4A
Monday, November 13, 1995
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
THE ISSUE: FINANCIAL AID
Bill unfair to foreign students
Both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives have approved bills that could drastically change the eligibility requirements of legal immigrants applying for financial aid.
Under these new bills, the financial background of U.S. citizens who sponsor foreign students would be subject to scrutiny in the financial aid process.The financial status of the host family would be considered before deciding on the amount of financial aid awarded.
It's ridiculous that families who sponsor students would be required to produce financial records and histories for students whom they do not financially support.
+
Foreign students live with host families,but they do not receive money from their families that would affect their financial-aid status. Every situation is different — some students may receive free room and board, while others may pay a stipend for the services. In either situation, students do not benefit financially from their host families.
Sponsors' financial status should not be considered when determining financial-aid status of immigrant students.
If the economic status of the host family was taken into consideration, many immigrant students would not qualify because most students stay with middleclass and upper middleclass families.
The bills are clearly an attempt to reduce the amount of financial aid that goes to foreign students studying in the U.S. and should not be tolerated by those who place any value on higher education and the opportunity for advancement for all.
TARA FITZPATRICK FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD.
THE ISSUE: FIRE ALARMS
Pulling fire alarms is no joke
Students in the residence halls need to stop crying wolf.
Some might say students in residence halls have been lucky this semester, considering that only two intentional false alarms have occurred. Still, two is two too many.
When the fire alarm is pulled, students are roused from their beds in the middle of the night and forced to stand outside shivering in the cold. It took only one small-minded prankster to pull the alarm, but hundreds are held accountable for the deed of mischief and usually end up missing much-needed sleep.
Fire fighters also are cheated. Not only do the employees of the fire department have to face a mass of angry students impatiently waiting to get back into their rooms, but $1.5 million dollars worth of equipment has to be hauled across town when the alarms go off. The biggest threat, though, is to the safety of people and property threatened by a real fire while the fire department's resources are tied up attending to a sick joke.
Punishment for students who set off fire alarms in the residence halls should be swift and harsh.
The punishment for people caught setting off false fire alarms should to be harsh.
Currently, the punishment for setting off a false alarm is a fine of $100 to $200. This is an insufficient deterrent.
Students convicted of pulling these alarms should be permanently kicked out of University housing. And if they are caught pulling an alarm a second time, they should be expelled from the University.
This situation is serious and should be treated as such. It is frightening to think of what would happen if there really were a fire in the residence halls because false alarms have desensitized students to the danger that fire imposes. A punishment that fits the crime would deter students from setting off the alarms and, in turn, make the residence halls a safer place to live.
IAN RITTER FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSANSTAFF
COLLEEN MCCAIN
Editor
DAVID-WILSON
Managing editor, news
ASHLEY MILLER
Managing editor, planning & design
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
Editors
News & Special Sections .. Dedra Allison
Editorial .. Heather Lawrens
Associate Editorial .. Sarah Morton
Media .. Mark Heller
Associate Campus .. Teresa Vanozy
Associate Campus .. Paul David
Associate Sports .. Tom Erickson
Photo .. Paul Kats
Wire .. Rob Reineke
Poster .. Tim Piascik
STEPHANIE UTLEY
Business manager
MATT SHAW
Retail sales manager
JAY STEINER
Sales and marketing adviser
JUSTIN KNUPP
Technology coordinator
Business Staff
Campus mgr ... Meredith Hanning
Regional mgr ... Tom Dudec
National mgr ... Heather Barres
Finance mgr ... Jeffrey Smith
Production mgr ... Henry Buston
Interacting director ... Krista Nye
Public Relations director ... Catherine Cothi
Creative director ... Brigitte Bloomquist
Internal hr ... Katie Kelly
Internship/o-cp mgr .. K莉琳奈
We only hurt ourselves by pressuring candidates
Jeff MacNelly / CHICAGO TRIBUNE
I'm only 20 years old, but my faith in the American two-party political system has been shattered completely.
I long have believed that politicians are out for one purpose: politicians. I have always known that the two political parties represent political extremes rather than the views, needs and desires of the American public.
So, in the past, I've waited for an independent presidential candidate to come onto the scene, and in the last election, I got one. Unfortunately, it was Ross Perot, a business tycoon who was even more self-serving than the party candidates. Fortunately, I couldn't vote, so I didn't have to make any tough calls.
When the campaigning began for this presidential election, I again waited for someone unaffiliated with the Democrats or Republicans. Perot is at it again, but I'm not taking him seriously.
No matter what happens in the next election — Newt Gingrich says he is considering running, God forbid — I have resigned myself once again to the fact that my presidential vote won't be for one candidate, but against another.
Then, just as I was beginning to realize that my first presidential vote would have to be cast for the lesser of two evils, Bill Clinton, a new potential candidate emerged. Rumors began to fly that Colin Powell might run for president.
Suddenly, there was promise for the future. Here was a man who actually seemed as if he would represent the moderate American public. Here was a man who considered
STAFF COLUMNIST
himself politically neutral. Here was an intellectual, a Black man, who may actually view the presidency as a job in the civil service.
woodwork. Powell was never an official candidate, yet people were charging that he was a military leader, not a president. Others argued that his education was not adequate for the job. Incidentally, these are members of the same electorate that put our nation in the hands of a Hollywood actor. Some said Powell had used affirmative action to climb his way up through the military ranks.
Of course, the minute anyone suggests running for the presidency, the media and the critics come out of the
But the public scrutiny and political back-stabbing was too much for Powell. His decision not to run marks a serious setback for this nation. We lose all the presidential candidates who have the potential to be great presidents because running for the office is such pandemium. As if it wasn't enough for everyone to question his ability
when he still was undecided about running, a reporter had the audacity to ask at his press conference about his wife's mental condition, acknowledging her treatment for clinical depression.
Powell was the one man I would have voted for in the next election, but he is out of the race now. What is worse, not only did we lose the best man for the job, but Powell also has been sucked into the monstrous two-party system. He now considers himself a Republican. No longer can he represent the majority of the American people. If he wants to be a Republican, he will have to pull a Bob Dole and start bending to the will of the conservative right.
And, of course, they love him. Republicans think he'll bring the Black vote to their party. Traditionally, most African Americans vote for Democrats, and if the Republicans are right, shifting votes could secure an already menacing Republican stronghold in Washington.
Nicole Kennedy is an Olathe Junior In Journalism.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
American
mascots are no honor
I take great offense to the Nov. 7 letter "Mascot Issue is Much Ado About Nothing." I get very irritated when somebody tells me not to make a fuss over what I consider to be a degradation to my culture.
Perhaps you're right. Maybe Native Americans were chosen as mascots because of their positive characteristics. But as everyone knows, intentions and consequences are two entirely different things.
Unless you are familiar with Native American cultures, the offensiveness is probably not immediately obvious. Many of the things commonly associated with the Redskins, Braves, Chiefs, Indians are derogatory slang terms and antics that are disrespectful to various Native American religious practices.
The term "redskin," for example, refers to a time in our nation's history when settlers and soldiers scaled Native Americans. These "redskins" could be sold at frontier trading posts. Painted faces mock our spiritual uses of paint. Fans running around in turkey feathers is an insult to our original use of feathers. The eagle feather, a highly sacred object in Native American religions, was given in a ceremony usually to honor, thank or bless an individual.
These practices contribute to a misunderstanding of Native American cultures. I command those who try to honor us through the use of mascots. But when this "honor" leads to a negative stereotypical view of our cultures, it can hardly be called an honor. Thanks, but no thanks.
Joshua Welf
Hoisington freshman
Joshua Welch
Students' needs should be a priority
I recently received a spot in the parking garage — convenient for a law student. When I went to purchase my access card, I was informed that on the evenings of home basketball games, I had to have my car removed from the garage by 5:30 p.m., or my car would be towed.
Apparently the garage (and any lot near the Law School) is reserved for basketball parking on game days. The nearest lot I could park at would be the lot east of the computer center. Does that seem like a long, cold and possibly unsafe walk in the middle of February at 11 p.m. for a woman walking alone? Why can't some basketball fans be asked to park across campus and take a shuttle to the game, like the football fans do, so that some spaces can be reserved for students needing to study?
Heather Fox
Wichita law student
Don't get me wrong — I'm a huge KU basketball and football fan, but I think we are sending the wrong message to students by telling them that basketball fan convenience is more important than a student's need to get to the library.
versity exist first and foremost for the education of its students?
I know my $1,800 a semester tuition probably doesn't compare to the thousands of dollars that are donated by the basketball season ticket holders, but doesn't the Ui-
Environs about action not trash collection
Our goal and mission is to raise student awareness and educate them about environmental and social concerns.
It seems that Ted Fleming should do a little research before he decides to make his opinion public. In his Nov. 10 letter, a creed to act locally, he blames Environs for a trasch campus. Touch. We are not a trash crew. It is not our job or our responsibility. It is the responsibility of every student to see that campus stays clean.
If Fleming perceives us as self-righteous, then maybe he should be a little more inquisitive as to our purpose and actions. The purpose of the Oct. 27 march was to raise awareness about human rights violations in Burma.
I will admit that KU Enviors has gotten a lot of attention this semester, but that does not mean that we have abandoned the everyday ways we act.
It is our responsibility as humans to do what is best for all. Unfortunately, that will not save us or the rest of life on Earth. Therefore, we must aid those who face destruction, extinction and oppression, whether that be human, plant or animal.
Terry Huerter co-coordinator Environs
Terry Huerter
Without Powell hope fades for change in the political process
STAFF COLUMNIST
Talk about a disappointment. Colin Powell's decision to steer clear of the political process is quite disheartening — not just for Blacks, but for everyone. This unique leader's candidacy may have been our only hope for an election free from mudsling-
ing and messy politics.
But considering the way things are done during elections, can you blame him for not wanting any part of it?
As he outlines his reasons for choosing not to run, his wife stood triumphantly next on the
podium, and it was clear that his family had a great deal to do with his decision. Saying that the welfare of his family was utmost in his mind, Powell chose to remain a private citizen.
When the candidacy of Colin Powell first became a real possibility, it was difficult to imagine a Black man becoming so popular or being so well-liked by so many people. It was too marvelous to contemplate the idea that the son of humble Jamaicans could live in the White House. To think that within my lifetime, I might see the election of a Black person to this country's highest office is phenomenal.
Not long ago, I spoke to my 94-year-old grandmother, who sometimes forgets that she isn't "colored" anymore. She spends her days doing quiet activities because she doesn't move around as well as she once did. She watches CNN, and her spirit seemed to soar when she would see Colin Powell signing autographs or making short speeches. She just knew it was finally "our time," and she planned to fill out her absentee ballot come election day. He represented, for her and for many Americans, a real hope that things really can work out for those who work hard, for those who are willing to fight.
It seems that with Powell dropping out, the process will be more of the same al' same ol'', candidates simply lobbed hand grenades of meaningless criticism at each other.
We can hope that this election somehow will transcend the usual trashy parts. I know — it's a waste of time.
This is good because the Democratic party has had a way of taking the Black vote for granted. Issues that concern the poor and the underprivileged may get some important attention because Powell has vowed to bring these crucial matters to light.
Donna Davis is a is an Overland Park graduate student in education.
When we looked at Powell, the country didn't seem so unjust, so crooked. It was a wonderful feeling.
How to submit letters and guest columns
Powell also said that he would join the Republican party and would become more active in its operation. He said he wanted to offer Blacks more than one choice — more than what the Democrats have to offer.
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.
Guest column: Should be double-spaced typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
7
All letter and guest columns should be submitted to the Kanean newsroom, 111 Staffer-Flint Hall. The Kanean reserves the right to edit, out to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Heather Lawnz, editorial page editor, or Sarah Morrison, associate editorial editor, at 848-4810.
4
1