The University Daily Kansan emphasizes the First Amendment:
The First Amendment:
ment of religion,
the freedom of speech,
to assemble.
press; petition
MYERS: Business owners, not the city of Lawrence, should decide whether to allow or prohibit smoking in their bars and restaurants. See kansan.com for more opinions and Free for All comments
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14,2006 WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 7A
OUR VIEW
The business, which has been open for seven years, has not negatively affected the community and has continued to comply with the city. The city certainly has a right to rezone the business but must do so in a way that works for both parties.
City should compromise with bawdy boutique
OPINION
Osburn said that even before he opened the business he checked several times with City Hall to find out about any regulations. He received no complaints from City Hall until 2000 when a law was discovered that shops like his were required to be located on a state highway.
Those searching for late-night fun at Naughty But Nice may notice something odd about the store. It resembles more of an office supply store than an adult novelty store.
To remain at the 1741 Massachusetts St. location, storeowner Richard Osburn has replaced some of his adult products with rubber bands, paper clips and cheap books to comply with a city ordinance that requires a certain percentage of the store's sales to be of a nonadult nature. This has yet to satisfy the city, however, continuing to hit Osburn in the pocketbook and leaving him outraged.
"They don't have to agree with my business, but they should agree with my fairness," Osburn said.
In July of 2000, the city gave
him five years to relocate or close his doors. Still today he fights with the city. This past March he appeared before the board of zoning and appeals after threats to relocate the business.
In a six-to-one ruling, the board ruled it did not have the power to allow the city to rezone the store.
The fight that Osburn has put up is one that could be avoided. He said he doesn't mind moving, but with strict guidelines regarding where he can and can't move and other variables, moving will cost him even more money.
The city has intentionally tried to run Osburn out of business by placing strict rules and causing him to spend $6,000 in lawyer fees.
While the city continues to flex its muscles, Osburn said he would continue to fight for his rights, as he should.
"It's sad that it comes to this"
he said.
Osburn makes a good point when he says that if there weren't a market for his store he wouldn't be in business. While the city may not like the name of the store, the products that it sells or its location, the city must find a compromise to a situation that has dragged on far too long.
Louis Mora for the editorial board.
》 INVITATION
Alcohol-free can be fun
But what you may not know is that this flier for Rock Chalk Responsible Choices is, in every way, about you.
I'm sure you saw me passing out little blue fliers on Wescoe Beach over the past few days. (I'll give you a second to dig that piece of paper out of the bottom of your book bag.) I'm also sure you were irritated having to deal with another solicitation on campus.
Tonight is the kickoff event for Rock Chalk Responsible Choices, beginning at 7:00 pm in Budall Hall. RC-squared, as it's more commonly known, began when the NCAA provided KU with a grant to promote responsible decision making at the University.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Sitting in Budig listening to a lecture on the benefits of being alcohol-free is not an ideal Thursday. And in many cases you would be right.
However, I would not have stood in sandals on Wescoe in what felt
like 40-degree fall weather for something that I didn't believe would be beneficial for you. The purpose of this event is to promote responsible choices, not self-denial.
Highlights will include a presentation by women's basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson and chances to win free stuff.
That's right, I said it ... free! A word every college student loves.
But that's not all. The largest group in attendance will win an alcohol-free tailgate before the football game against South Florida.
You will also all have a chance to win an exclusive VIP experience at Late Night in the Phog.
So come. Bring a friend. Bring all your friends. Make new random acquaintances and bring them, because who wouldn't want to win free stuff?
Chelsey Pryor
Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC)
I just got high with the delivery guy from Gumby's.
Smoking ban ignores business owners'rights
To the girl who was wearing her pants so low she had pubic hairs coming out of the top: you just made me throw up.
COMMENTARY
Freedom is under attack in Lawrence, and it's disturbing that no one seems to care. College students are supposed to want to protect our freedoms above all else. But, if anything, most people are joining in on the attack and denigrating those who stand against it.
The attack I speak of is the ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. Advocates of the smoking ban characterize bar owners as money-hungry capitalists and smokers as gluttonies, neither of whom are willing to allow health-conscious nonsmokers to eat their meals in peace. An editorial in Monday's Kansan implied that there was no difference between allowing people to smoke in public places and allowing "a person to urinate in your beverage without your consent." This is a wildly inaccurate view of the situation.
For any business to succeed, it has to be able to make its customers happy. A business allows people to smoke because it's the best way for the business to make money. If a local bar or restaurant got more customers by banning smoking, it would ban smoking. But any Lawrence restaurant that allowed smoking before the ban did so because it made more money that way.
Many people have suggested that the best way to think of capitalism is as economic democracy. Your money is your "vote," and the businesses with the most votes get to keep running. Those bars that
Come on Free for All. You
BY VINCE MYERS
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
allowed smoking before the ban did so because it gained them more votes. The freedom to gain those votes however a bar or restaurant owner wishes — by banning smoking or by allowing smoking — was an important freedom, as we can see from the dissatisfaction of the bar owners who want that freedom back.
It's also very important to realize that these businesses are privately owned, and decisions should be made by the owners. The idea that a bar allowing smoking is akin to someone "urinating in your beverage without your consent" is absurd. Giving private business owners the ability to make their own decisions is a fundamental freedom. If you feel that someone smoking in a bar is like someone urinating in your drink, then act accordingly: Stop patronizing that bar. If enough people feel that way, the bar will close down or change its ways. But if more people enjoy urinating in beverages, or in this case, smoking in bars, and the owners consent, then its wrong to stop them.
FREE FOR ALL
Proponents of the smoking ban seem to believe that they have
Call 864-0500
Unfortunately, this isn't the case. Bar owners who simply want to make their own decisions about their own private businesses are villed. The Kansan editorial said that Dennis Steffes, owner of Coyote's and Last Call, was pursuing a "selfish" cause in his effort to be allowed to make his customers happy and earn a living. I'll concede that fighting for one's own freedom might be selfish, but I don't believe that makes it evil or wrong.
a right to eat on someone else's property free from smoke. That shouldn't be the case. If you went to someone's house and asked to smoke, and the house owner agreed, you should both be free to stand by those decisions, whether or not it made a third party upset. For the government to say that consenting adults can't make their own economic decisions is a restriction of freedom, plain and simple, and should be recognized as such.
It worries me that the same student body that will scream about the "freedom" to abort a baby or the "freedom" to check out bomb-making books at the library without government intrusion will so gleefully withhold the freedom to run a private business. I would hope that Lawrence residents would recognize that government intrusion into making a living is not noble, and protecting one's freedoms is not selfish.
Myers is an Olatte junior in economics and political science.
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Standerous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
This cigarette tastes like a cigarette.
haven't given me a comment in the paper all year. Come on, throw me a bone here.
have to stare at me.
Last night I had a sex with a woman.
Did anyone see the guy puking in front of Budig 120 today? What a
champion
I want to give a shout out to the snotty chick in my TML class: I think your eyebrow look like Andy
To the kid who got hit in the chest by a hot dog on game day last Saturday; how does it feel?
Don't be a fool, wear a helmet
Roofley
COMMENTARY
BY ABBY HUGHES
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINIONKANSAN.COM
Just because I'm sitting by my eating lunch doesn't mean you
Everybody should chip in a dollar to pay for the Steve Irwin Avenging Murder Fund.
Americans are superficial; we all know that. We live in a capitalist society where money is key and sex sells. So what's new? How about this: Superficiality apparently has become so prevalent that "peer disapproval and discomfort" were two of the top reasons why college-aged bicyclists don't wear helmets, according to a 2005 article in the Journal of American College Health.
As exaggerated of an outcome as this may seem, it happens more frequently than you might think. In 2005 alone,784 bicyclists died on US roads. Two-thirds of these deaths were related to severe brain injury and up to 88 percent could have been prevented with the proper use of a helmet, according to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute. In fact, in 97 percent of bicyclist deaths, a helmet wasn't worn, according to a Bicycle Retailer and Industry News article.
I purchased a bike this semester for my sole means of transportation. My friends, classmates and co-workers' first question for me was, predictably, "did you buy a helmet?" When I responded yes, my initial embarrassment passed. Instead, I was flooded with wonder as each person in turn responded with laughter and jokes. After a few such encounters, I started to wonder why everyone is so concerned about people, especially adults, taking a safety precaution in a situation that could potentially lead to brain injury or death.
The purpose of the study that named "peer disapproval and discomfort" as the main reasons for college students not wearing helmets was to come up with a marketing strategy to make helmet-wearing "socially acceptable" within this peer group. The conclusion of this study, taken on a campus in the Southeastern United States, was that a sassy slogan such as "The Grateful Head" and commitment from other bikers on campus to use helmets was necessary in order to change the habits of non-wearers. Is our generation so dependent upon others' ill-based judgments that we will not look out for out own well being? Apparently so.
The same study showed that 18 percent of the college bikers interviewed had been hospitalized for biking injuries. "All it takes is one fall to suffer a serious head injury. That is why even the most accomplished riders wear helmets," said Linda Armstrong Kelly, mother of Lance Armstrong, in the same Bicycle Retailer and Industry News article.
Save the superficialities for the outfit you wear crashing the house party on Friday or the Northface you sport once the crisp October air hits. If you ride a bike, get a helmet. Better to safely embrace socially unacceptable accessories than to be scraped off the sidewalk. Rock the helmet.
》 TALK TO US
Hughes is a Saint Louis Junior in journalism.
Jonathan Keating, editor
864-4854 or jeeking@kansan.com
Erick R. Schmidt, managing editor
864-4854 or eschmidt@kansan.com
Gabriela Souza, managing editor
864-4854 or gouze@kansan.com
Frank Tankard opinion editor
864-4924 or fankard@kansan.com
Dave Ruigh, associate opinion editor
884-4924 or druigh@kansan.com
Kylo Hoedt, business manager
864-4014 or khoedl@kansan.com
Lindsey Shirack, sales manager
864-4462 or lshirack@kansan.com
Malael Gloemin, general manager, news adviser
844-7687 or mgbilen at kansan.com
Jennifer Weaver, sales and marketing adviser
864-7668 or jweever@kansan.com
SUBMISSIONS
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Frank Tankerju or Dave Rulgh at 864-4810 or e-mail opinlon@kansan.com.
General questions should be directed to the editor at editor @kansan.com
V
LETTER GUIDELINES
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
Maximum Length: 200 word limit
Include: Author's name and telephone number; class, hometown (student); position (faculty member/ataf); phone number (will not be published)
Maximum Length: 500 word limit
Include: Author's name; class, home-
town (student); position (faculty
member/staff); phone number (will not
be published)
Also: The Kansan will not print guest
columns that attack a reporter or
another columnist.
1
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jonathan Keating, Erick R. Schmidt, Gabriella Souza, Frank Tankard, Dave Rulgh, Steve Lynn and Louis Mora
SUBMIT TO
SUBMIT TO
111 Stairwater-Flint Hall
1435 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 68045
(785) 984-4810, opinfo@kanean.com