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EDITORIAL: Kansan editorial writers face off about the Joe-College.com vs. University trademark T-shirt debate.
THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
See Kansan.com for more opinions and Free for All comments
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 7A
》 OUR VIEW
FACE OFF: Are low-brow T-shirts OK?
Tasha Riggins and McKay Stangler take a stance on the Joe-College.com T-shirts
The University of Kansas, established 141 years ago, has certainly made a name for itself. It has produced Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist William Allen White, several NCAA national basketball champions and Alan Mullaly, president and CEO of the Ford Motor Company. With its distinguished alumni and accomplishments, the University of Kansas doesn't need to be reduced to a picture of a sperm cell.
Joe-College.com's shirts, though not associated with the University, certainly damage the University's image. As reported in Tuesday's Kansan, the Athletics Department addressed the issue of the T-shirts' negative focus. This comes as no surprise after the debates about the appropriateness of the "Muck Fizzou" shirts.
If trademark infringement charges are the only way to protect the University's good name, then the University should file suit against Joe-College.com.
A shirt implying females from Missouri are'trash isn't funny enough to tarnish 141 years of prestige.
A shirt implying females from Missouri are "trash" isn't funny enough to justify tarmishing 141 years of prestige. Implying masturbation, "Why play with Roy when we can play with our Self?" is potty humor better left to junior high children who can't come up with more clever and classy insults.
Yes the shirts at Joe College.com are unlicensed, but the shirts are inextricably linked to the University because of their content. For every person at the game or at home watching who knows the shirts aren't associated with the University, there's another person that thinks the two are one and the same. Bill Skepnek, attorney for Joe-College.com, was quoted
in Tuesday's Kansas as saying "Trademark law is not intended to protect a fool," but do we really want our image in the hands of all those "fools" who will create negative associations between the two? Certainly not. Leaving the University's image in the hands of all those inevitable "fools" is silly.
The University can and should take all steps possible to protect its good name. This isn't about money, it's about reputation and how the University community views itself. It's good business to protect oneself. And the University is in the business of great students, great sports, great history and an even better name. When outsiders look at KU students, they should see the tradition and legacy of former and current senators, actors, chemists and poets, not shirts that say "We know how to handle our balls."
— Tasha Riggins for the editorial board.
The University of Kansas has a compelling and vested interest in maintaining its pristine image of wholesome Midwestern values, but it would do well to tread lightly in its pending legal fracas with Ioe-College.com.
Trademark law is a malleable field within the developing world of intellectual property, and the University would be wise to not rush into any unnecessary action in this still evolving area. The Jayhawk logo, University name and obvious athletic references are trademarks worth protecting. But the foray into the distasteful shelves of Joe-College.com comes dangerously close to infringing upon free market practice by private vendors.
The garb proffered by Joe-College.com, online and at it: downtown den, is an odd congies of objectionable slogans, sophomoric humor, and a wearyingly relentless assault on our neighbor to the east. But it remains to be seen if the proprii
The foray into the distasteful shelves of Joe-College.com comes dangerously close to infringing upon free market practice by private vendors.
eters are directly profiting from the University's name or logo, or merely trafficking in transparent references to the school, its storied athletic programs and the physical traits of various staff.
If it is the latter, the University may find itself in the unenviable position of taking on every nickel-and-dime vendor that pops up on game days, along with the next crop of stores sure to replace Joe-College.com should it be crippled by legal action. The University would do well to enforce a strict standard concerning the pursuit of any potential legal action, and to dismiss any meager threat
posed by local vendors. If the University is going to fight any local shop pushing blue shirts featuring some variation of the word "hawk" and an insult to a neighboring school, then they should commit to that policy wholeheartedly.
The proprietor of this kind of store, a sort of self-styled Thomas Paine of infantile humor, is probably correct that he is violating little or no part of applicable trademark law. The standard of the reasonable person may not allow the University to impose any kind of penalty or levy in this case. But for the benefit of future conflicts, of which similar ones are sure to arise, the University should commit to a specific set of guidelines regarding image and property. Relentlessly pursuing those who appeal to the basest elements of humor is an unappealing proposition indeed.
— McKay Stangler for the editorial board.
MY DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR
by hugo Ri Chavez
Grant Snider/KANSAM
Lawrence protesters deserve praise
As a native Kansan who lived for half a year in Immokalee, Fla., I read with great interest your story "1 Billion Angered."
I conducted research there regarding modern day slavery and found that the work of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers — the farmworker group calling on McDonalds to remedy the human rights abuses in their supply chain
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
within state politics, I agree wholeheartedly with the farmworkers' tactic of targeting fast food leaders to end the injustices they suffer. After all, the Golden Arches, among others, makes its profit from these hard-working people's misery.
Enough is enough. Kudos to all those in Lawrence who are supporting the farmworkers' efforts to abolish slavery, as well as the poverty wages and deplorable working conditions which constitute the norm in the fields thereby enabling slavery to flourish.
— has helped to liberate more than 1,000 people held in bondage, the ughest expression of the day-to-day oppression tomato pickers regularly endure there.
》 COMMENTARY
Who will lead that mob? Who will unleash its latent energy by supplying the half-baked ideas around which its anger can coalesce? Allow me to humbly submit, for your consideration, my name.
College students spend a lot of time studying the ideas of old philosophers whose genius is said to endure. But if guys like Locke and Rousseau were so smart, why are they still dead? In the two centuries since they drew their last breaths, society has changed like a caterpillar going through chrysalis. The happy go- lucky days of citizens forging a social contract are gone, replaced by the angry for-no-reason age of modernity, where everyone is a potential member of an enraged mob, only needing direction.
Why not me? I've got what it
Don't be lazy in quest for irrational anger
takes to build a philosophy with real-life usefulness. First of all, you need to find an outlet for your seething rage. Pick something you don't understand
Give it a try. For starters, is it George Bush's fault you got a parking ticket? If you don't think so, try harder. With enough effort, it can
BY BRANDON MINSTER
too well, then allow your anger to feed off your fear of the unknown. Now try to blame everything on this shibboleth. Is it too hot? That's global warming for you. Is it too cold? That, also, is global warming. When your parents ask about your plummeting GPA, blame that on global warming, too.
Particularly because Florida`s agriculture lobby is so powerful
Jordan Buckley
Nebaj, Guatemala
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
oe his fault that you're so ugly.
That's right, I called you ugly.
Work with it!
Allow your anger to affect your sentence structure.
Work up some spitile. If a conversation partner four feet away doesn't get it right in the eye, you're holding too much in.
Once your anger has metastasized, lawlessness is not far away.
Once the exclusive realm of NCAA Division 1 sports teams, illegality is rapidly becoming increasingly commonplace. Once you feel everything is a personal affront, following laws becomes a sign of weakness. When I drive through a stale yellow light and notice in my rear-view mirr-
ror three more cars following me, I know those drivers are ready for the final step in my philosophy.
My philosophy will soon have us all as crazy as celebrities. And in today's world, that's much more useful than Locke or Rousseau will ever be.
The capstone of my program is craziness. "But exactly how crazy?" you might ask. Just the other day I was walking into Strong Hall and a woman was walking toward me. She was well-proportioned and six feet tall. My brain said to me, "If you were stranded on an island with a group of people, that's the type you would want to kill and eat first." As crazy as that may be, I knew I had merely scratched the surface.
Minster is a Lawrence junior in economics.
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 omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
Washington! He'll save children, but not the British children!
Free-for-All, I'm sorry I accidentally called you Facebook. I swear,
I'm not cheating on you!
Who the hell puts maple syrup on popcorn?
My friend just told me I had DSL. That's like the Internet, right?
Why am I drunk on a Tuesday night?
me back at this number.
Safe Ride, every time I call you
I get the same message. Dammit,
it's not funny. Come pick me up!
me back at this number.
me back at this number.
Free for All, when there are several consecutive posts that talk about the same thing, is that because one person calls in a bunch
My friend just got injured by bubble wrap. Is that even pos-
of times, or do you just group together the similar call-ins? Call
-
Free for All, don't you hate it when the same person calls in a bunch of times in a row?
I need help from fans of underground music. In the movie "Star Trek; The Voyage Home," when Kirk and Spock are on the city bus, there's a punk-rocker blaring his radio. What's the name of the band and the song playing? (Editor's note: "I Hate You" by Kirk Tatcher, the associate producer of
sible?
the movie.
Croatia does exist. The Serbs were not successful.
I happen to think that my boyfriend's dick is cleaner than an M&M on the floor, because he
cleans it, and people don't walk on his dick!
-
Whoever called in about Julian Wright missing his free throws better watch themselves, because I swear, if I hear that again, I will
kill you
You know what? Croatia does exist, and it's better than you.
I don't know if any of you are
21, but if you are, can you buy me
-
Free for All, will they finish Wescoe before I graduate?
I got pulled over twice on Monday and didn't get a ticket. Isn't that great?
TALK TO US
Gabriella Souza. editor
864-4854 or gsouza@kansan.com
Nicole Kelley, managing editor
864-4854 or nkelleyjksan.com
Patrick Ross, managing editor 864-4854 or prossikansan.com
Courtney Hagen, opinion editor
864-4924 or chagen@kansan.com
Lindsey Shirak, business manager
864-4014 or ishirack@kansan.com
Natalie Johnson associate opinion editor 864-4924 or njohnson@kansan.com
Jackie Schaffer, sales manager
864-4462 or jschaffer@ikansan.com
Maicolm Gibson, general manager, news adviser 864-2662 or maibson@kansan.com
》 SUBMISSIONS
Jennifer Weaver, sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or jweaver@kansan.com
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumn
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or reject all submissions.
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Gabrielle Souza, Nicole Keiley, Patricia Ross, Courtney Hagen,
Natalie Johnson, Alison Kieler, Tasha Riggins and Mckay
Stangler