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Monday, February 16, 1987 / University Daily Kansan
Opinions
Graduate teaching assistants are the latest group to be hit by the new reform tax laws.
Taxing fee waivers
Beginning March 1, fee waivers for GTAs will be taxed. That would mean that graduate students who receive the maximum fee waiver of $435 would have their salaries reduced by $142.83. Also, the graduate teaching assistants "will be taxed at the rate for their adjusted incomes."
The new tax reform act will affect 677 GTAs at the University of Kansas, said Richard Augustin, KU assistant comptroller.
Fee waivers were another way to help students meet the costs of attending a university. Now, Congress and the new tax laws are making even that difficult. These students need the help of fee waivers. That is why the program was designed in the first place.
Now, Congress wants to take that away.
It is no surprise that the cost of attending college is high. So why should Congress make it even harder for those students who want an education, but need help paying for it? Congress wanted to make the tax burden fairer, but shifting it to the nation's students was not the way to go about it. Many of the GTAs who use the fee waiver have families to support and need the money and benefits. They cannot afford to have what little money they receive taken away from them.
There are no definite answers to the problem, but one thing is for certain. The answer does not lie in taxing a group of students who want to attend a university and need financial support to accomplish that goal.
Heading off another riot
Rivalries can be fun. They get the adrenaline flowing in fans. They give that added energy and excitement that can push a team to perform beyond their seeming capabilities. They also can get way out of hand.
Every year, the schools meet for one of their most exciting games of the football season. The game draws thousands from each school to watch and participate in the richly traditional rivalry. But lately, this somewhat friendly feud has turned into a big problem whenever the game is played in Manhattan.
A prime example of that is the rivalry between the University of Kansas and Kansas State University.
Rowdy fans from both teams, as well as others attracted by the excitement of the atmosphere, gather in Agggieville, an area dominated by taverns and private clubs, to celebrate or try to forget the
game just played.
In the last two seasons that the game has been played in Manhattan, what started out as a party has led in riots involving injuries and damage to area businesses.
Because the partiers cannot control themselves, officials and students are stepping in to address the problem. They have decided to move the KU-KState game in Manhattan next year to Nov. 9 and declare it Parents' Day. Their hope is that "students will be encouraged to spend the day with their parents, away from the bars."
This is a sad commentary on the behavior of people who are supposed to be adults, when school officials think the only way to calm the recent riots in Aggieville is to ask the parents to baby-sit the students.
Perhaps in a few years, the two schools will return to the healthy rivalry we once had. Until then, bring on the baby sitters.
No less human
Last year, cocaine-related death was the talk of the town. This year, it's suicide.
Initial reaction to these acts often is one of bewilderment, a combination of remorse for the individuals and wonder at the apparent instability of the people who run our country.
Suicide is an entirely personal act and, although always disheartening, is no less surprising when committed by the
Only two months into 1987 and twice already the media have covered the news of prominent public officials and their suicide attempts. In January, it was Budd Dwyer, former treasurer of Pennsylvania, who shot himself at a news conference. Last week, it was Robert McFarlane, former national security adviser, who overdosed on Valium and now is recuperating.
girl next door than when committed by a congressman. Although they're in the limelight, our statesmen are no less human than rest of us.
There is a double standard concerning suicide victims. Those in the limelight often are thought to possess almost superhuman qualities, including the ability to cope with life's problems better than the rest of us. But, it is less understandable when a public figure commits such an act?
Perhaps, it worries us that we would let infallible people, subject to the same human condition as ourselves, be in the forefront of public policy. Maybe if we all realize the fallibility in people, we will be more willing to assist each other in confronting life's difficulties.
News staff
Frank Hansel Editor
Jennifer Benjamin Managing editor
Juli Warren News editor
Brian Kaberline Editorial editor
Sandra Engelland Campus editor
Mark Siebert Sports editor
Diane Dullmeier Photo editor
Bill Skeet Graphics editor
Tom Eblen General manager, news adviser
Business staff
Lisa Weems Business manager
Bonnie Hardy Ad director
Dune Stephens Retail sales manager
Kelly Scherer Campus sales manager
Duncan Calhoun Marketing manager
Lori Copple Classified manager
Jennifer Lumianski Production manager
John Nixon National sales manager
Jaine Hines Sales and marketing adviser
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Being a good host
"I am not a stupid American," shouted the Middle Eastern guy. Kansan staff reporter Laura Bostrom reported it in last Friday's edition. The event took place in the Union during a talk by Israeli scholar-in-residence Eveline Goodman-Thera. I was there. Although Americans in the audience rose in uproar and shouted almost in unison, "Hey, I am an American" with enough anger to bring an apology from the Middle Easterner the damage was done.
What a shock! I still can't believe the arrogance of him guiding his hosts so directly. For me, this is the last straw. I had to write this letter. I have here been at KU for a few years, and I have seen Arabs and Iranians abuse the local hospital in many ways. If it isn't hostile public demonstrations on campus that defame the states, it is secret meeting in the University of U.S. plots. If it isn't personal acts of defiance all over Lawrence, it is organized intimidation by groups such as the pro-Khomeini MSA (Muslim Student Association.)
These individuals pride themselves on being the best of hosts, at least according to their faith teachings. And yet, not only do they mistreat their guests and themselves, but also they have the audacity to make a nuisance of themselves in other countries.
I think it's about time that the United States overall, and the universities in particular, came out of their inexplicable apathy and dealt with these undesirable individuals. I suggest a very simple approach. "If you don't like the United States, leave it."
Malek Bouzid
Is "an eye for an eye" the best policy for a state that is considered conservative and already has a relatively low crime rate? Missouri has twice the number of murders per year as Kansas and the death penalty has not helped them.
Malek Bouzid
Lawrence graduate student
state of mind suggest that the death penalty is the proper way to hinder lunacy in Kansas. The people polled said they didn't think that the death penalty would curtail the number of murders. What is their logic? I cannot think of one reason to instigate a crime, such as murder, in order to thwart the same crime.
No 'eve for an eve'
The plain truth is that it is more expensive to execute someone than to incarcerate him. This is due to the number of appeals made and cost involved with making those appeals. Money certainly does not amount to a reason to instigate this archaic punishment on Kansas residents.
I don't have to have statistics, take a poll or think too hard to know that 67 percent of people polled by the KU Institute for Public Policy and Business Research do not use their brains. According to a poll that the group conducted recently, 67 percent of some number favored the death penalty.
How can anyone in a proper
The only other issue is social gain. Can we somehow gain by killing "criminals?" "Get rid of the scum" is the Nazi-like cry. Criminals are people with disorders who should not be killed or tortured.
Burton Carrier Prairie Village senior
A different mindset
I am aware that Chicagoans have their pitfalls. Kansans have been pointing them out to me for years now. Nonetheless, when I read that most Kansans favor the death penalty, I realized how warped many Kansans are. To believe that 67 percent polled support the death penalty, yet only 14 percent believe it will deter murder is amazing to me. This means that 53 percent of those polled support the death penalty for no apparent reason.
I am from Chicago, and I have spent the better part of six years here in Lawrence. Kan. I have known all along that Kansans are just flat out different from the rest of the United States.
Maybe the 53 percent think that economically the death penalty
would be advantageous. Well, with the applite process as it is in the courts today, it costs more money to get a man executed than to keep him in jail for the rest of his or her life. This is something one should ponder before supporting the death penalty.
So why do these Kansans want the death penalty? Is it Friday night entertainment? Or maybe it is all the extra money they are saving by cutting back at the University? Whatever the reason, I cannot figure out why any majority of people would support spending money when it does not serve a purpose. Maybe if I spend six more years here, I can figure out why Kansans think the way they do.
Paul Squeteri Chicago Heights. III.
Fail to make point
Concerning your Feb. 9 editorial about the 55 mph speed limit, we think once again your staff has been fooled by one of many reports based on limited research. Using slanted reasoning and emotional appeal, you fail to prove that "55 saves lives."
In reality, better roads, safer cars, seat belt laws, improved drivers' education, etc. have all helped in saving lives. The simple fact is that traffic fatalities have decreased since before the law. In 1974, the law had no measurable impact on this downward trend.
As for your conclusion that the population will go 70 mph if the limit is raised to 65 mph (since they already go 60 mph with a 55 mph limit) it's faulty logic. On what basis do research do you base this statement?
Also, the evidence presented from the National Safety Council is only one factor in a complex problem. Another issue is that of lost productivity due to the law. Time spent traveling at 55 mph across places like western Kansas has a major impact on job quality and impact. But why should we expect your editorial board to consider all the facts?
Sarah Jennings
Hays junior
Mark Gillem
Walnut Creek, Calli., junior
Amusing answers wanted
Finding logic in mysteries
I like getting mail don't you?
I also like getting phone calls unless I'm in the shower.
John Benner Columnist
So, I think it's time for a contest:
The First Annual Explain the Inexplicable Contest. Here's how it works.
I'll ask the questions and you, if you are so inclined, come up with the answers.
The judges (me) will choose the winning answers and put them in a future column.
1. Why do people walk around campus with their high-top tennis shoes unlaced? Are their shoes the wrong size? Is this a first step toward establishing the Mount Oread Nudist Colony? That would be pretty radical, even for a college town.
2. Along the same line, why do people wear their sweatshirts inside out? Do they want us to think they have just come, hurriedly, from a romantic tryst? Does the sweatshirt absorb perspiration better that way?
3. Why does a parking ticket on campus cost $7.50? Did you know you can get a $2 ticket just for backing into a stall? Why does it cost $5.50 less for the parking services employee to walk 15 feet further?
4. Why can't Don Johnson or Yasser Arafat afford a razor? You can get a pack of three for under $1. If they do shave, what kind of razor skids over the cheek one-quarter inch above the surface?
5. Why isn't there any grape juice in Welch's grape soda? Are we supposed to be impressed that Sunkist orange soda contains 10 percent real orange juice? What kind of fruit juice can be found in Dr. Pepper?
7. What would our state slogan be if Dorothy had come from Iowa? Ahh .. that's a tough one, isn't it?
6. Does anyone listen to AM radio?
If an AM station were to broadcast an obscure program, would anyone know? Would anyone care? Do you?
8. Why do people order a large pizza with everything on it and then order a diet soda? Should the drink be served in a 55-gallon drum?
9. Precisely why would angels ever want to dance on the head of a pin? Is heaven a smaller place than we have been led to believe?
10. Why do people mow their lawns in diagonal strips? Do their children care when they go outside to play and tear the grass to shreds? Does the dog care when he . . .?
11. Why is there an 800 number on the back of the toothpaste tube? Has anyone ever overdosed on Crest?
That's the last contest question. If you have what you consider to be a witty response to what I hope were witty questions, bring them by the Kansan newsroom, or call me at home and leave a message on my answering machine.
Do me a favor, though. Don't send me an anonymous messages as did nearly everyone who replied to my column on the Student Senate retreat. What does that say about the courage of certain elected officials?
Yes, you may submit answers to that last question, too.
katz
k. l. thorman
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed
I SUPPOSE IT
BEATS BEING
MARRIED
TO A
DEATHTONGER'.
YES, BUT
IT DESN'T
BEAT BEING
MARRIED
TO KEITH
RICHARDS.