Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Spencer Duncan, Editor Sarah Scherwinski, Business manager Lindsey Henry, Managing editor Brian Pagel, Retail sales manager Andrea Albright, Managing editor Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
4A
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 1997
SUN-SENTINEL
Examining
Universities need affirmative action's increases in opportunites
America was founded upon the premise of equal opportunity for all of its citizens. To have an opportunity today, it is necessary to have a good education. This is the reason why affirmative action was created at universities and this is why it should remain.
Perhaps all people were created equal, but in America all people are not. Minorities inherently have been treated as unequals. To help amend this problem, affirmative action was created. Affirmative action at universities is designed to give minorities, who may have no other means, an opportunity for an education and thus a chance to live the American dream. In addition, it allows our society to strive to be the cultural mecca civil
rights advocates have idealized.
But affirmative action could soon be eliminated at public universities. Last year the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action at the University of Texas Law School. Now two white students are suing the University of Michigan for denying them admission. They claim affirmative action is the reason they weren't admitted. This case will no doubt force the Supreme Court to rule if affirmative action is permissible at public universities.
Although Michigan's diversity policy, which relies on affirmative action, has recently bolstered its minority enrollment by more than 25 percent, such policies can be abused. Obviously, affirmative action should not be used to allow just anyone into a press-
tigious university. They certainly have to meet academic requirements.
Some say affirmative action is not fair. Maybe they are right. But American history has not been fair either. Something is needed to give the American dream more color. Affirmative action at universities is aimed at giving minorities an equal opportunity for an education so that this may happen.
University of Michigan President Lee Bollinger said, "For almost 200 years, public universities have unlocked the doors to social and economic opportunity to students from many different backgrounds."
If opponents of affirmative action do not think affirmative action does this, then they should find something that does.
Nick Zaller for the editorial board
Drivers on campus are getting out of hand. In the morning and afternoon, cars and pedestrians observe a cautious truce, but after 5 p.m., all bets are off.
Vehicles tear around the streets of campus — in particular, Jayhawk Boulevard — as if they're possessed by particularly aggressive demons. The average walker is left to fend for him or herself, hoping that somehow, some way, he or she can make it across the street.
This is a serious problem for two reasons.
First, pedestrians do have legitimate reasons for being out after 5 p.m. It's not as if the University shuts down in the evening. There
are classes, meetings of clubs and student organizations, and some people just might be enjoying themselves by quietly strolling. These people aren't deliberately setting out to disturb drivers.
Second, dangers increase as night falls. It becomes more difficult for both drivers and walkers to see. Speeds increase exponentially once permit-checking booths are closed for the day. In other words, accidents become a certainty.
What they forget is that by driving cars they put themselves in positions of great power. In a battle between a car and a pedestrian, it is likely that the car will win. Therefore, drivers have a responsibility to respect those who are walking on campus. They must recognize the damage they could do if distracted for only a second — whether that distraction is caused by anger, alcohol, or a good song on the radio.
There is room for pedestrians to improve as well. If they truly want to be respected by drivers, they must be prepared to respect the drivers in return.
A little politeness on both sides of the wheel would go a long way.
Clay McCuistion for the editorial board
Kansan staff
Bradley Brooks ... Editorial
Jason Strait ... Editorial
Jodie Chester ... News
Jen Smith ... News
Adam Darby ... News
Charity Jeffries ... Online
Kristie Blasi ... Sports
Tommy Gallagher ... Associate Sports
Dave Morantz ... Campus
Eric Westlander ... Campus
Ashleigh Roberts ... Features
Steve Puppe ... Photo
Bryan Volk ... Design, graphics
Mitch Lucas ... Illustrations
Mark McMaster ... Wire
Ann Marchand ... Special sections
Lachelle Rhoades ... News clerk
News editors
Advertising managers
Matt Fisher . . . Assistant retail
Michael Soifer . . . Campus
Colleen Eager . . . Regional
Anthony Migilazzo . . National
Jeff Auslander . . Marketing
Chris Haghian . . Internet
Brian LeFevre . . Production
Jen Wallace . . Production
Dustin Skidgel . Promotions
Tyler Cook . . Creative
Annette Hoover . Public relations
Rachel O'Neill . Classified
Jaime Mann . Assistant classified
Marc Harrell . Senior account executive
Scott Swedlund . Senior account executive
Advertising managers
Broaden your mind:
“What we got here is failure to communicate."
-Line from the 1962 film "Cool Hand Luke"
Lofters Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and home-town if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
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Raving
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stuaffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Bradley Brooks (brooks@kansan.com) or Jason Strait (jstrait@kianton.com) at 864-4810. If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page stuff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4810.
Struggle for social issues inherently in Lawrence
hope everyone has recovered from my last column. As you may or may not recall, it was a list of some activities at this University that I believe to be inconsiderate, offensive homophobie and resist
I knew full well what type of backlash to expect. To paraphrase the Greek dramatist Euripedes, "Speak sensibly to fools and you'll sound crazy to them."
Most of the subsequent letters to the editor tried to be vicious in intent, but were off the mark in veracity. It was assumed — incorrectly.
Rob MacRae
opinion@kansan.com
—that I indiscriminately despise all greeks for no reason. The "Kansan" was accused of harboring an anti-greek pro-racism peak
anti-greek propaganda machine.
Even more laughably, these strangers tried to rationalize my supposed bitterness: "He doesn't belong to a group of people with high GPAs that throw big parties."
And on Thursday night that week, one of the scholarship halls customized a verse of "Happy Loopy Day" for me. Never before have I had so many young men calling out my name in the middle of the night.
But the only thing I found upsetting was how huffy folks got with me when faced with the truth. As my friend Sean would say, I had to deal with a lot of "honky-itis."
At least no one defended those few hurtful instances of homophobic and sexist behavior that I mentioned. But no satisfactory explanations have been made ... and worse, no apologies have been forthcoming.
If I needed any assurance that common sense is on my side, there were the terrific turnouts at two separate events last week that focused attention on the exact type of indignities I had written about.
On Tuesday night, the queer community mobilized for Coming Out to Stop the Violence, a town meeting about hate crimes. And on Thursday, crowds gathered downtown for Womyn Take Back the Night, the annual rally, vigil and march against domestic violence. The proceedings at each revolved around the pain and anger resulting from harassment, assault, rape and other abuse.
Unfortunately, some of the attendees at the women's rally contributed to the abuse with their homophobic remarks. Many of the sorority women there that evening were taking part in a sensitivity exercise after buying strippers and alcohol for the Sigma Nu fraternity. Several of my friends have told me they felt that the safe space atmosphere that evening was ruined
by the presence of persons who were there not out of compassion but because of a punishment
In addition to the outright homophobic incidents, of which there were several, other persons felt threatened by the presence of so many women who deliberately made themselves outsiders by wearing identical clothing and by standing together in large herds.
While the event is open to all women, organizers make it clear that abusive behavior and close-minded attitudes are not to be tolerated. That was the cue for these homophobic sorority sisters to leave. The event would then have been more worthwhile for all those involved, and some of the women there out of duty might have better appreciated the proceeding.
I know better than to make generalizations about a group, but I do wonder whether these sororites knew what they were getting themselves into by forcing participation. Maybe it's time for a quick history lesson.
Lawrence has historically supported equality and justice. The city was founded by abolitionists in the 1850s, who helped Lawrence grow into the state's unofficial "Free State Capital."
Lawrence's progressive atmosphere has fostered the development of pioneering artists, inspiring activists, and successful entrepreneurs. For instance, gay men such as myself have for role models Lawrence citizens like Langston Hughes, William Inge and Tom Maupin.
Lawrence and the University together are often well ahead of the rest of Kansas in matters of civil rights, the environment, etc. Today, as an example, Lawrence remains the one city in Kansas with a human rights ordinance that protects against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. For this and many other reasons, Lawrence is often fondly referred to as a cultural oasis in the middle of Kansas.
But is Lawrence in danger of becoming too insular? That is, are we deluding ourselves in thinking that Lawrence will always remain the exception and not the rule?
It is natural that the queer community and women be at the forefront in this struggle for equality. These two groups encompass persons from all races, all classes and all religions.
And if alliances can be developed among this diversity, you can imagine the effectiveness of larger unions involving other communities. By combining all this talent and energy we could work for real progress even outside of Lawrence's city limits.
If Lawrence truly is an oasis, why can't we start irrigating to other areas?
MacRae is a Lawrence graduate student in urban planning.
R read the "Kansan" on a regular basis and sooner or later you'll see it. Sometimes, in the absence of other big
'Kansan' feeding readers full course with coverage
Sometimes, in the absence of other big news from around the Hill, it manages to get
itself placed on page one and may include a convenient map. Other times, when up against events of higher news caliber, it gets moved to the inside on page two.
What is "it." you ask?
What is it, you ask?
Why, it's the garden-variety masturbator reported in the stacks of Watson Library/KU women's restrooms on campus.
The story is the same.
David
Teska
dteska@ukans.edu
The story is the same. Only the location changes.
I've been on this campus since mid-1995 and have been through several news cycles at the University. I have come to expect certain stories to repeated throughout the year: Player interviews after a game, the ubiquitous concrete canoe story (not a slam against those who can figure out how to make stone float). This semester, has been a little unique with the steady coverage given to the summer's Coca-Cola invasion.
Covering these events and the people that are involved is what the "Kansan" should do as the student newspaper.
So what's the problem with reporting yet another masturbator incident on campus? It is news, so shouldn't the "Kansan" dutifully publish it?
Certainly. Like any small-town newspaper, it must cover what goes on in the police beat, city hall, school district, the courts, local sports and the date of the next quilting bee or when swimming lessons start at the Y.
The "Kansan," like all newspapers, has that responsibility to cover what happens and report it to its readers.
Thus we return to the ever-present masturbator story, the most recent of which was reported in the paper's Oct. 14 edition. On page one, I spotted a small, little gold box in the story on the KU police officer caught urinating on campus.
"Can't get enough? See page 2A for more public exposure," it teased. So teased, I continued inside, only to find myself disappointed. It was yet another story about a guy (could be the same guy) who had exposed himself to yet another woman on campus.
What I'd like to know is what are the KU police doing to deal with this problem? Have they placed undercover officers in areas where the incidents have taken place? What is the administration doing to curtail this chronic problem? Is the campus community going to continue to read exposure stories, only to be jolted when one of them turns into an attack? Has this ever happened before? Is this a problem in the Big 12 or at our peer universities and, if so, how are they dealing with it?
Yes, I read it, but I also thought, isn't there more to this than just one more masturbator reported in (fill in the location here). KU police were notified but by the time they arrived, the suspect had fled.
Other campus stories beg similar queries. Has the academic record of KU football players improved under the tutelage of Coach Terry Allen? A friend said she'd heard he was brought here because of his focus on grades. Has that happened?
Two schools of thought help newspapers select what stories it decides to run. There's the spinach theory that says newspapers should print what readers need. Stories on absent students from Senate boards and committees or a new parking garage are two good examples the "Kansan" has run.
The other — let's call it the dessert theory — says newspapers should give readers what they want — sports stories, movie reviews and features on how to make your own pasta from household items (if anyone knows how, please let me know).
Both theories are important components of a good newspaper and the "Kansan" is no different. Continuing with the food analogy, the "Kansan," like any newspaper, has to make itself palatable to its readers.
To be sure, the "Kansan" editorial staff works hard to sift through the spinach and dessert when deciding what to run each day. The constant incidents of exposure on campus warrant serious coverage and rightfully should be reported. But this needs to go beyond just reporting these incidents on a case-by-case basis as cop briefs akin to the theft of a parking pass. The bigger picture of these incidents, and how solutions to them are being approached, needs to be looked at.
To borrow from the old saw, we can have our spinach and cake and eat them both.
Teska is a Lawrence graduate student in journalism.
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