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Thursday, April 23, 1987 / University Daily Kansan
Opinions
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
A class alternative
The skimpy summer timetable could have some students worried about whether they could graduate in August.
But before panic sets in, students should consider other options that University officials have provided for them. Administrators and faculty realize that KU's summer school offers a limited number of courses. Because of financial cutbacks, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the professional schools cannot offer as many courses or as many sections as in the past.
The University Senate Executive Committee recently approved guidelines that would allow students to take classes at another school if KU doesn't offer a class required for graduation or a substitute
for the class.
SenEx has developed a way to help summer graduates cope with problems they could face if they aren't able to enroll in a required class. The committee also is trying to ease the burden on the University.
Administrators are trying to resolve the problems that KU faces. Students should try to understand the University's situation because the University's problems become the students' problems. Everyone will suffer because of the financial strains, but the University has to live within its means.
The University's guidelines are temporary. Let's hope that such guidelines aren't needed in the future.
Ignorant advice
"How to solve racial problems in the United States," as told to a group of visiting congressmen to the Soviet Union by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
First, according to Gorbachev, establish a couple of separate states as a homeland for blacks and minorities. It probably would be easiest to clear out a couple of Southern ones; since many blacks already live in that area of the country, that would cut down on transportation problems. Next, gather together all the minorities, ship them to these empty states and voila! The country's racial problems have been solved.
Gorbache made this "off-the-cuff" remark to the visiting delegation during a lecture condemning the United States for its interference in Soviet human-rights practices. Some congressmen in attendance commented that, apparently, Gorbache had a "fundamental misunderstanding of how Americans viewed minorities"
Fundamental misunderstanding? Rather uninformed? Those are understatement. What could Gorbachev possibly have been thinking when he addressed a group of visiting U. S. congressmen, one of whom was black?
and that he was "rather uninformed about the desires and aspirations of black people in America."
The United States and the Soviet Union haven't been exactly the best of friends in recent years. So, if the Soviet Union wants to pursue better relations with the United States, it would be in everyone's best interest for it to stop giving "advice" on this country's internal problems and stick to ironing out the problems existing between the two countries. That alone is enough for the Soviets to worry about.
Maybe it was just an off-the-cuff remark and made out of ignorance on the subject. But that is no excuse to offend foreign dignitaries.
An indecent decision
And while the FCC hopes the new policy will clean up broadcasts, it will do so only at great
Barry W. Lynn, legislative counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the ruling might scare stations away from shows that raise sexual topics, such as Ruth Westheimer's show.
Acting on the thousands of complaints it receives each year about offensive radio and television broadcasts, last week the Federal Communications Commission imposed stricter limits on what can be broadcast. The FCC had limited its action to broadcast of the "seven dirty words," which comedian George Carlin taught us. The FCC now will take action against shows that contain explicit descriptions of sexual or excretory activities, also.
expense to the freedom of broadcasters. The policy censors broadcasters into compliance, and most likely a good deal of overcompliance, by holding the threat of fines and license revocation over their heads.
It is much safer to avoid all controversial matters than to risk being knocked out of the business. Subsequently, broadcasters will be gagged as they try to determine what is and isn't safe. In the end, the viewers and listeners lose as they are deprived of all controversial programming.
News staff
News staff
Frank Hansel ... Editor
Jennifer Benjamin ... Managing editor
Juli Warren ... News editor
Brian Ketterine ... Editorial editor
Sandra Englandell ... Campus editor
Mark Siebert ... Sports editor
Diane Dutmeier ... Photo editor
Bill Skeet ... Graphics editor
Tom Eblen ... General manager, news adviser
Business staff
Lisa Weems ... Business manager
Bonnie Hardy ... Ad director
Denise Stephens ... Retail sales manager
Kelly Scherer ... Campus sales manager
Duncan Calhoun ... Marketing manager
Cory Copeland ... Classified manager
Jennifer Lumianski ... Production manager
David Nixon ... National sales manager
Jeanne Hines ... Sales and marketing adviser
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A quick guide to Middle East politics
To most of us, the Middle East is that no-man's land somewhere in the East that seemingly has been bugging us for eternity. While most of us readily associate Arabs, Israelis and Iranians with that part of the world,
from a native of that area, is the Middle East.
Malek Bouzid
unfortunately that's the extent of our knowledge of that area. No wonder, then, that the constant barrage of news from the Middle East seems repetitious, and almost boring, as we fail to grasp the details of the reported events.
Guest Shot
Israel: Holy Land. Democracy with Western standards.
Thus, with the hope of alleviating this boredom, here, in a nutshell,
Iran: Not an Arab country, really
provoked the Middle Ages.
Avatolian Iran
Arab World: Actually a collection of 20 countries created by France, England and Italy after World War II. Here they are from west to east:
Algeria: Ah, l'Aligerie, pays de la Casbah. Mediterranean dictatorship.
Morocco; Oriental rugs, hashish.
Family dynasty.
Tunisia: Club Mediterranee colony. Family dynasty.
Libya: Ghadaifduck land. Military dictatorship.
Egypt: The Calcutta of the West. Democracy a la Mexico.
Sudan: No one knew it existed until
Somalia: Really part of black Africa, but Arab in order to get money from oil sheikdoms. Military dictatorship.
7-foot-6 Manute Bol, signed with the Washington Bullets.
Syria: Soviet colony. Military dictatorship.
Lebanon: A movie ought to be coming out soon titled, "To Live and Die in Beirut." Not a country anymore.
Jordan: The queen of this Bedouin country once to an Ivy League game.
Iraq: Iran with a "q." Military dictatorship.
Saudi Arabia: Oil. Land of the authentic Abduls. Sheikhd.
Kuwait: More oil than water.
Sheikdom.
Bahrain; Oil again, Sheikdom.
Qatar: Where else have you seen ... "q" not followed by a "u?" Oil again. Sheikdom.
United Arab Emirates: Sorry, oil rain. Sheikdom.
North Yemen: Who cares. Military dictatorship.
So there you are. Now you're an expert on the area. Just remember, next time you hear something from the Middle East that you don't understand, don't feel so ignorant. It is cuckoo land out there.
South Yemen: Soviet colony. Military dictatorship.
Oman: Unofficially a British colony. Sultan for life.
Malek Bouzid, a native of Algeria, is a Lawrence graduate student studying electrical engineering.
NBA won't fall into same trap as Campanis
I have a female assistant who knows almost nothing about professional basketball. As she puts it: "I
The Al Campanis foot-in-the-mouth fiasco inspired me to conduct an experiment the other day.
Mike Royko Columnist
That, I reasoned, would be the perfect state of mind to pursue an interesting story. She knows as much about basketball as Ted Koppel seems to know about baseball.
know who Michael Jordan is and Larry King. .or is it Bird. .but that's about all."
So I told her to call the National Basketball Association and ask a simple question: Why are there so few white players?
Now, before anybody jumps on me for trying to compare the dominance of blacks in basketball with the dominance of whites in baseball management, that wasn't my intent.
My reason for asking the question about the NBA was simply curiosity at how basketball executives would respond. Would they say blacks are obviously better at playing this game?
If so, the next question would be why? Are they simply better athletes? Or is it because in the impoverished, big-city ghetto neighborhoods, a hoop and a ball make for the least expensive game.
Although I think Campanis may have been treated more harshly than he deserved, it's obvious that blacks have been systematically shafted by the people who run baseball. There should be black managers, front office executives, and so on.
So my assistant put the question to
a spokesman at the headquarters of
the National Basketball Association:
"Why are 70 percent of the players
black and only 30 percent white?"
His answer: "Teams of the NBA put the best players in the world on our basketball courts. Period. There’s nothing else to be said. Race is not a factor. The best players are featured."
Next question: "I still don't understand why the ratio is different from the general population. There must be some theory."
His answer: "You can propose all the theories you want to. We just put the best product on the court."
I think most people would agree that his answer was a non-answer.
Question: "Why are there so many more black players than whites in the NBA?"
So I asked her to put the question to somebody who runs a professional basketball team. She called Jerry Bulls, the general manager of the Bulls.
Question: "But are there reasons blacks make better basketball players? Do they possess the athletic and physical characteristics needed in this game?"
Krause: "I don't look at color. I look at a player's ability and charac-
Question: "But that seems like such an obvious question, why are there so many more blacks?"
Krause: "That is a very sensitive issue these days, in many ways. I don't look at color one way or another. I look at an athlete's performance and character. Why different or certain people are in the league, that's a question that can't be answered in a short time or at all. There's no answer one way or another."
Krause: "That might be an obvious question. I'm sure that sociologists
Fascinating. Nobody is accusing them of being racist. Just the opposite. In their business, the overwhelming number of employees is from a minority group.
might have better answers than 1 could give. There's just no way to answer it. I've been in basketball 20 years and I've seen it through so many cycles. There's no answer as to why certain groups are in it. There's no way to answer it. You're asking a question that most people would say 'no comment' to."
Yet, they almost hyperventilate from nervousness when asked a question you would imagine they had given some thought to. If my profession was basketball, I don't see how I could avoid asking: "Why are most of our players black?" Is it physical or
But as Krause says, "that is a very sensitive issue these days."
sociological or both?"
It doesn't seem sensitive. But maybe he's right. Any answer he might give probably would offend someone. If he said: "Yes, they seem to be better at running, leaping and defying gravity," someone would say, "Aha, you are dealing in genetic generalities, which is racist."
But if he said, "No, they really aren't superior athletes," someone would demand: "Then why don't you hire more white players?"
It just shows what skittish times we live in.
Maybe tomorrow we'll call some Chinese restaurants and ask why so many of their cooks are Orientals.
Mailbox
'Clearing up' views
After reading Laura Bostrom's feature on the small town of Mound City in last Monday's Kansan, we would like to thank you for that brilliant piece of satire. Both of our families' ancestors settled in the Mound City area over a century ago.
Although it's true the residents in the town live much the same as they did in the 19th century, most of the families added indoor toilets in the late 1960s. In addition to this, a few people now drive cars instead of horses, despite the fact that they are much more likely to Scott or "The City" to get gasoline. We are especially appreciative of certain rustic charms that Lawrence and "The City" don't have, such as high school girls
with children.
We used to wonder why some people have such mistaken views about the Midwest. Your story clearly points to the explanation. By the way, what is a tanning salon? Our parents always took us to the woodshed to "get tanned."
Ken Snow
Pleasanton junior
Ward Rowe
Pleasanton junior
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed
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