4A the university daily kansan
opinion
wednesday, february 4, 2004
EDITORIAL BOARD
'Women of Distinction'a good start; changes will make it better next time
Last year, the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center began taking nominations and donations for what they wanted to create: the KU Women of Distinction Calendar.
We support the good effort — the solid basis of recognizing women's achievements — but we also have some constructive criticisms.
The main goal of the poster was to highlight women's achievements on campus so that other women can see that their goals are attainable. Although women on campus have progressed in their equality, our campus reflecting the workforce "is not an even playing field for women yet," said Kathy Rose-
OURVIEW
The KU Women of Distinction calendar is needed on our campus. But the nomination process and calendar lay-out can be improved.
Mockry, the director of the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center.
This is a good effort in a short amount of time. But next time, we suggest including more students. We would like to know how to nominate students.
We also suggest better accessibility to the
poster. There have been a number of events where the poster has been given out, such as the women's basketball game last Saturday; the only problem was that not many students knew about it. We suggest better advertisement of distribution.
Also, the calendar, in poster-form, is a bit difficult to hang on the wall. Next time, a calendar, even if it must be black-and-white, would be better in calendar form.
We support the idea behind the Women of Distinction Calendar, and support the sustainability of such an idea. Next time, with more time, we are sure it can be better.
Jennifer Wade for The University Daily Kansan
ON STUDENT SENATE
Senate listserv full of ASININE behavior
Students, I hereby announce the formation of ASININE. As-i-nine, an adjective, according to the Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, meaning actions "marked by inexcusable failure to exercise intelligence or sound judgment." Well, for the purposes of my organization, ASININE is going to stand for "Agitated Senators In Need of Incredibly Nonproductive Endeavors."
This organization is open to all, but especially to those who promote non-productivity and the angry little people who love to rub-off feeble e-mail tantrums in protest of the nonproductive.
COMMENTARY
The patron saint of ASININE will be Muneer Ahmad, law school senator. Future generations of ASININE members will read tales about Ahmad and his Men of Distinction calendar. Led by our hero James Owen, law school student senator, ASININE members to come will hear about his $5000 vendetta that all started with a calendar celebrating distinguished women at the University of Kansas. How dare they!
Bless these men for their bravery and for providing the impetus for angry little people to write angry little e-mails to the Student Senate list servers, thus making mine and hundreds of other students' and staff members' in-boxes angry little places.
The history of the Senate is chock-full of the agitated and the nonproductive. ASININE, then, will be a worship and development center promoting inefficiency and pure unadulterated e-mail rage. Our first project will be a calendar titled "The Angry Little Persons of Distinction Calendar." It will be stylish but cheap; printed on industrial-style toilet paper.
If this all seems ridiculous, don't worry, it is. These little displays of misplaced adolescent aggravation are relatively common in Senate, but also in any political organization.
Jeff Allmon
opinion@kansan.com
If, on the other hand, you think this is the only thing that Senate does, you'd be mistaken. Senate provides a great many valuable services to the student body. Additionally, it is your primary outlet for campus democracy and activism. In this respect, it ought not to be toyed with.
Two points must be made: First, to the students opposed to the Women of Distinction calendar last semester, your opposition is something you are very much entitled to. You are not entitled, however, to mark your opposition with a $5000 exercise in childish behavior, thus making a complete mockery of campus democracy and the students you represent.
This whole debacle should have had about the same political import as hairballs are to cats: ugly, short-lived and maybe just a little funny. Instead, it has become a $5000 slap in the face to all students who pay their campus fees. Far worse, however, is the damage these actions do to the meager 18 percent of the KU students who actually vote in campus elections. If the other 82 percent of students think that campus democracy is a joke, then this week they were vindicated in their assumptions.
As far as debate on this issue was concerned, ASININE is now overflowing with members. The electronic discussion
has thus far been essentially trivial, with only a few mildly clever slams. It would be a stretch to call this debate intelligent.
Secondly, there is a certain amount of truth to the claim that when something is not discussed, talked about or otherwise given attention, it goes away. So for senators, forget about the Men of Distinction Calendar. In the future, when asininity raises its ugly head again, as it most inevitably will, ignore that too. Get back to, or just begin for that matter, representing your constituents and serving the student
body you were elected to represent. Mulling over this calendar and wasting time writing bitter e-mails about its lack of merit is not what you were elected to do. And when you accomplish tasks meaningful for students, for God's sake, tell somebody about it.
Asinine, I would like to finally note, also means "relating to, or resembling an ass." I hope senators will, in the future, represent more than just an ass; you were elected to represent students.
Allmon is a Wichita graduate student in philosophy
Student Senate matter
Selected comments for the last week from the Student Senate Listserv
Last Wednesday, the Student Senate University Affairs Committee failed a bill to allocate $5000 to the Muneer Ahmad Appreciation Society to create a Men of Distinction calendar. After this, the senate listserv, a public forum for discussion, erupted with e-mail. These are a few e-mail excerpts:
"If you as a group choose to fund a calendar for women, it is patently wrong and unfair to deny the men to have an equal sort of calendar based on society's bias against women and the lack of funding secured. . We do not need validation from the likes of you."
Muneer Ahmad, Munsee Ahmad Appreciation Society president and founder, defending the Men of Distinction calendar.
funding. You want a cookie? This was nothing more than a smug exercise in the masturbation of Senate Rules and Regs." Brian Thomas, University Affairs Committee Member, referring to the steps taken by MAAS to become a registered group and secure funding for their calendar.
"As the founder and president of MAAS, I resent my organization's good name being sultied by a group of individuals who only choose to talk of equality and fairness when it serves their purpose." Ahmad
"Congrats. You registered a group and followed the weak guidelines we have for
"I'm excited that KU was the first state university in the country to allow female students to study any subject offered in the curriculum. That doesn't mean we have equality yet. Thus, we might be well served to spend 5k for them, but not for the men." Scott McKenzie, CLAS senator
"We are not trying to prove a point,rather, showcase the attributes and qualities of men around campus.Men are just as likely to need role models as women,and if you doubt this,talk to any male who grew up without a father."
jayme Aschiemeyer, off-campus senator
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.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com
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To me it seems that the editorials of the Kansan seem to fall into one of the three categories: Liberal propaganda, conspiracy theories or apathetic whining.
Sophos? isn't that like some kind of venereal disease?
Free for All
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Can someone in the UDK please screen the commentary section so that there isn't such ridiculous trash like Brian Pearson's White Supremacy article?
Hey fatties: It is called a well balanced diet and exercise. Screw the Atkins diet.
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Let's not talk about Christianity and white supremacy. Let's talk about Big Jay's b.o.
Thank you Brian Pearson. It is about time that somebody wrote it down.
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Kudos to Timberlake. Boobies are good.
My sister and I built a snowman outside of Strong Hall. It was pretty cool. It was the best time ever.
Arrah Neilson rocks my world
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To the guy that was wearing the OU coat in front of Sumerfield: I realize that it is freezing cold outside but come on..
Anti-war protesters not violent, wrong portrayal
The article "Protesters question Moore" that ran Feb. 2, paints a somewhat negative picture of this weekend's anti-war marchers, depicting them as disrespectful and rowdy.
The display at the Lawrence Public Library did not deviate too much from the article's brief summary. The anti-war sentiment of Saturday's protest was riddled with anger and frustration, and rightly so.
More U.S. soldiers have died since the war "ended," than during actual combat, and many, many more Iraqis have perished as a result of this fabricated war. However, the purpose of a war protest/peace march is simple: to promote peace. Many of the activists representing the group acted through their anger and rage, creating a more hostile environment between U.S. Rep. Moore and his anti-war constituents.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Peace cannot be fought for with anger. Should that person in the SUV have nearly run over the protesters in the intersection? Should that man have flipped off the crowd as they walked down Massachusetts Street? Of course not, but both of those acts were manifested through fear and anger, and can not be combated by the same in order to make any change of sentiment.
Peaceful means are the only way to end with peace. This is the exact message that we anti-war activists are trying to instill in American culture. The only way to cultivate this message is to first create peace in the individual; only through peace of mind in the individual and compassion for all human beings, even those we disagree with, can world peace be developed.
Katy Livingston Tulse, Okle., sophomore
KANSAN
Michelle Rombeck editor
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Editorial Board Members
Editorial Board Members
Kendall Kill & Amanda Flock Lynze Ford
Laura Francoviglia Anna Gregory
Amy Hammontree Kelly Hollowley Teresa Lo
Stephane Lovett Mindy Osborne
Patrick Ross Ryan Scarrow Sara Behnak
Kevin Flaherty Brandon Gay Zack Hamenway
Alex Hardy Zack Hamenway Kelly
Cameron Koelling Courtney Murray
Brandi Metheisen Travis Metcalf Mike Norris
Jonathan Reeder Eriff Riffle Alea Smith