Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Ann Premer, Editor Jamie Holman, Business manager Gerry Doyle, Managing editor Sara Cropper, Retail sales manager Angie Kuhn, Managing advisor Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser Justin Knapp, Technology coordinator
Friday, February 5, 1999
TYPICAL KU SEMESTER
PATTERSON
Jamie Patterson / KANSAN
Editorials
Communications department managed overflow graciously
The communication studies department faced an overload this semester because of staff difficulties. This, however, did not stop any graduating seniors from being placed in needed classes to meet May 1999 graduation requirements.
Two professors left. One is on sabbatical, another is on medical leave and one other is going into retirement. This amounted to a 25 percent loss of the faculty.
With this situation, it was not surprising that students, including graduating seniors, had difficulty finding space in communications classes.
Thanks to the flexibility of the department and its staff, all of the graduating seniors were accommodated.
Howard Syph, communication studies chair, said that the school did
Graduating seniors were accommodated with larger classes, discussion sections.
several things to try and help the students involved. Many classes were made larger, some as populated as possible under fire safety standards. Discussion sections were added to some classes.
Sypher said that the communication studies department did not just take care of the students who were communications majors. Students in schools such as business and journalism who needed classes also were given priority.
For example, Sypher said, one graduating senior realized this week that he
The communication studies department is searching for two new faculty members for next year to ensure that this is only a one-seminar problem.
needed three hours of communications to graduate. Even with the severe overcrowding within the department, he was granted last-minute enrollment.
Although it is unfortunate that some students may be inconvenienced because of the larger class sizes, this beats the alternative, which would hinder some students' track toward graduation.
The communication studies department deserves some credit for the measures it took to ensure students would graduate. It increased classes sizes and the workload of its remaining faculty, an act that was a tribute to the students it worked so hard to accommodate.
Emily Haverkamp for the editorial board
Election rules needed free appeals
People found guilty of violating Elections Commission rules and regulations now have an outlet for their appeals. Prior to Wednesday's Student Senate meeting, a candidate needed to take a complaint to court.
Because this is often a costly and time consuming process, it was not a viable option for most students. Students now may appeal decisions to the University Judiciary Committee.
A good example of an issue to appeal was leaving the coalition name off the ballots, which was a proposal included in the first draft of the 1999 Elections Code. Nunemaker Senator Ben Walker was correct when he said that taking coalitions off the ballot moved the
Student Senate's quick action should be commended by students, prospective candidates.
election away from an issues-oriented activity and toward a large-scale popularity contest. Whoever could get his or her name out the most would win.
The University Judiciary Committee, on the other hand, uses the knowledge of a law professor and law students to make its decisions. This committee is charged with upholding federal, state and local laws.
Perhaps this was why there was a need to quickly implement an appeals process. Before the review process was implemented, the Senate had formed its own Judiciary Committee to hear appeals. Unfortunately, its jurisdiction was limited to procedural issues and not to violations of the Elections Code.
This will be helpful because every year, there are violations reported that relate to spending limits for candidates or coalitions. On both federal and state levels, laws limiting campaign spending have been ruled unconstitutional.
An appeals process for the Elections Commission has been long overdue. We should congratulate Student Senate for increasing the constitutionality of elections on campus.
Tara Kelly for the editorial board
Kansan staff
Ryan Koerner . *Editorial*
Jeremy Doherty . *Associate editorial*
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Laura Roddy . *News*
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Perspective
Fast-paced campus life easier with kindness
As a student in my second year at the University of Kansas, I have learned how things work around here. I have endured the terrors of enrolling, made it through add/drop and even managed to get my basketball vouchers turned in for
ackets on time once or twice.
Sydney Wallace opinion @ tansan.com
All in all, I feel as if I have figured things out pretty well. People, on the other hand, continue to baffle me daily.
Every time I'm on campus, I see things that make my jaw drop, and I wonder what people possibly could be thinking. I see people running into strangers with hardly a backward glance. People
push their way into buses without pausing to allow others to exit. Those same people who shoved into the bus proceed to hog entire seats, never noticing the three people standing in the aisle.
Everywhere I look, there are newspapers and trash haphazardly discarded. I have sat in seats that were left sticky by the previous occupant's spilled soda.
When I encounter such situations, I sometimes am left with no explanation because I know that the majority of the people I have met here at the University are pretty nice. Complete strangers have loaned me class notes, and I have formed study groups with people whose last names I don't know.
Last year when I had no clue where any of my classes were, everyone I stopped to ask was more than helpful, and more than once people went out of their way to take me directly to the building I was searching for. Looking at the University from this perspective really makes it hard to understand why I sometimes get pushed around or have to fight for a seat on the bus.
After much thought, I have decided that the problem goes far beyond the KU campus. It is not that college kids are a bunch of jerks. That simply isn't true. The problem rests in the fast pace that has become the norm for our society.
We always have somewhere to go and something important to do. We look out for
ourselves first because we have been taught that only the strong survive. Our focus has gone beyond the pleasures of daily life as we constantly are reminded that a college education is required in today's job market.
It is no wonder that people can run into one another without bothering to apologize. Everyone is too busy to take the time out for such things.
Common courtesy never should be overlooked simply because it doesn't serve any immediate purpose. The value in treating others well goes far beyond anything a college education or high salary ever can give us.
It is the kindness of strangers that has made this country what it is today. It is kindness that drives people to take up collections for hurricane victims halfway across the country, people that they will never meet. It is kindness that drove people to rush to Oklahoma City on that fateful day nearly four years ago to help complete strangers in a time of need. It is kindness that a girl whose name I do not know gave me her lecture notes for classes I missed when I was sick.
I am not asking everyone to skip through life rescuing baby birds and helping old ladies cross the street, but it can't hurt. I only encourage people to realize that their actions affect those around them.
When you bump into someone, apologize because no matter whose fault the collision was, everyone feels better once you say you're sorry. Smile at someone who looks sad. Share your newspaper with the person next to you on the bus. But most importantly, don't forget that the people whose lives you affect will in turn affect the lives of others around them.
Sooner or later, you will be one of those people affected by the kindness of a stranger. And to the person whose gum I stepped in the other day, I hope the next time we meet, I flash you my biggest smile because maybe a little kindness from a stranger will do you some good.
Wallace is an Overland Park sophomore in pre-journalism.
Customer service lacks sensitivity for elderly
Come on people, now smile on your brother. Everybody get together, come on and try and love one another — unless they're old. Believe it or not, that is the kind of attitude.
Of course, in this politically correct, sage-smoking, hemp-wearing, peace-preaching town, active discrimination is tucked away like an ugly birthmark.
they reen. Believe it or not attitude present in Lawrence.
This is one of the most repugnant aspects of society.
Yet, as rational people who despise broad generalizations, we complain and point the finger only at a few incidents.
Jenny Oakson opinion @ kansan.com
Although discriminating acts are committed by representatives of a certain group, we do not hold the entire group responsible. We hope to God these people are simply bad representatives.
Lawrence is a small, centralized and relatively accepting community. Here, we all gawk and glare, but we usually don't discriminate against the differences displayed b-
Jami Hamilton opinion kansan.com
people, which inherently make them uniq
which inherently make them unique. We label Lawrence a community, not just a town, because of the tight-knit assembly of individuals. A community represents different people who are all bound by common interests.
This is the cultural hub of Kansas, and we are proud of that. Many businesses, families and scholars have been drawn here not only for the University, but for the home-like atmosphere of Lawrence, which, like a pair of open arms, beckons you to forget your prejudices.
But to our dismay, we have been victims of a glaring hypocrisy.
A Lawrence business that boasts community ties has neglected to live up to the expectations of Lawrence residents.
His reward for this gracious deed? As the man fumbles for change, the clerks roll their eyes. sigh and a give dirty looks.
The goodness of this man is apparent in that he shows total gratitude for the sarcasm, rudeness and condescending attitude he receives during his visits. Because of his trusting nature, it would not occur to him to suspect the
An example of this neglect involves an elderly Lawrence resident, who, because of the ailments of age, is left with limited choice in where he can purchase his life's necessities.
This disrespect, which shows the weakness of our socialization and our society as a whole, is especially disturbing in this community. When did it become acceptable to discriminate against a person who has experienced more of life than college-aged store clerks could comprehend?
insincerity of anvone.
This man has the consideration to call ahead before shopping trips and alert management that he is a special-needs customer.
We're not talking about some bitter old man who is intent on taking somebody's time to compensate for loneliness or the hardships of his own predicament.
One would think the clerks were being exposed to raw sewage and not another human being.
Is it too much to ask for a little patience toward those less fortunate with mobility?
Why would such uncouth personalities want to work in the customer-service industry, when they cannot participate adequately in decent human relations?
As a precaution, we took a trip down to one store where this man shops to determine just how thick this intolerance ran. As two moderately attractive (we think), young females, we could not comprehend the disdain possibly experienced by the older gentleman mentioned above.
The clerks smiled, said hello and only stared for a second. What a relief it was for us that the clerks simply were not ill-trained in customer service. Instead, they were displaying ageism.
Ageism is a concept for the 1990s. Some young adults like to mold their appearances, lifestyles, personal mottoes and vocabulary to mirror a genre present in America, the 1960s—the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, free love and an overall social movement toward peace and individual liberties.
Granted, today there's no war. Supposed hippies walk the streets of Lawrence in abundance. Some work the morbid grind of parttime retail employment. Some demonstrate ageism.
for a group that shows extreme interest in the 1960s, we would think they would respect someone who was alive during that period.
This man was about 40 years old in the 1960s. Odds are that he experienced the best and worst of that era. This is a man that has the knowledge to describe the sights, sounds, smells, joy and heartache of the decade.
Where are his civil liberties?
Oakson is an Overland Park senior in journalism. Hamilton is a Shawnee junior induction.