Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Spencer Duncan, Editor Sarah Scherwinksi, 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 advisor Justin Knupn, Technology coordinator
4A
wednesday, September 17, 1997
The Oregonian
Examining
Date rape drugs in Lawrence can prey on more than one victim
Anyone ever offered you a drink?
You sure ever offered it downstairs?
Boulder tried a down, right!
Perhaps the use of Rohypol or Gamma Hydroxybutrate, the date rape drugs, is just a lot of talk for something that is not too prevalent.
But, it is here.
The consumption of these drugs, which may be insidiously dropped into an unsuspecting victim's cup of water, Coca-Cola or even beer causes the victim to feel the effects of being intoxicated. In a really creepy and conniving way, someone at a bar or party can actually select their victim and begin their scheme.
Even more unsettling is that it is not only the consumer of the drug who can be severely affected. A person can suddenly become very confused with
Monitoring alcohol consumption of friends and self can prevent possible attack.
a bad sense of judgment after only a drink or two if her or his drink is spiked with either of these drugs.
move in on its prey, but also can alter the victim's personality resulting in problems in existing relationships.
A good friend of mine was with a date at a crowded bar who suddenly became abnormally drunk after only two drinks, only later to find that traces of Rohypol in her bloodstream. Obviously some conniving shark had selected this person as its menu item of choice.
The remedy is to be careful. If you are drinking, watch your drink. Realize that this drug will only greatly exaggerate a state of mind that you are headed to anyway. Alcohol alone is often used as a date rape drug, so noticing that someone is acting really drunk in a bar might not automatically lead one to suspect that Rohypnol or Gamma-Hydroxybutrate had been used. Keep tabs on your friends' consumption levels. Just be aware these poisons are out there, and if something seems severely out of whack, take the time to think twice about the possibility of foul play.
Cody Simms for the editorial board
Online school a virtual bad idea
The University of Kansas needs to shun the idea of virtual educations offered through the internet.
The Western Governors Association has debated the idea of creating a virtual regional university. The idea behind virtual universities is that the government will work closely with the administrators to design an online education that would provide better credentials at lower costs. Education frugality is good, but not at the price of missing the "best four years of your life."
Governor Bill Graves has not endorsed the plan to date and he should strongly consider the effects of isolating a student in front of a computer monitor instead of putting
The Internet as university is a dehumanizing method of providing education.
them in a college community.
A college degree is much more than course work and perfecting job skills. It includes the ability to function in a socially oriented environment and gives students perspectives on how to work in groups in face-to-face exchanges. Furthermore, a college setting provides the opportunity to make those important connections through professors and internships. The dehumaniza-
tion factor on the Internet has been an issue for some time, and although there is much to be learned and explored online, there is no denying an absence of humans when sitting in front of a computer.
College is fun. Could you imagine getting a virtual education without KU basketball? Would we meet classmates online and go on virtual dates? Do you really want to stay cooped up with a computer in your home town, without the fun and freedom that you longed for in high school?
The idea of virtual universities may have its points for education in the work force, but a society of introverts with virtual educations are not qualified to lead the business world.
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 Weslander . 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
Shane Rowan for the editorial board
Kansan staff
News editors
Advertising managers
Matt Fisher ... Assistant retail
Michael Soifer ... Campus
Colleen Eager ... Regional
Anthony Migliazzo ... National
Jeff Auslander ... Marketing
Chris Haghirian ... 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
Broadon your mind: Today's quote
"There is ... only a single categorical imperative and it is this: Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law."
Letterers: 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.
Immanuel Kant
How to submit letters and guest columns
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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 page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4810.
Administrative deception keeps Coke saga alive
Raving
very time I try to forget about the Coca-Cola deal the University signed, a new twist in the jaded tale comes about.
This time that twist comes courtesy of Chancellor Robert Hemenway and his administrative alliance.
When the University made Coca-Cola its official drink, KU Concessions was disbanded.
Coke does its own soda machine supply and maintenance which made the campus department expendable.
Spencer Duncan
editor@kansan.com
When KU Concessions disbanded, the employees who made up the department were out of jobs. Sort of
The University deserves some credit. Instead of putting the 12 workers on the street, Chancellor Bob and Jim Long, Union director, made sure the employees found employment in another University department or the private sector. Eleven have found jobs.
It sounds nice, but the reality is the University used the gesture as its smoke and mirrors. As these employees settle into new jobs just more than one month old, it is being discovered that the University did not treat the employees as generously as the Chancellor and Tom Hutton, University Relations director, want people to believe.
The Chancellor, Long and Hutton have been less than truthful about what really happened when KU Concessions was wiped out.
Deception No. 1: Everyone who found a new job lost little in the way of pay and benefits.
Lash has worked for the University for 32 years. At the age of 52 he had planned to retire when he hit 55. When KU Concessions was trashed, Lush went from working at KU to working for Treat America, a company hired by the University to maintain snack machines.
Reality: Ron Lash got shorted and no one in the administration had the courage to mention what they did to him when they were asked about what happened to the 12 employees.
Because of the job change, Lash lost six weeks of vacation time, now works longer hours and has to postpone his retirement by 10 years, until he is 65, so that he can get full benefits. Benefits that he was close to earning at the University.
The Chancellors said everyone had been taken care of fairly and that no one had lost many benefits in the deal.
I guess Ron Lash slipped the Chancellor's mind.
After 32 years of service the University cut Lush off without even wincing.
In a memo from Hutton to myself, dated September 12, Hutton wrote, "I believe all employees have been placed in a position comparable to their previous job with the Union."
A little more than one week ago, Chancellor Bob attended a Kansan editorial board meeting and fielded questions. I asked the Chancellor at that meeting if any of the former employees had lost a large amount of their benefits.
While it is true that Lash has taken only a minor pay cut in his new job, the fact that the University would pretend what they did is OK is a horrific thought. This man will have to put his retirement on hold for 10 years after devoting the majority of his life to the University thanks to the Coke deal.
Deception No. 2: The University went to the employees right when negotiations with Coca-Cola began and told the everything, giving them ample time to find new jobs.
Reality: On September 3, of this year, Long told the "Kansan" that when he first learned about the Coke negotiations, he went right to KU Concessions employees and told them what was happening.
But in yesterday's "Kansan," those employees told a different story.
Cathy Johnson, former KU Concessions office supervisor, said while the employees knew negotiations were going on, they didn't exactly know what was going to happen.
Johnson said the department was officially notified that it would be dispensed with on August 4. The next day, Aug. 5, interviews were set up with the University, Coca-Cola and Treat America.
Long wants everyone to believe that these employees had nine months to prepare for a job change. In reality, the employees had one day.
Deception No. 3: The new jobs the employees found are stable.
Reality: Anne Musterman worked for KU Concession for 15 years. The University found her a job in the University Purchasing office.
The catch is that it is not a permanent job. Musterman has been given the job for six months with the intent that she can look for another University job during the next six months.
This means that in six months, if she cannot find another job within the University, she may be gone.
It sounds like the University is operating more like a corporation every day.
What upsets me about the entire deal is that the Chancellor, Long and Hutton all misled the students and University employees.
They knew exactly what was going to be done and what was done to these employees, and instead of admitting to it they tried to pretend it wasn't that bad
The Chancellor looked the editorial board in the eyes and concealed the truth. Hutton put his fib in writing and Long told his to the "Kansan."
Chancellor Bob continues to ask aloud why the "Kansan" and others won't let the Coca-Cola deal go away.
I think that Ron Lash, a man who served the University for 32 years before having some of his benefits, vacation time and retirement years be taken from him by a University that signed an underhanded deal with a corporation, is a pretty good reason.
If anything, him and others like him continually hurt by the Coke deal are good enough reason to never let the issue go away.
Duncan is a Topeka, Kan., senior in journalism and the editor of the "Kansan."
We are ceasing to care about issues that directly affect us and are instead trying to gain a sense of what is important vicariously through the lives of the rich and famous. Is the media out of touch with what we really want to know, or is it catering to public interest?
Sensationalist news not entire fault of media
Nickolas Zaller
opinion@kansan.com
Investigative reporting is slowly dying while celebrity deaths, divorce and other junk food news stories are quickly taking over.
Junk food news permeates society. The media feed the public with extra value meals filled with wealth, fame and sex. The bigger the celebrity, the bigger the story
Complaints against the media for not digging deep enough to facilitate a better informed public fall on deaf ears when the public is blissfully ignorant. Don't blame the media.
After all, they are giving you what you want, right? The media sees a public curiosity so easily satiated with O.J. Simpson, Jon Benet Ramsey and Glanni Versace, why bother with the rest of the world? Why should the media go out of their way to uncover stories that have significant impacts on our lives when we keep gorging ourselves with tabloids and afternoon talk shows? The media sees the public as indifferent to many complex problems, unless those problems affect celebrities.
"Censored 1997", by Pterer Phillips and Project Consored, lists NASA's plan to launch the Casini probe to Saturn as the top news story not to be significantly covered last year. The probe, fueled by 72 pounds of plutonium, was expected to orbit the Earth in 1999 and use our planet's gravitational pull to gain enough propulsion to reach Saturn. However it was discovered that the probe could burn up and the entire world's population would be exposed to radiation, according to NASA's Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Casini Mission.
One year later, the story is getting coverage. In retrospect, everyone would agree that this has a major issue that would affect everyone. But last year too many people were obsessed with the British Royals and the divorce of Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson to care.
The public loves glitz and glamour as evidenced by more than one billion people watching Princess Diana's funeral. Some say the same media that built her up also tore her down. Her death was a tragedy, but so is the fact that the hype and glory she received posthumously has taken away from the true princess of humanity, Mother Teresa. With barely a blip on the front page of most papers, Mother Teresa went quietly into saxthood, ever humble in death as she was in life.
The Casini probe is only one example of a major newsworthy event that failed to reach the public.
So what should we expect from the press? A recent "USA Today" article concerning President Clinton's vacation reported that the top questions the White House Press Corps was pursuing were what kind of ice cream he bought at a local store and what the president got for his birthday. Should we expect the press to report to us what recommendations he has to the FDA about how to protect consumers from further E-coll outbreaks such as the one involving Hudson Foods, or that Clinton loves Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey?
Many people blame a lackadaisalis and superficial media for junk food news stories. But the public is licking its fingers with every juicy page of "People" and the "National Enquirer."
People don't care about what they don't know. A better-informed public can become an integral part of the processes by which decisions that affect them are made.
We have an infatuation with wealth and fame. But we ought to pay less attention to junk food news, which glamorizes such superfluity, and more to things that really matter.
Zaller is a Tulsa, Okla., junior in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.