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Tuesday, February 16, 1988 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Legislature must regulate commercial pet breeders
Kansas legislators would not allow state breeders to export diseased cattle or poultry. But some seem to look the other way when thousands of sick, commercially bred puppies leave the state each year.
A proposal that has been introduced in the Legislature would toughen kennel inspection laws and truly regulate commercial dog and cat breeders. That proposal should be passed.
Such lax regulations allow sick, deformed dogs to be sent to pet stores across the United States.
State officials estimate that there are 1,700 kennels in Kansas, but only 550 of those are federally licensed. And as many as 140,000 puppies are exported from those "puppy mills" each year.
The proposed bill would end that by requiring state Livestock Commission officials to inspect kennels at least twice a year and kennels to be cleaned at least once a day.
As it is now, commercial kennels are licensed and inspected by the Department of Agriculture. But supporters of the proposal say the department is not doing the job adequately.
Debbie Anderson, a veterinarian, spoke in favor of the bill while holding a puppy that had no right hip and a deformed knee. She said the dog was an example of what some of the state's commercial breeders were producing.
Opponents of the bill, however, have called it "hilarious" and "unworkable." They say that the kennels are already federally regulated and that a state law would be a duplication of effort. The legislators have failed to realize, however, that there has been no effort to duplicate.
Sean Gideon, representing Potagold Cattery, said, "We are discussing livestock. Please remember you are deciding if livestock should be treated human-like."
Gideon also has missed the point. The bill simply would require cat and dog breeders to maintain their product at the same level as other forms of livestock.
The exportation of diseased cattle would be halted immediately. So should the exportation of diseased pets.
discussed peers.
Alan Player for the editorial board
KU aid office is overworked
In these days of higher that is higher cost education, financial aid is the most important service a university has to offer.
However, the University of Kansas has the smallest financial aid office in the Big Eight Conference serving the largest student enrollment in the conference. The office is understaffed and underfinanced. Officials say the current staff is so busy it cannot do the work it should be doing.
They also say that the only solution right now is additional financing that will come from Margin of Excellence and the enrollment adjustment programs. However, Gov. Mike Hayden's budget does not include anything in the way of staffing increases for the office.
The University should take a hard look at its priorities. Financial aid services are more important to students than providing full-color brochures pointing out the greater attributes of the University.
There is no point in drawing students to this University if important offices like financial aid do not have enough time or resources to serve those students.
Jody Dickson for the editorial board
Editorials in this column are the opinions of the editorial board.
Other Voices
New York's plan coddles drug users
In a desperate attempt to stop the spread of AIDS, the health department of New York state wants to dispense clean needles to drug users in New York City.
One can't blame New York for considering drastic measures to curb the AIDS epidemic. The state contains about one-third of the nation's 40,000 known AIDS cases. And the sharing of contaminated needles is one of the primary ways of transmitting the disease.
When informed about the subject, people can protect themselves perfectly well from AIDS. Government at the local, state and federal levels should combat the disease by providing everyone with the facts and encouraging them to make informed, moral decisions.
New York's plan not only needlessly coddles drug users, but implicitly condones their actions. State and city officials cannot possibly combat the drug problem with a straight face when they are simultaneously handing out syringes.
Daily Texan University of Texas at Austin
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THE MAN WHOTHWARTED HURRICANES
ISU coach ignores woman's right
In this age of pushing for equal opportunity, it is always a slap in the face when the atrocities of backward thinking surface abruptly.
Such a rude awakening occurred Saturday after the Kobe Jawa State game's basketball game.
The issue is female sportswriters in men's locker rooms.
For the past several decades, female sports reporters have been trying to break the barrier of gender prohibition. At the University of Kansas, the cooperation by the coaches, the sports information department and the athletes have made this step a somewhat easy one. The maturity with which most Kansas athletes accept the presence of women in the locker room is greatly appreciated and highly commendable.
It is a shame that the same cannot be said of an Iowa State assistant coach.
After Saturday's game, a female campus correspondent for the Wichita Eagle-Beacon, Nicole Sauzek, entered the Cyclone's locker room prepared to do her job — gather quotes for the game story. However, she was met by Jim Hallain, the assistant head coach of the team. After a verbal assault, he insisted that she leave, following her into the corridor to continue his ranting and raving.
Hallianh accused Sauzek of entering the locker room without fair warning to the players, which actually was not necessary. However, Sauzek previously had discussed with Dave Starr, the ISU sports information director, the matter of entering the locker room. He gave her free
Iowa State has an open locker room policy.
Anne Luscombe Sports Editor
meaning that members of the press may enter the dressing room to interview players instead of waiting outside or conducting interviews in a separate room.
For this reporter, however, the locker room had suddenly become off-limits.
So much for equal opportunity. Because of her gender, Sauzek was denied access to the athletes, the same access that a male reporter has no difficulty in obtaining.
And why? Because some assistant coach fears she may see something of the male anatomy that is not a part of her own. In his small-mindedness, he could not grasp the fact that when female reporters enter the locker room, they are not there for a free peek-show. They are there to do the same job the men are there for — to write or broadcast a sports story.
It has taken a long time for women to gain acceptance in the male-dominated sports-beat world. It is a shame to see all their work ruined by the actions of one man.
Thankfully, there are men in the media who support the rights of women as viable reporters. One of those is the Lawrence Daily Journal-World's sports editor, Chuck Woodling. When the Wichita reporter was asked to leave, Woodling
left also, as did a member of the sports information staff. The press corps from Iowa remained inside, perhaps unaware of what was going on, perhaps not.
When Starr learned of what had transpired between the reporter and the assistant coach, he closed the locker room to the rest of the press. If the locker room is closed to one gender, it should be closed to the other, regardless of whether the sport is women's or men's — it should be all or nothing deal.
The women who do have to interview athletes in the locker room are conscious of the awkward situation. It is no easier for them than for the athletes. The only advantage that female reporters have is that they are fully clothed. Most reporters, regardless of gender, respect the athletes' privacy and will wait to interview them until they are mostly dressed or at least have the benefit of a towel. The athletes reserve the right to ask reporters to wait until the athletes are comfortable with their stage of dress. Some have no problems giving interviews in towels, others prefer to be fully dressed.
Regardless of the nudity factor, the issue remains one of discrimination. Perhaps when more women enter the area of sports reporting and women in the locker room become more commonplace, a female reporter's presence will cease to be dramatic. For those athletes and coaches who have reached the level of maturity necessary, it already has.
Anne Luscombe is a Kansas City, Kan., senior majoring in journalism.
Knowing AIDS patient eases fear
The suffering and pain of others should be viewed with compassion
Last summer, on a hot, yellow day, I held Kari in my arms while he cried. He cried because it was so hard, he said, it was just so hard. I sat there, dry-eyed and helpless, not knowing what to do. It was my first visit as a volunteer, and I was afraid that I would somehow say the wrong thing, so I never even asked what it was he was trying to tell me.
You see, Karl was the first person that I met, one-on-one, who had Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or what we now refer to by a simpler but more frightening acronym, AIDS. Oh sure, I had seen other people with AIDS or ARC (AIDS Related Complex), but only in a group environment where I could safely intellectualize my reactions. And if I did happen to brush against or touch or hug someone with AIDS, I always managed to suppress the rising panic of irrational fear, waiting until I was alone to look down at my hands.
Maybe that was what Karl meant with his words and tears. Not that it was hard being 64 and having AIDS. Not even the looking back on a life of physical grace and art, while seeing only shadows ahead. No, what he meant was the fear. Fear was hard to live with, day in and day out. Fear stripped him of his dignity, as attendants would not touch him without the shield of gloves. Fear kept old friends from stopping by to talk about better days. It was the fear in others that made each hour a little harder than it had to be. And maybe it was the fear in me that hurt the most that day.
Michael Foubert Court Columnist
Guest Columnist
I like to think that I've grown a little bit since then. People always have to change and grow, or a part of them dries up and dies. Karl helped me to overcome the fear by being there, in front of me, and making me see the real face of AIDS. And I now know that the only way we can combat AIDS is by attacking its primary weapons: fear and ignorance. We must make every effort to educate our community and facilitate its members in the changing of their sexual habits. Those changes are not going to come about if we rely upon denial or repression.
What it will take are students who care enough to learn the facts. Members of the University community must become willing to share information and to converse intelligently on a matter which touches each of our lives. We must demand that the administration allow us an environment in which we can choose or not choose to use condoms. But we are each going to have to begin with ourselves.
There will be those who persist in believing that AIDS is a homosexual disease, behaviorally based, and therefore not the responsibility of the
heterosexual population. Such reasoning is fine if one is willing to live in a community where each person looks out only for himself or herself and where the suffering and pain of others is viewed with a cold, dispassionate eye.
There have been columnists who distort information to further their legal and moral arguments, thereby fanning the flames of fear. They still see AIDS as some form of punishment for what they judge to be immoral or illegal activities. I do not wish to debate the merits of one scripture over another, but suffice it to say that I have tried to remember the story of the good Samaritan.
You know, I lost track of Karl during the last few months. I kept informed of his activities through friends at the hospice he resided. Then, one day a volunteer told me that Karl wasn't doing well and that it might soon be over. I decided to go and visit him one last time. Was my visit for me or for him? I don't know, but I waited too long. Karl died a few days before I arrived.
I can cry now. Karl gave me that much and more. And I hope that each student on this campus will begin to think now, not about AIDS, but about a friend, a roommate, a lover. Think how it will be if you have to hold them while they cry.
Now think about AIDS.
BLOOM COUNTY
Michael Foubert is a Lawrence graduate student majoring in urban planning.
bv Berke Breathed