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Wednesday, October 12.1994
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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NICOLAS SHUMP
Discussion of religion is an educational right
Criticism on those who talk about Christianity is misplaced in the University atmosphere of learning.
One of my fellow columnists, David Zimmerman, has been criticized recently for his virtually single-minded devotion to writing columns that address issues like God and Christianity. Does he not know that this is a secular University, a University whose seal contains a picture of Moses and whose motto is taken from the Book of Exodus (3:4)?
The message being delivered to "narrow-minded" people such as Mr. Zimmerman is that the University is a place for the free exchange of ideas unless those ideas include the topic of religion.
What is so dangerous about someone speaking the words of God, Jesus and Christianity? Would there be a similar inquiry if Mr. Zimmerman was
So what exactly makes Christians like David Zimmerman so feared or hated?
I, too, am a Christian. I, too, believe that Jesus of Nazareth is Christ, the Anointed, the Messiah, I, too, believe that he was the Son of God who came down from heaven. Does this make me "narrow-minded" also?
Despite the fact that I share many of the same beliefs as Mr. Zimmerman, I also disagree with some of his views about the duties and responsibilities of Christians.
lowing passage from the Gospel of Matthew: "Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thrustily and give thee drink? . . . And the King will answer them, Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." (Matthew 25: 34-40)
I found the comment that Mr. Zimmerman made about the Salvation Army to be disturbing. I wonder what Mr. Zimmerman thinks about this fol-
extolling the virtues of Judaism or Islam?
In short, I think that the Bible should be an integral part of a Christian's life
but I also believe that the history of the church also should be taken into account.
This concept of tradition sometimes is termed "Apostolic Succession."
Thus, in addition to the Bible, there also should be tradition.
However, while I may disagree with certain aspects of Mr. Zimmerman's religion and theology, I still believe that he has the right to express his opinion.
It is the belief that certain Christian Churches can trace their origins back to the original Apostles of Jesus. In other words, this concept of Apostolic Succession takes into account the historical and dynamic aspect of Christianity. It acknowledges that Christianity did not and does not exist in a vacuum. This perspective acknowledges the fact that there was a Christian Church before there was a Christian Bible.
In fact, it was the early Catholic Church that gathered together the books that came to be acknowledged as the Bible. They made a conscious act of choosing certain works and not choosing others.
Mr. Zimmerman is doing his duty as a Christian to preach the gospel that is the good news. In a world full of situations like Bosnia, Haiti and Rwanda, we can all use a little good news. Don't you think?
VIEWPOINT
Admissions standards should be set by University
Last week, the Psychology Department proposed a plan to reduce the number of psychology majors because of a shortage of
Nicolas Shump is a Lawrence senior in comparative literature.
funds and faculty.
While this may be a good short-term plan, it does not address a campus-wide problem of
time and money on students that they know will not be back the following year?
With the current University trend, an added bur-
QUALIFIED ADMISSIONS
It's time for the University to realize that an across-the-board admissions policy is a necessity to maintain its high
unqualified students at the University of Kansas
Like it or not, KU is backing itself into a qualified admissions program. The Schools of Engineering, Business Journalism and Pharmacy have had independent admission policies for years now.
While some attrition is normal, 20 percent is too high.
quality.
Every year, the University has to weed out approximately one in five freshmen. If they did not, the University would not be able to handle all the returning sophomores.
This trend towardsqualified admissions now appears to be spreading across to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In anticipation of the eventual necessity, the University needs to establish an across the board, minimum standard for incoming freshmen.
den is going to be placed on the departments that do not have qualifying standards.
Why waste the school's
If marginal students cannot get into
various departments, like psychology, then they will be forced to go into departments without minimum guidelines. This policy would only be passing the buck.
Qualified admissions would help lower class sizes, make some classes easier to get into and allow departments to focus time and money on upper-level classes that are currently feeling the financial pinch.
In-state students who fall victim to this new policy would have the option of going to ajunior college for a year or two to prove themselves.
Qualified admissions are a fact of existence for most large schools.
Many schools and departments at KU have already come to this realization.
Now it's time that the University realizes this necessity and institutes a qualified admissions policy.
RICHARD BOYD FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
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Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania are required to submit a letter of sponsorship.
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Matt Hood / KANSAN
Being on team means enduring rough times
An athlete quitting a team is hardly a rare occurrence It happens at all schools, in all sports and at all levels of competition. And every athlete has his or her own reasons when it comes to leaving a sport. Most of them are even legitimate—athletes get burned out, have career-ending injuries, or simply can't handle the pressures of being a student athlete. For some people, it just isn't the right thing to do.
As of last week, the University of Kansas swimming and diving team became one person smaller. An athlete decided she was unhappy and no longer wanted to continue the sport.
But at the division one level, athletes are expected to make a commitment, and it isn't one that should be taken lightly. All too often, these commitments are broken without much thought as to the consequences.
So although it might not seem like a big deal to have one person quit, in actuality it affects everyone involved
ERIKA RASMUSSON
27 other people to be exact. It means that the season's game plan must be altered. It means that a much-needed scholarship has been wasted. It means that everyone else must step up their performances a notch to fill the void. Most importantly, it means that there is now one less person to be a friend, become a leader, motivate a teammate and make an impact. It is a loss that will be felt throughout the entire season.
Of course, a favorite theme in athletics is overcoming adversity. Our team
Every athlete, at some point in time, questions their desire and commitment. Usually it is during the rough stretches when performances are at their worst. But working through those hard times makes individual athletes and entire teams stronger and more successful. It is part of being an athlete, and it is part of living up to the commitment athletes make
has taken a punch, but we will recover. And with a little luck and a lot of hard work and support, we'll thrive. Twenty-seven athletes will still go to the pool and workout six days a week. When we open our competitive season with an intrasquad meet this Friday, we'll be a unified team because we now know that everyone still on the team has decided to take their commitment seriously.
— to their school, their teammates,
and themselves.
Erik Rasmusson is a Minnetonka, Miln,
senior in magazine journalism.
Obeying signs: Wow, what a wild concept
it is amazing what a little sign,
strategically placed, can accomplish.
My roommates and I recycle. At the beginning of the year Amanda told us all, "I always promised myself that when I was living on my own I would recycle."
We all thought that this was a great idea. I mean, hey, who can argue against recycling?
We then jaunted to the store and made the almost obligatory purchase of recycling bins and created our own personal recycling center, basically trying to recycle whatever we could remember was recyclable, plus a few items that aren't.
Well, with all this recycling going on, things tend to get stacked up, primarily the aluminum can bin after a good weekend.
We try to hold off as long as we can but eventually a trip to Walmart must be made. Either by coincidence, luck or devious plotting by my roommates, it seems that whenever this is necessary, I have nothing to do.
When we go to Walmart to recycle, my first self-assigned job is to take all the newspapers around back to the trailers. Normally I walk up the ramp, peer into the trailer and throw my bags into the corner like everyone else before me. Not this week. This week something was different.
This week as I walked up the ramp and got to the entrance there was a little sign posted. There had always been one there before, but this one was new. Handwritten and clearly printed in colorful letters, the sign read "Please stack newspapers NEATLY." Curious, I glanced into the trailer.
I was shocked. At the back of the trailer there were rows upon rows of neatly stacked newspapers. Stunned I walked into the trailer and instead of giving my bags the customary tos, I placed them gently on top of the neatly formed rows. Since when did humans start obeying signs?
And then I figured out whv.
It was obvious. When people recycle it's kind of like they have just gotten a big gold "I am a really good person today" star on their chests. They like themselves and are actually kind of proud of what they are doing. I am a classic example. Due to the circumstances surrounding that little sign, people refused to tarnish their newfound images and blatantly ignore its suggestion. They, well, more precisely, we, followed the rules.
HUBIE
Remarkable, isn't it?
Kathy Kipp is a Woodridge, Ill., sophomore in English.
By Greg Hardin