4A
Thursday, March 16, 1995
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
THE ISSUE: DESTROYED GTA MIDTERMS
GTAs need accident policy
last week, GTA Loretta Pyles and her boyfriend, Norm Vavricek, lost almost all of their belongings, including Western Civilization midterms, in the fire that destroyed their mobile home.
As a result, Pyles improvised and decided to give her students a take-home exam.
She should be praised for her actions since the University does not have an official policy for such situations. In the future, all departments at KU should set a policy for adapting to these types of accidents. This situation turned out all right since a take-home test is a fair and reasonable compromise.
Pyles should be congratulated for her response to the situation, but KU should not lose sight of the real tragedy. Everyone in the University community should support Pyles and
The University lacks a policy to handle disasters,such as the fire that ruined a GTA's students' midterms.
Vavricek in these difficult times. They suffered not only an economical but also an emotional loss. In addition to the destruction of their property, some of the belongings they lost had an incalculable sentimental value.
Their colleagues in the Western Civilization and Urban Planning departments acted generously by setting up a fund to help Pyles and Vavricek cover the cost of relocating. This admirable act demonstrates that people still can be generous and kind.
Those who want to help can send donations to the Western Civilization department, 2106 Wescoe Hall, or the Urban Planning department, 317 Marvin Hall.
HENRI BLANC FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE ISSUE: VOTING DISTRICTS
Lawrence needs five districts
W h o m d do you can in you want to support the latest change in tavern ordinances or to complain about your street needing repair?
You may call any of the five city commissioners. None of the commissioners has sole responsibility for your area.
Lawrence should be divided into five voting precincts. Each commissioner could more accurately represent the needs of the people, and the voters would know whom to call if they have a question.
It is by the goodness of their hearts and their ethical standards that commissioners look out for the interests of sections of Lawrence. Who can tell if this will continue?
It would be best to divide the city to guarantee that all areas of Lawrence are represented.
This change would not only help Lawrence voters, it also would help the commissioners. They would be able to assess more accurately what a district wanted rather than what a whole city
At-large government has resulted in a city commission lacking in responsiveness to its constituents
wants. Also, as many of the commission candidates could tell you, it would make the campaign trail easier if they had a smaller area to cover.
Opponents of the precinct system say that it would unnecessarily divide Lawrence. It already is divided. One doesn't need an anthropology degree to see the difference between north Lawrence and west Lawrence. The differences in these communities should be recognized by having districts. These districts would not serve to segregate parts of the community but rather to guarantee that they are all represented in city governance.
The general rule of these opponents is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Lawrence residents should realize that while the system isn't entirely falling apart, it could use a slight overhaul.
HEATHER LAWRENZ FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
STEPHEN MARTINO
Editor
DENISE NEIL
Managing editor
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
CATHERINE ELLSWORTH
Technology coordinator
Jeff MacNelly / CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Editors
What's a Mick, you ask. That's what the Italians (Itaish, as we Irish called them) called us Irish folk.
Former 'Mick' celebrates St. Paddy's in ignorant bliss
JENNIFER PERRIER
Business manager
MARK MASTRO
Retail sales manager
JAY STEINER
Sales and marketing adviser
News...Carice Tejada
Planning...Mark Martin
Editorial...Matt Gowen
Associate Editorial...Heather Lawrenz
Campus...David Wilson
Colleon McCain
Sports...Gerry Fay
Associate Sports...Ashley Miller
Jason Lane
Associate Photo...Paul Kotz
Features...Nathan Olson
Design...Brian James
Freelance...Susan White
St. Patrick's Day is a perfect time for me to celebrate being an ignorant Mick.
River waters, Hallmark stores and beer all turn the color of envy in honor of St. Patrick, the guy who supposedly ran all the snakes out of Ireland and planted all the four leaf clovers. Well, actually, he was a bishop who scoured the countryside back in the fourth century to spread God's word to all the lecherous leprechauns, those pagan lushes of Ireland. Only that's not nearly as exciting, so the legend fell victim to the stereotypical Irish-storytelling embellishments.
Business Staff
"They're takin' our jobs," was a common cry echoed by both Micks and Itais.
Campus mgr...Beth Pole
Regional mgr...Chris Branaman
National mgr...Shelly Falvale
Coop mgr...Kelly Connealy
Special Sections mgr...Brigg Bloomquist
Production mgrs...JJ Cook
Kim Hyman
Marketing director...Mindy Blum
Promotions director...Justin Frosolone
Creative director...Dian Gler
Classified mgr...Lisa Kulseth
For years before the Kennedys, though, the Micks were seen as hapless, silly, dirty, drunk or some combination. And then there was that nasty potato famine. So what's all the talk about the Luck O' the Irish.
It wasn't until the middle of this century that the Irish began to be seen as mystic, charming and romantic. Director John Ford's 1950s film "The Quiet Man," marked the beginning of the end of Irish prejudice. The movie, a sentimental St. Paddy's Day favorite, is about a man's return to Ireland. By the time JFK took office, being Irish was en vogue. I'm considering reinstating the Mc, perhaps permanently.
Yes, I am a biggratron Mick, too
You know, McCormick, McDougail and McGowen. That's right,
McGowen.
They sure can spin a good yarn, those Micks.
The beer is thick. Guinness is the color of winter mud. If you can see through it, it's usually not considered beer by those Micks.
They can play the spoons, too. Folk bands like the Chiefains are part of the rich Irish tradition. And drink. Man do they drink. This is a holiday, much like New Year's Eve, where the activities often involve the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Heck, even funerals are an occasion for lots of spirits.
My mother explained to me that the idea came from the traditional ability of the Irish to bounce back from hardship like the famine and oppression under the English, always with a sense of humor and usually a strong faith intact. That's what St. Paddy's Day is about. Resiliency.
Yes, I am an ignorant Mick. too
So drink a green beer, wear a silly green hat, participate in shenanigans, say the word "Blarney." Or ignore the whole thing completely. Whatever adds another leaf to your clover.
Tomorrow, I'll be celebrating my history as an ignorant Mick.
Gay-rights struggle needs more support
Matt Gowen is a Lawrence senior in ]ournalism.
When my ancestors first came
John Bennett of the Kansan editorial board bemoans the fact that most KU students don't care about the April 4 City Commission election, and those that do, care only about gay rights. Whereas I am inclined to agree with Bennett's sentiment regarding the former issue, he oversimplifies the latter.
EDITORIAL EDITOR
not the name of an aristocrat. Of course, we lost all the land after the Civil War, going right back to where we started. Maybe we shoulda kept the Mc.
over "fresh off de boat," they decided to drop the Mc, changing our family name to Gowen. Sounds more Anglican that way. It was the beginning of the 1800s, and the Gowens were land-owning gentry in the American. South. McGowen was
The change was a pre-emptive strike to prevent possible discrimination by anyone who was racist or prejudiced against the Irish. The English, who occupied Ireland during the 1800s, saw the Irish as an inferior, dirty working class. They employed the Micks as domestics and owned much of the land they tiled and plowed back home. If they're dirty anyway, what's the difference?
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
But racist, you ask? The Italians, Irish and English were all essentially the same skin tone. What is a race, though? A group of people united by a common history, nationality or gene pool. Color was not the issue. Heritage and employment were.
To argue that the struggle for gay rights in Lawrence is a case of single-issue politics is to miss the far-reaching importance of this issue for our community and our society. The struggle for civil-rights protection for gays and lesbians signals a growing progression in our society away from the repressive, narrow Christian morality of the American past. To this end, the
Lawrence gay-rights movement engenders in our community what is best about America; it expands democracy. By first insuring that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters can live without fear for their jobs, homes and personal safety, we eventually welcome a new and important voice into our mainstream community dialogue.
We shouldn't step lightly around the fact that the gay-rights movement does represent a transformation of both our self and community conceptions. This is a big change. The good news is that in the wake of this transformation lies the advent of a richer, more expressive, more creative, more democratically vital community.
John Polard Rainwater
Norman, Okla.
first year law student
Missouri coach wrong about KU's Jerod Haase
I just cannot fathom why a respected college basketball coach like Norm Stewart would even comment on Kansas sophomore guard Jerod Haase's performance being anything but intense. When Stewart said, "He ought to stop all of the shenanigans," I could not believe my ears. The fact that Stewart called Haase's performance dirty leaves me speechless, especially since Stewart has some players of his own that should concern him. Missouri guard Jason Sutherland has thrown his share of elbows. Stewart should concentrate on the performance of his own players.
Brent Cary Wichita sophomore
Risky gambler gained fame, infamy,scorn in bank scandal
Recently I've been hearing a lot about Nicholas Leeson and his financial difficulties with about $800 million at Baring's PLC. Scorn has been heaped on him for this little flasco, as if other people don't make mistakes. But think about it for a moment: A 28-year-old investment
banker from a working-class background brought down a 233-year-old bank. Who says one man can't make a difference?
I was a little surprised to see that destroying the world's financial stability is a criminal act. I thought it was something you just chalked
up as experience — a rather negative and embarrassing experience that you never tried to do again — and then went into cattle futures or something. I guess this proves that it takes money to lose money.
Apparently Leeson's actions are illegal, and the Frankfurt police detained him as he tried to hoof it for London. He is fighting extradition to Singapore, which, after seeing what a rattan cane can do to the backside of an American teen-ager, I can see whv.
But Leeson shouldn't be scorned. Instead, he should be a model to those who fear they're just a cog in the wheel, who feel that they can't hope to make a difference in the world today.
I just wish he hadn't bugged out. I think it would have been an inspiration to all of us if the Singapore police had burst into his home with their canes and their shouts of, "This, Mr. Leeson, is the proverbial it!" only to find him calmly smoking a pipe and drinking apricot brandy in his smoking jacket while his wife was giving him a foot massage. Or at the very least, if he was going to flee, he could have been carrying a few cuckoo clocks or those nutcrackers shaped like tin soldiers when police detained him in Frankfurt. He could have looked horribly surprised that he was being arrested, claiming he was just on vacation and that his wife always had wanted to see Germany, then asking, "Is there a problem, officer?" or, "Hey, are those glocks?"
Soon Leeson will be a household name. People will burn him in effegy. They'll spit when they say his name like they already do for Guy Fawkes, Benedict Arnold, or, heck, even Roseanne Arnold for that matter. His name will go down in history.
Michael Paul is a Lawrence graduate student in political science.
How to submit letters and guest columns
Letters: Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the authors signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
Guest columns: Should be double- spaced typed with fewer than 500 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111.1 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or out-right reject all submissions. For any questions, call Matt Gowen, editorial page editor, or Heather Lawrenz, associate editorial page editor, at 864-4810.
MIXED MEDIA
By Jack Ohman