OPINION
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Free for All
Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
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The only thing that pisses me off more than a car that's driving 60 miles an hour in the left lane of K-7, is a car driving 60 miles an hour in the left lane of K-7 with a license plate that says, "Smile."
www.kansan.com
Hey, Free for All. I called the other day to complain about the strange financial hypocrisy of this University. I guess that wasn't clever enough for you, so I guess I'll tell you about how my roommate's pants split in half. That's pretty funny.
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I pose a challenge to all the people in dorm rooms at the Univeristy. I believe that our room is messier than all of yours!
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I have officially deemed Nov. 22 as No Pants Day!
My roommate just declared it No Pants Day. Unfortunately, he's wearing light-blue bikini briefs and I'm slightly aroused.
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So, the most beautiful girl in the world just looked into my eyes and it was magical.
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I found a lump the other day. I think I have cancer. Thank God for those Rock Chalk brace---oh wait, what? The money doesn't go to cancer? It goes to student athletes? Screw that!
Halo 2 is for bed-wetters!
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It's a fact of nature that 97 percent of all guys masturbate. The other 3 percent don't have arms.
They need to give free refills on prescriptions.
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OK, so I'm driving on campus right now and, for some reason, there's a nine-car long stretch Lincoln Navigator going through campus and I'm confused. Can someone explain this to me? That'd be great.
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I developed a hypothesis that Steak n' Shake should be aware of: milkshakes taste at least 100 times better when they're free. Thank you, Steak n' Shake.
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I think I want to start procrastinating, but
I think I will wait until tomorrow to start doing it.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Tuition increase opponents shouldn't be belittled
This letter is in response to the letter by Marynell Jones and the correction submitted by the Financial Aid Department (Nov. 19) responding to the two columns against the CLAS College Specific Tuition, the latter of which we wrote.
The Financial Aid Department does a wonderful job under difficult circumstances. The problem with need-based funding, however, is systemic. According to the numbers we have from the 2003-2004 school year, the majority of students who were eligible did not receive the KU Tuition Grant (KUTG). If many people are receiving it this year, that is wonderful. However, the definition of "many" is still unclear, and the method for disbursement is questionable.
Eligibility for the KUTG is based off of your "Estimated Family Contribution," as calculated on the FAFSA application, which must be less than $12,000 to be eligible. However, the second requirement is to meet a "priority deadline" of March 1. In other words, a student and their parents must have their taxes filed and FAFSA processed (which can take several weeks) before application for the grant.
This is an unrealistic expectation, primarily because students and parents may not be able to file their taxes quickly enough, and we all know how time consuming filing FAFSA forms can be. Our argument is that this system does not work, and is not a good model for need-based aid.
Therefore, the aid proposed as part of the new tuition should not be based on it.
More discussion is needed. If the tuition increase is going to happen, a better system of aid must be created.
It is clear that there are different interpretations of the data, both from the team proposing the tuition and from the Financial Aid Office. A legitimate conversation is needed that acknowledges the pros and cons of the system. Jones' point that we have been given a rare chance to make decisions about a tuition increase is well taken. That includes the ability to say "no," which is, in fact, a completely legitimate exercise of our power.
The last meeting scheduled for this semester stressed the importance of dialogue. We assume this means that we should be able to converse as adults. Implying that those who do not agree with the tuition increase are uneducated and simply "jumping on the bandwagon" is bellttling and dismissive. Those of us who oppose it have substantial reasons to do so.
What this debate needs is an actual dialogue. So far, the public meetings have been sales pitches complete with Power-Point presentations and testimonials. There is inherently wrong with this, but it makes dialogue difficult. People who question the tuition feel rebuffed. At the Nov. 18 meeting there was a good dialogue, but it was after the presentation.
True discussion is desperately needed. Implying the opposition is full of ill-informed bandwagon jumpers is not helpful. Both sides need to work to communicate and be open to opposing views.
Galen Turner, Lawrence graduate student Jennifer Foster, Merriam graduate student
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GILMORE'S VIEW
Austin Gilmore/KANSAN
In a bold move today President Bush filled the vacant seats in his Cabinet.
American society lacks responsibility
The sense of taking responsibility for one's actions seems to be slowly dying, as people want more to be less accountable for the decisions they make, and the inevitable consequences some of those decisions have. More often, people want to act in ways that are reckless to themselves, their environment or to the people around them.
Today's society is driven by a sense of every man for himself, or woman for herself, meaning that people will do whatever it takes to get what they want, regardless of the sometimes negative effects their choices will have. Almost everyone acts this way at some point, for some reason.
COMMENTARY
This is a trend that is visible in large businesses and corporations, with the sole purpose is to make money, using whatever methods are necessary to gain the most profit at the least cost. While there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to work efficiently and productively, it becomes a serious problem when the rights of others are jeopardized through a large company's use of sweatshop and child labor, irresponsible disposal of chemical waste and price inflation/wage reduction.
Corporations should be made to take responsibility for their actions against the rights of human beings. However, this rarely happens at the level necessary to ensure a fair situation for all involved, because of personal monetary interests greed
Corporations are one aspect of society. Another more subtle, yet possibly more ominous, form of voluntary irresponsibility is in daily interactions. People interact through friendships, romantic relationships, academic and professional settings, family and various other ways. Within these connections, people tell white lies, keep secrets, cheat and steal to get what they want at the time, not thinking about the long-term effects of these actions, even if they are well aware of them at the time.
SARAH ZAFAR
opinion@kansan.com
In a culture where telling white lies and withholding the truth is commonplace in most situations, it is difficult to get past these obstacles, but not impossible.
People want something, and they want it right away, and are often willing to bypass the more responsible option for the one that will get them what they want. This instant gratification impulse is something we are born with, but many people have yet to grow out of it.
The desire for instant gratification is
dangerous to the long-term stability of our culture. This might seem like an exaggeration, but when faced with the current state of our country, including high crime, international tensions, a lacking public education system, etc., it might be wise to examine our culture from within rather than blame outside forces.
For example, the funds are available for education, but they are not being allotted there because people choose to direct their attentions to military directives that are funding an irresponsible overseas campaign, now known to be based on another little white lie.
It is not in the best interests of our country and the countries involved in this conflict that are at the forefront of our leaders' minds, but rather, personal motivations that alienate a majority of people, often even without their knowledge.
In a culture where telling white lies and withholding the truth is commonplace in most situations, it is difficult to get past these obstacles, but not impossible. Deciding which is more important — what you want now, or what will be better later — is one of the keys to overcoming the trends of instant gratification that are everywhere in our society.
It might seem like a hopeless cause now, or maybe one not worth it to you, but overall, quality of life will improve if people take the time to think about the consequences of their actions.
Zafar is a Wichita senior in history.
U.S. should use its power carefully
The discussion in my human geography class was centered on the distribution of power between the governments of the world and whether that distribution was equally balanced. The majority of the class felt that, yes, the balance of power around the world was equal, and I found myself standing as the lone dissenter.
I had to wonder in what world it was that my classmates were living. Did they actually believe that Argentina held as much economic sway as China, or that in the chambers of the United Nations, Mexico possesses as much influence as the United States?
I was shocked in class the other day, which doesn't happen all that often.
The balance of power greatly favors of the Western industrialized world and those countries in possession of nuclear arms. Of course, the most significant member of both groups is the United States.
JOHN BARRETT
opinion@kansan.com
COMMENTARY
The United States remains the one superpower on the planet, with military expenditures that match every other nation in the world combined. We are the wealthiest, strongest, most productive country, and now we call the shots on the world stage.
At this point, we actually have little or no obligation to any other country in the world. The U.S. can act unilaterally on international issues as it pleases, pull out
We find ourselves as the paradigm of Murphy's golden rule, which is "whoever has the gold, makes the rules."
of treaties when it sees fit, and invade countries, whose policies or leaders we don't agree with.
However, there is another "golden rule" we should be familiar with. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"—an old proverb that is a part of most major religions. The proverb is also something that I feel that my country has done a very poor job upholding recently.
Yet that was exactly what we tried to do in Vietnam, and rings true in many of the conflicts we have interjected ourselves into.
We would never want or accept an outside party coming into our country, telling us that our way of doing things was incorrect and then allow them to impose a new system of order that they claimed was in our best interest.
The war in Iraq is the most contemporary example, as we were actually seeking to liberate the people of the country from an oppressive regime and introduce democracy along the way. People now even characterize the War on Terror as a war of ideologies with the Arab world. But who are we to tell anyone that our ideology is the right one?
However, that does not give us the right to tell a sovereign nation how to conduct its own business, a role that is becoming more familiar with each day of the Bush Doctrine.
Saddam Hussein was a terrible dictator and no one disputes that. But there are many brutal regimes in the world, with our communist trading partner China being one of them.
For us to violate the rule of a nation state's sovereignty in a humanitarian crisis or for reasons of world safety, it is imperative to involve all countries of the world in the process
A demonstration of why outside forces must intervene is always required to obtain the support of the rest of the world. Without passing this global test, we just look like a great big bully.
Barrett is a Carbondale, Ill., junior in political science and international studies.
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