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University Daily Karisan/Friday, October 11, 1991
OPINION
Give foreign students a fair chance at jobs
Wasted resources
America, the land of opportunity, has made it more difficult for foreign students to utilize their skills and resources in our nation's job market. A new federal law that went into effect Oct. 1 has made it easier for foreign students to obtain authorization to work while ironically making it more difficult for them to find companies that will hire them.
Foreign students with an F-1 visa (the majority of KU foreign students have this type of permit), will now find it easier to receive authorization to work on campus. Moreover, those students who can demonstrate an economic need will find it easier to obtain permission to work off-campus. But once foreign students have been given the green light to work, they are going to find it increasingly more difficult to find a position that meets the new government requirements. Under the new law, companies must prove that the position for which the foreign student is applying has been advertised for at least 60 days.
The new law opens the door to companies that hire workers at minimum wage and advertise their positions continuously, such as fast food chains. But the regulations have slammed the window of opportunity to companies that offer positions which require more skills and qualifications. Firms that offer career-related experience tend to be more competitive and hire only a handful of individuals. The 60 day job-posting requirement and the laborious amount of paperwork needed to document that
regulations are being met, has made the idea of hiring a foreign students even less attractive to U.S. companies. As a result, foreign students will find it even harder to gain practical experience
Indeed, this is a shame. Foreign students can bring to our nation's job market useful skills and practical knowledge, as well as a unique, fresh perspective to problem solving and decision making. The United States should take full advantage of foreign student's vocational abilities which in effect will serve to not only enrich the student's education, but our nation's economy as well.
Anita Bajaj for the editorial board
Economic outlook
Bush should sign bill to assist unemployed
Thirty thousand new jobs in eight years was one of the many campaign promises Bush made to improve the economy and decrease unemployment. However, entering the fourth quarter of 1991, unemployment was on the increase and the economy was showing little signs of improvement.
in the past year the unemployment rate jumped from 5.8 percent to 6.7 percent. Although the unemployment rate has increased, Bush maintains that the economy has reached a turning point and will continue on an upward swing. But Congress, seeing that this distorted
economic view is taking food and vital health care benefits away from the unemployed, has passed a bill extending unemployment benefits. The bill also granted 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family emergencies and other benefits to U.S. workers.
The Senate overwhelmingly approved a compromise version of the same bill even after Bush threatened a veto.
If Bush truly believes that his economic program is working, why doesn't he sign this bill to protect those U.S. citizens who fall by the wayside of the his economic program? Does he care that
people are losing their jobs? These same people face an uphill struggle that could be halted by positive legislation including the bill that extends unemployment benefits.
Maybe President Bush should have promised us one new job back in 1988. Then he would have had a realistic goal for his administration and economic platform to reach.
Frank Williams for the editorial board
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Diversity should not be an excuse
Cory Anderson's Oct. 7 column on racism at KU contends that the campus is in denial about bigotry and racism. That is probably true. The bon not "culturally diverse" is frequently used instead of just saying such "nasty" words as Black, Asian, Gay, Lesbian or Native American. KU does gloss over its bigotry problems, but attributing Darren Fulcher's woes to
racism is sidetracking the real issue.
Anderson's allusion to catacombs beneath the campus rampant with plotting racism is simple subterfuge.
Darren Fulcher covered up his attack on a woman and then played himself up as a proponent of women's issues. A lot of people feel betrayed and won't trust him again no matter how sorry he says he is. No doubt there are bigots wanting Fulcher out of office, but Anderson's insinuation that racists are manipulating the women's groups and other people asking for Fulcher's resignation is kind of like blaming the "Commies" for undermining our democratic society. That fire has lost its fuel and so should this one it's not OK to beat a woman no matter how "diverse" you are.
Tim Brownlee Lawrence graduate student
Coming out in America should not be difficult
Catch 22s are really frustrating. Throughout history opinions that weren't shared by the majority or powerful minority of a society have been scorned and termed "wrong." This country was founded on the belief in liberty, and for this reason, the United States was recognized as a defender of that liberty. Despite this premise of liberty, however, there exists a hypocrisy that is easily seen in the way that some groups (American Indians, African-Americans, women, Asians, etc.) have been treated in their search for this elusive liberty.
Today is National Coming Out Day. The opinion exists that homosexuality and bisexuality are wrong even though some churches (Christian denominations among them), psychiatrists, other doctors, reports done by the Department of Defense (one of the greatest oppressors of gay rights), and even some T.V. shows ("Northern Exposure," "Designing Women," "The Golden Girls," "Quantum Leap," "The Simpsons," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Donahue" and many more) find no inherent evil or wrong in homosexuality and bisexuality. The American Medical Association, one of the largest historical sources of prejudice against homosexuals and bisexuals, reversed its opinion years ago that homosexuality and bisexuality are choices or mental illnesses. A person does not decide to be homosexual or bisexual any more than a person chooses to be African-American, white, female, male or physically challenged, and yet there is prejudice against all of these and more.
As for active choices, however, as whether to be a Democrat, a Republican, a conservative, a liberal, etc., their importance is no different from inherent qualities. I have to respect other opinions (outside of those that advocate violence or persecution) because I desire respect for my opinions; desiring respect without giving respect is a hypocrisy. Respect, however, does not necessarily mean following that opinion. The only violence I see with respect to homosexuality and bisexuality comes from homophobic people, something that sounds a lot like the fact that being American Indian or African-American is not wrong,
Greg Wilson
Guest columnist
but a lot of violence has arisen in regard to both subjects in the past and present.
It's simple to attach less importance to the issue of homosexual and bisexual rights because people don't think there are enough non-heterosexuals to make a case. There was a time when people thought that the question of women's rights was a small issue because there were women who didn't want to stand up to the injustice because of fear or complacency; there was little desire to go against a status quo that forbade the rights on which this country was founded.
A unique characteristic exists, though, among homosexuals and bisexuals that gives us the chance to receive respect, and that is the fact that we're not confined to just one group - students, professors, staff, administrators, members of fraternities, members of sororities, African Americans, whites, mothers, fathers, etc. - WE'REEVERYWHERE.
The Catch 22 here is the desire to come out coupled with the environment in which people find themselves today. The frustration arises in the form of homosexuals and bisexuals not willing to come out because of this harmful environment. They wish for a change, but there will be no change until society is shown that not only are we everywhere but that we pose no threat; society can only be shown if people come out and demand respect.
To those who aren't homosexual or bisexual, find out about us, talk to people or listen to a speaker's bureau. To those who are homosexual or bisexual and are afraid to come out, think about why you're staying in the closet and denying such integral parts of yourselves. Coming to own family, friends and associates would show society that there is nothing to fear, and our liberty will be won.
■ Greg Wilson is a Lawrence senior major in political science and German.
**Clarification:** In Fernando Aracena's guest column on Tuesday's page, the word "religion" appeared instead of the word "region." The paragraph should have read: "Among the delicate areas that the Council will discuss are some of the incorrect assumptions about the international students. Students from other countries are very respectful of the way U.S. people choose to classify themselves (by ethnicity, region of origin, color, etc.) However, this criteria may be irrelevant on a larger international scale. For example, to regard a student from Japan and a student from China as 'oriental' and expect them to have similar characteristics would be a serious mistake. The same is true for all the regions of the world represented on this campus. The apparent compliance of some foreign students to these U.S. classifications is largely due to courtesy, indifference or inexperience."
KANSAN STAFF
HOLLY LAWTON
Editor
JENNIFERREYNOLDS Managing editor
TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser
News Eritch Schutz
Editorial Karen Park
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Campus Eric Gorski
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Wendy Stortz
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David Habigler
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David Habigler
Classified mgr | Jennifer Jacquinto
JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser
Business Staff
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