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Tuesday, April 10, 1990 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Ryan White
AIDS patient shattered myths, fought ignorance and brought understanding as he battled disease
As of Saturday, Ryan White had a date for the senior prom.
Sunday, Ryan died of complications of AIDS. He was 18 years old.
Six years ago, many people in his hometown of Kokomo, Ind., wouldn't go near him. The superintendent of the Kokomo school system banned him from classes. Even after a court ruled that he could attend classes, the children at school taunted him.
Children can be cruel, and they also can be ignorant. In this case, their ignorance was merely a reflection of society's ignorance. In 1985, when Ryan White became a household name, the United States was ignorant about AIDS.
Ryan's fight to stay in school brought out the worst in society. Our fears, our ignorance and our bigotry were played out nightly on the evening news while a small 14-year-old boy fought to be just like the other kids.
He didn't want anything else.
He didn't want special treatment, and he loathed pity.
But at that point in time in the United States there was a myth about people with AIDS. They were homosexuals, the disease could be transmitted by casual contact, and little boys
from small towns in Indiana were immune from such a horror.
Ryan, a hemophilac who contracted the virus through a blood transfusion, helped shatter those myths.
In 1987, the White family moved to Cicero, a farming town about 20 miles from Kokomo and 40 miles north of Indianapolis. There he attended Hamilton Heights High School and generally was accepted. He was midway through his senior year when his health began to deteriorate.
His attendance in school caused parents in Cicero to talk to their children about AIDS. The face of a 14-year-old boy with AIDS coming into our living rooms on the nightly news caused a nation to stop and ask itself what exactly that it knew about this new disease. And Ryan kept on fighting.
The fight ended Sunday at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
The understanding Ryan brought to this nation should not stop with the beating of his heart. While pictures will show him as a small boy, the nation will remember him as a much larger man, a man who taught the nation a lesson not found in any schoolbook.
Stephen Kline for the editorial board
A pill for abortion
California should ignore FDA political agenda
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors should pass a resolution urging the California Legislature to pay for testing of the French abortion pill in that city, despite objections of the federal Food and Drug Administration
The FDA has indicated that it would not approve clinical testing of the drug, known as RU 486, because of the Bush administration's objections to abortion.
However, California could conduct testing under state legislation originally passed to
speed the testing of AIDS drugs. It sidesteps the FDA, which has jurisdiction only of interstate drug transactions.
The proposal for the resolution was developed at the urging of former city supervisor Carol Ruth Silver, who heads an organization aiming to make the drug available in the United States. A group of doctors formulated a plan to test the pill at three of the city's hospitals, involving about 200 women at an estimated cost of $60,000 to $100,000.
The board should pass the resolution and ignore the FDA's unwarranted objections. If the FDA is not willing to do its own job without interference from outside political factions, California should take the opportunity it has to do it for them.
Angela Baughman for the editorial board
Crimes don't tarnish abilities
As the recipient*of the Kansan's first anti-endorsement, I want to respond to the article concerning John Fawcett's and my past. It is fortunate that the Kansan has dropped so low as to dredge up incidents from people's past in order to get a "good story." The Kansan obviously has taken sidesteps and will not concern for the reputations and persons involved. It sickens me that the Kansan, until now unbiased, would be the vehicle for such politically motivated mudsling.
The following points must be stated so that you, the KU student body, can decide for yourselves whether this reporting is valid or should be stricken from the record. First of all, last year the Kansan knew about my past, decided it was irrelevant to my leadership abilities and gave me the Kansan endorsement instead. Second, the Kansan sat on the story for weeks before the most dramatic time possible to print. Finally, the Kansan had the guts to use quotes, my own included, out of context.
John and I realize that marijuana is illegal, but we have misled no one as to our stance on drugs. We are an educated group and realize it is the decision of the individual as to the morality of growing a plant. We do not wish to make light of the fact that marijuana is legal, but we change John's or my leadership abilities or dedication to the University of Kansas. As to the other incident, the Kansan decided to quote the initial police report. It did not dig
Guest columnist
Brad Sanders
deeper and find that the first report was largely untrue and that in fact no gun was involved. Another report later was filed stating what actually happened, but the Kansan chose to ignore it in favor of sensationalizing an unfortunate event that took place in high school five years ago.
I am writing this letter ashamed and angry. I am ashamed for many reasons. Yes, we have broken the law, and we have had to pay for it. We have had to live with what we have done every single day. The event, however, is in the past, and our sincere regret cannot erase our mistakes. I am more ashamed about the repercussions of the Kansan article. Not only has this placed our own candidacy in jeopardy, but it reflects poorly on the senatorial candidates of the New Blood coaltion. More important than that, the reputations not only of John and myself but also of the people, the individuals, involved in our campaign. We are not asking the KU student body for forgiveness. We are asking for the open-mindedness to see through our past mistakes and to recognize our genuine desire to make amends by leading the students of KU.
I am angry because of the way this article was handled by the Kansan, I.
am angry that the Kansan did not originally come to John and me, who have been completely honest with the Kansan and our senators throughout this campaign. Most of all, I am angry that the Kansan has ignored our desire to make amends. John and I, running by ourselves for president and vice president, received the Kansan endorsement and third place in last year's election. John and I, members of the finance committee, were the only two members to vote against the student fee increase for the Kansan Union renovation. John and I, along with some of the most dedicated senators-to-be I have ever been involved with, have led a sincere and fresh campaign on Student Senate.
Again, I am not asking for your forgiveness but the understanding to overlook our past and to believe that we now possess the leadership qualities to make Student Senate strong and vital once again. If you have already passed judgment on John and myself, vote for who you think will best lead Senate and remember the New Blood hospital, though much no longer in Senate before, are the best. The only risk you are taking in voting for New Blood is that things will change! The only lack of experience in the New Blood coalition is that we do not know what can't be done!
Brad Sanders is the New Blood coalition candidate for student body president.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Spare New Blood
The following letters are a representative sample of the many received in response to yesterday's story about the criminal records of two Student Senate candidates. Because of space constraints, not all letters received by the Kansan can be printed.
As a member of the New Blood coalition, I have known Brad Sanders and John Fawcett as two individuals with strong wills, powerful personalities and exciting ideas. When I decided to run with them, I also was impressed by the majority of the rest of the people running on the coalition. I saw a group of unique, creative and independent individuals.
My reason for writing is to prevent the negative image created by the April 9 Kansan article from reflecting upon the rest of the coalition.
When approached by a friend yesterday and asked whether I'd
smoked any pot lately, all I could feel was pain and anger even though the comment was a joke.
I want the student body to realize that throughout the campaigning, we were not told of any of Brad and John's actions. We were oblivious to the 1985 and 1989 charges. However, at an emergency meeting April 8 that people attended, Brad and John speak briefly of their 1989 charges.
This letter is directed toward the people who know us and believe we can do a good job. Although we have a rope hanging around our necks and our image is stained by other's actions, we would like to stay in the running. Please don't change your opinions of us and what we can do for Student Senate; we'd like to represent you.
So, cut the rope! Don't push the chair!
Catalina Teodorescu.
Mud hits Blood
I am disappointed in the recent article concerning allegations against the president and vice president of the New Blood coalition. The Kansan has sunk to sensationalism in an effort to unobjectively sway voters. It seems odd to me that on the Monday before Senate elections the Kansan would do a story about criminal records of candidates, including an event that took place five years ago. Rather than news, the Kansan has become a vehicle of other coalitions' mudaling. New Blood is a coalition dedicated to change and is one of the first coalictions to introduce innovative, clean campaign techniques. Instead of applauding such innovations as the New Blood Beads and the billboard, the Kansan has chosen to keep the status quo by misrepresenting the leadership quality of the Kansan. Finally the Kansan seriously believe that this was fair question? Do the students of the University of Kansas seriously believe that this was just another story and not some underhanded campaign technique to undermine the goals of New Blood? I suppose we will find out shortly after the last ballot is cast.
Tom Arett Chesterfield, Mo., senior
Bad timing
The Kansan reserves the right to reject or gilt letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kansan newsroom, 113 Staffler-Fall Hall, Letters, columns and cartoons are the opinion of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University Daily Kansan. Editorialists are the opinion of the Kansan editorial board
I am not running with a coalition this year, but I have paid close attention to the campaigns. I chose to support New Blood because I felt that they were truly interested in me, the student.
In yesterday's article examining the arrests of two candidates in the coalition, the Kansan did not take
Letters should be typed, double-spaced and less than 200 words and must include the writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. If the writer is affiliated with the University of Kansas, please include class and homework, or faculty or staff position. Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and less than 700 words. The writer will
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News staff
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Grossman unfair
I urge people not to let the Kansan force their attentions away from the issues. New Blood is made up of more than just a presidential and vice presidential candidate. Whether people decide to vote for these two, I hope that they still will give each individual senator equal consideration when it comes time to vote. The things they stand for are important, and the senators are sincere in their efforts. They do not deserve to have those efforts crushed.
The following letters are a representative sample of the many received in response to the March 30 incident at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Because of space constraints, not all letters received by the Kansan can be printed.
It appears to me that Dan Grossnan's column on the March 30 incident at the SAE house was a cam-
into consideration the timing of the article. Don't get me wrong. I agree that the public has a right to know about a candidate's past. My objection is simply that the Kansan knew about the charges more than a week before they decided to run the article and that by printing the article with only a day left before the elections, have thrown to the wayside the efforts of many concerned and caring people involved in New Blood.
Business staff
Jennifer Bush
Maybe we should all go back to the morning of March 30 and think how we would have felt if we had been Ann Dean. Grossman did not do that. Instead he served her a further cause, to help him fuel for his cause against KU fraternities. In doing so he ignored what is truly important: a person's dignity.
Such an event gives everyone a chance to jump on the bandwagon and say, "Yeah. I'm against racism. Those guys should be nailed." This tendency is great in a way because it affords some unity in a beautifully diverse world. The problem is that, while no one in his right mind (Matthew Willenborg obviously
I do not care why Grossman chose to deplede his fraternity. Ann Dean's experience with racism is what is important. It really should not matter where she was slurred. That is not the case, as occurs is what is so horrible. It exists everywhere in our daily lives, not just in the Greek system.
Jennifer Bush Overland Park graduate student
The fact that evidence of racism, such as the recent assault by members of SAE fraternity, still exists saddens me. That a good friend of mine, Ann Dean, was the victim angers me. The manner in which the word 'sadness' is used through downplay, cover-up and a slap on the wrist, sticks me.
Fight racism now
paign speech in disguise. I was dismayed that he used the victimization of Ann Dean for his own benefit.
The point I'm making is that, while the rage against such an act is good, we should not wait for someone to let the wrong word slip before we initiate changes. We at KU need to fight ignorance everywhere and champion the acceptance and encouragement of diversity. It is stealing even if you don't get caught, and it is racism even if you never let anyone hear you use the wrong words.
wasn't) would admit to holding racist ideals, such beliefs are far more prevalent than anyone wants to concede. Prejudice, the ugliest element of the human character, is present, at least to some degree, in all of us. Because Winstenborg got too lazy, drunk or willidn to suppress his true self, he is going to pay. He didn't know at the bottom of his soul that the ideals he has probably been taught all his life are sick and demented. If only more would join is his self-revelation.
Elliott Hammer
Beaumont. Texas, junior
My amazement about the recent racial conflict is directed at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. How can this fraternity have the audacity to only partially suspend the involved member? By a weak punishment the SAE members encourage and support racism at KU. Why haven't the SAE members taken a stronger stand against racism and expelled this young man?
Heather Hensleigh Stanford, Calif., senior
CAMP UHNEELY
BY SCOTT PATTY