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Thursday, January 18, 1990 / University Daily Kansas
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Leaderless Kansas
Gov. Hayden abrogates responsibility, decides to bolster his insurance of re-election instead
When the knock came at the door for Gov. Mike Hayden to finally step out and take charge, he wasn't home. Or he was hiding from the shouts of the protesters who were decrying his latest actions. They have every right to be upset
his last action. They went on "My greatest dream now is to help make Kansas a better place for your children and grandchildren, for it is they will take us through the tomorrows to come," Hayden said in his inaugural address in 1987. Hayden's budget proposal and his failure to show leadership in a crisis have proven that he has either abandoned that dream and Kansas" future or was lying in the first place. Hayden's recent actions suggest his overriding interest is re-election. Period.
Unfortunately, in his quest to keep power for another four years, Hayden has seen fit to abdicate his responsibility to children, students, the poor and others who traditionally have looked to the state for assistance. Hayden has adopted social Darwinism as his guiding tenet, leaving the less fortunate to fall by the wayside and everybody else to scramble to protect their own narrow interests.
tect their own hard evidence is Hayden's budget proposal. As taxpayers demand relief from an ill-conceived and disastrously implemented property tax reappraisal, Hayden would divert $70 million from education, welfare and other state programs to pay for property tax relief. Unquestionably, something needs to be done by the reappraisal flasco. Businesses are closing and others are preparing to flee the state. Some homeowners saw their taxes increase three-fold. However, Hayden's budget would sacrifice the Margin of Excellence and badly needed programs in the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services on the altar of tax relief.
Hayden's decision to cut the third year of the Margin of Excellence is indefensible. The Margin, the board of Regents three-year plan to bring the
total financing of its seven institutions to 95 percent of their peer schools and to bring faculty salaries to 100 percent of their peers, is needed to guarantee university remain competitive.
that Kansas universities remain competitive. Slashing the third year would be devastating, leaving the universities at a disadvantage in attracting and retaining quality faculty and students. The future of the state is inextricably linked with its educational system. Business and economic development follow top-notch institutions. Abandoning education could create a downward spiral leading to economic catastrophe.
atstrophe.
As if killing the Margin wasn't enough, Hayden also decided to hive the general assistance program and also the Marian program from the SRS budget, which was $34 million shortfall. The cuts would inflict suffering on the poor who depend on the programs to help make ends meet and to provide basic health care. Apparently, Hayden would rather see people hungry and ill instead of outraged at their tax bills.
In the midst of this crisis, however, Hayden has not been talking about ways to support education or help the unfortunate but about the death penalty. This is politics, pure and simple, and it is shameful. The death penalty has been defeated by the Legislature twice and faces certain defeat again. The issue delivers votes from the western part of the state, where Hayden can count on his staunchest support despite his mistakes and failure. He should be looking for ways to save education and assist the needy. Instead, he is looking to stay in the governor's mansion, and he is willing to throw away his responsibility to do it.
similarly to 6-14.
In tough times, Hayden has indicated that people are on their own. Moreover, Hayden has gambled the long-term interests of the welfare of Kansas on a short-term, selfish political payoff. In the end, the only person likely to benefit is Mike Hayden.
Daniel Niemi for the editorial board
King holiday
Non-observance by city, county is groundless
City and county offices were busy as usual on Monday, Martin Luther King Day. These offices were not required to observe the legal holiday.
City offices were open because of high cost of clos ing the offices. The actual costs have not been fully assessed. But in a decision by non-action, the local government decided it wasn't worth closing the offices.
It seems that it would be very difficult to put a monetary value on the benefit of having Martin
Luther King's birthday as a true holiday. But while this country is still struggling to achieve racial equality, the full recognition of this holiday becomes even more crucial.
Currently, a void exists where there should be a consolidated effort to celebrate Martin Luther King Day. That gap should be filled with the leadership of our local governments.
Tiffany Harness for the editorial board
BUDGET CUTTING
Moving hassles
Residence halls should open earlier after break
Moving into a residence hall during the fall is stressful enough, but at least students have an entire week during Country Club Week to do so.
This is not the case during the spring semester
This is not the case during the spring semester. Residence halls do not open until the day before registration begins, which leaves students only one day to get organized and move back into their rooms.
rooms.
Students who do not own a car are further inconvenienced by the fact that if the day happens to fall on a week day, as is the case this semester, their parents may have to take a day off from work to drive them back.
Ken Stoner, director of student housing, said that McCollum Hall had been open a week for early arrivals, particularly international students.
However, Fred McEhlennie, director of residence life, said that McCollum was opened mainly for the international foreign student population. Other students must have ample merit to come earlier, such as someone who was crucial to a work environment on campus and was needed Monday morning
The bottom line is that if you are not an international student, or do not work on campus, you will not have a place to stay until the day before registration.
University officials must remember that the residence halls are the students' homes during school, and they are paying money to stay there.
Therefore, the residents should have a little more freedom on when they can return.
Some students work at jobs other than campus jobs and would like to return earlier to get back into their work routine before having to deal with school and registration.
Other students may just want to relax in Lawrence or get in touch with friends before starting school. But there is no way they can do so unless they stay with a friend, which may be an inconvenience.
with a friend, which may be all indulgence.
Available vacant rooms. McCollum are placed in
available vacant rooms.
Although the University is at least providing a place for early arrivals to stay, it is still inconvenient.
inconvenience. McElhenie said he received surprisingly few phone calls this semester from students wanting to come early.
However, if he is surprised that he received few phone calls, then obviously it must irritate students on a regular basis.
on a regular basis.
The University needs to be more considerate of students' schedules by making sure the residence halls are open the weekend before registration begins. That way, the pressure will be off the students to make the trek back to their residence halls in one day, and they won't have to incur their parents' wrath by forcing them to miss work.
Merceda Ares for the editorial board
Kansan reflects concerns of its readers
Newspapers, especially the Kansas, traditionally have been lightning rods for criticism. Readers grumble if an item about their club is left out of the paper, or if a name is misspelled. They complain that there is not enough local news or because Bloom County no longer graces the bottom of this page.
We wouldn't have it any other way. Such protestations keep the staff on its toes, seeking out the news and covering it fairly, completely and accurately.
Richard Brack
mose calls, letters and visits to the newsroom are the only way we have of knowing what you, the reader, would like to see in the Kansan.
Editor
From our standpoint, the most important thing we do is report news that is important to KU and campus life. That's why we have full-time reporters covering University administration, student housing, Student Senate, professional schools, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Alumni Association, minority affairs, arts, the unions and health. Our sports staff covers sports news both in Lawrence and out of town. Our photo staff is there to show you the sights you may have missed.
Kansan reporters will cover the
Legislature to keep you up-to-date on how decisions made there will affect you. We will cover city and county government, police and the courts.
The editorial page offers a forum for our opinion and for yours in the form of letters to the editor or guest columns.
We know that the Kansan is the only source of information for many students, so we publish the most important national and international stories. We don't pretend to be a comprehensive source for such news. We possess neither the financial resources nor the space for that.
The spring Kansan will include a new feature; a weekly arts and entertainment section. The four-page tabloid will include a weekly entertainment calendar and will cover issues, trends, fashion, music, and will feature reviews and previews. It will appear every Thursday.
Regular features such as the daily weather map and On Campus listings will continue. The weekly KU and Lawrence Events Calendar will continue. The features page that formerly appeared Thursday mornings will appear Friday mornings.
All of that adds up to a tremendous amount of potential for each day's Kansan. Selectivity becomes a major art for the editors. We grapple daily with the questions of how we can best serve our readers.
One reader would like more coverage of Student Senate. Another requests a column on fine arts. Yet another wishes to read about the Rugby Club.
We are expected to be independent, enterprising, fresh every day and to remain financially stable. That raises the question of the paper's
The Kansan, like any newspaper,
must change every day. We might be
able to put out a perfect newspaper
that pleases every reader one day,
but there is a good possibility that the
very next day's Kansan would outrage
ramese same readers. The Kansan must respond to a rapidly changing
world and attempt to help readers make sense of it. It is not
always easy.
to lead,
make the Kansan operates, looks like, and has the same goals of daily newspapers across the country, all of this is performed by students. Many editors work 40-hour weeks in addition to being full-time students. The reporters and copy editors go home every night knowing that their class work will be distributed to more than 15,000 people the next morning.
responsibility to the University. Must we give readers what they want to read or what they should read? Aren't there times when the paper must oppose the masses and attempt to lead?
It must also be remembered that the small staff cannot hope to know everything that happens on campus or at KU. We count on you to help us with that.
We know that the Kansan is imperfect. But it succeeds in accomplishing its task of informing its readers if they want to be informed. The Kansan is your newspaper. Help us to make it the best it can be.
We also count on you to tell us when we make a mistake or leave something out of a story.
Richard Breck is a Great Bend senior majoring in Journalism.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Fans lack class
There is nothing like the electric atmosphere and excitement in Allen Field House, especially when the 'Hawks play Big Eight rivals. The cheering, yelling and antics in the student sections contribute a great deal to the fervor, and I enjoy watching games beside them. But I am concerned about the conduct of some overly zealous "fans."
tans.
KU has long been associated with "class." In winning seasons and losing seasons alike, Jayhawk fans have a tradition of remaining within the bounds of good taste.
The recent chant of "Aass-hole!" following a successful free throw by the visiting team has got to go! Not only does this show incredibly poor sportsmanship, but it demonstrates severe ignorance as to what competitive sports are all about.
JOUR. Sure, it is easy to get caught up
in the emotion of a big game, but chants like that should never be part of KU athletics. Follow Coach Williams' lead and leave the profanity and classless actions to lesser crowds:
Razzing the referees on truly bad calls (not just every call against us) help them honest. But yelling obscenities (suggest unnatural homosexual acts), as did the idiot behind me at the Oklahoma State game, goes way beyond the limits of decent conduct. Consider the purpose of the game, the family nature of the crowd, and simply the way it appears, before yelling some profanity during a basketball game.
And c'mon. . . throwing things on the court?! Grow up! The jerks don't have to run games for everyone else, or maybe even ruin a whole career. Point them out and have them removed when you see them throw something onto the court.
Show some class in the stands.
Everyone will appreciate it, just ask the coaches and players. GO 'HAWKS!'
Fritz Edmunds Jr.
Overland Park
1985 KU graduate
News staff
Richard Breck ... Editor
Daniel Niami ... Managing editor
Christopher R. Ralston ... News editor
Lisa Moes ... Planning editor
John Millburn ... Editorial editor
Candy Niemann ... Campus editor
Mike Consaldine ... Sports editor
E. Joseph Zurga ... Photo editor
Stephen Klime ... Graphica editor
Kris Bergquist ... Art/Features editor
Tom Ebbin ... General manager, news adviser
Business staff
Margaret Townsend...Business manager
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Hate Stamos...Assistant production manager
Mindi Lund...Marketing director
Carla Shamrae...Marketing director
James Gleanap...Creative director
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Brittany Hill...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 homepage, or faculty or staff position. Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and less than 700 words. The writer will not accept non-English letters.
be photographs.
They deserve the right to edit or edit them, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kansas newsroom, 113-First Flint-Hall, Letters, columns and cartoons are the opinion of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University Daily Kansas. Editorials are the opinion of the Kansas editorial board.
Student opinion plays a role in reform
Some things were absolute truths until recently; we die, we pay taxes and the Berlin Wall was never coming down. Well, two out of three isn't bad.
The fall of the wall proves that if people speak out, eventually they will be heard. Look at Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Lithuania. The people took the streets and they toppled hard-line regimes. It can happen.
Although we do not have a government like those in Eastern Europe, Kansas should be aware of concerns and demand change. That change is Gov. Mike Hayden.
The errant policies of the governor have gone on long enough. Property reappraisal, education and Social Rehabilitation Services cuts are running the state to the verge of fiscal and moral bankruptcy. It is almost to the point of revolt.
And just when it was safe to go back to school, Tax Hike Mike has ignored financing the third year of the
John P.
Milburn
Editorial Editor
Margin of Excellence, the Board of Regents three year plan to bring faculty salaries and program enhancements to that of their peer institutions.
instructions.
In support of the Margin and other worthy programs, some legislators are planning creative ways to generate needed revenue. State Sen. Dick Bond has hinted at a cigarette tax that would take in close to $1 million a month for higher education.
Hayden made education, highways and tougher crime laws the focal point of his campaign and the first three years of his term. Now that he has passed the highway program, he is asking the Legislature to tap the
Regardless, today's citizens and students will suffer. Taxes are likely to force people out of their homes. Many small businesses likely will
program to pay for a property tax circuit breaker. The Democratic leadership in the Legislature says that if Hayden would have been wise enough to veto other spending measures instead of passing them for support of highways, the state might not be facing the budget problems it is this session.
is indeed.
Instead, Kansas has overspent, the reappraisal issue is not solved and is not likely to be solved in an equitable manner. Hayden now has two strikes against him on reappraisal. It was during his tenure as Speaker of the House that the issue arose. Former Gov. John Carlin also bears some of the burden. It was in his administration that the reappraisal issue was put before voters. Property had not been reappraised since the 1600s. Maybe we should blame the leadership of the 1700s for this mess.
have to close or relocate. Businesses in Johnson County have said they were looking for sites in Missouri if they are forced to leave Kansas.
As for students, without the Margin, Kansas institutions will no longer be competitive in attracting qualified faculty and staff. Programs to enhance learning will be scaled back. Delaying the third year of financing until the 1991 session will mean the first two years of the Margin were in vain.
What can students and citizens do? Simple, voice your opinions. Tell your legislators and governor how you feel and that you want something done. The 1990 session of the Legislature is just starting.
An editorial editor, I invite and encourage letters expressing your concerns on these issues and others on the KU campus. The editorial page is your forum and a chance to make a change.
- John P. Milburn is a Pittsburgh senior majoring in journalism.