4A
Monday, April 22, 1996
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
Abstinence policy needs to be officially advocated
In light of today's current trends in social behavior and in the best interest of education and community safety, the University of Kansas should establish an official stance promoting abstinence as the safest type of sexual behavior.
Students at the University are exposed to all forms of sexual relationships and preferences during their days on the Hill. But while the "safe sex" oxymoron is tossed around like the panacea of all ills, abstinence is the only proven way to avoid all problems associated with sexual relationships.
The University does not need to, nor is it in its best interest to, attempt to dictate behavior within the student body. However, when new students are bombarded with literature about sex within heterosexual and homosexual lifestyles but are not informed about the benefits of abstinence, an injustice is done.
If the University simply
THE ISSUE:
Sexual behavior
The University should promote abstinence while orienting new students to the campus.
acknowledged to students and parents that abstinence is accepted and favored based on medical, social and psychological research, it would be a step in the right direction.
A generation is being raised that is anesthetized to the physical, emotional, spiritual and moral ramifications of sexual promiscuity. The adage "you are not just sleeping with this person, but every person that this person has ever slept with" has become thin and meaningless.
Chastity may not be the most critically acclaimed and most intensely sought-after aspect of one's character, but the benefits of sexual abstinence cannot be overstated.
CHRIS VINE FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Computer Center should identify non-student users
About 20 percent of the people who take advantage of the Computer Center are not enrolled at the University. This large amount of non-student computer users illustrates the need to implement a system that would identify outsiders.
The University already lags behind its peer institutions in computer accessibility. On the Lawrence campus, the computer-student ratio is 1 to 45. In addition, a council of the University's chief academic officers recently has been working to implement a possible technology fee.
There is certainly no need for more computer users, especially if they are not paying any tuition. Computer accessibility is already a problem at the University, and the 20 percent of non-enrolled computer users makes a difference. If these people were to have restricted access to the Computer Center, there would be more computers available for students.
Because of the time spent on the computers by non-students, one could argue that their presence does not cause a conflict with students. Outsiders who take advantage of the Computer Center usually come on
THE ISSUE:
Campus computers
weekend nights. However, such situations could become a problem during finals week. Anyone going to the Computer Center during this time of the semester has to wait in line. When term paper deadlines are approaching, every hour counts. Students should not have to worry about competing with outsiders for computers.
This is why those using the Computer Center should be able to prove that they are KU students. Other places on campus already have systems that restrict facilities to KU students. During security hours, for instance, every dorm has a machine that reads KUIDs before letting in residents. This is an example of a good system that could be implemented at the entrance of the Computer Center. Of course, this does not mean that all options should be closed for non-students who need to use a computer occasionally. If someone wants to use a computer but is not enrolled at KU, the person could be given the option to pay a fee to use the center.
HENRI BLANC FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
Editors
HEATHER NIEMAUS
Business manager
KONAN HAUSER
Retail sales manager
JAY STEINER
Sales and marketing adviser
JUSTIN KNUPP
Technology coordinator
ASHLEY MILLER
Editor
VIRGINIA MARGHEIM
Managing editor
ROBERT ALLEN
News editor
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
Marko Fields/KANSAN
Campus ... Joann Birk
... Philip Brownlee
Editorial ... Paul Todd
Features editorial ... Steve Linder
Features ... Matt Hood
Sports ... Tom Brickson
Professional sports ... Bill Peltilla
Mall Fiction ... Mick Palmer
Graphics ... Noah Musser
Spotted sections ... Novellaommers
Ten Humphrey
Wine ... Tina Pasett
On-line coordinator ... Tina Pasett
Business Staff
Campus mgr ... Karen Gersach
Regional mgr ... Kenly Connelly
Maintainer ... Mark Ozmakel
Special Sections mgrs ... Rachel Gahli
Production mgra ... Rachel Gahli
Heather Walker
Marketing director ... Heather Walker
Public Relations dir ... Angle Adamson
Creative director ... Eileen Kowalak
Business Manager ... Bill Ware
Internship/o-p mgr ... T. J. Clark
There are millions of sufferers of mental illness in this country. They are your mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends and co-workers. They are you and I. These people are not deficient in any way. Some do not function as well as others, but many lead perfectly normal lives. I consider myself a prime example. I have always performed well in school and engaged in extracurricular activities. I am not anti-social, and people generally do not even know of my illness unless I tell them. This holds true for almost all of the depression sufferers I have met. We are not freaks and should not be treated as such.
Unfortunately, this teacher is representative of many Americans in her view of mental illness. This is a serious problem which needs to be remedied.
Although you may not be aware of this fact, chances are, each of you know at least one person who suffers form some type of mental malady. It's present in our society, so let's deal with it.
And please, contain your laughter.
Our society should address, not laugh at, mental illness
The teacher stated that this was possible because much of the time, depressed people just need to know that they are loved. From personal experience, I know this isn't even half the problem. There is much more to this disease and, with all the studies out, I would think the teacher would be aware of this.
When I walked into my psychology class last week, I was pleased to learn that we would be discussing depression and schizophrenia. I suffer from depression and am always interested in finding out more about it. I also looked forward to gaining a better understanding of schizophrenia. Mental illness is grossly misrepresented in our society, and I was eager to get my facts straight concerning these maladies.
I sat and fumed in silence because I felt insecure relating my experiences to others.
My second urge to speak came after we took a quiz which measured
As I walked out of class, though, I did not feel the least bit enlightened. I felt ill. The teacher showed complete insensitivity in relating these topics. When discussing depression, her ignorance of the illness was apparent. She was not outright offensive, just presumptuous, and in that effect, disrespectful to me.
My annoyance began when a classmate asked about something she had heard regarding depression. She questioned the theory that many people commit suicide within three months of leaving a clinic because they stop receiving the attention they crave. In my opinion, this is ridiculous. The desire for attention may be a factor in some depression cases, but it is certainly not a main cause of the disease.
Steph Brewer is a Cary, N.C. freshman in pre-Journalism
STAFF COLUMNIST
our depression level. The teacher gave us the scores of depression sufferers and said that none of us would have scores that high because we were like a control group. Why wouldn't any of us have scores in the depression range? She had just told us that depression was.
I said nothing to the teacher at that time. I just wanted to get out of that room. I regret that decision and that is why I am writing this column. This topic needs to be addressed.
major problem among people our age, especially among college students. What does she think — these depressed students attend special freak classes?
began wondering what was wrong with her. I see absolutely nothing funny about molestation or suicide. These are human beings. Maybe they talk in strange voices and say or do amusing things, but that doesn't mean their lives hold any less value and that we shouldn't show them the same respect we show "normal" people.
We are everywhere. You can't just look at a group of people and determine that none of them suffer from depression.
This annoyed me, but nothing prepared me for what came next. The teacher briefly discussed schizophrenia and then announced that we would watch interviews of schizophrenic patients.
She introduced the clips saying, "You guys should find this one entertaining."
Excuse me? Since when is someone's illness entertaining? I admit some of the things the patients said were amusing, and we all giggled a bit. This did not disturb me, and I decided she had probably been referring to the patients' words, and not their illnesses, as entertaining.
However, when another patient described being molested by his father and later attempting suicide and I still heard her merry guffaw, I
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"IT'S JUST PLAIN SILLY TO RECOGNIZE MARRIAGES BETWEEN PEOPLE OF THE SAME SEX. MARRIAGE IS AN INSTITUTION THAT HAS BEEN RESERVED SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME FOR MEN AND WOMEN."
State Sen. Mike Harris, R-Wichita, about why same-sex marriages are not legally recognized in Kansas.
"THERE ARE A LOT MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESSES RUN OUT OF A BASEMENT OR A BACK ROOM TO DO THINGS THAT WERE UNHEARD OF 20 YEARS AGO. IT'S NO LONGER NECESSARY TO HAVE A PITTSBURGH STEEL MILL TO OWN A BUSINESS."
Development Center, 734 Vermont St. about the increasing opportunities for college graduates to start businesses.
Mike O'Donnell, of the Small Business
"AFTER ALL THAT WORK, IT'S QUITE A SURPRISE TO THEM."
Shawn Hensesee, Student Senate elections commissioner, about the two ties for senate seats, which were broken with coin tosses on Tuesday.
"YOU BECOME PART OF EITHER THE SUPPRESSORS OR THE SUPPRESSED. THERE IS NO THIRD VICTIM. ALL HUMANITY SHARES IN BOTH THE GUILT AND THE SACRIFICE."
Heather LaBash, Oberlin senior, about remembering the Holocaust.
Student Senate election ends despite snags along the way
Thank God that the Student Senate election is finished. I know that the previous sentiment is one that is shared by many, including candidates and students. Last year during the election, as a nonpartisan student, I could not wait for the day that I could walk to my classes without the constant sight of campaign literature and coalition buttons.
STAFF COLUMNIST
What I did not understand at that time was the intense amount of hard work that Senate candidates undertook in hopes of getting elected.
It is sad that a few errors in judgment from a select few people can tarnish an entire organization's reputation. Almost all of the candidates from both coalitions attempted to maintain a clean campaign. Furthermore, these candidates really do care about Student Senate and representing the student body to the best of their abilities.
Another ridiculous aspect of the Student Senate election is the public witch-hunt for candidates with criminal records. Granted, when one of last year's candidates had a sex offender charge on his record, the information deserved to be made public. However, under no circumstance, will I ever believe that a student who has been charged with a minor in possession would make a bad senator. Without doing any research, I would guess that every student here either has been charged with MIP or has a friend who has a MIP on his or her record. If that is the case, then, candidates with MIPs are merely representative of their constituents.
The overall experience of running for Senate was a good one. As a person who has experienced both sides in the past two years, it is easy to see why students become upset with candidates and vice versa. As a student, it becomes tiring to hear, "Have you voted yet?" And as a candidate it is annoying to hear the response, "I already voted," although you know that most students actually have not. Anyway, congratulations to the new student senators and, to everyone involved, thank God it is finished.
OUT FROM THE CRACKS
Mike Walden is a Leawood sophomore in political science.
This year, I threw my hat in the ring and became one of those candidates. From my first coalition
meeting, I knew I was in for a long haul. Unfortunately, I was not prepared for the extreme scrutiny of running for a Senate position.
Whether these allegations were legitimate is irrelevant now; however, the constant finger-pointing took the focus of the election away from the real purpose. Instead of asking me why I would be a good senator or what issues my coalition was running under, people merely asked me who was responsible for stealing campaign banners. Sadly, this election fiasco made Student Senate look like a joke.
At times, the entire process seemed like a sham. During the final two weeks of campaigning, the Kansan ran alternating stories and allegations of misconduct from both coalitions. Even a student body vice president candidate was implicated in these charges.
By Jeremy Patnoi