Opinion
Kansan
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Julie Wood, Editor
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Monday, October 11, 1999
THE HORRIFIC TRUTH BEHIND THE LAZER FORMAT CHANGE.
Seth Jones / KANSAN
Editorials
Retaking courses for better grades fails to be fair to diligent students
Students at Kansas Regents universities, including the University of Kansas, soon may have the option of retaking academic courses to improve their grades. The Board of Regents is considering making the system's course retake policy more lenient, allowing students to repeat courses and have only the second attempt figured into grade point averages.
The Regents should scrutinize carefully the benefits and costs of this proposal and come to one conclusion: Retaking courses to replace grades should not be allowed.
The first problem is that this proposal makes money the bottom line. If students choose to retake courses, they would have to shell out the tuition cost again, proving that money is an important factor. Students who don't have a few hundred dollars to spare would not have the option to retake classes. Only those who can afford it would take the course multiple times.
GPAs should represent all course work, not just repeats
What about students who are taking a course for the first time? How can they compete with students around them who already have taken the tests, quizzes and homework assignments? Students who are working for their grades are put at an unfair advantage against those who already have been exposed to the course and instructor.
And if students are retaking courses,
they may choose not to attend classes, because they already have the notes. These students could stop other students from getting into a full class for the first time. There would be empty seats in the class, but the instructor would not be able to allow other students to add.
Furthermore, certain classes at the University employ the bell curve, and this retake policy will skew results unfairly. Students who actually have worked up to an A level may be pushed out of the A grade range because of those who already have taken the course. Once again, the students who get the raw end of the deal are those working hard to do a good job the first time.
The Board of Regents should fail this proposal, as it will only hurt those that don't deserve it.
Rupali Limaye for the editorial board
Debt forgiveness promotes prosperity
In more than 40 nations, people are struggling to survive as crippling poverty grows, and education and adequate health care continue to be non-priorities. What is the culprit of this suffering? Much of it is because of the insurmountable loans that Third World governments are trying to pay back.
President Clinton recently announced an expansion of U.S. efforts forgiving international debts owed by the world's severely poor nations. This was one more step toward the goals of Jubilee 2000, a coalition coordinating a campaign for total debt cancellation of Third World countries.
Although the idea of forgiving more than $200 billion of debt initially may seem irrational, it would have benefits. Extremely poor countries that are in
Severely poor nations need further assistance to provide food, education, health care
Ransom in New Internationalist magazine, these sorts of requirements tend to pin struggling economies in a cycle of poverty because they can not build infrastructure or a healthy industrial base to promote economic stability.
such inescapable debt spend, depending on the country, up to four times as much on loan interest payments than on education or health care. This puts the burden of the debt on the poor and makes it difficult, if not impossible, for them to lift themselves out of crushing poverty. Also, nations that receive International Monetary Fund loans must make structural adjustments, which usually include a currency devaluation, reduction of government intervention and increased exposure to the global market. According to David
It would cost the United States essentially $1 billion to wipe out all of the debt owed by Third World countries. This is a small price to pay for an action that finally may stop the vicious cycle of poverty in developing countries. More governments, as well as the World Bank and IMF, should agree to debt forgiveness. Once these debts are off the shoulders of developing countries, they finally will be able to start the slow process of growth, which may mean more prosperity for all nations.
Kursten Phelps for the editorial board
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I promised my folks that I would apply for an FBI internship this summer. I've gotten the transcripts, brushed up my colorful résumé and asked for the recommendation. The only thing left is the 500 word essay.
Perspective
More to FBI internship than making coffee
want to be a peon gofer, making coffee and filing papers and saying "yes, ma'am" and "right away, sir" in Washington for three months (instead of spending it on the gorgeous beaches of California).
I am supposed to sum up all the reasons why I
The crazy thing is that I really want to do it. At least I think so. Maybe I've just seen too many episodes of the X-Files, but why else am I taking Basic Firearms?
Elizabeth
Peacock
columnist
coming @banan.com
Okay. Time to buckle down and begin the essay.
"Since I was eight, I have wanted to be an FBI agent ..." Highlight. Delete. No, I wanted to be an archaeologist — well, really a treasure-hunter like Indiana Jones. I wanted to dig up old stuff and sell it for exorbitant amounts of money, becoming both rich and famous in one fell scoop. When I was eight, I didn't even know that there was such a thing as the FBI. Try again.
"I always have held the federal government and its agencies in high regard ..." Delete. Delete. Delete. Well, that's not exactly true. A lot of corruption goes on; my father, like most of his family, works for the government and can testify to that. Consider the current investigations of the FBI surrounding the Waco incident.
On the plus side, all of the negative publicity could hurt their recruitment rates and help my chances of getting accepted into the program. Think harder. Peacock.
"My father's dying wish after a 12-struggle with cancer was for his only daughter to work for the FBI and fulfill a dream he could not ..." Now that's just a big ol' honkin' lie. The pity path only works if it's believable. Not even Glenn Close could pass off that story.
Time to get serious. I see two options right
The fact is, I don't know if this FBI thing is my ultimate dream or a nightmare that starts off really good but ends up being a huge Wes Craven gorefest. I just hope I have the guts to sit through the whole thing and see how it ends.
now: follow my anthropology leanings and hope I can support myself without spending the next forty years in a museum, or go the government path and maybe be able to shoot someone — legally.
Either way, I'll have given myself the opportunity to do something different, to learn about something new, and hopefully to learn something about myself in the process. I heard somewhere that the best way to find out your true nature was to go someplace completely outside of your comfort zone and see how you respond. An internship in D.C. sure would fit the bill.
When I was a kid, a girl about my age named Michaela Garrett was kidnapped from a neighborhood in Hayward, Calif., a mere 20 miles from my house. She was never found. All around us there is danger, but most of us only realize it when it is too late, when it invades our lives and changes us forever. We ask ourselves, "Why, how could it happen to us?" But we never seem to find any answers.
I guess I want to do this FBI internship so that I can see the theatrical preview. Maybe it'll be good, and I'll want to go see the movie when it comes out. Maybe it won't be, but I'll only have wasted a fraction of my life.
Well, at least that's a start. Only 322 words left to go.
If there is some chance that I could help prevent an Oklahoma bombing, or come a little closer to understanding why the Colorado shootings happened, or even just help find a Michaela, maybe I could start believing that one person can make a difference. Maybe the world could get just a little bit safer, and we could forget about all the danger for just a little while longer.
I am sure I will be doing some filing and making coffee, but I am also seeking some answers. Answers in my own life and in the world in which we live.
Peacock is a Newark, Calif., junior in anthropology and political science.
Feedback
Ventura too candid
As a Kansas alumnus and native Minnesota, I feel an obligation to respond to Jenny Oakson's Oct. 6 column on Minnesota's outspoken governor, Jesse Ventura. Oakson missed the mark by praising his candid manner and straight-talking reputation. Jesse has not only alienated the majority of people in Minnesota with his recent remarks and rhetoric, but the people of Minnesota have lost faith in their governor to do the right things and lead the state into the next millennium.
Oakson's comment that we must applaud his candor is not only disappointing, but offensive to anyone who believes in religion, anyone who believes sexual harassment is wrong (Tailhook was no big deal), or any of the other outspoken ideas the governor proclaimed in the 10 page Plavbov article.
Miss Oakson also claimed that the governor promised to remain honest during his campaign. While there are many examples that I could site of how the governor has gone back on his word, none is more apparent than the current fallout from his article. Since the article was made public in the Minnesota media, Ventura and his political spinsters have been combating his comments in one way or another. The straight-talking Ventura, as Oakson would say, has repeatedly had to recant or try to explain what he truly meant in the article.
While Oakson is entirely right when she said that Jesse is "cooking up much publicity," it is not the kind of publicity Minnesota wants or deserve. Nor does Minnesota want a buffoon with an ever-enlarging ego trouncing across the country talking about himself rather than doing the people's business.
Lindsay Sander
Class of '97, St. Paul, Minn.
Keep the seal
I disagree with the argument that says the University seal should be replaced. While the picture of Moses is from the Christian Bible, it is not trying to persuade people to believe in the Christian faith. It is merely a portrayal of a person from a historical document that has had a profound impact
Perhaps anyone wanting to impose their religious views on everything should wonder why, in a world they believe was entirely created by a god, it would be such a humbling travesty to question the anthropocentric ideology. Why is it acceptable to teach our children the cell theory and the theory of gravity but not the theory of evolution because some people are uncomfortable with its evidence and implications?
Mary Jane Peal Overland Park sophomore
Wanted to see Gould
Cassie Holman Liberal junior
Stephen Jay Gould's lecture Wednesday was enhanced by the reassuring applause of the audience after any reference to the reversal of the Kansas School Board's decision that hopefully will take place. Every creationist in the state should have attended to witness how ridiculous one of their supporters sounded during the question-and-answer session. His vague and illogical comments were an embarrassment, and as Gould pointed out, he was actually demonstrating that he accepted microevolution.
This morning there is an empty page in my notebook where I had hoped to record insights gained from a lecture by Stephen Jay Gould, whose work and writings on evolutionary biology I have long admired. I had looked forward to this event since it was first announced, but when I arrived 15 minutes early for the free lec
on our country and culture.
The KU seal was designed more than a hundred years ago. It is a tradition that should not be casually reinvented to make sure no one is offended. Cultures should not continually reinvent themselves to include everyone. It only results in a loss of any identity at all.
Gould reassuring
If I were living in a country that was predominantly Buddhist, I would not be offended at seeing a statue of the Buddha sitting in a public place. Even if I do not agree with the message the statue is sending, I can still appreciate that it is an important aspect of the country's culture.
ture at the Lied Center, there was a capacity crowd, and the doors had been locked. I joined the throng on the sidewalk.
I'm responding to the editorial in Thursday's paper about how the "stopping of the float stops expression." Already too much attention has been paid to this lack of maturity. I find it sad that our supposedly bright students try to make "political" statements by using obscenities. This does not show either intelligence or maturity.
Float was immature
To then hide behind the defense of the First Amendment is incredible. This is what is wrong with this country. We have allowed ourselves to stoop to such levels of sheer stupidity when we are capable of much better things. To whine about how the greek communities are taking over the campus and then commit such an embarrassing act is incredibly counterproductive.
I had to be content with listening to tapes of Stephen Jay Gould's words on my drive home and hoping that those naive ones who had acquired the seats might be likewise enlightened.
Some had come from as far as 200 miles to hear the words of a thoughtful man, but the majority were students waving pink cards they were anxious to have signed to validate the fact they had attempted (albeit unsuccessfully) to attend an assigned lecture. I could only assume that the same ratio existed among those who now occupied the seats in the auditorium. And I was irritated to think that while I had gone to the library to read and reread the work of Professor Gould to more perfectly appreciate his lecture, many of those others outside the door with me were relieved (once their pink cards were collected) that they didn't have to actually attend.
Chris Wolf Edmonds Class of '65. Lawrence
Someone from a scholarship hall should know this. It seems, however, they don't. I'd like to see more representation by other student communities, but it needs to show intelligence and responsibility, not a temper tantrum.
Britta Ernst
Topeka senior
.