4A Thursday, February 22, 1996 OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN VIEWPOINT It takes a tragedy to raise students' awareness of AIDS Students at the University of Kansas are responsible, young adults who always practice safe sex, are familiar with their sexual partners and need not pay heed to the endless rhetoric of safe sex ad campaigns and warnings about the dangers of promiscuity. So why have Planned Parenthood programs and other area health centers seen increases in the number of patients coming in for HIV blood screening since the announcement by the admittedly promiscuous Tommy Morrison that he carries the virus which pre-empts AIDS? How short the memories are of the students and citizens of the Lawrence and Kansas City areas. Only five years ago, AIDS almost was single-handedly changed from a disease associated with drug users and homosexuals to a disease for all those who are sexually active, and the change was prompted by Magic Johnson, who shocked the world with the announcement that he was HIV positive. Now, just a few years later, it takes another celebrity familiar to the Kansas City area to bring attention to the disease THE ISSUE: Celebrities and HIV It is upsetting when it takes the announcement that a celebrity has HIV before people see the seriousness of the issue. that rapidly is spreading into all communities of the United States. By all accounts, the damage that Morrison's promiscuity may have caused both directly and indirectly is horrifying. Hundreds of people already have been frightened into having their blood screened, and as the trail of partners is uncovered, many times more are sure to follow, fearing the worst. The tragic comedy of errors that is unfolding brings little laughter to the participants. Many sighs of relief are to be heard in the months to come, but they will fall far short of covering the screams from those whose lives have been shattered and whose futures have been ruined by the carelessness of unprotected sex and a promiscuous lifestyle that today has led many people to death. CHRIS VINE FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD Embezzlement should not have occurred in first place Almost $40,000 in endowment funds were reported stolen last week from the department of pharmacology and toxicology. Steps should have been taken long ago by both the University of Kansas and the department to safeguard against embezzlement. The police think that a former department employee wrote and cashed checks from an endowment account for about three years. The department chairman noticed money was missing two weeks ago while updating the accounts. The stolen money was donated to the department through the Kansas University Endowment Association. The money is to be used by the department as it deems necessary and usually is used to finance undergraduate and graduate scholarships. The last major embezzlement case at the University occurred in 1982, when Steve McMurry, the former coordinator of KU On Wheels, was convicted of embezzling more than $250,000. THE ISSUE: Embezzlement at KU The University should have taken measures to prevent embezzlement after an incident that occurred in 1982. He spent 17 months in the Kansas State Penitentiary, causing a shake-up in campus policies toward financial account security. But campuswide protections should have been set up to ensure that the desperately needed funds could not be transferred illegally. Embezzlement is another form of waste in a system that cannot afford the waste. JOHN WILSON FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD Jeff MacNelly / CHICAGO TRIBUNE Journalists share only part of blame for media cynicism A few minutes into the beginning of our joint appearance on National Public Radio's new On the Media program, media critic James Fallowds paid me a tantalizingly backhanded compliment. "It is my express goal to lure good journalists like Clarence Page away from The McLaughlin Group," he said. Thanks, I cheerfully responded, but there is no way. Fallows' complaints with the Group and its similarly combative imitators such as The Capitol Gang and Crossfire, both on CNN, are spelled out in his new book Breaking the News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy. He recounts how he appeared on the Group years ago, had a miserable time and decided never to return. He since has concluded that such programs signal a dangerous trend away from serious analysis and toward theater. Energized by the lure of fame and big bucks, too many journalists increasingly reduce serious issues to politics and personalities — who's up, who's down, who gets the advantage, who's on the way out. Judicious qualifiers, such as "I think" and "I suppose," vanish in the heat of argument. The result, Fallows declares, sheds more heat than light. Worse, this type of journalism contributes to a dangerous culture that has grown among Washington journalists since at least the Vietnam War. It is a cynical culture that says all political leaders are liars and rascals, that government creates as SYNDICATED COLUMNIST many problems as it solves and that politics is just a game on which journalists keep score. Fallows' complaint is not a new one, but his impressive insider credentials and reputation have brought remarkably high attention to his work. lactic, a commentator on National Public Radio's *Morning Edition* and a winner of the National Book Award, he has paid his dues. When he writes, Washington listens. As Washington editor for the At- The result is a growing cynicism in the populace not only about government but also about the media as a pampered elite who have drifted out of touch with the concerns of its ordinary citizens. I was invited by On the Media host Alex Jones, a former New York Times media reporter, to offer my alternative view, since I am an occasional paid participant in some of the programs Fallows attacks, as well as some of the more sedate roundtables such as The Newshour with Jim Lehrer. Modern media offer viewers, listeners and readers more choices than ever. I think more choices help democracy more than they hurt. I even find it downright undemocratic — and more than a little snooty — to imply that just because some people do not find a certain type of program to be their cup of tea then everyone who likes them must be some sort of dope. While some people tell me they don't like the arguments for which The McLaughlin Group is famous, others tell me the arguments recall fond memories of the political discussions around their families' Thanksgiving dinner tables. There should be enough variety on television for both types of audiences. I agree with Fallows that the result of all this "They are all louts" attitude feeds the cynicism cycle. But I also would point out that much of the new cynicism has come about because so many politicians do and so many journalists have been taken in that we don't want to be fooled again. For example, remember how President Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich brought cheers and applause from a New Hampshire audience last summer when they cheerfully shook hands and agreed to work tirelessly for tightened campaign reform laws? What has since happened to their tireless effort? Somewhere along the line, both sides got tired. Yes, there may be growing cynicism among those of us who work in the media. Maybe there is too much of it. We should be aware of it and try to fight it. But we also have to remember that we didn't invent it. Clarence Page is a columnist at the Chicago Tribune LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Racism not ingrained in every person's life Carter Voekel is doing just what he professes people in the media shouldn't do — he assails self-serving media, and then he turns around and bombards us with his obvious hatred and inability to move on. Then, with such audacity, he includes all of us in his overgeneralized stereotyping by his unjustified and irresponsible use of "we" throughout his article. ples. First, he says you are full of hate and less of a person than Randy Weaver: "So what if you have a problems with Jews, African Americans, Hispanic Americans or Caucasians?... It is the conscious acceptance that you are better than someone else." To make matters even worse, he turns around and infers a "holier than thou" attitude toward us by including disparaging sentences directed at "you." I am sure everyone clearly can see what I'm talking about, but let me give a few unbelievable exam- He continues: "The only difference between you and Randy Weaver, however, is that he went on the record speaking his mind." Second, he places all of us in his narrow-minded category of hatred: "It seems that everyone has some sort of problem with someone else ... We just think it and never deal with it." Well, I would like to go on the record as saying that his characterization of "us" is wrong and clearly shows a negative perspective. There are many people who do not have the racial hatred Voekel suggests is so rampant and pervasive throughout the United States. Granted, the news media seems to show that everyone is racist, but there is substantial evidence that racial hatred has decreased over the years and that people accept and truly care for each other regardless of race or religious beliefs. I suggest that the media take an about-face, write more about positive aspects of life in the United States and the world and not be so hung up on the negative all of the time. No wonder people have a poor outlook of the state of our nation as portrayed by Voekel. Tim Hertzler Nye, Mont, first-year law student Women feel abandoned by mainstream feminist view Whenever I am inadvertently confronted with pornography, as I recently was shopping for a magazine, my typically confident moral stances wane. How do I feel about these slick-covered periodicals that celebrate sexuality by focusing on busy women bending over in bras and Catholic schoolgirl skirts? I mean, I'm a feminist, you know. By the very definition, I should be against such subjugation of women. And I am, until I turn around and see the women's magazines section, the typical inanity ("Get the best sex — and still please your man — in '96!") pouring at the population. It is then that I wonder who is subjecting who in this gender war, and why I think a little T&A is a threat to my life. There is no denying that we survive in a patriarchal society. Every time Janet Reno is on television, I am reminded that we women are judged by a totally different set of dictates. I must listen to comments on her appearance, while at the same time, no one says anything about a male politician's usually drab looks. And this is the source of contention regarding pornography within the feminist realm. We, as a gender, cannot overcome ridiculous societal shortcomings if we allow such depictions to continue to flood the market. What I do will harm my sisters, and we are all in this together. Obviously, mainstream feminism (that manipulated by the media and perpetuated by the now-antiquated thoughts of Gloria Steinem, who seems to be the only feminist thinker in the world if you rely on the mainstream media) sells short with the belief of a universal struggle where all women can link arms and dissolve injustice. Unfortunately, the gains in feminist thought are lost on most women because the genesis of theory is within the academic realm, leaving millions of blue-collar workers and less fortunate members of the culture unable to tap into the dialogue. Everyday feminism needs evolution to reach women beyond the walls of the university. Feminism now is misrepresented. Second-generation feminists such as myself are viewed as angry Medusas eager to give the system a swift kick in the groin, but nothing could be further from the truth. Women feel abandoned by mainstream feminism because of the strict dictates that it encompasses. We are told to be forever strong, to play the victim, to never trust a man and to never, ever acquiesce in a relationship — Not to mention never flaunting our sexuality. We should be sturdy in our opinions, forthright in our desires and constantly on the lookout for misrepresentation and harassment. And never show those dirty breasts. Feminism has been derailed by its unalterable demands on sexuality and sexual conduct. Madonna has been the key component in shifting the view of woman as sex object to woman as sexual being, and her antics have proven that a woman can have her shirt off and still be totally in charge. So although I can understand the viewpoint of pornography as a tool of oppression, I have difficulty criticizing anyone who can manipulate the system and use her or his physical assets to make good money. Leslie Bowyer is a Lawrence senior in art history KANSAN STAFF ASHLEY MILLER Editor VIRGINIA MARGHEIM Managing editor ROBERT ALLEN News editor TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser Campus Joann Birk Phillip Brownlee Editorial Paul Todd Associate editorial Craig Lang Matt Hood Sports Tom Wintle Associate sports Bill Petula Photo Andy Rulleted Matt Flokker Graphics Noah Muser Special sessions Novella Summons Kara Mennon Wire Tara Trenary Illustration Michel Leaker HEATHER NIEHUAUS Business manager KONAN HAUSER Retail sales manager JAY STEINER Sales and marketing adviser JUSTIN KNUPP Technology coordinator Business Staff By Greg Hardin Campus mgr ... Karen Gerch Regional mgr ... Kelly Connelys Departmental mgr ... John Latham Special Sections mgr ... Monica Gillilow Production mgr ... Renehl Gallowi Heather Valler Marketing director ... Angela Adamson Public Relations dir. ... Angie Adamson Creative director ... Ed Kowlaksi Staff manager ... Steven Ehrlich Internship/oe-pm mgr .. T.J. Clark HUBIE