Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Ann Premer, Editor Jamie Holman, Business manager Gerry Doyle, Managing editor Sara Cropper, Retail sales manager Angie Kuhn, Managing editor Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
Monday, February 22, 1999
"IS IT ME, OR DO THE POTHOLES GET BIGGER EVERY YEAR?"
The Chicago Tribune
Editorials
Heidegger's philosophical clout outshines Nazi party affiliation
The criticism surrounding the Heidegger Lecture Series, though well-intended, is misdirected. Professor Wallace Johnson's argument against the name of the series is valid, but it does not warrant changing the name.
Martin Heidegger, a 20th century existentialist philosopher, is studied in a class tied to the lecture series called Heidegger and the Greeks. Despite Heidegger's contributions to ontology, the study of being, and his ability to combine the ideas of philosophers such as Frederich Nietsche, he was a member of the Nazi party.
Although such an association is neither to be ignored nor excused,
Lecture series aptly named for 20th century thinker despite insensitivity claims.
his affiliation was not unique Hans Sluga, author of "Heidegger's Crisis," notes that by 1940, nearly half of Germany's noted philosophers were party members, some of whom, unlike Heidegger, were responsible for the formation of Nazi ideology.
Heidegger's affiliation with the Nazi party should neither be ignored nor sugar-coated. It would be unfair, however, to compare him to Adolf Hitler.
Johnson's fear is that by acknowledging positive aspects and contributions of the Nazi regime, people will forget the atrocities. Although society must be reminded of the horrors so history will not repeat itself, the consequences of villianizing individuals who were on the periphery also is damaging.
Although the Holocaust brought on by the Nazi party affected a cross-section of society, a good judge of whether the naming of the lecture series is in bad taste is how the Jewish community responds. Until this happens, the series should remain named as is—pertaining to the subject at hand.
Erinn R. Barcomb for the editorial board
Recent work earns pats on the back
A thank you goes to the students and staff at the University of Kansas who have reached to improve the University during the past few weeks. We send a pat on the back to the following:
Chancellor Robert Hemenway opened his home Feb. 2 to KU's Asian-American students. The reception offered the students an opportunity to meet KU administrators and to get to know one another. Receptions for members of First Nations Students Association, Black Student Union and the Hispanic American Leadership Organization are planned for later this semester. This is a step in the right direction for our chancellor who, during his first faculty convoitation speech in 1995, named diversity appreciation as an area for improvement at the University.
The women of Alpha Chi Omega
Diversity, greek excellence lobbying and coaching victory entitled to recognition.
Alpha Delta Pi, Chi Omega, Delta Gamma and Kappa Alpha Theta sororities and the men of Delta Chi fraternity were awarded Feb. 15 the Chapter Excellence Award at the University's annual Greek Recognition Night.
of chapter excellence recipients.
These greek chapters should be proud of their accomplishments in scholarship, financial management, greek relations, community relations, membership development, risk management and alumni relations. Bill Nelson, coordinator for Greek programs, said this was a record number
A third pat on the back to the members of the Student Legislative Awareness Board for their dedication to students advocacy. Their representation to the Kansas Legislature about issues such as faculty salary and financial aid increases is a excellent example of student leadership. They also should be commended for spearheading an effort to bring city commission candidates, students and Lawrence Bus Company officials together for discussions about a new public transportation system.
And, finally, a pat on the back and congratulations to Marian Washington for her 500th win. This is an accomplishment of which players, students and alumni can be proud.
To nominate someone for a pat on the back, e-mail the editorial staff at opinion@kansan.com.
Ryan Koerner for the editorial board
Kansan staff
News editors
Ryan Koerner . . . Editorial
Jeremy Doherty . . . Associate editorial
Aaron Marvin . . . Neus
Laura Roddy . . . Neus
Mellissa Ngo . . . Neus
Aaron Knopf . . Online
Erin Thompson . . Sports
Marc Sheforgen . Associate sports
Chris Fickett . Campus
Sarah Hale . Campus
T.R. Miller . Features
Steph Brewer . Associate features
Augustus Anthony Piazza . Photo
Chris Dye . Design, graphics
Carl Kaminski . Wire
Carolyn Mollett . Special sections
Laura Veazey . News clerk
Advertising managers
Matt Lopez . . . Special sections
Jennifer Patch . . . Campus
Micah Kaffitz . . . Regional
Jon Schlitt . . . National
Tyler Cook . . . Marketing
Shannon Curran . PR/ Intern manager
Christa Estep . Production
Steven Prince . Production
Chris Corley . Creative
Jason Hannah . Classified
Corinne Buffmire . Zone
Shauntae Blue . Zone
Brandi Byram . Zone
Brian Allers . Zone
Justin Allen . Zone
"Nature has always had more power than education." — Voltaire
Broaden your mind: Today's quote
How to submit letters and guest columns
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 home-town 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 submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Staufer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Ryan Koerner or Jeremy Doherty at 864-4924.
If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4924.
Religious intolerances fostered by own beliefs
Perspective
People should have strong faith and strong opinions. We should all know our own minds and our own hearts. But sometimes in the midst of forming our belief systems, there
Racial, religious and cultural intolerance should not have a place in this world. In the realm of faith, intolerance takes the form of dogmas.
Simmie
Berroya
opinion@ kansan.com
Addressing Christian dogma comes easy for me because I have lived with it all my life, I grew up in rural Texas in the mid 1950s, long before the charismatic renewal of the '60s. Those were the days of the great tent revivals, and I attended them all
in the midst of forming our emerges a dogma called intolerance.
Mom and I didn't just go to church on Sundays — we went every night of the week. If our own church wasn't having service that night, we would get in the car and drive out to the country and find a church that was having a revival.
In those days, it seemed that the only churches having revivals were Pentecostal. The services often would last until the wee hours of the morning; we kids would go to sleep on the floor or the pew.
Pentecostalism became my world and my dogma. I haven't heard this term for a long time, but I was a "holy roller." It shaped my perception of the world and of people who were different.
Mom and I didn't just go to church on Sundays
During this time of discovery in worship, another foundation was laid. When my mother would go downstream to pay bills, she would leave me in the car. While waiting for her, I would see strange ladies walking down the street, dressed in long black-and-white outfits.
I had a great-aunt by marriage who was Catholic. One of my favorite events to attend was her parties. She always would invite priests to her parties. Since it was against my religion to smoke or drink, I found it fascinating to see my aunt's priest with a cigar in one hand and a brandy-sniffer in the other. My mother constantly had to remind me not to stare.
When I asked my mother who they were, she told me they were Catholic nuns. She said they didn't know Jesus and that they needed to be
delivered. She didn't meet all this, but that was the dogma in its final form. As far as I can remember, that was the basis of my greatest religious intolerance in the Christian faith.
throughout my young adult life, the Protestant faith presented me with material to affirm my beliefs about Catholics — mostly because I was looking for it.
I had a friend in high school who was Catholic. She had six brothers and sisters, and I spent as much time as possible at her house because being an only child was a lonely existence compared to the happy chaos of that family. I was relentless in my attempts to evangelize Kathy. I would mentally criticize everything I heard while I was in church with her.
That was many years ago. Five years ago, I was confirmed in the Charismatic Episcopal Church, which is Catholic in form, but not part of the Roman Catholic Church. It is liturgical and sacramental. However, it is also evangelical, tying together the three streams.
Two weeks after my confirmation, I was going through a box of old papers looking for my daughter's birth certificate when I came upon an old baptised paper. It was mine. I had been baptized Roman Catholic as a baby.
That was when I remembered the nuns in Texas and the priests at my aunt's parties. No wonder I felt like I had come home.
Do I regret being raised Protestant? Not at all. It is part of my journey. Dogma and prejudice are part of all our lives. But that doesn't mean we have to keep them. We can pray for deliverance.
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Berroya is an Olathe senior in communications studies.
Higher learning enriched by campus involvement
Take a moment to reflect on your experiences at the University of Kansas. You may be a budding leader, just learning the ropes of our illustrious campus. You also could be a
ropes of our must busi camp veteran, someone who has already mastered the KU experience. Many of you are close to graduation and have let many opportunities pass you by.
Yet, no matter how much time you have left, there still is time to make a positive impact on campus.
Karen Isley
Guest columnist
With little effort on your part, you can make your adventure here more fulfilling and rewarding. There is no need to write this down in your planner; you will not have to rearrange your schedule.
Kevin Yoder
Guest columnis
This spring, many of these groups will be selecting their peers to serve on committees and to be officers. Many community service organizations will be host to programs every week.
take part in what is going on around you, your purpose will be clear. By participating in campus activities, you can break this large campus down into a small family. There are hundreds of student organizations, living groups, sport clubs and events.
Relax...this is easy. Smile, take a deep breath and embrace the opportunities that surround you. Two simple steps can help you make an impact on your life and the lives of others.
The first step toward successfully navigating your time is becoming involved. This task seems daunting at first. It is quite a large university and it is fairly easy to get lost.
However, if you actively
Go.Run. Get Involved.
From time to time, you might also want to brush
Graduation will come sooner than you think. When you walk down the hill, judge your success not by what you have added to your resume, but by the lives you have positively influenced. Know that you will leave the University a better place than when you came.
Keep in mind that the impact is measured not by how many offices you hold or by how many organizations you join. Rather, your success will be measured by how many people you guide, motivate and help succeed.
Isley is an Virginia, Ohio, senior in communications studies. Yoder is a Hutchinson senior in political science and English. They are the 1999 ExCEL award winners and the coordinators of Blueprints 1999.
These experiences can help you grow, make friends and refine your leadership skills. You won't want to miss out.
The second step in your endearable concerns your attitude. Paint our campus! Your attitude is more contagious than the flu that has been going around for weeks. It spreads like wildfire.
up your leadership skills. The Student Leadership Institute, LeaderShape and Blueprints all are wonderful opportunities. These conferences are held annually. In fact, Blueprints is just around the corner.
If you've already mastered the technique of immersing yourself, you have a mission to spread your success to others. Advocate action rather than criticism. Take time to think about how your words influence others, leave a mark on campus that no one can paint over with cynicism. There is no better way to make an impact on our campus than by motivating others.
Journalist recalls professor's teachings
It was a discarded University Daily Kansas that told me of the death of John Ginn. I don't know what shocked me more
If you follow these steps, then you are sure to gain a much larger return than your original investment. You will have improved our campus and community and, at the same time, developed your own leadership skills.
— the way of the delivery or the fact that one of my former professors — one I deeply admired and respected — was suddenly gone.
my painting our campus with your positive attitude, you will reach out to every organization, every professor or administrator and most important, other future student leaders.
Feedback
I only had John for one class, yet his influence on me remains as indelible as India ink. It was the spring of 1997, my last semester as a graduate student at the University of Kansas, when I took his media ethics class. I only knew John Ginn by reputation. My first "introduction" came while as a
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For many of us in attendance at his memorial service — former and current students alike — it was his dedication to teaching that left its most lasting mark.
reporter for the Kansan. He gave the newsroom a lecture on ethics and the importance of fact checking.
What stood out then and still does about John's class was the
During my tenure at the University, all the professors I took touched me personally in their own unique ways. John's was in the area of how journalists should never forget the importance of their job and that they should remember to do it honestly, completely and impartially.
oance, how he gave each of us a fair chance during classroom ethical exercises. It was as though he treated us not as students but as future journalism professionals.
Each of us who had the pleasure to sit in his class will forever have their own memories. Mine are of a man who liked a good, hearty laugh and seemed to have a bottomless supply of bow ties.
In the end, I guess, it was fitting that I learned of John's death by way of a discarded newspaper. Knowing John, he probably would have approved.
David L. Teskia
Online Editor-Sports
The Kansas City Star