4A the university daily kansan
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opinion
talk to us
friday, october 10,2003
Michelle Burhenn editor
editor
864-4854 or mburhnenn@kansan.com
Lindsay Hanson and Leah Shaffer
managing editors
864-4854 or lhanson@kansan.com and
lshaffer@kansan.com
Louise Stauffer and Stephen Shupe opinion editors 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Amber Agee business manager 864-4358 or adddirector@kansan.com
taylor mODE
retail sales manager
864-4358 or adsales.kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Critic reviewed rehearsal
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or mfisher@kansan.com
letters to the editor
Donovan Atkinson (Jayplay reviewer) came to watch a rehearsal of The Glass Menagerie one week before the show was scheduled to open. We were rehearsing not in the theater but in a rented room, the set was not up, the actors were not in costume or moke-up, many of the props were not yet being used, there were no lighting or sound effects, two of the minor actors were not present at the rehearsal and, most important of all, it was only the second time that the new "male Greek chorus" had been together to rehearse. They were replacing the men we had used last April, who had graduated from KU and were no longer available.
It was my understanding that Mr. Atkinson was there to write a feature article about the production, not to review it. Therefore, I was shocked that the issue of Jayplay today (Oct. 9) carried a review of the rehearsal that he watched. Although his "review" was mostly favorable, I think the production was done a great disservice because the three performances that the public will be seeing Oct. 9-11 is not the same show that Mr. Atkinson saw a full week before the production opened.
I think my cast and crew deserve a public apology from Jayplay and The University Daily Kansan for this terrible breach not only of theatrical but also of journalistic etiquette.
Reader response one-sided
Paul Stephen Lim artistic director English Alternative Theatre
In response to your reader whose letter appearing in the Oct. 7 Kansan called the Pro-Civil Service Coalition ad inaccurate, I'd like to clarify three points.
First, the Kansas Civil Service system is a merit-based system, designed and operated to employ and promote staff based solely on their ability, longevity and performance. History tells us that Civil Service Merit systems evolved as a reform measure, replacing corrupt systems that often based hiring, promotion and pay on political patronage, family connections and other factors not related to ability. Civil Service systems were instituted all over the nation in order to protect employees from unfair treatment, and taxpayers from fraud and abuse of public funds.
payer in the merit system gives us rules guaranteeing fair employment practices, it doesn't guarantee any particular pay scale from year to year. It does guarantee that civil servants' salaries — and any salary increases—will be allocated fairly from the available tax dollars.
Second, Kansas Statutes and Civil Service Regulations guarantee longevity bonuses only to classified staff, not to any employees who are not in the state Civil Service system. The proposed alternative to Civil Service is only that—a proposal. The provisions being bandied about—including nebulous language about replacing lost longevity bonused —would be implemented (or not) at the whim of the KU administration. They would not have the force of state statutes or regulations.
Third the Civil Service system provides for appeals to an outside authority in employment disputes. These appeals may be taken to the state Civil Service board. While KU's alternative proposal claims that staff would not become "at will" employees, it is extremely vague about what might constitute "just cause" for termination. There might be an appeal to an "in house" board — but built-in conflicts of interest could easily make it a kangaroo court.
The state Civil Service Merit System is not a perfect system. All of us would like to improve salaries, benefits, and working conditions for classified staff. But abandoning the strong fairness guarantees of the current system—written into state statute and regulations—is not in the best interest of the classified staff, taxpayers or those who pay University tuition. Let's not replace a fair and equitable employment system with one that could lead to Enron-style accountability.
KathyCoffey physical plant supervisor Facility Operations sheet metal
meneley's view
I suddenly feel like the middle of a stupid sandwich.
1
White power structure exists all over world, must be understood to define race problems
perspective
Controversy over Rush Limbaugh's statement about Donovan McNabb has been circulating around the campus for the past few days. While black people cry "racism" and demand an apology, many white people feel minorities are too hypersensitive to race-related issues. I wonder how many of either race could clearly define what racism is and how it works.
GUEST COMMENTARY
Instead of focusing on individual cases such as Limbaugh, or on specific locations such as the South, we should focus on the development of a worldwide perspective that examines the patterns of relationships between whites and non-whites.
In many circles, there is little scholarly agreement on the meaning of race. In Kevin Reilly's book *Racism: A Readers Guide*, he states that a considerable part of the academic community believes that while race is a reality in the social sense, in the scientific sense it is not.
So while race might be what social scientists call a social construct, it is one that many people take seriously in their thoughts and actions. So let's give the scientists and the professors the benefit of the doubt and split up all
Brian Pearson
opinion@kansan.com
the races into two groups: white and non-white.
In Nelly Fuller's 1969 copyrighted book The United Independent Compensatory Code/System/Concept, Füller observes that "contrary to most present thinking, there is only one functioning racism in the world white supremacy." Now, many people may take this statement offensively, but I challenge them to identify and demonstrate the superiority or functional supremacy of any non-white people over anyone.
Racism isn't merely a pattern of individual and/or institutional practice; it is a universally operating system of white supremacy and domination in which the majority of the world's white people participate.
This means not all white people are racist, but you don't have to be the quarterback to be on a winning team
White people make up the majority of the population in the United States. However, when one looks at the world population, two-thirds of the people on this planet are people of color. So the other one-third, the white population, is the real minority. Fuller concludes that the white race could be annihilated, genetically speaking, by any and all of the nonwhites.
For those who don't believe that this could happen, take a look at the Sicilians. The Moors of Africa ruled Sicily for several hundred years. Through massive mating with Sicilian women, the Moors changed their bloodline forever. This is why Sicilians went from blond hair and blue eyes to brown and black hair and brown eyes, with darker skin than most whites.
Many white people do not seem to worry about this ever-present threat to white genetic survival, which is crucial in maintaining supremacy. And why would they? How many white people do you know who worry about being treated with racism, or being genetically annihilated?
It is interesting to read some of the statements in The University Daily Kansasan made by a certain white columnist who shall remain nameless. The columnist wrote that affirmative action and racial quotas are constructed to advance certain minorities, advances that are not offered to other groups considered unworthy of special treatment. Exactly what other groups are there in this country besides minorities that need special treatment?
While white people are worried about being accused of racism for criticizing these so-called "structures," maybe they should take a look at the real problem: The white power structure that made these few "societal constructs" a necessity in the first place.
There is no utopia to be reached in this country. We will always see color and it will most likely always be a problem. And before the problem can be solved, we must first understand the misperception of whites being "normal" and minorities being "the other," not only in this country, but in this world.
Pearson is a Wichita senior in film.
perspective
Limon convicted for sexual offense
I was surprised to read in last week's University Daily Kansan about a case being brought by the American Civil Liberties Union in defense of three-time-convicted sex criminal Matthew Limon.
It wasn't so surprising to see that a radical organization like the ACLU is standing behind a sex predator. After all, the ACLU provides free legal counsel to repugnant organizations like NAMBLA, the North American Man/Boy Love Association. What was so perplexing about the piece was the absolute twisting of facts exhibited by the Kansan's guest columnist.
GUEST COMMENTARY
Testimony given at the trial showed that Limon's child victim suffered mild retardation and did not function at the level of a "normal" 14-year-old. Limon's conviction in this instance represented his third conviction for performing sodomy on a child. Limon's first two convictions were for aggravated criminal sodomy, for which Limon was required to register in Kansas as a sex offender.
Samantha Dravis opinion@kansan.com
Kansan readers deserve to know the following facts in the Limon case:
Because of the serious nature of his
criminal history. Limon was sentenced to 206 months imprisonment. Matthew Limon is not being punished for being gay. He is being punished because he preved on children.
In Kansas, the age of consent for sexual activity is 16. Any sex involving children under 16 is not consensual under law, contrary to what the writer of last week's column indicated.
Under the law, a 14-year-old boy cannot "consent" to sex with an 18-year-old man any more than your 12-year-old cousin can "consent" to sex with her 45-year-old pedophile neighbor. If you disagree with that, write your legislator or sign up for the ACIU.
By the way, readers should know
that if the ACLU has its way, a child's choice to have sex with an adult would be constitutionally protected. Outrageous.
Finally, a comment on the "Romeo and Juliet" law that so many people want to pin on Attorney General Phill Kline as an evil Republican manifestation created to punish homosexuals.
When Limon initially appealed his conviction in 2000, then-legislator Kline voted against the Romeo and Juliet law. And when Kline took office as attorney general in 2003, he inherited the Limon case from former attorney general Carla Stovall. Stovall, of course, stood steadfastly behind the tough penalty given to Limon and the legislature's right to enact laws.
There are many more facts of importance I cannot share because of space constraints. However, know this: KU students deserved so much more than last week's column written by an obviously uninformed writer.
Dravis is a Derby junior in political science. She is an intern for the Office of the Kansas Attorney General.
submitting letters and guest columns
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Louise Stauffer or Stephen Shupe at 864-4924 or e-mail at opinion@kansan.com.
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
**Maximum Length:**
650 word limit
**Include:**
Author's name
Class, hometown (student)
Position (faculty member)
**Also:**
The Kansan will not print guest columns that attack another columnist.
LETTER GUIDELINES
Maximum Length:
200 word limit
Include:
Author's name
Author's telephone number
Class, hometown (student)
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SUBMITTO
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