4A the university daily kansan
opinion
friday,november 14,2003
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This is the dead mouse guy's girlfriend. I slept on it and smelled it. It was way worse.
I was just calling in to say thank you for the Oracle. My kitty-litter box needed some more lining. Thanks, Greeks.
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I am wondering if the KU Parking Department gets paid on commission by how many tickets they put on cars. This is just horrid.
As a Vietnam veteran, I would like to say thank you to all of the ROTC members on the KU campus who stood watch at the Vietnam memorial.
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Whoever thought Big Jay was a good kisser was right. That bird rocked my freaking world.
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I love working out at the Rec Center.
There is so much inspira.on walking
around in tight pants.
Our roommate says that he has never peed in the shower. Dude, who hasn't peed in the shower? Everyone does it.
Is there really a need for 22 handicap spaces at Wal-Mart? That is how many they have: 22.
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111 Stuffer-Flint
stavskal's view
Wayne Stayskal for Knight Ridder
perspective
Students who consume alcohol hurt students, damage property, violate essential 'rule of law'
Alcohol consumption at college is not a laughing matter, even if people at Dartmouth College think it is. Recently, the college ditched its mascot in search of one that people would find less offensive. Many different mascots have been paraded in front of fans at Dartmouth sporting events, most with lukewarm reception.
One unofficial mascot entry won the acceptance of a large number of people in the stands. His name? "Keggy the Keg."
COMMENTARY
"Keggy" looks like an enormous beer keg with arms, legs, and a face painted on the side. According to their college paper, The Dartmouth, his creators intended him to be entirely unacceptable, but fans, including two 8-year-olds who asked for his autograph at a ball game, can't get enough of him.
Dartmouth's lighthearted search for a campus mascot shows a dark side of college life. At college campuses all across the nation, alcohol is a normal part of the college experience.
Matthew Dunavan
opinion@kansan.com
Alcohol has disastrous effects on people's health, especially in the large quantities most college students are used to. You would be a rare college student if you could say that you never had to clean up after a drunk person or put another person in the place of cleaning up after you.
People under booze's influence are frequently dangers to themselves and others and cause untold amounts of property damage each year.
The part of the issue that troubles me most is one simple, often-overlooked
fact: College alcohol consumption is mostly illegal. Most students on this campus are between the ages of 18-21. It's not a shock that underage drinking goes on here. Fake ID's are confiscated every night of the week at local bars, and many more pass undetected by bouncers who don't know or don't care that they are fake.
Rule of law is the backbone of any democracy. When a majority of citizens express its will through a legitimate legislative process, we create a system of laws by which we are all expected to abide. Democracy involves the recognition that proper government comes from the expressed will of the majority with respect for the rights of the minority. Any law validly created with this process should be binding on all persons in the society.
It is hard to defend the idea that the minority is able to break a law whenever it feels like it, especially when no great value like justice is on the table. Yet that is exactly what is practiced when an
underage person takes a drink. In an age where the word "patriot" is starting to become a compliment again, legions of young people unthinkingly attack the very fabric of their country.
Cheryl Mills, a presidential lawyer, argued before Congress that rule of law applies to the weak and the strong, the rich and the poor, and the powerful and the powerless.
"You cannot only love it when it provides the verdict you seek; you must love it when the verdict goes against you as well," Mills said.
It is impossible to claim to love democracy while spitting on the process that causes it to work. No one who loves America and its democracy can violate the laws of our country without good reason.
And as far as Keggy goes, it's time to kick him and the college life he represents to the curb.
Dunavan is a Topeka senior in political science and philosophy.
perspective
Respect, etiquette a must in University classroom; remember, you're not in second grade anymore
COMMENTARY
As my afternoon class was midway through lecture in Budig Hall, the professor strode up and down the aisles to encourage participation throughout the room. Then she stopped, creating an eerie silence. Questioning a young man only feet from her, newspaper insert spread wide in front of him, she asked, "What's on sale at Best Buy today?" With a roll of his eyes, the ad was tossed to the ground and the young man proceeded to nap for the remainder of class.
Ashley Smith opinion@kansan.com
Respect in the classroom has become blatantly disregarded. From coming and going to class as we please to spending our class time talking to friends when we are there, it has escalated to a level that places us at or below that of elementary school children.
Curious to see just how offensive the lack of class etiquette has become to professors teaching large classes, I interviewed three on the topic.
David Holmes has been a psychology professor at the University for many years and is seasoned at teaching courses in Budig. He said that when classes reach a certain number, students tend to start treating them like theaters. The crowd setting allows them a sense of anonymity, which results in talking among peers coming
and going as they please. Because Holmes makes it clear he expects students to treat the class as they would a small one, he does not hesitate to call out misbehavior. Though his methodology may seem harsh, he claimed it easily nipped problems early in the semester and the rude behaviors were rarely repeated.
David Smith, associate professor of my sociology 104 class, and Charles Marsh, associate professor of my journalism 101 class, teach in Budig this semester. To my surprise, both instructors were positive about student behavior.
Smith described his sociology class as attentive and well-behaved. Although whispering among students occasionally becomes a problem, he cited students' serious preparation for
tests and papers as evidence that his classes were successful. In his 14 years with the University, he has never seen in-class behavior escalate to a "significant" problem.
Marsh was particularly optimistic on the issue and understood the student perspective. He too is faced with the usual disrespectful classroom acts such as students reading the paper and using cell phones. However, he uses them as motivation to get students more engaged in discussion and to make lecture material more applicable. He said classroom behavior was not a problem, considering the fact that students were asked to sit for long durations in close quarters with hundreds of their peers. Although he is an alumnus of the University and does not remember acts of disrespect during his classes as a student, he noted that there were few classrooms accommodating such immense numbers when he attended.
Back in Holmes' class, disruptions from individuals and groups making "run-through" appearances have become problematic. Because it houses the largest crowd on campus, Budig 120 in particular has become a target for these acts. Some go so far as to dress in costume and perform skits
around the lectern. While this violates the University's code of academic conduct, the administration has yet to take substantial action toward correcting the problem. Holmes calls this inappropriate and unacceptable in any university of quality.
While this behavior from collegeage students is unacceptable, the University administration hinders itself in reaching the chancellor's goal of becoming one of the top institutions in the nation by taking no action. Holmes points out that if they continue to hold standards that resemble those in the movie Animal House, the likelihood that the University will rise to the top becomes increasingly remote.
"At great universities, classrooms are places for learning, not playgrounds for immature individuals who do not belong there," he said.
So students, remember that we're not in second grade anymore. If nothing else, think of your classes as you do your favorite sporting event: Come early, stay late, voice your opinion, focus on the action. You're paying dearly for your seat.
Smith is called Culsa, Okla., sophomore in journalism.
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