4A
Wednesday, June 26, 1996
OPINION
UN I V E R S I T Y D A I L Y K A N S A N
VIEWPOINT
Ordinance should focus on criminals, not victims
In the interest of public safety, the Lawrence City Commission approved an ordinance last Tuesday that makes neglecting to remove graffiti illegal. A property owner who neglects to remove the graffiti could be punished with the same fine as the perpetrator of the crime. Although the ordinance is aimed at preventing gang activity and other crime, the commission places the blame of the problem on the wrong party. It punishes the victim.
The ordinance states that property owners have two weeks to respond to city notification to have graffiti removed. If the owner responds within this time frame, the city will paint over the graffiti at no charge to the owner. However, neglecting to remove graffiti could cost the victim of the crime as dearly as the perpetrator. The owner could be fined $250 to $1000 and/or six months
THE ISSUE:
Graffiti ordinance
in.jail.
Property owners who neglect to remove graffiti could pay as dearly as the perpetrator of the crime.
This ordinance may be hard on crime, but it is soft on criminals. The city should prevent graffiti at its source by making the punishment for graffiti artists steeper than the punishment for their victims' negligence.
The focus of an anti-graffiti campaign should be prevention through vigilance.
It is in the best interest of property owners to keep their property free of graffiti to prevent crime. However, the city should rely on the owners to remove graffiti and concentrate on the punishment of the criminal, not the victim.
THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Students' apathy apparent in lack of participation
It takes the collective efforts of all students to protect student rights and keep a watchful eye on the University of Kansas spending. Despite many opportunities to voice concerns and participate in decision-making at the University, students are apathetic, failing to express their opinions and concerns. The efforts of a few dedicated students are easily countered by more powerful organizations and the administration.
Voting, the easiest and most accessible student participation, is exercised by few students. For instance, the proposed $21 million recreation center, which would have raised student fees from $13 to $90 a semester, attracted only 15 percent of the student vote. This disturbing turnout is
THE ISSUE:
Student apathy
Students should voice their opinions about campus issues and participate in decisionmaking at the University.
slightly worse than that of Student Senate elections, which only brought 3,575 students to the polls.
Once known as the "Berkeley of the Midwest," the University has become a mecca of apathy. As student civil liberties grow more uncertain each day, it would be reassuring to know students would take action if needed. KU students must shed their stereotypical image as indifferent Generation X-ers and voice their opinions about campus issues.
JEREMY LIND FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Shawn Trimble / KANSAN
Random acts of kindness restore faith in humanity
After unloading their mountain of items and presenting the cashier with what seemed like a million coupons, they began counting out the amount due in food stamps. I looked away, pretending to be examining some imaginary object
It's easy to be cynical. Every time we open the newspaper or watch the news, we are exposed to a stream of brutality, corruption and divisiveness. This results in a dog-eat-dog mentality that often blinds us to simple acts of kindness that come our way.
I made a recent trip to the grocery store to purchase batteries. Spending money always makes me uncomfortable, so I looked at the selection for a while before I settled for some moderately-priced batteries. I probably would have spent longer, but I thought my lengthy decision process was arousing suspicion among the store employees.
I entered the 14-items-orless express lane and waited my turn. I became annoyed when I realized that the couple in front of me had more than 14 items — a grocery store felony in my book. Not only that, but they were digging through a coupon wallet. It seemed like they had a coupon for every item in their cart.
STAFF COLUMNIST
in the distance. I always feel compelled to respect people's financial privacy, particularly food-stamp recipients. I get so annoyed when others stare and gawk as if they were present live chickens for payment.
The cashier finished the transaction, and the con-
ple moved ahead enough that I could proceed with my purchase. The woman and I made eye contact with each other and exchanged smiles. Before I knew it, she had riffled through that previously annoying coupon wallet and presented me with a coupon for $1 off the brand of batteries I had chosen.
This simple act of generosity from someone who had little to give filled my heart with emotion. I thanked her, and she and her companion were on their way. I barely heard the cashier when he told me what I owed. I had just experienced what is trendly known as a random act of kindness, a simple act of beauty.
This woman didn't know me. She
had nothing to gain from being kind. She reached out and offered a hand to'a fellow human being.I felt that my simple words of thanks were inadequate repayment for the depth of gratitude that I felt.
If you're thinking, "Get a life, it was only a coupon," then you have become hardened to the joy that is found in such an experience. It was much more than a coupon. It was a lesson in humanity.
It made me realize how pathetically self-absorbed I was while standing in that line. I was worried that she was breaking the cardinal rules of the express lane and wasting other people's time, while she and her companion were worried about stretching their grocery dollar. She saw beyond herself and extended an unconditional good deed to a complete stranger.
This event will stick with me forever. It helps me remember that despite all of the reasons to be cynical about life, there are people with the power to restore our faith in humanity with the simplest acts and words. Wherever you are, coupon lady, I hope your life is rich and full.
Shannon Tauscher is a Lawrence senior in social welfare.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Mistakes could destroy University's reputation
I am a third-generation KU alumnus and a graduate student at the University. At the end of the school year, I began a research job on campus. After a month, I looked forward to my first paycheck. To my surprise, the check did not arrive on June 14 as it was supposed to. I was promised that it would arrive on June 20 at the latest. I received nothing.
The payroll clerk said that it was not her fault, but the state's. As a starving graduate student, this was distressing. In fact, I bounced two checks to utility companies because the money was not in my account. I was forced to take out an endowment loan for 75 percent of my paycheck.
I assumed this was a rare occurrence, but I have learned this is not the case. My banker informed me that this has become a regular occurrence with customers who are University employees.
I have heard a horror story about a University employee who has yet to receive a check for the entire month of November. Another employee related an experience of a co-worker who was not paid for three months. Most distressing was an account of someone who could not make a car payment because of a missed paycheck. When she demanded documentation for the loan agency that it was not her fault, the University would not give it to her.
reputation as a disorganized and carelessly run institution. This reputation will endure longer than it will take to correct the situation. Do students, faculty, alumni and citizens want this type of reputation for a school that prides itself on excellence? How can the school expect to attract nationally known professors if they can't be guaranteed a paycheck?
This is a large university, and mistakes happen. However, error has become a part of the process. This could earn the University a
I hope that Chancellor Hemenway and other University officials correct this problem before it destroys the reputation of excellence that people such as my grandfather and other Kansans have worked hard to accomplish.
Steve Garrison KU graduate student
LesBiGayS OK changes name to welcome transgendered
LesBiGay Services of Kansas has changed its name to KU Queers and Allies: LesBiGayTrans Services of Kansas to include those who identify themselves as transgender. Including the word "transgender" in the Queers and Allies coalition also symbolizes a commitment to ending gender prejudice and discrimination.
Transgendered
STAFF COLUMNIST
Transgender people traverse the boundaries of sex — male, female, intersexual — and/or gender expression — feminine, masculine, and gynoidous and other variations. They include transsexuals, transvestites, transgenderists, drag queens and kings, masculine
women, feminine men and intersexuals, which are people often referred to as hermaphrodites. Queers and Allies is a more inclusive coalition, and the name change is a positive step toward equality.
By including transgender in the name, Queers and Allies is explicitly saying to a community of people previously not included by name, "You are safe and welcome here." I applaud members of Queers and Allies for its courage and leadership.
The name change is a logical step for Queers and Allies. Not only are lesbigay people discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation, they also are targets of gender prejudice.
The stereotypes of lesbigay people have as much to do with gender as they do with sexual orientation. Lesbigay people have increasingly come to see that gender prejudice affects the community.
Heterosexual men and women also are held to rigid gender roles. All men and women who violate what is considered to be acceptable masculinity or femininity, regardless of sexual orientation, potentially are targets of gender discrimination. Thus, it is in everyone's interests to end gender discrimination.
The University has a long-standing commitment to equality. Its nondiscrimination policy forbids discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, color, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, age, and marital, veteran and parental statuses. I want to encourage everyone to continue to make the University a welcome place for all people, regardless of gender expression.
One way to accomplish this is to include the word "gender" in our nondiscrimination policy, sending a message that the University is a place where all people can learn and work, regardless of gender identity or expression. Now the policy includes the word "sex" but not "gender." Sex discrimination is based on whether one is male, female or intersexual. Gender discrimination is based on one's masculinity, femininity, or androgyny.
Including "gender" in our policy would establish the unacceptability of gender discrimination, provide a formal means to redress grievances and enhance the University's reputation as progressive and equitable institution.
I hope the University will adopt such an inclusive policy so that everyone, including the transgendered among us, will be safe and welcome here.
Christine Robinson is a doctoral candidate in sociology.
KANSAN STAFF
SARAH WIESE
Editor
CRAIG LANG Managing editor
TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser
KAREN GERSCH
Business manager
SARA ROSE
Director of Client Services
JAYSTEINER
Sales and marketing adviser
JUSTIN KNUPP
Technology coordinator
Editors
Campus...Jason Strait
Associate Campus...Dan Goleton
Editorial...Kim Becka
Photo...Edmee Rodriguez
Wire...Craig Lang
Design...Craig Lang
Copy Chief...Julie King
Business Staff
Campus / Regional mgr...Shelly Wachter
Special Sections mgr ...Rachel Cahill
Production mgr ...Karen Gerech
Assistant Creative dir ...Dana Pisciolette
Classified mgr ...Stecey Wongartan
Zone mgr ...Troy Sauer
Monish Boud
OUT FROM THE CRACKS
By Jeremy Patnoi