4A the university daily kansan
opinion
monday, march 10, 2004
EDITORIAL BOARD
In-state student, in-state tuition, immigrant or not
Illegal immigrants are such a hot political commodity these days that they have their own new, politically correct title; undocumented workers.
On the national level, President Bush's election-year proposal would increase the number of green cards and generally provide amnesty for many illegal immigrants. A smaller-scale proposal that benefits illegal immigrants and their families was publicly supported by Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius last week.
The proposal would allow illegal immigrants who have lived in Kansas for three or more years to pay instate tuition at universities. The students would be required to prove they are seeking citizenship or legal resident status to be eligible.
The Legislature should approve the proposal and give the growing minority of immigrants in Kansas a greater opportunity to participate in higher education.
Our country has a rich history of immigrants coming to our country in search of a better life. The Statue of Liberty welcomes the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free." In this modern era, as college degrees become more important, education has helped many to find this freedom, to lead successful lives; in short, to live the American dream.
If students living in the state of Kansas have the qualifications to attend a public institute of higher learning, the state should do everything it can to enable them to pursue a degree, regardless of the legal status of their parents.
Factory-heavy towns in Western Kansas have had an influx of immigrants, both legal and "undocumented," in recent years. Most of these immigrants are working long hours at low-paying jobs, and many of their children come to the United States ill-prepared for school, with little educational experience and some speaking little English.
When these students are able to graduate from high school and gain admission to college, they have
already fought and won a difficult battle. They should not be treated any differently than their classmates at Kansas high schools.
The difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition at the University of Kansas is more than $3,000 for a full-time student. For illegal immigrants who might come to the University, that $3,000 could be
that $3,000 could be the difference between attending college and being satisfied with a high school diploma.
The students should be applauded, not penalized, for how f come to graduate from a Kansas high school. Government programs such as this one can bring them one step closer to titles far more positive than "undocumented workers;" titles such as "KU graduate" and "United States citizen."
Zach Newton for The University Daily Kansan
PERSPECTIVE
Local hip-hop scene needs local hip-hop fans
COMMENTARY
It's gone mainstream, but not in Lawrence.
Hip-hop is one of the most purchased genres of music, but it can't pack the venues. John Maestas, music supervisor, said Hastings Books Music & Video, 1900 W. 23rd St., sold over 400 hip/hop CD's per week. With all the interest, where are the fans to support the Lawrence artists?
Cameron Koelling opinion@hansan.com
Hip hop infiltrated my life circa 1998. It's sad that the man who made me fall in love with hip-hop died in 1996. I had a tape that played on repeat in my '73 Super Beetle with I ain't mad at cha from Tupac Shakur's All Eyez On Me album. It comforted me on the way to high school tennis tournaments and when my heart was broken.
Hip-hop is more accepted now because of its mainstream appeal, but when you hear hip-hop it should not only create visions of sex, drugs and getting girls. There is a lot of local hip-hop talent in Lawrence, but the lack of support for the hip-hop community is disturbing. In a community where music enthusiasts abound, it is sad that the loyalty seems to be only to a few types of music.
Edwin Morales, talent buyer for Downplay Productions, puts together Project Groove at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., every Friday night. Project Groove is one of the best hip-hop outlets in Lawrence. It recently moved from its location at The Pool Room, 925 Iowa St. Aaron Silber, manager of The Pool Room, said last year 80 to 100 people showed up. Now they are
averaging 160 to 180 people, Morales said. Despite the growth in attendance, Morales said support for hip-hop was decreasing but the amount of talent was on the up-swing.
Miles Bonny from lawrencehiphop.com said he felt that the hip-hop community was in a weird place right now, but it was not dying.
now, but it waned and events are doing OK, but honestly, they do not make up for the amount of work and quality national artists people like those who run Downplay are bringing." Bonny said.
Big name artists who come to Lawrence do not get the attendance they deserve.
"Local artists do better here because the main groups of people that come out to watch are friends of the artist. We brought in some big names such as Killa Priest from the Wu Tang Clan and our local artists do better. People are not really supporting hip hop as much as they are supporting friends," Silber said.
Students need to educate themselves
about hip-hop because it has become a part of our everyday lives from advertising to pop-culture.
ing to pop culture.
"Hip-Hop is not what they see on TV. It is not people walking in circles rapping about being hard and getting shot. Nor is it about having sex all the time and getting drunk. Although that is a part of the expression by some of its artists, hip hop is a culture and a belief system," Bonny said
DJ Kool Herc on his Hip-Hop 101 Web site said the definition of hip-hop would be "an art form that includes deejaying (cuttin' & scratchin') emceeing/rappin,' break dancing and graffiti art. These art forms as we know them today originated in the South Bronx section of New York City around the mid 1970s."
That is far from the gangster image that most people assume of hip-hop. Project Groove has DJ's and even Latin inspired hip-hop to get people dancing.
Some artists such as Scott Al-Tall, also known as Mr. Bilistic, think that the lack of support might be due to the lack
of venues that support the genre. Those that control venues do not realize that hip-hop does not create violence, it is a voice for people.
"Hip-hop has a bad stereotype because of the people that control the media. Hip-hop is breaking down the barriers and providing a voice for the minorities in Lawrence," Morales said.
Students who consider themselves music enthusiasts need to make it out to Project Groove on Friday nights at the Bottleneck or to the Jazzhaus on Sunday nights for hip-hop night. Don't let Lawrence become deprived of hip-hop because of the ignorance surrounding the music. And in the words of the man himself, 'don't be phony cause I hate when you act like you don't know me.' If you like the music enough to buy it, then go out and support it. This support will keep Lawrence as one of the music hubs, if only for Kansas.
Keelling is a Bedford, Texas, senior in journalism.
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Try to think of a Disney animated movie where the main character has two parents. There are no Disney movie where the main character has two parents or hasn't lost one of them.
SUV drivers: Have no shame, drive your car
SUV owners and their cars at the University of Kansas deserve a break.
The condemnation of sport utility vehicles by the environmentalists and, gasp, the media have become so persistent that it is perceived as true. Opponents of their use say that compared to other cars they pollute more, are not as safe and are mostly a threat to civilization as we know it.
The drivers are shouldering some of the blame for having these "gas-guzzlers" on the road, and there is good reason for that at times. But according to Princeton professor Peter Singer, all SUV drivers are imminent threats to society and are comparable to the Sept. 11 terrorists for causing just as much destruction. Try to let that sink in for a moment, folks.
moment, talks.
But enemy No. 1 is the SUV itself, which is now characterized in the news as if it is acting on its own and has a mind of its own when involved in accidents. The cars are being reported as human—and criminal—with regularity. Some of the stories place too much emphasis on
COMMENTARY
Alex Hoffman opinion@hansan.com
the evh made a last week, a headline from The Associated Press read, "Man killed when SUV hits him, drags him 8.5 miles to driver's home." So the driver didn't hit him or drag him; the driver was completely powerless to the SUV. Would this headline be different if a Ford Taurus was involved and not an SUV?
Another perplexing headline from the Jan. 24 Newsday read, "SUV Probed in Triple Hit-Run." So the car was taken in for questioning in this case? The real news in this one was that no evidence
the SUV angle and seek to perpetuate the evil-machine reputation.
was found to incriminate the SUV.
One of the most egregious examples came from WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Mich., in which a lead story on its Web site from Feb. 13 read, "Police search for SUV possibly connected with rape case." An accomplice to rape? Enough said here.
The coverage is becoming tiresome. No other car on the road suffers from more negativism, and the fact that they continue to sell in large quantities ranks the anti-SUV bunch. These people would rather make SUV owners feel ashamed, and to sink so low as to say these owners contribute to terrorism lessens the credibility of their stance.
The fear of doomsday nearing with each new SUV on the road is far-fetched. The heightened focus on rollover deaths in relation to SUVs, which accounts for only three percent of all accidents, overshadows their success in overall safety ratings. A new rollover test by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says SUVs fare just as well or better than compact station wagons or trucks.
Other successes have been documented as far back as 2001, when a National Academy of Sciences report compared SUV safety with safety of "politically correct mini-cars." It said that SVVs weighing more than 5,000 pounds accounted for 92 deaths per million registered vehicles, whereas the smaller cars accounted for 249 deaths per million registered vehicles.
The typical apartment complex parking lot reflects the popularity. There are Mazda Tributes, some Honda CRVs, a slew of Jeep Cherokees (the classic 1980s models as well as recent ones) and Chevy Blazers. They are becoming more visible in fraternity and sorority lots. Even the continued coverage which portrays the cars as menaces is not enough to prevent students from driving them.
Time to circle the wagons — or Expeditions. Don't succumb to the pressure of the people who inexplicably want SUVs banned from the highways. Ride high and ride with pride.
Hoffman is an Overland Park senior in journalism.
KANSAN
Michelle Rombeck
editor
664-4854 or mburhenn@kansan.com
Andrew Vaupel managing editor 864-4854 or vaupel@kansan.com
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Matt Fisher
sales and marketing adviser
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Malcolm Gibson
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Editorial Board Members
Dixell Kendall *Lynze Ford*
Laura Francoviglia *Anna Gregory*
Amy Hammontree *Kelly Hollowell* *Teresa Lo*
*Mindy Osborne* *Greg Holmquist* *Ryan*
Scarrow *Elizabeth Willie* *Sara Behnak* *Kevin*
Flaherty *Brandon Gay* *Zack Hemenway* Alex
Hoffman *Kawin Kampwirly* *Amy Kelly*
Cameron Koelling *Courtney Kuhlen* *Brandl*
Mathiasen *Travis Metcalf* *Mike Norris*
Jonathan Reeder *Erin Riffley* *Alea Smith*
Kari Zimmerman