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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
WWW.KANSAN.COM
OUR OPINION
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006
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Chinese, not Spanish is language of future
One trend KU students can ill afford to miss out on is learning a second language.
En vogue right now is Spanish. Our generation seemingly has been cognizant of this concern since we were in kindergarten learning how to count to diez. Now more than ever, with the increased presence of Latino culture coming to the North American scene, more bilingual individuals are desired in various professions—from marketing to hospitality or politics —in order to reach this continually burgeoning demographic.
Looking further down the line, however, there's another language that will be taking over as the one to learn: Mandarin Chinese. Just to give you some idea of the importance China has even within our own local community, the country bought more than $300 million in Kansas goods and services last year — making it the third leading buyer — according to the state Department of Commerce.
Luckily, if you have contemplated learning the most widely spoken language in the world in anticipation of the growing financial and cultural exchange between the United States and China, the University of Kansas is already way ahead of you. Much to the University's credit, it is well-poised to accommodate the growing interest in Chinese culture, especially because of the soon-to-be-established Confucius Institute at the Edwards campus. The institute, which partners with China's Ministry of Education, is part of a network that plans to create a total of 100 similarly named institutes worldwide. Currently only four exist. It will offer Chinese language instruc
Issue: The prevalence of Mandarin Chinese
Stance: Chinese will soon outstrip Spanish in importance. The University is preparing students well.
tion, training Chinese language teachers and promoting outreach programs on Chinese culture.
Here on the Lawrence campus we have the Center for East Asian Studies, founded in 1959. Now with a total of 51 faculty members, 25 of which are entirely devoted to the center, it has gained an impressive reputation throughout the nation. KU students can earn bachelor's or master's degrees in Chinese language and literature or Chinese language and culture or take courses on China in various departments and schools. Not to mention students also have the option to study abroad or get involved in a direct exchange program in the People's Republic of China for a year, semester or summer. And just recently, the Office of International Programs announced the opening of the competition for three direct exchange scholarships with partner universities in the People's Republic of China.
To date, only 90 students are enrolled in the four levels of Chinese language offered. However, this number is sure to increase in the coming years, thanks to the University's forward thinking and continued increase in relations with China. But why not get started now? There's nothing like being ahead of a trend.
Malinda Osborne for the editorial board
To the guy in the frat with the Aviator, my car is a Dragon and it gets 100 miles to a gallon, and my Dragon would set your frat on fire with its breath.
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with its br
I'm gonna bake a batch of cookies and mail them to the man who invented
PAGE 5A
I just wanted to say that if I ever had to shave my head, I would leave a rat tail. And I'm a girl.
I'm a girl.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Ten-semester limit makes sense for all
It must be hard for KAPE
It must be hard for KAPE — the GTA union — to try to explain to campus GTAs why they received no salary increases this year and might not next year.
The university is not withholding merit raises, and the provost has had no role in the absence of raises. It's the existing contract, which does not "guarantee yearly raises for all returning GTAs;" it only guaranteed raises through the past academic year, 2004-05. That's why KU urged KAPE to participate in bargaining sessions during the summer, so a new contract might be resolved by fall 2005 and GTAs could get raises. But KAPE declined to meet during the summer.
benefits because they want GTA positions to expand into something verging on long-term employment.
next year. As an open letter on April 25 to the new provost reveals, the KAPE negotiators are not being candid.
The fact is, GTAs receive year-to-year contracts, for a maximum of five years. Extending the five-year limit would deny incoming graduate students access to teaching assistantships. KAPE ignores this and dismisses the lecturer positions, research assistantships, and other forms of support that are viable options for those who really want to stay on. The timely completion of graduate work is considered in national evaluations of program quality, but KAPE doesn't acknowledge that, either. It is simply in KU's and current and future graduate students' best interests to ensure that students move through their programs and find full-time work in academe or elsewhere in a timely manner.
A basic tenet of the contract negotiation process is that both parties must agree on all aspects of the proposed agreement before it can be ratified formally. KAPE thinks it can pick what it likes and say no to everything else. That's not how contract negotiations work here or elsewhere.
The KAPE negotiators are willing to sacrifice a new contract with better wages and
KAPE would like to cloud the fact that it has forfeited signifi-
cantsalary increases for current GTAs. KU offered a lump sum
5.5 percentincrease for current GTAs, payable in May. KAPE
declined. KAPE also haswalked away from a minimum $1,000
increase to the base salary for those GTAs who make the curren-
timum salary of $10,000
(about 20 percent of GTAs) -- a
10 percent increase in wages.
The fact is, GTAs receive year-to-year contracts, for a maximum of five years. Extending the five-year limit would deny incoming graduate students access to teaching assistantships.
For the 80 percent of GTAs who earn more, the dollar amount left on the table is larger. No other employee group at KU has been offered or will receive a similar 10-percent wage increase.
While a formal impasse has been declared, we still have our offer on the table and are willing to conclude the negotiations and end uncertainty for our GTAs now.
Barring this, we will follow the process set out in the state Public Employee Relations Act to bring this matter to an orderly conclusion.
Ola Faucher is director of Human Resources and Equal Opportunity. Don Steeples is a distinguished professor of applied geophysics and vice provost for scholarly support. Both are members of the KU negotiating team.
COMMENTARY
Pro-life movement needs more forceful tactics
After returning from the 33rd March for Life in January, I was convinced that the pro-life movement was, is and will continue to be the next great civil rights movement. And, I still am. But, I am also a bit disheartened at the form the movement has taken. Today's Right to Life movement is really nothing at all like previous civil-rights struggles.
What today's movement lacks is any sense of forcefulness. It has overcompensated for the venomous tactics used by the abortion-rights camp and now is too concerned with living out "nice guy" principles. The movement has failed to remember that once in a while, their words need to have some
ANDREW SOUKUP
opinion@hansan.com
the countless American and Allied lives that were lost in the process. We like to think that it was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches and demonstrations that effected their victory. But, again, we forget that movement was only successful because of the sacrifices and struggles of many men and women.
We like to think that it was an amendment to the Constitution that freed the slaves. But, we forget that without a war, that amendment would have had no practical meaning. We like to think that maybe it was a treaty or surrender that freed the Jews and other minorities from the camps, glossing over
teeth to them.
the capital will not bring about change. And, while not denying the efficacy of prayer, a rosary vigil will have absolutely no effect without some temporal action. As the saying goes,
"Pray as if everything depended on God; work as if everything depended on you."
Today's challenge, though, is met with a weak and impotent response. The message is much too symbolic and not nearly practical enough. Moreover, the movement goes so far out of its way to ensure that it does not step on anyone's toes that the message does not get across. It is like trying to stop a bull with a needle. A one day march on
Perhaps, we could march for maybe two, perhaps three days. That would be a novelty. I do not know how long the Ukrainians had to protest awaiting the Orange Revolution, but I am sure that it was more than one day. And, I am equally sure that they did not apply for a permit and follow a parade route approved by the city government.
issue. This movement is unlike all others, not only in its strategy and tactics, but its root cause is also different. Instead of having a clear antagonist to fight against, very often the ones committing these evils are those most in need of help. If through our complacency, a woman chooses abortion in her despair, the battle has already been lost and we are just as culpable as any. However, that despair does not make the decision any more right. And, concern for being caring and understanding should not dilute the overwhelming message of the movement.
But, this is not a clear-cut
Soukup is a Lakin junior in linguistics.
Dylan's music spans generations
LIZ STUEWE opinion@kansan.com
It was a dream come true: I finally saw Bob Dylan, live. He played at the Midland Theater in Kansas City, Mo., last week. He still has obvious talent and a strong stage performance, but even more interesting than Dylan behind the keyboard were the people in the audience. Predictably, the crowd was made up mostly of baby boomers — folks our parents' age who would have been in college during Dylan's heyday — but I was pleasantly surprised to see a decent number of college students at the concert.
COMMENTARY
"You fasten the triggers/For the others to fire/Then you set back and watch/When the death count gets higher/You hide in your mansion/As young people's blood/Flows out of their bodies/And is buried in the mud." Read the rest of the lyrics at BobDylan.com and you will wonder how a song written in the 1960s can sound more genuine than any music being released today.
But what was most interesting was watching the people who stood during Dylan's classic anti-war song "Masters of War." It was all college kids, ranging from the Ziggy Marley group to the emo kids to the girls who had obviously had a little too much to drink. They were all standing and cheering. And after rereading the lyrics, I understand why college students today would relate so powerfully to this song. It is a compelling war protest song, released on "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" in 1963, that echoes many of the complaints the youth have today about the foreign entanglements of the United States government.
Bob Dylan's ability to clearly reflect the anger of a generation is a testament to his skill, and until the day when our generation can produce an artist with similar talent I will be recycling protest songs from the master.
Stuewe is a Lawrence sophomore in political science and American studies.
TALK TO US
The second balcony was a lively bunch, frequently commenting that it was a good thing we came to hear Dylan and not to see him. I may have been barely able to see Dylan's red cowboy boots, but I was at a great advantage to see who stood up to dance, sing and cheer during each song.
During "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" all the hippie kids with their Ziggy Marley T-shirts stood up to cheer, not surprising since the chorus of the song is "everybody must get stoned."
Jonathan Kealing, editor
864-4854 or jkealing@kansan.com
During "Don't Think Twice, It's all Right" the gray-haired, beer-bellied crowd stood; a tribute, I assume, to the fact that they were actually listening to Dylan in 1963 when the song was released. And naturally, everybody went crazy during "Like a Rolling Stone," arguably the best rock song of the 20th century.
Joshua Bickel, managing editor
864-4854 or jjckell@kanan.com
Note Karlin, managing editor
864-4854 or nkarlin@kanan.com
Jason Shaad, opinion editor
864-4854 or jahad@kanan.com
Patrick Ross, associate opinion editor
864-4924 or proxis@kansan.com
Art Gen, business manager
864-4462 or addirector@kansan.com
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864-4462 or adales@kansan.com
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864-7087 or mglsbon@kansan.com
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