Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
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I hate to see her go, but I love to watch her leave.
When the grass is cut the snakes will show.
Question: What's better than watching "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" Answer: nothing.
--from the institution. Still, the University should do what it can to protect tuition from annual increases
Call me Mr. Facebook. I can make your grades drop.
--from the institution. Still, the University should do what it can to protect tuition from annual increases
I was just called a scrooge by my roommate for not celebrating 4-20.
--from the institution. Still, the University should do what it can to protect tuition from annual increases
If Gwyneth Paltrow can name her child Apple, my new iPhone shall be named Gwyneth
Yesterday was my birthday. I threw up all over myself.
--from the institution. Still, the University should do what it can to protect tuition from annual increases
If I'm buzzed or drunk, please save the drama.
--from the institution. Still, the University should do what it can to protect tuition from annual increases
I could really use a wish right now
Is it just me, or do the new Daleks look like KitchenAids?
--from the institution. Still, the University should do what it can to protect tuition from annual increases
I officially feel infinitely dumber for taking the time to look up "Dalek."
Just because you saw a Slug Bug doesn't mean I want you to hit me.
Oh, you hate something in your life? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and they meet at the bars.
Best quote ever from my mom: "I've only heard about GPS on tractors. It's in cars? Does it tell what direction you are going?"
Other girls are so mean to me at work. I don't know how to handle it other than making them hate their lives.
If you can't take the heat, plan on staying off planet Earth come 2050.
My TA totally thinks I'm high because I asked to leave class early. I just really want to go tanning.
Did anyone else find it coincidental that the front page of The Kansan used the phrase "ablaze" on 4-20?
--from the institution. Still, the University should do what it can to protect tuition from annual increases
Goal: Do not drink until after finals week.
--from the institution. Still, the University should do what it can to protect tuition from annual increases
EDITORIAL BOARD
KU a great value, but should work to not increase its costs
For 2010, the University of Kansas is once again ranked among the "100 Best Value Colleges" according to the Princeton Review. Although being recognized among the top public and private four-year colleges in the country is an honor, it should not be an excuse for the University to become complacent about keeping educational costs low.
The University's Endowment Association ranks among the oldest and most generous endowments per student within the public university category. It is worth more than $1 billion and provides almost $35 million in student scholarships and loans each year. Although these are big numbers, they are a bit deceiving: Only 66 percent are actual scholarships or grants. The rest act as loans or jobs provided by the University.
The Princeton Review evaluated student opinion surveys and information provided by more than 650 private and public institutions to rank Americas colleges. The main factors considered included financial aid, costs and undergraduate academics.
According to The College Board, a non-profit tool for prospective students, on average, 3,503 KU freshmen apply for need-based aid. Only 330 of these applicants actually get their full needs met by the University. It is understandable that not everyone can receive financial help
In 2007, the University took a step in the right direction in ensuring consistent tuition fees by introducing the Four-Year Tuition Compact. This provides students and their families with a fixed tuition rate for four years of study. Although this program definitely helps students and families plan for the future, tuition fees still go up with each new class that enters the University.
Incoming freshmen who come from out of state see the unfortunate steady increase in tuition annually. In order to compensate for the tuition compact, semester rates for nonresidents have gone up an average $630 since the compact was instated.
The University recently introduced a scholarship for out of state students who are children or grandchildren of KU alums, called the Jayhawk Generation Scholarship. This offers a 12 to 20 percent discount for out-of-state tuition. This
scholarship is a great way to make an education at the University more accessible to students who are non-Kansas residents.
Although tuition has risen throughout the years, it cannot be ignored that the University does provide a great sense of quality in all of our diverse academic areas. Whether in our business department or education, engineering, journalism or music programs, we do have value on our side.
Even though the University of Kansas is being recognized for its quality and affordability of education, a four-year degree shouldn't bury the average student in debt. The University should keep up with its current aid. Although being ranked as one of the best values in the country is an honor, the real prize is the University's ability to attract students, regardless of their financial needs.
Stefanie Penn for The Kansan Editorial Board
Other Big 12 Schools to make the "100 Best Value Colleges"list (in alphabetical order):
— Oklahoma State University
— Texas A&M
— University of Colorado-Boulder
— University of Oklahoma
—source: http://www.princetonreview.com/best-value-colleges.aspx
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
POLITICS
On the rise: faux-sustainability
For all the hysteria over "Climategate" — and despite the dismal prospects for climate change legislation — the science hasn't budged. The planet is warming and human activity is part of the problem.
The scientific consensus has spurned commendable efforts by both individuals and organizations to reduce their "carbon footprint." Although the University received a disappointing C+ on its College Sustainability Report Card, it earned praise in critical categories such as student involvement, investment priorities and recycling efforts. The University's Center for Sustainability underscores our commitment to eco-friendiness.
First, a disclaimer: efforts by multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola — the sponsor of the "Give it Back" campaign — aren't to be discounted. It's far better to have big business undertake initiatives to promote green consciousness than to flagrantly ignore the need to foster more environmentally sustainable ways of living.
In light of today's Earth Day festivities, it's worth examining what other green measures we ought to undertake. These efforts must start at the individual level.
But there is a caveat. As helpful as corporate measures are, they're largely a manifestation of what I'll call the "Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Culture." This movement is a side dish at the larger consumerist feast, garnished with a dash of feel good.
Take carbon offsets, for instance. A controversial issue within the environmentalist community, offsets allow an individual or a corporation to pump plentiful amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere — provided they cough up enough money to "offset" their pollution by, say, planting a few trees in the deforested Amazon.
BY LUKE BRINKER
lbrinker@kansan.com
In short we really, truly, honestly feel gosh darn awful about global warming. We just don't want to radically rethink our lifestyles.
As much as we recognize that our current habits of consumption are exacerbating the planetary crisis — and as surely as we know that solving climate change will demand much more sacrifice than we've shown thus far — we've yet to see a social commitment to taking bold steps.
This age of Chevy Tahoe hybrids calls to mind St. Augustine's oft-cited prayer: "Lord, make me chaste — but not yet."
Lord, make us carbon-neutral — but not yet.
This depressing reality makes the arrival of Heather Rogers's new book, "Green Gone Wrong: How
Our Economy is Undermining the Environmental Revolution," all the more important. Rogers, an investigative journalist, proposes a rather wild-eyed solution: Stop consuming so much.
Sure, you deserve a pat on the back for choosing to recycle that empty bottle of Dasani. But when you're gulping down five a day, you're exacerbating a larger problem. That plastic had to be manufactured in an energy-intensive process. Without even taking into account the health risks associated with BPA, it's clear that the canteen water bottle is a smarter choice.
And that 50-m.p.g. Prius? Kudos! But it is worth starting that admittedly fuel sipping engine for a trip of merely two miles? Seventy percent of a car's emissions come from simply starting the engine.
Solving a problem of the magnitude of climate change isn't possible with half-hearted, pain-free measures. As we mark 40 years since the inaugural Earth Day, it's important that we adhere to its basic principles. Saving the planet isn't a matter of trend, setting or public relations boosting. It's a moral obligation.
So by all means, keep up that recycling habit. But is it too much to ask that you make sure you have less to actually recycle?
Brinker is a freshman from Topeka in history and political science.
MEDIA ISSUES
Cultural collision
Despite it lish here — ban immigration" signs prevalent throughout numerous Tea Party rallies of recent months, Americans are coming into contact with other cultures at an increasing rate, whether they like it or not. This "exposure" could come from the French section of the instruction manual for the electrical blanket that Grandma gave as a Christmas gift, ordering a "taco" from Taco Bueno or even listening to Christopher Waltz's German in "inglourious Basterds." (Sadly, watching "Lopez Tonight" does not count as foreign cultural exposure, despite the comedian's repeated use of "guido" — although he is bringing the party back to late night, thanks to TBS.)
In all seriousness, students should take advantage of the opportunities available on our campus to learn, or at least introduce, a foreign language into their studies.
Some majors have minimum foreign language requirements. For example, to graduate with a journalism degree a student must complete four semesters of a language. When I first heard about this requirement, I'll admit I wasn't exactly thrilled.
Although I came to the University with two years of high school Spanish on my transcript, I knew I would be required to take several language classes.
Despite the fact that I remembered little more from my high school class than the present tense of "hablar," I decided to put aside any doubts on the first day of Spanish 111 and see where the class would lead me.
The results have been gratifying, to say the least. In just a few weeks, I will be on a plane bound for Costa Rica. This trip is an attempt to strengthen my Spanish skills, a language that I have unexpectedly come to enjoy.
It's true that some people may have no desire to learn another language, but if a recent article in the Spanish magazine "El País" gives any indication, cases such as these seem to be fading quickly.
The article explains there are even more people in the U.S. who speak Spanish than in Spain. What's more, the article estimates that by 2050, there will be more
BY TRENT BOULTINGHOUSE
Fortunately, the University takes a lot of steps to make studying abroad possible for students. For example, with my program through the Office of Study Abroad, every person accepted received at least a $500 scholarship, regardless of need or merit.
It's true that foreign language classes can be more challenging than some other courses. But it's also obvious what will be more rewarding in the long run. Being able to communicate with a German speaker at a restaurant, for example, should have greater value than knowing the right answer to a multiple-choice question that will be soon forgotten.
My experience with University faculty familiar with the program has been beneficial and productive. The program coordinators practically guarantee that students will not leave the country with any questions unanswered.
There's always the benefit of padding a resume with a language skill. More importantly, however, is the personal benefit of being able to communicate and connect with people from around the world.
True; conversations in other tongues can be just as boring, mundane or pointless as those in English. But the beauty of a foreign language is that a conversation that is boring by our standards instantly becomes exciting when you experience the satisfaction of being able to translate it.
I feel a sense of accomplishment when I understand Spanish, regardless of the dialogue's depth. If more students explored something different and out of their comfort zone, America could be a little more cultured than Taco Bueno, Panda Express and Runza.
Boultinghouse is a sophomore from Girard in history and journalism.
There is no pride in dodging the draft
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
I opened my paper on the morning of April 20 and read in mild disgust the portion of the paper dedicated to Vietnam-era stories of men who dodged the draft.
As citizens it is our obligation to rise and fight for our country when necessary. Now, make no mistake — I have my own opinions about the Vietnam War and the absolute failure of our leadership to lead us to a path of clear victory there. However, the idea that dodging the draft is something you should spread around, like a story about the good old times, or that it's in any way something to be proud of, is abhorrent. It is not something to brag about when you try and avoid military service by acting like a schizophrenic, deliberately breaking your bones, or pretending to be a homosexual, which is even more despicable considering the injustices many gay people
willingly inflict upon themselves when they voluntarily serve their nation.
When I was 19 and lacked direction after high school, I decided to enlist in the military. In what is thus far the greatest regret of my life, I was given an entry-level separation in the first week due to medical complications. I would give my right arm to be able to enlist. But barring the acquirement of incredible medical waivers that opportunity has most certainly passed me by.
Serving our country is a privilege, and at times our duty. Stories like these should not be celebrated but discouraged. While reading this I can only think of the parents whose children did not come home, the men left scarred and permanently disfigured. Shame on those draft dodgers.
— Jeremy Adkison is a junior from Leavenworth.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of THE Kansan Editorial Board are Stephen Monemaytor, Brianna Panensterl, Jennifer Tornlie, Lauren Cunningham, Vicky Smitchell, Marissa Arabeau, Stellen Penn, James Castle, Michael Holt, Callin Tothbrighur and Andrew Hammond.