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Wednesday, February 22, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
English as official language won't end racial problems
Tonight during the Grammy Awards, Pepsi will unleash its new all-Spanish language commercial, a first for national U.S. television.
And it's a sure bet that the 250,000 members of U.S. English, a national organization lobbying to make English the official U.S. language, won't be the only ones upset by it.
U. S. language, won't be the only ones upset by it Although English isn't official in the United States, members of U.S. English believe it should be if this country's intensifying racial friction is to be alleviated. The group also advocates limiting bilingual-education programs, eliminating non-English voting ballots and tightening language proficiency standards for prospective citizens.
However, such laws, especially those regarding voting and education, would aggravate the problems supporters are hoping to ease.
hoping to ease. The proposals certainly are discriminatory, and at first glance, look bluntly racist. True or not, that perception certainly would cultivate resentment in immigrant and refugee communities already soaked in resentment. Also, it would give more leverage to seedy illegal-emigrant employers, who own farms and factories, enabling them to further exploit their powerless workers.
power. Its irregular turbulence like that found on Miami streets during the Super Bowl frenzy showed that America's Melting Pot cracks under extreme heat. Many suspect that Miami on Super Bowl Sunday looked like other U.S. cities will look in the future.
home.
We shouldn't make laws that would punish those who don't speak English and that would further segregate immigrant and refugee communities.
In truth, such laws would do about as much to preserve English as would renting a billboard that says, "Foreigners go home."
Instead, we should encourage them to take English classes. The projected growth of immigrant populations in this country tends to generate hysteria among whites. But we should recognize that most will be more-assimilated second or third generation U.S. citizens.
generation. The magnet of U.S. culture historically has had a powerful pull. This country's overwhelming influence will dilute the incoming culture more quickly and peacefully than any law will.
James Farquhar for the editorial board
Theater department merits standing ovation for festival
Murphy Hall is buzzing. And why not? The University of Kansas has the honor this week of playing host to one of 12 regional American College Theatre Festivals.
The festival is presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the performing arts in Washington, D.C. Each year, up to seven winning productions advance to national competition at the Kennedy Center.
Actors - designers, playwrights, critics and students - lots of students - will come together for workshops and competitions. Last year, more than 16,000 students participated in the festival nationwide.
festival nationwide.
At KU this weekend, there also will be competition for the Irene Ryan Scholarship, a great honor for a student actor. The scholarship is named for Granny of "The Beverly Hillbillies."
The festival this week includes a range of workshops — costume design, computer design, acting, movement, lighting, stage combat, to name a few — that are like a candy store for theater students.
And the festival doesn't stop with workshops. Productions such as "Catch My Brother's Eye," "Terra Nova" and "Tartuffe" among others will be performed and are open to the public. The KU community has an opportunity to see award-winning university-level theater.
Congratulations to the theater department for the honor of having the festival on our campus.
Curtain up, light the lights . .
Karen Boring for the editorial board
News staff
News staff
Julie Adam...Editor
Karen Boring...Managing editor
Jill Weiss...News editor
Deb Gruver...Planning editor
James Farquhar...Editorial editor
Elaine Sung...Campus editor
Tom Stinson...Sports editor
Janine Swiatkowski...Photo editor
Dr. Eames...Graphics editor
Noel Gerdes...Arts/Features editor
Tom Eblen...General manager, news adviser
Business staff
Debra Cole...Business manager
Pamela Noe...Retail sales manager
Kevin Martin...Campus sales manager
Scott Frager...National sales manager
Michelle Garland...Promotion manager
Brad Lenhart...Sales development manager
Linda Prokop...Production manager
Debra Martini...Ast. production manager
Jim Colonian...Co-op sales manager
Carl Cressler...Classified manager
Jeanne Hines...Sales and marketing adviser
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Bookstore not given a fair shake
I wish to comment on the Feb. 14 Lawrence City Commission meeting, with regard to Bill Muggy's proposed expansion of the Jayhawk Bookstore. As a KU alumnus, I think many issues were not addressed.
The commission voted against Muggy's request for rezoning. Even though the bookstore, 1420 Crescent Road, now is not zoned as commercial property, it is charged the same fees and taxes of a commercial site. Muggy was trying to change the zone to commercial to allow expansion of his store.
store.
City Commission meeting was attended by neighborhood residents. They circulated a petition voicing objection to the rezoning. But the residents are speaking from high levels of emotion and have not considered any part of Muggy's request. In fact, they may not even have known what the petition said, only that their neighbor was standing at the door advocating it.
The facts reveal ■ The resident fear that traffic will increase in the campus expansion is allowed. But, in truth, traffic will remain most certainly about what it is, as there are three approaches to the west gate of campus (Engel Road to either University or Crescent streets, and 15th Street to Naismith and Crescent streets). These traffic patterns were established long ago; traffic remains in the school's faculty, staff and students who travel these routes. The bookstore gets some of that information.
Stan Eckert
Guest columnist
■ In the Feb. 12 Lawrence Journal-World, one homeowner on Cambridge Road wrote in opposition
approducer them.
Did anyone from the neighborhood or the commission or the staff come visit the bookstore in the recent past? Probably not. Take the two or three weeks of extended business activity during enrollment. Student lines stretched back 20 or 30 feet into the store, even with five or six registers. Congestion was prevalent in the three- and four-foot space between the aisles.
tion to the rezoning. But before we heed these voices, we must look at the legal requirements for rezoning. Muggy is required legally to go within 200 feet of his store to solicit opinion on the project. A quick review of that radius reveals the neighbors to be the University, two sorority houses and six neighboring residences. With the narrow confines of such space, someone so far removed as Cambridge Road should have no voice in the question. Indeed, that street does not approach the campus directly.
foot space between the enclosure. During this controversy, did a single resident or city official come to see this situation? Did anyone care enough to come look for themselves to see whether Muggy's claims were true? Not according to Muggy.
I observed Muggy preparing a short video depicting the store's congestion. He presented the video to the Lawrence Planning Commission
before the Jan. 25 meeting. The scenes he filmed accurately displayed the store's congestion during peak periods, and they showed the typical flow of traffic at the corner of Crescent and Naismith streets. Muggy thought that if no commissioner would come to the store, he would take the message to them. The tape was not viewed at that meeting; nor did they acknowledge Muggy's space problems. They only addressed the neighbors' concerns.
■ The planning commission thought Muggy's plan would not fit on the present location. But have they really studied the architect's drawings showing it to fit perfectly on the site and resolving all logistical and space problems?
■ The City Commission's rejection of the expansion will mean a significant income loss to the Lawrence business community.
Lawrence business school
When will the city government separate the fact from the fantasy and view the problem as it really is? Isn't that what we want from our officials? If Muggy was driven out of business on that corner, the university would have the first shot at the property. Then it would be removed from the tax rolls entirely.
from the tax rates entirely. The real beneficiaries of expansion would be the present and future students and the Lawrence economy.
Lawrence economy. It is time the City Commission listens to the truth and acts responsibly in this matter. I challenge them to consider the numbers involved
challenge them to consider the relationships — the realities of 25,000 students and faculty vs. the unfounded emotionalism of an entire subdivision.
Stan Eckert is a Lawrence resident.
Protect classic black-and-white movies
E every time I hear about a classic film destroyed by colorization, I feel wronged. Someone has had too much control over a work of art that is
respected and loved by enough people that perhaps the public should have some say in its fate. It's as if some giant monster is biting off my finger, and I helplessly smile and say, "Thank you," because I'm happy I am not being devoured.
deVotore.
Maybe I should be glad more people are seeing these movies because of colorization, as Ted Turner says. But are they really seeing Michael Curtiz's "Casablanca," or are they seeing Turner's version of "Casablanca?"
Why were directors using black-and-white film after color film had become available? Orson Welles could have used color on "Citizen Kane," but he didn't. Welles expressed his intention for the film to remain black and white in his will, preventing Turner from colorizing this great movie.
Contemporary directors such as Jim Jarmusch, Woody Allen and David Lynch are using black-and-white film. If we must look back and change the original work by the artist to update it, perhaps Turner should ask himself which type of film the director would have used today.
Film noir, identified by dark and pessimistic undercurrents, emerged in the 1940s. The period's directors such as John Huston knew what they were doing with black and white. It enabled
Mark
Hansen
Staff columnist
evil and good extremes, high tension, suspense and, most of all, tremendous use of shadows. All of this is lost in the colorization process. Shadows aren't as effective. Rosco, the villain in "Key Largo," is not unsetting in color. The mood has been changed.
Aside from the issue of whether colorization ruins the original films, the quality of Turner's efforts is poor. Red lips wander off-center, and blue eyes are glowing circles. Watch Santa, from "Miracle On 34th Street," wearing his brilliant red outfit in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while all the background and crowds of people are black and white.
When things are colored, they're colored in pastels. Everyone wears pastel clothing and lives in pastel houses. In a room of 10 people, all of them have the identical peachy skin tone
I've been trying to imagine myself as Turner. I would buy Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and jazz it up a bit, painting a goatie surrounding that sublime smile. Turner said, "I'm coloring 'Casablanca' just for controversy's sake." I know what I'd say to the press about the goatie:
"Well, I do own it — just be glad I didn't destroy it."
Turner says, "I like things in color. We see in color." But films are like dreams, and dreams are often black and white. Anyway, I don't know which is more realistic — black and white or the pastel world with Turner's black-and-white backgrounds.
The artist develops his vision within the confines of the materials and technologies at hand. Film technology has progressed quickly since its inception near the start of this century. The changes in style, format and mechanics seen in the films really are more than art and entertainment. There's an element of history here — history of the film medium and the changes of our culture, depicted in film.
I don't see where Ted's hot little hands fit into his history. In fact, the smooth progression of his young art form is being tempered with the progress of the 1908s and 1948s also represent the 1908s?
But there are solutions to colorization. Rent the film's black-and-white version, use a black-and-white television or — my personal joy-filled discovery — turn the color adjustment knob all the way down and watch as Ted's color antics disappear and see the film as it was intended.
A final note to Turner: I was only kidding about the "Mona Lisa" — please, don't.
■ Mark Hansen is a Prairie Village sophomore majoring in English and film.
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed