4A
Thursday, November 2,1995
OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
THE ISSUE: COUNTY JAIL
South Park should be preserved
The Lawrence City Commission recently voted against placing South Park on the Lawrence Register of Historical Places. Because placing the park on the register might interfere with construction of a jail in the near vicinity, the Commission denied the proposal.
Registering the park as a historic place does raise valid concerns about delaying the jail's construction. Naming the park as a historical site would create a lot of bureaucratic red tape for planners. After all, construction delays cost tax payers money.
However, the city commission should vote to place the park on the register once the construction of the jail is complete. The new jail will bring jobs to downtown, which will vitalize the area and help keep it strong.
But historic places such as South Park contribute a great deal to downtown vitality too. And it should not be overtaken by future jail expansions.
Although the city should address the community's concern about maintaining and improving public services, South Park should not be forgotten. The commission should vote to place the park on the
Building a new jail is important, but the historic value of South Park should not be compromised in the process.
register.
Revenue from a county-wide, one cent sales-tax increase will go toward building the jail. Citizens voted for this increase last fall, and the money is being directed toward the public good.
However, those in power should not promote progress at the expense of preserving cultural and historical landmarks. The park was built in 1854 and has decorated the Lawrence landscape ever since.
Furthermore, if the commission hopes to revitalize East Lawrence neighborhoods, it needs to focus attention on those attributes that encourage citizens to live in the area. South Park is one such desirable draw.
Striking a balance between cultural preservation and meeting the public's needs is a conflict faced by many communities.
The commission should reiterate its commitment to achieving this balance by placing South Park on the Lawrence Register of Historical Places after the jail's construction is complete.
AIMEE WITTMAN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD.
OPINION BRIEFS
Usher program involves students
Students who can't afford a ticket to one of the shows at the Lied Center won't be left in the cold. They may offer their services as ushers to various events.
Since the Lied center opened in 1993, it has held events ranging from Bob Dylan to Kurt Vonnegut. The center offers discounts for students and senior citizens, but even with the discounts, the ticket prices are too pricey for some students.
The volunteer usher program allows more people to get involved with theater productions, a prime goal of the center.
The center is always looking for ushers, so there are many opportunities left this semester to get involved. Any University student, faculty member or Lawrence resident can become an event usher. Seniority does play at part in what show you get to usher, so it helps to volunteer for many shows.
Volunteers only need to attend a short training session to become familiar with the center. Interested students can call 864-3469 to sign up to become an usher.
KANSAN STAFF
COLLEEN MCCAIN
Editor
DAVID WILSON
Managing editor, news
ASHLEY MILLER
Managing editor, planning & design
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
Editora
News & Special Sections...Desrae Allison
Editorial...Heather Lewenwu
Associate Editorial...Sarah Morrison
Campus...Virginia Margolmeth
Associate Campus...Teresa Vesey
Associate Campus...Paul Todd
Sports...Tom Bridson
Associate Sports...Tom Bridson
Paint Kozts...Paul Kozts
Wire...Robert Allen
Online coordinator...Tina Passett
STEPHANIE UTLEY
Business manager
MATT SHAW
Retail sales manager
JAY STEINER
Sales and marketing adviser
Business Staff
Campus mgr ... Meredith Hanning
Regional mgr ... Tom Dulco
National mgr ... Heather Bamme
Administrative mgr ... Robyn Koston
Production mgr ... Numbert Buston
Krista Nys
Marketing director ... Krista Nys
Public Relations director ... Both Caitlin
Creative director ... Britt Bloomquist
Internal office-oop manager ... Katie Connally
Jeff MacNeilly/ CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Delusions of welfare life haunt needy recipients
I was reading the "Bhagavad-Gita" the other day — or more accurately a collection of pithy quotes which happened to include the "Bhagavad-Gita" — and I came across this quote that was particularly relevant to the current debate on welfare reform. I know that you are glued to the edge of your seat longing to know how a 2000-year-old poem about Hindu religion could possibly be applicable to modern day politics. I am pleased to share it with you now. "Wisdom," the good book says, "is prevented by ignorance, and delusions are the result."
I know it's not Oscar Wilde, or even Scott Thompson from "The Kids in the Hall," but the truth in the statement is undeniable.
The welfare myths we have ascribed to have shaped bar discussions, city council meetings and state and federal policy planning sessions for years. But they are delusions born of ignorance with no semblance of reality whatsoever.
First of all, there are no welfare queens. Welfare, as Aid to Families with Dependent Children is often inaccurately termed, doesn't even raise its recipients up to the poverty level. There aren't any women out there having five kids so that they can drink Perrier, drive a new Cadillac to their tanning salons, and watch "Days of Our Lives" while eating Haagen Daz from a trough. It just doesn't happen.
Secondly, the average AFDC recipient receives support for only
STAFF COLUMNIST
two years. Some may need longer. And a few find it impossible to escape from the prison of poverty. But some become self-sufficient. Of course, this is becoming harder as corporate executives move jobs into Mexico and other nations where a day's wages can't buy
toilet paper, and housing consists of old refiriterator boxes.
Do we really need to force suffering on the needy for the sake of borrowing a few more years on credit? Turn off "Days of Our Lives," get out from under the tanning bed, and educate yourselves to the truth before it's too late.
Thirdly, it is Congress itself which forces people to stay on welfare. By getting a job, a family will lose all health care benefits for their kids. This is a catch-22 that simply doesn't make any sense.
I would find it humorous if it wasn't so deadly serious, but cutting AFDC and programs which help children, the elderly, and the disabled won't balance the budget. AFDC accounts for only 1 percent of the annual federal budget. And when AFDC's cost is added to all the other programs that provide for the needy, it totals only 5 percent of the annual federal budget.
The residual effects of cutting these programs will be devastating. It will be your grandparents who are forced into an unmonitored, unsafe nursing home because they no longer can afford in-home treatment. It will be your nephews, nieces, and neighbor kids who will be denied health care, food and needed therapy. And it will be those same kids who will be forced into juvenile jails because the funding for residential care is cut. And it will be you who no longer can afford college because the federal funds supporting your university won't be there.
It is simple. Congress needs to pay for the $245 billion tax cut which only the richest will ever see. They think this will stimulate the economy, but here's a secret—it doesn't work that way. Corporate profits have risen steadily during the last 30 years while average wages have fallen.
Let's look past the delusions of ignorance. Congress doesn't want to balance the budget. Why else would they increase the FBI funding by $74 million more than originally requested? Why increase the Pentagon's budget by billions more than they requested? Why shaft the middle and lower classes while protecting corporate welfare?
Todd Hlatt is a Lyndon senior in social welfare.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dean has incorrect idea about biology
I am writing in response to the Oct. 20 article concerning the possible dissolution of the human biology program. I am a senior majoring in human biology, and I would like to clear up a few misconceptions that may have been created by the article and respond to the statements attributed to Sally Frost-Mason, Acting Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
First, I would like to explain why the human biology program is valuable and should be retained. The program allows students to take a wide variety of interdisciplinary classes in the departments of psychology, anthropology, and others. It is becoming increasingly important in our society to gain exposure to wide and diverse bodies of knowledge. I feel that by majoring in human biology, I have gained a very broad and well-rounded education. I am certainly not aware of any students whose professional or academic development was impaired by their participation in the major, as the article seems to suggest. I know six students in the human biology program who were chosen this year out of an applicant pool of more than 80 students for acceptance into the KU Medical Center's early decision program.
Second, Frost-Mason's comment that a student can graduate from the program without taking a class above the 300 level is false. Chemistry 622 and 625, as well as Biology 404 or Anthropology 542 are requirements in the major. The human biology major is a challenging course of study, and I know from experience that organic chemistry, mammalian physiology and embryology are not easy classes by any means. I would also like to point out that it is irrelevant whether a few administrators or students view a major as being too easy. If the majority of the students and faculty think that the major is challenging, then the University's mission is met. I doubt anyone would suggest that we eliminate the English or history departments simply because a few students might complaint that they are too easy. I am sure that students in these departments find their majors challenging and also find success after graduation.
In any case, I have never considered the term interdisciplinary to be a synonym for easy. Frost-Mason's comments should be a concern to everyone in a University that values both interdisciplinary scholarship and respect for all majors. If the college is willing to dismantle this program, what will stop them from attacking other majors?
Rationalizing mascots overlooks real issues
Sara Peckham Claftin senior
Recent articles in the Kansan, USA Today and others have debated the offensiveness of mascots based on Native Americans. The opinions expressed fall into two main camps: 1) the mascots are racist and offensive, and 2) it's much ado about nothing. Those espousing the latter case examples of mascots which depict human groups, ethnic or otherwise, none of which seem offensive to them.
This argument is specious. An equivalent mascot example would represent a racial group which has been historically and recently persecuted in this country (African Americans) by portraying a cultural stereotype and usurping their cultural symbols and customs. We would not allow such a mascot in American sports, nor should we.
When I hear Americans say, "I'm Irish, and I'm not offended by Notre Dame's mascot," I have to ask, "Were the Irish systematically persecured, their lands stolen, their people relocated and their children reeducated in America?" The answer is "They weren't" (neither were Sooners, Cowboys or Trojans). The issue is not if you are offended, but if you can see why others would be.
Tom Good Lawrence graduate student
Lawrence can be a different place if you try sober weekends
Today is my six-month anniversary. Six months ago, I gave up drinking and have remained sober ever since.
I have found that my sobriety makes my peers quite uncomfortable. Not once in the past
six months has anyone said,
"You gave up drinking
— congratulations."
They always want a reason.
Frankly, I don't have one. I only can say that the time was right.
I looked at my life and decided that I no longer wanted to be a bar hopper.
I never realized how much sobriety had changed my outlook until I read an article in The Kansas City Star about binge drinking at the University of Kansas. A group of students at the Wheel were interviewed about their drinking habits. Six months ago, I would have laughed at the article. I would have gone to a bar and toasted my fellow drinking companions. But now I shake my head. I look at that lifestyle and frown at its immaturity.
What frightens me the most is that six months ago, I was one of those students.
This semester, 38 people have been arrested for driving while intoxicated on the KU campus. In Lawrence, many safe options exist for getting home from bars. But how many use these resources? Not as many as should.
But never mind about social dangers such as rape, violence, and accidents that have been linked to drinking. An odd reason for drinking was offered by one student. He said that there was nothing else to do in Lawrence. There are several responses to that. For one, as your parents probably told you, you don't have to drink to have a good time. Take off those beer-colored glasses and look around because Lawrence is more than a campus surrounded by nothing but bars.
Try listening to a band, or play pool without a plastic cup of flat beer in your hand. Go see a movie or a theater production. Everything that you do now can be done without booze, and you'll remember it in the morning without feeling regret or nausea.
The challenge that I give to you is to try sobriety. Offer to be a designated driver. (Some bars offer free soda or coffee to the designated driver.) Think of something to do that doesn't involve a bar.
So bars are the only places to meet people? Wrong. There are coffeehouses that are as social as bars. Besides, what is so attractive about a drooling, stumbling, unintelligible drunk?
And the next time people ask me why I don't drink, I'll ask them why they do.
Heather Lawrens is a Wellesville senior in journalism.
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 nip.
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stuaffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right edit, out to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Heather Lawrenz, editorial page editor, or Sarah Morrison, associate editorial editor, at 844-4810.
---