Smut ban 'vague, weird'
By Jack Harrington What exactly is "smut?"
Lawrence bookstore owners are asking this question since the passage of the controversial indecent-materials ordinance by the Lawrence City Commission last Tuesday.
The smut ordinance is aimed at the "dissemination of indecent material to minors" persons under 18 years of age and defines dissemination as "knowingly selling, lending, giving away, displaying, showing, advertising for sale or distribution commercially . . . or possessing with intent to give, lend, show, sell, distribute commercially . . . any picture or any book, 'pocket book', pamphlet or magazine . . . which exploits, is devoted to, or is principally made up of descriptions of illicit sex or sexual immorality or which is obscene . . . or which consists of pictures of nude or partially denuded figures, posed or presented in such a manner as to provoke or arouse lust or passion, or to exploit sex, lust, or perversion, or any other article or instrument of indecent or immoral use."
BUT BOOKSTORE OWNERS would still like to know which items they explicitly can or cannot sell, display, or advertise. Thus far, the only store to take action as a result of the ordinance has been Allen's News Co., 1115 Massachusetts St., which has removed a rack of pocket books and a section of magazines from the floor.
Dean Allen, owner of the store, said he removed the books and magazines as a precautionary measure because he does not know which publications are to be affected.
"This thing has been handled in such a weird way that no one knows anything." Allen said. "What is obscene to one person might be perfectly all right with someone else."
Asked if he thought the City Commission would prepare a list of obscene materials, Allen said he doubted it.
"NO ONE KNOWS what smut is, and they (the City Commission) don't want to say, either," he said.
Allen has left a few magazines on display under glass next to the
counter in the store. These have titles such as Man, Rogue, Nuget and Jaguar, in addition to Playboy magazine.
"These magazines have been okayed by the government and have second-class mailing permits." Allen said. "Now, if the city won't okay them, I don't know what will happen."
A large part of the objection to the ordinance is that a store will not merely be restricted from sale of certain types of literature to persons over 18. Apparently, even if the magazine is kept under the counter to be shown and sold only to adults, when it is brought out on the counter it will then be "in view of anyone in the store who
might be a minor, and therefore in violation of the ordinance.
The Town Crier book store, 912 Massachusetts St., on the other hand, has had a regulation for some time restricting the sale of "girlie" magazines only to persons over 21. Since the passage of the ordinance, however, they have lowered the age to 18.
THE MANAGER OF the Town Crier said that he does not feel any of the "girlie" magazines are obscene, but that the 21-year age restriction has been a self-imposed policy of the store.
"We thought 21 was a good age for the magazines," he said, "but if the City Commission feels that
18 is better, that's all right with us."
In agreement with the "self-discipline" policy is Walter J. Keeler, owner of the Keeler Book Store, 939 Massachusetts St. He said there would be no need for such a law if owners would discipline their own sales.
"The law deals mostly with paperbacks, which we don't handle." Keeler said. "But we do have some art books with a lot of nudes in them. Now, these are perfectly in the interest of art, but we don't let junior high or high school kids come in and look at them."
The Abington Book Shop, 1237
See SMUT page 3
kansan
76th Year, No.116
Serving KU for 76 of its 100 Years LAWRENCE, KANSAS Monday, April 18. 1966
THE WATER'S FINE—Testing the temperature for canoe races Saturday at Potter Lake is Barb Rice, Topeka junior, while Sue Kleinheksel, Wichita senior, keeps her from falling. Both are dressed in Gay '90's bathing suits for the student centennial celebration.
ASC may abandon preferential voting
By Eric Morgenthaler
An extensive revision of All Student Council (ASC) election procedures is currently being considered by ASC leaders.
sided by 14. Abolition of the Hare System of preferential voting in fall living group elections is among the prime topics under consideration, according to Kary Orth. El Dorado junior, and Jim Prager, Annandale, Va., junior, co-chairman of the ASC Elections Committee.
PRAGER SAID other topics to be reviewed included rules controlling actions of political parties, location of polls, and the possibility of using voting machines in campus elections.
He said regulation of political parties would probably be to one extreme or the other.
"We might propose more controls on where they can campaign," Frager said. "And we might loosen the restriction as to the amount of money they can spend."
Showers beginning late tonight and continuing through Tuesday are predicted by the U.S. Weather Bureau. Cooler temperatures today, with northeasterly winds of 10 to 20 miles an hour. Temperatures will remain cool tonight with a low in the upper 30's. Mostly cloudy through tomorrow.
WEATHER
AL MARTIN, Shawnee Mission sophomore and student body president, said his prime interest is that rules be changed so as to allow new ASC members an intensive orientation period.
"My prime concern is with a better orientation program for council members," he said. "That way, they can come on the council with some knowledge of what's going on."
One method that has been discussed for accomplishing this is to elect all ASC representatives at the same time. However, many
council members disapprove of this idea.
ALTHOUGH NO meetings have held regarding a change in procedure, Prager said he hopes a bill will be introduced before the end of the school term. Miss Orth and Prager will probably draw up the bill.
The changes will either have to come as amendments to the current ASC elections bill, Bill No.2, or as a complete new elections bill. The form it takes will probably depend upon the extent of the proposed changes.
Capote will read here Wednesday
Truman Capote, New York City author of the current best-seller "in Cold Blood," will visit KU Wednesday, April 20, and give a reading at 8 p.m. in Allen Field House.
It is expected that Capote will read from "In Cold Blood," his on-the-scene account of happenings of the 1959 murder of the H. W. Clutter family in their home in Holcomb, just outside Garden City. Their murderers, Richard
Hickock and Perry Smith, were hanged April 14, 1965.
Capote has previously read from his works at two schools, Harvard University and the University of Chicago.
He is the author of "Miriam," "Grass Harp," "The Muses are Heard," "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and other works. He is now writing "Answered Prayers," a book based on Saint Teresa's observation that prayers are sometimes better unanswered than otherwise.
Diplomatic crises confront Model U.N.
By Swacbou Conateh
This year's Model-U.N. conducted its business with the drama and busy schedule that characterizes its New York counterpart.
The drama occurred during an address by the Assembly President at the Saturday afternoon session. The message, delivered by Roger Williams, Earltsville, Okla., sophomore, informed the General Assembly that "We have receiving information that Cambodian troops
CAMBODIA THEN walked out in protest of the Security Council's refusal to table a motion asking for an investigative committee to inquire into the United States' charge.
are massing on the South Viet Nam border. We await an explanation from Cambodia."
By that time, the Assembly had already journeyed through two days of commitee meetings, brightened by a diplomatic reception at the Holiday Inn.
The meetings dealt with most problems now before the world
assembly in New York. At the end, a United States resolution for a peaceful solution to the Viet Nam conflict was tabled, a resolution imposing economic sanctions against Rhodesia was passed as well as a Malaysian resolution for the Organization of American States to settle the military and political conflict in Saito Domingo. All three were Security Council questions.
THIS YEAR'S Security Council had the opportunity before the Assembly was dismissed to expel South Africa from the United
Meeting concurrently with the Security Council was a General Assembly that dealt with an even greater variety of topics.
Nations. The resolution, a result of South Africa's violation of the resolution on Rhodesia, was proposed by Britain and Mali, but it failed.
Red Chinese representation was defeated by a one vote majority. However, since this is regarded as a major question by the U.N., not a simple majority, but a two-thirds majority is needed to admit
Red China into the World Assembly.
Portuguese colonial policy was officially frowned union in a resolution that calls for cooperation between the U.N. and Portugal to lead the three African territories of Mozambique, Angola and Portuguese Guinea to independence.
CHARTER REVISION, requiring an expansion of the Security Council from 11 to 15, with the emphasis on admitting the un-
See MODEL U.N. page 3