4A Wednesday, October 23, 1996 OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN VIEWPOINT Students need guarantee of degree within 4 years Unfortunately, graduating in four years is becoming less common among college students nationwide. At the University of Kansas, students who graduate in four years quickly are becoming an endangered species. Instead, students are considered being on a five-year plan, a six-year plan or spending even longer to get an undergraduate degree. To help solve this problem, Fort Hays State University has decided to offer a guaranteed-degree plan. Officials have pledged to guarantee an undergraduate degree in four years, or the additional courses required to finish are free. Of course, the policy comes with ground rules. At Fort Hays, students accepted into the four-year guaranteed-degree program can't change their major, must complete 32 credit hours a year, must pass all classes with a Cor better and are required to follow other rules. For students who enter college with a specific course of study in mind, this program offers a guarantee that the university will help them graduate on time. This program, which was endorsed by Gov. Bill Graves, is designed to help students who are misadvised and are forced to stay an extra semester or year a problem that occurs all too often at the University of Kansas. The guaranteed-degree program also protects students against time conflicts among classes that fill up quickly and classes that are canceled or are not offered. KU administrators should consider offering a similar program. When the University doesn't uphold its duty to prepare students quickly and efficiently for the real world, it should forfeit the extra tuition needed to finish a degree rather than penalizing students for situations beyond their control. ANN MARCHAND FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD Fall break could ease stress give study time to students After the hectic pace of midterms, many students can't wait for Thanksgiving break to take a breather. To help students get through the long fall semester, the University should consider establishing a fall break. But deserving a fall break and actually getting one are different matters. Jeanette Johnson, assistant to the provost, said KU had the freedom to establish the first and the last day of classes, but it must comply with rules created by the Board of Regents: School must consist minimally of two 16-week semesters, in addition to five final exam days. The 1996-97 fall and spring semesters each contain 75 school days and six final exam days. But the fall semester may seem much longer than the spring semester because students go for 61 days, from Labor Day to Thanksgiving, without a break. In the spring semester, students have to go for only 44 days, from Martin Luther King Jr. Day to spring break, without a breather. Johnson said that if the school year started earlier, it would take away chances for students to make more money during the summer. Johnson said the University Calender Committee looks at how date changes will affect students. But no changes will take place soon because all date proposals are submitted one year in advance. The University should think about how a fall break could become a much-needed commodity to KU students because it could give students some valuable study time and could relieve stress from their hectic schedules. DOUG WEINSTEIN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD KANSAN STAFF AMANDA TRAUGHBER Editor CRAIG LANG Managing editor MATT HOOD Associate managing editor for design KIMBERLY CRABTREE CHARITY JEFFRIES News editors DARCI L. McLAIN SARA ROSE Public relations directors Editors Campus Suzanne Lóel Jason Strait Amy McVeay Editorial John Collar Nicole Hammery Features Adam Ward Sports Bill Petulla Associate sports Caryn Foster Online editor David L. Teakua Photo Rich Devkint Graphics Neil Musson Andy Rohrbach Special sections Amy McVeay Wire Debbie Staine KAREN GERSCH Business manager HEALY SMART Retail sales manager TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser JAY STEINER Sales and marketing adviser JUSTIN KNUFF Technology coordinator Business Staff Campus mgr ... Mark Oztmak Regional mgr ... Denna Haupt Assistant Retail mgr ... Dana Centeno National mgr ... Krista Nye Special sections mgr ... Hanna Kneel Production mgr ... Dan Kopeo Lisa Quebbman Marketing director ... Erie Johnson Creative director ... Desmond Brenner Stubby Wachter Mass Impact mgr ... Dena Placlotte Internet mgr ... Steve Sangor Jeff MacNellv/ CHICAGO TRIBUNI Idiosyncracies could land some on most wanted list If the Richard Jewell story has taught us anything, then it must be that we all should spend more time stripping away that which could make us into criminal suspects. Jewell, the Atlanta bombing suspect who is on the cusp of exoneration, enjoyed a quick ascent to the top of the FBI's list because he matched the profile of a bomber: a "frustrated white man, former police officer or military, who seeks to become a hero," an agent said. He also lived with his mother, which, I understand, never helps. But little is known about how the FBI thinks. Wouldn't it be nice if the FBI would publish what it considers to be the profiles of various felons? That way, we could avoid unwittingly matching one of the profiles. FBI, tell us what you are looking for in an arsonist, a bank robber or an extortionist so that we might make the necessary adjustments. Recently, I found a short story I had written long ago. It was particularly dreadful, and the best thing was that it was unfinished. But it happened to include a particularly gruesome murder scene. I thought that such a document would not work in my favor if my neighbor became the victim of an awful crime. Of course, no law enforcement official would have concluded after reading the passage that I had participated in another person's death, but I shredded the manuscript anyway. STAFF COLUMNIST It's important to know that law enforcement officers take their jobs seriously, and it isn't hard to get their attention. I learned that a few years ago. Moments after KU had lost a basketball to a less talented but more physical Nebraska team, a friend and I wrote angry letters to the director of Big Eight officiating. Our core arguments were the same: Nebraska had neutralized our superior talent by pushing, grabbing and hacking us nonstop for 40 minutes. Officials, somewhat understandably, were unwilling to call a foul every trip down the floor, so they called only the particularly egregious ones. That meant Nebraska essentially had narrowed the definition of a foul, and such a narrow definition was bad for the league, we argued. Our letters differed in our closing remarks. I wrote that cleaning up play would make the game more enjoyable for coaches, players, fans and families across Big Eight country. My friend wrote that if something weren't done to clean up play, he would single-handedly ruin the family atmosphere at the upcoming Big Eight Tournament. My letter elicited a three-page, nandwritten response from the officiating director, in which he politely refuted my arguments, and a copy of a scholarly essay titled "Advantage-Disadvantage: Rules, Philosophy and Principles," which supposedly is the theory upon which officials decide to blow their whistles. My friend's letter elicited a knock on our apartment door from a Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent. He was brandishing a shiny badge and a facsimile of the letter, and he wondered whether he could have a word with its author. Someday he might have a story to tell. It didn't take long for the agent to conclude that we were two harmless college punks, apparently not fitting the profile of "family atmosphere ruiners." But he did warn my friend to be more careful with the pen. If the tournament were marred by foul play, the agent said, then my friend would be a prime suspect. I'm not trying to make anyone paranoid. It's quite possible that enough digging around in any of our lives would yield the necessary components of a criminal profile. But there are little things we can do to stay out of lineups and the media spotlight, and I'm convinced a lot of us could do better. The other day, I spotted a fellow driving around with a personalized license plate that read, "STALKER." Scott Worthington is a Kansas City, Mo. graduate student in Journalism. LETTER TO THE EDITOR Budig's entire record should be considered I would like to comment on the Oct. 4 column by your sports editor. To begin, let me admit: I am a friend and admirer of Gene Budig, and I recommended to the Board of Regents that Budig Hall be named in his honor. I also recognize the recent trend by which some sports writers gain their reputations based on the level of negativity and criticism expressed in their columns; and I remember that my "grandpappy" taught me that you can't win fights with people who buy ink by the barrel. Nevertheless, a few facts are worth mentioning. Gene Budig was president or chancellor of three fine universities. He served the University of Kansas with distinction for 13 years — the longest tenure of a chancellor in recent years. His efforts led to the successful completion of Campaign Kansas, through which our Endowment Association raised more than $250 million to support the University's programs and students. He continues to contribute to the University — especially the Schools of Education and Journalism. He is a lifelong fan and student of the game of baseball. He has available a staff of attorneys to advise him on his decisions. He has detailed knowledge of the powers he can assume within his job contract and the restrictions imposed by the contracts with the major the contracts with the major league players association. While it is easy to criticize without facts, perhaps your writer could reassess his earlier judgments. I am proud that Budig Hall will remind future generations of his exceptional contributions to KU. Del Shankel chancellor emeritus and professor of microbiology Excessiveness is now the rule not exception for KU students Every few days, one of my roommates gets a call from a Topeka friend that usually starts something like this: Friend: "Hey Drew, guess how many cigarettes I had today?" Roommate: "Uh... Mom, is that you?" Friend: "No, this is Chad. Thirty-eight! Thirty-eight cigarettes, dude! But I'm quitting next week... unless there's, like, a really good party or something." STAFF COLUMNIST Last weekend, he and his cigarette paid me a visit. Not since A r n o l d Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno teamed up in Pumping Iron have I seen such a display of intensity. He breezed through two sets of 20 reps (two sets of cigarettes), then encouraged my roommate to have one more smoke with cries of, "Come on! You can do it!" My roommate, meanwhile, sat gasping with the bar and 200 pounds crushing his chest (smoker's cough). While our Topeka friend is anything but typical, his problem of excessive behavior is shared by many college students. All night cramming sessions, binge eating, binge drinking, binge sleeping and binge sex (well, maybe for some) are the rule, not the exception. For example, a recent Kansan article documented the lifestyle of architecture students, who at times may spend as many as 16 hours a day, seven days a week in the studio before a project is due. One student pointed to the long hours as evidence that architecture students work harder than anyone else. Of course, we all know that is not true. Consider the Internet: I have reason to believe that at least three individuals have not left the Computer Center since George Bush left office. The Computer Center and architecture studio are only two of many locales where students now can enjoy their chosen obsessions 24 hours a day. For the exercise buffs, there's Total Fitness, for the shopper, there's a variety of grocery stores and for those copy-craving nuts, there's Kinko's. I have found this daylong accessibility to be extremely helpful in allowing me to fulfill my excessive eating and drinking habits. My midnight visits to Food 4 Less for cereal, donuts and brownie mixes have become so frequent that the cashier writes my driver's license number on the check from memory. If it weren't for Kwik Shop's hours, I never would have been able to exceed the 100-ounce barrier for slushee drinking, which I have done four times this semester. The prevalence of excessive behavior on this campus and its encouragement through 24-hour establishments is evident, but the question is whether this behavior is problematic. I would say, yes, in some cases excessive behavior can be a problem. For example, if my count is correct, there already have been seven documented MIPs (masturbation in public) this semester. Not only has this caused anguish for several unconsenting viewers, but also just think what it's going to be like for this guy when it gets really cold. But then again, with all the warm, indoor businesses open 24 hours, maybe it won't be such a problem for him after all. Kinko's beware. Jeff Mudrick is a Topека sophomore in psychology. 2 THE AVENGING VARMINT By Lili Barrientos .