4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN OPINION FRIDAY, NOV. 9, 2001 TALKTOUS Kursten Phels editor 864-4854 or editor@ansan.com Leita Schultes Christina Neff managing editors 864-4854 or editors@kansu.edu Erin Adamson Brendan Woodbury opinion editors 864 4810 or opinion@iansan.com Jenny Moore business manager 864-4014 or addressdirector@kansan.com Kate Mariani retail sales manager 864-4462 or retailsales@kansan.com Tom Eblen general manager and news adviser 864-7667 or teleblen@kansan.com Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or mfisher@kansan.com LETTERSTO THE EDITOR WOMYN'S PRIDE Dear editor, Dear editor, Robert Chamberlain's Nov. 1 critique of Womyn Take Back the Night ("Women's rally still needs to work on equity") completely ignores many of the substantive issues voiced by participants and proves dramatically shortsighted. While I wholeheartedly agree with Chamberlain's praise of the program's positive aspects, I found his analysis of domestic violence sadly inaccurate. domestic violence study, Citing Department of Justice statistics, Chamberlain illogically deduces that men rampantly kill other men, thus, violence against women appears only the slightest of societal concerns. This argument seems woefully ignorant of several points: First, I believe that most participants in Take Back the Night share concern for victims of all violence, not exclusively females; and second, violence against women within domestic settings results largely from the economic and political inequalities transcending society. Chamberlain's statement that men are victimized far more than women merely reinforces the point he denies — in fact, women's issues remain secondary to his supposedly more prominent attacks against men. Why? Women lack the financial and political security to escape abusive or violent situations — these realities exist, despite his male-dominated murder rates. Chamberlain's assumption that male-on-male aggression somehow negates the existence of violence against women is myopic. The womyn of Take Back the Night should remain proud of their movement and the awareness they spur Hayley Rumback Wichita senior SUBMITTING LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMNS The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by readers. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Erin Adamson or Brendan Woodbury at 864-4924 or e-mail at opinion@kansan.com. If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the readers' representatives at readersrep@kansan.com. The Kansan will attempt to run as many submissions as possible that conform to the guidelines below. GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES LETTER GUIDELINES **Maximum Length:** 650 word limit **Include:** Author's name Class, hometown (student) Position (faculty member) **Also:** Columnists must come to 111 Stauffer-Flint to get their picture taken 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 111 Stauffer-Flint PERSPECTIVE Understand WTO to help end its tyranny The World Trade Organization. The International Monetary Fund. The World Bank. These names may seem vaguely familiar; perhaps you heard them mentioned on the news, but what do you know about them? Many Americans have little knowledge of these multinational, giants that wield tremendous power over our lives. Learning about them is a significant step toward changing that. step to win changes. The WTO was created in 1995 as a successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. As its name implies, it is charged with increasing world trade by ensuring the expansion of free trade. With the IMF and the World Bank, the WTO sets the standards of global trade. These groups appear to be leading us down a path corrupted with economic and social inequality. They state that they want to stimulate economic growth around the world, and save economically struggling countries. But ensuring fair trading standards and encouraging "development" globally, is coming at a terrible cost. These organizations work to eliminate barriers to trade. Unfortunately any barrier is seen as bad even if it was in place to protect human rights or environmental concerns. People have no value except as consumers or labor. A country's natural resources are nothing more than commodities to be harnessed by business, its government of little concern. Sara Zafar Guest columnist opinionkansan.com Commentary change. Nov. 9-13, the WTO will hold its annual meeting in Qatar, a tiny, remote monarchy. While we can not protest it directly, as in past years, we can take some time this week to read the international section of a newspaper or talk with a friend. Empower yourself with knowledge. Raising awareness about these groups' global tyranny is the first step in becoming a better citizen of the world. The WTO considers anything that hinders expedient trade a barrier. Human rights, labor laws (including child labor laws), and environmental protection are all seen as anti-competitive or trade barriers. So the WTO breaks down these democratically created, essential safeguards. Recently, the European Union, with public safety in mind, placed a ban on products from genetically modified cows. In 1998 the WTO vetoed this ban, calling it a "barrier to trade." As more people accept the notion that brand name, sweatshop-produced goods are acceptable, that all business is good business, it becomes more difficult to dissent. Increasing the difficulty, the WTO masks itself in secrecy, reducing accountability and promoting inequality. Rulings on the fate of the economic world are conducted in secret meetings run by nonelected panels of "officials." The public is directly affected by these rullings, and yet does not have a venue to contribute to the decision-making process. some of the world's largest democracies - including our own - support, empower, and legitimize these groups. Despite undemocratic process Unfortunately, too many of us expect nothing of these groups because we know nothing about them. We all must realize our place in society and how we got where we are today. Each of us affects each other in some way, and we must each take responsibility for the results our actions cause. Placing business ideals over basic human rights — what many of us do every day without thinking — is clearly unacceptable. In the aftermath of recent events, it may be easy for us to cower from a world unexplainable and terribly cruel. However, instead, we must take control of the international organizations that seek to shape it. We must understand who is really in charge, and gain back the power we have lost. Only through understanding the system can we change it — and it desperately needs to change. Zafar is a freshman from Wichita. PERSPECTIVE Manhattan misses opportunity to correct school's racist mistake Sometimes it takes being away from home for a while to realize just how far you've come. you earlier this fall, the school board of Manhattan, my hometown — insert your own K-State joke — voted to retain the Manhattan High School mascot, the Indian. The effort to "retire" the mascot was initiated when a new superintendent came to town this year. It wasn't the first time the issue has been brought up, and I hope it won't be the last. Of course the mascot wasn't intended to be racist. Most of us don't consciously espouse racism. The problem is that the inability to step out of our ingrained view of the world can lead us to support racist elements in society. I hope it won't be the case. Four years ago, as a senior at Manhattan High, I had mixed feelings about the Indian mascot. Then, I felt an emotional attachment and made many of the same arguments I've heard in the past few months — that the mascot's image was respectful, that it wasn't motivated by racist intentions, that it was rooted in proud tradition. But time, distance and experience can change a lot. School board members who voted to keep the Indian as the mascot defended their decision with the results of a student poll, in which the majority of a predominately White school favored Commentary Kursten Phelps Guest Columnist opinionakansan.com Unfortunately, when the issue is degradation of a minority group, blindly following the majority is not valid. One board member even apologized if a few people were offended by the mascot, but said it was more important to go with the masses. It is simply ridiculous to speak in terms of an acceptable offense when an entire segment of society — nations of indigenous peoples — are being trivialized and stereotyped, no matter how "respectful" it may be. retaining the mascot. respectful it may be. Legend has it that Manhattan High originally switched to the Indian mascot in 1941 to honor a well-liked football coach who was of Native-American descent. I'll admit, it surprised me that his daughter returned to the school board in support of keeping the mascot that honored her father. On the other hand, Manhattan residents were far too willing to take the opinion of one Native American and make her the spokesperson for the entire race. It's time stop embracing the attitude of "Well, my friend (insert name), who is (insert race/nationality/sexual orientation/gender) thinks (insert offensive remark or image) is OK, so it must be OK with everyone." OR, so it must be The most frustrating aspect of the argument to keep the Indian mascot is that it honors the admirable qualities of Native Americans. I've seen first hand the strength and resilience of many Native Americans. I also have great respect for the strength of many African Americans, Hispanics, homosexuals, women and a host of other groups, but it's ludicrous to think of naming a team the "Black guys" or the "Chicks." Why is it different with Native Americans? It's not. Americans are comfortable with stereotypes of Native Americans, but let's not be mistaken into believing that something comfortable translates into something acceptable. My hometown has disappointed me. I understand how the misconceptions about Native Americans and other minorities exist. But it's the walls my neighbors and classmates have put up around their sheltered ideas that saddens me the most. Tradition can't explain away ignorance. Phelps is a senior in Spanish, journalism and Latin American studies from Manhattan. She is editor-in-chief. FREE for ALL 864-0500 Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Not all of them will be published. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. For more comments, go to www.kansan.com. Let's here it for High-Schooler Day on campus. Those girls might not have been of age, but they sure looked good. Hey, Kelly, you need to drop your boyfriend and go out with me. --you know what, I love my mom more than my dad. I just wanted to say that life sucks. you know what, I love my mom more than my dad. 图 W e Hey, can we put Gene Hackman in charge of Honeyland Security? Hello, Free For All, how are you? What would you do for a Klondike Bar? If we were a purely vocal language, imagine how much less paper we would have to recycle. 睛 面 There's a contestant on Jeopardy right now who's name is Bong. 画 图 You know what they say about guys that drive fancy cars? The same thing about guys that play big band instruments. Carrot Top is my hero because he is the ultimate red-headed stepchild. - Tweet Bobo's honker. I just went to the movies, and I got ripped off like a Rand-Aid. My Dillons receipt said that I finally saved over $200 with my Dillons Plus Card. Thank you Corporate America for determining what kept. 图 People who think Zippy is a good cartoon are probably the same people who think Garbage is a good band. The bassist for All Good Things is the best bassist in Lawrence, and he's the coolest guy I've ever met. I am very interested in learning more about this topic. Could you please provide me with some information? 励 So, a guy takes me out to play pool. That's a date, right? I just saw a guy on TV levitate. Am I that high? Could you please put in the Free For All that I love cod salad? Sarah, I just wanted to know that you left your underwear in my car last night, and I thought you'd want to come over and get them. Is every class I wanted to enroll in closed? Hi, it's 10.12 pm. What time is it in Afghanistan? It's time to kick their backs. I just found out that I'm dating my roommate's student. I'm watching ESPN, and a woman is announcing college football. That's like, what, a man doing the dishes? What the hell happened with the psych girl in front of High Point last night? I just wanted to tell everybody that the Simpsons is the best cartoon ever. Hey guys, we still have your flamingos. I thought you were on to us. Confucius say: Man who stand on toilet high on pot. I think the chancellor's stalking me Hey, Terry Allen, there's a job opening for security at Oliver Hall. KU 2030 The opinion page is soliciting student and faculty projections of life at KU in 2030. Submissions should be sent to opinion@kansan.com or brought to 111 Stauffer-Flint. Call Brendan Woodbury at 864-4924 with questions. Ideas: - The future of corporate sponsors - The appearance or disappear- - The appearance of academic departments - Your organization in 30 years Art - Jayhawk logo - The view looking down Jayhawk Boulevard Drawings for new campus buildings CREATIVE ▯ Activity in a freshman's diary. A class syllabus. Alternative uses for the ruins of Wescoe Hall An ad for a bar on Mass. St. A Kansan story on a press conference announcing online enrollment in 2034