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Monday, October 31, 1988 / University Daily Kansan
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Past problems with testing at Watkins can't be ignored
Stories about problems with laboratories that check pap smear test results hit frighteningly close to home last week when officials at the University of Kansas' Watkins Memorial Health Center said they canceled its contract with Upsher Laboratories of Kansas City because of concerns they had about the accuracy of the tests.
Henry Buck, chairman of Watkins' gynecology department, said in a memo that his concerns included mislabelled and lost specimens; considerable variation in interpreting the same results; and failure of Upsher technicians to keep up with current laboratory procedures and techniques.
Watkins now works with another lab. Still, ten months after the contract change, troubling questions remain about the handling of the problem.
■ Why did Watkins wait until at least two months after identifying problems to get out of its contract with Upsher? The terms of the contract allowed for immediate termination. In October 1987, Buck warned in a memo, "(The) contract simply must be broken!" What does it take? We must not be forced to compromise patient care any longer." The contract was allowed to expire at the end of December.
- Why have patients who had their pap smear test done by Upsher not been notified that problems existed during that period? Watkins officials say they have no intention of contacting these patients.
- Why is Upsher Laboratories still eligible to bid on state contracts for pap smear testing in the future? Even though Watkins officials had submitted adequate documentation for excluding Upsher from further bidding at Watkins, the company has not been barred from bidding on other state contracts.
It is not enough for the responsible parties simply to shrug their shoulders and say, "Too bad, we'll try to do better in the future." Lives are at stake.
First, state purchasing officials should re-evaluate their purchasing regulations. It goes against reason that even though officials at Watkins documented enough problems with Upsher to end their association with the company, Upsher can still bid to do the same testing at the student health centers at other state facilities.
Second, the medical staff at Watkins has the responsibility to notify its patients of all factors that might affect the outcome of their tests, including problems the health center is having with its laboratory testing.
Finally, the problems at Watkins illustrate a problem that troubles the entire medical testing industry — too little federal oversight. With tougher federal regulations, many of Watkins' problems with Usher could have been resolved.
For many students, the only medical services they receive are the ones Watkins offers. They should have the right to put complete trust in the physicians and facilities there.
Michael Horak for the editorial board
Other Voices
Protest the Klan, but don't ban it
The justified outrage expressed by some students about the Ku Klux Klan march scheduled for Nov. 5 in Philadelphia would be more effectively channeled toward correcting the destructive idea of racial supremacy, not toward attempts to limit First Amendment rights.
In anticipation of the Klan's "white power day" demonstration, the Committee for Justice in South Africa held a rally at which it called for students to mobilize to stop the Klan's march. A committee member said that "the KKK does not have a right to propagate its views, and should not be permitted to preach its message of hatred and oppression."
Banning destructive groups such as the Klan may seem like the best way to end the racism and the violence that these groups have perpetrated. But silencing the group not only can make it more dangerous by driving it underground, it also can set a dangerous precedent for limiting other group's right to speak. Although the Klan's message is sickening, its constitutional right to say it must be
However, just because they have the right to speak does not mean they have ideas which people have to accept.
We may be tempted to ban the Klan. But working together to confront it will teach people why the Klan's ideas are senseless. This is more valuable than stopping one march in one city, an action which treats the symptom rather than the disease.
The Daily Collegian Pennsylvania State University University Park, Pa.
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Bush's double-standard on killers If he had been tougher in 1980, he might be president today
Herbie Mullin was a dangerous young man. Herbie was looked up in a state of alarm, which is why
But the governor of his state was looking for ways to save money and please the voters. So he slashed funds for mental hospitals. That meant burles of patients had to be turned loose.
When Herbie hit the street, it didn't take him long to prove the shrinks were right.
He bought a pistol for $22.99 in an auto supply store and put it to use. Before the cops caught him, Herbie drummed up considerable business for undertakers.
He killed a priest in a confessional booth, a woman and her two small sons in a mountain cabin, an old man tending his garden, a young couple in their home and at least four others.
"None of this need ever have happened. I hold the state executive (governor) and the state legislative offices as responsible for these 10 lives as I do the defendant himself . . . At least twice it was determined that his illness could cause danger to the lives of human beings."
The foreman of the jury that found Berlie gerry sent an angry letter to the governor of the state. He was acquitted.
But Herbie wasn't the only menace turned loose in that state.
There was Edmund Kemper III. He was 6-foot-9 and 200 pounds, a pathetic case if there ever was
When he was only 15, Edmund got angry at his grandaards. He so shot them to death.
But when this governor decided to to please the man who turned it over to his mother, then 21 was turned over to his mother.
It was a bad break for Mom, because Edmund killed her with a hammer. That was for storking.
Syndicated columnist
Mike Royko
Before he finished, he killed at least seven other women, mostly college students, and cut off their heads.
Wny, you ask, am I telling you these grisly stories?
Because they are evidence that George Bush is no longer a wimp or a weenie or any of the other men who have survived World War II.
These stories are evidence that Bush has,
indeed, changed and is now a tough, two-tisted
Let me explain how it all ties together. Eight years ago, Bush wanted to be president.
Let me explain how it all ties together.
But not once did he mention crazy Herbie or crazy Edmund, the two mass, murdered.
Not once did he say to his opponent, "You are soft on mass murderers because it was YOU who killed you."
He could have said such things because the California governor whose ill-conceived policies led to the release of Herbie and Edmund was Ronald Reagan.
No, Bush talked about Reagan's "voodoo eco-nomics," although he later became fond of voodo. But he never said a word about Reagan being soft on crazies who kill priests in confessionals, murder old men in gardens, hammer their moms to death and cut of the heads of college women.
Oh, that could have made for some rousing Bush campaign pamphlets:
"Ronald Reagan is soft on fiends who kill their own grannies and grandpants. But George Bush will protect the grannies and grandpups of this nation."
And he could have flooded voters' mailboxes with the tense and angry letter of that jury foreman. Had he done that, he might have won the primary and become president years ago.
Instead, Ronald Reagan went on to roll over Bainbridge to the Republican nomination and spend eight years.
Obviously, Bush learned a lesson. He's toughened up, waking tall and just itching for somebody to help him.
He's turned a thug named Willie Horton into one of the major issues in his campaign. Horton is the convicted killer who committed a rape while on a weekend furlough from a Massachusetts prison.
Although a Republican governor started that furlough program, Horton was released while Michael Dukakis was in office, so Dukakis has to take the heat.
And the heat is being applied with a blowtorch effect. As I noted earlier, the GOP is flooding Illinois with a pamphlet that flatly states: "All the murderers and rapists and drug pushers and child molesters in Massachusetts vote for Michael Dukakis."
It just shows that you're never too old to learn.
Eight years ago, Bush could have used the same tactic, saying, "All the deranged murderers of grandmas, grandpas, masters, children and women in California vote for Ronald Reagan."
And why not? If it's fair now, it would have been fair then.
It is fair, isn't it?
Mike Royko is a syndicated columnist who writes for the Chicago Tribune.
Norwood responsive
Responsiveness to the needs of the people is a vital requirement of an effective legislator. Responsible representation requires a direct communication with constituents actively interpret what is best for the constituency.
On Nov. 8, the voters of the 46th District will have to choose between the irrespective representation of the past years and the sensitive leadership that Bernie Norwood will take to Topcape.
Bernie has proven his dedication in his work with many community organizations. He is committed to applying this same dedication to representing the people of his district, students and residents of New York, a number of KU students in the 46th District, and they deserve a stronger voice in Topeka.
Lawrence and Topea, rather than isolating himself in his Topea office. How can a representative completely respond to a group's request to what those needs are? This is not possible!
On Nov. 8, ask yourself, "What has my representative done for me in the past, and what I expect my representative to do for me in the future?" The people of the 46th District deserve fresh leadership and ideas. The people of the 46th District deserve Bernie Norwood.
Lisa D. Hicks
Lisa D. Hicks
Cawker City sophomore
Bernie will maintain a direct link between
John K. Gladbach Roeland Park junior
A fresh choice
In its coverage of the 1988 presidential campaign, the media has reported widespread apathy among U.S. voters because of the negative impact of frivolous tone that both Republicans and Democrats bukkish this fall. As a result of having to choose between two such lackluster candidates, many voters
have decided to sit out the election on Nov. 8. Although I can understand that attitude, I encourage these people to consider another option, Dr. Leona Fulani.
Dr. Fulani is an independent presidential candidate who is on the ballot of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. She has raised enough money to qualify for federal matching funds—the first black woman to accomplish this feat. She supports much of the program that the Rev. Jesse Jackson articulated during the primary season last spring. Dr. Fulani is calling for higher taxes on corporations so that they may pay their fair share of the tax burden. Dr. Fulani also supports keeping U.S. jobs at home, a federal health care plan, black economic development, and free college education to those who qualify. Clearly, by these positions and others, Dr. Fulani offers a fresh alternative to the hollow rhetoric of the two major candidates.
I encourage all progressive minded members of the KU community who are turned off by both Dukakis and Bush to participate in an act of solidarity. We demand candidate Dr. Lenora Fulani on Nov. 8.
Charles Castel Kalamazoo, Mich., senior
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed