4A the university daily kansan
opinion
tuesday, October 21, 2003
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letters to the editor
Hypocrite Michael Moore should donate expenses
I can't understand how millionaire author and movie-maker Michael Moore, who claims to be such a champion of social justice and such a foe of the corporate establishment, would demand $38,000 for a two-hour speaking engagement for students. Perhaps the KU Student Senate ought to include a provision in the contract it draws up with Mr. Moore that he donates everything beyond his travel and lodging expenses to the Lawrence branch of the Salvation Army. This action would speak louder than any of his shrill words.
Ray Finch
Ray Finch Assistant Director Center for Russian and East European Studies
Community-service contest could support discrimination
I am cheered that KU is engaging in a community-service contest with MU that is more productive rivalry than toppling goalposts. However, I am concerned that the beneficiary of these efforts will be the local United Ways.
One group supported by the United Way is the Boy Scouts of America, which bans the participation of atheist, agnostic and GBLT persons. In addition, the BSA has ended its recognition at least one religious denomination's badge (Unitarian Universalist) because that denomination protested against these policies while continuing to officially support badges offered by other religious denominations.
I do not wish my money, nor energy, to directly nor indirectly support discrimination on the basis of religious belief or sexual orientation. According to the national United Way Web site, it is up to local United Ways to decide how they will respond to the BSA's policies. A few United Ways — none in Kansas nor Missouri are listed — have adopted anti-discrimination policies which affect their relationship with the BSA, but most have not.
While I do not wish to undermine the good intentions of the KU-MU contest, nor harm funding of the other United Way beneficiaries which do not have these discriminatory policies (such as the Girl Scouts, which allows scouts to substitute other words for "God" in the Girl Scout Promise), I am concerned that KU and MU are indirectly supporting religious and sexual-orientation discrimination.
Julia Fitzer
Julia Fitzer
Cetonsville, Md., graduate student
cognitive psychology
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perspective
This is to Johnny, Ditch the troll. She is
sucking your will to live.
It is not whether you win or lose. Oh wait, yeah it is.
Can we stop it with the trucker hats?
Come on. The other day I saw a sorority girl wearing one. They are just not cool anymore.
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This kid on my floor has really bad foot fungus and he really needs to start wearing shoes in the shower.
perspective
I am in Colombia, Missouri, for a conference and I just saw a kid wearing jean shorts. So it is true that Missouri fans wear jean shorts.
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I would just like to let the guy know who dresses like a girl and hangs around Corbin that he is really not fooling anybody.
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I am a KU alumna and I am calling from Chicago and I was just wondering what is the plural of oasis? Is it oasi?
MTV offers deceptive view of sorority life
COMMENTARY
Look for the word sorority on any major Internet search engine. The first thing that it finds? Porn. But shortly following porn is a link to the MTV site for Sorority Life. The show, in its third season on the cable channel, portrays an absurdly misconstrued version of what greck life is truly like.
Click a little further through the link and you will find a paraphrased summary of every detail, from every episode to pictures and video clips. It sadly resembles Soap Opera Digest.
Ashley Smith opinion@kansan.com
Well-exemplified by the Internet search, greek life is seen by those unaffiliated with it in a very narrow light. A common assumption is that sorority women run around having naked pillow fights when they're not completely wasted. Fraternity men nearly kill one another hazing on a daily basis when they're not completely wasted. Right?
Wrong. What most viewers are unaware of when watching this program for "insight" into what greek life is truly like is that these chapters differ substantially from the chapters that exist at the University of Kansas and at most schools in the nation. Have you ever noticed that, of all
Technically, any group of people can throw together some Greek letters and deem themselves a sorority or fraternity. A great example is the movie Old School. MTV targets these random groups of people to use for its programs because the organizations have no binding national organization, nor any affiliated chapters on other campuses. Should anything be aired that is inappropriate or offensive, there are no active members to embarrass
and no alumnae to offend. This way the popular channel can make the program as controversial as possible, just the way it seems to like.
the sororites and fraternities that could have been chosen to be a part of Sorority Life and Fraternity Life, the program shows ones you have never heard of or chapters we do not have on this campus?
The chapters at the University of Kansas are quite different. All sororites on campus belong to one of two national organizations, Panhellenic Conference or National Pan-Hellenic Council. These societies bind the chapters together in order to maintain only the highest standards and ideals. Also, all clapters on this campus have branches at other colleges and universities across the nation. Each chapter has a national headquarters and overall administration that advocate each branch to constantly improve in every aspect.
In the most recent episode of Sorority Life, the women of Zeta Sigma Phi chose to de-pledge Meena, a highly involved premedical student. From the episode summary, the sisters voted her out simply because she was not devoting adequate time to the house. While her own pledge sisters begged to let her stay, older members quickly ousted her for her apparent lack of sincere devotion.
The impression this leaves on viewers is
that sorority girls are bitches. They are obsessed with their own organizations and if anyone devotes anything less than their soul to it, they are not satisfied.
The real deal? From personal experience in my own chapter, I am encouraged to make my own choice about what I want my experience in my sorority to be. It can literally be your life, but only if you choose to make it that.
This is the very reason this show simply disgusts me. Simply for the sake of ratings, MTV is destroying a potentially incredible experience for young men and women who are watching to see what greek life is really about. No offense to the independent chapters that have participated with the MTV programs, but they are not real sororities and fraternities. They should simply stop embarrassing themselves. They are making the high-character members of well-established organizations look ridiculous. But I guess I understand the incentive — they do get Land Rovers.
Smith is a Tulsa, Okla. sophomore in journalism.
perspective
Keep image problem from becoming generational
"Celebrate Every Body" day was recently established to focus on greater body acceptance in our culture. When a study by the National Eating Disorders Screening Program found that 81 percent of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat, it was a wake-up call for American adults to begin accepting and celebrating our bodies.
GUEST COMMENTARY
The concept for "Celebrate Every Body" day comes from the fact that it is virtually impossible to turn on the television, read a magazine or listen to music without being bombarded with messages of how both men and women should strive to look, act or be. These idealized images of men and women appearing in a certain manner one that is advertised as being attractive and pleasing—suggests this is the way we are all supposed to be. In most forms, the media is saturated with images of unattainable and unrealistic expectations and standards that are difficult to live up to, for either men or women. These images are ones of thinness, power, wealth and beauty, to name only a few.
Amanda Lehnen
opinion@kansan.com
With these expectations comes a cost. According to the National Eating Disorder
Association, 80 percent of American women are dissatisfied with their appearance. It is not just women, however, who feel the brunt of it all. The National Eating Disorders Association also says that approximately 1 million boys and men in the United States are struggling with eating disorders of some form. This statistic serves as a reminder that feeling less than satisfied with your body or appearance is now common in Western culture. Many people feel awkward or uncomfortable with their bodies.
However, it is important to recognize and embrace the natural shape of your body. Only a small percentage of the population is actually comparable to advertised images. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, while the average woman in America is 5 feet 4 inches and weighs 140 pounds, the average American model is 5 feet 11 inches and weighs 117 pounds. It is important to accept, respect and admire all body shapes and to work to incorporate positive and affirmative thoughts that celebrate your body.
Instead of focusing on the unrealistic standards that we often hold ourselves up to, it is also important to focus on the positive aspects that are associated with our bodies. Focusing, for example, on the individuality and uniqueness in every person can be an enlightening experience. It can offer a new understanding of who we are and what we have to offer. It is important to respect others for their inner qualities and accomplishments rather than for their appearance. In addition, it is vital that individuals recognize their own accomplishments and resist the pressure to judge themselves based on weight, shape or size. These are big challenges, but critical to our self- esteem and happiness. We are rote
models for all those 10-year-olds who are afraid of being fat. Let's teach them through our example to love themselves as they are.
Additionally, the staff at Counseling and Psychological Services is fully trained and prepared to provide services to students who feel like they may be struggling with issues of body image and acceptance, food and/or eating or a possible eating disorder.
Healthy Options for Movement, Exercise, Body Acceptance and Savvy Eating, or HOMEBASE, provides education to students about body acceptance, healthy eating and physical fitness.
For more information about any of the services that HOMEBASE has to offer, please contact Ann Chapman, MS. RD. at 864-9575. For further information about CAPS please call 864-2277 or check the Web site at www.caps.ku.edu where you will find a complete listing of the range of services offered.
Lehnen is a Kansas City, Kan. graduate student in social welfare. She is a HOMEBASE committee member and an intern at CAPS.
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