4A
Tuesday, August 30, 1994
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Media are blind to issues of the visually impaired
HEATHER KIRKWOOD The media have long portrayed blind people as helpless, and it's time
for a change.
Whenever I see the issues of blindness addressed in the media, alarm bells automatically go off in my head.
After years of reading the typical reporter's dribble about the blind, I have become skeptical that the blind will ever be portrayed fairly in the media.
When making a list of topics to write about this semester, I had planned to write a column about blindness. After all, I would be a fool to turn down the opportunity to set the record straight. I had not planned to address the issue this soon. However, after the recent broadcast of NOW, a news magazine program on NBC, I think I need to put things in perspective.
A summary of the story.
Retinitis pigmentosa is a hereditary
A summary of the story:
eye disorder. Usually people with retinitis pigmentosa lose their vision slowly. At first they cannot see at night, and then gradually their field of vision narrows until it is so small that it is of little consequence, or they go blind. At this time, there is no cure for retinitis pigmentosa, or is there?
Recently a doctor in Cuba has developed a treatment that looks promising. There's just one catch: Because of the embargo, it is illegal for an American to go to Cuba for treatment.
The NOW story began with the following characterizations: The reporter said, "Routine tasks are difficult now," and, "It's only a matter of time before the faces of her three children will disappear to her."
These statements, however, do not
hold true of many blind people.
The patients in the story sounded as though they were making a life-ordeath decision. It sounded as if they thought that by going blind their quality of life would be severely hindered.
This is simply not true. Blind people routinely raise children, hold responsible jobs and take part in their communities and churches. I know several blind lawyers, a blind city commissioner, blind teachers, a blind foreign service officer, a blind journalist ... the list goes on and on.
The assertion that everyday tasks are somehow made more difficult because one is blind is not true, although this might seem to be the case to a newly-blinded person or to a blind person who has not been taught
alternative techniques.
Concern for factors like seeing what one's children look like are understandable for a newly blind person, but any blind parent you will tell you it is not a matter of quality of life.
NOW found a reasonable topic for a story. Next time, however, NOW ought to look into some other equally serious stories that have not been covered by the mainstream media.
For example, why are so many blind people unemployed? The unemployment rate for working-age blind adults is 70 percent, although thousands included in this number are just as capable as their sighted peers. What happened to all that headway in Congress with the Americans with Disabilities Act, anyway?
What about literacy for blind kids?
Accordig to 1994 statistics, as many as 31 percent of blind kids enrolled in elementary and secondary schools all throughout the country are "nonreaders." Only 9 percent read braille, and for those who read print, it is often not the best option for them. Where is the public outcry? The cameras?
Blind people don't need a continuance of the propaganda about what they can't do. What we do need is a chance to perform on a level playing field with the rest of society. Blindness itself is not a big deal, but the misconceptions about what it means to be a blind person are.
Heather Kirkwood is a Wichita Junior in magazine Journalism.
VIEWPOINT
Guns should be banned despite hunter opposition
Many are skeptical about the effectiveness of gun control in reducing crime. The argument is that criminals will find the means to get guns and that the
people who will be affected by gun control will be those who hunt. Should we sacrifice the hobby of killing animals to save
Reducing the number of guns will decrease the number of accidents and the number of murders by first-time murderers.
Banning guns reminds us that the function of a
FOR THE GUN BAN Saving even one life is more important than protecting hunters' rights to use the semi-automatic weapons banned.
gun is to kill and that we should be able to live without guns. The ban will facilitate future bans.
human lives? Definitely.
The crime bill will reduce the number of guns produced.
Hunters may suffer, but
then again, soon virtual reality will allow them to kill as many animals as they want.
JUAN VARGAS FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD.
Congress misses target with crime bill gun ban
Congress should not have incorporated the assault weapon provision into the crime bill. That provision bans the domestic sale of 19 named types of rifles and vests a federal official
The banned firearms are semi-automatic:One squeeze of the
with the authority to ban weapons of similar configuration.
of operation between the named rifles and other semi-automatics are virtually identical, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms estimates that the ban will permit the government to
AGAINST THE BAN
The ban would allow the government to later ban up to 170 more firearms commonly used as sporting rifles.
trigger yields one bullet. The bullets are no larger or faster than those in common sporting rifles.
ban up to 170 firearms.
The ban will only divert resources from the task of preventing true crimes. So-called assault
Because the principles
weapons are used in fewer than 3 percent of all crimes in which firearms are involved. The ban was flawed at the outset.
ZACKARY STARBIRD FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD.
KANSAN STAFF
STEPHEN MARTINO Editor
CHRISTOPH FUHRMANS Managing editor
JEN CARR Business manager
CATHERINE ELLSWORTH
Systems cordinator
TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser
CAMERON DEATH Retail sales manager
JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser
Editors
News ... Sara Bennett
Editorial ... Donella Heame
Campus ... Mark Martin
Sports ... Brian James
Photo ... Daron Bennett
... Melissa Lacey
Features ... Tracel Carl
Planning Editor ... Susan White
Design ... Noah Muser
Assistant to the editor ... Robbie Johnson
Editors
Business Staff
Campus mgr ... Todd Winters
Regional mgr ... Laura Guth
National mgr ... Mark Mastro
Coop mgr ... Emily Gibson
Special Sections mgr ... Jen Pierer
Production mgrs ... Holly Boren
        Regan Overy
Marketing director ... Alan Stiglio
Creative director ... John Carlton
Classified mgr .. Heather Niahaus
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THE CRIME BILL BANS 19 ASSAULT RIFLES
Now That's Health Care!
Matt Hood/ KANSAN
Look at the bright side of the baseball strike
Millions of weepy words have been written about the alleged pain and suffering of baseball fans since the players sulked away and the games ended.
But there is no evidence of any sharp increase in the number of fans who fling themselves from a roof or are institutionalized because they have been deprived of the sight of a pudgy third-base coach pulling his crotch and spitting toward the cameras.
There has also been considerable public anguish for the ballpark vendors who sell overpriced hot dogs, peanuts and cheesy nachos, and are being deprived of their income.
On the other hand, their products are loaded with grease and fat and salt that clogs the arteries and raises the blood pressure. Combine these elements with a hot bleacher, sun, too many beers and the frantic excitement of a pennant race, and you have eyes bulging, tongues protruding, death rattles rattling and stiffs plopping all over the country.
Now my sympathy is being sought by Steve Sarmier, who probably represents many others who consider themselves innocent victims of the greedy players and owners.
"This year I stand to earn $1,000 if the Cubs win fewer than 84 games, which would have been a cinch.
"I also have the Yanks and Mets over the Phils and Pirates for $440 and have a big lead in that one.
"But these bets are dependent on the teams playing 160 games or else the money is refunded. Since my bets are virtual locks, I'll be out $1,440 because of the strike. I want justice."
MIKE ROYKO
There must be thousands of strike victims like Sarmier: gamblers who had the skill, foresight and boldness to bet a goodly sum in a barroom or workplace, but now see their poten-
describes himself as "a very disgruntled fan and angry professional gambler.
I don't doubt that such a dull-witted person exists. For most of my life, I've been around Cubs fans. Their glassy-eyed faith has been both an inspiration and a subject for psychological research.
Note that Sarmier boasts of having found a Cubs fan willing to bet $1,000 that the Cubs would win more than half of their games.
Instead of moaning about losses we are suffering because of the baseball strike, we should look at the many benefits. In major cities across the nation, tax dollars aren't being spent on cops directing baseball traffic or hauling drunk fans to the jug. Mountains of hot dogs and other deadly morsels will be unleane, saving the citizenry a fortune in EKG tests, angiograms, bypasses and other unpleasant experiences. And millions of baseball addicts will not be wasting precious hours of their lives gaping at a highly paid crotch-grabber on their TV. They can gape at a bass fishing show instead.
Is there no sympathy for them? No,
not from me.
tial winnings wiped out.
Mike Royko is a syndicated columnist with the Chicago Tribune.
Unisex fashion is a comment on our society
ERIKA RASMUSSON
Lately, I've noticed more and more people taking a middle-of-the-road stance when it comes to the issue of men's and women's fashion. It appears that today's society is becoming an increasingly unisex one.
Not that there is anything wrong with that. On the contrary, I think it proves our society is moving forward. Men are getting in touch with their feminine sides by becoming more fashion-conscious, and women are getting in touch with their masculine sides. On the whole, it seems that fashion today is about having the confidence to wear whatever you want. The line that once defined "menswear" and "womenswear" is blurry.
Consider some examples: Besides the fact that it is now socially acceptable for men to have long hair and earrings, it isn't unheard of for men to wear skirts, either. Axl Rose used to wear a kilt on stage during Guns N' Roses concerts, and I've even seen guys in Lawrence sporting a skirt. What's more important is that most passersby didn't even give a second glance. Is this a sign of fashion tolerance? Or do people in Lawrence just not give a damn?
Finally, Calvin Klein, the fashion guru for both men and women, has come out with a unisex fragrance. It's called CK One, "a new fragrance for a man or a woman." Actually, I like it, but that's entirely beside the point. The point is that cologne is supposed to be individual and sexy. Can you imagine asking your date what scent he or she is wearing and then exclaiming, "Hey! That's what I wear!" It might be embarrassing.
Example number two: In my hometown, Minneapolis, there are unisex toilets. No, that is not a misprint. I've never actually used one, so I can't describe what they are like, but they're there. Is this a major trend I've missed out on? Or is Minneapolis simply a hub of unisex tredetters?
But then again, it might not be. It could be a sign that you're hip, wearing a politically correct, nondiscriminatory fragrance. And you could even put it on in a unisex bathroom.
HUBIE
Erika Rasmussen is a Minnetonka, Minn., senior in magazine journalism.
By Greg Hardin