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Monday, September 21, 1992
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
IN OUR OPINION
University administrations need to tighten their belts
A congressional subcommittee has reported that colleges and universities nationwide are exploiting undergraduate students.
This comes as no surprise to KU students, who have been faced with difficulties getting into required classes, overflowing classrooms and too few classes taught by professors. This coincides with the increasing costs of tuition and fees.
The Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families revealed that inflation increased 3.2 percent during the 1991-92 school year, but tuition and fees went up 12 percent. Meanwhile, students faced shorter library hours and fewer class selections in addition to the problems with classes.
The committee also reported that between 1980 and 1990, state, local and federal aid as well as endowment income increased by at least 100 percent. During this same period, tuition and fees increased 141 percent.
The report attributes the problem to a growing emphasis on research spending and less on teaching.
Some people in the education field believe there is another problem administration costs. They believe it is the responsibility of each college and university to investigate and identify its own financial drains.
A work audit of professors' teaching loads would be one way of examining the situation.
Another necessity is an overall administration audit to see where the money goes when it is not not going into classrooms.
With more and more money pouring into educational facilities resulting in fewer services to students, it is imperative that the black hole sucking in all those dollars be found and mended.
Research is a valuable element to any university. Administration services have a price. But neither should come at the expense of quality education provided to the student.
KATE KELLEY FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
OUOTES OF THE WEEK
"I shook his hand. It was cold."
— GREG SEABOALT, BLUE SPRINGS, MO. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT ON MEETING PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH.
"I feel like anyone who has been hit by a bicycle bombing out of nowhere. I feel bad."
— KU SENIOR VICTORIA MAIER AFTER BEING HIT BY A BICYCLE WHILE CROSSING A STREET.
"I feel like I'm adopting a child and I'm not taking care of the ones I've got. Now I know how Woody Allen feels."
—REGENT CHARLES HOSTETTLER ON THE PROPOSED ADDITION OF WASHIHUN UNIVERSITY TO THE REGEMTS SYSTEM.
"The offense needed to come out tonight and kick some butt and help the defense out. The defense was on the field a lot and when the defense is on the field that much, you're going to give up points."
"He took his helm off. I thought they were going to beat him to death."
—TULSA BACK-UP QUARTERBACK MARK MATHESON AFTER THREE-POINT FAVORITE KANSAS POUNDED TULSA 40-7.
— KU DEFENSIVE BACK CLINT BOWEN ON THE RECEPTION HIS BROTHER CHARLEY BOWEN RECEIVED FROM TEAMMATES UPON RETURNING AN INTERCEPTION 63 YARDS FOR A TOUCHDOWN.
"We're in the Dole building. What do you expect?"
-- JASON McINTOSH, COORDINATOR OF KU STUDENTS FOR CLINTON,
AFTER TECHNOLOGICAL PROBLEMS INTERRUPTED THE SATELLITE FEED OF
A RALLY FOR ARKANSAS GOVERNOR BILL CLINTON.
COMPILED FROM KANSAN STAFF REPORTS THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 17.
KANSAN STAFF
ERIC NELSON
Editor
TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser
BILL, SKEET, Technology coordinator
However, it is discouraging when people write or call with angry comments about letters to the editor.
Opinion page bias happens by design
The opinion page has a point a view
GREG FARMER Managing editor
"How could you say that?" they ask. We didn't say it.
SCOTT HANNA
Business manager
BILL LEIBENGOOD
Retail sales manager
JEANNE HINES
Sales and marketing adviser
Don't get me wrong. When trate readers respond to something I have written, criticism is welcome. It lets me know we are reaching our audience. If we do not receive at least a few letters a day, I know we have failed to make people think about what we are trying to say.
— actually several points of view. Though it is not our goal to brainwash the reader into following our every whim, it is our goal to inspire debate about topics we think the public should find important.
"How could you print that?" they ask.
OK, so we do print letters. But we certainly don't write them, nor do we selectletters for publication based on our own beliefs. That is why Kansan editorials written by the Kansan editorial board appear under the "In Our Opinion" logo. Unfortunately, for some readers, the distinction between "In Our Opinion" and "Letters to the Editor" is not obvious.
Perhaps in the fine print of the opinion page a disclaimer should clearly state that letters and guest columns are not necessarily the opinion of the Kansan. Letters are important. They are an open forum for students, faculty, staff and members of the community to respond to our news content, coverage and editorial decisions.
The point is, they are columnists. They are supposed to express their opinions. An unbiased opinion page would be as pointless as a comics page full of obituaries. Let our columnists write whatever they want within the realm of good writing, humor and good taste. And when my managing editor isn't looking, good taste isn't actually that important to me.
So when I write a column about women who wear hats or college students who are selling their sperm to a clinic, I am not attempting hard-core journalism. I am attempting to make you laugh. I fail, write me a letter.
**Letters** should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the name of the person who wrote the letter, a title (e.g., supervisor, assistant), a location (e.g., university or Kansas State University) include class name, homerow, or faculty or staff position. If there are multiple letters from the same person, they should be separated by a comma.
If a reader wishes to respond to another letter, that too is welcome. But it should be done with the knowledge that the preceding letter had no connection to Kansan policy.
The Kansan reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kansan newroom, 111 Staffer-Final Hall.
Kevin Bartels and Julie Wasson are prone to the political as well, though they are very different. Kate Kelley is our resident pop-culture critic. And Mark Coatney makes me laugh, so he can write whatever he wants.
Maybe we'll run it.
Associate editorial editor David Mitchell is a Depto senior majoring in Journalism.
Editors Business Staff
Asst. Managing Almee Braindar Campus sales mgr Angela Clevenger
News Alexander Bloebmoh Regional sales mgr Melissa Teraft Editorial Stephen Martino National sales mgr Brian Wilkes
Campus Gayle Osterberg Co-op sales mgr Amy Stumbo
Sports Shley Solon Production mgrs Brad Breon
Photo Justin Knupp Marketing director Ashley Langford
Features Cody Holt Creative director Valerie Spicher
Graphics Sean Tevis Classified mgr Judith Standley
However, just one month into my semester-long stint as an editorial editor, I am befuddled by the misconceptions people have about how a newspaper should operate. The purpose of the news pages is to present the news in a fair and balanced manner. But the opinion page is supposed to deliver exactly what it says at the top of the page — opinion.
Recently, the staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center were extremely upset about a letter written by a vegetarian who slammed a Watkins dietian. The Watkins staff had every right to be angered by the letter. But we did not write it or endorse it. I asked chief of staff Charles Yockey to write a guest column to explain the truth about vegetarian diets and the reputation of the dietian in question. I hope he does.
Our columnists have diverse views and writing styles, and I hope their opinions are making people think, whether they agree or disagree with what has been written. Quite a few people have taken offense to columnist David Frankel's conservative commentaries. Good. That is why we hired him. For years, people have been complaining that the Kansan is too liberal. Here is our answer to that problem. Enjoy.
Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed.
Furthermore, aside from the distinction between editorials and letters, a distinction should be made between editorials and staff columns. Editorials represent the position of the Kansan as an entity. Staff columns are merely the opinion of the individual. And I am amused by the people who have taken the time to let me know that our columnists are biased. Really? Exactly what good is a columnist who is not opinionated?
semester we have dedicated page five to letters every Wednesday. It does not mean we agree with them. It simply means we believe you have the right to express yourself. As the campus voice, the Kansan has the obligation to give readers that opportunity.
It's absolute garbage. But we printed it. The fact is, the reader was entitled to his opinion. If Williams would have written back, we would have been happy to run his rebuttal. But in this case, the criticisms are unworthy of a response.
DAVID MITCHELL
Guest columns, like letters, do not represent the opinion of the Kansan. But letters and guest columns are your opportunity as the reader to respond. Short of libel, you can say what you want. That is your right. We are dedicated to this idea, and this
Did we agree with this idea? No.
We attempt to run as many letters as space will allow. Sometimes they anger people. That too is fine. As I said, we are trying to make people think about what is being said.
But quite frankly, a small percentage of the letter writers are crackpot. I could give you specific examples — so I will.
After the University of Kansas basketball team was upset in the NCAA Tournament last spring, one reader wrote in that Coach Roy Williams — one of the best young coaches in the nation — should be canned.
Someday, when I have become a famous, great dead author, and your children or grandchildren are forced to study my work, you tell them I said it was OK to read just for the entertainment value. That was my intention. They will know the serious, thought-provoking parts.
They will be underlined.
My own philosophy leans toward this: Just don't think too hard about it. If I am going to write a profound insight in which you should find deep meaning with which to improve your life, I will underline it or something. But mostly, if I write, "Heathatchliff扩大 into the well to see how long it would take before he could hear the splash," then that is all I will mean.
STAFF COLUMNIST
KATE KELLEY
I have experienced the reverberations of my own written words in my columns. Some people have told me I made them laugh. Others have said I evoked a recollection from their own past. Some say I speak for the unheard masses of "older students." And others think I'm full of crap.
The power of the pen is an amazing thing. It can elicit such passionate responses as sadness, happiness, anger, desire and hatred with barely so much as a stroke across a clean surface.
Columns meant to be taken literally
The same statement can have as many different responses as people who read it. What I find scary, is that I have no control once it is in print. All I can do is hope whoever is reading will be at least interested enough in what I have to say to read through the whole piece. Whether they agree with me or not, if I have at least let them glimpse at a different point of view, I have accomplished something.
Every writer wants to be loved and admired. We like to hope each word we scrawl will be profound and an absolute pearl of wisdom. Of course, we don't believe this for a second. But our intentions are usually very noble. No matter what is written, some readers will see only what they choose.
As an English major, I take a lot of literature classes. It always amazes me how much can be read into one line of prose. I often struggle with this. When I read the line, "Heathcliff dipped the ladle into the well and drew a cool drink of water," I tend to see a guy getting a drink. Others may see the well as the fountain of knowledge of life and Heathcliff's act as the human endeavor to grasp the infinitely deep, cold truths that tend to drip annoyingly down the chin of memory as he slurps from the ladle of education.
Still others might see Heath expressing an aggressive and violent act against nature. There may be some who see Heath dipping into his own repressed sexuality. There is no end to the perceptions people may have to the written word.
501 Bluez
Kate Kelley is a Fort Leavenworth Junior majoring in English.
By Moses Smith