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Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Julie Wood, Editor Brandi Byram, Business manager Laura Roddy, Managing editor Shauntae Blue, Retail sales manager Cory Graham, Managing advisor Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser Scott Valler, Technology coordinator
4A
Monday, September 13, 1999
Jamie Patterson / KANSAN
Editorials
Struggle for democracy and freedom rages on worldwide
Reflections on political trouble spots around the world should cause Americans to appreciate the democratic system we have. Democracy in the United States may have its own unique problems, but the assault on basic democratic principles other people are facing should cause Americans to feel lucky in comparison.
The violence occurring in East Timor makes the question of Texas Gov. George W. Bush's possible cocaine use a laughable issue. East Timor announced Saturday that the country had voted overwhelmingly to become independent from Indonesia. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of refugees have fled the capital because bands of pro-Indonesian militia are killing hundreds of citizens and torching homes. Four United Nations work
East Timor, Venezuela and Mexico problems highlight U.S. democratic stability
ers have been killed and six others
are missing and presumed dead.
Venezuela's democracy is also in turmoil. Some observers are worried that President Hugo Chavez may be leading Venezuela towards dictatorship. The decidedly pro-Chavez government assembly declared itself the supreme power of the nation last month. The assembly also granted itself the power to change the judicial system and to fire judges.
While college tuition increases are always a concern in the U.S., having a student strike ended by
government force isn't. Students' freedom of speech is protected in the United States, but this is not true in Mexico.
A student strike of more than 2,000 students from the National Autonomous University in Mexico started April 20. The strike began in response to a tuition increase and several reform measures. In a press release, President Ernesto Zedillo indicated the government may intervene to end the strike. This has brought back memories of the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre in which more than 300 people were killed during an anti-graduate student protest.
While questioning our democratic system and its leaders undoubtedly makes it stronger, Americans should not take for granted the relatively smooth government operation and transitions of power we enjoy.
Heather Herrman for the editorial board
Feedback
Lazer changes reverberate around Kansas
With regards to the recent news of KLZR 105.9 The Lazer switching format, I feel as though I have lost a dear friend. I've listened to the Lazer since seventh grade and to see it undergo a transition to a Top 40 format makes me feel like Alex of A Clockwork Orange being forcibly subjected to listen to 98 Degrees, Christina Aguilera and LFO.
The Lazer was one of, if not the last great radio stations in Kansas. The Lazer has simply been awesome for as long as I can remember. The Lazer had remained committed to playing what college students wanted to hear, not what teenyboppers wanted to hear. Deeply concerned, I scanned the most recent Billboard Top 40 and found two, maybe (and I stress maybe), three singles that The Lazer would play in its current format. This is a tragedy since it seems nearly every other radio station is catering to the same audience.
ence. The Lazer was also a terrific venue for local artists. I am unable to describe the level of pride I feel whenever I hear Ruskabank, Ultimate Fakebook, Sufferbus or The Creature Comforts on the radio. I fear for upcoming modern rock bands that will not have the same opportunity to be presented to a larger audience. If the Lazer does continue to play local music, it will mostly likely fall on deaf 'N-Syncears.
Chad Elliot, please don't butcher my friend; keep The Lazer as terrific as it has always been. If daughters really want to relate with their
mothers, as you claim, please let them listen to one of the other 10 area radio stations that play Top 40. For love of all that is holy, don't let m take away the Lazer!!!
Jeff Weiss Kansas State University
Jeff Weiss
Parking decision outrages student
It seems that the instructors, professors, and whoever else that normally park behind Blake Hall are being unfairly treated. They had parking spots taken away from them, and given to students. How tragic. The parking department does something great for the residents of Watkins and Miller Halls by giving them 12 permits, and the red and blue pass holders go up in arms.
In the Sept. 8 issue of the Kansan,
it was reported that the parking
department "received a call Friday
from a professor at Blake Hall who
said he was upset with the parking
situation in KU lot 15 behind the
building." I wonder how often the
parking department receives calls
from students living on campus who
are upset with the parking situ-
tions where they live, let alone at
the perpetually filled yellow lots
that are annually oversold. (I will
ignore the fact that the red and blue
lot pass holders can park in yellow
lots anytime.)
On Sept. 9, the Kansan quoted Elaine Sharp, professor of political science and urban politics, as saying, "I knew colleagues that would drive to the University to teach a class and then not be able to find a place to park. Some of the faculty just wound up having to return
home due to the lack of parking." Evidently this is a departmental problem, because however much I would like class to be cancelled at times, I have yet to see an Engineering class cancelled, let alone for a reason like this, and it not because of the spacious accommodations available in the Learned faculty/staff lot.
I want to believe that the colleagues in question then walked to campus to hold class. If that was not the case, I would be outraged. I am putting myself through school, and paying tuition out of pocket. Ultimately, the wages of those colleagues come out of our tuition payments, so in effect, they work for the students. Simple math reveals that we are paying for lessons that do not get taught, we are not receiving a lot for our money. Another question that arises in my mind is: Would this excuse work for students? Does this mean that not coming to class is optional if the yellow lot nearest your class is filled? Even the nearest lot can be quite a hike for students.
It is truly a disaster that the staff cannot park within fifty yards of the buildings where they work. Maybe they can take a lesson from the students who have faced this issue for years, and either ride a bicycle, buy a bus pass, park and ride pass, or (heaven forbid) walk.
Robert Allison Lawrence senior
Silence not an option to stop discrimination
Perspective
A tat baseball game a couple months ago, I was offended. One of the three middle-aged, white men sitting behind me made a racial slur about a player — loud and clear.
At first I was angry and wanted to turn around and give him a dirty look or ask him if
but any idea of now ignorant that statement made him sound. I wanted to let him know I was not only offended but embarrassed to share a skin color with him.
But I didn't.
When I stopped to think about it, I told myself that this stranger could have a gun or violent tendencies toward women. I told myself that any comment I made would not change his mind, but only bring about a confrontation. In essence.
Jenny Oakson columnist opinion @ kanan.com
1 sold out my conscience for fear of an awkward situation.
This encounter was not the first of its kind. I can recall several instances in which someone's speech offended me, whether it was Grandpa's side comment about homosexuals or a friend of a friend of a friend telling an off-color joke in my living room. I am ashamed of the silence I have demonstrated, because silence often is mistaken for agreement. Believing in something is not solely contained within the folds of my brain — it should be reflected in what comes out of my mouth, as well.
I would never want to censor these racist or discriminating comments. As a journalist, our First Amendment right is sacred to me. But I seem to be at a loss for courage to exercise my own right to retort with a counter-opinion. If I express that I am offended, am I stopping
racism or merely removing it from my earshot? Does leaving the conversation show enough of my distaste or am I hiding from an uncomfortable situation?
Especially painful is when discrimination hits close to home. My friends and family make up the group that I would assume knows me best. When a friend confides in me her grotesque, racist opinions (usually finding false security in that she and I are both white, heterosexual women), I am offended to be included in a "safe to be a racist around" category. I also find myself looking for a delicate approach to a not-so-delicate issue.
In the past, I've tried to present the differing opinion or announcement that a certain phrase is offensive and that only led to long, hopeless debates, a quick cover-up like "My best friend is Black or gay or Hispanic" or the other person telling me not to be so politically correct or that I don't understand because of his personal experience.
well, I'm not in the honors program, but I think I understand discrimination and no matter how much someone or their ancestors has been oppressed, I feel that hate, and hating an entire group, is wrong.
But I usually keep my mouth shut. I usually cringe or roll my eyes, without calling someone on his or her racist remark. Because of people like myself, individuals who say racist or discriminating remarks are led to think that it is a unanimous sentiment among others of the same religion, color or sexual preference, and I hate the thought of that.
Now, I think of my responsibility, not to society or minorities, but to myself. For the first time, I realize that no awkward moment can ever be as discomforting as betraying the most important person in my life — myself.
Oakson is an Overland Park senior in journalism.
Homelessness survives despite bustling economy
No matter what the outcome of the race for president, most of the residents of Pennsylvania Avenue won't change in November 2000.
I am speaking of the thousands of men, women and children who make their homes on the streets of Washington every night. In our capital city, these victims of the social disease of poverty huddle around heat grates for warmth at night, and they eat from the dumpsters of our grand government buildings during the day. They find themselves victims of sweeps by the
police, who scatter their meager belongings, intimidate them and drive them off without cause.
The intensity of poverty in Washington may have been what drew me to the city this summer, where I was an intern at the largest homeless shelter in the United States. I wanted to help people, and the 1,300 homeless people at the Community for Creative Non-Violence shelter all were in dire need.
My work consisted of two months in the section for
Chris
Hess
guest columnist
opinion@kansan.com
nonlemy men older than 50 with physical disabilities. I lived in the shelter, sleeping hours that even a college student would find unusual, working all-night shifts and returning to bed at 9 a.m. Whether I was sorting through rent receipts of a wrongly evicted elderly man, calling an ambulance for a resident who could not breathe or listening to the stories of former business owners whose illnesses cost them everything, I was overwhelmed by the toll of poverty on the human spirit.
One man on my floor, James, was a professional boxer during the same era as Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. But he spent most of the 1970s and '80s in prison on a drug-related charge, then emerged to be one of the founders of the CCNV shelter. He had an apartment and a hotel job until 1988, when he had a heart attack. Although he survived, he was unable to work and became one of the residents at the shelter he helped create. James became like a grandfather to me, giving me tips on working with the homeless and sharing his experiences. His embarrassment about his situation was obvious, and he longed for an employer who would overlook his medical condition and criminal background.
Another man, Charles, was once a computer programmer until alcoholism cost him his job. He often sleeps on a corner that the president's limousine passes on its way to church. When I asked him what he would say to the president if he got a chance, he said, "I would tell him we are dying out here. I would tell him we want to live."
If you want to learn more about Jubilee Cafe and other ways to combat homelessness in Lawrence, please call me or Jennifer Bacani at the Center for Community Outreach office, 864-4073. Whether you serve food or do another type of volunteer work, your service will benefit you, as well as people such as James and Charles who need someone who cares.
A report released by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities indicates that we may see more people on the streets. The report showed that the incomes of the bottom 20 percent of female-headed families, who are highly susceptible to homelessness already, fell an average of $880 between 1995 and 1997. Even in a robust economy, welfare reform has left families with declining incomes and fewer options. Unexpected situations like a job layoff or medical expense could make the streets the only option.
Hess is a Wichita senior in social welfare and co-director of Jubilee Cafe.
To work on the problem of homelessness, you do not need to travel to Washington. I invite you to join the volunteers of the Jubilee Cafe, a student-organized breakfast kitchen for the homeless in Lawrence. There you will have the opportunity to cook food, and most importantly, build relationships with the 50-100 poor and homeless guests in the restaurant-style setting. Volunteers do not just provide food, which nourishes the body, they also provide the dignity and respect that nourishes the heart and soul.
People like Charles and James certainly are not alone. Even in Lawrence, between 150 and 300 people are homeless at any time.
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Broaden your mind: Today's quote
"In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these." —Paul Harvey