4A
Wednesday, February 14, 1996
OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
KU student groups encourage responsible drinking behavior
Lawrence has become a town obsessed with the consumption of alcohol. The Lawrence Chamber of Commerce has given 56 establishments the right to sell liquor.
So what life preservers does the University of Kansas provide for a community submerged in beer?
The University offers a lot. There are many different organizations which promote alcohol responsibility and some even venture into partying without alcohol. All of them should be recognized and commended for their efforts.
Two groups, PARTY, Promote Alcohol Responsibility Through You, and GAMMA, Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol, have sponsored many diverse speakers and programs in the past. Both groups will be involved in the upcoming "Safe Break," which is the week before spring break. "Safe Break" promotes good decision making and risk management during spring break. Look for it.
Considering that the greek community has a
THE ISSUE:
Alcohol consumption
total membership of more than 4,000 undergraduate members, this particular group needs to take a step toward good alcohol management. The University has created a position for a greek programs alcohol and risk management educator. Matthew Tessier, who was hired for this position last semester, works as an advisor for GAMMA and also works with PARTY officials.
The University is the first university to create a position specifically for this cause. It is reassuring to know the University has taken an interest in students who want to do more than drink on the weekends.
As a mature college adult, one has the right to decide whether to drink. But at times the overabundance of liquor available can be overwhelming. If a student is interested, look for the resources that the University has to offer to make drinking fun and safe. You, however, must take the first sober step forward.
DOUG WEINSTEIN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Kansas primary wastes money which could help education
The presidential primary in Kansas will cost $1.4 million. For the state, this waste of money is not necessary because the winners are known already.
President Bill Clinton will win the Democrat party since he has no opposition. Senator Bob Dole will win the Republican party easily in his home state.
With the winners already clear, is it necessary to spend more than $1 million when this money could go to programs that need it? Whenever the state is in a budget crunch, one of the first cuts made by Legislature is in education.
It makes sense that the state could put some of the money saved by not having a primary into education. One million dollars can go a long way.
Conditions at the University of Kansas are evidence enough that $1 million could be better-spent if a primary were not held.
THE ISSUE:
State primary
For example, some of the money could go toward the raise for graduate teaching assistants, which they have not yet received. Another area where some of the money could go is to the libraries.
The libraries have had to cut back because of increases in subscription rates, and some of the money could be used to make up the loss. Some money, although a lot more is needed, also could go toward fixing up the crumbling classrooms.
The money could be used for research, specifically undergraduate research. For undergraduates who are interested in graduate school, this could be a good experience.
Having a presidential primary in Kansas is not necessary this year, and the money saved could go to help education.
SARBPAH HUNDAL FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Shawn Trimble/ KANSAN
Wal-Mart looks like Garden of Eden to college students
I was on a mission.
Armed with a short shopping list, and flanked by supportive friends, I marched into Wal-Mart determined not to spend an excessive amount. My battle plan was simple — walk into the store, pick up a few necessities and leave.
My mission was not accomplished. Once again, I was taken in by the seductive displays and enticed by the array of items. I went way above my spending limit. I had planned to spend maybe $30 at the most.
As my shopping cart began to overflow with things I just couldn't resist, I realized I might be spending a bit more. When the cashier rang up my purchases and announced that I owed $132.65, my heart sank. I had gone just a little too far.
But, I reasoned with myself as I wrote out the check, I needed that stuff. Really, I did. Well, may not needed. Okay, so I could have done without almost everything I bought. It's so easy, though.
Everywhere you look, there's something that would make your day brighter, like the rag rugs that would add a splash of color to my floor, and the cute work-out outfit I could wear to aerobics and the bean-bag chair that would be so comfortable to study in.
Being a college student in Wal-Mart is like being Eve in paradise. You know you shouldn't spend the money, but it's almost irresistible.
could use a little of her common sense.
If only I wasn't so good at justifying my purchases! The bean bag chair became something I could later use as furniture in an apartment. The heat -repair hair spray would make life easier in the morning. The aerobics outfit — well, that was just a little treat for myself.
Unfortunately, I already had bought a lot of "little treats" the previous weekend and had vowed not to spend a cent all week. Too bad I'm not better at keeping my promises.
Although I'm most likely an extreme example, I'm sure I not the only student who leaves the Wal-Mart with more than they bargained for. My advice to the afflicted:
Go to the ATM before you go to the store and withdraw the approximate amount you will need for the items on your list. Then leave your ATM card, check book and credit cards at home so you can't overspend even if you're dying to.
Going to Wal-Mart never used to be such a trial for me, nor was it this expensive, probably because I usually was accompanied by my mother. Not wishing to shell out big bucks for my frivolities, she would tell me to let my hair air dry instead of indulging my desire for a bi-colored styling that would restore the luster to my fried locks. While living at home, I was annoyed at my mother's practicality, but now that I'm writing my own checks, I think I
it's almost as hard to tell the cashier that you've decided you really don't want two-thirds of the items in your teeming shopping cart. For a brief, shining moment you will revel in your incredible self-restraint, but a look at the checker's bound-to-beglaring face soon will burst your bubble.
Ignore the little voice in your head that tells you it's all right to indulge yourself now and then. It is one thing to treat yourself occasionally, but don't go too far.
After all, look what happened to Adam and Eve.
Steph Brower is a *Macungle*, Pa., freshman in pre-journalism
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
It's not fair for column to target freshmen
But when you face the consequence of having to pay for your irresponsibility, you realize maybe the generic band-aids would've sufficed instead of the more pricey Mickey Mouse variety.
We would like to ask Mike Walden what the point of his column Early detection prevents bad influence of freshman girls was supposed to be.
STAFF
COLUMNIST
First, most of the freshman women are here to get an education, not pick up men. Second, not all of us are in sororities, and just because some are, it does not meant that the sororites run their lives.
By then it's too late Just as it was impossible for Eve to replace the fruit on the tree.
So what if they have "an I.D. holder with their sorority letters blatantly emblazoned across the front?" What is wrong with being
proud of one's own organization?
Why choose freshman women as the target for this column when it could and does apply to both women and men of all ages? It sounds to us as though Walden is somewhat bitter.Could it be that he wrote this particular column to make himself feel better because he was not one "of the numerous guys with whom she has attended fraternity parties?" Get over it and let someone with a useful column use the space wasted by your pointless article.
Sarah Elizabeth Spence Columbus, Neb. freshman
Tracy C. Stephenson Independence sophomore
How to submit letters
The Direct Marketing Association denies that junk mail is a problem and claims that people can write to the organization and have their names removed from the lists. Avrahami, as well as thousands of others, attempted this approach, yet to no avail.
If death of the blood-thirsty irritants is our sacrifice for the restoration of dignity and control of our names, it seems impossible to mourn the loss.
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.
All letters 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 Paul Todd, editorial page editor, or Craig Lang, associate editorial editor, at 864-4810.
Avraham obviously has the enemy shaking. In an article by The Associated Press last week, direct-mail consultant Ed Burnett said that the labor-intensive need for marketers to get the permission from every targeted consumer would kill the industry.
The percentage of junk mail actually making it to the recycling bin is probably tiny, and chances are the direct mail demons would probably refuse to allow a neighborhood dump to be put in their backyards. This alone makes the direct-marketing mail approach more than the individual's problem; it becomes a weight that society, with ever-shrinking land access, must bear.
Even in your darkest hour, standing amidst the burnt embers of what was your home, watching the repo man drive your truck away, and (according to country-western wallings) mourning the loss of your dog, there is one thing you always can find comfort in — at least you own your name.
Leslie Bowyer is an Ottawa senior in art history
Such is the crusade of new Every-
Avrahami. According to Avrahami, a person's name is his property, and no organization has the right to sell it to mailing lists without permission from the owner.
Avrahami is suing U.S. News & World Report for selling his name and address and leaving Avrahami adrlf*
in a sea of glossy paper junk mail.
The commercial intrusion of junk mail is many faceted. On the surface, it can be infuriating to come home to a mailbox full of sticky hands pawing at your wallet. But beyond that is the environmental guilt junk mail forces upon you.
With celebrities constantly whoring their names to stimulate sales of shoes or beauty creams, it is understandable why big business sees no importance, no dignity, in a name. To the direct marketers, your name, the one thing you possess totally, is nothing more than a target sign with possible dollars behind it.
Increasing the valor of Avrahami's fight is the monetary payment he is seeking: $1,100. Rather than milking the plight to gain a substantial settlement, Avrahami merely is asking for the estimated 8 cent profit that U.S. News & World Report received in the initial sale plus enough money to make it sting a bit. Avrahami already has spent more than the sought-after amount on legal fees, and the suit has yet to go to trial.
Many cases already have challenged the rights of the direct-marketing business, most of which have claimed that the inundation of junk mail is a violation of privacy. So far, the marketers, a swarm of irritating gnats constantly buzzing in the minds of every American with a magazine subscription, have prevailed.
Avrahami's lawsuit is the first to challenge the rights of the name seller, rather than the buyer.
Lawsuit could end burden of annoying junkmail distributors
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