4A
Monday, August 21, 1995
OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
THE ISSUE: FACULTY RAISES
Pay delay benefits students
Chancellor Hemenway and the administration have shown that students' interests are their first priority by choosing to defer faculty and staff salary increases temporarily to offset budget reductions.
The University of Kansas learned in mid-April that $3 million allocated for this school year was not available. Facing the decision of where the cuts were to come from and lacking time to make those choices before submitting the KU budget to the state legislature, the administration was forced to make some quick, tough decisions.
One choice to offset these cuts involved cutting classes and releasing staff and faculty. This choice would have created mass confusion for the students and hours of frustration as they scrambled for classes to replace those that had been canceled.
By choosing instead to defer faculty-salary increases, the administration not only made the
Deferment of faculty raises was a wise way to handle cuts without hurting students' educational experience
best decision it could, but it also honored the primary mission of the University: the education of the students.
This deferment answered only half of this year's budget shortfall, and in the coming semester, more drastic budget cuts may be needed.
In effect, these deferrals only buy time until those budget cuts will be made. Deferring faculty salary increases now allows time for future cuts to be wellstudied and wisely chosen, instead of quick sweeping changes.
The interests of the students were paramount in this decision-making process.
Hopefully, making student interests a priority will be a trend during Hemenway's administration.
KELLY DIETRICH FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Club should be option
THE ISSUE: CLOTHING OPTIONAL BAR
Anyone who wants to socialize with other naked individuals now has a place to congregate. Like any other flamboyant gimmick, NiteOwls deserves its chance to fail.
Lawrence's first and only clothing-optional public gathering sight revealed itself over the summer. NiteOwls, 804 W. 24th St., offers patrons the opportunity to mingle with those 18 and older in an atmosphere in which clothes are only required to get in the door. Clothes may not be necessary, but people who want to drink must bring their own alcoholic beverages.
Should the residents of Lawrence be exposed to naked people cavorting behind closed doors? If people want to relax in the nude, so be it.
Perhaps the club even will find its own little niche in this college town. If so, it should not
Clothing-optional gathering spot has right to exist if responsible about its atmosphere
be denied its place in the community, as long as the nudity remains within the walls of the club, and a nonsexual atmosphere is maintained. Customers should be responsible enough to socialize in the nude.
Responsibility is the key to NiteOwls' success. If patrons can control themselves, both with nudity and alcohol consumption, they can wear as much or as little as they choose within the club's bare confines.
NiteOwls may be a brief fad, but it should not be denied existence because some people disapprove. People who do not want to fraternize in the buff can keep their pants on and avoid NiteOwls.
MATT FEY FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
COLLEEN MCCAIN
Editor
DAVID WILSON
Managing editor, news
ASHLEY MILLER
Managing editor, planning & design
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
CATHERINE ELLSWORTH
Technology coordinator
STEPHANIE UTLEY
Business manager
MATT SHAW
Retail sales manager
JAY STEINER
Sales and marketing adviser
Editors
Howe & Spoal Sections...Deedre Allison
Editorial...Heather Lawrenc
Associate Editorial...Sarah Morrison
Campus...Virginia Mugelman
Campus...Kenny Mugelman
Associate Campus...Paul Todd
Sporte...Jenni Carlson
Associate Sports...Tom Hale
Associate...Paul Kotz
Wise...Robert Allen
Business Staff
Robert Tapley / KANSAN
Compete mgr ... Meredith Hennling
Regional mgr ... Tom DeLeon
National mgr ... Neother Barnea
Special Sections mgr ... Heather Nishianu
Production mgr ... Melanie Pine
Kristen Nya
Marketing director ... Konan Naucer
Public Relations director ... Beth Cattill
Communications manager ... Classified mgr ... Heather Valle
Kansan to go on-line improve communication
Bill gets tough on tobacco
As a new semester begins, so begins a new University Daily Kansan.
Granted, many aspects of the Kansan remain the same over time, but each semester a new staff with new ideas takes over the helm of the Kansan. Our common goal, though, remains the same: to provide our readers with an informative, fair and accurate newspaper.
I also encourage readers to call me with any comments or concerns about the Kansan. If we make a mistake, please tell me. We can't correct our faults if readers remain silent.
cation between the Kansan and the campus community will improve this semester. Unfortunately, there is no way for me to know what every KU student likes and dislikes about the Kansan. But I want to know more about what KU students are reading in the Kansan. This semester, I plan to schedule focus groups with students to discuss what they would like to read about. I hope this will give us ideas about how to serve our readers better.
I think that the Kansan has been a strong newspaper in the past. And I hope that we can improve upon that this semester.
I can be reached at the Kansan newsroom every day of the week at 864-4810.
Our readers should expect a high-quality product each morning when they pick up the Kansan. I will do my best this semester to deliver that to the newsstands.
I know that the Kansan isn't perfect and that we sometimes make mistakes. But I believe the Kansan serves a purpose and provides a needed service. If I didn't, I wouldn't spend the majority of my waking hours in the newsroom.
Colleen McCain is a Salina senior majoring in journalism.
This is my sixth semester as a Kansan staff member. During the past five semesters, I have come to appreciate the Kansan's strengths and also to recognize its weaknesses.
Welcome to the Fall 1995 opinion page. This semester promises to be an exciting one for the page. We have assembled a talented staff who will offer opinions on campus and community issues, as well as relevant national issues.
To accomplish this, we will make some changes this semester.
KANSAN EDITOR
Students encouraged to join Kansan staff
We will launch an on-line version of the Kansan. This electronic newspaper will feature campus news, photos, sports and editorials. Readers will be able to get the same information available in the traditional Kansan
and also will have the opportunity to communicate with Kansan staff members through e-mail.
The Kansan Correspondents program will be expanded this semester. Kansan Correspondents is a group that allows all students - including freshmen, sophomores and nonjournalism students - a chance to learn about and work for the Kansan. This will allow more students to become involved with the newspaper and will allow us to cover more campus groups and events.
In the past there has been some confusion about how the opinion page works. Let me clear this up for you.
Finally, I hope that communi-
FROM THE EDITORIAL EDITOR
The editorial board is composed of about 15 people from a cross section of the campus, most of whom are not journalism students. The board is not comprised of Kansan news staff members. Last spring we took applications from students and hired 10 editorial board members based on writing samples and an interview. We are
searching for more editorial board members to ensure the best representation of students and opinions. The board meets twice a week to discuss possible editorial topics. The board decides which issues to address on the page and then votes on what side or angle the board will take on any particular issue. A majority vote wins. Each board member has a vote, as well as the associate editorial editor and the Kansan editor. The editorial editor only votes in the case of a tie. After the editorial has been researched and edited, it runs in the paper.
Columnists also are chosen from the student population on the basis of writing samples and an interview. They have more freedom in what they write, but
they still must do considerable research and go through the editing process. Currently, we have 10 columnists and would like to hire at least five more.
In addition, we will publish cartoons by six talented artists
We encourage you to apply for positions as columnists or as editorial board members. Applications will be available soon. For more information, please call me at the Kansan newsroom: 864-4810. We also encourage you to write letters to us if you would like to share your opinion with the student body.
We hope that you will enjoy this semester's opinion page.
Heather Lawnz is a Wollertle senior
majoring in Journalism.
In a nation obsessed with sex, the vast majority of the American public refuses to view the naked human body any other way than sexually. Here, nudity equals sex.
Misconception about nudity causes fear of NiteOwls club
So, it's no surprise that city commissioners are scrambling to close
the doors on NiteOwls, the first clothing-optional club in Lawrence.
STAFF COLUMNIST
NiteOwls, 804 W. 24th, opened July 27 as a B.Y.O.B. club with live bands, pool tables and a jukebox. Patrons lined up on opening night to visit the new club. Though most
onlookers remained clothed, a few customers bared all.
Meanwhile, city commissioners searched for any law that the club's owner, Jeff Wallace, may have been violating.
The commissioners' attorney studied three city ordinances in search of a violation. One ordinance prohibits the sale of liquor in businesses that feature nudity; another ordinance prohibits indecent exposure; and one ordinance regulates sexually oriented nudity.
Wallace is not violating the liquor law because no alcohol is actually sold in the club, but unfortunately, city commissioners may win if they can categorize the club's nudity as sexually oriented.
Although the club does not feature nude dancers, I expect Lawrence residents to view the club as sexually oriented. We are mired in our puritanical roots. Unlike our progressive European counterparts, we can't seem to distinguish between a pure display of the human form in its natural state and a sleazy strip tease.
Our society won't allow people to appreciate the human body without associating it with sex, and our commercial, sex-sells culture has taught us to exploit the appreciation we do have.
This mind-set, coupled with our unwillingness and our inability to properly address sexual issues results in a strange paradox.
Children grow up surrounded by sexual images on television, on billboards and in their own homes but never really are taught how to deal with those images. The result is sexually crazed, irresponsible adults whom commissioners and ordinances have to reteach.
Unfortunately, this club probably will fall victim to the Lawrence City Commission's misguided lesson. It's going to take a lot more than one clothing-optional club in a Midwestern college town to wake up America to the reality that secrecy about sex and snickering about nudity breed curiosity, confusion and promiscuity in every American citizen.
Wallace and all the nudists in the world won't change that.
Nicole Kennedy is a Overland Park junior majoring in Journalism.
How to submit letters and guest columns
All letter and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject submissions. Call Heather Lahrenz, editorial page editor, or Sarah Morrison, associate editorial page editor, at 864-4810 with any questions.
HUBIE
By Greg Hardin