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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
▼ OUR OPINION
PAGE 7A
Does a new name mean new ideas?
Students now have a new name to remember in politics at the University of Kansas. Last week two former members of KUnited announced the forming of a new coalition — Ignite.
If you're a new student, you might not know the University has had several coalitions come and go in the past five years besides KUnited and Delta Force. The names pop up all over the pages of old University Daily Kansans: Student Voice, SMILE, Lord Wads and VISION.
Now, add Ignite to the list.
Now, add religion to the list.
The coalition claims two goals: get more students and groups involved in student government and tackle tough issues that concern students. Both are noble goals, but they're also tough to do.
Ignite's two candidates say that previous coalitions haven't focused on finding out what students want. Maybe they haven't, but they, too, said they would try.
The first ever KUnited president, Jonathan Ng, said after being elected in 2002, that his goal was to encourage more interaction between students and Senate and make Senate more visible to students.
Sounds familiar.
Jason Boots, who is running for president with Ignite, said 60 students attended the kickoff for the new coalition, including people from Delta Force and KUnited and those with no party affiliation. That's certainly a good start to get new people involved but it's just a start.
Student government often works painfully slow, and keeping members, let alone students, motivated can be tough over time.
The new Multicultural Resource Center, for which construction hasn't even begun, was the original 2002 KUlited ticket
Ignite also wants to tackle tougher issues. Boots said the coalitions wouldn't shoot down issues they didn't think they could get passed. Again, a noble goal, but as of yet we haven't heard what issues. Both Ignite and Delta Force said platforms would be announced in March.
The jury's still out on this goal.
We're not saying Ignite doesn't have gallant ideas. But this isn't anything new for University politics. And until we have elections, you can assume it's the same old talk.
John Jordan for the editorial board
GUEST COMMENTARY
Politics remain split
In Ryan Scarrow's recent column in The University Daily Kansan, he explained his belief that the overturning of Roe v. Wade should be a welcome occurrence for Democrats because it "may well bring about the destruction of the Republican Party."
Though I agree that Roe needs to be overturned because it keeps such a contentious issue out of the hands of voters and the democratic branches of government, I strongly disagree that such an occurrence would be any worse for Republicans than for Democrats.
Scarrow explains that "a clear majority of Americans are pro-choice." The problem with this is that the labels "pro-choice" and "pro-life" suggest that most people are at one of the poles on the abortion debate, when in fact, most people fall somewhere in between.
According to a Gallup poll from November, 56 percent of people think that abortion should be "sometimes legal," while only 26 percent think abortion should be "always legal" and only 16 percent think it should be "always illegal." In another poll by Pew Research Center, 50 percent wanted abortion to be generally available, 19 percent wanted stricter limits, 31 percent wanted abortion to be available only in cases of rape, incest or danger to the mother's life and 16 percent wanted abortion to be illegal.
Given such a range of positions, it is more likely that the Democratic ruling on abortion would be one that it is legal in some cases and illegal in others, rather than a clear pro-life or pro-choice victory.
Scarrow also assumes that the abortion debate would split the Republican Party between moderates and extremists. "Moderates" apparently infers a group that supports abortion rights, while "extremists" is the group that opposes abortion. But, from the polls above, we can see that "moderates" probably have a position on
abortion that is actually moderate.
If so, then the Democratic Party also has a moderate and extremist wing. There are even pro-life Democrats. CNN exit polls from 2004 show that 22 percent of Kerry supporters thought abortion should always be illegal, and another 26 percent thought that abortion should be mostly illegal. So if abortion divided the Republican Party, it would be just as likely to divide the Democratic Party.
However, I question whether overturning Roe v. Wade would split, or even significantly affect, either of the political parties. Scarow assumes that people currently don't vote on abortion but that they would if Roe v. Wade were overturned. With nearly a quarter of Americans voting based on "moral values," and with so many political organizations (National Right to Life, NARAL Pro-Choice America, etc.) being devoted to the issue, I think it's safe to say that abortion is already a voting issue.
If Roe were overturned, it's possible that a few more Democrats would come to the polls, but it's just as possible that more Republicans would go to the polls as well. And even if both were to happen, I doubt that party alignment or proportional party turnout would change in any significant way.
Scarrow states that only Republicans are split on abortion and that only Democrats can mobilize the base if Roe is overturned and abortion is decided by the voters. Unfortunately for the Democrats, this just isn't true. Both parties are split, both bases will mobilize, and the political makeup of the country will be largely unchanged.
In fact, the only real change that overturning Roe will bring is the democratization of a contentious issue so that the people, not the courts, can decide whether abortion should be legal.
Vince Myers
Olathe sophomore
Online profiles are personal, not part of job applications
Reading Monday's front-page article in The University Daily Kansan about facebook.com left me a little angry and worried.
Patrick Rose, associate opinion editor
864-4924 or ur press@kansan.com
Ari Ben, business manager
864-4462 or addirector@kansan.com
Sarah Connell, sales manager
864-4462 or adsies@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager, news adviser
864-7667 or mgjibson@kansan.com
Jennifer Weaver, sales and marketing advisor
864-7664 or livewear@kansan.com
I am currently in the process of trying to get a job with the University of Kansas and knowing that I could be discriminated against because of things I have posted on my profile bothers me.
COMMENTARY
TALK TO US
Jonathan Kealing, editor
864-4854 or jkealing@kansan.com
Though my Facebook profile is far from X-rated, it is not entirely clean-cut and pure. I wouldn't want a 7 or 8-year-old that looks up to me reading it, but I'm not afraid to show my mom if someone uploads a funny picture or writes a witty comment on my wall.
1. Just because a student enjoys going to parties on Thursday nights doesn't automatically ensure they will skip class or call in sick to work on Friday.
things employers need to realize before basing decisions on Facebook:
It seems to me that an online environment that was created specifically for college students to interact has become a way for an older generation to spy and gain access to information they wouldn't otherwise.
Joshua Bicket, managing editor
884-4854 or jbicket@kansan.com
2. If a student posts a picture of herself in a bikini or holding a blue plastic cup at a party, chances are she won't come to work like that.
and if we have a funny but vulgar quote from a chat with a friend, we won't be hired.
about their parents trying to obtain their Facebook passwords so the adults can keep tabs on their kids.
In Monday's article, Jolene Byer, assistant director of the Business Career Services Center at the School of Business, was quoted saying she knew an employer who admitted choosing an applicant with a mild profile over someone who showed they had a more crazy side.
These employers cannot ensure they are getting the better employee based on an online profile.
I have heard other students talk
I think this is very invasive, and wouldn't like it if my parents did this to me. Inviting them to see a profile is one thing, but doing it on their own is another. Apparently the trust that should be in a parent-child relationship is often amiss. Though it does bother me that parents try to access information, I'm more concerned about emplovers.
Facebook should not be a target. The next thing we know, they will be checking our AIM profiles.
Being in college means having a great time while getting an education.
Balancing school and a social life is something that people learn to do. College students aren't supposed to sit at home every night, watch CBS and go to bed at 10:30 p.m. after the evening news. Our 50s will come soon enough.
I think there are a couple of
Students are more than capable of balancing many things, a little fun on the side shouldn't be the only thing prohibiting them a job.
ERIN WILEY
opinion@kansan.com
Nate Kearlin, managing editor
864-8948 or nkairli@kanan.com
Jason Shad, opinion editor
864-8948 or jashae@kanan.com
I only ask now that if I don't get hired by the University, it will be because they find something wrong with the way I presented myself in the interview, not because of this article or my Facebook profile.
As the coordinators of the KU Ambassador program, we are appalled by the gross exaggerations and completely fabricated information in Owen Morris' Jan. 27 column. The biased portrayal of the program has done a great disservice to the many dedicated students who volunteer their time and energy every week to representing the University.
$ \diamond $ Wiley is a Silver Lake junior in journalism.
GUEST COMMENTARY
Portrayal misrepresents KU ambassadors
Had Morris been as concerned with checking his facts as he was with slandering our organization, his editorial would have been much shorter. Granted, he manufactured an entertaining story, but for posterity's sake let's clear up a few of his inaccuracies. First, Morris claims that he had to create a distraction or lie when parents raised questions concerning alcohol and other "typical college life" subjects. On the contrary, we teach ambassadors how to handle tough questions and tell them to NEVER lie to visitors. However, there's a big difference between acknowledging that students drink in college and bringing up your wild weekend at the bars.
He also states that "all it takes is one bad apple" to poison a visitor's impression of the University. As sad as this is, it's true, and we are well aware of this. Once they are accepted, "newbies" must complete more than 10 hours of training, during which they learn KU facts and how to react in different situations. We do everything in our power to ensure visitors leave with a positive impression of the University.
Want to know what DOES give visitors a bad impression about our University? Students
heckling tour guides, as was the case the day Morris' column was published. This rarely happens. Most ambassadors are dedicated to the program because they love the University, and they show up each week whether it's raining, snowing or 110 degrees. It is inexcusable for other students to degrade what they do, or for Morris to suggest that just because he was lazy and apathetic that all ambassadors are.
Not many people have the kind of dedication it takes to be an ambassador, and those who don't quickly lose interest and drop out of the program. The KU Ambassador program is an elite group of committed, enthusiastic students who love the University, and show this by giving their time and energy each week to recruit future Jayhawks. To belittle the efforts of these stellar students is not only petty, but detrimental to the recruiting efforts of the University.
♦ Jessica Feren, Amy Bainum,
and Charley Forsyth are KU
Ambassador co-coordinators.
Just so we don't dwell completely on Morris' factual missteps, let's look at what he got right. First, he admits that he was a poor tour guide and should never have been an ambassador. This is true.
Free for All
students. The organization is certainly not a recruiting program for greeks. At last count, 12 of our ambassadors were members of a sorority or fraternity. Of the remaining ambassadors, 25 lived in the scholarship halls, 23 in the residence halls and 35 off campus.
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansas editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
Call 864-0500
Second, Morris claims that he was asked during his interview whether he could walk backwards and whether he owned walking shoes. This is ludicrous. The semester we interviewed Morris, questions included his least favorite thing about the University, what there is to do on the weekends and what the big lecture classes are like. Our goal during interviews is to gauge a person's communication skills, not see if they can walk backwards.
We do strive to accept a wide, representative demographic of
Third, the ambassador program does not take "just about anybody," as Morris claims. Every semester we turn away applicants who we think are not qualified. However, the number of campus visitors has doubled since 2000. This means we have had to accept more ambassadors, growing from 50 members to approximately 80 since the spring of 2002. There is no secret question we could have put in the application or interview to determine that Morris was joining the program out of spite.
Mrs. E's should definitely deliver to the dorms on Daisy Hill for sure.
Mrs. E's should deliver to room 355 in Ellsworth.
I'm going through my phone book looking at all the numbers that I've put in throughout the semester when I've been drunk, and I don't recognize half of them. I think you should do it Free-For-All. It's really fun, especially when you can't sleep.
On ESPN Sportscenter, they did highlights of the Bulls and Kirk Heinrich and they referenced the Wheel. It's about time KU got some
recognition on ESPN.
To the person who referred to George Bush as a candidate: yeah, I'm pretty sure he won two elections. Dumbass.
Wow Courtney Hagen, love really is like war.
You know why I just found the Chuck Norris Web site? Because I'm not a loser who sits in front of my computer all day obsessing over Chuck freaking Norris. And by the way, I'm
a girl,not a guy.
Free-Fo-All, I just want to say that the Underground needs some new tables because I did not sign up for a pizza with my breakfast
✕
I really don't think cooler than usual temperatures don't have anything to do with the rise of heating costs this year. I mean, come on, we've had well above average temperatures for January.
tures for January.
way
I want to bang Chuck Norris, but totally in a straight
I hate, hate, hate, hate,
hate, hate, hate, hate,
hate, hate, hate, hate old
drivers.
+
To the person who said Underdog is not potty-trained, you can die. You can die and go to hell.
Hi, I'm just going to say that the KAP GTAs deserve a raise, whoever employs them. They do such a great job. I know it's cheesy, but it's true. Great job, you guys.
Lassie is Chuck Norris' attack dog.
Hey Free-For-All, my brother signed his letter of intent to play football at KU, and he's amazing. Aren't you excited? Yay!
People just simply overuse the bumper sticker in this town.
Large fry, pie, large coffee. Pronto.
After much thought, I've come to the conclusion,I've decided to name my penis Mrs. Esterhouse.
Everyone's a little bit racist sometimes. Doesn't mean we go committing hate crimes
+
So I'm walking down the street and I see Safe Ride run a red light. What the hell is up with that?
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Jonathan Kealing, Joshua Biskel, Nate Karlin,
Jason Shaad, Patrick Ross, Ty Beaver, John
Jordan, Malinda Daibo
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