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Thursday, March 2, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Only building new prisons won't solve overcrowding
At the Kansas State Prison in Lansing, two inmates share a five-by-eight cell that contains two beds, a toilet, a sink and a writing area.
The Kansas prison system already is overcrowded, and the prison population is growing at a rate of 44 inmates a month.
prison population is growing at a rate A federal district judge has ordered the state to reduce the populations by July 1991, which means either building more prisons or releasing inmates.
prisons of telecharging inmates The problem offers no simple solution. Throwing money at problems, particularly those involving correctional facilities, is not going to be effective by itself.
o derer Redactio Roger Endell, Kansas secretary of corrections, told a Senate committee last month that the system is quickly being filled with more dangerous criminals who are staying longer.
The Department of Corrections would like to build two multisecurity prisons, but some lawmakers are opposed to any new prison construction.
new prison Christie Gov. Mike Hayden has proposed spending $55 million for the construction of a 750-bed prison that could be expanded to 1,400 beds. The actual cost of the prison, which Hayden wants constructed near El Dorado, probably would be much more, however.
Before deciding to build more cells, lawmakers in Kansas should consider why the increase in the prison population is happening and examine alternatives, such as reviewing the minimum and mandatory sentence requirements and community corrections.
Otherwise, the cost of punishing criminals in Kansas will continue to approach the cost of doing nothing at all.
Court has chance to give rights back to the unborn
A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a Missouri abortion case could result in the most important ruling on the issue since Roe vs. Wade in 1973. And it is an opportunity for the court to reinstate the constitutional rights of the unborn, a right that never should have been taken away.
A ruling Feb. 22 by a Douglas County district judge provides a new perspective on the issue. Judge Michael Malone ruled that the parents of an aborted $14^{1/2}$-week-old fetus were allowed to allege negligence and collect damages on its behalf.
The mother of the fetus became pregnant despite using an intrauterine birth-control device. Now the parents are suing the doctor who performed the abortion and the maker of the intrauterine device for pain and suffering that the fetus may have suffered.
A 1962 Kansas Supreme Court ruling said that parents of a viable fetus could bring suit for its wrongful death. A fetus is legally viable at six months.
If the U.S. Supreme Court concurs, the ruling would require people to take care of and show responsibility for children from conception to viability. Previously, people who caused the deaths of nonviable fetuses were not held responsible.
Although the district judge did not attempt to determine when life begins, his ruling implies that from conception, a fetus has full protection of the law.
Pro-choice advocates argue that a woman has the right to do what she wants with her body. But if a fetus is granted protection under the Constitution, then having a fetus aborted violates its rights and must be deemed illegal.
Those who think that overturning Roe vs. Wade takes away a woman's given right see only half the picture. By eliminating legal abortions, the Supreme Court would be reinstating the rights of the unborn, who soon will become human beings. And the unborn, too, must have full rights under the law.
Mark Tilford for the editorial board
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The Education President.
Fallacies muddle Washburn issue
In an era of the "education president," George Bush, and Gov. Mike Hayden's Margin of Excellence Partnership Act, it is heartening to think that the future of Kansas education could be enhanced. Nevertheless, as good and hopeful as that sounds, are those who would impede the process.
a process. Of the governor's four-part education act, the issue of Washburn University's rapid induction into the Regents system has been the most heated. Unfortunately, unlike other well-considered political debates, the naysayers turn up arguments of little substance.
A study of all the arguments shows that they fall into two general categories: an erroneous economic model and a stylish appeal to the status ouo.
For example, Chancellor Gene A. Budig implied that Washburn's inclusion in the Regents system should hinge on the state's financing of the Margin of Excellence. Richard Dodderidge, chairman of the Regents, and Stanley Koplik, executive director, were quoted in the press with objections to more general fiscal preconditions.
In a deft political response to the Legislature's announcement of financing for the Margin's second year, all three have now come out in public support of the Washburn move. Nevertheless, their action did not lay down an image, which will need to be created. Many KKR leaders still contain that adding Washburn would have a negative economic effect on the other Regents schools. Left in their minds is ^a
Tom
Wilhelm
Staff columnist
picture of an economic pie with a Washburn portion cut from the plates of the other school
portion cut from it. Although that model makes simple mathematical sense, it does not express the more sophisticated fiscal and political reality. As State Rep William Bunten, R-Topeka, explains, a more accurate model concerning a Washburn move is based on the ebb and flow of fiscal apportionment.
As chairman of the House Appropriations Committee for seven years, Bunten can point to a long list of projects — everything from canal improvements to park renovations — that would more than cover the estimated $2 million transfer cost and $7.3 million overall price tag. The former Marine officer is happy with the recruitment of the Regents leadership, but political penny-counting — and points to the government financing for KU; $230 million; Kansas State University; $200 million; and Wichita State University; $94 million; as a means of comparison. The relative cost of enhancing Washburn's organization is a bargain.
The status-quo argument goes something like
tnis: What benefit is there in doing anything at all, or at the most, why not make Washburn the Topeka campus of KU?
Topeka campus As the m院's last municipal university, Washburn has the unique and unfortunate experience of facing diminishing funds while Topeka property taxes are squeezed to their limit. Already, state subsidies have risen to proportions beyond the cost of the proposed Regents move, and tuition and fees at Washburn are the highest in the state. Even the simplest forecast would indicate that enrollment and curriculum face possible stagnation and reduction. That would be a travesty at a time when state scholarship enhancement is at a high point.
In this time of great Kansas prosperity and with the political machinery in place, the opportunity to advance Kansas education is at hand with the governor's comprehensive program. Now is not a good time to obscure the horizon of Kansas' future with ill-founded arguments.
Furthermore, Washburn's state and national academic reputation goes beyond the Topeka city limits. After more than 100 years of existence under the same administration that oversees everything from community colleges to kindergarten, the fourth-largest university in the state is not out of line in seeking a place alongside KU, K-State and Wichita State, as well as Pittsburg State, Emporia State and Fort Hays State universities.
- Tom Wilheim is a Lawrence graduate student in Soviet/East European studies.
K·A·N·S·A·N
MAILBOX
Dormant civil rights
The election of David Duke as a state representative in Louisiana is a unique phenomenon that I hope the GOP deals with in a unique manner. Whether this man can or should be censored is a question that could be mud but not too mud. It lends evidence to a belief that I have had for about two years now — that the civil rights movement is dormant; not dead, just dormant.
Many people, perhaps a majority, in the United States believe in equality for all people. But many of these same enlightened people believe that our society practices these principles consistently. I content that this is a naive belief.
It seems an apathy has settled upon our country concerning racism, as well as sexism, allowing these enlightened people to believe that the fight is over, the battle won.
Duke's victory proves otherwise. It proves there is at least apathy toward, if not outright support for, a racist mentality in our country.
It is time for the maggnanimous to stand up and fight. It is time to end the subtle racism that has taken the place of the white-hooded marches and cross burning. We must not stop at covering it up. The disease must be cured.
not just the symptoms.
can and should Duke be censored? It is a sad state of affairs that has allowed this question to surface. I have sought long and hard to understand the white population, to which I belong, and the rationalization of prejudice views. Maybe I just don't understand a bigot's view because I don't have their education, or lack thereof.
Timothy J. Cramer Morton, Ill., graduate student
Exorcising bigotry
During eight years of Republican opposition to civil rights legislation and Republican support for private institutions that discriminate on the basis of race, Americans were getting a subtle lesson in racism. Now, with the election of David Duke, Republican Klansman, the Republican chickens have come home to roost.
Lee Awater, one of the men behind the Willie Horton advertisements, claims that David Duke is "not a Republican." This may or may not be, but David Duke was elected by Republicans. Members of the Klan do vote, and when the Republicans don't vote the Republican Party publicly declares the Klan, but on Election Day, the party welcomes its votes.
I am not suggesting that all Republicans are racist, yet as you sow, so shall ye reap. With party support, the Reagan administration turned back the clock on civil rights. As a result, bigotry is out of the closet again. The Republican party cannot pretend that by
censuring David Duke they have exorcised racism from their party. Government leaders, especially Republicans, need a much stronger commitment to fighting racism than we have seen in the past eight years.
John Bode Manhattan graduate student
Costs of medical care
I was outraged when I read the article "Insurance costs threaten specialists" (Feb. 17). Are we really supposed to feel sympathy for those doctors and their insurance premium costs? What about the 200,000 Americans who are injured or killed in hospitals each year? The failure to crack down on incompetent doctors constitutes a scandal and national tragedy. This is the root of the malpractice crisis. Our society has allowed the medical profession to become a priesthood answerable only to itself. The result is at least and probably more than 20,000 grossly incompetent or negligent doctors that continue to practice in this country. Is this part of the "finest medical system in the world"? No wonder patients don't trust their doctors anymore — they could be the next victims. Doctors who get away with maiming and killing must be stopped. Only through public awareness and tighter control over the profession can this crisis be solved. Let's make medical care affordable for everyone and stop blaming the victims.
Kenneth Jahn Lawrence resident
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed