Opinion
The University Daily Kansan
Laura Roddy, Editor
Sarah Hale, Managing editor
Kristi Elliott, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news advisor
Shaunte Blue, Business manager
Brad Bolyard, Retail sales manager
Matt Fisher, Sales and marketing adviser
Scott Vallier, Technology coordinator
Wednesday, February 23, 2000
Clay McCuistion / KANSAN
Editorials
Kansan report card
PASS
Western Civilization — Off-cursed course may retail reading list. Goodbye Aldous Huxley, hello Harry Potter. But please, don't lose Darwin.
The chancellor — Chancellor Bob goes to bat once again to seek faculty pay raise. One of these days, it'll pay off.
Lawrence Parks — City park department buys land in ever-developing West Lawrence to reserve for green space.
FAIL
■ Gold digger — Lucky emergency room nurse helps humanity sink to new low with Who Wants to Marry a Multi Millionaire? Next week on Fox: Who Wants to Marry a Former Millionare Whose New Wife Just Run Off With His Fortune?
Hollywood — Tinseltown city leaders want to secede from Los Angeles in an effort to clean up Hollywood's tarnished image. Easier solution: Get rid of the Grammys.
Hackers - Computer nerts lay off the legal programming just long enough to cripple several major Web sites.
Under-used Burge needs renovation
The recent debate about renovating the Jaybowl illuminated a problem, but not the one most think. The student unions indeed do have a problem with under-used space: the Burge Union.
Affectionately referred to as the "bastard offspring" of the Kansas Union, the Burge sits at the foot of Daisy Hill, its purpose a mystery to some. The Burge plays host to a number of offices and services, including Legal Services for Students, University Career and Employment Services and a copy center.
Strategically, Burge is located in an ideal position to serve as a veritable hive of student activity. The question
Union officials should look to other union in addressing concerns of 'wasted space'
that remains is why, when there is a center that definitely seems worthy of renovation and revision and is a prime candidate for a potential cybercafe, would another pre-existing and established tradition — the Jaybowl — come under fire for under-use?
Union officials could take the correct measures to construct an appealing student center, be it a cybercafe or something else, at Burge, one that would bring in traffic and possibly even revenue to the unions. In any case, student input is necessary. For example, union officials could sponsor a design contest for Burge's new study plaza or ask a local coffee shop to open a campus branch.
The issue is one of economics. What could the Kansas Union do to make more money, or perhaps more appropriately, not waste money by carrying "wasted" space?
The options are limitless, but if union officials want to make changes, they should get the students and future patrons to take some stock in the renovations. This is the only way we won't have issues of wasted space.
Kansan staff
Matt Dunehoo for the editorial board
Seth Hoffman . . . . .
News editors
Advertising managers
Becky LaBranch . . . . Special sections
Krista Lindemann . . . Campus
Ryan Riggin . . . Regional
Jason Hannah . . . National
Will Baxter . . . Online sales
Patrick Rupe . . . Online creative
Seth Schwimmer . . . Marketing
Jenny Weaver . . . Creative layout
Matt Thomas . . Assistant creative
Kenna Crone . . Assistant creative
Trent Guyer . . Classifieds
Jon Schitt . . . Zone
Thad Crane . . Zone
Cecily Curran . . Zone
Christy Davies . . Zone
Broaden your mind: Today's quote
"The world is filled with willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing
How to submit letters and guest columns
to let them." — Robert Frost
**Letters:** Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
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.
All letters and guest columns should be e-mailed to opinion@kansan.com or submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Nadia Mustafa or Seth Hoffman at 864-4924.
If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (apition@kansan.com) or call 864-4924
Perspective
Midwest roots become a source of great pride
ou must be a Midwesterner if...
You live in a place that Americans from the coasts consider more foreign than Europe
ou must be a Midwesterner if ...
only a vagrant you
it's a bit exotic, foreign and
definitely not conducive to
tourism. When they find out
I'm from Iowa, I hear comments such as, "It's flat
there, right?" or "Isn't that the potato state?"
Merkel-Hess columnist
opinion@kansan.com
Many of the Americans I've met abroad have a nice idea about the Midwest; to them.
I've stopped being surprised at any misconceptions, and I try to understand them. I don't want to give the Americans a bad impression. After all, some claim that I'm the first person they have met from places like Iowa or Kansas. I tell them it's really not that
different — last time I checked, all of the Gaps,
Old Navys and Barnes&Nobles in New York
City looked the same as they do in the rest of the
country.
■ You are asked, "Do you live on a farm? No, but I'll be happy to talk about my grandparent's childhood memories of living on a farm. I don't have any direct ties to farms, but like many Midwesterners, it's in my past. And reunions at the old family farm usually end with shotguns and clay piges.
You are asked, "Do you live on a farm?"
You have no problem spelling or pronouncing Des Moines, and can locate Kansas on a U.S. man.
I've met well-educated people who proudly say they have no idea "which state is which out there." Maybe my Midwest public school education did the wrong thing by teaching geography. You physically gag when someone says with a smirk, "You're not in Kansas anymore." This Dorothysim is lame and overused. Leave the cliches at home.
Another frequent offender on the study abroad $ ^{a} $
circuit is, "When in Rome ..." I'm just tired of hearing it. I've been happy to meet people who take a genuine interest in where I'm from, and I'm always proud to tell them about it. I have no reason to be ashamed of Midwestern roots. Like I said, I don't think it's very different from growing elsewhere in the United States, and I'll take it instead of almost anywhere. I think everyone should be proud of where they're from and should protect their regional heritages, something we're losing as we slide into the corporate America look-alike culture.
But it is interesting that Americans abroad call themselves just that: Americans. Although it is a bit egotistical and vague to leave out everyone else on the American continents, it shows how we think of ourselves. We first identify with the United States and second with our states.
the United States and second. This idea is strange to people from Spain, who don't really identify themselves as Spaniards. Instead, many hold on to their regional heritage, remnants of the many kingdoms that eventually were united under one flag. Today, Spain has four official languages and a terrorist separatist group. The concept of being a Spaniard really doesn't exist, and the Spanish you might have learned in class is more correctly termed Castillan.
This rich cultural heritage is one of the things that makes Spain special and fun to visit. It might help explain why 60 million visitors make their ways to Spain every year, far exceeding the nation's population of 40 million.
Although the Midwest might not have centuries of heritage on par with Spain, I tell my new American friends that they should visit the center of the country, not just fly over it or drive through it on Interstate 70. I think they just might be surprised with what they find.
When asked how your trip to any foreign, exotic place was, you usually say, "It was different." Not to get too excited, but things in Spain are good so far. I'll keep you posted.
Merkel-Hess is an Iowa City, Iowa, junior in journalism and environmental studies. He is studying in Madrid, Spain, this semester.
Job search should focus on benefits, not salaries
It has been four years, and you never thought your college career would come to a successful end. But now the time crunch has begun, and both you and your parents are trying to picture what the future has in store for you. All you know is that you are walking through that Campanile on May 21 and that the loan repayment notes will start showing up within the next six months.
Well, if you had the foresight to anticipate your future, you attended the last career fair. The opportunities that were available were probably the best in town for the little effort you had to put
Tisha McCoy columnist
nninning@ansan.com
forth to sell yourself. All you had to do was print some resumes, dress in nice business-casual attire, be able to communicate effectively and have a real sense of your career aspirations. If you possessed these tools walking into the fair, you more than likely scored an interview the next day.
That's just great! You are in there with a company you think you have potential to grow with, the corporate culture seems to suit you and even the base salary
and even the basic sounds good. But do you really know how to evaluate job offers? It is very easy to get caught up in making a decision based on how much money you will pocket at the end of each week, but don't let yourself make this mistake. While having a disposable income that will accommodate your lifestyle is without a doubt a necessity, it should be something you evaluate last.
Nowadays, the most important part of the corporate compensation package is in the form of benefits. You know, all of those things you thought you would wait 10 years to invest in, such as 40(1) retirement plans, bonus incentive plans and flexible reimbursement plans, not to mention the health and dental insurance plans. All of these added incentives can almost double your offer, so if your base salary is $35,000, the total compensation package may amount to almost $70,000.
But the problem you now may face is what exactly you should be looking for and what resources on campus are available to help you
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evaluate your job offers. The short answer is that there are no resources available! Don't get me wrong, the Career Services centers on campus do a wonderful job of helping you make contacts with companies and setting up interviews, and the information contained in their libraries offers a wealth of knowledge as far as researching companies. But when the offer comes, no one really can sit down and tell you which company would be best for you based on the incentive plan.
Using myself as an example, after months of interviews, countless deadlines and five offers, I was a little distraught when it came to making the final decision. Sometimes, I secretly hoped that companies would not hire me because it would make my decision easier. What I found is that I really had to think about my future and what it potentially could hold.
real money?
Think about your future because many in our generation are getting married soon after college, and you don't want to be with a company that cannot provide benefits to your spouse and dependents. When you have that part settled, compare the salary and NEGOTIATE! Good luck!
In addition, companies can contribute the most to your career through matching 401(K) plans and educational reimbursement plans. Granted, most of us are different from our parents' generation in that we probably won't be employed with one company for the rest of our careers, but that doesn't mean that you cannot take advantage of these incentives now and use them as stepping stones to your next career move.
stories to you.
As students, we tend to have this need for instant gratification, and while you definitely want to be happy in the short term, it is important to think about your potential in the long term. As you start to rake in the offers, don't let the companies rush you into a decision. Lay all of the information in front of you and evaluate the incentives of the deal because that's where the real money is.
what it potentially is. I don't necessarily see myself married with children in the next two years, but it's a possibility. If that's the case, I must consider the health and dental plans. I must evaluate the deductibles, the co-payments, whether it's an HMO or a PPO plan and whether experimental procedures are covered.
McCoy is a Kansas City, Mo., senior in business administration.
It's 'naturist'; not nudist or naturalis
Feedback
Permit me to gently chide the Kansan about the Feb. 11 anti-unity legislation story.
In the 19th century we had leper colonies; in the 1930s, places some people called nudist colonies. In the 21st century we neither have leper colonies nor nudist colonies. Leprosy can be controlled with drugs, likewise, nudists no longer
need to be quarantined. In Y2K, we do have lots of nudist parks, though, and a growing number of nudist resorts, fully equivalent to their 5-star textile counterparts.
The article also misspelled the word "naturist" as "naturalist." Naturalists study nature. Naturists (as in an naturel) enjoy nude beaches. Clothes-free Europeans never call themselves nudists. In 1970s America, nude beaches caught on in places where there
were lots of beaches. In 1980, free beach activists formed an organization, the Naturist Society, that promotes public lands nude recreation.
Unlike nudists, naturists tend to have last names and don't behind fences. If you call them naturalists, they'll probably give you a puzzled look.
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David L. Bitters
Naturist Action Committee,
area representative
Mission Hills resident