 12 percent. The city resembles a shooting gallery much less than Detroit. Houston's murder rate is 26 for every 1,000 citizens.
In the same study earlier in the year, Houston was ranked with 11 other big cities as "least
depressed." Houstonians' income has risen 16.1 percent during the last five years compared to 11.1 percent for the nation.
13 December. The population of Houston, the fifth largest city in the nation, and Detroit, the sixth largest, also have reflected the state of the economies of the cities. Since 1960, the population of Detroit has decreased 9.3 percent, while Houston's has increased 3.6 percent.
the health of the cities' economies can be traced to the major industries of both. The auto industry, centered in Detroit, is in its worst state for energy industry, centered in Houston, is booming.
Houston also benefits from the national space program in the form of government subsidies. It is the nation's largest producer of chemicals and fertilizer, the third largest home for construction companies and is headquarters for more than 800 of the nation's million-dollar corporations.
The rest of the city reflects a strong capitalist atmosphere. Each day, one page of the Houston Post is devoted to oil and gas news, and one-fourth of the total bookshelf space at bookstores is occupied by books on business. Finally, there are no zoning laws in the city.
Conversely, Detroit has had to lay one-third of its police force, and Chrysler has had to approach Congress on its shock absorbers for loan guarantees.
Houston's future for its oil businesses appears to be good from a political perspective. President-elect Ronald Reagan has said he does not like the windfall profits tax, which was imposed earlier this year by Congress on the oil companies. If he has trouble making up his mind, George Bush, a resident of Houston, surely will help him decide whether to prosecute the repeal of the offshore gas law for three reasons if the most recent census figures are verified. The new representatives elected will, no doubt, be sympathetic toward the energy industry.
The future does not look as bright for Detroit. Regardless of whether the tax cut stimulates business, Detroit obviously is in need of help.
Because Detroit is going to live and die by the auto industry, it is the responsibility of the automakers to use the tax cut to put the extra revenue to a profitable use for their city.
The final issue of the fall 1980 Kansan will be published Dec. 8. Therefore, those writing letters to the editor should submit them by 3 p.m. Wednesday.
The Kansan welcomes your letters to the editor, but space and time requirements mandate that letters be submitted in the next few days if they are to be published.
Deadline on letters nears
The University Daily Kansan welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced and not exceed 500 words. They should include the writer's name, address and telephone number. If the writer is a graduate student, the letter should include the writer's class and home town or faculty or staff position. The Kansan reserves the right to edit letters for publication.
Thank you.
The University Daily KANSAN
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Letters to the Editor
Fans' cup fighting childish, dangerous
To the editor:
We have all been to the KU football games and have seen the cup fights that occur at nearly every home game. Someone in the upper section throws a plastic cup at someone in the lower section. Next thing you know, people must duck to escape the barrage of plastic shots. Many people don't realize that these cup fights are not only childish but also dangerous!
I am speaking as a cup fight casualty who's alive to tell about it. When I'm writing this letter, my black eye is swelling under the five stitches that I received at Watkins Hospital. I should live with the effects of someone else's lack of self-control, someone else's immature actions.
I know of others who have been hit by these cups. May my experience is the most extreme. Yet I want people to be aware of what can happen when a little fun gets out of hand.
If this letter doesn't make people stop and think, if it is too impractical to demand that immature jokers grow up, it might be necessary to disarm them. We could say, "Don't throw the foam or paper cups. Fans who want KU cups as souvenirs will find them in the Kansas Union—six for $1."
Barb Ehli
Leawood sophomore
Moslem protest To the editor:
I am writing in response to the article "Moslem demonstrators disrupt presentation by Israeli consul," which appeared in the Nov. 13 issue of the Kansan.
I first would like to state that I am not against any organization that wishes to voice its opinion. However, I also must add that I am deeply disturbed by the event that took place on the evening of Nov. 12 in the Satellite Union. As a result of that disturbance, by about 75 Moslem students, the scheduled lecture was moved to a private home. Consequently, these Moslem students-who, I must add, are guests in this country-deprived other students of their right to attend a public lecture. I think these abuses need to be brought to an end. In my opinion, a reasonable reason—No student should have his personal rights violated by anyone because of his race, sex, religious views or national origin.
Tina Wolff
McCollum dirty
To the editor:
I am not writing in response to any Kansan articles; I want to bring to your attention the unsuitable conditions in one of our residence halls. McColum Hall simply is not cleanliness exists not only in the public areas and indoor rooms but also in the cafeteria.
I realize that because of our warm autumn, there will be more than our share of files, gnats and roaches, but how much can one stand? We have had our hall sprayed for roaches twice this semester, and each time roaches are found on the walls, in our closets and on our clothes AFTER the spraying. Flies usually are seen collecting around spilled food and overgarbage cans. From my own experience, I find that my feet stick to the bathroom floor soon after we come back to clean it. I've seen people mopping the cafeteria floor. They don't clean the floor. They smear the dirt with water and let it dry. One can see the streaks dried on the floor. This is not just laziness on the part of the worker but also on the part of his or her supervisor.
There is uncleanliness in the food preparation area of our cafeteria, too. Again, the floors are dirty. I have found hair in my entree and bugs in my salad. The list goes on. Unusually large amounts of oil are spilled, as well as served to the amount of state Kanawa, not familiar with the laws of the state of Kansas, but in other states, an employee is not permitted to wear shorts while working. I see this often.
I have made efforts to bring these problems to supervisors. Our house manager has been quick to respond to our bug complaints. However, the food supervisor is ignorant to our food problems.
Are these conditions found in the residence halls? I certainly hope not. These unsanitary conditions make it difficult to live here. I don't want to come across as a "clean freak," because I'm not. I just think that this hall's sanitary standards are being stretched a little too far.
Wendy Kendrick
Chicago sophomore
Death wish
To the editor:
to the editor.
In response to Brett Conley's Nov. 14 editorial,
"President doomed during zero year," I would like to offer the following advice to the author.
Fear, the instructor of hate, is the product of fear. The creator of love, is the product of knowledge.
In plain English, there is enough hate in the world to go around and then some. Now, I don't know what your reasons are for wishing that Reagan die in office. To tell the truth, I really don't care what they are. Reality is far too important to all of our futures to make room for a person who would appreciate that. Perhaps you would have the decency to crawl under a rock the next time you get such a hurtful urge that you openly wish for another human's death.
Brian M. Farley Overland Park senior
Kansan attacks
On Nov. 14, after a typical day at school, I came home and sat down to read a newspaper. What did my roommate hand me? A Kansan! My roommate replied, "This is the new Kansan."
"Oh, well," I said to myself, "things could be worse." Sure enough, they were.
I could cite several examples of journalistic buffoonery in this edition, but Brett Conley's article, "President doomed during zero year," was a classic example of poor taste. I can understand that most of the columnists and cartoonists on the Kansan despise Ronald Reagan. However, while it's one thing to dislike someone of a different political ideology, it is another thing to respect someone irresponsible and lacking in character, it's highly contradictory to the paper's liberal "altruistic" orientation to advocate the president-elect's untimely end.
Unlike the Kanass, which seems oriented to attacking rather than to creating solutions to the problems it addresses, I proposed a remedy regarding its present existence. Go underground! The paper certainly is low enough. Besides, underground newspapers are more popular and exciting to read. Also, it will save thousands of KU students the $2 per semester fee that they presently are forced to pay. Therefore, probably will go unbeeded. Thus, to express my dissatisfaction with the Kanass, I now would like to take the opportunity to hereby figuratively cancel my subscription. (It won't do any good, but it does make me feel better.)
Layne Tait Los Altos, Calif., senior
Journalistic sewer
To the editor:
Every time I get to page 4 of the Kansan, I find in the lower left or right hand corner at least one letter that lambens the latest editorial-setting low in the quality of editorial writing displayed by one of the Kansan's columnists. But then, when I glance upward at the rest of the page, I find to my chargin an editorial that makes the lamentation obsolete. Just when one thinks a columnist has reached the final step down the ladder into the dregs of the sewer that is journalism, another one loses his footing and falls in over his head.
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This was the case last Friday when I all too optimistically cast my eyes on Brett Conley's musings on the zero-year presidential jinx and its possible ramifications for the current president-elect. I must say, he did get off to a reasonable start in his recount of indisputable facts that everyone knows about the untimely deaths of some of our past presidents. And however he succeeded to the speculation no less than five slither paragraphs of it, he lost his footing and, with a disconcerting gurge, slipped the rest of the way into the bubbling muck.
Allow me to remind the gentle reader of Conley's last words, uttered just as the molten sewage (most of which he himself had one way or another just produced) was closing over his head, and I quote: "So, for those people who wanted to see anyone but Reagan as president, things look good. Maybe with a little belief in old Indian legends the governor will get a job and will all be saved." I trust the two ambiguous propositional phrases in that last sentence didn't prevent anyone from divining its intended meaning, but if they did, consider yourself lucky.
If someone, say I, were to pronounce a solemn curse to the effect that, beginning with Brett Conley, a Kansan columnist would die during his term on the Kansan editorial panel once every 20 years. I would consider it less than tasteful for even his worst enemy to begin dobling over his impending death. But for that enemy to take his drool and spread it across a five paragraph space for 10,000 to 20,000 people and indeed all posterior to see—I believe the word is barbaric.
Will the bubbles marking Conley's entry into the journalistic dregs embolden yet another columnist to jump in after him? Look elsewhere on this page and find out for yourself.
Eric Brende
Topeka sophomore
Morbid column
To the editor:
Although we've always considered the Kansan's opinion page a forum of left-wing extremism, we are shocked and outraged at Brett Conley's editorial of Nov. 14. His hope that the "zero-factor" brings a quick death to President Reagan is disgusting. Conley is obviously a sick person. His morbid thoughts are un-American, unpatriotic, unhappy with the unfair administration like the Kansas. We would hate to lower our standards to those of a jerk like Conley, but we find it awfully tempting to wish death to him and his like. Maybe then, as he puts it, "we will all be saved."
Haney M. Sweda
Jacksonville, Fla., senior
David L. Tepoorten
Richmond, Canada, sophom
Free speech loses
To the editor:
After three years of needless confrontations and, finally, a changing of the guard, we recently seem to have found ourselves with a KU administration that has at least some understanding of the necessity of protecting free expression on campus.
So what happens? This time it's not the administration but students who have grossly infringed on one of the University's most important principles—the right to speak and be heard.
Those who disagree with the Israeli consul should be given ample opportunity to question him and make their disagreements with his government known. But to intimidate him to the point that he must leave the campus without speaking is intolerable.
Is truly free speech EVER going to come to KU?
Tim Miller Lecturer in Religious Studies