OPINION
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
www.kansan.com
EDITORIAL
Exploiting New York City inappropriate, insensitive
More than 2,500 delegates from around the country gathered at Madison Square Garden in New York Aug.30 through Sept. 2 for the Republican National Convention.
This was the first time in the Republican National Committee's history of more than 150 years that New York City has been selected to host the event.
With its hardline national security platform and ideology of strong patriotic identity, the Republican Party continues to tout the Bush administration's reaction to the events of Sept. 11, 2001, as a unifying force behind the current American political landscape — particularly the current Republican administration. Coincidence? We think not.
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 set into motion the movement that resulted in the Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security and the war in Iraq.
The Bush administration vowed that "we will never forget" this landmark American tragedy, and it is true that we as a nation — especially New Yorkers — will never lose sight of that terrible day in our history. Sept. 11 will continue to be something that unites us as
Americans.
However, the Republican Party's claim to ownership of the patriotic sentiment associated with Sept. 11 and its fallout is unnecessary.
The Republican Party seems to be using the tragedy of Sept. 11 as a campaign platform subtly through its policies on national security and patriotism. Now, it is attempting to overtly associate itself with New York despite the fact that the city is a national center for Democratic dominance, and few see any potential for change in that demographic in the near future.
Furthermore, with the massive influx of 2,500 republican delegates, protesters numbering in the tens of thousands and unprecedented convention security measures — likened only to the security presence seen in New York immediately after Sept.11 itself — the convention was as much a hassle to Manhattan residents as anything else.
The abuse of the memories of Sept. 11 is just as bad as the abuse of Manhattan and New York residents to present a political front. At the elections in November, let us all remember that it was terrorists, not Democrats, who bombed the World Trade Center.
STINSON'S VIEW
Free for All
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansas editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
图
Yeah, just because I'm dressed up in a Heidi outfit today, doesn't mean that you can follow me around campus and yell, "Ricolal" in my ear. I mean, come on, if the guy with the tail is walking around on campus, you wouldn't be walking around him going, "Woof! Woof! Grrr!"
Yeah, I know mommy and daddy bought you an awesome SUV, but that's no reason to drive around cam
pus at 50 miles an hour and rear-end people on scooters. Come on, now.
length, or reject all submissions. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 200 words and guest columns should not exceed 650 words. To submit a letter to the editor or a column, e-mail the document to opinion@kansas.com with your name, hometown, year in school or position and phone number.
Whoever invented jeans: Wow.
length, or reject all submissions. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 200 words and guest columns should not exceed 650 words. To submit a letter to the editor or a column, e-mail the document to opinion@kansas.com with your name, hometown, year in school or position and phone number.
So, who's hotter? Snake Man or Batman?
Hi, you Pepsi lover. There are two Pepsi machines out by the Jayhawk Bookstore.
How do you tell your roommate you think she's pregnant?
--length, or reject all submissions. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 200 words and guest columns should not exceed 650 words. To submit a letter to the editor or a column, e-mail the document to opinion@kansas.com with your name, hometown, year in school or position and phone number.
图
length, or reject all submissions. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 200 words and guest columns should not exceed 650 words. To submit a letter to the editor or a column, e-mail the document to opinion@kansas.com with your name, hometown, year in school or position and phone number.
My roommate is currently Saran Wrapping her stomach to minimize the appearance of her love handles. Should I be concernd?
Yeah, I'm the guy in the Payless Furniture Outlet store advertised on TV.I rock.
Hey, roommate, if you read this, quit peeing with the door open. It's gross.
I'm more wasted than a wastebasket right now!
--length, or reject all submissions. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 200 words and guest columns should not exceed 650 words. To submit a letter to the editor or a column, e-mail the document to opinion@kansas.com with your name, hometown, year in school or position and phone number.
I said loud engine. Not live engine. You guys are making me look like an idiot.
So, I just saw a girl walking down the street in a North Carolina shirt. Is she lost, or is she asking for trouble?
length, or reject all submissions. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 200 words and guest columns should not exceed 650 words. To submit a letter to the editor or a column, e-mail the document to opinion@kansas.com with your name, hometown, year in school or position and phone number.
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or mgibson@kansasan.com
TALK TO US
Henry C. Jackson
editor
84-4810 or jickson@kansan.com
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to
Anna Clovis and Samia Khan opinion editors 864-4924 or opinion on kansan.com
The Kansen welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Justin Roberts business manager 864-4368 or advertising@kansan.com
Donovan Atkinson and Andrew Vaupel
managing editors
864-4810 or datiksen@kansan.com and
avaupel@kansan.com
Laura rose Barr, Ty Beaver, Ryan Good, Anna Gregory, Jack Henry-Rhode, Kelly Hollowell, Nate Kartlin, Jay Kilmage, Stephanie Lovett, Taylor Price, Neol Reasor, Rian Scarrow, John Tran, Anne Waltmer and Michelle Wood
Stephanie Graham
retail sales manager
864-4358 or advertising@tansan.com
For any questions, call Anna Clovis or Sama Khan at khan@842-494 or e-mail @kansan.com. General questions should be directed to the editor at editor@kansan.com.
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
Maximum Length:
650 word limit
Include:
Author's name
Class, hometown (student)
Position (faculty member)
Also:
The Kansan will not print guest columns that attack another columnist.
LETTER GUIDELINES
Maximum Length:
200 word limit
Include:
Author's name and telephone number
Class, hometown (student)
position (faculty member)
E-mail:
opinionx@kansan.com
SUBMIT TO
Hard copy:
Kanzan.newroom
111.Stauffer-Flint
Movies can make you 'Psycho'
One of the most recognizable sounds is the pacing shark sequence from the movie jaws. Can you hear it? Consciously or not, this set of sounds conjures fear in the heart of anyone who has seen this movie series.
COMMENTARY
Just as these movies created a great fear of sharks in the late '70s, the movie Open Water is presently attempting to do the same. While clearly intending to instill a strong negative association between the sport of scuba diving and shark attacks, this genre of movies falsely portrays the actual odds of traumatic incidences.
The truth is you have a better chance of being struck by lightning — literally. According to DiscoveryChannel.com, approximately one in every 6 million people in the United States will be the victims of shark attacks. In comparison, the official site of the Lightning Injury Research Program cites that one in every 3,000 people will be struck by lightning in their lifetimes. However, if you choose to sit out on eye-opening and unique experiences simply because of movie scenes, your activities will become quite limited.
In researching the psychological effects these sorts of movies cause individuals, I discovered the work of Joanna Cantor, University of Wisconsin professor, and author of From Psycho to Scream: Why Movie Horror Doesn't Die. Cantor interestingly pairs her research with the cognitive development concepts of Jean Piaget. On her home Web site, she specifically cites research on college students' memories of fright reactions from films.
ASHLEY SMITH
opinion@hansan.com
Reports showed that 90 percent of college students had experienced dread reactions, 35 percent subsequently avoided or dreaded similar situations to those in movies and 26 percent said the effects were still ongoing after many years. Not shockingly, one of the most frequently cited reactions was the avoidance of swimming in pools, lakes or oceans after the viewing of faws.
The true pitfall of movies such as Jaws and Open Water is the depiction of human life as overly vulnerable to nature. As a certified and experienced diver, I know firsthand that today's technological advances paired with the extensive training given to participants, make scuba diving an extremely safe sport. Global Positioning Satellites not only allow for exact dive site coordinates and pinpoint wildlife tracking, but also monitor individual divers. On real excursions such as those depicted in the aforementioned movies, dive leaders count and recount as participants come on and off the dive boats. On those I have participated in, there is also a peer-to-peer system that ensures inaccuracy is impossible.
If you have been one of the many
affected on some level by these movies or those similar, your best bet is to face the fear head on. The Better Health Channel Web site advises not to "go out of your way to avoid certain places or activities" because of memories. While most will not experience this level of disturbance, the site further suggests you seek professional help if you continually have disturbed sleep or reoccurring nightmares associated with the movie. If you find that movies of this genre do affect for a time period after viewing them, simply avoid seeing them in the future. Keeping a level head, with realistic odds of an accident in mind, should keep you from having a negative effect from such films.
Smith is a Tulsa, Okla., junior in journalism
If a movie such as Open Water particularly scares you because it is "based on real events," take a closer look at that claim. Filmmakers often use this term as a disclaimer for fabricating an elaborate story with little actual evidence. I have been scuba diving with a partner in the ocean before. Thus, the movie could technically be based on my experience, and what could have potentially happened.
Just keep in mind that you take the risk of ending up with nightmares, or an instilled fear of something you would normally like. Further consider that this new need for avoiding certain scenarios may not only affect you. As understanding as your roommates may be, Psycho can only excuse skipping a shower so many times.
Stinson's cartoon needs help with facts on current events
Dear editors,
As a military member and historian, I thought that Zach Stinson, cartoonist for The University Daily Kansan, might need some help with his facts about current events.
There are currently more than 40 nations participating in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom in the Middle East — a number far greater than the list of nations that were allied with the United States during World War II, Korea, Vietnam or Desert Storm. Troop numbers are smaller, but with the exception of the United States, so are overall military sizes.
Also, it includes such lightweights and "weak" partners as Australia, Colombia, Denmark, Ethiopia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom just to name a few.
Our forces in the United States Central Command are fighting terrorism and winning.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The contributions of each of the
nations alongside us should never, never be minimalized, even if it's just an editorial cartoon.
CDR Christopher D. Orwell Associate Professor of Naval Science University of Kansas Naval ROTC
Alternate definitions ignored in Vockrodt's 'liberal' column
can learn for themselves and are not "enslaved" to the experts of academic fields.
Dear editors,
Dek Batson
A a few things stated by Steve Vockrodt in his Sept. 2 column were unsettling and I want to clarify.
unsetting and overemphasis. While Merriam-Webster may offer one of several definitions for the term "liberal," it is not fair to assume that KU and several other colleges, universities, or even individuals derive the same meaning from the word.
The term "liberal", as in KU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, stresses "intellectual liberty", as was stated by Vockrodt, but it does not carry political affiliation, nor is it necessarily synonymous with "open-mindedness". The mission of "intellectual liberty" is to liberate the minds of students through education so they
As for Lawrence's liberal slant, Vockrodt is simply falling victim to regional political differences. Being a native Kansan, I was often alone in my "liberalism" in high school, suffering from the same close-mindedness.
It's unfair to blame the University staff for regional provincialities that exist all over the country, and ignorant to circuitously accuse any university of hiring professors based on declared political affiliation.
Yes, we should all open our minds, but we shouldn't put words in other's mouths.
Brian Ervin Overland Park KU freshman
The Kansen welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
*please refer to the Talk to us section for letter and guest column guidelines. Submissions can be mailed to The University Daily Kansan, 111 Stauffer-Flint, Lawrence, Kan., 86045 or e-mailed to opinion@kansan.com.