TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2003
OPINION
4A • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1
TUESDAY FEBRUARY11,2003
EDITORIAL BOARD
Company deserves 80 percent tax break
Lawrence will soon be home to a new, 43,000 square-foot facility for the pharmaceutical company Serologicals. Inc.
The city commission will reward the company by offering them an 80 percent tax break.
Councilman Mike Rundle disagreed with this idea and some students may as well, seeing it as another victory for big business. But the city of Lawrence should do whatever they can to entice such companies to set up shop here in Kansas.
What is more, the new facility will create more than of 40 jobs for Lawrence residents, which will payan average salary of $47.000.
According to the Lawrence Journal-World, Serologicals will bring more than $25 million to the community.
The numbers are promising
The decision of Serologicals to set up shop in Lawrence should also be considered a testament to the University.
David A. Dodd, CEO of the company, said, "We believe the positive business climate and the growing life science community in the Kansas City area, led by the University of Kansas and the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute Inc., will enhance our ability to attract and retain high quality personnel at this important new facility."
This is the sort of statement that describes a top public university.
Mike Rundle did not think the decision was fair to the other businesses in Lawrence, supporting instead a 50 percent tax break for the company. Allen Ford, KU professor of business, also weighed in on the side of small business, pointing to the large discrepancy in tax rates.
The bottom line, however, is that Serologicals will bring to Lawrence much more than it will take out.
Make no mistake. Rundle and Ford are making an admirable stand for what they believe in and attempting to defend the rights of small businesses.
The company will bring jobs and a large initial investment to the city, which will soon overshadow any perceived unfairness in the tax break.
Matt Pirotte for the editorial board
EXQUISITE RELIEF
THIS MORNING, THE SNOOZE STRUCK FIRST.
Lance Meneley for The University Daily Kansas
READERS' REPRESENTATIVE
Honesty, vigilence from sources help maintain quality of paper
Fast readers' representatives have often written about how students and faculty can reach out to The University Daily Kansan.
Certainly the editors want to make it as easy as possible for readers to make contact.
But what often hasn't been explained is what to do when the Kansan reaches out to you.
When approached by a reporter, depending on the story, people's reactions tend to range from bemusement to apprehension. Many times, reporters assume that everyone knows how to behave around them.
Just say "no." If you do not want your name in the paper, tell the reporter right away.
Do not talk to them for 15 minutes and then assume they know you don't want to be identified.
Because this is not the case, here are a few tips for those who are ill at ease when it comes to handling a reporter's questions.
Think of it this way: When talking to a reporter, whatever you say might very well go into the paper unless you tell them ahead of time that it is off the record.
COMMENTARY
If you have any qualms about what you are saying, explain your position to the reporter before you say it.
Leah Shaffer
rcadersrep@hansan.com
Have your quotes read back to you. This ensures that the content is accurate and will save both you and the reporter from future trouble.
What you cannot do is review the entire story before it gets printed. The Kansan has this policy so the writer, not the source, dictates the content.
If you are nervous about what you said in an interview, again, ask to have your quotes read back.
Get back to them. For reporters, it is extremely frustrating when a source ignores a message or skips an interview.
If a reporter is relying on that source, the rest of the story might fall through and the paper will suffer.
Even if you know that you cannot help with a story, call the reporter anyway and tell them what's going on. Better yet, suggest someone else they should talk to, if you can.
Be respectful and patient. Just because these are student reporters does not mean they can be treated disrespectfully.
Again, if you think they are not following what you are saying, ask them to read back the quotes and explain your stance.
Kansan reporters are just beginning to learn their trades, so be patient.
Don't assume the reporter is out to get you. Some sources assume that any reporter's job is to dig up dirt on them. Other sources visit the opposite extreme and assume that, when a reporter calls, it means free publicity.
What both sides fail to realize is that a good news story should include the positive and negative aspects of any issue.
Ultimately, a story should not be overly positive or negative, but truthful.
Hold the reporters to a high standard. Reporters should also be patient, respectful and friendly to their sources.
If a reporter is ever rude,unprofessional or misses an interview,their sources should call the Kansan and alert an editor.
For good news to get churned out, it has to work both ways.
Snaffer is a Hays senior in journalism and environmental studies.
PERSPECTIVE
Satire of differences promotes ethnocentrism
Middle Easterners own convenience shops. Gay men are effeminate. Blacks are athletic. Have Loffenced you yet?
Here's one that offended me as I read an article in my own University newspaper Thursday: Asians eat dog. I do not encourage stereotypes like these, but articles like the one published in a recent edition of Tongue In Beak perpetuate them.
The title of the article was, "Mrs. E's teams up with humane society." I was shocked and very disappointed with The University Daily Kansan when I read the article.
I personally found it appalling. I found it insulting, I found it insensitive. But let me assure you, I did not find it funny.
GUEST COMMENTARY
Some readers may not have thought twice about the story because it was meant to be a satire.
The article played on the old joke of Asians eating dog. The issue is not whether or not Asians eat dog.
Tracy Hsiao opinion@kansan.com
Here's one that offended me as I read an article in my own University newspaper Thursday: Asians eat dog. I do not encourage stereotypes like these, but articles like the one published in a recent edition of Tongue In Beak perpetuate them.
The offensive part is the underlying intolerance that the article suggests: "Dogs are supposed to be man's best
The fictional story said that dog meat was debuted at Mrs. E's annual "Vietnamese New Years' Feast." The Vietnamese New Year, one of the most important and celebrated holidays in the Vietnamese community, is degraded and mocked.
In one part of the story, a Mrs. E's employee is quoted saying when students find out what the meat is after eating it, they "go straight to the bathroom."
friend...you don't eat your best friend." Eating dogs in America is just as shocking as eating beef or pork in another country.
The point is cultural differences do exist.
I took this as a message that what Asian people eat is disgusting, and, in effect, Asian customs are backward and wrong.
So how, in this day and age, could a newspaper encourage such ethnocentrism?
It's not being racist, it's just a joke, don't take it so seriously, one of them said. One of my Asian-American friends said he wasn't offended at all.
Many people who read the article may be thinking the same thing. After all, what's a little joke if it's not hurting anyone?
paper and they reacted similarly, but a few of them thought I was overreacting.
I showed some of my friends the
But the truth is the jokes do hurt.
How should Asian students feel about their culture if their own university paper makes fun of it?
In recent years I have been impressed with the the Kansan's coverage of minority events and issues. But to see this recent article was deeply disappointing.
I think the University, in the interest of its goals of increasing minority recruitment and retention, should first take a look at what is published in its own newspaper.
TALKTOUS
Hsiao is a Wichita junior in sociology.
Kristi Henderson
864-4854 or khenderson@kanan.com
884-4854 or jgoetjen@kam.com and
mailto:jgoetjen@kam.com
Leah Shaffer
readers' representative
864-4810 or leashffer@kansan.com
Amanda Sears and Lindsey Hanson
editorial opinion column
684-492-4908 amanda.com
Eric Kelting
Eric Ketting
business manager
864-4358 or adsales@kansan.com
Sarah Jantz
retail sales manager
864-4358 or adales@kansan.com
Matt Fisher
Malcolm Gibson
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864.7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 884-7686 or mfleher@kansan.com
Call 864-0500
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
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.
We just got out of lunch at Mrs. Es and it smells like something died in there.
□
-
To the person who keeps knocking on our door late at night, you're scaring the bejesus out of us.
If Ryan loses The Bachelorette, we're going to streak through campus.
-
-
This is a Pi Phi Angel and I'm just calling because I'm really mad at whoever came over and tore down our love signs because we worked really hard at putting them up, and we're just trying to spread the love word for Valentine's Day.
图
And remember, love is what you make of it.
5
I think that the new spokesman for the chocolate milk commercials should be Michael J. Fox.
-
Ha ha, I already graduated and I still managed to get in the Free for All.
图
I love our country's right to freedom of speech. But what happened in Oklahoma, when they passed a law saying that Spanish-speaking citizens couldn't speak Spanish except on their personal breaks?
To the guy who asked me for the time outside of Bailey and then hugged me when he realized I was crying: I wanted to say thank you. You made my day so much better.
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 reader-
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
SUBMITTING LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMNS
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
Maximum Length:
200 word limit
Include:
Author's name
Author's telephone number
Class, hometown (student)
Position (faculty member)
SUBMITTO
E-mail:
opinion@kansan.com
Hard copy:
Kansan newsroom
11 Stauffer-Flint