4A the university daily kansan
opinion
thursday, november 13, 2003
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Attention all white guys on campus:
Baseball hats go straight forward or
straight back no tilted to the side like
some thugs from the hood. This is
Kansas, wear your hat the right way.
harper's view
--harper's view
Can somebody explain to me why Britt- ney Spears has a KU-t-shirt on on the VH- 1TV show about her?
Why do they call it E's Express when it takes over twenty minutes to get your food?
harper's view
harper's view
Another reason to show why the Kansan does not like Jewish holidays is that they only like Muslim holidays.
Has anyone proof-read the ad for Chili's? If so, that person needs to learn some basic grammar skills.
harper's view
harper's view
First of all, how can anything on The Simpsons surprise you? Second of all, the scene where Homer kisses a guy is from last season.
How many people does it take to cause a traffic jam on 435? Well I will tell you. An eighteen wheeler that goes way to slow, a UPS truck that can't move up hill and a Johnson County soccer mom in an oversized SUV.
图
Hey Parking Department: Eat me.
I really don't like my roommate but I think his girlfriend is hot.
This whole Jessica Lynch thing, I don't buy it. I think that it is just another way for Bush to fool the country.
harper's view
The next guy on a mountain bike that is riding on the sidewalk that barrels past me is going to get clothes lined. There is a street for a reason. Use it.
Bush wants to ban abortions. If he knocked up an intern he wouldn't want that ban, he would want that baby gone in a heart beat.
I think I finally smoked my brain into another dimension permanently.
John Mayer, Front row baby. He loves us.
It looks like somebody forgot to pay the cable bill.
I want my pokey sticks, now.
clarification
In yesterday's column "Plague researcher's trial teaches chilling lesson," by Rachel Robson, Donald A. Henderson should have been identified as also the chief adviser to the Bush administration on public health preparedness.
Wyatt Harper for The University Daily Kansan
Diversity requires interaction
perspective
If you never explore your surroundings, you will never know your neighbors. This is unfortunate because if you live in the U.S., you live in a multicultured society.
You should get to know your surroundings. Only through sharing diverse ideas and features can we truly "get together" as a people.
COMMENTARY
Since Columbus' little boat reached the West Indies, Americans have created a diverse, multicultural national character. The great number of immigrants and their cultures integrated and produced a big mainstream. The mainstream of American culture nowadays is so big and stable that it's difficult to trace its background.
Sometimes, America doesn't look as diverse as it is. Especially in Kansas, with its enormous white majority, diversity can be hard to find.
Recently, new developments have budded out in public. Superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected California's governor. Given that the new governor is a first-generation immigrant, this is a big turning point in American society.
But 2000's U.S. Census Bureau paints a different portrait of American diversity. According to the Burea's Web site, the ethnic occupancy of the U.S. population is 87.5 percent white, 12.5 percent Hispanic, 12.3 percent black, 3.6 percent Asian and 0.7 percent
Kengo Terada opinion@kansan.com
Jessica Arthur, Tulsa sophomore in fine arts, said, "My foreign friends influence my daily life by reminding me that America is not all that it's made out to be and that different parts of the world have a lot to offer."
We still need time to make the American mainstream more integrated, but it will only be renewed through the exchange of ideas. To do this, one should always strive to know the unknown.
All of their answers imply that American values are still developing and will never become completed forms. Also, all of them mentioned money or wealth as the defining American value, even though their answers reflected a preoccupation with diversity.
Jones said, "I think that when whites are no longer the majority in the U.S., values may change. That may be because of changing times, not necessarily the population change."
Native American. If these numbers were fixed in every city in the country, American diversity would be nonexistent.
The key is interaction. For example, in the 2003 World Series, whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians were all playing on the same field.
Thinking about the situation in Lawrence, the ratio definitely affects daily life. It is really hard to perceive diversity in Lawrence when you've been to a melting pot such as New York City. Once you leave campus, Lawrence seems even less diverse.
Terada is a Kashiwaa, Japan, sophomore in pre-journalism.
I interviewed some white Lawrence students to see what American values mean to them and what people in the mainstream think about minorities. Tyler Jones, Topeka senior in anthropology, said, "I feel I can learn a lot from different perspectives. They do influence my daily life because ideas or thoughts they have given me are now incorporated into my life."
So how can we make the American mainstream more integrated? Is it impossible to place a value on America's diversity until the population balance is drastically changed?
"Foreign friends make me want to work harder to take advantage of the opportunities I am offered," said Carly Pearson, Topeka sophomore in pre-journalism.
editorial board
What is not excusable is the general level of apathy regarding campus politics. People seem to think that Student Senate has no impact upon their lives. Students dismiss Senate as a way for debaters and future politicians to practice doing what they love to do. However, Student Senate was instrumental in establishing fall break, deciding how long a student has to drop a class without a "withdrawal" on his or her transcript and allocating $15,000 to bring Michael Moore for Into the Streets Week. In the past, Student Senate's Student Legislative Awareness Board has even lobbied the state legislature to aid in keeping our tuition down.
Getting involved only way to change
Many student organizations, from Campus Crusade for Christ to Queers & Allies, receive funding from senate with student fees. Every student is affected by the decisions Student Senate makes, yet a small percent student body voted in last spring's senate elections.
This fall, freshmen are allowed representation in the form of five class senators. This marks the first time senate has allowed freshman senators who are not replacement senators. Approximately two percent of this year's freshman class voted in the election that placed five new senators in Senate. Preliminary reports showed a turnout of 12 percent, but accurate math has reduced the number. The initial figure was based on last year's freshman enrollment numbers.
Kyle Johnson, student senate executive committee chairman, said he was pleased with the turnout, but the editorial board believed the turnout was less than impressive. However, because this was the inaugural election, the number was excused.
No one has a right to complain about something he or she could have changed through action. Getting involved with senate is easier than you think. Next spring, the University will have another campus-wide election. Learn from past mistakes and make sure your voice is heard.
Student Senate has a lot of power. Senators and members of the standing committees have a say in what happens with much of your student fees and can even have an impact on your academic career.
Anyone who takes issue with Michael Moore, fall break, the add/drop policy or the lack of funds for a particular organization should have been involved in the original decision in one form or another. The editorial board urges every student to vote in Senate elections and to attend a standing committee, all of which are open to every student. Information about standing committees and other senate programs are available in the senate office in the Center for Campus Life, which is located in the Kansas Union.
The recent freshman elections are a stark reminder that a handful of people are deciding who will be making major choices about our lives as students. Student Senate has offered to meet freshmen halfway and an overwhelming voter turnout would have been in the student body's best interest.
Patrick Ross for the editorial board
perspective
Promote understanding of all kinds of religions by attending ceremonies,exploring diverse faith
Diversity on campus has always been an issue at the University of Kansas, as organizations continually attempt to increase minority enrollment and retention each year. While the numbers are not always quite as high as administrators and students would like, diversity definitely exists here, and tolerance for others is of the utmost importance.
Students, faculty and staff fall under several different categories of diversity, the most obvious ethnic and racial, the least obvious socio-economic, sexual orientation and other overlooked categories.
Another category that is not always obvious on the surface is religious preference. People at the University represent a large number of religions, not all of them as well known as the major eastern and western traditions.
COMMENTARY
Sara Zafar opinion@kansan.com
This time of year, several of the major religions (that is, the ones with the most population represented) celebrate religious festivals and events. These coinciding traditions highlight the need for religious education, and through that education, religious tolerance. While
many people are mostly tolerant of religions different from their own, there is a serious problem in cross-religious understanding. Only through inter-faith education can people overcome this hurdle on the path to true religious tolerance.
This month and the next mark important holidays in several religions, including Ramadan, Hanukkah, Christmas, Diwali, and the African-American tradition of Kwanzaa, which, while not necessarily religious, is important culturally. Because this holiday season is significant to several cultures and traditions, it is important to respect every tradition and allow people celebrating each to do so
with comfort and ease.
All too often, people tend to generalize faith based on its most extreme members, especially if they have not been properly educated on the true nature of these religions.
This tendency to stereotype is true of members of all faiths. Most members of any given religion are likely to practice their faith moderately, not with orthodox or extremist views. Not every Christian is as extreme as televangelists, or our own Fred Phelps, the Topeka-based right-wing evangelist. But it is easy for people of other faiths, especially in other countries to generalize an entire faith based on who is the loudest and most visible or controversial.
The same holds true for fundamental Muslims and Orthodox Jews, most apparent in Israel and Palestine. It is unfair to base one's impression of an entire religion on the actions of a few extremists.
The best way to get beyond such stereotypes is to make the effort and talk to members of other faiths. Getting to know the people around us also helps break down barriers. It is not difficult to talk to
Several campus events this month have provided students and community members with an opportunity to witness religious ceremonies that they may not be familiar with or understand the meaning of. A Ramadan Iftar dinner, a traditional Jewish Shabbat dinner and an Indian Diwali celebration this past week alone have welcomed the entire KU community to partake in the celebrations.
people, as each classroom is filled with members of diverse faiths and each individual has a different view on his or her own faith. If making the leap to discussing diversity with a relative stranger is too intimidating, there are other means of discussion available.
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Such events are important in breaking down the barriers between faiths, and allowing people to see the similarities rather than focusing on the differences.
Take advantage of diversity and realize an important part of our education here. Only by embracing and understanding the differences between us can we unite.
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Safar is a Wichita junior in history
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