4A the university daily kansan
opinion
thursday, october 9, 2003
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editorial board
Mangino food shows gargantuan school spirit
Quinton's has done it. The bar and deli shop has single-handedly established Lawrence as an up-and-coming football town. We now have a sandwich named after our coach: The Mangino. No surprise to KU fans, the sandwich is described as "meaty."
In all seriousness, the new Quinton's delicacy is very exciting. For the first time in recent memory, fans are really excited about KU football. Anyone who went to the Mizzou thrashing will agree that it was something we Jawahraws haven't experienced on the gridiron for quite some time. The rest of our season might not be as good as the first half, but I think most people would agree that we're not going to be one of the whipping boys of the Big 12 Conference for very much longer.
It's great to see area businesses such as Quinton's begin to proudly associate themselves with the football team once again. It is also great to think that Lawrence might start treating football weekends like Manhattan, Norman, Okla, or Lincoln, Neb., does: the tailgating, the tossing around of the football and the partying that starts on Friday night and ends late Sunday morning.
While we're on the subject, the editorial board would like to suggest an idea for another famous Jayhawk-themed sandwich: the Hemenway, named after Chancellor Robert Hemenway. The delicious sandwich would be two thin slices of plain wheat bread, lean turkey, lettuce, skim milk Swiss cheese and the faintest hint of low-fat mayo. It would debut at the same reasonable price as the rest of Quinton's menu, but here's the kicker: every year the Hemenway would increase its cost by 20 percent and lose one ingredient.
Matt Pirotte for the editorial board
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I just failed another geography test.
Pixie sticks all around.
These Gilmore girls talk way too fast.
Today I am glad that I don't live in California.
I am from California, and I am so excited that Arnold is going to be our new governor. He is the governor a legislative machine.
stinson
Zach Stinson/Kansan
Affirmative action mismatches students
perspective
The University of Michigan's admissions practices were ruled unconstitutional last spring when it came to light that admissions officials had been celebrating diversity by diversifying the standard for minority admission.
No one was surprised that racial preferences were used in college admissions. What was surprising was that being African American, Hispanic or Native American was worth more admissions points than having a perfect SAT score, strong admissions essay and an alumni parent combined. Affirmative action in this instance was not about finding qualified minorities, but rather about finding minorities and qualifying them.
COMMENTARY
The original intent of affirmative action was good. There was a time in this country when capable minority students were denied admission to colleges and professional schools solely because of their race. Affirmative action was enacted as a temporary method for combating racist admissions practices. But the magnitude of discrimination that existed 40 years ago when affirmative action was instigated no longer exists. I would challenge anyone who believes otherwise to provide current examples of racist admissions officials.
While a solid case can be made for
Arrah Nielsen opinion@kansan.com
assembling a student body from a wide variety of backgrounds, such a policy must not compromise the academic quality of its students. To do so is a disservice to everyone.
"The issue is not whether minority students are 'qualified' to be in college, law schools, etc., but whether they are systematically mismatched with the particular institutions they are attending," Sowell said.
Granted, many minority students are coming from inner-city schools, which places them at a conspicuous disadvantage. It is quite possible that such a student may possess more potential than his test scores suggest. This is why admissions officials routinely consider student's economic and family backgrounds. However, the dismal minority graduation rates at Berkeley suggest that students were admitted who neither possessed the academic skill necessary to succeed nor the potential and motivation to develop it.
It is unfair to turn away a more capable student because he happens to be of the wrong skin color. But what is often overlooked is that it is deeply unfair to students who are admitted because of racial preferences rather than merit, because such a student may not have the skills to compete at that level.
Thomas Sowell, an African-American economist at the Hoover Institute, points out that two-thirds of minority students admitted to UC-Berkeley under affirmative action failed to graduate. He argues that many of these same students would have thrived in less competitive institutions.
Affirmative action aggravates racial tensions and de-qualifies qualified minorities. At the University of Michigan, white applicants typically need scores in the nineteenth percentile on the Law School Admissions Test to be admitted, while black students with scores vastly lower are routinely admitted.
The double standard in admissions is not unique to Michigan and is no secret to white students. It has the unintended
effect of calling into question the competency of every minority student at Michigan Law regardless of whether they were admitted unfairly.
The gains that blacks and other minorities have made are the result of changes in social attitudes and anti-discrimination laws, not affirmative action. The issue is not whether it is possible to find isolated instances of racism, but whether the system without affirmative action on the whole works and works well, and the answer to that is yes.
Anti-discrimination laws should be rigorously enforced and discrimination should be dealt with swiftly when it occurs. But affirmative action is no longer necessary and creates more problems than it solves.
As Robert H. Bork, former solicitor general of the United States, argues, "History must at some point be accepted for what it is - history." We can't change how people were discriminated against in the past; we can only strive to treat them fairly in the present. The best way to ensure fairness in college admissions is to eliminate race as a consideration and apply a uniform standard of merit.
Nielsen is an Andover senior in anthropology.
perspective
There are a lot of things we cannot control around here: campus masturbators, rising tuition and the mysterious soup of the day Wescoe Terrace serves. But there is something we can change that would make every person's day a little bit more, well, gentle. I'm talking about toilet paper. T.P. We all use it, and there is something we can do to make sure we get the good stuff. And all you have to do is contribute a few cents.
Bring back delightfully soft, two-ply toilet paper
Louise Stauffer opinion@kansan.com
COMMENTARY
Remember when we had the two-ply toilet paper? We got to experience what gold-standard tissue felt like for a while. Because of a University of Kansas supplier's distribution problem, extra cases of two-ply toilet paper were given to the University as a refund. Students cared about this new softness. An article on Sept. 10 in The University Daily Kansan, "Improved toiletries delight students," quoted a student happy with the change.
"It's nice to know the toilet paper isn't rough anymore, that they actually care," Andrew Wolff, St. Louis senior, said.
Awwwww, he was rooted.
But not everyone got to experience
Awwwww, he was fooled.
this bliss. Only buildings that could accommodate the larger, more luxurious rolls, such as Stauffer-Flint Hall and Watson Library, were treated. A friend described those few days as "a tease." I agree: It was like taking a bite out of a Chipotle burrito and then being handed Taco Bell's version. Once you have had the good stuff, you do not want to go back. This issue of bad tissue is irritating, in more ways than one.
Cost is stopping the University from buying higher-quality tissue.
Facilities Operations normally installs single-ply toilet paper that costs 52.5 cents per roll, with 1500 sheets per roll, said Steve Green, associate director for Facilities Operations. Two-ply paper, or a softer, quilted one-ply grade, would cost 78 cents for 1,500 sheets per roll, Green said.
I have an idea how to get the two-ply back. Listen up, Student Senate; Here is something I am willing to bet — we will not mind raising our student fees for toilet paper. It would mean each student would have to pay a few more pennies, but it would be worth it.
So, better toilet paper comes at an average of 25.5 cents more per roll.
In an informal poll of people standing around on campus, I asked students if they noticed or cared about the quality of our toilet paper. If so, did they want the two-ply back?
I got a variety of answers. Most girls cared, not surprisingly, because most girls use more toilet paper than guys. A few guys were concerned. Some people said they tried not to use the bathrooms on campus at all. This may be related to one-ply toilet paper or for other reasons, but I did not ask.
But is it likely that Student Senate would try to raise our student fees for better toilet paper? Andy Knopp, Student Senate president, wrote in an email interview that while he wouldn't mind putting a fee like that to a student referendum and allowing the students to decide, he had some hesitations. Knopp would prefer the University pony up the money to provide better toilet paper. If student fees started spending the nickels and dimes wherever the University comes up short, the dollars would start to add up quickly, he wrote.
Maybe Knopp has a point. Maybe we students should not have to contribute even a matter of pennies, but realistically, look at the University's budget. I have a feeling toilet paper is not on the top list of priorities. Nope, this is something students will have to pay for.
Remember, we should not take even nasty toilet paper for granted. I received an e-mail from a friend who is serving in the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan. He and his Peace Corps buddies were wishing they had toilet paper, and any kind would do.
Stauffer is a Holland, Mich., senior in English and journalism. She is editor of the opinion page.
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