4A
Tuesday, April 4,1995
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
CITY COMMISSION ELECTIONS
THE KANSAN'S CHOICES
FOR THE THREE OPEN CITY COMMISSION SEATS:
Bonnie Augustine Doug Compton John Nalbandian
HEATHER LAWRENZ, MATT GOWEN, TIM MUIR AND JOHN BENNETT FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD.
THE ISSUE: CITY ELECTIONS
Student interest in campaign made endorsements difficult
Two things about this spring's city commission campaign were unique.
One, students on this campus actually seemed to care about the results. We will know for sure after the votes are tabulated, but the student vote tally for the last city election was paltry, at best.
Two, the controversy about changing the city human rights ordinance practically turned the campaign into a one-issue circus. Doug Compton was questioned by rights activists, students and members of the community, as well as our columnists and editorial cartoonist. He became the symbol, in students' minds, of the opposition. One candidate, Carl Burkhead, has made no secret about what his stance would be, and his campaign has made frequent use of his opposition to the amendment.
Therefore, the editorial board had a daunting task in endorsing candidates for the city commission. Can it justify endorsing candidates who are opposed to changing the rights ordinance, when it is supposed to be speaking for the students, who, for the most part, seem clearly in favor of amending the ordinance? Or does it do its best to focus on the issues the city is facing as a whole, trying not to use one question as the only meter in determining who it would back.
John Nalbandian stood above this year's field, and the decision to put editorial weight behind him was not a difficult one. A KU professor, he understands the needs of the students and of the city. After only one commission term, he has a comprehensive understanding of the zoning, downtown, housing and development issues. He also supports changing
Nalbandian was an easy choice, but other candidates deserved to be considered on level playing field, and on all issues.
the ordinance. Not much to argue about.
Bonnie Augustine, Doug Compton and Allen Levine were in a dead heat for the greater part of the editorial board's debate.
Levine, 29, seems more like a student than a commissioner. That turned out to be both a plus and a minus. He seems eager to change things. He has plenty of good ideas, although some of them may be a little far reaching and unrealistic. And he supports changing the ordinance. But the city commission works as a cooperative government. And he came across as less interested in cooperation than divisiveness and negativity. Although a good leader is eager to effect change and a certain amount of tempered skepticism is necessary, the board felt he needed a few more years of city seasoning to achieve a better understanding of how to approach city issues.
Compton, 34, and Augustine, 33, both would provide this. Compton has been part of the commission that has worked well together in managing the city's expansion, and Augustine's financial and civic background give her the edge in dealing with city budgets and businesses.
Jo Barnes has one major concern — increasing industry. Carl Burkhead has one concern — voting down a proposed amendment. Not exactly comprehensive platforms.
You may disagree with the board's decisions, but the best place to show your distaste is at the polls today. Cast your ballot; this is a democracy.
MATT GOWEN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
STEPHEN MARTINO
Editor
DENISE NEIL
Managing editor
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
CATHERINE ELLSWORTH
Technology coordinator
Editors
JENNIFER PERRIER
Business manager
MARK MASTRO
Retail sales manager
JAY STEINER
Sales and marketing adviser
News...Carlos Tejada
Planning...Mark Martin
Editorial...Matt Gowen
Associate Editorial...Heather Lawnz
Campus...David Wilson
Colleen McCain
Sports...Gerry Fey
Associate Sports...Ashley Miller
Photo...Jennifer Lane
Associate Photo...Paul Kotz
Features...Nathan Olean
Design...Brian James
Freelance...Susan White
Michael Paul / KANSAN
Business Staff
Campus mgr ..Both Pole
Regional mgr ..Chris Bramanam
National mgr ..Shelly Falevits
Coop mgr ..Kelly Connessy
Special Sections mgr ..Brigg Bloomquist
Production mgrs ..JJ Cook
...Kim Hyman
Marketing director ..Mindy Blum
Promotions director ..Justin Frosolose
Creative director ..Dan Gier
Classified mgr ..Lisa Kuiseth
The people want to blame an impersonal public institution for what's wrong with America, rather than accepting the fact that in a republic, the people vote for their officials and vote them out of office if they do not keep the public trust. They think it would be better to tinker with the Constitution, which would limit terms, than take action themselves to make democracy work. They put undue expectations on their public officials: balance the budget, maintain services at their current level or at least don't cut the services that benefit me. Don't raise taxes, don't cut pork in my district, cut it in another one instead.
With everyone wanting the same thing, nothing gets done and the people complain that the federal deficit is skyrocketing, and Congress isn't doing anything about it.
Term limits are not the answer to the problems in America. The answer is to take responsibility in a republic and hold your representatives accountable. If you don't like what they do, vote them out of office. The wonderful thing about representative government is that if the people don't get the government they want, they get the government they deserve.
Take some responsibility, term limits not the answer
The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted on a proposed Constitutional amendment that would limit the terms of members of Congress. The bill was defeated, but it may be voted on again, since the idea of term limits seems to be a popular one. The fact is, however, that the idea of term limits for elected officials is antithetical to the democratic principles upon which this country was founded.
The way the system is supposed to work is that elected officials are to serve the public trust until they lose the support of their constituencies, at which time they are voted out of office.
Clay, known for his efforts in producing the Missouri Compromise, served in the Senate on and off for 20 years between 1806 and 1852, as well as serving in the House for many years. Webster also served on and off for 20 years in the Senate between 1827 and 1850, while Calhoun served 17 years there from 1832 to 1843 and from 1845 to 1850. More recently, Robert Taft served this country for 14 years in the Senate; 1939-53, and Senator Robert La
Follette, Sr. served 20 years from
Had term limits been in place, this country would not have been graced with the great contributions of public servants such as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun, who could not have been able to serve this country for as long or as well as they did.
STAFF COLUMNIST
1906 to 1925. Furthermore, the way to the Senate is often through prior service in the House, and the way to the White House and cabinet-level positions is through exemplary service in the House and Senate. The true danger
The true danger of term limits, therefore, is that
it would keep those truly capable and those with the honest desire to to serve their country in public office from being able to. This is far too high a price to pay for the limited benefit of sifting out the unworthy or incompetent from holding office, a problem that can be easily remedied by simply voting them out of office.
The American people are fed up with the federal government in general and Congress in particular. The people don't want to take the responsibility that is theirs in a democracy; the responsibility of voting their public officials into office and then holding them accountable.
Michael Paul Is a Lawrence graduate student in political science.
Students do not do administrator's job
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
I would like to thank the Kansan and Robert Allen for bringing attention to the situation that the Environmental Ombudsman's Office is facing a need for an administrator to replace Steve Hamburg ("Environmental position filled by student help"). However, there were three statements printed that I feel need to be clarified.
The two students who staff the office are not doing the work of an administrator. I cannot supply a job description of what a new administrator would do, but it would include much more than the office is doing now and would allow for new projects to be developed.
can best be described by the word investigative. Research, studies, compiling information and recommending options are what the office supplies the University to assist in decision-making. The office carries out the physical aspect of paper collection for recycling for Waste-Not, but many of the physical aspects of projects such as phonebook recycling on campus, converting lighting to fluorescent light bulbs and freon reclamation are carried out by Facilities Operations.
The nature of the office's projects
Thank you for the opportunity to clarify the issues mentioned in the article, and thanks for the expressed interest shown for the needs of the office.
Dianne Sands
Assistant Environmental
Ombudsman
Basketball tradition full of misconceptions
I couldn't help but be somewhat amused by Mark Lawlor's letter that you published Feb. 22. While I'm not about to besmirch the fine and proud tradition of basketball here at the University of Kansas, I would like to take this opportunity to debunk some commonly held beliefs and misconceptions about said program:
Roy Williams is not God — a good coach, but not God.
The spirit of Phog Allen is not what makes Allen Field House great. It's the fans.
KU has been fortunate to enjoy success in recent years. It wasn't always that way.
If there's anyone who doesn't disrespect KU, it's Dick Vitale.
Robert Diapaling Topeka senior
Spring showers bring variety of aggravating 'rain wrongs'
This being Kansas and this being spring, it rains.
The lady who runs full tilt from her car to the doors of Strong Hall with her hand pressed to the top of
When it rains, people do funny things. I have taken it upon myself to name these things "rain wrongs."
her head to protect her hairo. She looks nowhere but the ground — a good place to look when running that fast — but not the best place to look if she wants to be courteous to other pedestrians.
Students are then faced with the burden of dodging this
The student whose umbrella apparently got turned inside-out too many times and doesn't look much like an umbrella anymore, but rather like a — well, what does that thing look like? Suffice it to say that she is having difficulty staying dry under it. She, come to think of it, is part of a large portion of the campus population on a rainy day — the umbrella users. They are the perpetrators of most rain wrongs.
sidewalk torpedo, and most don't accept it without a nasty glare in what they suppose is her direction. This doesn't faze her, and she continues right up to the steps, where a thousand aggravated pedestrian eyes do their best to shoot rays of pure evil into her back. A collective sigh of disappointment sweeps across the walkway as she passes safely in doors.
These wrongs generally fall into three categories: ecoo-misery (of which we have just seen an example), conspicuous consumption and misdirection.
The conspicuous consumers are by far the most menacing group of umbrella users. They are the Cadillacs of the sidewalk, huge golf umbrellas with one occupant. They need twice the room the econo-miserum umbrella holders need and don't use it half as courteously. They lumber down the sidewalk dry right down to their shoelaces, scaring animals and small children, shearing off low-hanging tree branches and displacing the compact umbrellas into sections of sidewalk covered with puddles inches deep.
They are the happiest pedestrians around on rainy days, and are therefore all the more hate worthy.
The misdirectors are the progenitors of the econo-misery victims. They are the ones walking around with a compact-sized umbrella, which they think must stay vertical no matter what.
This would be no problem if the air was always still, but it most often is not. The wind often catches the umbrella of a misdirector and does what it will. This most often results in the misdirector hurting others on the sidewalk. The umbrella will swing unpredictably into the path of other walkers, creating a nuisance or a hole in the body or umbrella of the victim.
Do your part to prevent rain wrongs if you aren't already: umbrella pool whenever possible, always direct your umbrella into the wind and above all, be courteous to those around you.
At the worst the wind may catch the misdirected umbrella so fully that the umbrella is turned inside out. Once this happens a certain number of times, the misdirector's umbrella becomes an eco-misery umbrella shriveled and useless.
Ryan McGee is Wortland, Wyo.,Junior in magazine Journalism.
MIXED MEDIA
By Jack Ohman