Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Jodie Chester, Editor Marc Harrell, Business manager Gerry Doyle, Managing editor Jamie Holman, Retail sales manager Ryan Koerner, Managing editor Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
Friday, September 18, 1998
Robert Novak / KANSAN
Editorials
Dangerous street intersections deserve immediate public attention
The volume of traffic in Lawrence increases annually. Those who are responsible for engineering the flow of traffic face new problems every year as they change the makeup of the streets of this small town to accommodate the influx of vehicles.
Sometimes potential problems concerning high-volume traffic can be remedied in advance. For instance, when J.C. Penney's began construction in south Lawrence, a traffic light was installed at 35th and Iowa to make the department store more accessible.
Unfortunately, other problems are not solved until after the problem area becomes the site of a high number of accidents. When this occurs, the city of Lawrence sends the Kansas Department of Transportation a list of intersections that require additional funding for improvements.
Such improvements could mean installing a traffic signal or widening
The city of Lawrence should remedy dangerous intersections in town.
the road to make a left-turn lane. City Manager Mike Wildgen said that this year, intersections such as 15th and Iowa, 23rd and Massachusetts, and 6th and Vermont, among others, have high rates of accidents and will be reported to the state with a request for additional funding.
The city of Lawrence recognizes the problem of the high volume of traffic, but there are some intersections that plague drivers and have not yet been improved. One example is 10th and Vermont. Although other intersections along the street have signals, 10th has only a stop sign.
The driver's sight is often obstructed by a row of parked cars. Although that
site has not been deemed as highly prone to accidents, crossing or turning at this intersection requires a careful eye and a sufficient amount of guts.
Another example is the intersection of 15th and Engel. This intersection lies at the crest of Daisy Hill, and Engel is a main road that residence hall residents use. Making a left turn into Engel can be a harrowing experience, especially around 5 p.m.
Drivers also must wait for long periods of time to turn onto 15th Street. There have been studies conducted recently on that intersection, but no actions were taken.
The city of Lawrence should examine the intersection of 10th and Vermont streets, and re-examine the one at 15th and Engel. Although they are not considered sites with high accident rates, they are potentially hazardous and often a nuisance to the drivers in Lawrence.
Kathryn Jensen for the editorial board
No excuses for ducking Election Day
Voting at KU is easier than some students might think. Even out-of-state students or those not from Douglas County can register and vote in the gubernatorial election Nov. 3.
They should do this in one of two ways: Students who want to vote in local elections should register in Douglas County. A Douglas County address is all that is necessary to prove residency, regardless of how long a student has lived there. A previous address must be included to cancel any other registration.
Students can also vote in their hometown elections. Absentee ballots can be sent as many as 20 days
Voting in elections when away from home is not as complicated as it may seem.
before the election Day and must be returned by the close of the polls. Applications for absentee ballots can be requested from and returned to the county election officer.
Although the election is not until Nov. 3, registration deadlines in Kansas are approaching. Oct. 19 is the deadline to register. Students wishing to vote by mail must apply for their absentee ballot by Oct. 30.
Questions concerning deadlines or eligibility can be answered by calling 1-800-262-VOTE. Out-of-state students should contact their county election officer for details.
Eligible voters can register at the Department of Motor Vehicles while renewing their drivers' licenses.
Absentee ballots make it possible to vote while living elsewhere. Even sick, disabled or illiterate voters can be assisted in utilizing advanced voting ballots. KU students should not let the seemingly daunting task of dealing with the government on any level keep them from exercising their right to vote.
Erinn R. Barcomb for the editorial board
Kansan staff
Ann Premer . . . Editorial
Tim Harrington . . . Associate Editorial
Aaron Marvin . . News
Gwen Olson . . News
Aaron Knopf . Online
Matt Friedrichs . Sports
Kevin Wilson . Associate sports
Marc Sheforgen . Campus
Laura Roddy . Campus
Lindsey Henry . Features
Bryan Volk . Associate features
Roger Nomer . Photo
Corie Waters . Photo
Angia Kuhn . Design, graphics
Melissa Ngo . Wire
Sara Anderson . Special sections
Laura Veazey . news clerk
News editors
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Micah Kafitz ... Regional
Ryan Farmer ... National
Matt York ... Marketing
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Matt Thomas .. Production
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Tenley Lane .. Classified
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Matt Lopez .. Zone
Brian Allers .. PR/ Intern manager
Broaden your mind: Today's quote
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“It is easier to surprise the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it.” — Benjamin
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Life from chaos to order teaches peculiar lesson
It's been a slow, gradual drip, my distillation process. When I was a freshman, my life was full of clutter. Actually, I was a mess. I went school in a foreign land: Texas. Actually, I
went to school in a foreign
tent to school at Texas
Christian University. It was
another in a long line of
paradoxes in my life; I was
neither Texan nor Christian.
When I showed up at school, I found out that my roommate's name was Kenneth Kitchener Kearney. Yeah, KKK. Alarms went off in my head. "Uh-oh" is the censored version of what I was thinking. He turned out to be a bizarre, 6-foot-3-inch. 125-nound.
Perspective
Tom Winter
opinion@kansan.com
My residence assistant stuck his head through our door one day. He was checking rooms. He didn't even want to come in. He looked around the room, looked at me in some sort of confused horror, and then just shook his head. He told me that unless we cleaned our room in the next two days it would be condemned, and we would be assessed a $150 fine. Condemned. Yes, it was that bad. We were pigs in slop.
upbeat gooof. He turned out to be the oppose of what I had predicted. Between the two of us, we managed to maintain the filthiest dorm room I have ever seen. It was disgusting. It was known as the "party room." I never once had sheets on my mattress, and at least five people slept on our garbage can of a floor several nights a week. Once I woke up to roll over and drop my hand in an open jar of Frito Lay's Cheese Dip. Yuck.
That was just one example of clutter in my life. Class was another. My first semester, I had a very difficult time attending classes. Ok, knowingly and apathetically, I skipped them. I took Introduction to Sociology that semester. It was an 8:30 a.m. class. It was a private school, and if you missed more than three classes, your letter grade dropped and you received a letter from the dean. Letters from the dean piled up in my mailbox. One morning I was jarred awake by the phone at 11 in the morning. I had just gone to sleep four hours earlier.
"Hello, Mr. Winter?" The voice sounded familiar. It took me a few seconds to connect an image to that. That image was of Dr. Bernstein.
my sociology professor. Once again, the toned-down "uh-oh" rang through my mind.
"Yes, sir, I think so."
"Mr. Winter, are you still enrolled in my class?"
"Mr. Winter, you can only miss a total of six classes before I required to fail you."
"Dr. Bernstein, since I've been at college, I've been experiencing a lot of pressure. I can't deal with it. I used to have a major problem with insomnia. Since I've been at college, it's been recurring."
Whoops, I thought. I thought fast. My quickly-deteriorating, young college career was staring over a ravine. On impulse, I lied.
I lied. It wasn't complete fiction, but it was still a lie. He bought it. He actually apologized to me and asked if there was anything he could do. I said there wasn't. He told me to go to his next class, I did and then I never missed one again. I ended up getting a decent grade.
"Oh, yeah...well, uh, how many have I missed?"
"Twenty."
It's been five years since that first semester. I have changed a lot in the interim. After running the gamut of degrees — psychology, political science, journalism, film, English — I have chosen the two that I will finish out my collegiate career with: biology and advertising. Yes, it's an odd combo, I know, but I am an odd combo of flash and truth, fun and understanding. It must be because I'm a Gemini.
My personality now is only vaguely reminiscent of that confused, cluttered kid. I've done quite a bit of filtering since then. My apartment is almost immaculately clean. It almost floored my father when he visited me. I am immaculately clean. I never miss class. I do all of my homework. I have established a semi-solid belief system for myself.
I actually exercise. I spent four years on the couch thinking that "outside" was a curse word. I carry a planner. It is almost scary, but in reality, my life is much more manageable than it used to be. It is much easier to exist without the constant fear that the dean is going to smash in my door and forcibly extract me from his college. Life is a filtering process. I'm on the other side of this one, and let me tell you from experience, it's much easier when you learn to leave some of the messy stuff behind.
Winter is a Blue Springs, Mo., senior majoring in journalism and biology.
Lost chapter of classic shows impossible dream
Nick Bartkoski opinion@kansan.com
D during my recent journey to Spain for the running of the bulls with Enrique the Pool Lad, I was lucky enough to find an original copy of "Don Quixote." I was ecstatic.
After I asked someone to translate it for me, I found a lost chapter that must have been removed by editors during the past few centuries. The book seller suggested that perhaps it had been removed because it lacked a moral, theme or focus. I completely disagreed. This is a timeless problem for any man looking for love or at least any man looking for love who weighs upwards of
original copy of "Don Quixote"
until I remembered that I
couldn't read Spanish.
In all his years of travel, Don Quixote met many misadventures. He also met with several plates of chili-cheese fries and became no longer known as the lanky knight from La Mancha. The 500-pound behemoth of La Mancha was a much more apt description. Plus, his years of riding from misadventure to misadventure did not improve his social skills. The only person that still put up with him was Sancho.
In the days of old, there lived a man named Quixana, who took the name of Don Quixote. Don Quixute rode through the plains of Spain with his trustworthy squire, Sancho Panza. Quixute thought himself to be a knight of the highest order of chivalry, but to be fair, he also bought that whole "oral sex isn't adulter" bit.
Coming to a town, Quixote noticed a bar where many attractive women were. He turned to Sancho and declared, "Hold up, my dear Sancho. I am feeling randy on this fine evening. Let us go to where the beautiful babies are and make forth a booty call."
"Oh, my eyes must be deceiving me," responded Sancho. "Is the great Don Quixote giving up on the chaste and beautiful Dulcinea del Torozo?"
500 pounds. I offer this literary treasure for the world to enjoy or reject.
"Let there never be a day when my mind does not go to Dulcinea," Quixote said. "However, there is a section of the chivalric code that forces Dulcinea to stay pure and chaste while I attempt to copulate with anything that moves. I believe it is called the double standard."
"Exactly what I was thinking, my liege," Sancho responded, although he was still relatively certain that Quixote was a couple knights short of a round table.
Knight and squire entered the bar. Quixote looked at the ladies and thought to himself, "Who could resist an errant knight of my great reputation and candor." But when Sancho took
Sancho looked around the room and saw all of the women who were practicing "Death Before Eye Contact," and those whose eyes accidentally strayed toward the knight were then racked with explosive vomiting.
Sancho watched as the knight made his approach. The woman tried to humor Quixote as he clumsily hit on her. However, when he refused to leave, the look of disgust on her face, present since he arrived, grew and grew. Finally she raised her knee to his groin, and the knight hit the floor once more.
Excellent point, my master, but perhaps we should play hard to get and, well, leave," Sancho said.
"Never, my dear Sancho," cried Quixote,
"especially since I have my eye on that gorgeous blonde over there."
"I believe I'll start with that young vision of beauty," Quixote said to his squire. He was gesturing toward a lovely young woman with short dark hair in the corner of the bar. He walked over to her and said, "That dress looks fabulous on you, but it would look even better slung over my horse Rozinante in the morning."
"Perhaps we should, dear Sancho, but for now, I refuse to cease being on the prowl, for these women are obviously all flirting with me," Quixote said.
"Really?" replied the young maiden. "Well, I feel almost the same way about your masculine figure. It would look even better on the floor balled up in the fetal position after I spray you with Mace." With that, the maiden took her pepper spray and reduced the errant knight to a crawling blind man. And with that, she walked off toward a collection of Greeks.
"You seem to have quite a bit of trouble with enchanters," said Sancho. "Perhaps some day we should find these enchanters and put an end to their constant threat."
a look around, he thought, "How can an errant knight of his personal skills and magnitude think he has a chance with these women?"
"By my truth," cried the knight. "That beautiful maiden whom I approached must have been changed into a man-hating shrew by an enchanter just to thwart my attempt at ribaldry.
"Truly, that woman was very interested in me," Quixote said, an octave higher than his usual voice.
"When you tell those lies that loud does it make them any truer?" Sancho asked.
"I said 'nothing could be truer,' my liege."
"I think nothing could be deaf, my name."
"As I thought, so let us go on, my dear Sancho," Quixote said. "The women of this land do not deserve a man like me."
"I don't think they could agree more."
.
Bartkoski is a Basehor senior majoring in journalism and English.