4A
Tuesday, September 10, 1996
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
Jayhawk license plates prevented by red tape
Allowing Kansas residents to purchase a license plate with a Jayhawk on it should not be as complicated as the Legislature has made it.
The goals of the law are admirable. It allows residents to express their school spirit and to give a donation to the school's scholarship program. The alumni associations at each Kansas university or community college, including Haskell Indian Nations University, may join the program. Kansas State University is the only institution offering the plates, and the requirements of the program indicate why.
Unlike the state's regular licensing program, purchasers must have their applications approved by the university before June 30. However, this deadline is for plates that will be produced in the following calendar year. That means purchasers must wait six to 17 months to receive the plate, depending on the date of their license renewal. Regular Kansas tags that have a personalized message take only four to six weeks to be completed.
While the University of Kansas Alumni Association is free to join the program, the requirements have made the program too burdensome, said Fred Williams, president of the association.
Williams cited programs in two states as examples of the disparate results that can occur in a collegiate tag program. In Indiana, such a program has about 23,000 members, while in Oklahoma only about 150 people have responded. Williams estimated that KU's results would be closer to Oklahoma's.
The law should be changed to conform with the state's other license tag system and to ensure that the institutions and residents benefit.
JOHN COLLAR FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Student theater companies need private donors' support
The School of Fine Arts could benefit from increased private donations. Aside from the money it receives from Student Senate to finance productions, it is at a disadvantage when compared to the private donations that are given to the Lied Center. The University Theatre and The University Dance Company are the only organizations that receive money from Student Senate. The English Alternative Theater, which is a part of the English department, relies entirely on private funds.
The University Theatre has a fund for private donations that is administered through the Endowment Association, which is called Friends of the Theater. Only two percent of the total operating budget comes from private donations. Kathy Pryor, associate director of the University Theatre, said she was not satisfied with this amount.
Paul Lim, director and founder of the English Alternative Theater, said major financing for its productions came from a retired professor who donated $12,000 to $15,000 a year through the Endowment Association. That amount covers about two-thirds of the financing. The rest comes from Lim's pocket.
Although the Lied Center is not a branch of the School of Fine Arts, it is affiliated with the University and responsible for larger productions. It has set up a fund through the Endowment Association, called Friends of Lied. Its private financing adds up to 9 percent of the total budget. Jackie Davis, director of the Lied Center, said that because public financing had been cut, it was struggling to make its budget.
The Lied Center may be struggling, but it is receiving more money in private donations than the University Theatre and English Alternative Theater. As these companies gain recognition for their productions, although on a smaller scale than those of the Lied Center, more private contributions should be made.
SARAH PRESTON 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
SARAH ROSE
Public relations directors
Editors
Campus ...Susanna Lóer
        Jason Strait
        ...Amy McVey
Editorial ...John Collier
Features ...Nicole Kennedy
Adam Ward
Bill Petulia
Associates sports ..Carlyn Foster
On-line editor ..David L. Teakas
Photo ..Rich Devinwid
Graphics ..Jacob Musse
Andy Rohrback
Special sections ..Amy McVey
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 KNUPP
Technology coordinator
Business Staff
Campus mgr ... Mark Ozdemik
Regional mgr ... Dennis Haupt
Asstistant Retail mgr ... Dana Centeno
National mgr ... Jared Brennan
Production mgr ... Heather Valler
Production mgr ... Dan Kopec
Marketing director ... Lisa Quibbman
Marketing director ... Desmond Lavelle
Classified mgr ... Wachter Wachter
There probably is not a time of the year I love as much as this. It is a time of rebirth — new classes, new professors, new roommates and new students to meet. And for me, it is exciting to have more people to hang out with than I had this summer.
Jeff MacNelly/ CHICAGO TRIBUNI
But my excitement extends beyond that. Decisions await student leaders, administrators and faculty who could change greatly the quality of the student experience at the University of Kansas.
Student body president pushes for real progress
I certainly have inherited an exciting time to be student body president.
Because of that, I thought that I should give you a glimpse of the vision that I think awaits us.
vision classes dramatic changes in student life at the University probably will result from a Board of Regents plan called Vision 2020. Specifically, the plan addresses one of the University's greatest deficiencies advising
The word on advising at the University traditionally has been "don't." Despite years of complaints from student leaders, little beyond lip service had been paid to this issue. However, thanks to the perseverance of my predecessors, particularly Kim Cocks and Dan Hare, the 1955-1996 student body president and vice president, this issue finally will get its hearing. Provost David Shulenburger will set up a committee to study the problem and offer an action plan to the Board of Regents beginning at its November meeting.
Advising has been one-dimensional for many students. However,
GUEST COLUMNIST
we must move beyond the institutional belief that superior advising lies in signing a permit to enroll.
life—be it a job, graduate school or a hobby. Finally, superior advising is the development of a relationship with a faculty member, not an indifferent experience with someone who would rather be doing other things. While some professors already meet this ideal, many do not.
Superior advising is directing students to the opportunities that many never learn about in their years here. Superior advising is assistance in planning for your
Another area of tremendous change will be student computing. The quantity and quality of your student computers will increase. While I made this an issue in last year's Student Senate election, there probably has been no greater proponent for improvements in this area than Chancellor Hemenway. Largely by setting aside shrinkage monies, Hemenway was able to generate more than twice the money for student computing expenditures than that which the University will be able to spend from the Regents tuition technology set-aside.
However, the University will not be able to use shrinkage monies every year, or even every five years.
we must develop a long-term plan. I pleaded this case at the last Board of Regents meeting, and the Regents responded by resolving to create a task force to develop solutions in consultation with the Kansas Legislature. I intend to remain quite involved in that effort until a long-term solution is found.
While these two initiatives push the University to the edge of real progress, countless others remain. Negotiations have begun between the University and Lawrence regarding city transit and changes in the University's system. Nonetheless, results are distant and require much more work. The University's need for a new child care center has not dissipated, and fee monies still are being collected, but a new building is not imminent. Our campus safety program deserves a review for the first time in five years to see where improvements can be made. Finally, credit-card tuition payment needs to be reinstalled. And that only scratches the surface.
I have a lot to do. I probably won't get it all done, but I will try.
My effectiveness depends on my understanding of your opinions and problems. And while I know of and am working to resolve many of your concerns, I guarantee you that there are many others of which I am not even aware. Therefore, I encourage you to contact me by:
1. ) Calling 864-3710
1. Dropping by 410 Kansas Union
2. Writing me at greymont@falcon.cc.ukans.edu
Grey Montgomery is a Junction City senior in journalism and political science and is president of the student body.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Computer Center fee unwarranted, unfair
The new fee and the new policies being thrown at us by the Computer Center are totally unfair and unwarranted. Although I disagree with how the money is being spent, I can somewhat understand the increase from $30 to $50 a year. It has been stated that $150,000 will go to modems and $70,000 will go toward additional staffing.
that the Computer Center will never hear from them again. So, basically we are paying $70,000 for support down at the Computer Center for students that are trying to print out papers for their classes. The University needs to look at this policy and say: "Let's see, would we rather let these guys dial in using their own machines, or would we like to buy a bunch more computers and pay for additional lab space?"
Most dial-in users might have a question the day or two after they pay for their connection, but after
I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to see that it is obviously cheaper for the University to have us on the phone line than to have us on a computer in the lab
Additionally, this fee is unfair because we should have access to the resources that we have helped pay for, regardless of the time frame we would like to use it. This fee also doesn't take into account users that are dialing into the Computer Center during off-peak hours. Robinson Center doesn't make people leave if they have been there too long. The Computer Center should not be allowed to do this either.
■ Jim Wilson
St. Louis senior
wilson@eecs.ukans.edu
Supermodels not to blame for anorexia and bulimia
The statement that skinny, glorified fashion models perpetuate eating disorders in women has become so commonplace — a feminist mantra almost — that it no longer carries any effect. We just shrug our shoulders and say that yes, perhaps they do.
Why not blame the fashion and media industries? The American public constantly is confronted with images of slender women whose
STAFF COLUMNIST
shapes change according to trends. Young girls see these bodies, exalted to embarrassing degrees, and feel a desperate need to be just like them. Therefore, eating disorders are the result of the cult of the supermodel.
The dictators of fashion now are kicking against
rus misconception. Rebecca Johnson's commentary in the September issue of Vogue attempts to break down the myth of fashion's responsibility to the health and livelihood of young American women. According to Johnson, not only are the images of models not the root cause of anorexia and bulimia, but they also stand as a service to the public, displaying the ideal to the ever-growing girth of the nation. And to some extent — as difficult as it may be to admit — she has a point.
In the interest of longevity and the physical quality of life, being thin is better than being fat. We've heard it all before: People who are not overweight run a lower risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and other health problems. Fashion models may represent a minority of the population in their culturally praised beauty, and they do make their living as symbols of perfection.
Fine. But we still are left with finding the cause of eating disorders. Low self-esteem is the catalyst of the problem, but what is the root of that? And why have we been so conditioned to point a finger at Kate Moss — who clearly is not anorexic
The truth is, we have become lazy in our search for cause and effect.
Throughout Western civilization, men have been noted for their heroics, women for their beauty. The feminist movement of the 1970s set out to change that. Unfortunately, somewhere in the journey we were ambushed.
In our battle to overcome the objectification of the female body, a growing monster for which models have minimal responsibility, we have turned to attacking the object itself rather than the objectifier. Add this to the growing fad of victimization, and immediately our bodies no longer remain in our control. We would rather blame faceless forces for what we shove in our mouths.
If models perpetuate anorexia and bulimia, then we also must incriminate ourselves for supporting the industry. If the market rejected these images, they would go away.
But because fashion magazines are a multimillion dollar force, someone is demanding the alleged detrimental images, and chances are it is me
It is natural for us to be drawn to beautiful images. We must be careful, however, in assigning worth to surface appearances. Eating disorders never will go away if we continue to praise pretty faces and small skeletal frames too much, and progress will not be made in our struggle to diminish women's low self-esteem if we do nothing but point fingers at who we can comfortably blame, ignoring our own contribution to the problem.
Leslie Bowyer is a Lawrence senior in English and art history.
HUBIE
OKAY, I CAN TALK ABOUT DRUGS, SMOKING, DEATH,
BROKEN FAMILIES, POLITICS,
MASS MURDER, UNNATURAL SEX, BAD ETHICS, STUPIDITY,
BREAKING THE LAW; I CAN SWEAR, TAUNT, SLANDER,
SCREAM, OR EVEN HIT YOU
UPSIDE THE HEAD AND YOU WON'T BE MAD, RIGHT 2
By Greg Hardim