4a
Opinion
Monday, October 23, 2000
for comments, contact Ben Embry or Emily Hughey at 864-4924 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com
Perspective
Nontraditional students: Get involved at KU
M y first semester just more than two years ago was the absolute worst, but two things saved my sonity. The first was finding
and getting involved with the nontraditional student organization here on campus, now called KU Nontrads; and the second was discovering the McNair Scholar Program.
These groups not only gave me access to a social life here at KU, but will also help me reach my future goals. Once I receive my degree, potential employers will be looking for involvement in extracurricular activities, and these two groups provided a means to that end.
Initially, I couldn't see how I could
find time for anything other than my studies, my job, and my daily commute from Kansas City, Kan. But because of my desire to really experience college life, I decided to test the waters and get involved a little bit at a time. In most of my classes, I was the only person older than 30, including my professors. I felt a bit out of place. I knew that this was where I needed to be, and
Karen
Boyd
columnist
opinion@kansan.com
what I wanted to be doing, but feeling alone made it more difficult.
Meeting some of the other nontraditional students on campus definitely helped me to see that I was not alone and I could make valuable contributions to campus life for others. KU Nontrads is a great organization that makes social ties with others in similar situations easier. The brown-bag lunches each Wednesday at Alcove E in the Kansas Union have provided a kind of home base to check in and see friendly faces in my peer group.
The other organization that has been invaluable to me as a nontraditional student is the McNair Scholar Program. Although not strictly geared for nontrads, the program provides assistance to many students who are members of a group that is underrepresented in higher education or who are first-generation college students meeting certain income guidelines. McNair helps students who plan to continue their education at the graduate level by providing tutoring, GRE test preparation courses and the opportunity to participate in the program's Summer Research Institute. The program, located on the third floor of Pearson Hall, always is looking for potential scholars.
Other things to remember as a nontraditional student:
1. Not all your classmates under the age of 25 are majoring in alcohol poisoning. I have met and befriended a lot of young people who are very responsible with their lives and are very serious about their studies.
2. The Student Development Center in Strong Hall provides many services of use to all students, but has a great deal to offer nontraditional students in particular.
3. We nontrads now have four seats in Student Senate, so if you have any concerns or ideas, you can contact those senators: Deena Hardie, Brent Wallace, Amber Rattliff and Mike Roessler.
4. Many of the younger students may not even know you are nontraditional. I have found many of them to guess my age at least 10 years younger than I actually am — a definite perk!
5. Your professors realize experience and hard knocks bring depth to classroom discussions. Take advantage of that and be vocal in class; it makes an impact on both your professors and other students.
6. It is up to you to not be invisible on campus. That is one of the biggest complaints I have heard from nontraditional students. Get involved, voice your opinions and have fun!
Boyd is a Kansas City, Kan., senior in sociology.
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Letters to the editor
Retirement investment tips helpful but assume incorrectly
Columnist Scott Kaiser (October 19) writes that a disciplined investor who starts young can save a million dollars for retirement at age 65.
This estimate requires certain assumptions, including a 12 percent lifetime rate of return on investment, but I agree that it is generally a good idea to save for retirement.
Toward the end of his confidently knowledgeable argument, Kaiser advises grads to save because Social Security is "a gamble our generation cannot rely on." That's a terribly careless thing to say.
If nothing is done to change the program, fairly conservative projections show Social Security paying full benefits until 2037, and then paying 70-75 percent of promised benefits thereafter. Is that absolutely guaranteed? No. But is Scott Kaiser's 12 percent rate of return over the next 40 years guaranteed? No, again.
David J. Ekerdt
Professor of Sociology
Students and families should peacefully coexist once again
The use of family homes for owner-unoccupied multiple rental units is not a student problem but a landlord problem. Students will live where they can.
Students and families used to live together. The student in every garret enjoyed a cheap room and helped pay for upkeep. The owners raised children, grew flowers and fixed the plumbing.
Let's encourage an owner-occupant to accommodate a student. Loss of irreplaceable historic dwellings begins when the whole home is given over to unrelated renters.
Stop mutilation of houses. Block by block, reclaim homes by zoning down when they sell. Embrace the Kansas Neighborhood Revitalization Act, about to be introduced by neighborhood associations
to reward restoration.
Ann Goans Lawrence resident
Rezone the heart of Lawrence back to its original intent and families will flock to these one-of-a-kind homes.
Q&A's stance on chalkings not reflective of all queers
Let's get one thing certain: A few members of KU Queers and Allies do not speak for the entire group.
Q&A's position with the University of Kansas is entirely on the director's terms and accord. In fact, I completely disagree with the director's alliance with the University. Because the director, and thus the organization, took responsibility for and condemned the October 11 chalkings they have sent the message and set the example for anti-queer assault.
Not only have they allowed an open attack on the queer community (by some of the members themselves as well as some of the student population,) they have also silenced the majority of its members.
As an active member and participant in Q&A, I also refuse to let this incident divide or discourage us. Most of us have common goals and similar beliefs that override differing opinions about sidewalk chalk. I do not feel threatened by contrary opinions or disagreements.
Our chalkings should not have been erased; we did nothing wrong, and I refuse to remain the silent and submissive little queer everyone wants me to be.
What most people do not know is that the night of the chalkings, police officers stopped and checked what we were writing. They found nothing wrong with our messages and let us continue.
KU Queers and Allies and the University do not define who I am, and I will not be made to feel ashamed of my decisions.
Tara Wolfe Lawrence senior
Editorial
Sexual assault handling is for the authorities
Ballard report should have demanded staff and coaches consult authorities
The Barbara Ballard report suggests positive reforms for the Athletics Department. It will improve the responsiveness of the department, but in the end, serious sexual assault cases should be a matter for the authorities.
Establishing protocols for assault claims and appointing Amy Perko to receive these complaints are good ideas. They can effectively deal with some incidents and prevent serious assaults from being addressed slowly and inadequately.
The Ballard report suggests that many students in the department are likely to turn to coaches or staff members when they have these kinds of problems. Requiring staff and coaches to have training for these issues can help fulfill their primary obligation to the students.
But there is only so much the department can do in truly serious cases. The bottom line is that sexual assault is a crime, whether it occurs on or off campus. Student-athletes should report to the police or other law enforcement if they think a crime has been committed against them. It's the best way to preserve their rights and the rights of those who are accused
It's also unfair to require student-athletes to attend programs on violence against women and alcohol if they've never manifested problems in these areas. There's no reason why athletes have a greater predisposition to these problems than the general student population. Athletes may be role models, but that doesn't justify reforming their behavior when they've done nothing wrong.
By accepting the Ballard report and promising to follow its guidelines, the department will avoid failures such as the one it has recently experienced. The department needs to ensure that it doesn't bury sexual assault claims. Coaches and staff members should be trained to support students and urge them to report criminal cases to the police.
Brett Watson for the editorial board
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed. To read more, go to www.kansan.com.
At least sorority girls are friendly and at least say something to someone else. I have to see most people even smile at a stranger.
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How many more years of evolution will it take before we finally overcome this fictional concept of God?
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If God is love and love is blind and Ray Charles is blind, does that make Ray Charles God?
I find it ironic that the broke guy making ramen noodles on the front page still has money to buy cigarettes to smoke and put behind his ear. He must not be that broke after all.
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If at one moment, you lost all your senses and all your memory, how would you know you were alive?
I want to be a pirate when I grow up. Where can you find those classes in the timetable?
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Funny how people wearing Abercrombie and Fitch talk on their cell phone about not being able to pay the rent.
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Water polo players wear earmuffs so their eardrums don't break when they get whacked in the melon. C'mon guys, get with it.
Is it really necessary for the Kansas Union to say A.D. 1925? Does anyone really think it's B.C.?
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Inventors used to come up with really cool stuff like the cotton gin. Now they just come up with lazy ways of exercising.
You'd like to hear sorority girls say something besides "you look cute today?" How about "suck it?"
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If two people are really in love with each other, they're not looking at each other, they're looking in the same direction.
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