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Wednesday, February 28, 1990 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Nicaraguan elections
U.S. should consider ending embargo, giving aid but should be wary of promises to honor election
Nicaragua's citizens have gone to the polls and accomplished in one day what
and accomplished in one day what 10 years of insurgent fighting failed to do: remove Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista regime.
regime.
In the closely monitored elections, the Nicaraguans said with a single, clear voice that they were tired of the 10-year slide into economic ruin and the pervasive suppression of political and human rights. They realized that the Sandinista regime was just as repressive as that of the dictator Somoza and chose Violeta Barrrios de Chamorro, publisher of the opposition newspaper La Prensa, to lead the country.
The Sandinistas have said they would honor the election and relinquish power. The United States must watch that promise with skepticism; the Sandinistas have broken promises before. Many of the more than 1,500 multinational election observers will remain in the nation to make sure that a new government is fairly and peacefully installed. The United States has a vested interest in ensuring a smooth transition of power.
The United States also should consider lifting
sanctions and assembling a package of economic aid for Nicaragua. President Bush has said the United States will lift the trade embargo when Ortega surrenders power. The United States gave $2 million to Chamorro's campaign and $800,000 to the Institute for Electoral Promotion and Training for nonpartisan voter education. The United States should follow up that investment with a substantive infusion of aid. The Nicaraguan economy is in shambles and will need help to get running again.
Freedom and a robust economy cannot be expected immediately. Chamorro will need the assistance of all democratic nations to put together a working and viable coalition. The United States will remain concerned about Nicaragua, not as an enemy but as an anxious friend.
As for the contras, their job is complete and they should return to Nicaraguan society. The United States should withdraw support for the guerrillas and channel that money to the government. The contrasts, though a center of controversy, were a factor in the changes made this weekend.
John P. Milburn for the editorial board
SCAD policy statement
Group should offer clear plan of action for KU
University officials again have been alerted to the concerns of minority groups at the University of Kansas.
Students Concerned About Discrimination (SCAD) recently was formed to address the University's lack of minority recruitment and retention services and racial discrimination on campus.
Members of SCAD successfully formed a group encompassing many minority groups. It includes members from religious minority groups such as Hillel and other minority student groups such as the Gay and Lesbian Services of Kansas.
The group last week sent a letter expressing concern about the challenges facing the University's minorities to Judith Ramaley, executive vice chancellor, and to more than 30 University organizations. Eighteen students signed the letter in support of the proposal.
The letter included five priorities for improving the campus climate for minority students: broadening the definition of the term "minority" to include all students who face discrimination; creating a program to address non-racial minorities; more recruitment and retention efforts for minority students; increasing
the number of racial minority faculty and creating a training program for Kansan reporters and editors and all teaching assistants.
SCAD members have valid points that demand the University's attention. After all, how will minority students feel like they belong at KU If the University has a reputation for losing its minority students?
But SCAD must present a clear, specific plan of action to University officials. Addressing the minority population problem is one issue, and the Minority Issues Task Force report was supposed to do that two years ago. Abundant progress certainly has not been evident from those efforts.
But solutions and action are needed now. Otherwise, SCAD's efforts, like the vague Minority Issues Task Force Report, will sit on the back burner for an indefinite period of time.
SCAD, University officials, and other concerned groups must begin to work toward solutions and a specific action of action. The University doesn't need another committee to identify the problem. It already has been identified.
Jennifer Metz for the editorial board
Boxing king must battle hype
t's showtime!
But that is not going to happen. Perceptions of Douglas already have
Three weeks after the unforgettable Tyson-Douglas bout, James "Buster" Douglas is on the top of the world.
Douglas, today's new king of boxing, seems to have been obligated to change his lifestyle from the humble Columbus, boxer to the superstar of the 1990s. And along with these self-imposed changes, boxing is becoming a sensationalized show full of speculations instead of one of the greatest sports.
Andres Cavelier
Today And despite what we might think, Douglas showed how humble and reserved he was on these television shows. He claimed in the essay to be a regular guy "who wants to walk into a place and be virtually unnoticed."
After the fight in Tokyo, fans around the world were excited. The news of the defeat was so surprising, and it was inevitable that Douglas' personal life would change dramatically. Suddenly, the 29-year-old fighter did not know what to do with new money, fame and solicitations. In the past two weeks, he appeared on TV shows and newcasts节目. Last week, he revealed his real and unknown image on the David Letterman and Tonight shows; as well as in a personal essay in USA Today.
Staff columnist
been distorted because he is engaged to show business whether he wants it or not.
Some of the media also has added a bit of yellow journalism to the display. The day after the fight, the National, the new national sports newspaper, had on the front page a huge headline that read "Why Teenagers Need Yellow Journalism" and enage the importance of the story despite its prominence.
Also, Tyson's defeat led to one of the most stupid controversies: the lawsuit Don King filed against Douglas, who is now trying to get away from King. King is seeking several million dollars in damages and an induction to prevent Douglas from fighting without his involvement. Sure, Don, no problem.
The whole show, which has been created by Tyson's promoters and fans who want to know more and about it, brings wrestling to
was scheduled to appear but was replaced by Douglas when the title changed hands. What is the world boxing champion doing in that kind of event?
Talking about wrestling, Douglas even had to referee the "Main Event" last Friday in Detroit. Tyson
Now we will see more of Douglas on television commercials and shows rather than in the ring. It is disturbing to those of us who care about boxing never to be able to read or hear much about training techniques or the improvements the boxers are making.
Perhaps this is what caused Tyson to lose. Too much fame, too much money and too little training. Tyson could have used less drinking and partying in the Mediterranean
But, hey, this is what boxing is all about: drama, action — in and out of the ring — speculation and stupid deals among promoters.
See, Buster? Pay heed to what happened to Mike. Keep up the hard work and beat him again.
So, who is Douglas' next contender? Evander Holyfield will fight Douglas in September, and we will see how solid and durable the new champion is. In the meantime, everybody is waiting for the revenge.
The Douglas-Tyson rematch will be THE fight of the new decade.
And remember, big champions always come back.
► Andres Caveller is a Bogota, Colombia, senior majoring in Journalism and French.
--to the point that in places, one would have to rapel the shelves to bring down the desired volume. Yet we are building a state of the art facility in Kansas City. Perhaps we should move to the Regents Center. Certainly the Lawrence campus will not survive very long the continuing neglect of its basic needs.
LETTERS to the EDITOR Right priorities?
A trip to Watson Library and Wesco Hall on Sunday was instructive — would that Vice Chancellor Judith Ramaley had been my companion. On the fourth floor of Wesco, water was dripping through stained ceiling panels, in some places into plastic buckets and in other places onto the carpet. In Watson, when looking for some Dewey decimal-classified books on 2W, I found them — up at the ceiling. In order to make space the librarians are being forced to compress their holdings
Elizabeth C. Banks Associate professor, classics
What color is that?
Why do Crimson Girls wear blue?
James B. Carothers
Professor of English and Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
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Capitol dome's been bald long enough
he bald dome of the state Capitol in Topeka is not news.
The bald dome of the state Capitol in Topeka is not news. One hundred years ago, the Capitol was an old state where unfinished Plans called for a statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agricultural fertility, to rest atop the dome. But some Kansans flew into a rage and complained that the moral standards of the mythological deity were lacking.
Bergen's statue would be a male Kansas Indian pointing his bow and arrow toward the sky. It would be named Ad Astra, from the state motto, ad astra per aspera, or, to the stars through difficulty.
So Ceres got the boot, and the dome remained naked. It's still naked.
In 1984, the Legislature authorized the Kansas Arts Commission to choose a different statue. In 1988, the commission selected a design by sculptor Richard Bergen of Salina. He received a cash prize and was promised $50,000 for the completed work.
But Ad Astra is facing enough difficulty of its own.
The dome can't support the 2-ton statue. State officials estimate that reinforcing the dome would cost
Derek Schmidt
Staff columnist
$400,000, and the 1898 Legislature didn't provide the money.
Cost overruns have plagued Capitol artwork before. In 1898, Populists commissioned artist Jerome Fedeli to paint the inside of the dome with a mural that included partly nude Grecian women. In 1902, outraged Republicans painted over the murals with a more modest design. The replacement mural cost six times more than the original.
Now some lawnmakers want to cut costs by placing AD Astra on a $2,500 pedestal on the Capitol grounds instead of on the dome.
Bergen designed the 20-foot statue to be viewed from 300 feet away, not from 10 feet away. It doesn't take an art expert to figure out that makes a difference in the design.
That's a goofy idea.
CAMP UHNEELY
Besides, the purpose was to end the
dome's bareness.
At a hearing of the House Economic Development Committee last week, Bergen urged legislators to put his statue on top of the Capitol. He said that the state's estimate for preparing the dome was inflated and that no more than $225,000 would be needed.
... After 100 years of political bickering, Kansans deserve a symbol they can take pride in.
Asking the Legislature to find even that much money in this year's stingy budget is unreasonable. But raising the funds privately could work.
The University of Kansas expects to raise at least $177 million in contributions through Campaign Kansas. KU administrators are skilled at raising money, but surely they don't have a monopoly on that talent. The Capitol is worth a state-wide effort.
That building embodies much of the state's political history. Between
Some supporters of the proposal to ground Astra say the measure would be temporary, lasting only until fatter budget years. But it makes no sense for the state to spend $25,000 for a temporary pedestal.
1866 and 1903, Kansas spent $3.2 million to build it. Nine workers died on the job.
On its steps, Alf Landon agreed to run for president and Charles Curtis accepted two vice-presidential nominations. On its grounds, thousands of demonstrators have advocated their views of justice, most recently for taxpayers, women and minorities
Besides, after 100 years of political bickering, Kansans deserve a symbol they can take pride in.
Voters would like that more than an extra sound bite.
Politicians now could make amends. With multimillion dollar warchests, hopefuls for statewide office easily could combine to raise Ad Astra toward the stars. The cost, divided among several candidates, would be negligible, and the effects would outlast the campaign.
> Derek Schmidt is an independence senior majoring in journalism and history.
BY SCOTT PATTY