4A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2003
TALK TO US
Kristi Henderson
884-4854 or khenderson@kansan.com
Jenna Goeppert and Justin Henning
managing editors
864-4854 or jgoeppert@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 864-4368 or adsales.kansan.com
Sarah Jantz
retail sales manager
864-4358 or adsales@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Matt Fisher
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing adviser
884-7866 or mfler@kansan.com
EDITORIAL BOARD
Tuition break should only follow after naturalization
A bill in the Kansas Legislature seeks to convey upon illegal immigrants the privilege of in-state tuition at public universities.
A state university is just that. The cost of educating its students is heavily subsidized by the state government. Those same governments exist for the benefit and protection of its citizens. Noncitizens should not necessarily be treated with open hostility, but at the same time they should not be given an overly generous cornucopia of privileges.
In this sweeping form, the bill is unacceptable only those immigrants in the immediate process of naturalization should be allowed the tuition break.
The United States is a wonderful land of opportunity and we can scarcely blame those in other countries for coming here by any means they can. In fact, we should do everything we can to welcome immigrants as productive members of our society.
They, in return, should do something for us. Become citizens.
That is to say that immigrants who wish to get a cheap education and have a safe, prosperous life should return the favor by being willing to serve and defend the country that will give them these things.
Naturalization can be an arduous process. The INS helpsheet says it can take as long as two years. Because of the time frame, any illegal alien who is in the immediate process of becoming a citizen should be considered for in-state tuition.
The wall over which aliens must climb to get in-state tuition should not be one of bureaucracy,only loyalty.
Matt Pirotte for the editorial board
SUBMITTING LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMNS
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
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.
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
Maximum Length:
650 word limit
Include:
Author's name
Class, hometown (student)
Position (faculty member)
Also:
The Kansan will not print guest columns that
attack another columnist.
LETTER GUIDELINES
Jennifer Wade for The University Daily Kansas
Maximum Length:
200 word limit
Include.
Author's name
Author's telephone number
Class, hometown (student)
Position (faculty member)
SUBMITTO
With duct tape flying off the shelves across the country, the terrorist thermometer rising, and a government priming the economy in accordance to the military-industrial complex theory, as students we should be aware of more than just the rhetoric thrown in our faces. See beyond the mere appearances conveyed in today's rhetorical landscape. Watching Star Wars could even be a start.
These kinds of phrases make me believe that the current war of words between the two dominant political parties stands for nothing more than a perpetual divorce-settlement case over the country itself. Business and reason in politics have been replaced by pure emotion. And what better function of language than to play on the basest emotions of the American voter: fear and hatred of the unknown.
Pauzauskie is a Topeka junior in biology and English.
Politicians play to base emotion
"uh, not sure yet, probably some more democracy and probably an extended membership to the Middle East oil-puddle club"). The list could go on.
E-mail:
opinion@kansan.com Hard copy:
Kansannewaroom
111Stauffer-Flint
REALITY CHECK
PERSPECTIVE
For those of you still caught in the fmire of political self-definition, take head of the rhetorical means by which politicians seek your allegiance. Media and administration catch phrases have gone too far and have become too popular today. These catch phrases stand in for what should be at least attempts at rational explanations of current policies.
GUEST COMMENTARY
Politicians have always needed a considerable amount of performance. Don't be mistaken. Today, political parties — most notably the right-wing Republican sect — have inundated the public with both sound bytes and visual manipulation of which students must take heed before beginning to lean toward either party.
For example, today Americans are expected to understand that we fight the omnipresent threat of the "Axis of Evil." This phrase, perhaps the most irresponsible noise ever uttered by a self-respecting president, stands as the rhetorical flagship for a manipulative war being waged on the American voter. Put simply, even George Lucas could do better. He did do better. He imagined his villains
with more humanity and subtlety than our president's speech writers.
Sean Pauzauskie opinion@hamsan.com
Opinion Poll
kansan.com
Except he was making movies. Fiction.
No lives were at stake.
The administration supplants simple phrases for the true complexity of international politics because they can. Just ask them about "class warfare" (definition — the continuing polarization of wealth in America), "corporate responsibility" (def. — businesses: don't "cook the books"), "knee-jerk liberals" (def. — well, we'll have to define "liberals" first), "liberals" (colloquialism — "complete idiots"), "knee-jerk liberals" (def. — "quick, reactionary complete idiots"), "jobs, growth, opportunity" (def. — class warfare), "regime change" (def. —
Should students continue to protest the war on Iraq?
ON THE 'KANSAN' ON-LINE
No, our nation's leaders do not care what happens here, and students should focus on supporting our troops.
Go to kansan.com and click on the opinion section to check out the weekly online poll. Click on forums to post to the discussion.
Yes, Students should exercise their rights to free speech even though the war has begun.
Last Week's Poll
Students should maintain respect for our troops if they choose to protest.
Should an individual school or department ask students to contribute money to the cost of needed improvements?
Results after 250 votes:
No, students are already burdened enough with the tuition increase. 70 percent
Yes, the money will benefit them directly. 8 percent
It depends on what the improvement is. — 21 percent
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 obscure statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com
图
This is a message to whoever said Michael Moore is a fat, dumb idiot. You obviously have the intelligence of a third grader.
图
I was calling to tell the hot guy with the hot dog and the hot red Jeep that I want you very badly.
It's finally nice out, so would anyone mind if I walked around without my pants?
Michael Moore is a genius. You just can't handle the truth.
This is to the guy who was masturbating in the parking garage by the Union yesterday. Next time, please do so with a little more discretion. Thanks.
all the donors that helped get you elected; ignore your campaign promises.
You know, those soldiers are the reason I can still see a lot of almostnaked women on campus. God bless the soldiers.
--all the donors that helped get you elected; ignore your campaign promises.
KUnited and Student Senate rock.
--all the donors that helped get you elected; ignore your campaign promises.
We just watched Celine Dion rockin' it out in Las Vegas and we know we weren't the only ones.
I will write down the text as requested. Please provide the image of the text you are looking for.
This is to the person who took my mirror off speeding down Tennessee Street. Seven years of bad luck started for you on Saturday. And you owe me 130 bucks.
all the donors that helped get you elected; ignore your campaign promises.
all the donors that helped get you elected; ignore your campaign promises.
all the donors that helped get you elected; ignore your campaign promises.
Whatever happened to Crystal Clear Pepsi?
图
I'd like to say hello to my delicious donut man Justin. Hey, Justin. How ya doing, Justin? Can I get some free donuts, Justin?
If you're watching Fox News, you might as well be watching the Disney Channel.
We just got back from Dunkin' Donuts, and we had a wonderful experience thanks to Justin.
all the donors that helped get you elected; ignore your campaign promises.
图
Why are Kansas and Oklahoma so windy? Because Missouri sucks.
I saw the redhead from my politics class in New York. I had a huge crush on her, and she didn't even remember me. What's up with that?
PERSPECTIVE
Third parties need voices heard in campaigns
As the race for next year's presidential election has already begun, Indecision 2000 is still fresh in the minds of many. It will likely go down as an historic election, but, sadly, for all the wrong reasons. Before the dwindling few take to the voting booths in 2004, it behooves our democracy to better understand the elections system, correct its failings and maybe, just maybe, actually get out there and vote. So, for your edification and entertainment, I have devised a crash-course on what's wrong with the elections process and what we can do to make it better.
Here's how a typical campaign runs. Step 1: Run opinion polls to determine what people want you to say on the campaign. Step 2: Prove to big donors that you are a contender; gain massive funding from large corporations and other special interests for transportation and television time. Step 3: Limit all of your speeches and commercials to what the public wants to hear. Step 4: Get elected by any means necessary. Step 5: Pay back
Steve Ducey opinion@hansan.com
COMMENTARY
Now, if we remember correctly, both George W. Bush and Al Gore received millions of dollars from corporate special interests and led middle-of-the-road campaigns with the occasional disparity of policy for the sake of maintaining a separate identity. This drive toward the center made for one of the closest elections in U.S. history, so close that, after being called three times, we still did not have a winner until weeks after the polls closed. Until then, the media were awash with reports of shady activities in the Florida elections process including tales
Those tired of choosing a lesser of two
Homogenization of parties and corporate back-scratching are hardly the kinds of things that we as voters should stand for, and can hardly be called democratic. No wonder voter turnouts are reaching all-time lows. Now that we know why the system stinks, it remains for us to clean it up.
of black voters deterred from voting in key areas of the state and the dreaded hanging chads.
Once Bush finally took office, he rewarded his buddies at Enron and Arthur Anderson by including them in his staff (funny that no one seems to care that those responsible for one of the biggest corporate scandals in history still hold seats of power within our government). Furthermore, Bush, as I am sure his "liberal" counterpart would have done, implemented policy reforms to the benefit of his corporate donors, most notably his reversal of environmental standards in the Clean Air and Water Acts, all in direct opposition to his campaign promises.
evils are dying for more choice. Therefore, steps must be taken to ensure more variety in U.S. politics. First, third parties must be integrated into the debates to decrease domination of the center and framing of issues. Another key step would be proportional representation in the electoral college, whereby if a third party candidate gets 20 percent of the vote, that candidate gets 20 percent of the available electors. This is already in place in many European countries and allows for a much more democratic system wherein parties have principles that define them from their counterparts, not animal mascots.
If we want to avoid the appalling spectacle of the 2000 election, we must reestablish the legitimacy of our democracy by taking power away from the corporate-friendly, moderate superparty. The best way to do that is to empower third parties and thereby give the voters a choice.
---
Ducey is an Overland Park sophomore in philosophy.
Y