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4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2002
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Jay Krall editor 864-4854 or jkrall@kansan.com
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KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Students need to know about KU First benefits
If you walked into Memorial Stadium September 14th for the KU football game, you probably noticed many students wearing blue t-shirts with "KU First" printed on them.
st printed on them.
No, it wasn't the latest fashion trend.
KU First, a program of the University of Kansas Endowment Association, was giving away $1000 scholarships to 25 students as a gift from Dick and Jeanne Tinberg of Leawood, Kan.
Yet, some KU students didn't even realize that wearing the free t-shirt to the game could win them a scholarship and most are probably unaware of what else the program does.
As Jenna Goepfert reported in her September 16th article in the University Daily Kansan, one freshman was just that, unaware.
While it might be safe to argue that most students on campus knew about the scholarship give-away, one wonders how many students know about the $500 million that KU First hopes to raise for the University?
How many students know part of that money may someday help to reinstate KU Info?
John Scarffe, director of communications for KU Endowment, said the endowment association has tried to let the students know about the campaign.
Scarffe said last year they used advertising in the Kansan and hung several banners promoting the campaign in buildings around campus.
Yet, did you know that KU First hopes to contribute $116 million to student scholarships?
Did you know that they want to donate another $28 million to Arts & Humanities?
Scarfe said the best way for students to find out about KU First benefits is through the Kansan. However, he said the Kansan didn't seem to give high priority to covering their press conferences.
However, there is more the endow ment could do as well.
Students need to be informed about what KU First does for them. The Kansan should recognize that and put more of an effort into covering what the program does.
While the Kansan is not the only way to generate awareness, it is the most effective as it has a high student readership.
Most students have received solicitation cards from the endowment association at some time or another. How hard would it be for them to send out postcards with information about how the endowment benefited students?
Maybe with KU First and the Kansan both making information available, incoming freshmen would know about further scholarship give-aways and all students would know about the benefits that the KU First campaign has provided for them.
Mandy German for the Editorial Board.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Online Voting is realistic
menting online voting.
The claims that not enough research had been done are completely false, and nearly every school that has online voting saw a significant increase in voter turnout once they moved away from paper ballots and poll sites. Online voting has been used in a variety of ways, with great success; the Arizona state Democratic Party used online voting for their primary elections, an election certainly bigger and more complicated than KU Student Senate's.
As someone who was very active in student government, and someone who did a great deal of research into online voting, I was shocked and disappointed to read that a majority of the Student Senate University Affairs committee voted against implementing online voting.
At the very least, don't they want to show the administration that students can have online voting in student elections before they can get online enrollment figured out?
Also, online voting will, in a matter of 3 years, be cheaper than the current elections, and thus end up saving student money.
and truly end up saving students.
Doesn't Student Senate want to make it easier for students to vote? Don't they want to make student government more accessible and representative?
they can get online training. Numerous individuals have spent many hours researching and thoughtfully considering online voting, and they all have concluded that it is something Student Senate needs to do.
Anyone who thinks otherwise does not have the best interest of students at heart.
Kyle Browning class of 2002 Student Body Vice President, 2001-2002
needs to be greatly revised.
The parallel he draws between KU First and United States solidarity is inherently flawed. Why did students "band together" in solidarity? Money.
Solidarity argument is flawed Steve Vockrodt's position on solidarity needs to be greatly rethought
The promise of scholarships was their motivation and now that the carrot has been fed, that show of togetherness will vanish.
The right to question our government is what makes us a free, democratic nation. People had good cause to criticize the U.S.
leaders during Vietnam. Richard Nixon was sending Americans to die in a war he knew we couldn't win.
The kind of blind solidarity that Mr Vockrodt is suggesting borders on jingoistic nationalism, the kind that allowed Hitler to come into power. We entered into WWII after it became clear that intervention was necessary.
necessary.
In the case of Iraq, all of those most informed on the subject (i.e. experts on weapons proliferation) argue that the U.S. has no justification for waging war based on conjecture and hearsay.
If Steve is so keen on solidarity, why doesn't he suggest that the U.S. wait until we have U.N. consensus to act? FDR helped create the U.N. to prevent rash unilateral action, something we as Americans cannot stand for.
Steve Ducey
Overland Park Sophomore
Therefore, we are dealing with a moral, not legal concern here. If we were to include every possible group, the list would go on without end and would be a nightmare to administer.
Including homosexuals is moral not legal concern
First off, I must inform you that the federal law governing discrimination (for employment and etc.) is based on age, sex, religion, race, ethnic background and disability. There is nothing that says the states must include gays in this list.
mare to administer. In Topeka, there probably are not that many gay members. Thus it is not as big of an issue. However, in San Francisco that is different, and therefore they include gays in the non-discrimination list.
In my opinion, this is a decision of prudence, not discrimination.In essence, the board is taking a load off the court's backs (in lawsuits).
Again, there are moral issues here, but there are other issues at stake that have not been disclosed. A reasonable person can not make a moral decision on pure emotion,but only with all of the facts.
Russell Warren Senior in business
Why not try something really crazy this weekend: sobriety
PERSPECTIVES
COMMENTARY
Hi, my name is Meagan, and I am 19 years old. I believe I am amongst a minority on us. I don't drink alcohol.
I am the president and founding member of "Yes, in fact, I do remember what I did last night" club and am confident that my liver is operating properly.
Meagan Kelleher opinion@kansan.com
my sheets never smell like puke and I have never made my roommates drag my sorry drunken body up the stairs to my room.
I like to save my 100 dollars for something more beneficial than a fake ID from Texas.
ID from texas. What I find to be soriest about this campus is that I have to explain myself. In a perfect world, my first sentence would be all the explanation needed.
I am 19 years old. I am pretty sure that the legal drinking age is 21. So, using my quicksilver skills in deduction, I am going to make it clear to everyone. If you are under the age of 21 it isn't legal for you to drink.
No, seriously people, I didn't make this up.
What! No! I can't believe it!
Of course, we are not in the perfect world I mentioned earlier. Tons of people drink alcohol on this campus, legally or otherwise. I am certain that you have your reasons. You may say
it's fun or it's social. Maybe you actually do want to forget a night of your life and you think drowning your sorrows in shots is the way to go.
Maybe the fact that it is illegal is why you want to do it.
Maybe you like looking like an idiot. I don't know, these are all choices; you go with the one that applies.
But the truth is, I just can't stand drunken people.
I can understand if someone wants to drink. Go for it. It is your Godgiven right. I just don't understand the people who get so tipsy they drive their car in between Wescoe and Budig Halls.
I don't understand the guy driving in front of me last Saturday night who was driving on the wrong side of the median on Naismith Drive. Where is the fun in that?
Where is the fun in smelling like vomit, feeling like crap and waking up
feeling worse than you did to begin with?
I won't feel sorry for you if you get an MIP. I will not feel sorry for you if you end up getting back together with your ex-boyfriend because he looked good in an alcohol induced haze.
I will not feel sorry for you if you spend the night in jail, fail your test because you are hung over or throw up all over your sister's clothes.
However, even though I don't drink it doesn't mean that I don't have fun.
I can hang out at my friend's apartments and not drink. I can go to the movies and not drink.
I even on occasion spend time doing homework, because believe it or not, most of us are here for school.
Tailgating can be just as fun without a brewsky in your hand, and if you enter the game sober it makes it a better experience not just for yourself but the others around you.
I know that I can have fun every weekend if I want to and a fun weekend doesn't have to be classified by how many free kegs there are at a party.
On that note, have a memorable Thursday night and Friday morning.
I know I will.
Kelleher is an Omaha, Neb., sophomore in journalism.
Free for All
Call 864-0500
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.
The person leaving this message in the Free for All is obviously very intelligent and attractive. And your failure to recognize that leads me to one conclusion; you dumb.
When my roommate is 80, and she can't hear anymore, when somebody says something to her, this is the noise she's gonna make:
"Hey1!
thirdly, as far as preparing prescription drugs to come with this warning for schedule three, and alcoholic beverages are set with this warning, but they are legal. It's amazing what a $4 hundred billion dollar lobby budget can buy.
I was reading The New York Times article today about marijuana usage and how it's detrimental to society. However, it's only addictive to people who are prone to addiction, be it Nyquil or be it marijuana. Second of all, it's not more potent like they said it is. The potency is dependent on generational breeding of the plant itself. The overall chemical structure of it is of PHD, still, and always will be, tetrahydracannibus. And
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Thanks to the GTA union for the new contract. It's great. We love you.
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Hey, ugly kid who's looking for your squirrel that was stolen, we have it, and it's gonna cost you 10,000 coconuts. So pony up, and uh, we'll give your squirrel back. If not, you'll be receiving toes, fingers, and eyelashes slowly, it's crying. It's a wuss squirrel.
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To the kid in Naismith with the Durango with the flames on the side of it. Maybe you haven't realized a couple things. You have a Durango, with flames of the side of it.
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Why does food taste so much better when you've been drinking?
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If a girl can play guitar, it balances out most flaws.
Stop chirping at me, mama squirrel, you can't have my nuts.
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by readers.
The only thing funnier than the Pavless commercial is knowing that the owner has a muller.
Kudos to Marc Ingber for trashing on Nickelback in the Thursday Jayplay.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Maggie Koerth or Amy Potter at 864-4924 or e-mail at opinion@kansan.com.If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the readers' representative at readersrep@kansan.com.
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