THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAÑ
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5.2005
VOL.116 ISSUE 35
▼ HISPANIC HERITAGE
s the aaidtendents several ill. It is on
WWW.KANSAN.COM
none in a prac-
first not.
am to team,
at you nice,
and any
mak- tently
Mangi- e job.
h the able to
ber of
Offensively funny
identes
- game
and a
bowl
e area
to reootball
us but
act.
ways.
have
not can't
there is
d right
Kansas
apt.
BY MALINDA OSBORNE
mosborne@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
kks will
football
football
nior in
Nicknamed the "Punisher," comedian Carlos Mencia has been described as an equal opportunity offender, and he spared no race or ethnicity with his sardonic barbs, performing for a sold-out crowd at the Lied Center last night.
For two hours, Mencia quipped and lampooed a myriad of ethnicities and nationalities with impunity, apologizing for any he missed. Michael Lopez, Kansas City, Kan., senior and member of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, said Mencia's performance wasn't for people who took themselves seriously.
"You have to come with an open mind and expect to get offended," Lopez said. "But you walk away with a greater appreciation of ethnicities."
Mencia was brought to speak at the University of Kansas by Student Union Activities for Hispanic Heritage Month. Susan Hoffman, assistant director of Union planning, helped coordinate with HALO to bring Mencia to campus.
Lopez saw Mencia perform at Stanford & Sons
"You have to come with an open mind and expect to get offended, but you walk away with a greater appreciation of ethnicities."
Michael Lopez HALD member
Comedy Club in Westport in Kansas City, Mo., which gave him the idea to bring the comedian to campus.
"It's exciting to see SUA recognize diversity outside of their typical gender." Lopez said.
Mencia, initially named Ned, was born in Honduras, and soon after, his family moved to the United States to East Los Angeles. He was the 17th of 18 children and, as a result of limited space in the house, Mencia was raised by his aunt and uncle, who renamed him Carlos.
dropped out with one credit left to start his comedic career, believing that it was his destiny to do stand up comedy
Mencia attended college at California State University, Los Angeles, where he majored in electronic engineering. He
Mencia worked the comedy circuit and released his first album "Take A Joke, America" in 2000 to major success. He now stars in his own show, "Mind of Mencia," on Comedy Central.
During his performance, Mencia gestured excitedly and spoke in a frantic, stream of conscious manner with boundless energy and enthusiasm. He saved his best material for ridiculing the obese and mentally handicapped.
But for Mencia, it was all in a day's work.
"If you allow me to get into your psyche and get offended, that's not my fault," Mencia said. "You came here on your free will. Besides, every single joke I say, I've already thought about the 10 ways you can respond, and then I will defend myself still in a non-comedic way."
Alex Hernandez, a recent KU alumnus from Hugoton,
reotypes.
"I love that he's funny and still brings across a lot of messages too," Hernandez said. "When you make people laugh, that's when they'll really listen."
To clarify, Mencia explained that he did, in fact, limit and define what he thought was offensive.
"If I slap you, it's offensive," Mencia said. "If I call you a cunt, it's funny."
At the end, Mencia left the possibility open for a return to the state of Kansas, which he deemed one of his favorite places to perform.
"It was a tremendous experience and I would love to come back," he said.
morous perspective.
Mencia said he did tell jokes,
but, instead, truths put in a bu-
Candace Rukes/KANSAN
SPEAKER
Giving insight on intelligence
Analyst trainer points out goals
BY ALY BARLAND
abarland@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Candice Rukes/KANSAN
The United States government, since Sept. 11, has received more criticism for its use of national intelligence, and much of it is well-deserved, William Nolte, chancellor of the National Intelligence University, said at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics on Tuesday.
As leader of the National Intelligence University, Nolte educates and trains intelligence analysts. He said a primary goal in improving the intelligence capabilities was to improve the analysts themselves.
Nolte said one way of doing this was to encourage the analysts to be self-critical. They needed to be able to ask questions and admit problems.
One problem Nolte cited in the government's intelligence agencies was inadequate coordination of information sharing, such as the issue of what information to release and to whom.
"We are not just in the information-sharing business," Nolte said. "We are in the information-protecting business."
The intelligence agencies of the U.S. government have gone through a number of transitions in the last 50 years, but there was still room for improvement. Nolte said.
Intelligence was initially used only in times of war, but once the United States became a world power there was a greater need for intelligence. In 1947, the National Security Act created the National Intelligence Agency.
Another transition Nolte said was key was bringing espionage under legislative oversight.
Nolte said people praised the intelligence by comparing its current status to past progress. But he warned that statistics could be misleading when the external environment was not
considered. Issues that intelligence encounter are continually changing as well, so intelligence must keep up. Since Sept. 11, the national intelligence agencies have been pressured to improve communications, but recent events have again demonstrated deficiencies in the system.
William F. Nolte, chancellor at the National Intelligence University spoke in Hansen Hall at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics last night. Noite is a National Security Agency officer and a former deputy assistant director of central intelligence.
said it was the individual citizen's responsibility to voice his or her level of comfort with government encroachment on civil liberties.
"That's not our call. That's your call," Nolte said. "We don't get to do what we do unless the American people support us."
"I look back and have two words for my friends: Hurricane Katrina." Nolte said.
As a reaction to past intelligence failures, Nolte said excessive centralization was something he wanted to avoid. He
When an audience member asked Nolte what Americans could do to help the government, Nolte said, "Just be good citizens. I know it sounds silly, but I think it's a very important role."
— Edited by Alison Peterson
▼ ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT
Athlete sues over dismissal from team
Officials say she misused e-mails
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
rschneider@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Former Kansas softball player
Jackie Vasquez claimed she was removed from the team and that her scholarship was terminated because she reported a shower incident involving softball coaches to
the Athletics Department.
The department, however has a different explanation for why Vasquez was removed from the team.
Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony said she was removed from the team because of misconduct regarding the e-mail account of assistant coach Jennifer Sewell.
According to court documents, Sewell admits to using Vasquez's computer to access her personal e-mail in February 2005. Sewell's personal identification and password were saved to the computer. In a complaint sent to the dean of students, Sewell claimed Vasquez was sharing the information in her e-mails with her fellow teammates .
According to court documents, Vasquez said there were at least five times where it was impossible for her to have accessed Sewell's account because she was at a game, practice or mandatory study hall.
The court ruled Sept. 29 that the Athletics Department was prohibited from stopping Vasquez's participation in preseason and season softball practices and from terminating the remaining two years of her scholarship until an Oct. 14 hearing.
SPEAKER
Vasquez is represented by Law-
rence attorney Albert Lopes.
SEE SUES ON PAGE 4A
"There's obviously things that are being said," Lopes said. "I'm chomping at the bit to refute, but I can't comment."
According to a letter addressed to Vasquez by the dean of students, Vasquez allowed Sewell's e-mail account to be accessed without notification. While it could not be proven whether Vasquez herself accessed the e-mail, the letter said she was responsible for all activity on her computer.
BY TRAVIS ROBINETT
trobinett@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Monk to share story of protest, torture Tibetan was held prisoner 33 years
He is visiting from Oct. 11 to Oct. 19 and plans to attend three public events — two of which are sponsored by the Hall Center for Humanities
Now, 13 years after his release, he is coming to Lawrence to tell his story.
A Tibetan monk, Palden Gyatso, was abused and tortured in prisons and labor camps for 33 years after protecting the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
— to discuss his experiences and answer questions.
Gyatso
She said in one of Gyatso's torture sessions, an electric rod was placed in his mouth. He lost consciousness and when he woke up he had lost all his teeth. She said Gyatso told her he must have had bad karma, so he accepted it. When he was given dentures, he equated it to good karma.
Ling-Lung Chen, assistant professor of anthropology, said this would be Gyatso's third visit to Lawrence. He last visited in April 2003. During Gyatso's 2003 visit, Chen met him and they discussed his experiences and life.
"During one of our conversations I asked him 'Of all the years in prison, what do you fear the most?' and he said, 'I was most afraid that I would lose compassion for my torturers.' His whole person embodied that kind of quality,' Chen said'.
"That's the kind of attitude that really touched my heart," Chen said.
She was so impressed with Gyatso that she made a commitment to be involved in his activities the next time he visited Lawrence.
When Chen learned Gyatso would tour the U.S. this year, she knew his story needed to be heard. She arranged the events on campus so he could tell his story to the University community.
Chen said when she approached the Hall Center in late June, she presented Gyatso's story and the Hall Center quickly agreed to play host to two events, even on short notice.
Kenneth Massey, undersherriff for Douglas County Corrections, will be part of one of the upcoming round table discussions.
Massey said he was reading Gyatso's book, "The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk," to educate himself on the topic." He said he was looking forward to being a part of the discussion and that it would be an educational experience.
"One area I want to explore is his ability to feel compassion for the people torturing him on a daily basis," he said. "That would be difficult to do, and I'd like to hear him explain how he accomplished that."
The events are scheduled for 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 12 at the Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union; 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 14 in the Hall Center for the Humanities, 900 Sunnyside Ave.; and at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18 in the Lawrence Art Center, 200 W. 9th St.
Edited by Jonathan Kealing
Are you ready to laugh?
Well then you should probably read another paper. But if watered-down and poorly written satire is your thing then check out PAGE 8A
Oread neighborhood seeks $1 million grant Students who have tripped along sidewalks and found themselves lost along the dark roads of the neighborhood are in luck. If plans for a grant succeed, the neighborhood will get a makeover. PAGE 3A
Here, kitty kitty
I
Here, kitty kitty After more than a decade of defeats, the Jayhawk football team aims to win Saturday's game against the Wildcats. Coach Mark Mangino said the Jayhawks are a much more competitive team now.' PAGE 18
Index
Comics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6A
Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5A
Crossword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6A
Horoscopes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6A
Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A
Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1B
All contents, unless stated otherwise,
© 2005 The University Daily Kansan