4A the university daily kansan
opinion
tuesday, august 26, 2003
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Apparently, not everyone's answer is "no."
Smart thinking prevents hazings
If all of your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?
Last week, The University Daily Kansan reported a possible hazing incident in which a 19-year-old student landed on his head during a fraternity pledge ritual.
pledge ritual.
In a situation like this, lots of words come to mind, namely immature, dangerous (or even deadly?), ridiculously stupid, and what the hell were they thinking?
thinking?
It might be easy to point fingers at the fraternity, but this isn't strictly a greek thing. Groups ranging from athletic teams to scholarship halls have been known to "initiate" their new members. Most of it's harmless. Serenading with Whitney Houston songs, throwing a couple water balloons, and a 6 a.m. mile run here and there can all be good, safe fun.
However, binge drinking, streaking extreme sleep deprivation, throwing your friend on his head or other such practices are not healthy ways of saying "welcome" to new members. Besides being rude and unsafe, these practices are considered hazing and as such they are illegal.
The University of Kansas Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities defines hazing as any action that inflicts "excessive fatigue, mental or physical discomfort" or "extreme embarrassment or ridicule" on individuals whether they are "willing" or not. Under this definition, many forms of "initiation" are considered student misconduct and are not to be tolerated by the University.
Still, you shouldn't need an administrator to keep you from endangering the people around you.
Why should alcohol consumption or blind obedience ever be a factor in proving loyalty to a group? A new member's merit should be based on their character, not their willingness to do what they're told and go through rituals of dubious importance.
The classic excuse for hazing — "Well, I went through it when I was their age." just doesn't cut it. Tradition or not, some practices are simply more of a risk than they're worth.
Yes, surely, most of the time the stupid things are going to go off without a hitch, but sometimes they don't. Sometimes a student will end up hurt, unconscious, and in the hospital or worse. That's where the real danger is.
Hazing is a two-way street, and a little common sense can go a long way. Veteran group members need to be conscious of the potentially dangerous situations to which they subject new members. And likewise, new students on campus, think as you join new groups.
If the people around you are knowingly subjecting you to embarrassment and harm, is it really the right place for you?
The bottom line? Use your head, don't fall on it.
Anx D. Gregory and Steve Munch for the editorial board.
Studies abroad conjure up familiar feelings of race issues
perspective
Editor's note: Plummer is on a study abroad program in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Sometimes I feel like I've been studying abroad my whole life. Although I'm in Costa Rica for the fall, the feelings of being an outsider began before this semester.
I've listened to study abroad participant's struggles with being singled out in their classes as a representative of America. They are dealing with stereotypes and feeling out place. Their experiences aren't unique or confined to the life of world-traveler. They actually sound similar to my feelings of being a minority student at a predominately white university.
a predominately white person. For the first time, some of my American friends here must adjust to sticking out in a crowd because of skin color; they are getting used to looking like outsiders.
One American student told me that studying in Costa Rica made her think for the first time about what it would be like to be a minority in America.
be like to be a minority in the classroom. The classroom presents a clear example of the parallels. Sometimes I find it hard to not to take debates and discussions personally. In the classroom here, when a student gives his opinions on the United States, what seems to him to be an ideological debate can actually feel like it's directed at me, the resident American.
It's the same feeling I get when I sit in a class at the University of Kansas and race issues arise. While some
GUEST COMMENTARY
Alexzia Plummer
opinion@kansan.com
students may view it only as an intellectual exercise, the issues raised affect my daily life. We're not talking about "those people", or "their problems", we're talking about my reality.
lems. we're talking about them.
In both situations I may feel pressure to speak up, especially when people make generalizations that just aren't true. Inherent in both situations is the trap of being the representative, the voice of your race or country.
Oddly enough, being part of a large group can give you a greater sense of individuality. When you're part of the racial majority in America or a citizen of your host nation, you have the luxury of only representing yourself. When you're part of smaller group, you may lose that sense of only existing as an individual. Everything you do is an example of or an exception to your ethnicity or your nationality.
I've found that some study abroad students find it hard to accept this new group identity, "American." While
they may have had the choice to follow the great American ideal of individualism in the States. I've always been designated to a group status.
Some people have never had to deal with being foreign, or different. Studying abroad is the ultimate exercise in discomfort. Everyday, you are trying to fit in But this can be a learning experience.
Studying abroad presents an opportunity to be "the other" in a society. You adjust to learning everything from a different worldview. I didn't realize how much of what I learned was from the viewpoint of America as the center of the world until I learned history in a different country.
In the same way I didn't realize how biased and euro-centric my childhood history lessons were until I started learning other types of history.
ing other types of matter. This allows an opportunity to see yourself through different eyes. You get to see what other people think of your race or your nationality. You can also see the misconceptions held about your group more clearly.
While some students' experiences with "otherness" may end at the semester, mine will continue. But even through the discomfort, people gain a greater perspective on the world and themselves by feeling like "the other."
Plummer is a Bellevue, Neb., senior in journalism.
Multiple-party system good for a progressive democratic election
The Green Party is trying to attain official status in the state of Kansas and is moving closer toward its goal each day. If it succeeds, it will have surpassed a significant hurdle in the road to a more progressive, multiple-party system in the United States.
The United States runs on a primarily two-party system mostly controlled by Republicans and Democrats. But in recent years, smaller parties such as the Green Party have begun to impact the political system. Unfortunately, the Green Party and other "fringe" parties have not received an equal opportunity in the current political system.
current political system. The state of Kansas — and the majority of other states — does not recognize the Green Party as an official political party in elections. In the last presidential debate, Ralph Nader, 2000 presidential candidate for the Green Party of the United States, could not participate and make his views heard because of the state's deep-seated traditional and conservative stance.
COMMENTARY
Sara Zafar opinion@kansan.com
More people in Kansas than are immediately apparent hold values that mirror the ideals of the Green Party. But these people have no candidates to represent their views in the political arena. It usually happens that they end up voting for the Democratic candidate, or, if they are lucky, a progressive candidate who has faced the challenge of defying the traditional two-party system.
More recently, a wave of progressive minded citizens boycotted the polls
because they believed that not voting was better than voting for the lesser of two evils. If there is no Green candidate on the ballot, why should a voter support someone whose ideals are not representative of the voter's beliefs?
This is unacceptable. We all know that every vote counts, and the more people who vote, the more representative the elections will be. While a revision of the electoral system is necessary in light of the 2000 presidential election fiasco and the recent California gubernatorial recall, we still must do our part and vote for our leaders. The more candidates, the more likely discouraged voters will come forward and participate in our democratic society.
Even if you don't agree with the ideals of the Greens, a multiple-party system is a positive move for the future of politics in the United States. If you love this country as much as I do, you want to see it at its best, representing all citizens.
Zafar is a Garden City senior in sociology.
Free for All
Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com
Now I have been around for a long time and if there is one way to get the ladies, it's two words: Star Wars.
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My feet are as black as a hippie's soul.
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First of all, where is the sex column in Jayplay? The Jayplay is so lame without a sex column. Seriously guys, you need to get that back. Second of all, what is with all "ads" for the Rock Chalk Meal Plan card disguised as Free For All calls. You know the people working for them are probably calling in and pretending to be students.
I just realized the bottom of your feet aren't called soles. Oops, my joke doesn't work now.
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I have this sneaking suspicion that all those folks carrying around papers are just reading it for the Free For All.
The hills are alive with the feet of KU students. Trampling along to the beat of a drum.
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To all of the freshmen from small towns in Kansas: Jean shorts aren't cool.
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Hey, let's stop giving the Rock Chalk Meal Plan free advertising by printing their stupid comments in the Free For All. Wouldn't that be cool?
I don't know about you guys, but I can't get enough of this "I Love the 70s" marathon on VH1. I don't know if anyone is as addicted as I am, but this thing is a lot of fun to watch.
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So put that in your pipe and smoke it.
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You know what is gross? Huge nipples
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Is it bad that sometimes I feel like the Aflac Duck?
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Black lights and men's underwear should not be mixed together.
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I don't know about you guys, but the party at the church on Friday night was awesome.
It's midnight on Friday night and sorority girls can't go out. So, me and two friends went to McDonalds to get another bucket of nuggets.
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My girlfriend's roommate just looked down some dude's pants. Is that wrong?
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Darcy has lost her voice for some reason. She doesn't know why and it is really freaky. Maybe because of a frisbee game she played.
Here I am mowing lawn. My dad says I should pay my way through college. He says that it will teach me responsibility and build character. Dad, I am 19 and have plenty of time to build character and I don't need to be responsible at 19. My mom says that it is good exercise. Ma, I go to the gym four times a week. What do I need with more exercise? Man, life is cruel.
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Trying to do classes online and trying to get online really blows when you're on campus because half of the time it doesn't work.
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I was doing the crossword today and the answers were on the same page as the crossword. What's up with that?
Pillows rock my world.
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This is information I am not suppose to say, but there is a gentleman in Elisworth Hall who has a pet that is not a fish. It is actually a huge turtle. Yes, you heard it felks, a turtle.
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