4A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN OPINION THURSDAY,JAN.31,2002 TALKTOUS Leita Walker Lenta Walker editor 864-4854 or walker@kanan.com Jay Krail Kyle Ramsey managing editors 864-4854 or krarel@kanan.com and kramsey@kanan.com Clay McCusick readers' representative 864-4810 or mccusick@aagn.com Kursten Phels Brooke Hesler opinion editors 684-410 or kphletekkanan.com kphletekkanan.com @kphletekkanan.com Amber Age business manager 864-4014 or adrietche@kansan.com Kate Mariani retail sales manager 864-4462 or retailalien@egssa.com Malcolm Gibson general manager and news adviser 864-7867 or mgibson@asan.com Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or mfisher@kansan.com KEVIN GRITZKE/KANSAN EDITORIAL Schools shouldn't decide whether interns get paid Many students must work in college to pay for school, bills or rent. Many students also want or need an internship on their resume when they graduate. It is difficult when schools and departments at the University of Kansas have different policies about internships for which students receive credit. Some schools or departments only give credit to an unpaid internship, while others give credit regardless of any money involved. With the current state of the economy and the highly competitive job market, students who have had an internship usually find it extremely valuable when looking for a job after graduation. Many students at KU have internships during the semester and summer for credit, which in turn helps them graduate. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences allows each department to set up its own guidelines on internships. The political science department gives credit to students who intern in Washington, D.C., for a summer or semester even if the internship is paid. Many students also intern in Topeka during the semester for three hours of political science credit. Whether the intern is paid or not, the credit is still given to the student. In the college, the communications studies department awards credit for internships, paid or unpaid. The internship must be arranged with an instructor, but does not have restrictions about pay. On the other hand, the School of Journalism only offers credit to students with unpaid internships. Students that have passed certain courses are allowed to receive credit for an internship or practicum. The student receives one credit hour for 40 hours of work or two credit hours for 80 hours of work. This can become tough for journalism students who need to work for money but also need journalism credits to graduate. The School of Business, like the School of Journalism, requires students to pass certain classes to receive credit for an internship. However, the School of Business also awards credit for paid internships. If a student is offered an internship, and the employer is willing to pay the intern, the student should not suffer because of the restrictions of certain schools. The School of Engineering also offers credit for some paid internships. It is unfair that a student may have to hold an internship and another job at the same time because of a school or department's requirements. Some students have received credit for an internship in another department or school because of the limitations set by their school. Moliv Mueller for the editorial board. Many students at KU have to work, and if they are not allowed to receive credit for a paid internship, they could pass up incredible internship opportunities. When it is vital for students to work and vital to have an internship on a résumé, is it really fair to allow such inconsistencies between schools? 'Kansan'report card Pass: - Snow days. If Mother Nature's going to abuse us with nasty weather, it's only right that we get out of class for a day. Kansas stomps Missouri. The Jayhawks — on the court and in the crowd — were impressive Monday night. The task ahead: to beat a team that actually deserves to be in the Top 25. Consumer confidence on the rise. For the second month in a row, Americans are feeling better about spending money. Fail: "America's Light of Freedom." A central Kansas man got the brilliant idea to build a billion-dollar giant candle in the middle of a field. We're sure it'll pull in as many tourists as that giant ball of twine. Bush bumbles name. The State of the Union address was impressive and eloquent...except when he butchered the name of the flight attendant who stopped accused suicide bomber Richard Reid. Practice makes perfect. Jayhawker Towers water. Some residents have complained that the tap water is closer to brown than clear. That sounds about as appealing as yellow snow. PERSPECTIVE U.S. on thin ice with new war All right, I admit I had my doubts, but besides failing to capture Osama bin Laden, the Bush-Powell strategy in Afghanistan has panned out quite nicely. So far. The Taliban has been crushed, the Afghan people have their country back, and the war-torn country has its best chance for lasting peace in decades. The policy of striking the host country as well as the terrorists seems to have paid off. The more I watch the progress of "America's New War," the more I fear the ice is growing thin beneath our feet. What's next? Have we won yet? How do we know when we've defeated terrorism? The military says we're not there yet, and we hear rumblings of further action in the Philippines, Iraq or Somalia. COMMENTARY How long can we justify our actions and sustain the international support we've had for actions in Afghanistan? How long before we start looking like we're just using Sept. 11 to impose our foreign policies in ways we simply couldn't get away with before? In the Gulf War, the goal was kicking Part of what troubles me is the continued lack of a definition for terrorism. The "Powell Doctrine" for military action that formed during the Gulf War seems to have played well so far. First, get plenty of domestic and international support for the action to be taken. Second, respond with massive force. Third, clearly define your objectives and an exit strategy. David Grummon opinion@kansan.com Iraq out of Kuwait and disabling its military machine. When we did that, we knew we had won. But four months into the this new war, we still have no clear definition of what terrorism is and who is our enemy. How do we keep from slipping into an endless struggle like the "War on Drugs?" Will our precedent of attacking the host country of terrorists really stop the use of terrorism and bring about a more peaceful world? I get nervous when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (already accused of being heavy-handed) and the leaders of India seem to borrow Bush's anti-terror rhetoric to justify escalating tensions in their regional conflicts. What is terrorism to one man may be freedom fighting to another. Just ask the Israelis and Palestinians; the Pakistanis and Indians in Kashmir; or the Irish Republican Army and the U.K. Beyond the foreign policy implications, I worry about the toll the war is taking on our democracy. What is happening with the thousand or so Arabs and Muslims in the United States being held without counsel or hearings? How much longer can our fears justify ignoring our rights? Is it so far fetched to think that a western civilized nation like us could never wrongly accuse or imprison people? Rent In the Name of the Father, a movie based on the true story of four Irish youth sentenced to life in prison by Britain for terrorist bombings they didn't commit. Under the auspices of a new anti-terrorism law passed in response to public pressure, all four are held for days without attorneys and were beaten and threatened into signing confessions. While movies don't prove civil rights abuses are happening right now, they can show the potential for serious violations of the Constitution. I once watched a scene from a science fiction flick in which a future Earth had been infiltrated by hostile shape-shifting space aliens. In the movie, officials declare martial law and suspend many of the civil rights enjoived by people across the globe. Confronting one official, the protagonist asks, "You would destroy paradise in order to save it?" "Yes," replied the official, "like any patriot would." I'm not sure I'm ready to destroy our paradise. Between the threats to our credibility abroad and the potential sacrifice of our rights at home, America would do well to tread lightly. The ice before us may be thinner than we think. Grumm is a third-year law student from Beloit. 864-0500 free for Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to omit comments. Standerous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded. For more comments, go to www.kansan.com. Yeah, I told myself I was going to cut my hair when I got laid, and that was six months ago, so, needless to say, I am pretty anxious. rush to dominate what we view as inferior and inconsequential. Our haughtiness and superiority complex is dangerous — not only to plants, but to mankind. I just thought everyone should call Sunflower Cablevision, so we can start getting Fox Sports Midwest again. I think it's pretty stupid that we don't get it anymore. Thanks. I would just like to say that I love global warming. 盛 This is to the sick guy who calls at 6:30 in the morning to say he's masturbating. You're disgusting. What the hell is wrong with you? Yeah uh, this is for the guy who said Kirk Hinrich looks like the guy in the Hyundai commercials, it's Mazda not Hyundai. So, I woke up this morning, and decided I wanted to get to class early, and everything, to talk to my teacher. I ended up being late,'cause I drove around looking for a yellow pass for a half an hour. Thanks parking department. 图 Quinn Snyder and Bill Snyder must be related because they both tack on these easy schedules, but then when they get to conference play they get torn up. My Dilons-Plus Card says I just saved $42.65 today. I wondered which corporate big-wig decided he was going to choose my diet. Passion is not a 3 a.m. booty call. 例 I would like to agree with the person who wrote about the communications department, because I am no. 58 in a class that has a waiting list of 80 people. Something is definitely wrong there. Yeah, GSP, what's up with turning the cable off during *Trading Spaces?* I think Marion Washington needs to go. Come on Al Bohl, help me out on this one. The KU- Missouri rivalry article just quoted somebody saying that Tommy Johnson was the reason they built Memorial Stadium. I guess World War I was just an interesting, historical sidebar. What the hell does "Have tiger, will tame" mean? You just got to love Dick Vitale. One of the most underrated players in the country, Hindrich, Hindrich, Hindrich. How many times can Dick Vitale say Hindrich. There's no D in Hinrich. Uh, yeah, I'm sitting here, and I'm choking on a little MU basketball. I think I need the Hinrich maneuver. Arthur Johnson of Missouri gets my vote for biggest non-dunk of the year. Mv choice, mv decision. I have one question for you Kirk Hinrich: Do you have the key to the sorcerer's stone? We are playing the Shooters KU game where we each take a two-ounce shot of beer every time KU scores, and we both just puked. 图 I think it should be a law that the Crimson Girls wear crimson, not blue or black. PERSPECTIVE Students should seek harmony with nature This is a phrase common to the Lakota (mistakenly termed "Sioux"). Translated it means "all my relations," and in a nutshell, it deals with respect. "Mitakuve Ovasin." While many people interpret this phrase as referencing only the relationships of man, it is meant to encompass all that coexists on Earth. It refers not only to man, mammal, those that fly and those that swim. It crosses the invisible boundary and refers to what we term "nature." Every student in basic biology learns that plants are the primary source—the producers of the oxygen that humans need, yet it's often forgotten in our Consider the 1855 statement of Young Chief, a Cayuse: "The ground says, 'The Great Spirit has placed me here to produce all that grows on me, trees and fruit.' The same way the ground says, 'It was from me man was made.' The Great Spirit, in placing men on the earth, desired them to take good care of the ground and to do each other no harm." Think about what we do to the soil. An obvious example is contamination through waste COMMENTARY Along that same line, what happens when we run out of space to bury trash? Some cities are already wrestling with this problem, and they are having problems finding adequate solutions. material. You don't think that components — some toxic — contained in the immense amount of trash we produce, seen into the soil? Think again. Theresa Milk opinion@kansan.com On a similar note, plants need water. Think about all of the pollutants we pour down our drains every day, like bleach. People use bleach to keep whites white. But no one considers why it works. It breaks down the natural chemical bonds of organic material. It works well on clothes, but what is it doing to the soil in the meantime? Mankind, as self-proclaimed rulers over all other living things, needs to take a serious look at how our actions affect that which sustains us. We need to relearn the meaning of respect -- for each other and for all that lives. Luther Standing Bear, a renowned Lakota man, said in the late 1800s, "The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man's heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too. So he kept his youth close to its softening influence." I look around me at the world today and find truth in those words. Now it's your turn to think about it. Milk is a Wanbie, S.D., graduate student in higher education administration.