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4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
THURSDAY, AUG.23, 2001
TALK TO US
Kursten Phelps
editor
864-4854 or
editor@kansan.com
Leita Schultes
Christina Neff
managing editors
864-854 or
editor@kansu.edu
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
retailales.kansan.com
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing
adviser
864-7666 or
mfisher.orkansan.com
TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
Erin Adamson is a senior in Journalism, Spanish, and Latin American Studies from Lawrence. She is opinion page editor.
OPINION EDITOR'S NOTE
Revel in freedom: Speak out on the opinion page
We hope that you won't recognize the opinion page this semester. That you wonder - when you pick up the paper - what will be happening on the opinion page that day. We hope that sometimes you see yourself reflected in columns, editorials, cartoons and even the Free for All. And we hope that just as often you are exposed to opinions you don't share, that you're shocked, and that you're moved to action. If it doesn't stir you un, we aren't doing our job.
The news and sports pages of the Kansan are the work of aspiring journalists-people who can't help but think about inverted pyramids and their grades when they write. But the opinion page is the sounding board for the opinions of all students and faculty. You don't have to be a writer. You don't even have to know who William Allen White is.
we are going to aggressively tackle issues that affect the University, Lawrence and Kansas. We are going to leave columns dealing soley with national politics to the New York Times, which can do them better, and focus our attention on a critique of the issues that affect you every day on campus and in Lawrence.
We will, however, write about politics as they impact the price you pay for gas at Amoco, the tax on your Free State beer and the cost of health care. If you can't see it happening here in your community, you won't see it here on the opinion page either.
The Free for All is back, and we're a little amazed that more of you didn't leave us messages to print as you poured back into town. The Free for All is unadulturated expression, and it's the reason many of you open the paper every morning. So start calling and see your own words, albeit unattributed, in print.
We can cover issues more thoroughly with a series of editorials and columns than with just one. We're going to hash out commercialization on campus, student and faculty diversity, the expansion of the University into Oread neighborhood, the course retake policy, faculty salaries and much more. We want to hear from all the players and we're going to follow issues as long as they are relevant to students and faculty.
The Kansan pages have been redesigned, so the opinion page is a little smaller. With less space, we will print fewer polls and person on the street interviews. Instead, that space will be for columns, editorials, and letters to the editor.
What we need from you as a reader is to be proactive. Use the opinion page to write about what you think is wonderful, or horrible, or unjust on this campus. We try, but Kansan editors can't read your mind. You've got to tell us. Exercise your freedom of speech, or somebody else is bound to try and speak for you.
PERSPECTIVE
Kansan's new look and staff only the surface of changes
I thought I'd be clever and phone in this column to the Free for All, figuring more people would read it.
The message went something like this:
Welcome back to a new semester. The Kansan changes its staff and look every semester, but I'd like to think this time around we're really making some . . . BEEP!
I couldn't say everything in 20 seconds—and believe me, I talk fast—so I'll have to write the traditional column after all.
When you picked up today's Kansan, you probably didn't recognize it. During the spring and summer, several Kansan staffers, led by designer Kyle Ramsey, worked to change the entire look of the Kansan. The goal was to make the newspaper more attractive and accessible to readers.
That starts with the size of the paper itself. It's actually one inch narrower. Lots of newspapers are switching to the smaller size to save money, but for readers, it means shorter, more concise stories. The Kansan will also be easier to handle, making it less conspicuous when you read it during those boring lectures.
Behind the new reader-friendly look
Kursten
Phelps
Kansan Editor
edutorkanans.com
Commentary
of the Kansan, we've made some changes to our staff, as well. Every semester, the entire Kansan staff — from the editor-in-chief down — changes completely. This semester in particular, we've tried to recruit more new people to bring in different ideas and perspectives. My hope is that readers will challenge us as a staff, and that we'll challenge ourselves, to consider our content and decisions from multiple points of view.
We have two readers' representatives who will work as liaisons between readers and the Kansan. One has worked as a Kansan reporter and copy editor; the other is new to the newsroom. Their job is to be a sounding board for readers, to be a consistent Kansan presence in the community and to represent readers inside the newsroom.
pated in diversity training sessions this week at the Multicultural Resource Center. Does that mean we're suddenly perfect people? Of course not. But we all learned something, and we're striving to be more aware of our readers as we're doing our job producing each day's issue.
Kansan staff members also partici-
Indeed, Kansan staffers are students like everyone else. You may see us at a coffee shop, relaxing at a local bar, or studying in the library. We have varying levels of experience - some of us have worked at large, professional papers, and some are rookies in journalism. We set high standards for ourselves, but we're all still learning.
The real test of our success is whether readers pick up the paper every day and read something other than the Free for All.
So let us know what you think. Yes, you can call Free for All, but you can also drop by the newsroom or call us at 864-4810 and talk to more than an answering machine. Plus, you won't have to speak your piece in 20 seconds or less.
■ Kursten Phelps is a senior in Journalism, Spanish and Latin American Studies from Manhattan. She is editor-in-chief.
PERSPECTIVE
For the past 20 years, the word "recycling" has become entangled in our vocabulary. Most Generation Xers grew up hearing about how much trash they threw away and how landfills were filling up. In fact, I doubt there is any student who would argue that recycling isn't beneficial for our earth.
Campus recycling doesn't do enough
However, the attitude surrounding recycling on our campus is ridiculous. Finding a place to deposit a can or newspaper for recycling on campus can be tricky even if you are willing to search.
Ultimately, the University of Kansas' recycling program doesn't accomplish what it could. The program recycles about 2,000 tons of material every month, but this number is quite small compared with how much recyclable material gets thrown away every day on campus. Compared to the University of Oregon and the University of Washington (whose recycling programs have been in place for 25 years, compared with KU's four), the amount of recycling which takes place on campus could be much larger.
For those who do not know, KU's recycling program receives funding directly from the students. Every student pays an extra dollar each semester, which pays for the salaries of part-time student employees. The administration also matches every dollar, which provides the department with supplies and equipment. Student Senate was responsible for adopting this policy in 1997.
Lindsey
Hodel
Columnist
opinionkansan.com
Commentary
The University's administration is fairly stubborn on the subject. Although the Environmental Health and Safety department has adopted an environmental policy, these recommendations have yet to hold the Chancellor's endorsement. Because recycling involves start-up and maintenance costs, some departments opt to throw everything away.
So why isn't the recycling effort currently pursued more on our campus? Several reasons exist for our lack of recycling facilities and funding at the University.
Similarly, recycling at the Kansas Union is low. The Kansas Union has areas to recycle cardboard, aluminum, plastic bottles, and several kinds of paper. But the Kansas Union has six-floors, and recycling bins only exist on one floor.
Some might think outdoor recycling bins are ugly, but I think thousands of newspapers littering our campus at the end of the day is much less aesthetically pleasing than a couple of wooden recycling bins.
Outdoor recycling is also a problem. We currently do not have any places outside for recyclables, even
though KU Recycling has proposed the idea several times in the past.
Luckily, recycling in the dorms is beginning to pick up and that's definitely a step in the right direction. According to Victoria Silva, program director for KU recycling, the program should experience growth in the next two years.
the next two years. The growth of recycling programs will inevitably be a slow process. However, the plan is simple. The University needs to adopt an environmentally-sound policy. The University needs to pressure departments to recycle. The University needs to support outdoor recycling bins on campus. Chancellor Hemenway needs to come out and endorse this stuff, or else nothing will happen anytime soon. Lastly, you need to take the initiative not only to demand a more available recycling program on campus, but also also to get involved yourself in the recycling effort. Because students were responsible for initiating the program, any growth will have to start with them.
Lindsey Hodel is a journalism major from St. Louis.
Free for All
I know I didn't just pay my fall student fees so I could get my UDK and open it up and find there was no Free for All.
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. For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
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Yeah, hi. We really need to get the Free for All back because we're bored.
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About half of the Hall Orientation Team is drunk in my room. Is that bad?
Aughhhhhhh!!!
Yeah I'd just like to say that my room is going to single-handedly put KU back on the top ten party school list.
There's nothing more depressing than a party winding down
Thank you for air conditioning Miller and Watkins.
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Why do you think the University is charging me $85 for phone hookup, cable and caller ID when the only think I'm really using is the phone?
It's funny, I see more blond chicks-or sorority chicks-this year than last year.
Dear Editor:
Letter to the Editors
What a wonderfully imaginative athletics director the University has engaged! If you can't fill the stadium for bad games, don't spend the money improving the quality of the team. No, says Allen Bohl, attract spectators with the lure of drunken tailgate parties! Never mind the problems for the police who have to monitor the visitors and look out for the public when the soused fans hit the streets or for the house-keeping staff who have to clean up. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK, T-H-R-O-O-WUP!
Elizabeth C. Banks
Associate Professor of Classics Emerita
How to submit letters and quest 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 hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
Guest Columns: should be double-
spaced, typed with fewer than 700
words. The writer must be willing to be
photographed for the column to run.
All letters and guest columns should be
e-mailed to opinion@kansan.com or submitted to the Kansan newsroom,
111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. 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.
If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the reader's representative at readersrep@kansan.com