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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14,2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 7A
AUSTIN BABY, YEAH!
Queer' connotations prompt change
What's in a name?
With a group comprising gay men, lesbians, transgenders and bisexuals, it's hard to find one all-encompassing term.
To stay in accordance with our style guide, the editors who worked Sunday evening held a discussion and decided to change the term "homosexuals" to "quers" in the article "Protesters return to campus." The reporter was not responsible for its use.
For about 10 years, the Kansan has used the term 'queer' to describe the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community. The rule in our style guide states, "Although the term 'queer' was offensive
AUSTIN CASTER acaster@kansan.com
in the past, it is a term in transition. It is not considered as offensive by younger generations (which are our primary audience) and is the preferred term of many." The stylebook for The Associated Press, another source the Kansan staff refers to, does not include an entry for "queer." It does, however, list the term "gay" as acceptable, but leaves out the bisexual and transgendered parts of the community.
Though we have used this term for about 10 years, and already several times this semester, it drew criticism in Monday's edition through the forms of letters to the editor and Free for All comments.
The feedback received prompted research to determine whether our style guide required an update.
The Web site for the KU organization Queers and Allies poses the same question I was researching: "Why the word 'queer?'" Because "queer" is an all-inclusive, one-syllable word, because it pushes the envelope and because it continues to gain acceptance in political and academic context, according to the site.
But because the Kansan received so much negative feedback, my investigation led to Santos Nunez, director of the Multicultural Resource Center.
"There's differences in what people call themselves, and they're from the same cultural group," she said. "A lot of it has to do with the generation.
"You have some of the older people who remember being called those names and to them, it's not powerful, it's derogatory."
It's easy to see why the commotion arose. The term "queer," as defined on Wikipedia.org, traditionally means strange or unusual.
"Growing up that word had a very negative connotation," said Michael Franklin, LGBT resource coordinator. "Being called queer was not a fun thing."
Though he suggested "gay" as his preferred term, I found conflicting evidence elsewhere.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD, lists a media reference guide on its Web site, www.glaad.org.
The site deems the terms "gay," "homosexual" and "lifestyle" as dated and derogatory.
"Traditionally a pejorative term, 'queer' has been appropriated by some LGBT people
to describe themselves. Some value the term for its defiance and because it can be inclusive of the entire LGBT community. Nevertheless, it is not universally accepted even within the LGBT community and should be avoided unless quoting someone who self-identifies that way," according to the site.
So, as long as the organization chooses to call itself Queers and Allies, we will print its preferred name. But from now on, the Kansan will refer to the community as a whole as "LGBT."
♦ Caster is a Shawne senior in journalism. He is Kansan editor-in-chief
Free All for
Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slander and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
Walking is hard when you're drunk. You know?
just have to deal with.
If the people in New Orleans had been primarily white, we all know the evacuation process would have gone faster. It's a fact in the back of everyone's mind that we
Hey,would it kill you to use a coaster?
Isn't it ironic that our soldiers are dying overseas so that people have the freedom of speech to tell them that they don't belong on our campus?
The girl who won the chugging contest at the Crossing was a total beast!
Hey, Free for All, when I think about you, I touch myself.
All I've learned tonight is that you can't get a smoothie on a Sunday night in Lawrence.
Kanye West is a complete idiot, and should not be allowed on broadcast television.
I'm not greek, 'cause I don't pay to have friends.
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I was just curious who took the picture of the two flies bangin' on the 11th page of today's Kansan. Whoever it was has problems.
✩
Tell the protestors to get their facts straight. It's not the government who keep gays out of the military, it's a constitutional law passed by a democrat. So there you go.
So, I called KU Info, and I can't even get a person on the phone to ask where I can get a smoothie on a Sunday night.
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We just made the tying vote on the mascot voting thing!
When you get in a fight with someone, make sure the person you are punching is not the cops.
To the guy who stole the entire Tennessee Street sign, pole and all, will you marry me please?
When Phi Kappa Theta got expelled last year, the Kansan was all against them, and so was the rest of the community. Now Sigma Nu is getting expelled, and the Kansan sides with them, and suddenly so does the rest of the community.
I go to KU Young Democrats meetings because the executives are hotties.
Sex on the Hill better be worth it, 'cause all I've seen is bugs doing it. Come on, deliver the goods!
George W. Bush doesn't care about black people.
Bill Braskey just inhaled a live seagull.
Bring money on Saturday to the football game to donate to the hurricane victims! Last week, at Marshall vs. K-State, they raised over half a million dollars. We can do it too!
Garlic still doesn't kill vampires.
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I think it's funny that Brian Wacker has his mom call the Free for All to compliment his writing.
Jackie Treehorn treats objects like women, man.
Hey now, let's lay off Laura Watkins. She's the only girl I know that will wear a fake mustache. And how cool is that?
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POWODZENIA!
Why haven't I been hit by the beautiful truck yet?
Between now and the end of the game is when you win or lose the game!
Peace Prize winner speaks
When Lech Walesa visits the University of Kansas this month to accept the Dole Leadership Prize, you can bet I'll be at the ceremony to see him. Not just because I'm Polish-American or because I enjoy history, but because this is a man who literally changed the world.
With his courage and ability to organize mass movements of people, Walesa was able to singlehandedly launch a peaceful revolution strong enough to crumble the virtually indestructible communist government in Eastern Europe.
This victory won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and a coveted place in Time's "Most Influential Personalities of the 20th Century."
Wales went on to become the country's president - the first democratically elected leader in post-Communist Poland.
To better understand why Walesa (pronounced "Vawensa") is so important, consider how oppressive communism must have been: Imagine having no freedom of speech and few rights to own property.
MARYSIA KAMINSKA
opinion@kansan.com
You cannot have a passport at home, and each time you want to travel abroad, you must ask for permission to do so. You might be hungry from the recent food shortage, and if there is food, you must wait in line for hours to get the simplest of necessities like milk or
bread. You cannot meet freely with other people without government supervision, and you constantly have a nagging feeling that you're being watched ... because you are.
This is how people like Wales lived less than 30 years ago during the age of communism in Eastern Europe. Communism operated differently from the capitalist society that you and I are used to; it assigned less value to a free market and basic human rights.
With his compassion for human life, natural talent for organizing people and above all, courage, Wales, like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. before him, used non-violent methods to galvanize a grass roots social movement to demand better working conditions. These humble beginnings occurred at a shipyard in Dgansk, in North
Nearly every attempt to overthrow the communist government, however, ended in bloodshed. Thousands of people were killed, hope for a better future seemed unattainable, and communism seemed invincible.
Poland, where Wales worked as an electrician in 1980.
With the large-scale mobilization of shipyard workers came Solidarity, the first independent trade union. For the first time in nearly 50 years, an organization of its character was not controlled by the communist government. Though Solidarity was crushed by the military in 1981, the government's intervention happened too late:
Walesa's movement ignited peaceful rebellions across the entire bloc of Eastern Europe, and communism began ripping at the seams. Soon after, the Berlin Wall collapsed, as did the Soviet bloc.
For once, people stopped being scared. This historical milestone was possible because one visionary man demanded life and basic human rights in a free society for himself and for generations to come.
His journey affected the entire world and re-wrote our history books.
I sincerely hope that students, teachers and anyone else interested will take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Lech Walesa.
His story is one of incredible inspiration because it truly shows the power of a single individual.
- Kaminska is a Liberal senior In journalism.
TALK TO US
Austin Caster, editor
864-4845 or acaster@kansan.com
John Morgan, sales director 864-4462 or adddirector@kansan. com
Jonathan Keelling, managing editor
864-4854 or jeeking at kansan.com
SUBMISSIONS
Matthew Sevik, opinion editor
864-4924 or msevk@kansan.com
Sarah Connellly, business manager 864-4014 or adddirector@kansan. com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager,
news adviser
864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Jennifer Wnaver, sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or iweaver@kansan.com
General questions should be directed to the editor at editor@kansean.com.
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors 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 Austin Caster at 864-4810 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com.
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GUEST COLUMN
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Ellis Ford, Yaning Wang, Julia Melia Coelho,
Dan Royt, Anne Wetmar, Jolie Parisi, Nathan
McGinnia, Josh Goeting, Sera Garlick,
Chase Edgerton, Ray Wittlinger, David Archer
SUBMIT TO
Kansan newsroom
1435 Stauffer-Flint Hall
1435 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 66045
(785) 864-4810 opinion@kansan.com
CULTURE SHOCK
Enter the abusement park
"Welcome aboard the FOX American Trolley. We are Americans, and the planet is our amusement park. On your tour today, you will see America through our eyes, but as a forewarning, we only represent the perspective of faithful Americans and not those bleeding-heart liberals.
Americans are generally people with good intentions who want the best for our loved ones. Fortuitously, we are provided with the greatest array of economic opportunities. We may have more tokens than anyone else, but we feel we earned them through our hard work and innovation.
Four years ago, vandals conducted a malicious strike against our Ferris Wheel of Progress, but we trust that our beloved regional park manager and his board members have a strategy for capturing them. We have faith that they will prevent future harm by means of an effective approach to combat this unique problem. And surely, they would never go as low as to exploit the tragedy by using it as a rational for unrelated political actions or to distract park-goers from internal management troubles.
Look to the left and you will see a typical American family. The parents wear their 'I Survived the Cold War Roller coaster' T-shirts with their American-flag-imprinted fancy packs holding credit cards, SUV keys and super shopper coupons. Theyoungermembers tend to wear labeled clothing they buy at popular souvenir shops like Conformity Corner or that they win as prizes from overpriced carnival games like 'Rate Your Hotness' or 'How Suburban Gangsta Are You?'
Despite the family members' different styles, they share many similar tastes. They prefer to avoid the self-examination involved in navigating through the mirrored Halls of
SARAH STACY
opinion@kansan.com
Reflection and the imagination required to escape Alice's Forest Maze of Wonder. In contrast, they bond in their common devotion in attending the virtual reality spectaculars each night. They enter individual simulators with 3-D visors and live vicariously through entertaining characters that are put in outrageous scenarios that nearly seem real. Watch this preview on the monitor to see for yourselves:
"On the final episode of "Who Wants to Marry a Midget Porn Star?" only two girls remain. Be there tonight as they undergo dramatic plastic surgery and compete in a beauty contest in this final battle for Diamond's love. But the real challenge is that they must do this blindfolded down a runway of scorpions in the middle of the desert. Hear the screams from the hospital, feel the heat of the desert and experience all the surprises in what critics call "The most popular and shocking love story in virtual reality." It is followed by "Ultimate Televangelist Showdown."
Now folks, if that preview captured your interest, you will be even more intrigued by the wild and unpredictable virtual reality sitcom 'Extreme Iraqi Makeover.' Those Shilites, Kurds and Sunnis can be so silly, not to mention the hilarity of the writers of the show.
Every time things start going badly, which is quite often, the writers change the show's name and premise. For instance, it was at one time titled 'Let's Play Democracy' but the program's mission was declared 'accomplished' and the writers then created a less
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What remains constant is the violence. It is peculiar how one gradually becomes desensitized; the deaths of more than 25,000 Iraqi and almost 2,000 American cast members fail to deeply disturb many of us.
popular spin-off.
We do not recommend Euro Land, especially now with the declining exchange ratio of our tokens to the Euro red tickets. They may have the Venice Riverboat Voyage and good shopping, but it is irritating that some of the park attendants only speak European. As the saying goes, 'If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, then it's good enough for me.'
We have offered suggestions to other lands on how they should run their sections, but we often had to shut our ears to their constant nagging of our alleged arrogance, which we know is disguised jealously.
One of the executive producers stated that it might be renewed for another 12 years by the network, ensuring that Iraq-mania will undeniably continue to be a part of our virtual reality.
We would tell you about the other sections of the park, but in all honestly, there is not much worth telling. As shown in your pamphlets, the African attractions are too outdated and offer nothing of interest. We have heard that Asian Land is particularly crowded, making the lines too long. And the Latin American section lacks basic comforts, like drinkable water, which are fine for them but unacceptable for us.
Thank you for riding the Fox American Trolley, and enjoy your visit. You are guaranteed to like how we run things around here. Well, unless you hate freedom."
Stacy is a Germantown, Md., senior in political science, Spanish and international studies.
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