4A the university daily kansan
opinion
wednesday, march 3, 2004
EDITORIAL BOARD
New uniforms good; changing school colors bad
Marching-band uniform drive a great success
Here's to taking the initiative.
The KU Marching Band started a program last November, "Feather the Flock," to raise $150,000 for new uniforms.
The initiative was crucial. The current uniforms have been in use since 1978 and
OUR VIEW Band uniforms needed to be replaced. "Feather" campaign was a necessity.
are in a state of disrepair.
Some had even been patched together with duct tape, while parts of multiple uniforms were used to piece together one full uniform.
reached its goal last week, but said it would continue to raise money through the end of the month. The extra money will be used for stipends to lower the price of band membership. The total raised so far is just more than $166,000.
It worked, and the marching band should be in its new uniforms in this fall's football season.
The marching band, which reached the goal in just three months, did have some help in its push. The Lawrence JournalWorld, Topeka Jayhawks Club, KU Athletics, The KU School of Fine Arts and KU Endowment Association all helped in the effort to raise the money. In addition to setting up the program, these organizations sent letters to alumni across the state asking for donations.
The marching band
Without this money, the band wouldn't have been limited to 180 members. It currently is at 160, but the 300 uniforms it can now afford will allow it room to expand.
The band is an important part of football games, and since the uniforms are a big part of being in the band, they need to be up to standard.
In a survey in the Journal-World and a KU Alumni Association newsletter, the band's entrance onto the field was voted most memorable band moment for former KU band members.
"Your heart is pounding and you are streaming with nervous energy," former band member Shannon Morford said in a Journal-World article.
Imagine how different the memory would be for band members, and crowds alike, if a uniform, pieced with duct tape, ripped in the wind.
Jennifer Wade for The University Daily Kansan
Century old tradition: Kansas is crimson and blue
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When the University of Kansas was founded in 1864, the Board of Regents decided to adopt the University of Michigan's maize and blue as its official colors.
And so it was. In 1896, the crimson and blue that represent the University today were born.
About this time, a majority of Kansas professors were Yale University graduates. To avoid being outdone by their Ivy League rivals, they insisted that Yale-blue be incorporated into the official colors as well.
Apparently, going with past tradition of borrowing colors from other universities, Kansas decided to give Baylor its due.
In the early 1890s, however, the school adopted Harvard University's crimson as an official color to honor John J. McCook, who was a major contributor to Kansas' new athletic field and a Harvard graduate.
But recently, the University seems to be making an effort to change the school colors for the first time in 108 years.
Although adding a new color to the band uniforms doesn't necessarily mean that the school has adopted black as an official color, it still leaves room for debate as to whether the black is pounc-
OUR VIEW
The University's crimson and blue tradition dates back to 1896. Change this tradition, and await a revolution. Alumni and students want crimson and blue.
Look no further than the Marching Jayhawks' new band uniforms for evidence of this. They still boast the classic crimson and blue, but the pants, hat and portions of the shirt are black.
ing on a long-proud crimson and blue tradition.
Defending the change, Jim Hudson director of the marching band, said that the new uniforms are a reflection of different uniforms that the band has worn over the past decades, so it's really nothing new.
The majority opinion, however, seems to be that the black in the uniform is out of place. Through Friday on the Lawrence Journal-World's Web site, 69 people had posted comments concerning the new uniforms. Fifty-four of these comments were negative.
As time goes on, the University community will undoubtedly become accustomed to the black in the uniforms. If something hangs around long enough, it becomes accepted; that's just the way it is.
It seems the University knows this all too well.
To the guy who lost his coat at Last Cell on Saturday night: It is at the Hawk Shop's lost and found in the Kansas Union. Alcohol is a strange and powerful beast.
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Cellular phones bad for health, manners
PERSPECTIVE
Many people assume I am nuts. They have asked: "How could you not love this great tool?"
I don't own a cellular phone.
Cell phones are not a great tool; they are invasive beasts.
The ring of the cell phone, like the music at a fraternity party, is overplayed and obnoxious. Cell phones in class, at restaurants and in bathrooms—has cell phone use gone too far? Get rid of the beast. You are slave to a phone.
COMMENTARY
The arguments for the cell phone are practicality and inexpensive local and long-distance calls. The arguments are
Eighty-eight percent of students at the University of Kansas own a cell phone, said Dinesh Gurung, owner of Mobile Communications Centre, 1610 W.23rd St. His estimates, based on store records, would mean out of 27,772 total students attending the University, only 3,332 students don't own a cell phone. And the trend is growing in a younger market.
"Dad and mom comes in and buys their 12-year-old daughter a cell phone." Gurung said.
Travis Metcalf
opinion@kansan.com
flawed.
A basic landline phone without long distance can cost about $20 per month. Then, to call long distance, people can buy long distance calling cards from places such as Sam's Wholesale Club or Wal-Mart for 3.5 cents per minute. The bill has no add-ons. The cost is clear to the consumer.
Another cell phone catch: the contract. Ah, yes, the contract. These contracts can last about one to two years; if users want to get out of their contract early, there's a penalty fee. This penalty can range from $150 to $200, depending on the company that the subscriber uses.
The typical cell phone bill can run about $40 per month. But the bill has add-ons: text messaging, voicemail, Internet service, ring downloads and taxes. The bill becomes $100.
Practicality. People are willing to spend close to $20 more on phone bills, just so they can be talking to people. And talking to people, they do. Anywhere, in any way, people are talking; forgetting courtesy. Cell phone users are talking on their phones in libraries, during movies in the theater, even during class occasionally. Should practicality outweigh politeness?
In the study, rats were exposed to low levels of microwave radiation, the same amount cell phone users are exposed to when using their cell phones.
Cell phones can also pose a medical risk.
Lund University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, did a study and found cell phone users have an increased risk of brain damage, The Michigan Daily reported.
The rats were exposed to three different trials, one trial of .002 watts per kilogram, one of .0024 watts per kilogram and one of .02 watts per kilogram. The higher the wattage, the more damage occurred in the rats.
According to the study, the rats showed damage in the hippocampus and basal ganglia. The hippocampus particularly controls memory. The potential risk: memory loss. The basal ganglia are the parts of the brain that control motor skills. If that is damaged, a person might have the motor skills similar to a Parkinson's Disease patient.
The Federal Communications Commission allows cell phone exposure of 1.6 watts per kilogram. The average cell emits, according to a Finnish study, is 1.12 watts per kilogram.
medicat risk, high bills and loss of morals: Is this really what you want to do to your 12-year old, let alone yourself?
Don't use a cell phone. The cell phone is a beast.
Michelle Rombeck
editor
884-4854 or mburhenn@kansan.com
Metcalf is a Wichita senior in journalism.
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