Opinion
The University Daily Kansan
Laura Roddy, Editor
Sarah Hale, Managing editor
Kristi Elliott, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser
Shauntea Blue, Business manager
Brad Bolyard, Retail sales manager
Matt Fisher, Sales and marketing adviser
Scott Valler, Technology coordinator
Monday, February 14, 2000
Clay McCuistion / KANSAN
Editorials
University needs to cooperate with federal drug investigation
On Feb. 1, the Kansas City Star reported that allegations involving drug deals had been made against some Kansas football players and fraternity members. Chad Pollard, one of many accused in a Kansas City drug trafficking case, was denied bond after an FBI agent testified that since 1996 Pollard had supplied drugs to members of the Kansas football team, as well as to various fraternity members.
Coupled with the Friday's arrest of former football walk-on Tywanne Aldridge for allegedly attempting to purchase cocaine from an undercover officer, this incident signals a problem. The University of Kansas should cooperate with this investigation so that all allegations can be dealt with quickly and completely.
Athletics department officials should not dismiss allegations
Bob Frederick, athletics director promptly stated that the University had no knowledge of the alleged involvement and that the article came as surprise. It's true that student athletes are subject to year-round drug testing and that the Big 12 Conference tests for drugs, too — often during the academic year.
Frederick and other University officials should not automatically dismiss these allegations. If the University requires its athletes to be drug-free, it should be willing to cooperate with an investigation about the enforcement — or lack thereof — of
such a policv.
The established drug screening system ideally serves as insurance that an individual will not partake of illegal drugs, even for recreation. However, there is a detoxification market all of its own, and the results of drug tests may not always be 100 percent accurate. The results of this investigation may call for reforming the drug testing system.
Regardless of one's views, KU athletes have entered committed to being drug-free. And whether these allegations turn out to be true about any KU student, it's unfortunate that the question even has arisen.
For now, however, all the University can do is offer its cooperation with the FBI investigation.
Matt Dunehoo for the editorial board
Halls should be reserved for needy
Miller and Watkins scholarship halls should be reserved for deserving students in financial need. These residences can be used as a recruiting tool to draw in National Merit Scholars; however, this is not in line with their original purpose. The University's primary obligation should be to respect the wishes of Elizabeth Miller Watkins.
The scholarship hall trust was established to maintain living quarters for any women in financial need who wanted to obtain an education at University of Kansas. This also can be seen as a recruiting tool, attracting high-profile students such as National Merit Scholars with the possibility of living in these halls. Some claim that all students benefit by this because it
University obligated to honor the original intentions of Elizabeth Miller Watkins
improves the academic image of our university.
The halls were intended for something more substantial than a public relations tool. There are many other institutions that provide for the wellbeing of the high-profile students. Miller and Watkins halls have the unique duty to first help financially disadvantaged students.
Most importantly, we must recognize the wishes of Elizabeth Watkins as the deciding factor in how the scholarship halls are administered. Several
Watkins residents filed objections in Douglas County District Court, and a hearing has been set for April 14, at which time the trustees of the trust will respond to the objections. In the April hearings, the strongest criticism of residence hall policy will be how it has departed from Watkins' original intentions.
We are lucky to have the support of philanthropists for institutions such as Miller and Watkins scholarship halls. The University could not offer as many opportunities to economically disadvantaged students without the help of people like Elizabeth Miller Watkins. We should respect her wishes and provide these residences — with top priority — to the most needy female students.
Brett Watson for the editorial board
Kansan staff
News editors
Seth Hoffman . . . . .
Advertising
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 Schlitt .Zone
Thad Crane .Zone
Cecely Curran .Zone
Christy Davies .Zone
Advertising managers
Broaden your mind: Today's quote
"Where there is love there is life."
—Mahatma Gandhi
Letterers: 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 stoff must identify their positions.
How to submit letters and guest columns
Guest columns: Should be double-
spaced typed with fewer than 700 words.
The writer must be willing to be photo-
graphed for the column to run.
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, to cut 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 (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4924.
Students not motivated to excel on assessments
The second flawed measure is comparison to Asian students. Although it seems necessary to compare the United States to other countries, it is unfair to do so in the realm of education. I understand the need to be able to compete with other students in different countries — the opportunity to have the same base of knowledge is deemed important. But using Asian students as a measure for American students' levels of education is like comparing apples and oranges.
Rupali
Limaye
columnist
poisson@kansan.co
Students in Asia almost always will do better in any tests compared to those in the United States. What's the reason? Competition, Whereas students in the United States can get into a state college with relative ease, it is not the case in many Asian countries. Some kids have to study seriously in high school to obtain their goals, such as placing in the top 10 percent of their classes. Only then will they have the opportunity to receive scholarships, which is key to continuing their education. It is financially impossible for many of these students to attend college without a scholarship.
Members of Generation X and Y have been lectured time and time again about how far behind the rest of the world they are in education. They constantly are told that they score significantly lower than their Asian counterparts, especially in the areas of math and reading.
This seems to be one variable that indicates why reading scores are so low. Because none of us cared about taking them, we really didn't try to do our best. Therefore, using the assessment as the means to analyze reading abilities is not entirely accurate. A solution that may solve this is to make these assessments worth a grade, something my honors English teacher did, and it worked.
Perspective
So yes, students in Asia may seem smarter than those in the United States, but it is unreasonable to compare the two. They have to score higher on their assessment tests simply to beat out other students for the top spots. This incorrect base of analysis isn't the Legislature's fault — it is the fault of the studies that use these two standards to measure students' abilities.
A recent study concluded that only 40 to 50 percent of U.S. students are at the level of proficiency in reading and math, while students in Asia are scoring, at the very low end, about 70 percent.
The 2000 Kansas legislative session began just a few weeks ago, and legislators already have started proposing plans for one of the most important reforms in the session: education. Although there are several proposals to choose from.
an or them seem to base their reforms on two things: assessment tests and a comparison to Asian education systems. And this isn't just in Kansas; national studies are using the same two gauges to determine measures for reform.
I'm not an expert in education reform, so I certainly don't have a detailed solution. However, the criteria used by legislators and researchers when making education policy is flawed.
Although these plans are constructed with good intentions and qualified research, the basis used to determine proficiency is inaccurate. By using assessment tests to determine a student's level of ability, accuracy is undermined. And the comparison of students to those in Asia also is not effective.
so the state had some statistics on students in different districts. I definetly was not the only one who didn't really care how I did on them; that was the general consensus of the whole class.
First, let's look at assessment tests. In grade school, after I took a long test, I was ranked on a scale of one to five. But I wasn't the only one who had to take these tests. Students all across Kansas were taking them, and this was how our levels of proficiency were evaluated. I remember thinking that the tests were a waste of time, and I never really cared because they weren't for a grade; it was just something we had to do
Limaye is an Olathe junior in political science and advertising.
Feedback
University's duty is to teach social values
As an undergraduate, I attended a small Catholic liberal arts school that had a very strict policy against alcohol on campus. However, the college regularly scheduled events for the entire school (dances, dinners, etc.) during which alcohol was served. All students attended, and most drank, including minors.
2) The role of the University is to form the whole person, not simply the intellect, of the student. During these four (or more) years, each student will engage in activities which will develop his or her character for the better part of his life. A very important habit to form is that of drinking responsibly. Just as important is learning the acceptable cultural and social uses of alcohol. By supervising events that serve alcohol, the University imparts to the student important lessons in temperance.
1) One might say the University acts in loco parentis for the students. Accordingly, just as minors legally can drink at home under the supervision of their parents, so, too, can minors drink on campus when supervised by University agents.
An example of this was seen at the February 4 Rock Chalk Ball. Jim O'Malley reported that a student, after his third glass of wine, was told by a scholarship counselor to stop drinking. The counselor, acting as the University's agent, communicated to the student that there is a limit to the number of drinks one should have at a social event. Hopefully, that student will remember his lesson and utilize it after leaving the University.
Why did the school allow this activity? (No, not because it was run by Irish Catholics). Below I have outlined two theories, both of which apply to the University of Kansas as well. Minor students can drink at the University under two theories.
If the University of Kansas bans events that teach the virtues of social drinking, it neglects its educational duty.
Jeremy McNeil Shawnee second year student in law and business
Jeremy McNeil
McCain a friend to corporations
Although I wholly agree with
Brian Tongier Lawrence senior
Like Bill Clinton — the "Man From Hope" with a long history of collaboration with big business — McCain will engage in "business as usual" should he win the White House.
During the Savings and Loan Scandals of the late 1980s, McCain was a prominent member of the "Keating Five." These five senators (Cranston, DeConcini, Glenn, Riegle, and McCain) pressured federal regulators to leave the savings and loan industry alone as it proceeded to run up a debt that cost taxpayers $2.5 billion to bail out. The Keating Five received more than $1.3 million in campaign contributions as a result.
Evolution is flawed
Professor Buechner wrote in a recent letter that "the scientific community overwhelmingly is (100 percent in a 1980 poll) behind evolution, ever since the discovery of chromosomal segregation provided a mechanism for it."
This year, McCain has received appreciable donations from Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street firms. Although McCain may not seem to be as servile to moneyed interests as "Dubya" is to the oil industry or Bradley is to Wall Street, he is nonetheless a pro-business politician with a history of bowing to corporate America's will.
Mike Loader's assessment of "Dubya" in his Feb. 10 column, his judgement of John McCain as "not necessarily ... [a] corrupt pawn of big money" is quite inaccurate.
Professor Beuchner is obviously not well read, as there are many biologists, biochemists, chemists and mathematicians who see the theory of neo-Darwinian evolution as flawed, if not completely unworkable.
For example, Jerry Coyne, of the department of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago, stated that "We conclude — unexpectedly — that there is little evidence for the neo-Darwinian view; its theoretical foundations and the experimental evidence supporting it are weak."
Lynn Margulis, distinguished university professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts, states that history will view neo-Darwinian theory as "a minor twentieth
century religious sect within the sprawling religious persuasion of Anglo-Saxon biology."
Contrary to what Professor Buechner would have people believe, the theory of evolution is still a point of scientific debate and the full complexities concerning the diversity of biological life have not been solved. I dispute the theory of evolution, not upon ideological grounds, but on the grounds that the theory, as it stands, is far from being able to explain the conclusions that its proponents so vehemently defend.
As a participant in basketball intramurals, I am writing to express my concern about an unfortunate incident on the night of Feb. 8.
For what our team lacks in athletic ability, we make up for in sportsmanship, dedication, heart and side-splitting fun. We are popular for our half-court shots, three-man half- and five-on-one defense.
Matthew M. Hastings Leawood sophomore
Our team was kicked out of Robinson Center and forced to forfeit the second half of our game for one simple reason — we didn't play by the "standards" expected by the director of intramurals. Although the opposing team, the officials and the scorekeepers had no problem with our style of play, one person's agenda dictated our doom, and we were given the boot.
Heart and dedication better than talent
In addition, our friends and family were not allowed to watch us play our game. That's right, our fans were banned from Robinson, the building they pay to use every semester.
It seems crazy to me that authorities at Robinson are driven to ban a team for having a good time, while testosterone-crazed teams with too much competitive juices are much more prone to initiate confrontations. Above all else, we have fun, but fun is not allowed in Robinson these days.
Erik H. Lund Overland Park senior