OPINION
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PUBLISHED DAILY SINCE 1912
TARA TRENARY, Editor HEATHER VALLER, Business manager
LINDSEY HENRY, Managing editor MARIA CRIST, Retail sales manager
PAUL EAKINS, Editorial editor JUSTIN KNUPP, Technology coordinator
TOM EBLEN, General manager, news adviser
Wednesday, June 25, 1997
Paul Eakins / KANSAN
Editorials
Sentence of 15 years too harsh for teens in "stop sign murder"
When three teen-agers in Tampa, Fla., removed a stop sign from a rural intersection one night last year, they could hardly have thought that their actions would cause the deaths of three other teens. Certainly, they would not have guessed that more than a year later they would be sentenced to 15 years in prison for the deaths.
Yet, this is what happened last Friday in a decision that devastated the convicted teens, now in their 20s, and their families.
The sentence was considered "light" compared to the 50-year prison terms that the judge could have given, but even this sentence may have been extreme.
For the families of the three 18-year-olds who were killed, 15 years out of the convicted criminals' lives probably seemed a small amount, considering that their children may have had many
Case may prevent future deaths, but judge should have been more lenient
years beyond that. However, the two groups of teens' roles could easily have been reversed.
The convicted teens were certainly not the first to steal stop signs or other street signs: this traditionally has been a common past time among teens and even college students who may be bored or looking for new decorations for their bedrooms or apartments.
Few of these "potential murderers" think about the possible death, injury, or destruction that removing the occasional yield, one way, or stop sign could cause.
Surely, the ruling in this case made many children and adults sit up and
take notice. This ruling may very well prevent similar future accidents, making sign thieves understand not only the harm that could be done to other people, but to themselves as well.
However, the judge in this case could have made a more constructive ruling. That the teens needed to be punished, and serve some time was obvious. But 15 years was too long. In addition to a shortened prison time, community service could have been required, in which the teens could teach children and provide them with more interesting activities, keeping them out of trouble. That way, other kids could be prevented from one day driving bored through town, seeing a stop sign and getting a "bright" idea.
The time that these teens must spend in prison could very well ruin their lives. Three lives have already been wasted. Why waste three more?
PAUL EAKINS FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
U.S. should pay bills owed to U.N.
Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that placed conditions or "benchmarks" on U.S. back payments to the United Nations.
Sen. Jesse Helms, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee thundered that the U.N. was an unwieldy, unproductive, financial eyeore that would need to slim down its act before it deserved more of the precious U.S. taxpayers' money.
What the United Nations is demanding are unpaid dues that the largest debtor owes the organization. These dues have accumulated during the years, threatening the very existence of the world body.
To attach unilateral conditions on legal obligations not only goes against
The United Nations is a tool over which America should keep some control
the law, but also violates the spirit of the organization, which is a multilateral forum of 115 countries and not solely a United States undertaking.
This kind of self-righteousness will only alienate the United States further from the world community, at a time when a crucial leadership role awaits it.
and negotiation than brazen confrontation.
Madeline Albright, the new U.S. Secretary of State would know best. Since her appointment to the post, she has undertaken several lecture tours asking Americans to be more outward-looking and international in their outlook.
The breakdown in communism signaled the end of an old era. But a new era of global politics has emerged, shaped more by a spirit of cooperation
Perhaps Helms and his Cold War-era friends should take a leaf from Albright's book. Leadership is not cheap. It would be quite a tragedy if, for a mere $1.2 billion, the United States surrenders its power in an organization that has served as a valuable tool of American foreign policy.
That surely would be an expensive mistake to make.
PALLAVI AGARWAL FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
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How to submit letters and guest columns
Letters: Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
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All letter and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Paul Eakins at 864-4810 (opinion@kansan.com).
"We abuse land as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."
Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, foreword
Amazing, this country of ours. Within a few basic guidelines don't kill people, for example, we're free to do almost anything we desire.
Adultery in Congress Don't ask, don't tell
Column
This includes the right to say blatantly stupid things, as I have proven conclusively with this
column for the last year. But this freedom's grand champion is U.S. Rep. Vince Snowbarger. The honorable congressman from the third district, which, for those of you who are keeping track, is where you live, has broken the previous record for remarkable dumbbness from a Republican.
Members of my own party say dumb things with alarming regularity.
For example, there's George "Read my lips"Bush or Richard"I would have made a good pope" Nixon. My own personal favorite is Ronald Reagan, who didn't realize that a mike was on prior to a 1984 radio interview and said,"My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."
But these statements are more snafu or political rhetoric than indication of any great mental deficiencies. (You can keep your smart-alec comments about Reagan to yourself.)
In any case, Snowbarger has ventured into the realm of the truly stupid with his recent stand against adultery.
"I'm opposed to adultery," he said. "And I don't care where it occurs. I'm someone who takes marriage vows very seriously."
Everyone stand and applaud our courageous congressman for taking so bold a position. What a statesman.
Unmercifully, he continued. "I personally would have difficulty with someone having committed adultery."
Anyone who has ever seen a picture of the man can believe this. And he just inadvertantly told half the House that he doesn't want to speak to them anymore.
I'm not sure what Toplikar was trying to uncover with this question, perhaps a careless congressman who would say, "Ya know, Dave,
The six members of Kansas' Congressional delegation were responding to an inquiry from Lawrence Journal-World reporter Dave Toplikar, in connection with the paper's coverage of the issue of adultery within the military.
But Rep. Jim Ryun did, in a surprising outburst of reasonability.
I'm glad you asked that question. I've been in favor of adultery since I was elected," and thus garner Toplikar some admiration from his peers.
Of course, the two smartest members of the Kansas delegation, First District Rep. Jerry Moran and Sen. Pat Roberts, didn't directly respond to the inquiry.
But all we got was drivel from Snowbarger and the runaround from everyone else.
He said that he thought he should keep his personal feelings out of his consideration and that the rules, which the members of the armed forces know, should be followed. (But it should be noted that Ryun is not an ardent military supporter to begin with and couldn't care less if they all screwed each other to eternal damnation.)
The best response came from Sen. Sam Brownback. I'm not sure if Brownback was knowingly making mugs or just speaking Congress-ese without realizing the double meaning; but Brownback called adultery a "touchy" issue and said that he wanted to "chew through" it. I am not making this up. Send your contribution to: 410 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington D.C.
Vince Snowbarger didn't make an error in his answer to the Journal-World, he just made an ass out of himself. He said something to make himself sound like a pillar of morality and goodness, rather than simply let his voting record and other work as a congressman illustrate that for him. You've been married for 25 years, so what? Roberts and Moran have too, and you don't hear them proclaiming their fidelity from the rotunda.
Not only was it a stupid thing for Snowbarger to say, it was a misdirected question for Toplikar to ask. Congress doesn't make military law, and they couldn't legislate morality even if they did.
Snowbarger, to be fair, is a good and decent man who probably hasn't cheated on his wife. But he's cheated me out of decent representation, if he's spending his time on the phone with Toplikar answering dumb questions rather than doing something more productive, like bouncing checks
And I even voted for the guy.
Andy Obermueeller is a Liberal, Kan., senior in Journal-
lam.
Letters
I am writing to remember my friend, LaTina Sullivan, and to give those who didn't have the chance to know her a glimpse into what an inspiration she was.
Friends of Sullivan express emotions, sense of loss
Perhaps LaTina's personality was best expressed in her writing. LaTina looked at the world and saw everything — the good and the bad — so realistically. She had a unique gift in her ability to put down
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on paper exactly what she saw so the rest of us could see it, too.
But the impact LaTina made wasn't just to the Kansan, or any of the other campus groups she belonged to.
At the Kansan, we often needed LaTina, who could see the world around her so clearly, to clear the way for the rest of us.
I first learned of the news in class. A girl came in, and talking to those around me, asked if anyone had heard. "Heard what??" "A professor told me that LaTina Sullivan, the Kansan editor, died last night." My head shot up from the paper I was reading. That was how I found out about the death of my friend. I tried not to believe, going back to the sports section of my paper, convincing myself it wasn't true, and that the Royals actually were interesting. But I had a bad feeling in my gut, and as I made my way down to the newsroom to ask, I already knew it was true.
Just in the way she lived.
LaTina made a powerful impression on me, one I won't soon forget. Although her time here was short, the inspiration she was to many of us lives on.
I am lucky to have known LaTina Sullivan, and I miss her greatly.
Tina and I weren't extremely close. We were friends, but I didn't exactly sleep over at her house or talk to her on the phone every night. Maybe that was why I was so depressed at first. I think death is that much more difficult when you know that a potential true friendship was there, but it was never developed. I realized that I had always admired Tina, although neither of us were really aware of it. She had three, count 'em, three jobs, and was involved in numerous activities, but she always managed to keep her
Kim Crabtree 1997 graduate
sanity and have a little fun. She was always "in the know" and culturally speaking, this girl would blow you out of the water.
As I tried to come to terms with the truth, I read Tina's old articles in the J-School Library, and one of them struck a chord. In an April 28, 1997, article, she urged people of color to contribute to the paper. "It only takes one person's voice to help create change, however, 50 voices
She was the kind of person who never let you know when she was down, because she was always making sure you were okay. When she won an essay contest my sorority held, she thanked us for opening up "this opportunity for women of color all over campus." She was thinking of others even in her moment of glory.
Delta Sigma Theta, her sorority, was the love of her life, and she was extremely dedicated to it. Our two sororities managed to become very close throughout the school year, and each time we did community service together, or just kind of hung out, Tina developed a bigger and bigger place in our hearts.
will make sure you get heard." It felt as if she was talking directly to me. You see, April 28th was my birthday. Instead of kicking ourselves for the things we didn't say to her when she was here, she was telling us to find a cause, any cause, and support it. To Tina, I think that will mean more than words ever could.
As I walked out of the library, I remembered once telling Tina I'd decided to major in journalism. She smiled at me and said, "Girl, if you ever need any help, with anything, let me know. I wanna' see us make it." You, Tina, made it so much further than you will ever know.
I thought about the giving, caring person she was, and the beginning of a poem I'd heard came to mind: "Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep." She isn't really gone. Only in the most physical sense of the word is that true. If your heart was ever touched by LaTina Sullivan, she's still there, still touching you, making sure you're okay, and asking if there's anything she can do.
Erica Van Ross Kansas City, Kan., junior