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OPINION
THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
www.kansan.com
EDITORIAL
All students bear burden of Limbaugh's comments
For the record, here are some of Limbaugh's comments from his radio show: 'We were liberal. It's where the
It was nice of Rush Limbaugh to grace our fair town with his words last week. While discussing Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards' visit to Lawrence on Aug. 8, Limbaugh ridiculed not just the visit, but also the town and, sure enough, the University of Kansas. In doing so, Limbaugh demonstrated both his ignorance of the University and its students and his inability to contribute to substantive discussions.
- "In national elections, this state votes republican, and these students and the people of Lawrence hate Bush, and they so desperately want to love Kerry ... Nobody stops in Lawrence. The only people that go to Lawrence are the students and the visiting football teams. Nobody goes there."
- "I've been there. I used to sell baseball tickets there. I used to accompany baseball players on personal appearances. I know Lawrence. I have a friend who has a sports bar in Lawrence."
Also making comments regarding the loss of Roy Williams and the tired cliché about driving across Kansas at night — it's the same as during the day — Limbaugh almost seemed to relish taking digs at Lawrence. Except when he tried to say the next day on his show that his comments were aimed at "the University, not the whole city of Lawrence," which would be true if he had not kept referring to Lawrence, the "college town."
to Lawrence, the "college town.
But Limbaugh's attempt to recant his comments about the town pales in comparison to his assertion that the University is home to "lots of students that date the professors." Apparently not every student learned that little nugget during orientation.
The students and citizens of Lawrence have given Limbaugh's comment the hearty laugh and outright dismissal it deserves, but the larger question remains unanswered: Why did he say it?
In an election year in which our country faces crucial issues and the electorate has a choice between two genuinely different candidates, what purpose do Limbaugh's comments serve? Could it be that the Missouri native has a grudge against the Jayhawks? And if the town is really so liberal and hates Bush so much, why did he attempt, laughingly, to clarify his remarks and make a distinction the next day between Lawrence and the University?
Like it or not, Limbaugh's show reaches millions of listeners every day, and his undue judgement, while readily discredited by those of us who know better, sees in to subconscious of people across the country, including those who may some day be our employers. Imagine having to refute your sex-crazed days at the University in your job interviews.
incident in your job interviews.
Limbaugh's comments cheapen the value of the degree we will hold. Under the cover of political speech, Limbaugh spewed ridiculous assertions for which he has no reasonable purpose other than claiming, repeatedly, that Lawrence is "liberal."
Why Limbaugh considers himself an expert on the University of Kansas, other than because he used to accompany athletes here and knows a guy at a sports bar, we do not know, but his attack on the reputations of every student and instructor at this facility is baseless and irresponsible.
this facility is baseless and irresponsible. He will not apologize or admit a mistake, so we are forced to defend ourselves His ignorance, like that of so many others, has thus become our burden.
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Residence halls and dormitories are not the same thing. A dorm is where people sleep; a residence hall is where people live. So the headline on the paper should be changed. But it's too late for it to be changed, so now you just have to apologize.
To the ever-devious, mischievous Mr. Cat: I have my eye on you. Remember this.
Sincerely, McDouglas Avery
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Play that funky music, white boy!
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Now there's a guy in a chicken suit in front of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Which would suck worse: being the guy in the gorilla suit, or the guy in the chicken suit?
Tell me if this is weird: my roommate catches flies, and lets them free outside.
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Kerry can't convince on security
Dear John Kerrv.
Dear john, I seriously considered voting for you, but now I'm not. I've struggled to figure out exactly what you stand for. You still have done little or nothing to make your position clear.
Like many Americans, some of whom might actually vote, terrorism is the most significant issue on my mind. My vote for Bush in this election is not a slam-dunk. Bush's attention to economic policies were slipshed at best. But I want to feel safe in my own country, and you can't tell me how you will ensure that.
POLITICAL COMMENTARY
Your speech at last month's Democratic National Convention seemed stirring on the face of it, but revealed no convincing outline on how the Kerry presidency will limit terrorist activity. I don't expect that you can eliminate it altogether. That Bush still talks about winning the war on terror when he should know better is alarming. But he's doing something, and you've told us nothing!
I had to go to your campaign Web page in search of some explanation. I found a curious link to your thoughts on national security. It did not show me any insightful plan on protecting the nation. As it stands, you are soft on terrorism, which is unacceptable.
Much of the space on your Web page on national security is devoted to forming alliances against terror as an alternative to current "American disregard for the world." That in itself is amusing when one considers you voted for the war.
It seems as though there is a perception that America completely forged
STEVE VOCKRODT
svockrodt@kansan.com
ahead in the war alone, and it's repeated in your rhetoric. To believe that would mean I would have to disregard that countries such as Italy, England, Japan, Portugal, the Netherlands and Spain were among more than 40 members on the coalition. Is it just because France and Germany didn't play ball that they symbolize the rest of the world's point of view? Nevermind France and Germany risked seeing billions of dollars in oil contracts go up in flames with Operation Iraqi Freedom.
France has cultivated a businessfriendly climate with Iraq since 1970. I thought I would mention that, because many of your supporters and Bush's detractors have made such a big deal about Bush's financial dealings with the Saudi Royal family.
Saudi Royal Bank.
War for oil? Maybe for the French, because they had contracts to tap into undeveloped oil fields in southern Iraq. With that in mind, do we want Jacques Chirac and his opinions to be the cornerstone of our foreign policy?
Transportation data of oil imports, I found that only two Middle Eastern countries were in our top 10 of countries we buy oil from True, Saudi Arabia was at the top, but Mexico was just on its heels. In fact, if you combine the amount of oil we buy from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, as well as other OPEC nations, it still does not even come close to matching totals from other countries.
Speaking of oil, you mention on your Web page that the United States must end its dependence on Middle Eastern oil to improve national security. But when I checked figures from the United States Department of Energy and
Dependence on the Middle East for oil? Hardly.
It means that the left-wing rhetoric about a Bush war for his buddies' oil companies doesn't really add up.
computer applications. War for oil? If so, Mexico, Canada, Venezuela and Norway should all be shaking in their combat boots right now. But they're not, because the war for oil does not exist. It's just a play on American fears and misconceptions about our oil industry.
Instead, Mr. Kerry, you're going to have to come up with a real platform with genuine ideas to convince me.
Why do I need to be convinced? Because I represent a significant percentage of moderate people who will vote unlike a frightening percentage of your constituency that is notorious for not voting — and who can be swayed by effective and meaningful ideas. In an election that figures to be among the closest ever, you need such ideas to swing people in your direction and not the empty rhetoric we've gotten so far.
Vockrot is a Denver senior in journalism and political science.
Volunteering more than trendy
COMMENTARY
THURSDAY
Mi
B-
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KATE JENSEN
opinion@kansan.com
I have a confession to make. I intended to write this article as a means of convincing you all to get involved in the Hawk Week service project or, at the very least, to stop by my office for more information on how to volunteer in the community. This year I'm serving as co-director of the Center for Community Outreach, the University's "volunteer headquarters." It's part of my job to convince you, the hapless, disaffected student, to make a difference.
really do need you, and my feel-good version of volunteering simply wasn't going to cut it.
It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? "Making a difference." It's grand and contains just the right amount of noble self-importance.
There are real-life problems facing the residents of Lawrence that won't go away with slick marketing and a trendy T-shirt: homelessness, hunger, AIDS. abuse and physical and learning disabilities. Take a walk around downtown Lawrence, visit the local food pantries or homeless shelters and you'll begin to get a taste of the need that exists just a few miles away from you, your computer and your Nintendo.
I pondered the best way to convince you of the worth of that phrase: Would it be best to present "making a difference" as something hip? Trendy? Perhaps a good resume booster? That's when it hit me. I had become what I feared most in life: a yuppie. A young urban professional slickster trying to package community service in a way that would make you students want to rush out and do the "next cool thing."
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There had been just one catch to my brilliant plan. The people of Lawrence
Last year, KU students donated more than 31,000 hours of their time to community service, and we haven't even begun to make a dent in the problems facing Lawrence. There are currently more than 200 agencies in our commu-
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nity that need volunteers 24 hours a day, every day, to help with everything from tutoring and mentoring troubled kids to assisting with transitional living for the homeless, battered women and runaway teens. Add to that the 22 public schools in the Lawrence district needing help with activities such as after-school programs and tutoring, and you can begin to understand the immense need for people to give their time in community service. Making a difference is for yuppies. The people of Lawrence need you to volunteer to help change lives.
To learn more about getting involved in Lawrence, stop by the Center for Community Outreach in room 405 of the Kansas Union. We'll give you all the information you've ever wanted on hundreds of volunteer opportunities in Lawrence. Or meet in the Kansas Union lobby Saturday for our community-wide service project from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you're lucky, we might even throw in a trendy T-shirt.
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Jensen is a Minnesota, Minn., senior in mathematics, Spanish and international studies.
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