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Thursday, April 5, 1990 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Military out of line
ROTC policy banning homosexuals from ranks sets poor precedent for University memberships
If a woman was denied membership to a University-approved organization because of the fact that she was a woman, the University of Kansas would act immediately.
University of Kansas would act inimpeduently. If a Black man was told he could no longer work in the field, the organization because of the color of his skin, the University would act immediately.
But when a national organization with an affiliated group on campus has a policy of excluding homosexuals, the University does nothing.
Article 10 of the University's Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities states that a student may not be denied the rights of access to and participation in any University-sponsored or University-approved activity because of race, religion, sex, disability, national origin, political affiliation, age (as specified by law), ancestry or sexual orientation.
The ROTC programs at KU, abiding by Department of Defense policy, exclude homosexuals.
Think what you want about homosexuality.
but the University made the rules, and it should be expected to abide by them.
By paying tuition, each student enters into a contract with the University. From that moment on, each student is expected to act within the limitations of the rules and regulations of the University. In turn, the University is expected to adhere to the limitations imposed upon it when it accepted each student's tuition. Article 10 is one of these limitations.
Stephen Kline for the editorial board
Until the University breaks all ties with the ROTC programs, including the use of campus buildings, the University's name and mascot and the offering of ROTC-related classes, the programs should be considered in violation of a contract, and the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities should be void. The KU ROTC programs should be removed from campus until the time when its policy on homosexuality conforms with that of the University. Actions are encouraged to force the University to uphold its end of the contract and to eliminate institutional homophobia from this campus.
Campus awareness
Administration shows no concern about AIDS
This week a portion of the NAMES Project quilt is hanging in the Lawrence Public Library. A panel of this quilt bears the name of Gordon Woods, a former KU student. He died of complications of AIDS in January 1989 as he was working toward a master's degree in business administration. That same piece of the quilt bears a Jayhawk
Unfortunately, KU administrators have chosen to ignore the fact that AIDS has affected and will continue to affect KU students.
Although the Student Senate AIDS Task Force has lain dormant for a while, the members of that group still are fighting for AIDS education and AIDS awareness on campus.
The groundwork for that education must be laid, starting with KU administrators who continue to oppose condom machines on campus. Their opposition implies that the administrators have no concern about AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases or safe sex.
For that reason, some students concerned
about AIDS education announced that next week they would deliver nearly 2,000 condoms left over from last year's Condom Sense Week to the office of Judith Ramaley, executive vice chancellor.
Although this action may seem dramatic, something drastic needs to be done to call Ramaley's attention to an issue she has chosen to ignore or pretend doesn't exist: AIDS at KU.
Maybe it would be worthwhile for Ramaley to take a trip to the Lawrence Public Library, look at the quilt and think seriously about Gordon Woods' death.
But probably not. Ramaley will continue to keep her head in the sand. She would turn her head away from the quilt panel bearing the Javhawk and Gordon Woods' name.
Administrators will continue their attempt to wage a war of morality against the issue of AIDS. But they must not be allowed to continue imposing their outdated version of ideal sexual behavior on college students.
Liz Hueben for the editorial board
New life remains miraculous
Sunday, March 18, 1900, is a day that most KU students would choose to forget. The men's basketball team was eliminated from the NCAA tournament that afternoon. Also, Spring Break came to an end. Suffice to say it was a dark day on the Hill.
But Sunday, March 18, was a glorious day that long will be remembered in the Buckner household. That evening at 7:14, my wife, Tammy, culminated nine months of anticipation by giving birth to a boy we named Gannon Matthew. Gannon is our second child. Our first child, a girl named Brenna Claire, was born two years and eight months before Gannon. Everyone is home, doing well and adjusting nicely, thank you.
Both births were miracles that left me almost wordless. To describe my wife's efforts as "heroic" or my child's first cry as "fragile" is an injustice to both. For me, miracles defy words. I think it is better to reflect quietly on the moment and proceed.
It is the procession, this thing called life, no less a miracle yet so routine once we've been around awhile, that is more easily described. Practically all of the descriptions of the things we want out of life are cliches. And almost all of them are true.
For starters, we do want a better world for our children. Judging by the news of March 18, it is hard to say if one is in the offing. East Germany voted to reunify with West Germany.
Steve Buckner
Staff columnist
Former President Jimmy Carter met with Israeli leaders to tell them that Syria was willing to have peace talks with Israel. Eleven priceless paintings were stolen from a Boston museum. A Census Bureau study showed that the United States is behind 11 other industrialized nations in the health and well-being of its children.
We want our children to make a difference. Brenna was born a week after the world recognized that its population reached 5 billion people. Gannon was born a few days after the United States passed the 250-million population mark. Despite the numbers being enormous (and it), we convinced one person can make a difference. For our part, we plan to show our children how to contribute to our society as individuals and as members of groups.
One way we've tried to establish our children as individuals is with their names. Besides liking the names, we named our children Brenna and Gannon so they could realize their uniqueness from an early age. And because the names are Irish, we want them to remember they belong to this world, not just our family, town, state and country.
Certainly, though, a name isn't a prerequisite for individuality. But awareness of self and one's place in the world are keys to becoming a contributor.
We want our children to be happy.
We have learned that happiness starts with the simplest of things. We want to lead uncomplicated lives and be there for our children as much as possible. This lesson was passed to my wife and me from our parents, who were, and still are, there for us,
We want our children to be safe. As parents of young children, a good part of our day is spent on the alert for their safety. Parenthood makes you think twice about everything and check on children constantly. As they grow up, we hope that we will know when to lower our overprotective guard and let them learn from their own experiences and mistakes.
The transition from child to adult to spouse to parent, or any variation therein, isn't an easy one. The favorite sayings of our parents, the ones that made us crine, such as "eat all of your vegetables" and "look both ways," ring hauntingly true when you're the speaker rather than the listener. Most of you will find that in the next 10 to 20 years.
Other Voices
In the meantime, as I reflect on the glow from that night in March, remember that we all started life in the same manner. And our lives, however routine, are nonetheless miraculous.
> Steve Buckner is a Lawrence graduate student in journalism.
Conserving fuel makes obvious sense
It was too complex for Ronald Reagan. His administration was determined to foil a 1975 law mandating higher fuel-efficiency standards.
Thanks to White House clout and Reagan's backward thinking, the standard Congress originally modelled in place until the 1990-model cars.
Arguments for fuel efficiency are about basic common sense. Yet for years the simple wisdom of conserving something that is in limited supply escaped America.
The victory went to Detroit lobbyists. The loss went to a nation that is increasingly dependent on imported oil and increasingly swaddled in air pollution. It was a commitment to waste in a world that must learn to conserve finite resources and develop renewable ones.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards had a beneficial effect despite the best efforts of Ronald Reagan and the Detroit lobby. Higher standards kept 360 million tons of carbon dioxide out of the air
just in 1899, according to the Sierra Club . . .
Higher fuel-efficiency standards are like finding an oil well. They save resources and blunt arguments about how the nation must sacrifice every wilderness for the sake of oil exploration. They reduce both pollution and the need for oil imports. For consumers, they they may have higher costs - at least help offset the higher gas taxes looming on the horizon.
There isn't room in an environmentally conscious nation for any more codling of automakers who cling to out-of-date ideas . . .
Congress has to look out for the best interests of the nation, and provide a real incentive for car makers to offer truly efficient cars. Higher fuel-efficiency standards are a simple, easy strategy in a nation that needs to remember that conservation means more than just doing without.
From the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson,
Ariz., April 3.
News staff
Richard Brack...Editor
Daniel Nieml...Managing editor
Christopher R. Ralston...News editor
Jamie Edmonds...Managing editor
John Milburn...Editorial editor
Candy Niemmant...Campus editor
Rika Ozawa...Copytedit editor
E. Joseph Zuriga...Photo editor
Stephan Klina...Graphics editor
Krila Boguelts...Art/Features editor
Tom Haines...Government
Mergert Townsend ... Business manager
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Misey Miller ... Campus sales manager
Kathy Stokes ... National sales manager
Mike Lebhm ... National sales manager
Mindy Morris ... Co-op sales manager
Hate Stamos ... Production manager
Mind Land ... Assistant marketing
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James Glaappan ... Creative director
Janet Rorholm ... Classified manager
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Jeanne Jenne ... Sales and marketing adviser
Business staff
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LETTERS to the EDITOR
Pedestrian fee?
If the University indeed decides to convert Jayhawk Boulevard to a pedestrian walkway or a park-like street, at the cost of $500,000 or $350,000, who will pay for it? Will it be the students, faculty and staff through the parking fee? I am already concerned that the parking fees pay for renovating KU's streets and driveways after damage by building contractors, as well as for the new parking lot for the Lied Center (which, at least for the foreseeable future, will have no educational activity). If Jayhawk Boulevard is converted, haps KU needs to set up a fee — a yellow sticker — for pedestrians to pay for it. The state legislature seems unable to pay for such improvements.
Stop mudslinging
J. Bunker Clark Professor of music history
Spring is a beautiful time of year — the birds, the flowers and getting mugged in front of Wescoe
Hall by students running for office in the Student Senate elections. As we approach the fateful day when we will choose our student leadership for the coming year, I think it's important for those prospective leaders and the students who elect them to keep some meaningful perspective in a time when confusion can reign.
I'm not running for office, but I do know quality people who are running on each of the coalfires. These are people who have terrific records and will give their all if they are elected. When I hear rumors about these people, I can do nothing but be disappointed in those who start the rumors. Perhaps this is an inevitable part of the election process. This is unfortunate, and I would hope that KU's elections can avoid such a lack of respect for opposing candidates and the issues for which the stand. Instead of being rumors, I'd like to accuse accusations and difference of opinion brought into the open, where they can be condemned to the accused groups. I don't think anyone can disagree with me when I say that elections should be decided by substantive issues and not mud-slinging. If the ethical character of a candidate or candidates is in question, I'd like to see formal allegations made, not rumors. This is the least the coalitions can do for each other and the students at KU.
When we students are considering our votes, I think we need to keep some ideas in mind. First of all, we need to get out and vote. I know it's a real pain to take five minutes out of a busy schedule to fill out a ballot, but maybe it would be a good investment in the future. Besides, if you vote and the administration in power does something of which you disapprove, you have a legitimate right to voice your displeasure. If you don't vote, you haven't participated in the process, and you don't care enough to have the right to complain. Let's all take the time to make this the most representative election ever at KU. It will be a credit to our student body if we can show our elected leaders that we want good decisions and that we are looking over their shoulders.
Voting is the easiest part of the process. Making informed decisions takes a little time and effort, but with all those people swarming Wescose Hall, surely an extra 10 or 15 minutes can be taken to find out the platforms of the various coalitions. Not only by voting but by voting in an informed fashion can we mold KU into the way we want it to be.
Pete Paukstellis
Manhattan sophomore
Willner decision
The University of Kansas was diminished in stature March 28
with the recommendation that Dorothy Willner be dismissed from her tenured position.
I do not fault the Tenure and Related Problems Committee. On the contrary, I admire the devotion of its members to their task and respect the integrity that they brought to the making of the decision. They based their recommendation on their interpretation of the evidence presented and the guidelines operative in such a case as they appear in the Faculty Waller to do I absolve Professor Willner of her responsibility for what has happened. If all faculty behaved as she has through the years we would have no University.
The ultimate cause of this sad event is 20 years of administrative laissez faire at all levels. Fifteen years ago, even 10 years ago, Wilner could have survived a reprimand, even a dismissal, if her conduct warranted it. But chair, no dean, no vice chancellor made a final effort to resolve the difficulties. Now the University is tainted, and Wilner, at 62, has little hope of returning to the classroom here or anywhere. What the Wilmer decision means for the rest of the tenured faculty remains to be seen.
Elizabeth Banks Associate professor of classics
CAMP UHNEELY
BY SCOTT PATTY