Opinion
Kansan
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
Friday, September 11, 1998
Editorials
Neglect threatens 'Student Ghetto'
Most KU students are familiar with the area east of campus affectionately known as the "student ghetto." It is an area full of not-so-new housing developments with less-than-reliable maintenance and few modern amenities. But in a convenience-oriented society and booming economic climate, many students are looking for nicer and newer living arrangements.
The area between Louisiana and Vermont streets from Ninth to 19th streets is reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting, but it also is being abandoned.
Some students are looking for newer buildings and more conveniences, and the housing industry has responded. This school year, more students took to Sixth Street and Clinton Parkway, newer developments west of campus. This trend is progressing slowly year by year and could be damaging to the city and the residents of the University if it continues unchecked.
A study by Keller and Associates last year showed that there are increasing vacancies in older apartment complexes. These vacancies could become hazards if they remain vacant for long. Last month, an unoccupied apartment complex deemed a historical landmark in the 1600 block of Tennessee Street suffered a fire that police think was caused by arson. Had the complex been occupied, it may not have been such an easy target.
Landlords and tenants must maintain houses to preserve the KU housing tradition.
It also is possible that unoccupied buildings will not be given proper maintenance by their owners while they wait for residents, which would deepen the problem. Students may be unaware of existing problems in the houses where they move.
However, the buildings that are being lived in often are not being looked after either. One house on Kentucky Street, occupied by KU students, was condemned last month for having raw sewage in its basement.
Each year, a new set of roommates moves into these houses, likely adding a little bit of neglect to the amount of neglect already built up. It is a slow downward spiral that could cause a historic Lawrence neighborhood to become unlivable.
In the current economic climate, more students are looking for off-campus housing. Needing a bus or parking permit and using extra gas are not as dawning as they were six or seven years ago.
"It just seems that students today have cars attached to them," said Lou Ann Lee, Lawrence housing programs specialist.
Lee said apartments with more amenities are attracting more students.
"I think students are looking for quality, not the typical student environment," said Paulette Teague, manager of Tuckaway Apartments, 2600 W. Sixth St. "They don't want boxes and crates to live on anymore."
No one wants to see the "student ghetto" become a ghost town. Changes must be made by both landlords and tenants before the trend can be reversed.
Erinn R. Barcomb and Ronnie Wachter for the editorial board
Landlords will have to make improvements on their houses to keep current tenants and attract those who might be looking to live elsewhere. Tenants will have to take better care of their property to ensure that it is livable for the next residents. Without these changes, Lawrence's student gheto will be lost to future gheto residents.
Classroom etiquette is a necessity
Students who choose to come to class but have no desire to actively participate in their education should save themselves the trouble and stay home.
Students may come to class, but rather than paying attention and trying to learn, they cause disruptions. Talking through an entire class session, reading a newspaper, listening to headphones, or leaving early can be disruptive.
Although it may be a student's preregative to not pay attention, such behavior is disruptive to those trying to learn and to the instructor as well.
Article 2. Section B in the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities
Disruptive students should just stay home rather than ruining class for others.
Bill of Rights states that "Students are free to pursue their education goals; appropriate opportunities for learning in the classroom and on the campus shall be provided by the University."
Inappropriate behavior by students clearly hinders the University in providing an atmosphere conducive to learning. In turn, this violates students' rights.
College professors should not have to act as disciplinarians. By the time students come to college, they should be mature enough to handle themselves in a classroom setting, or make the choice not to come at all. Some classes either allow a few absences during the semester or do not require attendance at all. In such cases, disruptive students should not feel forced to attend class.
People talking or leaving class is counterproductive to those trying to pay attention. Dealing with these situations is a test of concentration for dedicated students.
Kansan staff
Disruptive students need to make one of two choices: pay attention or stay at home.
Ann Premer ... Editorial
Tim Harrington ... Associate Editorial
Aaron Marvin ... News
Gwen Olson ... News
Aaron Knopf ... Online
Matt Friedrichs ... Sports
Kevin Wilson ... Associate sports
Marc Sheforgen ... Campus
Laura Roddy ... Campus
Lindsey Henry ... Features
Bryan Volk ... Associate features
Roger Nomer ... Photo
Corie Waters ... Photo
Angle Kuhn ... Design, graphics
Mellissa Ngo ... Wire
Sara Anderson ... Special sections
Laura Veazy ... Nees Clerk
Erinn R. Barcomb for the editorial board
News editors
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Stacia Williams ... Assistant retail
Brandi Byram ... Campus
Micah Kafitz ... Regional
Ryan Farmer ... National
Matt York ... Marketing
Stephanie Krause .. Production
Matt Thomas .. Production
Traci Meisenheimer .. Creative
Tenley Lane .. Classified
Sara Cropper .. Zone
Nicole Farrell .. Zone
Jon Schlitt .. Zone
Shannon Curran .. Zone
Matt Lopez .. Zone
Brian Allers .. PR/Intern manager
Braden your mind: Today's quote
"I recommend you take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of those meetings." - ClutterFeld
How to submit letters and guest columns
Lettera: 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 hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
themselves." — Chesterfield
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 Stauffer-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.
Perspective
Beware of next election our rights may slip away
Take this column as an early warning for elections this November. There are politicians running who would love to take away citizens' freedom to enhance their
own power. Aided by almost admirable patience, they're willing to steal it one issue at a time.
Sadly, these officials often position themselves so that they appear to be defending consumers or — even better
Andrew Marino opinion @ kansan.com
— "the children" from the Big Bad Business that sells a "dangerous" product. In this election that product is tobacco, and judging from the smoky haze that dangles daily above Wesco Beach, we should have plenty of people on campus
The facts are that the situation is getting better, not worse. A University of Alabama study found that for the first time this century, the number of cancer deaths showed a sustained decline from 1990 to 1995. The researchers credited most of the drop to a reduction in cigarette smoking. Also, there are as many ex-smokers living in the U.S. today as there are smokers. These are not the signs of a problem needing to be solved.
Another common tactic used by money-seeking politicians is to concoct a crisis where none exists. Pointing to deaths, increasing health costs and the highly addictive nature of tobacco, these politicians scream that "something must be done." Artificially heightening the importance of an issue is common when elected officials are eager to raise and spend money. This issue is no different.
ready to defend a piece of their freedom.
In the 1970s, the non-elected members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a decree requiring children's pajamas to be made from flame resistant, tight-fitting polyester rather than the cooler and more comfortable cotton. It wasn't until 1997 that kids across our great nation were relieved from their nights of scratchy sleeplessness. Members of the commission realized that sneaky, unconcerned parents were buying unofficial pajamas that looked and felt like the real thing but were labeled "not intended for sleep."
Most solutions proposed by Congress would probably make the "problem" worse anyway. Demonizing cigarettes more than they already are wouldn't help — it's not as if kids who smoke are out rounding up votes for sainthood. Making cigarettes more expensive would encourage theft and a larger black market.
Although anti-tobacco crusaders and those protesting against flammable Underroos may seem to be distant ideological cousins, they hold the same condescending assumptions about the average citizen. Both think that we are a bunch of bumbling, callous idiots. They think we need people to set rules for us to insure safety and health.
So where will all of the madness lead? Taxing foods according to their fat content would seem logical. Deaths related to diet number 300,000 a year and are growing, compared to 500,000 and decreasing for smoking. The point is that people must start to recognize threats to their freedom and start to fight those threats. Our right to eat Twinkies in the future could depend on it.
People in my age group sit idly by while these rules invariably whittle away our freedom and range of choice.
represent America's working people, it is the case A common argument to the tax is that those wily tobacco companies are just too darn smart for us or that we are too dumb to resist their mind-numbing magazine ads. Evidence shows, however, that tobacco advertising is largely ineffective at getting people to start smoking. The main effect of the ads is getting smokers to switch brands.
In an effort to curb teen smoking, the vast majority of the Democratic party led by the president, as well as a few maverick Republicans, have backed proposals to increase the federal tax on cigarettes by as much as $2 a pack. Democrats, who usually like to pretend they represent America's working folk, favor the tax.
Marino is a Prairie Village sophomore majoring in political science.
Corporate contribution to schools appropriate
Lately, the role of corporate America in higher education has become a matter of contention.
On one side of the argument, direct financing of educational institutions by corporations is corrupting the undefiled pursuit of knowledge on college campuses.
David Katzman, chairman of American studies, who lectured recently about this matter at the University, goes so far as to say that the University is now "a commodity to be bought and sold." This seemed to be a favorite theme of Katzman's, who spent nearly an hour criticizing the involvement of corporations in education.
David
Perico
email@kansan.com
The only consistent argument he made was not really much of an argument. It was a complaint that professors don't have as much control over the decisions made at universities as they used to.
Because Chancellor Robert Hemenway did not seek faculty approval for the Coca-Cola Katzman said "the University sold out and is now a market to be exploited by corporations." In other words, if the University receives several million dollars to enhance the quality of student life without the express consent of the faculty, that's evil. That's some pretty harsh criticism for an agreement that doesn't do any more harm than to take Pepsi machines off campus.
In fact, I think that the Coca-Cola deal was beneficial to the University and the students. Millions of dollars from the contract will go toward student scholarships and campus events that the University could not afford to sponsor otherwise.
I've heard other people on campus complain about corporate dollars for education. Those arguments were no more compelling than Katzman's.
For example, I overheard a sarcastic comment about whether there might someday be a "Burger King Elementary School!" and what a farce that would be. Well, there already is such a school right here in Kansas. The school is Burger King Alcott and it's in Wichita. True, the name sounds strange, but I never heard any complaints about it. There would be a lot less money in Burger King Alcott's budget if they didn't receive financial support from Burger King. That money doesn't lead to academic corruption. It buys vital supplies, such as textbooks.
The situation at the University of Kansas and Burger King Albcott is somewhat different, but the general principal is the same. If either school did not have a use for the money, they wouldn't have made the deal with a corporation. The money that the University receives doesn't corruit it anymore than funds from the government.
a number of students are going to get scholarships from the Coca-Cola fund and if more organizations can get special event funding, who cares Pepsi won't be in vending machines. The mission of the University is not to provide a diversity of soft drinks for the students. The role of this University is to provide an education for the students, and corporate money from Coca-Cola has enhanced the education of many students at the University.
i support the right of any professor or student to make a big deal out of even the silliest issue, but corporate America is not trying to corrupt higher education. Corporations are trying to support higher education. But if universities want corporations to pick up the slack left behind by the federal government, these schools are going to have to accept that corporations have a right to take reasonable steps to protect their financial interests by entering into exclusive deals with educational institutions.
Perico is a Lawrence sophomore majoring in English.
Feedback
KU shouldn't build recreational facility
A recent editorial said that it was surprising that three years ago, the proposal for a new recreational facility failed in a student referendum.
As someone who fought against this ill-conceived proposal for student recreation, I can tell you it is not surprising at all that it went down in flames. There is a lesson to be learned from the numbers and the experience.
Quite simply, the proposal was a bad one.
It was too expensive. It would cost $21.5 million and would have raised every student's recreation fees from $13
Most importantly, it was wasteful and a sham. Why build a new facility that would have had only two more basketball courts than Robinson currently has? Why spend $800,000 for new offices for Rec Services when the ones they have are just fine?
It was in a bad place. The center was to be stuck out on West Campus, near 23rd and Iowa streets.
to $90 per semester.
In all, I am incredulous at the way the debate surrounding improving recreation is being framed by Recreation Services. I am further disappointed that the editorial board has bought it — hook, line, and sinker.
Recreation facilities need to
be improved. However, this can be done without building a separate, new facility. Rather, why not build additional weight room and basketball facilities in the numerous fields near Robinson and continue to use what we have already built and paid for.
The facilities are not crumbling as Rec Services would have you believe — they are merely overcrowded and not open enough hours.
I hope that Senate and Recreation Services will learn from the past and not present students with another bum proposal that is doomed to failure.
Jason Fizell
Jason Fixell May KU graduate, Madison. Wisc.