OPINION
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
www.kansan.com
Athletics Department needs dialogue with student community
Dear Lew.
It's not that we don't want to like you. We want to like you and be proud that you are our athletics director. We want to appreciate that you left a prime gig at Connecticut to come here and take the Kansas legacy to new levels.
But there is a reason why so many students are up in arms over some of your recent actions. Kansas may be one of the finest schools in the nation as far as the passion of the students and the greater community is concerned. That passion though has been arrayed against you. It's not all your fault, mind you: the students can admittedly be a little righteous when it comes to holding on to sacred but outmoded ways of doing things.
Honestly, no KU fan is against football having a new building to help make the program into the one of the Big XII powerhouses, but a little tact in how the Athletics Department is presenting this would go a great ways towards easing the concerns of both the students who will walk down Campanile Hill and the ticket holders who want to look out of the Stadium towards a great campus view.
We all know that there are basketball programs around the country making lots of money through points systems and such, but dramatically reshifting the
seating of instructors and longtime fans while also reducing the student seating requires more than just meeting with faculty boards or the Student Senate.
Which is where you come in. You can rise above these controversies and reach out to the students. Which is really all we're asking; that you engage the campus and the community and convince us of the necessity and benefits of your ideas, rather than just going ahead with them regardless.
We understand that there are pressing concerns and needs with the Athletics Dept., and that Kansas needs to upgrade itself for the collegiate arms race against the likes of Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas. But what some may see as the greatest weakness of Kansas, "our traditions" can and should be its greatest strength.
We see no reason why the traditions and the fervor of the students cannot go hand in hand with your bold vision for Athletics. You were hired to do a job for the Department, but you represent and serve the University at large.
Talk to us, reach out to us, let us know what you are thinking, convince us why we should back you and we will follow you wholeheartedly.
And doughnuts while we're waiting in line for tickets wouldn't hurt either.
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.
Kris Kobach may have lost, but he's still not welcome at Blake Hall.
John Kerry walks into a bar. The bar-
tender says, "Why the long face?"
at the mouth" not "frothing" you conservative fool.
Ha, hal Ellsworth, you got a fire alarm.
Boo hool!
So, it's my birthday and some idiot in Ellsworth pulled the fire alarm. Thank you, to whoever that is that made us all get outside and ruined my birthday.
Hey, Arrah Nielsen! I think it's "foaming"
STINSON'S VIEW
This is to the amazing girl who hit the police car while backing out of her parking spot in front of Elsworth from the fire alarm: You, my friend, are amazing. Hit and run squared.
and current discrimination against underrepresented groups.
and current discrimination against underrepresented groups.
Don't you hate it when a guy becomes friends with you to hit on your roommate, then when he finds out she doesn't like him, he stops talking to both of you?
Yeah, I've got a complaint about these little Rock Chalk wristbands that they're selling to the KU Store.com. They claim to be $1, but then they cost $6 to ship them. If we're modeling the wristbands after Lance Armstrong wristbands for cancer, why don't we donate the money to cancer instead of giving it to athletes for scholarships?
Jon Stewart just mentioned KU on The Daily Show.
and current discrimination against underrepresented groups.
I'm at the Hawk right now and my best friend's pants just split right down the middle. Love it!
I just want to let everybody know that a certain plastic Santa will be spending Christmas at our house this year. Thank you very much and goodnight.
TALK TO US
Henry C. Jackson
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Racism, discrimination still exist
People tend to avoid dialogue about race because they think that maybe it has gone away or that it will fade if we ignore it.
GUEST COMMENTARY
It is unfortunate that many people react to issues of race with sweeping generalizations and attacks on the shortcomings of entire peoples. Still others need a coarse reminder that racism and discrimination persist to drive them to action. The Kansan should be a forum for scholarly discussion, so I hope you'll read on as I attempt to shed some light.
A racial gap between whites and African Americans in academics does exist. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education reported that in 1999, 59 percent of white students graduated from NCAA Division I colleges while the graduation rate for African Americans was 38 percent.
Some people say this gap is caused by the archaic theory of biological determinism, a theory espoused by Adolf Hitler, which claims that genetic distinctions between African Americans and whites lead to superior cognitive ability in whites. While this gap is certainly significant, it is just as certain that the gap is not caused by inherently poor academic capabilities of African Americans.
I blame a historical lack of access to higher education and the effects of systemic discrimination. More than race alone must be considered when trying to find out why this gap exists and how to narrow it. George Lipszit, author of "The Possessive Investment in
LAURA A. CLARK
opinion@kansan.com
Whiteness," says that deliberate and systematic efforts throughout history have placed a high value on the white identity, which results in racially exclusionary institutions and racialized law. Sociology of Education, a Publication of the American Sociological Association, reports that few black students attended college in the first half of the 20th century.
Enrollment numbers didn't increase until after World War II, and colleges and universities began recruiting "academically promising" African-American high schoolers in the 1960s. In contrast, whites have had access to higher education since Harvard University opened its doors in 1636, a full 229 years before people of African descent were emancipated.
We are not far removed from the Jim Crow era, and it would be ludicrous to claim that racism disappeared with the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. If we lived in a world of perfect equality, affirmative action would indeed be racist because it would be unfounded. Affirmative action programs and practices, though imperfect, seek to remedy past injustice
Most arguments against affirmative action are based in fallacious assumptions that African Americans and whites interact on a level playing field. For example, the University of Michigan Law School's admissions policies admitted African-American students with lower test scores than whites. The director of admissions stands by the policy because it is in line with a commitment to creating a class "is not merely promising and talented, but interesting and diverse."
The United States Supreme Court held that the policy violated no Constitutional rights because the admissions process involved such "individualized review." that race was not a defining characteristic of any application. Surely Barbara Grutter, the white applicant who sued the school, was not mechanically denied admission simply because she was white.
And while we're on the subject, the same admissions policy also gave preference to "legacy" applicants—those with familial alumni connections. This policy almost exclusively benefits whites, who have historically had access to higher education, but opponents of affirmative action consistently fail to mention this form of preferential treatment.
While I firmly believe in freedom of speech, racism disguised as scholarship with a thin veneer of "research" should find no home in The Kansan.
Clark is a Wichita senior in journalism.
Traditions important to University
Tradition is an important part of any university culture, giving it an appeal that makes it different. However, it seems recently that traditions are less important to the University of Kansas than reputation and prestige. Many of the traditional reasons that students choose this University are changing or disappearing altogether.
This university has always been known for its high-quality, affordable education. It draws a wide group of students, who might not otherwise be able to afford a school of this caliber. People are willing to pay the out-of-state price because it is lower than other schools of comparable size and academic standing. This will soon no longer be the case. The proposed tuition increases, designed to keep the university on "equal" grounds with other schools, will deter some students, simply because they cannot afford to attend college here. While there are several reasons for this increase, "keeping up" with other schools is not a valid reason for increasing tuition.
COMMENTARY
SARAH ZAFAR opinion@kansan.com
Some of the most apparent traditions here are the sports programs. A growing football program and a consistently successful basketball tradition, as well as the numerous other sports, are often among the top reasons that students choose to attend school here rather than elsewhere
The larger sports programs are inherently corporate. This is inevitable, and some aspects of this corporation mentality affect the fan base more than others. It seems that recently, when making decisions regarding these programs, money and prestige have become more important than the student fan base when deciding what happens.
The football program is seeing more success recently than ever before. The new proposals to build a football-only complex may be the logical next step in increasing the program's success, but one of the proposed locations is infringing on a much older tradition, the ceremonial graduation walk down Mt. Oread from the Campanile to Memorial Stadium. It would be a loss of decades of students participating in this ritual if the walk were obstructed by a giant concrete facility that might not only alter the course of the graduation walk, but
would forever obscure the beautiful view of the hill and the Campanile.
The basketball program, perhaps one of the University's oldest and best-known traditions, should put the fans, especially the student fan base, at the top of the list of priorities when deciding ticket sales and seating. Overselling sports packages to the degree they were sold this year, no matter what the reason, is not putting the interests of the fans first. It only causes panic and resentment among students waiting anxiously in line, puzzled over the changes in the ticket distribution system, and even deterring some students from picking up their tickets at all. Changes in the system should not turn fans away, but should be designed to encourage attendance. Imagine a basketball game without the student section. Without the strong student fan base, the basketball program would not be what it is today.
While traditions still remain a large part of the University's culture, it is important to keep in mind their importance as the school grows and changes. Progress is inevitable, and should not be viewed negatively, but it should not become so shortsighted that it cuts out the traditions that keep this University unique.
Zafar is a Wichita senior in history.
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