4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
MONDAY,AUGUST 26,2002
TALK TO US
Jay Krail
editor
864-4854 or jkrail@kansan.com
Brooke Hesler and Kyle Ramsey
managing editors
864-4854 or bheleser@kansan.com and
kramsey@kansan.com
Laurel Burchfield
readers' representative
864-4810 or burchfield@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
KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or mfisher@kansan.com
Redistricting plan ignores concerns and needs of students
Cutting Lawrence in half will cut student voices
This November you might notice some changes at the ballot box. If you live east of Iowa street you will be voting for a different set of elected officials than most of those who live west of Iowa street and south of 6th street. We're not talking about city officials, we're talking about United States Congressmen.
Every 10 years the districts from which the Kansas Representatives are elected are redrawn to account for the updated census. This time each of Kansas' 4 districts must be as close as possible in population to 672,105 while maintaining 'communities of interest.' Earlier this year a final plan was approved and ruled constitutional. November will be the first time many voters will notice that something has changed.
On the surface, the redistricting has had the direct effect of reducing the political base of the lone Kansas Democratic Congressman Dennis Moore. It would be easy to simply regard the redistricting as a partisan issue.
However, at its heart lays the utter disregard of those in government for students and their interests.
As students we represent roughly $25\%$ of Douglas County's population and as a group we share political, cultural, and social interests independent of non-students'. Political maneuvering is expected but the indifference towards
the University that we are witnessing now has become endemic across party lines.
Still, the supporters of a unified Lawrence are vast and have ranged from locals (including two KU professors and former Mayor Mike Rundle) to former Kansas Republican Party Chairwoman Rochelle Chronister. Chairwoman Chronister openly worried that "[t]o unnecessarily split the city of Lawrence into two parts, when other accommodations could be made, is also a proposal that I believe is purely political."
In essence, the new congressional districts state that residents of west Lawrence have more in common with Topekans than they do with residents of east Lawrence. This represents a divide between reality and political representation on a scale so outrageous that it is recognizable to the most casual visitor.
Other congressional redistricting plan would have maintained Lawrence's community interests, but in the end the most contrived was chosen. This redistricting represents yet another push to weaken the influence of students in Kansas politics
With a tuition hike already in effect, and no end in sight to the budget crunches, the University needs more representation, not less. When November rolls around it's crucial that we make sure that we don't take our community interests for granted, or Congress just might.
Greg Holmquist for the editorial board.
Call 864-0500
Free for All
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
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.
I just wanna say that if the KU info website is anything like the KU website, it's just absolutely gonna suck.
I must know; why the hack are all the Free for All comments so lame this year? Get a life
I'm on campus today for the first time, and everything's just one big damn mess. It's a hundred times worse than it ever was last year.
I get so tired of reading the Free for All and hearing everyone bitch about the Kansan and how ooh, there are no good articles or ooh, um, it's so hard to find the crossword puzzle. If you guys don't like the Kansan so much, throw it away and stop wasting our time when you do like the Kansan. How hard is it to find a freaking crossword puzzle, let's be realistic here.
I'm really glad to be back on campus and very thankful for KU info. it needs to stay, or where else would I get information like the location of the Yacht Club? Thanks, KU info.
First Management owns way to many buildings in Lawrence, and it sucks.
Eliminating the call-in portion of KU info, is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard. Just because you're the new vice provost of student support doesn't mean that you have the right to go around eliminating all of the great programs.
This is crap. If they stop the KU Info line, I'll probably have to drop out of school. I'll never be able to find anything that need.
When I was a kid, I wanted a bike, so every night it would pray for one. But it never happened. As I grew up, I learned that God doesn't always work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness instead.
Oh, wait a second, I'll call back.
How are they gonna be shutting down KU info? Man, that's wack.
If the financial aid lady is running the office, who's running hell?
I hate it! I'm sitting on the toilet in Anschutz Library and the lights go off!
Can somebody please tell me why Hallmark doesn't make "scorned and pissed off" cards?
That's not the moon, that's Target!
I said blessed, with an "i," not blessed, with an "e." Misprinted already, and it's only the second day.
It's peanut butter, jelly time, peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat. Break it down and break it down and freeze, freestyle, freestyle, freestyle, freestyle
Don't be so hard on the parking nazis,
they're just follow orders.
Peanut butter jell-ay,peanut butter jell-ay.
GRITZKE'S VIEW
Kevin Gritzke/Kansan
BY THE NUMBERS
31 Percentage of Britons who feel "vulnerable" in forests Source: Harper's
17,901 Number of trees on campus
Number of trees on campus
$30,000
Source: KU Info
Total budget allotted for KU Info employee paychecks per semester Source: KU Info
$30-60,000
Yearly salary range for a Webmaster at the University of Kansas
$5.15
Per hour minimum wage in the state of Kansas
Source: KUWebAdministration
Source: Kansas Department of Labor
Increased cost per credit hour at the University of Kansas
Source: KUInfo
PERSPECTIVES
Students remain top priority at KU despite 'the budget blues'
Welcome back! I have to admit this is my favorite time of the year. Lawrence is always a little dead in the summer, when students are gone, but always comes to life in August, as Lawrence landlords (including KU) throw out the welcome mat and collect your deposit.
GUEST COMMENTARY
Much has happened at KU since the end of the spring semester, not all of it positive. A new state budget was approved that reduced KU's funding by more than $7.4 million, and the governor recently announced "allotments" that reduce our state budget by another $2 million. In addition, the legislature did not provide raises for either faculty or staff. The next governor may be forced to impose additional reductions in January.
It's possible, but not easy, to manage this level of funding reduction. We are using a set of budget cutting principles that begins: "Students come first. Educating students to achieve graduation - while maintaining quality - is always the highest priority."
Robert Hemenway opinion@hansan.com
The sky is not falling at KU, but some outreach efforts will be affected, and students will see larger classes and fewer class options. Many people will be doing two jobs, but we will do all that is necessary to ensure that students have access to the classes they need and to the quality faculty they expect.
While the average resident undergraduate will pay $500 more per semester this year than last, you'll also begin to see benefits that make the tuition increase worth the cost.
Many of you are receiving a KU Tuition Grant, for example. As USA Today observed on August 7, "The University of Kansas is investing $1.5 million, or about 20% of the revenue raised by the undergraduate tuition increase, into need-based aid, the first time a tuition hike has included such funding."
All students will benefit in other ways. In the weeks ahead, we will announce a number of improvements (including online registration) funded by the $3.6 million increase in the technology fee). These should help KU pursue its goal of becoming one of the top 25 public universities in the country. Other enhancements from tuition will be announced throughout the year, and students will have a chance to identify needs for funding.
I appreciate the invitation from the UDK to offer a column each month, and I promise to write next time about something more interesting than the budget blues. If you have subjects you would like me to address, let me know by e-mail or letter.
Hemenway is chancellor.
Students can make a difference...get involved!
We as a KU student body have a lot to look forward to this year. We also have
many challenges ahead of us. With rising tuition costs as a result of continuous budget cuts, students may see larger classes, fewer class options and fewer student services.
However, we will still strive toward making KU one of the top schools in the nation. As we do this, we need to ask ourselves as students what we can do to help improve our University. If we ever hope to become one of the top universities in the nation, we must start thinking like one.
We, as students, can play a significant role in improving freshman retention, four-year graduation rates and minority retention and recruitment, among other issues.
We must first start by ensuring that the extra revenue from tuition increases is invested in enhancements to the University and not used as a substitute for
funds from where the state dropped the ball.
You as students should know where and how your tuition dollars are being used. A committee of students through Student Senate GUEST
is being established to work with the Provost and the Planning and Resources Committee, a university board that oversees the University budget, in order to address these issues.
dents through Student Senate GUEST is being established to work COMMENTARY
Part of the tuition enhancement dollars are being invested into new
technology. Students will be able to centralize all available online resources through a student portal. A portal is essentially a home page for students providing links to your Webmail account, ARTS form, grades, payments, class schedules and news headlines.
ating a centralized online calendar for all campus news and will oversee information for student organizations. This will help centralize all information,
Your Senate has been working on cre
making it easier for student organizations to communicate with the student body and publicize its meetings and events.
A strong cultural center helps students prepare for an increasingly diverse workplace. With the potential for a newer, up-to-date Multicultural Resource Center,
A top university must also have an international focus and reflect the diversity of the people and ideas of the world. It is for this reason that the student body as a community should make strides to become more heterogeneous. The Senate is
spearheading an effort to get a new Multicultural Resource Center that is more visible and accessible for all KU students.
KU can establish itself as one of the premiere universities that prepares its students for today's evolving global community.
One of the biggest differences you can make is voting on November 5. The outcome of our state elections will have a great influence on the future of funding for higher education. The Student Legislative Awareness Board will be leading up a voter registration drive on campus for the next two months.
If you're concerned with any campus issues and want to get involved, the first step is joining a Senate committee. The first meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, at the Ballroom in the Kansas Union. This is a great way to be part of the decision-making process within your University and play a role in making it one of the best in the nation.
Ng is a Leawood senior in journalism and Spanish. He is student body president.