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Wednesday, November 11, 1987 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Barbearic
Living in an age of boundless technology and information, you'd think we were pretty sophisticated, at least in comparison to, say, 16th-century Elizabethans.
But we aren't.
In similar fashion to the bearbaiting practice of Elizabethans, patrons of a Kansas City, Kan., club paid $5 to wrestle with a defended bear last week. A $100 cash prize was awarded to the person who gave the bear the best fight. In 16th-century bearbaiting, people crowded into large arenas to watch chained bears fight off dogs, often four at a time. Humans of today have not advanced; barbary entertainment still pays.
Furthermore, on Nov. 3 in Cleveland, a man was caught by police beating his dog with a shovel while attempting to bury it alive. The man's reasoning was that he was going to teach the dog a lesson; he was keeping the dog from running away again by burping it in the yard.
The sad truth is that we're not.
Stupid signs
Two convicted offenders may taste freedom but not without serious sacrifices.
One of the men, Richard J. Bateman, was convicted twice for molesting children in Portland, Gre. He lured a 5-year-old girl into his house and molested her and days later molested a 5-year-old boy.
The judge in the case sentenced him to a year in county jail and imposed probation terms because Oregon prisons are overcrowded.
But these were no ordinary terms.
As a condition of his probation, the judge ordered that a sign be posted on Bateman's house and on his car declaring "Dangerous Sex Offender, No Children Allowed" in letters at least three inches high.
That part of the probation has been blocked pending an appeal. In South Carolina, a convicted cocaine distributor also was slapped with bizarre conditions for release
Clarence Holmes fathered nine children by four different women, none of whom he was married to.
Holmes came before the court on a shoplifting charge and said he had stolen videotapes to support his drug habit and his children.
The judge ordered a five-year suspended sentence and made it a condition that Holmes not father any more children for that period of time.
The two judges argued that these were unusual cases. But if such drastic measures were needed, then so was conventional punishment. Officials would not have to worry about where the men might go or what they might do.
They would know right where to find them.
Corny idea
Wondering what to buy for the sports fanatic who has everything?
For Nebraska football fans, there is a solution. A 20-inch statue of Coach Tom Osborne.
That's right, the latest scam in the world of college sports paraphernalia is a special limited edition Tom Osborne porcelain doll. And they've been discounted just in time for the holidays — down to $229 from $350.
Just can't wait to rush out and establish a Cornhusker shrine in your own home. can you?
But Christmas is coming.
Neither could the 10 people who have purchased the dolls since September. OK, so the dollmaker still has 490 little Osbornes in her closet. The market just hasn't opened up yet.
Besides the business and consumer ends of this, what does Osborne think? Is he getting a cut of the overwhelming profits? If not, surely the Omaha dollmaker at least had to have the coach's permission to imitate his likeness. It was an important decision for Osborne to make — considering the dolls will likely become a hallmark of Nebraskan garage sales.
Thank goodness KU doesn't condone this kind of hero worship After all, we wouldn't do this for Coach Val, would we?
Editorials in this column are the opinions of the editorial board
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Intellectuals choose lofty lifestyles
Are you vacious? Do you find yourself bereft of the capacity of philosophical reflection? If you had to look up any of those words, you're probably a candidate.
Today, an overwhelming majority of people prefers to meander through life as cogs in the machine of society, not bothering to take control of their lives and be conscious of the choices that
Because of the fast and easy way we live our lives, the intellectual fiber that holds our fragile
At least that's the popular doctrine of the intelligentsia today.
This lifestyle poses a problem for those who love to categorize people, because today's society is vacuous in a subversive way.
For instance, ask the typical person of the '80s about equality, and he'll tell you that everyone is equal. He's not sure why, they just are. This doesn't matter, because it's ignorance in the guise of tolerance.
But if we're to believe the sophist, the racist of 30 years ago deliberated his hatred of strangers because of their skin color. Ah, the good old days, when blacks were "colored" and women were property. At least back then people knew what they stood for and why.
Or did they?
The racist or existist of yesterday was no less a cog in his society than the indifferent of today. These days it's just harder for the sophist to sort people out.
Since the birth of society, the mindless masses have shirked the responsibility that comes with education, just as sophists have huddled together in intellectual cloaks to insult the horde.
But in the same way that the mindless shield themselves from the reality of the intellect, so too have those in the academic world shut themselves off from the societal reality around them.
Nothing works to discredit an argument like the basket condemnations in which the sophist indulges.
Don't get me wrong. The job of college is to enlighten students about the world outside so they can make better decisions about the world inside themselves. No one disputes this.
Furthermore, there is plenty of room for improvement in higher education, and I do believe one way to deal with this problem is to provide training. Civilization is the best class I've taken at college.
But what intellectuals forget is that consciousness is a choice each person has the right to make for itself.
Intellectuals love to carry on about social
responsibility and how it is each person's duty to better himself for society.
Believe it if you will, but the truth is that anyone who chooses consciousness because he believes society would wither and die without him is either living or wasting his life.
The only reason a person makes this choice is for himself. I choose education because that is the lifestyle I enjoy, not because society can't live without me; it surely can.
Likewise, those who live in their own little world do so for the same selfish reason. It's the lifestyle they enjoy. And that is their right.
People have the right not to care. Of all the privileges we have, free will is the greatest. No one, not even conservatives in the guise of intellectuals, can take that away.
Enigmatically, America is a little dumber than was is 10 years ago. I attribute that, however, to Reagan's divestment of higher education. While schools get bigger and school budgets get smaller, it's obvious that education is not a priority of this administration.
I believe this will prove to be one of the most detrimental policies of the century.
But society will not shrivel up for lack of people who care, because there is now and always has. A person who is not cared for will be dead.
So intellectuals continue to breed intellectuals, and the empty-minded continue to breed empty-minded people. And few from either side venture from the lines set for them by their predecessors; Jim Faraghau is an Oalte junior majoring in journalism.
Keep the team
I'm getting sick and tired of hearing and reading about cheap cracks taken out on the KU football program. I am responding to Tim Erickson's guest shot on Nov. 4.
I have just one question for Mr. Erickson: Do you have any school spirit at all? It is evident that you don't. If you did, you would support the football team even though it is going through rough times. Why would anyone think that the team was having fun losing? They are out there giving it their best shot, and everyone should respect them for it. It is bad enough that a major sports magazine has deemed the football team the worst, but now the team has to put up with people wanting to trade them away. What kind of support is that?
Let's stop telling them that they are terrible and give them some encouraging support. As Mr. Erickson put it, "KU has a tradition of football," and KU is a traditional school.
Chris Kahn, Shawnee senior
More than a game
A Hansan, let's trade you for a real human. It is a fact that Hoch Auditorium isn't in the best condition. When I was a sophomore, I had the opportunity to hear it was very difficult to hear the instructor clearly.
But you have no right to propose, "We dump the football program permanently and exchange it for a new performing arts center."
In response to Tim Erickson's proposal in the Nov 4 Kansas 's trade you for a real human
As I recall, you also said, "We can give away something that has little value." Who are you to be the judge whether our football team has value or not? Your other brilliant observation was that KU football has traditions; tailgating, riots and vandalism to Jayhawaker Towers. First of all, tailgating is a great tradition enjoyed by alumni, faculty and students. The riots of '84 and '86 were because of a long tradition of competition between KU and K-State. The players had nothing to do with it. Finally, the vandalism is a part of most every student-housing facility.
Then you said, "We have a minimal tradition of support for the performing arts." You can't tell me that if we had a new $10 million facility, students and faculty who didn't participate before would suddenly change their minds.
In your second-to-last paragraph you state, "This is supposed to be an institution of higher learning and not a precursor to professional sports." I suggest you take a look at what Coach Valentele's policies are on academies. Then go to the Athletics website for an online chance at an education and even a professional football career who otherwise wouldn't have gotten a chance.
If KU would ever dream of dropping the program, I would recommend that you be the one who calls all the alumni and former players, such as Nolan Cromwell, Gale Sayers, John Riggins and David Jaynes and tell them that they come back because there is no more football.
Finally, you said, "We would be miles ahead to scrap a losing program and begin to support one that has more intrinsic merit." What a fair-weather fan you are. As soon as your car needs a tune-up, do you send it to the scrap yard? When people say this is a rebuilding year, that's not just a way of shrugging off a loss season. It is a way of recruiting the team team is doing what it can.
People fail to realize that football is a game of pride. Didn't you ever have a high school coach who told you, "It's 90 percent mental"? If you
can believe in something, your school, your friends, your fans and yourself, it does wonders for your pride. It's hard to have pride when you don't. Erickson are constantly slamming these guys.
Finally, I'd like to say that I have, my friends have and many of you reading this have snickered or laughed at a KU football game. But I respect those players. I was one of them for a year and a half. And it hurts when people write things like you have. My career as a KU player was not glamorous; I was a walk-on and never played more than junior varsity football, but I learned more about life, friends, trust and togetherness than I ever have from any person or experience.
Kevin Gokmen, Liberal senior
Practice preachings
On Oct. 20, there was a lecture sponsored by the Muslim Student Association titled "Islam: Love, Peace and Justice." The purpose was to teach non-Muslims about love and forgiveness in Islam, while they themselves do not follow such morals. Members of the association should exemplify what they teach in their own behavior.
I think even if Americans know about the great morals and principles in Islam, and then they see the members of the association not doing so, that will have a negative impact about Islam.
So the Muslim Student Association in Lawrence should teach first how to follow Islam and then teach the others. Otherwise, they will be wasting their money.
Ali Omar, Kansas City, Kan., resident
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed
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