4A the university daily kansan
opinion
thursday, march 11, 2004
PERSPECTIVE
'Gourmet' airline food comes up short
For all of you planning to fly somewhere this spring break, be warned: the airline industry has drastically changed
I wish I could say I was referring only to the increased security measures of putting your shoes and belt through the X- machine or showing your government-issued identification twice instead of once.
GUEST COMMENTARY
New obnoxious airline practices make post-9/11 security mania look comfortable.
US Airways has come up with a brilliant marketing scheme for attracting customers: make them pay for their inflight meals. On a recent flight, I was offered a choice between a gourmet Wolfgang Puck-designed roast beef sandwich or a gourmet Wolfgang Puck-designed chicken Caesar salad.
Kendall Dix opinion@kansan.com
designated. I'm not sure what US Airways considers gourmet, but Puck's Beverly Hills restaurant does not feature roast beef sandwiches or chicken Caesar salads as its marquis entrees.
What is the cost of such gourmet decadence?
$10. That's right, $10!
If that seems a little out of your price range, you can always drop five bucks on the egg salad croissant breakfast snack pack or the Italian hoagie snack pack for lunch/dinner.
Needless to say, I was enraged by the prospect of airline cuisine that actually costs money. We're talking about a type of food that is notoriously known as some of the worst food on the planet. Now I'm expected to pay for it?
Oh well. At least I could eat my free, delicious, honey-roasted peanuts and wash them down with a free can of the refreshing beverage of my choice.
Wait a minute. No I couldn't
The flight attendant poured me a glassful of orange juice, but wouldn't give me the rest of the can. And instead of peanuts she gave me a bag of pretzels, which I abhor.
I asked the flight attendant what the story was. She told me she wasn't supposed to give passengers a full can of Coke because it saved the airline a few minutes.
pennies. She said she would have hooked me up with the extra few ounces had I asked for it, but was prohibited from being so generous.
She also told me the airlines have opted for pretzels because they're worried about people who are allergic to peanuts.
I said that people allergic to peanuts know that they are allergic to peanuts and would not choose to eat them.
She said some people are so allergic, that even peanut dust in the air could lead to anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction. Consequently, these peanut-people carry an emergency Epipen, a self-injecting shot of epinephrine.
I asked if it was allowed to bring my own peanuts onto the plane and eat them.
She said that she couldn't stop anyone from eating peanuts on a plane, but that airlines won't provide them. And peanut-phobes are affecting more than just air travel.
My mother works as a nurse in an elementary school. In the cafeteria, students sit in zones that are divided according to the peanut content of their lunches. If Billy has a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he has to sit in the peanut zone. He's not allowed in the peanut-free
zone.
Democracy concerns itself with protecting the minority from the tyranny of the majority. I charge that it should be the other way around.
Besides, how bad can the sting of an Epipen shot really be? It can't hurt worse than the sting of paying for airline food.
Those of us who are able to taste the newly forbidden honey-roasted nuts must be permitted to do so. Those unfortunate souls who are allergic to peanuts have tragically become weak links in the genetic chains. They must learn to adapt in a way that doesn't hold the rest of us hostage, or I'm sorry to say, perish from peanut asphyxiation. It's survival of the fittest exemplified.
Dix is a Prairie Village senior in journalism and film.
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Events in Haiti play into next U.S. election
WAKE UP!
COMMENTARY
Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is no stranger to violent uprisings from political opposition.
Last week Aristide was once again forced out of his country after Haitian rebels, calling themselves the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front, threatened to remove him from office. The rebels were only 25 miles outside of the capital, Port-au-Prince, before the United States flew Aristide out of the country in the wee hours of the morning.
Brandon Cobb
opinion@kansan.com
The first time Aristide had to seek exile was in 1991 when the Haitian military staged a coup d'etat against the government. Aristide spent more than 1,000 days in exile in Venezuela and the United States. While in the United States, Aristide was able to form an alliance with the United Nations, the Clinton administration and members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Aristide's international networking proved to be pivotal in regaining power. He returned back to Haiti in 1994 and went on to serve the rest of his five-year term until 1996.
Because a Haitian president cannot serve consecutive terms, Aristide ran for office again in 2001. Aristide won the
presidency with 91.8 percent of the vote. But there were accusations that he won the election in a fraudulent manner. Those accusations led to the international community imposing sanctions against Haiti that blocked millions of dollars worth of aid to the country.
Although Haiti is thousands of miles away, the events that occur there do affect Americans. In 1991and 1992 the U.S. Coast Guard picked up over 40,000 refugees fleeing the turmoil in Haiti. Nikkiii Dolce, Wichita senior, is one the few Haitian-American students on campus and pays very close attention to the events that unfold in her native country.
"The events in Haiti have been of concern to me since I was young. I share the
pride that my parents feel for the country of their birth, despite the changes Haiti has endured," Dolce said.
Dolce's grandparents were visiting Kansas when the unrest in Haiti began. Because of this, they cannot go back. They have been in the United States for about six months. Some of Dolce's cousins were not able to attend school, and a cousin was shot and killed in early January.
"In my opinion, what scares Haitians who live abroad is the instability of the nation and the well-being of family and friends. Once politics in Haiti can be addressed, established and maintained, families living abroad might not worry so much," Dolce said.
The ousting of Aristide will be an issue in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. John Kerry's daughter, Vanessa, has already criticized President Bush by saying, "I believe this administration just helped overthrow, basically overthrow, a democratically elected president."
Aristide supporters believe that he was forced to resign by the Bush administration. Aristide told some members of the Congressional Black Caucus he did not resign and was kidnapped by U.S.
diplomatic and military officials. The Bush administration has adamantly denied those allegations. Aristide is currently in exile in the Central African Republic.
Meanwhile in Haiti, Aristide supporters, U.S Marines and Haitian rebels engaged in a gun battle that killed five and injured more than 30 during a protest.
test.
Interim Haitian President Boniface Alexandre has a tough road ahead of him. Aristide still believes that he is the legitimate leader of Haiti, and there is sure to be more violence in store between Aristide supporters and rebels.
Whoever is chosen in the U.S. presidential election will have to address the problems with Haiti. Those problems range from the increasing AIDS epidemic, election inconsistencies and repeated violence.
As voters in the next election, the events that unfold in Haiti do matter because it could mean sending more U.S. troops to try nation-building such as in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Cobb is a Kansas City, Kan., senior in political science.
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What is with the anti-choice propaganda inserted into today's Kansan? I don't like it one bit.
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To the person who says that no Disney character has two parents: Mutan has two parents.
--are achievements the Discovery and colonization of the New World, frontiersmen exploring and mapping North America and the Declaration of Independence are some accomplishments that "whites" should not be afraid to celebrate.
In Sleeping Beauty both parents are alive. Thank you.
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Kudos to the Girl Scouts. They make some damn good cookies.
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I am sitting outside of my class at Budig right now and everyone is wearing denim jeans. Am I the only person rockin' the pjs?
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Why does Kansas have to be so liberal?
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are achievements the Discovery and colonization of the New World, frontiersmen exploring and mapping North America and the Declaration of Independence are some accomplishments that "whites" should not be afraid to celebrate.
I meant to say, why does Lawrence have to be so liberal?
So we have a Pro-Life section, where is the Pro-Choice section in the paper today?
are achievements the Discovery and colonization of the New World, frontiersmen exploring and mapping North America and the Declaration of Independence are some accomplishments that "whites" should not be afraid to celebrate.
I was in Topeka the other day and there is zero pot holes compared to Lawrence. What is the deal with that?
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are achievements the Discovery and colonization of the New World, frontiersmen exploring and mapping North America and the Declaration of Independence are some accomplishments that "whites" should not be afraid to celebrate.
I definitely got on the wrong bus today just so I could hear the guy with the British accent talk. Now that is dedication.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Profanities used to shock
I just got pulled over by a policeman for walking across the street and he asked me for my driver's license. Isn't that kind of backwards?
I was shocked and appalled at the audacity of Laura Rose Barr's article "International Women's Day: Vagina's are good" in Monday's Kansan.
Associating Feminism with a made up holiday and using the term "vagina" not once, not twice, not three times — but eight yes, eight times — with the added "pussy" and "cunt" thrown in for extra shock value, was a disservice to such a wonderfully pertinent news publication.
Barr uses a satirical play such as "The Vagina Monologues," which is the coming of age story of a young woman, and compares its hilarious antics with those plaguing our world, such as battery, sexual slavery and forced prostitution.
Barr can't decide whether to praise the word "vagina," which she repeats for shock, or to discredit those in charge of "trafficking and honor killings," which I believe should be the main focus of this new "vagina" holiday Barr has come up with.
Her statistic that 52.2 percent of this campus has a vagina was taken from the national statistic, where 49.1 percent of this campus has reported having a vagina.
Ms.Barr, gratuitous use of profanity will only separate you from everyone, not gain respect for vaginas.
Blemishes in all histories
Although Mr. Minor may believe that all white ancestors were rich, racist, sexist and champions of inequality, there are achievements worth celebrating.
Celebrating white heritage is repulsive? I was disturbed by Cornelius Minor's column "Celebration of white history regressive" on Friday.
Minorities are not the only people who have overcome obstacles, stood up to oppressors and fought for freedoms. There are blemishes on white America's past, but to say it is repulsive to celebrate the accomplishments of one race because some were corrupt, communists or slave owners is walking a fine line of racism itself.
Eric Schaumburg Prairie Village junior
The most offensive part of Mr. Minor's article is his defamation of our Constitution (aka "a collection of half-truths"). Ironically, the Bill of Rights is what has provided him his opportunity to demean a race and slander his country.
Besides, if you were to look closely at minority histories as well, you might find that not all have always been model societies of liberty, equality and fairness.
Kyle Hoppes Fremont, Neb., senior civil engineering
First, Pirotte says that denying the right of marriage to homosexuals is not similar to previous civil rights movements because homosexuals can still vote and hold public office. This is true, but women and African Americans still had the right of marriage.
Pirotte's opinion that gays should lobby Congress rather than go through judges is flawed. Going through Congress makes the matter entirely political, forcing senators and representatives, who are pressured by their parties, to make decisions.
Finally, Pirotte argues the "slippery slope." I fail to see how changing the marriage laws from being "between one man and one woman" to "between two men, two women, or one man and one woman" will suddenly make it possible to marry 30 women.
Categorizing homosexuals with polygamists and people who participate in incest is a mistake (they do not compare), and takes away from the depth of your argument.
I am writing in response to Matt Pirotte's column "Protecting traditional marriage is not hateful" which was in the Kansan Tuesday. His argument, though it was well thought out, has some critical flaws.
Eric Rosa Mission freshman journalism
Marriage argument the same
United States. You have merely repeated the typical line of the tobacco lobby and the licensed beverage industry — neither of which has provided any solid evidence that bars and restaurants in municipalities such as Tempe, Ariz.; Albuquerque, N.M.; El Paso, Texas; Corvallis, Ore.; Eugene, Ore.; Bloomington Ind.; and approximately 70 other major cities and states have suffered any negative economic impact have suffered any negative economic impact.
Whether you support a change in the current ordinance is not the issue. What concerns me is the lack of evidence for any of the assertions you have made regarding the consequences of the type of legislation that has been implemented in 70 municipalities in the United States. This trend is spreading rapidly across the United States.
In a recent letter, the mayor of Tempe, Ariz., has indicated that the hospitality industry in his community has not suffered economically as result of smoking restrictions.
The Task Force has been working on this issue for most of the past year. We have reviewed a copious amount of material. This has been a serious and
Editorial misses point; ban would protect employee health
KANSAN
You may not agree with the research or with the individuals to whom I could refer you. That would be perfectly legitimate journalism. However, I would expect for you to take a serious look at both sides of this issue before writing an editorial with unsupported generalizations that could be very damaging to the health of a lot of people.
As the chairman of the Mayor's Task Force on Smoking, I found your editorial "Smoking ban bad for business; Give consumers a choice" on Monday to be ill-informed and a disservice to employees of the hospitality industry and to the citizens of Lawrence.
Michelle Rombeck editor
864-4854 or mburhenn@kansan.com
David E. Kingsley Chairman of the Mayor's Task Force on Smoking
Hence, the cartoon included with your editorial indicates that you have really missed the point of legislation currently sweeping this country it is designed to protect employees and not the smokers who have little concern for the health of servers and entertainers
sober process of collecting scholarly research and listening to experts in fields such as medicine, architecture (primarily ventilation), public health and the hospitality industry. The scholarly literature that I have seen strongly suggests that your fellow college students working as servers and entertainers in venue where they are exposed to intense tobacco smoke are at high risk for lung disease and other serious illnesses.
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Editorial Board Members Kendall Dix Lynzee Ford
Editorial Board Members
Kendall Dix □ Lynze Ford
Laura Francoviglia □ Ana Gregory
Amy Hammontree □ Kelly Hollowell □ Teresa Lo
□ Mindy Osborne □ Greg Holmquist □ Searcow ▼ Elizabeth Willy ▼ Sara Behnkey ▼ Kevin Flaherty ▼ Brandon Gay ▼ Zack Hemenway Alex Hoffman ▼ Kevin Kampwirth ▼ Amely Kelly
Cameron Koelling □ Courtney Kuhlen □ Brandi Mathessen ▼ Travis Metcalf ▼ Mike Norris
Jonathan Reeder ▼ Erin Riffey ▼ Aea Smith
Kari Zimmerman