Opinion
Kansan
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Jodie Chester, Editor
Gerry Doyle, Managing editor
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Mondav. September 14, 1998
Editorials
Paper-saving strategy backfires for students without online access
if you're taking an introductory level health, sport and exercise science course this semester, you may never receive a syllabus, a test review or any other type of class handout. Information that used to be given out in class is available only online.
Instructors in the department of HSEs are being encouraged strongly to post class information — such as syllabi and test reviews — on the Internet instead of handing out the information during class. Graduate teaching assistants, who teach virtually all of the introductory HSES courses, do not even have the option of giving their students a handout unless they first get permission.
Joseph Donnelly, chairman of the department of HSES, stresses that this new approach is more of a change in departmental attitude than a change in policy. This attitude calls
HSES courses no longer are using paper for syllabi or class handouts.
for the department to take advantage of available technology.
An additional, and perhaps stronger, motivation for the department's decision is cost. Donnelly said that before the change in attitude, the costs for paper and photocopying in the department were high and continuing to rise. In the past, some GTAs had duplicated entire books to hand out to their students.
The encouragement of GTAs to make course information available on the Internet is commendable. The University should encourage students and faculty to use available technology and resources, such as the
Internet. The HSES and other departments should continue to incorporate Internet usage into classes so that students will be prepared for the computing skills they will need after graduating
Susan Dunavan for the editorial board
Tuition policy benefits true Kansans
Unfortunately, the other half of the department of HSES's new strategy is not so commendable. Although it is economically smart and environmentally friendly to discourage GTAs from using class handouts, it might not always be in the students' best interests. Although the University makes the Internet available to students through its computer centers, not all students — especially those who live off campus — have convenient access to the Internet.
The office of the University of Kansas Registrar should be commended for implementing a policy for students who moved away from Kansas for less than a year before applying for admission and would have been classified as nonresidents.
By preventing instructors from handing out syllabi and other information, the department of HESS is limiting the resources of the students.
There are cases in which students who spent most of their lives in Kansas must leave the state for a short period of time before they apply to the University. Some move away during their senior year of high school and then return. Others have to take a year off from school to be with family in another state.
Once these students had left the state, the University required them
If a Kansan leaves the state for a year or less, he or she still can pay in-state tuition.
to pay out-of-state tuition fees when they returned to Kansas in less than a year.
Out-of-state tuition is considerably higher than in-state tuition — an out-of state undergraduate pays $213.95 more per credit hour than a resident. This policy upset those set on attending the University and discouraged others from coming.
The office of the Registrar's new policy eases this problem.
Under the new residency rule, students who have been lifelong residents of Kansas but have moved away from the state for less than 12 months before applying for admission may still be considered Kansas residents if they lived in the state at the time they turned in their application to the University.
This rule may aid only a small group of students, but it certainly will alleviate the monetary stress and acknowledge that they are, in fact. Kanss.
Sometimes bureaucrats are reluctant to change existing rules such as this, but this time the Registrar's office did the right thing and deserves recognition.
Ann Premer . . . Editorial
Tim Harrington . . Associate Editorial
Aaron Marvin . . News
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“In philosophy it is not the attainment of the goal that matters, it is the things that are met with by the way.” — Havelock Ellis
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All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansen newsroom, 111 Staufer-Filn Hall. The Kansen reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Ann Premer (premer@kansen.com) or Tim Harrington (tharrington@kansen.com) at 864-4810. If you have general questions or comments, email the page staff (opition@kansen.com) or call 864-4810.
Perspective
Philosophy professor taught more than texts
Hume, Kant, Descartes and how to think. These things were some of what J. Michael Young, professor of philosophy, taught me in his introductory
Jennifer Kimball
Guest columnist
philosophy course. He also taught (by example more than precept) how to live life with zest, boundless generosity, commitment and caring. He taught me all of these lessons in the year I knew him before cancer claimed his life.
On Saturday, one floor of Templin Hall that houses honors students was dedicated as the Young House. In giving a short speech at the event.
I felt honored to be a part of a ceremony honoring Young. It was important to be able to show my appreciation of his influence in my life by sharing my experience with those who will live in a place that bears his name.
Although I took the class four years ago, I remember Philosophy 141 very well. It is the class I wish my little sister could have visited to convince her to attend the University of Kansas. Young's style of teaching was effective because he was genuine.
He honestly thought that his class of freshmen had valuable insights about the texts he had been studying for years, and he was willing to spend the time wading through the hazy dialogue that surrounded those insights. Young had a gift for transforming the most confused and garbled student comments into clear and articulate philosophical discussion. Discussion always is risky in 100-level philosophy courses. The abstract ideas of the philosophers are difficult to make clear. As a result, students often are afraid to comment or ask questions.
In Young's class, however, there was always lively discussion. He was the lens that focused our thoughts. Speaking in class was never a scary prospect. The questions Young asked helped me learn to ask myself questions that would bring a text into focus. Our discussions in class helped me understand how to do philosophy in a way that was interesting and relevant.
The comments he gave on papers helped me learn to write about philosophy in ways that were both creative and clear. Young's intellectual vigor was evident in the way he taught philosophy and in the way he helped us learn to write and speak.
Young was also generous with his time. On the first day of class, he informed us that because he had cancer there would be some canceled classes when he had treatments, and the course might be canceled if he
Although Young's health worsened during the course of the semester, I remember him missing only a few classes. He was committed to teaching us and always had energy for class. His love of teaching and philosophy was evident in his approach. He wanted not only for his students to understand the material, but also for his students to enjoy discussing it. On days near mid-terms and finals when we were all tired and sluggish, Young was understanding and animated. Eventually, the class got caught up in discussion, drawn in by Young's questions or by the responses his questions drew from other students.
passed away during the semester. His time was short, and yet he made time to teach the class and always made time for students. Not long after class started, I asked him some questions about a topic I had studied in a summer class. He stayed after class for quite awhile to discuss my questions, and later emailed some further comments to me. From that time on, Young and I e-mailed frequently and occasionally met at his office to discuss philosophy. He became my adviser and friend, giving me council on everything from choosing a major to cross-country skiing.
Once the semester was over, Young and I kept in contact through e-mail and occasional visits in his office. I was awed by his continually upbeat attitude. His love for life was apparent in his approach to death. He had resolved to live. Moreover, he had resolved to live doing the work he loved. We still talked about the philosophies of Kant and Hume, but we also talked about life plans. He shared with me his love of teaching, research and advising. Occasionally, he told me about a new doctor, or an upcoming therapy session — planning for his life. We also discussed my plans — wanting to become a professor, choosing classes, seizing opportunities for research and studying abroad.
Young died the summer after my freshman year. His influence in my life, however, has not ended. I still use the kind of questioning I learned from him to understand philosophical texts. I recently learned to cross-country ski and I am still hoping one day to be a professor.
I am grateful for the time I was able to spend with him and learn from him. Although I now have other good advisers, I miss his special brand of advice and friendship. His teaching style is one I hope to emulate someday, and I will be indebted forever for the lessons in philosophy and life he taught in Philosophy 141 and beyond.
Kimball is a Ulysses senior majoring in philosophy and political science.
Smart cards dampen transportation experience
technology is wonderful thing. If it weren't for technology, there would be no telephones, no computers and no hotter, operate pleasure devices like
you'll find at Priscilla's. Yet technology has a mean, ugly side. Usually this bad side is revealed when technology is thrust into places where it is not needed or wanted. The new KU bus-pass system was a perfect example.
The old validation system — now new again — of showing one's sticker-emblazoned ID card to the driver worked fine. There were no secret sticker-forgery rings or sticker-stealing vang about which
Carrie Johnson opinion @ kansan.com
I knew. The system works fine. A fraction of a second was all it takes for the driver to look at your card, give a slight nod and click the counter.
So why the change in the first place?
The new — now old — process was more complicated and much slower. Students had to insert the card into the reader a certain way — gold chip first, right-side up, front of card facing left — hold it in for a second or so for the machine to recognize the chip, then pull it out quickly and wait for the machine to give a green light and beep its approval. This all took about three seconds, assuming the person boarding knew how to do it. The inexperienced took longer.
Three seconds may not sound like much, but when there were 40 people trying to get on a bus, the extra time quickly added up to delays. Drivers said they were usually five to 10 minutes behind schedule because of the new—now old—system, and sometimes ran up to 30 minutes late; and that was on days with nice weather.
On rainy days or when it gets cold, many more people will be riding the bus. I shudder at the thought of what delays that hightech card system would have created. The cards reportedly didn't even work when wet.
Picture it: Scores of students standing in the icy rain, waiting to board the nice cozy bus, but being slowed to a snail's pace because no one's card will work unless it is bone dry. Can't you just feel it now — you're cold, wet, and chilled to the bone.
I don't know whose idea it was to switch. I assume they meant well, but I doubt that the person or persons who are responsible ride the bus very often. Anyone who has had experience boarding a crowded bus knows that speed is essential. And anyone who has had trouble with a stubborn ATM, debit or credit card knows that electronic reading systems and speed are not necessarily associated with one another.
Bus drivers hated the new — now old — system. Students hated the new — now old — system.
Thankfully, the people have spoken! (Or grumbled loudly.) For now, at least, they've trashed the card-readers (by putting tape over the opening or by stuffing it full of candy wrappers) and drivers are only looking at our IDs, though the cards don't give any visual proof that we've paid for a bus pass.
At least for the near future, we've returned to the good old days of the simple flash-and-go
—and now invisible sticker — bus pass. No complicated electronic verification systems to worry about. Just flash the card to the friendly, unstressed, on-time bus driver and grab a seat. You don't have to show it to the driver in any special way, at any certain speed or for any definite length of time. You just flash it and go. And the cards certainly will work even if they have a few raindrops on them.
But let's remember: If someone decides to bring the electronic readers back, don't take out your frustration on the drivers. They would hate it even more than you do. Can you imagine having to listen to that evil thing beep all day? Instead, let's just keep complaining to the people with the power to bring back the 1984-like bus system.
If we don't get the electronic readers removed permanently, someone might snap and take a screwdriver to the useless things.
Johnson is an Oklahoma City sophomore majoring in English.
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