4A
Thursday, August 29, 1996
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
Indifference impedes successful recycling
Recycling instills the vigor to make a difference in some people and indifference in others. The importance of a coordinated recycling effort at the University has been brought to the fore by a select few, among them the newly appointed campus environmental specialist, Victoria Silva. In a recent article in the Kansan, Silva conveyed an eagerness to strengthen campuswide recycling programs, namely paper and aluminum cans. She stated that the entire student body needs to act as a unified group in its recycling programs.
However, some students have grown tired of the played-out save-the-earth theme and complain that recycling is an inconvenience. In part, this may be true. Students may lack transportation to Wal-Mart or to any of the recycling centers in Lawrence. Students also may lack the extra change needed for Conservation Resources Recycling to pick up their recyclable materials. But does the cry of inconvenience exonerate students who blanket the Kansas Union lobby with newspapers, aluminum cans and other articles of trash while four aluminum can receptacles and six newspaper recycling bins go unnoticed? The same is true for other buildings on campus where aluminum cans are thrown on the floor or in trash containers while recycling bins are nearby.
Conscientious efforts now are being put forth to create a coherent, more efficient means of recycling, but the student body must show its support both vocally, by voicing desires to have more on-campus recycling centers, and physically, by using the recycling facilities that now are available across campus. The problems that are plaguing recycling efforts are being addressed. Franklin Roosevelt once said that government cannot close its eyes to pollution but that the people cannot be blinded by indifference.
NICK ZALLER FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
New recycling agreement not the same old garbage
The recent agreement between the University of Kansas and Dickerson Recycling to collect office paper and green-bar computer paper for recycling is a positive step toward establishing a comprehensive waste-reduction program at the University.
Victoria Silva, KU environmental specialist, said the contract had been drafted by the facilities operations department and would be effective for one year. Before the new contract, the University had to find recycling companies willing to agree to a monthly contract to collect office and green-bar paper.
The agreement will allow the University to expand the new program to include other items such as aluminum cans and newspapers. The cautious advancement by Silva and facilities operations attests to their commitment to bring a respectable program to the University Rather than quickly involving the University in yet another monthly recycling venture, the new agreement responsibly expands the University's current recycling efforts.
Even while operating with monthly contracts, nearly 64,469 pounds of white office paper and 23,261 pounds of computer paper were diverted from the University's waste stream in the last fiscal year, Silva said. Students and faculty may be assured that the increased commitment to recycling by the University will help make these figures grow. With any recycling program, however, its success depends on the committed efforts of students and faculty to a cleaner campus and a healthier environment.
JEREMY LIND FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
AMANDA TRAUGHBER
Editor
CRAIG LANG
Managing editor
MATT HOOD
Associate managing editor for
design
KIMBERLY CRABTREE
CHARTY JEFFRIES
News editors
DARCI L. McLAIN
Public Relations Director
KAREN GERCH
Business manager
HEALY SMART
Retail sales manager
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
JAY STEINER
Sales and marketing adviser
JUSTIN KNUPP
Technology coordinator
Campus ... Susanna Lloh
Jason Bratt
Editorial ... Amy McVey
John Colter
Nicole Kennedy
Features ... Adam Wirt
Bill Perlilla
Associate sports ... Carly Foster
On-line editor ... David L. Teaks
Photo ... Rich Devkivi
Graphics ... Nosh Museus
Andrew Robinson
Special sections ... Amy McVey
Wire ... Debbie Stame
Business Staff
Campus mgr .. Mark Odkmek
Regional mgr .. Dennie Haupt
Assistant Retail mgr .. Dana Gentono
National mgr .. Krista Nye
Special Sections mgr .. Heather Valler
Production mgrs .. Don Kopec
Marketing director .. Lisa Quebsemban
Public Relations dir .. Sara Roe
Gree 've director .. Desmond Lavelle
Classified mgr .. Shelly Wecker
Shawn Trimble / KANSAN
IT DOESNT TAKE A VILLAGE TO RAISE SOMEONE
Language is degenerating into lexicon of the ludicrous
A grave Kansas City TV correspondent looked into the camera this summer and reported, "What we have here is a murder-suicide gone bad." The goal, of course, was to shock us, to lure our attention with the macabre.
Unfortunately, he didn't say quite what he meant. A murder-suicide gone bad sounds like rather a good thing. A murder-suicide pulled off without a hitch would yield a decidedly worse result, wouldn't it?
The problem here is that you and I have to take the time to think through such comments. It seems our society has lost control of our language. Snappy words are elbowing the humble-but-clear words out of the way.
Phrasing used for effect is clouding and sometimes distorting the message. From reporters to corporate types, people are increasingly compelled to eliminate good sentences or use confusing phrases for sound ideas.
Words like "empowerment" and "proactive" percolate in our everyday language. They somehow survive in the defenders' of the language teeth.
What would happen if everyone on this campus were asked to drop everything and just get proactive? Would we instantly give new life to the nickname "Harvard on the Kaw," or would we collectively scratch our chins?
If you had a business-related internship this summer, you probably were asked to think outside the box, or you had serious discussions about how to implement change.
STAFF COLUMNIST
You may have caused a traffic jam on your radar screen because you were too busy trying to align yourself with the corporate culture or inject value-
added input during face time with the vice president. Or maybe you just sat around and read Dilbert.
Either way, I'll bet you felt a little uneasy in the first week while your co-workers fired off buzzwords as fast as a Tommy gun. And I'll bet that feeling persisted until the next week, when you could volley them back with equal abandon.
The media have a well-publicized history of such offenses. But for every murder-suicide gone bad there are several subtle offenses.
How often do reporters use "literally" when they mean figuratively? Why do we find classified ads containing "pre-owned" items instead of used ones?
Perhaps there is a new practice of buying things, not using them, and then selling them at a reduced price.
"Hip" is used so often that it has no clear meaning anymore. Hip is supposed to be an elite club. If everything becomes hip, then nothing is hip.
Tom Junod wrote in a GQ story this summer that hip "now stands for a culture so elephantine and greedily inclusive that writers have given up trying to define it at all, and now just use it, hoping that we, their readers, will stumble upon a definition of our own, through inference."
Most would agree that language is naturally symbolic and therefore open to interpretation. But why not save us some time and use "poor" instead of "economically disadvantaged?"
It's difficult to think of a solution to this problem because the problem infects nearly every section of society. You can't just blame the media because the media largely are describing what they hear from government and business leaders. I doubt the problem stems from the pump of academe because buzzwords are anathema to every professor I have known.
That leaves a few of us informed, many of us confused, and the rest of us just happy to report we're still the victims of murder-suicides gone bad.
Maybe it's time for language constables to start cracking down, to get a little red in the tooth and claw because increasingly less of our language is easy to understand.
Scott Worthington is a Kansas City, Mo. graduate student.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Computer Center fee increase unreasonable
The Computer Center will be raising the price of terminal server accounts yet again.
During the past academic year, the center charged $30 per year for a terminal server account to pay for new telephone lines and equipment. Service was substantially better because more users could dial in at the same time. That situation lasted for two years, and now the center wants to raise the price to $50 per year. I find this increase particularly unfair.
I believe there are two reasons the center wants to charge more for the accounts: to control network traffic and to get more
monev to pay for upgrades.
money to pay upgrades.
Thirty dollars is very different from $50 in the minds of most. Some people would like to try dial-in services but are unsure of the benefits. They may be more willing to try something they are unsure of for $30 but not $50. Therefore, the center limits traffic by deterring indecisive users.
I understand that network traffic must be controlled so that the system does not become overloaded. I understand that the center would like to generate revenue for server upgrades to serve the campus better. What I do not understand is the need to raise everyone's fees. Some users stay logged on for 10 or more hours at a time. If the center would like to control traffic, it should differentiate between normal users, those who log in for up to 50 hours per month, and mega users, those who log in for more than 50 hours per month. The center has tried to address the usage issue by charging 50 cents per hour for each hour more than 50 per month. This assumes that most users will use 50 hours per month. Personally, I would be lucky to use 50 hours in two months.
If the computer center wants to decrease network traffic and offset prices of upgrades, there are many alternatives to dipping into students' already well-picked pockets.
- Timothy Baroni
Plattesmouth, Neb.
graduate student
Cultural icons provide guide for world view
Hello. And welcome to 15 Inches, which is what I have decided to name this column. I considered Please Love Me, Don't Walk on the Grass and Finals Are Stressful! just to establish these points up front so we wouldn't have to endure the perennial bumper crop of Kansan columns that reach these conclusions.
After deciding on a name, I was determined that instead of swallowing my neuroses and anxieties about becoming member of the
STAFF COLUMNIST
public forum and a voice of my generation (which would involve writing an actual column), I would bleed openly for a little while.
I confess that this is new to me. I fear change. Not all change, just bad change. Well, actually, most change. Just as when they switched den mothers on *The*
Facts of Life, I was at sea for months. I found Beverly Ann to be nowhere near as jolly as Mrs. Garrett, and I thought Kim Fields' portraits of Tootie — whether by influence, coincidence or design — became even more stilted.
Does subject remember actively experiencing either?
Having answered no to both questions, I suppose that I am sufficiently not 20 enough to write this column. So now I suppose I should get to it. How about a brief list of what I will and won't do?
I will write a column that will have some relevance, importance and resonance to your life.
Does subject remember which came first: *Tron* the movie or *Tron* the video game?
I will not pretend to be Dave Barry. I will do my best not to be excruciatingly lame. I will not preach unless I'm right. I will not use this column as therapy unless it provides entertainment.
I will refer to Charlie's Angels and Rhoda from time to time and explain their function as blueprints for social change.
This is what I wonder: Will you dislike me less than the last columnist? Will I be Beverly Ann or Mrs. Garrett to you? What if I have the power to transmit the Tootie Syndrome?
And I will tell you about my dating and social life, if I ever get one. I average one date per year, and if it happens to fall within this semester, well, you'll get the details. You might hear about last year's date, who spent the entire evening at the Granada dancing with a speaker.
I also am worried that I won't have the time for this column because I'm enrolled in Math 105 (same as Getting it Over With 104 and Topics in: Impeded Graduation). It's a math appreciation course, which might lead me to appreciate certain uncontrolled substances. So if this column suddenly declines or improves, just know that it's the cracktalking.
You know, I'm sensing a definite comfort level being established here. That is good and a goal. I thank you for your 45 seconds of attention and look forward to the other fractions of a minute we will spend together.
HUBIE
And I really hope you're not walking on the grass right now. If you are, I'm afraid we haven't accomplished anything this time.
I also worry about being 20, which is the first year of the decade in which you careen toward becoming irrelevant. I worry that my 20s have set in prematurely. What if I have nothing to say? So I took my How 20 Are You? test, which has two criteria:
Michael Martin is a Lenoxa sophomore in English and theater and film.
By Greg Hardin