THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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OPINION
FRIDAY. APRIL 14, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
OUR OPINION
Another story angle needs to be revealed
You could almost laugh if the situation weren't so pathetic. The KU female students who auditioned to pose for Playboy and featured in a recent University Daily Kansan story gave plenty of satirical ammunition. One woman quoted the Bible to justify why she liked posing nude. Others said this would be great publicity for their prospective careers — because they won't have one after graduating with a degree in communications.
Not to attack these women's characters, but these comments are based off the only information provided about them in this story. As far as the article goes, those women's life ambition is to pose in the buff for a men's magazine. There may be more to these women, but that perspective is conspicuously absent.
Understandably, these women have every right to do with their bodies as they please. And if they work hard to keep in good shape, then no one should resent them for taking pride in their physique. That is not the issue here, though. Instead, the issue is about demanding monetary compensation for exposing one's body for the sole purpose of sexual arousal. Counter perspectives say this dehumanizes and demeans women, whether they consciously want to admit this or
Issue: The Kansan's report on posing in the buff
Stance: There's more to be said about Playboy and women's issues.
Ah, but then there is the sex appeal, right? And true to form, the story put girls in their underwear on its pages with relish. Sure this is a college newspaper. Most of its male demographic still has hormones as powerful as their metabolism. Nonetheless, this at least could have been an opportunity to show the negative aspects of this kind of activity as well.
not. The other error in the story is that it did not pass one of the first tests of journalism: Who cares? These women merely attended auditions for Playboy. None even had been chosen for individual photo shoots at that point. Covering this event was comparable to writing about KU students sending in tapes for the Real World.
So laugh or get upset or even turned on by the story as long as you are true to your own point of view and respect others' opinions as well.
Malinda Osborne for the editorial board
Open-minded politics
COMMENTARY
Last week, I attended Allan Cigler's speech,
"The New Electoral Landscape
Two Political Churches and an Unbelieving Mass Electorate." Cigler argued that today's political leaders, especially recent presidents, have lost touch with the general public views of the parties. The truth is that the American public today is relatively open-minded, with only a small minority associating themselves with extremely liberal or conservative views. However, because of the highly polarized views of our leaders, especially presidents in the last few decades, we have misinterpreted close elections and other political factors and are under the impression that we are a divided nation. But the reality of the situation is we just keep putting people into office who represent extremist party views, because they seem to be the only choices.
JACOB WITTLER
opinion@kansan.com
A good example of this is the abortion issue. In recent elections, abortion has been a highly debated topic. Of course, the stereotypical argument has been that all Republicans are pro-life and all Democrats are pro-choice. According to a March 1 Gallup poll, however, only 49 percent of registered Republicans favor an abortion ban, while 47 percent oppose it, with 4 percent unsure about the subject.
So why are all Republicans associated with being pro-life? It is because the leaders of the party, including the president, take a far right stance on the issue. This could potentially be because the powerful groups that support the party, like the Christian right, favor these viewpoints. The
point that Cigler stressed in his speech was that political parties have become more concerned with powerful lobbyists than with the interests of the party
This is not to say that the Republican leaders have been the only ones guilty of this type of movement. Cigler argued that Democratic leaders have also isolated themselves far left of the party's base, with leaders taking extremely liberal viewpoints on issues like the environment to support big funders like the Sierra Club.
at large.
The main thing I took away from the speech was this: Public views are not as polarized as we think. The majority of people in this country are open-minded liberals and conservatives who don't take extreme views on most political issues and who could vote either way in a presidential election.
The only problem is that in recent years we haven't had many open-minded options on either side of the ballot. Is this because politicians are being too easily influenced by major interest groups, such as the Christian right and the Sierra Club? Or is it because the only people showing up to presidential primaries are hardcore conservatives and liberals, and so we end up nominating candidates with highly polarized views?
While I am a supporter of George W. Bush, I do believe that a lot of his policies and viewpoints are too conservative for the general public. And I definitely don't believe that someone as liberal as Sen. Tom Daschle
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KIRK
Sex education gets lesson from Board of Education
COMMENTARY
OK, so here's my pitch for my most recent blockbuster movie. It's got everything: Sex and scandal. I'm going to call it: "Kansas State Board of Education: A Cautionary Tale." Lights up on the inner chambers of the Kansas State Board of Education. Inside, we see the board members, drenched in sweat from a busted air conditioning unit. They are just winding down from a heated debate. The godless heatens in favor of teaching sex education with contraceptives are simply digging their way further down to hell. Cue Kathy Martin, board member from Clay Center.
Last month, Martin put forth a proposal to the board that would require sex education that focused on abstinence and the dangers of contraceptives. May I just say, thank God for the Kansas State Board of Education. Rarely before has one organization provided such fodder for ignorant, misinformed policies.
The evolution debate was getting old, but I knew we could count on our old buddies in Topeka to make asses of themselves once again.
Too long have we, the young generation of sex maniacs, been living in sin. Why, if it weren't for easy and affordable forms of birth control, I know my mind
MARK VIERTHALER
opinion@hansan.com
I, for one, stand by Ms. Martin's proposal.
would not even be tempted by the thought of female flesh. Never mind the fact that abstinence-only sex education doesn't work.
A 2004 Washington Post article discussed the dangers of abstinence only sex-education. According to these federally funded programs, condoms do not protect from STIs as much as they claim. Good to know that not only are we encouraging kids to not carry condoms with them, we're putting the fear of God into them as well.
To make this situation more priceless, the board doesn't even really have any idea what it's discussing. Are they talking about abstinence-only education? Or abstinence-based education? What about abstinence until marriage?
"At this point I'm highly confused," said Sue Gambon, board member from Shawnee, in an article in The Kansas City Star.
education already encourages abstinence, followed by the morally lax choices, such as spermicidal lubricants.
So, not only are we hoping to discourage sex by keeping our kids ignorant, we're not doing it in a clear and concise manner. But here's the kicker: Kansas sex
It's nice to know the people out there actually teaching the subject understand the importance of teaching birth control methods in conjunction with abstinence. What's scary is those above the teachers feel abstinence only is more than enough.
In the same article in the Star, a Wichita sex education instructor named Charles Jenny said in an ideal world, you could teach kids not to have sex and it would work.
"But the real world out there is that some people are not going to do that."
And to make sure that our children are being brought up with the proper moral code, Ms. Martin said our schools should risk losing their accreditation if they do not focus on abstinence. Thank God for her. Thank God for someone willing to stand up to proven birth control methods.
So, remember all you sexual deviants out there: It's not your fault you're horny and you use condoms. It's the fact that nobody taught you any better. Take heart, even if your sex-education was substandard, you've got yourselves a part in my movie.
Vierthaler is a Dodge City junior in journalism.
Wittier is a Wichita freshman in journalism and political science.
(D-S.D.) would be a good pick to lead our country, even though he is one of the early favorites. I say now that student elections are over, let's turn our focus to the early workings of the 2008 presidential election. Let's get an early look at all the potential candidates, inform ourselves of their platforms and nominate an open-minded candidate from each party. That way we won't have to pick between two extreme views this time around, and voting won't come down to picking the lesser of two evils. If we can pull that off, I think we will elect a president who is not out of touch with public opinion and will work for the people. Now that's something, no matter what your political affiliation, I think we can all agree on.
Jonathan Kealing, editor
864-4894 or jealong@kansan.com
Joshua Bickel, managing editor
864-4894 or jjsick@kansan.com
Nate Karel, managing editor
864-4894 or nkartlin@kansan.com
Jason Shaad, opinion editor
864-4924 or jiahad@kansan.com
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Editor's note: The following comment was posted on Kansan.com in response to the editorial board's endorsement of increasing the Student Activity Fee by $20 to fund women's and non revenue intercollegiate sports. The initiative passed on Wednesday with 61 percent of votes.The comment appears unaltered and unedited.
"I don't understand why they don't just jack up ticket prices. Basketball tickets are impossible to come by unless you have the sports pack. Raise prices for general tickets and student tickets. Make those who support some sports support all sports and leave those of us who couldn't care one way or another about any of them with our 40 bucks."
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Why not raise ticket fees to fund athletic programs?
Editor's note: Because of computer problems, we couldn't print the free-for-All today. Look for it again on Monday.
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Karma. Many hear the term and resolve to interpret it as the reward for a good deed. The cyclical pattern of this ideology, however, is not in the least about gain. Instead, the idea behind it is to maintain a balance and to strive toward a compassionate society.
COMMENTARY
Karma is giving without the expectation of receiving anything in return. I got my first taste of karma in the most unpredictable way.
A true taste of Karma
The problem, however, of the misinterpretation of karma and many other seemingly selfless acts is the idea of gain. Simply put, if one's sole concern is gain, the cycle ceases to exist and nothing is given.
YELENA PAVLIK
opinion@hansan.com
Following a thorough scanning of a quaint hole-in-the-wall cafe that a friend recommended, I randomly chose a booth by the window and sat down to what I thought would be a decent meal. Instead, I was greeted by a snappy, frazzled, fed-up waitress.
Later that evening, I continued the cycle. After finishing a load of laundry, I stuck 50 cents into the washer for the next person doing a load.
After rudely shoving the menu at me, snapping when I asked for specials, mumbling under her breath that she hated her job as she wrote the order, and coming back with the wrong plate, twice. I was slightly frustrated. Discontent with the rude treatment, I was ready to leave without even touching the $7 meal, let alone a tip.
Pavlik is a Plano, Texas, freshman in journalism.
Then a simple thought occurred. What could that waitress's life be like? What had she gone through that very morning? Did she have kids to provide for, but could not? Did she get into a car accident? Was she terminally ill?
It was more than likely none of those problems, but it must have been something. Something caused her to behave in the manner she did. The unhappiness that she obviously felt must have been hastened by the way a majority of others probably chose to treat her, because of her behavior.
In a rash decision, I left the cold meal along with a $30 tip at the table and walked out the door.
Some weeks later, after having long forgotten the waitress and the less-than-satisfying meal, I received a letter unrelated to the dinner incident stating that $40 would be returned to my bank account for an overcharge.
It was karma. What goes around comes around. Perhaps
The ideology of karma stems from an ancient Buddhist concept that has been adapted by today's society as a chain of cause and effect, giving a little in hopes of receiving a lot.
The fact that I gave a little bit and got even more in return could have been a simple coincidence, but the monetary reward was not something that I sought.
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