OPINION
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
EDITORIAL BOARD
www.kansan.com
Campus needs better forums for political debate
Many would argue that the presidential election in November will be one of the closest and the most important elections in our lifetimes. The landscape of our immediate future will be undoubtedly impacted by who will be leading our nation for the next four years. Why isn't there more discussion and debate taking place on our campus?
Surely it isn't because there aren't issues that affect our lives. Tuition costs, the economy, and the job market many of us are going to enter are just a few of the salient issues we have over our heads.
Is it because nobody cares enough? Just check out the chalking wars taking place on our campus sidewalks. The discussion is even being carried to the party scene. Did you read about the KU students who pummeled each other at aparty after one student criticized the Bush administration and Texas? Those students are not the best examples of student activism (their discourse was not likely not very in-depth), but they are an example nonetheless that
students do care about politics
students do so because The College Republicans and the Young Democrats, two student groups here on campus, have scheduled debates. But it is questionable as to how many students who aren't members knew about the debates. There should be more advertising and more students mobilized for these opportunities.
What part can the University play in getting more students involved in debate and discussion? There is the Dole Institute for Politics, but how many other opportunities do we have here?
What we need is more participation in discussions and more opportunities that students actually know about. We need to create a forum in which everyone can participate; students, faculty, and staff. We need a forum in which everyone wants to participate. We need something better than one-liners in the Free for All, bathroom walls or parties to spark true debate here on campus.
campus. In such an important time, we simply need to get out there and listen to what all of our fellow Jayhawks have to say.
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.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com
I just wanted to thank the University Daily Kansan for putting out such a fine publication. My cat would rather rip up your newspaper.
Yeah, I was almost just hit by four cars and a FedEx truck, all at the intersection across from Murphy. Not fun times, kids.
crap like that. I'm spending $2500 on 15 hours for in-state tuition and I'm glad that they can use all the money for good stuff like this.
crap like that. I'm spending $2500 on 15 hours for in-state tuition and I'm glad that they can use all the money for good stuff like this.
You're not a manager, so quit acting like you're my manager. And if you want to order food and have it delivered to you at night and you have a porch light, you should turn it on because you'll get your food a lot faster.
Yes, I was just driving down Memorial Drive behind Snow Hall back there and I was just wondering what the heck is that goofy-looking brick pedestal is that they're building back behind Bailey? I'm just glad that all my tuition can be increased so they can build
Yay, I just flunked a Spanish test! Whoo-hoo! Hey, I don't know why everybody can't just speak English. Why can't we just teach everybody in the world how to speak English? We're in charge anyway, so we might as well make the universal Earth language.
not all conservatives are idiots. Just those
that vote for George W. Bush.
not all conservatives are idiots. Just those
that vote for George W. Bush.
not all conservatives are idiots. Just those
that vote for George W. Bush.
图
The boy in the purple pants and the orange shirt in my ballet class rocks my world.
not all conservatives are idiots. Just those
that vote for George W. Bush.
Bill Cosby: I have a gigantic crush on you! Will you marry me? I love you!
Was Friday's editorial about dealing with campus crowds invading personal space taken from the Onion or was it just written by freshmen grumps?
Ladies, never get mad at your man for forgetting something. You try to remember something when you think about sex every 15 seconds.
--no matter how drunk you are, you can always walk down the sidewalk.
Doing a crossword puzzle with a hangover is wicked hot.
Not all librarians are idiots, just those that vote for John Kerry.
no matter how drunk you are, you can always walk down the sidewalk.
I'm all dressed up and I have nowhere to go
no matter how drunk you are, you can always walk down the sidewalk.
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NOT EVERYBODY AT CBS BACKS DAN RATHER... SOME THINK DOCUMENTS ARE FORGERIES
Evacuation not as easy for some
The terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, marked the beginning of a new America, especially for people with disabilities. As all Americans grappled with rebuilding and homeland security, people with disabilities began to comprehend and push for greater awareness of the dangers of failing to prepare adequately for emergency situations.
NOT UNHEARD OF
adequately. The University of Kansas may not seem a likely target for terrorists, but Sept. 11 can teach us all a valuable lesson about emergency preparedness for people with disabilities.
When terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center towers, people with disabilities were in both buildings. Some made it out. Many didn't.
figs. Some more blind man worked in the north tower, on the 78th floor. His guide dog and a co-worker helped him escape.
A man who uses a wheelchair was on the 70th floor. After co-workers transferred him to a new, specifically-designed evacuation chair, it took them one hour to bring him out. Ten minutes after they left, the building collapsed.
TARA SCHUPNER
opinion@kansan.com
after they left. Others were not as fortunate. Most evacuation plans called for people with mobility disabilities to remain where they were until rescue personnel could come assist them. Those who followed the evacuation plans and their rescuers died when the towers collapsed.
These unnecessary deaths have
increased awareness nationwide of the need to consider people with disabilities when planning for emergency situations. People with disabilities are at greater risk not only during terror attacks, but also during natural disasters and other emergencies.
Deaf people cannot hear fire alarms, tornado sirens or verbal instructions. People with mobility disabilities have difficulty escaping from buildings, particularly if elevators are disabled. Blind people may have difficulty finding their way out of an unfamiliar building, especially when people panic and jostle them. People with mental retardation or other cognitive disabilities may have trouble understanding instructions.
The University needs contingency plans for the safety of people with disabilities.
People with disabilities need to be involved and contribute to the development of those plans. According to
results from a late 2001 Harris Poll, 58 percent of people with disabilities don't know who to contact in their community for emergency plans in the event of a disaster. Of those people with disabilities who are employed, 50 percent said they know of no plans to safely evacuate themselves from their workplace.
This July, President Bush announced an Executive Order for the Department of Homeland Security to include people with disabilities in the national emergency preparedness effort.
It is your responsibility to educate yourself, especially if you have a disability that may make it harder for you to evacuate a building. The Department of Homeland Security has two Web sites that contain checklists for evacuation procedures: www.ready.gov and www.fema.gov.
It is crucial for people with disabilities, their families, co-workers, classmates, employers and friends to work together and develop plans for every type of emergency situation that may happen. There is no better time than now. If you have a disability, be self-reliant and seize the initiative to ensure your safety. People with disabilities cannot always rely on good Samaritans.
not always rely on good. Protect yourself. Be prepared.
- Schupner is a Lenexa senior in journalism and English. She is deaf.
A vote for Bush endangers troops
Editor's note: This column is addressed to Andrew Burress, a lifelong friend of the author and former KU student who's now a co-pilot in the Navy stationed in Maine.
Dear Andy,
Now we disagree on who should be the next President of the United States. You support George W. Bush. You say John Kerry's voting record suggests he'd send you somewhere to fight with no funding to win the peace.
As lifelong buddies, we've had our disagreements. When you enrolled in the U.S. Navy three years ago, I had my reservations, but I respected your decision and supported you.
STEPHEN SHUPE
opinion@kansan.com
Well listen up, soldier. A close examination of Kerry's record proves he'd be a good war president. When put to the same scrutiny, the current administration's record proves President Bush deserves a one-way ticket back to Crawford, Texas.
In 2002, as a senator of Massachusetts, Kerry voted for a resolution authorizing President Bush to go to the United Nations to build a coalition and hold Saddam Hussein accountable for violating U.N. resolutions. Contrary to Republican spin, this was not a vote for the President's war, which bypassed the United Nations entirely.
GUEST COMMENTARY
In 2003, Kerry voted for a resolution authorizing the transfer of $87 billion to fund the War in Iraq. That's right, Kerry voted to war the war. There were actually two bills put before the Senate. The one Kerry voted for authorized the $87 billion and called upon the top 1 percent of wealthiest taxpayers to subsidize the bill. The one Kerry voted against – the one that ultimately passed the Senate – authorized the $87 billion but gave the top 1 percent a break.
TUE
and othe
top 1 percent of a break. See, Kerry actually has the courage of his convictions when you put all the issues on the table. Now let's do the same with the Bush administration.
After Operation Enduring Freedom, in which the President launched attacks on the Taliban for harboring members of Al-Qaeda, the administration officially turned its attention away from Afghanistan and to Iraq. In June of 2002, Human Rights Watch reported that warlords were making a power grab in Afghanistan. Two years later these warlords, who are closely associated with the Taliban and the extremists who have hijacked the religion of Islam, now control the majority of that country.
Wilson's wife as a CIA agent. Wilson was the diplomat who discredited the administration's claim that Saddam tried to buy uranium from Niger.
in the majority of this column In July of 2003, conservative columnist Robert Novak outed Joseph
M dear men End day was
Asked about this highly illegal activity, in which classified information the CIA uses to protect soldiers like you became declassified, the White House said the President had "no plans to ask his staff members whether they played a role."
This spring, the Abu Ghraib scandal broke. A report written by Major General Antonio M. Taguba stated that the soldiers at Abu Ghraib had not been adequately trained to operate a prison. The prison held up to 7000 prisoners at once, but only a single U.S. battalion was assigned duty there.
bathtub was alleged Taguba's report concluded that "sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses" had occurred at Abu Grahia. According to The New York Times, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gave President Bush legal advice that led to the President's declaration that he could suspend the Geneva Conventions to fight the War on Terror.
I hope you study these issues closely before casting your ballot on Nov. 2. I worry about your safety when I think of four more years of this administration's incompetence and deception.
Your friend Stephen
Shupe is an Augusta graduate student in journalism. He writes for *Joypley*.
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