A
Wednesday, March 13, 1996
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
Poor KU primary turnout proves politicians' point
On March 6, the Student Legislative Awareness Board conducted a primary straw poll to determine whom students would vote for to be president and to get an idea of the issues on students' minds. Only 700 students voted. This is an embarrassment.
The students always get the bad end of a deal. This is because they do not actively participate in the democratic process. It seems that tuition always goes up as education financing decreases. The reason for this is that politicians will go only for causes that can get the votes. Georgia Sen. Wych Fowler Jr. summed it up best in 1992, when he said, "Students don't vote. Do you expect me to come in here and kiss your ass?"
Because students make up the highest percentage of independent voters, they are considered a swing vote. But no one pays attention to students. This is because students have the lowest percentage of voter turnout. Just imagine what the candidates would be saying and doing if 20,000 KU students took part in the primary
THE ISSUE:
Student voter apathy
Some politicians think that students don't care about politics.The low turnout for the Student Primary doesn't help.
and 1,000,000 students participated nationwide.
Students don't vote because they say politicians don't care about them.
Politicians would care if students increased their voter turnout.
Another reason that students did not take part in the primary is that they think national politics does not affect them. This does not make sense, because thousands of KU students receive some sort of financial aid.Many of them also say that they would not be able to get an education without financial aid
Many students take democracy for granted, but a democracy will only work if the citizens actively participate. Students need to participate. This is the only way for politicians to take notice of issues that affect a large voter block.
SARBPAL HUNDAL FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
University Jewish organization displays leadership on campus
To cope with trying times, people tend to rally around one another. The University of Kansas Hillel Foundation is one of these rallying groups. A vigil was held on March 5 after four suicide-bomb attacks in Israel. The purpose of this vigil was to give hope and comfort to those affected by the Hamas attacks.
The deaths of friends and loved ones. Disruption in everyday lives. These are things that have faced the Jewish community in the past weeks. The militant Islamic group Hamas has attacked, killed and wounded several people in Israel. Some of these victims have friends here at the University of Kansas.
The Hillel Foundation always has tried to show solidarity among the Jewish community. Hillel showed quick response.
THE ISSUE:
Hillel involvement
organizing the vigil, which was characteristic of the foundation, and about 100 students and faculty members attended.
The vigil was one way that the foundation continued to show its support of the Israelis. When tragedy occurs, response often is needed, and Hillel provided the much needed outlet and comfort for those affected by the attacks in Israel. The senseless violence was met with sensitivity and comfort for the victims and their families. This kind of response is to be commended. The vigil was a sharp contrast to the violence of Hamas, and it gave hope to those students and faculty members affected.g
DEBBIE THOMPSON FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
"I FIND THIS WHOLE CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE OVER LEGAL VS. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BATHER AMUSING DON'T YOU?"
Chan Lowe / FORT LAUDERDALE SUN-SENTINEL
Authority, abuse of power may be one and the same
The right to bear arms is a key component in the protection of the individual against the state.
Elimination of guns in the hands of innocent and responsible people not only will leave them prone to the whims of the criminal element, but also it will leave the growing abusive tendency of police departments free to flourish.
Granting organization authority over others makes abuse of power is inevitable.
Videotape released last week depicting a South Carolina highway patrolman pulling a woman out of her car, forcing her face down onto the pavement and pointing a pistol to her head was a scene that has become so common that it did not receive even an aside mention in most of the media outlets. The woman's crime merely was speeding.
Not everyone involved in the politics of a certain institution necessarily will be guilty of flagrant mishandling and irresponsibility of the authority they hold or represent. But when an organization has can control life and liberty, it only takes one person with a superior attitude to derail the effectiveness of the system.
Each individual needs to accept the fact that where human authority is practiced, human error is destined to occur. Protection against that error is left to you and me.
The Los Angeles riots seem to overshadow the actual rape of justice preceding televised violence. The issue not only was one of racism, but also it was abuse of governmental power that finally had peaked within in the African-American community.
STAFF COLUMNIST
nightstick was slammed into Rodnei King's skull.
Police officers were notorious for unjustified harassment long before the first
Closer to home, Rayton police Capt. Edmund Stawicki was acquitted of driving under the influence charges recently, even after driving a squad car into a ditch following a stop at a neighborhood bar.
This illustrates not only the abuse of authority but also the buddy system involved within police departments nationwide.
When investigations and discipline procedures are handled internally, fraternal bonds are going to play a strong role in the adherence to punishment procedures.
Stawicki was dismissed on a technicality — the arresting officers neglected to read Stawicki his Miranda rights, an "oversight" that only occurred once in four years and 500 drunk-driving arrests in Raytown.
It is an obvious and frequently presented argument that gun control will not keep guns away from criminals.
Murder already is illegal, yet it has become a daily occurrence in our culture.
Abolition and control of firearms merely will keep law-abiding citizens naked from attack, both from criminals and "law enforcement" agencies. When people are not allowed to protect themselves and their families, tyranny eventually will reign.
I acknowledge the necessity for responsibility and regulation of such powerful weapons.
Gun owners should pass training courses, inspections and competency exams.
A seven-day waiting period is justifiable, and there is no need for a person to stockpile an arsenal or to possess weapons, such as automatic machine guns and the like, for mass destruction.
The issues are prevention, rooted in a slight amount of intimidation, and possession of power balanced on both sides.
If a police officer is in a situation where he or she fears retaliation, the need to infringe upon that person's rights should be more carefully considered.
Leslie Bowyer is a Lawrence senior in art history.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Article misses racism speaker's message
In reference to Chris Vine's article entitled Speaker defines racism problem; listeners should work on solution, I wanted to give readers a little different perspective of how Jane Elliott was interpreted in her recent lecture at our campus.
As Vine pointed out, Elliott did speak for a lengthy period and she did talk in a harsh manner. However, I disagree with Vine in stating that Elliott believed that "People who aren't of color are incapable of understanding something without being beaten into submission."
Perhaps the reason we seem to have felt so uncomfortable, as Elliot seems to have made Vine feel, is because she was speaking of a topic too close to home. Racism is — using Vine's words — harsh, demeaning and ethically questionable, and this is where our attention should be.
I believe Elliott was talking in a language that has to be used to gain attention. We have become a
Elliott talked of statements made exhibiting these attitudes. Examples we often hear are "We are all the same" and "Some of my best friends are Black." We are not the same and the sooner we admit it and deal with it, we will all be—as Vine said—better off.
isn't there a saying that says something like, "We have to stop attacking the messenger and understand the message."
Vine missed the boat on the message. In his statement, "If people could treat each other as people and not as one of scores of racially divided subcategories, we all would be better off."
I would think this applies here.
Thanks for listening.
society that is callused to racial issues. We speak out of the other side and say, "Just don't bother me with it now."
differences and start respecting and acknowledging them instead of living in a polite society where we turn our heads to anything different from us.
This is not what Elliott's message was. She talked of just the opposite of your statement. It is time we start recognizing these
Dorothy Stites
Lawrence senior
Unfortunately, Black and other people of color often are told that they are overly sensitive to racial remarks. Caucasians are told that they are either naive or insensitive. Few do anything to change what they think, act, or feel.
To all my African-American brothers and sisters who strive to win, be it on or off the court, remember who you are and where you came from. No one can make you less than you are unless you let them.
If after reading this article you take a look in the mirror and decide that you are more naive or insensitive than you want to be, there are places on campus that can help you sort it out. I have been very grateful for the Office of Minority Affairs, the Multicultural Resource Center and the University Dialogues on Diversity. Find the time to talk to someone who cares about helping you become more than a degree.
I could not care less whether CBS basketball analyst Billy Packer is racist or not. When he referred to a young African-American man as a "tough monkey," his words hurt. When we educate ourselves about how our words affect others who are different, apologies seldom are needed.
Last semester I had a class that used a textbook that referred to minorities as people without power. This year an instructor informed our administration class that in the Midwest, the chances of any person of color receiving grant funding are slim because of our complexion.
Cherl Brown in a Topeka graduate student in social welfare.
I'll never forget the my mother and I went shopping for a fur coat. All of my wealthy white friends had one, so I thought I should too. I knew we couldn't afford to purchase a fur at retail price, so we went to a vintage clothing store, thinking the price would be less. Imagine our surprise when we
saw the same and even higher price tags on secondhand furs. We finally came across one we could buy. The hair was black and very shiny. It felt soft and satiny.
"Try it on," said the store owner.
With that my mother and I exited the store, never to return again.
Education not apologies will eliminate racial remarks
When I tried to process the anger I felt toward my supervisor, I was told he didn't mean it, and he didn't know any better. I left that job and returned to school in hopes of educating myself and others about the importance of cultural competence.
Naive or insensitive? Neither is a good excuse.
"Orangutan," she exclaimed. "I bet it will look great on you."
Did the Caucasian sales clerk mean to offend us? Maybe, not maybe. Not my intellect says probably not, yet still it hurt. Blacks have been trying, to no avail, to get the monkey off their backs for years. When watching Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, I wonder, when will African and African Americans be recognized for being more than dancers, warriors and concubines?
The CBS comment also reminded me of what it feels like to hear other Blacks defensitive remarks made by a Caucasian. Two years ago my printer at work malfunctioned. At first I was accused of breaking the machine because it always worked when the repair man showed up. Then I was told that there must be spooks in my office. I refrained from telling the person how offended I was because I wanted to keep my job.
"What is it?" we asked.
OUT FROM THE CRACKS
By Jeremy Patnoi
2019 EMENGS-MBNS 8-14