A
OPINION
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PUBLISHED DAILY SINCE 1912
CRAIG LANG, Editor
CRAIG LANG, Editor
SUSANNA LOOP, Managing editor
KIMBERTY CRATTEE, Editorial editor
TOM EBLEN, General manager, news adviser
MARK OZMEK, business manager
DENNIS HAUPT, retail sales manager
JUSTIN KYMER, Technology coordinator
JA SKINEER, sales and marketing adviser
Thursday, February 6, 1997
Jeff MacNelly/CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Editorials
Knowing basic fire prevention could save your life, property
recent tragedies in Lawrence have demonstrated the power of fire to damage property or end lives. Reviewing fire safety could mean the difference between life and death.
The most important element of fire safety is the installation and maintenance of smoke detectors. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 16 million U.S. homes have fire detectors that would not work in a fire. That figure exceeds the number of homes without fire detectors.
According to the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical Department, apartment complexes, residential homes, student housing and fraternity and sorority houses are required to have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers among their fire protection systems.
Detectors should be installed on each level of a residence and outside each sleeping area. They should be tested
Recent tragedies have prompted the need to review basic fire safety
monthly, and batteries should be replaced annually.
The following fire safety tips were compiled from fire-prevention web pages: Space heaters:
Never leave space heaters unattended, or turned on when you are asleep.
Check space heaters for frayed wires
Keep space heaters at least three feet
Do not dry towels or clothes on or near space heaters.
In the kitchen:
Do not leave the stove turned on when unattended.
Keep surfaces clean of grease and other flammable materials.
Electricity and Appliances:
- Do not overload extension cords.
- Do not run electrical cords under rugs.
- Use correctly sized fuses.
- Do not leave any appliance — coffee pots, hot plates, curling irons, for example — turned on when not in use.
- Keep flamable materials away from halogen lamps. Do not leave lamps turned on unattended.
Maintenance:
Make sure your home has a fire-resistant roof that is clear of tree limbs and other debris.
Keep corridors free of obstacles.
■ Make sure that address numbers are clearly visible from the street.
- Keep newspapers away from heat sources.
- Do not expose water to extreme temperatures.
following these rules won't prevent every fire, but may prevent the one that could bring tragedy to your life.
KELLI RAYBERN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Pell grant increase will help students
At a time of belt-tightening in government spending, federal financial support for post-secondary education has surprisingly remained steady. To the benefit of students, the Department of Education recently announced that for the second consecutive year, the Pell grant will increase during next fiscal year.
Despite the current political culture of government downsizing, the Clinton administration has shown resolve in its commitment to protect education. In fiscal year 1998, the Pell grant, a nonloan based federal financial aid program, will distribute $3,000 to each qualified student per year. That is a $530 boost from two years ago. This increase, along with other efforts, such as low interest direct loans and proposed tax breaks for higher education, have spelled relief for students seeking financial assistance.
Despite downsizing, the Clinton administration has protected education.
A report completed by the Department of Commerce in May compared salaries of people age 25 and older with their level of education. The results showed the median salary of those with only a high school diploma was $16,888. The median salary of those with a bachelor's degree was $31,053.
The Clinton administration recognizes that widening access to higher education must be part of closing the growing salary gap among Americans.
average family income. And in a speech last month, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich claimed that students from families in the top 25 percent of the income tax bracket were three times as likely to attend college than those from families in the bottom 25 percent.
Within the past 15 years, according to the General Accounting Office, tuition at four-year institutions has increased nearly three times faster than that of the
A society that chooses to deny education to the most vulnerable sector of its populace will stagnate. The federal government has been proactive in financing education, and it has extended a helping hand to the neediest in a time of financial austerity.
Money unjustly sustains the status quo by denying educational opportunities to those who need them the most.
Although only 8 percent of KU students receiving financial aid obtain Pell grants, the increase affects our society as a whole.
KANSAN STAFF
ANDREW LONGSTRETH FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
LA TINA SULIYAN . . . Associate Editorial
KRISTIE BLASI . . . News
NOVELDA SOMMERS . . . News
LESLIE TAYLOR . . . News
AMANDA TRAUGHBER . . News
TARA TRENARY . . News
DAVID TESKA . . . Online
SPENCER DUNCAN . . Sports
GINA THORNBURG . . Association Sports
BRADLEY BOOKS . . Campus
LINDSEY HENRY . . Campus
DAVE BRETTENSTEIN . Features
PAM DISIMAN . Photo
TYLER WIRKEN . Photo
BRYAN VOLK. . Design
ANDY ROHRBACK . Graphics
ANDREA ALBRIGHT . Wire
LZ MUSSER . Special sections
AERICA VEAZEY . News clerk
NEWS EDITORS
ADVERTISING MANAGERS
HEATHER VALLER . . . Assistant retail
JULIE PEDLAR . . . Campus
DANA CENTENO . . . Regional
ANNETTE HOVER . . . National
BRIAN PAGEL . . . Marketing
SARAH SCHERWINSKI . . . Internet
DARCH MCLAIN . . . Production
DENA PISCIOTTE . . . Production
ALLISON PIERCE . . Special sections
SARA ROSE . . . Creative
DANA LAUVETZ . Public relations
BRIAN LEFEVRE . Classified
RACHEL RUBIN . Assistant classified
BRIDGET COLLIER . Zone
JULIE DEWITT . Zone
CHRIS HAGHIRIAN . Zone
LZ HESS . Zone
ANTONY MIGLAZJO . Zone
MARIA CRUST . Senior account executive
Letters: Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
How to submit letters and guest columns
Guest columns: Should be double-spaced typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
Joining Scooby Doo would be fun career
Column
I was talking to my grandmother, who incidentally is one bad mamajama, last week. In her deep southern accent she asked me what I wanted to do with my life should I ever actually get out of school. "Grandma," I said, "why don't you mind your own business and go bake me some cookies or something?" It's a bit of a touchy subject and it makes me grumpy.
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 Crabtree (opinion@kansan.com) or LaTina Sullivan (sullivan@kansan.com) at 864-1841.
But, God love the woman,
it's a good question. I've been in school for something close to four years now and I haven't the foggiest idea as to what I'm going to do after I walk down the hill. But after hours of deep thought, half of which involved a meditation technique I saw on either Oprah or Donahue (I don't know how I get those two confused) and the other half
used) and the user spent with Scooby Doo reruns and a box of Pop-Tarts, some options have presented themselves.
serves.
Ever since Bluto from Popeye resigned, the Professional Bully has been a dying breed, so this is a perfect time to start preparing for that occupation. I'll have to take a couple of gym classes to beef up my already astounding physique, but hey, it might raise my GPA, so I'm down with that. And I'll need some more speech classes to get the dialect right. "Ye! What're youse lookin' at, pretty boy? Youse want somma this? Eh? Eh?" Perhaps if I lobbed hard enough, this style of speech could even become an accredited language. It already is at some New York schools.
Professional bullies get a bad reputation, but the job is really all about performing a much-needed public service, because everybody needs to have the living bejeezus beat out of them now and again, except, of course, one Rush Limbaugh who needs it on a daily basis. And it's not like the job doesn't pay well, because when you're through mopping the floor with your clients-slash-victims, you not only get to steal their pride but also their wallet. Should you not be getting enough income this way, there has to be a grade schooler out there somewhere with too much milk money on his hands.
Court jesters also seem to be scarce in today's world, after seeing a sharp decline at the end of the medieval days, so maybe I could dedicate my life to that. For those not in the know, a court jester is a guy who gets to wear
pointy shoes and a neat hat with bells on it while running around a courtroom giving sly, witty commentary on the proceedings. Many people find that this job can be a stepping stone to landing a more lucrative, and hence more irritating, job, as famous former court jesters Johnnie Cochran and Judge Wapner have proven. A law degree, or perhaps just a criminal record, is a must for this occupation. A minor in broadcasting is also recommended because you might get your own show on Court TV.
But I'll be frank. I haven't a clue how to get the job that I really want. Apparently there is a business out there that will help you start up your own detective agency on wheels. You can't do it alone, though. You have to get some of your friends to go in with you, preferably a well-rounded bunch including a clean-cut jock with an affinity for wearing dickies, a hot girl who somehow always gets paired up with the jock guy when your team splits up to investigate something in a spooky house, a stocky nerd girl who often loses her glasses, and a stoner guy who has smoked so much pot he is perpetually paranoid, always has the munchies and sounds an awful lot like Casey Kasem. A pet, like a Great Dane or something, that can almost speak English is also needed so he can make a clever remark and look cute right after a mystery is solved.
I don't quite have all the information on this profession yet, but included in the package is a snazzy, custom-painted van — a "Mystery Machine," if you will — and somehow you never run out of money, even though you seemingly never get paid for services rendered. Occasionally you will get to meet big celebrities like Don Knotts, the Harlem Globetrotters and Batman. There are backwards, but they are slight compared to the job benefits. You and your friends will constantly be referred to as crazy kids and you never ever get to change clothes, which will be from circa 1972. Actually, stupid retro clothing is really in right now, so never mind. This job is almost all perks.
So, grandmother, these are but three of the options I have for my future. You can say I'm throwing it away, chasing a dream or whatever, and maybe I am, but it sure beats becoming a heroin addict. Instead, I'm hooked on Scooby Snacks, so send a fat check because these things don't come cheap.
Robert Bishop is a Wichita senior in English and film.
Sarah E. Phelps/KANSAN
Letter
I am writing to correct the article Protesters lose trafficway battle from the Jan. 30 Kansan.
Protesters haven't lost trafficway battle yet
The article was about the County Commission meeting in which the commission voted to accept state money that could be used to finance construction of the controversial eastern leg of the South Lawrence Trafficway.
The graphic by Andy Rohrback next to the article said that the 31st Street alignment was approved on Wednesday by the commission. That is false. The 31st Street alignment was chosen by the commission in December. Wednesday's choice was only to accept money. The commissioners made it clear that the money
The article by Paul Eakins said that protesters interpreted the vote as a decision to complete the trafficway's east end, and that the protesters left the meeting angry. This might have been true for some, but many of us went away inspired and hopeful. Knowing that the county had already decided on the 31st Street alignment, we saw the meeting as an opportunity to express our reaction and to encourage the county to reconsider.
What did happen at the meeting is that many people expressed emotional, intellectual, spiritual, cultural, educational and legal reasons why the 31st Street alignment should not be built. The messages were
1
could be used to finance other projects and so the decision to accept the money had no direct bearing on the route of the trafficway.
powerful and moving
The final speaker was a representative from the Sierra Club who expressed the willingness of the national Sierra Club to finance legislative efforts to oppose the trafficway.
One of the commissioners indicated that he would give more thought to whether he supported the alignment in light of what was said during the meeting.
Even the title of the article was misleading. Protesters lose trafficway battle is not true. The battle is still going on, and that meeting was a strong show of force on behalf of Haskell and the wetlands.
Please include that there are trafficwave protests from noon to 2 p.m. every Sunday at 31st and Louisiana streets.
Chris Foster
Los Calos, Calif.
graduate student