Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Spencer Duncan, *Editor*
Lindsey Henry, *Managing editor*
Andrea Albright, *Managing editor*
Tom Eblen, *General manager*, news adviser
Sarah Schwarenkul, Business manager
Brian Pagel, Retail sales manager
Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser
Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
Friday, September 19, 1997
Kevin T. Frost / KANSAN
Examining
Vietnam Veterans finally getting deserved respect from Lawrence
Prisoners of war have finally been given the recognition they deserve in Lawrence. The City Commission has accepted the week of Sept. 14 to 20, as POW/MIA Recognition Week and Friday, Sept. 19, as POW/MIA Recognition Day.
The commission's acceptance was a long awaited triumph for many war veterans who reside in Lawrence.
Our generation is different. We do not understand the concept of war. Desert Storm created intense emotions for some of us, but it appeared to last for only three days.
imagine wars that lasted longer. These wars are still impacting the lives of many people today. Some people are still missing friends,
Sept.14 to 20 is POW/MIA Recognition Week — and it's about time.
cousins, brothers, fathers and grandfathers.
Until this past week we, as members of the Lawrence community, were allowing their memory to be forgotten as well.
This recognition will allow Vietnam veterans Kent Gragg and Bob Kulhmeier, who attended the commission meeting, to take a step closer to their goal.
"We want to keep it alive until all are accounted for," Gragg said.
"There are still 2.145 POWs who
nobody knows anything about."
Thirty-six of the 2,145 POWs were residents of Kansas before the war.
Gragg justifiably feels that before this recognition the war and its victims — those that attended and those that are still missing — were given little to no attention.
"We were in war for over 20 years, and only two pages in history books talk about it." he said.
Look in your books: he is right.
The POW flag depicts a black silhouette of a person with a guard tower behind him. The words "They are not forgotten" are written across the top.
By the commission's and our acknowledgement of this week and day, we can ensure that indeed
They are not forgotten.
Eryl Cochran for the editorial board
City needs to pay for its free ride
This program benefits both students and Lawrence citizens alike, as it keeps potential drunk-drivers off the streets.
KU students are paying for the service of Saferide but the City of Lawrence needs to pull its monetary weight.
As Saferide's popularity increases, an immediate need for additional funding arises. Demand for expansion forces us to look to the city for funds.
Any KU student with an ID can take advantage of Saferide as transportation home from anywhere within city limits. Designed to prevent incidents related to alcohol abuse, rape, muggings, etc., Saferide is available every day of the week from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. (864-SAFE). Approximately $85,000 to $95,000 are necessary to fund the program every year, and that figure is
Saferide is funded solely by students but helps ensure safety in the city as a whole.
gradually rising as more students take advantage of the service. Funds for Saferide come solely from a $14 campus transportation fee charged to every student which covers the costs of cars, Saferide and the lift van. The bottom line is that the students are solely funding a program that benefits all of Lawrence.
A Student Senate proposal requests that the city allocate some of this revenue to help fund Safefer. The logic behind the proposition is simple: The program helps prevent alcohol-related accidents and ensures the safety of every Lawrence citizen, which the city claims as its primary concern. The proposal's flexibility allows the city to choose from a one-time payment of $10,000 or annual contributions.
ment.
The city of Lawrence is required to allocate funds it receives from the alcohol and liquor tax toward programs of alcohol prevention and education, detoxification, intervention or treat-
The amount of revenue the city receives from the alcohol and liquor tax allows for the distribution of funds among vital programs such as Saferide. An opportunity to expand the program, thus further ensuring the safety of Lawrence citizens, should not be ignored.
Nadia Mustafa for the editorial board
THE SPIN
Our take on what's happening
BRAWL AT THE TOWERS
THE
NEW
PLANE
Some football players decided to beat up a few students. Apparently beating Missouri wasn't enough.
COCA-COLA
$4 million for a new jet for the Chancellor and Med Center. When Is Roy Williams' new Rolls Royce coming?
Reason
FOOTBALL TEAM
The deal left a bad taste in the mouths of former KU Concessions employees who lost their jobs when Coke took over.
WEDDING STORY
3-01 If the team beats Cincinnati then it will probably get a national ranking.
ON CAMPUS LISTINGS
Great afternoon entertainment on The Learning Channel. Check it out at 2 p.m.
Student Senate passed a resolution urging us to make on campus free again. But no one was at the meeting because senate had no place to post it.
How to submit letters and guest columns
Letters 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.
Guest columnum Should be double-
spaced typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
All letter and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stuafler-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@kansan.com) at 864-4810. If you have generic questions or comments, e-mail the staff off (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4810.
Roaring
Eat beef: State bloated with gourmet dining
Having grown up in Junction City, I have been fortunate enough to indulge in some of Kansas' great pleasures.
There are many things I love about Kansas:
Grey Montgomery oainionokansan.com
small towns; beautiful landscape; fairly nice people; KU basketball games; the Grayhound Hall of Fame; the Ellinwood Underground; the State Cornhusking Competition and the Garden of Eden.
But the thing that I really love about Kansas is its food.
And while I am a terrific fan of Lawrence's many boutique health food restaurants, I must admit no state can fix meals with more love than Kansas.
I'm talking about a lotta love.
Take Lawrence. It can boast the mighty burger triumvirate: the Johnny Wilson Burger, the Buckaroo and, ooh, let me catch my breath, the Wang, each found at Johnny's Tavern, Bucky's Drive-In and the Wheel, respectively.
Each eatery serves a different purpose for me. Bucky's, 2120 W. Ninth St., clearly caters to the on-the-go burger connoisseur, providing quick and accurate service in a fast food format.
Johnny's, 401 N. Second St., known in some circles as Jiznzo's, offers a great game-day setting for those of you who may not have multiple big-screen TV's in your home.
However, I've got to go with the Wheel, 14th and Ohio streets, with points for creativity. The Wang's addition of a fried egg to layers of burger, grease, bacon and love is pure genius. For the adventuresome of heart, I dare you to request the double-Wang with bleu cheese. I admit, I still tremble in its midst. Also, I have been hearing good things about its Monday specials of goulish and meatloaf.
For those of you who enjoy Kansas weekend getaways, I have a few suggestions:
- Topeka's Pore Richard's. Although I've never been a huge fan of dining in the capital city, Pore Richard's is certainly one diamond in Topeka's culinary crown. In the heart of downtown T-Town, Pore Richard's provides state celebrity watchers with the opportunity to catch a glimpse of any of our famed state lawmakers. The ambiance of Pore Richard's is like something out of a Teapot Dome Scandal documentary — clouds of cigarette smoke, extremely dim lighting and lots of men in dark suits. On top of all that, the steaks are firstrate and the service couldn't be friendlier.
■ Salina's Cozy Inn. With an odor stronger and much more inviting than many of western Kansas' greatest slaughterhouses, even the most congested, allergy-ridden people can find their way to this cornerstone of the greater Salina area. The menu is not extensive, but a patron need not look past the first item on the menu to look at the other. The Cozy burger, the feature item, is a silver dollar-sized onion burger with ketchup, mustard and pickles on a white bun. The Cozy Inn also offers perhaps the best prices of any of my favorites: $3.51 for six Cozies and $7.02 for a dozen. Also, the Cozy's entertainment level is high. It emulates a Benihana Japanese Steakhouse by cooking the burger before your eyes.
Williamsburg's Guy and Mae's Tavern.
Williamsburg is about 15 miles west of Ottawa on
Interstate 35. Although my friends from Kansas
City vehemently disagree with me on this, I
By no means is this list exhaustive; it's what I could fit into this column. There are many other restaurants, especially in Western Kansas, that I'm sure are among the best.
would say Guy and Mae's serves the best barbecue ribs in the area. Guy and Mae's combines great ribs with a spartan but appropriate atmosphere for barbecue. Combine stained glass Coors Light pool table lamps, six-packs-to-go and a jukebox collection that features everything from the Motely Crue's "Decade of Decadence" to John Denver, and you are in for a very down-home dining experience. I recommend the full slab and two orders of baked beans. Beware of the pool tables, there are some sharp players there.
If you like a hearty meal, one that will really fill you, even possibly cause a little bloating, I recommend you try any of these. Trust me, you won't leave feeling empty.
Montgomery is a Junction City senior in journalism.
Arguing about deals with Coca-Cola serves no purpose other than to divide the student body. What we need is a cause that will unite us all.
Praying to the porcelain god for better restrooms
Warren Garlock
Let's face facts. Half the students probably would prefer to drink Coke products. These people are likely overjoyed by the fact that Coke machines now appear in twelve-foot intervals around campus, except in the bathrooms.
I propose that we search for a cause that will benefit everyone, including the administration. I have two suggestions that should get us started on this road to unity. Both involve improving the restroom.
opinion@kansan.com
improving the restrooms on campus.
There was once a time when a guy could go into a restroom stall and feel confident that he could catch up on all that was important in the world: where the parties were, who was a good time and who was not, pick up a couple of phone numbers or even read some poetry.
Let me first say that our restrooms are some of the finest public facilities I have ever had the pleasure of utilizing. They are clean, smell better than some individual's bedrooms, and are always stocked with paper products and soap. My intention is not to criticize the restrooms, merely to improve our visits to them.
I thoroughly enjoy reading to occupy my time in restrooms. And it is my understanding that people who read in the bathroom are likely to be more intelligent than those who do not. Because only 20 percent of the U.S. population goes to college, I'm guessing, and this could be a leap, that the people here on campus are of above average intelligence. Thus, I conclude that most people on campus would like to read while spending quality time in the bathroom.
Today, with clean and sanitized bathrooms, wall art and graffiti have gone the way of the
My suggestion is that the University provide small shelves in each of the stalls. A magazine rack in each bathroom would be sufficient. Students would then bring various pieces of literature for their own enjoyment and leave it for the utilization of others.
dinosaurs. Except for a few kind souls who leave their "Kansans" in the bathrooms of Wescoe, I have nothing to read.
I do not suggest that students bring pornography. Having pornography in the bathrooms would likely create several problems. First, there would be the increased likelihood of theft. That would just defeat the whole purpose. Second, we would probably see people spending an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom, thus increasing the wait time to use the restroom and decreasing classroom attendance.
Pornography would also create a small safety issue for those who spend way too much time on the pot. Anyone who sits on a toilet for a long time, runs the risk of having their legs fall asleep, thus making it extremely difficult to get up. So, unless we want to invest in ergonomic toilets or safety rails in each of the stalls we should keep the literature R-rated or below.
There are causes that can benefit the entire KU population. I'm encouraging everyone to fight for these goals and any others that might benefit a large percentage of the campus. And until the aforementioned suggestions are implemented, I'll be sitting in the bathroom, bored and in pain.
Gartock is a Leavenworth senior in engineering.
My second suggestion is even simpler. Let's get some better toilet paper. Using our current toilet paper is similar to dry-shaving with a dull razor; it is painful and it works but there are better ways of getting the job done. I'm not suggesting that the University invest in ultra-soft and scented toilet paper that will support an elephant. I understand that there is a cost issue. I am simply suggesting we change the toilet paper to a cheap two-ply with a little less texture than tree bark.
Feedback
Alternatives to dissection needed
Regardless of instructors
In his recent letter, Tim Donahue mischaracterized the message of anti-dissection flyers recently posted around campus by Proponents of Animal Liberation. The flyers raise awareness by describing the moral, environmental and pedagogical issues surrounding dissection.Donahue implies that PAL described biologists as sadists. PAL has said nothing of the sort — it's not relevant to PAL's message.
motives, requiring dissection indirectly supports cruelty toward animals. The motivations of biologists are irrelevant to the amount of pain and suffering inflicted on animals who are crowded into canvas sacks for days, abducted from their neighborhoods, or strapped down and embalmed while still alive. Good intentions don't changed the fact that six million animals are killed annually for dissection.
Donahue erroneously claims that dissection of nonhuman animals is the only method of learning animal
physiology and training doctors and veterinarians; however thousands of competent doctors have learned how to save lives without a single lab experience.
Dissections is a practice that raises many moral and social questions — and the justifications for it continue to weaken. If the Division of Biological Sciences continues to require dissection, it should at the very least adopt a policy that provides alternatives to students who believe that dissection is wrong.
Michael Schmitt
Harrisonburg, Va.
graduate student