Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ED-BOARD: IS CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION PROGRESSIVE?
TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2009
COMING WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21
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--shorts?
I'm back at school and I'm ready to get back to business, and when I say"business,"I mean party business.
I'm leaving for italy tomorrow. I'd better get laid.
I think all sports should adopt baseball's philosophy when it comes to the coach's dress attire, because how sweet would it be to see Bill Self in a KU basketball jersey and
--pe a ooucnepaq.
This is to the guy I was stuck behind leaving town yesterday. The '99 Taurus is a solid car. I drive one. You really don't need to stop to make a turn and it's more than capable of hitting highway speeds on the on-ramp. Don't push the bus.
--aware than they are.
Ninety-nine percent of men are a-holes. Learn to accept it
--aware than they are.
Unfortunately, I think I have accepted it.
--aware than they are.
Since when does SafeRide require utility bills as proof of residency in order for them to pick you up from any place to go home?
--aware than they are.
With my freeze ray I will stop the world!
--aware than they are.
You're the wrongest man in Wrongtown!
--aware than they are.
Whenever you intrude on people's privacy and personal space in public in a potentially demeaning way, perhaps you should think twice, because people appreciate their independence and they don't appreciate being condescended to by persons who are less educated and less aware than they are.
Bingo bango bongo I'm so happy in the jungle I refuse
Three Cheers For Five Years!
--has begun to replace Chancellor Robert Hemenway, who has been our leader for 14 years. The chancellor is
Excellent song. Too bad that's Mayday Parade's only good
--has begun to replace Chancellor Robert Hemenway, who has been our leader for 14 years. The chancellor is
I disagree fullv.
--has begun to replace Chancellor Robert Hemenway, who has been our leader for 14 years. The chancellor is
Stand up right now!
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--has begun to replace Chancellor Robert Hemenway, who has been our leader for 14 years. The chancellor is
When they get two weeks vacation they hurry to vacation ground. (What do they do Danny?) They swim and they fish but that's what I do all year round.
--has begun to replace Chancellor Robert Hemenway, who has been our leader for 14 years. The chancellor is
I invite every one of us to remember the reason that we celebrate this national holiday.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Chancellor search: what The Kansan wants asked
He does everything from making sure students get to class safely when it snows to overseeing a $600 million budget. The chancellor of the University of Kansas has a tremendous job, and the search
Hemenway
chancellor is not only in
charge of the Lawrence campus, but the Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., a clinical branch in Wichita, and the Edwards Campus in Overland Park. This means on a daily basis he is making choices that affect 30,000 students and 13,000 faculty and staff.
"The position is 24/7... Any decision you make has impact on students." Hemenway said.
The University needs a new chancellor not only with extensive experience in teaching and higher education administration, but in the face of these interesting and economically downtrodden times, someone who will not lose focus of providing the faculty and students with the resources they need to be
"There is no set model for the ideal successor," Hemenway said. "Somebody who will be able to do the job their way while focusing on education. The priorities are to make an environment people can graduate in and become contributing members of society."
successful.
Jennings also served as interim athletic director in the search that brought Lew Perkins and Bill Self to the University.
The Kansas Board of Regents has elected Drue Jennings, former chairman and chief executive officer of the Kansas City Power and Light Company to chair the 15-member committee chosen to search for the next chancellor.
- What, if any, changes do you plan on making to the University within your first year here?
- Though this committee will be representing the faculty, staff, students and community of Lawrence, The Kansan Editorial Board feels these questions should be posed to potential leaders of the University.
- What are your long-term goals for the University?
- How do you plan to make the education of students and provision of resources for faculty a priority while dealing with severe
budget cuts?
- Hemenway said the hardest part of being the chancellor has been when his family ends up sacrificing. How do you feel about the time commitment and the sacrifices you will have to make not only for yourself but for your family?
- In October 2008, Chancellor Hemenway outlined six initiatives to guide the University's mission, one of which was to make it a "global university that prepares its graduates for the competitive global economy." Do you feel this
is a mission you will pursue as chancellor, and if so what steps will you take to achieve this?
KANSAN'S
OPINION
- How do you feel
about aggressive cost-cutting, and do you have ideas for where the University could reallocate funds?
- How do you plan on furthering the goal of making the University a "greener" university that is environmentally responsible?
In the board's opinion, these questions will help the committee find the best potential candidate for the 17th chancellor at the University of Kansas.
- Caitlin Thornbrugh for The Kansan Editorial Board
POLITICS
Inaugural opinions
New presidency brings new hopes and expectations from opinion staff
The inauguration of President Obama signifies only the beginning. "Yes We Can" cannot yet be "Yes We Did." President Obama still faces many challenges at home and abroad, none of which will be immediately resolved by his taking the presidential oath of office. As we take in today's historic events, let us remember that it is what President Obama does after today that will ultimately determine the success of his presidency.
Tonight, we will be witnessing history. The first African-American President of the United States will be sworn into office. He will usher in an era of change and hope for this country, and it will all begin once he's placed his hand on a Bible, sworn in an oath and put up some pictures of his kids in the Oval Office. And I wasn't invited. What injustice! I spent an entire semester brown-nosing Barack Obama in the Op-Ed page of a college newspaper, so clearly I was pivotal to his election, yet I didn't get so much as a "Sorry, bro, we ran out of good seats." You broke my heart, Barack. Before you can repair the economy, you'll need to repair my feelings.
But at least you're not Sarah, Palin.
The two leading presidential candidates for the Democratic Party were an African-American and a woman. These candidacies, which would have been unthinkable 40 years ago, are a tribute to the activism of the '60s that civilized our country. The activism of the '60s and subsequent years happened because students and other people organized and fought for real change. Though President Barack Obama's election is inspiring, we should be quick to remember from the example of the '60s that real change and progress more often comes from struggles on the ground than from beneficence above.
Since early on, Americans have spoken about the "American Dream," the belief that any American can accomplish anything if they set their mind to it. But until Obama was elected, I did not believe the American Dream applied to every citizen. Before Obama was elected, I believed there were specific criteria Americans had to meet to accomplish the American Dream. Over and over, only white males with a strong financial background were elected, but Obama represents all of America. He is an ordinary man who accomplished his dream and showed all of America that you do not have to be a rich, white male to be the president of the United States. Now I can honestly say that I am proud to be an American.
The American people can expect President Barack Obama to bring back a respectful use of science in government. His nominee for Secretary of Energy, Nobel Laureate Steven Chu, vowed to use his scientific expertise to fight the energy crisis. Obama's pick for the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa
Jackson, went before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and said that she "will let science be the guide in making the decision and the rule of law" The scientific community can look forward to a seat at the table in the Obama administration.
ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON
Barack Obama may have one of the most progressive presidential terms in history. His election alone is evidence of the progressive direction our country is heading in. But I, like most Americans, have been holding my breath to see if he really is the man for the job. Many have spoken out against the policies and actions that were in effect under President Bush. Obama's policies and proposals could mean a big change for our government and our country. I believed what Obama said in his campaigns and as long as it wasn't all bollocks, I stand behind our new president. Obama has the capacity to accomplish this country what it needs, so let's see if he dives in head first for us.
Paintings, dishes, coins, stamp covers: Flipping through the channels this weekend. I could only wonder, "This is how we're supposed to commemorate a new president — by buying stuff?" I always thought that the presidential inauguration was remarkable because it demonstrated the brilliance of our constitution. I was wrong. According to the guy on the Home Shopping Network, the point of a historical moment is to buy a coin treated by their "patented colorization process" with Barack Obama's face on it. Well, got to go. The clock on the bottom of the screen is ticking.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
The Audacity of Hope (hardcover): $25
Obama bumper sticker: $5
A president who is a smashing commercial success before he gets into office: Priceless
JAMES FARMEL
POLITICS
Editor's note: For privacy reasons, the author and her family chose not to use the full name of the child mentioned in the piece.
History, heritage and Hot Wheels in one special day
There is no doubt in my brother's mind that Jan. 20 will be a great day.
He has been asking about it since the summertime, wondering, like the rest of America, if a day that wonderful could actually ever come. Yet Jan. 20 for him does not evoke images of Washington, D.C., nor of a tall, caramel-colored man in a black suit making a historic speech from a podium. Instead, he dreams of Hot Wheels cars and a cake with green icing, requests he has trumpeted loud and clear for his sixth birthday, which falls on Inauguration Day. This little boy, with the same caramel-colored skin, may glance at the television on Jan. 20, but he will be oblivious to the history that he shares with the man who will become his president.
My brother, like Barack Hussein Obama, also carries the burden of a name. He bears the name of two prophets — Mohammed and Jesus — but in the airports of today, my 5-year-old brother bears the name of a terrorist. He had no idea, as we waited in line at Chicago-Midway this summer, that airport lines don't take that long for everyone.
Like Obama's, my brother's name was a gift from his father, my stepfather, a French citizen of African descent. The family name sings of my brother's paternal origins.
My brother's heritage is like
Obama's: he is half-black, and his mother, also my mother, is a white Midwestern. Like Obama, my brother originates from a rich blend of cultures. He cannot be easily categorized. But others categorize him.
My awareness of race was peripheral until the 2002 marriage of my mother and my stepfather. My brother was born Jan. 20, a year later. As time passed, I realized how different my experiences were from those of my brother. To me, race issues seemed distant. They would never be that way for my brother.
When my brother was born in 2003, his birthday fell on another important day: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Like Obama, he goes forward with the blessings of the reformers of the past. I admire Obama for his intelligence; his eloquence and his commitment to change. Moreover, when I look at him, I see a vision of all that my brother can be. I am counting on Obama to pave my brother's path and to help him up the mountain.
My brother may be unaware, but one day he will look at what Obama achieved and he will know anything is possible.
Daldorph is a Lawrence junior in journalism and French.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Brenna Hawley, Beecka Crimer, Mary Sorick Kelvy Hayes and Ross Stewart.
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