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Opinion
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Friday, February 2, 2001
ror comments, contact Chris Borniger or Nathan Willis at 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Perspective
Corporate greed steals character from the Plaza
Although Lawrence has always guarded a small-town feel, it is arguably part of the Kansas City, Mo., metropolitan area. For KU students, the majority of whom are not from the Kansas City area, trips to Kansas City — especially to shop, dine and seek entertainment — are major facets of their university experience. Therefore, happenings regarding Kansas City are and should be relevant to us.
One particular Kansas City attraction frequented by KU students is, of course, the Country Club Plaza. The Plaza, with its many stores, restaurants and services, is famous for being one of America's great retail areas. It has been a Kansas City staple since its creation by real-estate magnate J.C. Nichols in 1977.
hate B.C. Nichols in 1927.
Until 1908, Mx
Until 1980, Mr. Nichols' company kept it as it should be. After Mr. Nichols' death in 1950, his son, Miller Nichols, ran the J.C. Nichols Real-Estate Company, keeping the same standard of excellence that his father had begun years earlier.
Sadly, these trends of distinction did not continue past 1999. In 1998, Highwoods Properties, a North Carolina-based
Jonathan
Sternberg
guest columnist
union@kaan.com
national developer, purchased J.C. Nichols Company in what became a heated court battle in Kansas City between opponents of the takeover and Highwoods From then on, the success story that was the Plaza became similar to what we now see in Lawrence — large, national corporations overtaking smaller, local companies, all to the detriment of the "developed" area itself.
The Plaza has transformed for the worse. Almost immediately after the J.C. Nichols sale, The Kansas City Star published a nostalgic and saddening report about the closing of the Plaza Theatre, which had been open since 1928, so that Highwoods could contract with Cinemark Theatres of Dallas to open a 14-screen multiplex in Seville Square. The Plaza Theatre formerly had belonged to Dickinson Theatres, a small, Kansas City-based theater company. Changes like this soon became routine.
when I went back to the Plaza last summer for the first time in six months, I hardly could recognize it. Bebe had replaced the Nature Company. Tommy Bahama — a store by which I am repulsed
— had replaced Laura Ashley, which found itself forced to move to a much smaller location. The Plaza now has two Starbucks, both a block from LatteLand, a local coffee establishment. MAC Cosmetics has replaced Russell Stover Candles. Finally, in what is in my opinion the worst outcome of Highwoods' takeover, I discovered that Brooks Brothers — a store that has been active in one Plaza location as long as I have lived in Kansas City — has been forced to move from its large location to a very small location in Seville Square.
As Highwoods tries to increase its own profits (little of which returns to Kansas City), the beloved Plaza loses its character. Now, Highwoods wants Kansas City to create a special sales-tax district encompassing the Country Club Plaza so that it might "revamp aging structures." It must not be enough that they have utterly transformed a historical area — they want local citizens to pay for further changes.
In many ways, I see it as indicative of a growing national problem — large developers taking over historical local areas only to turn them into a larger version of a strip-mall. Where will it stop? I have no idea.
We at the University of Kansas have already witnessed this problem in Lawrence on Massachusetts Street. The problem, however, as one can plainly see, is not limited to smaller towns. Kansas City has lost something very special, and that loss ought to be mourned. I suppose that I will have to make more trips to Chicago — unless someone buys Michigan Avenue.
Sternburg is a Leawood junior in political science and history.
THIS IS THE STORY... OF A ZILLION TV VIEWERS... PICKED TO GLUE THEMSELVES TO A TV... TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS... WHEN PEOPLE WATCH REALITY SHOWS .. AND FORGET WHAT'S ACTUALLY REAL.
Bruno Pieroni/KANSAN
Heard on the Hill
How does your heating bill this month compare to last month's?
"Actually, they were about the same. In November and December, it was $60." Makiko Aihara Hiratsuka, Japan senior
"Our bill was $400 total, about $170 more than last month. We've turned off our heat. We have space heaters now." Brady Swenson Topeka senior
"A lot. My heating bill was $90.
I was upset. I called because I thought it was a mistake."
David Winbush
Killeen, Texas
senior
"It more than doubled; probably $500 more. So we turned down our heat, so our house is about 60 degrees now." Aubri McDonald Overland Park junior
Perspective
Civil rights programs boost economic output
Liberal social programs are good for the economy. Two examples: the 1964 Civil Rights Act and affirmative action.
The Civil Rights Act says that if anybody thinks that he or she has been unjustly discriminated against by a business, then that person can go to the government and get the situation investigated. Under this law, employers are prohibited from hiring employees based on gender or skin color. The assumption is that these physical characteristics have nothing to do with how well a person can do a job.
Affirmative action is a much more limited program. It applies only to businesses that do business with the government, and it applies to recruiting practices, not hiring.
Because the potential force for the job is different, employers must recruit differently.
John Audlehelm guest columnist optinor.kansasan
dent and you're hiring jailors for a school in a predominantly African-American neighborhood. The law says that you have to recruit in ways that are more likely to attract African Americans. Now say you're the same superintendent who needs to hire a school principal. That search would be statewide and possibly nationwide and would probably not involve as many African Americans.
Here's how it works: Say you're a school superinten-
Affirmative action means that you are reasonably expected to recruit the qualified potential work force. It never means you have to hire somebody who is not qualified for the job.
Here's why these programs are good for the economy: Say that you've got 100 qualified applicants for a job and that these applicants represent a cross-section of society.
Out of those 100,51 are female,so you cross them off the list. Out of the remaining 49 males, six are minorities and three are homosexuals, so off they go. Your chances of hiring the most qualified person are now two in five.
If you don't like these laws because they cost money to enforce, then think how much money it costs to have a work force that's only two-fifths qualified. If you don't like them because they're inconvenient, then think how inconvenient it's been for the last 200 years to be anything but white, male, and heterosexual (from what I hear, it's still no picnic).
Liberal social programs have produced a more competitive, and therefore more qualified, work force. They've done more good for the economy than any Republican tax cut could ever do.
Our new president's response to all this?
"I don't like quotas," George W. Bush says. I assume this little nugget of wisdom means that Duba doesn't like laws that force employers to hire unqualified people. Isn't it ironic that electoral laws have forced us to do exactly that?
Audielheim is a Des Moines senior in journalism and political science.
Editorial
Reality TV skews view of real life
The line between harmless entertainment and fantasy is rapidly becoming thinner.
Although the recent slew of "reality" television shows can be entertaining in their attempt to portray life, they exist as an artificial environment that should not be given undue attention relative to real life.
Along with MTV's veteran The Real World, a prolific number of shows have surfaced to feed viewers' desire to see reality television. Big Brother, Road Rules, Survivor, The Mole and Temptation Island are all shows that place "everyday" people who don't know each other in unusual situations and start the cameras rolling.
Who Wants to Marry a Multi-
Millionaire? added another twist by
creating a situation that would
(supposedly) bond two strangers
forever. That infamously ended
after one night of wedded woe.
As a form of entertainment, these shows provide an interesting genre that keeps viewers guessing what might happen next. They also hold viewer interest because the casts are often composed of regular people who apply and make the cut.
This allows viewers to identify with them more than they might with a famous actor because anyone could potentially be a member of the cast.
However, sometimes this fascination can be taken a bit far. Although it is normal to enjoy these shows and even identify with a specific character, it's something else to live from show to show and constantly discuss them.
These shows do not portray reality, but are actually contrived settings that very few individuals ever will experience. Whether the people are placed in a posh house and given a job, or eat rats and form alliances, they are always under the camera's eye and know that when the show's over, they go home.
These shows serve a good purpose because they entertain. They have a popular spot in today's culture and are not likely to go away anytime soon. Just keep in mind that they aren't reality; everyday life is. And since reality seems to be fascinating for everyone, here is a suggestion to consider: Go out and experience your own today.
Katherine Marchin for the editorial board
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed. For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
Are we ever going to get the whistle back? Because I'd like to get out of class on time this semester.
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Did you know that 1,000 milligrams equals one meter? Just check the Biology 150 lab book.
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All you poor liberal college students are going to be singing a different tune when you get out into the workforce and make some money. You'll like Bush then.
I just called KU Info and talked to the chancellor. I think we should make this a monthly occurrence.
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Abstinence is the only form of safe sex.
Kudos to the UDK for actually putting an article in the paper that was actually interesting. I really liked the article on Garden City on Tuesday, and I think you should print a lot more of that.
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To all those Chenowith bashers: Maybe you haven't noticed, but Chenowith is the tallest dude on the court game in and game out. You can count on him bringing his tall game to the court every day. Keep up the good work, Chenowith.
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If the chancellor thinks that it would be good to switch over to a Microsoft-based email system, he should probably think about trying to get some Microsoft funding to go along with our Nike funding and our Coke funding, and maybe support some more things that we've got going on at the University.
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A guy I like, again, has fallen for my best friend, again. So does that mean that I have bad luck or a bad friend?
If JaRon Rush was smart, he would have been playing against his brother a couple days ago.
Credit cards are the devil.
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