4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
TUESDAY,FEB.19,2002
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"THESE PEOPLE WERE TERRORISTS."
ZACH STINSON/KANSAN
EDITORIAL
KU, fraternity aren't to blame in Scott case
Felicia Bland's family should seek justice from individuals responsible
There's nothing wrong with filing a wrongful death lawsuit when a loved one is tragically killed. And while we can sympathize with the desire of Felicia Bland's family to hold someone responsible for her death, they have pinpointed the wrong parties.
Last week, the family filed a lawsuit that named the University of Kansas, Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and a KU student as parties responsible for the September 2000 death. Bland was killed when Sean Scott, then 16 years old, lost control of his car on Kansas Highway 10 and crashed into Bland's vehicle, according to court records. According to testimony, Scott had been drinking with his parents at the Wheel, 507 W. 14th St., and at the fraternity house before the accident.
Scott was originally sentenced in Johnson County District Court to two and a-half years at a youth correctional facility. In August, that sentence was reduced to five years probation.
We can understand why the family sought further justice in this civil case, but it is misguided. The lawsuit claims the University was negligent and should have better controlled the activities of KU-affiliated fraternities. The suit also named the fraternity as a responsible party in the events that led to Bland's death.
Nothing can bring Felicia Bland back to her family, but the individuals who helped Scott make the deadly decisions he chose to make should be held responsible, not the institutions.
Scott's parents and the fraternity member that gave him alcohol at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity should be sued for their contribution to a 16 year old drinking and driving. But to blame the chapter and the University for those actions is stretching too far.
The University is a dry campus and there is no alcohol permitted in campus housing, but Phi Gamma Delta fraternity is not classified as university housing. The University is not liable for events that KU students are involved in off-campus and should not be sued for Sean Scott drinking at the fraternity that evening.
What's most confusing about this lawsuit is that the family has chosen to hold the fraternity and University responsible, but not the Wheel. Granted, the Wheel employees didn't sell alcohol to the teen-ager, but neither did the University of Kansas or the entire Phi Gamma Delta organization. They should either focus on the individuals directly responsible, or lay blame on all of the institutions implicated.
In the end, it is Sean Scott who must be held responsible for the immature, fatal decisions he made on Sept. 16, 2000. If Scott's family couldn't keep him from such egregious errors, how can we expect the University of Kansas to control every single student or a fraternity house to keep every chapter member from making a mistake?
Katie Hackett for the editorial board
PERSPECTIVE
Breaking out of safety zones helps you,your community
Two years ago I was in New Orleans participating in an Alternative Spring Break trip. Nine other girls and I were working at Project Lazarus, a home for people living with AIDS. We had a semester of extensive training on what we should expect and how to handle different situations specific to our site. There were not enough lectures or literature to really prepare me for what I was to encounter during that unforgettable week of my life.
As we walked up to the front door of Project Lazarus, I tried to calm the butterflies invading my stomach. I knew the facts. You can't contract HIV from touching, kissing or even tears. But I was apprehensive and it took me almost our entire trip to feel comfortable holding the hand of someone who had AIDS.
Walking through that door marked the beginning of the most exhilarating and most uncomfortable week of my life. That break marked the first time I broke out of my tightly sealed comfort zone, and I've been searching for uncomfortable situations ever since.
The University of Kansas offers a vast variety of organizations. Many give students the opportunity to connect with people in the Lawrence community, such as the Center for Community Outreach. Other programs, such as Alternative Breaks, send KU students across the country to touch lives
Tabatha Beerbower opinion@kansan.com
COMMENTARY
breaking out of my comfort zone and regretted it. It has changed the way that I look at the world, and has made me grateful for the things that I have in my life.
There are a million ways to seek out situations you have never been in before. Start small. Talk to the person who always sits alone at lunch. Go to a lecture on a topic that you would normally have no interest in. Seek out volunteer options such as tutoring at-risk children or serving food to the homeless community.
I like to seek out uncomfortable situations because they force me to grow. Putting myself in a situation that I have never been in before makes me learn something new. It makes me meet new people, who are usually very different from the people I already know. It makes me re-evaluate the way I live my own life. It breaks up the perpetual-to-do list I have to accomplish every day.
It is as simple as changing the way that you think, seeing the world through someone else's eyes. It might be uncomfortable and strange at first, and to really have the full experience, I hope it is. It will be a beneficial experience for you and for those you are helping.
in other communities. But it is up to students to make the effort to join in these organizations. And it is all too easy to fall into monotonous comfort zones and never crawl out.
Experiencing new things is an important part of college, and will benefit you when you graduate and start a career. But first it will change you as a person. So next Saturday afternoon, turn off your TV, abandon your couch and flannel pants, and send yourself out into the community to see what you can change.
You will find that your time is the most valuable possession that you can give, and your comfort zone will greatly expand.
cry day.
And I have never walked away from
There are several excuses we make up to make ourselves feel better about not getting involved and trying new things. I don't have time. I don't feel like it. I will do it next time. I want to go out. I don't feel comfortable. And thus ensues an everyday routine that emanates comfort and normality but also boredom and repetition.
Beerbower is a Fort Scott junior in journalism.
Credit card hawkers have no place on University of Kansas campus
PERSPECTIVE
Each spring, thousands of KU students arrive on campus to study a plethora of subjects.
With any luck, in four, five and sometimes six years, these students will leave with a degree and fond memories of their time here. Unfortunately, some students are getting more than just an academic education — they are getting a hard lesson in credit card debt.
Unlike loans taken out during college, credit card debt grows from the moment you charge it. For those able to pay off that debt every month, a credit card can be a great tool. But for those of us who only make the minimum payment, an initial balance of a few thousand dollars can take years to pay off.
The most damaging thing about credit card debt is that the mistakes you make now can follow you for years to come. Because your credit report tracks the good and bad spots of your credit for at least seven years, your credit troubles can follow you beyond your college years.
GUEST COMMENTARY
Justin Mills opinion@kansan.com
Even if you pay off your debt while in school, your credit rating can prevent you from renting an apartment, buying
a car or even getting a job.
How do students get into so much debt? In part, it comes from personal irresponsibility. I will be the first person to admit that some of the fault has to be attributed to the individual.
It has been my experience that many credit card solicitors have little or no knowledge of how their own card works and will tell a student anything they want to hear in order to get them to sign up.
This leads to students using the card in potentially damaging ways. For instance, just paying the minimum on some card does little or nothing to pay off your debt.
Beyond the fact that credit card solicitors are an overall annoyance on campus, their practices have abused their rights on campus. Credit card companies are exploiting college students around the nation, and I think that it is the University's turn to remove them from campus.
Only paying the minimum balance each month greatly extends the time you
Their sale does not fall within the academic mission of the University. The University should be a marketplace of ideas, not merchandise. This is especially true in the case of credit cards because they are sold in such a public and intrusive fashion.
spend paying it off; especially when you're looking at a special "student" rate of as much as 20 percent. Because most students carry a balance, the high interest rates make us attractive customers.
So I say follow the example of numerous other college campuses around the country and get rid of credit card solicitors on campus. There actions are exploitative and they, above any other group, have no place in the community of KU.
Mills is a Lensing graduate student in history. He is student body president.
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any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
To all those people out there that they hold their noses up in the air because their daddy has a little money, get over it. It's not high school anymore. It's not a popularity contest. It's college, have fun.
I think after Drew Gooden scores instead of holding up a zero and chanting,
"Drew" we should start chanting, "One more year" now.
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I want to say, I'd like to see Richard Kozem explain why the KU Athletic Department won't let ROTC cadets practice their marching at Allen Fieldhouse like they agreed to do when the U.S. Navy provided the steel to build Allen Fieldhouse.
Did you see that ad about tanning right next to the article about skin cancer? If I paid for that ad, I'd be really pissed off.
I was reading the Free for All, and I completely agree with that comment about white people looking at black people when they walk by. I live in McCollum and there's these white girls that look at me every day, so now I'm going to start saying, "We're not a dying breed, and we don't like chicken." So thanks to that person who called.
My roommate came home on Ash Wednesday and told me that his philosophy TA said, "Man, I'm glad to see no one is wearing those stupid ashes on their heads. I mean it's not like we're in mediaval times." That's an outrageous comment, and what if somebody said that about blacks or Jews? There would be a huge lawsuit, and people would be fired. I think that's outrageous.
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Nice try Tongue in Beak, but you're not The Onion.
It's funny when an opinion column is printed about race, gender, religion or sexuality, no one gets an apology, but when it comes to our precious Roy Williams, it all hits the fan.
Funny how everyone is so quick to celebrate Mardi Gras, yet no one celebrates Lent.
shhh, I have a cat, and I live in the Towers.
Hi, I'm 8 years old and my big brother he goes to KU, and I just wanted to tell him I don't like the new girlfriend he brought home this weekend, and I just don't. I don't like to watch them kiss, and I just wanted you to tell him that.
Revenge sex, huh? Nice morals.
There's two tools in life you need to have — 3D oil and duct tape. If something's supposed to move and doesn't use the oil. If something isn't supposed to move and does use the duct tape.
In the summer of 2000, Roy Williams was offered the basketball coaching position at North Carolina. His basic response was, "I can't leave my players." Kirk, Nick, Drew, please don't leave your coach.
Roy Williams, Robert Chamberlain doesn't know what he's talking about. I'll root for you any day, Roy. You the man. You the man. We gonna win it this year, Roy.
If masturbation were an Olympic sport, would it be in the summer or winter Olympics?
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference. Let us all keep these words in our hearts and our minds.
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Everything I ever needed to know I learned from KU Info.
I have the worst life ever. My life totally sucks. There's all these people always following me and giving me attention and asking for autographs and giving me free things, and I just want them to leave me alone. I have the worst life, the worst life of anyone ever. Man, me and Boschee have a lot in common. We should get help together. My life sucks.
You know, I bet I'd get printed a lot more if I'd stop swearing every time I call you guys.
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When I was a kid there was two unanswered questions. One of them; where did Smurrette come from? The other; in Rubens, Rubens, Cambiano and Bryant; were Rubens and Rubens brothers?
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To the waitress who made the comment in Wednesday's Free for All, it's not our fault that you don't have a real job.
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