4A
Wednesday, August 23, 1995
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
THE ISSUE: SHANNON FAULKNER
Citadel isn't off the hook
After more than two years in the headlines, Shannon Faulkner's battle to attend The Citadel is over. And her attempts to open a door for women has ended in a rude celebration and feelings of frustration.
Faulkner's decision to drop out of The Citadel after participating in only a few hours of the so-called freshman "Hell Week" is disappointing to say the least. She should be commended and admired for her struggle to be the first woman allowed to attend the military school. And she should have realized the difficulty that would lie ahead.
There is no doubt that Faulkner was unprepared for the challenges. She had 21/2 years to prepare herself mentally and physically for the rigorous activities that she knew her enrollment at The Citadel would require. She
Faulkner's flight should not be an excuse to deny women admission to the all-male institution that receives state funds
paved the way for women's admission to The Citadel, but she failed in the long run.
The question now is, will The Citadel use Faulkner's lack of success in its program as an excuse to deny acceptance to other female applicants?
From the highly publicized reactions of male cadets, the answer appears to be yes. Her legal battle against the allmale regulations was a victory, but it is a shame that she fell short of her goal.
Many people, especially women, were counting on her success to open opportunities in the spectrum of all-male education.
Faulkner's lack of preparation is disappointing to see in the first female cadet at The Citadel.
TARA FITZPATRICK FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE ISSUE: ATLETES AS ROLE MODELS
Athletic criminals profit
America is a strange land where one can get away with almost any atrocious crime and make money doing it, as long as the criminal is an athlete.
The latest example is Mike Tyson, who made $25 million after slapping around Peter McNeeley Saturday.
People should be able to pursue any occupation that they are qualified for once they get out of jail. But it is disconcerting that there is there a market for a convicted rapist to make close to $25 million in one fell swoop. Many argue that once criminals have served time, they have paid their debt, but to receive millions for beating on someone
This is the same guy who went to prison a little more than four years ago on a rape conviction. Yet more than one million households paid $50 each to see Tyson box on pay-per-view.
Americans' obsessive need for heroes leads us to ignore athletes' negative actions and add to their wealth and glory
after you've been convicted of rape is madness.
To the American public, heroes are heroes, no matter if they rape, beat people to a bloody pulp or murder. We love our athletes, and morality isn't even a consideration.
We are so insecure that we need someone to look up to and put on a pedestal by buying the same underwear, cars or whatever they endorse.
If O.J. Simpson were the average American, he would have been tarred and feathered publicly by now. He wouldn't be sitting in the courtroom.
Some people can get away with anything in this country. But don't try it at home unless you have a commercial endorsement.
IAN RITTER FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Robert Tapley / KANSAN
Awareness is crucial to rape prevention
My first semester at the University of Kansas, I was an 18-yearold country boy going to classes with more people than lived in my hometown.
It was a little overwhelming at first, but I quickly grew to love the freedom. I found friends who partied, and I began drinking too much. Usually I would spend the night where I passed out.
I was free, and I enjoyed it to hedonistic excess.
Fortunately, I am male. The only thing I had to worry about during these binges was how to explain my calculus grade to my parents.
Even worse, according to Carolyn Levy, author of "The Date Rape Play," only 27 percent of
According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, rape happens 282 times a day. Or once every five minutes.
Women don't have that freedom. They live in a world in which the fear of rape is mirrored in the eyes of every male they meet.
And these are just the rapes that are reported. Most aren't. According to the National Women's Study (1992), only one-sixth of rapes ever reach police department records, making the yearly total closer to 640,000.
the women whose assaults meet the legal definition of rape consider themselves rape victims.
In 1994, KU police recorded four rapes on campus. Adjusting for the women who didn't realize that
they had been raped or chose not to report it, that figure could be 72. In the same year, the city of Lawrence had 26 reported rapes. Adjusted, the number could be closer to 468.
STAFF COLUMNIST
Furthermore, four of five victims know and trust their assailants. All four rapes at KU were acquaintance rapes, and all four occurred in campus living quarters. That is scary.
It's not the man in a ski mask hiding behind a car who a woman must look out for. It's not the man who breaks into the house. It is the one that a woman has been seeing for two weeks or the one who sits behind her in class. It's the sweet boy with the pretty eyes who calls the next morning and asks about her
hangover.
And that is what makes date rape so hard to believe. The fact that a trusted friend or acquaintance could violate a woman in such a hateful manner is unbelievable at first. But believe it. Call it rage.
There are no gray areas when it comes to rape. Once someone says "no" or "stop," all sexual activity must end —even when naked, kissing and inches away from consummation. Rape doesn't require overt force or physical violence. Force, coercion, and being unable to legally consent either through intoxication or other mental incapacity also are legal grounds for rape charges. No one ever deserves to be raped.
A woman always must be aware of the danger around her. Realize that nice guys rape, and that once they do, they are no longer nice guys.
Remember that certain situations increase the likelihood of an assault.
Have fun at KU this year, but be careful, and be aware that in the time it took to read this column, a woman was raped.
Todd Hattis is a Lawrence senior in social welfare.
HOW TO SUBMIT LETTERS OR GUEST COLUMNS
Opinion page encourages response from students
Two options are available for readers who wish to have their voices heard on the University Daily Kansan's opinion page. Writing letters or guest columns are the ways you can communicate your views and ideas to the Kansan.
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at the University and phone numbers.
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit or cut to length all submissions. We
also may choose not to publish some submissions.
If you have questions, call Heather Lawrenz, editorial editor, or Sarah Morrison, associate editorial editor, at 864-4810.
We encourage all readers to respond to news articles which appear in the Kansan, as well as columns and editorials. Your response is the best guide we have for determining how we are doing and making the Kansan as reader-friendly as possible.
KANSAN STAFF
This summer, however, was different. I realized that I had two choices: either become one of those people who never leaves her home because she fears everything or do something wild and crazy — something nobody would expect.
I moved down south in May, rented an apartment and enrolled in a few classes. Then I lived my summer, the best I could, with a Spanish vocabulary consisting of not much more than, "Donde esta el bano?" — "Where is the bathroom?"
I was alone for the first time in my whole life.
To my surprise, I survived. I didn't fall off a mountain or get struck by a large truck, causing me to lose my memory and live the rest of my life in Mexico. I passed the test. My test, provided, taken and graded by me.
The next day I bought a plane ticket to Guadalajara, Mexico.
When I was at the top of an Aztec pyramid looking out over the lush, green valley below me, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I didn't think about heights or falling. Instead, I thought about how I was lucky enough to have the chance to start over, to try to do things without fear, to become stronger without the help of others.
Every group of friends needs a worrier. Who else is going to remind them of the dangers and consequences of a few beers? But Mexico also helped me realize that many times my roles are chosen for me. Maybe that was the role my friends needed me to play. But being alone also helped me realize that I am able to play any role I need to.
might be funny to take me to the top and make me ski down. What came next was complete and utter humiliation. They got me up there, and I started to bowl hysterically, spitting out obsessions like a rock star.
Oh, I did go cliff-jumping once. I actually fell off the cliff trying to convince my friend not to jump. The whole plummet seemed like a never-ending flight as I prepared myself to go on living the rest of my life as a paraplegic. I'm still walking.
So, here's to Aspen on winter break! And, if you happen to be there and hear a faint scream of terror among the beauties of Colorado, don't worry. It is only me, trying my luck on the blacks, better yet, on the double diamond.
Amy McVey is an Oiathe sophomore in Journalism.
Thirty minutes later, I was glued to my friend's back with my eyes, embedded in her hood. I couldn't bare to watch as everyone saw me a 20-year-old woman, being carried down the mountain
COLLEEN MCCAIN
Editor
DAVID WILSON
Managing editor, news
ASHLEY MILLER
Managing editor, planning & design
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
I never have whizzed down a double-diamond ski slope, although last winter break I was persuaded to go sking with my two best friends
I am the person in my circle of friends known as "the warrier." I'm the one who stood on solid ground while every other friend, one by one, dove into the air with nothing more to secure them than bungee ropes tied to their ankles. I declined to participate because I was afraid
It was hot-chocolate city in the lodge for lonely me after that episode.
Worrier passes self-imposed survival test this summer
STAFF COLUMNIST
of breaking my back. I never have climbed a mountain for fear of taking a terrible spill off the side.
They thought it
Editors
CATHERINE ELLSWORTH
Technology coordinator
STEPHANIE UTLEY
Business manager
MATT SHAW
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JAY STEINER
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Editorial...Monster Lawsuits
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