THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
WWW.KANSAN.COM
FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2006
PAGE 5A
OUR OPINION
Community outreach discredits ranking
Into The Streets Week is coming to a close. The Center for Community Outreach has done a good job advocating the importance of community service to University students and has brought awareness to social issues such as poverty and homelessness.
CCO arranged an open forum to discuss the report and the conclusion of those on the panel agreed that Lawrence was certainly not the meanest. Lawrence city commissioner Dennis "Boog" Highberger called the ranking inaccurate, and Loring Henderson, director of Lawrence Open Shelter, said it was unhelpful and done by people 1,000 miles away who read newspapers and watched the news from the area.
With so much social action, it is surprising that the National Homeless Coalition would give Lawrence the designation of being the second meanest city to homeless persons in the nation. While a community can always do more for those in need, the ranking is unwarranted and uninformed and takes away from the work that students and others in the community put toward those in need.
Helen Hartnett, professor of social welfare, agreed that the ranking wasn't the most reliable, but gave reasons for the coalition's move. Three ordinances that passed quickly in the past year that criminalized behavior associated with homeless, such as panhandling, prompted concern, she said. The severity of the ranking has helped to bring about dialogue about the problem.
Issue: Into The Streets Week and Lawrence's ranking as the second worst city for homeless persons.
Stance: Student and community invovlement were overlooked in the ranking.
But there are holes in the coalition's research. A lack of input from the homeless community denies an essential perspective, Hartnett said. The progress of services for the homeless, from relatively few several years ago to the implementation of more that aren't funded properly denies Lawrence's status as a work in progress. Henderson said.
It is important that students and Lawrence remain vigilant in improving the lives of every individual in the community. Volunteering in whatever way one can, whether it's helping in Jubilee Café or helping at a shelter, is important. Writing to your local newspaper about social issues can bring awareness to the entire community and attending city meetings provides an opportunity to speak toward those in control of public resources.
Ty Beaver for the editorial board
Lawrence is undeserving of the ranking provided by the coalition, but that doesn't mean that the community shouldn't keep trying to improve and do its best.
Free All for
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.
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My roommates and I are continuing this discussion on whether or not girls and guys can be best friends. Opinions anyone?
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If I bought someone a water at the Wheel, I'd expect them to thank someone else, too, because getting a water at the Wheel is like driving a moped on the autobahn:
It sucks
Hey, if everyone who got the free coupons at Spangles sold them for money, do you think we'd have enough for William Shatner to make a guest appearance and stand outside of Spangles and scream at it "Spaaaan-
glllles!!!"
--my mom agrees.
Yes, this is William Shat ner. Spaaaaanglllles!!!
园
To the guy who said Coors Light tastes like water, this is for you: Coors Light is probably the best beverage on the planet. Even
All right, the Titanic,
very funny that it sank. I
like that. And Jeff Diesel,
yes the guy is cool. And
St. Louis Cardinals, when
was the last time you won
a World Series? Oh, that's
right, 1982. Suck it
The smoothie guy at the Market is way hotter because he looks good and he gets my smoothie done right
To the guy in Earthquakes and Natural Disasters class who made the teacher kick out the guy who was sitting next to you because he was eating potato chips and was annoying and disrupting the class, that was the funniest thing that has ever happened in my four years of college, but, at the same time, it took me back to
pre-schne
that guy?
spent. Tha
Man, it's so cold outside that I just buttoned the top button
Yeah, so I get to pay $20 more per semester for women's sports that don't generate money, but then the girls soccer team loses to a bunch of under-15-year-old boys. That makes perfect sense. Money well spent. Thanks.
Dude, what ever happened to the smoothie guy? You guys remember that guy? Yeah, what about that guy?
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Ari Ben, business manager
804-4462 or adddirector@kansan.com
Patrick Rose, associate opinion editor 864-4924 or pross@kansen.com
Sarah Connelly, sales manager
864-4462 or adsales@kansan.com
'Da Vinci Code' doesn't compare to classic novels
Mateflo Glbaon, general manager, news adviser
864ZA7R7 or robitomka@kanao.com
What I am about to say may make you steaming angry. It will probably make you furious. It won't surprise me one bit if there are several riots in The University Daily Kansan newsroom today involving people with axes and torches. So, at the risk of overturned cars and broken windows, I will try to say this diplomatically — "The Da Vinci Code" is an awful book.
COMMENTARY
Jennifer Weaver, sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or jweaver@kansan.com
There, I said it. I know many of you disagree with me. According to Facebook, "The Da Vinci Code" is currently the most popular book at the University of Kansas. The Bible, which "The Da Vinci Code" is based on, is ranked a lowly fourth. This isn't a popular article and, in fact, it was by accident that I read the book at all.
While other airports seem to have bookstores that rival the Library of Congress, Kansas City International Airport has decided to take a minimalist approach to its stock, meaning that if it was not recommended by Oprah or written by Dan Brown, then they don't have it.
Recently, I had about six hours to kill at the airport, which is what happens when you show up as your plane is taxing and the next flight doesn't leave for about six hours. After spending one of those hours at Cinnabon wondering how something could be so delicious and yet so disgusting at the same time, I was quite bored when my wandering eyes saw that oasis of the airport. The terminal's bookstore.
884-4854 or jeeling@kansan.com
Joshua Bickel, managing editor
884-4854 or jbickel@kansan.com
Nate Karlin, managing editor
884-4854 or nkarin@kansan.com
Jason Shad, opinion editor
884-2934 or jahard@kansan.com
TALK TO US
My first problem with the book started before I had even opened a page. As anybody who has taken Art History 101 will tell you, Da Vinci is not a name. It is just Italian for "from Vinci." Still I tried not to let this small detail make my review of the book biased. What did make my review biased was Brown's statement at the front about all documents and
stories being accurate. Michael Crichton never claimed at the beginning of "jurassic Park" that there really was an island with dinosaurs or that extracting DNA from dinosaurs was a viable way to clone dinosaurs. Brown's book is just as much fiction, but it keeps trying to convince itself
Jonathan Kealing, editor
864-4854 or jkealing@kansan.com
This is how I found myself reading "The Da Vinci Code." For the two people left who haven't read it, I will try my best to explain the plot. Robert Langdon: good. Catholic Church: bad. I am omitting a couple of details here and there, but what happens in between is a plot with enough twists and turns and mysterious characters to fill all of Agatha Christie's novels. I am not trying to be one of those literary snobs who just bashes popular books. I'm a huge sucker for Clive Cussler novels, and on a recent fishing trip I took three books: "The Old Man and the Sea," "Mory Dick" and "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish." The only one I ended up even opening was Dr. Seuss' masterpiece. It's just that "The Da Vinci Code" was a little too unbelievable for me.
— and the reader — that what they are reading is highly classified material.
Another problem I had was the incredible coincidences in "The Da Vinci Code." The book asked me to suspend my belief in the laws of chance just one too many times, and even in my impaired judgement caused by coming down from the high of five cinnamon rolls, I was scratching my head.
I know you weren't expecting a book review in this space, but all I seem to hear from friends when discussing books is "Dan Brown this" and "The Da Vinci Code' that." The KU library system has more than six million books, most of which weren't written by Dan Brown, and one or two that aren't half bad. If you liked "The Da Vinci Code," you should try reading the original Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle or read the original mystery/crime writer, Edgar Allan Poe. Then next time someone brings up "The Da Vinci Code," you can add a new twist like: "That Teabing is no Moriarty!" Imagine how cool you would be then.
GTA positions temporary by nature
OWEN MORRIS opinion@kansan.com
- Morris is a Leawood junior in journalism.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
I would like to make a few comments to the GTA negotiation team. I appreciate your desire to improve the quality of life for graduate students on campus. Unfortunately I believe you to be uninformed. GTAs are replaceable units that comprise one giant machine that processes inputs (students) and outputs (graduates). The nature of GTA positions is temporary. Be realistic about your expectations and accept this temporary position in life for what it is — training.
The five-year limit for GTA sponsorship is more about you than them. Remember what was told to you at GTA orientation.
relies heavily on our labor as GTAs, but, individually, we are unimportant. By nature we come and go. We live modestly and study hard. The academy owes us nothing. We demonstrate that we are valuable to our community of scholars by being hazed into the profession through our degree program. We pay up front for a beautiful future in the academy. Thus is the life of a graduate student. Accept it, understand it, take what you can get and earn your degree.
Justin Tucker Survey Research Center manager Policy Research Institute
You are first a graduate student and secondly a GTA. It is your responsibility to ensure successful completion of your degree program. Why would you suffer the economic condition of a GTA beyond what the college deems a sufficient amount of time to complete your degree? GTA positions are a means to an end — your degree. The administration is assisting you by paying you a stipend and likely a tuition waiver. You will best help future graduate students not by creating an impasse, but by graduating within the five-year limit and opening up GTA positions for them.
At a macro level, the University
MARK VIERTHALER opinion@kansan.com
This was going to be the farthest I had been from home. It would also be my first taste of a culture that was beginning to flex its muscles on an international scale.
Two years ago, on my nineteenth birthday, I woke up at five in the morning in a St. Louis hotel room. I was a block away from the airport where my plane was being gassed up for a short jump to LAX. From LAX, I was to fly in to Shanghai. From Shanghai, I would meet my brother in Beijing.
COMMENTARY
The University of Kansas is opening one of the first Confucius Institutes in the United States.
Changes in China mark new era
My brother said this was a sign of the times. Our driver was middle aged, a prime target for Mao propaganda. But, modern ideals had begun to change the landscape.
I spent three weeks across the eastern coast of China. From Beijing to Qingdao to Shanghai and back. Everywhere, western culture mingled with eastern traditions. And everywhere you looked, there were American factories.
My last night in China was a muggy July evening in the middle of downtown Beijing. I sat, nursing my beer, as several of my traveling companions sat around watching the neon lights of the hotel across the street wash out everything pink, then purple, then green.
Our second night in China, my brother and I got into a cab. Loud shouting and angry gesturing from the cabbie greeted us. My brother chuckled to himself as we careened the streets of Beijing. Our cabbie was complaining about the poor state of the country. It was all Mao's fault, he shouted in mandarin. He was happy to have Americans, even if he hated Bush.
"The world's changing," said one of my friends.
It has been. Since the '80s China has offered cheap labor for American companies. Now they are starting to offer their own goods and services. And the world is taking notice.
- Vierthaler is a Dodge City junior in journalism.
The Chinese president, Hu Jintao, visited the United States last week in what was dubbed a "diplomatic" mission.
In few places is this more evident than within China itself.
Our generation is coming in to a new world market. China is no longer the blatant dictatorship of our parents' era. When my dad was a kid the phrase "Better dead than red," stirred up the animosity between us and the east. It's no longer the red state of the past. They have begun to recognize free market trade. China is quickly becoming a technological giant.
What do all these things mean?
We're not alone in the world anymore. With billions of citizens, a rising middle class and increased education, China is adapting itself to a worldwide economy. It's easy to get cocky, growing up in a country that dictates a large amount of both pop culture and social norms
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