4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
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WEDNESDAY,MAY 8,2002
EDITORIAL Students must stay tough on tuition
Whether we like it or approve of it, there have been budget cuts at the University of Kansas. Because of the state's financial status, all agencies have cut back, some more than others. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. With the tuition increase, and the Legislature upholding state funding for education, the years to follow can only improve.
Indeed, already tough times will be even worse next year. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is facing a $1.9 million budget cut this year, according to Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, dean of liberal arts and sciences. Already this year, Leslie Pierson, a Spanish 108 teaching assistant, has experienced frustration within the College. Pierson had only used the copying services one time this semester, yet was not allowed to photocopy her four-page review for the final. She will have to pay out of her own pocket for reviews for her students.
But there is reason for optimism. Administrative costs such as photocopying paper and telephone costs are cut first, as opposed to cutting salaries.
The tuition increase that will take effect this summer will provide new revenue that the University desperately needs. On a positive note, those extra dollars will not only make up for reduced state funding, but hopefully improve our education. The College has already made requests in anticipation of the tuition increase, such as increasing GTA salaries, raises for non-faculty staff and increased scholarships for study abroad programs.
Last Friday, the state Senate approved a $4.4 billion budget would keep state funding for public schools and higher education at the same level as last year. This is excellent news, because every other state agency will receive budgetary cuts. To maintain this education funding in a period of economic crisis for the state, some taxes will have to be approved to create the $290 million revenue shortfall.
While the cuts may affect some students and faculty more than others, everyone needs to hang in there until it gets better. There's not a lot we can do right now to improve the state budget situation or avert a tuition increase.
On the other hand, as a University community we can work to make sure the promises of brighter days is fulfilled. Stay involved on campus and in the state to ensure state funding for education is not cut next year. Don't let administrators off the hook when it comes to technology and faculty and GTA salaries. Continue telling your state representatives that you are a voter and you value higher education. We have to deal with the cards that have been dealt us, but that doesn't mean we have to sit idly by and wait for better days.
It is up to all of us to make sure that the funding crisis is only a one-year deal.
Molly Mueller for the editorial board.
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Day on the Hill has reached a new low. Thulium is playing Day on the Hill? They have to be the worst band to come out of this town since, no they are the worst band to come out of this town. Oh, and Drew *TRL*. Now I'll get printed.
I hope this isn't slander, but there are a lot of freaks out there, and I just got done reading "Free for All." Just keep on freaking, people. This is awesome.
This is Milhouse, and I never got a chance to say it before, but Stickypoo, I love you.
Could we get some more information on the econ major known as Mr. Right with blond hair and amazing blue eyes?
I was wondering if Meghan Bainum practices what she preaches and if she was available, and if it'd even matter if she wasn't available.
Why would you bring Kool-Aid to your psychology class, and why would the kid next to you get in to it?
This is for my father, God, you're the best. You made me what I am today, and you're the only one who truly understands me.
I wear my K-Swiss when I'm taking a dump.
This is a note to SUA: Nobody wants to go see The Anniversary. You guys failed miserably, and Day on the Hill is going down the tubes. Thanks so much. Buh-bye.
You know what? I'm a liberal, and I'm from Johnson County,
and I like Shane Battier, too. So put that in your pipe and smoke it.
So I'm confused. The Columbine kids learned how to make bombs from the front page of the UDK?
TALK TO US
Leita Walker
editor
884-4854 or leitawerk@ansan.com
Jay Krail
Kyle Ramsey
managing editors
864-4854 or jkaile@ananan.com and
krailey@ananan.com
Clay McCuistion
readers' representative
864-4810 or occupation@xanan.com
Kursten Phelps
Brooke Hesler
opinion editors
864-4810 ot kphelps@kanan.com and
bheleson@kanan.com
Amber Agee business manager 864-4014 of adaddr@kansan.com
Kate Mariani
retail sales manager
864-4462 or
retailSales@Ransen.com
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news
adviser
684-7667 or malcolm.gibson@kansan.com
1.
Matt Fisher
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing adviser
884-7866 or mfinker@kansan.com
864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
KNIGHT RIDDER TRIBUNE
You're never too old for a mommy, give moms thanks this Sunday
PERSPECTIVE
As the semester draws to a close I have been in an overwhelmingly reflective mood, and on the eve of Mother's Day I am decidedly thankful as well.
So for one column I will take away my usual sarcasm and cynicism and take afew moments to thank the nurturing queens of the universe otherwise known as moms.
I am talking about the woman who brought you into this crazy world. The woman who changed your diapers, made you chicken noodle soup when you were sick, and caught you watching Cinemax on a Friday night when you were 13.
COMMENTARY
Unfortunately, many people don't want to or don't get to celebrate Mother's Day because they have lost their mom or they don't get along with their mom. But fortunately for me, I have the best mom in the world. I know many of you think that you have the best mom, but I am pretty sure my mom is by the far the best one.
When you are younger they do everything for you. They dress you, feed you, cut your hair
Because of my undying love for my mom, I think Mother's Day shouldn't just be a "day" of recognition. It should be a full blown holiday complete with a day off school and some sort of gift exchange system similar to Christmas. Giving a card or a present just doesn't justify all that moms do for us.
rated movie with the rest of your friends.
Then there is the infamous crotch grab that moms to do to their sons to make sure the pants have enough crotch room. Guys, you know what I'm talking about.
Around that age, you begin to realize that mothers also have the ability to get under your skin faster than anyone else. This is when you thought the world was going to end when she wouldn't let you pierce your ears, stay at a friends for a co-ed sleepover or see the new Rand basically do everything in their power to make you look like a dork. They made you wear the sailor suit for the picture that is still hanging in your house to this day. They are the ones that made you go to soccer practice even though you just wanted to watch cartoons all day.
Then as you grow a little older into adolescence we all go through that phase where we feel like we don't need our moms and that we are too cool for our moms. We wanted to be dropped off two blocks from the mall and away from school and if God forbid we actually went somewhere in public with her, it had to be very quick and discrete.
But what makes a mother-child relationship so unique and special is that to a mom, you are just a son or daughter, nothing more or less. No matter how cool, rich or powerful you think are, your mom still remembers when you were five and you still peed in your bed and were afraid of the dark. Even though you may grow up to be something prestigious like the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a columnist for the Kansan, your mom might be happy for you, but she's not impressed. She would be a lot more impressed if you'd cuss less, said "please" and "thank you" more, and above all else, visited home more often.
So thank you to all the moms across the world and here at KU. And to everyone who has been as fortunate as me to have a loving and nurturing mom or to those want to have a better relationship with their mothers, do something special for them because they deserve it for putting up with you for this long.
Borja is a Springfield, Mo., junior in journalism.
PERSPECTIVE
'Kansan' staffers need to put their best foot forward, provide readers with accurate, balanced stories
Tomorrow, another semester of the Kansan will end. It will also be the end of my association with the newspaper. After five hectic years here, doing everything from drawing cartoons to writing news stories, I'm headed off to graduation.
I guess I'm emotional about it. Any attempt I make to sum up this semester, to say how the newspaper has done serving its readers, will probably be affected. So bear with me.
I love The University Daily Kansan. I really do. I came to KU because of the journalism program, because of this very newspaper.
That's why the paper has both frustrated and delighted me this semester. Because I was supposed to look at it with a critical eye in these columns as the readers' representative, I focused on the Kansan's problems. And it does have them.
The newspaper too often takes the easy road. Because it's a student production, because it's full of people learning, Kansan staffers sometimes take it easy. Stories are covered indifferently and mechanically. Press releases are given a quick rewrite and tossed onto an inside page. Copy editing and design stray into the haphazard.
Yet the paper can go above and beyond, too. This semester, a large and talented pool of reporters has turned out interesting final projects. Investigative work and determined digging have yielded fascinating results.
READERS' REPRESENTATIVE
Clay McCuistion
I wish that the Kansan could take a more even approach — applying thorough, aggressive reporting techniques to the stories we write each and every day. Reading this newspaper shouldn't be like riding a roller coaster of quality.
Perhaps a goal of evenness is impossible. Our reporters still have to go to classes, like the rest of you. But people expect a lot from the Kansan.
From the e-mails and comments I've received throughout the semester, one message stands out: We want you to tell us what's going on. Kansan staffers are entrusted with an enormous responsibility. We can try to ignore it. I sometimes tried to during my years here. But that doesn't make the responsibility go away.
To me, newspapers are ultimately about one thing: Making people think. News stories, editorials, photos and even cartoons should work together to constantly inform and challenge the reader. No newspaper can exist that doesn't somehow engage its audience's sensibility.
The Kansan will continue on next semester, even as I hunt for gainful employment. It will hopefully continue on for years and years to come. But it can do better. The Kansan engaged people this semester, without a doubt. But there is always room to make changes, to look at the front page and wonder, "What should go on there?"
along the way, no doubt. Within the last couple of weeks, readers commented critically on stories about salvia, a legal hallucinogen, and a profile of a homeless man. Yet I would rather see reporters reach out and try something different and fall short than stay inside a bland comfort zone.
The newspaper will raise ethical questions
Even if the paper won awards right and left, I would probably feel it could do better. We owe our existence to our readers. And we owe it to them to do the best we can. Always.
McCulston is an El Dorado senior in journalism and English.
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