4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
FRIDAY,APRIL4,2003
TALKTOUS
Kristi Henderson
editor
editor
864-4854 or khenderson@kansan.com
Jenna Goepfert and Justin Henning
managing editors
864-4854 or jgoepfert@kansan.com and
jhenning@kansan.com
Leah Shaffer
readers' representative
864-4810 or lshaffer@kansan.com
Amanda Sears and Lindsay Hanson
opinion editors
864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Eric Kelting
business manager
864-4358 or adsales@kansan.com
Sarah Jantz
retail sales manager
864-4358 or adsales@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864-7567 or mgibson@kansan.com
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or mfisher@kansan.com
EDITORIAL BOARD
Prepare for perils of online system
Because it is a new system, students and faculty now have to forget about the old system and learn how to work a new one. To do that, students have been completely informed by numerous e-mails that can be hard to keep track of.
Online enrollment is here and with it comes a completely different system to learn and navigate. When using this new system, students should be wary of some of the things that can make this new enrollment system go from a smooth experience to a headache.
On the enroll and pay Web site, students must use the links on the page and not the back buttons. Otherwise a warning screen might appear.
Enrollment for Summer 2003 is still using the traditional method, which still requires an adviser's signature. It can be a hassle using two methods of enrollment when enrolling in both summer and fall classes.
If a desired course does happen to be full or closed, the system will automatically enroll the student in an open section. Showing up in the wrong section on the first day of class and having it pointed out in front of 30 people is embarrassing.
If a student forgets to check his hold status until the enrollment start date and has one, then it has to be cleared before enrolling in any classes. By the time it takes to clear it, a desired section could be full.
If a student doesn't have regular access to a computer it could lead to missing out on a desired section.
Some schools require advising and others don't. Different schools have different methods of advising for enrollment, and the process can become confusing for students enrolled in more than one schools.
Enrollment doesn't have to be a problem as long as student plan ahead of time and know exactly what classes, line numbers and sections to enroll in.
If problems persist, the enrollment center in Strong Hall or just the help buttons at the top of every enroll and pay page provide help while students adjust to the system.
By design it is an easier system, with easy access to optional campus fees and providing easy access to enroll at leisure between every students' individual start and end date and times. By being prepared, headaches about the new system can be avoided.
Jon Rafston for the editorial board
WADE'S VIEW
PERSPECTIVE
New study abroad programs do not ease safety concerns
The Office of Study Abroad's cancellation of its program in Golffito, Costa Rica, was an unnecessary reaction to a situation beyond the University's control.
Shannon Martin was not a member of the University's program at the time of her murder.
Had she been a participant in the program at the time of her death, it would still be unfair to hold the University, the Tropical Studies Program or the town itself somehow responsible for what happened.
I arrived in Golfito, Costa Rica, three months after Shannon's death and lived there through June 2002. My year in Golfito was the most valuable of my four years of study as a Jayhawk. I became part of a small-town community that was not inherently more dangerous than Lawrence or any other town in America.
A "change in the environment" in Golfito after Shannon's death and the University's inability to protect its students in the face of this change are popular rationales for closing the program.
But the real change after Shannon's murder was one in the University's superficial perceptions of the town.
University officials' visits to Golfito during my time there were few and
brief, always characterized by a lack of contact with the town itself, or even us, the students whose safety they were supposedly considering.
Rather than feeling unsafe, the students I lived with in Golfito were puzzled by the University's reports of an ongoing change and the supposed dangers all around us we were somehow unaware of.
The University has decided to offer new summer programs in Costa Rica to replace some of what they took from Golfito. Yet the University continues to hold grave misconceptions regarding the Golfito "problem" and the safety of KU students in general.
San Jose is one of the more dangerous places in Costa Rica for the mere fact that it is the country's capital and a large urban center. Puerto Viejo is a rapidly changing bed of tourism and commercialized rasta culture.
In a recent The University Daily Kansan article on the new programs, study abroad director Susan Grobeck-Tedesco cites the programs' physical distance from Golfito as main indicators of students' safety while participating in these programs.
But the two sites chosen by the University are not exactly examples of safety and stability.
Before Puerto Viejo's heydey, Cauhita,a very similar town less than
10miles up the coast was "enjoying" a climate similar to that of the Puerto Viejo of today.
Touristic interest shifted to Puerto Viejo, however, after already deteriorating native-tourist relations in Cauhita reached a climax with the murder of two American girls there in the late 1980s.
Violence is unfortunately not a problem isolated to distinct locales or situations, nor is it something that the University can protect its students from at every moment, be it during study abroad or while here in Lawrence.
If students' safety is the University's main concern, someone needs to consider the shortsightedness of imaging that physical distance from Golfito is correlated with increased student safety in Costa Rica.
The University needs to reexamine its stance on the town of Golfito, the Tropical Studies Program, and its supposed roles in the death of Shannon Martin and the safety of other students in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is a small country and the University cannot run forever from its so-called dangerous places.
More importantly, it cannot hope to better protect students by doing so.
Katie Mitchell is a Solon, Iowa, senior.
PERSPECTIVE
Student senators show devotion deserve same from student body
Well, it's that time of the year again — Student Senate elections — and I am sure a lot of you are thinking, "Who cares?"
Help yourself, your neighbor and your campus by answering this question with a definitive "I do!"
What many people don't realize is Senators also vote on issues dealing with the larger scale of life outside the University of Kansas such as resolutions that show our support of or opposition to war and tuition issues.
Student Senate votes on campus issues such as housing, transportation safety and student fees.
The senators devote their entire Wednesday evenings to Student Senate.
For example, on the Wednesday before Spring Break, Student Senate did not adjourn until 1:30 a.m. These dedicated students fight for what they believe is best for the students no matter the cost.
You should be careful when choosing which candidate to vote for.
Watching students vote for their friends or those who are in the same organization with them is sad and ridiculous. Making uninformed decisions based on personal favoritism detracts from individuals being able to make smart decisions on their own.
Students should use their own minds to make decisions instead of adopting the beliefs of their peers without researching them first.
So that is exactly what I encourage all of you to do before this year's election. The University Daily Kansan will print information about each candidate before the elections. You also have the option of visiting the Student Senate Web site at www.ku.edu/ - senate to read about Senators who are running for another term.
Read this information and educate yourself about who will be the best person to serve you.
Don't be another nonvoting student. Use your power to vote for changes you believe in. So spread the word, and educate yourself.
Shannon Snapp is a Belleville junior in Spanish and psychology. She is a Delta Force candidate for CLAS.
Free forAll
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
--it's 1:22 a.m. and I have two ideas. One of them was to buy lawn furniture. The other was to call the Free For All. The phone was right by my head and I have no money to buy lawn furniture, so here I am.
To the person who said that KUnited is just a group of pretty, Frisbee-throwing Republicans, I say this: I'm not greek, I can't throw a Frisbee worth a crap and I'm a Democrat. Please save your stereotypes and get to know your candidates.
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I went down to Florida for spring break and I'm still here.
I like how Jonathan Ng likes to spend our student money to tell us about our student money.
I will give $100 to the girl with the hainstest chest. Just meet me at JRP at 12:00 Friday, and you've got $100
A legend like B.B. King comes to KU and nobody writes about it in the UDK? What a shame.
I work in Ellsworth, and this is to the idiot that broke in over the weekend and punched a bunch of holes in the wall. I was just wondering how his hand felt after he hit that stud. Dumbass. Just be glad you didn't punch in the wall that had concrete blocks behind it.
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The Parking Department loves online enrollment because now they can put a hold on you before you've even gotten a ticket.
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It's good to see that Delta Force is running on the all-important hide-and-seek platform.
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To all the war protesters out there, I'd like to tell you something. You're doing about as much good as a screen door on a submarine.
Yeah, this is to the cartoonists on the opinion page: it's already happened. It's called Michelob Ultra.
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