OPINION
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PUBLISHED DAILY SINCE 1912
CRAG LANG, Editor
SUSANA LOOP, Managing editor
KIMBERLY CRABTREE, Editorial editor
TOM EBILEN, General manager, news advisor
MARK OZMER, Business manager
DENNIS HAUPT, Retail sales manager
JUSTIN KNUPPE, Technology coordinator
JAY STEINER, Sales and marketing adviser
Tuesday, April 8, 1997
Editorials
Students should acknowledge importance of Senate by voting
Student Senate elections open tomorrow. With debates scheduled, flyers posted and campaign information proliferated throughout campus, the election seems to be indelibly tied to all students at the university. However, none of this will matter if students fail to vote.
Despite the massive campaigning by coalitions and individuals, few students not involved with the political process feel the need to vote. Many cite indifference as a reason. They feel left out, simply doubt the effectiveness of their votes or wonder if the people they elect can really affect them.
Although the effect of Senate on some students might be debatable, the overall effect on the operations of the University — and the student body as a whole — cannot be denied. The budget controlled by Senate rivals underpaid NBA stars. Decisions made by Senate
Student Senate is your representation at KU. Your vote is your voice.
affect how students conduct themselves, relate to their professors and enjoy their time at the University.
Senate works for the bettermot of all students. If students fail to vote, they are allowing themselves to not be represented and to let their voices go unheard. Although in some cases students might not be affected in an individual sense, all students are tied to the student body as a whole, no matter how much they may deny it.
The fact that each student is a member of the group most dramatically affected, and the to that Senate is accountable, to gives all of us an undeniable responsibility to vote for how they are represented.
Apathy will keep many from the polls this year. But without any voters, there would be no accountable government. And without government, things would be drastically different both for students as a group and as individuals
To avoid voting is to shirk responsibility. This year, like every other, students need to steel themselves, wait in line to vote and help shape their future at the University.
Voting is tomorrow and Thursday and booths will be available at Wescoe Beach, outside Haworth Hall, in front of Strong Hall and in the Kansas and Burge Unions. All booths are open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both days, and the booths at both unions will be open until 7 p.m. tomorrow.
Get out and vote!
GERRY DOYLE FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Scholarship hall fund causing fuss
There seems to be some sort of uproar about the University of Kansas mismanaging funds belonging to Watkins and Miller Scholarship Halls. Several Watkins Hall alumnae said the scholarship halls were being deprived of money that they deserved to be receiving. What truly seems to be the case is that through some legal technicalities and these few vocal alumnae, the whole situation has been blown out of proportion.
Elizabeth Miller Watkins established Watkins Hall in 1926 and Miller Hall in 1937. She subsidized the operations of these scholarship halls to provide women with financial support for their education. She succeeded in creating an inexpensive living environment.
After her death in 1939, instructions in her will established a trust fund that provided the upkeep, maintenance and operation of Watkins and Miller. The alumnae feel this trust fund has not been managed appropriately.
It seems that a few alumnae are making a big deal of a small problem.
The problem involves a great deal of technicalities. First of all, when Watkins originally established the trust, the economy was still climbing out of the Depression. Many economic programs were just beginning to take effect, such as the Federal Reserve System, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Social Security Act. These programs played a major role in the investment techniques of our nation.
The alumnae's biggest request is that an independent, rent-setting committee be re-established so that the public may know how the trust's money is being spent. A committee like this is called for in the halls' deeds, and it did exist for some time. However, this committee
was taken over by the University. This seems appropriate because Watkins and Miller are part of University housing.
The most absurd aspect of the ordeal is that the two alumnae who are the most adamant about the supposed mismanagement do not even live in Lawrence, yet they have spurred an investigation of Watkins's expenditures at the attorney general's office.
Women residing in the scholarship hall do not see the big deal about the fund. The $75 monthly rent allows women to live a bit easier than most University students, and Watkins' president Shannon Norman said she has no problem with the rent level or the maintenance that the scholarship hall receives.
Although the University may have taken more authority than it was granted originally, the scholarship halls seem to be doing quite well. If something is not broken, there is no reason to fix it.
KANSAN STAFF
NEWS EDITORS
CODY SIMMS FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
LATINA SULLIVAN ... Associate Editorial
KRISTIE BLASI ... News
NOVELDA SOMMERS ... News
LESLIE TAYLOR ... News
AMANDA TRAUGHBER ... News
TARA TRENARY ... News
DAVID TESKA ... Online
SPENCER DUNCAN ... Sports
GINA THORNBURG ... Associate Sports
BRADLEYBrooks ... Campus
LINDSHEY HENRY ... Campus
DAVE BRETTENSTEIN ... Features
PAM DISHMAN ... Photo
TYLER WIRKEN ... Photo
BRYAN VOLK ... Design
ANDY ROHRBACK ... Graphics
ANDREA ALBRIGHT ... Wire
LZ MUSSER ... Special sections
AERICA VEAZEY ... News clerk
ADVERTISING MANAGERS
HEATHER VALLER ... Assistant retail
JULIE PEDLAR ... Campus
DANA CENTENO ... Regional
ANNETTE HOVER ... National
BRIAN PAGEL ... Marketing
SARAH SCHERWINSKI ... Internet
DARCI McCLAIN ... Production
DENA PISCIOTTE ... Production
ALLISON PIERCE ... Special sections
SARA ROSE ... Creative
DANA LAUVETZ ... Public relations
BRIAN LEFEVRE ... Classified
RACHEL RUBIN ... Assistant classified
BRIDGET COLLYER ... Zone
JULIE DEWITT ... Zone
CHRIS HAGHIRIAN ... Zone
LZ HESS ... Zone
ANTHONY MIGLIAZCO ... Zone
MARIA CREST ... Senior account executive
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Being a Kansas native is nothing to be ashamed of
Columns
We are cursed with an identity crisis that runs as deep as our world's largest hand-dug well, in Greensburg, Kan. Too podunk to blend into the big city but not quite rural enough to know how to milk a cow or pitch a horseshoe, we can think only about finding a way out of America's social Siberia.
Sometimes it feels as though we Kansans are born with an incurable defect.
When we do make it elsewhere, Kansas becomes the focal point of our identity. Kansans who travel abroad find the worldly people they meet to be incredulous that a
Kansas native would even have the drive to venture further east than Ohio. And foreign students who study here are asked repeatedly by their friends back home, "Why Kansas?" or "Where's Kansas?" Or even worse, "What's Kansas?"
Never before was the perceived difference between Kansas and the rest of the world so immense to me as when I was a freshman at the University of Colorado in 1990. At a dorm meeting for all the new kids, we were to go around the room and say where we were from. Simple enough
But I could feel myself tensing up as my turn to speak drew near. I was eager to make a good first impression. And I was certain that being thought of as a naive Kansas farm boy was not the way to do it. I considered saying I was from San Diego. Or Seattle. Or anywhere. Even Iowa didn't sound so countryish as the sound of the word "Kansas" clanging off my tongue.
Chicago is not too far. Dallas and Denver are even closer. But when we leave the gentle arms of Emporia, Hays or Olathe, all we can think about is returning to the state that raised us from adolescence to adulthood.
I simply froze up and told the truth. "My name's Jeff Ruby ... and I'm from Wichita, KAN-sas." The people in the circle were flabbergasted. A real,
live Kansas boy right here in the room? The way they eyeball me, I may as well have been a Tibetan monk — not an 18-year-old from the state next door.
"Kansas?" people from the East and West Coasts ask. "What the hell's in Kansas?" They seem to think all Midwesterners are still riding with Tonto over to the saloon for a shot of bartender Sam's deadly moonshine and taking dumps in dusty outhouses. Some of the more polite Bostonians I've talked to have such kind things to say as, "I drove through Kansas one time. Most boring eight hours of my life." In their Massachusetts enlightenment, they never even consider this an insult, just a simple fact.
A loud-mouthed freshman piped in, "Kansas? Did you drive your tractor to Boulder?" To which everyone laughed heartily, including me, because, like all other freshmen, I wanted desperately to be liked.
When it got to the funny guy's turn, he said, "My name's so-and-so, and I'm from Fort Collins, Colorado." He was immediately accepted as one of them. I found out later that Fort Collins is a town of about 60,000 people near the border of Wyoming. I came from a city about five times larger than his and somehow I was the boogon because my hometown was in Kansas.
I became numb to such statements. I didn't know if I should argue with them. This is the essence of the Kansas identity crisis. We're too proud to agree with Kansas-bashers but not proud enough to stand up for our state. So I don't even flinch anymore when someone says "There's no place like home," asks me how Toto is doing or implies that I commonly have intimate relations with certain non-domesticated animals.
Americans' geographical bigotries are set in stone. The only way I know to challenge such close-minded attitudes is to prove that although I hail from the sunflower state, I'm a normal, educated person without a trace of racism, inbreeding or banjo-playing abilities.
Jeff Ruby is a Wichita graduate student in Journalism.
Beware: Cults are alive at University of Kansas
The Heaven's Gate mass suicide is putting cults on trial all across America. Participation in cults is in no way restricted to Southern California. Cults are a widespread phenomenon and should be noticed whenever these groups pop up. The fol-
First, members of the Heaven's Gate cult all lived together in a big house. From their large mansion-styled house, the cult planned and executed its scheme to meet
sity community that there are cults here at the University. It is unnerving how many living organizations on this campus have characteristics that bear startling similarities to the Heaven's Gate participants.
Second, the Heaven's Gate cult members all dressed alike. They wore matching shoes, pants and shirts. Here at the University there are many of these "house dwellers" who also dress alike. At times there are many students that can easily be identified as part of such a group by their dirty white hats or T-shirts with strange symbols on them. Watch out.
with the "Level Above Humans." The large house had many rooms where people could sleep, meet, talk and eat together in a communal living arrangement. Here at the University of Kansas, there are many such mansion-styled houses that serve as a home to a great deal of people who also eat, talk and sleep together. Beware.
Third, the Heaven's Gate crew had a preoccupation with computers. The cult had many computers inside its mansion and used them for a plethora of purposes. Many of the "house dwellers" here at the University also have banks of computers inside their mansions. I readily admit I have many "house dweller" friends, and when I have visited their houses, I have seen these computer banks Prepare yourself.
Fourth, the Heaven's Gate cult members all came from upper-middle class backgrounds. Indeed, the "house dwellers" at the University all come from primarily upper-middle class backgrounds. The similarities are beginning to frighten you, no?
Don't let the University get swept into the contemporary current of malicious cult casualties. Now is the time to expose cults wherever they are. Save America. Do it now.
People beware. Cults are on the rise in America. Heaven's Gate is only the latest manifestation of cults. Other cults are lurking beneath the fabric of seemingly innocuous places, such as colleges. Something darker is afoot, as they portray themselves as harmless community dwellers.
Only self-awareness, independence and free thinking can stop the devastating potential of cults. If you or a loved one belongs to a cult, tell him or her it is OK to quit.
Carson Eiriod is a Topeka senior in U.S. history and theater.
Finally, the Heaven's Gate cult put forth a popular image of being a peaceful religion devoted to achieving a higher being. However, in reality, it was a dark cult, characterized by secret rituals, initiations and mindlessly following the general whim of the cult. Here at the University, many of the "house dwellers" conduct initiation, have secret handshakes, participate in rituals and sometimes mindlessly do whatever the rest of the house does. Nick nack patty whack give a dog a bone, I think we have proof positive of cult activity at the University.
Sixth, the Heaven's Gate cult utilized bunk beds with matching purple sheets. Eerily enough, the majority of houses at the University have rooms devoted exclusively to bunk beds for younger members. Someone call Cult Watch.
Fifth, in the Heaven's Gate cult, there was a designated leader. For Heaven's Gate, the leader was given the nickname "Do." Here at the University, the "house dwellers" generally choose an older member to be in charge, and they give him a nickname too. Scary.
Seventh, the Heaven's Gate cult liked vodka. Needless to say, the "house dwellers" here at the University seem to like vodka and other alcoholic beverages, too. Although most KU "house dwellers" don't spike their alcohol with herbal poisons, there was a young "house dweller" hospitalized recently because he had alcohol "poisoning" from liking these beverages so much. Take heed.
Letter
Voters exercise their right to change Senate
Concerning the April 2 article about greek voter turnout for Student Senate elections: I applaud the University's sororites and fraternities for continuously exercising their votes to influence student government. This is an admirable unity and I congratulate them.
As for the underrepresented
83 percent of the student
population: I chide you for being
underrepresented. If, toomor-
row or Thursday you would momentarily stop in Strong Hall with your KUID, you could remedy this problem.
Student Senate has the potential to create change, but perhaps your historic apathy convinces you that to attempt change is futile. So you let 17 percent of the population do it for you.
If you have ever once wished you could promote change, any change, look in your Kansan. In it are three faces that would lead your University in very different directions.
Unless you would like a population of voters that do not represent the whole university to choose for you, go and elect a candidate who will subject the status quo to reevaluation.
It is only a quick stop in Strong Hall. Your representatives will do the rest of the work.
Casey Foster Leavenworth junior