OPINION
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2005
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
EDITORIAL BOARD
www.kansan.com
University modus operandi: Fix problems with Band-Aids
Students at the University of Kansas have plenty to be proud of. The University's outstanding academic character, first-rate professors, innovative student leaders and a pretty good basketball team all contribute to this swelling pride. Talking with any Kansas student or alumnus says how special it is to be a part of a community that is closely-knit, both literally and figuratively. Students have experienced this close community since day one in the form of lines.
Dictionary.com defines a line as "a geometric figure formed by a point moving along a fixed direction and the reverse direction."
Everyone realizes these so-called lines are inevitable when dealing with administrative or bureaucratic processes here at the University or anywhere.
But while the argument can be made that standing in long, arduous lines brings the student and administrative bodies closer together, these lines can be just a little too close for comfort.
Take the newly-renovated Underground on the first floor of Wescoe Hall for example. There is no better place on campus where the KU community can come together and feel like one big happy family — particularly during peak eating hours of the day. Some days it even feels like the entire KU family has stopped by to get something to eat — reminiscent of Thanksgiving in the cramped dining room of a grandparent's house.
Those at the end of the line may finish last in the race for seats, eating their food before it becomes cold. But why does the student body have to stress about squeezing into these confined lines? Students have enough problems to stress about during the day.
Students have already begun asking why the Underground was improved but not innovatively expanded. Was this effort by the University just another Band-Aid solution, or was it permanent? The student body unfortunately has also found a similar problem at the new Student Recreation Fitness Center.
The $17 million, 98,000-square-foot recreation center, funded by student fees, opened in the fall of 2003.
While it certainly is a spectacular marvel as compared with Robinson Center, the recreation center has experienced its share of problems during the past several months. The biggest of which are once again lines — lines for racquetball, basketball and weight equipment.
During the recreation center's peak hours, it is nearly impossible for students to fit in a workout or enjoy any aspect of the center. Recent plans entail a $6.1 million, 50,000-square-foot addition to the center. But when these plans will come into fruition is uncertain.
Bargaining between students and administration will likely persist on this issue over money and space.
The editorial board recognizes that the improvements to the Underground and the building of the new recreation center were significant enhancements to the KU community. Students waited for these improvements, but even after these renovations and additions, it seems they are still waiting. Will the University find a permanent solution?
Students may have to continue to wait in line and see. Either students do that, or they can work to pry this Band-Aid off. Because of state budget cuts in education funding, there's no alternative then for the student body to take action on this issue. A group of College of Liberal Arts and Sciences students have already developed an innovative tuition plan that works to alleviate the University's Band-Aid frenzy. This type of student involvement and planning is what is needed. What are you doing to help?
John Byerley writing for the editorial board.
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music can't be taken seriously but impressionable children don't know the difference.
music can't be taken seriously but impressionable children don't know the difference.
I think everyone living in a First Management apartment should move out immediately and stop paying rent to a Missouri sympathizer
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
Why should anyone in the state of Kansas get to decide who I can marry?
music can't be taken seriously but impressionable children don't know the difference.
music can't be taken seriously but impressionable children don't know the difference.
Is it really necessary to have the president's State of the Union address on every channel?
This is to the guy who wears the Uggs. Uggs are dumb enough on girls. Don't do it.
There's jugging on ESPN. Are you freaking kidding me?
Since when does losing an election necessitate acquiescence?
At least we now know that the war on terror begins with homosexuals at home.
I'd just like to say that if Screech from "Saved By The Bell" went to KU, he'd live on the eighth floor of McCollum.
Jennifer Weaver
sales and marketing adviser
884-7666 or jweaver@kansan.com
You don't think shows like "The Bachelorette" and "Who Wants Tc Marry A Millionaire?" riuit the sanctity of marriage?
--music can't be taken seriously but impressionable children don't know the difference.
I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat, you don't wear fishnets to a State of the Union address.
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or mgibson@kansas.com
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Negative lyrics devalue education
Martin Luther King Jr. must be turning over in his grave. I don't remember anything in his "I Have a Dream" speech about dropping out of college.
AUSTIN. YEAH BABY!
February brings not only Black History Month, but also the 47th annual Grammy Awards. What do these events have in common? Certainly not social responsibility. On Feb. 13, we'll find out whether the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences will award Kanye West for poisoning the minds of America's youth.
West's album, "The College Dropout," garnered 10 Grammy nominations including Album of the Year and Best New Artist. The 27-year-old rapper dropped out of an art school in Chicago after only a year and shared his experiences on the album.
The lyrics poke fun at the credibility of a college education. West devalues the worthiness of a degree by saying, "All the regular homeless people have newspapers and look what I have." The quality of West's beats and rhymes deserves accolades but the message does not.
West falls into the same category as
AUSTIN CASTER
acaster@kansan.com
Einemem. Both have earned nominations and awards for their music but neither believes in social responsibility. Einemem picked up Grammys for rapping about how much he hates fags. West encourages dropping out of school. What positive messages to send to kids. These rappers make exceptional music, but they don't realize that their main audience — 12 year olds who turn on "TRL" after school — hasn't lived in the real world and can't distinguish fact from fiction. If little Johnny can score a rap deal with Roc-A-Fella records by spitting rhymes about rims, hos and getting high, why should he waste time going to college?
Mature adults may realize that this
West contributes to low enrollment of minority students in colleges, a trend in American culture.
Fewer than 10 percent of KU students are minorities, according to the University's Web site, www.ku.edu*.
If West's message changes the minds of America's youth, all the money and effort that the University spends to recruit minorities will go to waste. Black students can achieve just as much or more than their white counterparts, but they won't receive the opportunity if they never enroll.
West has started recording and will drop his second album later this year, according to Entertainment Weekly. I hope he will take into account the hard work and sacrifices of King, Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks when he selects his tracks.
Caster is a Shawnee senior in journalism.
Honesty best for no-strings hook-ups
SEX 101
I was in my worst version of hell. I consisted of me being stuck in a hotel room with four other gay men, having to listen to them talk about musical theater. For two hours. I don't know about you, but I don't care about the musical "Camelot" or what role anyone is suited to play in it.
Fortunately, I was drunk, or I would have tried to drown myself in the toilet. Now you may be wondering how I got myself into this position. It was one part liquor and one part curiosity. And I was at a theater conference, so you're bound to hear someone sing a bar of "Rent" — it's inevitable.
But in this instance, I was invited by a 28-year-old faculty adviser — from another school, mind you — and I was interested in him. That was until I heard 20 minutes of blathering about how resonance comes off the soft palate.
There was also something else that bothered me about the situation. We all knew why we were there. We wanted to hook up. This garbage was keeping us occupied until we were all sufficiently intoxicated so we wouldn't feel self-conscious about our clumsy advances.
STEPHEN MOLES smoles@kansan.com
After already having had consumed the two-drink minimum, I was sick of wading through the crap and did what any self-respecting person would do. I pulled the guy sitting next to me into the bathroom, and we made out.
Why are we so scared that we can't even say, "Hey, take off your pants" without knocking a few back? I think most would respond with "It would be awkward" or "I don't know how to do that." I wonder if it's deeper than that.
This encounter got me thinking. What's up with us? I mean "us" in the global sense. Everyone in the room knew what the others wanted. We wanted to get off, to have fun, to not worry about the night.
We don't have a vocabulary to hook up with. At least not any effective one
I've seen, Yeah, you can say "No strings attached," but what does that really mean? There's no nice way to say "Hey, I wanna screw and then never have to deal with you ever again."
Which brings me to my other point: I think we need the drinks because we want to be thought of as nice in these boots call. If you're drunk and things are weird in the morning, you can blame the booze. We all have a scapegoat, something to take the responsibility for our indiscretions.
So here's my suggestion from here on out: Be truthful.
I know, I know. It sounds way too simple. Instead of whispering alcoholic lies in someone's ears, why not just be upfront. Just say "I want to have fun tonight and not worry about it. Let's go." If they get pissed and run off in a huff, well, they weren't worth it. Why bother getting ourselves messily entangled with someone we don't really like? Just do yourself a favor, suck it up and say what you want. I guarantee it will be so much easier down the road.
Moles is a Lawrence junior in sociology.
Drivel. That was a breathtakingly vicious thing to say.
She wrote, "More realistic, and more believable than the alien theory, is the claim that the United States was responsible for the tsunami." She also wrote that the United States made no calls for warning purposes.
Rupal Gor includes several theories in her piece "Tsuami forewarning half-hearted," but none so asinine as her assertion of American culpability.
Columnist unfairly scathes United States in tsunami
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii detected the quake and placed frantic warning calls. The Honolulu Advertiser thus quoted Barry Hirschorn: "We called embassies. We talked to the navy in Sri Lanka, any local government official we could get hold of." Moreover, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration worked the phones, which rang unanswered in Indonesian geological offices.
Lastly, Gor states we knew of tsunamis five hours before the earthquake. Since the earthquake triggered
The affected countries simply lack warning infrastructure. Case in point: A Thai scientist's alert went unheeded.
the waves, this is risible.
Gor clearly forgoes facts due to an abiding hatred for her own country. In this time in which journalists are ranked in job credibility surveys between lawyers and used car dealers, she does her profession no favors. What's bad for the goose is bad for the gander.
Shaun R. Morris
Overtand Park junior
English major