Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY 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 Eben, General manager, news advisor Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
Monday, August 25,1997
Clay McCuistion/KANSAN
Examining
Keeping our hands on the wheel
Bureaucracy is superfluous to a system that can be fine-tuned by the people. This is the case with the University transportation system, headed by Scott Kaiser, coordinator for KUon Wheels.
Some argue the University busing system, KU on Wheels, is too large an endeavor for just one student to handle and that University faculty and administrators should help to shoulder some of the responsibility. However, Kaiser works in accordance with a seven member transportation board that consists of an eclectic student base. Together, Kaiser and the board make decisions that affect University busing policy. This is how it should be. The decisions pertaining to how student money is spent should be made by students.
Students already mistrust University administrators, as evidenced by the reaction over the recent deal the
Transportation system a big responsibility, but should remain in hands of students.
University made with Coca-Cola. This decision had a direct impact on students, yet they had little say in the matter.
Kaiser has expressed concern about the misconceptions students have about the process by which the University transportation system is run. He said he wanted to dispel notions that economic inefficacy has led KU on Wheels to financial difficulty. The budget report for the last fiscal year states that KU on Wheels netted more than $11,000. This money is funnelled into a reserve account that is used to repay loans owed to the Lawrence Bus Company.
Although some students have lobbied complaints against KU on Wheels—such as environmental concerns about bus emissions—these issues should be addressed by students rather than administrators who may be out of touch with students' concerns.
Kaiser is in contact with members of the transportation board. The board is advised by faculty members and administrators, but it makes the final decisions and Kaiser exercises them.
Administrators will not solve the transportation problems. Complaints students have should be voiced to Kaiser and the transportation board so effective solutions can be achieved.
Thomas Jefferson once said, "But it is not by the consolidation, or concentration, of powers, but by their distribution that good government is effected." The powers of the University transportation system should continue to be distributed to students' control.
Nick Zaller for the editorial board
Underage drinking: It's still illegal
Underage drinking is a fact of life in Lawrence. But illicit consumption of alcohol and stupidity seem to be increasingly insenable.
Students should not feel sorry for the 18-keg party that was busted last week. Minors were consuming alcohol merrily and the hosts were selling liquor without a liquor license. It was a raucous free-for-all, until the Lawrence Police Department showed up.
Yes, the police officers were dressed in plain clothes. No, they did not have a warrant to search the premises and look for criminals.
But they didn't need to. An officer was invited to the party by one of the hosts. The undercover officer was in a local liquor store as part of the
If you're committing a crime don't whine about the fine watch where you drink.
"Cops in Shops" program when he was invited to attend the widely publicized gathering.
The beginning of the school year is a popular time for parties, and these often include alcohol.
"We try to attend to it early, and remind [students] that hey, Lawrence police are here," said Sgt. Susan Hadi of the Lawrence Police Department. She said although that doesn't mean the department will be soft on underage drinking throughout the rest of the year, now is an opportunity time
for students to be reminded that the drinking age in Kansas is 21.
The Lawrence police do a good job of preserving order in the city, and should be commended when they uphold the law. Sure, students grumble about minor-in-possession charges and having a form of false identification confiscated, but they're really just upset about getting caught.
Partying did not end following the 18-kegger, and underage drinking will continue to pervade Lawrence. But don't get in the way of police trying to do their job - most of the time, they stay out of the way unless absolutely needed.
Students, on the other hand, should not be so flippant about who they invite to their houses for a good time.
Ann Marchand for the editorial board
Kansan staff
Bradley Brooks ... Editorial
Jason Strait ... Editorial
Jodie Chester ... Neus
Jen Smith ... Neus
Adam Darby ... Neus
Charity Jeffries ... Online
Kristine Blasi ... Sports
Tommy Gallagher ... Associate Sports
Dave Morantz ... Campus
Eric Westlander ... Campus
Ashleigh Roberts ... Features
Steve Puppe ... Photo
Bryan Volk ... Design, graphics
Mitch Lucas ... Illustrations
Mark McMaster ... Wire
Ann Marchand ... Special sections
Aerica Veazey ... Neus clerk
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Broaden your mind: Today's quote
"A thought is often original, though you have uttered it a hundred times."
—Oliver Wendell Holmes
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.
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 Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-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 generic questions or comments, e-mail the page stuff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4810.
Guiding
Three ways to survive (even thrive) in college
My younger sister, Kate, won in the gene pool. She's smarter, better looking, and a whole lot nicer than my older sister, Sally, and me. The kid's got it all. Except for an opinion column
As Kate readies for college, I feel compelled to dispense some brotherly advice. College is tricky, and dealing with professors takes skill and guile. So here, for Kate, are three tips for surviving college:
*If the reading list for a class has more than 500 pages or more than three titles, you don't have to read everything. The professor is merely getting
Andy
Obermueller
andyo@kansan.com
kickbacks from the publisher. Use the book review index in the library and find reviews of the book. Rephrase two smart-sounding points about the book and one good question. Professors like questions because it's an open invitation for them to rant ad nauseum. If a real discussion of the book comes up, you can mention you were impressed by (whoever's) comments about the book in (whatever source). This will impress the professor, who hasn't been to the library in years. If professors had actually read the books on their book lists, then they would ask objective questions about them. They're as much in the dark as you are. This, of course, is true about much more than just book reviews.
Don't introduce yourself to the professor on the first day of class. Wait until you have something to talk about and then go to office hours. Visit your professor once or twice during the semester to talk about class, not your grade. (Never ask a professor about your grade, keep track yourself.) Note: after you introduce yourself, not only can you not sleep in class, but you also must make eye contact and generally participate. If you aren't going to do either, then remain anonymous. This is an effective strategy in a large class in which you expend some effort, because by the third paper, the prof will be so glad to see your name amongst the drivel he has to read that he'll automatically boost your grade. At the end of the semester, you'll have the instructor rote-trained to give you an A. Remember, Pavlov himself was a professor.
*Never answer a question with any sort of definitive answer, unless a rare objective question is asked. Professors do not deal in answers, they deal in subjects. There is a distinct difference: questions have answers, subjects have concepts. If an instructor asks an open question, then he's either not prepared to lecture or he's senile and has lost his train of thought (Perpetuity is the downside of tenure). If the latter case is true, the prof is looking for someone to jog his memory. If you give an actual answer to the question, he'll be upset because he'll be forced to move. But if you raise a concept
— especially one he has somehow written a book about — he'll have something to talk about. More often than not, professors are at least as ill-prepared for class as you are. If educators were in the business of giving answers, most soon would be out of work since undergraduates rarely ask important questions (Graduate students never ask important questions: had they figured out the system the first time around, they would have jobs by now). You've got to work the system, because Mom and Dad won't spring for grad school too. Remember, as long as professors think you are at least as dumb as they are, you'll do fine. But when you start rising above their level by looking for, say, the truth, that's when the Cs start rolling in.
Well, there it is. The end result of my years of college, rolled into a few column inches. Good luck kiddo. Not that you need it.
And, oh yeah, call Mom once in a while.
Obermueler is a Liberal, Kan., senior in journalism.
Attention freshmen Beer good, justice better
midst the whirlwind of super-charged, peer-pressure motivated, intelligence draining beer-fests this week (and every college for some), it might be easy for
week of college for some incoming freshmen and seniors alike to forget what the focus of college life really is.
Admittedly, if you are a business, law, medicine (etc...) major who plans to do nothing more with your life than stock pile your child's inheritance, the rest of your days may play no greater role than keggers in making the world a better place. If you see college as a vehicle to understanding subtle truths rather than to a cush job, however, you won't
Matt
Caldwell
opinion@kansan.com
One bit of advice in dealing with classes: take some time to find the right teacher. Understand even that the right teacher for you may not jive with someone else. But if you just throw yourself in to the lottery for 100-level professors, chances are that you're going to be stuck with one you don't like. The way a professor runs a class can mean the difference between acquisition of hidden knowledge that you carry with you for the rest of you life or a simple waste of time and money.
find what you're looking for in Hawk week. You won't find what you're looking for at the Bull. You won't find it in superficial, elitist social clubs.
Now, as far a finding activist/information disseminating/solidarity building/whatever groups
Pull yourself away from huge groups of people who want you to stay locked in the same methods of interpersonal interaction and the same aspirations you saw in vacant-minded high schoolers. You always saw college as more, something really different, a new beginning. Don't let narrow-minded bullies, still on their parent's leash, take that away from you. There are many wonderful, life-altering experiences to be had here.
go, your flock is here to be found, though most are jammed in out-of-the-way gears of this machine called KU. To help you out, here's a brief run-down of some of the more active groups on campus and in the community and the contact people for those groups. Don't be bashful about calling these groups to find out when they meet; they want you to come, but you have to get a hold of them. They would call you and invite you if they knew you were interested.
ACLU: Law, civil liberties issues. Buddy Lloyd 331-2203
Amnesty International. Mehdi Riazi-Kerman 749-0871
Center for Community Outreach: Campus volunteer center. Emily Heath 864-4073
Coalition For Labor Action and Social Struggle (CLASS): Labor issues and local direct action. Matt Chapman 841-0628
- Pro-Choice Coalition. Reagan Cowan 865-3946
- KU Environics: Environmental protection and social justice. Jason Daniels 842-1659
**Food Not Bombs:** Serves vegetarian meals every Sat. in S. park. Mario Hev 749-0871
Coalition for Homeless Concerns. Hilda Enoch 842-6513
Proponents of Animal Liberation : Animal rights. Michael Schmitt 838-4469
Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice.
Alan Hanson 841-3026
Don't expect to be led in the direction that you had envisioned college to take you. You have to make your future. Blindly following the path set by hordes of simple-minded beer/sex mongers will only set you up for mid-life crisis. Consider yourself warned.
STAND: Campus issues. Rochelle Votaw 841
3654
Caldwell is a Lawrence senior in liberal arts and sciences.
Feedback
Reader questions "Kansan" motives
This letter is in regards to the Potter's Lake incident. I found the article written by Mary Corcoran to be tasteless and one-sided. The story doesn't tell how the incident really started. A very serious injury also was left out of the article. A member of Phi Beta Sigma was almost beaten to death. Is there a reason why this injury was left out? The members of Phi Beta Sigma didn't show up at the party uninvited. The party at Potter's Lake was open to everyone. I don't recall the members of Kappa Alpha Psi
passing out invitations to certain individuals. I'm curious to know how a reporter can write a story based on one police report and one interviewee. This story should have been written after Corcoran had obtained more information. Why is it that the fights between caucasian fraternities are never reported on? I'm also curious to know why the negative incident occurs. The Kansan did it with Black Comedy Night last year and this past spring with the Black Student Union's financial status. I just want to ask the editors at the Kansan if this story would be on the front
page if something positive would have come out of the event? It's just very unfortunate that the Kansan is so quick to report on the negative incidents that happen between African-Americans and so slow to report on the positive incidents.
Eva Bradley Shreveport, La.. junior
Editor's Note: When reporting on fights, the "Kansan's" primary source of information is often police reports. The "Kansan" also contacts all parties involved. In this case the "Kansan" had to rely on police reports because representatives from the fraternities refused to discuss the events that occurred.