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Friday, April 6, 1990 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
More may be less State should account for new minimum wage
Student workers could conceivably take home less pay next fall than they did before a recent increase in the minimum wage.
April 1, the federal minimum wage increased from $3.35 to $3.85. The issue was passed after considerable debate in Congress last fall.
The initial reaction, that the increase will mean increased take home pay for unskilled workers, was positive. But the initial reaction should be one of concern. Empirical data indicates that an increase in the minimum wage results in a corresponding increase in unemployment.
This scenario could be carried out in the fall as students return to on-campus and work-study jobs. These jobs are available through financing by the Kansas Legislature. Unfortunately, the governor and the Legislature have not recommended increased financing for these jobs. In fact, the governor has recommended that financing be decreased $140,000 from fiscal 1990 levels.
The end result will be that students will
receive the minimum wage, but will work fewer hours as employers attempt to make due with inadequate payrolls. Libraries could be forced to reduce the number of hours they are open, and other services could be rescinded.
There is no reversing the course of the minimum wage, but the impact can be blunted by the state through providing financing for salaries. The livelihood of many students and the University community depend on it.
Unfortunately, the minimum wage increase is coming at a time that the state is in the midst of a property tax fiasco that is leaving state coffers thin and forcing business owners to tighten their belts. Thus the effect of the minimum wage is likely to spread throughout the city, making off-campus part time jobs for students harder to find.
The state must provide for student salaries. A 5 percent increase in student salaries and an adjustment for the minimum wage increase would keep student wages and services at existing levels.
John P. Milburn for the editorial board
Traffic congestion
Downtown changes needed to accommodate plaza
As though Lawrence traffic were not bad enough already, it is about to get worse. Today marks the opening of the
Riverfront Plaza in downtown Lawrence. It is anticipated that downtown traffic will increase as a result, creating more congestion in the downtown area.
The city's efforts to alleviate the congestion included the opening of New Hampshire Street from Sixth to Seventh streets. Most students don't remember, but traffic once flowed both ways on the street. The City Commission has tabled another logical step, which would eliminate parking and remark Sixth Street from Maine to Massachusetts streets.
Such a move makes sense. It would provide an additional lane for traffic, primarily for turning off of Sixth Street as is now possible west of Maine Street.
Concerns have been raised over traffic and eliminated parking near Pinckney Elementary School. These are legitimate concerns of parents whose children attend the school. However, parking on Sixth Street only would hinder traffic flow with the opening of the mall.
Cost should not be a factor as only signs and re-striping of the street would be required, not full-scale reconstruction.
As the City Commission considers the matter, it also should approve construction of a sidewalk along Emery Road. Students living in the area deserve a safe avenue for walking to and from classes. Such a move would make the road safe for pedestrians and motorists alike.
Street improvements will prove beneficial to the city and residents for years to come.
John P. Milburn for the editorial board
Giver university daily kansas 1:189
this is your body...
this is your body... FRYING to a crisp in the sweltering heat of the GREENHOUSE EFFECT...
any questions?
...any questions?
Execution plagues campaigns
Gubernatorial campaigns are clanging a disturbing knell this year.
In California, Attorney General
In at least three states, candidates besieged by a wave of fear about violent crime and steeped in the politics of the war on drugs have engaged in morbid contests of their death-penalty prowess.
Most egregious is Texas, where the queue of candidates flaunting their bloody records stretches into both political parties.
In a series of shocking television commercials, former Gov. Mark White, who is seeking the Democratic nomination, marches past a row of photographs of executed criminals
In true gladiatorian style, his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Jim Mattos, responded with an ad highlighting the 32 executions he carried out while in office. Republican Clayton Williams also joined the
"These hardened criminals will never again murder, rape or deal drugs," he says, referring to the photographs. "Only a governor can make executions happen. I did, and I will."
Derek Schmidt
Staff columnist
John Van de Kamp, who wants the Democratic nomination for governor, grabbed national headlines for his role in pursuing the execution of convicted killer Robert Alton Harris. On Monday, the Supreme Court stayed Harris' execution, but Van de KAMP, on national television, vowed to press on.
Florida claims the dubious honor of the nation's most prominent death-row campaign. A television commercial for Gov. Bob Martinez features serial killer Ted Bundy, who was executed in January 1989. Martinez brags to viewers that he has signed about 90 death warrants. The screen fades to Bundy's face, and Martinez then speaks from a chair in his office.
"I believe in the death penalty," he says. "I believe it's the proper penalty for one who has taken someone else's life."
Politicians legitimately can support capital punishment. George
Bush, for example, prudently continues his call for executing drug traffickers. But politicians should limit their support to displays of firmness, not grandeur.
The upcoming Kansas gubernatorial race is ripe for a capital punishment conflict. John Carlin, the flip-flopping former governor who pledged to sign a death-penalty bill but failed to do so each time the Legislature sent him one, will attract the ier of death penalty supporters. Mike Hayden, an ardent death penalty advocate, will press the issue.
In February, Hayden tried to bolster support for the death penalty by announcing that he had reason to believe that three missing Johnson County women were killed in Kansas rather than Missouri because Kansas does not have a death penalty. Prosecutors handing the case swiftly complained about the political meddling.
Kansas voters must rein in the crusade before it gets out of hand. A politician who takes pride in killing demeans his office.
Derek Schmidt is an Independence senior majoring in Journalism.
LETTERS to the EDITOR CLAS elections
As a member of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences College Assembly election committee, I would like to take this opportunity to tell CLAS undergraduates about the election being held now through Thursday. The purpose of this election is to fill 119 vacant seats reserved for undergraduate student representatives.
William Bayne
Lawrence Junior
Student participation is an important element of the decision-making process at our University. For this reason, I encourage all CLAS undergraduates to place their names in nomination. If the number of nominees is less than or
The College Assembly is the governing body that determines CLAS academic policy. The assembly meets the first Tuesday of every month at 4 p.m. in Alderdale Auditorium at the Kansas Union.
equal to the number of vacancies,
all nominees become representatives through appointment. Nomination forms are available at the Undergraduate Services Office,
106 Strong Hall. The deadline for
designation is 5 a.m. today.
Focused on bad
Once again when the Kansan could have focused on good, they focused on bad. This past weekend was the first annual Greek Awards. At the program, individuals, fraternities and sororites were recognized for their outstanding contribution to the school. But instead of focusing on this event, the Kansan chose to focus on a smaller, unfortunate incident that took place at a fraternity.
It is acts like this that create the anti-greek perception the Kansan denies. The Greeks are an important asset of this community. I hope the Kansan someday will recognize this.
Brent Kassing Peoria, Ill., Junior
News staff
Richard Brickell ... Editor
Daniel Niemi ... Managing editor
Christopher R. Relation ... News editor
Lisa Mose ... Planning editor
John Milburn ... Editorial editor
Candy Niemann ... Campus editor
Mike Conaldine ... Sports editor
E. Joseph Zurga ... Photo editor
Stephen Killipman ... Graphics editor
Kris Bergquist ... Art/Features editor
Tom Eben ... General manager, news advisor
Business staff
Margaret Townsend...Businesses manager
Tami Rank...Retail sales manager
Misey Miller...Co-op sales manager
Kathy Boltle...Regional sales manager
Mike Lonahan...National sales manager
Mindy Morris...Co-op sales manager
Nate Blanco...Production manager
Mindi Lund...Assistant production manager
Carrin Milliken...Marketing director
James Glaanap...Creative director
Jaren Morholm...Marketing manager
Kristy Swartz...Teambooks manager
Jennese Hines...Sales and marketing adviser
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 hometown, or faculty or staff position. Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and less than 700 words. The writer will
be photographed, showing the right to respect or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be matted or brought to the Kenan newsroom, 111 Stauffer Hall, Littals, columns and cartoons are the opinion of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University Daily Kenan. Editorialists are the opinion of the Kenan editorial board.
Time for Hoch to retire from music
T the cries are getting louder,
Save Hoch! Save Hoch! SAVE
HOCH!
I just have to ask: Save it from what? The University is planning a new performing space for music events that will be acoustically and technically superior to Hoch Auditorium. The Lied Center is in the works.
And now the criers step forward with emotional appeals about how dear Hoch is to our hearts. It certainly is. Hoch has been a landmark on the Hill for 63 years. It was dedicated in 1927. Before it was built, large gatherings for convocations, concerts and sporting events took place in Robinson Gymnasium. Music was performed in a space designed for sports.
In the 1920s, the administrators said that the new auditorium should provide for as many activities as possible. The music department was never happy about Hoch, history tells us, because the large flat floor of the stage was built to accommodate basketball games. The creaking, movable chairs that occupy that space during concerts always have given Hoch a less-than-professional appearance. Music was again performed in a space designed, this time only partly, for sports.
Allen Field House was built in 1955. The team moved to a space specifically for basketball. In 1967, Murphy Hall was built. The thespians moved to a space specifically designed for theater. Music department offices also moved to Murphy, but the grand traditions of music and theater at KU were too big to exist in a single large performance space. And Hoch was the consolation prize.
Karen
Boring
Guest columnist
It's been more than 30 years since theater moved to Crafton-Preyer Theatre and basketball moved to the field house. KU musicians and visiting artists still are performing in a space designed to handle basketball, theater, lectures and music.
Admit it. To an audience member,
Hoch Auditorium is a turnoff. The best part is its facade. Inside, the once-beautiful expanse has suffered. The built-in seats catch clothing on their splintered edges. Peeling paint, worn floors, lack of an elevator and a small foyer all testify to Hoch's age and use. The front seats are on a flat surface, so craning necks abound. Many seats are under balconies.
To a performer, Hoch is even more of a turnoff. Most face a half-empty house. Hoch seats 3,900, counting the triple balcony and floor seating. It is rarely full. Even during vespers, much of the floor space and balcony space is occupied by performers. The Lied Center will seat 2,200. That's twice the capacity of Crafton-Preyer.
Hoch is a barn with dead spots into which music disappears. The stage can't handle some mechanical tasks. During a recent performance, the Trisha Brown Company had to abandon one of its sets because Hoch didn't have the proper lifts. Hoch is in disrepair. At the New York City Opera National Company's performance of "La Boheme," people had to walk across the stage with curtains
in tow at the beginning and end of each act because the pulley system wasn't working.
Some say we should fix Hoch. It could be improved with paint, new seats, a better grid and handicapped-sensitive elevators and restrooms. But you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. There is no way to install good acoustics in a house that wasgressed since 1827. Why should anyone who is proud of KU want to settle for second best?
Some say they have no problem with building the Lied Center. They want to have their center and keep Hoch, too. But given the choice of performing in one or the other, I assure you the music department will choose the center.
But what about student productions? Let's see. Vespers? No, that's a music department function. It will clearly move to the center. What about Rock Chalk? OK, what other student productions are performed in Hoch? Um, um . . . wait a minute . . . Maybe there's only one student event in Hoch? Why? They were just students. The students who produce Rock Chalk deserve the best. The people who support it deserve the best, too.
The Lied Foundation gave KU $10 million toward the $14.5 million project of building a large performing arts center. Even if KU invested its $4.5 million share into Hoch, it would still be an acoustically inferior performance space that is inconvenient for parking. Investing in the center and putting it on the accessible corner of 15th and Iowa makes sense. I hope the planners don't cut corners in order to save money. We may be
using the center for more than 63 years.
I grew up in Lawrence. Hoch is where I was introduced to classical music. In Hoch, I have heard Up With People, the Manhattan Transfer, Benny Goodman, Rock Chalk Revue, Billy Taylor, Vienna Choir Boys and more vespers services than most students have attended. Hoch holds special memories for me. Ask any of my friends — I am a sap. I love to save things and preserve memories. But we're not talking about pressed flowers or dog-eared photographs. We're talking about a building that costs thousands of dollars to maintain.
Hoch cannot remain as a shrine to past performances. And an emotional outcry is not needed to save it from the wrecking ball. Hoch will remain. I have heard rumors that a connecting bridge will be built and Hoch will become the front door of the Anschutz Science Library. I have heard that it will be renovated to accommodate classrooms.
No changes will be immediate. Groundbreaking for the center was postponed until fall. It will take at least two and a half years to build. Only then will Hoch be allowed to retire as a performing arts center. And that's appropriate, because by that time it will be more than 65 years old. Who knows? The building that was designed to accommodate as many activities as possible may launch a distinguished new career.
> Karen Boring is a Lawrence graduate student in journalism.
CAMP UHNEELY
SO. INSTEAD OF CAMPAIGN BUTTONS, WE HAVE CAMPaign CONDOMS?
VEAH THEY REPRESENT OUR PROPOSAL TO GET CONDOM MACHINES ON CAMPUS.
HERE. TRY IT ON.
BY SCOTT PATTY
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