4A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
TUESDAY.JAN.22,2002
TALKTOUS
Leita Walker
editor
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Jay Krahl
Kyle Ramsey
managing editors
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Kursten Phelps Brooke Hesler opinion editors 864-410 or kphelps@kansan.com bhhesler@kansan.com
Amber Agee
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Kate Mariani
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Malcolm Gibson general manager and news adviser 864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or mtfisher@kansasan.com
EDITORIAL
Students deserve more information in tuition debate
As most of us who have been somewhat coherent for the past few months know, the state budget woes have cornered the University of Kansas in a financial dilemma, causing officials to consider a tuition increase that would be effective next fall.
Students and parents obviously aren't too enthusiastic about these prospects, but all available information indicates that a tuition hike is imperative and unavoidable.
The problem is, the important questions of when, why and how much tuition could be increased aren't easy to answer unless you're willing to make a concerted effort to be informed.
University officials, including Provost David Shulenburger and Janet Murguia, executive vice chancellor for University Relations, declared they wanted student input and presented the tuition options to students at several sessions in December.
But many students can tell you that attending a lengthy information session right before final examinations is not a plausible option.
The University has tried to involve students in this tuition dialogue through these sessions, which continue with one at 7 tonight in Hashinger Hall. The University also maintains a Web site, www.ku.edu/tuition, with information about the dialogue.
Advertisements with proposal details and sources of information will also be appearing in the University Daily Kansan in the near future.
But students aren't looking for charts, slides and lengthy discussions.
Students want a quick, simple explanation of how much they or their parents are going to have to pay to attend KU next year, and where their money will go.
Lynn Bretz, director of University Relations, said that administrators were open to questions about the proposal and suggestions regarding how details could be made more easily available.
Perhaps administrators should take a cue from campaigners for Student Senate elections, credit card solicitors and other groups that camp out on Wesco Beach. Boil down the complex tuition issue to something that can fit on fliers and pass them out to students on their way to classes.
But first, the administration must find a way to reach students quickly.
Information about the tuition proposals is already available for students if they want to sit down and study the matter.
But the fact remains that if the University administration is really committed to involving students in this process, it must find a more accessible way for students to digest this problem.
Blake Shuart for the editorial board.
After all, students are the ones who will be paying for it.
PERSPECTIVE
'Average' women made to feel ugly by society and pop culture
The greatest crime a woman can commit is not being thin. Forget lying, cheating, homicide, using blue eye shadow or wearing a belt that doesn't match your purse because, to society, the greatest offense comes from a fat woman.
Unlike many issues plaguing humanity, this unhealthy attitude of society refrains from affecting people equally. Negative body image specifically hurts women.
When realistically considering our current pop culture — commercials, television and movies — only thin women play important roles. Furthermore, these aspects of pop culture highlight the inequality that exists between what society finds acceptable for men and women.
Think about TV shows and movies. Travel back with me to the days of Seinfeld. Our neurotic friend George cracked us up, yet he was not exactly Prince William-esque. But remember the attractive, young and thin women he dated?
Society, or at least Hollywood seems to say its all right to feature an average man, but a woman of 'average' size has no place in our culture.
I challenge you to think of any 'average' or even 'overweight' actresses. Camryn Manheim from The Practice is one. However, her casting on the series was "revolutionary" because of her size.
So maybe you can think of four overweight actresses — total. Now
COMMENTARY
Ambriel Renn-Scanlan
opinionekansan.com
think of every woman you know who doesn't live up to the body-size standards set by Hollywood. Not to sound catty, but that's a heck of a lot larger (pun intended) number than four, isn't it?
When I've talked about this issue with my friends, regardless of their body size or shape, a constant theme emerged. Most felt that in some drastic way, they were unattractive. Many of these beliefs stemmed from weight or body image issues.
All I'm trying to ask is how a woman who doesn't meet our culture's standards — whether she is too short, too tall, too fat or not thin enough — can feel desirable, acceptable or even attractive after a lifelong bombardment of images she'll never live up to?
I'm sure other factors feed into this problem, but when every time you look in a magazine, read a billboard or turn on the television and only very thin women stare at you, how can that not impact your psyche?
I swear this is not a this-columnist-is-fat-and-can't-get-a-man-so-she
hates-thin-people situation. For almost three years I have had the privilege of being with a lovely, kind, intelligent and funny boyfriend. Aside from being a beautiful human being, he seems to think I'm pretty neat-o and even tells me I'm beautiful.
The problem is, I don't believe him.
In some way, I feel I've fooled him into thinking I'm attractive, and one day, he'll realize that because I am not thin then I am anything but beautiful.
I used to think blaming society for my own insecurities was a cop-out. In most respects I still feel this way. But with body image, I have come to realize that part of the reason I am so critical of my body stems from my relationship with pop culture.
Because I'm not thin, I feel vastly inferior. I have seen only thin women try to sell me products and witnessed mostly thin women living dynamic lives on the big and small screen. That has helped nourish my feelings of inferiority
You might think you've heard this all before. I'm not claiming to have invented some new insightful idea that the women's studies department will snap up. But seriously, consider the next TV show and commercial you watch and think about how they portray women. I'm sure the women you watch will be intelligent, capable and—most importantly—thin.
Renn-Scanlan is a senior in English and history from Topeka.
PERSPECTIVE
Torture: A necessary evil?
You might want to get ready to add American Federal agent to the list. The concept of using harsher methods of interrogation on those held by the U.S. in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks has been gaining attention in the last few months.
Torture. It's something we all have seen in the movies, administered by Nazis, mad scientists and the occasional tough guy, like Dirty Harry.
Now, by no means has anyone said this is what they intend to do, but the unwillingness of key suspects in the attacks to share information has investigators looking in the direction of harsher methods.
Among those proposed are placing suspects in prisons with a population hostile to their beliefs, sleep deprivation, deportation of the suspects to other countries that use tougher interrogation tactics or the administering of a "truth serum."
While there is a strong concern for the loss of civil liberties across the board for Americans, I think a good deal of those Americans would look the other way of the use of these tactics. We are at war with terrorism, which is a far greater atrocity than the loss of a few rights to those who may have information that could help defeat the enemy.
COMMENTARY
Granted, organizations such as
Justin Henning opinion@kansan.com
The government has yet to name any more than 10 of these suspects as having possible leads to bin Laden or his network. But, not one of these people were arrested for looking at John Ashcroft the wrong way or for running a stop sign. They are people with prior criminal records.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are concerned these ideas will be acted upon. The civil liberties of innocent people could be severely trampled in order to get information out of only a handful.
the methods are working toward a greater good, then they should be used.
By no means am I suggesting all detained suspects be tortured until they spill their stories. Their credibility and backgrounds should be checked. But one has to wonder if something as inhumane as torture can be justified in light of the most horrific loss of human life on American soil in recent history. If
Our civil liberties have been hit hard since Sept. 11. For example, anti-terrorism legislation allows federal law enforcers to tap phones in more than one state at the same time.
Investigators also can track e-mail and Internet connections without the need of a warrant, although a warrant signed by a judge would be needed to read the contents of e-mails. And finally property owned or occupied by suspected terrorists can be searched without prior notice and confidential school records can be seized with a warrant
With this broad power that luckily will expire after four years, investigators could be only a step or two away from the implementation of torture methods. We are a country at war, and historically, feelings and rights get overlooked in the pursuit of justice. Torture of any form would be a clear invasion of rights and privacy.
The use of these methods on the people suspected of having useful information regarding the terrorist attacks, is unfortunately a necessary evil in this war against terrorism if we hope to win
Henning is a junior in journalism from Leawood.
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Another semester and the partly cloudy weather icon still looks like a butt.
It's absolutely outrageous that DSH is banning smoking in residence halls
I just saw the hot guy from Road Rules at the parking lot of Dillions, and he brightened my day completely.
Wait this isn't KU info? Well can you guys tells me where I get the new schedule of Drew Gooden, Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich. Oh, and Jeff Boschese while you're at it.
reah, uh how many more days until spring break?
We gotta stay true to the game.
Get this, I parked on campus without a pass to go and buy a pass from the Parking Department and while I was at the Parking Department getting a pass I got a ticket for parking on campus.
O L I N
There is nobody more Gooden than Drew. Woo! Gotta stay true to the game!
器
KU's favorite candy is Drew Gooden Plenty.
Gooden, the money and women can wait one more year. Please stay.
rm boycoting the Kansan until you get Meghan Bainum back. She rocks my world.
图
You know what KJH needs? KJH needs a man show, a show for guys, instead of, I mean in addition to queer radio and feminist radio.
Carlos Bozer couldn't even be the tenth man on KU.
So I'm sitting here in the Union, and I'm wondering why the school spent so much money on that Jumbo-Tron and couldn't spare a couple extra dollars for some decent stool for me to sit on while I look at the Internet.
I don't know what I hate more about Duke, the players or the fans.
I thought in order to be the sex columnist you had to have sex.
I am in a bar right now having mixed drinks with my friend, and she's not 21, but don't tell anybody, and she says hi.
Whose idea was it to shorten Free for All?
That's really stupid.
It's a good thing the Free for All column was shortened, because everything that people had to say sucked.
I'm playing the Game of Life with my friends, and I got a college education, and I just lost. What the hell am I doing here?
My dad just turned 50 on the 11th. Please put me in the Free For All for a birthday present. Rock chalk Jayhawk, go KU.
This is to my friends Brian and Lisa, congratulations on your marriage.
This is to my Business 240 TA, will you marry me?
All I have to say is that my friend is from Illinois, he parted down here one time, and suddenly he's moving here. KU rocks!
Hey Kinko's, how are you gonna receive more late night business and reopen when you are night closed at night?
Yeah, I want to put that Robert Downey Jr. in rehab. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear editor.
Having read the debut issue of the Kansan on Thursday, I was pleased to see I got the Jayplay section. However, what I do not understand is how our two new "sexpers" could have written two columns about sex, without really talking about sex.
However criticized, Meghan Bainum's sex column was always rescarched and objective. It was not simply a way to get the author laid. I sincerely hope we have an improvement in the quality of the column, or at least let Miss Bainum have full control of the column that is rightfully hers.
Justin Yurkovich Shawnee senior