4A the university daily kansan
opinion
monday, September 29, 2003
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Michelle Burhenn
editor
864-4854 or mburhenn@kansan.com
Lindsay Hanson and Leah Shaffer managing editors 864-4854 or lhanson@kansan.com and leshaffer@kansan.com
Louise Stauffer and Stephan Shupe
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Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansas editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slenderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com
Can anyone tell me where Dr. Naismith's grave is? I would like to graduate.
perspective
Who do I have to screw to get a couple more busses to go to McCollum? There are 900 people in that building. How hard is it? I will do it. Just let me know.
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Damn, it feels good to be a gangster
To all of the drivers on campus: If you get into an altercation with a 150-pound hunk of flesh and bone you will lose the lawsuit.
perspective
Hey Arrah Neilsen: I was just wondering what it is like to be the most hated person on campus?
The shark will strike again.
perspective
There are 650 girls in GSP/Corbin and only three parking spots to park in. Does anyone else see a problem with this?
扁
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What rhymes with Cornelius?
I am the bearded nose picker who picks his nose and wipes them off on the desks in Wescoe.
Would anyone else enjoy eating their food on Wescoe Terrace without smoke burning in their face every 10 seconds? I vote for a smoke-free campus.
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To the guy who was in front of Ellsworth today in his towel during the fire drill:
You made my day.
富
By the way kids, I work at Gumby's Pizza and I would just like to let everyone know that I don't need to know if you guys have a coupon because I know all of them because that is my job. Also, we can't place your order unless you have a local telephone number for you dorm room. Thanks.
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KUJH has got to be the worst TV station in history. The only thing halfway decent is that film show. Whoever runs that station should get fired.
Why does every girn that I meet at a club have to have a bunch of haters for friends?
perspective
Our roommate listens to Janet Jackson and sings along at ungodly hours in the morning. Should I punch him in the face or prod him to come out of the closet?
I just picked my nose and some guy caught me. He looked at me like he has never done it before. Who are you kidding?
Locally grown food best way to eat
In America, we have a bizarre and twisted relationship with our food. We enjoy it, we spend thousands of dollars a year on it, but rarely do we ever stop to think about where our food comes from. For example, have you ever wondered who grew the lettuce in your salad or who raised the cattle for the beef in your hamburger? We are extraordinarily disconnected from the food we eat. A growing national movement supports local food. In fact, local food advocates want you to answer, "Yeah, that person over there grew this lettuce."
COMMENTARY
The initial idea seems unusual because we've grown up in the era of fast food so that we don't have a connection to the food that we eat. When we make a sandwich, it's strange to think that someone processed this flour for this bread, someone made this cheese, and someone planted and picked this tomato.
Eating locally grown vegetables, breads and meats comes with significant benefits. First, with locally grown foods, it is easier to connect with the food that you eat. When you know that someone in your town grew the food that you are eating, it is easier to respect the work that went into producing your meal. Fast food companies have developed our eating habits in America. Companies want us to eat as much as possible so more money can be made. If you know the work that went into food, it is easier to modify your eating habits. Eating more locally grown foods can revolutionize the very way that we all
Travis Weller
opinion@konsan.com
think about food.
Second, when you buy locally grown foods,you are probably supporting more traditional farming practices rather than large, multinational corporations. Supporting local farmers puts money back into the local economy instead of into the hands of someone in California or another country.
Also, locally grown foods are more environmentally sustainable. Local farmers usually use fewer pesticides. We've been learning about all of the negative health effects of pesticides since Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, launched the modern environmental movement. If fewer pesticides are used, less pesticide runs off to contaminate ground water and damage surrounding wildlife. Another environmental benefit to eating locally is less gasoline is used. When your corn is grown just down the road, it takes much less fuel to get it into your hands than if it was driven in from other states or countries.
They come from farms that are closer so your food spends less time in transit. This means your food is fresher. Celery grown on the East Coast, drenched in preservatives and driven for weeks across the country, is not going to taste as good as some picked a day or two ago by your friendly local farmer up the road.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, locally grown foods taste better.
Zach Stinson for The University Daily Kansan
With benefits like these, local food advocates have had major victories. A few years ago, the University of Wisconsin integrated local food producers into their dorm menus. Even students on tight budgets can know where their food comes from. The University of Kansas should identify local food producers and see whether they can provide some of the food that we eat on campus. It would be great to sit in Mrs. E's and know that the food that I am eating was grown a few miles away, is healthier for me and is more environmentally sustainable. For those of us who live off-campus, we can visit the local community mercantile, The Merc, and find locally grown products. We should request that other grocery stores in town begin carrying more locally grown foods.
locally grown foods. It is not hard to eat local. It just takes a little research and maybe a change in where you buy your food. The major benefits we would get from eating more locally grown products are far more substantial than any minor inconvenience we might experience when getting adjusted to a new grocery store.
Weller is a Garden City senior in sociology
letter from the editors
Photo caption conveyed unintentional stereotype
In Wednesday's University Daily Kansan, a photograph and photo caption conveyed a stereotype that the staff of the Kansan did not wish to convey.
vey.
The photograph featured an African-American student playing a card game—Spades — at a Black Student Union event. Kansan editors chose the photograph because of the emotion portrayed by the face of the student. The caption, "Getting stirred up over spades," was written based on the student's perceived emotions over a game of cards.
When these two elements were combined in the lower right portion of the front page, it painted for some a stereotypical picture of an angry African-American male. The caption further added to this misrepresentation by using a racial slur — "spade."
The term was not used with a malicious intent. An informal discussion showed that less than a fourth of our editing staff recognized it as a racial slur, and those people were not working at the time of the publication.
It is a positive step that some racial slurs are fading among people within
The Kansan apologizes for the way in which the event was represented in the newspaper. Editors made phone calls and met to discuss why this happened and what can be done to keep it from happening again. The same issues came up repeatedly: a lack of cultural awareness, a non-diverse staff and high turnover rates from semester to semester. All these issues come up each semester.
our generation. But we understand that as journalists, it is our job to understand and know culturally sensitive terms that will offend members of our audience, the University community and beyond.
come up each session. We are committed as a staff to looking more closely at these problems. Representatives from the Kansan will attend today's Black Student Union meeting at 7:30 p.m.at the third-floor lobby of Ellsworth Hall. We want to discuss these issues with the members of the student body who are affected the most.
Michelle Burhenn editor
Lindsay Hanson managing editor
Leah Shaffer managing editor
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
submitting letters and guest columns
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Louise Stauffer or Stephen Shupe at 864-4924 or e-mail at opinion@kansan.com.
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
Maximum Length:
650 word limit
Include:
Author's name
Class, hometown (student)
Position (faculty member)
Also:
The Kansan will not print guest columns that
attack another columnist.
LETTER GUIDELINES
Maximum Length:
200 word limit
Include:
Author's name
Author's telephone number
Class, hometown (student)
Position (faculty member)
SUBMITTO
E-mail:
opinionor@kansan.com
Hard copy:
Kansannewsroom
111 Stauffer-Flint
editorial board
University needs higher admission standards
Editor's note: This is the first installment of an occasional series of editorials examining what needs to be done to make the University of Kansas a leading university.
A
The University of Kansas has recently raised its admissions standards. Whereas a degree from an accredited Kansas high school used to guarantee Jayhawk status, now applicants must meet some guidelines before entry. However, these new "tougher" admissions standards are not doing much to help our goal of becoming a top-25 public university. We must continue to raise our admissions standards.
According to the official Web site of KU Admissions and Scholarships, www.admissions.ku.edu, in-state applicants must have a 21 on the ACT, a 2.0 grade point average or rank in the top third of their class to be admitted. An out-of-state applicant's numbers must be somewhat higher. This minimum ACT score corresponds to the 57th percentile of test takers.
Chancellor Robert Hemenway has said the University's "relatively modest" admission standards put it at a disadvantage in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.
The Board of Regents has cause to wonder if the goal of top 25 and the goal of the legacy of Kansas populism are not mutually exclusive. In short, we think raised admission standards are a necessity to reach our goal in the rankings.
The reality is, in terms of average ACT scores, we're not even leading the Big 12 Conference. According to www.princetonreview.com, we sit at an average of 24, along with such illustrious company as Iowa State and Kansas State. Those schools leading us by one-to-two points include Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Missouri. We should at least be academic leaders in our conference if we are to crack the top 25.
The plan of action is simple: the administration should continue to ratchet up admissions standards as often as they can until we reach a truly competitive level. The Regents don't have to abandon "Kansas populism." That's what that purple place to the west is for. This University, on the other hand, should be the natural next step for the best of Kansas high school students and other stellar applicants in the Midwest. Let's get back to the days when this University was called the "Harvard on the Kaw."
Matthew Pirotte for the editorial board
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