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Thursday, November 12, 1992
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OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
IN OUR OPINION
Union's new look worth wait, hassle
The opening of the remodeled south section of the Union was celebrated on Monday, signaling the end of the first phase of the multi-million dollar
end of the first phase of the main mill complex renovation project. Although the projected date of completion for the second phase is June of 1993, the positive changes that have taken place are already noticeable.
The new south entry way opens onto the now very accessible Student Union Activities office and a brand new lounge area, which is surrounded by glass cases currently filled with student art.
In January, students and faculty can look forward to eating lunch in an almost all glass enclosed patio area situated off of the Hawk's Nest. Sliding glass doors will open directly onto a new brick patio. Complete with landscaping and terraced stairs leading up to the front of the Union, this mini-amphitheater will lend itself perfectly to SUA-sponsored events and music.
The campus can also look forward to an updated ballroom, an added TV lounge, a well-located art gallery, and a room-to-room sound system that will broadcast music or an on-going KU game. The six life-size original Jayhawk mascots that will be built in marble and granite as part of the floor of the main entrance, promise to be attention getters.
At times the construction in the Union is frustrating for students and faculty rushing between classes, but as the already remodeled south side proves, the final product will be worth the wait.
JENNY MARTIN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Science, revelation should be reconciled
I believe it was Abbie Hoffman who said "Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger." Last week the pope acknowledged that the Church had erred against the astronomer Galileo, and Kansan staff writer David Mitchell's commentary on the event was sadly myopic. Perhaps some further elucidation on the pontiff' announcement would be in order.
The medieval world saw the Earth as the center of the universe; scholars made the same mistake most of us make today: they read the Bible as a textbook, rather than as a record of God's relationship with humanity. Using the book of Genesis as its text, the Church taught that the sun and the planets revolved around the Earth. Galileo said it was otherwise; for this he was imprisoned and forced to recant.
Last week, Pope John Paul II apologized for this grave mistake, and said that the Church was wrong for making "literal sense of sacred Scripture" and believing it could explain away the physical world.
Richard Hooker, a seventeenth-century Anglican priest, wrote that all Christian teaching should be corroborated by Scripture, tradition, and reason. Scripture and tradition are two sources of knowledge, both of which rely on the preservation of divine revelation though human mediums; reason is the God-given ability to realize the Almighty's on-going self-revelation in the hidden order of Creation.
Since Jewish tradition presented
apiculture of a divinely-created ecocentric universe, this was accepted into Jewish teaching and became part of Scripture; the Jewish Scriptures, in turn, influenced Christian teaching and became part of Christian tradition; as if that wasn't enough, any "reasonable" person standing in a field could tell that the Earth was flat and the sun revolved around it. . . so the Church felt justified in condemning both Galileo and his teachings.
Three-and-a-half centuries later, we know better. Now we know that Galileo's teachings are true. More importantly, however, we know that science and divine revelation are part-and-parcel of the same quest for Truth. This was the meaning of the pope's message.
You're right, Mr. Mitchell, in that nothing the Church does now can wipe this blissmish from our collective history; we did it, and it will be with us forever. We can, however, beg your forgiveness, and hope you'll be more generous with us than we were with Galileo.
Christians do make mistakes, even if it takes us twice as long as anyone else to admit to them. Instead of belaboring this point, however, let us rejoice that correction of a grave scientific and theological error has been made, and give thanks to God that science and revelation are one step closer to being reconciled.
Matthew Teel
Olathe senior
KANSAN STAFF
ERIC NELSON
Editor
TOM EBLEN General manager,news adviser
GREG FARMER Managing editor
BILL SKEET, Technology coordinator
Asst. Managing...Almee Brainard
News...Alexander Bloemhoff
Editorial...Stephen Martinez
Campus...Gayle Osterberg
Sports...Sholly Solon
Photo...Justin Knapp
Features...Cody Holl
Graphics...Sean Tevils
SCOTT HANNA
Business manager
BILL LEIBENGOOD
Retail sales manager
JEANNE HINES
Sales and marketing adviser
Editors
Business Staff
Campus sales mgr .. Angela Cleverman
Regional Sales mgr .. Mellea Tertilp
National sales mgr .. Brian Wilkes
Co-op sales mgr .. Amy Stumbo
Production mgrs .. Brad Broen
... Kim Claxton
Marketing director .. Ashley Langford
Creative director .. Valerie Spicher
**Letters** should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the letter's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of Kansas must include class and hometown, or faculty or staff position.
**Guest columns** should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be
The Kansas reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kansas newsroom, 111 Staffer Flint Hall.
Self-supporting Kansan has right to make editorial endorsements
The recent election has prompted two questions about our editorial policy from our readers. Some readers feel that the Kansan should not endorse political candidates. Others believe that the Kansan is financially supported by the state of Kansas and therefore should not involve itself in politics. These concerns can be addressed by explaining our editorial policy and how the Kansan is financed.
STAFF COLUMNIST
The question of whether the Kansan is supported by the state is easily answered. Like most other papers, the Kansan supports itself mainly through selling advertisements. Some college newspapers do not; the Oklahoma Daily, for instance, is financed by the state and does not do political endorsements.
All those downtown merchants, all those organizations that take out half page ads to congratulate their new members, these are the people who pay for more than 90 percent of our operating costs. The rest comes from the student activity fee that each of
MARK COATNEY
you pay with tuition. In a sense, each of you pay for a subscription to the Kansan each semester. As the cost of this subscription comes to around two cents per paper, this is one of the better deals around. The only thing the state pays for is the building we use, the power we consume and the water our staffers flush.
The Kansan is thus as self supporting and independent as any commercial paper, and as such we have the right to make whatever editorial decisions we think are best. Which brings us to our second and more difficult question: Should the Kansan endorse
This is a more complicated question. After all, quite a few newspapers don't endorse candidates for fear that their readers will perceive the paper as biased. Editor & Publisher magazine's quadrennial survey of newspapers reveals a steady increase in the number of papers that do not endorse presidential candidates, from 13 percent in 1940 to 62 percent in 1988, and the numbers may be higher this year.
candidates?
The perception of bias is at least as important as actual bias to a paper. What needs to be stated once again is that what you are reading now could only be placed on the OPINION page, because that is exactly what this piece of writing is, an opinion. The members of the editorial board who write for this page are not the same people who write the stories that appear elsewhere in the paper. The reporters who do those stories have the difficult task of presenting as objective an account as possible of the events they report. Some bias in reporting is inevitable, of course, but
our reporters take what they do seriously and they are good at it (the Kansan has consistently judged one of the top collegiate newspapers in the country), they strive for objectivity. Any stance taken by the editorial board will not change, and just because the board endorses a candidate does not mean that the reporters coverage will subsequently be biased.
On the editorial board, however it is our responsibility to be biased. Our sole purpose is to take a stand, to have an opinion. We endorse candidates because we have done our research, argued it out in a meeting, and feel that our opinion can help our readers make an informed decision on which candidate to vote for. It is our goal on this page to influence public policy.
An endorsement is not an anointement, nor a coronation. Our endorsement of a candidate does not mean we will always support that candidate. What it does mean is that we felt that candidate to be the best and most qualified one.
Mark Coatney is a Linwood graduate student maloring in political science.
Donating sperm is not a fast,easy buck
OK, OK. Enough with the phone calls already.
Earlier this semester I wrote a column about a sperm bank in Kansas City, Mo. that offers financial incentives to young men who are willing to part with their seed. Since that time I have received more than a dozen phone calls from students wanting to know where this land of opportunity is located.
COMMENTARY
Even KU Info called, because money-hungry students were bombarding them with inquiries. No doubt they have visions of making the Fortune 500 by shelling out specimens.
Sorry, kids. It just doesn't work that way.
The Midwest Fertility Foundation and Laboratory requires that potential donors pass a physical examination, blood testing and culturing and provide background information.
DAVID MITCHELL
The qualification procedure takes about three weeks. In addition, the sperm must be able to survive a freezing and thawing process. This is the real trick, said John Bailey, assistant supervisor and head of the donor program.
"Every specimen does not survive that process well," he said. "An individual might be perfectly virile and it still might not survive the process. It doesn't depend on an individual's
manhood or virility."
With the analysis procedures in place, the program is not the get-rich-quick scheme some students are hoping for. In fact, less than 50 percent of all applicants are accepted into the program.
"The get-rich-quick people usually get stopped over the phone," Bailey said. "It's a donor program that is an ongoing program — not a quick-money scheme like donating plasma would be. One of our requirements is that people participate for at least a year."
In other words, students looking for last-minute rent money or a Christmas fund need not apply.
Donors are expected to make deposits once or twice a week. A gratuity is decided upon after a quality-based evaluation. The average payment is $50 a pop.
Once the specimen has beer
approved it can take several paths; The samples are used for artificial insemination, in-house testing and even research projects.
Bailey said the program had about 25 participants between the ages of 19 and 45. The majority of the men are in their 20s.
Students who are genuinely interested will have to submit to the examination process. Acceptance cannot be determined without evaluation.
So if you have the mettle to test your tests, they're always looking for a few good men.
"It's basically, come see," Bailey said. "That's the bottom line."
Grace
For more information, questions can be directed to the clinic at (816) 756-0040. Or write 3101 Broadway, Suite 65A, Kansas City, Mo.
Associate editorial editor David Mitchell is a DeSoto major senior in journalism.
By David Rosenfield