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Thursday, November 19, 1992
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
IN OUR OPINION
Senate should rethink financial commitments
The continuous challenge of all forms of government is to provide worthy services to its constituents balanced by fiscal responsibility. Our
Students balance his or her responsibility. Our Student Senate is no different. Every year we grant them a considerable amount of our money through student fees, and they, in turn, manage the finances and decide how that money will be spent.
It is also Student Senate's challenge to balance monies spent for the majority of the student population against monies granted to the minority populations for worthy projects. Certainly, it is only to the benefit of the University that small groups such as Black Student Union, the AIDS Task Force and GLSOK are funded. Their hard work adds diversity and enlightenment to the campus community.
However, there is certainly a limit to the number and volume of Senate's financial commitment to these small groups. Many would argue where that limit is. Obviously, Senate cannot spend more money than it has. Conversely, there is another line of argumentation. If programs that may be beneficial to the entire student body are being overlooked because Senate is sinking all of its money in to narrow interest groups, this would be unfair to the students who fund the process. Needless to say, this is a battle that Student Senate has fought before, and one that will probably rage forever.
But answers must be reached, especially in the light of the financial reserves that Senate discussed spending on Nov. 11.
Before examining what this money should be spent on, if it should be spent at all, it is important to realize where the money came from in the first place.
Over the last ten years, conservative fiscal policy on the part of Student Senate began building up a stockpile in the Student Senate unallocated account. Then, in the wake of the Gulf War, the treasurer at that time felt it would be a good idea to keep a large reserve on hand in case of an emergency situation, such as an oil embargo that might threaten something as important as KU on Wheels.
Therefore, $180,000 has remained untouched over the last couple of years. However, within the past few weeks, that figure has been called into question. Why $180,000? Do we need that much? What would it cover?
Considering that KU on Wheels, Senate's largest monthly expenditure, has created its own emergency account, it does seem that $180,000 might be a bit too high. Especially since none of that money can gain any interest and is thus decreasing in value every year. Yet, this turns us back to the original question. If there is extra money to be spent, who gets it?
One possibility is a student lecture series. Contemplation of this has been a highly energized topic for Senate this year. It takes anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000 to bring in a widely recognized speaker to campus. If reserve money is to be spent, this would seem like a wise place to spend it because the lecture would serve the wide interests of the entire student body.
Wherever the money is spent, it must not be wasted. There is a constant pressure on the members of Student Senate to fund every group that comes in front of them, deserving or not. It is too easy to avoid making waves by simply rubber stamping every $200 request. But if this type of action were to go unchecked, the bulk of this extra money could be wasted with virtually nothing to show for it.
That is definitely not in the interests of the student body.
JEFF REYNOLDS FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Guards for criminals: it's simple economics
So now we have a stretch of interstate highway in Florida being patrolled by the National Guard because wackos try to kill passing motorists.
Only a few weeks ago, the head of public housing in Chicago suggested calling out the National Guard to battle heavily armed gangs that have turned Cabriini-Green into a war zone.
Every 30 minutes, police statistics say, somebody in Chicago is shot. The numbers are similar in New York, Detroit, Los Angeles and most other big cities. And things aren't too calm in the smaller cities and suburbs, where the drug trade has spread and the shootings have followed.
It's remarkable how calm we are, considering that we have become the most violent country in the developed world. And maybe in the undeveloped world, too. By the time the year is over, more people will be shot in this country than in Bosnia. And we're not at war.
A measure of how we have adjusted to this manacal behavior is that crime wasn't even a significant issue in the presidential campaign. It was seldom mentioned.
There was a reason. The candidates couldn't make a big deal out of it because they would have had to offer solutions. And they have none.
Sure, we can say that a long-range solution is to improve education in the crime-plagued inner cities and other poor areas. Improve education and the young men will get jobs. If they get jobs, they won't be joining gangs, dealing drugs and shooting each other and unfortunate bystanders.
But that's long range. And after years of Reagan-Bush's to-hell-with-the-cities policy (the punishment for being urban Democrats), the range is even longer.
Which brings us to short-term remedies. Some academics and sociologists might disagree, but the only practical short-term solution is to put criminals behind bars. It won't make them nicer people, but while they are locked up, they won't shoot anyone.
COLUMNIST
prisons. The cops bring them in, and the juries or judges find them guilty. Then what? If the prisons open the door to let a menace in, they have to shove another menace out to make room. We trade a new thug for a more experienced thug.
MIKE ROYKO
We could use more prisons. But we could also use better schools, bridges that won't collapse, highways that aren't falling apart and billions of dollars in other projects.
And because of the nature of the chentel, it costs more to build prisons than schools, motels and maybe even hospitals.
So the question is, how can we handle our world-renowned, record-setting, superstar criminal population on the cheap?
I have a proposal.
As we know, Russia and the other former Soviet states are staggering their way toward something that is supposed to be a capitalistic, free-enterprise system.
But they're having a hard time because they are novices and don't have much to sell. They are so incept that when they have something to sell, they lose it or break it or forget where they are supposed to ship it.
That's not good for them or us. If they get too messed up, you'll wind up with one form of dictator or another and will be at each other's throats, and that will threat the peace. So it is to our advantage to see them succeed and prosper so we can sell things to them someday, rather than drop bombs.
Now, think: What were the Rooskies, as we used to call them in angry old days, really good at?
But that doesn't work well because we don't have enough space in our
Stalin may have the most efficient prison warden in the history of the world. He had millions of people — innocent and guilty, it didn't make much difference — stashed in gulags all over the Soviet map. His successors weren't as outwardly nasty, but they kept the tradition going.
And they did it economically. Instead of building stately prisons with enormous walls and all sorts of high-tech electronic doodads, they just hauled the fortunities to places so remote there was no point in escaping. How do you plan a breakout when the final step is: "Then we walk 1,500 miles through hip-deep snow wolves, and we're home free."
You got it. If they were good at anything, it was locking people away. Joe
You probably see my proposal shaping up. Now that the Soviet Union is no more, they have all these vacant gulags. And they have vast expanses where they can easily create others. They also have an army of unemployed gual guards, gual wardens and other gual guards experts.
So it is a straight business deal. We have this huge surplus criminal population. They have this huge surplus prison space and surplus guard population. We were made for each other.
We ship them our surplus criminals and pay them so much a year in storage fees. We can probably cut a good price, especially in volume, because they need the business.
It will help their economy and ours.
We won't have to build more prisons,
we'll have less upkeep, and we won't
have to spend as much money on law
enforcement. We can then funnel the
money into the long-range solutions.
I'm sure there are all sorts of legalistic obstructions to this plan. But if we can legally export war weapons, why can't we legally export criminals? I'm sure the creative minds of Congress could find a way.
You say the idea is preposterous and that I'm kidding, right? Think of it this way: Some retired geezers want to drive their camper to their Florida condo. But troops have to protect them from snipers. And I'm the one who is kidding?
Mike Royko is a syndicated columnist with the Chicago Tribune.
STEPHEN MARTINO Allegations of racism in Senate are unfounded
KANSAN STAFF
The University's punching bag, Student Senate, is taking its licks again, and Brad Garlinghouse, student-body president, has taken the strongest punches. Garlinghouse, along with numerous student senators, have been accused of being influenced by racial prejudices and strong multicultural biases in their funding of numerous campus organizations.
The most recent impetus for the accusations of bias came from an article written by Garlinghouse in a recent edition of "President's Incorporated." In the article, Garlinghouse argued that the logic of using student fees, mores collected from all KU students, to fund numerous cultural and academic groups was not particularly strong. The more students don't even measure up to 8 percent of the student body. This comment was made in light of several failed attempts to fund activities which all members of the student body might be more receptive to, such as concerts and a lecture series.
The connotation in which Garling-house's comments have been used by his opponents is both unfair to hiring personally and professionally. Some are grounded in the fact that many fail to see the complete argument presented.
Many content that Student Senate's function is to promote cultural and racial diversity. And they are absolutely right, but it's not Senate's only function. Garlinghouse's statements exemplifies the idea that far too often, cultural, international, and professional organizations, like the Genetic Resources Council, money from its unallocated accounts. These requests drain Senate funds quickly without any evidence of a net benefit to the entire student body.
In a letter provided to the Kanson by Garlinghouse, Gerald Harris Director of International Student Services, claimed the student body president had "hardly done the University a favor" in any attempts to expand multiculturalism and diversity. However, Garlinghouse's job description does not provide that he represent the will of less than 8 percent of the student body — he has to protect and broaden all students' interests.
Never did Garlinghouse say or imply that cultural or international student groups were unworthy of funding. He only tried to inject some restraint and insight into Senate policy that has become commonplace and questioned. As of last night, Senate had already spent $35,326.49 of an allocated account which started around $60,000.
Both Garlinghouse and Harris agree that organizations, whether international, cultural or professional, should do more to increase their financial independence from Senate through forms such as dues. The continued funding of all organizations whose efforts go unpublicized to the entire university community is a poor use of Senate funds.
Asst. Managing...Alimee Brainard
News...Alexander Bloemhoef
Editorial...Stephen Martino
Campus...Gayle Osterberg
Sports...Shelly Solon
Photo...Justin Knupp
Features...Cody Holt
Graphics...Sean Tevis
Brad Garlinghouse has done his best to insure that more students feel the impact of Student Senate. An agenda which would seek to fund activities that are well-publicized is certainly appropriate and fitting. Any change in the curriculum or a bigot aren't based on fact or proof but on fiction and distortion.
BILL SKEET, Technology coordinator
Editorial Editor Stephen Martin is an olai thelman majoring in science.
ERIC NELSON
Editor
GREG FARMER
Managing editor
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
Business Staff
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SCOTT HANNA
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BILL LEIBEIGOOD
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Grace
By David Rosenfield
FORTWAKEN, HER FRIEND
CHARITY DROPS BY AND URGES
HER TO DEAL WITH HER
TROUBLES RATHER THAN DWELL
ON THEM, TO THINS MORE
POSITIVELY ABOUT HERSSELF,
AND TO ORGANIZE HER
ACTIVITIES MORE EFFICIENT...