MYERS: Think conservatives are a bunch of greedy, bigoted jerks? Well, you're probably in the majority here at KU. But guess what? "Conservative" is not a dirty word.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2006 WWW.KANSAN.COM
HUGHES: Yes, you've heard it before (and probably ignored it). But if we don't do something drastic, and soon, about global warming, the future looks bleak. See kansan.com for more opinions and Free for All comments
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 9A
》OUR VIEW
University officials just can't get it right with ugly Wescoe
The planned addition of 70 new offices to the patio on Wescoe Hall's south side is the most recent in a series of bad decisions concerning the unattractive and possibly unsafe edifice.
The original blunder was the construction of the building. Named after the late W. Clarke Wescoe, dean and chancellor of the University in the 1950s and '60s, Wescoe Hall sits on the former site of Robinson Gymnasium, where basketball was played and lectures were given.
Wescoe could look worse. In
1967, KU alumni Art Woodman and Claude Van Doren designed a 25-story, 270,000-square-foot humanities building. But the University lacked the funding for both the $5.8-million skyscraper and a scaled-down 15-story version in 1968.
In 1970, another architecture firm designed a building like the current Wescoe Hall, which included a smaller tower and two levels for parking. Lack of funding became an issue again, so offices were substituted for parking spaces before its completion in
1974.
The University's latest building project, referred to as the "Wesco Infill" presents several concerns.
The University has begun to renovate Wescoe before investigators have completed their safety report. The University commissioned the study in June in response to a complaint that five people with offices in Wescoe had been diagnosed with brain tumors, both malignant and benign. The University expects full results from the study in early 2007.
Don Steeples, vice provost for scholarly support, said that if investigators find unsafe levels of pollutants in Wescoe, it will be remodeled. The University cannot build a new building because of a lack of funding, he said.
Students already have to put up with increased construction noise this year because of work that the University should have completed during the summer. Students shouldn't have to put up with noise again while attending class in the renovated portion, which will contain unique heating and ventilation systems.
More troubling is the disagreement among federal agencies about what levels of pollution are acceptable. A University Relations press release states that formaldehyde levels in eight out of 13 rooms in Wescoe exceed guidelines of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. In contrast, the formaldehyde levels are far below the standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Despite the disagreement among the agencies, the University has continued to insist that Wescoe "has poor airflow but poses no health risk," as stated in the University Relations press release.
No important health or economic decision concerning Wescoe and its occupants should be made without the essential information the final report will provide,nor should students be inconvenienced if the building must be remodeled again.
Steve Lynn, for the editorial board
COMMENTARY
Conservatives misunderstood at liberal KU
Few things are more exciting than the start of a new semester during an election cycle. The campus political parties kick into high gear, students join campaigns for meaningful office, and the entire University engages in good-natured debates on public policy.
Well, scratch that last one.
Nothing heats up the political junkie quite like an argument about the merits of affirmative action, the constitutionality of gun control, or the possible effects of a universal health care system. We're willing to tolerate people who believe in different deities or hail from different ethnic backgrounds, but if we have different opinions on whether tax dollars should support an art museum, it might get ugly.
As I say this, I recognize that I take these political disagreements just as seriously as anyone else. I recognize the ridiculousness of getting so riled up about people disagreeing with my view on the federal minimum wage, but I do it anyway, and I don't intend to stop
In principle, there's nothing wrong with any of that. The problem comes when the political debate heats up and the conservative side of the argument is filled in by a liberal-leaning student or professor on campus, as happens quite often. Because most students here are very rarely exposed to a well-articulated conservative argument on an issue they feel strongly about, they fail to grasp the logic behind the conservative point of view. As such, they often assume that conservative views are either illogical or grounded in intolerance and selfishness.
What I do intend to do, however, is to clarify some of these public policy debates we'll all be exposed to on these pages in The Kansan, in the classroom, and in bumper sticker slogans chalked on campus sidewalks. In my experience, the debates on this campus are largely one-sided. This is a liberal campus in a historically liberal town; we have a liberal student body and most of our professors are liberal.
BY VINCE MYERS
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
tions of conservatism. It is explained to us that conservatives oppose welfare and universal health care because rich conservatives dislike the poor and would rather keep their money. Conservatives oppose raising the minimum wage because rich conservatives do not want to pay their workers more and take home less themselves. Conservatives oppose abortion because conservatives support the continued oppression of women. And the list goes on.
This leads to fallacious explana-
The funny part is that the list of positions I just described seems ridiculous to me, yet I know a lot of students at this university and at other universities across the country that would have nodded their heads in agreement at that logic. They see conservatives as either greedy, bigoted, or both. Any moral, economic or logical explanation is just a cover for that greed and hatred. And so the conservative position is discounted and mocked, and campus debate is a liberals-only affair.
This semester, I hope to give a perspective to which this campus and this newspaper are much too rarely exposed. I want to analyze current events and time-honored controversial political issues from a right-leaning perspective, so that the word "conservative" might refer to a viable political perspective rather than an ideological slur to reference backwards-thinking peoples. At the very least, I hope to give those fiery political debates were all anxiously awaiting a second point of view so that our intentions might be better understood and our political debates might be a bit more good-natured.
myers is an Ollette junior in political science and economics.
DICK CHENEY ANALYZES THE LATEST TERRORIST PLOT
COMMENTARY
Time to act on global warming is now
It could be the end of the world as we know it if we don't act quickly.
We need to reduce emissions worldwide by 60 percent to slow down the process of global warming, according to John Whitelegg, professor of sustainable development at the University of York, in a recent BBC article.
To understand exactly how significant a task this is, take the Kyoto Protocol into consideration. It is the United Nations' measure to lower emissions of greenhouse gases by obligating the 146 nations that signed it to reduce their emissions of six greenhouse gases by an average of 5.2 percent below their 1990 levels by 2012.
In Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," scientists are in agreement that global warming is an issue and we are affecting it. Global warming is the increase of temperature caused by the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. These gases are thickening the earth's atmosphere, thus trapping infrared radiation and increasing temperatures globally.
BY ABBY HUGHES
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
Global warming has caused the Atlantic Ice Cap to decrease by 40 percent in 40 years; within 50 more it could be completely melted. It has also allowed 30 new diseases to come into existence in the past 25 years, and others, such as West Nile, to resurface, according to the documentary.
Americans account for 25 percent of the world's emissions with only 4 percent of the population. We are not part of the Kyoto protocol and have actually increased our emissions by 15 percent since 1990, according to another recent BBG article.
If we as a nation insisted upon zero percent emission, as lofty as it may sound by today's standards, we could reduce the worldwide output
FREE FOR ALL
ments. Slenderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded
Scientists warned that Hurricane Katrina could be disastrous. If we had listened to them, 1,070 lives could have been saved. We need to learn from our mistake. The scientists are warning us again. Ice masses will melt. Land masses will be submerged underwater. Species will become extinct.
by one-fourth and put the world considerably closer to the necessary decrease of 60 percent.
I hate move-in week and all of the stupid sorority girls rushing.
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to mitom com
To make headway on reducing worldwide emissions by 60 percent, we need to act now and act boldly. After reviewing a study of 52 climate models looking at the effect of greenhouse gases, Richard Betts of the Met Office's Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research came to this conclusion, according to the BBC: "If we wait for the per-
When aerosol sprays were affecting the ozone layer, the Clean Air Act was amended in 1990 and Congress created a plan to moderate or stop production of such chemicals. We need to create a zero tolerance plan now for greenhouse gas emissions.
I'm calling from the penthouse suite of Jayhawk Towers and we all just wanted to be in the Free for All
first issue: Amanda, Karen and Jack.
Thanks.
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Also, stay updated on such conferences as the one that drew 40 scientists in July to the Kansas Geological Survey on West Campus to discuss carbon dioxide sequestration — the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by moving it underground.
Our actions have affected the world that we live in. Winston Churchill was onto something when he said "The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences."
fect model we will be too late."
free for All, welcome back! Thaf's right, I'm drunk and you're back. It's freaking time for the Free for All again. I'm gonna drink and I'm gonna call you and we're gonna have a good time. You know why? Because it's the freaking University of Kansas
First, stay informed and talk about this issue with others. Second, learn how you can support non-profit organizations such as American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, even if just by going to their Web sites and learning how to save energy in your home.
The truth is scary.
Hughes is a St. Louis senior in journalism.
hotline: Free for All. Let's go Royals. And Chiefs.
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