Monday, February 11, 1991 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ROTC on campus
CLAS proposal to remove ROTC credit is step in right direction; other schools should follow
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on Tuesday proposed to the College Assembly that ROTC credit hours not be allowed to count toward graduation. This proposal, similar to one submitted by University Council last semester, is just one step closer to bringing our University into compliance with its own anti-discrimination policy.
It is also a step toward getting the Department of Defense to change its policy that prevents gays and lesbians from serving in the military.
The board wholeheartedly supports the college's proposal.
It is unfortunate, however, that the responsibility of bringing the University into compliance with its policy has been handed to the college. This policy guarantees all students
regardless of sexual orientation — the rite
of marriage sponsored or university-approved activities.
The same proposal was submitted and passed by the University Council last semester but was voted down by University Senate. Another proposal was submitted and passed by the council to prohibit ROTC commissioning ceremonies from taking place on campus, but Chancellor Gene A. Budig refused to sign this resolution, in effect killing it.
Thus, the purpose of the University's policy on this issue is questionable. By allowing the ROTC program to function as it does on campus, the administration is virtually ignoring its policy and complying with the department's policy.
Instead of taking the opportunity to act on the council's resolutions last semester, our administration chose to continue its course of noncompliance. This semester, the administration has chosen to send Del Shankel, interim executive vice chancellor, and Frances Ingemann, chairperson of SenEx, to Washington with a statement against the department's policy. But the effectiveness of this action is limited.
Now it is left up to the college, which has taken the initiative, and other schools in the University to effect change within our ROTC system. Our governing body has shirked this responsibility and instead chosen action that is merely political and futile.
The University failed to take action when it was due. Now that they are finally doing something, members of the department are likely to be consumed with issues regarding the Persian Gulf War, leaving little time or energy to listen to our University representatives or address the policy issue.
College Assembly should not take lightly the responsibility that has been handed to it. It should pass the proposed amendment. Similarly, other schools within the University should not forget about the ROTC issue simply because the administration has, but they should make changes within their schools to bring them into compliance with the University policy.
These schools should, in effect, take up the slack left by the administration and work toward changing the department's policy.
Melanie Matthes for the editorial board
Blood-alcohol levels
Lowering legal limits could reduce accidents
About half the highway accidents in the nation involve drinking. A bill introduced in the state Senate on Monday could help reduce this number, and it should be passed.
If made into a law, the bill would lower the current 0.10 level of blood-alcohol content required for a DWI (driving while intoxicated) conviction to 0.08 for people older than 21.
Professional drivers and people younger than 21 could be convicted for having a blood-alcohol level of any amount above zero.
While there is no safe mixture for drinking and driving, the national standard for driving impaired is a blood-alcohol level of 0.05 to 0.09. The level required for conviction should be at least in this range.
To reach a blood-alcohol level of 0.08, a 160-pound person would need to consume about four drinks within one hour, or about three drinks within an hour for a 120-pound
person.
One drink is equal to 12 ounces of beer, one ounce of 86 proof liquor or a six-ounce glass of wine
If someone drinks three or four drinks within one hour, they would have less coordination and impaired judgment. This is when they are a danger to themselves and to others on the road.
If the blood-alcohol level required for conviction were reduced, it might deter some people from having the extra drink. This would allow their reaction time to be faster and could prevent some accidents.
This bill is not a discriminatory policy against people younger than 21 because current law prohibits them from drinking alcohol.
Because they are not supposed to drink, establishing a zero alcohol level is consistent with current statutes.
Amy Zamierowski for the editorial board
Teacher's unthinking words give lesson in world's racism
Tiffany Harness Editorial Editor
ast one to their seat is a nigger-baby."
My second-grade class dispersed, diving for their seats at my teacher's command.
I too probably would have run, except I was not really sure what I was running from.
I stood there, gnawing on my cheek as I do when when I have no idea what to do or how to react. I could not find something else. I knew something was not quite right.
Interrupting my perplexed state, Teacher grabbed my forearm and said, "Oh dear. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
My elementary school was not, shall we say, very ethnically mixed. Neither was my junior high nor my high school. But that year I was lucky enough not to have the only non-white face in the class. There was me, an american boy and an Asian American boy and an African American girl.
I still find it odd that my teacher didn't anticipate to them, only to me.
'It's just that when I look back and see myself, a child of 7, learning about diversity that way, I completely understand why we still have this friction between ethnic groups. My teacher offered this lesson in race relations with all the sensitivity that could fit on the head of a pin.'
Maybe it was the vacant look on my face that clearly showed that I had no idea what she was talking about.
I'm not really clear about the events after that, but I can still see
I still wonder about the Euro-
American students. There had to be someone in that class who did not understand the phrase Teacher had to offend, but there had to be at least one other clarest store.
Later, I was telling the day's events to my mom. I'm sure it went something like, "I traded lunches today. Then we saw a snake eat a mouse and a movie about Columbus. They were going to their chair is a nigger-baby."
the cloud of smoke forming around my mother. The rest is really foggy. I remember being asked time and time again whether that was really what I had heard. I also remember being treated like a princess in my life for many years after this event, but just a coincidence. Maybe not.
But at this point all I knew was that something wrong had been said.
After all this (and lots happened
that I didn't tell you) been told
what my teacher had dream
After a rigorous investigation, I found out that the term was what many people regularly referred to African-Americans as. More than 90 percent of them understand that it was not just the label, but the way some treated us.
7-year-old terms for me.
A fellow classmate explained it is
"It's what you are."
We teach our children young
It was as if suddenly, I was being told a secret, something everyone else seemed to know. My mom knew it. Teacher knew. But the hardest part was that all those little faces showed that they knew what she was talking about. To them, this moment probably meant little.
I could say that the moment was a dramatic turning point in my life — the day I learned we lived in a world torn by prejudice, hate and ignorance.
But it wasn't as complicated as that for me.
It's just that when I look back and see myself, a child of 7, learning about diversity that way, I completely understand why we still have this friction between ethnic groups. My teacher offered this lesson in race relations with all the sensitivity that could fit on the head of a pin.
If a second grade teacher could so easily form those syllables and so boldly say them in front of tremendously impressionable 7-year-olds, I. guess I should be very bluntly ignorant things must happen to a back of a lot of children.
In that classroom, there had to have been other children who had not lost their inability to distinguish between colors. There certainly was "no."
That was the day I learned that no. I was not part of the dominant culture
That was the day it all began to fall into place for me.
Tiffany Harness is a Hutchinson senior majoring in journalism and African-American studies.
The Ultimate College Guide to Answering Machine Etiquette 101
"This is Earl Hamm.
"H the voice on my answering message said enthusiastically
Back to the message.
This was strange to me, as I do not know anyone named Earl.
"I'm calling about the Policeman's Ball. I was wondering if you could possibly donate any livestock you might have for certain rituals which I am not at liberty to discuss over phone lines." I became gravely concerned. I thought of a few friends who are in need of care and the impact those glue fumes finally were having on their brains. But the voice did not immediately strike me as one of my college friends. Could this be for real?
The message continues.
"If you're willing to leave a donation of chickens, other poultry or
even larger farm animals such as goats or oxen, give me a call back! I'm sure you have our number as well as be a frequent donor in the past."
And then I smiled at the strange way in which siblings sometimes communicate. My brother left the message, and everything except for his reference to "larger farm animals" indicated he was OK. This was important because he had just returned from Guatemala, where he
End of message.
was helping build a hospital. Our whole family had been concerned for him as Guatemala is far from a developed country so now that we have gone to war.
Which (indirectly) brings me to today's very important column topic: answering machine etiquette. I know this may sound strange and possibly even irrelevant, but it is a topic that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. I send messages on my machine and rude outgoing messages on others.
The following is a list of helpful hints to aid you in times of query.
No 1: I have heard many so-called "creative" messages in which the voice tells of a certain event occurring, presumably preventing that event from happening. These people have failed to grasp one of the most important criterion by
which to judge literature (answering machine messages are a much overlooked genre in the English language). A good author never tells his audience what to think or feel. Instead, he or she will describe what is happening and let the audience come to its own conclusions.
For example: I called a friend a few weeks ago, and as he tends to do, he screened his call. His message began by stating why he was unable to come to the phone. His circumstances were thus: he was conducting a seance in his living room, involving the normal ritualistic animus that was suggested to him that instead of saying "... we are sacrificing this here sheep," he record the natural sounds of such animals ("bhaabaa-aa") accompanied by the low hum of the boys singing an excerpt
from Mozart's "Requiem" and say something to the effect of he is "engaged in mental telepathy with the Dali Lama himself." He should conclude by saying, "If you are truly concerned with pursuing our future communication I pause here for the message as an aid, or for the message itself — 'leave your NAME and NUMBER.' Now THAT would be a message to hear.
No. 2: Avoid the subject of toaster ovens
No 3: I find it useful to leave a forwarding number. Depending on my mood, it may be the PMIC. Phone - just kidding (ha_ha). Phone - just kidding (ha_ha).
No. 4: Ask your caller to whisper (in a low, sexy tone) their favorite fantasy involving power tools. Explain the reason or definition of something. My last mes
No. 6: I hesitate to say this, but messages such as the one described in No. 5 go well with music, such as "Revolution 9." To the beaters, or "Fish Out of Water" by the Corduroy Smiles.
sage taught people about lambstarter, a little known Kansas weed which is an underrated form of practical nourishment. If you're interested, there should still be some down by Potter Lake.
No. 7: If you even consider any of the above ideas, you also should entertain the merits of electrotherapy — if it is not too late. If it is, donate a live pig to the Policeman's Ball.
Erik Nelson is a senior majoring in journalism.
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