4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
TUESDAY,APRIL22,2003
TALKTOUS
Kristi Henderson editor
editor
864-4584 or khendarson@kansan.com
Jenna Goopert and Justin Hening
managing editors
864-4584 or jgoopert@kansan.com and
jhenning@kansan.com
Leah Shaffer
readers* representative
864-4810 or lshaffer@kansan.com
Amanda Sears and Lindley Hanson
opinion edition
844-4924-3001 amandahanson.com
Eric Kelting business manager 864-4386 or adaals@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson
Sarah Jantz
retail sales manager
864-4388 or adaales@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
944-765-8200
malcolmgibson.com
Matt Fisher
Call 864-0500
Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or mfisher@kansan.com
Free for All
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
Any word on when the Best Buy here opens? Does anyone know when they start hiring?
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I have long hair, a long beard and sandals. This weekend, my dad took me for a drive and said, "Son, I want you to cut your hair, shave your beard and start wearing real shoes." I told him, "Dad, Jesus had long hair, a long beard and wore sandals," and he pushed me out of the car and said, "Jesus walked, too."
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Last Monday was one of the crappiest days of my life. My transmission died, Roy left KU, and the girl I wanted to ask out turned me down. I'm sincerely hoping that tomorrow is a much, much better day.
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I think I just saw the ugliest thing ever.
It's a Jeep with Missouri plates and a big purple Powercat on the back.
I'm driving home from Iowa, and I just passed a car with Mizzou stickers all over it. Should I slam on my brakes and let him hit me, or should I run him off the road so that there's one less Mizzou person in the world?
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If my vagina were a Christian school, I would only want heterosexuals teaching there.
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Why is there a cow on the fire escape of one of the buildings on Mass. Street?
Human Sexuality, as taught by SadoSusan Wagle and Dennis "Dirtyboy" Dailey
Neil Mulka and Emily Elmore for The University Daily Kansan
EDITORIAL BOARD
Legislature's charge of 'obscenity' smacks of censorship, ignorance
Dennis Dailey's popular "Human Sexuality in Everyday Life" course has been threatened by the prospect of having to remove sexually explicit images.
Thank goodness, because I wouldn't want any of my fellow adult students at the University of Kansas to stumble across something as filthy and perverse to the morals of Kansans as a picture of genitalia. Apparently sexual information has no place in Budig Hall; students have to drive a mile down the road to Priscilla's.
Never mind that viewing explicit material is never required, or that that the class itself is an elective.
Sen. Susan Wagle is at the forefront of the provision, which passed 24-13. Wagle defended the provision with the ridiculous argument that Dailey's porno expenditures were breaking the Kansas budget. That's not exactly how she phrased it, but it seemed like it when she said, "I do not see this as an issue of censorship; it is simply an issue of priorities for state funding." That's why the proviso would potentially withhold $3.1 million from the department of social welfare at the University.
SUBMITTING LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMNS
nity from the ever-changing whims of the Legislature lies at the heart of democracy.
Perhaps the Legislature should predicate funding for foreign languages on the assurance that French won't be taught until it quits using its U.N. veto as much as the United States does. (On a side note, another amendment by the Legislature to bar investment of the state pension fund in French companies failed.)
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
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The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Amanda Sears or Lindsay Hanson at 864-4924 or e-mail at opinion@kansan.com. If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the readers' representative at readersrep@kansan.com.
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The bigger issue, however, is whether Dailey can show material that nearly every college student has seen before. Should the Legislature be able to micromanage the curriculum of its largest university? Higher education's immu-
Sebelius said she hoped "that the Legislature doesn't get into deciding curriculum and products for college classes." Yesterday, Sebelius vetoed the provision holding true to her word and securing a victory for academic freedom.
The cynical and cheap employment of "Kansas values" is an insulting attempt to justify the intrusion of a political body into public education. If the Legislature can micromanage the curriculum by selectively and interactively withholding funds, then how can one teach something which is politically unpopular without the fear of reprisal$^{19}$
Wagle has said that she hoped Sebelius "doesn't veto it" because, it's "a huge, grass-roots issue." That's an astounding declaration from the Sedgwick county representative in light of the overwhelming support for Dailey in Lawrence and beyond. Sen. David Adkins even suggested the amendment "doesn't really belong in an appropriations bill, but that's where it is." The burning question is: which part of the last-minute amendment to the budget bill makes it "grass-roots?"
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Apparently the Kansas Legislature, after nicely shoring up the state's budget, has the spare time to tell the University what is of educational value in its classes. As a KU Alumus wrote in a letter to The Topeka-Capital Journal, "How do you expect students in Kansas to graduate with bachelor degrees in sexual psychology if they cannot use visual materials about sex?"
In fact the administration, and a host of faculty and students, have proclaimed their support for and educational value of the class Dailey has
taught for 20 years. The Lawrence City Commission and the faculty senate at Kansas State University have also voiced their support. Oh, and there's the organization that was at one point delegated to deal with the schools, the Board of Regents. They "unanimously approved a statement urging Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to veto the punitive language," according to the The Associated Press.
Wagle has been on record saying, "I just can't imagine being a female and sitting through that class." Interestingly enough, thousands of students have done just that, and Dailey's continually full classes leave Wagle's accusations questionable.
Hard copy:
Kansan newsroom
111 Stauffer-Flint
Don't be mistaken for a moment this is an issue of censorship. The fervent efforts to suggest otherwise are evidence enough. The bill uses the same definition of obscenity that has historically been used to justify censorship.
It's a good thing we're assured that it's not a symbolic gesture but instead a fiscally sound decision.
READERS' REPRESENTATIVE
Cartoon's intentions misinterpreted
The tough part about creating satire is that different people can interpret it in positive or negative ways. That's what happened last Friday when The University Daily Kansan ran a cartoon that featured two male students making crude comments about women's breasts.
READERS' REPRESENTATIVE
To the readers who sent letters to the Kansan, the cartoon was interpreted as being sexist and objectifying to women. However, that was not how the cartoonist and opinion editors — all of whom are women — interpreted the cartoon. What was seen by many as a satire of big-breasted women was actually a satire of stupid, sexist men.
Neil Mulka, Leavenworth junior, wrote the cartoon's dialogue after Emily Elmore, Springfield, Mo., junior, drew it. While the cartoon was inspired by a conversation he overheard on Wesco Beach, he said the point of it, from his perspective, was "making fun of these guys for being meatheads."
Leah Shaffer
readersrep@kansan.com
Amanda Sears, opinion editor, found the cartoon to be edgy. But she also
The cartoon was trying something new, but its point was not clear enough. That's something that the Kansan can work on. But at the same time, content on the opinion page is going to ruffle some feathers; that's the point of having such a section. On that note, complaints about this semester's opinion page have called the section's editors anti-woman because of recent columns that criticized feminism. My answer to those criticisms can best be summed up by the Kansan's general manager and news adviser, Malcolm Gibson.
interpreted it as a satire on misogynistic men.
to the readers who sent letters to the Kansan, the cartoon was interpreted as being sexist and attifying to women. Over, that was not the cartoonist and film editors all of them are women expred the cartoon. That was seen by many as satire of big-breasted women was actually a satire of stupid, sexist men.
"The paper is only as good as you demand it to be," he said.
That means if readers want more intelligent, pro-feminism columns, they have to write them.
If readers don't like the cartoons the
Kansan runs, they should send cartoons of their own. Sears said that the opinion page was open to columns from anyone at the University. After receiving the anti-feminism columns, she said she had specifically invited Womyn's Empowerment Action Coalition and the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center to submit columns.
The point is that the door is open. The quality of the opinion page depends on the arrival of a variety of viewpoints, which may, at times, be politically incorrect.
The Kansan always strives to improve content. But for the most part, content on the opinion page does not come from Kansan staff; it comes from the public. If you are a reader who has a point to make, send your point in writing. That's an order from Sears herself.
"Send it to me," she said. I will print it."
Shaffer is a Hays senior in journalism and environmental studies.
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