Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Jodie Chester, Editor Marc Harrell, Business manager
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4A
Monday, November 2, 1998
CLINTON REACTS TO CRITICISM THAT HE SPENDS TOO MUCH TIME AWAY FROM THE OFFICE FUNDRAISING
Editorials
Voters should seek information about alternative party candidates
Children and voters have one thing in common: Both are taught not to mark outside the lines. Although a kindergartner may be frowned upon for going outside the lines in a coloring book, voters have a responsibility to consider making marks outside the party lines on their ballots.
Most Americans are unaware of the smaller parties that exist in our political system. These parties are small for a reason: Their views and platforms often put them too far left or right for voters to agree with them. However, the ideas brought forth by groups such as the Reform, Taxpayers or Libertarian parties are as worthy of examination by voters as any from Republicans or Democrats.
Most Americans have expressed
The Reform, Taxpayers and Libertarian parties are just a few of the alternate possibilities.
some degree of apathy for the political system. In many elections, less than 20 percent of those registered will vote, and programs such as Rock The Vote have been created simply to get disinterested, potential voters registered.
Candidates in small parties have equally small budgets. Therefore, they are not able to bring their names and views to voters as well as their competitors. Because of this information gap, voters who might support a small-party candidate may
never hear about all their choices.
Voters should take it on themselves
to examine all candidates so they
might find a few they believe in.
Voters may even wish to go a step further than looking for the less-publicized candidates by writing in votes for candidates who are not on the ballot.
All three of the smaller parties with candidates in Kansas elections this year have Web sites. The Libertarian Party homepage can be found at www.lp.org, the Reform Party at www.reformparty.org and the Taxpayer Party at www.ustaxpayers.org. Each of these parties has candidates competing in elections that Lawrence residents will help decide.
Ronnie Wachter for the editorial board
Movie discount far-reaching for Senate
Hollywood Theaters' recent decision to offer University students a discount showed just how beneficial our student government can be when it decides to put its clout behind an attainable goal that benefits the entire student body.
The first obvious benefit of Hollywood's change will be felt in student's pockets. As ticket prices have spiraled upward at sickening rates, many students have given up on movie theaters and instead wait months for the relatively inexpensive video rental. Senate passed a resolution condemning the closing of the dollar movie theater in Lawrence and made calls to Hollywood Theater's headquarters in Dallas. The movie chain responded by instituting a stu
Student Senate's petitioning of Hollywood Theaters achieved tangible results for students.
dent discount that brought the price of a ticket down to $4.75 from $6.
Student Senate also benefits. The representative body should be applauded for getting results. Too often, Student Senate strives for unrealistic goals. An example of this is the resolution supporting a lowered drinking age in Kansas, or is mired in bureaucratic necessities. In petitioning Hollywood Theaters, Student Senate has flexed the muscle it always has had but rarely used.
heavily on the minds of city legislators, but the discount accomplishes something that Senate has had trouble doing for years—showing the student body that Student Senate is important.
Perhaps movie prices do not weigh
Senators have been fighting hard to increase the meager turnout on Senate election day. By showing tangible results, Senate may begin to reverse tepid feelings toward the student legislative process. Affordable ticket prices may not be a hot-button issue, but it does a great job of promoting Student Senate — as well as relieving an economic burden on students. Hopefully, Senate will accomplish more things like this in the future. Student Senate should be applauded for doing something beneficial for all students.
Jeff Engstrom for the editorial board
Kansan staff
Ann Premer ... Editorial
Tim Harrington ... Associate Editorial
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Broaden your mind: Today's quote
"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." Samuel L. Clemens
How to submit letters and guest columns
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All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Ann Prerem (premer@kansan.com) or Tim Harrington (tharrington@kansan.com) at 864-4810. If you have general questions or comments, email the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4810.
Perspective
Gun aficionados turn hobby into obsession
W when you move into a different apartment, you often find a little present from the previous resident. Perhaps it is a used syllabus stuck in a closet, or, if you
are really lucky, the tail end of a magazine subscription.
Jonathan Huskey
opinion@kansan.com
The gift I have been receiving has been a little more unnerving. I guess the guy living in my little apartment before me was a big gun aficionado. I'm not talking about *Field and Stream* or even *Guns and Ammo*. This dude was on some serious catalog lists, including *Delta Force* (not the campus politics, but the movie) and *Commando* (again, like the movie).
With each new arrival, the gravity of the magazine increases. At first, it was outdoor catalogs with camo gear. Now, I can order Advanced Ultimate Sniper on VHS. Although I appreciate "sniper equipment with [a] laser finder." I don't understand how it is an "art" as the advertisement claims. Or how about the "Grenade Launching System" (It comes with 10 grenades for only $34.95).
The whole industry seems legally suspect in much the same way as the "tobacco accessories" sold in specialty shops. There is no point in smoking tobacco out of a "water pipe." just as it is stupid to hunt a deer with an automatic rifle. Although technically legal, the sale of these products practically is guaranteed to facilitate illegal pastimes.
If you've never seen these kinds of catalogs, many accessories scream illegal. A legal gun can be altered or you can build your own by purchasing separate parts. The "Hellstorm 2000" which "legally converts most semi-automatic rifles to shoot like an automatic" is an obvious middle finger to federal laws.
There are three types of sassy models in the aforementioned Delta Force. First, there is the woman in a bikini who does her duty by embracing the the ultimate phallic symbol — an SK-47. Then we have the fully fatigued Green Beret wanna-be complete with grenades and face paint. Finally, there is the confused deer-in-the-scopelights look of a multiple holster-wearing professional. Folks, this stuff ain't normal; orange hunting vests are one thing, but Kevlar body armor is another.
If the people who actually order from these catalogs are as nutty as the "models" in them, then we have some huge problems on our hands.
Call it what you will, a bong is a bong is a bong. Now, I don't want to equate smoking pot with hunting government agents. I'd sleep a lot better if the former tenant of my apartment were into ganja rather than grenades. A stash in the medicine cabinet would be a better surprise than a letter bomb in the wall.
An incumbent state senator was getting ready to take a group of children on a havride when he allegedly was killed by Byron Looper, his Republican opponent, with a gun blast. That should freak everyone out once they get beyond being dumfounded by the sheer lunacy of the crime.
Why couldn't this guy be into Dungeons and Dragons or something? Instead, he had to be on the Kansas Militia's mailing list, and I have to be aware of a subculture that scares the bejeezus out of me.
I hope that my gun-loving friend is seeking help in a professional setting, because what happened in Tennessee last week is an example of how a nutball plus rife equals disaster.
Regardless of what kind of gun it was, I bet Looper has spent some time with a Commando catalog. It's a short walk between hunting an elk and shooting humans in the back. The catalogs I have seen suggest that it can be traversed with a COD item.
Guns have been a sad part of the rugged American character. Perhaps it is time we let go of the myth that guns are important items to our collective mentality. Once we do that, maybe we can let go of another correlative emotion: fear.
Huskey is a Salina senior in political science.
'Hate crime' legislation could lead to censorship
In the wake of the murder of Matthew Shepard, the political animals already are feeding on the tragedy. The cry for an expansion of national "hate crime" legislation has been sounded. Even in our fair state the pleading for a change in the laws has begun.
Before we jump into the morass of "hate crime" laws with both feet, perhaps we should consider whether such changes in our criminal justice system will be effective and to what extent we should give the government the power to punish crimes based on personal beliefs.
The reasoning seems to be that if we fail to pass a new law expanding the power of government, then we are somehow condoning the murder.
Rodger Woods
opinion of kansan.com
What, exactly, is the "Hate Crimes Prevention Act" intended to accomplish? Apparently two things — to expand federal jurisdiction into the area of "hate crimes" and to provide increased penalties for those who commit crimes based on hatred of a protected group.
Increased penalties for committing hate crimes is clearly irrelevant to the reduction of intolerance. Neither Matthew Shepard nor James Byrd would have been protected by "hate crimes" laws. Why not? Because both Wyoming and Texas have the death penalty for first-degree murder. I'm not certain what type of increased punishment the proponents of "hate crime" laws would like to see. But if the persons guilty of these two murders were not impressed by the death penalty, I doubt any kind of increased punishment would be a more effective deterrent.
Granted, only a small number of "hate crimes" involve murder. Most "hate crimes" (a nebulous term at best) involve vandalism, criminal threat or battery. The problem with increasing the penalties for these crimes is determining when they are
Finally, we must consider what price we are willing to pay to reach our goal of tolerance. To what degree are we willing to expand governmental control to achieve harmony? David Brown, a representative of the ACLU said, "I regret that we live in a society that encourages and gives permission to hate." Perhaps he is suggesting that "permission to hate" be taken away from the citizens of this country.
I'm not certain what he means by the "encourages" part, but I would not like to live in a society that doesn't give permission to hate. Certainly not one in which the government controls the hateful thoughts and non-criminal actions of its citizens The adoption of "hate crime" laws seems like a fruitless step down that path.
Not only will passage of a federal, or even state, "hate crime" statute be ineffective, it will be damaging to the very people it's intended to protect. By separating certain groups and giving them special protection, we create a threefold perception: that we focus on the differences among our society, that some groups in our society deserve more protection under the law than others, and that protected groups are unable to stand up for themselves.
Woods is a Hutchinson, second-year law student.
based on "hate" and when the crime is caused by something else. Prosecutors and judges already have a great deal of discretion in penalties based on aggravating factors. They are elected officials and are accountable to the voters. Certainly, influencing the behavior of local judges and prosecutors, the people actually responsible for meting out punishments, would be a more effective means of curtailing the less sensational "hate crimes" (those that don't make national news) as opposed to a sweeping federal regulation.
Everyone's favorite attorney general, Janet Reno, said that such legislation was needed to send a clear message "that hate crimes will not be tolerated." So why not pass the law just to make a point?
Feedback
Hazing victims not completely innocent
Perhaps I'm just missing something in the whole antihazing movement, but since when did pledging a fraternity or sorority or joining a team sport become mandatory? If hazing is such a terrible thing, then why do people continue to degrade and humilate themselves by joining a group that
participates in hazing? The decision to join, or attempt to join, a frat or team sport is purely up to the individual. Is it that people do not have the common sense to realize that the activity they're participating in could humiliate and/or injure them?
As part of the "greek community," can you really expect people to respect you or your fraternity if you had to run across campus naked (or some
similarly degrading task) in order to join the fraternity in the first place? What it all boils down to is: Don't Be Stupid. Follow the rules you learned in kindergarten. If a person asks you to do something you don't feel comfortable doing, don't do it. It shows a severe lack of judgement to volunteer oneself to such behavior.
Jarrod Fobes Lincoln junior