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University Daily Kansan Thursday, Oct. 1, 1964
Traffic Handled Well
Ever hear these?
The traffic problem after a big football game like the one last Saturday is so vicious that a person living across town could walk home before he could get his car out of the parking lot.
What the campus needs is a garage in place of Oread Hall to solve the parking problem.
A person can't see his hand in front of his face while trying to find his car in zones like M and Y.
It is necessary to walk blocks to places on campus that could be reached in seconds by car, but which can't be used because of the traffic restriction.
Parking permits cost a fortune now, $10 a year.
Why don't they put a sidewalk in from Allen Field House to the large dormitories, which are used by at least 2,000 students, instead of gravel?
Sure, you have heard most or some of these grips that students frequently make about the conditions around campus, but how often do you hear the other side—what the administration has done about the problems.
To aid the harassed motorist in the after-game traffic, the KU police department has beefed up the number of patrolmen and calls in the Douglas County sheriff's authorities, the Kansas highway patrolmen and other traffic facilities. This is much better than if the motorist were allowed to go on his own. Getting home would take even longer. It is a problem, and the administration is attempting to lessen the strain.
Sure, a million dollar garage would be nice for parking space, but wouldn't most people agree that the new $750,000 Blake Hall will further education more than a garage. The garage might be included in future building plans by the University, but a new gymnasium, a new hall to replace Fraser, and a new men's dormitory should come first.
The lighting in zones Y and M also might be included in future planning but zones X, O and N and the residence halls already have lights and are used by more people.
And probably you don't remember how it was before the traffic control booths were installed. It was impossible to get across campus even if you tried. The crosswalks were constantly full and the hill was one big traffic jam during class changes.
KU charges $10 for it,se parking permits,but at some schools facilities are not available or cars are not even allowed. Admittedly,some schools have free parking lots—only a few.
It would be nice to have a sidewalk from Allen Field House to the large dorms. It was inconvenient to walk from Strong Hall to the Union on the old gravel walks, but they were replaced this summer by modern lighted sidewalks. The same is probably in store for the other gravel walk—in the future.
The administration has done quite well in keeping up with the times and needs of the University in the area of traffic and physical facilities. It's a big job.
Next time you hear a comment like those at the start of this editorial think at least twice about the statement before joining the bandwagon to gripe about the faults of the University
— Don Black
KU's Poor Jayhawker
Why can't the University of Kansas produce a decent yearbook? In the past two years the Jayhawker has become the laughing stock of this area because of its unimaginative layouts, poor writing and the overuse of disgusting "party" pictures.
During the spring semester of 1964 and the following summer, I had a chance to talk to people who worked on yearbooks at several of the Big Eight schools and at two Texas universities. They all agreed on one point. The Jayhawker was one of the poorest college yearbooks they had ever seen.
Let's put it another way. A university yearbook is supposed to be a reflection of the life and people at that school. So, what do you think when someone opens the Jayhawker and sees a large photograph of someone groping around in a toilet bowl? Or how about those two pictures of Chancellor Wescoe which are blown up so much it looks as though he forgot to shave before he had his picture taken? (Incidentally, there were the only pictures of the chancellor in the whole book). These are the kinds of things which really help build KU's image in the eyes of others. I was ashamed to have to show the Jayhawker to my parents because of these ridiculous oversights.
Here is the first sentence in the Jayhawker introduction: "A University . . . is a University . . . is a University . . . and the University of Kansas by any other name would be the same." What silly, trite, literary trash! I am insulted just by reading that junk. After this first section appeared there was an uproar about the poor quality of it, but this did not seem to bother the editor. Here is an example of "prose" from the spring section. "Its (the university) purpose is education and all its complexities involve, either
directly or indirectly the means by which the educational process is carried out."
Sounds impressive, doesn't it? But what does it say? Nothing!
I think the editor really knew how bad his staff's writing really was. He did everything he could to avoid putting any writing in the yearbook. An example of this can be seen in the pictures of the football team. The photographs show about one-third of the football players and two-thirds wall and ceiling. The essence of this space-wasting was a series of pictures of parked cars. That is right, just ordinary parked cars. The lines under the picture read, "It is always a joy to have such eye-catchers filling up the pages." I honestly believe the editors really meant that.
It is not as if the Jayhawker staff could not afford to produce a better yearbook. About 8,000-10,000 students will buy the Jayhawker this year for $6. It costs $100 a page for organizations to get their pictures in the Jayhawker, and there are easily 100 of these pages. After you figure the advertising that is gathered, the total amount collected by the Jayhawker approaches $100,000. It is well known that the Jayhawker business manager has never issued a public statement on how this money was spent. It is logical to ask just where all this money is being spent. I find it hard to believe that the materials, photographs, etc., cost in excess of $20,000-$30,000. That leaves a lot of money to be accounted for. Does it go for salaries? Is it turned back to the University? Is it just wasted? Can the actual cost of the Jayhawk be reduced? I do not know the answers to these questions, but with $100,000 involved, some of it my money, I intend to find out.
Bob Jones
Seniors Taken on Stadium Seats
KU freshmen are forced into disillusionment every fall concerning the dormitory swimming pools, the joys of being a fraternity pledge, and the perfect ability of KU instructors
This year, however, many seniors as well will have to throw away one of their longcherished myths—a seat somewhere around the 50-yard line for all the football games.
There are some seniors who are going to enjoy their midstripe seats, but there are many more who are going to find they
Senior seats are literally drawn from a hat. Along with the graduate students, Kansas City Medical School students, and the senior married students, the senior sections are chosen in a drawing. The first names out of the hat get the prime locations.
had better rousts when they were sophomores and juniors.
It is questionable, however, why the grad students should receive tickets on an equal voice with the seniors. Many of the graduates have never before attended KU. It is rather unfair that many seniors who have been here for three years should be pushed out of good seats by the students at the med center, which in all reality is a separate entity in itself. These graduate students will be going to school for three and four more years. Under the present system, these persons will be receiving the best seats in the stadium for years to come. But you are only a senior once.
— Clare Casey
"For What Purpose Does The Gentleman Rise?"
BOOK REVIEWS
MR. KENNEDY AND THE NEGROES, by Harry Golden (Crest, 60 cents); THE FIRE NEXT TIME, by James Baldwin (Dell, 50 cents).
Harry Golden, editor of the Carolina Israelite, wrote his book about Kennedy and the Negroes in part before the assassination of the President. It is a frankly admiring work, one to which Kennedy gave his support. Admirers of Harry Golden should know, however, that it is as solid and dependable as the other works of this noted personal editor.
"The Fire Next Time" is as important a polemic about the racial revolution as has appeared in recent years. It is an interesting counterpart to a book like "Mr. Kennedy and the Negroes," one written in anger. It stems from two essays Baldwin wrote for the Progressive and the New Yorker.
Recent events in the civil rights story bear out the frightening prophecy James Baldwin makes: "no more water, the fire next time." Rioting has struck in northern as well as southern cities. It is the South with which North Carolinian Golden is most concerned as he tells the story of Kennedy and the Negroes. For he regards the Kennedy administration as having made greater contributions to the Negro's fight than any other administration in recent history.
These are two excellent books for the many who are concerned with developments in what may be the great American story of our time- the Negro fight for justice.
- * * *
THE ROAD TO XANADU, by John Livingston Lowes (Sentry,
$2.65).
For the student of the Romantic period, or the student of just Coleridge, this remains a classic study, one which the author subtitled "A Study in the Ways of the Imagination." He traces the development of Coleridge as a writer, closely and carefully analyzes the writings, and meticulously considers the meaning of imagination in Coleridge.
Mainly this book is for the scholar. Even the reader who encountered "The Acient Mariner" and "Kubla Khan" in his youth, and was entranced by them, would find this highly literary and symbolic study heavy going.
Notes and addenda, by the way, are almost as lengthy as the central work itself.
Dailijfransan
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