The University Daily Kansan emphasizes the First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
BROWN: A look back on fall formal recruitment from a sorority chapter chairwoman. It was not an easy week, by any measure See kansan.com for more opinions and Free for All comments
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2006 WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
PAGE 5A
OUR VIEW
KU needs more diversity
Another year, another step taken by the University in its initiative to diversify the student body. Minority students compromise 11.8 percent of the学生 body this fall, a number that has gradually increased over the years.
The increasing figure is a sign of progress, but the University can continue to strive for more.
A diverse campus also requires a diverse faculty and staff. The University must continue to improve efforts in attracting minority faculty to truly label itself as a diverse campus.
In 2005 the University Daily Kansan reported that minority faculty members had grown from 91 out of 1,256 - 7.2 percent in 1985, to 201 out of 1,487 - 13.5 percent in 2005. However, a net gain of minority faculty has not been achieved in the last two years.
The University needs to take a look at the initiatives used to
The University has brought in a coordinator for hiring diverse faculty and staff, but more could be implemented to attract and retain minority faculty.
recruit minority students and implement them in a way that will entice more diverse faculty members. Departments must also evaluate their staffs to find if they reflect the diversity initiatives that Chancellor Robert Hemenway instituted in 1995.
Programs such as HAWK Link, the creation of multicultural scholarship programs across campus departments and the Multicultural Resource Center have all played a crucial role in the progress of diversifying the campus.
Such programs could go a long way in continued improvements. Potential minority faculty members want to be greeted by a relatable face. They want to see what strides the University has made in attracting other minority faculty. The numbers are increasing, but there's still plenty of room to grow.
We won't find the solution this year or next, but if the University continues to make efforts to improve, the solution it not far off.
Louis Mora for the editorial board.
COMMENTARY
Recruitment not easy
Ah, fall formal recruitment — a week-long event in which more than 800 women attend all 13 Panhellenic sorority houses.
The members of each chapter devote an entire week before recruitment begins — spirit week — to prepare members for recruiting.
Exactly what type of preparation is needed? Months, coming from my own experience as the recruitment chairman for my chapter. Not only do the chapters contribute a hefty budget, but a tremendous amount of time as well.
I'd guess you probably saw all of us outside singing ridiculous songs in an incredibly loud tone. At other times, when our chapters appeared to be completely vacant, we were working endless hours to perfect each detail of recruitment. This preparation may sound a bit crazy to you, but it is all worth it for the main event: fall formal recruitment.
Many of you are probably asking why anyone would honestly choose to participate in 15-hour workdays rather than just casually recruit throughout the year. I have relentlessly questioned this process. After months of vigorous preparation, tears, unsuccessful orders and rentals, I can proudly say my answer for you is sisterhood.
Until Bid Day, when each woman receives her bid card to the chapter that has extended an invitation to her, we are given an extensive amount of time to get to know the women coming through recruitment. This period is an essential part of every chapter.
Throughout the year, we have the opportunity to recruit more women, if necessary, but the time spent getting to know them does not compare to the six continuous days that are essential to meeting 800 women during fall formal recruitment.
Sisterhood is the top priority of every chapter here at the University of Kansas. I have gained such an
BY SARAH BROWN
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
appreciation for the women whom I have formed relationships with. They are the women who will be my lifelong friends and support system. Don't get me wrong — I continue to have many non-greek-affiliated friends who are just as much a part of my life.
People tell me time and again that sororities are just an excuse for having bizarrely-themed parties and a ridiculously extensive network of friends. I can tell you for a fact that the amount of work put forth during spirit week and fall formal recruitment is not just for socials (though thesocials are definitely something I look forward to).
So here I am in my junior year of college and still a very active member of my sorority. My sorority has not only allowed me to get involved within the Greek community, but throughout the KU and Lawrence communities as well. The experience gained through the fall formal recruitment process and the time that follows provides chapters with endless opportunities for involvement.
My position has taught me numerous reasons for why a new recruitment class is vital for the success of a chapter. Recruiting women who excel in academics and continually give back to the community is not an easy task.
Bid Day was held Saturday. From that day on begins the lifelong sisterhood of each chapter's members.
Brown is an Omaha, Neb., junior in business.
Dave Ruigh, associate opinion editor 864-4924 or druigh@kansan.com
Lawrence progressives misguided in abortion debate
GUEST COMMENTARY
Recently, on these pages, a politically progressive author urged all KU students with similarly lefteaning worldviews to look inward and find new ways to advance their agenda.
The message was, "Stop blaming conservatives for doing a better job of getting their message across, and do the hard work necessary to convince the public that we're right."
In the spirit, then, of helping the Lawrence progressive community recognize a threat to its deeply-held convictions, I offer a prediction. More accurately, I'll call it a warning:
In the very near future, with little notice, the "Right of Reproductive Choice" in America will cease to exist.
Kyle Hoedl, business manager
884-4014 or khoedl@kansan.com
I've only recently come to believe this. In fact, as a KU student, my view on the topic looked very much like left-leaning America's view — if you don't like abortion, don't have one. Keep your laws off my girlfriend's body.
Lindsey Shireck, sales manager
884-4462 or lishirack@kansan.com
Then I got married and had a son.
Macaulin Gibbon, general manager, news adviser 844-7687 or mollibon.kansan.com
Jennifer Weaver, sales and marketing adviser
864-7688 or jweaver@kansan.com
TALK TO US
Unless you think of something new, your only strategy to defend abortion rights is to somehow keep convincing a majority of Americans that a small defenseless living thing with human DNA, an active brain and a beating heart is not legally a person.
How much longer can that possibly work?
Scott M. Stone Lyons alumnus
Jonathan Kaing in g. editor
864-4854 or jkeeling at kansan.org
Eriele R. Behmitt, managing editor
864-4854 or eashmidt at kansan.org
Gabrielle Souze, managing editor
864-4854 or gouze at kansan.org
Frank Tankard option editor
864-4854 or fukard at kansan.org
I saw his little heart beating on
Once they consider the absolute nature of this truism, progressives simply shut down intellectually. The champions of civil rights could never admit they've built a political institution on the same ground as misogynists, homophobes and slave owners.
Psychologists call it cognitive dissonance: the inability to deal
with a severe intellectual conflict, particularly as it relates to a pre-existing self-image. I call it an enormous blind spot.
Every single pro-choice argument rests on the cornerstone of denying an unborn child legal rights and protection. (Doubt me? Try to think of an argument that doesn't.) If that lump is really a person, then aborting it for convenience is murder; thus, progressives must never let it be defined as a person.
in 1854; how did the Supreme Court justify slavery in Dred Scott? It denied that a black man was fully a person under the law. In 1901, how did men justify the disenfranchisement of women at the ballot box? They denied that a woman was fully a person under the law.
"Choice" will end in America when conservatives consistently frame this debate as a matter of recognizing civil rights where rights have been wholly denied, an argument that is undefeated in American political debate.
And today, how do progressives justify the right to terminate a pregnancy at a woman's discretion? You know the answer — just as you also know subconsciously that conservatives can't be allowed to dwell on it in public debate.
Last semester a progressive writer, on this very page, called the fight over abortion the civil rights struggle of our time. She didn't know how right she was. It never dawned on her that she's on the same side as Jim Crow. Conservatives have figured that out, and they're not going to let you change the subject anymore.
Once people start asking the question, "Doesn't that unborn baby have any rights?" the left loses. Progressives can't answer that question, so they keep changing the subject — calling pro-lifers names like "Nazi" or "woman-hater," or squealing that somehow they're the ones who truly stand for civil rights, for women. Scream about women's rights; ignore that embryo behind the curtain.
FREE FOR ALL
the MRI screen in the hospital, six months before he was born. It hit me and then there and that abortion's days were numbered. Why? New technology provides new insight. I could see how quickly that lump of cells was becoming my son, and it made me realize that every argument I'd ever made justifying the "right of choice" was some variation of the same little neat and tidy four words: It's Not A Person.
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Call 864-0500
I just wanted to say I like the comic today, because I know zombie video games are the reason I'm taking my senior year the fifth year.
This is in response to Mike Barry's article: If you don't like KU that much you should transfer to K-State or Missouri, traitor.
Oh I am so happy to be back on campus and Eric Jorgensen back in the paper. I love you EJ!
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
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Next time, bus girl, you can go ahead and give me a call — I'll give you a ride.
So, uh yeah, our futon keeps breaking because of all the foul play we have had, so here is the quote, he it is: Do they sell futon insurance? I don't know.
I heard through the grape vine that Chuck Norris considers cobras far scarier than polar bears.
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GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
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