4A the university daily kansan opinion wednesday, march 31, 2004 Free forAll Call 864-0500 Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded. For more comments, go to www.kansan.com Memo to the high school girl touring KU today. Even if your high school colors are the same as K-States, it is not cool to wear K-State's colors on your KU visit. 四 The trouble with your exes is that you can never forget their phone number. thinks it was because he is black. My bitch roommate stole my menstrual cycle. thinks it was because he is black. Why don't they make the salsa bottles bigger because you always run out of the salsa before you run out of the chips. What's the deal with that? 园 Chips are really good when you are drunk. Matt Pirote needs to climb down from the pulpit and actually write about something that affects his life. thinks it was because he is black. 图 Alabama drivers must be really stupid when they have street signs telling them to turn their lights on when it's raining and to move their vehicle out of the road if they get in an accident. Sometimes I wonder if giving women the right to drive was a good idea. thinks it was because he is black. I like it when you get drunk in the middle of the afternoon and your toes are really interesting. Mine are interesting. I rock. I'm gonna cry. I got a fever, and the only cure is more cow bell. --thinks it was because he is black. I never went to go back to school again. Sleep is like the girl of my dreams. Never really in my grasp, but in the end I know it's not going to happen. 图 Happy birthday, Frank. I would take you out to eat, but I know I couldn't afford it. LETTERTOTHEEDITOR Bush ads also hypocritical The March 29 "Face-Off" in the University Daily Kansan regarding George W. Bush's use of images of remains being removed from the wreckage of the Trade Center was informative. But both commentators neglected to mention that the Bush administration has forbidden media coverage of soldiers' remains being returned from Iraq and that Bush has broken with presidential tradition by refusing to attend even one funeral of a soldier who died in Iraq. Both decisions were ostensibly made out of respect for the families of the fallen soldiers. In this context, Bush's use of Sept. 11 imagery in his campaign ads seems particularly callous and self-serving. Jack Lerner 1995 graduate San Francisco TALK TO US The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Meghan Brune or Johanna M. Maska at 864-4924 or email at opinion@kansan.com. EDITORIAL BOARD Drug laws change, are they better? Fair charge Light penalty Douglas County decided to treat suspected drug dealers like other suspected criminals. According to the Lawrence Journal-World, those arrested for dealing and using drugs used to be arrested twice, and forced to post bail twice, for the same offense. This new policy was reported to be primarily to help the suspects save money (in some cases probably thousands of dollars), but there is a greater reason for it—fairness. If a murder suspect is arrested while standing over a body and required to post bond, he isn't arrested again when the coroner's report comes back. Think if you were pulled over and given a fine for driving with an expired license plate, and then after taking off with ticket in hand, being pulled over again for the same offense. Being arrested twice may not fulfill the constitutional definition of double jeopardy, but it's awfully close and simply unnecessary in our justice system. Opponents of the move will say that drug dealers deserve massive punishments. They forget that at this stage, we are talking about suspected criminals and that this move does nothing to decrease punishment, which is for the courts to decide in the first, and last, place. Face-Off is a project of the Kansan editorial board. Two editorial board members argue opposing sides of a hot-button issue that affects students at the University of Kansas. This section is designed to help students understand opposing sides of an issue and make informed decisions. Readers who have a suggestion for a topic that could be used in Face-Off or wish to join the editorial board, please call Meghan Brune or Johanna M. Maska at 864-4924. E-mail suggestions to opinion@kansan.com. "Well, if I had my way with people sellin' dope/I'd take a big tall tree and a short piece of rope/And hang'em up high and let 'em swing till the sun goes down" — Charlie Daniels, Simple Man Daniels' lyrics are extreme, but they raise a good point: Sometimes the law needs to be harsh. When the county softened the financial blow to alleged drug offenders, it took away some of the sting from being arrested. Formerly, suspects would have to post bond twice. The first bond was for the initial arrest. Any substances confiscated from the suspect were tested at a laboratory. If the substance was an illegal drug, the suspect was rearrested and made to post bond again. Now suspects not initially charged are released from jail on their own recognizance, without paying a dime. Judges made the change because they thought it was unfair that these suspects were the only ones facing an additional bond. It was unfair. The county should have corrected the problem by instituting the double bond for other crimes such as drunk driving. These people deserve to be fined to the fullest extent of the law, and the county should tack on all the extra charges it legally can. Ryan Scarrow is a Humboldt junior in history. Jonathan Reeder is an Iola senior in journalism and history. PERSPECTIVE Zach Newton for The University Daily Kansan Discriminating dress codes should go; Racial inequities should be addressed Four years ago, someone acknowledged the truth. In a public statement, Dannie Thompson, owner of Jack Flanigans, apologized to his "fellow African Americans and other concerned citizens" who opposed the bar's discriminatory dress code. In 2000, Thompson changed the rules that forbade cornrows or FUBU clothing because of increased flack. Practices such as dress codes are "surrogates for direct racist discrimination," said Norman Yetman, professor of sociology. Thompson recognized this connection and remedied the problem. Why do we ignore the dress codes other bars use as vessels for racism? The bar managers would never admit the link — not on the record. Not to me, with my pen recording their explanations word-for-word. "We like to keep our bar looking nice." COMMENTARY "We like to keep our bar white." They whispered to me the dangers of Sara Behunek opinton@kansan.com I put down my pen. Even with intensified police regulation, local bar managers said they enforced dress codes for safety. "No bandannas, no jerseys, no sweats," read the signs posted on bar entrances. It is no coincidence that these articles of clothing are associated with hip-hop culture and, in turn, African But gang-related activity, including violence, has subsided in Lawrence the past 10 years, said Sgt. Mike Pattrick, Lawrence Police Department. African-American patrons. "They're not from around here," they said. "They're in gangs." Americans. Look no further than BET or MTV for proof that African-American artists provide the style standard. Because hip-hop represents the avant-garde with its controversial lyrics and irreverent attitude, it challenges societal standards, Yetman said. Just as the "no shirt, no shoes, no service" signs served as a screening mechanism to keep hippies of the '60s out of so-called respectable establishments, current dress codes screen for the new antagonist in mainstream culture. Our generation's rebel is not rejecting an undeclared war on another country; it is fighting a war waged against their skin color. Last Call, 729 New Hampshire St., enforces a dress code and requires a KUID for its under-aged clientele to enter. This is to maintain a college crowd, bar manager Jason Stoffer said. But when the bar opened early in 2003, Tony Stubbs, West Palm Beach, Fla., senior, was denied entry. Lacking a better excuse, the bouncers claimed it was because he had on sweats. He That night, Stubbs said he was wearing a velour matching top and bottom. As Stubbs left the line, bar-goers — white kids in ripped jeans and sandals — breezed through the door without problems. He hasn't returned to the bar since because of this incident. Half a century ago, the United States Supreme Court declared segregation unconstitutional. While students celebrated our country's progression at last month's Brown v. the Board of Education lectures, many remain unaware of the continued racism African Americans endure in less apparent social arenas. Governmental policy addresses racial inequities in employment, housing and education, but why isn't anyone paying attention to the segregation of public establishments? So I say to local bars who enforce dress codes, "I put down my pen—now tell us the truth." Behunek is a Fort Collins, Colo., senior in journalism. KANSAN Michelle Rombeck editor 884-4854 or mburhenn@ransan.com Andrew Vaupel managing editor 864-4854 or vaupel@kansan.com Meghan Brune and Johanna M. Maska opinion editors 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com Danielle Bose business manager 864-4358 or adddirector@kansan.com Stephanie Graham retail sales manager 864-4358 or adsales.kansan.com Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864-7668 or mfisher@kansan.com Malcolm Gibson general manager and news adviser 864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com Editorial Board Members Kendall Dll Lynze Ford Laura Francoviglia Anna Gregory Amy Hemontree Kelly Hollowy Teresa Lo Mindy Osborne Greg Holmquist Ryan Scarrow Elizabeth Willy Sara Beuhnek Kevin Flaherty Brandon Gay Zack Homenway Alex Hoffman Kevin Kampwith Amy Kelly Cameron Koelling Courtney Kuhlen Brandi Mathessen Travis Metcalf Mike Norris Jonathan Reeder Erin Riffey Alea Smith Katz Mimmerman