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Thursday, January 28, 1988 / University Daily Kansan
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Opinion
Iowans have enviable power in picking next president
It's a big responsibility being Iowa. Not only does it have to bring home the bacon and raise a bunch of corn for a nation, but it also has to pick the next leader of the free world. Or at least decide who won't be.
About 200,000 Iowaans are expected to take a few hours Feb. 8 to do just that in the Iowa Caucuses. It's the first test of the presidential campaign, and the winner often goes on to great things. Jimmy Carter will long remember it. And after a big second-place finish in 1984, Gary Hart also owes Iowa. Probably money.
Because of its kingmaking abilities, candidates both credible and incredible move there to romance the voters. A Time magazine poll showed that 23 percent of Iowa's Republicans had met a candidate in person, compared to only 5 percent for non-Iowa Republicans. Twenty-three percent of Iowa Democrats also had met candidates, compared to 7 percent nationally.
If Kansas had been in that Time magazine poll, only 1 percent of Kansas Democrats probably could say they have even met a candidate. Because of native son Bob Dole's candidacy, the Republicans probably would report in at, oh, 3 percent.
It is an unfortunate reflection upon the fact that losers in Iowa, like rejected lovers, often refuse to take a chance on other states, such as Kansas. As a result, those states can only choose from a small band of "survivors." And the list is whitted to a point that some states can only affirm earlier results.
results. Not to say Iowa has failed, but it would be nice if everyone could have a say, or a ballot, before good candidates are eliminated because they couldn't cut it in one of 50 states. Perhaps a national primary, or several regional ones, should be considered.
But until then, it is Iowa's job to make the best choice. Good luck.
Todd Cohen for the editorial board
KU needs new lecture series
The University of Kansas should be embarrassed.
The University of Kansas should be embarrassed. Embarrassed that all the big names speak in the Landon Conference.
Lecture Series at KU
Embarrassments that KU does not have a large organized
institution that attaches important people to campus.
Embarrassed that if KU did have a good lecture series, there would be no place for these people to speak.
The Landon Lecture Series on Public Issues at K-State has grown into a series of increasing importance in its 21 years. It is financed by 450 patrons who donate $100 a year. That is $45,000 a year that the series has to attract the many important public officials, journalists and economists to the K-State campus.
campus.
KU would benefit from a similar setup. The three main lecture series at the University are restricted in the types of speakers they can recruit and in their financing. Money comes through the KU Endowment Association specifically earmarked for the Vickers, Spencer or Roberts lecture series.
A lecture series with contributing patrons supplying financing each year would be a beginning to drawing these big-name speakers to campus with greater continuity.
lody Dickson for the editorial board
Then KU could shed the embarrassment of being in the shadow of K-State's popular and enduring lecture series.
Other Voices
OSU faces add-drop controversy
no matter how many reasons are given to explain the new policy, the fact remains that one week still is not enough time for students to decide whether they should stay enrolled in a course. Yes, the previous policy of being able to drop up to the sixth week of school without transcript entry was too much. But one week is not enough time — even if the university had publicized the new deadlines.
It would be more sensible to extend the date of the drop deadlines by at least one week. An extra week would allow students to have a better idea of the work required in a course.
Students should have two weeks to decide whether they want to stay in a class.
The Daily O'Collegian Oklahoma State University
News staff
Alison Young...Editor
Todd Cohen...Managing editor
Rob Knapp...News editor
Alan Phillipter...Editorial editor
Philippe Rebello...Campus editor
Jennifer Rowland...Planning editor
Anne Luscombe...Sports editor
Stephen Wade...Photo editor
Richard Stewart...Graphics editor
Tom Eblen...General manager, news adviser
Business staff
Kelly Scherer...Business manager
Clark Massad...Retail sales manager
Brad Lenhart...Campus sales manager
Robert Hughes...Marketing manager
Kurt Messersmith...Production manager
Greg Knipp...National manager
Kris Schorno...Traffic manager
Jamie Brown...Classified manager
Jeanne Hines...Sales and marketing adviser
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Bush, Rather fight to be real men
The outcome of the George Bush-Dan Rather slugfest on the "CBS Evening News" Monday night will be debated long after the sports pundits have tried of counting the bruises Larry Holmes suffered at the hands of heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
mike 1580:
Tyson left no doubt about the winner in his bout by knocking out the aging former champion in four rounds. Bush scored a unanimous decision that was announced in the public opinion polls the next morning.
The two battles are worth mentioning together because they were both aimed at the same audience: Real Men. During a television campaign that has been more a battle of images than of issues, Bush has had to contend with the "wimp" issue — an image of him as a limp-wristed sidekick to the gun-toting cowboy, Rogald Reagan.
Rightly or wrongly, people saw him as playing the role of Festus (or, Chester, to those who remember the original "Gunsmoke" program on radio and television), the semi-competent nerd who could park Marshal Dillon's horse but never touch the real man's six shooter.
Is it cynical to suggest that the vice president seized the opportunity to change that image during his live interview with a vampire who earned his spars ambush interviewing people on the CBS program?
Ted
Frederickson
Guest Columnist
If you believe the vice president's contention
that he reacted strongly to Rather's questions because he thought he would NOT be asked about his role in the year's top story, his administration's sale of weapons to the Ayatollah, please turn to the comics.
Question: If those of you who are still reading accept that Bush knew the questions were coming, then why did the vice president react so strongly — even hurling a personal insult at Rather about the time he walked off his newscast and left the screen blank?
Answer: For the same reason that Miller Brewing Company commercials regularly feature brawny jocks yelling at each other about Lite Beer Miller feared that its low calorie beer might have an image problem as a wimp beer to be avoided by "Real Men." Thus, we see big guys holding Lite beers in their hammy fists, screaming across barrooms.
TASTES GREAT! LESS FILLING!
LIKE FILLING!
When Bush screamed TASTES GREAT, Rather could not stop himself from responding, LESS FILLING.
The Rush-Rather debate was conducted at the
If viewers perceived that Bush was a real man capable of winning a shootout with Rafter, they learned something about Rafter as well. During this era of television campaigning dominated by images, Rather has become a TV personality himself and is unable or unwilling to keep himself out of the story.
same level as the commercial.
The content of Rather's questions was appropriate, but it was inappropriate and ineffective of him to join a personal screaming match, even if it was at Bush's invitation.
A journalist put in that situation should remember that an interview with someone who doesn't want to answer questions is like a tennis match. You want the ball back in the other guy's court so that he has to respond.
Rather should have lobbied the ball back to Bush by listening patiently to the vice president's response, then calmly and politely restating the question that went unanswered — the precise role that Bush played in the sale of U.S. arms to Iran.
Instead, Rather reacted like John McEnroe and ended up playing a key role in Bush's best campaign commercial thus far.
K·A·N·S·A·N
MAILBOX
Brown has good ideas
I have regarded with interest the developments concerning Larry Brown's claim that the University of Kansas maintains a system in which many students have an inherent disadvantage. The negative reactions to Coach Brown's statement have dismayed me.
The authors of the several letters and editorials printed in the Kansan have interpreted Brown's statement too narrowly. From a logical standpoint, their refutations were, in fact, invalid. In a classic example of ad hominem argumentation, these individuals assumed that because Brown is a basketball coach, his claims should apply only toward athletes. The problems Brown identified go far beyond the concerns of the athlete, however. They involve a large sector of society, notably, the underprivileged poor and minorities.
Ted Frederickson is an associate professor of journalism
Brown is more than a coach — he is an educator in his own right. Furthermore, his unique position has allowed him to come into contact with students that the majority of the faculty and student body has not. Many of these students do not come from a "normal background," if "normal" is to be considered representative of the opportunities most KU students were present with prior to admission, or in dealing with these students should be recognized and respected. That Brown should champion their concerns is to be commended, not criticized.
Further examination of what Brown said
The point has been made that KU is a place of "higher learning," and therefore is justified in its requirements. An important exception should be made, however. The University of Kansas is a public institution, funded by public tax dollars. Its mission, then, should to provide "higher learning" to any of the public, regardless of background.
shows he had basis for his arguments. The core requirements for a BGS degree alone mandate math and communication skills considered "above basic" for many high schools. Adding insult to injury, KU offers little remedial assistance in comparison with the skills required. Curriculum requirements are nearly impossible to meet for a student (or not). All of this seems to characterize the University of Kansas as an elitist institution.
Should the Kansas Legislature adopt new admission guidelines, the University would become more elite. Such strict guidelines would serve as effective barriers for many who desire a college education. Considering the necessity of a college degree for economic advancement in today's society, it would seem that these barriers would also serve to prevent many individuals from climbing out of their lower socio-economic situations. The purpose of such guidelines would be assistance in this process. The University's current guidelines, and certainly the Board of Regents proposed guidelines, seem to make matters worse.
The opposite has proven to be the case. The University's curriculum requirements clearly favor individuals whose socio-economic background has provided them with the preparation necessary to succeed at KU. Conversely, individuals without this background are disfavored, and consequently, disallowed.
I am proud of the University and of its
academic tradition. However, changes are needed to see that the same opportunities are available to all. This would not make the University a lesser institution, rather, it would elevate its status in terms of importance to the state of Kansas and the nation. The mark of a good university is not the caliber of the students it attracts, but the caliber of the students it graduates.
Thomas L. Muller Minneapolis, Kan., junior
Focus on the real issues
As I picked up the Jan. 25 edition of the Kansan, two headlines leaped out at me: "Contra Plane Shot Down" and "Dole's Error?" Since the latter was shaded and enclosed in a box, I foolishly assumed that it must be more important. I was wrong. It was about a misprint in Sen. Dole's autobiography. Why, that shows such gross incompetence he should be forced out of the presidential race in shame. I can't wait to see what evils next week's headlines will tell. "Paul Simon seen joywalking in 1967." "Alexander Haig takes 12 items through 10 item express lane" or "Aides say Jackson cheats at Monopoly." When will this "manufactured" news stop?
There is no doubt that the integrity of the next president is something the American public must know about. But ever since Gary Hart proved he had the maturity of a 16-year-old, every trivial event of a candidate's life has been the subject of intense scrutiny. Enough already! The election is still 10 months away. I hope someday when I read an article about Dole or any other candidate, it explains his views on an issue. After all, it would be nice to know if anyone has any ideas on how to run the country for the next four years.
Louis H. Lietzen Leavenworth junior
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed