4A the university daily kansan
opinion
thursday, may 6,2004
EDITORIAL BOARD
Athletes deserve equality
Student-athletes should not receive payment for merchandise bearing their names.
They should, however, be
OUR VIEW
Student-athletes don't deserve merchandise royalties, but should get all the same benefits as other students.
allowed to work during the seas on and be eligible for academic scholarships.
opportunities as other students.
Athletes deserve the same
It is unfair that merchandise bearing players' names does not benefit the players, but individuals should not reap the rewards of popularity. The sales should benefit all of the University's athletes.
...ABOARD THE KU MEN'S BASKETBALL JET...
The Kansas University Athletic Corporation should continue to use its share of the merchandising money to improve all of the teams. It now uses the money, in part, to pay for scholarships, equipment and facilities.
Although athletes don't receive financial compensation for their work, athletic participation does have its benefits.
Football and basketball are
nationally recognized and featured on television. Nearly all of the athletes get to travel the country to attend competitions at the University's expense. They receive the adoration of the fans. They get to do all of this while playing a game that they presumably love. The scholarship players get a less
costlv education.
Athletes who feel taken advantage of are welcome to leave and pursue a career, though they might discover that finding a job is difficult without a college degree and that securing a spot on a professional team is hard without collegiate-level practice.
Zach Newton for The University Daily Kensan
If profit and playing professionally are the athlete's goals, then maybe playing on a college team isn't for him or her. Understandably, because the NFL and NBA lack affiliated minor leagues, players are forced to attend college.
Perhaps these players would be better suited for the minors than
for a classroom.
These athletes should look around at what they already receive and be thankful for it. They shouldn't be allowed to bank on their individual popularity, but they should be allowed the same opportunity for employment and scholarship as other students.
PERSPECTIVE
Rate professors online for better classes
GUEST COMMENTARY
Each semester, KU students are asked to fill out teacher evaluations, only to watch the information disappear into the abyss, never to be seen again.
Word of mouth was the only option students had to learn about professors until recently. At www.ratemyprofessors.com, students can now anonymously rate professors on their helpfulness, clarity, difficulty of classes and even physical attractiveness (just for fun). Students can also leave comments about professors and the courses they teach.
Kelly Brogan
opinion@kansan.com
The Web site was founded in 1999 by John Swapceinski, who graduated that year from San Jose State University. "I got the idea for the site after taking a class with a particularly dastardly professor
With enrollment upon us, this Web site is a valuable resource that will help students plan their class schedules and improve the quality of their education.
who often left students in tears and genuinely seemed to enjoy it," he said.
Students who visit the site can check professors' ratings, or rate professors on a 1 to 5 scale, 5 being the best. Although some expect the site to be just a place to bash professors, almost 70 percent of the ratings are positive, Swapecelski said.
At the time of this writing, the Web site had more than 1,000 ratings for 402 of
University of Kansas professors. KU's highest rated professor was Jonathan Earle, professor of history, with an overall rating of 4.9. Of the ratings for Earle, comments included "Energetic, eager to teach, extraordinary professor" and "I actually like getting up for this class."
The Web site also displays each school's "hottest" professors, indicated by a red chili pepper icon. With seven "hot" votes, Eric Stocks, psychology graduate teaching assistant, just may be the sexiest instructor on campus.
The Web site includes a section of the
The site is not without its critics. Some students question the validity of the ratings, especially because students are not required to log in to rate professors. Even the site's list of FAQs admits, "Remember, we have no way of knowing who is doing the rating — students, the teacher, other teachers, parents, etc."
funniest ratings ever posted. One reads,
"Boring! But I learned there are 137 tiles on the ceiling." Another: "He will destroy you like an academic ninja."
Swapceinski said that he had received threats of legal action from irate professors every week. "It's amazing," he said, "the number of professors with Ph.D.s that don't get the concept of the First Amendment."
Editor's Note:
Brogan is a Hinsdale, Ill., junior in psychology.
On Monday, May 10, a University endorsed professor rating Web site will be available. There will be a link to the Web site sent through the all-University-students listserv. A test site is available to view format and questions at www.ku.edu/cgiwrap/aseval/course_evaluation.cgi
PERSPECTIVE
Summer book picks stretch mind poolside
For some, summer means an opportunity to lie around and soak up sun. Lounging poolside provides a great opportunity to pick up a book, especially when the songs on the radio have taken their toll on you, you've heard that chorus too many times before. Here's a few suggestions for the poolside.
Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie.
Hairball relates MacKenzie's experiences working for Hallmark Cards and as a freelance consultant. His insights into the suppression of creativity and how corporate management interacts with employees are as insightful as they are charming. The book nearly overflows with positive energy and handles serious topics with a light touch.
This sequence of 80 sonnets was originally published in 1591. It's aged well. The narrative follows the twisting emotions of Astrophel, star lover, for Stella, star. A dictionary isn't needed to translate the vibrant emotion locked in each sonnet.
COMMENTARY
Astrophel and Stella by Sir Philip Sidney.
Jonathan Reeder
opinton@kansan.com
Got a little more time to kill? Try the The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook. It's a nine-book dark fantasy series that offers a different spin on the same old fantasy clichés. The story follows the remnants of a mercenary brotherhood marching to its original home; a place none of the current members have ever seen. The series follows the Company across years, continents and even to an alternate world.
The high point of the series is Cook's
vivid characterizations and ability to write in several different styles. The series gets bonus points for not losing its focus.
If you're looking for a little horror try anything by Bentley Little. His novels add a horrifying twist to the mundane and feature everything from a demonic postal worker in The Mailman to an evil corporate franchise that corrupts everything around it in The Store. A new novel hits the shelves nearly every year.
But be warned. Little uses many visceral and taboo subjects for shock value. Babies and cute animals aren't exempt from his horrors. His books are best read in bright, calming daylight of a July afternoon.
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child provide another source of readily available entertainment. The duo has published eight books, four of which feature their crowning achievement: FBI Special Agent Pendergast.
Pendergast seems capable of outdetecting Sherlock Holmes and his authors are at their best when writing
him. He appears in Relic, Reliquary, The Cabinet of Curiosities and Still Life With Crows. Their latest novel is a series of killings brings Agent Pendergast to the fictional small town of Medicine Creek, Kan. It's on my reading list and if it have has the atmosphere and charm of the pair's earlier novels, it should be a fun read.
No matter how you spend your summer make time for a good, or at least entertaining, book.
Opinion Staff
Reader is an iola senior in journalism
Want to be part of the Kansan opinion page next semester? The Kansan is now accepting applications for columnists, cartoonists and editorial board members. Applications are available at 119 Stauffer-Flint and are due this Friday
Friday.
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Free forAll
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com
Call 864-0500
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Ooh. The campus farted.
Springtime on campus: Cigarettes and cell phones everywhere.
I was wondering why campus smells like someone woke up, vomited and then stuck a dirty sock in their mouth
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It smells like Missouri on campus.
To all of you who walk down the street reading the Kansan: Watch out. I just stepped in road kill.
I want my Internet. This is ridiculous.
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ResNet. More like ResNot.
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If I was effective at my job as ResNet is at their job I would be fired. ResNet eats it.
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Melissa, I am just calling to tell you that I love you and I have a very big secret crush on you. My initials are B.K.
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Bill and Liz together forever.
I want to be just like you.
I am really excited for Bill and Liz.
KANSAN
Michelle Rombeck editor
864-4954 or mburhens@kansan.com
Andrew Vaupel
managing editor
864-4854 or vaupel@kansan.com
Meghan Brune and Johanna M. Maska opinion editors 864-4924 or opinlon@kansan.com
Danielle Bose
business manager
864-4358 or adddirector@kansan.com
Stephanie Graham
retail sales manager
364-4358 or adelea.kansan.com
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing adviser
864-7686 or mfshier@kansan.com
Melcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864-7664 or mqibson@kansan.com
Editorial Board Members
Editorial Board Members
Kandall Dix Llynze Ford Laura Francoviglia Amy Hammontree Kelly Hollowell Teresa Loa Mindy Osborne Ryan Scarrow Elizabeth Willy Paul Whittemore Zach Stinson Zach Newton Westen Benson Sara Behnke Susan Flaherty Brandon Gay Zack Hemeway Alex Hoffman Kevin Kampwirth Amy Kelly Cameron Koelling Courtney Kuhlen Brandi Matheisen Travis Metcalf Mice Morris Jonathan Reeder Erin Rifle Alea Smith Kar-Zimmerman