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Monday, September 28, 1992
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
IN OUR OPINION
It has become commonplace to see KU police officers handing out an alarming number of tickets along Jayhawk Boulevard. We attribute this sudden upswing in ticketing not to any rapid increase in lawlessness and anti-social behavior on the part of students, but instead to an increase in the aggressiveness with which the KU police hand out tickets.
Certainly some ticketing of people who flagrantly violate traffic laws is a necessary deterrent. And we certainly like to see KU police showing enthusiasm for their work. However, they should show more discretion, judgment and compassion in their work. Is it really necessary to issue a $21 ticket to a bicyclist for coming to a rolling stop at a stop sign on the first offense? Why issue a ticket when a warning would be just as effective?
The KU police could sit at the main intersection on Jayhawk Boulevard and hand out tickets every minute, but will this accomplish anything more than generate additional revenue for them and create a confrontational attitude between students and officers?
No. What we need are officers who can exercise good judgment when ticketing. What we need are officers who promote cooperation rather than confrontation.
For the most part, KU police officers do a difficult and necessary job very well. The officers are intelligent individuals who should be able to respond in an appropriate, moderate manner to what in reality are minor infractions. Students, for their part, can also show courtesy and common sense in encounters with police. Both parties should remember these lines from "The Merchant of Venice":
"The quality of mercy is not strained;
"The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesses him that gives, and him that takes."
MARK COATNEY FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
OUOTES OF THE WEEK
"There's no place for it. Someone could get seriously injured. My little manager got hit. It brought tears to his eyes."
— KANSAS COACH GLEN MASON ON THE ORANGES THROWN ON THE FIELD DURING THE CALFORnia GAME.
"We had beaucoup of flooding. Sixth Strret was amazing. It looked like a waterfall."
BON DAY DECEMBER OF THE LAWRENCE SOLUTION TECHNICIAN ON
— RON DLAQUEST OF THE LAWRENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT ON HEAVY RAINS that HIT LAWRENCE SEPT. 20.
"Women usually talk about the frustration of going to a bar and having men grope them, while a lot of guys talk about how they came this close to a night of eternal ecstasy."
SAFERIDE DRIVER STEVE CAMPANINI.
"They are very cocky, and they think they're very good. We know we are a better team."
— KANSAS SOCCER PLAYER STEVE DEENNHEOEFER AFTER KU
DEENNHEOEFER IOWA 2-0.
"What makes things controversial is not what people say. It's what people say and who's listening."
CHUCK D OF THE RAP GROUP PUBLIC ENEMY
"Rap is fine, and it's a way to get from point A to point B. But you have to get an education. I see a lot of kids with lovely things, but they have no minds."
MALIK FARRAKHAN, CHIEF OF SECURITY FOR PUBLIC ENEMY.
COMPiled FROM KANSAN STAFF REPORTS THE WEEK OF SEPT. 21
Campus Christians query students on role of religion
"I must confess to you that the majesty of the scriptures astonishes me; the holiness of the evangelists speaks to my heart and has such striking characters of truth, and is, moreover, so perfectly hienitable, that if it had been the invention of men, the inventors would be greater than the greatest heroes." Thus wrote French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rosseau, a skeptic who remained critical of Christianity for the duration of his life.
On the other hand, Sigmund Freud attributed religion in general to the Oedipus complex, and Karl Marx once declared, "Religion is the opiate of the people."
How do today's citizens respond to the controversial ideas of Christianity? Students involved in the campus organization InterVarsity Christian Fellowship are interested in this campus's response. As a part of their effort, representatives from IVCF polled KU students recently in an attempt to determine a consensus on the following statement:
Twenty-eight of the 43 students polled disagreed with the statement, eight were neutral and seven believed the sentence was true.
"Christianity is a crutch for the weak and helpless."
Justification for the responses varied greatly, based on differing religious experiences, but all stemmed from strong individual convictions. As one student put it, "it is all based on personal beliefs."
Another was more direct, "The above [statement] is strictly a myth.
GUEST COLUMNIST
LORRAINE CLAASEN
Christ is the only way to salvation. "Others weren't quite as adamant in their contentions. One, though declaring the statement false, wrote, 'Religion is something different for everyone but plays a part in most people's lives, weak or strong."
An additional survey participant quipped, "Religion gives people something to believe in. I don't think that makes people weak."
Poll workers also encountered those who strongly opposed the contention. One wrote, "I believe organized religion is man's way of oppressing people and keeping them in line."
Lastly, some students considered religion totally irrelevant, declaring, "Life is what you make it, religion has nothing to do with it."
Determining the value of Christianity is obviously an individual responsibility. Reason may or may not play a part in this decision. But whatever distance logical evidence may stretch, a person eventually needs to make a step based on one belief or another. What is religion if not a doctrine requiring commitment?
One of the first steps is to recognize the needs humans are constantly attempting to fulfill. Whether they be social, psychological or emotional imbalances, the world demonstrates its lack of answers through the abundant cases of alcoholism, drug abuse, workaholism, crime, and sexual promiscuity. Now this is not to say that all humanity is on a mad quest for a short-lived remedy.
Some see Christianity as just another of the quick fixes man has created. But in the words of Drake University IVCF staff worker, Monte Shanks, "Jesus Christ offers much more than just a Band-aid on a mortal wound."
He offers complete healing and renewal, which is more than humankind's solutions can provide.
Christianity has been and always will be a religion of restoration. Its aim is one of transformation. Worries are shed as believers begin anew and vibrant life in God. This is not a proclamation that Christians are perfect, but rather an admotion of humankind's many deficiencies.
Is Christianity really a crutch for the weak and helpless? Or does society merely dread facing up to the need in their lives? It is disconcerting to grant authority to a sovereign God, and most would like to believe they can meet all their needs alone. But the dilemma must be confronted truthfully because society calls for more than just a crutch.
Lorraine Claasen is a Heston sophomore majoring in political science and English.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Economy isn't the only issue at stake
the premise, let's look at what the extra few dollars will buy you.
This is an open letter to all those who may be tempted to vote Republican this year in order to protect the pocketbook. First, no convincing arguments have been given, nor has history born out, that the fiscally conservative Republicans save taxpayers more than the liberally spending Democrats. For the sake of argument, assuming the truth of
You, as a middle-class woman, will be able to买安 abortion, even if they are illegal. But many women won't — and will be mamed or killed in back-aycle abortion clinics. You, as a middle-class minority man, may be able to protect your job, income, and housing rights from the civil rights encroachments of the radical right. But many minority groups such as the gay community won't be able to do so.
The economy is the single most important issue this year to most people, and it is easy to forget about protecting rights when it is not your rights being threatened. I ask, however, for each vote to remember, if you are determined to vote your pocketbook, that the small amount of money you may save will very likely be spent in buying back those freedoms that should be our rights as Americans.
Computer Center staff member
Pamela Keller
KANSAN STAFF
ERIC NELSON SCOTT HANNA
Editor Business manager
GREG FARMER BILL LEIBENGOOD
Managing editor Retail sales manager
TOM EBLEN JEANNE HINES
General manager, news adviser Sales and marketing advisee
BILL SKEET Technology coordinator
Aest. Managing | Almee Branlard
News | Alexander Bloomboh
Editorial | Stephen Martino
Campus | Gayle Osterberg
Sports | Shelly Salon
Photo | Justin Knapp
Features | Cody Holt
Graphics | Sean Tewls
Business Staff
501 Bluez
Business Staff
Campus sales mgr...Angela Clevenger
Region sales mgr...Maria Melissa
National mgr...Jenile Wilde
Co-op sales mgr...Amy Stumbro
Production mgrs...Brad Bron
Kim Claxton
Marketing director...Ashley Langford
Design director
Classified mgr...Judith Standle
Letters should be typed, double-spaced 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 hometown, or faculty or staff position.
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DeSoto senior David Mitchell was 0 for 1 with one RBI.
OK, so I'm waxing nostalgic like so many columnists who try to make every little event a landmark occasion. But one thing is certain. Weeks from now members of the Kansan news staff will still be gloating about their first defeat of the Kansan advertising staff softball team in more than a year.
And hey addies, next semester the beer is on you.
No, I am not abusing my position as an editor just to rub it in. That's only part of it. We expected to win. The enemy would do that. We had a secret weapon — women.
So next time you're involved in a friendly pickup game, don't feel obligated to stick to the tradition of picking the girls last. Despite what our older brothers may have taught us, playing with girls is fun — you might even win.
As children, boys are taught that girls are yucky and athletic illiterates. On Saturday, no one used the phrase, "You throw like a girl."
NOTHING... ONLY THAT HE'S
CHEAP AND VERY, VERRY COUNTRY!
HE'S only BOUT ONE BLANK.
TAPE IN 9 YEARS, HE WEARS
LA. SEGAR BOTTS WITH BLUTS, AND
HE SEWS OLD MATERIAL FROM
UMBRORS FOR DRESS PANTS...
FROM LEFT FIELD
There are many factors that could explain why the addies usually win this biannual event. They usually have a sickening overabundance of muscle-bound men. On the other hand, past Kansan news staffs have not been particularly athletic. And our attitude toward the game has traditionally been anhetic.
COME ON, L.L. DON'T YOU THINK
YOU'RE EXAGGERATING JUST A
QUI?
We were so relieved to win, no one really bothered to analyze the game. And this semester's staff has worked so well as a team in the news room that no one really kept stats on what the men did compared to the women. But going into the game, we were confident our guys could win the game for us. This was the kind of surprise that comes as a welcome reality check.
Years from now, members of the Kansas news staff will fondly recall this weekend as Miracle at Broken Arrow Park.
DAVID MITCHELL Women don't throw like girls anymore
But this semester we knew things would be different. With the athletic guys we have on staff, we were confident that this would not be yet another addie blowout. We were sick and tired of losing. With our own sports staff of six-footers, the question was not if we would win, but by how much.
However, things started out as usual. The ad staff scored six runs in the first inning while we waited until the third frame to get on the board. Even worse, our guys stunk. Our two star hitters could muster nothing else. We combined them combined 0 for 6, as in no hits in six at bats — doughnut for half-a dozen.
We chipped away at their lead. In the eighth we were down 9-5. By the bottom of the ninth we narrowed the difference to 10-8. After we had scored our ninth run, sports editor Shelly Solon from Chicago strode to the plate. Desperate for another run, I told her to pretend the addies were the Cubs and we were the White Sox. It worked. It was Shelly that scored the tying run. In fact, after two guys made two outs, it was another woman who scored the winning run which was knocked in by yet another woman.
We were down but not out. We still had hope and a full keg of beer.