OPINION
5A
THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2008
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
COMMENTARY
Typical training exposes gaps
ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON
In orientation for the University Daily Kansan, the topic of diversity was presented to us.
It began with the typical, "What do you think diversity means?" and was followed by a couple of group exercises.
Now, we're not going to do the group exercises but just consider what you think diversity means and if you were exposed to it enough on a regular basis.
The first exercise consisted of statements being read aloud while staffers would stand if the statements applied to them. Through the exercises, we were reminded that although we are all Kansan staffers, we each individually have different interest, personalities and backgrounds thus compromising a very diverse group.
The portrayal, or lack thereof, of diverse groups has always been an issue in the media. Under-represented groups have sparked many private, group-directed papers.
The second exercise required us to examine just that: the media's use and portrayal of diversity. We would determine the race of a person in a picture and keep a tally of the amount of white, hispanic, Asian-Americans and African-Americans that were pictured with news and sports stories.
Not surprisingly, most stories contained predominantly white subjects.
The most obvious portrayals of different races were found mainly in the sports section.
There we found various pictures and stories, making the sports section the most diverse aspect of the paper.
The point of these exercises was to remind us that as a paper, we want to represent the University as a whole and not just one group, belief or demographic.
staffers present. The orientation consisted mainly of white Roman Catholics.
I was concerned as I watched people stand and sit down when the race statements were made. There were not very many non-white
I'm not saying that there are no Asians or Hispanics on staff, because I'm Hispanic myself.
I just feel that the staff, as well as our campus, is lacking diversity.
Think back to last semester about the beginning of October. There was a huge white sign on Wescoe Beach that read, Diversity at KU: Don't believe the hype.
Marcus Kirby made the sign following his inquiry into enrollment figures.
According to a Kansan article written on Kirby by Sarah Neff, he believed that he was not exposed to enough diversity on campus in his everyday interactions.
Looking into the University's statements about diversity, I found that there is a diversity link that contains the University's statement.
I still agree with Kirby. Don't believe the hype.
About 27,000 undergraduates and graduates venture onto the Lawrence campus.
According to a report by the Board of Regents, last semester's demographics broke down like this: 886 blacks; 333 American Indians; 1,070 Asians; 904 Hispanics; 20,470 white non-Hispanics; 1,055 unknown; and 1,624 non-resident aliens.
But diversity is not just about race — it is also about beliefs and values.
Different cultures and races have many different beliefs and values.
If enough multi-cultural students are not enrolling in universities, students are missing out on the opportunity to be exposed to those rich ideas and experiences.
The University makes it part of its mission to expose students to different aspects of life and culture.
According to Maurice L. Bryan, Jr., the Associate Vice Provost for Diversity and Equality, KU plans to
further improve its diversity by hiring a more diverse staff.
However, I don't think all the blame can be placed on the University or the media for the lack of diversity.
Groups that are underrepresented need to take the necessary steps to ensure that they have a face at the collegiate level as well as in the media. Those who have the representation also have the tools and the means to assist students and media in their exposure to diverse groups.
An optimum level of diversity at the University is inconceivable because diversity can't be measured.
As a member of The Kansan, I'll try and remain your No. 1 writer to bring you diverse, Mexican-American opinions.
McNaughton is a Topeka junior in journalism.
breakdown by race
Out of 26,342 students at KU in Fall 2007:
77. 7%
'Percentage does not add up to 100 because not all demographics are shown.
Source: Board of Regents Demographic Report.
Statistics are self-reported.
COMMENTARY
Modern feminism carries past's negative rap
I am a feminist.
But I can assure you I shave regularly (although I will admit the consistency of this habit lessons the colder it gets outside).
In my experience, these words invoke pictures of hairy legged, neo-Nazi haircut-sporting, manhating women who gather regularly to burn their bras.
I also have long hair,have never
burned a bra (the smell of underwire burning really doesn't interest me) and am not harboring any extreme hatred toward the male species, except maybe a select few ex-boyfriends from high school.
Yet on campus and in everyday life, the word "feminist" still has an uncomfortable, negative or even threatening connotation.
Being a frequenter of www.dictionary.com, I will first give you the chosen definition of this controversial word.
If you would prefer a little more information, look to "No Turning Back" by Estelle B. Freedman.
Simply put, a feminist is "of or relating to or advocating equal rights for women."
This idea is entirely mistaken.
Since then, feminism and its meaning have transformed numerous times in history to reach what Freedman calls an "umbrella usage" beginning in the 1980s, where "anyone who challenged prevailing gender relations might now be called a feminist."
She defines feminism as far back as 1880 when the French combined their words for woman and social movement, to form the word "feminisme."
I would argue, however, that despite the changing definition of the term can simply mean you believe in equality between men and women.
Feedman goes on to give her own four-part definition of what she believes feminism to be.
This term applies to anyone of any race, class or ethnicity.
What made me begin to think about all of this in the first place was hearing a friend's story about her first day of class.
Despite this, people still believe feminists no longer exist.
In a class with five women and about 35 men, the teacher announced that for each group project she would split up the girls so every group would have one girl.
A student in the business school, she is taking a 400-level management class.
This has become something of a routine for my friend, though she was less than ethusiastic about being outnumbered as the lone female in a group of men.
This is a clear example of a need for feminism and a broader application of its ideals at the University.
She expects to be the one that the others assume will pick up the slack in the group and take on more of a writing role.
I'm not asking you to consider becoming a women's studies major.
I am saying that despite your gender and racial differences and the fact that you might still picture hairy bra-burners when the topic comes up, you (gasp) might consider yourself a feminist, too.
I'm not asking you to change your politics, religion or values.
Thornibrugh is a Lenexa sophmore in English and women's studies.
If the b-ball insert sucks, I know who to bitch at.
Free For All, my computer is playing tricks on me, and I don't like it.
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish
FREE FOR ALL
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Heath Ledger is hott. Sad to know that I won't be seeing his beautiful face on the screen anymore. R.I.P.
I know that magic is unbelievable, but so is nothingness and clones. And we all know that nothingness and clones are everywhere, right?
Play your DVDs over again.
And watch the eruptions on TV.
We'll be seeing plenty of him for the next couple of months.
Me? Nicewere over it.
Me? Already over
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Thank you, Coach Manning for buying all us campers pizza!
Just in case anyone was wondering, guys suck at life
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If they have girlfriends, there's a reason they're not available.
So how many more celebrities need to die from a drug overdose or alcoholism before people will get a clue?
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People care about Heath Ledger because everybody is addicted to celebrities now. We are all celebrity junkies.
To the cute boy at Abe and Jake's on Friday night: I wish you would've had the guts to ask for my number. You were cute!
Does anyone think it's weird that there are people out there who care, aside from his family and friends of course, that he had错死?
Heath Ledger died?
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No, not at all. All his movies were good, and he wasn't the type of celebrity who was ever in the negative spotlight, so it was a huge shock to everyone.
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LOLcats are no longer funny That's a direct ruling from the president of the Internet.
Does anyone think it's going to be weird seeing Heath in a movie just months after his death?
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Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Darla Slipke, Matt Erickson, Dianne Smith, Bryan Dykman and Lauren Keith.