A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
WEDNESDAY, APRIL9, 2003
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Kristi Henderson
editor
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Jenna Goepeff and Justin Henning managing editors
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Amanda Sears and Lindsay Hanson
opinion editors
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Just vote!
Do you or don't you? Vote, that is. Well, as a KU student, you know that you probably should vote in Student Senate elections, as you probably know you should exercise three times per week, eat plenty of vegetables, do your homework in a timely manner and not smoke or drink excessively.
Still, most students don't; only 3,960 students — 15 percent of University students — voted for student body presidential and vice-presidential candidates last year.
This statistic is extremely and unfortunately low.
Now that students can vote today and tomorrow online at the Kyou student portal,students.ku.edu,at the eight polling sites on campus,it is easier than ever to participate in on-campus life
But we can't force you.
We can decry the ever-present student apathy on campus and then list logical steps to increase student involvement and awareness. While commending those who are taking active roles on and off campus, we can attempt to rally students to immediate action, declaring that it's not too late to take a stance and make a difference.
Most significantly, Senate is in charge of almost $14 million annually. which is the accumulation of student fees, and distributes it to student organizations and campus groups such as KU on Wheels, the Center for Community Outreach and Black Student Union.
Yet, ultimately you have to decide whether you want to have a voice in how your campus operates.
Major campus decisions are made by the students who show up at the polls, and the results of this election will impact every student, not just a select few.
In this way, senators have the power to change campus, for better or for worse. Let them know what you think and what you care about by voting for those issues you feel passionately about. Senate candidates have said that they wanted a safer campus, a greener campus and a more diverse and aware campus. They are adamant about financial issues, including tuition increases, student fees and student wages.
It's not too late to find out more; information about each candidate and coalition was published in yesterday's edition of The University Daily Kansan.
We have students campaigning for election because they genuinely want to make the KU community better for all of us, not just for those who happen to vote. Cast your vote today or tomorrow for people who, in your eyes, will make it happen — those who are able to translate their amazing, innovative and necessary visions into reality.
When we as students demand follow-through,we will start seeing action.
Then, pay attention. Only you can make sure that your views are represented in the coming year.
Just do it. You'll be glad you did.
Lauren Stewart for the editorial board
STINSON'S VIEW
Zach Stinson for The University Daily Kansan
Basketball brings 'Hawks together
PERSPECTIVI
When I awoke Monday,it didn't take three hits on the snooze bar to get out of bed.I was
pumped.
I arrived at work for a 7 a.m. flight brief. The flight was canceled because of weather, but when the briefer asked whether anyone had anything to add, I replied, "Rock Chalk Jayhawk, GO KU!"
The same scene played out at 2 p.m. during another meeting. It seemed to be my answer for everything.
Living in southern Maryland, the nearest gathering place for KU fans is in Washington, D.C., 90 minutes away. My job is nice because I keep my own hours as long as I get everything done. So I went home at 3 p.m., changed into my "Beak'em" shirt and put on my old spirit squad jacket and a Jayhawk ball cap. I packed my digital camera and KU flag.
The bar was virtually empty except for a local alumni rep who had already brought stand-up Jayhawks, stickers, pom-poms and a flag of his own. Together, we staked out territory for all the KU fans who would soon pack the place. We managed to divvy up some coats and bags to mark six tables, leaving an equal amount for Syracuse. Did I mention that this sports bar was also the
The anger that welled inside me remained through the game, even though he and I shared a "heart-to-heart" discussion. To resolve the situation and avoid hostilities, I took our Jayhawk and the two chairs we had marked and left him the table and two remaining chairs. I was not getting into a fight over this.
Kansas and Syracuse fans streamed in. We were outnumbered 3-to-1, but at least we were together in one area. We were getting along smoothly, until one Syracuse fan deliberately knocked over one of our Jayhawks — twice.
Once the game started, the atmosphere was incredible. Both sides were shouting, screaming, pumping fists and cheering. The energy was explosive, and aside from some boos from the Syracuse fans, everyone was respectful.
central hub for Syracuse fans inside the beltway?
During halftime, long faces and worried looks were prevalent. I made the rounds to rejuvenate every Kansas fan. Positive energy began to flow and surge. Like a dynamo, it spun up and crescendoed as Kansas pulled to within 3 points in the second half. For two hours, politics, race and favorite breakfast cereals vanished at points of contention
between KU fans. Then and there, we were Jayhawks. Our fire burned a fierce crimson and blue, and that's all that mattered.
Time waned, and spirits remained high. Throats were hoarse, fists pumped repeatedly, and so many throughout the night got the crowd roaring "Let's go Jayhaws" and "De-fense." It was a microcosm of Allen Fieldhouse.
When the game ended, I saw no tears, no despair. Disappointment was everywhere, but it wasn't overwhelming. I shook the hands of every Syracuse fan in the room, looked them in the eyes and congratulated them.
And what about Mr. "Heart-to-heart?" We exchanged a congratulatory hug, and bygones were long forgotten.
As we were leaving, my eyes welled with tears, not of sadness, but of infinite pride and joy for my alma mater. Championships are ephemeral; Jayhawks are forever. And so it shall be. I shall never, for a moment, be a fairweather fan. The privilege of cheering for Kansan is monumental joy and eternal grace; and not even death can take that away.
Armen Kurdian, University of Kansas alumnus
Free for All
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For more comments, go to www.kansan.com
Dude, we just saw KUnited coalition members chalking on the sidewalks after the loss to Syracuse. Do you know what that means? That means we lost to Syracuse and all they could think about was furthering their political careers.
You know Monday night's a sad night when everyone's too depressed to pull the fire alarm at McCollum.
Has anyone else noticed that all the flatware at E's has "Syracuse" printed on the bottom? Coincidence? You decide.
--card copy:
Kansan newsroom
111 Staffer-Flint
The KUnited people are standing out on Wescoe Beach freezing to death. I'm voting for them.
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KUnited? More like K-Boo-nited.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Basketball brings in funding
Ben.
You're a good writer, but I think you're overreacting. If they close campus for a day or two because our team makes the Final Four, something that rarely happens, it's OK.
Why don't you just enjoy the basketball team with the rest of the school? Or if you don't want to do that, just study at home for one night. Just because people are into sports, fraternities, etc., doesn't mean they don't care about school. I graduated from the journalism school at the University of Kansas last May with a 3.3 grade point average, and I still made it to most of the men's basketball and football games.
The University is an excellent academic institution and our basketball team has some of the highest graduation rates among men's hoops programs in the country. Because we're not Harvard or Stanford universities, it's not easy to get academic attention when you are a state institution in the middle of the country.
We want to take any positive publicity we can get. When's the last time thousands of people gathered to watch a kid take a math test? When the hoops team makes it to the Final Four, the school gets money, and a lot of that money goes into academics. If you are so fed up with colleges such as the University of Kansas not being "academic enough" for you, why didn't you go to a college like Harvard or Princeton? If you're as into academics as you say you are, which I highly doubt, you'll get a great job and have the last laugh. Regardless, stop whining and let the rest of us enjoy this great basketball program.
ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!
Michael Sudhalter, class of 2002
Priorities still in order
It was quite depressing to read Ben McCarthy's dismal account of how the University of Kansas has gone from a place of academics to a basketball Tower of Babel.
The news Friday that U.S. News & World Report ranks 22 of our graduate programs in the top 25 for public schools and some in the top 10 for all universities must somehow prove that we don't care about academics any longer, too.
It's sad to see that someone thinks a bit of caution (because of careless fanatics who will pervert the excitement of the basketball team's success and go overboard) is a reason we should believe that the chancellor and most everyone is trying to extinguish academics at the University.
Sure, we shouldn't go overboard. We always need to be careful of what the priorities are, but to say that the "subculture of serious academic effort" is being snuffed out is a wholesale distortion of the situation.
That Kansas coach Roy Williams consistently produces great teams with great academics in often difficult subjects underscores that, while we may be an institution that has a deep-seeded love of athletics, we appreciate that the reason we're here is to get a degree and better ourselves.
I work hard for good grades, too. Mr. McCarthy, many times burning the midnight oil. I enjoy athletics and celebrating our victories in both.
The basketball players and other fans also work hard for their grades. Much more so than can be said for other institutions that have terrible academic records for their athletes.
Did I watch the game and enjoy myself? Certainly. Did I study and do work after the game? I'd better if I hope to pass and spend only one more year here: a half-decade will be plenty.
If Mr. McCarthy "walks out," that's fine. We have a great University, and although we do have our problems, it would be his loss. Part of college life is learning to balance your activities and leisure with academics and learn to be a better person through both. If people see no purpose or benefit in those activities outside academics, they're missing out on most of life's practical lessons.
One of these lessons is how to look reasonably at a situation: The chancellor isn't involved in some hush-hush conspiracy to destroy academics — that's just silly. I'm glad he and the University are supporting our desire to celebrate the successes of Roy's Boys and trying to keep us safe, too, so we can enjoy ourselves and then return to our studies.
Rock Chalk.
lan Andrew Palko, Annapolis, Md., senior in chemical engineering
Dailey promotes 'Kansas values'
As a KU alum, I am deeply appalled that the tate is considering defunding the University of Kansas' social welfare program because of the content of Dennis Dailey's "Human Sexuality in Everyday Life" course. Dailey's purpose for teaching the course, he announces the very first day of class, is to keep couples together. The marriage
failure rate in this country is 50 percent. Dailey announces over and over throughout the class his intentions are to change that and keep couples together. I can think of nothing more in step with Christian values, American values or Kansas values.
I have benefited tremendously from the insight Dailey provides in his course. Dailey is a 30-year KU icon, has won many teaching awards and is beloved by thousands of current students and alumni. I am one of them. Any comment can be misconstrued as inappropriate when taken out of context, and having taken Dailey's course, I'm am completely convinced that this is what has occurred in recent incidences. Rather than attempt to defund an honest, highly educational course that thousands of KU students have benefited from, I believe the offended student ought to issue a formal complaint with the University through the appropriate channels. I was never, nor had I ever, ever witnessed sexual harassment of female students by Dennis Daley. On the contrary, Dailey's course attempts to understand the psychology and motivations behind those who are driven to sexually abuse and degrade. His course exists to halt sexual harassment and abuse, not perpetuate it.
I wholeheartedly believe there are thousands of other students who have taken his course who can attest to this perspective as well.
I strongly urge the state not to cut funding from Dailey's course or KUs school of social welfare.
Anna Wagner, KU Alumna