Friday. May 5, 2000 The University Daily Kansan Section A · Page 5 Opinion 5 Tenure system nonretaliatory I read the column by Cynthia Annett with great interest and believe it requires a response. I was a member of Faculty Council and the Senate Executive Committee during the 1998-1999 academic year and served as SenEx representative to the University Promotion and Tenure Committee. During my tenure on this committee, Annett's self-nomination for tenure was reviewed — the identical dossier previously had been submitted to the Promotion and Tenure Committees within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the unit, departmental and college levels. My task was, in part, to serve as watchdog for faculty interests and as a witness to protocol and committee procedure. I do not in any way speak for that committee; the committee decision not to recommend Annett for promotion and tenure speaks for itself. I speak for myself in saying that I witnessed no evidence whatsoever of retaliatory practices by Chancellor Robert Hemenway and Provost David Shulenburger, as claimed by Annett. Her statement of no "functioning mechanisms for investigation or resolution of formal appeals for relief" is false. There are grievance procedures in place in most of the smaller units of the campus, in all of the schools and at the level of the University of Kansas itself. The ultimate grievance mechanism is a court of law, to which Annett appealed and which found her case wanting. I believe that Annett is appealing in her column to some kind of guilt by association in reverse. But the findings in the case of Marie Aquilino do not change, in any way, the court's verdict against Annett. It is easy to Christopher Hepp guest columnist @ponksan.com think of faculty governance as a shell game in which the problems of parking and landscaping are placed on the table while real problems such as fairness and equity are hidden from view. But governance, as Tip O'Neil said of politics, is local. Alongside issues such as parking that are of interest to facu- ty is the issue of promotion and tenure. Consequently, faculty, not higher administration, review promotion and tenure applications and make promotion and tenure recommendations at the unit, school and University levels. Faculty, not higher administration, review any grievances that may emerge from promotion and tenure procedures. Discrimination exists. It exists in life, it exists in Kansas and it exists at the University. We all, every one of us, suffer from it at some point in our careers. At the quotidian end of the scale, we suffer from elitism and parochialism. At the other, far more serious end are the cancers of sexism and racism. We all suffer from these because if we do not stop them from happening to others, it becomes only a matter of time before they happen to us individually. To all of this we must be vigilant, and I believe that faculty governance is vigilant. But while prejudice is alive, Elvis is dead: KU higher administration does not engage in retaliatory practices, thanks at least in part to faculty and faculty governance. Hepp is an associate professor of piano. Students should voice opinions, regardless of donors' interests As a major higher education institution with well-known athletics and academic programs, the University of Kansas is the object of many corporations that seek collegiate contracts. The University has contracts with Coca-Cola and Nike. among others. Every day, students buy Cokes from the numerous machines on campus, and at every athletic event, we see the Nike swoosh on our teams. In spite of this daily interaction with these products, few wonder if these corporations are involved in any potentially unethical practices. Two weeks ago at the University of Oregon, that changed. The university's student body and student government voted to join the Workers Rights What should be the relationship between major corporations and the student body? Consortium, an anti-sweatshop activist group. Immediately, Phil Knight, founder of Nike, reacted by withdrawing his informal $30 million pledge, dealing a serious blow to the University of Oregon's athletics department. It seems that Knight was upset that the University of Oregon also did not join the Fair Labor Association, a government-sponsored anti-sweatshop group that includes 130 universities, including the University of Kansas. The difference between the two groups is that the consortium does not allow corporations to participate in watchdogging themselves. This battle of wills makes us wonder: What should the relationship be between a major corporation and a university's student body? Is it wrong for the University of Oregon's student body and student government to voice their opinion in this matter? Is Knight's response the correct one? Students should have a say in which corporations their university is involved with. While it is evident that universities bank on contracts with corporations, this should not hinder, in any way, students' ability to voice their opinions. I've danced at the Granada for 6 years. I am a club kid; I am also a woman. Because we get so little recognition, it was exciting to see my crew featured on the front page of Jayplay in the April 27 issue of the Kansan. Female dancers forgotten in story After reading it, though, I felt disappointed. Save for an unnamed woman, not one female dancer was mentioned. Despite our small numbers, we are not unnoticed among the encouraging club crowds. In her book, Black Noise, Tricia Rose interviews "Baby Love," a female brain-dancer who attributes the absence of women in the media to "lack of exposure and social support." Women's invisibility in the media continues to negate our community involvement and leadership. Women have been involved from the start. I am proud of my talented guy friends. They encourage us women as much as possible. But to focus entirely on men, not only in photographs (they took pictures of me dancing, too), but also in the story, misleads readers as to our group's diverse membership. Although it may have been unconscious, failing to report the whole story is bad journalism. The public looks to journalists as society's narrators. I hope the future presents more inclusive reporting. Drew Ryun for the editorial board Jennifer Urban Topeka senior The KU Medical Center Street Fair Saturday, May 6 Noon-6 p.m. 39th & Rainbow - Rock Climbing - Live Music & Entertainment Sat & Sun Daily 1 American Beauty¹ (1:50) 4:35 7:10 9:40 2 Return To Me² (1:45) 4:35 7:15, 9:40 2 Return to My Psycho³ (1:40) 4:35 7:10, 9:40 4 High Fidelity⁴ (1:55) 4:45 7:05, 9:35 5 Love and Basketball⁵⁶ (1:50) 4:30 7:05, 9:35 6 Erin Brockwell⁷⁸ (1:45) 4:35 7:00, 9:30 *FREE TRUCK RENTAL Call for details ★ NOVI • PASSES • SUPERAVERS SHOWTIMES FOR TODAY ONLY Moonwalk 1 28 Days *II*a 2 Keeping the Fear *II*b 3 The Flintstones *II*c 4 U-571 *II*d 5 Gladiator *II*e 6 Where The Heart Is *II*f 7 Gladiator *II*g 8 Dreamed Of Africa *II*h 9 Frequency *II*i 10 Management *II*j 11 U-571 *I*k 12 Love 101 *I*l | | | | | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1 (1:15) | 4:25, 7:05, 9:10 | | | | 2 (1:15) | 4:25, 7:05, 10:00 | | | | 3 (1:30) | 4:20, 7:00, 9:30 | | | | 4 (1:30) | 4:20, 7:00, 9:30 | | | | 5 (1:30) | 4:20, 7:00, 9:30 | | | | 6 (1:30) | 4:10, 7:10, 10:10 | | | | 7 (1:30) | 4:10, 7:10, 10:10 | | | | 8 (1:30) | 4:10, 7:10, 10:10 | | | | 9 (1:40) | 4:15, 8:00 | — | | | 10 (1:40) | 4:15, 8:00 | — | | | 11 (1:40) | 4:15, 8:00 | — | | | 12 (1:40) | 4:15, 8:00 | — | | | 13 (1:45) | 4:45, 7:00, 10:05 | | | | 14 (1:45) | 4:45, 7:00, 10:05 | | | | 15 (1:45) | 4:45, 7:00, 10:05 | | | | 16 (1:50) | 3:95, 9:45 | — | | Screw Pressure on Bottom of "Center Stage" @ 7:00pm. 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Full-time employees qualify for full-time benefits! and Located at 105th & Metcalf Overland Park (913) 381-7172 119th & Strang Line Olathe (913) 390-9400 INSPIRATIONAL GOSPEL VOICES 2000 of the University of Kansas Saturday, May 6, 2000 doors open at 6:30 CRAZY PRAIZE Free Methodist Church 3001 Lawrence Ave. FREE!! (behind Super Target) Come Git Yo Proize Wescoe Beach, Today - Monday 10am-3pm Pick up your yearbook! If you haven't pre-ordered, extra yearbooks will be available for $30. The University of Kansas School of Fine Arts. Department of Music and Dance presents.. May 4 & 5 2000 8:00 p.m. UNIVERSITY DANCE COMPANY with Cohan/Suzeau & guest choreographers Brian Brooks & Krystyna Jurkowski-Hilding Lied Center tickets on sale at the Lied Center, Murphy Hall and SUA box offices: $7 public, $5 students and senior citizens. Call 864-ARTS for tickets Funded in part by KU Student Senate activity fee. STUDENT SENATE STUDENT SENATE