Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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United States First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2009
Folmsbee: Vaccines not to blame for autism epidemic
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Man, I really miss those days of kindergarten when there was both snack time and nap time.
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Oh man, that Chipotle went through me quickly.
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If I were a vegetable in a garden, usually I would be a cabbage, but tonight I am a iapeño. Woo!
I want to poop on a bird just to show them what it's like.
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Calculus is kicking my arse.
Pandora has a monthly listening limit? I'm disturbed
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To the boy in Anschutz who picked his nose for 10 minutes straight; I want you.
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I wish someone at KU would do a Michael Jackson tribute dance on campus
Yep, people are turning psychotic over the fact that we have a new president.
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New season of "The Office!"
I'm getting really excited ...
What's that she said.
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Someone made the assumption that I'm a sex addict because I'm pro-choice. Discus
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Why is it that we are now a month into school and the freshmen STILL can't pack the bus properly?
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Who knew that stalking Tucker Max could be so much fun
It's not that I don't like you,
I just think asking someone
if they've seen "Twilight" is a
horrible pick-up line.
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I feel like such a douche when I'm on the phone with my iPhone headphones. I look like I'm talking to myself. Awesome!
To the two ladies who I almost hit with a golf ball outside of Eaton: I'm sorry.
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I just saw six deer on campus. Crazy!
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I hope they serve beer in hell, because that's where I'm going
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Is there such a thing as gourmet spunk?
EDITORIAL BOARD
Attention new provost Put student needs first
After the success of hiring Bernadette Gray-Little as a new chancellor, the search has now begun for a new provost. Though the University should take the time to hire the candidate with the most experience, drive and goori oriented attitude, the University should also hire the candidate who will seek to benefit the student body as a whole.
Mabel Rice, chairwoman of the search committee, said the hiring process is very lengthy and the committee would do its best to get the word out about the position opening, while also pursuing candidates aggressively.
The job description of a provost is very broad and ambitious.
"We will be focusing on a recruitment process that is very active in nature," Rice said. "We certainly hope to have someone named by the end of the spring semester."
the search committee is currently working on what kinds of qualities each candidate should have for the job.
The provost has to report directly to the chancellor and he also has a wide range of responsibilities, Rice said. She also said
KANSAN'S
OPINION
One very important quality of the new provost will be the ability to work well with the chancellor
Between the two of them, many priorities and initiatives are enacted to further the progress of the University.
provost's Web site lists several initiatives the previous full-time chancellor, Robert Hemenway, has backed.
Currently, the
One example of the initiatives, which is entitled "Initiative 2015: Shaping KU's Future," focuses on implementing recommendations from three task forces — comprised of faculty, staff and students alike — on bases of teaching, learning, discovering and innovating.
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Programs such as "initiative 2015" are extremely beneficial to student life in general, and the new provost should make it a priority to focus on all students in the University, not just specific
departments.
Rice said she hoped the provost would have very broad goals for his time with the University.
"Mainly, some of their goals should be to ensure that the University is a leading university, to help provide a quality educational experience for all students, enhance the research mission and also work closely with the chancellor in formulating university-wide objectives," Rice said.
With the hiring of Chancellor Gray-Little and the search for the new provost having begun, current students are witnessing a change in leadership that signals the start of a new era for the University.
We have seen growth in the past, and to grow even further, we need a provost who will make student success a priority and dive head-first into every goal set forth.
By the end of the spring semester, we should have a provost who supports programs that put the focus on students first.
— Brett Salsbury for The Kansan Editorial Board
POLITICS
GOP tactics difficult to stomach
A man signs a petition and later says he wishes he hadn't. A few years later he's forced out of a job because of it.
That is what happened last week to Van Jones, a member of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Jones, one of the founders of Color of Change, an organization dedicated to advancing issues significant to African Americans, has also been a vocal advocate for the creation of green jobs.
Earlier this year, he was appointed a special advisor for green jobs, enterprise and innovation for the aforementioned Council on Environmental Quality.
Now, this sounds like a pretty good position, and obviously there's some prestige to it.
It isn't head of the EPA or secretary of the interior, per se, but it is a spot on a White House committee, and therefore can have a major impact on environmental policy.
Still, Jones seems like a small fish to fry if Republicans are attempting to pick off members of the Obama administration. But apparently he's become an easy target.
The primary offense seems to be his signing, a few years ago, of
So he briefly associated with "truthers," the name given to people who believe 9/11 came from something other than angry terrorists committing an organized act of mass murder. I don't like them and neither do most people capable of rational thought.
a petition urging the Bush administration to reveal supposedly hidden information about their alleged involvement in 9/11.
Jones himself eventually distanced himself from the truthers and the petition he signed, saying in an interview that it didn't reflect his views "now or ever."
Seizing upon this episode, far right pundits, particularly Glenn Beck, began smearing Jones as a "self-awowed communist"
The blog WorldNet Daily published an article in April which echoed the "communist" claim and threw in a healthy dose of good old-fashioned racism, criticizing Jones of being a "black nationalist" who supposedly named his
son after Amicar Cabral, a "late Marxist revolutionary leader."
For good measure, I'll also mention that the article I got all of this from was titled "Will a 'Red' help blacks go green?"
Remember, this guy has a long history of political activism, which of course makes him a communist. This is somehow relevant to how Jones wanted to focus on the cross-sectionality of racial and environmental concerns.
Not entirely sure how, but I'm probably blinded by not being terrified by minorities who also support progressive causes.
Sadly, Beck, WorldNet and the hosts of fringe conservatives they appeal to have already won out in this case. Jones was an easy target for people looking to bring down somebody in the Obama administration.
I'm as much for mercilessly criticizing public figures as anyone, but could there have been a point to this?
After their constant criticism, Jones opted to resign his post, saying that he felt it would be distracting to the his colleagues to have such an embattled figure in their midst.
Cohen is a Topeka senior in political science.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
A recent column by Sai Folmsbee, "How genetics can help explain homosexuality," made the case that it is highly probable that homosexuality can be explained with biological reasoning.
He stressed the number of disciplines it involves and how "difficult it is to interpret." This leaves the reader asking, "How?" when they should be asking, "So what?"
Such articles point readers in the wrong direction. Sweet Susie's mind is programmed to go out and wonder why the lesbian next door likes some other girl and not any of her nice guy friends.
Homosexuality:
Where science fails
Causes and effects aren't necessary when it comes to people. Knowing the scientific cause of Aunt Judy's hot flashes and increasing PMS don't help her family tolerate her, but their love and understanding for her well-being does.
She asks, "Why do you think you're gay?" or "Do you think you were born this way?" But Susie should really be wondering how she could make friends with this person.
She is no fool. She understands that her neighbor is a person just
like her, and sometimes life has no answers. The wise girl loves without judgment and finds ways to accommodate others in pursuit of her own happiness.
Science is of course important, and it's reasonable to agree the origin of sexuality is a topic worthy of research in the field.
But it is no more relevant whether biology can explain sexuality than it is that evolution can explain dark skin, or that problems during pregnancy may account for mental disabilities. Society must still accommodate and accept all individuals through social interaction and political processes.
VOTE TO PROTECT STUDENT RIGHTS
James Castle is an Overland Park sophomore.
On Sept. 9, The Kansan Editorial Board published the editorial"Join Senate subcommittee to examine alcohol policies" explaining the importance of student involvement in such a committee. Student Senate released more information this week:
WHO: Any student who attends at least two consecutive meetings can vote
WHEN: 6:30 p.m.
Thursday
WHAT: The Committee to Combat Alcohol Abuse at the University of Kansas and Investigate Related Policy
WHERE: Kansas Union
CAMPUS
Justice For All decides to up the ante on its scare tactics.
JAMES FARMER
Finding a better way to discuss abortion
The signs were clear:
"Warning, graphic photos ahead." Of course the first thing anyone wants to do when reading these words is look, so regretfully I did.
My reaction at first glance was one of disgust, followed by sadness, then anger and finally confusion. I had to wonder, what did Justice For All really think it was accomplishing with silly warnings and grotesque images?
For the third time during my college career I witnessed a giant 18-foot display of aborted fetuses and other graphic images that Justice For All, an advocacy group from Wichita, feels compelled to display year after year.
It was obvious the group's purpose was to persuade college students not to support abortion.
The images and comparisons were used to evoke emotion in anyone viewing them. Those who strongly declare themselves pro-choice were likely angered by the display, though those who strongly consider themselves anti-abortion were likely enthused.
Because the images simply clutch basic human emotions, people are quicker to become passionate about why they agree or disagree with Justice For All's intention. Therefore, common ground between these opposing viewpoints is more difficult to reach, and compromises rarely made.
The images also presented only one aspect of the complex issue of abortion. Instead of addressing reasons that may lead to a woman's choice to have an abortion, the display stirs feelings of fear and guilt in the viewer. A decision simply made out of fear or guilt is not a well-defined decision.
Justice For All chose to manipulate the emotions — and
Justice For All was lawfully exercising its right to free speech with vivid images and tawdry comparisons with the Civil Rights Movement and the Holocaust. Though the overall objective of the display was obvious at first glance, the methods of persuasion were ineffective.
therefore, decisions — of viewers instead of addressing relative factors central to the abortion debate. A woman's own testimony about why she had an abortion, and why she may have regretted it, is likely to be far more powerful than an 18-foot display with the purposes of frightening and disgusting anyone who sees it.
Above all, I found the display to be highly disrespectful. According to abortion.org, 32 percent of women obtaining abortions in the United States are between the ages of 20 and 24, an age group that is a majority on college campuses. These statistics do not tell us who these women are, why they chose to have an abortion or how they might feel walking past a giant display with the intent of making its viewers feel guilty.
First respecting those with different opinions is essential to persuading them otherwise. A graphic display of aborted fetuses does not demonstrate respect to anyone, especially to those who may be affected by abortion or issues surrounding abortion.
The controversy surrounding abortion will always exist because it is an issue that pulls at human emotion and questions basic concepts of freedom and life. This recognition that mutual agreement will never exist must also coincide with a mutual quest for compromise.
Both sides of the abortion debate can agree to work together to solve the problems that might cause abortions. Unfortunately, these solutions will never be possible with the use of fear tactics and a lack of respect.
Brown is a junior in journalism and political science.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Brenna Hovley, Jessica Sain-Bajer, Jennifer McGraw, Caitlin Tothbrighn and Michael Holtz.
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