4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
MONDAY, FEB. 4, 2002
TALKTOUS
Leita Walker editor
864-4854 or lvwalker@kansan.com
Jay Krall
Kyle Ramsey managing editors
864-4854 or jkrall@kansan.com and kramsey@kansan.com
Clay McCuisson readers' representative
864-4810 or cmcuction@kansan.com
Kursten Phelps
Brooke Hesler opinion editors
864-4810 or kphelps@kansan.com and bheleser@kansan.com
Amber Agee business manager
864-4014 or addirector@kansan.com
Kate Mariani retail sales manager
864-4452 or retailsales@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
EDITORIAL
KU on Wheels Daisy Hill route must change
Residence hall students shouldn't miss class, wait in cold weather because of full buses
The campus bus system, KU on Wheels, should be a service, not a hindrance.
As temperatures drop outside, more students opt to take the bus to and from campus.
This presents a problem for the residents of Daisy Hill and Jayhawker Towers, as there are only so many buses and many students want to use them. The buses are usually full before they reach the Lewis Hall bus stop.
The situation hasn't been this bad all year.
As more students ride the bus, still more are left behind. The problem was illustrated all too well last week when full buses continually passed waiting students. Some waited nearly an hour, for rides to early morning classes.
As a result, many students were late to classes. This is unacceptable, especially for those unable to walk up the hill to class.
Many of the hall residents are underclassmen, primarily freshmen and sophomores, and therefore they use the buses most often in the mornings.
Students living in McCollum Hall and Ellsworth Hall, as well as those using the Lied Center Parkand-Ride program, pack the buses before they even reach the other halls.
Students pay for the right to use the bus. Passes range from $65 per semester to $120 for the full year. Something must be done to ensure that everyone who pays for a bus pass is able to ride the bus.
There are several ways to improve the bus system such as increasing the frequency and number of buses that run by the residence halls in the morning.
Another, more fisically appealing, possibility is to assign specific buses to specific pick-up locations on Daisy Hill during the morning rush, making the system run more smoothly and effectively.
If students continue to be late to classes or are forced to watch as full buses pass by in the freezing mornings because of disorganization and poor planning on the part of KU on Wheels, then something must be done to right the situation.
All people can't simply walk to class is buses are full. Some students are disabled, or carrying heavy or bulky objects.
Sara Zafar for the editorial board.
By the Numbers
Year in which the Army released bacteria into New York City's subway system
Number of mock biological attacks with live bactertia carried out domestically by the U.S. Army between 1949 and 1969 1966
Source: U.S. Senate hearings
Percentage of Jews who rank separation of church and state among the top reasons for the U.S.'s success
61
Source: Public Agenda (NYC)
Percentage of total Americans who believe this
47 Percentage of Americans who believe human evolution is probably not true
believe
Source: National Opinion Research Center (Chicago)
Snow, days off not so much fun with homework, icy cars
PERSPECTIVE
When school was canceled because of snow last week, my immediate reaction was a boisterous "Woo!" as I raised my hands in the air. But, as I brought those exited appendages back down, my enthusiasm faded away.
with each passing year, I find myself hating snow more than I love it.
When I was young, I found snow a versatile medium with which to work. You could use snow to make people, forts and snowballs. Need I mention sledding or the fact that snow is edible?
Sure, we could have done without all the snow gear, such as those pants that just about eliminated any flexibility of your knees, or those mittens that clipped onto your sleeves.
But that was a small price to pay,to be able to come inside and strip off the slush-infested clothing and grab a mug of hot chocolate to drink as you sprawled in front of the TV or fireplace.
GUEST COMMENTARY
Thomas Fawcett
opinion@kansan.com
Now that I'm older, I wish I lived in a climate that knew nothing of the evils of snow. My arms are still sore from scraping off the car more times than should be legally allowed.
Now, I may be a bit hasty in my criticism of this winter wonderland, as I am neglecting the fact that we had no school for two days — a first for the University since 1978. Maybe I could
I began to wonder on Thursday if the lyrics to "Let it Snow" were written as a curse to the Pilgrims as they landed at Plymouth Rock.
have enjoyed this more if thoughts of homework and reading didn't haunt the parts of my mind that morally opposed every extra hour I slept. What fun is a snow day when you have work that knows no holiday?
My nerves are also shot from driving through a city that seems morally opposed to street plows. Nothing that says "enjoy your day off" more than fishtailing through 15th and Iowa.
What was once a great excuse for a day off has turned into my worst enemy. I loathe the snow. I want the reakishly warm weather back.
Or maybe I just need to find my old sled.
I once feared I would wake up and curse the snow. I would pump an angry fist in the air while I used my other hand to scrape a thick layer of ice off my car's windshield. That day has come sooner than I thought.
Fawcett is a Leawood junior in journalism.
864-0500 free for
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about
to speak about
any topic they wish. Not all of them will be published. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
George W. just said America's new thing should be "Let's roll." Roll what, George? Roll what?
Man, did I mention that my art and design roommate also came up with the reason why we had rust stains on our sink. It was because of the plastic rubber container, because you know how good plastics rub.
Has anybody ever noticed how much George W. resembles Hitler in the way that he is with the homeland security, and the America this, America that crap.
Chris Zerbe, if you are reading this, you are the only reason that people from the sixth floor of McCollum Hall go to the games. We love you.
Just because the new sex columnist doesn't talk about butt plugs doesn't make his column boring.
图
图
I was just watching the State of the Union address, and I would just like to say that President Bush is my new hero.
It's Mazda, not Hyundai, you idiot.
All the girls from Old Navy just want to say thanks to Jeff Boschee for coming in Tuesday night. You totally made our evening.
--in two of my classes, the teacher looked better that any other girl in the class.
Does that mean I have really fine teachers, or there are just really ugly girls in my class?
I got a chance to take a picture with dick Vitale and talk and talk with him at the KU-MU beating, and let me tell you, it was awesome baby.
Why don't they hurry up and cancel class so I can sleep in tomorrow.
OK, they'll cancel classes for 1 inch of snow, but they won't cancel them for the worst act of terrorism America has ever seen?
networks charge an arm, a leg and an eyelash for commercial time to reach those masses of people. A 30-second commercial runs in the millions of dollars, so your only chance of getting one is if you win the Powerball the same day that you found Microsoft.
Does anyone of you know where I can get the Mr. T foosball table seen on the 1-800-COLLECT commercials?
Hemenway, thanks for cancelling classes, but you should have done it before 11, so we could hit the liquor store. Way to blow it. Thanks, dude.
My big toe feels big.
Sometimes I feel bad for the guys walking with their girlfriends on campus because their girlsfriends are always looking at me.
This is fifth floor Hash, and we're just calling to say hey to all the hot deskies that work at Hash.
Yeah, and by the way, I did just try to lick my elbow.
Today, while working at Target, I talked to this really adorable guy named Patrick. So Patrick, if you're available, I'm very interested.
Isn't it ironic?
Don't you think?
PERSPECTIVE
Super Bowl hype should focus on game
The Super Bowl is like the homecoming dance. There is a lot of talk of who will be there, what they'll do before it and what they'll do after it.
But even by championship standards, the Super Bowl is the granddaddy of them all.
A lot of planning and preparation go into the game. However, year after year, it never quite lives up to the hype.
In baseball, hockey and basketball a seven-game series decides the best. The Super Bowl is football's one shot at a championship. Whether you have a stomach ache, a sprained ankle, a hangnail or the coach called you a weenie, you play, because there are no second chances.
Every sport has its championship. Baseball has the World Series. Hockey has the Stanley Cup. Basketball has the NBA Finals. NCAA basketball has the Final Four.
The public realizes this, so masses of people tune in to the game. And TV
In addition to advertisers, the Super Bowl brings out the greatest (or should I say most popular) in entertainment as well.
Acts ranging from Michael Jackson to N Sync have graced the stage in recent years. Or let's say that you're Britney Spears and you're not a girl, but you're interested in becoming a woman. What do you do? You play the Super Bowl, as she did last year.
The problem with all this is that the actual game rarely lives up to the hype. It usually never even comes close.
Every year groups of people gather to watch the bowl. They buy the paper plates, pretzels, chips, licorice and beer and get all excited for the game to start. But it's all downhill from there. Year after year, the Super Bowl is just
Marc Ingber opinion@kansan.com
COMMENTARY
one giant letdown.
Most games cannot live up the hype that surround them, which leaves many people watching Seinfeld reruns midway through the second quarter, only flipping back to the game to see if the halftime show is on yet.
You don't see the Backstreet Boys changing the bases while Aerosmith
The people who plan the Super Bowl need to focus more on the game and a lot less on the sideshows.
The event should take a cue from the World Series, which focuses on the game, and doesn't have nearly the same hype surrounding it.
ride around in the bullpen cart. What you do see is a game that actually seems important.
Football is also infinitely more interesting to watch than baseball, so if the Super Bowl did focus on the game more, the results would be well worth it.
I have a plan for next year's game. The network that plays host to the Super Bowl should make a deal with MTV so that the two stations are one channel apart from each other.
That way, one station will show the actual game while the other shows a special three-hour, all-star TRL hosted by Carson Daly. That way, when the game gets boring, all I have to do is hit the channel up button and Shakira will be looking me right in the eye.
1
That's a Super Bowl to remember.
Ingber is a sophomore in pre-journalism from Golden Valley, Minn.