Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Spencer Duncan, Editor Sarah Scherwinski, Business manager Lindsey Henry, Managing editor Brian Pagel, Retail sales manager Andrea Albright, Managing editor Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
Friday. August 29, 1997
Clay McCuistion / KANSAN
Ranting
Don't expose faculty evaluations; expand Student Senate's agenda
Unless he changes gears soon, Scott Sullivan will waste his year as student body president. Continuing to pursue the issue of professor evaluations can only lead to dead-end negotiations and inactivity in the Student Senate.
Through his comments at Convocation and his letter published in the "Kansan," Sullivan made it clear that allowing student access to evaluations would be the focus of his term. While the issue does deserve some attention, it should not overshadow more pressing matters such as the University of Kansas' struggling bus system, recycling woes and the need for a campus escort service.
Even if the administration agrees to Sullivan's demands, many complications remain. Questions of the accuracy and fairness of the surveys immediately come to mind.
The Senate has the power to make so many changes, it would be a shame to squander its term on an issue that is a blatant smokescreen. Please, direct your energies to problems that need immediate attention, problems that could be solved this year. Students may enjoy reading about professors and classes, but they will be furious if the buses stop.
Sullivan and other senators have little to show for their efforts last year. Instead of trying to push the same beast through the same small window this fall, they should look for another door. In other words, Senate should consider letting someone else handle the evaluation issue.
for example, the University publishes evaluations in the campus newspaper. The journalist's creed to fully research work, combined with freedom of the press guarantees, makes the paper a logical choice. Also, a separate action group or organization that could dedicate all of its time to the issue and bypass Senate procedures may be more effective. Either way, the issue would still get attention but student government could spend time on other issues.
Unfortunately, Sullivan appears to be oblivious to the fact that he is driving the powerful Senate into a year of wasted efforts littered with bickering. Student government cannot afford to focus on professor evaluations when it has the potential to effect many other positive changes. It's just not worth it.
Megan Jordan for the editorial board
Beer-drinking students still study
The University of Kansas does not measure up in the Princeton Review. As of August 21, 1997 the University of Kansas is known nationwide as the No. 8 party school. Before you throw your hands in the air with excitement, there are many other statistics of which you should be aware.
As well as being eighth, we also are fifth on the list of "Students who almost never study." Fifth out of 311 colleges that were analyzed is not a good statistic. Companies everywhere are looking for graduates from respectable colleges. Partying is not a skill that they will be looking for.
Our academics are in poor shape. On a scale of 60 to 100 points, with 100 being the highest, the University of Kansas was ranked a 65. These ratings
are not entirely the student's fault. The administration, faculty and facilities are included in this category as well.
How many of your classes are taught by teaching assistant? Think about registration. All of you have had a problem at one point or another. Either you could not get into a class or your whole enrollment was dropped. How many times have you tried searching for a computer on campus and not found one? One KU student that was included in the survey correctly said, "computer facilities are woefully inadequate." Something needs to change. Budig Hall is a step in the right direction. School officials need to do their part in increasing our ratings by taking more steps like that.
Do not lose faith in the University just yet. The Princeton Review is not entirely accurate. Tom Hutton director of University Relations said, "The Princeton Review is a whimsical look at colleges. They are not a professional institute and should not be taken seriously."
There is nothing wrong with partying, but do not make that the only attractive aspect of the University. Here is how the Princeton Review is describing us: beer drinking students who rarely study and do not measure up on their academic scale. Change this perception. Do not give the Princeton Review a chance to discredit you. Show the Princeton Review who you really are: beer-drinking, intelligent, future leaders of
Kansan staff
Eryl Cochran for the editorial board
Bradley Brooks ... Editorial
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Broadon your mind: Today's quote
"The center is open to anyone in the community who is interested in Islam. Our arms are open; our hearts are open. We handle anything but hostility. Period."
—Ahmed Zafer, Median, Saudi Arabia, graduate student; on the Islamic Center
How to submit letters and guest columns
Loftersz 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.
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.
All letter and guest columns should be submitted to the Kanson newsroom, 111 Staufer-Flint Hall. The Kanson 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 864-3810. If you have generic questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4810.
Raving
Delta Force cynicism is uninformed criticism
Read the Delta Force posters on campus, and you may get the idea that nothing ever goes right on Mount. Oread, The posters decry Student
Senate, KU on Wheels, the chancellor and probably would have moved on to grouse about losing last year's election had they not run out of space.
Andy Obermueller
aober@kansan.com
I'm nobody's dupe or puppet. And I'm no yesman for Strong Hall or a lieutenant for "The Man," whoever he is. But I am an ardent supporter of the University and its administration. I also have faith in Student
Senate. Push come to shove, I'm even glad that Coke is on campus, so long as they don't try to remodel the Campanile into a contour-shaped bottle.
Delta Force, the campus-activist group whose propaganda leads student to believe that everyone at the University is the victim of the evil administration, has itself fallen victim to cynicism. They draw on students who feel excluded or ignored — as any student at a large university is bound to feel some time — and provide inclusion and acceptance.
Jason Fizell, Delta Force's front man, who thankfully failed in his bid for student body president, has turned his campaign coalition into a campus organization. Admittedly, Fizell has built a strong network, and his efforts to build a diverse, grassroots organization have been impressive. But his group seems to be unable to find one thing it likes. It's easier to find something to tear down than it is to find something to build up, and Fizell and Company have perceptrated the biggest cop-out in University history.
Columnist Molly Ivins once wrote, "Being a cynic is so contemptibly easy. If you're a cynic, you don't have to invest anything in your work. No effort, no pride, no compassion, no sense of excellence, nothing."
Delta Force hasn't invested anything — save a few posters — in their efforts. They don't have pride in or respect for anything. Everything the group stands for is take-oriented. There's no giving back, no willingness to meet anyone half way. They belong to a self-selecting elite that thinks it knows best and is noble for championing the oppressed student. And because of this, they feel that to work with anyone else would be bowing to The Establishment.
Let me clue Delta Force and any potential recruits in on a dirty little campus secret. There is no Establishment. There isn't a smoke-filled room where University officials devise ways to hose students. Every administrator I've met in the last four years has been willing to go out of his or her way to help. They work long hours for not much money and even less respect, whether from Delta Force or even the Editorial Board.
Students can make a difference without subscribing to a tear-down-Strong-Hall group like Delta Force. Anyone who wants to work on any campus problem can, given some time and effort, affect change. Delta Force has never had an idea that Student Senate hasn't debated and worked toward.
If Delta Force would combine it formidable skill in organization building and team up with instead of against Student Senate, then their concerns might be addressed. But without something to complain about and make him feel important, Jason Fitzell wouldn't have anything to do, except, heaven forbid, iron his pants, cut his hair, shave his chin and get a real job.
There will come a day when Fizell will be forced to swallow some bitter medicine. It may come when he's watching a KU football game or revisiting campus. And then it will hit him. He'll realize that he spent the majority of his college career tearing things down instead of building things up. He'll discover that he was so full of anger and so devoid of self-esteem that he could never be happy enough to realize that most things on campus get done pretty well: Most buses run on time and under budget. Most problems get solved, most students get served. He'll see that his actions threw out the baby with the bath water.
Delta Force's new poster reads, "And they hoped we would just go away."
No. "We" just hoped that you would grow up.
Obermueler is a Liberal, Kan., senior in journalism.
Sense of community lost on current generation
against our self-perceptions and cause us to respond in certain ways to the world. Racist, sexist, heterosexist and otherwise bigoted language continues to shape American reality to this day.
There is power in the sound of words. Words have the ability to shape our reality. The horrible words used against us during our lives shape, to some
Some say language precedes thought — guiding the individual's thoughts by allowing expression only through the thoughts allowed by the
Matthew
Bachand
opinion@okaraan.com
limits of language. Were there no strong personal pronouns in the English language, the perception of the individual certainly would be different.
Language is a weapon. Though sticks and stones have broken my bones, they have healed; anyone who has been left unscathed by words is stronger than me. Conversely, using insulting words to refer to ourselves shields us by creating "selves" where we have been made "others." Often there is no other option for the persecuted.
There are few things more powerful than language. Much of humanity endeavors take from the earth in the forms of ore, fuel and nutrients. Language takes none of these. The positive results of effective language outlast any structure — who knows of the Tower of Babel but for the story?
Use language to your best advantage. It is the only way to advocate your values without committing crimes against your fellow man. Gandhi used language to help liberate a nation, and the words that comprise history forever will be remembered.
Words are your best weapon. We have all heard that the pen is mightier than the sword. At the turn of the century, one of the words that cuts to the quick is community.
Community. Say it out loud and you will feel a certain energy one does not feel from the word alone. Community is a word never far from mind when you think of belonging, friendship or solidarity. Whether you live in an apartment, residence hall or fraternity, you are part of a community. With communities come certain shared assumptions that may be as specific as participating in government or as simple as paying your share of the bills.
Many people rally around the cry "get government out of your life," but they forget government often steps in to perform a function that our communities have stopped performing. They advocate loosened restrictions on personal freedom but do not work to protect the freedoms of those less empowered. This can de-evolve with horrible effects: who wants to live in a society where all are free to smoke pot and oppress the poor?
Many Americans value this above cooperation, compassion and acceptance. They need to be educated and held accountable to the greater, more democratic community each of us should work towards in our own way each day of our lives. They also need to read the writing on the wall rather than the "Wall Street Journal."
Amnesty International espouses the belief in a fourth "R" beyond reading, 'riting, and 'rithmic. Rights, as in human rights.
Regardless of how invested you feel in Lawrence, this is your home — if only for nine months of the year. Crimes against your neighbor could just as easily be committed against you. Likewise, the rewards your neighbors reap from their hard work could as easily be yours.
However, the effects of the "Me" generation have taken a toll on our idea of community. Commuter towns and a growing suburban "I moved here to escape those problems" mentality also are at fault, although this attitude is a drug more dangerous than any you thought you had escaped by moving. But the magic word "community" gains momentum in Lawrence daily.
I believe in a fifth, often forgotten "R" – responsibility. Take care of yourself and your neighbor. Though it is easy to get caught up in the idea that your neighbor's fight is not your own, the next fight may be yours. Then you'll value your community.
Bachand is a Knob Noster, Ma., senior in the college of liberal arts and sciences.