Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Julie Wood, Editor
Julie Wood, Editor
Laura Roddy, Managing editor
Cory Graham, Managing editor
Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser
Wednesday, October 13, 1999
Jordan Martens / KANSAN
Editorials
Kansan report card
PASS
- **Parking** — Parking department sets aside spaces for pizza and other delivery drivers at the residence halls. The idea is to avoid parking tickets. Students: Replace expensive parking pass with easy-to-find Pizza Hut magnets?!
■ Breast Cancer Awareness Month — More than 40,000 women die each year from breast cancer. This early detection campaign deserves praise.
FAIL
- Letter-writing campaign — Concerned Active and Aware Students (CAAS) sponsored opportunity for students to make their voices heard. Still want to write a letter? Try the Kansas Board of Education, 120 S.E. 10th Ave., Topeka, Kan., 66612.
- Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura — The governor described organized religion as a sham. The Body's view is that Christians, Muslims, Jews and other people of faith are weak-minded. Compared to whom — "Stone Cold" Steve Austin fans?
**Class shopper** — These people take tests in classes before deciding if they want to enroll in them. Sorry Peaches, you're wasting professors' time in a cheap attempt to beef up your GPA.
- **Topeka Police Department** — Former Kansas Gov. Joan Finney claims her son John Finney was hand-cuffed and harassed by cops at her house. No charges were pressed against John, but Finney has filed suit asking the cops for a dollar and an apology. John's prior pot conviction aside, Ma 'Finney's suing and probably has a strong case.
'School of Assassins' must be closed
In Fort Benning, Ga., the U.S. Army operates a training school for Latin American military personnel known as the School of the Americas. For many in Latin America, it is known by another name — the "School of Assassins." The school has been a training ground for numerous future Latin American dictators, including Panama's Manuel Noriega. The school also has produced soldiers and assassins responsible for the massacre of hundreds of civilians and the murders of numerous political and religious figures.
Last year, 16 people working with the University of Kansas' Latin American Solidarity student organization went Georgia and joined thousands of others, who either were there at the time or had been there previously, to protest the SOA and state their beliefs that it
U.S. Army trains Latin American military in torture, blackmail and execution
should be closed immediately. The rest of the citizens of the United States should take the same position.
The school was started in 1947 with the purpose of training Latin Americans to promote democracy and enact anti-narcotics operations. It has graduated, by its own count, 56,000 students since its inception. Unfortunately, very few of them have gone on to carry out those stated goals. Instead, they have carried out the aforementioned atrocities.
of the brutality of the graduates of the SOA is the curriculum taught there. In 1996, after pressure from religious activists, the Pentagon released seven training manuals which had been used in the SOA. The manuals included recommendations on interrogation techniques such as torture, blackmail, the arrest of relatives of those being questioned and even execution. Though torture may no longer be taught at the school, in 1997 the New York Times stated that the SOA was "a threat to fragile civilian control of Latin militaries and still encourages abuses."
One of the reasons for the consistency
Last year, the House of Representatives almost passed a bill to close the school. All of us should let our government leaders know that a similar measure should be passed in this session of Congress.
Kansan staff
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Broaden your mind: Today's quote
"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth." — John F. Kennedy
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.
Guest columns: Should be double-spaced typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photocarried for the column to run.
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Chad Bettel or Seth Hoffman at 864-4924.
If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (apion@kansan.com) or call 864-4924.
Procrastination strikes: Can luck save you now?
I don't mean to procrastinate. Really, I don't. I start every new semester, every new week, every new day, fully intending to study and do my homework. I set aside a specific time to study.
When that time comes, however, there is
Perspective
always something better to do. Whether it be that ever-so-important, really crappy TV show that I hate, a random and spontaneous road trip to the middle of nowhere, or just a million games of Minesweeper, I devote that study time to whatever occupies my mind at the moment, which, invariably, is never my classes.
It's not that I don't know the routine. I've trekked my way through miles of the academic jungle. I've
Lydia Taylor columnist opinion by kansas
It's just that when I sit down to study, the sensory world and my attention span all conspire against me. I reach to pick up that novel that I've been intending to read, or the television remote, or my car keys and coat, and all my intentions of studying are for nought.
unlassered its tropical rivers and am left relatively unscathed. I know how to get good grades on tests (or, at least, most tests). I know how to write a damn good paper. I even, when you get right down to it, know how to study.
Perhaps it is some sort of academic death wish that keeps me from studying. Perhaps I subconciously want to fail my classes and lose my scholarship. Perhaps, through my procrastination, I am committing academic suicide.
Or maybe it's some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. Maybe I don't believe that I deserve to be where I am in life, and somehow I have to defeat myself and put myself in my proper place socially and intellectually.
I know that my procrastination doesn't spring from good old-fashioned laziness. For,
Yeah, well, probably not.
despite the fact that I will wait until the absolute last minute to write that four- to sixpage Western Civ. paper, I will work my mental but off trying to hone that paper until it reaches absolute perfection.
Lately, though, I suppose, I have an excuse. I've been trying to balance a full-time job and a full schedule of classes. Plus, a little bit of time to sleep. Needless to say, taking into account my penchant for procrastination, my classes are starting to suffer. Just a little bit. OK, a lot.
So, after working a nine-hour shift, I attempt to cram at the last minute, around hour-long naps. And then, when all else fails, I put my trust in my wide array of good-luck charms (Hey, Kermit the Lucky Pez Dispenser! Don't let me down!)
I recently had to take an astronomy test. The previous test I had done none-to-well on. I spent all night cramming, forcing every bit of astronomical knowledge I could obtain from a cursory skimming of the chapter into my poor, exhausted little brain. I finally went to bed, as dawn stretched its menacing fingers across the sky. I got a couple of hours of sleep, then got up and got dressed.
Five minutes later, I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth. My eyes were clouded with exhaustion, and as I leaned forward to spit into the sink, I washed my head on the small shelf above it. I reeled back, slightly stunned. It took a moment to actually collect my thoughts, an awareness of my surroundings and knowledge of who I was. But as I left for my astronomy test, I saw a faint glimmer of hope.
Perhaps my recent head injury would endow me with some sort of profound astronomical knowledge that would enable me to do well on my test.
Let this be a lesson to you, oh ye freshman.
Do not put your trust in Pez dispensers or head injuries to do well in school, for I just got my astronomy test back.
And I got a D.
Taylor is a Wichita junior in anthropology.
True spiritual knowledge doesn't always come easy
n unexamined life is not worth living.”
— Socrates
"A
My hometown in Iowa consists of 5,000 people on a good day. Residents are isolated from the rest of the world so much that my friends and I refer to our town as the bubble or even one of the inner rings of hell.
Perhaps one of the toughest parts about growing up in Cherokee, Iowa, was dealing with the stifling presence of Christianity. However, my family always was quite liberal and, well, strange in comparison to our neighbors. My thoughtful face
I am a very spiritual person by nature, though not religious.
The various religious groups at the University of Kansas — in the form of clubs or individuals with publicity tables on campus — make me breath a sigh of relief.
The gates of free thought are wide open here, thank God! (Or Buddha? Or David Koresh?)
Jennifer Barlow columnist opinion@kansan.com
I am agnostic. In a nutshell, this means I believe
Being absolutely true to yourself about your feelings and actions makes you or breaks you, no matter how you worship.
I refuse to join any organized religion before I have educated myself about the many religions of the world. Just because I'm most familiar with Christianity does not make it the absolute truth.
People often interpret my view as apathetic to religion, which is not the case. I feel true understanding of personal spirituality is one of the most important journeys anyone encounters in life.
that nothing truly can be known of God or of life after death. I do not deny that a higher being may exist (in fact, deep down, I hope one does), but I don't feel that humans have the capacity to understand or clearly follow a religion mapped out by something infinitely superior to us, though many will try.
Christianity breeds black-and-white idealistic philosophy, and this is why I have a problem accepting this faith.
Just because I was born in the American Midwest, fed corn and steak for dinner, taught that jeans and a T-shirt were acceptable forms of dress and educated about American history and evolution in public school does not mean that my outlook on life is superior to that of another person. That was just the way I was raised. I think most people would accept that point.
However, when religion comes into play, idealism rears its uvel head.
Two passages from the Bible that I often have heard quoted involve Jesus telling those without sin to cast the first stone and then telling God that humans know not what they do.
People begin to manifest the "I'm right, you're wrong" attitude about the most personal philosophy humans have about themselves.
My interpretation of this would be that we are all sinners, and not one of us has the ability to truly understand the complexity of life. I believe that some Christians need to keep this in mind before informing me I'm on my way to hell for not having faith.
I'd like to note that some of my very closest friends are strict Christians. Also, I think the Bible is, psychologically, a literary masterpiece and preaches some intrinsically valuable morals.
The way the religion is practiced seems to have unnerving contradictions. I'm picking on Christianity more than other beliefs because it is what I know most about. Contradictions and hypocrites do not nullify the worth of Christianity. They simply make me take a step back before accepting the faith.
I do not want to die agnostic. I admire pious people who seem to acquire so much comfort from their religion. I would like to think that, someday, I'll find a religious philosophy that flows with my beliefs, comforts and guides me.
Until then, I'll simply play devil's advocate.
Barlow is a Cherokee, Iowa, junior in Russian and East European studies.
Feedback
Headline assumes that coming out defines identity
The headline of Monday's Kansan: "Coming Out Day Gives a Face to Stereotypes."
When I was in eighth grade on the school paper, we studied headline writing for two weeks. That education informs me that Monday's headline is not a good one. The word "stereotypes" in this instance is used as a pronoun for all the hitherto unknown homosexuals, who now, because of a special day in which they may "come out" without fear, will gain a face.
This headline implies two things:
1. That homosexuals are a stereotyped group and should remain so.
National Coming Out day is one of the most ridiculous PR tricks the gay community has ever conceived of.
2. That individuals who are homosexual but had yet to advertise it are now able to gain an identity and that other homosexuals only possess worth in terms of their sexual orientation and the stereotyped group they belong to.
If the writer of this headline intended to suggest the importance of familiarity with individuals of a sub-cultural group in dissuading the urge to stereotype that group as a whole, his or her use of language is flawed.
I think that the writers and editors of the Kansan should now be acquainted with the slim latitude in the arena of offensive headlines. I believe the Kansan should be eager to rid itself of both cryptically subversive publication and poor writing. Both are necessary in order to elevate our student newspaper above the customary aptitudes of a middle school.
Hesse McGraw
Olathe junior
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