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Tuesday, April 23, 1991 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Railroad strike
Congress was right to give strikes only 65 days; a long strike would have been costly, pointless
.
Last week Congress put a quick end to the one-day railroad strike. It approved a bill forcing all railroad workers back to their jobs.
The bill requires a presidentially-appointed emergency board to come up with a solution to the disputes within 65 days. At that time, if the unions and the railroads have not resolved the problems themselves, they will be forced to accept the board's proposals.
Fortunately, Congress stepped in quickly, and, as a result, the strike did not have any significant effect on the transportation of goods by rail.
However, the strike had the potential to stop the transportation of one-third of the nation's goods. Across the nation, 235,000 union members went on strike, including 3,000 members in the Kansas City area.
Burlington Northern Railroad estimated that it lost between $5 million and $7 million in revenue just from the 24-hour strike. Some Amtrak passengers were forced to take buses because Amtrak uses many of the railways that were shut down. Conditions such as these could have become much worse if the strike had gone on longer.
Unions have been working with the rail
roads since 1988 to come to terms on acceptable wages, work rules and health care costs. Without government involvement, it seems unlikely that an agreement could have been reached soon.
With a federal board making proposals, the two sides will be more intent on reaching an agreement before they are forced to compromise and take the board's decisions. The board already has offered several solutions, including one for the wage issue.
Railroads want a wage freeze for most jobs. Unions want an increase of 5 percent a year, retroactive to 1988. The board has proposed something in between — an increase of about 10 percent during the next three to four years.
Neither side may be happy at the end of the 65-day negotiation period. But at least they will have reached some sort of agreement.
In the meantime, the one-third of the nation's goods that depend on trains will continue to be delivered.
Melanie Botts for the editorial board
Judicial integrity
Death row prisoners now have limited appeals
ion.
The Supreme Court has ruled that death row prisoners may appeal writs of habeas corpus only once after convic-
In a 6-3 decision last week, the court emphasized the need to stop repeated appeals that it says have undermined the integrity of the judicial process.
A habeas corpus petition is filed when the defendant thinks his or her constitutional rights have been violated through the trial process.
In the past, defendants could file these writs after a conviction. Judges accepted or rejected the claims. Many times this process delayed the actual execution, which in turn diminished the deterrent effect of the death penalty. The time spent on the appeals process and the defendant's extended stay in prison not only slows down the judicial process but wastes the taxpayers' money.
Although capital punishment is wrong, the appeals process for writes of habeas corpus jeopardizes the credibility of the sentence.
The implementation of a single appeals process for convicted capital crime is not any more inhumane than capital punishment itself. If the defendant can present evidence that he or she is not guilty, a second appeal may be granted. If the defendant can show that the constitutional violation actually harmed the case and that there was good cause for not raising the issue in the first round of appeals, the court will hear a second claim.
In an obvious attempt to make the judicial process more efficient, the only sacrifice the court has made is time — time wasted over the years on frivolous appeals that should have been used for new cases.
Julie Watkins for the editorial board
Military cuts needed
Other Voices
Already folks in Congress are howling about the proposed closure of 31 big military bases.
That's understandable. Many communities heavily depend on revenue from those bases. Entire communities face fiscal hard times.
But the purpose of the closure cannot be overlooked out of local economic panic. With the end of the world, it is time the world dictate that forces be trimmed.
Although economic shocks should be dealt with, perhaps by extending loans or other relief, much as if a disaster had struck a strucure of unnecessary bases should be closed for the sake of the U.S. taxpayer.
Efforts to make the U.S. armed
forces more efficient, less costly and more responsive should be applauded. Congress should hold firm in its support of the bill. From the Cilion Ledge, Jackson, Miss.
Biases in education
A new national study has reached troubling conclusions about the education being given to students assigned to low-ability classes or to schools with a large number of disadvantaged students. These students are often given inferior teachers, inferior textbooks, less access to computers and less instruction in higher-order thinking skills, according to a RAND Corporation study financed by the National Science Foundation.
Thus, the chances that these students will succeed academically and later, professionally, are significantly hampered by the educational system, not merely by their own abilities.
The RAND study also contends that children of those with the most power consistently receive a better education.
That means it will be difficult to correct these inequalities — as difficult, perhaps, as it was for this move to move away from segregation.
If educational equality ever happens, it will be due to the school boards, school superintendents and teachers. It is essential gats to stem the tide of favoritism.
From the Tampa (Fla.) Tribune.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Therefore, at that hour, let the space in front of Wescoe Hall be reserved for those who support the Commencement Committee's policy of cancellation. Let those opposed assemble on the Strong Wall side of Jayapur to protest against the television stations, which also will be in attendance, with an appropriate visual expression of the students' opinion on this matter.
It is important to remember that it would serve the rally's goals to conduct ourselves as students who deserve a graduation ceremony. It also will be important to remember that a gathering of this magnitude requires that streets surrounding Strong Hall be left open for vehicles.
It also is suggested that all participants in this year's commencement wear their graduation caps to the rally. If it does rain May 19th, this may be the last chance our chancellor will have to speak to us as a group. He may decide to give us at least a synopsis of what he would say if we have a commencement. He may even want to consider making this a yearly tradition. It could be all we'll get. Be prepared.
Decision hurts us all
Additionally, it has been asked of the dean of liberal arts and sciences, who is not a party to the Commencement Committee's shameful embarrassment, that he convene a special session of the College Assembly. At this meeting, a rule suspension will be requested to allow an immediate vote on a motion that the College formulate its own contingency plan for an indoor alternative for liberal arts students.
If the Commencement Committee's decision to cancel ceremonies in the event of rain accomplishes nothing else, it has managed to present the students of this University with an injustice that affects all of us equally, regardless of age, race, culture, sex or sexual orientation — not only graded. The university will grade classifications who think they will have earned formal recognition upon completion of the University's academic requirements.
Recent statements by administrators in the news have led many of us to conclude that the complaints voiced so far have left them unimpressed. Perhaps a crowd the size of those that turned out for our basketball team could change this. For these reasons, we will attend the Commencement Rain-Date Rally scheduled for noon April 24 in front of Strong Hall.
The deans of the other schools also are encouraged to be responsible in a similar manner on this issue. I hope their show of respect for their students will provide incentive for the Commencement Committee — with the blessings of our chancellor to do so. That would have been done in the first place.
4-15-21
Ideally, May 19th will be a sunny day. If it is, this rally will not have been a wasted effort because sooner or later, under the policy as it now stands, some graduating class will be sent home with no kisst: the other students will be unable to turn this thing around. How do you want it, Jayhawks?
William Bayne Lawrence senior
Analisa Colom Fairway senior
Graduation solutions
This commencement debate is really getting interesting, huh? We have Aunt Martha coming from out of town to see her nephew graduate, people rolling down crowded aisles and graduates melting from a little rainshower. Here are some brainstorming ideas to get you thinking about solutions instead of crying about your problems:
So what if it rains? Hey, if we can watch our football teams of the past slosh around, we can watch our graduates slide across the stage with their arms extended for the baton pass. Should be a lot of fun. Do watch your step though — what? Can't see your feet for the gown?
Split the ceremony and conduct some of commencement in Hoch Auditorium. Maybe the journalism class would volunteer. There are obvious disadvantages, but they would get out of there a lot quicker and have a jump on the Allen people in the race to the restaurants and bars. And until sheartha could learn back in her chair, she should look out for solinters.
Pray for sunshine. Sometimes I think all the learning and bell-raising that goes on around here dulls our faith a little. Remember, wherever two or more of you are gathered in His name . . .
I talked to the powers that be last night, and She said that Dan Henry said it would be like this: 73, mostly on a slight chance of morning dawn.
OK, so these may not be concrete solutions, but I am just a junior. Consider these ideas as you come up with better ones. There is no reason why an answer cannot be found. The rightful concerns for safety must come together with an unyielding demand that the show must go on. Money (what it was it, $5,000 to rent Allen?) is a scapgeopard of an event. The read of tuition increases — surely they can hide another quarter in everybody's rates. Graduation is, after all, what most of us are here for.
Mike Dick Lawrence junior
Torture is not funny
I want in response to Matt Walsh's column, "Want to put off studies? Torturing parents, roommates" (April 19, 1991). Being a member of Amnesty International has given me a grim insight into the numerous cases of human rights abuses, including torture, around the world. Torture causes enormous suffering; it is not a word to be used lightly. I advise Matt Walsh to read some Amnesty reports before using the word again.
Brian Daldorph Assistant English professor
Prejudice not limited
Let me start by saying that the column written by Arda Tippet doesn't seem to have any significance on police brutality.
I will agree that it is a shame that Rodney King was brutalized by police officers, yet Ardra wrote more on how hard life is for her and how whites cannot understand. Well, I am white and I do understand because I am also a Jew.
I was born and raised in Chicago with every type of prejudiced person you could imagine. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why someone would search around and call everything they see prejudice, like Ardra has.
We don't know exactly why the officers did what they did, but everyone says that it was a case of racism just because they were white and he was Black.
No one ever said that the cops might have had other reasons, such as maybe they (the officers) were looking for $0^{\circ}$ score or anything else.
Ardra says how she has it so bad and God forbid, she has a son. Pity she feels that way. You have it so bad. Well, tell me what whites should do. The Miss America pageant was sued by blacks because because it was all white. When Blacks were sued by white people, did they? They came out with a Black Miss America pageant. Tell me who is being prejudiced now.
I am also sorry to say that Ardra felt that all white citizens of Los Angeles and their brothers and sisters all over this nation hate Blacks. I agree that there are people who hate Blacks, but they also hate Jews, Mexicans, Chinese and anyone not exactly like them.
If you try to say that my skin is still white, so I can hide my identity, you're right. Yet I won't because I am not white. You will have a Star of David or my chi on.
David Weinstein Naperville, Ill., junior
KANSAN STAFF
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Kim Crowder
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Sketch
by David Rosenfield