4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
FRIDAY,SEPT.7,2001
TALK TO US
Kursten Phleps
editor
864-4544 or
editor@kansan.com
Leita Schultes
Christina Neff
managing editors
864-4854 or
editor@kansu.edu
Erin Adamson Brendan Woodbury opinion editors 864-4810 or opinion@ansen.com
Jenny Moore
business manager
864-4014 or
adirector@kansan.com
Kate Mariani
retail sales manager
864-4462 or
retailales@kansan.com
Tom Eblen
general manager and
news adviser
864-7667 or
teblen@kansan.com
TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
HAIKU FOR ALL
is complete and absolute
My life's hopelessness
with blue-gray beauty.
Herman Munster's head:
presidential on my lap,
smoking my cigar.
One can't be what can't
be beaten,but many can
beat up little kids.
I'm in Calculus,
I justfell asleep.
myteacher speaking Spanglish
Radiator love
runs rampant on the flipside.
Roll with the punches.
Learned Hall Fall ball:
engineers want to shimmy;
women love to dance.
Ninety-nine bottles
of beer on the wall, ninety-
nine bottles of beer.
NOT QUITE HAIKU
In the dark shadows
lurks the truth that scares us most.
PERSPECTIVE
there is no spoon.
Intergalactic pimp,
Candy corn pom pleasure.
King of Phileopolis.
The Kansan will attempt to run all of the haiku it receives that comply with the usual Free for All guidelines
HAIKU POLICY
They have five syllables in the first line, seven in the second and five in the third. They need not rhyme.
Haiku for All will continue running through Friday, Sept. 14. Call in your haiku to the Free for All line at 864-0500. Please identify them as Haiku
According to the traditional style, haiku consists of two images,the juxtaposition of which creates the meaning of the poem. Submissions will not be required to conform with this style
Consider paying college athletes
Recently, I was skimming the pages of our newspaper and a couple of opinion pieces caught my eye. One expressed shock that the new athletics director makes more money than the chancellor, and the other expressed horror that the Big 12 Conference was cheating itself out of an $18 million Bowl Championship Series windfall. Finally, I was perusing the Kansan Web site and noticed an article about how NCAA athletes are not compensated for their efforts.
These apparent injustices — the lunacy of overpaid athletics directors, the absurdity of the BCS money machine and unfairness of unpaid "student-athletes" — made me think, "Why do we have college athletics at all?" Wouldn't all be better off if we just created semi-pro leagues for young athletes to hone their skills before they entered the big联赛?
The more I thought about it, the better it seemed. Consider the possible advantages: You could park your car on campus on game night. Now, I know it's silly to think that little things like midterms, library research and senior recitals should get priority over basketball and football in a university setting, but surely residents of Daisy Hill deserve the chance to return to their homes without sitting in a parking lot for 45 minutes while Kansas basketball affiliations stream off campus.
Athletes could be paid what they're worth. It's funny that the university is allowed to pay students to set up the field before the game, sell concessions during the game and clean up the stadium after the game, but can't pay students to actually play in the game itself Collegiate athletics is a money-driven enterprise, and college athletes, in our capitalist society, deserve compensation for the entertainment they produce.
Commentary
Columnist
opinion@kansan.com
Robert Chamberlain
The University could focus on its mission — academics and research. Currently, a certain unnamed coach, whose sole instructional task is to teach a dozen young men to throw a rubber ball through a metal hoop, is paid more than $1 million a year.
Economically, perhaps that's fair. His teams earn a lot of money, and his skill seems to play a part in that. However, should the University pay this individual 10 times what the average professor earns and five times the chancellor's salary? While professors do get snazzy hoods and the chancellor does have his "death necklace" to wear at official ceremonies, one would think that academics would get economic priority in academia.
In all fairness, it must be noted that if college athletics were relegated to semipro leagues, some sports would not survive financially. There are several possible solutions. One is to follow the model of rugby and wrestling: find a sponsor, form a club and start playing
The time has come for the University of Kansas to reject the corrupt and exploitive athletic-corporate complex. Doing so would allow teachers to concentrate on teaching, students to concentrate on learning and athletes to concentrate on training. While it may be just a dream, I hope that someday we can cast off the old traditions that detract from the mission of our institution and can all cheer on our new favorite team the Lawrence Jayhawks.
other clubs around the state and nation. Another is to take up cheaper individual sports. There are bike trails all over Lawrence. Just because one can't afford a 30-meter platform and an Olympic pool doesn't mean that one can't exercise.
We as a community could encourage our elected representatives to set up government-subsidized European-style sports clubs. Any of these options could preserve the benefits of sports without sacrificing the integrity of the university.
Finally, there are those who argue that the abolition of college sports will eliminate scholarships for minorities and women. But people making that argument seem more concerned about scholastic opportunity than athletics. The solution would seem to be more academic scholarships and fewer athletic ones. After all, I can agree with any feminist, and civil rights activist that the best way to determine who should be afforded a college education is clarity in thinking and not fleetness of foot.
Chamberlain is a senior in political science from Topeka.
MASS ST. PROTEST COLUMN
Dear editors.
John Audlehelm's column "Protesters were inconsistent, but then, who isn't," (Sept. 30) was grossly unethical.
The Democrats do not support the free-market economy, and instead wish to regulate and take charge of various parts of it, just as Republicans desire to regulate people's personal lives. More revealing is his comment in his March 13, 2001, column, "The rich must pay more in taxes to help the poor. The private sector of a capitalist economy will never take care of the poorest and most needy because there is no monetary incentive to do so."
He writes: "Lowell made his points with market theory and information about the World Trade Organization. He trumped the heck out of my free-market platitudes." Audlehelm's previous Kansan columns show that he does not defend the free market. His Sept. 29, 2000, column, "Liberal Reveals Himself," says, "I am a liberal, and I vote for Democrats."
Clearly, Audlehelm does not endorse the free-market economy (that column also shows that he does not understand the free-market economy). To portray himself in Thursday's column as a defender of "free-market platitudes" is the equivalent of a blatant lie. This is highly unethical behavior for a journalist. Shame on him.
LETTERSTO THE EDITOR
Dear editors.
Stephen Duncan San Antonio junior
For starters, the quote "protestors wearing Adidas T-shirts and Nike shoes hung signs in front of American Eagle Outfitters..." As one of those sign hangers, I can attest to this being completely fabricated. Stating that American Eagle didn't use sweatshop labor was also out of context since there was never an accusation of them doing such.
There is also no proof that the man in the Journal-World picture is wearing Birkenstocks or is against corporations.
I wish to correct a number of mistakes in the column "Protesters were inconsistent, but then, who isn't," (Sept. 30).
I will also define hierarchy. "Hierarchy: a group of persons or things arranged in order of rank, grade, etc." (Webster, 1999).
The organization of the Reclaim the Streets party was based on consensus and spontaneity, without any top-down or authoritative decision-making process.
So to clear up any confusion, NO, reclaim the streets was not the product of hierarchy or top-down structure. The decision to rent a U-Haul was also made by consensus.
The police didn't "let us" reclaim Mass. St. It's the public's and we reclaimed it.
Lowell Fletcher Lawrence resident
TEACHERS' CULTURALBIAS
Regarding Jessica Krug's column ("We aren't all White Christians, Thanks," (Sept. 4)) on the teaching of what she considers "arcane and racist sentiments." If Ms. Krug had her way, professors would be censored and students' education would be severely limited, so as not to offend anyone. Her misguided argument relies on several spurious premises. Ms. Krug claims, "We all have a right to an education free from perspectives that degrade us." No such right exists. If it did, education would become so watered down and combed over by censors that it would cease to have any value.
Dear editors.
She also claims that the teaching of points of view with which she disagrees "denies the right of all nonwhite non-Christians to view their contributions as valid." This statement is absurd. If you are rendered unable to view your contributions as valid when a professor teaches from a perspective of a culture that is not yours, the problem is yours.
Perhaps I'm abnormal, but I survived my eastern civilization course — in fact I enjoyed it immensely — even though the teacher taught from the perspective of a culture that was not mine. If Ms. Krug has a problem with the required courses at KU, then she should have considered another university at which she would be safe from learning about western civilization.
Tucker Poling Wichita senior
Free for All
864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topit they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed.
WWW.KANSAN.COM
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If I throw a disposable camera at you on campus that's because I want you to take a picture. Stop staring! What's the matter with people here? Have you never seen anyone different?
Did anybody else notice that Britney was wearing a Kansas Jayhawks shirt on her diaries episode on MTV?
This is to all the girls in Oliver who do not wear flip flops in the shower/bathroom stalls. Please start and if not, I hope you get warts all over your feet.
To the sorority girls who sit next to me in math class, I don't care to hear every day about how drunk you got last night, how hung over you are this afternoon and how gleefully unashamed you are of cheating on your boyfriend. So could you do me a favor and shut up?
My Pre 101 teacher said that I could get bonus points if I'd come on and say that Chris and Grant think that Fraser Hall is the coolest building on campus, and that we love Angie and Kelly Jo.
This is Mario and I just wanted to order a large pepperoni pizza.
Out of all the traditions here at KU, my favorite is sliming mud.
The greek community has the best G.P.A. on campus, the most involved students on campus and the best-looking students on campus, so for all you anti-greeks out there, you need to shut up or quit with the envy.
That Jayhawk in front of Stauffer-Flint Hall kicks ass. We should have it out there more often.
My cat's breath smells like cat food.
I'm a member of the greek system. I get good grades, don't sleep around, drink in moderation, and I'm certainly not rich. The majority of my sisters do not fit the stereotype either. I love how it's not OK to judge based on race, religion, or beliefs, but it's A-OK on this campus to stereotype based on group affiliation.
The Greek system contributes a lot to charity, and in general carries a higher GPA than the all-student average. You don't have to like the system, but at least respect people's decision to be in it. Let's be adult enough to look at the facts and not the stereotype.
The franks still justify the beans.
So I tutor for drugs, what's wrong with that?
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Just because there are 600 new sorority girls doesn't mean that VOICE is going to win the next election. Go Delta Force.
Johnson County sucks and so does KU football
This is the art and architecture library. We just wanted people to know that we are KU Info; we do have porn; and we do have a gynecology department.
To the rich Johnson County caller, do you think I envy you for being pampered by your parents? I'd rather be poor and self-reliant than rich by heredity.
This is for Megan Bainum. Don't be beef up your story with lube. Lube up your story with beef. That's what we all want to hear.
Just when I thought being gay was easy, I fall in love with one of my best friends, Phil, love you. Will you have dinner with me this weekend?
I just want to thank the KU on Wheels miracle diet. By consistently arriving late or early, you have forced me to walk to class, helping me to shed those extra pounds.
Terry, your team doesn't still suck. I mean, you beat Southwest Missouri State and they're a great team. Down go the Bruins, baby.
vmat part of the pickled pig's foot do you eat? is it the skin? The hoof part? I don't get it. I just don't understand those pickled pigs' feet.
医
The concrete by buildings is a sidewalk not a siderid, and the white lines in the streets: crosswalk, not crossside. Ride bicycles in the streets. Walk them in the walks.
I just got a year's worth of Playboy for twelve dollars, but my Spanish textbook is going to cost seventy five. What's the deal with that?
LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMNS:
Letters: Should be double-spaced, typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's name, address and telephone number plus class and home-town if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
Guest Columns: Should be doublespaced, typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.