4A
Friday, October 18, 1996
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
Roberts, Thompson barbs are a turnoff to voters
This election year, aggressive campaigns featuring scurrilous rhetoric have disillusioned many voters. In the campaign for Sen. Nancy Kassebaum's
ers. In the campaign for Sen. Nancy Kassebaum's seat, Pat Roberts and Sally Thompson have given voters another reason to believe politicians are not interested in the issues and care only to attack their opponent personally.
On Oct. 10, both candidates met with reporters from The Kansas City Star. During the meeting, Thompson accused Roberts of voting to decrease funding for a federal summer youth program and noted that Roberts' two children participated in congressional internships several years ago. Roberts said he was infuriated by the attack, which he viewed as personal. While leaving the meeting, Roberts said to his son, David, as Thompson was walking toward an elevator, "I'm not getting into the elevator with the bitch." A Star reporter overheard. Though Roberts apologized to the reporter, to Thompson and to the general public, the comment was indicative of the vehement nature of the campaign.
Roberts immediately apologized for the comment and said he knew he was wrong to make a derogatory remark. The issue is not whether Roberts was justified in making this comment in a private conversation. The issue is not whether Thompson was justified in personally attacking Roberts in an effort to chip away at his commanding lead.
The real issue is that the candidates are diverging from the concerns of the people they hope to represent to prove the ineptitude of their opponent. This race, and many like it nationwide, is the reason why many Americans are turning to politics with deaf ears and why apathy, especially among young Americans, is starting to permeate our political system as a whole.
NICK ZALLER FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
New stadium sound system was out of tune with crowd
The Jayhawks' loss to Texas Tech on Saturday was disheartening. However, even more upsetting was the operation of the new sound system in Memorial Stadium.
Two sets of ear-splitting, concert-strength speakers on the north side of the stadium subjected fans periodically to discordant blasts of sound. While the sound system was intended to improve the quality of the experience, it served only to irritate the crowd.
Admittedly, the speaker system performed its job well in providing fans with advertisements and sound bites intended to be inspiring. However, the previous announcement system seemed to work as well, if not better, without deafening fans on the north side of the stadium. The musical interludes the system produced to rally the Jayhawks to victory were grating at best.
Traditionally, the task of eliciting excitement and support from fans has fallen on the shoulders of the Marching Jayhawks with shining success. The additional amplification through the speaker system of an already effective band proved to be disastrous. The system created an echo that conflicted with the live music, and the microphones were not adequate in reproducing the music from the marching band.
To remedy this problem, the speakers might be relocated and the amplification of the band stopped. Hopefully, this minor difficulty will be rectified during tomorrow's game and will make the event more enjoyable for everyone.
PHONG HU FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
AMANDA TRAUGHBER
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CRAIG LANG
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MATT HOOD
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Shawn Trimble/KANSAN
Carrying the torch of truth and the burden of Columbus
Guest column by the Native American Student Association
Columbus Day. It is the longestrunning American prevarication, and one of the most celebrated Euro-American displays of selfapothesis evident today. It is a day when Indigenous Peoples find themselves in mourning, filled with disgust and more recently, celebrating our survival.
As children who were educated in public and private "American" schools, we were taught we should celebrate this day. We were taught that without Columbus' discovery, we would not exist. We were taught that before Columbus, there was no "civilization" in America, and we were not civilized. In fact, we were taught that before Columbus there was no America. Indeed, before Columbus, only wild beasts and savage peoples roamed upon these untamed lands, and the very idea of this made all American children afraid.
We were taught Columbus was a hero for his discovery, and in his memory we were encouraged to memorize this saying. "In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." And, we were taught that if we believed in this "great" historical event, the wild beasts and savage people wouldn't get us. Instead, we would be civilized. As children, we trusted that our teachers knew best.
In reality, as adults, we Indigenous Peoples know the only thing that Columbus discovered was that he was not in India. And, despite his colossal world-shattering achievement, he was condemned to prison, where he would die a poor, despised and pathetic person; a victim of colonial avarice.
We suspect that if Columbus were alive today, he would discover "Euro-Americans" who use his discovery myth to define themselves because of their tenuous hold on
their cultural identity and their dubious history of civilization. We suspect Columbus would discover Americans care little about him and even less about the Indigenous Peoples they claim he discovered. We suspect that Columbus would discover what Americans really celebrate on his day is their material wealth, their military might and their illusion of cultural superiority.
We mourn the loss of our ancestors, our aboriginal homelands and our freedoms.
Following Columbus' discovery of America more than 500 years ago, the Indigenous Peoples of the "Great Turtle Island" (the Americas) have braced themselves against the invasion and theft of their lands and resisted Euro-American expansion and colonization. For their part, the "faith-keepers" of Columbus Day have either ignored or promoted more than 500 years of genocide, land theft and discrimination against Indigenous Peoples, which continues today. However, even with such horrific injustices and crimes perpetuated against the Indigenous Peoples of the "Great Turtle Island," we continue to survive and grow in number.
This week, hundreds of millions of Columbus faith-keepers celebrated the discovery of America. Indeed,
Americans throughout the nation observe this holiday with pride and nostalgia by closing their schools, banks and post offices. They even print little pictures of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria and display them in their malls and other public places to commemorate this great day.
However, as Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, we will not celebrate this holiday like the rest of the American public. Instead, we mourn the loss of our ancestors, our aboriginal homelands and our freedoms that began with the first Columbus Day. Our celebration will be to expose the Columbus prevarication. Our celebration will be acknowledging our survival, despite the holocaust of Indigenous cultures. Indeed, on this day, we will not forget who we are and how our ancestors resisted and refused to be conquered.
Today we ask that the faith-keepers of Columbus Day reflect on the true meaning of the holiday. We hope that through our message we can change this day from one of discovery to one of healing. As the descendants of the peoples that Columbus referred to as "Indians," we cannot hope to educate everyone about Columbus Day and the meaning it carries for us. But we ask you to help us carry the torch of truth to start the healing process between Americans and Indigenous Peoples. We believe that America can never call itself the land of the free and the home of the brave until the injustices of the Columbus legacy are rectified.
Written by Elyse Towey and Regina Grass, co-presidents of the Native American Student Association, and Michael Yellow Bird, assistant professor of social welfare and co-adviser to the group.
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A year and a half ago tomorrow, a 4,800-pound fuel oil and fertilizer bomb exploded, destroying the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The bombing took 168 lives, including those of 19 children. Through the power of television, the entire country was touched by the sight of the thick, black smoke that poured out of the nine-story building. The innocence of a
nation was destroyed by an inexplicable act of violence.
Oklahoma City bombing site contains scars slowly healing
STAFF
COLUMNIST
The site where the building stood now is surrounded by a chain-link fence. The fence has been transformed into a memorial to the victims.
Since the bombing, thousands of items have been left by people
from across the nation. The remembrances are as varied as the people who bring them: wreaths, flowers, letters, poems, T-shirts, name tags from tour groups, pictures, crosses, teddy bears and other stuffed animals for the children.
I visited the memorial a few weeks ago. Among the thousands of remembrances left at the memorial, I almost overlooked one.
I found it about a third of the way down on the chain-link fence that runs along Fifth Street. A piece of string attached around its middle was the only thing that held it to the fence. It was located about five feet above the ground, eye level for most people.
The bunny is symbolic of Oklahoma City. The past year and a half has been hell for those affected by the bomb. Regardless of what people do to forget, the memories of April 19, 1995, will never fade. The bomb tore a gaping hole in the hearts of those touched by it as they grieved for those who were lost. Just as the city, the bunny will bear the scars forever. But like the stuffed animal, the people are survivors. Even in the aftermath of the bombing, the people have blinded themselves to the evil that caused this tragedy. Instead, they have been the ones to offer the rest of the nation assurance that the world holds more good than bad.
The pink bunny will stay with me because of what it taught me. Walking around the memorial is almost overwhelming because it makes you remember the death and destruction that occurred. The bunny reminded me that there is something more than that: the strength of the human spirit. It will continue to be an integral part of the memorial because it will offer those who visit hope, comfort and, above all, love.
It was a pink bunny with a white nose and tail. I had to look closely to tell that it was pink because the dirt that had accumulated on it, as well as the damage from rain and sun, had made the bunny's color fade.
Its eyes and nose were missing completely, leaving gaping holes in its synthetic fur.
The left ear of the bunny also was missing. It looked as if it was singed off. Burns and skid marks scarred its entire body. There were small holes too. Some of the stuffing stuck through them.
No one knows who left it there. It could have been a rescue worker who pulled it from the rubble. Perhaps the bunny was left by grieving parents who lost their child in the explosion.
The pink bunny stood out among all the other things because it looks as if it has been through hell.
Deanna Engel is a Liberal, Kan., senior is journalism.
By Greg Hardin