4A
Thursday, March 2, 1995
OPINION
UN I V E R S I T Y D A I L Y K A N S A N
VIEWPOINT
THE ISSUE: REGENTS PR CAMPAIGN
Regents try to polish image
The Board of Regents idea to organize a public relations campaign is a good solution to improve the state universities' financial situation. Although Regents schools always have been essential components of the Kansas economy (the University of Kansas alone injects more than $1 billion every year to the state), not every Kansan realizes this.
In this public relations campaign, the chief executives and Regents will show evidence that state universities benefit everyone directly including the folks in Western Kansas towns or other places where people may see universities as a tax-money black hole. They will act as sales representatives for the higher education system. In a financial impact statement to be released later this year, KU and other state universities will compile information about each institution's influence on economic development.
In addition to saving the taxpayers money, this public relations campaign may result in
People outside university communities need to be reminded that schools like KU are not tax money black holes.
helping the Legislature and the governor to balance the budget by the end of the session. Indeed, the Regents schools are badly in need of funds. Last Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee agreed to cut $6 million across the board from the Regents budget.
Today even public institutions cannot take their money for granted. They too — like any private company — need to seduce their investors. Organizing a public relations campaign was a good way to try to achieve this goal.
If this campaign is successful, perhaps the House will back the proposed pay increase of 2.5 percent for state employees.
This part of the job, however, won't be the toughest. People in nonuniversity towns still have to be convinced of the usefulness of a university.
HENRI BLANC FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD.
THE ISSUE: BIG EIGHT TOURNAMENT TICKETS
Block system needs changing
The organizers of the Big Eight men's basketball tournament should rethink their ticket distribution methods.
If fans are lucky enough to be picked in the ticket lottery, they are forced to buy tickets for all the sessions.
By placing the tickets in blocks, fewer fans are able to afford to attend the tournament at Kemper Arena. The current rate for a ticket package, $110, is too high for students on limited budgets.
Furthermore, a student/fan whose team loses in the first round will no doubt have little interest in watching the rest of the tournament. These fans must swallow
Because of the present method of distribution many students are unable to buy tickets to see the tournament.
the ticket cost or scalp them. While scalping may earn someone a buck or two, it is illegal.
A system that distributed tickets in smaller blocks and required a preference ranking would allow more people to attend the tournament. It also would reduce ticket prices.and illegal scalping
Most importantly, a revised ticket system would increase the number of tournament fans who actually attend the universities represented in the tournament.
STANTON SHELBY FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
Editors
STEPHEN MARTINO
Editor
DENISE NEIL
Managing editor
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
Thus winter reminds us it will be waiting for us next year.
Many times this happens; we are given warmth and blue skies, we are allowed to break our shorts out of storage and send our sweaters home.
News...Carlos Tejada
Planning...Mark Martin
Editorial...Matt Gowen
Associate Editorial..Heather Lawrence
Campus...David Wilson
...Colleen McCain
Sports...Gerry Fey
Associate Sports...Ashley Miller
Photo...Jarritt Lane
Features...Nathan Olson
Design...Brian James
Freelance...Susan White
JENNIFER PERRIER
Business manager
MARK MASTRO
Retail sales manager
CATHERINE ELLSWORTH
Technology coordinator
The world plays its joke and brings back the cold
Jeff MacNeilly / CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Business Staff
Wistful thoughts of fall's leaves and spring's warm showers will pass through the heads of the never-satisfied. While sweating away in the deep, dark July, we will curse the heat.
And the world will laugh at us.
Then our fallacies hit us across our knuckles, and if we keep our senses of irony intact, we laugh at our own foolishness. We try to comprehend what we did wrong. Then we go on, waiting for irony to teach us never to think we know too much or have solved too many mysteries.
be wrong. There is nothing more than a moment of either frustration or laughter when something we've been counting on, hoping for or dreading either doesn't happen or turns out be false. Irony is, in fact, one of the best reasons to continue living, experiencing and learning. We understand more and more, we think the world can be put under a label and that there is nothing more for us to do.
So now, because we wanted the Earth to be warm, it is not. And when the spring eventually arrives, on its own schedule, and is followed by summer's glaring sun, we will want the Earth to be cooler.
Campus mgr ...Beth Pole
Regional mgr ...Chris Braman
National mgr ...Shelly Falevits
Coop mgr ...Kelly Connelys
Special Sections mgr ...Brigg Bloomquist
Production mgr ...JJ Cook
Kim Hyman
Marketing director ...Mindy Blum
Promotions director ...Justin Frosolone
Creative director ...Dan Gier
Clasified mgr ...Lisa Kueeth
Then, just as we are comfortable with the idea of the approaching days of air conditioners and swimming pools, the wind chill index drops to 2 degrees. The snow falls again — teasing us with memories of the first snowfall, when we were outside playing as if children again, throwing snowballs and sliding, making snow angels and sucking on icicles.
Editorial ignorant of subtleties of racism
Our hubris is believing the seasons, the world, even the universe, all follow the paths we set for them. Thinking that because we make predictions and point to equations to justify these guesses, the universe will do as we wish.
Isaac Bell is a Lawrence senior in English.
Two things were very clear from Amy Trainer's Feb. 16 editorial opinion on the remarks of Rutgers University President Francis Lawrence: First, she is obviously not an African American, and second, she is unfortunately not very perceptive.
All the usual curses are sworn, and innocent meteorologists receive a great deal of abuse as the world makes its seasonal joke. I have enough faith in the concept of an aware world to label this a joke. The irony is appropriate every year, for it happens every year.
Reality, at least the reality we live in, is founded on irony. Things are
But this is the nature of humanity, and it really isn't such a great sin to
We never grow tired of this. At this very University there are thousands of students learning to say with complete certainty that the world is thus, and the universe is so and by God that's the way it will be. Until the time comes, and it will come, when we learn something new, discover a bit more of nature's true face, then these laws and equations will be as meaningless as bad poetry.
STAFF COLUMNIST
Trainer argues that, based upon Lawrence's record of promoting minority students and faculty, it should be obvious that his remarks were not intended to degrade African-American students. However, how else should his remarks be taken? In reference to African Americans and our performance on standardized tests, Lawrence commented, "How do we deal with a disadvantaged population that doesn't have that genetic hereditary background to have a higher average?" The fact that Lawrence views the genetic hereditary background of African Americans as a factor is the problem. Why not view the degradation of centuries
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
not what we believe them to be. The part that amuses me the most is that we as a species have a long history of setting ourselves up to be wrong. From the earliest days of offering up choice selections of herd animal du jour to the great spirits of the hunt to
such "science" as the notion that the sun revolved around the earth, we've made predictions and described "laws" that just simply were wrong.
of white racism and discrimination as a factor? Lawrence's view of the problem as one of genetics and hereditary smacks of racism, and, despite whatever he has done in the past for minorities, this statement effectively nullifies any intended good.
Fortunately, the African-American students at Rutgers are able to see this. Unfortunately, Trainer and many others, including Rutgers' administration, are not. Racism is no longer about ignorant Ku Klux Klan members burning crosses and marching through remote counties in the South. Today, racism is about subtleties. It is about a university president in New Jersey, who — despite his probably genuine, good intentions with respect to African-American students and faculty — has a deeply infbred and covert notion that we are genetically inferior. Beliefs such as this pervade predominantly white universities across the country, including KU. This is the type of racism that is so dangerous because its purpose is
to do more than simply terrorize someone. Its purpose is to limit opportunities, diminish growth and achievement, and worst of all, it is so easy to disguise.
Janith Lewis
Janith Lewis
Lawrence second-year
law student
Columnists shouldn't respond to letters
After reading Carlos Tejada's column in the Feb. 23 issue of the Kansan, I am again surprised that you allow your editorial writers to spend their time and their columns responding to letters from readers. Their job is to write about ideas, not to defend themselves from points of view different from their own. I have never noticed this occurring until this semester. I think you need to rethink this practice of allowing such trivial dialogue to go on in the editorial page, especially in columns.
Kyle D. Van Vliet Lawrence resident
Polling place editorial was slanted against Student Senate
As a second year nontraditional Student Senator and a Finance Committee member, I have had plenty of time to get used to the bad publicity that Student Senate receives.
I have always taken the criticism in stride, noting however that Senate is
Student Senate receives the short end of the stick, regardless of its action. Fiscal responsibility, however, is our aim. Exactly how responsible would it have been to have given the money for a project that we had so little information? I personally am completely in favor of a polling site in the cafeteria. However, it is my opinion that this year's Election Commission should follow through on the request and begin preparation of the site for the 1996-1997 elections.
GUEST
COLUMNIST
I would also urge members of the editorial board to write stories based on information that they, themselves, acquire and not rely on sources that may be unreliable or incomplete.
never commended for the work it does or for its accomplishments. A recent article, however, left me wondering if at least one writer on the editorial board is planning on writing for The National Enquirer in the future.
The article.
"Factions in Student Senate don't want new polling place," by Stanton Shelby appeared in the Feb. 15 issue of the Kansan.
After reading the article it is was evident that Shelby had not been at the Senate meeting in question and had not a clue as to how Senate functions.
The information Shelby used was second-hand at best. He obviously took certain details from that information and then created his own scenarios as to what actually happened at the meeting.
What Shelby didn't realize was that the bill, thrown together the day of the Senate meeting, contained insufficient information. In all likelihood, the bill would not have made it through the Finance Committee had it gone. The Elections Commission was unable to fill in any gaps in the information because of the fact that it was not meeting until the day after the Senate meeting.
Many students seem to think that the defeat of the bill was due to greeks scared of the Daisy Hill vote. I, who am obviously not associated with the Greek system, can tell you without a doubt that this was not the case.
Using the Ekdahl Dining Commons as the site of the new polling location was a last minute idea in reference to the bill. Also, Ken Stoner, director of student housing, had not yet given the OK for the site nor was he available for questioning by senators.
George Wyatt, the Intrafaternity Council senator, was a proponent of the bill. In that aspect he was not only serving his Greek constituency but also the entire student body by showing that votes of all students were important and that all could work together.
Alan Pierce is an Independence senior in English.
MIXED MEDIA
By Jack Ohman
ALL FIGHTS FASCINOL.