4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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OPINION
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 26, 2001
TALKTOUS
Kursten Phelps
editor
864-4854 or
editor@kansan.com
Leita Schultes
Christina Neff
managing editors
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editor@kansan.com
Erin Adamson
Brendan Woodbury
opinion editors
864-4810 or
opinion@kansan.com
Jenny Moore
business manager
864-4014 or
addirector@kansan.com
Kate Mariani
retail sales manager
864-4462 or
retailsales@kansan.com
Tom Eblen
general manager and
news adviser
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teleblen@kansan.com
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing
adviser
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mfiassen@kansan.com
EDITORIAL
Community involvement heals wounds
Students should view tragedy as a chance to spur change
College students have the advantage of youth, education and exposure to a lot of different cultures. Furthermore, students have more time on our hands than most professionals with families.
Students have experienced anger, frustration, sadness, fear and bewilderment since Sept.11, but not necessarily in that order. University of Kansas students have prayed for family and strangers, raised flags and sung national hymns, mourned and reveled in a surge of national feeling.
There are a lot of ways to help our communities deal with the consequences of the tragedy. Donate blood. Help run and contribute to fund-raisers for the victims and their families. Participate in various activities set up by nonprofit organizations such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
Hostility towards the terrorists and those perceived as having something in common with them, is a natural emotional reaction, but students should not let it get the better of us.
Reality is that life goes on. That doesn't mean we should forget; it means we should use the tragedy not to pent up hatred but to help our nation and our communities heal, learn and understand. Maybe we will even be able to prevent something like that from ever happening again.
But the tragedy also has had an emotional effect on the nation. Racism and prejudice against certain ethnic groups associated with the culprits of the event have been prevalent since Sept. 11. And that's something we, as college students, should fight against. It is our job to educate not only our families and our peers, but also the generation coming after us.
Students could educate them about other cultures and show them that the attacks are an issue much too complicated to require a simple solution of hostility and aggression.
Programs such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters can help younger kids deal with negative emotions the event maybe caused them and understand that hatred is not the answer.
We can use this experience to become more involved in our communities. Students can use their best resources, time and talent, to turn something horrible into unity.
Our job is not to take revenge by becoming racist, hostile and bitter, but to ensure that what happened does not permanently taint our nation.
We could broaden the international horizons and perspective, so that they are prepared, as future voters and maybe leaders of this country, to deal with, and prevent, similar situations.
Cynthia Malakasis for the editorial board
PERSPECTIVE
Kansan' exploring strategies for bigger, better Free for All
Picture this: It's about 1 a.m. Saturday, and you're out partying or just hanging out at a friend's place. Even though no one has actually said it, everyone is ready to do something crazy, entertaining and maybe even creative.
So someone reaches for the nearest phone and dials up the popular University Daily Kansan Free for All opinion line and takes 20 seconds to say something like, "Sometimes I feel like a nut. Sometimes I drunk," which ran in the Free for All a week ago.
Having listened to the nearly hundreds of calls the line gets daily, I've come to enjoy hearing what readers will think of next. But recently I have begun imagining what it would be like if the Free For All was available in an audio format.
Think of how humorous it could be while listening to call after call where people crack themselves up, or the room erupts in laughter after each comment is completed. I can't help from chuckling. That's for sure.
Some calls that also urged me to think about an audio opinion line were ones placed by two (I presume) DJs
Commentary
Jenni Valadez Readers' Representative readersreopakansan.com
who responded to comments made by critics. However, I couldn't very easily type in the few seconds of mixing these callers left on the line. Somehow it just didn't do those calls justice if they were to appear in the paper as "DJ mixes for a few seconds before hanging up" only for the readers to be left to figure out how it must have sounded.
A couple of ways the Free for All could go audio are in the online Kansan and as a regular evening broadcast from KJHK 90.7 FM.The benefit of the two possibilities is that the opinion line could gain even more popularity as people tune in to hear what callers will saw next.
Of course, as mentioned before, everyone would have the chance to hear the comments straight from the
The initial idea is appealing, but other factors lend thought to concerns of an audio opinion line.
mouths that call them in.
"We'd have to go in and erase comments we can't use, and that makes it easier for slanderous comments to slip through," said Kursten Phelps, Kansan editor.
However, Phelps said, it would also increase Web site visits.
If the idea were realized, the issue of anonymity could be handled by creating a phone number specifically for the callers who wished to have their comments heard. The possibility is one that, as Phelps said, would "take a lot of exploration and consideration" before something was decided.
So what do you think? Would you be willing to place an off the wall Free For All comment that could be heard by just about anyone?
"We try to do innovative things... expanding online capabilities is a way to do that," she said.
- Valadez is a senior in journalism from Kingman. She is a readers' representative.
WAR AND PEACE
Dear editor.
Is the answer still blowin' in the wind?
Let's stop and think.
How long did it take our government to decide to eliminate all options of response to the tragedy of Sept. 11 except those involving, violence, death, and "collateral damage?"
How long did it take to decide what to have for lunch? How long did it take to decide upon your last major purchase?
LETTERS TO THE EDITORS
Why did twenty people commit mass murder, sacrifice themselves, cause political and religious strife, an incur the wrath of the whole world? What price was their freedom? What was the ultimate goal and who benefited from this horrible tragedy?
How many innocent lives are we willing to sacrifice to bring one man or organization to justice? How many deaths will bring back those we have already lost?
What would have happened if we had retaliated against the country of residence of the perpetrator of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995?
Let's ask ourselves some pertinent questions.
Why don't we question the sources and information the media feeds us? Is the media always right in their conclusions? Why don't we discuss peaceful options? Why don't we question?
Let's ask our government some questions.
The Lawrence Peace Project is an organization representing KU students and professors and Lawrence community members concerned with the issues surrounding the attacks of Sept. 11. Our mission as an organization is to further public education regarding these issues through open discussion in order to promote peace on a local, national and
international level.
Carey Scheerer
Leawood graduate student
Lawrence Peace Project
We welcome other concerned individuals to join us in intelligent, mature discussions and actions. The Lawrence Peace Project currently meets Sunday afternoons at 5 p.m. at the ECM, 1204 Oread Ave. E-mail us at lawrencepeaceproject@yahoo.com
COMEDYVS. CLASSES
I find it rather insulting that the Kansan would scoff at a professor asking for the respect he deserves ("Comedian provides more than just laughter" Sept. 19) Our Tuesday night film class is a class. This isn't some kind of film club where theatre dorks come hang out and chat. It is a class with lectures, presentations and grades.
Dear editor.
It is unfortunate that The Hispanic American Leadership Organization and Student Senate didn't think about location conflicts before they scheduled a major event that was bound to end up being loud. I don't particularly care what Pablo Francisco's routine is like, or what he has to say . . . But I could hear every single word he said during my class. I could hear his "performance" more than I could hear Tibbit's lecture. Which is more important?
Francisco describes Tibbit's interruption as "unprofessional." Where did he think he was, a bar? Wescoe is a classroom building. If he didn't want to be interrupted for being too loud, maybe the Hispanic American Leadership Organization should have held his presentation in the union, which is equipped to handle not only large audiences, but loud performances.
This reflects poor planning, and consideration for classes. It is also disrespectful to the people who had serious business to attend to in that building. I am appalled that the Kansan would sponsor this kind of slanderous article criticizing a teacher for doing his job. It's a simple matter if importance: class versus extracurricular activities — I think we all know which is more important.
Zacory Boatright
Topeka sophomore
DUI CHECKPOINT LOCATIONS
Drunk driving is a serious problem in Lawrence, and I was appalled that the Kansan would publish an article informing potential drunk drivers how to beat the system "Police checkpoints to nab drunken drivers tonight," Sept. 21). The article presented a detailed depiction of how a particular checkpoint was scheduled to work. It revealed the time and date of the checkpoint as well as its exact location.
Dear editor,
It even told which direction of traffic would be targeted. Any student who read that article today, and ended up driving drunk would know not to drive southbound on Iowa street, at the intersection of f22nd, between 11:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. Rather than being caught at the checkpoint and having their license revoked (or other consequences), a drunk driver can simply take a different route and most likely continue driving drunk night after night.
While the article was informative, it was a piece of irresponsible journalism which does more harm to the public than good.
Ben Ross
Overland Park senior
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.
Is there any place besides from Lawrence, Kan, that uses powdered soap in the bathrooms?
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I have a cat in my pants.
if you're looking for a big challenge, try biting your elbow. I bet you can't do it.
Yo tengo el gato en mis pantalones.
if you're looking for a big challenge, try biting your elbow. I bet you can't do it.
Seriously Kansan, don't tell us about every minute event in the chancellor's life. Jury duty on the front page? Nobody cares. Do tell us when he does something that affects KU, such as buying an airplane with University money.
If you're going to steal food from your parents' freezer, avoid Healthy Choice dinners. It's food, only minus the taste.
--if you're looking for a big challenge, try biting your elbow. I bet you can't do it.
Here's a little tip for everyone. Gray and brown belts do not mix. Like gray shirt, brown belt, brown shoes. You wear gray and black. Just like blue. You don't wear blue and black, you wear blue and brown.
Just so you guys know, "blonde" when in reference to a woman or a female, is spelled with an "e" on the end. If it's referring to a male, there is no "e" on the end of the word "blond."
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Today I went to the wetlands and my friend put a grasshopper on a spider web and the spider ate the grasshopper and it was cool.
What's up with this column saying that a 19-year-old can have sex with a 14-year-old? I'm 18, does that mean I can have sex with a 13-year-old?
What's the deal with them pulling every single thing on TV or movies or whatever that has the World Trade Center in the background? That's just like 1984 where they rewrite the history books so people forget about things.
George Bush is the cutest thing on earth. He rocks my world and I wish he were my grandfather.
I love redheads.
I just cut my finger open working on my graphic design project and I'm worried about what my teacher's going to think about the blood on my project. What's wrong with that?
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Does anybody find it odd that this morning when I was leaving for school, I opened the door of my apartment and there was a suitcase there. I opened it up and there was a Frisbee in there. So who left it, you can have the suitcase back, but me and my roommate are keeping the Frisbee.
Do you know where I can get an English accent?
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Nevermind,I'll try Britain
This is in response to the headline "Mario's going to make it happen." I find that rather hard to believe, and what the heck has he been waiting for?
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I just lost $20 playing football on PS2. What am I doing?
The student that works for the baseball office is so nice, and good-looking, too.
All right, it's true, the nation is crazy. Nordstrom just gave me a credit card with $1,000 credit line.
Who else a agrees with me that this no-hud-
dle offense is worthless?
I've been thinking about a lot lately and I'm convinced that Springsteen's "Born in the USA" is the most patriotic song ever.
Money doesn't grow on trees,it grows on parents.
I just wanted to call and thank the girl who helped me on campus today. I fell and I stubbed my toe and she helped me out.
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