Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
4A
Julie Wood, Editor
Laura Roddy, Managing editor
Cory Graham, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser
Brandi Byram, Business manager
Shauntae Blue, Retail sales manager
Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser
Scott Valler, Technology coordinator
Thursday, September 9, 1999
Jamie Patterson / KANSAN
Editorials
Brown Bear petition an example of student influence in Lawrence
Students are vital to the Lawrence community and should not hesitate to voice their opinions. In a good example of a group speaking out, University of Kansas College Republicans informed the City Commission last night that KU students were upset with the recent decision to revoke the Brown Bear's liquor license.
The College Republicans took a 727 signature petition to the City Commission at the commission's meeting last night.
Brown Bear was closed for a weekend for failing to comply with a 1994 zoning ordinance that requires new establishments downtown to sell more food than alcohol.
Casey Connealy, College Republicans treasurer, said Brown Bear was a good local business. In the
Students need to make sure they make their voices heard on Lawrence issues
last two years, Brown Bear has been cited for only two minor in possession violations, Ryan Rodenburg, coowner, told College Republicans.
Connelly said the City Commission could have warned Brown Bear and given it more time to come into compliance with the ordinance instead of revoking its liquor license.
"We see this as a blatant overstepping of commission powers, by saying whether a business can or can't sell alcohol," Connealy said.
Brown Bear formed a new corporation to reapply for a liquor license with the state. However, a new liquor
license requires compliance city certified zoning.
The College Republicans petition stated that they disapproved and thought the City Commission acted improperly when enforcing the ordinance and that the city should certify to the state that Brown Bear was properly zoned.
Political organizations tend to take a stand in big issues that are far away, when their real influence is on local issues. Connealy said College Republicans took this stand because it held with the principles of the group here in Lawrence.
Students do have clout in local politics and should continue to speak out. A petition is only one way for groups and individuals to get involved. Local politics will benefit from student input, as will the students.
Katrina Hull for the editorial board
Modest park development needed
Three weeks ago, Lieutenant Governor Gary Sherrer and the state secretary of wildlife and parks announced that they had selected Clinton Lake State Park to contain Kansas' first park resort. The plan for the $21.8 million resort includes a 150-bed hotel, tennis courts, a swimming pool and fitness center.
The time has come for a resort of this kind in Kansas. The state will benefit from an increase in tourism dollars, and the boost to Kansas' public image is sorely needed.
It should also be a good deal for tax-
navers, who likely won't have to pick
New resort at Clinton state park is needed, but builders must not hurt the environment
up the tab. Sherrer said that he expected the resort to be built with private funds raised by the developer.
Of course, it will be up to the developers to design the resort in a way that doesn't unduly disturb the natural environment. However, it is worth noting that Clinton Lake is completely man-made, it was dammed by the U. S.
Army Corps of Engineers. Nonetheless, this resort needn't destroy the environment if it's done responsibly.
A representative for the Sierra Club and Kansas Natural Resource Council said that the development hadn't been of concern to environmentalists.
That said, it's important that during construction, every step is taken not to upset the ecological balance of the park.
If the resort is built correctly, it will make Kansas and Lawrence more attractive to visitors and businesses.
Jennifer Roush for the editorial board
Feedback Columnist wrong about WNBA should go to women's games
It was with considerable surprise that I read Derek Prater's column. It came two days after I had watched three consecutive WNBA games to sold-out houses, televised on national TV. The games were terrific, especially the last-minute half-court shot that won the second game for the NY Liberty and necessitated a third game. It never occurred to me that a low-scoring game, as a result of terrific defense, would be criticized. As a matter of fact, I have oftentimes wondered why so
Be this as it may, it seems obvious that Derek Prater does not like to watch and does not appreciate the skills of women basketball players. Why he would want to spend the time to write about it is not clear to me. He presented evidence that indicates that other people are excited about it, e.g. high attendance at the WNBA games, John Wooden's comments.
many of the NBA teams do not show any defensive efforts--or cannot play defense.
Come to the first 5 KU home games (free to KU students), sit behind the KU bench, and keep an open mind. THEN tell me what you saw. I bet
I'd like to suggest the following to Derek:
that you will get excited by Lynn Pride's atheticism, Jaclyn Johnson's and Nicky White's defenses, Suzi Raymant's 3-pointers (and those of several others), Brooke Reves' intensity, and Jennifer Jackson's pull-up jumpers. Not to mention the play of the other students. As for me, I find slam-dunks boring, but that is personal preference. I do not feel a need however, to condemn all men who perform them. Don't do it with the women either. It is unkind, and you are behind the times.
Renate R. Mai-Dalton
Associate Professor
School of Business
**Letterers.** Should be double-spaced type and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
How to submit letters and guest columns
Guest columns: Should be double-spaced typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Staffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Chad Bettes or Seth Helfman at 864-4924.
The American Civil Liberties Union can, I think, be called the nagging parent of democracy. The advice and orders it peppers us with are given with our best interests at heart, often should be followed and leave us better off than we were before. But they're still really annoying to listen to.
If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4924.
Perspective
This seals it,ACLU should find a new fight
Since their mandate pretty much demands that they go against the majority in defense of the rights of the minority, it's not surprising that they irritate people. But we're a better nation for them; the thorn in our side that keeps reminding us of how fragile a thing freedom is, how easily opinion can strip people of their constitutional rights.
Mike
Loader
columnist
opinionkansas.com
violation of the separation of church and state strikes me as absurd.
That said, the notion that the University's seal is a
Does this make the seal a religious design? No The mere presence of a theological figure or entity does not make a seal, document or work of art religious. The KU ACLU should know this, especially since its parent group is somewhat of an expert of the topic of church/state law.
Yes, the seal has Moses and the burning bush on the cover. Yes, Moses is viewed as a religious figure by several major world religions. And, yes, there's a Bible verse as the motto.
Let's look at the American Medical Association, for example. That group's logo contains the serpent-stick of Aesculapius, a demigod of Greek myth. Does this make the AMA an advocate of the Olympian religion? Does it imply that its members should worship Apollo? Of course not; it simply uses a symbol from a vivid and famous belief system to illustrate its mission.
Moses appears in Mel Brooks' movie History of the World, and God makes an appearance in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I don't think anyone, even the KU ACLU after several hours of drinking, would view them as being religious films. The use and intent of the figure is what matters, not the source of it.
I now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt," say the words upon the seal in Latin, quoting Exodus 3:3. The meaning is clear with a little thought; we turn aside on our life's path, stopping at KU to see our own great sight, to have the flame of knowledge illuminate us. (Well, and to get our degrees so we can make big bucks.)
The founders of the University were men drawing on a Judeo-Christian heritage, and it is only natural that they would pick a symbol with which they were familiar.
The seal calls us to seek knowledge. It does so in the words, phrases and symbols of an age now gone, but that makes the seal all the more precious, all the more valuable to us. We are the inheritors of more than one hundred years of the best of Kansas — a fire, a light a great force of civilization. Those who turned aside here worked under that seal, and left richer in spirit. It is folly to throw it away.
Can anyone really suggest that the seal promotes religion? I think not. It does not urge us to seek God, or Jesus, or morality, or purity. It advocates knowledge, as the seal of a university should.
Defense of our freedoms is a noble goal, and I applaud the members of the KU ACLU for their interest and commitment to it. But, at the same time, I suggest that they've picked a really silly and inoffensive target.
For years — even back in the days when religion in the schools was mandatory — the
Here's a word of advice. Leave our seal alone, and turn your efforts towards the real danger to separation of church and state — the Kansas Board of Education.
Loader is a Henderson, Nev. junior in journalism.
University seal has been interpreted as showing the seeker after knowledge.
If this is really Kansas, where are the munchkins?
M roommate, Jennifer, just could not believe it. "What kind of American are you? You've got to be kidding. You've never seen The Wizard of Oz?"
Yes, I knew the basic story-line. Girl gets caught in a gust of wind, dances around with some midgets, skips around on a yellow brick
I admit it. Until last weekend, I had been a Munchkinland virgin. It wasn't like I had never had the opportunity to partake in the glories of flying monkeys. It's just that the magic of Dorothy's dustbowl doesn't hold any appeal with most Californians.
Elizabeth Peacock columnist nonion@kansan.com
road, meets some strange friends, and is finally sent home when she dowses a witch with a bucket of H<sub>2</sub>O.
I had seen snippets of the Emerald City, had heard Judy Garland's Over the Rainbow, and had seen the wicked Witch's evaporization. I had just never seen the movie from opening credits to closing scene, from the sepia-colored western Kansas farm to the psychedelic rainbows of Oz and back again.
Kansas appeals to so many people. (And is run on a nationwide television network every Thanksgiving, as I've heard so frequently late.) I guess it's because Kansas is the heart of America-geographically, economically, ideologically and even culturally. It's the movie that all Americans attribute to Kansas, as well as stereotype it as and, well, is about the only thing anybody ever thinks of when you say "Kansas." Well, that and basketball. According to my father, The Wizard of Oz is the story of Kansas
I wonder why Dorothy's
There's a character for everyone. The Scarecrow belongs to those with low self-esteem and self-confidence; the Cowardly Lion is for
those who are afraid to take risks, afraid to confront danger, or are just plain afraid. The Tin Man is there for those who think they have no compassion, who feel an emptiness inside, who feel utterly alone; and the Wizard lets us all know that while sometimes success seems accidental and undeserved, it isn't.
As we travel with Dorothy and Toto, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man, we discover that what they sought they already possessed. All they needed was a chance to discover these hidden talents, these newfound identities, and a concrete reminder in case they ever forgot. A medal, a diploma, a heart pocketwatch, and a pair of sequined shoes.
And then there is Dorothy with her jerry little Toto who is just lost, just hoping to find adventure and then hoping to find her way back home, back to the place where she belongs. Her story may belong to Kansas, but Dorothy's dreams belong to all. Their journey is our journey; their pain, our pain; their hopes and our hopes are one in the same.
And although Dorothy proclaims that she is "not gonna leave [home] ever, ever again," it is in her journeying that she learns how much her home means to her. She has been forever changed by the experience.
But you can't truly go home again, Dorothy. It will never be quite the same. You will never be quite the same. You've learned that evil exists and that not all of it can be vanquished with a bucket of water. There will always be people willing to help you out (even if it means they want something in return). The dusty and desolate farm just seems so lifeless compared to the greens and yellows of Oz. There is an enormous, wondrous, frightening, exciting world outside of Uncle Henry and Auntie Em's Kansas. And it takes more than a pair of slippers to bring you back.
Peacock is a Newark, Calif. junior in anthropology and political science.
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Broaden your mind: Today's quote "Whenever you have an efficient government,you have a dictatorship." Harry S. Truman
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