OPINION
Coming Monday, August 27...
Smith: When we're blitzed with advertising, it can have the opposite intended effect.
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.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WWW.KANSAN.COM FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2007 PAGE 7A
Minster: Those who condemn Kansas' alleged bigotry may be ignorant themselves.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Mandatory study abroad an unrealistic goal Though it's an admirable idea international study may be not be an option for many students
The concern, however, is when KU administrators start prescribing a universal solution to an individual problem. Until every single student is filing applications with the study abroad office, there are some students who don't think the experience is worth the costs. When one mission of a university education is to teach students to think for themselves, it is disconcerting to see the administration's paternalistic desire to remove choice and demand compliance.
International experience has recently become a talking point of sorts at KU. From the chancellor down, there is a concerted effort to boost the ranks of KU students studying abroad. Recently, however, the rhetoric has begun creeping from "suggestion" to "requirement." University administrators should take into account the diversity of the student body before making international experience a requirement for graduation.
Currently over one-quarter of KU students study abroad at some point in their academic careers. Efforts are underway to increase that figure to over 40 percent. Ensuring that every student who desires an international experience can obtain one is a laudable goal. Recently, donations to the study abroad scholarship fund have increased, led by a half-million dollar donation from Larry D. Horner and Donna Manning Horner. This will be a great benefit to students seeking foreign exposure in their educations.
The justification for this potential change is fuzzy at best. Recently quoted in the Lawrence Journal-World, Nelson Galle of the Kansas Board of Regents said, "Is this policy necessary? Absolutely." Things which are "absolutely necessary" include air and water. They do not include getting drunk in exotic locales and hooking up with foreigners.
Chancellor Hemenway has said, "Study abroad gives students a great understanding that will make them compete and lead in the global marketplace." How do you quantify "understanding?" Do you have enough already, or do you need more? Can you get it here in Kansas or is it only obtainable elsewhere? Before saddling KU students with what can be an onerous burden, the administration should make their case using specific language, not buzzwords and cant.
This change is based on a myopic view of "the KU student." In this view, the KU student has no spouse, no children, and no "real" job, if any at all. This KU student spends the summer at home working in retail or service sectors. When this student wants to go abroad, he calls home to Johnson County and soon receives a check. Requiring foreign experience is a pleasant burden to be borne by this student.
In reality, KU students have a variety of complexities in their lives. Many don't have parent contributions to their educations, or have spouses and children who will either raise the costs of a semester abroad or who must be left behind. Only each student knows what his situation requires. What works for one student will not work for all. As long as studying abroad is a choice, students who can make it work are free to do so. When that choice is turned into a requirement, it will become a prohibitive onus to some. Administrators should seek to create an environment where everyone who wants to study abroad can, not one where some are kept from a college education because of unnecessary requirements.
DRAWING BOARD
SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE
MAX RINKEL
Despite friendly marketing, the 2008 Olympics are a sham China's human rights record puts a dark cloud above the Games in Beijing
O one World, One Dream," is the official slogan of the
2008 Summer Olympics, to be held in Beijing, China one year from now. One wonders what sort of world we would be living in if the rest of the world fails to protest the International Olympic Committee's unconscionable choice of a venue. Threatening to turn the noble gathering of nations into a two-faced farce, it is a disgrace to the Olympic spirit to hold the Olympics in China. From Tibet to Tiananmen Square to the present day, the people's Republic of China continues to inflict numerous and well-documented human rights abuses on both its own citizens and, implicitly, on the innocent victims of the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. Sounds more like a nightmare to me.
pics" by a Washington Post editorial in December, the 2008 Games could be one of true peace and international brotherhood, or they could be a sham, where a sinister subtext lies beneath the Olympic rings.
Coined the "Genocide Olym-
Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably have at least a vague idea of
the crisis occurring in Darfur, Sudan. Here are the basics: the Sudanese government in Khartoum has arbitrarily armed Arab militias called Janjaweed, who terrorize the mostly ethnic black villages in the southern part of the country. They rape, kill and burn entire villages while forcing the survivors to relocate to squalid refugee camps in Chad. By the most conservative estimates, already 300,000 people have been murdered and over 2 million displaced.
This is where China comes in. They are the number one economic and military ally of the Sudanese government, buying $71\%$ of its exports and supplying the genocidal government with arms, both small and heavy, all while repeatedly ignoring and parrying U.N. efforts to place peacekeepers on the ground in Sudan.
Already many politicians, activists and humanitarian groups, most notably Reporters Without Borders, have called for a boycott of the 2008 Games. Congressman Donald Payne, Chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, has called for a boycott of the Games if China continues to sell illegal arms to the Sudanese government in Khartoum. "It would be the blood Olympics," he said in an interview with VOA News. Eight congressmen recently introduced a bill in the House of Representatives calling for a U.S. boycott of the games. Even Steven Spielberg, originally hired to produce the opening and closing ceremonies, is considering quitting after being informed of China's link to the genocide in Sudan. Certainly if the United States and 64 other countries could boycott the 1980 Moscow games because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, we have the will to push for change in a situation where so many people have been affected.
China's official position is "resolute opposition to the politization of the Olympics." In other words, they're not going to listen. But if they won't respond
to reason and act with decency, we should refuse to support their inhuman ignorance of human suffering. Boycott the games. Boycott their sponsors, and let them know why you are doing it.
Don't take my word for it, though. Find out for yourself. DreamForDarfur.org is a good place to start. As for me, however, I won't be watching the Olympics next year. I won't be counting the gold medals for Team USA, nor will I be cheerening on the US Men's Basketball team. All the medals in the world cannot outweigh the cost of human life that China and Khartoum are responsible for ending. And I won't be drinking another Coke or another Budweiser, eating another McDonald's hamburger, or buying another Adidas shoe until China, Congress, or the International Olympic Committee itself takes drastic steps to deal with this absolutely unacceptable situation.
For a complete list of sponsors of the 2008 Games, visit http://en.beijing2008.cn/bocog/sponsors/sponsors/>.
Petterson is a Prairie Village junior in English.
FREE FOR ALL: 864-0500 OR KANSAN.COM/FACEBOOK
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.
KU needs to have a mandatory class on how to compose sentences without using the words "like" and "whatever"
The girl in my religion discussion just said that she had lots of "devoutness" What the hell is "devoutness"?
Free for All, the senior KU girls would like to know why the boys in Kansas don't date. What is wrong? KU doesn't date.
Where's the horoscope? The UDK is not complete without my daily
(Editor's Note: We're having password difficulties. It should be back soon.)
Free for All,I've got so many zits on my butt that my roommates have
put a deep cleansing mask on it, and wipe it with Clearasil wipes.
I'm just wondering how one doesn't know how to spell their own first name. And by the way, "candy" starts with a "C".
What happened to the horoscopes in the newspaper? Now I don't know how my life is going to turn out.
Hey kids, I'm an alumni, and I read Free for All every day. Let me tell you something. Don't hurry to graduate.
Not only do fat girls have feelings, we are very hot in bed. Deal with it, loser-boy.
All that awaits you is bills, greedy people, and people that just don't care about you. Just enjoy school and go crazy.
Does anybody else really want to do that Kari girl off "Mythbusters?"
I pissed on my roommate's floor, and I wasn't drunk.
Carnival? Rides? Games? Food?
KU? SUA, you are the best!
Wait, so there's going to be a Fer ris wheel on campus on Saturday? Gee whiz, SUA. Wow.
Never mind campus. Have you ever seen a squirrel poo, ever?
Listen, we just saw a UFO.
Hey now, fat girls do have feelings. Fat feelings.
(sung) The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup!
I'm terrified of the bus drivers.
I've had a bad experience with gummy bears.
People who anthropomorphize Free for All are borderline creepy.
Can I get an editor's note on how you determine the length of a typed message since we have 20 seconds called in?
wearing a pleated skirt and a polo:
Oops, you did it again.
Haha, I love your editor comments.
(Editor's Note: No.)
Good luck to whoever does the Free for All, thanks to this application, your job just got a whole lot harder.
Anyone who believes in horoscopes isn't smart enough to be at KU anyway.
To the girl walking on campus
Are freshmen not allowed on Free for All or something?
Where the hell did the horoscopes go? I want to know how my day will go!
I would just like to say that I think useless reading in college should be banned. Thank you.
I wore a backless dress to The Hawk last week and I got donkey
punched by two of my girlfriends.
Okay girls, enough with the comically big "stunna shades" or whatever the they're called. You look like my grandma.
To whoever asked where the Yellow Route went, it leads to the Wizard of Oz.
My roommate just wrote on my Facebook wall asking if I am alive.
You UDK guys sure made this damned app really fun to find. I wasted all my in-between class time looking when I could've just looked on the Kansan Web site. Damn you. I'm sorry, Kansan. I didn't mean to yell. I only scream at you because I
love you.
TALK TO US
Erick R. Schmidt, editor
864-4810 or eschmidt@kansan.com
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Kelsey Hayes, opinion editor
864-4924 or khayes@kansan.com
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Darla Slipke, managing editor
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Erick R. Schmidt, Eric Jorgensen,
Daria Silpe, Kelsey Hayes, Bryan
Dykman, Brandon T. Minister, Angelique
McNaughton and Benjamin R. Smith
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