THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
2006
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THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
OUR OPINION
Need for slower speed: Memorial Drive unsafe
University officials are reacting appropriately to the incident. Donna Hultine, director of the KU parking department, said that parking along Memorial Drive will be reduced to one side, thus reducing the possibility of students jumping out suddenly in front of drivers. Other changes have also been proposed, from better enforcement of the 20 mile per hour speed limit to installing speed bumps at key points of the road.
It's been nearly three weeks since James Heylar was struck by a University staff member's car on Memorial Drive. Curator of graphics at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library, he was crossing the street near the Campanile when he was struck. The driver said the sun was in his eyes and prevented him from seeing Heylar.
Speed bumps seem the most applicable, especially at the crosswalks where Heylar was hit. They would not be too difficult to install and would not require constant surveillance by KU Public Safety officers, but would still
Issue: Pedestrian safety on Memorial Drive
Stance: Speed bumps should be built to counter blind curves and heavy traffic.
force drivers to slow down, giving them a better chance to react to anything that may appear in front of them. In one way, they would be a better speeding deterrent than officers. Students might get caught speeding by a patrolling officer, but their cars will definitely sustain damage if they hit an ever-present speed bump going too fast.
Ty Beaver for the editorial board
The University is acting in the correct way by preparing to reduce the parking on Memorial Drive and considering other changes to improve safety for pedestrians. But of all the proposed solutions, installing speed bumps that provide a constant reminder to watch the road and speedometer would be the best choice.
Greeks focus on values
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The Feb. 24 editorial entitled "Fraternity reform focuses on manners" was a derivative of an article that appeared in Time magazine titled, "Taming the Toga." Both articles clearly misinterpreted the purpose and mission of the fraternities at the University of Kansas.
The original article in Time was addressing fraternities on a national level, and the editorial in the Kansan incorrectly made parallels to the member fraternities here.
As cited in the Kansan's editorial, there has never been a focus on unhealthy behaviors in the KU Greek community; rather, the focus has always been on building respectable men of character and value. In addition, the national push to focus
on "activities that promote healthy living and self-respect" is not only already prevalent in KU Interfraternity Council member fraternities, but is also facilitated by ongoing programming within KU's IFC, particularly with Project SafeWatch.
These initiatives by the Interfraternity Council and the member fraternities are not aimed at modifying the behaviors of fraternity men, but act as a resource for the men to use, reminding them of their continual pursuit of our greek values: scholarship, service to others, broth erhood and leadership.
Scott Ferguson
Leawood junior
Interfraternity Council
President
COMMENTARY
Grain-based fuel alternative saves money, benefits politics
Imagine an America that could produce its own fuel source. In that America a crisis in the Middle East or South America would no longer send fuel prices up. In that America, foreign policy would not be as influenced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Imagine not having to pay more than one plasma donation's worth of cash for gas for the next two weeks.
In that America, more Americans would profit from the fuel-making process. We also know, since George W. Bush opened our eyes, that an oil addiction is bad for our country. Ending the cravings for oil would greatly benefit this country and this state. This is all possible with ethanol.
Ethanol, which is commonly found in commercial grain alcohol, is a flammable liquid. It is currently used as an additive to gasoline by Casey's General Stores. However, with minor conversions to the standard internal combustion engine, ethanol could be more than just an additive. The benefits of ethanol are far reaching.
Using ethanol as a fuel source would help America determine its
DAN DAVIS
oninion@bansan.com
own fuel prices. With its vast farmlands and yearly surplus of food, America could invest farm land into growing the grains needed to produce ethanol. The switch to ethanol would also benefit farmers by opening a new market in which Kansans could sell their goods.
PAGE 5A
Kicking the oil addiction would greatly change American foreign policy by altering its relationship with several Middle Eastern and South American countries. This change in policy would be extremely beneficial to America. With anti-American sentiment growing rapidly, a switch from oil to ethanol could save America from having to spend its resources to secure an ever-shrinking oil supply.
Some may say that using ethanol as a fuel source is a pipe-dream, but that idea is wrong and naive. Brazil has already begun
moving towards an ethanol fuel economy. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, a majority of Brazilians have begun purchasing vehicles that can run on ethanol. They are already feeling the benefits of a home-grown fuel market. The BBC reported that Brazil has saved more than $400 billion. Ethanol costs consumers one-third the price of gasoline, and oil would have to drop almost half its value per barrel to compete with ethanol.
The benefits of kicking the oil habit through the use of ethanol are great for the citizens of Kansas. Not only would we pay less at the pump, but money would flow into the state. It would benefit the country as a whole by reducing our trade deficit and eliminating our dependence on foreign nations. If a country like Brazil can save $400 billion, imagine what an oil-hungry country like the United States could save.
So here is my challenge to Mr. Bush and the country as a whole: Push for a change to ethanol.
Davis is a Joplin, Mo., freshman in business.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The advice is out there
I suggest the editorial board do a little more research about advising. If one simply goes to www.advising.ku.edu/staff, a list of advisors for the Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center can be found.
There are 18—not 10 —professional advisors that can handle any academic situation. That does not include, however, the advisors from the departments (6), from the KU Medical Center (4), graduate advisors (1), adjunct advisers from different offices (7), and Peer Advisors (2).
Just counting the 18 professional advisors of the FSAC, the ratio comes out to 1 advisor per 578 students (not 1 per every 1000). Sounds big, but this is a "major
People who fall through the cracks allow themselves to—to an extent. No authority is here to wake students up for class, to tell them to do their homework, to set down that beer. Why should someone force them to see an advisor? The information is out there.
university," as Chancellor Robert Hemenway would put it. There is responsibility on the student to seek out the resources. One advisor cannot track down 578 students individually to inform them of what they should be doing.
David Garcia
Lee's Summit, Mo., senior
Peer Advisor for the Freshman-
Sophomore Advising Center
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.
Free All for Call 864-0500
Hey Kansan, we're really proud that you worked so hard to get your issue out after the storm. It really helped get trees
10 out of 14 awards? Phi Delt didn't just win Rock Chalk, they dominated it.
Julian Wright isThe Raptor. Don't you forget it.
off of people's cars.
Tornado, thank you for canceling my calc two midterm this week. I love you.
Microburst my butt. I may have been drunker than I have ever been at eight in the morning, but I know I saw a tornado.
I wish the people at Mrs. E's would stop asking for white milk. Yes, I know, there's two kinds of white milk, you idiots. Pick one or I'm going to give you skim because I know you
$6 million to fix up campus?
Screw that, let's make a bionic
all hate tha
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It interrupted Rush Limbaugh. Now I'm pissed off.
Right now, we have a tornado warning on the radio. It seems like a day and a half late.
I was wondering if any other KU students were bothered by the fact that in the first round of the tournament, we are playing yet another team that starts with the letter B. Another unknown team. Bradley and Bucknell. They sound a lot alike
to me.
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Is Facebook dying or did I just become unpopular?
Whoever wrote Pi on the sidewalk is a tool.
So does anyone know how many trees there are on campus now?
TALK TO US
Malaim Gibson, general manager, newsvs adviser
914-7867 or motonbuffalo.konesa.com
Jonathan Keiling, editor
86458 or | keailing@kanaan.com
Johan Bicket, managing editor
86458 or | jbicket@kanaan.com
Nate Karlin, managing editor
86458 or | nkarlin@kanaan.com
Jason Shaad, opinion editor
604-4924 or jshaad@kansan.com
Sarah Connellly, sales manager
864-4462 or adaales@kansan.com
To reduce violence against women, give men the right to not pay child support.
Arl Ben, business manager
864-4462 or adddirector@kansan.com
Patrick Ross, associate opinion editor
864-4924 or proxs@kansan.com
Jennifer Weaver, sales and marketing adviser
884-7686 or jweaver@kansan.com
Sarah Connelly, sales manager
864-4462 or adsales@kansan.com
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
Maximum Length: 500 word limit
Include: Author's name; class, hometown (student); position (faculty member/staff); phone number (will not be publisher)
Also: The Kansan will not print guest columns that attack a reporter or another columnist.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jonathan Kealing, Joshua Bickel, Nate Karlin,
Jason Shead, Patrick Ross, Ty Beaver, John
Jordan, Malinda Osborne
JOSHUA GOETTING opinion@kansan.com
SUBMIT TO
111 Stauffer-Flint Hall
1435 Jayhawk Bvd.
Lawrence KS 60045
(785) 864-850, opinion@kansan.com
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions.
For any questions, call Jason Shaad or Patrick Ross at 864-4810 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com.
SUBMISSIONS
COMMENTARY
Why not blame Bush for weather?
I'm just going to come out and say it. George W. Bush hates white people. Apparently, he especially hates affluent ones and their children. What other conclusion can anyone come to after the poor reaction of the federal government to the destructive weather that struck Lawrence last weekend? It's not like President Bush can say that he didn't expect this. This part of the country is prone to horrible weather and it was only a matter of time before a tomado or a microburst hit east Lawrence.
"But Josh," you say, "why should the federal government be in charge of preparing Lawrence against something that everyone who lives here knows was bound to happen sooner or later?" I say that's the reason we have the federal government. It's too much to expect that our city commission or our chancellor or our governor or any of our representatives at the state or local level have any idea about what is going on. And it certainly ridiculous to expect them to come up with any type of contingency plan for things like this. No, it's much better to have bureaucrats in Washington doing all of these things for us. After all, that's exactly what FEMA is for.
And just as with Hurricane Katrina, the government, and especially President Bush, has let us down. I was shocked to see University employees having to cut down broken limbs and clear debris. Who does George W. Bush think he is by not sending us assistance for vital cleanup efforts? I'm on the verge of calling my senators to tell them that Bush needs to get on the ball and send someone here to clean up the pieces of plastic still on Iowa Street. The nerve of that man to expect that someone like the Lawrence Police Department should have to clean up a road hazard.
And let's not forget the fact that our warning sirens failed. I'm sure that with a little investigation, we'll find that President Bush cut funding somewhere and that's why they failed. Something as important to our safety as tornado sirens should not be paid for by the citizens of Lawrence, but by someone else, like the federal government.
Now, some will say that Lawrence should have had, and in fact did have, plans for handling the inevitable bad weather. They will probably also say that it's up to Lawrence to deal with these problems on their own instead of neglecting to do so and then expecting the federal government to come in with a complete bail out. To those people, I say you must be out of your mind. If you had the intelligence of a ferret and had watched the news at all, you must know that whenever something like this goes wrong, it's George W. Bush's fault. We had absolutely nothing to do with it.
Goetting is a Leavenworth senior in political science and East Asian language and culture.
General questions should be directed to the editor at editor @kanan.com.
LETTER GUIDELINES
Maximum Length: 200 word limit
Include: Author's name and telephone number; class, hometown (student); position (faculty member/staff); phone number (will not be published)