THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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OPINION
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PRESS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
▼ OUR OPINION
Encourage diversity; don't require it
The University of Missouri is offering an optional diversity class this semester and hopes to create a mandatory class on diversity for students. The University of Texas already has a mandatory diversity class.
Diversity is a good thing. Realizing that there are different types of people and then learning about and acknowledging that is something everyone should do. College is also a great time to do it because students are exposed to more people from more places than most of them will ever be again.
The class taught in Columbia is called "Experiencing Cultural Diversity in the United States." Now there's a broad subject area.
But forcing students to take a mandatory class isn't doing anyone a favor. First of all, diversity in general is such a broad subject. It is used so broadly that it has lost some of its meaning.
Looking at diversity by itself does no good. Diversity works best when applied to a specific subject. The University offers courses that do just that.
The word just means the fact of being different.
The School of Journalism offers a diversity in the media class. The School of Business offered a course in the past that dealt with the skills needed to address working with diverse groups in the business world.
There's a women's studies department and an African-American studies department in the college of liberal arts and sciences.
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The University offers a range of services through the Multicultural Resource Center that address diversity. The center has a Diversity Training Institute that offers training to KU faculty and staff. There are Brown Bag Diversity Discussions at noon every Wednesday at
Issue: A mandatory class on general diversity.
Stance: A variety of voluntary classes works better.
the center. Every month there are Diversity Dialogues.
Any student interested can learn about diversity through programs or classes, and the classes are tailored to the needs and interests of the school or group involved. Also, every student getting a bachelors of arts must take a non-Western culture class
The programs the University has now — specific and voluntary courses — may not contain as many students as a mandatory class, but what they lack in quantity they make up for in quality. And that's the way it should stay.
But one course devoted exclusively to diversity wouldn't have the appeal or the practicality of programs the University already offers.
No one likes being told what classes to take. Making such a class mandatory would make some students resent the course. With a subject like diversity tossed around so much at universities, having students resent it is a step in the wrong direction.
Also, if every undergraduate had to take the class, it would be so large that students with real interest in diversity would be paired with indifferent students.
Another problem with the idea is forcing students to take the class makes diversity a drag, something they have to learn about, not something they get to learn about.
John Jordan for the editorial board
Free for All Call 864-0500
Free for all callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to comment. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
Post this: Rush the Reliable.
This is to the cheerleader, who spanked Brandon Rush's butt at the Oklahoma game. We all saw it.
I would like to thank everyone who went to the Oklahoma basketball game for staying in your seats after we won. I was worried we were going to rush the court. Now let's see if we can stay in our seats at
football games.
+
The reason we pulled it out was because "Renegades of Funk" was played during every time out. And also, Baby Shaq is Darnell Jackson.
Um, 59-58, I'm pretty sure we totally kicked Oklahoma's ass. Yeah, KU rocks. Freshmen. I love you!
Julian Wright is my hero.
Will you marry me, Julian?
So I live in the dorms, and the game just got out, so I can't get back to the dorms until everybody's left, and that's ridiculous. KU basketball should not
nect when I can and cannot go home.
My friend wants to give Troy Polamalu pigtails.
Wait, so it's four blades in a razor now? But now there's five? What's the world coming to?
No one wants to see 80-year-old men try to sing and dance. Screw Super Bowl half time.
So in an unseemly gesture, we decided to leave our leftover breadsticks on our next-door neighbor's porch. So they decided to return them, and what do they do? They take a dump in the box, and give it back. What should we do next,
Free-For-All?
Free-For-All, you have been denied your pants privileges. Go to your corner.
You know, the Steelers winning is a good reason to celebrate, but popping your collar is way too much abduction.
celebration.
Jonathan Kesling, editor
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Joshua Bickel, managing editor
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Avoid fast food; super foods improve your body, budget
COMMENTARY
Wild salmon and other fresh fish can give you omega-3 fatty acids that are probably missing from your diet. Dry skin, fatigue, frequent colds and depression can all result from a lack of omega-3 fatty acids, partly because your brain is more than 60 percent fat.
Turkey, is a superfood that many people already include in
Tomatoes, which have lycopene, help reduce the risk of prostate cancer. They also help increase the skin's sun protector. You should try to get processed tomatoes, such as ketchup and tomato sauces, in your body as well because they break down lycopene. Hey, it's an excuse to eat pizza.
splash of soy milk. Yum!
When I do choose to eat out, my favorite restaurant in Lawrence is Zen Zero on Massachusetts Street. It has a phenomenal Vietnamese roll salad. It's filled with fresh vegetables, chicken, shrimp and a light soy vinaigrette dressing. I have yet to find someone who doesn't like it.
their diets. Turkey helps build up your immune system. You can use deli turkey, ground turkey or even turkey cutlets. Try adding ground turkey into whole-wheat spaghetti and pasa ta sauce (hey, more lycopene).
Carter is a Shawnee sophomore in Health, Sport and Exercise Science.
It's pretty sad when the drive-thru employees at McDonald's get to know you on a first name basis. Although you may think you're saving money or time by speeding through the drive-thru, you can actually make healthy meals and snacks for less than what you pay for fast food.
My favorite book, "Superfoods Rx," by Steven Pratt and Kathy Matthews, lets you in on fourteen foods that are readily available, affordable and help increase your quality of life. Who knew that tea could play a role in preventing sunlight damage to the skin (wrinkles and skin cancer)? Not only that, but it's antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-cavity and anti-allergy.
Blueberries are an excellent source of antioxidants. One serving produces as many antioxidants as five servings of carrots, apples, broccoli or squash, according to Pratt and Matthews. You can buy them frozen or fresh. My favorite breakfast is 1 cup of oatmeal, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of blueberries mixed on the stove. Once the blueberries have warmed up, I mix in a little honey and top it off with a
ABBY CARTER opinion@hansan.com
President's speech should compel support
COMMENTARY
When America tuned in to watch President Bush give his annual State of the Union address on Jan. 31, most people expected the president to simply go through his usual agenda of the war on terror and his dreams of a peaceful future in Iraq. Bush's main objective, however, was a shocking goal that has caused an international uproar: To reduce our oil imports from the Middle East by 75 percent by the year 2025 and "make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past."
But, wait, wasn't that the only reason we were in Iraq? The whole point was to secure a strong economic future for the oil industry by conquering areas that could supply our country with oil for years to come. This was supposed to be a war for oil, and nothing else. At least, that's what protestors and skeptics have been labeling it as the war has dragged on. So why would Bush go through all the trouble of invading Iraq if he wanted to cut down on the use of oil?
According to Bush's
JACOB WITTLER
opinion@hansan.com
speech, his administration has been looking into alternative energy sources from the beginning. Since he took over in 2001, we have spent about $10 billion looking into alternative forms of energy, ranging from zero-emission coal plants to hydrogen-powered cars. In his address, Bush said that we were "on the threshold of incredible advances." He announced his Advanced Energy Initiative, through which he will expand his clean-energy research program by 22 percent. The program's first goal is to make new forms of ethanol powered cars competitive and available within six years.
So lets get back to the question at hand. If Bush has planned to cut down on oil dependence from the begin-
president since Nixon, according to The Kansas City Star. If he sticks by his words, all of that will change. Through his speech, the president has revealed that this is indeed not a war for oil. It is a war for those in need, and a war necessary to protect us from dangerous forces.
"In a time of testing, we cannot find security by abandoning our commitments and retreating within our borders." Bush said in his address. "There is a difference between responsible criticism that aims for success and defeatism that refuses to acknowledge anything but failure. Hindsight alone is not wisdom. And second-guessing is not a strategy."
ning, why would he invade Iraq in the first place? Could Bush really have gone into Iraq to combat terrorism and save the people of Iraq from an oppressive dictatorship? It seems to be a more and more likely possibility that the president's main impetus for going to war was the people, here and overseas, that he felt obligated to protect.
In his speech, the president talked a lot about America's constant battle against tyranny. He spoke about how we have constantly come to the aid of those in need and have fought for democracy around the globe. This constant involvement has always been controversial, and we have taken our fair share of worldwide criticism for it. As Bush stated in his address, "In a complex and challenging time, the road of isolationism and protectionism may seem broad and inviting, yet it ends in danger and decline."
When the president presented these issues to the nation, his approval ratings were the lowest of any second term
We should stand united behind our president, and place our faith in him that he will finish what he started following the attacks of 9/11. We must do that, or else everything we have accomplished up until now will have been in vain.
- Wittler is a Wichita freshman in political science and journalism.
Vagina. Not a word commonly viewed on the pages of a newspaper, but making a grand appearance in this article a total of seven times
COMMENTARY
V-Day educates masses about women
For those curiosity piqued readers who are still "Virgins" in terms of V-Day and the Vagina monologues history, the Vagina monologues are a collection of humorous and poignant monologues written by award winning playwright, performer and activist Eve Ensler. These monologues are translated into more than 35 languages and are preformed in more than 76 countries world wide. Additionally, V-Day is considered one of the 100 Best Charities by Worth Magazine and has raised over 25 million dollars in seven years alone.
The University is a participant in the 2006 monologues The performances here on campus will be at 7 p.m. on Feb. 9 to 11, in Alderson Auditorium of the Kansas Union. The 2006 KU production is student directed, crewed and acted, involving participation by women of all majors, years in school, religions, sexual orientations and propensities for dark chocolate.
The goal of these monologues is not only to entertain the public with their blatant honesty and humorous narrations, but additionally to educate the public on pertinent women's issues.
Some performers expressed their anxieties about how the monologues were viewed by the community. Lauren Bornstein, a Vagina
monologue performer, said she was concerned about some of the stereotypes that people often tack on to the Vagina monologues.
"I'd be nice for people to come and see this without thinking, 'Damn feminist,' or making some sexist comment about women," Bornstein said.
"I don't understand what educating people on the vagina has to do with being gay or a feminist. It seems like women who open their mouths are considered a danger. So with the vagina monologues, we're opening our mouths wide to let everyone know how wonderful it was to do this and how much they have to learn."
Bornstein's statement is a reminder to never judge or assume anything until first having a complete understanding and an actual encounter with the topic. As students, we must always remember to be open-minded and not to make assumptions.
The Vagina monologues are intended to educate the audience on world issues relevant to women while engaging the viewer. Whatever our sexual orientation, genetic color pigment, genital endowment or opinion of "Brokeback Mountain," keeping ourselves informed of worldly issues is important. Additionally, enjoying an evening of entertainment is also a perk.
- Lavinia Roberts is a Parsons sophomore in English and theatre and film.
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