KANSAN COMMENT
Vote for George
Forgiving Lewis Carroll and Alexander Pope for interfering in KU's campus elections is not too hard to do-particularly since they were dragged into the campaign by the two most spirited and promising of the candidates.
ISP's Peter George, ever present and always persistent campus politico, and his spunky running mate Sharon Baucom have emerged from the often-heated, sometimes-silly and usually-interesting campaign as the two candidates who most deserve your votes this week.
Technically, there are three duets being sung for your votes.
But the tune coming from the Independent candidates, Dave Miller and Dan Beck, has been so harsh on the ears that they don't even deserve serious consideration. Their unfounded charges (against President Dave Awbrey this week and the Off-Campus Housing Committee last week) and their directions (suggesting students shouldn't be concerned—through their Senate—with such irrelevancies as ecology or Haskell) should simply leave a thinking voter cold.
The song being sung by Alliance is far more formidable, particularly the Haskell refrain which suggests opening KU classes to Haskell Indian students. (The suggestion has been made several times in the past and deserves to be studied more thoroughly than through the annual campaign leaflets.)
But the song sung by Peter and Sharon has been most impressive, possibly because of the freedom with which they expressed themselves on such a variety of issues.
Women's rights, ecology, student representation on the committees of various schools, extension of the pass/no credit system, requirements, freshman representation in Senate, graduate assistants' representation on the University Council and SenEx, increasing the power of the
student body president, housing and citizenship at 18—Peter and Sharon have been there. They've told us where they are,and they have told us aggressively.
They have bitten off much, much more than they can ever digest. (For instance: "All general requirements for graduation from all schools and the College will end. This includes the language, Western Civilization, speech, English and math requirements. Students will be given a recommended list of courses and will make their own education." I hope no one expects Peter and Sharon to put that into effect in one year!) But the rhetoric of campaigns, despite all the cries of, "Hypocrisy! Unfilled promises!," is both purposeful and beneficial. Ideas have been expressed and heard, and isn't that at least partially what we are here for—ideas? Secondly, the ability to see KU as an institution which will be here for years—yes, even after we've all gone—is an ability which allows persons such as Peter and Sharon to see the value in pursuing now the goals which will take years to achieve.
But whoever is elected must be expected to accomplish those things which they can accomplish and to take steps in the direction of those far-off goals.
In both accomplishing and in "taking steps," Peter George and Sharon Baucom stand out as the candidates who can best be leaders. They have both performed energetically in Student Senate this year and they have both earned your votes.
Even if you disagree and think one of the other political pairs can best lead the student body, cast a vote Tuesday or Wednesday.
The election and the Student Senate itself are going to be just as relevant as you make them. Or irrelevant.
"Students can do it. AND MUST."
—Mike Shearer
'Chief say he might go as high as $24.00 for island.'
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN An All-American college newspaper
Kansan Telephone Numbers
Newsroom—UN 4-3464 Business Office—UN 4-4358
Published at the University of Kansas daily during the academic year except holidays and examination periods. Mail subscription rates: $6 a semester, $10 a year. Second class postage paid at Lawrence, Kan. 66044. Goods, services and employment advertised offered to all students without regard to color, creed or national origin. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of Kansas or the State Board of Regents.
NEWS STAFF
News Adviser . . . James W. Murray
Managing Editor Ken Peterson
Campus Editor Ted Illiff
News Editor Donna Shrader
Editorial Editors Mike Shearer, Joe Naas, Monroe Dodd
Sports Editor Bruce Carnash, Steve Shriver
Makeup Editors Charlie Cape, George Wilmens
Wire Editor Ken Cummins
Women's Page Editors Linda Loyd, Carolyn Bowers
Artists and Musicians Genelle Richards, Rich Geary
Assistant Campus Editors Wendi Phillips, Will Walk
Assistant News Editors Cass Ssexson, Robin Stewart
Photographers Ron Bishop, Bruce Bernstein, Randy Lefflingwell
BUSINESS STAFF
BUSINESS STAFF
Business Adviser . Mel Adams
Business Manager Jerry Bottenfield
Assistant Business Manager Mike Banks
Advertising Managers Larry Cates, Joanne Bos
National Advertising Manager Oscar Bassinson
Classified Manager Shalik Dray
Promotion Manager Jim Hughgos
Service Manager John Lagios
hearing voices—
To the editor:
Filth, write-in, ISP
I would like to respond to Jerry Flynn's letter, to the editor (UDK March 10) concerning obscenity and censorship. Mr. Flynn quoted Mike Shearer's statement (relating to the printers' refusal to print the controversial issue of the BSU's Harambeet) from a recent article which goes as follows, "Every man should have a right to decide for himself what is obscene and every group should have that same right."
Mr. Flynn felt that a contradiction existed in Mr. Shearer's statement. Mr. Flynn's reasoning went like this: "OK, let's see how your principle would apply: the printers are men, and they constitute a group; therefore, they should be allowed to decide for themselves what is to (sic) obscene for them to print, and that's that, period."
It is clear to me that Mr. Flynn's statement is not a valid extension of Mr. Shearer's statement. Mr. Flynn assumes that because a group has the right to decide for itself what is obscene, that it also should have the right to censor what it feels to be obscene if it is in a position to do so. This amounts to a complete misrepresentation and twisting of Mr. Shearer's statement which says only that existence of obscurity is up to every individual or group to either find or not to find in any one example, not that any individual or group should censor what it feels to be obscene (thereby violating the rights of all other individuals and groups to decide for themselves what is obscene).
Personally, I agree with Mr. Shearer's statement. Only when
censorship is non-existent, can the individual's, or group's, freedom of both expression and inquiry be guaranteed. Tom Lehrer, in his very clever album "That Was The Year That Was," captures the basic problem with censorship, ". . . filth, I'm glad to say, is in the mind of the beholder. When correctly viewed, everything is lewd. I could tell you things about Peter Pan, and the Wizard of Oz is a dirty old man."
Mark C. Syverson
Lake Mills, Iowa
Junior
* *
I hereby serve public notice that I as a responsible student and committee of one am formulating a Radical Splinter Faction which seeks to have nothing to do with any of the "politics" on
To the editor:
this campus.
My faction is as yet unnamed (I'm planning a contest to have somebody pick a name and win a grand prize-"Puerto Rico"). Its motto is "Ad Diploma Per Studia," its flower is the nasturtium, and its bird is the Mockingbird. As I unfortunately missed the deadline, I have no candidates chosen for this year's elections. However I urge students of like mind to place write-in votes for Tom and Dick Smothers for the Presidency and VicePresidency of the Student Body.
1) I'm against pollution, too. No more Daily Kansans in Potter Lake, no more gum wrappers and miscellaneous junk on the campus. No more writing on the desks. General respect for the property which doesn't after all, belong to us.
The platform of my RSK:
2) Let all minorities on this campus develop some respect for
the fact that they are also part of the majority—of students who also don't like the social values imbedded in the minds of people after 200 years of the existence of this country. Let the minorities open their eyes to the fact that the university is the place in which to grow and learn, not segregate into cliques and rot.
3) The students on this campus, indeed on every campus in this country, shall, under the guidance of this RSF, come to realize the great worth of institutions such as this school and of our political system, that there be no further need for anyone to Deprecate For The Sake of Deprecating all that which is Established.
Isn't this a neat Platform I certainly hope that any and all students who have come to the same realizations as I will also swallow their fear of ostracization and ridicule by the "relevant" portion of our little cosmopolis
and join me in the RSF, to the greater glory of education and growth into maturity.
(After all, there are people who still think Alice in Wonderland is a fairy tale.)
Kathy Warren
Topeka sophomore
\* \* \*
To the editor:
I note with great interest ISP's Student Power, Inc., program. This program is designed to build a bridge between university and community, by providing student aid to community projects such as the Ballard Center and East Lawrence Community Center. In other words, Student Power, Inc., is to be a "clearing-house" providing student help.
If the ISP had examined the problem more carefully they might have found that such an organization already exists and has been in operation for three years, and is aptly called "Community Service Clearing House." This organization provides student service to Ballard Center, East Lawrence Community Center, city schools, Girl Scouts, Big Brother-Big Sister, Maple Lane Center, Lawrence Parks and Recreation, Bess Stone Center, Small World, and city churches. It appears foolish to have two programs such as this when one great united effort would accomplish so much more. ISP's heart is certainly in the right place, but its energies should be devoted to supporting the existing organization, Community Service Clearing House, rather than to sumplanting it.
Pam Crow
Pam Crow Topeka senior