4A
Wednesday, January 11, 1995
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE ISSUE: KU'S NEW CHANGELLOR
Hemenway will be good for KU
When Robert Hemenway was introduced as the University of Kansas' 16th chancellor Saturday, he said he thought he had the best job in the country.
And by all indications, it appears as if KU has the best man to lead it into the 21st century.
For the past six years, Hemenway has served as the chancellor at the University of Kentucky. He has, in that time, amassed a list of accomplishments that would seem to make him a perfect fit with KU and its varied constituencies.
At the forefront, Hemenway is a scholar who values the work of faculty and the learning of students. When faced with budget cuts at Kentucky, he worked from the belief that the classroom came first and spared the academic mission of the university from deep cuts. During his tenure, he has increased the number of National Merit Scholars enrolled in the freshman class from 12 to 82 and seen the average ACT score go from 23.9 to 24.8. He is
With a variety of experience under belt and a commitment to education and diversity. Hemenway is a good choice.
It was Hemenway's immersion into the life of Hurston that he said increased his sensitivity to the concerns of minorities and multiculturalism. Since he has been chancellor at Kentucky, Hemenway has seen to the hiring of 48 tenure-track Black faculty members. Additionally, 101 women faculty members have been hired.
also a researcher whose biography of Zora Neale Hurston, a Black woman novelist, anthropologist and folklorist, was listed by The New York Times as one its "Best Books of 1978."
Members of the KU community should be pleased that the search process, albeit secretive and closed to most students and faculty voices, produced a chancellor as qualified, experienced and dedicated to an educational experience as diverse as possible.
STEPHEN MARTINO FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE ISSUE: ETHICS IN THE MEDIA
'Bitch' quote from CBS unfair
throwing both discretion and ethics out the journalistic window, CBS-TV sank to new depths by reporting last week that Newt Gingrich's mother, Kathleen, had said in a December interview with Connie Chung that her son had called Hillary Rodham Clinton a "bitch."
And though a thoroughly derogatory term, the bword can even be heard on network television shows.
Surely, in promoting the quote, the network's main concern could not have been the relaying of important information. So our new speaker of the House called Hillary Rodham Clinton a bitch. Gingrich's disdain for the first couple is no secret. He has made that clear in newspapers and during press conferences for several weeks now. One can assume that he has used a wide variety of negative slang about the Clintons in private quarters.
But Newt Gingrich had not actually said it publicly. So Connie Chung went fishing for the next best thing.
Kathleen Gingrich told
CBS-TV acted irresponsibly and unethically by promoting a negative quote that had been obtained in confidence.
Chung she wouldn't dare say what her son thought of the first lady. Chung then asked her to reveal the information "between you and me."
Clearly, it was not just between her and Chung. And although Chung never actually said that it would be off the record, her statements clearly were not meant for the public. Not only that, but such a statement is news to nobody who has been paying any attention to Washington recently. The newsworthy aspect is that the people at CBS were acting like rabid scandal-mongers, believing they had uncovered the next Watergate.
No, the network's main concern was not news. Instead, it was entertainment.
Now you don't have to change the channel to watch another episode of "Melrose Place."
MATT GOWEN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Students feel overlooked in selection of chancellor
Jeff MacNelv /CHICAGO TRIBUNE
It wasn't my kind of crowd.
There I stood at the press conference Jan. 7, where the Kansas Board of Regents named Robert Hemenway chancellor of the University of Kansas. I got more than a few disapproving looks from some of the KU administrators who attended, all of whom probably didn't realize I knew exactly who they were and could put their names in print here.
KANSANSTAFF
True, I wandered into the Adams Alumni Center for some chancellor-watching with two days' growth of beard, blue jeans that had seen better days and tennis shoes that were dying a lingering death.
But the signs of distaste had a lot more to do with my appearance. My two companions were well-dressed and looked ready for the occasion, but they still received surprised looks. They didn't seem to expect students to take an interest, much less show up.
This brothers me for two reasons.
One, the chancellor search was kept as far away as possible from the students and faculty, making the selection of Hemenway seem remote and unimportant. Two, the only students who bothered to show up were the campus media and my little group.
Students who feel powerless in University affairs should have shown up and made their presence felt.
The entire selection process for
JENNIFER PERRIER Business manager
MARK MASTRO Retail sales manager
STEPHEN MARTINO Editor
But if you complain, and if you care,
you should talk to the new chancellor
himself, and then form your opinions.
Make the chancellor part of your own
crowd.
If you truly don't care, fine and dandy. Life is filled with all-encompassing problems, and the concerns of KU don't necessarily number among them.
CATHERINE ELLSWORTH Systems coordinator
DENISE NEIL Managing editor
(a) No person shall turn a vehicle or move right or left upon a roadway unless and until such movement can be made with reasonable safety, nor without giving an appropriate signal in the manner hereinafter provided.
TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser
Turning movements and required signals:
This is for those Lawrence drivers who fail to use their turn signals. You're breaking the law! I refer you to the Kansas Uniform Act Regulating Traffic; Rules of the Road, page 433, section 8-1548.
Campus mgr...Beth Poth
Regional mgr...Chris Branmanam
National mgr...Shelly Falevits
Coop mgr...Kelly Connealy
Special Sections mgr...Brigg Bloomquist
Production mgr...JJ Cook
Kim Hyman
Marketing director...Mindy Blum
Creative director...Dan Gler
Classified mgr...Lissa Kuehst
I'm not saying the chancellor should have been hired by election. A selection committee is a good idea. But having three students on the committee, with only student president Sherman Reeves with any accountability,
doesn't fairly represent the students.
Do use turn signals when on the road
Business Staff
The Board of Regents and the selection committee aren't completely at fault. As the absence of any student at the Regents vote showed, students removed themselves.
Where were the student leaders, the people who represent us? They could have asked questions of our new chancellor during the public question period. Where was Student Senate? Where were the leaders of the Black Student Union and the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, both of which have legitimate concerns for Hemenway?
News ... Carlos Tejada
Planning ... Mark Martin
Editorial ... Matt Gowen
Campus ... David Wilson
Colleen McCain
Sports ... Gerry Fey
Photo ... Jarrett Lane
Features ..Nathan Olson
Design ..Brian James
Freelance ..Susan White
Carica Tejada is a Lawrence senior in Jour nallism.
This type of environment is a breeding ground
I don't expect them all to be there. The announcement came at the end of winter break, and the icy roads across Kansas probably made the drive too dangerous. But the lack of any students except campus media and my little group of three says that we don't care.
There's a reason such processes in American government take place in public, with an audience of concerned citizens. The University, which tries to foster open discourse, should be aware of such concerns.
for deal making and corruption. No matter how much members of the committee deny any wrongdoing, nobody outside the committee will ever know for sure. How can they prove it? By releasing the names of all 16 candidates interviewed. Probably nothing dark and dirty happened, but the selection committee will never be able to prove that.
KU'snext chancelor smacked of a parent-child relationship. Faculty as well as students were told not to worry about it, that Mommy and Daddy had selected a fair group of individuals who would make the selection for them. This type of envi-
STAFF COLUMNIST
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
(b) A signal intention to turn or move right or left when required shall be given continuously during not less than the last one hundred (100) feet traveled by the vehicle
Bob Lewis Lawrence resident
I hope that the Kansan and KU will realize how hypocritical and sexist this is. I am aware that places like those will still be open, but 1, and probably many other students, do not want to be part of something that is advocating sexism.
I estimate 50 percent of Lawrence drivers regularly violate this regulation. Included are Lawrence and KU police, KU facilities employees and Lawrence cab drivers, as well as residents and students.
before turning.
Failure to signal before turning is discourteous, disconcerting and dangerous. Please develop the habit of signaling before you turn. To paraphrase a familiar expression, "the fender you save may be you own."
Kansan should avoid sexist advertising
As a female student, it disgusts me to see an advertisement in our newspaper about Juicers. The University of Kansas is said to be "politically correct" and against sexism, yet I open the paper everyday and read about Brooke. Brooke is the lovely girl I can see for only $1. It makes me sad to think that the Kansan would allow this advertisement in the paper, but it is even more sad to think that KU students can get a discount. I realize that the Kansan needs money from the advertisers but you should find other ways to receive funds.
Amy M. Brown Overland Park sophomore
Umbrellas and a new leader take over as another semester begins
Goooood Morning Mount Oread!!
We at the University Daily Kansan would like to welcome ye students back.
And I'd like to sign on by catching you up and preparing you for what lies ahead.
Stop me if you've heard this one
As Hemenway prepares to take office July 1, politics in Kansas appears to be changing dramatically. Republican Bill Gravys was sworn in this week and, along with the 1995 Kansas Legislature, pledges to whittle down government spending. That could be bad news for KU, as the Board of Regents' request for a $43 million budget increase will not get a polite reception from lawmakers. Chancellor Del Shankel will try to dance with the House and Senate for KU's budget proposals, which include more than $10 million for improvements in academic programs, libraries and faculty salaries.
our new chancelor, Robert Hemenway, was announced Saturday. Hemenway had been the chancellor of the University of Kentucky since 1989. At the press conference Saturday, he called his new job the best in the country. I would thinkyanking bass out of a river on
ESPN would be a close second.
And letters! We want letters! Keep 'em short when possible, logical and concise. If you've got a beef, send it to us well-done.
that is all. For now.
Have you seen the umbrellas dangling from the trees in front of many local homes? People are protesting the City of Lawrence, which mandated that an East Lawrence woman take down the numerous umbrellas that peppered her trees. She claimed it was an artistic statement, or something to that effect. I say she just wanted to clean out her closet.
Oh, and get ready for Student Senate elections this spring. We'll try our best to keep our streak alive of consistently endorsing the losing candidates. Coalitions beware!
I wonder if the National Endowment for the Arts would fund similar closet-cleaning projects. I've got some used air-conditioner filters and a broken vacuum that would look great out in the front bushes. No, Newt wouldn't hear of it. With Mr. Grinch taking over the House, the NEA is in enough trouble as it is.
Letters: Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the authors signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
Matt Gowen is a Lawrence senior in Journalism.
All letter and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 1.11 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or out-right reject all submissions. For any questions, call Matt Gowen, editorial page editor, or Heather Lawrenz, associate editorial page editor, at 864-4810.
Guest columns: Should be double-
spaced typed with fewer than 700
words. The writer must be willing to
be photographed for the column to
run.
How to submit letters and guest columns
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