4A
Tuesday, September 27, 1994
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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COLUMNIST
Love, passion more important than clean air
NICOLAS SHUMP
NICOLAS SHUMP Environmentalism is a luxury not afforded the poor. Human happiness is more important than air.
There has been some discussion recently about the nature of the editorial page. I believe that it is a place for dialogue on important campus issues.
One issue that I have been concerned about recently is the environment and its importance in our daily lives.
While I think that the environment is a important issue for the entire planet, I do not give it the importance that some other concerned individuals do.
I was intrigued by Amy Trainer's assertion that, "No! Nothing is more important than clean air!" Did you get that sports fans? That's right, clean air über alles!
But, is clean air the most important
While admitting that I am environmentally ignorant, I will argue that there is no one definition of clean air.
thing in life? How do we define it? Is it an absolute, or do we measure it comparatively? In other words, is Kansas air considered clean when compared with the air in Los Angeles?
Of course even the folks in Los Angeles or other huge metropolises live with air that is probably not fit for human consumption. So if people can live with air that sucks, can clean air still be considered the most important thing in the universe?
One thing that I consider more important than clean air are basic human needs. Ask a refugee mother in Rwanda whose son is dying of cholera how important clean air is to her. I think that she would rather have a healthy son, don't you.
I submit to the University community that there are a myriad of things that are more important than clean
air.
Or what about other basic human needs, such as shelter, medication, etc. Face it, the environment is a luxury of the rich. I don't know many environmentalists with empty stomachs.
Once you secure your basic human needs for survival the assurance of basic human rights logically follows. Among those rights are freedom, equality and tolerance. Tolerance is
something that KU Environs might need to brush up on.
I mean, who decided that the rights of bikers outweighed the rights of drivers? Tolerance implies that we respect the rights and opinions of others without making arrogant blanket assumptions on the primacy of our position.
Finally, I think that love is the most important thing in life. Life without clean air might be difficult, but I cannot imagine my life without love.
To not be able to come home every day to the love and support of my wife and kids would be unbearable. I live for my family and friends. I do not live
for clean air
Love and passion are what give us the drive to live. The smile on the face of one of my sons. That is was life is all about.
As a parent, I want my children to be able to enjoy a clean environment, but above all I want them to know how much I love them. Trainer may say that nothing is more important than clean air, but I disagree.
For me the most important thing in life is love, "a love that moves the sun and the other stars."
VIEWPOINT
Nicolas Shump is a Lawrence senior in comparative literature.
Former student's conduct deserves to be punished
The latest chapter in the ugly saga of Dan Murrow is also the most ludicrous. Murrow has claimed that he is entitled to a tuition reimbursement because student housing was "trying to go above the law." But Murrow is the one who has violated numerous laws.
obvious that Murrow's actions were far outside the boundaries of acceptable conduct in any setting.
DAN MURROW
Murrow's latest complaint is as groundless as his previous ones. He has claimed that his right to privacy was violated because his
Murrow posted hateful, offensive signs on the front of his Templin Hall door, exposed his buttocks to a security monitor and harassed others by telephone. In doing so, he violated two regulations published in the Student Rights and Responsibilities section of last year's timetable. He intentionally caused "a substantial disruption or obstruction of ...University activities...including employment" (Article 22, C.1). He also sexually harassed via conduct that "has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or academic environment."
Even if Eric Moore, a Templin Hall resident assistant, had not publicly stated that such signs were offensive and potentially threatening, it is
Expelled student would be better off to admit he was wrong and to let the issue rest. The University owes him nothing.
Murrow's most laughable claim is that he was not given the right to peacefully protest. His actions were completely out of the boundaries defined by the Code of Students Rights and Responsibilities. By being threatening and hateful and by obstructing life for residents and workers in Templin, his actions are defined as sexual harassment — not protest.
incident reports were published. But he freely discussed housing reports and letters to Kansan reporters, in a Kansan column and on the radio. He displays a penchant for the spotlight more like Madonna than an embattled protester. Last semester, he claimed that his right to be notified of charges against him was violated by student housing. But Murrow discussed letters delivered to him by the housing department a number of times.
JACK LERNER FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD.
KANSAN STAFF
STEPHEN MARTINO
Editor
CHRISTOPH FUHRMANS Managing editor
JEN CARR Business manager
TOM EBLEN General manager. news adviser
CAMERON DEATH Retail sales manager
TOM EBLEN
JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser
CATHERINE ELLSWORTH Systems coordinator
News ... Sara Bennett
Editorial ... Donella Hearne
Campus ... Mark Martin
Sports ... Brian James
Photo ... Daron Bennett
... Melissa Lacey
Features ... Tracil Carl
Planning Editor ... Susan White
Design ... Noah Musser
Assistant to the editor .. Robbie Johnson
Editors
Business Staff
Campus mgr ... Todd Winters
Regional mgr ... Laura Guth
National mgr ... Mark Maestro
Coop mgr ... Emily Gibson
Special Sections mgr ... Jen Pierer
Production mgrs ... Holly Boren
... Regan Overy
Marketing director ... Alan Stigler
Creative director ... John Carlton
Classified mgr ... Heather Niahua
Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the letter's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of Kentucky or other institutions may also use.
Guest column should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed.
The Kansan reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be nailed or brought to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall.
Sean Finn / KANSAN
DAN MURROW IN KANSAS CITY: OUT OF (OUR) SIGHT,
Buses, bikes, people should share the road
Consider this column another episode in the debate over the validity of KU on Wheels versus walking and bicycling.
Following the lead of two fellow columnists, I have decided to add some thoughts of my own.
As a bike/pedestrian, I'll admit that being trapped behind a bus and getting a mouthful of smoke is less than appealing.
I won't get into whether KU on Wheels should be axed.
But I don't think getting rid of buses is the answer. Nor is increasing the hours that campus is restricted. In my opinion they are long enough and getting around the restriction is easy enough if you really try. (I know this from personal experience.)
What I do think is necessary is that the vehicles allowed on campus learn to co-exist with those people who choose to walk or ride their bikes.
Sounds simple enough, right? Apparently it isn't. I say apparently because I can't count the number of too-close calls I have had with traffic on campus.
I doubt this is all the fault of pedestrians and bicyclists.
Personally, I am one of those bike nerds that actually obeys traffic signs,
COLUMNIST
ERIKA RASMUSSON
and I signal my turns. However, these signals are useless if they are ignored, and in my experience, they often are.
Just the other day, as I was riding my bike to Stauffer-Flint Hall, I stopped at a stop sign, signaled a left turn and was almost run over by a car.
By not being observant, cars and buses threaten the safety of the students and faculty who choose nonmotorized transportation.
Well, OK, it wasn't that close a call, but if I hadn't been paying attention to the fact that the car wasn't paying attention, I could have been hurt.
Isn't that one of the reasons campus was restricted in the first place?
I've thought about riding my bike on
the sidewalk in order to avoid cars altogether, but then I'd have to worry about constantly yelling "on your left!" and mowing down innocent pedestrians walking to class.
And I'd have to maneuver my way around those annoying people who walk in groups that block the entire sidewalk and travel at a snail's pace, as though they don't have class for another hour. That doesn't sound like much of a solution to me.
Ideally, people who ride the buses and drive cars should exist in harmony with pedestrians and bicyclists.
I don't think that is an impossible goal or too much to expect. There shouldn't be a mini war going on between those who ride and those who do not.
What it will take is simply some common courtesy.
All bicyclists should follow the rules of the road, and all automobiles should be alert to those around them.
To ensure the safety of everyone on campus, we must learn to be conscientious and share the road.
Erika Rasmusson is a Minnetona, Minn., senior in magazine journalism.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Going to court beats the lottery
Forget graduating from college.
Forget winning the lottery. Forget claiming your fortune in Las Vegas. The way to get your hands on some serious cash these days is to try your luck in the courts of America. The odds of winning in a courtroom are 50-50. You won't get those odds in Vegas.
The McDonald's Corporation was ordered to pay $2.7 million to an elderly woman from Albuquerque, N.M. The reason...get this, she spilled a cup of McDonald's coffee on her lap while sitting in the drive thru! The judge reduced her "prize" to just $490,000. McDonald's asked for a retrial but was denied. The woman claims the coffee is served too hot and caused her to get burned. For that kind of money you could spill 1,000 cups of coffee on me, and I'd ask for cream and sugar!
Isn't there some rule that says, "If it's your own fault, too bad?" It was her own fault she spilled the coffee in her lap. The woman is a klutz and probably should not be driving. Besides, coffee is supposed to be hot, unless you ask foriced coffee. I cannot imagine what prompted the judge to award her a settlement of any cash amount. She could not have been burned that badly. The cup is only eight ounces, if that. It's not as if the drive-through attendant reached out and took a flame thrower to her legs. My Gosh! No wonder the price of coffee is going up.
The whole concept of suing someone is warped. I tried to sue a landlord for $200 last summer in small claims court, and I lost. I had a legitimate case.
It is cases like the McDonald's coffee suit that back up the courtrooms for years and keep "real issue" cases, like murder, rape, etc., from ever beginning. That woman should be fined for even trying to sue McDonald's.
I'll tell you what the problem is. It's those damn have-you-been-injured-we-can-get-your-money cheeseball-start-your own-budget-law-firm-lawyers who advertise on TV in the early afternoon and subliminally persuade you to call them if you stub your toe at your grandmother's house. Well, maybe it's not subliminal, but something is going on. We, as a society, obviously have way too much time on our hands.
Another quick example, if a burglar breaks into your house, steals your belongings, trips on his or her way out the door and breaks his or her ankle, he or she can sue you because it happened on your property. What the hell is that all about?
Mark Levitz Overland Park senior
HUBIE
V
By Greg Hardin