Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Spencer Duncan, Editor
Lindsey Henry, Managing editor
Andrea Albright, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser
4A
Sarah Scherwinski, Business manager Brian Pagel, Retail sales manager Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
Wednesday, October 22, 1997
O'Conner / DAILY KENT STATER
Feedback
Facility operations caption inappropriate
Tacky is what your front page picture was. Next time try to report the facts about your pictures.
n Seal weight approximately 300 pounds.
n it takes three employees: Two to lift it into place and one to sight the proper line-up.
n How many reporters does it take,
there where three reporters there.
Things like this would make anyone else leery of letting a "Kansan" reporter take their picture or in even talk to them. No employee of the University deserves this treatment.
Glennett A. Corel office assistant facilities operations personnel/payroll
n There are too many employees working on this project.
I feel that the photo caption on the front page of the Oct. 21 "Kansan" was very inappropriate. It brings to mind all of the insulting jokes that begin with that phrase and in so doing suggests that:
n Individuals who engage in this type of work as a career are
n If the employees were more competent or skilled there would not need to be as many of them.
unintelligent.
I realize that the individual who was responsible for writing this
line may not have had a malicious intent. This, however, does not change the fact that it is inappropriate and may facilitate
stereotypes regarding facility operations employees as well as blue collar workers as a whole. I was immediately offended when I read the caption and I would have been outraged if I had been one of the workers who was
photographed.
I hope that your staff can exercise better judgment and more sensitivity in the future.
college academic advisor and Ph.D. student in clinical psychology
I feel the "Kansan" front page sucked yesterday. It's the most negative I've ever seen in the paper. We at facilities operations work very hard to keep the University looking its best and complete projects in a timely fashion even those on short notice with high priorities.
Our staff does not deserve this kind of off-handed caption that maybe funny to your staff.
If you can not be positive with your stories, don't write. There is enough negativism in the world today without our own students demeaning us.
Robert Porter
associate director facility operations
"Night" based on fear, a gross exaggeration
Natural fear of the unknown has been manipulated into something grossly inflated. While simply ignoring the problem of violence against women or sweeping the problem under the rug is irresponsible, we needn't blatantly exaggerate the problem.
Have we lost our sanity? The recent Take Back the Night demonstration is built on one thing, fear.
Jennifer Roth's quote in the Oct. 20 article in the "Kansan" said, "No matter where they're from or what house they're in, they have been victims of violence." This kind of gross exaggeration throws all rationality on the subject out the door. The subject has real
importance but it is necessary to rationally address the situation not manipulate and compound peoples' fear.
Richard Kane Bartlesville, Okla.
Rock Chalk shouldn't be done away with
In response to Matt Bachand's "Nix the Rock Chalk points" article, he is absolutely right. Do away with Rock Chalk Revue's facade of community service. Do away with the $30,000 in dirty money and the 34,000 sham hours of service to Douglas County.
I'm being sarcastic folks.
I don't think Mr. Bachand understands that the annual United Way drive relies on and budgets for the money the revue donates. Thirty grand is a chunk of change. As a former revue executive director, I've worked with the casts. I know that they understand the fact that they're doing something more important than a mere variety show. Having not walked in Rock Chalk shoes, Bachand cannot speak to this issue with any authority.
Regarding the community service hours, the United Way would not benefit from the loss of 34,000 hours of community service, regardless of the impetus for donating them. However, the revue's reasons for doing service are its own and not Bachand's. I can tell him this: For so many people, the revue is the first opportunity they've had to give to the community. After graduation they continue involvement in their communities, because they got a taste for it here.
Tom Field
Olathe graduate student
Kansan staff
Bradley Brooks . . . Editorial
Jason Strait . . . Editorial
Jodie Chester . . . News
Jen Smith. . . News
Adam Darby . . . News
Charity Jeffries . . Online
Kristie Blasi . . Sports
Tommy Gallagher . Associate Sports
Dave Morantz . . Campus
Eric Weslander . . Campus
Ashleigh Roberts . Features
Steve Puppe . Photo
Bryan Volk . Design, graphics
Mitch Lucas . Illustrations
Mark McMaster . Wire
Ann Marchand . Special sections
Lachelle Rhoades . Needs clerk
Matt Fisher ... Assistant retail
Michael Sofer ... Campus
Colleen Eager ... Regional
Anthony Miglazzo ... National
Jeff Auslander ... Marketing
Chris Haghirian ... Internet
Brian LeFevre ... Production
Jen Wallace ... Production
Dustin Skidgel ... Promotions
Tylor Cook ... Creative
Annette Hoover ... Public relations
Rachel O'Neill ... Classified
Jaime Mann ... Assistant classified
Marc Harrell ... Senior account executive
Scott Swedlund ... Senior account executive
Advertising managers
News editors
"As writers become more numerous, it is natural for readers to become more intelligent."
Broaden your mind:
Andy
Obermueller
andv@kansan.com
-Oliver Goldsmith
How to submit letters and guest columns
Letters: Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and home-town if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
But the thing I really need closure with is not The Ex, but something much more important...
Faculty evaluations.
Scott Sullivan, student body president, has been twittering about faculty evaluations since he was a freshman, to the effect of a squirrel on a branch doing the same.
Guest columns: Should be double-
spaced typed with fewer than 700 words. The
writer must be willing to be photographed for
the column to run.
Raving
Evaluation information useful at the University
Having just suffered through one of the worst breakups in the history of human relationships, I have realized the emotional importance of alright.
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Staufer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Bradley Brooks (brooks@kansan.com) or Jason Strait (jstrait@kansan.com) at 864-4810. If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4810.
tional importance of closure.
The debate has centered on whether faculty evaluations are public record or confidential personnel data. The University has maintained that the files are part of the professor's personnel records, and thus not subject to state open record laws.
But to be fair, the lack of progress can't be blamed on Sullivan completely. He's been working without much student support only to meet heavy resistance from tenured faculty and administrators.
For instance, these days I don't merely close my kitchen cabinets, I get closure with them. When I am finished with an item from my closet, I don't just hang it up, I get closure with it. My psychiatrist says this condition should work itself out in a few months, unless it doesn't.
The answer to this pressing legal question is:
Who cares?
It took me all morning, but I've hit upon a solution.
A little civil disobedience.
Fill out the evaluation form provided by the instructor and instead of returning it for the department, submit it to a new student-run clearinghouse of faculty data.
Call the organization "Students Needing Information about Tenure (SNIT).
An organization like SNIT could collect and store faculty evaluations and provide access to students researching their potential classes.
(Aside to faculty: Of course we class shop. Any student concerned about a quality education should, especially knowing there are professors scared to confront the weaknesses their students perceive.)
But if you're upset, you're probably going to say something. Loudly, I hope.
Students could come into the SNIT office to pitch a snit as well. If a student was upset by a
For example, if you're walking down Jayhawk Boulevard, feeling good about your education, are you going to go down to the local SNIT office to turn in a laudatory testimonial about a professor? No. You are going to go to the Wheel.
The notion that the information students would be getting would be negatively skewed might prompt the University to open all faculty evaluations, simply to prove the truth.
professor's performance, he or she could file a complaint in the the professor's evaluation file
After time, there would be an evident trend: most of the information in SNIT's files would be negative.
Other schools collect evaluation data through their student government, then publish data about homework load, lecture quality, discussion and other areas.
Pardon my simplistic reasoning, but if someone is upset, they complain, if not, they don't.
The goal of faculty evaluations is to help students, not just professors. By completing the evaluation, students (read: consumers) tell professors (read: suppliers) what they are doing well and what needs improvement. But also from that information, students should be able to learn what professors might best suit their needs, especially if the information can be used in conjunction with Sullivan's course content proposal.
Some schools, Harvard among them, publish all of their faculty evaluations, and the books are a campus best seller.
Of course, keeping the evaluation form rather than turning it in would be theft. But Thoreau reminds us that we have a moral obligation to break laws that are contrary to our conscience.
And the truth is that most professors do a good or great job and most students walk down the wall with a good education.
And besides, if Attorney General Carla Stovall or District Attorney Christine Tonkavich thinks she can get an indictment against me for stealing two sheets of paper from the KU English Department, let her empanel a grand jury. I'll take my chances with Legal Services for Students.
SNIT only would need an office and a coordinator. Let me be the first to nominate the esteemed Scott Sullivan. Student Body President and SNIT Coordinator would make one hell of a business card.
Obermuehler is an Liberal, Kan., senior in journalism.
Promise Keeper critics' condemning is misfounded
How many letters would the "Kansan" get if, the day after the "Take Back the Night" rally in South Park, it had published
What if the article's writer had never been anywhere near the rally? And what if the writer interviewed sources who also had never experienced the rally?
To call such an article biased would be an understatement. To call it sensationalist would be closer to the truth, but a truly accurate representation would begin with the words "bad journalism."
insisted an investigative plee event as exclusive, bigoted, or repressive?
Andrew Rohrback opinion@kansan.com
But we believe articles—and news broad source, opinion broad
Most condemnations of the organization come from people who have never been to a rally. In fact, many of these diatribes spill from the same springs which they claim to fight: ignorance, bigotry, repression and elitism.
casts, opinion cartoons and magazine exposes — like that every day. Read any coverage of the Promise Keepers organization and you'll see what I mean.
The fact is, it's trendy to fear anyone who strongly believes in something. The value of a belief system these days lies not in its service to society or its internal consistency; instead, we evaluate ideas based on how weakly they demonstrate their own truthfulness. You can't be right unless you insist that everyone else is right, too.
I attended a Promise Keepers rally in Kansas City this summer. I wish I had gone to one before society had arrayed its might against the organization. Still, I found the experience informative, edifying and inspiring. It was a time I spent with my grandfather, who has always been a role model for me. It also was a chance to talk to some old friends of mine, younger kids who have lived a tough but brave life. These are kids who, more than anyone, need something to strengthen them. They need something they can believe in. They find it in the men around them—role models.
People think that, by excluding women, Promise Keepers seeks to establish men as the only power in the universe. Those of us who take the time to examine the ideas espoused by PK know that the only reason women don't attend the conferences is because men are more open and honest about their family relationships when they are with other men. It's harder to talk about your relationship with your parents when they're in the room with you; the same goes for marriage relationships.
A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values.
I checked the Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper, the elements around which the entire organization revolves. Point out the repression in these:
A Promise Keeper is committed to pursuing vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises.
A Promise Keeper is committed to honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to God's Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.
A Promise Keeper is committed to supporting the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources.
A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.
A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity.
I guess there's something scary about building strong marriages and influencing the world. Come to think of it, I can see why certain people are scared of these ideas. After all, the more influence Promise Keepers have, the less influence other idea systems will have. Poor television. Poor Hollywood. Poor, poor drug culture, free-sex advocate and alcohol industry.
A Promise Keeper is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment (see Mark 12:30-31) and the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:19-20).
/
I don't expect anti-PK zealots to find a new resting place for their noses. Promise Keepers — and other moral organizations — are used to having everything they do dragged through the mud. If it were easy to live a virtuous life, such organizations wouldn't be needed. But is it so much to ask that people not make generalizations, stereotypes, and outright insults about an organization that only wants to raise up some decent fathers and husbands in this country?
Rohrback is a Andover junior in journalism.