Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MIYAKAWA: CALLING BY NAME A COMMON COURTESY
United States First Amendment
COMING WEDNESDAY
TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2009
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
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I am in the "B" School, and I'm working on getting out.
Is it bad that I already skipped a class?
College would be great if it were three-day weekends.
--and works with the University administration to implement policies the senators think are important to students. For example, the Senate helped
If I may make a suggestion, never put your AlM or anything on an Internet forum. You WILL be stalked.
BRAAAAAAAAAAINS.
PAGE 5A
Dear KU, from your friends at K-State. STOP CHEATING!
Thin Mints, Do Si Dos, Daisy Go Rounds, Tagalongs, Allabouts, Thin Mints, Cinna Spins, Yum yum, Girl Scout cookies — getting fat begins!
--and works with the University administration to implement policies the senators think are important to students. For example, the Senate helped
I think I saw DJ Chef working out at the rec center. I love his hair.
--and works with the University administration to implement policies the senators think are important to students. For example, the Senate helped
Why isn't there any Starbucks closer to campus?
I'm OK. You're OK. We're all OK. Mellow, mellow.
Why would a brainy scholar or talented writer welcome strangers approaching her on the basis of sexist, albeit perceptions? Just let me be myself, please. This IS YOUR problem, people, not mine.
--and works with the University administration to implement policies the senators think are important to students. For example, the Senate helped
--and works with the University administration to implement policies the senators think are important to students. For example, the Senate helped
Mmm. carrots
--and works with the University administration to implement policies the senators think are important to students. For example, the Senate helped
Dear K-State, from your friends at KU: STOP SUCKING!
"Terminator 2." One of the best movies ever.
--and works with the University administration to implement policies the senators think are important to students. For example, the Senate helped
Blah-blah. Your mom is $50.
--and works with the University administration to implement policies the senators think are important to students. For example, the Senate helped
I have four-day weekends...
sorry to brag but it's
AMAZING
--and works with the University administration to implement policies the senators think are important to students. For example, the Senate helped
Yike! My personal space buzzer is going off. Please back away and stop approaching strangers on the street on the basis of offensive sexist, ablest prejudices. Do you really have the right to grab a stranger's bag? Think they appreciate that?
Don't you hate it when you're driving home from work and just to let off some steam you feel like squealing the tires a bit at a stop sign, but there's a cop behind you.
Why are people so put out by holding the door open for other people?
Students should be aware of resources provided by Senate
EDITORIAL BOARD
Senators from last year's coalition ConnectKU watch as Senate winners are announced in last year's election. Students interested in participating in Senate can pick up applications beginning Feb. 5.
The purpose of Student Senate is to represent the student body, to serve as its voice and to provide support for its myriad activities and organizations. But many students barely register its existence, and fewer still actually know what it does. The Senate is a terrific resource for this University, but it is all too often underutilized.
Mason Heilman, student senate executive committee chair, said the biggest challenge the Senate faced was helping students understand what the organization could do for them. Every student pays a Lawrence campus fee each semester, of which $17.50 goes directly to the Senate for use as funding for events, benefits, clubs and organizations.
The Senate passes resolutions that serve as the official student position on any given issue
About 10 of the 93 seats in the Senate are currently vacant.
implement a policy that now requires professors to post grades at the midterm of each semester. Senate also sets the amount for the required campus fee, which is currently $423.35. Ideally, it should be easy for students to contact their senators to air any concerns or rectify any grievances that they may have.
Heilman said the 10 graduate student seats were perennially the most difficult to fill. Seven have remained empty since the beginning of this year, but there are at least that many vacancies in other constituencies. Too often elected senators simply stop showing up to Senate
KANSAN'S
OPINION
meetings or are suspended for failing to finish the small amount of work each senator is required to do.
But it is ultimately up to students to get involved and take advantage of the resources the Senate can offer. Senate should not be viewed as an elite group; it is the direct representation of us, the students.
We implore any student with
PICK UP APPLICATIONS BEGINNING FEB. 5 AT:
Student Senate Office, room 410 in the Kansas Union and online at www.studentsenate. ku.edu
an inclination to get involved in Senate to contact the Student Senate office for more information. Students do not need to be elected to join, and next week applications for vacant senate seats representing a number of constituencies will be available.
Dan Thompson for The Kansan Editorial Board
CAMPUS
Student Senate
Government
MARIAM SAIFAN
Envision coalition could unite campus community
For several months now the word on everyone's lips has been "change." Much-needed and highly anticipated change finally began to take place last Tuesday when our new president was sworn into office. Our nation needs a positive change, but so does our local community at the University.
Currently the campus community seems to operate independently, without much connection between student groups. Each group works separately in its attempts to reach specific goals. Student Senate and other student groups rarely connect, except to exchange funding plans.
A new coalition, Envision, has expressed similar goals of connecting campus life as well as
Just as branches of a government or departments of a company must work together to achieve the best possible outcome, so must campus groups and initiatives. Student Senate should take an active role in students' lives,rather than functioning as a presence only during elections or when other groups need funding.
making more students involved and aware of the Student Senate processes. Envision will compete against United Students and Students of Liberty in the upcoming Student Senate elections. This new coalition is comprised of several students from different coalitions coming together to reach a common goal. Just as a new president with a new plan for the country can instill hope in a nation, a new coalition with a fresh perspective can instill hope in a campus system once surrounded by bitterness.
All campaigns are filled with good ideas and plans to make lives better, though. The difficult part of any political process is implementation. Envision seems to be different, a breath of fresh air, but change is an ongoing process and we all should ask whether this
coalition will follow through.
The University will be facing many great challenges in the coming months. An 18-member selection committee has set high standards in the search for a new chancellor, who must benefit not only the University but also the Lawrence community. The University will also be dealing with decreasing budgets and the ongoing struggle to do more with less. Campus groups must work together to face these upcoming problems, and students will need to feel connectivity and a sense of stability.
Envision could bring the change Student Senate and campus life desperately need. Envision could be the missing puzzle piece to connect students to their senators and smaller groups to the larger picture. Hopefully this new coalition will live up to these standards and not become another lost idea among campaign platforms and promises.
Brown is a Wichita sophomore in journalism and political science.
POLITICS
United States lacking Public Service Academy
THIS WEEK'S
SOUNDTRACK OF A LIFE
SONG:
"CHANGE"
BY TAYLOR SWIFT
They will say the night of Nov.4,2008, "was the night things changed"
As far as having a truly diverse governing body is concerned (one whose majority is not old white men), perhaps these will truly be days worth remembering years hence. But when it comes to truly reforming the culture of Washington — one of our new president's campaign promises — "the fight ain't fair."
night things changed, the night the "walls that they put up." fell down." And they will say Jan 20, 2009, was the day they "sang halleluja."
Just take the Obama bailout plan as an example.
For starters, the president hoped to enact the legislation on day one; an LA Times article suggests the White House now hopes for passage by mid-February. Meanwhile, the package may yet grow bigger from its current $825 billion to aid struggling banks. Remember, this is for a president with a 78-member margin in the House and 15-member margin in the Senate in his favor.
We need effective governance; more importantly, we need an effective system of implementation run by everyday Americans. Currently, there are approximately 1.8 million civil workers
To his credit, the president mentioned in his inaugural address what his presidency should truly be measured by: "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works."
in the federal government. But 90 percent of civil service leadership will be eligible for retirement in ten years.
There are existing public administration and service programs around the country; however, fewer graduates are actually entering the public sector. In 2001, the Washington Times reported that elite public policy schools were designing more programs to mirror and support student interest in business and nonprofit careers.
Still, adding expenditures in times such as these is not favorable, and the academy will cost more than $200 million annually.
That's where the U.S. Public Service Academy comes in. House Resolution 1671 (S. 960 in the Senate) aims to establish a university modeled after our military academies. For 5,000 or so undergraduate students, a free four-year education will be offered in exchange for five years of work in the public sector.
This is both a symbolic and a real gesture, displaying the significance of serving the public in our government; of having some of the most motivated and creative students ("we're faster and we're never scared") improving the function of everything from FEMA to Homeland Security to public education. That will make government work — for all of us.
Holmes is an Overland Park freshman in political science.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dog discrimination not the real problem
@KANSAN.COM
As an active-duty military spouse who has lived in five different states in the past five years, I agree that Lawrence is not the most pet-friendly city. However, based on the evidence presented, it is clear that dog breed is not the real issue in this case.
Many places do not allow pets, or impose weight limits or breed restrictions. My Siberian Husky is considered an aggressive breed in some states, and some places around the country have not rented to me because their insurance would not cover them if they did. Insurance companies make coverage determinations based on risk analysis, which is based on the number of violent altercations involving each breed.
Dog ownership is a significant responsibility that extends beyond loving and caring for one's animal to encompass concern for other citizens, some of whom are afraid of dogs. This is one of the reasons that there are leash laws. The city maintains an off-leash dog park available to
Read Angelique McNaughton's column about dog discrimination in Lawrence at www.kansan.com
Moreover, for the discrimination claim to be reasonable, one would have to prove that a disproportionate number of tickets are issued to pit bull owners. This evidence was not presented. All pet owners, regardless of breed, must obey the law.
I have found that the easiest way to get your pet accepted when you move is to bring your dog, vet records, obedience training certificates and letters of recommendation for your pet from your previous landlord. This has eased the way for my dogs and me through many of our moves.
its citizens for the enjoyment of their pets, as long as they are under voice control and wear rabies tags.
— Chariy M. Lander is a graduate student from Akron, Ohio
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