4A
Friday, April 7, 1995
OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
THE ISSUE: CITY COMMISSION ELECTIONS
Residents choose wisely in city commission elections
The city commission results are in, and Allen Levine has made history.
Levine posted a thirdplace finish in the commission race after finishing sixth in the primary. It was the first time in two decades that anyone has finished lower than fourth in the primary and still won a seat on the commission.
The debate continues about whether a mandate to amend the human rights ordinance has been given to the commission. Both John Nalbandian and Levine support the change.
The tally indicates this year's voters were fairly level-headed in their decisions.
First and foremost, Nalbandian justifiably finished at the top, winning his second four-year term. Nalban-
Nalbandian, Augustine and Levine all possess the qualities necessary to deal well with issues and the community.
dian has proven his ability to confront any issue the city faces with care, concern and wisdom.
Bonnie Augustine won the other four-year term, appealing to voters as an economically wise and community-experienced candidate.
Although the Kansan did not give its endorsement to Levine, he has a strong desire to help the community deal with change and possesses the ability to look beyond any single issue.
Beyond that, though, Lawrence eagerly awaits the new commission's actions.
MATTER GOWEN FOR THE EDI TORIAL BOARD
MATTTGOWEN FOR THE EDI TORIAL BOARD
THE ISSUE; MULTICULTURAL CENTER
Campus rich with diversity merits Multicultural Center
The need for a center to promote cultural understanding is something administrators at the University of Kansas have been aware of for three years. Last Tuesday, the University finally celebrated the pre-grand opening of the new multi-cultural center, located in the Supportive Education Services Building between Summerfield Hall and the Military Science Building.
That's pre-grand opening as in the center is not quite ready to cast off.
And since the university has recognized the need for such a center,why has it taken so long to plan and build it?
Since 1992, administrators have proposed one location site, changed it, spent time relocating people and their offices to make room for the center, and finally renovating and remodeling the site. Although this project could have probably been completed in a year, it has taken KU three times as long.
Of course, this delay does not come as a surprise. KU is known for taking its time with the construction and remodeling of buildings
Traditionally, delays characterize campus improvements,but the center's completion was quite slow in coming.
and classrooms.
However, seeing the need for a place as important as the multicultural center, students would like to believe the university would be anxious to get this project out of the planning stages and into effect.
The University of Kansas is a campus rich with diversity. By understanding and learning about the different cultures at KU, students can become more understanding and more accepting of the differences between themselves and people of different races and nationalities.
The multicultural center intends to teach students that by offering videos, magazines, newspapers and lectures for any student who is interested in learning, not just minorities.
Now that the multicultural center has finally had its pre-grand opening, let's hope it does not take to long before they celebrate their real grand opening.
CRAIG LANG FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Jeff MacNelly / CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Paper defends obligation to protesters to print truth
Stop the madness!
For those of you unaware of the goings-on here on Mount Oread yesterday, I'll bring with a quick recap.
Yesterday, the Kansan ran a front page story about Eric Moore, the director of LesBiGay Services of Kansas who resigned and withdrew his name as a social welfare senator candidate, citing health reasons associated with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Let me first say that my heart goes out to Moore, who has contracted HIV. The article then addressed that the disclosure of his conviction for a sexual offense may have affected his decision. Moore refused to comment.
Having said that, I must address the mayhem that happened yesterday.
A little before noon, several members of the one of the Senate coalitions, and others who were just downright beefed about our lead story, grabbed the issues of the Kansan from most of the prevalent bins on campus and put them in a big pile in front of Stauffer-Flint Hall. It looked like they were going to light the newspapers on fire and start an angry dance ritual. Instead, they simply sat on them, mugging for the photographers and firing spiteful sound-bytes to our reporters. I'll give them this, they knew how to get the publicity. There will be no more compliments.
EDITORIAL EDITOR
If "No one reads this rag anyway," as one of the protesters, Student Senator Ami Hizer said, what was the reason for the demonstration in the first place? And if they were upset about the content of the story, they should note that
the Kansan reported only what was true and public record. The story stated plainly that it was unclear as to why he decided to resign from LesBiGays OK and withdraw from the Senate race; there were no gaps in fact.
Furthermore, if there was concern about the perpetuation of a stereotype, why wasn't there a protest when the story ran about an assistant football coach charged with rape?
Moore, according to the Supreme Court of the United States, is a public figure. That means that since he is a campus leader, a Senate candidate and publicly known to have tested positive for HIV, he is subject to public discourse. As harsh as it may sound, if Moore did not want publicity, why did he announce his situation at a 5 o' clock news conference and then again Wednesday night in front of more than 800 people at the Kansas Union Ballroom?
"It's our civic duty," a member of the angry bunch shouted as they marched proudly to the recycling bins to dump the papers in. The KU police told them to throw them away, since littering is a far worse crime. I guess.
Call me a buddy-duddy but I have always been taught that civic duty implies upholding the First Amendment, not breaking the law; you know, that kind of trivial stuff.
And, again, call me crazy, but taking the newspapers from their shelves prevents students from information for which they have paid (in their fees) and have a legal right to receive. The papers are also the property of the Kansan (chalk up another violation).
But don't worry, about an hour after the papers were thrown into the recycling bin, we, the news and ad staff of the Kansan, thought it was our civic duty to gather them and place them where they belong, back in the bins within the reach of the students whose papers they are.
Legal issues aside, the attempt at the mass removal of newspapers from this campus is no better than book burning, and that's what's aggravating the most.
Matt Gowen is a Lawrence senior In Journalism.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Ultimate fan angry with lack of coverage
I am writing to protest your sports staff's glaring lack of coverage of the KU Ultimate Frisbee Team's tournament this weekend. There was a front-page photograph with a caption, which is nice, but such a big tournament deserves more. And you didn't even get the name of the women's team right. It's Betty, not "the Bettys." More than 20 teams from all over the country participated in the tournament, and the men's college team, the HorrorZontals, is one of the top 10 teams in the nation. How did they do in the tournament? The rugby team was also out at the Shenk Complex this weekend. There were no scores for that either.
Jack Lerner Lawrence senior
It's not like you don't have any space — you have a whole section. Instead of seizing a great opportunity to write about a little known but exciting and thriving sport, you have again forced me and a lot of other KU students to look elsewhere for our news.
Student says Compton was not best choice
I am writing to express my disappointment in the Kansan's endorsement of Doug Compton for city commissioner.
As a student who lived in an apartment complex owned by Compton, I am familiar with his lack of concern for his tenants.
Maintenance at this complex was shoddy and often had to be acquired with a series of phone calls and complaints. I once experienced 26 hours without heat in January because the maintenance person could not be located. Later, I repeatedly tried to contact Compton by phone and by mail. When I called, his secretary told me he was on the phone and when I called again he was out of the office. Having talked with other tenants, I know my experience is the rule rather than the exception. I find the endorsement for Compton as a good commissioner for students ludicrous. I hope that the editorial board won't take the political babble of a candidate as truth when making its endorsements in the future.
Jennifer Jirak-Brungardt Burtington senior
Well, the baseball strike is over,
and I can't really say I've been waiting
for this with bated breath.
I maybe could understand it if the players were striking because of
Major-league attitudes take center field in baseball strike
I'm actually embarrassed by the whole thing.
Furthermore, we've proven we can live without America's pastime. True, we had to turn off the television and sit down and read a good book in the evening or spend time with our loved ones and family on the weekends, which was at first unbearable, but we adapted. Besides, the Toronto Blue Jays and all those great players from the Dominican Republic have called into question whether it really is America's pastime.
And why is it called the World Series when we never play the Japanese?
Now we only need to instigate a strike among pro golfers, and we can rest easy that we don't have to be bored to death by the Toledo Open this year.
unsafe working condition or poor pay — like if their kids were starving, and they were forced to live in a wood and corrugated tin shack next to the slag heaps of some Welsh mine.
It's a shame that our most famous labor dispute in recent years was over a game, a game where men spit chew and kick dirt on each other when they get a call against them.
But they're worried about not being able to buy that second summer home in
A game where they argue about millions of dollars instead of the labor disputes that concern the dignity of human labor and the protection of labor against the excess of corporations and government.
Majorca or that speedboat with the flames painted across the hood.
Why is the baseball strike the best known of America's labor disputes? Why is it the players' union which is in the news?
And the owners aren't any better. They're not sticking to their guns because the business is barely making it, and it would go under if they give in to the players' demands. They're trying to outbid the players for that summer home in Majorca.
Why can't we be more like Poland? Poland had the Solidarity labor union that turned into a social movement. It brought down communism and was headed by a Nobel Peace laureate who later became president of the country. Instead we get a bunch of greedy misers fighting a bunch of snot-nosed punk athletes, who strike for eight months and then still don't resolve any of the issues which led to the strike in the first place.
Michael Paul is a Lawrence graduate student in political science.
Joe Jackson was banned from baseball for throwing the 1919 World Series in the Black Sox scandal. It later turned out that he had nothing to do with throwing the game, yet the ban was never lifted. Then Pete Rose was banned from baseball for life because of conduct harmful to the image of baseball, as if only saints can be canonized into the Hall of Fame. Yet what players and owners have done in the last eight months has been more harmful to baseball than anything Shoeless Joe or Charlie Hustle could have done.