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University Daily Kansan/Tuesday, October 29, 1991
OPINION
Defamatorygaffes
Director's slurring comments prove ironic
The use of descriptions such as "fat Indian chick" and "faggot" are appalling when used by anyone. When used by an administration member they are outrageous.
Such slurs are not only derogatory and stereotypical, but are racist and bigoted. They counteract the work of minority groups who have struggled to end uneducated racist attitudes that often have devastating and tragic ramifications.
The office of affirmative action is a federally mandated office established to help universities combat these attitudes. It oversees hiring at the University of Kansas, establishes programs to help minorities, considers curriculum improvements and helps students confront problems that they may have
because of their minority status.
Now its own director has been marred in a controversy amid accusations that he used the words "fat Indian chick" and "faggot" to describe other people. Such actions would normally fall under the control of the office of affirmative action.
The University administration has done well to act quickly and place Turner on administrative leave while an internal investigation is conducted. But the administration cannot waste time onits query. The office and the University have suffered from the recent allegations, and permanent action must be taken quickly to restore the office to its normal capacity and reassure students that they can depend on the office for
their needs.
Above all else, the University must learn from this, the latest incident in a troublesome semester.
Often students and educators believe that such unenlightened attitudes as racism and bigotry could never exist on a university campus. But, once again we have seen that we are not immune to this and the struggles of many can be damaged by the actions of a few.
To fight injustice, the University must work together as a whole — starting at the top.
Jennifer Reynolds for the editorial board
Sexual harassment
KU should tackle charges aggressively
The four women who filed sexual-harassment charges in May against members of the law school faculty have waited too long for appropriate measures to be taken. A lot can change between semesters. A student could fail.
KU officials are glossing this one over. To quote interim executive vice chancellor Del Shankel, "When you are following the proper procedures, things may take a long time."
He further describes the University's action on this matter as aggressive.
If official action on this drawn-out issue has actually been aggressive, there is something seriously wrong with the process. Confidentiality has been suggested as the reason for delays. It's not a good answer but a great alibi. Confidentiality is a convenient excuse for slow motion concerning a matter that University officials hoped would blow over.
The delay in the resolution of these charges reeks of a cover-up; had it not been for the recent publicity concerning sexual harassment, it might well have been silenced.
If that is an overreaction, and everything that could possibly have been done to expedite this situation had been done, then there is a most grievous snag in the system. Bureaucratic red tape? Use super glue and walk these matters through.
As women become more willing to report sexual harassment and begin to file suits against those who harass them, we must find a way to respond to their
needs. Will as many women come forward if it takes five and a half months to get a recommendation that will only then be appealed? The longer these cases take, the more confidentiality and justice are jeopardized.
If the University administration wishes to avoid as much negative publicity as possible on these sensitive issues, it would be better to tackle them immediately instead of giving lip service to aggressive action that looks more like laissez faire.
If these complaints had been handled properly from the beginning, there would have been no need for an American Civil Liberties Union news release.
Michael Dick for the editorial board
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Column shows insensitivity
Rick Honish needs to be chastised for the gross cultural and ethnic insensitivity he flagrantly displayed in his sports column Friday. Honish discredited the American Indian protesters against the "Tomahawk Chop" because they are small in number and not all American tribes are offended. He also seemed surprised that American Indians are offended by the Washington Redskins name, "claiming the team's name is a racial slur." Claiming? Apparently, Honish is completely insensitive to the offensive nature of the name "redskin" to American Indians. The fact is that many American Indians feel they have been abused enough by the white majority in this country, and the "Tomahawk Chop" simply adds insult to injury. The point of Honish's column seems to be that anything acceptable as long as it is a fun thing to do at a sporting event. And I find the failure, or refusal, to understand the feelings of American Indians appalling.
Jeffrey Drake Mission senior
Ozone should not be ignored
The United Nations recently released a report on ozone depletion and global warming. The report stated that damage to the ozone was greater than previously thought and was accelerating. I do not believe anyone would want to ignore or would want to trivialize the possible implications of this. However, in the Oct. 23 edition of the New York Times, that is exactly what I found. Concerning the report, "William K. Reilly, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said today that the unexpected findings vindicated the administration's efforts to emphasizing research more than immediate action on global warming." When I read things like this I am so reassured that our elected officials are taking such good care of things that I shouldn't have to worry what kind of world I'll be living in 20 or 30 years.
Louis Lietzen
Leavenworth senior
Playboy has no place at KU
As a woman at the University of Kansas, I am sickened and appalled by the Kansan's stance on women's issues. How can this campus "politically correct" newspaper allow a magazine such as Playboy, which habitually exploits the women of this country, to advertise? The Kansan has control over who buys its ads. I find Playboy a very offensive publication that promotes the sexual degradation and social demoralization of women. The Kansan cannot advocate equal treatment of women when it publishes advertisements such as the one that appeared in the Oct. 21 issue.
The women of this campus must stand up and fight for their rights and this is just one more battle in the war that was forced upon us. We cannot allow this University to use this magaga- tion, because it has not had academic successes, and part of that success is the intelligent women who attend the University.
Therefore, fellow KU women, stand up for your rights and refuse to be interviewed by Playboy and refuse to allow a male-dominated society to get you down.
Juanita Jackson Smith Center sophomore
Gun control is not the answer
I'm disappointed in the Kansan's editorial board. I hate to see a group of journalists who usually do back research abandon the practice and jump on a reactionary bandwagon.
But that's just what you've done in your Oct. 25 editorial on gun control. Kevin Bartels implies that the House of Representatives has turned a legion of gun-toting psychopaths loose on the people of the United States by refusing to ban the import or manufacture of a handful of assault rifles. To buttress his argument, Bartels cites the massacre in Killeen, Texas, as case-inpoint on why assault rifles should be banned.
Kevin, the Glock pistol used in Killeen is now in way affected by the legislation in question. Even if the ban had been enacted, the Glock and litter-mattress gun would still be available to every "killcrazy freak" who wanted one.
The distinction is important. Thousands of Americans are killed with guns every year. Most of those killed, however, die at the hands of family members wielding pistols originally purchased for "home protection," such as hunting rifles or shotguns. Assault rifles are involved in relatively small attacks, a figure rarely zero when you exclude murders committed by drug dealers (generally one another, by the way) and policemen.
Meanwhile, U.S. citizens will continue to slay one another with the pistols and shotguns. Just as banning morphine won't solve the nation's coca-caine problem, banning assault rifles won't in any where else. Not in Killeen and not anywhere else.
Oh, and while we're on the subject, please bear in mind that your right to criticize the Second Amendment doesn't exist without the First. Yes, indeed, who could question the divinely given right to print misinformed editorials? Perhaps the journalist who thinks some people's rights are more important than others.
Bryan Whitehead Kansas City, Kan., graduate student
Busing to halls still necessarv
The Oct. 21 edition of the *Kansan*, had an extremely opinionated letter written by Kurt Laurie concerning the "coal-burning, cancer-bleaching monstrosities" known as buses and how they are contributing to the pollution on campus. He wrote that we should "stop catering to the laziness of a few" by stopping bus service to certain areas of campus.
Any KU student who is at least semi-conscious could tell you that bus service to the residence hall is a necessity. As a person who has lived in a residence hall for more than a year and who is a frequent bus rider, I know that it would be illogical and impractical to limit bus service because it is needed to aid the varied needs of the students.
First of all, many students who ride buses are persons with disabilities that walk with canes, crutches or guide dogs and could not possibly ride bikes or walk to class. Also, people who can ride bikes either don't want to or don't have the financial means to buy and maintain a bike. They shouldn't be made to feel like they must do so just because of the opinions of one supposedly intelligent graduate student. See Chapter 16 for more information about how don't ride them in the winter months because of the temperature and ice streets. As a result, they resort to, God forbid, buying bus passes and riding the bus.
Finally, as for that comment about how art students should use "red wagons" you used to have, or a stroller or something" to cart their materials around. I would expect such a ridiculous and stupid idea from someone with the mentality of a 5-year-old. Keep your personal biases to yourself, Kurt. Take it from one of the "lazy few," bus service to all areas of campus is a necessity, and it's here to stay. Dave Kasher
Omaha, Neb., sophomore
KANSAN STAFF
HOLLY LAWTON Editor
JENNIFERREYNOLDS Managing editor
TOM EBLEN General manager, newsadviser
Editors
Editors
News  Erik Schutz
Editorial  Karen Park
Planning  Sarah Davis
Campus  Eric Goraki
Sports  Mike Andrews
Photo  Brian Schoeni
Features  Tiffany Harness
Graphics  Melissa Unterberg
KATIE STADER Business manager
RICH HARSHBARGER Retail sales manager
JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser
Business Staff
Campus sales mgr ... Leanne Bryant
Regional sales mgr ... Jennifer Claxton
National sales mgr ... David Garnett
Co-op sales mgr ... La Keeler
Production mgr ... Jay Steiner,
Marketing director ... Wendy Stertz
Creative director ... Mike Beehe
Creative director ... David Gardner
Classified mgr ... Jennifer Jacquinot
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Loco Locals
by Tom Michaud