4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
THURSDAY, OCTOBER31, 2002
TALKTOUS
Jay Krall
editor
864-4854 or jkrall@kansan.com
Brooke Hesler and Kyle Ramsey
managing editors
864-4854 or bhester@kansan.com and
kramsey@kansan.com
Laurel Burchfield
readers' representative
864-4810 or iburchfield@kansan.com
Maggie Koerth and Amy Potter
opinion editors
864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Amber Agee business manager 864-4358 or advertising@kansan.com
Eric Kelting retail sales manager 864-4358 or advertising@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson general manager and news adviser 864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Matt Fisk sales and marketing
KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864-7866 or mfisher@kansan.com
Printed timetables a must for student enrollment
This fall was the first time in the history of the University of Kansas that course timetables were only available online. As students have been enrolling in their spring classes, they have not been able to attain a hard copy of all the courses offered at the University.
According to an article in the Kansan, the registrar's office decided to publish the timetables only online to avoid spending money on unused printed timetables during a budget crunch.
Richard C. Morrell, University registrar, said it came down to cutting paper or cutting staff in the registrar's office.
The reason for the change is understandable. Keeping jobs should be the University's priority. The online timetables are helpful because they are constantly updated to let students know which sections are closed or full.
Yet because KU doesn't have a complete online enrollment system, students face frustration when visiting an adviser or actually enrolling because they don't have hard copies of the entire timetable at their disposal.
Kecia Seyb, Kansas State University senior, said since she first enrolled at Kansas State in 1999, it had online enrollment.
Whether or not the University comes through with online enrollment by Spring 2003, it should always print a limited number of timetables for students to check out at the libraries. If cost is such an issue,the timetables could be purchased for the price it cost to make them.
In the midst of KU's technological improvement, some basic essentials, like course timetables, should not be eliminated.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Javrock treated with fairness
Mandy German for the editorial board.
Seyb said that Kansas State offered the same type of online timetable as KU, but instead of physically writing down the classes they need, students can simply look up the course and type in the course number on their online enrollment form. It's all done electronically.
Because KU won't offer this type of enrollment service until the spring, the registrar's office should have eased students' burden by printing enough timetables to give to student advisers of each school in order to ensure that they could more effectively advise students.
Students would have also benefited from having hard copies available for their use at Watson and Anshutz libraries.
Jay Rock requested $1,200 to bring in two religious speakers. Jay Rock was not only out of order — they were out of line! It is absolutely unacceptable for a state-funded public university to fund (and therefore condone) religious speech. Senate had every intent of funding all of the secular items that they requested. To cry discrimination when it was Jay Rock's choice to withdraw their request is an unfair attack on people who work hard to serve the students.
Student Senate treated the Jay Rock Campus Ministry with fairness and equality. The decision to cut the funding by the finance committee was in line with the Supreme Court and the Student Senate rules & regulations. In the finance committee, there was one first-hand account of the group's previous actions, not "telling lies about people in our ministry" like Steve Stevenson claimed. However the bulk of the discussion related to the merit of the group to receive funding
Kit Brauer
Kit Brauer
Denver, Colo., junior
Holdover Senator and Finance Committee
member
Vote campaigns have value
This letter is in response to Joe Pull's column in the Oct. 22 Kansan ("Uninformed voters should stay home, not 'get out the vote'"). He argues that Get out the Vote (GOTV) campaigns are bad because they make stupid voters come out and drown out our smart votes. He assumes that these campaigns encourage masses of uninformed people to vote irrationally.
Is there proof that this is a real problem? The truth is that the most uninformed citizens are not interested in public affairs and they don't vote.
These campaigns are valuable, not annoying. Pull seems to think that there is no value reaching out to people who have not ordinarily participated in the process because they are hopelessly uninformed.
I think if you are going to say something as asinine as "uninformed voters should stay home," you better have a strong argument. A knee-jerk reaction to some remark a Get out the Vote campaign director made is not substantial. After all, an uniformed column is worse than no column at all.
Bret Watson Class of 2001 KU Law student
Borja misrepresents animal rights organizations, goals
This is in response to Eric Boria's Oct. 22 column. First, PETA has never, ever endorsed or encouraged spray-painting, vandalism or "guerilla-esque tactics." Showing a picture of a slaughtered cow isn't "guerilla-esque" in any sense, but, given the quality of the writing in the rest of the column, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised over a deficient vocabulary wielded by what's clearly a generally deficient writer.
I really don't know what to say. This column ("Take a big, greasy, tasty bite out of ridiculous animal rights") is nothing but inflammatory there's no fact behind it, nothing but teenage angst and spite. Why do you even bother printing this? Opinion, yes, but can't you find someone who can at least express an intelligently stated opinion?
Dan Lawrence Berryton senior
This is in response to Eric Borja's Oct. 22 column ("Take a big, greasy, tasty bite out of ridiculous animal rights"). Tell him that his column was hilarious! Can I join the PCTWA too, or what?
Also, tell Eric that next time I'm in Lawrence, it's my treat at Dairy Queen to a phat 1/3 pound hamburger, a large blizzard and a pint of whole milk or 2 percent milk. Whichever he wants.
Dinner invitation for Borja
It's a shame to see what passes for journalism these days, even on the college level. I realized this when I read Eric Borja's Oct. 22 column, "Take a big, greasy, tasty bite out of ridiculous animal rights."
Boria column poorly written
Brad Hallier
Assistant sports editor
The Garden City Telegram
Brad Hallier
Nowhere in this inflammatory and humorless piece is there a single coherent argument for the support of meat consumption or animal cruelty. I would at least expect the old, tired standby "where do you guys get your protein?"
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5A
Instead, we get insipid comments like "Obviously (circus) animals enjoy what they are doing because they do it everyday."
WHITE'S VIEW
1
PERSPECTIVES
COMMENTARY
Pot legalization arguments are really about getting high
This one goes out to all those who believe that the United States government should legalize marijuana; quit kidding yourselves and others and just tell everyone the real reason you want marijuana legalized. All the other reasons just don't fit.
Steve Vockrodt
opinton@kansan.com
Do not say marijuana should be legalized for its medicinal purposes.
To this day, no hard research has conclusively found that marijuana has any
The U.S. Department of Justice, the American Medical Association, the American Glaucoma Society, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the International Federation of Multiple Sclerosis Societies and the American Cancer Society have routinely denied all claims from legalization proponents that marijuana serves as any convincing remedy for any disease.
No control group can be formed in such studies, thereby making such findings of its medicinal value purely anecdotal, not factual.
Legalization advocates point to a number of studies that allege that patients smoking marijuana feel some relief from several conditions and ailments.
What those proponents leave out is the fact that such studies are fundamentally flawed because no placebo to marijuana exists.
practical medicinal value to make a case for legalization.
Do not say marijuana should be legalized because of the precedent set from alcohol prohibition in the 20th century.
certainly. The Justice Department shows alcohol lies in a different realm than marijuana because alcohol can be consumed in small quantities and not be harmful or intoxicating while marijuana is used "where the whole point of use is intoxication."
Furthermore, the costs of alcohol abuse on our society clearly illustrates the need to keep other intoxicating drugs from becoming widely and legally available.
If legalization proponents continually assert that alcohol is detrimental to society, then why would they possibly think that the problem would get better with legalizing marijuana?
Such ill-informed logic and self-contradiction remains the cornerstone of
pro-legalization arguments.
Do not say marijuana should be legalized in order to reduce crime and fight addiction levels associated with drugs.
The United States Bureau of Justice statistics revealed in 1993 that "32 percent of inmates committed their offense under the influence of alcohol.
Slightly more than two-fifths of inmates convicted of homicide or assault committed their current offense under the influence of alcohol, or of alcohol and drugs."
Do not say marijuana should be legalized because the government spends too much money fighting illegal drugs.
According to the Justice Department and government data for federal spending, $17 billion was spent enforcing illegal drug laws, while $246 billion was allocated towards alcohol-related problems.
Just tell everyone the real reason: some people just want to get high.
Do not give us a laundry list of illinformed reasons for why marijuana should be legalized.
That alone cannot serve as a reason to legalize marijuana.
Free for All
Call 864-0500
Vockrodt is a Denver junior in journalism and political science.
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
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This is to the person complaining about the Jcfferson Commons hot tub turning their underwear green. That's probably because I peed in it.
This is to the Eric article on animal rights. I really do hope you realize that its been estimated that if America cut its meat consumption by only 10 percent for one year, it would free up at least 12 million tons of grain for human consumption. That's enough to feed 60 million starving people in another country. So Eric, why don't you evolve a conscience?
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I'm a nice guy and all, and I like to entertain guests and have after hours. But whoever stole my Everyone Poops book out of my bathroom and my roommate's pipe and Zippo should really give it back, because that's messed up. I'm sick of this.
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It's Tuesday, and it's time to remove the burnt, melted cars from the McCollum parking lot.
(sung) Don't give me no pop, no pop. Don't give me no tea, no tea. Just give me that milk, moo, moo, moo, moo. Just give me that milk, moo, moo, moo, moo.
I am a pre-journalism student who is absolutely appalled by Eric Borja's opinionated article concerning animal rights. It completely lacked journalistic merit and integrity. I can't believe a highly respected university paper would print such garbage written by a prospective journalist.
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Eric Borja is flat-out hilarious.
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OK, don't knock George Bush, 'cause I've got five girls here who want W. He's hot.
Hey people, quit calling me when Buffy the Vampire Slayer is on. I mean, it's Buffy. Have some respect.
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The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by readers.
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Over 11,000 people are injured every single year trying out new sexual positions.
This is a joke, and you get the first part tonight and the second part tomorrow. How do you kill 200 flies at once?
Can we have The Washington Post instead of USA Today with our activity fees? I think The Washington Post is a much better newspaper than USA Today. In my opinion, USA Today is a very, very bad newspaper. So please have The Washington Post instead of USA Today.
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