UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, October 29, 1996
5A
Voters upset with debates
Expected attacks from Dole lower viewer numbers
By Megan Jordan Kansan staff writer
Bob Dole's efforts to highlight the immoral aspects of the Clinton administration had little effect on viewers' choices for president in the third and final debate, said Diana Carlin, founder of Debate Watch.
In a campaign characterized by apathetic voters, the number of viewers watching the debate was low, which was partly because of Dole's negative approach, said Carlin, associate professor of communication studies.
Debate Watch, a voter-education program that monitors debate discussions, released the results from the Oct. 16 debate on Friday. Participants in the program indicated they would turn off their televisions if Dole indeed attacked Clinton's character.
"It's not what they wanted to hear so they didn't even tune in," Carlin said. "They talk, 'What happens in a candidate's personal life does not affect me as a citizen."
The only issue of character voters might be interested in, Carlin said, was Clinton's decision-making ability. Beyond that, they only want to hear about issues that touch them everyday.
Debate Watch statistics showed that in the final weeks of the campaign, citizens still want the candidates to discuss foreign policy, abortion, education, the environment and the economy.
Jarius Jones, Kansas City, Kan., senior, works with Carlin and went to the debate in San Diego. Education seemed to be the top concern in most people's minds, he said.
Carlin agreed that education was an important issue. She said that most of the public felt it was the key to solving other problems. Educated citizens could result in lower crime rates, less welfare and a more competitive role in the economy, she said.
Unfortunately, although voters want details about the issues that affect them, the debate format makes it difficult to do so, Carlin said. Time limits and rehearsed questions do not encourage specific responses.
"Some people feel like it's not really a debate but just candidates campaigning," he said.
public.
Of the three debates, Jones said the last one lent itself to the most detail because of the town meeting format in which average citizens questioned the candidates. He thinks there would be more interest in presidential debates if this style of questioning was used more often, he said.
Carlin said the public's interest could be raised if the candidates took six or eight issues and really discussed them in a Lincoln-Douglas style instead of glossing over details.
However, Carlin said, the debates did not follow this format. Many people thought that all they would get out of the meetings between Clinton and Dole would be sound bites. They were also turned off by rumors that character attacks were on the agenda, Carlin said.
She said the debate audiences were small and that most voters' preferences had not seemed to change. Regardless of these problems, the debates still would not have made a big impact in this particular election, she said.
"I think we were at a point, by the time the debates started, that it was going to be difficult to move numbers," she said.
That book you checked out it may be subject to a recall
By Kimberly Crabtree
Kansan staff writer
Early in October, James Pastine found a library book he needed for a project, so he checked it out. A week later, he got a notice from the library. They wanted it back. It had been recalled.
Had Pastine not returned the book by the new due date given in the letter, he would have been fined $1 a day.
"It doesn't seem fair," said Pastine, a Kansas City, Mo., senior. "If somebody really needs that book, I guess that's fair. It's just the way they went about it, saying they would fine me."
Brenda Owens, a library assistant at Watson Library, said the aim of the recall policy was to make books available to more users.
"A person can renew it and can renew it forever and ever,"
Owens said. "There's also the 30-day grace period before they get fined." Books can be checked out for either six weeks or four months.
Anyone can recall a book by filling out a recall form at the library's circulation desk. Recalls take a minimum of two weeks.
Jan Altenbernd, a library assistant at the Art and Architecture Library, said she sometimes tried to work out a compromise so two people can use a book. "We can't give names out, but I have called the other person to see what we could do." she said.
When a recall notice is issued, users must return the book or pay the fine. Altenbernd said recall fines probably could not be successfully appealed, because the fine is in the lending code, which was approved by the faculty.
Owens said she tried to make people aware that books can be recalled by putting up signs on how to fill out a recall form and by having literature on recalling a book available.
“It's really bad this time of year,” Owens said. “Resources are so bad.” If several people need to use a particular book for a class project, she said, they might want to ask their professor to get another copy of the book.
Altenberd said that students who returned a recalled book could put another recall on it to get it back. That was how Pastine dealt with his problem.
"As soon as I brought it back, I put a recall on it," he said.
Still, Pastine said, the process seems a bit strange.
"It seems like people are running around fighting for the book," he said.
Teaching has its rewards.
1996 recipients of the W.T. Kemper Fellowships for Teaching Excellence. Pictured left to right, Front row: Beverly Davenport Sypher, Robert Rowland, Mehrangiz Najafizadeh. Middle row: Marilyn Amey, Amy Devitt, Marylee Southard, Joane Nagel, Robert Klein. Back row: Burdett Loomis, Paul D'Anieri, Greg Shepherd, Bozenna Pasik-Duncan, Stanley Lombardo, Craig Martin. Not pictured: Christine Arguello, Dr. Cheng Cho, Donald Lien, Dr. Norman Martin, Nancy Peterson, Dr. George Varghese.
Teachers are rewarded in small ways every day, but not often does excellent teaching and advising receive a formal recognition. That's why the Kemper Fellowships were established. This year, and for the next five years, twenty University of Kansas teachers will receive the recognition they so richly deserve. Plus, they each receive $5,000 to spend as they see fit. No strings attached.
Commerce Bank is proud to recognize the University of Kansas' commitment to excellence in teaching. We know that all Kansans rely on our state's universities to instill wisdom, insight and good judgement in our future leaders.
We salute the 1996 Kemper Fellows and all the KU faculty who continue to make significant contributions to Kansas' future.
Commerce Bank
Member FDIC
A public service message from Commerce Bank.
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