4 Thursday, March 26, 1987 / University Daily Kansan Opinions THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Bribes won't buy brains The way to a National Merit scholar's heart is through his taxes. At least that's what Gov. Mike Hayden thinks. Hayden recently submitted a plan to put an end to "brain drain," the latest academic crisis affecting Kansas. The crisis is manifesting itself in the form of superior students who seek higher education outside the state, raising the possibility that these students also will accept jobs outside the state. This loss of creativity and intelligence, in the end, weakens the Kansas economy. So to halt the problem, Hayden proposed a tax break for National Merit scholars. This means that National Merit scholars who borrowed money to attend college, either in or out of state, could receive a credit on their Kansas income taxes. Receiving a tax credit means that if the student worked and lived in Kansas for the year, principal on loans and interest paid during that year would be tax free. Hayden is trying to address the problem, but a more effective way to end this "brain drain" would be to raise the quality of education at the state universities, rather than trying to bribe the students. If Hayden is going to offer to pour money into the situation to correct it, he should put that money to use in upgrading the facilities at state institutions and hiring the most qualified and respected instructors. More often than not, when students, especially the most intelligent students, are choosing a college to attend, they are looking for the best quality in these areas, rather than the place that gives the best tax break. Budget cuts misdirected Timberrrrrr! The state's budget ax has fallen once again. The victim this time? The Board of Regents. The House Appropriations Committee last week approved $25 million in additional state budget cuts, including a 50 percent reduction in the University's fee release request and a $7 million cut in the Regents budget. The cuts were made after the House rejected two bills calling for reductions in other areas. The bills would have reduced the amount of state sales tax money returned to city and county governments, as well as the amount of money earmarked for the state highway fund. The two bills would have saved the state about $21 million for the rest of this fiscal year and the next fiscal year. With these cuts rejected, legislators looked to other areas to absorb the cuts needed to shore up the state budget. Education is one of the biggest responsibilities of the state government. But now the state has declared nothing less than all-out war against the educational system. The leadership of the Board of Regents is desperately needed now and should not have to balance increased pressure with a decreased budget. Kansas is in desperate financial straits; that is undeniable. But cutting more from the already mutilated higher education budget is not the way to regain lost revenue. Higher education in the state has suffered enough. Yes, something needs to be done to strengthen the economy, but panicking will not help the situation. The time has come for the Kansas Legislature and the governor to sit down and thoroughly think through proposals like these. If not, lawmakers could damage the state in more ways than just the economy. Letters discouraging The University of Kansas, like many other universities, has been facing enrollment problems. But unlike other schools, KU has the problem of an increasing enrollment. This can be both good and bad. The problems of a poor economy and increasing enrollments have forced the University to impose new restrictions, including deadlines for admissions applications. The University also is sending letters to prospective freshmen advising them of academic expectations and encouraging them to complete prerequisite high school courses before coming to KU. It will benefit the high school seniors who already have completed the recommended classes and the underclassmen who will have time to take the classes before graduating. However, it could discourage other potential students who interpret the letter as an indication that they will not be able to succeed at the university level. All students should have the opportunity to get a higher education if they want it, and a letter that potentially could discourage students from applying to the University helps no one involved. The University of Kansas currently has an open admissions policy. Steps need to be taken to make sure that economic pitfalls don't force the University to become an institution for the elite. News staff News staff Frank Hansel Editor Jennifer Benjamin Managing editor Jul Warren News editor Brian Kabelle Editorial editor Sandra Engelland Campus editor Mark Siebert Sports editor Diane Dualmeier 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 Austen Caldwell Marketing manager Lori Copple Classified manager Jennifer Lumianski Production manager David Nixon National sales manager Jeanne Hines Sales and marketing adviser Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words and should include the writer's name, address and telephone number. If the writer is affiliated with the University, include class and hometown, or faculty or staff position. Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed. The Kansan reserves the right reject or edit letters and guest shots. They can be mailed or brought to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The University Daily Kansan (USPS 650-640) is published at the University of Kansas, 118 Stauffer Flint Hall, Kansas. Kan 60445, daily during the regular school year, excluding Saturday, Sunday, holidays and finals periods, and on Wednesday during the summer session. Second-class postage paid in Lawrence, Kan 60445, subscriptions by mail are $40 per year in Douglas County outside the county. Student subscriptions are $3 and are paid through the student activity fee. POSTMASTER. Send address changes to the University Daily Kansan, 118 Stauffer-Fint Hall, Sendrance, Kan. 66045. "Hey wait a minute - there's no gas station around here." City politics not as boring as you think When I say 'Lawrence city government' what's the first thing you think? In the one city precinct almost entirely composed of students, apparently the answer is: 'Who cares?' John Benner Columnist There are 926 registered voters in the Allen Field House precinct, but only 18 of them managed to get to the polls for the March 3 primary elections. That's a shopping 2 percent turnout. Last semester, I covered the city beat for the Kansan and witnessed firsthand KU student apathy about Lawrence. Time and time again, I heard this familiar refrain: "What mall? What bypass?" What's a crayfish frog, anyway, and who cares?" Who, indeed?! What do we get when we choose not to become involved in government? Contrary to popular student belief, the city government of Lawrence has a colorful history and is involved in some issues that even might (believe it or not) affect students. Whether we ask for it, what we get is a city run by a few to benefit a few. Consider some episodes from Lawrence's recent past. In 1881, Lawrence illegally tacked 50 cents a month onto each resident's water bill and collected $65,000 during nine months. Finally, in November of that year, a judge told the city to give the money back. In 1882, the Lawrence City Commission held up a construction project by denying approval of a builder's plan that previously had been accepted by the city planning commission. How was this refund handled? If a customer wanted his money back, he had to ask the city for it. This entire episode might have been avoided if more citizens had questioned authority. In a case that was finally decided by the Kansas Supreme Court, the city was told it could not make such a move but could deny only a zoning change. The city might have determined that it would lose the case because the decision was based on Lawrence's own city code. Last year, Judge James Paddock, at the request of a Lawrence citizen, issued an injunction against another city commission move. The city, in its eagerness to exercise its power of eminent domain to condemn and then claim the land for a downtown shopping mall, asked the Urban Renewal Authority to contract with a consulting firm to study the project. Since the city gave the URA the power to contract for this study, it effectively threw its power away on an illegally formed organization. You see, one of the URA members didn't live in Lawrence or even in Douglas County when the city passed the provision. That was a violation of URA guidelines and nullified the contract. Was the public consulted about the move? Yes it was. The forum is called a city commission meeting. They take place Tuesdays at 7 p.m. In the past two years, the city approved money for refurbishing the Eldridge Hotel, whose location handicaps its success in competing against other hotels. By the same token, it also approved money for an airport terminal and hangar that won't exactly make Lawrence a Midwest hub for a major airline. But most recently, it has considered spending $20 million in public funds for a downtown mail and $4 million for a proposed bypass. These last two projects have dominated the discussion of both voting and non-voting citizens because of the April 7 city commission election and mall referendum. Because these two questions are uppermost in the minds of Lawrence citizens, a political action committee was formed before the primary and endorsed four of the 10 candidates. (And you thought PACs were only for big-time national interest groups!) Three of the four candidates endorsed by the Old West Lawrence护 survived the primary election to get on the April 7 ballot. Just last week the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Lawrence Association, seeking to support proeconomic growth candidates, formed a PAC of its own, the Keep Downtown Downtown Committee. During the next two weeks, you, the potential voter, will be bounded by advertising designed to get you to vote for certain candidates and for certain mail referendum questions. Do me and yourself a favor and educate yourself about the issues. Then, show up at the polls. When Nunn speaks, senators listen 1. WASHINGTON - Is Sen. Sam Num of Georgia the E.F. Hutton of the Senate? Most certainly, if the issue is arms control agreements or the military. Steve Gerstel UPI Commentary That does not mean that the Senate stops and gives rapt and undivided attention to Nunn when he speaks. No senator is accorded that distinction. Mostly, the Georgia Democrat delivers his monologue to an empty chamber in a native drawl that could serve well as a remedy for lesser forms of insomnia. But in a Senate largely populated with eager talkers and virtually devoid of listeners, Nunn is heard. And he manages without the high-powered media blitzes favored by many of his colleagues. Although senators may disagree with him, and some do, when Nunn reaches a conclusion, it is accepted by many of his colleagues as the rallying point on an issue. Last week, Nunn delivered the first of three speeches in which he determined that the anti-ballistic missile treaty presented to and ratified by the Senate would preclude the type of advanced research on the Star Wars defense system on which President Reagan wants to embark. On that same day, indeed hours before Nunn spoke. Sen. Claiborne Pell, D-R.I., chairman of the prestigious Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, pronounced similar judgments. Why? Mainly because Nunn reached his conclusion after a laborious, in-depth study of the treaty and the testimony that supported it. Yet, Net.WM's verdict carried a great deal more weight in the White House, which disputes the house in his colleagues and in the media. On the other hand, the impression left by Pell and Biden was that they reached the same point mainly because it conveniently fit their opposition to Star Wars. Nor is Nunn's acknowledged expertise limited to arms control agreements. It goes deep into military affairs, befitting but not always true of armed Services Committee chairmen. Last year, his depth of knowledge dazzled even crusty former Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., when they teamed to reform the joint chiefs. And unlike Nunn, Russell and Vinson were at their peaks during a period when military matters were the province of just a few and their decisions were rarely, if ever, challenged. Nunn operates in an era of instant experts. But unlike many of the instant experts, Nunn weighs his words before he speaks, preferring not to shoot from the lip like some of the others. But with the renewed possibility of an agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union on nuclear missiles in Europe, and perhaps more. Num may find that his place in the next two years has to be in the Senate – not in Iowa or New Hampshire or even in the Southern states. At 48, Nun is moving into full political maturity, underscored by the interest in him as a potential presidential candidate, a siren he has only partly silenced. He has not renounced a race for 1988 nomination, only said he would make a decision later in the year. The Senate would reach a judgment faced with an agreement. With Nunn it would be a more learned one. Mailbox Column kills racism Paul Campbell has done it again! He's uncovered a conspiracy to accuse innocent Americans of being racist, and thanks to his profound and scholarly analysis, we now know that racism is total fiction. What's more astounding, however, is that his argument now shows us that racism doesn't exist in South Africa either. According to a statistic printed in a recent issue of Harper's Magazine, the Bill Cosby show is the No. 1 show among the white people in South Africa. Kirstin Myers Shawnee senior Well, addicts do things like that. It is part of the disease of addiction, and calling addicts names like "loser" won't change that. Compassion lacking Drug addiction (including alcoholism) sometimes yields to tough-minded compassion combined with knowledge of how difficult recovery Mark Siebert is pretty upset with Gary McLain. It seems McLain stole things to buy drugs. Horrors! And when Len Bias died, McLain went out and got high. Scandalous! It does not, at any rate, respond at all to self-righteous posturing. John Ericson Lawrence senior BLOOM COUNTY - © 1987 Washington Road C IT MAY NOT BE CUTE AND PURKY, BUT THAT SNAIL HAS THE SAME RIGHT TO LIVE OUT ITS LIFE AS A BABY HARP SEAL DOGS. by Berke Breathed WE EAT THEM, WE WEAR THEM, WE TORTURE THEM FOR SCIENCE, WE POISON THEM ON OUR CROPS... AND WE EVEN WALK ON THEM !!!