4A • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN OPINION AYAQCOM MONDAY,APRIL 14,2003 TALK TOUS 884-4854 or khenderson@kansan.com Jenna Goepfert and Justin Henning managing editors 864-4854 or jgoepfert.kansan.com and jhening@kansan.com Leah Shaffer readers' representative 864-4810 or lshaffer@kanan.com Amanda Sears and Lindsay Hanson opinion editors 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com Eric Ketting business manager 864-4358 or adsales.kansan.com Sarah Jantz retail sales manager 864-4358 or adsale.com/kansan.com Malcolm Gibson general manager and news adviser 864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 884-7666 or mfisher@kansan.com LYDA'S VIEW EDITORIAL BOARD Bohl firing puts coach's authority in question Roy Williams is one of the most, if not the most, respected and idolized men at the University of Kansas. He does his job as well as anyone in his position in college basketball. Now that the head coaching position at North Carolina is vacant again, people have speculated that Williams might leave Kansas for a place referred to as "Blue Heaven," the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In a report in The Kansas City Star, a source said that Roy Williams would probably stay at the University of Kansas if Athletics Director Al Bohl were fired. Result: Al Bohl was canned two days later. Chancellor Robert Hemenway said Al Bohl was fired because "a change of leadership was needed," based on his own evaluations and discussions with Bohl in recent months. Chancellor Hemenway had to make a decision, and what an easy decision it was: Risk losing the man who, for a dozen years, led the University's good name to national recognition, or fire the man who was hired two years ago to make the football team less crrappy. Jon Reiston for the editorial board But that begs the question: Should Roy Williams have that much power over someone who was essentially his boss? Just a handful of coaches across the country have that much power and respect at their universities, including Kansas' national championship rival, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. It was a no-brainer. Bohl can whine all he wants about how Williams "chose to crush" him, but it was never Williams' choice to make. It was Chancellor Hemenway's who has a lot of respect and appreciation for what coach Williams has done for the city of Lawrence and the University of Kansas. To lose him would be a major blow not only to the basketball program, but to the University's image as well. It would be hard to associate Williams with another school after his 10 plus years here, his only tenure as a head coach. Hemenway did what he thought was right, and because of it, one of the elite basketball programs in the country will have a better chance to keep one of the elite head coaches in the country and treat him like a god. PERSPECTIVE March challenges female standard by giving women power of voice The first time I attended the Womyn Take Back the Night march, I was a junior in high school. It was there where I first heard women talking about their experiences as survivors of sexual and domestic violence. I listened to one woman speak through tears about being sexually abused by her father. When she paused to cry onto a friend's shoulder, women in the circle began to shout, "You can do it!" and "We are here for you!" Another woman, who was almost beaten to death by her boyfriend, proclaimed, "I am not a victim! I am a survivor!" I had no idea this sort of thing was allowed. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I received a million subtle messages never to talk about it. Yet in that circle, women were allowed to speak the truth about their lives. When I came to the University of Kansas and started helping with the march, I began to recognize vast misconceptions that I never would have imagined that first night in high school. People who had never attended the event talked about the march as "man-hating" or "exclusionary" in part because men and women have different speak-out circles, and until this year, men did not march down Massachusetts Street. Yet what seems to anger people the most is that women are challenging the status quo of being a female. GUEST COMMENTARY Lea Burgess-Carland opinion@kansan.com Women in this society know the rules: Do not go out alone at night. Do not bring shame to your family by talking about being abused. Be quiet, polite, and by God, do not take up too much space. The Womyn Take Back the Night march challenges all of those understood rules in one big swoop, and to top it off, it is without apology. Every year I am reminded of why the march is important, not only because of the healing that takes place as a participant, but also because the reactions of observers remind me of the deep-rooted problems we challenge. During the speak-out circle, men have driven by and yelled, "You deserved it!" and other frightening sentiments. While marching down Massachusetts Street, we have been heckled by men to "Go back to the kitchen where you belong!" This reminds me that no matter how much lip service we give about women deserving equality, some people are still greatly offended by that very idea. Women speaking out about abuse are still told to shut up or that its their fault, Women chanting, "Yes means yes and no means no," are somehow so threatening to the patriarchal social order that it is cause for women to be verbally assaulted. The Womyn Take Back the Night march is important because it combats the very idea that women should accept, or expect, to be verbally, sexually or physically assaulted in our homes on or the street. It is important because it allows women's voices to be heard and not censored from telling the truth about our lives and experiences. It is important because it is the only time the whole community can come together and demand that women be treated as equal human beings deserving of a legitimate voice, respect and safety. Burgess-Carland is a Lawrence senior in women's studies. WOMYN TAKE BACK THE NIGHT MARCH When: Friday, April 18 Where: Watson Park Who: Anyone & everyone For more information, contact the Women's Empowerment Action Coalition at ku_weac@hotmail.com PERSPECTIVE Men must learn about sexual assault According to an estimate from 2001 Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network data, somewhere in the United States a woman survives the traumatic experience of forced rape about every 5 or 6 minutes. Somewhere else in the United States a woman is beaten and battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds according to the 2000 U.N. Study on the Status of Women. Whether you realize it or not, it is almost impossible for you not to know among your friends and loved ones a woman who has experienced physical abuse, sexual assault or rape. GUEST COMMENTARY physical abuse, such as While it is important to remember that rape and violence can be perpetrated by anyone, it is nevertheless the case that the vast majority of those who do so are men. On the other hand, the majority of those actively working to change these discouraging statistics are women. It would seem that men have difficulty thinking of this as their problem, which I've come to learn is really another way of saying we don't think it's a problem at all Luke Middleton opinion@kansan.com I sometimes wonder if, like many things, we feel we've done our part simply by being men. That we've somehow taken comfort in the notion our strength can protect those women close to us. It may sound old-fashioned, but those ideas die hard — I'd challenge men to consider it a possibility. Consider also that we're obvious failures at protection if we believe the incontrovertible rape statistics. Beyond that, I think the whole line of thought reflects a tragic misunderstanding. Rape is an act of consummate weakness and lack of self-control, and the women who survive it are the powerful ones. Women don't need us to protect them, because we're the ones abusing them — more often than not, women are raped by their husbands, fathers, boyfriends and acquaintances. It's us, the "good guys," who are doing this. For sexual violence to end, men will have to acknowledge this and shoulder their share of the responsibility. We need to proactively educate ourselves about how sexual violence really occurs and be brave enough when the time comes (because it will) to face the way we've personally contributed to its perpetuation. This means more than telling ourselves we aren't rapists. I've never raped, but as long as I held to that as my blanket alibi I couldn't face the fact I was nevertheless sexually abusive. As hard as it was to accept that, it didn't compare to the suffering I inflicted on those I loved as long as I denied it. One out of every three or four women you know is going to be sexually abused in her life, either by you or by someone else. If you do nothing to stop it, what does that say about you? Recognize that sexual violence scars more than just those who experience it. As long as men continue to rape, we lose the trust of the women we love, we lose respect, we lose intimacy, we lose our right to be loved in return — all the best of life we forfeit. I know it may be difficult to appreciate these losses until it happens to someone you know and care for, but in all likelihood, it already has. It's not a matter of whether, but a matter of when you choose to make yourself aware of it. This semester, the University of Kansas' Men Can Stop Rape student group is promoting the White Ribbon Campaign. The white ribbon stands for a pledge never to use, condone or remain silent about violence against women. The campaign is for all students, but especially for those men who have begun to face what women have known all along. If you'd like to sign the pledge posters, visit the Men Can Stop Rape table on Wescoe Beach from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on April 11, 15 and 17. To learn more about what you can do to end sexual violence, e-mail MenCanStopRape@yahoo.com. Middleton is a Lawrence graduate student in English. 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 --someone left their Ralph Lauren glasses at the Wescoe polling site on Wednesday, and they can be picked up in the dean of students' office,133 Strong Hall. The great thing about voting is that you get one of those little "I voted" stickers, which is like a free pass to get all the way across Wescoe without getting harrassed. Thank God. 图 rms is to the guy who left his bank card sitting at the Burge Union ATM. If you want to see it again, you need to bring a bag of jellybeans to the corner of Engel and 15th. Or you can go to the lost and found at the Burge. - Man, I wish some foreign country would come invade us to overthrow our evil dictator of a ruler. - Dear Fallon, Drew and all of the Delta Force candidates for Senate. We thank you for running an ethical and principled campaign this semester. It's a good thing I don't carry chalk with me on a regular basis, because every time I see "KUnited needs your vote" on a sidewalk, I want to cross out "vote" and put "parents' money" or "high-school mentality." 图 To the guy whose apartment I was at last night, if you have my crutches, could you contact Scott and tell him to call Kim? 图 Looks like next year, Delta Force better invest in a party bus. But wait, that would be over budget. Yeah, the giant pole in the middle of the Hawk's Nest really interrupts the flow of chi. I can see it bouncing around me right now. It's terrible Feng Shui. 图 Hey KUnited — next year, game over. Fallon, would you marry me? I'd bake you cookies every day, sing you lullabies at night and I'd just treat you right. I promise. What do you do when your supposedly heterosexual male friend is looking up gay porn on the Internet? 国 图 Screw the Kansan reporters. How could a girl know that there were four guys outside of her door when she didn't even answer it? If you haven't sat in a pie, I recommend you try it sometime. - Being a deskie and living at Oliver Hall is very much like what they said in Aladdin: "Phenomenal, cosmic powers ... itty bitty living space!" 图 Attention, gentlemen. It has come to my attention that scientists have done a study and found that castration actually helps you live longer. So the question is, if you were on your deathbed, would you? - Hey Al Bohl, do you want some French cries with that? - So I'm listening to "KU Jazz in the Morning," and not once have I heard them play anything that even remotely resembles jazz, so I think somebody needs to tell the DJs what's up. - Attention guys, we know that it's warm outside, but we're not in seventh grade, so please, please leave your jean shorts behind. --- KUnited, as your first order of business, why don't you clean up all 50,000 of your chalkings all over campus? ✓ ( ) --- V V