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OPINION
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PUBLISHED DAILY SINCE 1912
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CRAIG LANG, Editor MARK OZIMEK, Business manager
SUSANNA LOOF, Managing editor DENNIS HAIPT, Retail sales manager
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TOM EBLEN, General manager, news adviser JAY STEINER, Sales and marketing adviser
Wednesday, March 19, 1997
Editorials
Free television time could help in quagmire of campaign reform
At the conclusion of recent elections, outcries for campaign reform are heard as the expenses of political campaigns are tallied. Most people acknowledge the corruption and inequalities that exist in campaigning for public office, but few offer real solutions.
Recently, President Clinton recommended the allocation of free television time for political candidates. Although free television time is not a panacea for cleaning up political campaigns, it can, if used correctly, help to level the playing field among candidates and promote public confidence that real campaign reforms are being attempted.
Allocating free air time to national candidates would give more candidates an opportunity to promote themselves and their political agendas.
However, this proposal should be limited to congressional and presidential
Free air time will give more candidates an opportunity to express political stance.
candidates, and the amount of airtime per day for each candidate should be limited. A non-partisan committee could decide who qualifies as a contender for each race, and the networks could decide how much airtime they could afford to donate to candidates.
The primary argument against free television time is that it will not clean up campaigns. Although candidates would not have to seek contributions for television spots, they still may receive controversial campaign contributions.
Ideally, free television may cut some of the special interest graft that candidates specifically use for television spots. In addition, all national candidates, even those with low campaign budgets, would have equal amounts of television time. Lower-budgeted candidates may use money reserved for television spots on other areas of campaigning that they may not otherwise have been able to afford.
Clinton's proposal of giving political candidates free television time will not solve the complex problems within political campaigns. But it can serve as a crack in the infrastructure of corruption that permeates many campaigns. This measure may level the playing field among candidates and give lower-budgeted campaigns a better means of competing. Something must be done to reform political campaigns, and perhaps this proposal will start this much-needed process.
NICK ZALLER FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Drivers should obey road rules
Too many drivers ignore the rules of the road when traveling on the highway.
Fast drivers are supposed to pass on the left, the "fast lane." Those who cannot, or will not, drive as fast as the speed limit allows should keep to the right. The f.lailure to do so leads to hard feelings and danger on the highway.
People who drive under the speed limit are not necessarily being unsafe, unless they drive so slowly that they impede traffic. However, slow drivers who feel that they must drive in the left lane, with no regard to people wanting to pass them, create problems.
People who wish to pass drivers in the left lane face either the impoliteness of passing on the right side or driving behind the slow drivers for miles in hopes that they will get the message and switch lanes.
Driving responsibly can reduce potential snags in cross-country travel.
Sometimes, these confrontations lead to a shaken fist or a few shouted words as the speedier driver passes. In some cases, however, the consequences can be more dire, causing accidents as the failure to follow simple rules of the highway creates confusion in a potentially dangerous environment of moving vehicles. In either case, the problems can be avoided by following driving guidelines.
ing any sort of good example. Rather, they create a hazard that could easily be avoided. Driving in the correct lane ensures that other drivers will know how to react to them at any speed, and with the adherence to all other traffic laws, can make highway travel a better experience for everyone.
Slower drivers should stick to the right lane. By creating a confusing and unnatural situation in traffic when driving in the left lane, they are not standing their ground against speeders or show-
The already unwelcome task of driving long distances on a highway is compounded by slow drivers in the left lane. If these drivers stuck to the right lane, faster drivers not be forced to drive close behind, desperately trying to get the slower individual to switch lanes. In addition, confrontations, confusion, and accidents would be reduced. Only by driving responsibly and following the rules of the road can potential snaps in cross-country travel be smoothed out.
GERRY DOYLE FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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No, it's not designed to take you to a higher level of learning or to refine your skills in a particular subject. Nor is college a resume accessory or even a social outlet.
Students help others during college years
I think I've discovered the real reason behind college.
Columns
All letter and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Kim Crabtreat (option#i@kansan.com) or LaTina Sullivan (lusillian@kansan.com) at 864-4810.
Instead, college is really an endurance test. In the end, it is fulfilling. However, at times it can seem like a lesson in self preservation.
Even the course titles seem a bit inaccurate. Why don't they name them what they
really are? How about "Theories in Convolution" or "Brain Melting 101?"
College can throw a blow to your self-esteem. It can cause you to question your ability in subjects you thought you were somewhat proficient in. In subjects that you find challenging anyway, it can cause you to question if you have any abilities.
College can cause you to reflect on your choices and your decisions. College also can cause you to re-examine your goals and your means of attaining them.
College can make you really miss that job, that boyfriend or girlfriend or the family you left behind to pursue your goals.
College can also cause you to re-think the decision that you made to leave that job, that boyfriend or girlfriend or that family that was really bringing you down.
College may make them seem not so bad after all.
College can make you yearn for school days past. Days when you pasted funny shaped pasta
on colored construction paper with no particular design in mind. Days when your big thrill was leading the class in the recital of the ABC's or the salute of the American flag.
Days when you sang songs like *Puff the Magic Dragon*, your innocence still intact so that you weren't reading double entendre into the song.
Days when intense reading was Charlotte's Web or Laura Ingalls Wilder books (well, most of them anyway).
They are your classmates who give you words of inspiration out of the blue, who make you see the good and who will take time to listen to the bad.
But you know what you discover when you are down? There are people around you to pick you back up. You have to become a little less absorbed in your troubles to notice those people, but they are there.
Days when you were certain that long division, adverbs and spelling words like Mississippi were the road to your demise.
They are the far-away person who leave just the right message on your answering machine, just the right corry e-mail or who send just the right funnv gift in the mail.
It's funny how the bad times often make you realize all of the good things you have.
They are the neighbors who call you from work, check on you daily and even make dinner for you to assure themselves that you are taking care of yourself.
So if you feel down about school remember that there are usually others who want to help.
Elena Macaluso is a Sacramento, Calif., graduate student in Journalism.
Prejudice is a symptom of ignorant assumptions
"I would kill my sister if she married any Black man," said a horribly prejudiced Korean American. "What?" cried a shocked African American.
"Marrying a Black man, my sister's life would be miserable since Black people are lazy and cannot succeed in society," replied the Korean American.
The African American could not believe that his Korean friend thought of African Americans that way. The African American regarded the Korean as a pretty close friend until this conversation, but there was no friendship from that point on.
I offer this anecdote as one example of prejudice, but there are countless others. Everybody, including me, is more or less prejudiced against someone.
Let's look at my own ethnic group first. Some Koreans are extraordinarily brilliant, but others are unbelievably idiotic. Whatever your ethnicity may be, I am sure the same is true for your group. Some African- or European-American people are extraordinarily brilliant, while others are unbelievably idiotic.
This was an excerpt of a message posted on the Internet page by the African American, who wanted to understand why some Koreans are prejudiced against African Americans. The address of that page is soc.cul.korea
Where does it come from? I say prejudice mostly comes from ignorance. The discussion of prejudice needs to involve a lot of related issues, but I am going to simplify this discussion by focusing on ignorant assumptions that prejudiced people hold.
The prejudiced assume that they are superior to members of the other group. This is an ignorant assumption because no members of one group are superior or inferior to members of another.
Some well-known, but prejudiced scholars have
even attempted to prove ethnic superiority or inferiority. Instead of presenting their complex and distorted arguments, they need to explain the diverse phenomena represented in different groups of people. Intelligence is not determined by ethnicity. If you are not convinced, look again at the members in your own ethnic group.
The prejudiced assume that members of one group are inherently different from them. This also is an ignorant assumption because our differences come not from our nature but from our environment. If I had been raised in a different environment, I would be different from what I am today. Fact, I am becoming a somewhat different person just by living in this country. But in spite of my differences from others, as a human being I am basically the same as others. I need to eat just like you. I need to love or to be loved just like you. I need clothing to protect my body just like you.
My differences are no more than superficial. Everybody is inherently, that is, biologically, the same.
The prejudiced assume that their group has a proprietary claim on privilege, power and prestige. Looking at human history, some once-powerful ethnic groups have lost their power, and other ethnic groups have taken over their role. For example, within the last decade alone, South Africa has gone from being a nation completely dominated by a white minority to being a nation that operates on a more level playing field. The fact that a native, Nelson Mandela, has become a political leader marks this dramatic change. Power does not necessarily stand still.
No one can predict with precision the flow of power, but it certainly is changing all the time. I understand that we all choose our own ways of thinking.
But I am sure that you don't want to be part of an ignorant group of people.
Namkyu Park is a Chongju, South Korea Ph.D. candidate specializing in teaching English as a second language.
WACILITY Chicago Tribune
Jeff MacNelly / CHICAGO TRIBUNE