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KIELER: Politicians play on people's fears of illegal immigration, but few offer real solutions. We need to address the causes before we can fix the problem See kansan.com for more opinions and Free for All comments
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9,2006 WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 5A
》 OUR VIEW
Tuesday's elections bode well for Kansas, America
The results of Tuesday's elections are mostly in, and while we endure the media's hyperanalytical focus on the Virginia Senate race, we can examine the races that are already decided. Does Tuesday's big night portend any sweeping change in the future of our country?
It is famously said that success has a thousand fathers, and the Democratic Party is currently reaffirming that maxim. The rush of self-congratulation has begun in earnest, with
everyone from Howard Dean to Bill Clinton celebrating the recapture of the House. The Republican Party, meanwhile, begins a round of finger-pointing and blaming. This election may finally be the point when the rift between business and social conservatives exposes the party to the kind of fractious infighting usually reserved for their opponents.
But based on exit polls, voters widely believed that this election was a referendum not just
on President Bush but on the direction of the nation under his party's rule. Democrats spoke loftily Tuesday night of the demand for "a new direction," but exactly what that direction will entail remains to be seen. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, the ranking Democrats in the House and Senate, respectively, are probably not the ideal public symbols their party wants, and their agenda of progressive programs will encounter stern opposition from the White
House. Sadly, gridlock seems more likely than bipartisan consensus.
Regardless of personal party views, many Americans will and should be happy to see the effective end of one-party rule in Washington. Any party that dominates all branches of government creates an echo chamber and quickly becomes convinced of its own self-righteousness. The Democratic takeover of the House, and potentially of the Senate, creates an invigorat-
ed opponent to the President's agenda, and at the very least forces him to reckon with the opposition party. This is in stark contrast to the past few years, when the ruling party took steps to cement the irrelevance of the Democrats.
the results bode well for the state. Perhaps Kansas, mocked and pilloried for so long by so many, is on the brink of a new era of progress, led by moderate public officials willing to work with representatives of all stripes to move the state forward. For our own sake, let us hope that is true.
Locally, the reliably red state of Kansas looked decidedly bluer Tuesday night, but that can be deceiving. While there were big victories for Democrats, the victors are hardly facsimiles of their coastal brethren. Nevertheless,
McKay Stangler for the editorial board.
COMMENTARY
Recent events illustrate students' power
Presidents are falling, all over this land.
Last month, at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., protests by hundreds of students and faculty ended the incoming president's tenure before she could even take office.
At Johnson County Community College, in the spring, a news article toppled the 25-year-old presidency of Charles J. Carlsen.
(Full disclosure I previously worked at the JCCC student newspaper, The Campus Ledger, and I have worked with Miguel Morales, the reporter who broke the story on Carlsen.)
Both of these are powerful examples that students can still change the world, or at least their own worlds.
At Gallaudet, a college for the deaf, students protested the appointment of Jane K. Fernandes as president because they didn't believe she represented them. Opposition began last spring with the announcement of her appointment and continued after the fall session started. There were arrests, hunger strikes, people camping out on the lawn of the school.
On the flip side of a mass uprising is Morales. Morales was one voice instead of many. He spent more than a year compiling infor-
BY COURTNEY FARR
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
manon, interviewing sources, following leads before he felt ready to run a story that focused on an allegation that Carlsen had sexually harassed an employee. Carlsen has repeatedly denied the accusation.
Seven months later, the fallout of that article is still being felt. Carlsen resigned. The college's board of trustees launched an investigation, but chose not to reveal all of its findings. Later, the board revealed the investigation had found other women who reported similar conduct from Carlsen. They're still looking for a new president.
Since the circus started, many students and faculty have supported Morales and The Campus Ledger. But, on production day, it was Morales and the staff of the paper who decided they had a story that needed to be told; that they would pit themselves against a quartercentury-old administration and take the consequences.
In both cases, there were people
who criticized the student voices. At Gallauet,some say a radical minority wouldn't give change a chance.At JCCC,some have bemoaned the fall of the man who built a community college powerhouse.
When students are not treated as stakeholders in the schools they attend, they need to make their presence and views known. I've met many administrators at our University and other colleges who deeply cared about the students they served. However, when the bureaucracy turns its eye our way, too often we become numbers, trends, tuition payments and statistics rather than members of our community.
We may only be in our schools for a few years while administrations last decades, but that doesn't mean we don't have the right and the power to change our campuses. Schools exist to educate students, not maintain the administrations that run them.
When facing the often mind-numbing challenge of standing up against powerful bureaucracies, whether in government, school or business, the little voices can still make themselves heard — and win.
Farr is a Scott City senior in journalism.
A DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION
Grant Snidee/KANSAN
FREE FOR ALL
Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls
are recorded.
To the guy who sat behind me during my biology test: Easy on the Old Spice.
immigration problem lacks comprehensive approach
This is regarding the front page that says Bush supports Kansas: I believe The Kansan supports Bush.
COMMENTARY
Whoever took my organic chemistry book should return it to the front desk of Anschutz. Thanks.
Stretch pants are good. Five percent of the time.
Hey, KU, show some pride this Friday.
四
The U.S. government would have us believe that illegal immigration is a dire and threatening issue. Americans are continuously bombarded with warnings about the effects of illegal immigration, yet none of the proposed solutions, such as mass deportation or a wall, will effectively end illegal immigration because none consider the root of the problem. Illegal immigrants are no great threat to America and many would have stayed home if not for the negative effects of U.S. trade policy.
Eleven to twelve million illegal immigrants currently reside in the U.S. Most came because policies such as NAFTA and CAFTA, so-called "free trade" agreements with Mexico and Central America, benefit large corporations and subsidized American industries, while demolishing the smaller, independent businesses and farms of Latin America, which are unable to compete. As a result, NAFTA and CAFTA devastate struggling econo-
BY ALISON KIELER
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINIONKANSAN.COM
Kieler is a Lenexa senior in political science and International studies.
The effects are clearly evident in immigration patterns: According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Mexican immigration to the U.S. decreased 18 percent in the three years prior to NAFTA, but increased a whopping 60 percent after NAFTA was implemented.
As citizens it is important that we understand the need for a more comprehensive approach to illegal immigration. Dialogue regarding solutions must consider U.S. history of immigration, the benefit of immigrants, and ways in which U.S. policies drastically affect immigration. We must question why illegal immigrants leave their countries, homes and families to make the treacherous journey to the U.S. Only then can a more effective solution can be found.
As immigrant numbers grew, so too did the desire to maintain pure "American" culture. Politicians took the cue, using illegal immigrants to improve their own popularity
immigrants. Throughout history the creation of walls has stood for conflict, hatred, exclusionary practices and separation. Not ironically, these are all reasons that individuals become terrorists. Separation has simply never improved faltering relations.
mies in Latin America and create conditions in which many workers and farmers are unable to earn enough to feed their families.
by demonizing them. Immigrants are now familiar with the same anti-immigrant rhetoric and xenophobia that has historically plagued America.
Proposed solutions to address the dilemma include the "cattle method," rounding them up and sending them back, as well as the "separation method," building a wall between the US and Mexico. So what, exactly, is the issue?
Anti-immigration campaigns often cite $10 billion as the yearly cost of illegal immigrants for U.S. taxpayers. At best this number is fuzzy math. For obvious reasons this estimate disregards the economic benefit of illegal immigrants. America employs millions of illegal immigrants yearly whose removal from the workforce would be initially ruinous to the American economy. Additionally, the estimate does not consider that many illegal immigrants have fake social security numbers and pay taxes, but rarely use tax services. The average tax-
Despite the ambiguous nature of the problem, the American population is convinced that illegal immigration is a serious threat. Steps to treat the disease are under way, but lack a comprehensive knowledge of the issue. Deportation, for one, would cost billions and harm the U.S. economy. Because the flow of immigrants will never be stagnant, deportation would also have to be repeated multiple times, and would cause severe psychological harm to affected families.
paying immigrant and his or her family pay approximately $80,000 more in taxes than they receive in benefits over a lifetime.
Similarly, a wall would not solve the issue. Two weeks ago President Bush signed a bill to build the Great Wall of Mexico that will cost nearly $2 billion. But money for the border patrol has been increased multiple times since 1986, and the population of illegal immigrants has nearly quadrupled since then.
A wall will not stop the flow of
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SUBMISSIONS
The Kanas welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni. The Kanas reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Frank Tankard or Dave Hough at 864-4810 or e-mail opinion@kanas.com. General questions should be directed to the editor at editor@kanas.com
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Jonathan Keeling, Erick R. II, Schmidt, Gabrielle Souza, Frank Tankard, Dave Ruugh, Steve Lynn, McKay Stangler and Loua Mora
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