4 Wednesday, December 2, 1992 OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Editor's gaffe altered meaning This could only be the work of an editor. Tract Carl's article on Nov. 12 announcing the opening of the University Theatre's production of "House of Blue Leaves" succeeded in drawing audiences to this performance of John Guare's fine comedy, Ms. Carl's effort, however, was seriously undermined by what appears to be shoddy (the term "half-assed" comes to mind) editing. The article tells its readers that "[i]he play is a [sic] African-American comedy." One can only assume that an over-zealous editor just plugged "African-American" for "black" in the original text of the article (and forgot to change "a" to "an"). standing, the play had been quite correctly described as a "black comedy" — a comedy containing humor of the morbid or the absurd, such as "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Political correctness notwith- The article also notes that the Theatre had originally intended to present Joe Turner's "Come and Gone." The full title of this play, by playwright August Wilson, is "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," which is an African-American play. The nature of these mistakes suggests that the editor failed to check with the reporter before making the changes. Such carelessness affects the substance of the article and should therefore not be tolerated. David Rempel Wichita law student Vandalism not the work of the Women's Student Union We are writing in response to your article concerning the graffiti that recently was discovered on several campus buildings. is evidence that we succeeded. The woman who was quoted in the article suggested that the graffit "tied in" with our whistle-blowing demonstration. Our purpose was to raise awareness of violence against women, and her statement However, we wish to state that our organization was in no way involved in the defacement of University property. While we certainly concur with the sentiments expressed by the graffiti, we do not participate in vandalism. The Women's Student Union Kansan does not help clarify Student Senate confusion Jeff Reynolds, in an editorial in the Nov. 19 *Kansan*, wrote, "Every year we grant them (Student Senate) a considerable amount of our money through student fees . . ." The last time you paid your tuition did someone ask, "Jew, would you like to grant $25 to Student Senate this semester?" No, Jeff, they did not. That Student Senate keeps an emergency account of $180,000, and to find out organizations subordinate to Student Senate also keep emergency stashes Maybe Student Senate has not noticed, but most of us students are experiencing our own little financial emergencies. Certainly we do not "grant" our money to Student Senate so they can save it for a rainy day. On the subject of big money. Did I read correctly that the Kansan is advocating the expenditure of "from $20,000 to $50,000 to bring in a widely recognized speaker"? Anybody who wants that much money can be seen for free on the late night talk shows or ESPN! Why not, for just several hundred dollars, bring in a speaker from Accuracy In Media? After a presentation by AIM, maybe the editorial writers might not say we "grant" our money to Student Senate, or, as written earlier in the week, to paraphrase, "except for the 10 percent of our budget granted to us by Student Senate, and the building we occupy and the water we flush, which the state pays for, we (the Kansan) are a totally commercial enterprise." Those who write on the Kansan's editorial page need to get a dictionary so they know what "granted" and "totally commercial" mean. The fact is that we do not "grant" our money to Student Senate any more than we "grant" our money to the highly subsidized Kansan. Someone suggested earlier in the week, in an article about the underfunding of some organizations, that maybe it is time to let students keep their "student" activity fee. This would allow individual students to grant their money only to those organizations they think are important. A campaign in support of "diversity" has to start where diversity starts: individuals. Allen Tiffany Lawrence graduate student Peace requires compromise I am writing in response to *Al-Bayan's* article that stated Israel does not want peace. Today, for the first time since 1948, there is an opportunity for real peace in the Middle East. Statements such as Al-Bayan's "Arabs want peace more than Israel" are counterproductive to this effort, and are factually incorrect. Second, Israel is now sitting down with countries that have still First, during the Middle East Peace Talks, Israel is willing to talk about and is willing to compromise land for peace. The Golan Heights, the region that was rightfully taken by Israel during the Six Day War, is on the table for discussion. not accepted her right to exist. Third, in the case of Jordan, Jordan had sided with Iraq during the Gulf War and now, the most important for a peace treaty pre with jordan. Al-Bayan's editorial emphasizes, "This is what the Arabs demand, whether the president in the Oval Office is George Bush or Bill Clinton." It's important to understand that peace is not a matter of demanding, but one of compromising. Now that we know the next president, we hope for continued negotiations and look for compromise, not demands. Michael Morgan Chicago senior KANSAN STAFF TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser ERIC NELSON GREG FARMER Managing editor SCOTT HANNA Business manage BILLLEIBENGOOD Retail sales manager Editor BILL SKEET, Technology coordinator JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser Asst. Managing...Almee Branaird News...Alexander Bloehmoff Editorial...Stephen Martino Campus...Gayle Osterberg Sports...Shelly Solon Photo...Jutin Knupp Features...Cody Holt Graphics...Sean Tevis Business Staff Campus sales mgr Angela Clevenger Regional sales mgr Melissa Tertall National sales mgr Brian Wilkes Co-op sales mgr Amy Stumbo Production mgrs Brad Breton Kim Claxton Marketing director Ashley Longford Classified mgr Judith Standley Classified mgr **Letters** should be typed, double-space and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of Kansas must include class and homeetown, or faculty or staff position. **Guest column** should be typed, double-space and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be The Kawasan reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kawasan newsroom, 111 Staffor-Flint Hall. Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed. CARTOON UPDATE WHERE YOU HEARD IT FIRST • Cartoon of Nov. 11, 1988 Little Ross said, way back when, that the state of the economy and the federal deficit were the "crazy aunt in the basement" that no one wants to talk about. But the environment, for Clinton and Gore, will remain another close relative that would be politically dangerous to ignore. The list goes on and on, but if Dollar Bill and Ozone Man can address just a few of the problems listed above, then more will have been done to preserve the environment than during all of Bush's term as President. Clinton's toughest test will be the environment STAFF COLUMNIST The days of wine and roses are drawing to a close for the Good Old Boys on Pennsylvania Avenue. Soon, GOP political veterans will be leaving the Beltway and seeking lucrative lobbying positions in greener pastures. Meanwhile, Wild Bill has been going heavy on the once and future candidate image and very light on his image as President-elect. But time is not on Elvis' side. The demands facing the incoming administration are, to say the least, considerable — and a variety of campaign promises are awaiting fulfillment. One item that was buried amidst all of the campaign hoopla was the need for a clearly defined environmental agenda that encompasses both new legislation as well as reforms of the implementation of existing legislation. KEVIN BARTELS Although the Clinton administration has appropriately vowed to focus on the economy, the concern over the environment will not go away. It will simply continue to fester, undermining Clinton's hopes for 1996 unless he manages to produce some change. Certainly, environmental lobbying groups have had just cause for complaint over the past 12 years. Two Republican administrations have brutalized environmental regulations to an astounding degree in the name of The Economy. Vice-President Dano's Council on Competitiveness has acted as the hatchet man for greedy businesses that desire little or no restraints on their production of waste materials. Clinton and "Ozone Man," as President Bush stupidly Third, fuel efficiency in autos and trucks should be increased, if not as high as Sen. Bryan would prefer. dubbed AlGore earlier this year, have been the focus of rejoicing by environmental groups stymied by George and Dano. But Clinton is likely to put the environment further down on his agenda than most of these groups would prefer. The reason for Clinton's likely reluctance to place environmental issues at the top of his agenda taz to with political survival: Clinton has promised to revive the sluggish economy and pull the U.S. out of the recession. Such a noble goal requires the Clinton administration to give businesses a wide berth in terms of what new regulations they can be expected to observe. Although it is harder to imagine a wider berth for businesses than the one cut by Dano and company, Clinton cannot afford to capitulate to the far left if he wishes to stimulate economic growth. Bills such as the one proposed by Nevada Sen. Richard Bryan that would have raised auto fuel efficiency standards to 40 miles per gallon are a bit excessive, and Slick Willie and Ozone Man, despite pressures to the contrary. should not fall victim to pressures from environmentalists who would advocate similarly radical measures. Kevin Bartel is a Louisville, Ky. graduate student majoring in English. However, the new administration should make some rapid progress in a few key areas. First, Clinton must follow through on elevating the Environmental Protection Agency to the cabin level. In the past, the EPA has been almost completely impotent to enforce environmental regulations; Clinton should and could help to reverse that by giving the EPA some of the political clout it desperately needs. Second, the Clean Air Act which President Bush, to his credit, passed must be stringently enforced. Too often legislation has been passed only to die from excessive twisting of regulations by swine such as Dano and his council. INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE German violence must be stopped The German government expressed "outrage, bitterness and sorrow" at the death of three Turks, burned to death when Nazi-desig火灾 to a fire in a Turkish quarter of Labeck. The words do not begin to describe the shame felt by most Germans at the unspeakable atrocity, with all its terrifying echoes of the past. Nor do they compensate for the inertia of the Born government in the face of xenophobic violence that has swept Germany, east and west, for the past year. The deaths of two women and a child, born in Germany, come in the wake of more than 1,800 attacks on foreign asylum-seekers. the federal government more decisively in the prosecution of extremists. It must persuade state governments to implement immediately the decision they took to deploy more police to protect people at risk. The government must now look again at its reluctance to ban extremist parties. It must involve And it must send out the message, to Germans and to the world, that Germans will not tolerate Nazism. Nownay now. Never again The Times London Loco Locals BUILDING STAFF COLUMNIST WHEN YOU HAVE A BETTYFED UP NOSE, THERE'S NOTHING WORSE THAN COMING OUT OF THE COLD INTO A WARM MARK COATNEY Education majors learn lessons the hard way I live with my sister. This is not some sort of sordid confession, just a statement of fact. I live with my sister. You got a problem with that? Even though I live with my sister, I have seen her about five times this semester. This is not because we hate each other and plan our days accordingly, but something far more sinister. This semester Rachel is a student teacher. She gets up at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m., teaches all day and spends her evenings huddled in her room creating lesson plans, grading papers, and summoning the discipline necessary to prevent her from giving the little darlings the whippings they deserve. On weekends she works another job at a Hallmark store. The difference between this job and student teaching is that she actually gets paid by Hallmark. A scandal is taking place at education schools in universities all over Kansas. Each student in these schools must complete a semester of virtual slave labor made voluntary only in the sense that if you don't want your education degree, you don't have to do it. But if you want to be certified to teach you do. Student teachers are people who, in almost every way, live the life of a teacher. They are at school eight hours a day, teaching classes, supervising the playground, handing out hall passes. They are often left alone in the classroom. When they go home, they spend several hours every night grading papers and making up the lesson plan for the next day. For all intents and purposes save one, they are teachers. The only difference is that they don't get paid for the work they do. What an absolute scam. What blant exploitation. I know of no other internship program that requires this much work and time investment and get provides no compensation at all for the work that is done. Marx spoke of capitalists oppressing the masses, but even the oppressed masses got at east some pay for their work. Why do schools get away with this form of slavery? Because they can. Nearly everyone agrees that the best way to learn to be a teacher is to be one. Most states will not hire someone without a teaching certificate, and the student teaching process is a necessary step for certification. Student teachers not only don't get paid to work from eight to four, they also have to pay for the privilege of doing so. Rachel had to pay tuition for at semester at Baker University, and all she got out of it was a brief class for the first couple of weeks and an unpaid full job. Teachers, the ones who do get paid, have to love this deal. They not only collect their salaries for not teaching but also get more money from a university to watch someone do their job. All they need to do is occasionally watch and write a few reports on the progress of the student teacher. So the students are over a barrel, and it doesn't look like this system will change anytime soon. For the sake of fairness, though, it should. Student teachers do the same work as regular teachers and should be compensated for their efforts. Mark Coatney is a Linwood graduate student教学mastering in political science. By Tom Michaud AND NOT HAVING ANY TISSUE PAPER TO BLOW YOUR Nose..