Opinion
Kansan
4A
Published daily since 1912
Jodie Chester, Editor Marc Harrell, Business manager Gerry Doyle, Managing editor Jamie Holman, Retail sales manager Ryan Koerner, Managing editor Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
Monday, October 19, 1998
Perspective
Columnist clarifies work (like this is really possible)
Every corporation, once it gets big enough, will attract complaints. My column, regardless of how small it is, is no exception. The complaints slowly started rolling in after I had begun to establish myself as a columnist.
The early complaints were easy to shrug off, like when Students for a Purer English Language sent me a nasty letter about how they didn't like my constant use of made up words. I was vindicated a few months later when one of them accidentally left a participle dangling, and they were so broken up about it that they committed ritual suicide.
Nick
Bartkoski
opinion @ kansan.com
But other complaints stick with me, especially when people tell me that they just don't understand what I'm saying. I receive this complaint about 80 times a day. I kind of understand when people ask me to explain a private joke, but I understand considerably less when people don't understand the phrase, "Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom."
Apparently, I'm also becoming more and more oblique in my column. I understand that the way I write is layered, but it still stung when no one understood that the phrase "Knight and Squire entered the bar" was meant to be a scathing satire of the whole Clinton-Lewinsky-Sud bombing thing.
So in an attempt to clarify my body of work, I've invited a guest from the English department to offer commentary. Lars Knoboskatich always has been a good friend to this column, and I was estatic when he said he'd be willing to explain my jokes. (The joke is that Lars Knoboskatich does not exist. Nick's just making this stuff up.)
This service will be good for both passive readers, who don't get it, and loyal readers, who get most of it, but still miss 5 percent of the jokes. (However, it's more likely that the only person who will even care will be Nick's grandmother, who is physically incapable of saying how bad this stuff really is.) Conversely, this also could just be a real lame attempt for me to pay off my five dollar gambling debts through flippant column writing. (The latter.)
Now that all of the housekeeping is taken care of
(What housekeeping? He's used up half of his space introducing this stuff, so it's obvious that anything to follow is just filler to let the explanations be the jokes.) I want to get to my main point. (He doesn't have one.) Personally, I've always had a problem with the whole drive to attract National Merit students. I mean truly, what prestige is there in bringing in these students (intelligent students = an intelligent looking University)? Despite that there's no discernible positive impact, the University of Kansas recruits these students aggressively in the most tested and effective manner. (They give these students money.)
These students are special because they did well on one test. One day's performance doesn't necessarily suggest anything. If Roy Williams recruited someone based on how well they played in one game, he would be considered insane. (Incorrect: Roy Williams could offer human sacrifice at half court, and no one would dare question him.)
I did really well on one test when I was in first grade, but eventually I stopped bragging about it. (He stopped bragging about it when he was a senior in high school, about a week after he found out he would never be a National Merit Scholar.)
My point is that it's unfair to award money to people that are already getting obscene amounts from every other possible avenue. The money the University gives to these students essentially helps them decide between a Mercedes and a BMW. Instead, why not give some of that money toward keeping the Kansan's most beloved columnist around for a fifth year? (This is a two-pronged joke, the first is that Nick is in no way shape or form the Kansan's most beloved columnist, the second is that the University would rather use scholarships to bring in people as they're released from Leavenworth prison than encourage Nick to stick around for one minute longer than he needs to.)
So that's all I really have to say about the University's drive to attract National Merit Scholars. I just hope that everyone now understands why I think it's important to use scholarship money to get them here (it's all irony — since the column is really about Nick being misunderstood, and now he says his point is the opposite of what it seemed to be...ah, never mind).
Kansan staff
Bartkoski is a Basehor senior in journalism.
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Broaden your mind: Today's quote
"Toleration is the best religion." — Victor Hugo
How to submit letters and guest columns
Letter: 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.
One of the most important aspects of the system is the hospital's independent financial operation that solves the discrepancy between the way in which the hospital was expected to operate and the way it was forced to. Previously, only patient revenues that were funneled back into the state budget paid the hospital's costs. The hospital did not receive interest on its own money and could not borrow on its own equity like other corporations.
The new operations also pledge to increase employee morale, double research grants and increase inpatient admissions and outpatient visits.
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 letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stuaffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Ann Premer (premer@kansan.com) or Tim Harrington (tharrington@kansan.com) at 864-4810. If you have general questions or comments, email the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4810.
The establishment of the Hospital Authority Board is a turning point for the 92-year-old hospital. It could be of tremendous benefit to medical students, faculty doctors, medical personnel and patients. Now that it is not oppressed by state red tape, the hospital should take advantage of its new governance to gain a long-inhibited edge in the health-care market.
KU Hospital Board creation will increase efficiencies
Editorials
The new system promises to create flexibility while retaining governmental immunity and funding. The hospital will no longer be tied down in bureaucratic management for policy changes. It will be able to more easily raise capital for equipment upgrades and service and facility expansion that will result in improved billing.
clinical programs
Long-awaited University of Kansas Hospital legislation finally was implemented two weeks ago. At last the hospital is entering the aggressive arena of other university hospitals around the nation, a move that hopefully will foster competitiveness and efficiency in the managed-care marketplace.
More than six months after Kansas Gov. Bill Graves signed Senate Bill 373 came the establishment of a 14-member governing board that will aid the hospital in running more like a business than a state entity hindered by bureaucracy. KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway leads the new Hospital Authority Board, which is replacing the old governance hierarchy that necessitated the consultation of the University, the Board of Regents and the Legislature for funding approval and operational decisions.
The board comprises the Med Center vice chancellor, the deans of the nursing and medical schools, the KU Hospital chief of staff, the hospital CEO, physicians, legislators and Regents. It is
The 14-member board operates more like a business.
Under the new board, the hospital will be in a better position to form partnerships with other health care providers and medical care organizations, net income and market share will increase, cash reserves will expand and funds will be generated for investment in
responsible for determining personnel policies and the development of purchasing procedures. it will continue to contract with the University for maintenance and other such needs.
Feedback
Nadia Mustafa for the editorial board
Reporter didn't get whole GTA story
I am writing in response to Julie Sachs' brief article about the Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition, in the Tuesday, Oct. 13. Kansan. Because length limits may have been the report for the one-sided reporting, I am presenting some ideas that were left out of the article.
Count me a happy dues-paying GTAC member.
Amy Cummins Newport, N.C., graduate student
First, GTAC is a unique union in that it promotes the dual student/employee status of KU graduate instructors, who teach while they are candidates for master's and doctoral degrees. Involvement with GTAC certainly does not place GTAs at odds with their departments. Rather, some graduate students' own actions and attitudes may place them in opposition to their departments or to university administration.
Stereotype unfairly conveyed in quote
Finally, the GTA contract not only guarantees benefits for all GTAs but also ensures a quality education for the undergraduates that we instruct. Since over one quarter of KU's undergraduate classes are taught by graduate instructors, the entire academic community benefits from the contract.
Second, the English department is a union stronghold, with many GTAC supporters among its graduate instructors and faculty. The department is committed to excellent teaching and learning. The GTA quoted in Sachs' article seems atypical.
I am absolutely outraged by the quotation included in Angela Johnson's article covering the interracial relationship panel on Oct. 13. The quotation, which read, "At Mexican parties, people get in fights and there are bottles everywhere. My brother would always come home with blood on his shirt. I'd tell my girlfriend' 'Hey, this is fun'" was accurate only in the sense that a panellist did indeed say it.
Almost immediately after the panelist said this, I, as moderator, made it a point to tell the audience that the statement exaggerated the atmosphere at Latino parties and that they are usually
quite fun and free of violence. I did not want members of the audience to feel threatened at the prospect of attending a predominantly Latino party or dance for unwarranted fears of violence.
After experiencing such a positive evening, one designed to help break the divisions among races and ethnicities, it was indeed sad to see the Kansan allow this remark to be included in its coverage of the event.
The inclusion of this quotation clearly detracted from the essence of the article. The statement itself was not german to the 90 minute discussion. It did not warrant to be mentioned, particularly with all the positive comments panelists made. It's presence in the article only serves to perpetuate negative stereotypes about Latinos and to instill fear in anyone interested in attending predominantly Latino parties or dances.
Gays, lesbians are a minority group
Robert G. Rodriguez
Academic Services Coordinator, McNair Scholars Program
There was so much I wanted to say in response to the letters printed in the Kansan regarding the death of Matthew Shepard. I wanted to emphasize the importance of not universalizing this hate crime as a "crime against humanity," because doing so makes the group targeted — the gay community — invisible. I wanted to impress upon anyone reading this the idea that you cannot say that you consider homosexuality morally wrong and then protest the morality behind killing someone because of their sexual orientation.
If you hate the idea of homosexuality, you hate homosexuals by default. I wanted to communicate this — to plead my case that somebody cannot say they like me but disagree with my lifestyle; nobody can deny the validity of who I am and still call me "friend."
I remember being called "faggot" day after day in high school. I was asked if I was going to join the army soon since that was where the men are, demanding to know why I had no male friends. Funny, that. If people think I chose to be ostracized by practically every heterosexual man in my high school, people don't know me
As horrible as Matthew Shepard's murder is, it's business as usual when it comes to the Kansan's coverage of queer issues.
so very well. Strange how this one thing — being gay — keeps people from wanting to know anything else about me. I am not discriminated against every day, because I do not, like African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and American Indians, wear the color of my minority status on my skin.
But like any other minority, sometimes I feel shut out. That the headline of an article written last week was printed under the subject heading "Controversy" makes me feel shut out. The fact that many people, mostly heterosexual men, refuse to know me or anything about my life makes me feel shut out. I refuse, however, to be scared, and I'm not afraid to admit that I'm angry. I would, however, much rather be embraced than tolerated.
Kansan shouldn't quote homophobics
Tom Jones Lawrence senior
The Kansan has always shown some inexplicable need to ferret our a bigoted opposing view for any story involving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community — even one as clear and noncontroversial as this. One might respond that this is done in the interest of fairness. If an opposing view is truly necessary for balance, that standard should be applied uniformly to any news item involving groups that some people hate. For example, for stories about the Black Student Union the Kansan could seek out KKK members for quotes on why they oppose Black people. For a story about Hillel, quote a neo-Nazi skinhead. Seeking out bigots for news items about any other group is unheard of, yet the Kansan always includes a homophobic view in stories on the queer community. The insistence on singling out one group for this sort of balanced coverage is absurd.
The gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community is understandably shocked, outraged and saddened by the unconscionable act. Why add insult to injury by forcing us to read a quote from a homophobe in coverage of this tragedy?
Chris Hampton research assistant