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Thursday, February 23, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
State leaders must ensure schooling for our homeless
By now, most of us realize that there are homeless people in Kansas. Even here in Lawrence, they roam the streets, wondering where they will sleep tonight and whether they will eat.
But what most of us tend to ignore are the hundreds of homeless children right here in Kansas. They, too, are hungry cold and tired.
The Kansas Board of Education issued a report last week saying that 1,496 school-age children in Kansas are homeless. At least 400 of those children rely on social service agencies for accommodations, or they live in cars, in abandoned buildings or on the streets. The rest live with relatives or friends.
Educating those children isn't easy. Their addresses determine their school enrollment. When children do not have permanent addresses, it is difficult to make sure they are in school.
But the Legislature recognizes the obstacles and is working forcefully to overcome them.
The Senate recently passed a bill requiring that homeless children be considered residents of a district, even when they don't have permanent addresses. Now, school districts can receive state aid for homeless children.
receive state aid and for a State task force is on the verge of recommending that the state allow homeless children to continue school even if their families move out of the school's boundaries. The district may have to provide the children with transportation to and from school, but the money will be well spent.
Homeless children are shuffled between friends and relatives, or their families drag them from town to town. In that environment, getting a solid education is next to impossible. Stability ensured by the state is essential.
The first steps have been taken; now the legislature must follow through.
Grace Hobson for the editorial board
KU swimming teams best academically, athletically
The KU men's and women's swimming teams have been making waves nationally. A national coaches poll ranked the men's team 18th and the women's team 23rd.
Five swimmers qualified for the NCAA championship competition this year and nine others still are competing to qualify.
SIX KU swimmers competed in the 1988 Olympic Trials. They are Andrew Billings, Fairbanks, Ark., sophomore; Gina Brown, San Ramon, Calif., freshman; Bobby Kelley, Easley, S.C., junior; Barb Pranger, Davenport, Iowa, freshman; Barbara Ann Smith, Mequon, Wis., junior; and Glenn Trammel, Kansas City, Mo., senior.
With the approaching Big Eight Conference Championship on March 2-4 in Nebraska, the swimming teams deserve support and encouragement. The women's team is defending last year's championship, and the men's team is competing against sixth-ranked Nebraska, the Big Eight champions since 1979.
With the talent that has been displayed this season, there is reason to believe KU can win both championships and go on to perform well in NCAA competition.
Equally commendable is that the swimming program leads the athletic department academically with an cumulative grade point average of almost 3.0.
Coach Gary Kempf's goal this season is to have both the men's and women's team win the Big Eight Championship. Even if that particular goal is not accomplished, an even greater accomplishment has been achieved by the coach and swimmers. They have produced a program that is recognized by both the athletic and academic communities.
When college athletic programs are tainted by drug abuse, low academic standings and recruiting violations, seeing such a clean program is refreshing.
Jennifer Hinkle for the editorial board
The editorials in this column are the opinion of the editorial board. The editorial board consists of Julie Adam, Karen Boring, Jeff Euston, James Fuarhar, Cindy Harger, Jennifer Hinkle, Grace Hobson, Jill Jess, Mark McCormick and Mark Tilford.
News staff
Julie Adam...Editor
Karen Boring...Managing editor
Jill Jess...News editor
Deb Gruver...Planning editor
James Farquhar...Editorial editor
Elaine Sung...Campus editor
Tom Stinson...Sports editor
Janine Swatikowski...Photo editor
Davie Eames...Graphics editor
Noel Gerdes...Arts/Features editor
Tom Eblen...General manager, news adviser
Business staff
Debra Cole ... Business manager
Pamela Neele ... Retail sales manager
Kevin Martin ... Campus sales manager
Scott Finger ... National sales manager
Michelle Garland ... Promotions manager
Brad Lenhart ... Sales development manager
Linda Piotrovsky ... Product manager
Debra Martin ... Asst. production manager
Kim Coleman ... Co-op sales manager
Cary Strelter ... Classified manager
Nina Simeon ... Sales and marketing adviser
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Response to Duke
as representatives of the Republican Party at the University of Kansas, we felt compelled to publicly express our disgust and frustration with the decision Duke to the Louisiana State Legislature.
Duke's philosophies of racism and bigotry never have and never will represent the beliefs of the political party which has produced such leaders as Abraham Lincoln, and we applaud our Republican leadership for taking swift action to ensure David Duke.
To judge the entire Republican Party from the maligned ideals of one individual would be unfair and likened to holding the Democratic Party responsible for the beliefs and actions of Louis Farrakhan and Lyndon LaRouche. We believe a sensible judgment will prevail in this situation.
As we sit in the Midwestern part of this nation, it is easy for us to comment on issues which may seem remote from this University. However, the recent acts of aggression toward some members of the KU community are disquieting and prove that there is work to be done before the hatred and violence of racism and bioterror are conquered.
As participants in this society, each one of us has an obligation to ensure that the basic rights and freedoms of every individual, regardless of race, color, creed or religion, are upheld. It is a sad commentary on the state of this nation when it requires the election of a man like David Duke to remind us of the freedoms we often take for granted.
Brett Frazier, Chairman, KU College Republicans Jonathan Becker, Vice-Chairman, KU College
Republicans
Rights of homosexuals
This letter is in response to Brad Hansen's Feb. 20 letter. He has decided that people choose to be gay. But no one knows what actually causes anyone to have a certain sexual orientation. It has been the subject of much debate and research, but there is not any probable reason why some people are homosexual and others are heterosexual. It is presumptuous of him to decide something that no one else has been able to prove.
How would Kami know anything about what it feels like to be gay? Only someone who is gay knows what it feels like. I can definitely say it was not my choice to be gay. I tried for a long time to deny that I was gay. I tried to choose to be heterosexual. After many years of unbagginess, I finally had to accept myself. I did not choose to be gay: I just am gay.
Furthermore, sexual orientation should be included in any civil rights movement. We are not, as Hansen put it, "riding the movement's contours." We deserve the same human rights that everyone else has. We all need a place to live and work.
K·A·N·S·A·N
MAILBOX
Passing a human rights ordinance protecting someone on the basis of sexual orientation is not passing an ordinance in favor of homosexuality. It simply is providing that person with a legal guarantee for the same human rights as others. It also would protect a heterosexual person from being discriminated against because he or she is perceived as a homosexual.
The gay community in Lawrence makes up between 10 and 15 percent of the population. That is more than any other minority group, and it is important for the gay community to be protected against any possible discrimination.
Amy Myers
Topeka sophomore
Discrimination exists
I would like to respond to the letter by Brad Hansen. First, I would like to respond to Hansen's assumption that people who are gay choose that lifestyle. This is an amazing statement from a college senior, especially since it still is debated widely in the scientific community. Add to that the fact that a large portion of people who are gay or lesbian would argue that being homosexual is the result of some genetic predisposition, and we begin to believe that Hansen's argument is Not only does he know something scientists have yet to discover, but he also knows something about these people many of them did not know.
Second, I would like to respond to Hansen's use of the word "gays." By referring to people who are gay merely as "gays," in effect is derogatory because he discriminates against them. Being gay is only one aspect of a person and when considered, a very small aspect.
Finally, I would like to respond to Hansen's argument that people who are gay are not a minority group and should not be treated as such. The fact is, people who are gay are a minority group in at least one (and probably the most important) respect; they are discriminated against. If I were to use Hansen's logic, I could argue that people with disabilities are not a minority group because, for many, the handicaps they have were not determined by their disability that persecuted and discrimination of a group are the most important factors in determining who is a minority and who is not. I am sure that Martin Luther King Jr. would agree.
Arthur Satterfield Lawrence graduate student Kansan was insensitive
I'm dreaming of a day the Kansan staff fails to make an insensitive, offensive error in its copy. The caption below the front page picture, "I'm dreaming of a white President's Day" on Tuesday was in poor taste to say the least.
entnocrientism runs high enough on this campus without the reinforcement of editors asleep at the wheel. More attention must be paid to the semantics employed by the Kansan. The important term in the context of cultures is not always intentional, but insensitivity's effects are just as negative.
Cooperation is crucial to the building of a positive atmosphere for all students. For example, Celebration of Diversity is a student-driven, grass-roots attempt to motivate students to care of working together and to positive effects of reaching across cultural and ethnic barriers.
Insensitivity such as that displayed by the Kansan staff is counter-productive and detrimental to campuswide efforts to improve cultural understanding.
It is important to realize that although most students consider themselves above racism, it is possible to say or do things that others may find offensive. Especially in the case of a public forum such as the Kansei, special care must be taken to avoid such references.
Remember that every student can make a difference. Just watch your own actions and words. If enough of us make the effort, we can change our campus for the better.
Aaron Rittmaster, Overland Park junior
Michael Diggs, Wichita senior
Insert was offensive
I would like to question the judgment of the Kansan staff for allowing the Miller Brewing Co. insert to appear with the Feb. 15 Kansan. While the inset in feigned attempts at promoting safe sex and responsible drinking, it actually did a better job promoting sexism — sexism directed at men as well as women. The insert, to put it simply, was offensive. I don't know what is worse: the Kansan staff's being unaware of the content of the insert or the staff knowing its content and finding nothing wrong with it.
The Miller Brewing Co. is responsible for the Spring Break advertisement. Too often we find such companies as the main sponsors for Spring Break activities. They pretend to care about the welfare of the studebaker and also relay the information in consumiting lots of screaming babies." The Kansan must share this blame, for it is ultimately responsible for what appears in the paper
During this unfortunate time in which our campus is witness to incidents of intolerance, we must know that it is not the same case different from us, not only in terms of race, but also in terms of gender.
January Layman
Shawnee senior
Signed by 26 other women who live in Sellards
Hell
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed