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Tuesday, March 19, 1991 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Election strategies
All coalitions and coalition members participating in Student Senate elections this spring must challenge themselves to improve the quality of elections. Here are some suggestions for doing so: Present issues that matter. Make your best effort to confront the needs of the students, faculty and staff on this campus and to develop solutions to their problems.
- Encourage students to vote by presenting issues that matter rather than offering silly incentives or by making empty promises. Students surely will vote in greater numbers than in past years if coalitions base their campaigns on the resolution of issues people on this campus care about.
on coalitions that focus their energy on denigrating their opponents instead of improving their own platforms. Coalitions' time will be far better spent presenting well thought out solutions to problems facing the University.
- Keep your campaigns clean. Do not waste your time ripping down other coalitions' post. Such practices will not reflect well
College is the place for future politicians to learn how to conduct campaigns based on improving the quality of life for their constituents. Coalition members should strive to set high campaign standards so that they will learn how to win elections via their ability to help people.
College politicians have the opportunity to put in practice values sorely lacking in U.S. politics today — fairness, honesty and the desire to do what is right.
Debbie Myers for the editorial board
Homosexuals in church
Denomination right in disallowing restrictions
In a society that condemns, ridicules and rejects homosexuality, it is difficult to find a place to turn.
Religion, a logical sanctuary, has offered no acceptance and even has discriminated by disallowing gays and lesbians as participants in conregressions.
In a historic move, a committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA) recently proposed that the church disavow its rejection of homosexuality and sexual relations outside of marriage, and that active homosexuals be allowed into the ministry. Citing a Christian ethic of decency, the committee said that sexual relationships of genuine equality and mutual respect should not be automatically condemned when they occur outside of marriage
The recommendation may cause controversy among the denomination's 2.9 million
members, but it will force them to recognize homosexual relationships. Acceptance may be a long way off for many people. But the church not only has recognized the issue but has embraced the reality and normalcy of homosexuality.
Gays and lesbians should have the same opportunities for worship as heterosexuals. To prohibit someone from exercising his or her right to worship based on sexual preference not only violates basic human rights but also a principle this country prides itself on. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has taken a step in the right direction.
With a little time and some common sense, other religious establishments should follow in its footsteps.
Juli Watkins for the editorial board
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Group defines its stand
I would like to thank Brian Doyle for his constructive criticism of our new organization, the Oread Society, in his guest column. "New student group contradicts itself, needs to stand," the landmark, March 4, 1991.
In the tradition of meaningful dialogue, I would be happy to clarify the purpose of the Oread Society. We are simply a conservative organization desiring to represent an under-represented group in our community. University of Kansas. It is unfortunate that some might think the sole purpose of a group such as ours is to
"shut up" our liberal counterparts. On the contrary, we wish to engage them is a dialogue where everone's views may be heard. Undoubtedly, we all wish to make America a better place for all of its people. Simply to refuse to communicate because we have differing views on how to carry
out that task is to deny a deeply rooted American tradition.
The way in which Doyle puts forth his concerns demonstrates to me the fear he has in letting a conservative organization challenge the hegemony of the liberal voice at KU. He is right, however, in saying that starting a new group is nothing new. What is important here is the front of God, the media and everybody and put forth views which may not be "politically correct."
Obviously, one of those views concerns the recent radical activism on campus. Unfortunately, Doyle makes the assumption that because we don't like protests, we are compromising them. Had Doyle taken the time to engage in a dialogue with either me or any other member of the Oread Society, he would have discovered our true concern. In fact, we must be aware of the fact that we made aware of individual concerns. However, it seems as if the recent anti-war protesters are simply out of touch with mainstream attitudes.
As President Bush's approval rating approaches 90 percent, it is hard to imagine that the majority of Americans are proud of what this country has done in coming
to the defense of a peaceful nation. In fact, all five political analysts in the McLaughlin group — liberal and conservative alike — awarded President Bush an A (plus) for his handling of the situation. The truth of the matter is that if we had waited any longer to start the ground war, more blood — not less — would have been shed.
Does any of this mean that we condemn protest? Absolutely not. Would we restrict protests if we had the power? No. We merely wish to point out, despite what the media tells us, that these demonstrators are in the minority. This fact becomes quite apparent when one realizes that the media reports exceptions not norms. As for the contradiction in our words, the light is on. Let's not waste time dwelling on such important matters so we can concentrate on working together to solve the big problems.
One last item — don't write us off simply because we are conservatives. It would be unfortunate if we refused to look past ideological labels and failed to examine the rationale of each group's arguments.
Foreign student myth belied by realities
Robert Schaffer Hoxie sophomore
K U has about 2,000 international students from 100 different countries. They represent one of the most valuable educational resources ever available to any university.
These foreign students are a source of valuable information about the world, and their input could educate many Americans about the future global competition for world markets and power.
Both the University and the foreign students make a great effort to make this cultural exchange possible. However, many KU administrators, faculty and students do not realize the potential of this large multinational segment of the KU community. Consequently, there are no coherent policies to take full advantage of this international environment.
The following are some of the most common misconceptions that prevent KU from realistically dealing with its foreign students:
Myth: Foreign and American minority students have similar problems.
Reality: KU is a good university, but other institutions around the world also excel in many areas of professional training. Most foreign students choose to come to the United States because they are interested in human rights and has an enormous cultural, political and economic influence on the world.
■ Myth: Foreign students come to KU just to study and are not interested in the United States.
Fernando
Aracena
Guest columnist
Reality: These two groups of students have little in common. Recruitment and retention are major concerns among minorities, but not among foreign students. Because these international students have left their countries to live and study abroad, one safely may assume that it is not an issue to them how many other students from their countries they will find here. Except for some international refugees, foreign students come to experience the United States by their own choice.
Racial tensions and intolerance in the United States are issues that have to be tackled by the American people. It would be inappropriate for the international guests to get involved in the problems of their American hosts. It also would be inappropriate for students of a foreign field at the University to make any foreign student a participant in a problem in this country.
Most foreign students come to the United States with the intention of treating all Americans as their
Awareness programs that confuse the concerns of American minorities with those of the foreign students in these countries may misinform the misinformation of the community.
**Examples**
* Myth: Since foreign students don't complain, they probably don't have any concerns.*
Reality: Foreign students think of themselves as guests in this country, and therefore, they often don't consider it appropriate to voice complaints. However, improvements could be made in the following areas:
- Temporary housing is uncertain and many foreign students don't have the option to go home for vacations.
A large portion of the community has limited information about the specific benefits provided by interactions with foreign students.
Many foreign students arrive at Many with little information about American culture. This can cause unnecessary misunderstandings between American and foreign students.
Even though foreign students don't voice their concerns about these and other problems, there is room for them. The international Council will work on
Many new foreign students are assigned to the same residence hall. Ironically, even though McColm Hall is culturally diverse, these new students may have more trouble feeling meaningful intercultural relationships — clustering of nationality groups often occurs there.
- Many foreign students find some of the policies of the Applied English Center questionable.
these and other suggestions:
A concentration of foreign students in any one dormitory should be avoided as much as possible.
An ongoing orientation program designed specifically for new foreign students should be financed and supported. Internationals have to be aware of the characteristics of American culture as soon as possi-
It is important to have an informative campaign to explain to the American students and the local community of having an international campus.
- The personnel of the Office of Foreign Student Services are very efficient, professional and helpful.
However, they need more support and resources to undertake most of these improvements.
Most foreign students do not have enough time to deal with long-term political processes that might bring changes about. However, we are confident that the various offices and departments that work with foreign students will become acquainted with these issues.
Most international students feel privileged to study in an institution with the stature that the University of Kansas has. However, their experience could be further enriched for their own benefit, as well as for the university's University College. **Fernando Aracena** is chairman of International Students Affairs, an office of the International Students Association.
Other Voices
War bills extravagant
While New York City plans what it says will be the mother of all ticker—tape parades, there is a paper blizzard of another sort in Washington. More than 100 bills have been introduced in Congress to bestow benefits on returning veterans. The amount of these bills should be made into contetti and shipped to New York City, where tape-ticker is scarce.
You'll find plain political optimism: U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, would pay each of the 530,000 troops in the gulf theater a $10,000 bonus. Other proposals would increase education aid, lift insurance and other benefits to small-business loan program; and provide health care services and readjustment counseling.
Most bills aren't so blatant a run on the treasury as Rep. Rangel's bonus plan, but only a quarter of them remain. Among worthy provisions:
An increase in the unemployment compensation for a discharged soldier to 28 weeks for civilian workers gets, up from 13 weeks.
An increase in the amount of wages exempt from federal taxes. All enlisted pay during any month in a war zone would be exempt.
- From the State, Columbia, S.C.
Labor warv of treaty
A treaty that brought Mexico in with the United States and Canada to form a free-trade zone spanning a continent clearly would be in the best interests of all three — the more so with the economic integration of the European Community, planned for 1992.
Organized labor in the United States, fearing short-term competition for jobs as manufacturing following low initial labor costs across the southern U.S. border, is working to head off authority for negotiations for a U.S.-Canada Mexico free-trade agreement.
Labor's opposition is short-sighted for several reasons. First, for every job created south of the border following a free-trade agreement, a consumer with the means to buy goods from north of the border would be simultaneously created. Second, with Mexico's relaxing of restrictions on foreign investment that has already taken place, manufacturing in Mexico will inevitably increase to compete with U.S. industry, free trade agreement or not. If U.S. money doesn't do it, capital from somewhere else will. It is as inevitable as was the industrialization of the Pacific Rim.
From the Albuquerque (N.M.) Journal.
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by David Rosenfield