THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2006
OUR OPINION
Benefits of recruitment outweigh poor policy
The Supreme Court confirmed last week the military's right to recruit students on campus, as it should have.
The problem with military recruiters stems from the Pentagon's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.
The policy is a bad one. The military, like every other government organization, should not exclude members based on sexual orientation, either in theory or in practice. Not allowing soldiers to discuss their sexuality is an impractical — if not backward — way to avoid discrimination.
But the problems with the policy are not adequate excuses to keep recruiters off campus.
To ban recruiters would deny all students the opportunity to join the military and to gain access to $20,000 a year in scholarships, plus money for books, supplies and living expenses.
These scholarships help the more than 225 students enrolled in ROTC programs in the army, navy and air force at the University of Kansas. These students might well not have been able to attend college without this money.
These students are also getting quality training, which can be applied outside of the military, along with a strong dose of discipline, character and loyalty. The
Issue: Military recruitment on campus
Stance: The military's policy on gays is inappropriate, but they should still be able to recruit.
students can get good jobs after graduation and can either stay in the military or find work outside of it once they have completed their tours of duty.
One opinion on a hot-button issue like gays in the military shouldn't cut off those students who want to serve and get a college education. The benefits of the ROTC program for students who want to pursue it outweigh the problems of the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.
A ban of recruitment would also cut off the military from attracting the brightest students into its ranks, students who might be able to change the Pentagon's policy in the future.
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
Just as students and citizens who disagree with the policy have the right to protest it and military recruitment, the military has the right to recruit on campus.
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Stalin: great dictator or the greatest dictator?
I think I was just in a tornado.
Yeah, aren't tornado sirens supposed to sound before a tornado hits and not like two minutes afterwards? Because it definitely tore down all the trees in my backyard before the sirens went off.
- John Jordan for the editorial board
Hey, a tornado just went over my car.
Hey idiots on 23rd Street, when the power goes out it's a four-way stop.
Chuck Norris just gave Lawrence a big ol' roundhouse kick for forgetting his
I just saw Toto fly past my window.
So GSP just totally got rocked by the storm. Boys, do you have anywhere we
windov
birthday
can stay
Wow, our town and our campus looks so trashy it reminds me of K-State.
J. R. Giddens sent the tornadoes.
Free-for-All, I survived two tornadoes today to watch KU play, not Duke.
The tornado that hit Lawrence Sunday morning is a demonstration of God's anger because Phil Delt won
Hey Julian, what's it like to be up in the air that long?
together. A man should have a say in the future of his child.
Sasha Kaun is America's next top model.
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PAGE 9A
Men shouldn't compare child support to abortion
COMMENTARY
Move over South Dakota, there's a new debate that has hit U.S. District Court in Michigan. Called "Roe vs. Wade for Men," a lawsuit filed by the National Center for Men claims that men should be able to decline financial responsibility for children they father.
LINDSEY GOLD opinion@kansan.com
The defendant, 25-year-old Matt Dubay, doesn't think he should have to pay child support for a daughter born last year to his ex-girlfriend. He claims his ex-girlfriend told him repeatedly that she could not conceive because of a physical condition. The suit, filed Thursday, addresses the issue of male reproductive rights and says that the lack of these rights violates the Fourteenth Amendment, specifically the Equal Protection clause. The suit claims that if a woman can choose between abortion, adoption or raising a child, then the father should be able to refuse the financial responsibilities. The director of the National Center for Men, Mike Felt, said in a CNN article that his mission was to "...find a way for a man to also have some say over decisions that affect his life profoundly." The organization's Web site says that Roe vs. Wade unfairly left men out of the equation. The site says that the document declares that the organization does not want to interfere with a woman's right to choose, but to encourage would-be parents to make family planning decisions together.
I agree with the basic principle that a man and a woman should make "family planning decisions"
The Due Process and Equal Protection clauses say that the federal government will not "...deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Although the center claims that it doesn't want to disrupt a woman's right to choose, the center's actions seem counter intuitive. While the center says it wants to keep women's right to choose, it encourages men to have a part in that decision. What happens if the woman wants to abort the baby and the man wants to keep it? How would the courts intervene, or would they?
Historically, equal protection has never been applied in the way that Dubay is seeking. If the district court sides with Dubay, a chilling effect would be sent down the spine of society.
Dubay said in the CNN article that he expected to lose, but hoped his battle would spark discussion about the issue of male reproductive rights. Though a valid point, if the Supreme Court eventually accepted his case and ruled in his favor, the results would be detrimental.
Let's assume that Dubay wins. A snowball effect would roll across the nation. Men around
the country would seek the same protection to stop paying child support. These men also claim they did not want the children, and that this is reason enough not to support the children. If these men withdraw from their current financial responsibilities, a few different things are possible.
First, the mothers of the children on the receiving end of child-support checks could become more strapped for cash. This could result in family cutbacks and a decrease in the quality of life for the child. Second, if the families depend on this monthly support to make ends meet, they could plunge into poverty. Third, the government could have to pick up the slack by increasing funding for social and family programs. This extra burden would be passed onto tax pavers.
If the district court rules in favor of Dubay, Americans are turning their backs on many areas of society. John Stuart Mill would be rolling in his grave at the thought of hurting the welfare of the majority. The principle of utilitarianism, or the greatest good for the greatest number, is the best philosophy to apply in this situation. There are many men who would be affected by this decision. But thousands, if not millions, more would be thrust into poverty or into paying more taxes to help support the families. We would be doing a disservice to the children born into the situation and to society.
Gold is an Overland Park senior in journalism and political science.
Storm coverage shows how a community comes together
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
After the storm passed — but before the sirens sounded — my initial reaction was to head back to bed and catch a few more minutes of sleep before heading in to work on a typical Monday paper. Quickly though, as my roommates and I assessed the damage and tried to find flashlights, I realized what had happened.
A few phone calls and the staff of The University Daily Kansan went into action. While many of
Like most of you, I was sound asleep at 8 a.m. on Sunday. Within 15 minutes, like most of you, I was standing on my porch with my roommates and my neighbors.
you were picking up limbs and driving around surveying the damage, the reporters and photographers of the Kansan were trying to figure out how to publish a paper and update a Web site with no power and no Internet.
With a single dial-up connection, the Kansan was the first media outlet to break news of the cancellation of class, as well as one of the first media outlets to announce that the storm warning system was not working.
And through it all, in keeping with what is indicative of our generation, the Kansan published a running blog online at its Web site. We were able to answer questions through the site's comments feature, even when all of the campus e-mail servers were down.
It's a true testament to the power of the Internet that our Web site saw a record-level traffic for
a Sunday, even when a large portion of our audience was without power or Internet.
When it all came down to it everything came together. With the help of friends and family, the faculty and staff of the School of Journalism and delivery drivers from Pizza Hut and Pita Pit, the Kansan was able to deliver photos and stories from the destruction that struck campus.
We hope you have seen the coverage and we invite you to share photos and anecdotes with us by sending an e-mail to editor@ kansan.com. We'll publish the stories and photos online at kansan.
com, where you can find complete coverage of Sunday's storm.
Publishing a daily newspaper is always an adventure, even when technology works perfectly and there are no natural disasters. When news breaks and technology malfunctions, however, the process becomes that much more interesting. The process is what drew me into the business and it's what makes me get up and come into work each day.
Jonathan Kealing is a Chesterfield, Mo., junior in journalism and political science. He is Kansan editor.
JUSTIN LAMORT oninion@kansan.com
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to elect someone for who they were instead of who they weren't? Both of the major parties in our country keep finding new ways to sink to new lows. America needs a change.
America deserves political change
The most blatant problem is the extremists who have come to represent the parties. The right arose from slumber in the 90s and sent forth a horde of talking heads like Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter. The left returned fire with Michael Moore. Instead of journalists, we are now left with commentators. What once were intelligent discussions on the airwaves have devolved into yelling and egregious spin with no end in sight.
It isn't completely hopeless. On the right there are people such as Gov. Kenny Guinn of Nevada or Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine that show moderates can survive in the Republican big tent. On the left you see people like Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois or our own Gov. Sebelius, proving that Democrats with good ideas can unite people for the greater good.
With the 2006 elections, it's up to all of us to make our voices heard. Those in power for the sake of power count upon our apathy to ensure they stay entrenched at the top. If we start to care and make noise, the government will listen and then, and only then, will America get the change it so desperately needs.
On the right we have the Republicans, who seem to have traded their mantra of small government and fiscal responsibility for a platform of fear and big business. What great domestic platforms have they accomplished with control of the presidency and Congress? Exxon making $40 billion in profit? Taking a budget surplus and transforming it into an $8.2 trillion deficit? Perhaps stopping gays from marriage because their love isn't as good as heteros? Maybe it is the government's repeated calls for blind faith and ignoring the Constitution. Just for good measure lets add a touch of corruption such as Adam Tuff, Scooter Libby, Tom Delay, Jack Abramoff, Bill Frist, Duke Cunningham and a cast of others. America needs a change.
LaMort is a Chernyale senior in psychology and political sclence.
COMMENTARY
TALK TO US
Then there are the Democrats, whose best argument is not what they are going to do but who they aren't. Instead of arguing that the current administration has turned away from American values — such as sick people should be able to see a doctor ($36 billion cut in Medicare in the current budget), kids should get a strong education (the debacle of No Child Left Behind) and people should be able to find jobs (5.4 million more people under the poverty line since Bush's election) they squabble about the ports deal or sit dejected after years of being shouted down. America needs a change.
Jonathan Kealing, editor
864-4854 or jkealing@kansan.com
Joshua Bickel, managing editor
864-4954 or jbicket@kansan.com
Nate Karlin, managing editor
884-4854 or nkarlin@kansan.com
Jason Shaad, opinion editor
864-4924 or jhaad@kansan.com
Patrick Ross, associate opinion editor
864-4924 or pross@kansan.com
Ari Ben, business manager
804-4462 or adddirector@kansan.com
Sarah Connelly, sales manager
864-4462 or adsales@kansan.com
Malaico CMen, general manager, news adviser M48271 or mulbinm.klan@ksag.com
Jennar Weaver, sales and marketing adviser
864-7688 or jwever@kansan.com
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Jonathan Kealing, Joshua Bickel, Nate Karlin,
Jason Shaad, Patrick Ross, Ty Beavar, John
Jordan, Malinda Darbae
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