OPINION
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PUBLISHED DAILY SINCE 1912
CRAIG LANG, Editor
SUSANNA LOOP, Managing Editor
KIMBELY CRATTREE, Editorial Director
TOM ERLEN, General manager, news adviser
MARK OZMEK, Business manager
DENNIS HAUPT, Retail sales manager
JUSTIN KNUPP, Technology coordinator
JA STENNER, Sales and marketing adviser
Friday, May 2,1997
Julianne Donovan/ KANSAN
Editorials
Fraternity's 'white trash' party mocks poor, underprivileged
Everybody loves a theme party, right? Great themes for parties include The '60s, The Roaring '20s, costume parties, St. Patrick's Day parties and, as one KU fraternity's party was titled a few weeks ago, a White Trash Date Dash.
A white trash theme party? That is not in the same family as parties where you dress in green and drink green beer or wear flapper clothes and smoke long cigarettes or mix and match plaids and stripes.
A white trash theme party singles out an economically disadvantaged class – poor white people – and belittes their real life problems. So those well-off fraternity members who spend a night acting like white trash by wearing ripped-up jeans and muscle are committing acts of intolerance. With their party-time behavior, fraternity members imply that the problems of white trash are merely
To say people shouldn't make fun of others is not political correctness.
those of poor dress and shoddy manners. The reality is much more serious. The problems of "white trash," like the problems of poor people anywhere, are institutionalized cycles of poverty, poor education and limited opportunities.
The term white trash itself is a joke, sure enough, and perhaps the fraternity did not intend to target anyone in particular. But it is a term with a history. "White trash" was used to distinguish poor whites from poor blacks in the Reconstruction South - and it is a term that presently includes welfare mothers, battered wives, undernourished children, the illiterate, the unemployed and
the mentally disadvantaged. Further, the emphasis on the term white seems to imply that most trash is nonwhite, as people similarly emphasize when they say someone is a woman doctor or a Black lawyer.
Throwing a White Trash Party is akin to hosting a Bag Lady Jubilee, a Poor People's Party, a Bums' Bash or a Crack Addict Fete. With terms like white trash, and parties like the White Trash Date Dash, those who have secure and satisfying places in society easily distance themselves from those who do not. And, as we all know, making fun of a serious social problem is a good way to avoid taking responsibility for it or working to change it.
To say that people should not have fun at the expense of others is not simply bowing to political correctness. It is a basic rule of human kindness.
LAURA WEXLER FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
FDA rules check tobacco industry
The deception now may have ended.
Tobacco giants such as RJ Reynolds and Phillip Morris may have lost just the political power they have been using for years to convince people to smoke cigarettes. And they lost this power in their own backyard.
A recent decision by a federal court in North Carolina, the heart of tobacco country, gave authority to the Food and Drug Administration to regulate nicotine as a drug. If this ruling is upheld, the FDA will not only be able to inform the public about the concentration of nicotine in tobacco products, it also will be able to control this concentration as well.
For years, tobacco companies have had the freedom to put as much nicotine in their tobacco products as they liked. In addition, they have argued that nicotine is not addictive, in defiance of FDA studies which proved otherwise.
Nicotine is an addictive substance that should be regulated by the FDA.
Obviously tobacco companies have not asked college smokers, some of whom have been smoking for several years, if nicotine was addictive. Many of these smokers claim to be able to quit at any time, but when they try they realize how addictive the nicotine in cigarettes really is.
In addition, the FDA can regulate the labeling of tobacco products so smokers know exactly what they are inhaling. The FDA also can place more stringent warning labels on tobacco products to warn of the addictive nature of nicotine.
Students have been the target of tobacco advertisements since they were in high school.
In an era of consternation over government regulation, there are still some things that the government should regulate. Nicotine is one of them. By regulating nicotine, the FDA can better regulate underage access to tobacco products.
No one is suggesting infringement upon the freedom of smokers older than 18. The court is suggesting that the tobacco industry should no longer be allowed to misrepresent the amount of nicotine in their tobacco products and the addictive nature of nicotine. FDA regulations on nicotine are a much needed check on the tobacco industry.
With FDA restrictions, it will be more difficult for young people to become targets of the tobacco industry. It may help to curb the number of underage smokers by hampering their ability to buy tobacco products.
NICK ZALLER FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
ADVERTISING MANAGERS
HEATHER VALLER . . . Assistant retail
JULIE PEDLAR . . . Campus
DANA CENTENO . . . Regional
ANNETTE HOVER . . . National
BRIAN PAGEL . . . Marketing
SARAH SCHERWINSKI . . . Internet
DARCI McLAIN . . . Production
DENA PISCOTTE . . . Production
ALLISON PIERCE . . Special sections
SARA ROSE . . . Creative
DANA LAUETZ . . Public relations
BRIAN LEFEVRE . . Classified
RACHEL RUBIN . . Assistant classified
BRIDGET COLLYER . . Zone
JULIE DEWITT . . Zone
CHRIS HAGHIRIAN . . Zone
LIZ HESS . . Zone
ANTHONY MIGLIAZZO . . Zone
MARIA CRIST . . Senior account executive
LATINA SULLIVAN . . . Associate Editorial
KRISTIE BLAIS . . . News
NOVELDA SOMMERS . . . News
LESLIE TAYLOR . . . News
AMANDA TRAUGHBER . . . News
TARA TRENYARD . . . News
DAVID TESKA . . . Online
SPENCER DUNCAN . . Sports
GINA THORNBURG . . Associate Sports
BRADELEY BROOKS . . Campus
LINDSHEY HENRY . . Campus
DAVE BRETTESTEIN . Features
PAM DISHMAN. . Photo
TYLER WIKEN . Photo
BRYAN VOLK . Design
ANDY ROHRBACK . Graphics
ANDREA ALBRIGHT . Wire
LZ MUSSER . Special sections
AEERICA VEAZEY . News clerk
NEWS EDITORS
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.
Guest columns: For this semester are no longer being accepted because of time constraints.
Candid forums found on our bathroom walls
Column
"A man's ambition must indeed be small to write his name upon a bathroom wall."
All letter and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stuffer Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Kim Crabtree (opinion@kansan.com) or LaTina Sullivan (isillianv@kansan.com) at 864-4810.
If the history of slurred messages found on public restroom walls is any indication of humankind's intellectual evolution, then Charles Darwin would be correct.
Darwin would be scratching his head right now, wondering what went wrong.
The first form of writing was invented in Egypt approximately 5,000 years ago on a sunny Friday afternoon. By Friday night, "the Pharaoh sucks" was scrawled on the stone wall of some local drinking establishment's little boy's room.
It's only a matter of time before some bohemian New Yorker who thinks he's the next Warhol removes the scribble-covered wall of a slippery bathroom in the Village and places it directly in the Museum of Modern Art. "A woman's rule of thumb: If it has tires or testicles, you're going to have trouble with it," will be declared by art critics to be a brilliant slice of urban decay.
Bathroom scribes are no longer content with simple messages like, "For a good time, call Jenny at 867-5309." Their writing, enriched and sharpened over time, now communicates sparkling compositions such as "No wonder Kansas is windy; Nebraska sucks and Oklahoma blows."
Whoever first put pen to wall in a public lavatory had no idea what type of literary revolution he was leading.
Although we Americans did not invent bathroom graffiti, we surely have made it an art form.
Not only do bathroom authors have readers, they enjoy repliers. Prompt, anonymous and often drunk, these faceless toilet dwellers contribute their most natural, base reactions.
Now we transcribe the first thought that passes into our minds and find a larger, more responsive audience in the third stall of the men's bathroom at the Bottleneck than does George Will's average Newsweek column.
Something about sitting on the same filthy toilet seat as multiple strangers brings out deep
thoughts on all aspects of society.
These reflections are not considered a complete success unless they deliberately and deeply offend segments of the bathroom-going citizenry.
I once wrote on a clean wall above the urinal at McDonald's, and when I returned two weeks later an entire dialogue had ensued.
I had simply written my first thought: "What are you looking up here for?"
One last writer had brought the discourse to a close by calling the whole cage of animals "idiotic vandals," conveniently overlooking the fact that he had locked himself in the pen with the rest of us.
Some comedian had responded, "Yeah, why? The real joke is in your hands."
Below, some pleasant fellow had referred to the comedian as some sort of "butt pirate," to which the name-caller in turn received the appellation of "homophobic schmuck."
Such an exchange is commonplace.
Yet it says so much about who we are and what we believe.
People are true to their own feelings when their identities remain anonymous.
Bathroom wall literature has become the most diverse forum for brutally candid debates on all issues — at least for those people in the process of relieving themselves.
Bathroom walls like the one at McDonald's are undeniable proof that humans are an argumentative, close-minded bunch of jerks.
Nowhere else, with the possible exceptions of car bumpers and the Internet, do we express such widely read and hotly contested opinions on politics, sexuality and bodily functions.
Something about such nameless doodling on a dirty wall attracts our attention much like a rerun of The Love Boat.
When we see a sign on a condom machine that reads, "For refund, insert baby here," we laugh and tell our friends. The following trip to the bathroom, we read a little more.
We can't pinpoint exactly why we're interested.
We just know we're interested.
And sometimes, we bring a magic marker in with us.
Jeff Ruby is a Wichita graduate student in Journalism.
Letters
Ryun's concern should be with his constituents
My heart went out to the 5-year-old Spencer Duncan when I read his column about how Jim Ryun responded to his request for an autograph at the 1981 KU Relays.
So, Spencer, I'd be more than happy to get you a photocopy of the check and fulfill the dream you've pursued for so long. A small donation can be sent to me in care of the bookstore.
I had the opportunity to meet Ryun on April 19 at the relays. I was working at one of the stands that sold T-shirts for the bookstore. He politely, yet firmly, requested a rather large quantity of the official Relay T-shirts.
As a democrat, I could care less what Ryun stands for politically. But as a representative of the University and now of his country, he should be a little more concerned with what he can do for his supporters instead of what they can do for him.
Without asking if we would accept a personal check, he whipped out for check book and began writing. I accepted his check without asking for identification. I figure that if the check bounces, then the government will surely reimburse the bookstore the full amount plus the $20 returned check fee.
Jodi Olson Junction City senior
Alternative biology labs are necessary
We are writing in response to the Kansan editorial opposing alternative biology labs for those with ethical objections to dissection. The Kansan abused its capacity for shaping campus opinion by writing an under-researched and poorly reasoned editorial on an important campus issue. By relying on one source, the Kansan formed an opinion based on biased information. Although Dean Stetler, director of undergraduate biology, may see only one or two objector a year, many more do object but never make it into his office. Fortunate students are able to work out an alternative with their instructor, but many face intimidation and disrespect, which make alternative lab sections a necessity.
On April 24, Proponents of Animal Liberation met with Stetler to discuss a student choice policy that would include alternative labs sections. Stetler made it clear that he was not in favor of making a general statement that informed students of their rights to alternative lab or required instructors to inform students of that right at the beginning of the semester.
Furthermore, the Kansan assumption that alternative are too costly is unfounded. Did the Kansan research these cost?
Biological supply companies deplete natural populations of animals, buy stolen pets to be preserved for dissection and kill animals with painful procedures.
Many alternative are cheaper and would be less expensive in the long run. Unlike dead frogs, alternative models are reusable and easily shared by many students.
We must remember that frog specimens are not free. And in addition to their price, they have substantial social, environmental and moral cost.
Michael Schmitt
Harrisonbury, Va.,
graduate student
Laura Ford
Watertown, S.D., sophomore
Why is Stetter afraid to make such a statement if he is so certain that only a handful of students object to dissection?
The Division of Biological Sciences claims to handle students' objections to dissection on an individual basis. However, to get access to alternative labs students must endure a time-consuming and stressful process, and the results are often less than satisfactory. Until the biology department adopts a student choice policy, students will continue to be unfairly punished for their beliefs. The value of such a policy should not be critiqued on assumptions about its potential cost or the number of students it will affect. It should be judged by its power to protect individual rights and freedoms, and weighed against the discrimination and violation of democratic ideals that occur in its absence.
Sullivan and Walden attempted to comply with the elections code. However, they unwittingly violated a provision that they didn't believe would apply to a situation in which a long-time friend gave advice with regard to their campaign.
Editorial board was too harsh on Sullivan
They don't have the opportunity to learn from experience or past mistakes.
Ian Ritter and the Kansan Editorial board can't suggest in good faith that Scott Sullivan and Mike Walden should be removed from their offices.
Students only run for Student Senate president and vice-president once.
Now that it has become clear that the provision does apply to that situation, Sullivan and Walden have acknowledged their mistake and will pay fines that exceed a semester's tuition for their mistake.
The Kansan and the student body should commend Sullivan for running his campaign at all.
Scott is my brother, and our mother died tragically and unexpectedly in January after what appeared to be a successful battle with breast cancer.
Sullivan's return to school and his campaign efforts for his coalition required strength, courage and more.
He resisted the urge to take a semester off and stay home with his family because becoming student body president was what he had worked for—his dream.
He returned to school to run his campaign because he thought that he had good ideas and that he could implement those ideas as president, and also because his mom would have wanted him to use those ideas to improve the campus.
Sullivan and Walden have acknowledged their mistake and will pay for it.
The editorial board recommendation that the will of the majority be thwarted is crass, totally inappropriate to the violation alleged and an exploitation of power.
Jill Houlahan San Diego, Diego class of 1993