OPINION
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
4A
PUBLISHED DAILY SINCE 1912
CRAIG LANG, Editor
CRAIG LANG, Editor
SUSANNA LOOP, Managing editor
KIMBERLY CRAFTERE, Editorial editor
TOM EBILEN, General manager, news advisor
MARK OIZIMER, Business manager
DENNIS HAUPT, Retail sales manager
JUSTIN KNUPP, Technology coordinator
JA STEINER, Sales and marketing adviser
Thursday, February 20, 1997
Jeff MacNelly / CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Editorials
Getting the closest parking spot isn't worth the risk of accidents
In campus parking lots, do you feel lucky when you narrowly escape two or three accidents, all within the time span of seven minutes? You should. With students zooming by at 25 mph, who wouldn't feel lucky managing to back out of a space without the rear end getting taken off his or her car?
Sgt. Christ Keary of KU police said there were 309 wrecks on campus last year. That may not look too horrifying, but considering the size of campus, it's pretty high. And those were only the reported accidents — many more go unreported.
Often, when students hit another vehicle as they're backing out, they just leave the scene without taking any responsibility for their actions. This is extremely irresponsible and a terrible situation for the student who comes back from class to see his or her vehicle with no rear fender and no one to
Driving in parking lots is often more dangerous than driving on streets.
blame. But students who drive through the lots at high speeds are just as irresponsible, because they are accidents waiting to happen.
What's so hard about slowing down a little? Sure, you may get home 1.67 minutes later, but that isn't going to cause you nearly as much trouble or expense as getting in an accident on your way home from class.
Or maybe you're whipping around the corner, trying to be the first one to that reasonably close parking spot. Granted, parking is a problem on this campus, and if ever there was a just cause for speeding, getting a space closer than two miles away from your class might
be it. But just because you're hunting for parking spaces doesn't mean you should drive carelessly. Is it hard to walk an extra 50 feet because you had to park five spaces further away?
Students need to realize that their cars can be dangerous machines. You might be quick on the brakes, and that often could save you. But do you really want to trust your only form of transportation to your lightning-quick reflexes?
It's simple: *slow down*. Exercise a little courtesy. If you're a minute later getting home, you can probably live with it. But your checkbook might not survive it if you damage your car in your rush.
Of course, you've heard this before, and you don't want to drive like your grandmother. But then again, that '68 Chevrolet she drives so slowly has been dent-free for 29 years.
KAREN CHANDLER FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Student seating a field house tradition
"Welcome to Allen Field House, the home of the Jayhawks."
The uproar after this announcement at each home men's basketball game is fueled by the true champions of the crimson and blue — KU students. It is students who provide the piercing cheers that make it nearly impossible for opposing teams to focus. Yet some students think this vitality is suppressed by poor student seating.
Pat Warren, assistant to the athletic director, argues to the contrary. He estimates that 45 percent of the field house seating is open to students. This totals more than 7,000 student seats, which is more than any other Big 12 arena, Warren said. Students are the most vocal and devoted fans, and Warren said the Athletic Department recognizes this fact.
But some students are unaware of all the seats open to them. The sections
At men's basketball games,45 percent of the seats are for students.
behind each basket and the section west of the north basket are widely recognized. But what about the section directly behind the band and to the west? Upon careful observation, one may see an arrow directing students to these seats, but this sign is too obscure and should be better displayed.
Still, some students argue that these seats are too far up and that they must arrive several hours before tipoff just to get them because campers get the best student seats. But all non-student seats in the field house are reserved for season ticket holders. Warren said these seats have gone to season ticket holders for
more than 10 years, and it would be difficult to relocate student seats.
Many students dream of Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Duke University Blue Devils' basketball court, where students sit in the lowest seats and breathe down the player's necks.
But Allen Field House is not set up that way. Tradition has set the seating arrangement in the field house, and it probably won't change. Warren said student involvement was essential to the field house environment and that is why the Athletic Department has tried to allow students a large area of seating without alienating season ticket holders.
The message is clear. Students should arrive early and make the most of the 45 percent of the field house they have, because despite complaints, Allen Field House is still one of the best places in the country to watch a basketball game.
KANSAN STAFF
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Columns
Bow ties are an art more should explore
The art of style is endangered among men. I've seen the high-fashion nonsense in the magazines, and it's enough to send me screaming into the nearest Brooks Brothers. I believe that the corporate casuals trend is communist-inspired, and anyone wearing a banded collar to the office should be brought before the House Committee on un-American Activities and shot. Wearing a linen blazer should automatically forfeit your right to due process.
Men's style decisions — boldly assuming one is bound by standards of good taste — include two basic choices: single-breasted or double-breasted suit, and what type of tie.
All men make the first choice, but only a few realize the second is available. The reason, I think, is that men are affected by some strange, unstudied necktie phobia.
At some point in a young man's life, someone hands
him a long piece of silk and he is expected to know how to tie it without being taught, sort of like the male's supposed inherent ability to dress a pleasant or tear down a transmission. To admit you don't know how to tie it is as embarrassing as asking what a cam shaft is. Some men avoid tying their neckties by leaving the knots tied for them by their wore or tailor for their entire lives.
Last summer I was summoned to the home of a law school friend because he was in dire need of necktie instruction. He had lived nearly a quarter century, earned a college degree and landed an internship with a prestigious Kansas City law firm, but didn't have the slightest notion of the difference between a double Windsor and a four-in-hand.
All men wear a necktie for some occasion, even if it is their own funeral, which is the only time it's acceptable to have it tied for you. Others wear them every day. But what your seldom see is a bow tie.
The fact is, once men overcome their initial necktie phobia, they consider themselves in compliance with the International Guy Code (Section
Two: Know how to tie a neck tie) and don't desire to confront their inadequacies any further to complete their neckwear skills by learning the bow tie.
Thus, few men wear bow ties anymore, with the exception of certain journalism professors and Orville Reddenbacher. Bow-tied waiters and high school choirs don't count because their are clips, and the only clip-ons that count, gentlemen, are earrings from Cartier.
Anyway, men lose a major component of their style options when they bypass the bow tie and lose out on learning an art that is becoming extinct, namely, tying the darn things.
One reason, other than their rarity, that bow ties are more stylish than regular neckties is that their knot is more of an art than a science. After a man has tied all of his ties a few times, he knows which ones do best with a single Windsor, which look best with a four-in-hand, and which ones he never should have bought because they have cartoon characters on them. After the best type of knot is determined, it only takes a few tries before tying it becomes mechanical, and — boom, it comes out the same every time.
Not so with bow ties. They are the Othello game of the neck-wear world — that is, a minute to learn, a lifetime to master. The truth be known, bow ties are actually easier to learn to tie because it's like tying your shoes.
There are many more variables with which one must contend when tying a bow tie, and thus more avenue for expression than a regular necktie, where the only expressive choice is the pattern. For instance, with a bow tie there are four ends to consider instead of just one. Should they be perfectly even or carefully tied so that there is a symmetrical unevenness? And the frontpiece of the tie can be a real challenge. Should it be a perfectly straight, like Harrison Ford's in Sabrina, or should it be slightly twisted, like the former senator Paul Simon's?
These are questions with no simple answers, yet they are the questions gentlemen must ponder and the questions that all men *should* ponder.
Andy Obermueller is a Liberal, Kan., junior in Journalism.
Demond Robinson / KANSAN
Recently, I have noticed fewer people on the buses actually paying attention to those around them who they are indirectly harassing. For instance: one time, I saw a guy who had his book bag hanging in a girl's face and not only did he not notice, but she sat there and took it. And about that book bag seat: I have the urge to ask, "Hey, did you pay two bucks for you and your bag, pal?"
What is with people who take up two seats, with one for their bag, or those who feel the need to save that seat for the one person at the back of the line at the Snow Hall stop, especially when the bus is crowded. Isn't something wrong with this picture? Everyone just wants to get on the bus.
Letters
Picture this: you, 60 people and one bus. It's cold, and aren't you glad you bought that bus pass so you could use it. Or can you? It seems that as an average student, I should make the best of the crowded bus situation. Instead, I have to make my way up the pathway of frozen people to those three not-so-inviting steps to the bus only to practically asphylaxiate as I crawl into my little corner of space.
Everyone should show courtesy on the buses
Carrie Gray
What is wrong with noticing others and where they are, as well as trying to be as cooperative as possible? Are we all this blatantly rude and just unaware of it? Is our "generation," seen as rude and obnoxious because some people refuse to use common courtesy? Can anyone be polite anymore?
West Linn, Ore., sophomore
All I want is a place to stand on the bus. If you can't move back to make more room or slide over to sit with a stranger for three minutes, then get off the bus. It's not a big deal, and I should probably be concentrating on a more important issue such as world hunger, but this is in the now. Let's all band together and be polite for once in our lives. It isn't that hard, and I guarantee that one good act deserves another.
I was extremely disappointed to see an encouraging, heartwarming story completely tarnished by a cruel and insensitive comment. I am referring to a story that was printed earlier this week about LaToya West and Raymond Robinson, two homeless people who were recently
Kansan headline was insensitive to homeless
married in Kansas City, Mo. Their story is one of true courage and commitment, yet the Kansan allowed a rude headline that read Even the homeless can show affection to lead off the story. I find this statement incredibly tacky and offensive.
I would like to believe that this phrase was indeed intended to point to the fact that West had given her socks to Robinson as a gift and that this gesture was seen as a very unselfish act. Unfortunately, such a hurtful and poorly worded statement does not get this message across clearly. Instead, it makes me question the mentality of the journalist who composed these words. Was there a doubt in his or her mind before about the physical and emotional capacity of a homeless individual? Is this somehow breaking news, that homeless people can and do show affection toward others? If I became homeless tomorrow would this somehow strip me of human abilities such as displaying my love for those I care about? Just a few questions to ponder. I hope this is the last time I see such a degrading remark in a student newspaper.
J. K. Cavanaugh Prairie Village senior