4A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY,FEB.18,2002
TALKTOUS
Leita Walker
editor
864-4854 or
hwahard@kanan.com
Jay Krail
Kyle Ramsey
managing editors
864-4854 or
jkrah@kanan.com and
kramesh@kanan.com
Clay McCuistion readers representative 864-4810 or mccuistion@ansan.com
Kursten Phelps
Brooke Hesler
opinion editors
864-4810 or
kphleps@kansan.com and
bhesler@kansan.com
Amber Agee
business manager
864-4014 or
addirector@kansan.com
Kate Mariani
retail sales manager
864-4462 or
retails@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson
general manager
and news adviser
864-7667 or
mgibson@kansan.com
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing
adviser
864-7666 or
mfisher@kansan.com
No, I'm not mad about Enron, I invested in paper shredders...
KEVIN GRITZKE/KANSAN
EDITORIAL
Internet program great step toward stopping cheaters
Turnitin.com Web site helps faculty members give credit where it's due
University of Kansas students should be glad that instructors have a new, hightech tool for detecting plagiarism, which will deter cheaters.
Students should no longer feel secure passing off the written works of others as their own. The newest teammate for teachers in tracking cheaters is a computer system called Turnitin.com, www.turnitin.com. For $4,000, the University of Kansas subscribed to this system so faculty could ensure that students would earn their grades.
The system searches the Web site's own databases of papers submitted by university instructors. The databases also include articles from books and academic journals and checks submitted papers against the results of an Internet search engine. As a teacher submits a paper, it is uploaded and scanned for similarities between professional works and others' papers. The submitted paper then remains in the system for future comparisons.
Some students may think that submitting their works to this kind of system may make them the Metallica of writers, giving them the right to sue anyone who uses their works freely for beneficial gain. Unfortunately, individual names will be excluded from these texts, therefore no one will ever know whom or where the compared work is coming from. By enrolling as a student at the University, you are giving faculty the right to handle the work that you hand in.
Students should be relieved that the University is concerned with maintaining a fair academic playing field for students. Too many times, some students get away with a simple cut and paste job, while others are spending days and nights perfecting their projects. Turnitin.com should help eliminate this problem by instilling a new fear in cheaters.
The new system also will add responsibility to each individual. No longer will a simple rephrasing of Internet sources work for a term paper. Those who have perfected procrastination may find that this new copier combat weapon is their worst nightmare.
Some instructors are even sharing with the students, allowing them to double check themselves, with a free subscription to the system. This gives students total assurance that they are safe with what they have written in a term paper or project.
Jessica Smith for the editorial board.
Students should be pleased that we are coming close to guaranteeing originality in student work. Those out there outraged by Turnitin.com should smartly choose to keep their mouth shut.
By the Numbers 12,600
Total number of bids placed by patients for elective surgery on Bidforsurgery.com since 2000
35
Estimated number of inquiries the site has received about open-heart surgery.
Source: Medicine Online Inc.
Percentage increase since 1996 in the number of U.S. apprehensions of people trying to cross the Mexican
Percent increase since then in the number of U.S. border guards assigned there.
17
Number of students under the age of 18 enrolled at KU in Fall 2000.
Source: U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
378
Number of KU students age 50 or older enrolled the same semester.
Source: Office of Institutional Research and Planning
PERSPECTIVE
Olympics should concentrate on competition, not scandals
Whether summer or winter, the Olympics manage to draw a crowd of enthusiasts, spectators and controversy. As the world's top athletes compete for gold, it's a game of who can cheat whom. While the participating countries claim honor in contesting for the title of "winner," it's a scheme of who has the most money and can complain the loudest. And somebody always loses.
The Olympics are supposed to signify unity within nations and celebrate humanity. Yet each Olympic year, the people behind this grand gesture of an idea prove that even this is an overrated dream. Payoffs, lies, cheaters and drugs almost always haunt at least one event. This winter it's the misjudging and inappropriate actions towards the Canadian figure skating pair. In Sydney in 2000, it was the Bulgarian weightlifting team being disqualified for drug use.
The more disgusting actions aren't by individuals, but by entire countries with a grudge. The Olympics of 1976-1984 were boycotted by the United States and more
COMMENTARY
Laurel Anne Burchfield
opinion@ansan.com
It's almost as though it's some grade-school boys club where each day there's someone new to pick on. There's never an appointed leader, so each boy fight for the chance to be in charge and decide whom to kick out first.
Atlanta in 1996 was highlighted not by who won the gold, but rather by who had set off the Centennial. Park bomb.
than 50 other countries because of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan and other actions.
In Munich in 1972, two Israeli athletes were taken hostage and killed by Palestinians. Nine more members of the
Why then, you ask, do we even bother with the Olympics? It seems as though all that can come from them is more hatred and pain. Is our joy in watching others compete enough to keep these games alive despite all of the controversy?
Israeli team as well as the eight Palestinian captors later were killed in a gunfire.
The Olympics should be about the world coming together once every four years to compete fairly and to walk away as much a winner as everyone else. I only hope that as the years go on, someone somewhere will remember the original intent of the Olympics, before they die again.
Most would answer yes. We like sports and we like to watch our country win. Both of these are valid reasons and are among the only reasons why the Olympics survive today.
But what if we stop the petty politics and just play sports?
Burchfield is a Basehor freshman in pre-journalism and education.
864-0500 free for
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about
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.
I think Doug Pacey is the Kansan's Justin Timberlake.
culture's note: The two are not related.
图
Tongue in Beak or not, I think it's pretty pathetic that the Kansan would waste space on a pathetic basketball groupie like Laura Burns.
I want to know why the hell the Kansan is apologizing to the Athletics Department for an opinion column. Opinion columns are opinions. They don't need to apologize. Does the Athletics Department own the Kansan, or is the Kansan independent and say what they think is right, and of right opinion? I think it's ridiculous, this apology.
Oh, it was so nice to read the front page of the Kansan and see that Robert Chamberlain's pompous opinions were slapped down for once.
You know what, I didn't get a chance to read the article by Robert Chamberlain until reading the clarification on the front page of Wednesday's Kansan, and it didn't clarify anything at all. It sucked.
culture's note: The two are not related.
This is for the ignorant person who asked why we let old people into the student section, I'm an old person and I'm a student. You figure it out.
图
I just happened to notice that all the chancellor's awards for students are available to undergraduate students, but there are no awards specifically for graduate students. If I was a graduate student that would make me think I wasn't valued very much in comparison.
With the upcoming visit of former Chancellor Gene Budig, is his visit and reception cost-effective to the University since we're in a budget crunch?
图
Roy Williams — a real American hero.
I was just calling to defend the ushers at Allen Fieldhouse because even though they may pack us in like sardines, I know a couple of them, and they're really nice guys.
Just remember waitresses, you're not going to be tipped if you don't perform good service. So if you want to pay your tuition, buy your books and buy your food, don't suck. Make sure I get my drinks on time, don't screw up my order, and you'll get plenty of tips.
TABLE 10.2
PART II.
图
I just read Nader's new book *Crashing the Party*. Everybody go get it. It's awesome. Go Greens.
I'm a GTA, and I say to Strong Hall occupants, I have a right to distribute whatever information I need to. You have to stop the exploitation of KU employees. You can't cover over that. KU, your ragged edges are showing.
This is for the person from Alaska who doesn't realize the satire page is a satire, I feel really bad for you dude.
I was just wondering if the Kansanwould answer my question once and for all—is Kursten Phelps related to Fred Phelps? I gotta know.
This goes to all the people who like to point out that coat hangers is two words, I'm glad you know how to count to two.
Enron, Lindh dramas provide entertainment
PERSPECTIVE
There are currently two major legal investigations underway that have captured the American public's attention. While no actual trials have vet started, the fun has begun.
On Capitol Hill, various Enron executives have been attending hearings in front of, among others, the Senate Commerce Committee. This is an extremely important phase in the judicial process. It allows all of the senators to take turns calling the Enron execs nasty names on television and making a contest of who can come up with the snappiest zinger (causing the citizens of California's District 23 to regret not reelecting Senator Tom Gallagher). While this may not strike us as terribly fun, we must remember that these senators usually spend their days in meetings of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Last week former Enron CEO (and University of Missouri alumnus) Kenneth Lay refused to testify, instead taking the Fifth Amendment. Although he wanted to tell his side of the story, his lawyers advised against this on the grounds that it would cause him to be sent to prison for roughly
The only Enron official to actually talk was Jeff Skilling, but his testimony was marred by a lack of memory, the likes of which have not been seen since the Reagan administration. An excerpt from the hearing, fictionalized for your enjoyment:
10,677 years.
Senator Boxer: Mr. Skilling, until last August you were acting CEO of Enron, correct?
Senator Lieberman: Mr. Skilling, I would just like to thank you for appearing today. I would also like to thank your company for the $2,000 you contributed to my campaign last year. You, sir, are a pig's ass and a disgrace. How do you plead?
Mr. Skilling: I do not recall.
Mr. Skilling: I do not recall, sir.
Senator Lieberman: That is not a legally binding plea. And please call me Mr. Vice President.
Bradley E. Freedman opinion@kansan.com
COMMENTARY
Despite the setbacks for Enron in the early stages of inquiry, legal sources have mentioned a number of possible strategies available to Kenneth Lay and his storm troopers: Blaming Arthur Andersen.
Blaming each other. Blaming the terrorists
Smiling and revealing that Lay has had a pack of Mentos the entire time.
Meanwhile, last week in Alexandria, Va., Johnny Walker Lindh pleaded not guilty to a multitude of charges. While acknowledging his presence in the Middle East, he denied that he had left California to commit treason. Instead, he revealed that his original excursion to Yemen was based on a desire to escape his overbearing girlfriend, Janis.
When confronted with the accusation that this claim was simply lifted from an episode of Friends in which
Chandler tells his girlfriend that he's going to Yemen, Walker sat in obdurate silence.
A trial date has been tentatively set for August, where Judge T.S. Ellis (whose parents seem to have been poetry fans with tragically poor penmanship) is set to be the trial judge.
At a press conference following the arraignment, Johnny's father reminded the public that his son was only 20 years old.
While this may seem like a desperate ploy to me, we must remember that in Virginia, youthful indiscretions can occur until you are 46 years old. Lindh's father also told his son that he loved him and that his room at home was waiting for him "just like you left it."
Hey, who among us hasn't faced accusations of a youthful indiscretion or two, like charges of conspiring to kill Americans, supporting terrorists and using firearms in crimes of violence?
Wait, that's three.
Freedman is an Overland Park graduate student in history.