4A the university daily kansan
opinion
friday, april 2, 2004
EDITORIAL BOARD
Zach Newton for The University Daily Kansan
MTV 'Famous Face' bad for society
People want to look like celebrities. They cut their hair. They buy celebrity fashions. They attempt to duplicate celebrity makeup.
But what was once walking into a hair salon and asking for a "Rachel Green" haircut has now taken a new shape.
People are walking into the offices of plastic surgeons and asking for Britney Spears' breasts or Brad Pitt's chin. They want a famous face.
MTV recognized the growing trend of plastic surgery in young adults to duplicate features of models and movie stars. And so they started the documentary
OUR VIEW
Reality TV's new on-screen make-over show, I Want a Famous Face, takes advantage of impressionable viewers. Plastic surgery is not pleasant or necessary.
series I Want a Famous Face to give an honest look at the positives and negatives of plastic surgery.
The documentary series fails to communicate the seriousness of the plastic surgeries. Although the scenes depict the blood, gore and discomfort of plastic surgery they are also subject to the MTV
The depiction of the negative aspects of plastic surgery does give the series an objective stance.
treatment. The pop music and special effects detract from the reality of the series.
One of the girls featured on the series underwent breast implant surgery to look like Julia Roberts in Erin Brokovich. Although the implants were made of saline, the silicone chill of the implants soon made her sick. The documentary shows her having them removed, after finding out that the effects are common.
But the series shows many more positive scenes. The Brad Pitt twins and the Britney Spears
impersonator all love their new looks.
Although plastic surgery seems extreme, wanting to look like someone famous is natural, said Francis DeSalvo Jr., director of Counseling and Psychological Services.
"Celebrities are marketed to represent the ideal," DeSalvo said. "There is a natural inclination of everybody to reach that ideal."
But for young, impressionable viewers to understand the costs of undergoing plastic surgery to reach that ideal, MTV should use a serious tone, instead of adding pop music to entertain.
MUSIC OF MY MIND
Progress means keeping activism alive
"What we gonna do? Save me and my brothers/?Hop inside the bed and pull over the covers/Never will we do that, and we ain't tryin' to rule that/We just want a slab of the ham, don't you know, black?" — Q-Tip (of A Tribe Called Quest), "Push it Along" from the album, People's Instinctive Travels & The Paths of Rhythm
COMMENTARY
Shortly before the break I ran across a group of students camping out to raise awareness about women's issues, and as the reluctant spring yielded lower temperatures earlier this week, I met a group of men fundraising for homelessness. Though these were not world-changing occurrences, it was inspiring to see the honesty and concern with which those few students took to the campus.
There needs to be more of that this season. In this world where issues such as theirs — the struggle for gender equity and the war on poverty — are all connected to each other, and in some very direct ways to us, we need more of a lot of things.
On this campus and in this country, where our capacity for achieving progress in the form of true equality for
Cornelius Minor
opinion@kansan.com
all people lies stifled under the weight of our inability to talk through the issues that polarize us, the example set by students who force us to confront the realities of American life on a daily basis is an example that we cannot live without.
There are no bootstraps strong enough to consistently pull oneself out of the situations in which many Americans live.
We have adopted a set of beliefs that has made it OK for us to think that those
It means understanding first that we have not made it. It means knowing that our collective worship of the Colin Powells of the world has blinded us to the reality that in America, there are not bootstraps strong enough to consistently pull oneself out of the situations in which many Americans live. It means knowing ultimately that hard work isn't always enough.
who are less fortunate deserve to be where they are. In terms of extending access to the American dream to all folks, what does progress even mean in a world that believes "anybody who can work hard enough can be the next Bill Gates?"
Exactly a month ago, Janny Scott of The New York Times reported that nearly half of the black men in New York City were unemployed. With those kinds of statistics, if New York was located south of the equator, it would be considered a third world country.
Though we can look at yesterday and talk about when times were visibly worse, we are certainly not living at the pinnacle of civilization now.
There are still issues deserving of our attention.
Regardless of why such widespread
Someone would certainly declare a state of emergency. Focus groups would meet, and if drugs were the problem, aggressive rehab programs would be instituted. If education was the issue, schools would be established, and if healthcare was the culprit then wellness programs would be erected.
unemployment exists, one cannot help but to wonder what would happen if such a statistic were true of white men in New York or of all the men in Lawrence.
Have we really reached the point where the life of a person in one region of the country is worth less than the life of a person in another, or have we been here all along?
Progress means not being afraid to talk publicly about such conditions. Progress means recognizing first that none of us want people anywhere to be homeless or jobless. Progress is knowing that such simple commonalities make us American, and it is realizing that reminding folks about those commonalities is what makes us a community.
innor is an Atlanta graduate student in American studies. He also co-hosts a radio talk program, Voice Activated, at 7 p.m. Thursday on KJKH.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Abortion numbers misused
The number itself is indeed correct; there are more than 1 million abortions conducted in the United States every year,40 million since Roe v. Wade.
In the column, "High abortion rate reason to change stance," in Tuesday's Kansan misused statistics.
But, if these abortions were not permitted to occur, what would happen to the more than 1 million women who are each year faced with an unwanted pregnancy? The thinking behind that might be that there will be less pregnancies if abortion were outlawed; that people would be sexually moral from then on. Kind of like killing two birds with one stone.
We all should know better than that; people are not going to stop having unprotected sex because we ask them nicely not to, no matter what the risks, and we certainly can't police them.
So here's another question: if more than a million unwanted babies are born each year, what will happen to them? Will some of them perhaps be beaten, underfed, molested or otherwise abused? Probably. Will some be the children of teenage mothers living in impoverished conditions? Probably.
I am not saying poor people cannot have babies; I am merely saying they should not be forced to have babies they do not want. After all, babies have to be fed and clothed and taken care of until they are 18, then they can decide to go to college (for $80 thousand) or get a job that will not likely pay them well. What about adoption?
Yes, I myself was adopted, but the problem is the sheer number; where will you find 1 million families per year willing to adopt children? Shall we ship the children overseas?
Free for All
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. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com
Where you see 40 million dead, I see 40 million who never had to suffer, never had to be abused or neglected or mistreated. I also should like to add that I feel the remarks about the Holocaust were inappropriate and insulting. These aborted children are never conscious to be shipped in trains to death camps. When referring to abortion, you ought to choose your words more wisely.
Jesse Gruber
Lawrence senior
History and English
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Congratulations Michael and Emily on your engagement.
Let Dennis keep his radio
Have you ever found little black curly hairs on the toilet seat?
I just discovered a third nipple. April Fools'.
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Ouch, I just cut my hand on my boyfriend's back hair.
We must stop the zipper monopoly. YKK must go down.
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Dude, I have no control over your hallucinations.
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TALK TO US
KANSAN
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
Michelle Rombeck
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managing editor
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opinion editors
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general manager and news adviser
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Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or mfisher@kansan.com
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Editorial Board Members
Kendall Dix® Lynzee Ford
Laura Francoviglia® Anna Gregory
Amy Hammontree® Kelly Hollowley® Teresa Lo
Mindy Oakborne® Grag Holdmquist® Ryan
Scarrow® Elizabeth Willy® Sara Behunek
Kevin Flaherty® Brandon Gay® Zack Hennenway
Alex Hoffman® Kevin Kampwirb® Amy Kelly
Cameron Koelling® Courtney Kuhen® Brandi
Mathessen® Travia Metcalf® Mike Norris
Jonathan Reeder® Erin Riffey® Ales Smith
Karl Zimmerman
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