Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Julie Wood, Editor
Laura Roddy, Managing editor
Cory Graham, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser
Brandl Byram, Business manager
Shauntea Blue, Retail sales manager
Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser
Scott Valler, Technology coordinator
Thursday. October 21, 1999
Jamie Patterson / KANSAN
Editorials
South Carolina should remove Confederate flag from state capitol
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, in an effort to remove the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina statehouse, announced a tourism boycott of South Carolina Saturday.
The NAACP is right to try to remove the Confederate flag from the Capitol. Regardless of any arguments of heritage or culture, a large population of this country interprets the flag as a symbol of the South's willingness to go to war for an economic system that was built on the backs of slaves. It also has connotations the historical racism in the South and was adopted by hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.
The swastika is an important symbol in the history of Germany, but
The NAACP wants to remove the symbol of hate from South Carolina's statehouse
one would not find it飞 lying from government buildings in Berlin or Bonn. The Confederate flag, similar to the swastika, should be put in its place in history, not on top of the Capitol dome, where it blatantly offends some of South Carolina's taxpayers.
An economic sanction also is the proper method of seeking change. Had the leaders of the NAACP opted to use the court system, it might have lacked the legal justification for removal. More importantly, legal action often results in a certain
degree of public backlash.
By using a tourism boycott, the group is urging its members not to travel or spend money in South Carolina until the flag is removed. With African-American tourists spending about $280 million there annually, this action, if successful, will hit South Carolina where it hurts and likely will be more effective than long, complicated legal battles.
The NAACP is right. It is not trying to outlaw Confederate flags or remove them from private homes; it is trying to remove the flag from an inappropriate place. If the boycott is successful, it will send a strong message to the United States that the flag no longer will be tolerated on government grounds.
Kursten Phelps for the editorial board
Tragedy brought community together
Butler was enjoying her day off from school last Monday in-line skating when she was kidnapped. Her body was found on Friday,
It took a tragedy, but Kansas City came together as a community. This community cohesion was prompted by the death of 10-year-old Pamela Butler.
Although Butler's story was tragic, it also brought some good to the Kansas City community Kidnapping cases are often left unsolved, and family members are left without closure. Butler's case was unique because the community came together in an effort to find the kidnapper and comfort the family.
The community's involvement began when a neighbor saw the girl
Neighbors gave aid to police search and comfort to the grieving Butler family
being abducted, followed the white truck and took the license-plate number. After the initial spotting, several others reported seeing the truck. The next morning, authorities were able to find the abandoned vehicle with the help of citizens' tips.
Officials then began to search for the truck's owner, Keith D. Nelson, for questioning. A police officer spotted Nelson under a bridge and alerted other police. The suspect was captured.
only helped find the suspect, but also offered support to the family. A vigil was held for Butler on Friday, and people offered cards, flowers, food and words of encouragement to Butler's family. Local businesses also provided Butler's family with a free burial, casket and flowers for the service.
The Kansas City community not
The team effort of police and citizens of the Kansas City area enabled Butler's alleged kidnapper to be captured and Butler's body to be found. Without the help of these people, Butler's case could have remained another unsolved kidnapping. Kansas City should be commended for the unselfish community effort expended in bringing closure and support to this case.
Heather Herrman for the editorial board
Kansan staff
Chad Bettes . . . . . . . . . Editorial
Seth Hoffman . . . . . . Associate editorial
Carl Kaminski . . . . . . . . Neus
Juan H. Heath . . . . . Online
Chris Fickett . . . . Sports
Brad Hallier . . . . Associate sports
Nadia Mustafa . . . Campus
Heather Woodward . . Campus
Steph Brewer . . Features
Dan Curry . . . . . Associate features
Matt Daugherty . . . Photo
Kristi Elliott . . Design, graphics
T.J. Johnson . . Wire
Melody Ard . Special sections
News editors
Becky LaBranch . . .Special sections
Thad Crane . . .Campus
Will Baxter . . .Regional
Jon Schlitt . . .National
Danny Pumpelly .Online sales
Micah Kafitz . .Marketing
Emily Knowles .Production
Jenny Weaver .Production
Matt Thomas .Creative
Kelly Heffernan .Classified
Juliana Moreira .Zone
Chad Hale .Zone
Brad Bolyard .Zone
Amy Miller .Zone
Advertising managers
Broaden your mind; Today's quote
"Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics."
How to submit letters and guest columns
**Letters:** Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
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All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Staffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Chad Bettos or Seth Hoffman at 864-4924.
Fletcher Knebel
If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4924.
Perspective
(opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4924.
SUA's paranormal show just a normal scare-fest
merica's Top Ghost Hunters."
"A
Sarah
smashr
columnist
oilonier@kannan.com
Last week, Student Union Activities sponsored a lecture by Ed and Lorraine Warren. The married couple is widely
known for investigating the paranormal and for making contributions to such famous cases as The
Sintuf Haunting and the Original files upon which The Exorcist was based. This year ABC is piloting a television series based on the Warrens' studies, and Ridley Scott is signed to direct a feature motion picture on their work. The impressive references go on and on. The Warrens have 30 years of college lecturing under their belts.
So why was their recent oration at the University of Kansas so terrible? As a curious examiner of the occult, I drove to the Kansas Union
caused to hear two renowned parapsycologists offer conclusive research on areas such as the afterlife, telepathy and reincarnation. An hour and a half later, I walked out early — disappointed by the ridiculous information I was given and angered by the Warrens' audacity.
Troy Taylor, Web master for www.prairiehosts.com and member of the American Ghost Society, says "It's a shame that the general public has to be subjected to the sort of silliness and sensationalism that some ghost hunters feel is needed for audiences today. I feel that we are finally getting to the point where the public realizes that there is some credibility to what we are doing. While I see the need to bring attention to the field, I also would love to bring an image of competent research to the field as well. Hopefully, people are starting to see some of these outdated researchers for what they are ... the dwindling few and not the representatives of the field as a whole."
Fraudulent information was presented as truth. The Warrens spoke about the existence of ectoplasm, a supposedly paranormal substance that produces spirit materialization and telekinesis, which was admitted by early 20th century con artists to be a hoax.
The gripe that actually caused me to get up and leave was the irresponsibility the Warrens displayed by neglecting to warn the audience of graphic photo content and potentially disturbing audio recordings. An alarming picture of a woman supposedly being attacked by an incubus, a sexually predatory, demon-like spirit, was flashed before the crowd; many people gasped and moaned with discomfort. Later, audio recordings of devilish voices alleged to be those of demonically possessed people were played, upsetting a number of people enough to prompt them to leave.
The Warrens' lecture had some entertainment value, but SUA should have warned those in attendance that the focus would be on audience impact rather than on seriously dealing with issues of the supernatural. The Warrens may be America's Top Ghost Hunters, but they certainly aren't America's Most Responsible Lecturers.
The Warrens even presented the infamously absurd photograph of "The Silver Princess" as proof of the existence of ghosts. This picture was proven to be a fraud years ago and often is used as an example of the ridiculous "paranormal" scams that were extremely common at the turn of the century.
Also, electronic voice phenomena (E.V.P.) was offered as substantial evidence of the metaphysical. This technique, while often very convincing, isn't even recognized as conclusive evidence in parapsychology circles, as it simply cannot be tested for authenticity. Mr. Warren told the audience he owned a video tape of ghostly apparitions. Why
didn't he show it?
In addition to its utter inaccuracy, the Warrens' approach was pure sensationalism. Rather than examining evidence of the paranormal in a scientific manner, the Warrens made the entire lecture into a scare-fest. With quotations such as, "Anyone who wants to see a ghost tonight will see one at approximately 3 a.m." and "Entities like to present themselves to rooms just like these," uttered in a low, ominous voice, who possibly could see the presentation as anything more than a silly, if not offensive, attempt at entertainment?
You haven't found a job? Don't worry,there's hope
Smarsh is a Kingman sophomore in English.
One question posed to children by adults is arguably the favorite: What do you want to be when you grow up?
We all have grown up with this question, and now that we have reached the question has subtly changed to: What is your major? What are you studying? What is your speciality? For myself and many other seniors, "What do you grow up?" has changed
This latest metamorphosis of the once cute inquiry is my parents' new favorite. It outranks
probes regarding school, money, friends and even grades.
"A job?" I reply, "In October?"
As the Career and Employment Services office on campus will tell you, October is a perfect time, maybe not for a job, but most certainly a job hunt.
For those choosing to graduate and enter the working world,now is the time to be planning for the summer.
Jamie Patterson guest columnist opinion@kansan.com
For those of us planning to
jump right back into school for a higher degree after graduation, tests must be taken in the next few months, and applications must start to enter admissions offices across the nation.
As in many things in life, planning for a future beyond the University is best when started early. If graduate school is the road you choose, an officer of admissions at the University of Iowa suggests that for schools with rolling application deadlines, the sooner you turn in your application, the more likely you are to be accepted.
When it comes to finding a job, the more opportunities you have to get your name out to employers, the better off you are. You'll have far more opportunities by beginning now rather than in April.
If you don't know where to start, head directly to one of the Career Centers on campus.
Too much work to march around campus? Now it's easy for even the laziest among us to get job search the Internet. Visit http://www.bschool.ukans.edu/besc, and you will have access to the entire database for all of the career centers. Another fun Web sites is www.cooljobs.com. It contains such jobs as a host on a Carnival cruise ship or a Web site editor.
Career centers do provide a service that will require you to leave your home-job fairs for every major. Be attentive, watch the Kansan for dates and times—the are many—and it is a wonderful way to get your resume out to employers. Visit your departments regularly; they often will post helpful things there that wouldn't be worth any money.
Trudy Lutz at the Business Career Center recommends that as soon as students are accepted by the School of Business, that they visit the career center.
None of the fairs, programs, or service centers are limited to seniors, either.
Juniors shouldn't forget that internship opportunities are also available through all of our career service centers.
Seniors, in the middle of all the resume writing and job fair going, should take a moment and get a graduation check from your adviser. You want to make sure that you will have both a job and a diploma come May.
Keep in mind that the jobs don't always go to those with the best grades or most outstanding record of leadership and achievement. The jobs go to those who are attentive and on the ball and who market themselves well and often.
If you actively search for an answer,you soon will discover what you will be when you grow up.
The moral of the story? The early bird is more likely to get the job.
Patterson is a Minneapolis, Minn., senior in English.
Feedback
Handgun problem caused by weak punishments
I was appalled by the ignorance and misrepresentation of the facts that were in Erin Simpson's column on the need to ban handguns. Instead of worrying so much about a relatively small number of handgun murders per year (9,390) perhaps she could worry about the 41,000 deaths due to traffic accidents, or the 100,000 deaths related to alcohol, or even the 400,000 deaths due to tobacco usage.
If Simpson must worry about the handguns, maybe she should look at the fact that the problem lies in the punishments handed out rather than the existence of handguns. If the American justice system wasn't so liberal as to allow a "three strikes and you're out" policy, but rather took an "eye for an eye" approach, the homicide and crime rate in general would go down. I'm sure that if the government carried out a live, televised execution during the Super Bowl, the message of senseless violence not being tolerated would come across very well.
I had hoped that Simpson, as a columnist for the prestigious UDK, would have thought about the root of the problem rather than the ending result. Perhaps she'll remember that the next time her editor is reading her uneducated work while smoking a cigarette.
Erik Roesh Woodlands, Texas, junior
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