4A
Wednesday, October 4, 1995
OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
THE ISSUE: CAMPUS DRINKING
Alcohol ban threatens greeks
Some college campuses recently have banned alcohol at all greek events. This ban could have dire consequences for greek systems. Greeks at the University of Kansas need to act responsibly so that this does not happen here.
The University of Colorado last month banned alcohol at greek events. The goal of administrators, police and prohibition supporters is to reduce underage drinking. Advocates of the plan claim that it affects all students, but the Greek system has been hit hardest.
Police plan to crack down by making punishments severe for underage drinking. In Boulder, Colo., a first-time offender is required to attend alcohol classes, pay a $100 fine and lose his or her driving privileges for three months. It gets worse. If police find underage drinking at a fraternity or sorority party, the president of that house is liable and can be charged with a felony, which could result
Fraternity and sorority members must behave responsibly or suffer prohibitive policies that could imperil houses
in a nine-year prison sentence.
A ban on alcohol threatens the freedom of the greek system. Organized parties would be reduced significantly, if not completely abolished. Membership could decline dramatically. Houses also could lose their charters if people violated alcohol regulations and could be punished accordingly.
Members of the greek system need to shape up so that these policies do not become a reality at KU. Greeks should crack down on underage drinking so that the University is not forced to crack down on the greek system.
Banning alcohol is going to become more prevalent at campuses across the nation. Let's work together and act sensibly so KU does not fall prey to a reactionary policy.
TARA FITZPATRICK FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD.
KU should institute fall break
THE ISSUE: FALL BREAK
As October and midterms roll around, students at the University of Kansas need to add relaxation to their three Rs. A fall break would allow students and faculty to reduce stress and to improve academic performance.
The calendar committee creates KU's academic calendar. They must submit calendar proposals to the administration three years in advance. Carol Holstead, calendar committee chairwoman, said that although the idea of a fall break had been mentioned and supported in a committee meeting, it had little feasibility because of the required number of school days.
The long stretch of school days between the first day of school and Thanksgiving break is interrupted only by Labor Day. And this occurs after just two weeks of classes.
The Board of Regents requires every state school to have two 16-week semesters with no less than 150 school days in the
A few days off in October would give students time to organize, catch up in middle of long class stretch
academic year. According to David Shulenburger, vice chancellor for academic affairs, Labor Day is a legal holiday and Stop Day is a tradition that virtually is impossible to break.
Students and faculty need a time to regroup earlier than Thanksgiving break. After Thanksgiving, only two weeks of classes remain before final exams. If the Board of Regents simply would lower the required days to 148, students and faculty could have a Thursday and Friday off in October. The time lost in the classroom would be made up through organization and preparation.
A fall break should be implemented at the University to improve academic performance and to give students much needed rest and relaxation.
CHARITY JEFFRIES FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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"bitch," he would be enraged justifiably.
The stupidity of Dr. Dr knows no bounds. He goes on to say, "If it makes money, we'll use it." That sounds to me like the slave owner's excuse for keeping people in bondage, but it is at the heart of the problem. There is no art. There is no socially conscious artist accurately depicting reality. There is only money.
The artist claims to be depicting reality, but he is not set apart and merely observing that reality. He is part of the whole system and is a source of feeling, thought and action. Dr. Dr. is scum for the part he has played in bankruptcy the moral fiber of our society, as are all artists and executives who entertain without thinking of the effects of their words and images.
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Gangsta crap sells. Metal sells.
The Power Rangers sell. Teaching ourselves and our children that violence is acceptable and right sells.
Time-Warner should be applauded for selling off Interscope, but now it is your turn. Don't buy the albums. Don't buy the concert tickets. And don't let the children in your life watch violence on television and in movies. As a collective, we can put these terrorists out of business. Together we can help end the violence.
Todd Hlitt is a Lyndon senior in social welfare.
A few days ago, I was watching a group of kids in my neighborhood playing Power Morphin Turtle Rangers. They were between the ages of 6 and 8, but they had the moves down — sidekicks, leg sweeps, upper- and lower-arm blocks. They knew it all, as if they had taken kickboxing classes. But the whole time I watched them, I couldn't help but wonder if they knew what they really were doing.
Media is selling violence; it's up to you not to buy it
Children don't think of this. They are just playing. But they also are modeling behavior and creating, however slowly, their identities. They learn right from wrong and when to feel guilty. They learn what is acceptable and what is not. And presently, they are learning that violence is acceptable and that there is no need to feel guilty. On television, the monsters simply vanish when beaten.
A sidekick will shatter a knee. The cartilage will rip away, tendons will tear, and besides the immediate excruciating pain, the individual may be crippled for life.
Violence in the media and in real life is insidiously subtle. More than 235 studies have shown it affects every one of us, old and young alike.
Edward Donnerstein, Daniel Linz and Steven Penrod did a study in which they chose 52 men whom they felt were least likely to become desensitized to violence. They then showed the men one
slasher film a day for five days and found that not only did the men become desensitized to media violence, but they also were less able to feel empathy for real-life rape victims.
Problems of India also exist in the U.S.
than 20 hours of television a week.
How many violent acts do you suppose he or she sees in a lifetime?
What do you suppose the effects of that will be on their psychies? One show may not hurt, but observing a pattern of violence over time will shape anyone's fundamental being.
STAFF COLUMNIST
Imagine an individual, especially a child, watching more
I am responding to the grossly distorted and misrepresented facts stated in the column by Alisha Arora.
Music perpetuates violence, as well. Gansta rap and metal are notorious for glorifying violence. Rape and killing are common themes in rap. Guns are good, all police are bad, and women are nothing but "bitches" and "hos." To a degree, mirrors reality. But the artists must portray reality responsibly. Dr. Dre says that rappers "...didn't create the word 'bitch.'" Maybe not. But I didn't create the myriad of racial slurs used to refer to African Americans. But if I used them the way Dre uses
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The article clearly undermines the prestige and truth of a nation that unfortunately is the motherland of the columnist. I would take this opportunity to remind our well wishers that India is a strong country with huge intellectual, spiritual and financial resources.
The exaggerated street-side poverty as stated by the columnist is not much different from the homeless in this country. Such street-side situations can
In this context, wearing good clothes, putting on elegant per-
I strongly believe that it is the responsibility of every Indian to come forward and solve the problems instead of providing humiliating and destructive criticisms that only help in the entertainment of ignorant individuals.
In my view, poverty does not lie in lack of food but it resides in poverty of culture and healthy thoughts, the paucity of which creates substandard intellectual levels.
Thus, I would strongly request the columnist and her pitiable admirers to redefine the values in life and appreciate and do what they can to make things better instead of scorn and contempt toward themselves and their own people.
Lawrence graduate student
I would like to draw the attention to the fact that India produces enough to feed the undernourished and starved mouths that are a part of us and our proud lineage. Moreover, the Indian economy does not depend on meager charities of tin-pot sources to feed her 'starving citizens.'
be attributed to the big population in India.
fumes and alighting from expensive cars does not make one rich. Instead, it is the culture, heritage, spiritualism and humanity that make one rich.
Shyamal Das
One group was all male, and the other was female. I wasn't bothered by this
Unrealistic ideas of beauty hurt women's self-esteem
We see thin, "beautiful" models everywhere. Their pictures are plastered on billboards, on television and in magazines. These constant images of "beauty" have become the standard for what every woman should look like. Not enough recognition is given to the harm that can come from women constantly trying to look like these models because the truth of the matter is that sexy sells.
group. After a while, we stopped studying and started chatting. The larger group broke up into two smaller groups when the subjects of conversa tion diverged.
Changing how society views beauty may be nearly impossible. However, changing the way each of us views beauty is not. If people would stop looking at women's measurements and instead look deeper, the tide would turn away from low self-esteem in women, and beauty would return to the eye of the beholder.
It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While this is true, more and more often beauty is set by the standards of society rather than the individual. And society sets almost impossible standards.
until I noticed the difference in the topics. While the guys were talking about a PBS special they had seen, across the room we were discussing appearance. For the most part, our discussion centered around weight and body type, and we made references to models such as Kate Moss.
I hadn't really thought about this until last week when I got together
Pressure to be "beautiful," whatever that means, is found throughout the media. Teen-age magazines such as Seventeen and YM, claim they try to stop problems such as anorexia, bulimia and low self-esteem with articles and testimonials. However, these articles sit opposite advertisements featuring thin, heavily made-up 14-year-old girls.
Women's magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Elle go one step further: They advertise diet pills or report on the new miracle diet. These ads may sell products, but they also lower girls' and women's self-esteem.
STAFF COLUMNIST
There is a big problem with society dictating how a woman should look. Some women starve themselves constantly, while others spend all their spare time at the gym trying to look better so that other people will find them beautiful. These are perfect examples of how women let other people dictate how they feel about themselves. More and more, this low self-esteem is accepted by society. And it seems nothing is being done about it.
Advertisers continue to exploit women (and as Calvin Klein has proven, men, too), proving that sex does sell, even if it is exploitive. Only in the most outrageous instances do people take a stand against this type of advertising. Until we start protesting more of these ads, things aren't going to change.
Not everyone can look like Kate Moss. It is physically impossible. And while we may want to be beautiful, beauty is not determined by the size of our waists. It comes instead from what is inside of us.
Stacy Nagy is a Topeka sophomore in journalism.
SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Shawn Trimble