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TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011
EDITORIAL
Students must remain top priority
Last week, Gov. Sam Brownback recommended that state universities — including the University of Kansas — should improve their national rankings by focusing on programs that will provide highly skilled and qualified graduates to Kansas. He also suggested institutions make tough choices and focus on improving the standing of top programs, even if it weakens other curricula.
It's a good plan. And I support the University on striving to exceed expectations, improve national rankings, and serve as a conduit to Kansas. However, the administration must remember that this plan must not come at the expense of its most important asset: students.
Brownback shows commitment to higher education by suggesting a 50-person task force of Kansas' leaders meet to
help the University accomplish its longterm strategy. But while the administration answers to the Board of Regents, and ultimately Brownback, Brownback's interests and goals don't always intersect with the University.
The University's mission states that it "serves as a center for learning, scholarship, and creative endeavor." It also "first serves Kansas, then the nation and the world through research, teaching, and the preservation and dissemination of knowledge"
But if the administration puts more resources in the pharmacy and business programs as Brownback suggested, vital programs with lower enrollment, such as the School of Music and School of Law, shouldn't have to suffer.
The U.S. News & World Report rankings shouldn't be the only factor leading to the siphoning of resources from one academic program to another. The rankings are sometimes criticized for an overemphasis on prestige, basing broad judgements off limited information and only looking at numbers rather than the entire college experience that often determines student success.
While these rankings and an institution's prestige are key factors for students choosing a college or university, the student experience and traditions drives crucial contributions and alumni activity. The reallocation of college resources toward top programs should not harm student activities, clubs, organizations, athletics or other areas of the University that encourage individuality.
The administration should first look to make existing programs more efficient It should ask, "Are the leading programs in our institution running at top capacity?" before deciding to shift focus. Belt tightening decreases budget woes and leads to creative problem solving by administrators.
It's the responsibility of Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little's administration to ensure that the University keeps up and improves its reputation. As long as students are kept as the University's top priority, alongside its duties to the state, our rankings will rock chalk to the top.
Vikaas Shanker for The Kansan editorial board
FOOD
CONTRIBUTED BY JASON CUPP
Willie Nelson hosted the Farm Aid concert in Kansas this year. The concert helps to promote awareness of local foods.
Farm Aid brings awareness of where food comes from
Willie Nelson hosted the Farm Aid concert in Kansas for the first time earlier this month at the LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in Kansas City. The cause was simple — to promote awareness of the foods we eat and to continue to help farmers in this agricultural movement — but the message was not.
I had never heard about Farm Aid before until one of my friends asked me to go to the concert. A concert? Of course I'm there. Then I started to do research on Farm Aid and learned that the organization has actually been around since 1985 and that Nelson started it with Neil Young and John Mellencamp. The concert is a way to attract people to learn more about the origins of their food, how to look for local farm produce and simply to ask themselves, "Where is this food coming from?"
Some people may go to the grocery store thinking, "Today is going to be the day I'm going to start eating really healthy, buy some organic fruit and vegetables and feel
By Mike Montano
mmontano@kansan.com
good about what I'm putting in my body." Then you look at the prices of organic foods, do a double take, walk past them and pick the regular fruit and vegetable options.
Prices are high because it takes more effort and time to grow foods free of pesticides, and because demand is relatively low for organic produce. A line from the documentary "Food, Inc." still sticks with me today — "Eating is the most intimate thing we can do for our bodies."
It's true; so why are we careless about the food we put into our bodies when we care so much about what we put on our bodies like clothes, tattoos, cologne and makeup? Shouldn't our logic be reversed?
Farm Aid hopes to put an end to food conglomerates by putting the power back in the hands of individuals. The organization promotes
local farmers' produce, which gives people a healthier life is a better option than produce grown with pesticides. Since its inception, Farm Aid has raised more than $39 million through concerts and events to help farmers compete with the goliaths of the food industry.
would have never known about this powerful Good Food Movement. It's making me question where my food comes from, and how a few extra bucks at the grocery store can produce major benefits in the long run. I don't want to contribute any more of my money to big food chains because that I'm just a blip on their radar, but for local farmers, I am one of their strongest contenders. If you're like me, and want to know more about how to get involved and be a voice in this movement, be sure to check out FarmAid.org.
Without attending this concert, I
believe you would be about the
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
— Mike Montano is a junior in journalism from Boston
Should White Owl be allowed on campus?
TheRealKingCole
@UDOK_Opinton YES. White owl is an O.G.
JonGoscha
@UBK_ Opinion yes white owl should be allowed on campus, so much spirit in that dude. People need to stop being so #prudge. #raiseupKU!
MelanieRR
@UDK. Opinion No. It's cool that he likes KU so much, but he's just distracting and kinda creepy.
KClivelaughlove
@UKUk_ Opinion Uu, duh. He's like the funniest guy ever,
he's a hoot to watch.
FREE FOR ALL
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Did you see Bill Self sporting a beard? A real manimal.
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Kudos to the Kansan Editorial Board for encouraging use of social media channels on campus. We take great pride in engaging with students, campus and the rest of Jayhawk Nation through multiple platforms. Notably KU ranks eighth in the country for our use of social media.
To find all official university-based accounts, please visit connect.ku.edu. You will find a searchable database of all university, school and departmental social media accounts. We look forward to hearing from you.
All students are also invited to join the Rock Chalk Check-in Challenge. You can earn Four-square bags exclusive to campus and unlock rewards from free t-shirts, flash drives and a free soft drink with your meal at KU Dining Services to a grand prize of an iPad. Visit connect. ku.edu/explore for details.
Todd Cohen;
- Youb Cohen,
director, University Relations
and Justin Heining, social media
coordinator, University Relations
Tweet us @UDK_Opinion to let your voice be heard.
weaponx1233
@UDK_ Opinion cont.) He shouldn't be allowed to yell and scream on Wescoe Beach but I don't think a COMPLETE ban is in order. Stipulations..
seanelliott
@UDK Opinion I mean, if a dirty old hipple wants to sit on wcseo and scream 'wake up!' kue and over - let him
POP CULTURE
Bieber-fevered teen girls run the pop culture world
Justin Bieber: The YouTube star from Canada that everyone seems to love. Well, except every male that ever stepped foot on our college campus. With all the college females going crazy over the fact that he looks like an adorable little girl, I can't think of a single reason why people would hate Biebs.
Oh, right, because he's rich and famous. And he hasn't even hit puberty yet.
But so many males of our cam pus community that hate Bieber tend to forget that ten years ago the beloved Justin Timberlake (who ironically shares the same first name) was hated by college
males for the same reason — and today Timberlake is actually loved by those same people who hate Bieber.
Maybe it has nothing to do with money, fame or looking like a girl. Maybe it all depends on what
Biebs and JT represent. Timberlake came to fame through his super famous boy band 'N Sync, and was adored by many pre-teen females (and maybe a pop culture columnist for the UDK) when most of us college kids were in those awkward years ourselves. Call me crazy, but I have a strange feeling that 'N Sync was not so popular with the college male crowd during those years.
These people didn't hate Timberlake because he could sing and date other super famous pop stars, he was hated because of what he was: the face of pop culture, and sadly, that happens to be driven by
Pre-teen girls have somehow decided what needs to be known throughout pop-culture for decades. When a little band from Liverpool, England, known as the Beatles arrived in the United States, pre-teen females made it clear what was popular: screaming their heads off, just because a few good-looking dudes played some songs. Pop artists haven't looked back since.
pre-teen girls.
Many 12-year-olds don't have much going on in their lives; other than the occasional crush and learning vocabulary words, not much to think about. Fill that
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
I have no doubt that Justin Bieber will someday be the new (adult-version) of Justin Timberlake. He will someday quit writing music, appear in a few movies, and practically make a living on just being Wiebs. For now, he has to deal with the hate, take his lumps and power through, because someday he will be our favorite.
Never say never.
Length: 300 words
The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown.Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansas.com/fletters.
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Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line.
Dylan Lysen is a junior in journalism from Andover
void, many young teenagers waste their parents' money and time by obsessing over people who are famous for being famous. So much money spent so that thousands of young teenage girls can hear Biebs sing "Baby" (hoping that he's singing about them).
But for Bieber, this means that the college community realizes (subconsciously) that pre-teen females run the pop-culture world. Justin Bieber is not interesting to our generation because we already have our guy, and his name is Justin Timberlake. He has already dealt with his share of hate, and is now just a cool dude that ends
Kelly Stroda, editor
864-4810 or kathaan@kansan.com
Joel Petterson, managing editor
864-4810 or jettersen@kansan.com
Johanna Shannon, managing editor
up in movies and could possibly be the most entertaining Saturday Night Live host in recent memory
Jonathan Shorman, managing editor
864-4810 or ishorman@kansan.com
Clayton Ashley, managing editor
8451-810 or alasnake@skanlan.com
Mandy Maitey, opinion editor
8452-824 or alasnake@skanlan.com
Vikas Shanker, editorial editor
8452-824 or alasnake@skanlan.com
CONTACT US
Garrant Lent, business manager
843-4538 or ggandan@kasaa.com
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Kelly Stroda,
Jeff Peterson, Jonathan Schumann, Clayton Ashley, Vika Paasen,
Handy Mankey and Stefanie Weissman.
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