4A
Thursday, September 1, 1994
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wake up, live in the now: the'60s are over
NICOLAS SHUMP
Retrohippies need to see the'60s for more than sex drugs and Woodstock.
In the aftermath of Woodstock '94, while I wait for Jupiter to align with Mars, let's do a little "talkin' bout my generation."
Personally, I don't want to usher in a New Age of Aquarius. For all you retrohippies, I have one piece of advice: Just Say Now!
It's the '90s; the '60s are over, despite what Ben and Jerry may tell you on that carton of Wavy Gravy. Besides, what was this Woodstock Generation really all about?
Why is Woodstock the defining moment of the '60s generation? What about Altamont or perhaps Kent State?
For all the hoopla and revisionist historicizing, the 1960s were one of
the most violent and divisive decades in our country's history.
I think we can legitimately argue that the assassination of John F. Kennedy is a more defining moment of a decade that experienced more assassinations of politicians and civic leaders than I have experienced in my entire life.
This does not mean that we should disregard the '60s altogether.
There was a great feeling of enthusiasm and promise that emerged in this decade. The 1960s produced a legion of visionary and courageous leaders, such as Medgar Evers, Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Sadly, not one of these men survived the decade.
Just what generation did the original Woodstock represent?
Look at the pictures; watch the film of the concert, and who do you see? Middle to upper middle-class white kids, that's who. Why? Because in 1969, most working class and lower class kids were a world away in the jungles of Vietnam. It was wet and muddy there, too, but they weren't hearing the sounds of Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix. They were hearing the sounds of enemy artillery.
So what does one make of Woodstock? What does it represent; what does it signify about the 1960s?
According to most observers, Woodstock was a weekend full of fun, free love and rock and roll. It showed
the world that, yes, we can all get along.
Well, as Public Enemy says, "Don't believe the hype." Despite the propaganda, Woodstock was never meant to be a free concert, as a recent edition of NBC's "Dateline" revealed. In short, all of those free lovin', acid dropin', naked ingenues that you associate with Woodstock were gate crashers. They got something for nothing and let someone foot the bill. Sound familiar? That's right, the Woodstock generation became the money hoardin', cellular phone wearin', junk bond tradin', BMW drivin' vynnies of the 1980s.
And we get to foot the bill for their weekend spending spree.
So I ask you fellow members of the Slacker generation, is this what you want to be when you grow up? What ever happened to the slogan "Don't trust anyone over 30?"
Wake up! Live in the NOW! Woodstock was great; the '60s were fine, but it's over.
And as for you Baby Boomers who criticize my generation for being apathetic, it would behoove you to remember the words of one of your lyric poets, Bob Dylan. "Don't criticize what you can't understand ... for the times they are a-changin."
Nicolas Shump is a Lawrence senior in comparative literature.
VIEWPOINT
Accusations of fraud are not in the best interest of Mexico
The Institutional Revolutionary Party in Mexico has been accused once again of doctoring election results.
Even as Presidentelect Ernesto Zedillo asks for cooperation, his opponents refuse to acknowledge him as the victor.
where fraud was suspected, the PRI won by an overwhelming majority.
What the accusers are overlooking is that both international and Mexican observers at the polling stations say there was not enough evidence of fraud to change the outcome.
MEXICAN ELECTIONS
The losing parties should stop accusing the PRI of fraud and cooperate toward economic and social reforms
reforms.
The final vote showed Zedillo with 50.18 percent of the vote, the lowest percentage the PRI has ever received in a national election. In past elections
The minority
parties should accept defeat and do their best to cooperate for a better Mexico. Zedillo has presented plans to move Mexico into the next century.
DONELLA HEARNE FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
High school's cigarette ban blowing smoke at residents
Recently, a controversy has developed between the Lawrence School Board and the Centennial and University Place neighborhood associations.
Lawrence High School students have been littering in residents' yards since smoking was
sight of campus is not an effective policy because it compels students to wander deep into the surrounding neighborhoods. Because of crowding
SMOKING BAN
area on campus.
Residents near the high school should not have to suffer because of the ban. Students should have a smoking
banned last spring on the school campus. The school board has been unresponsive to pleas to change the policy.
problems at the school, closing campus would not be a realistic way to combat this problem.
A ban on smoking within
The establishment of an outdoor smoking area is the only realistic solution to a small problem that has mushroomed into an important issue.
JACK LERNER FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
STEPHEN MARTINO
Editor
CHRISTOPH FUHRMANS Managing editor
JEN CARR Business manager
CATHERINE ELLSWORTH Systems coordinator
CAMERON DEATH Retail sales manager
TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser
JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser
Editors
News ... Sara Bennett
Editorial ... Donna Heame
Campus ... Mark Martin
Sports ... Brian James
Photo ... Daron Bennett
... Mellissa Lacey
Features ... Tracal Carl
Planning Editor ... Susan White
Design ... Noah Mueller
Assistant to the editor .. Robbie Johnson
Business Staff
Campus mgr ... Todd Winters
Regional mgr ... Laura Guth
National mgr ... Mark Masto
Coop mgr ... Emily Gibson
Special Sessions mgr ... Jon Perrier
Production mgrs ... Holly Boren
... Regan Overy
Marketing director ... Alan Stigle
Creative director ... John Carlton
Classified mgr ... Heather Nishaua
Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the name, nannatype, name and telephone of the writer affiliated with the University of Kansas at Lawrence or faculty or faculty of the institution.
Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed.
The Kanseis reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kanseis newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Fint Hall.
Jeff MacNelly / Chicago Tribune
Pet peeves defy reason; they're acquired with age
It is almost a guarantee that you will feel the need to tell anyone around you about what just caused you to become highly unnerved and severely agitated. And, nine times out of 10, a reaction like that is only brought about by one thing — pet peeves.
It is funny to think that these small things, insignificant to everyone but us, can be one of the main sources of annoyance and irritation in our lives. It is also humorous to realize that even though we all have them, and they cause us much distress, it takes a great deal of thought to recall exactly what they are.
They creep up on you every so often. You see, hear, smell, taste or touch something, and, like clockwork, chaching, your trigger is pulled. You have the urge to yell in frustration. Usually, you will.
You don't really remember what they are until they happen. And when they do happen, it is almost inevitable that it is your BIGGEST pet peeve occurring.
Another thing about pet peeves is that, while some are quasi-rational, most are stupid.
A few of my favorites: people who do not signal a lane change, girls who
COLUMNIST
KATHY KIPP
leave their nail polish half on/half off, people who do not hold the door open for someone directly behind them, shoe salesmen, when the soap dish gets all gooey and gross, when you can hear people chewing and swallowing, when people call it Chocolate Chip Mint instead of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream, when you say "Bless You" to someone and they don't say anything back, when the seat belt gets tangled and you are unable to do anything about it, when you pull up the blinds and only one side goes up, the speed at which ice falls out of those little self serve stations at fast food places, bathroom doors that open to the inside and not the outside, people who think they are driving fast
enough to be in the fast lane but, hello,
they are not, sitting next to someone
on the bus and being able to hear their
Walkman and people who ask "will
you borrow me a pencil?"
Pet peeves also usually have no traceable origin. They are not passed down from generation to generation as some kind of messed up hereditary trait.
Just to name a few.
They are not taught in kindergarten along with the ABCs and how to play house.
They just pop up all mysterious like when you notice something irritating you. The way I figure, pet peeves are something you acquire with age.
So, the next time you're at home, in a store, eating out, on campus or just anywhere and that warning bell — cha-ching — dings, go ahead and yell. Feel free to complain, it is only natu-
Unless, of course, the person you choose to complain to happens to have a pet peeve about people who complain about pet peeve's.
Feel free to complain, it is only natural.
Well, then, you're on your own.
Kathy Kipp is a Woodridge, Ill., sophomore in English.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR College is not a business deal
Nicholas Shump writes of the problems of finding a liberating education in his Aug. 24 column. What he really is searching for is one that is amiable to his whims. It is sad to see someone who is about to "earn" their education espouse the belief that schools should give their degrees in lieu of receipts for tuition payment.
True, there are some diplomas that can be earned with little more effort than signing on the dotted line, but those degrees should be reserved for under-achievers who are waiting with credit card in hand. A diploma from University of Kansas is hardly a VCR-repair certificate from Sally Struthers. The degree Mr. Shump will likely receive stands for something more, although I'm not sure he realizes that.
However "distasteful" and infantile, let me continue Shump's assumption: This education we are receiving is just a business transaction. Judging from Shump's column, as an adult he has the right to ignore any part of his course requirements deemed necessary by his instructor — but for which he has no time — because the instructor is his employee, his consultant.
Shump ignores two facets of academia that do not transfer to the business world or even the School of Business. First, by paying the school, he is agreeing to abide by its rules, not vice versa. Mr. Shump is not a "shareholder" of the school. True, there is a symbiotic relationship, but his part of the bargain is that he, by abiding by the school's rules and staying within the academic guidelines for his chosen field of study, will be rewarded with a degree. He may work within the system for change but not to the detriment of that system.
Second, one of these rules is that he must attend classes as part of the curriculum. He is required to be in class because the education for which he paid so dearly is incomplete without the benefits he would receive from being in class — incomplete because he was not exposed to important material to which he needed to be exposed!
Shump begins his article talking about thought control, but he is really worried about being penalized for laziness.
Even the most indolent students know that it is not the instructors who determine the grade, it is the student.
For those of you starting your education here, consider Mr. Shump's musings about grade school. It seems seventh grade is where his collegiate efforts have left him.
Mark Madigan
Lawrence graduate student
HUBIE
IT DEALT WITH A LOT OF TENANTS,
AND AM, JU, EMPIR-
ICISM - UH, CONGREVE
IN UTILITARIAN AND SOCIAL TERMS...
By Greg Hardin
AND THE ARISTOGRA
UH, UM, UM... AS VH,
UHM, THEY WERE
VERY UH, UH, THEY
BECAME SUCH AN
INTEREST AH, VH,
UH
UM, A LITTLE MORE
ELECTIC, YES, THAN
THE NEO-CLASSIC
UM, UM, WELL JOHN
LOCKE...
WHOOPS! LOST
MY PLACE IN MY
READING! IS EVERYONE FOLLOWING
ALONG?
YES, I LIKE TO DROP HISTORY
114, PLEASE.