Sorel's News Service
Getting around
God bless Henry Ford! God bless AmeriCar
God bless Henry Ford! God bless AmeriCar! This is the land of the automobile, from Atlantic to Pacific, lined bumper to bumper every inch of the way. AmeriCar has more autos than any other nation because we are willing to sacrifice.
We are willing to sacrifice the landscape. Imposing hills are dynamited and bulldozed, leaving gaping holes through which our cars can pass at 80 miles per hour. We spend millions of dollars each year to uproot ancient trees and replace them with pavement.
Along with income and gasoline taxes, we also sacrifice huge monthly payments, pay for constant repairs, and spend fortunes to feed and insure our automobiles. But in many cities, no amount of money could buy enough space to even park this proud possession.
The biggest sacrifice, of course, is our own health. Our automobiles are killing us, both directly and indirectly. (Some would argue that cars don't kill people—people kill people. This is a standard argument which also applies to guns, knives, and atomic bombs.)
Traffic deaths have become accepted as an unfortunate necessity. People are more bored with highway casualty tolls than they are with the Vietnam death counts. They are not impressed enough to even buckle up their seat belts.
But the most pressing threat of the automobile is its pollution of the air. The U.S. Department of the Interior has reported that about 75 per cent of the air pollution in AmeriCar is caused by transportation engines. Four years ago, H.E.W. secretary John Gardner warned, "None of us would wish to sacrifice the convenience of private passenger automobiles, but the day may come when we may have to trade convenience for survival."
That day has arrived. Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe recently noted that the number of automobiles in this country is increasing at the rate of 10,000 per day. Automobile usage, he said, is increasing by about 40 per cent every eight years.
People in AmeriCar are addicted to cars, and kicking the habit won't be easy. But there are alternatives. In Europe and Japan, modern subways and monorails have almost eliminated the need for private automobiles in a few cities. If the automobile and gasoline interests could be subdued, effective mass transit systems could be developed in this country.
What's going to happen to this nation when it realizes it must give up its beloved car or else face destruction? Things won't be the same when people have to ride the monorail or stay at home.
Goodby Henry Ford! Goodby AmeriCar!
—Joe Naas
La Cause Celebre
WASHINGTON—In his recent State of the Union message, President Nixon reminded Americans that: "The greatest privilege an individual can have is to serve in a cause bigger than himself."
hearing voices-
Wants police switch
To the editor:
Much concern over last year's controversy on the subject of the campus police bearing firearms was expressed, exhausted and resolved (for the present apparently) by the words of the chancellor, the staff, and students with the reality in mind of potential danger existing on the campus. I feel this controversy was unnecessary. Whether the police carry firearms or not probably has little effect on the deterrence of crime, because the campus police force seems to be more concerned with parking tickets and directing traffic than they are with the safety of the individuals they fine.
At this point I must confess that I speak from a prejudiced point of view for two reasons. First of all, I have received several parking tickets. Secondly, I have had my car broken into twice. I reported the first crime; the officer at Hoch found it quite humorous. He asked me if I wanted a patrolman there to guard the rest of the cars. I said I did. He said that it would be impossible to send one. The total amount of money lost (including damage) was approximately 95 dollars. Needless to say the second time my car was broken into I realized the futility of reporting it, so I didn't.
I am sure similar things have happened to many other persons.
What would be wrong with having women in Cushman carts giving parking tickets?
Women could even run the control booths. More policemen could take patrols during the day, but especially at night, in cars and on foot, to help make people feel just a little safer and secure.
How can the citizen be expected to respect the "law," if
the "law" doesn't show respect for the citizen?
Robert E. Fisher Auburn, Neb. sophomore
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To the editor:
Despite conflicting political opinions regarding the Vietnam War, there is a humanitarian issue that all of us should be in agreement on—that the saddening inhumane treatment of American POW's in Vietnam be modified at once.
As of this writing 1,361 men are listed by the Defense Department as prisoners or missing in the geographical area of Vietnam and Laos. 419 of these men are known positively to be captive, the remaining 942 are in the "missing" category, but believed to be in captivity. Only 12 others have been released. Many of these men have been in communist prisons for more than five years.
The claim of North Vietnam is that American servicemen interned in their country are "war criminals" and not prisoners of war. Though a 1957 signatory to the Geneva Conventions, the Republic of North Vietnam has never complied with any of the humane rules for war prisoners. (1) They have not released a list of men held prisoner—hundreds of families have endured years of anguish knowing not if their loved one is alive or dead. (2) They have not released the sick and wounded. (3) They have not allowed inspection of prison camps by a neutral nation or agency. (4) The flow of mail is almost non-existent —in five years only about 800 pieces of mail has come out of Viet prisons, and this from the same 100 men.
The few men returned to us have come home in deteriorated physical condition. They have testified to rat-infested prisons where prisoners are not
allowed to talk with or even look at each other without being tortured for doing so. American prisoners have been deprived even basies such as food and proper medical care.
The plight of our prisoners and their families could be altered if enough people could be stirred to voicing their concern for our men. North Vietnam has in the past shown to be receptive to world public opinion—as in 1966 when our men were to be hung as "war criminals" Hanoi stopped action because of outpourings of concern from around the world. If enough of us would again speak out, Hanoi might feel pressured to release our men, or at minimum to comply with the rules of the Geneva Conventions.
Following the Korean truce in 1953 a total of about 1,000 American prisoners were never returned to us. These men are still imprisoned in North Korea and China—more than sixteen years following the truce. (The number remaining alive is down to about 300 now.) Unless we are individually moved to action, a heartbreaking repeat could very well occur for the POW's of North Vietnam.
Won't you help, please? Write to your newspaper and magazine editors (foreign and national), TV and radio commentators, your representatives in Congress, and to the president of North Vietnam. Express your desires concerning prisoner treatment, and support the tenets of the Geneva Conventions.
Jan Kettell Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.
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To the editor:
I am not, of course, completely sure of either the accuracy or comprehensiveness of the Kansan's report of David Abrey's views on Freshmen
Class representation in the Student Senate; however, I would like to take issue with the views that were printed in the January 8th issue. Particularly I have three basic objections:
(1) The members of the freshmen class are not represented by the Senators elected from the Colleges-within-the-College. Many of us are juniors (who should also be represented) whose financial, social and academic interests are often considerably different from those of freshmen. There have been many problems for myself, as a senator representing Corbin College, in communicating with freshmen in that school. I have very few of them as classmates and my schedule permits little time to attend house meetings, floor meetings, sit at tables in dorm lobbies or interview people on the streets.
(2) The freshman class does have special interests which do deserve to be articulated. Examples of such interests are: (a) Decisions are presently being made to increase student fees for a satellite student union and some type of student health facility. The interests of freshmen who may benefit from such facilities are indeed contrary to those of juniors who are having to help pay for them, but will, in fact, never be able to use them as students.
(b) Freshmen should be permitted to articulate their interests on a University-wide basis (such as through the Student Senate or one of its organs) on such matters as the value of academic requirements such as the Speech requirement, the language proficiency requirement and the western civilization program and comprehensive exam. Many senators who are not freshmen do not have to face such requirements any longer
and, hence, do not feel obligated to express the views of those many underclassmen who feel such requirements unfair or unnecessary. Freshmen often have the additional problems which accrue from dormitory life and other forms of mass university life in which many of us who have been at KU a year or two longer are not forced or have chosen not to participate; i.e. athletic events, concerts, large classes, etc.
In fact, who knows what kind of problems the freshmen have? I believe the opportunities of the freshmen to articulate their problems are limited simply because they are not aware of the techniques and machinery of the University governing structure as they would be if their representatives would be permitted to participate.
(3) The contention that irregularities and injustices should be permitted to continue simply because of technical difficulties in a governmental bureaucracy smells like a lot of warmed-over apologetics soaked in elitist contentment with the status quo. David Awbrey is being paid to take the time to represent all the students at the University of Kansas.
Jeff Lough Salina junior
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN An All-American college newspaper
Published at the University of Kansas daily during the academic year except holidays and examination periods. Send resume to the mester, 10 a year. Second class postage paid at Lawrence, Kan. 66044. Academic and employment advertised offer all students without regard to color, creed or national origin. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Kansas or the State Board of Regents.