4A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
WEDNESDAY,APRIL30,2003
TALKTOUS
Kristi Henderson
editor
864-4854 or khenderson@kansan.com
Jenna Goeppfert and Justin Heningn managing editors
864-4854 or iggeoepfertkanan.com and jungping@kagan.com
Leah Shaffer
readers' representative
864-410 or ishafter@kansan.com
Amanda Sears and Lindsay Hanson
684-4924 on e-mail at amanda.com
www.amanda.com
Eric Kelting
business manager
864-4388 or adsales.kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson
Sarah Jantz
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864-4358 or adsaes.kansan.com
Matt Fisher
Malcimol Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or mfisher@kansan.com
State ducks away from education chagrin
After receiving encouragement from educators, students and the Lawrence City Commission, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed the Legislature's resolution that threatened funding to the University's "Human Sexuality in Everyday Life" class.
In a similar case several years ago, the state of Kansas became the laughingstock of the academic world when its school board decided to remove evolution from its state tests. Once again, the state has received national attention for attempting to limit academic freedom.
By squelching the resolution, Sebelius has spared Kansans from further embarrassment and the subsequent academic shortcomings that would have followed had the resolution taken effect.
The term "university" comes from a Latin word, meaning "whole." The goal of a university is to provide a comprehensive academic program which provides students with as many educational opportunities as possible. Students learn a wide variety of subjects and then decide what information to embrace and what information to discard. When an external filter is added to this process, students are denied the opportunity to make decisions for themselves, thus limiting their academic freedom and ultimately diminishing the quality of their education.
Fortunately, Sebelius understands and respects academic freedom. She recognizes the potential national embarrassment and loss of educational opportunity that such a resolution would have incurred. Our gratitude and respect go out to Sebelius for respecting academic freedom and open-mindedness in the state of Kansas.
Ben Ross for the editorial board
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111 Stauffer-Flint
REALITY CHECK
BIGGEST THREAT THIS SPRING:
Gory photos a consequence of abortion
PERSPECTIVE
It would have been pretty hard to miss justice for All. In case you did, it is an anti-abortion group that brought a graphic abortion protest to the University of Kansas in front of Stauffer-Flint Hall. Walking around campus those few days, anyone with ears could hear round condemnations of the exhibit as "inappropriate," or "disgusting." Equally common was the statement "I shouldn't have to look at that."
I would suggest that you do have to look at it.
GUEST COMMENTARY
The issues raised by Justice for All have ramifications far beyond the abortion debate. The central question here is our responsibility to understand consequences of our beliefs and actions. We as Americans hold tools of legislative power, and therefore our stances on tough issues are not ethereal; they have actual effects in the real world.
Suppose that I were to say that I was 100 percent supportive of the war in Iraq in all its preemptive glory.
Allow me to draw an analogy from our current political and military situation.
Matt Pirotte
opinion@hansan.com
Suppose I were to say that, to me, it didn't matter whether Saddam Hussein had the infamous weapons of mass destruction.
Instead, I support the war because I want to keep prices down when I go to fill up my Chevy. Any rational human being would be appalled at this callousness, and how might they respond? Many might say something like this to me, "What about all the American troops and innocent Iraqis that will surely die in this war? You realize that children will be killed by our bombs in this war you so ardently support, don't you?"
Now what if I were to respond to
them; "That is disgusting; those are inappropriate scare tactics!" What if I were to say they were unreasonable for wanting me to look at pictures in the paper of wounded Iraqis? What if I were to say, "I shouldn't have to look at those?"
If I were to act in that manner, it would be quite correct to charge me with the most heinous form of irresponsibility. My point, if it is not already apparent, is that the same argument can be applied to the abortion debate.
"Pro-choice" is not just a buzzword. it is not only about women's rights and it is not only about rape and incest. The results of "pro-choice" are in the pictures displayed by Justice for All. Supporting any side of an issue means coming to terms with the realities of that stance.
What justice for All brought were not paintings, they were not representations. They were actual pictures of actual abortions. To say that those pictures were disgusting and shocking is exactly true, and that is reality.
Pirotte is a Joplin, Mo., junior in history.
PERSPECTIVE
Justice for All out-of-touch, hypocritical
Now that the Super Bowl-sized display of disturbing abortion photographs has passed to the next campus, we wonder. When people resort to shock tactics to get their points across, is it reasonable to suspect that they lack substantive rational information?
The answer: You bet your bloody nickels.
GUEST COMMENTARY
On the opening cover of the Justice for All handout, we spot our first and blatant lie: "We regret the need for the disturbing nature of many of the photos," they say. Hogwash. I didn't see any regret.
They asked us, "If the death penalty is wrong, can abortion be right?" First of all, I don't see the parallel between a murderer and a fetus. I distinctly recall the death penalty being sanctioned by God in the Old Testament of the Bible. So my friends, you tell me: If the two are equivalent and one is sanctioned by God, what's the problem? Either admit the two are profoundly different circumstances or admit to hypocrisy.
"If you've helped to conceive a baby, you are already a parent," they say in the pamphlet to women who fear they're not ready. Just because you are a parent doesn't mean you're ready for it. This argument seemingly applies only to women who "helped conceive a baby" (Read: to those women who are at fault). Proverbs 7, which warns a boy about the possible temptation of a seductress, and other
Luke Middleton opinion@kansan.com
Should we go after those others? That would involve blaming men. Instead, let's assert that abortions occur only because of the selfishness of the pregnant woman. Can anybody help me with this one? Maybe it's because they alienate the very people they try to reach with spiteful language (Hey potential mom, try this one on for size — "Murderer!"), or maybe they just reflect the pessimistic attitudes inherent with their guilt theology, but either way they're out of touch with real-life women. You'll never find one who enjoyed
passages in the Bible blame women for sex. I take a different view. There are plenty of others, besides the woman, who are at fault for an unwanted pregnancy. There are so many, in fact, that it's hard to know where to start. What about the religious authorities who preach birth control isn't something that decent women would consider using? Or the rich, white, male politicians (i.e. George W. Bush) who try to restrict her access to it example?
I'll let you think of the others.
her abortion. And I suspect the reason is related to this;
"What about the baby?"
Finally, a valid question. If it has to be asked, it's a bit late. How do you value the considerations of one life against those of another? Frankly, I don't know. By the time a potential mother has an unwanted pregnancy, no matter what choice is made, someone is going to lose. That's a horrible decision no one should ever have to make. What angers me isn't the path women choose but that they're called selfish for being in a situation that requires them to choose. In a society that places tremendous expectations on women to be nurturing mothers, an accusation of selfishness is perhaps the most painful criticism they could hear, but it's thrown about with impunity and ignorance.
Selfish? Selfish people are those who can't share. Those who can't share intellectual space with an ideology other than their own. Those who promote misinformation and restrict access to birth control. Both, by the way, perpetuate abortion.
The Justice for All pamphlet said it best. "Science has a very simple conception of man; as soon as he has been conceived, a man is a man."
I'll say that's pretty simple. Don't bother wasting any room for women in your so-called science.
Middleton is a Lawrence graduate student in English.
Jennifer Wade for The University Daily Kansan
Free for All
Call 864-0500
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
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Hi, my friend lost her camera between Abe & Jake's and Borders last weekend on Friday night, and there are some really important pictures on there. It's a silver Canon, so if anybody found it, please call the Free For All.
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What's up with all these Jayhawks that are covered with flowers and little beads and all these stupid purply colors? The Jayhawk is crimson and blue and yellow. It's not supposed to be covered in dandelions.
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I wish that Kappa Sigma would pick a color for their letters and stick with it.
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I was downtown today, and Jayhawks are not supposed to look like cows. We're not the Kansas Cowhawks, we're the Kansas Jayhawks. Also, they are not supposed to be pink or have hearts on them. Thank you very much.
For the person who found the April 23 cartoon repulsive, I find it hard to believe that you had a problem with a sketch when there were 20-foot photos of dismembered, bloody human fetuses being forced on everyone the day before.
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You know the world is coming to an end when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest player in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named Bush,迪克, and Colin. Need I say more?
To all the singles out there who go to KU, a word of advice. It's not game-playing when you're the only one playing.
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Remember Angela from Who's the
Boss? If I ever met her, I would say,
"Damn, I wish you the lover."
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For the guy who loves Best Buy so much, they said that about Borders. You'll never shut off the alternative, so devote your energy to something more important.
What's the point of living in the student ghetto if your neighbors won't get you stoned?
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