WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2002
4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13,2002
FACE-OFF
Where should core classes be taken?
Face-Off is a weekly project of the Kansan editorial board.
the Kansan editorial board. Each Wednesday two editorial board members will argue opposing sides of a hot-button issue that affects students at the University of Kansas. We hope that this section will help students to understand both sides of an argument and make
better decisions about thier own beliefs.
If you have a suggestion for a topic that could be used in Face-Off, or if you would like to join the editorial board, please call Maggie Koerth or Amy Potter at 864-4924. You can also email suggestions to opinion@kansan.com.
Don't take basic classes outside University
KU students are able to take Liberal Arts and Sciences requirements like Spanish and Western Civilization at schools other than KU. Students cite many reasons for taking this option. Some believe community college classes are more convenient. Others don't think they can handle the difficulty level of the classes at KU.
Both arguments are way off base.
Lyman Fox, Lawrence senior, took Western Civilization I at Johnson County Community College last spring to save time and money.
Fox spent about two hours a week in class and about an extra half hour commuting.
Laci Lauffer, Protection senior, who is enrolled in Western Civilization II at KU spends three hours in class.
It's pretty obvious that Fox has not saved any time taking his class elsewhere.
The argument that some basic classes are too hard also falls short.
First of all, most of the horror stories you hear are just hype.
James Woelfel, director of the Humanities and Western Civilization Program said, "Western Civilization's reputation for being the scariest, most awful course on campus is really a myth."
The difficulty factor is rather subjective, but Woelfel said that no Western Civilization teacher at KU was out to flunk a student.
In fact, teachers will usually work with students who are having problems and
there are many places to get extra help in a class.
Second, any student who passed the admittance requirements to get into college should be able to get through a basic class like Western Civilization as long as they do the readings and pay attention.
Looking for a way to get the credit without the work is just laziness and may do more harm than good.
Online classes are especially worrisome. Woelfel said that he was concerned that students were losing the basic components like reading, writing and discussing which are essential to the quality of the course.
The Humanities and Western Civilization department and the Office of Admissions and Scholarships have similar questions regarding online courses.
They have begun to review Western Civilization online courses like Barton County's. While the department and the Office are just gathering information about Barton County's online course, the possibility exists that they will no longer accept it as a valid transfer class after Spring 2003.
Take your classes at KU. You won't have to worry about commuting or transferring the class. It may be a little more difficult, but help is out there.
Taking your core classes at KU won't kill you.
Mandy German for the editorial board.
Online classes are a good option
The University of Kansas gives its students the option of taking certain classes online or through community colleges.
Many people argue that this policy does nothing but allow lazy students to take easier classes than their hardworking counterparts.
While at first glance it may seem like there is no logical reason to let students take courses like Spanish or Western Civilization someplace other than KU, in reality this is one option many students can't afford to loose.
More frequently, students take five years to graduate, especially if they have two majors. This can often require a heavy class load.
If students are able to lighten their load by taking a course which may be easier through a community college, while at the same time maintaining a full KU schedule, why should that liberty be taken away from them?
This becomes even more of an issue
when a KU course traditionally viewed as "hard" is offered at limited times and fills up quickly.
Juniors or seniors who have had to put off this course may also find that it conflicts with courses required for their degree.
However, taking a class outside of KU is best when it is not directly related to a student's major.
Jeff Weinberg, assistant to the Chancellor, said he thought those courses important to a student's major were best taken in a classroom with an instructor. He also said an online or community college class was a good option for simple course requirements
"If it's just a class that a student needs to get out of the way, it may tend to fit the mold of what will be acceptable," Weinberg said. "For some students who, for a variety of reasons, just need to get the class completed in a short amount of time, this is an option that wasn't available previously."
Remember that the biggest issue on campus for the past year has been tuition increases. The rising cost of tuition has been a hard fact of life for those who have to pay their own way through college.
To suggest that students should be unable to take a class through a community college, where it will be cheaper, instead of taking it at KU just because it is considered a "tough" course is ridiculous. Students should be able to take less expensive classes for credit through community colleges, so long as these classes are recognized by KU.
Students should have the power to decide what courses they will take and how they will take them. They should be able to control their own education, and get credit for courses in the way that works best for them.
Caroline Boyer dissenting
PERSPECTIVES
'Kansan' works hard to present student groups without bias
It is the job of any good journalist to not only report the news but to do so in an unbiased manner.
This can become difficult for reporters who either feel strongly about the subject that they are covering or are not well educated in the issue at hand.
Some groups at KU think that the Kansan has fallen into using stereotypes and biases rather than reporting facts.
The Wjccan Pagan Alliance is one group that thinks the Kansan often fails to cover the group's activities in a manner that is correct and free of stereotypes.
"You simply can't summarize the entire Wiccan Pagan movement in one short article," said Larissa Rothe, WPA
president and Omaha senior. "It's a very complicated religion."
READERS' REPRESENTATIVE
Rothe said that the best way to avoid misconceptions due to improper facts being printed is to have an expert in the field write stories when involving groups or beliefs that are not mainstream.
Rothe said this would help in stories such as the Halloween articles that include the history of Paganism.
Yet Jay Kraal, Kansan editor, said that having an expert write such a story would harm the paper's credibility. "Reporters need to stay objective," Krall said. "We need someone to write the article who has no vested interest."
Krall said reporters helped to ensure stories were unbiased and free from personal beliefs.
Laurel Burchfield
lurchfield@hansan.com
The Society of Open-Minded Atheist and Agnostics also thought that the Kansan was falling short in its coverage of the group's views.
Stephanie Kirmer, SOMA president and Topea freshman, said she felt the Kansan chooses not to cover atheist or
agnostic views in stories of religion.
"I understand why there is some hesitance to want to print an atheist viewpoint because of the opportunity for backlash from religious groups," Kirmer said.
She said she would still like to see more opportunities for members of the group to be quoted in stories involving superstition, court cases and science education in public schools.
Aaron Passman, religious, beliefs and politics reporter, said that the Kansan tried hard to contact all sources that were necessary for a story but he was also used to hearing comments about the way issues were covered.
However, Passman said that had not
stopped him and other reporters from writing stories that covered views not considered traditional.
This can be accomplished, Krall said, by writing a completely separate story with the opposite viewpoint being represented instead of having such strong and clashing views attacking each other in one story.
"It's just not the best way to represent both sides." he said.
Krall encouraged all students to submit letters to the editor or guest columns to express their concerns with the Kansan's coverage.
Burchfield is a Bashar sophomore in journalism, education and English.
TALK TO US
Jay Krail editor 854-4854 or krail@kansan.com
Brooke Healer and
Kyle Ramsey
managing editors
854-4854 or
bibenan.ausen.com
kramsey@kansan.com
Laurel Burchfield
readers'
representative
884-4810 or
larchfield@kansasan.com
Maggie Koerth and
Amy Potter
opinion editors
864-4924 0
opinion@kunsan.com
Amber Agee
business manager
884 4358 or
dwellertown.kansas.com
Eric Kelting
retail sales manager
864-4358 or
advertising.kolumnen.com
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and
news adviser
864-7667 or
mgibson@kansan.com
Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 on mishler@kanan.com
BY THE SANDER
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For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
I'd just like to say that the Kansan is a really great newspaper... for me to poop on!
Looky here. Now, Burt Reynolds graduated from Florida State. And it's a well-known
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fact that alums donate, for example, he buys Florida State jerseys. Well, Brad Pitt, he went to Mizzou, and he don't say nothing about Mizzou. You know why? Because Mizzou sucks. You know what I'm saying. Mizzou still sucks, even though Brad Pitt went there. But you know, we had Don Johnson. You know what I'm saying. Miami Vice, be-i-itch.
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This is in response to Meagan Kelleher's article saying bicycle riders should follow the same laws as drivers. First of all, your argument lacks warrant. Second of all, you forget that you're driving a two-ton car that can kill people.
Eweygooey was a worm, a very fine worm was he. He climbed upon the railroad tracks, the train he did not see. Eweygooey
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Has everyone forgotten that cell phones give you brain tumors? What's gonna happen is that in 20 years when all the
I just saw four people walk by with Starbucks cups. Don't you people know that Starbucks is evil? There are hundreds and hundreds of good coffee shops around that are local and have better coffee.
bimbs who walk around with phones glued to their heads saying things like "no way," and "totally" are going to realize that they have brains, and they'll have fat, juicy tumors in them. Realize now that you have a brain. Put your cell phones down.
fellow balding person myself.
I cannot remember the last time I saw someone with an eye patch. Today on campus I saw two people with eye patches. But don't worry, I don't think they were pirates.
To all the balding guys out there, a recent study was just done that shows that if you use a 1 percent pyrithione-zinc dandruff shampoo, you're likely to grow hair better. Just thought I'd tell you that, because I'm a
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I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it.
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I think pickles are just cucumbers,
cucumbers who have sold themselves to
the devil. And the devil was dill.
Dude, if smoking is for squares, then I'm a cube.
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I just wanted to say that the war with Iraq is just absolutely wrong, because no one should ever have to die unless absolutely necessary.
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If two cranes were to leave point A at the same time and one of them travels seven times the speed of the other, how long will it take the second crane to end up at the same place as the first, hmm? Ponder it, will you?