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ERICKSON: It may seem like a good way to make cash over the summer, but working for the popular College Pro Painters can leave you feeling scammed See kansan.com for more opinions and Free for All comments
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2006 WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
PAGE 5A
OUR VIEW
Feds wasting time,money by spying on KU students
First, some background: In August 2005, the FCC expanded the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to include Internet communications in addition to telephone wiretaps.
A recent ruling by the Federal Communications Commission serves as reminder that the government will continue to fight the war on terror at the most unlikely of fronts: the University of Kansas.
In fall 2005, The University Daily Kansan reported that the University was one out of hundreds of universities whose computer systems the FCC ordered upgraded. The ruling, which universities must comply with by May 14, 2007, would allow law enforcement to monitor communication over the Internet with greater ease.
Federal investigative agencies that obtained a court order would be capable of effortlessly monitoring communications of students and faculty.
KU officials told the Kansan that the University already complied with court orders for access and that the mandate would be a
waste of money and could result in cuts in programs and resources for KU students.
GREAT MUSIC
In July 2006, the FCC issued a final ruling stating private networks would not be subject to the requirements of the act, Denise Stephens, vice provost for Information Services and chief information officer for the Lawrence campus, said in an email. So the University will not have to pay millions to upgrade its private network, she said.
However, the University along with several other Kansas universities will have to share in the costs of upgrading its regional network, which it relies on to connect to the Internet, she said.
We condemn the FCC's mandate. Neither students nor taxpayers should have to pay a cent for the government's spy games, especially on University property.
Meanwhile, the government will persist in its bid to make you pay for the resources it may use to spy on your Internet activities.
Steve Lynn for the editorial board
》 LETTERTO THE EDITOR
NCAA should let fathers take time off for kids
Fred Davis" "NCAA can't deny joy of being a father" (8/30) hit the nail on the head when pointing out the NCAA's Title IX hypocrisy. In an effort to appear "woman-friendly," the NCAA's policy does not set a strong example of asking its student-athletes to take responsibility for their lives. How tragic it is that the NCAA only allows its female student-athletes to participate in raising their children and excludes males from the child-rais
ing responsibility and experience.
According to the NCAA Web site, the NCAA's core values express a "belfin in and commitment to the collegiate model of athletics in which students participate as an avocation, balancing their academic, social and athletics experiences." If the NCAA acknowledges "social" experiences as a key part of a student athlete's college life, why not acknowledge responsibility? After all, having a child is not a tempo-
rarv experience.
In a world with increasingly absent fathers and the knowledge we have about the sad effects on a child in a fatherless home, I commend Eric Butler for his commitment to his child. Butler is a man wanting to take part in his child's life. Shame on the NCAA for its one-sided policies.
Karen Bentley Lawrence junior
COMMENTARY
College Pro doesn't live up to its promises
College students are the targets of countless scams and schemes, but perhaps the most sketchy and costly proposition comes from a fairly reputable corporation: College Pro Painters.
Each year, College Pro hires 600 franchise managers — all college students — to run house-painting businesses across 38 U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces.
The company's marketing department tells homeowners to book painting jobs with College Pro so they can benefit college students in the area.
Several students at the University are among those who bite at the valuable experience and huge chunks of cash that College Pro dangle in front of students' faces.
But College Pro ripped an entire summer away from Kevin Simpson, Olathe sophomore, and left him the thousands of dollars in debt. I saw it happen this summer, because I worked for Simpson's franchise in south Overland Park.
While recruiting Simpson, College Pro told him he would
BY MATT ERICKSON
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
probably make at least $13,000 during a summer as a franchise manager.
Instead, Simpson, the broke college student, ended up $4,400 in debt, while College Pro, the multi-million-dollar corporation, made $11,000 in royalties.
This was after Simpson spent almost all of his weekends during the spring semester marketing and worked as much as 60 hours a week during the summer.
College Pro's Web site does say there is a risk involved with managing a franchise. However, it says College Pro provides people who will "work closely throughout the year to deal with any problems that may appear."
Simpson soon learned that this was hardly true in his case. His
"training" involved three days in a classroom spent watching PowerPoint presentations, followed by one day of painting.
I was a job site manager for Simpson, heading one of his painting crews. College Pro gave me a few days of ineffective, disorganized training.
My instructions on my first house were simple: Paint the house, with little to no supervision or help, while training two painters with no previous experience, without messing anything up. And stay under budget.
Of course, a semi-experienced painter and two people who had never held a roller before could not meet a time budget designed for professional painters. We weren't even close.
College Pro tells franchisees to pay workers according to the time budgets set for each house — not the number of hours they actually work. However, because Simpson cared about his workers, he decided to pay us for the extra time.
Simpson already had to pay a sizable royalty to College Pro, so this extra labor cost gobbled up his profit and caused him to lose money on the house.
This situation repeated itself for the rest of the summer. We could not beat budgets, no matter how hard we worked.
College Pro did virtually nothing to help Simpson out. He received no concrete advice or hands-on help.
Near the end of the summer. Simpson's general manager told him he could work for the rest of the summer without paying royalties.
ny this time, however, Simpson had little time to make money back. His general manager didn't help when he took workers that Simpson had worked to recruit and gave them to another Johnson County franchise.
A job site manager for this fran chise told me his franchisee had a profitable summer. However, he said several painting crews quit, largely because of low pay.
So, to be clear: Pay poor wages
and College Pro will take others' workers to replace yours, but pay respectable wages and College Pro will take your workers and leave you helpless. Seems fair.
College Pro put Simpson in a position where he had to choose whether to cheat homeowners, pay terrible wages or take a financial hit himself. Being an honorable person, he chose the last option.
Maybe nothing College Pro did was illegal. But much of what College Pro did was unfair, careless and downright coldhearted.
So, to anyone considering a franchise manager position with College Pro Painters, here's something College Pro tends to gloss over: You can work as hard as you can and still lose thousands of dollars.
Perhaps that's College Pro's fault, or perhaps thats just the way the business world works. Either way, good luck.
Erickson is an Olathe sophomore in journalism and political science.
FREE FOR ALL
Call 864-0500
house was accepting pledges.
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.
I have a question for you! I spent $140 on a parking pass and there is nowhere to park. What do I do?
I just transferred to OSU and I'm sober in Stillwater wishing I was in Lawrence.
Eric Jorgensen, shut your face.
me one of those little editor's notes and tell me how many calls you get a day? (Editor's note: 25 or more. Read the rest at kansan.com)
Hey Free for All, I have a friend named Ben who uses Gold Bond, but I think he should use Bengay, because it's funnier.
Like a Pirate Day."
To the person who said Hash looks just like Ellsworth: Shove it.
Hey Free for All, I was just curious if you knew when Rhombus
Not only do we have super-secret pillow fighting clubs, we have whipped cream battles.
There is nothing like some good sex followed by some Hot Pockets.
Everyone calling in about Steve Irwin: Guess what? He had it coming to him.
Sad is the day when we have to make up such holidays like "Talk.
Hey Free for All, can you drop
I want someone to ask what I'm eating so I can say, "endangered animals."
Eric Jorgensen made my hump day.
I just want to say the Denver Broncos are trash. The Bears are going to win the Super Bowl this
year
一
Before Steve Irwin died, his last two words were:"Crocs rock."
We are so not having a naked pillow fight right now.
I hate the new Facebook.
General questions should be directed to the editor at editor at kansan.com
BY KAITLYN SYRING
KANSAN COLLUMNIST
OPINIONKANSAN.COM
Instead, I will sit back and watch with a satisfactory smile as Kansas locks 'em up, one bunny killer at a time.
Mahatma Gandhi once said that the "greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
I am glad the task of marking that line was not mine, as I would not be able to definitively set its stopping point. The court systems would be hopelessly overloaded with cases of squirrel slaughter.
Syring is a Salina junior in journalism.
By Gandhi's standards, Kansas has recently displayed true greatness and moral progress with the reform of its animal cruelty laws.
COMMENTARY
The new law contains several exceptions concerning the killing of animals for authorized hunting, research experiments, approved veterinary practices and the slaughtering of farm animals for food. I agree that it is necessary to have these exceptions; it is necessary to draw the line somewhere.
Jonathan Kealing, editor 884-4854 or jkealing@kansan.com
'Scruffy's Law delivers justice to pet abusers
Erick R. Schmidt, managing editor 864-4854 or eschmidt@kansan.com
》TALK TO US
As of July 1, anyone accused of "intentionally and maliciously killing, injuring, maiming, torturing, burning or mutilating an animal" will face felony charges. The new law, called "Scruffy's Law" in honor of a terrier beaten and burned to death in 1997, entails penalties of at least 30 days in jail and a fine of $500. Those found guilty will also have to complete a mandatory psychological evaluation and an anger management program.
Gaf* felia Bouza, managing editor
864-4954 or gouza@kensan.com
The long awaited enactment of such a law added Kansas to the now 42 states in which animal cruelty is considered a felony.
Frank Tankard opinion editor
894-4924 or ftankard@kansan.com
Yet that cat, who now proudly carries the name Leo the Lion-Hearted and struts around the Animal Care ER in Salina, could not be more loving. For Leo, and for all the countless others like him, I commend this law.
Residents of Douglas County now have the opportunity to see the reform in action. A Lawrence man faces felony charges for killing his and his roommate's pet rabbit, Melvin. Austin Newport reportedly put the rabbit in a plastic bag and tried to break its neck on July 27. Newport, according to the police report, said he thought he could no longer care for the rabbit and intended to eat it.
I have seen the effects of animal abuse firsthand. I once saw a cat that had been doused with lighter fluid and set on fire, then had developed horrific bacterial wounds. I was not able to discern if it was, indeed, a cat.
Dave Rulgh, associate opinion editor 864-4924 or druuigh@kansan.com
Lindsey Shirak, sales manager
864-4462 or lishirak@kansan.com
Kyle Hoedl, business manager
864-4014 or khoedl@kansan.com
Meloim Gibson, general manager, news adviser 844-7667 or mqlbison.kansan.com
That makes perfect sense. I know when it seems I can't clean up one more of my dog Mason's presents, my initial solution is to eat him. Congratulations to Douglas County for recognizing a potentially sick individual when it sees one.
Jennifer Weever, sales and marketing adviser
864-7688 or jweaver@kansan.com
》 SUBMISSIONS
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call: Frank Tankard or Dave Rugh at 864-4810 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com.
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Include: Author's name and telephone number; class, hometown (student); position (faculty member/staff); phone number (will not be published)
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Also: The Kansan will not print guest columns that attack a reporter or another columnist.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jonathan Keeling, Erick R. Schmidt, Gabriela Souza, Frank Tankard, Dave Ruligh, Steve Lynn and Louis Mora
17
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