4A the university daily kansan
opinion
wednesday, january 28, 2004
EDITORIAL BOARD
Congratulations, Kevin Willmott; 'CSA'a success
A local director and KU faculty member is making news for the University of Kansas.
Kevin Willmott's film, CSA: Confederate States of America, debuted Jan. 17 at the Sundance Film Festival.
The satirical look on what the country would have been like had the South won the Civil War premiered to four sold out shows at the festival. Last week, IFC Films purchased the distribution rights to his film.
Willmott's accomplishment should not go unnoticed. Students and faculty alike should congratulate him because the
OURVIEW
Kevin Willmott, KU assistant professor, is good for our University. He directed CSA, Confederate States of America in Kansas on a tight budget. Keep it up Willmott; we like your work.
accomplishment by Willmott runs deeper than just having his movie shown at the 11-day event. Well-known director Spike Lee agreed to put his name on the film.
Lee and Willmott share the same agent who told Lee about the movie. After viewing Willmott's film, he was stunned. The
movie then opened as "Spike Lee presents a Kevin Willmott film."
The annual event is host to hundreds of independent movies each year, some that have gone on to win Oscars. The festival has included movies such as Hoop Dreams, The Full Monty and In the Bedroom.
Even more impressive is the fact that Willmott is the first filmmaker to live in and make a film in Kansas and to be invited to the festival.
The Junction City native filmed the movie in Humboldt, Lawrence and Kansas City, sometimes having to ask for
favors such as borrowing costumes for the low-budget film.
But despite being low-budget, it raised the eyebrows of one of the most acclaimed directors, especially in the genre of racial films.
Everyone at the University should take pride in the fact the movie is garnering so much attention. It would also be wise to enroll in one of his film classes he teaches at the University.
Willmott and everyone involved with the film at the University should be commended. Professor Willmott: congratulations from the Kansan editorial staff.
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.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com
My roommate's band plays in Texas, but they don't have a fiddle in the band.
I wonder if all of this snow and ice is Mother Nature's way for getting back at me for driving a car that get nine miles per gallon. Naah.
Is this the Free For All?
You know I had to chisel off of my car door for a half an hour just to get it open. I am figuring that there has got to be some way that we can blame this on ResNet.
treat the cause of the problem.
I lost my keys. So, if anyone finds them can you please return them to the name listed on the ID. Thanks.
It is snowing in my room and the window is closed. I would just like to say that I want a new window.
No one download Sophos. It destroyed my hard drive.
If you can't make it to the first day of class no matter what day it falls on, then maybe you should re-think college
Monday's editorial was the most wonderfully ridiculous editorial I have ever read. If that is what we have to look forward to this semester then boy am I excited.
How many sorority girls does it take to screw in a light bulb? Six. One to screw it in, and five to make a t-shirt about it.
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You know what would be funny? If no one bought the Women of Distinction KU calendar. He, he, he. That would be funny.
This is to whoever stole the tip jar at The Bottleneck Saturday night You are bogus. Those bartenders work really hard to get us all drunk.
It is amazing. Kansas tuition goes up every year but they can't get the damn salt on the top level of the parking garage.
TALKTO US
The University Daily Kansan welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns from students, faculty and alumni. For any questions, e-mail opinion@tansan.com or call 864-4924 to talk to Meghan Brune or Johanna M. Maska.
PERSPECTIVE
New Year's Resolutions down the tube; go for some new goals, life changes
So, you ruined your new year's resolution to lose weight by eating nothing but pizza for the last week. Not a big deal. It's time to set new semester resolutions.
I've got a plan: Get your goals on track.
COMMENTARY
Jonathan Reeder
opinion@kansan.com
What you want to change this semester. There are the old stand-bys you know: study harder and attend class regularly. These two are not mutually exclusive.
I have tried, and failed, to keep these resolutions. Most of us probably have. This semester we can
For example, if you don't make it to class consistently on Fridays, examine the cause. If you find that you are at the bar until 2 a.m. Friday, you might have found the problem. Try leaving at 1 a.m; it might make the difference. The brave among us can try to find out what motivates us to stay out so late. But in the end it doesn't matter. Small steps can make the difference in whether you keen your resolutions.
If cereal malt beverage consumption isn't a key factor in your absenteeism, ask yourself what cause your behavior you want to change, and then alter it.
While behavior modifications are always among the most popular goals, there's room for other improvements in your new semester.
The majority of us are between 18 and 22 years old. Time to think about voting. There is no better time to get interested, or at least educated, in politics. Take 15 minutes a day and learn a little about a candidate or an issue. You never know, something might interest you. And no, reading about this year's
joke coalition for Student Senate does not count toward your time.
Find a way to be more active in the community. Join a club or fight for a cause. Move outside your comfort zone. You may have heard a similar refrain for years from your parents, high-school guidance counselors and other concerned parties. Take the time to find out why they stressed the
importance of community. Remember, even if you don't find the membership rewarding on its own merit, it will look good on your resume.
More than half of all adults make New Year's goals, according to research done by James Norcross, a psychologist at the University of Scranton. Depending on the goal, 43 percent of resolutions are abandoned
in less than six months.
ON STUDENT SENATE
in less than six months.
The odds of keeping a semester resolution may scare you, but take heart. Semester resolutions are shorter. It's only four months, and you can be a success. Take advantage of this opportunity to reset your priorities. You only get one chance at the Spring 2004 semester.
Reeder is an lo!a senior in journalism.
Student Senate, please update your Web site; some students will care what you are doing
While surfing the Internet, should you stumble away from porn, this is the link that greets you on the University of Kansas Student Senate Web site: "What is senate doing for you?"
COMMENTARY
Before you get too offended at the porn reference, don't kid yourself. Internet porn is a one billion dollar industry; chances are more than a few of you maintain this hobby. Senators might even delve into the world of porn. And because they might be busy with this, that might explain why this link I described contains so little. To correct this problem, I'm going to write them a letter and explain what I've found.
Dear Senate, my name is Jeff. You might remember me. Last year I was on the executive staff, served as a hold-over senator and so on. I've also been involved in a few campaigns, one of the few activities more fun than Internet porn. Recently, however, I've decided to become the Senate commentator for
Jeff Allmon opinion@kansan.com
For those of you that aren't student senators, you can read on, or just continue looking at porn. If you are choosing porn at this point, please come back next week.
Senate, there is something you should know. Your Web site, by and large, is empty, and most of the information available is outdated. I know that with student funds you employ a communications director and a webmaster. So what exactly do they do? I'm kind of new to this whole reporting thing, and your Web site seemed like a good place to find information about you. I can say that right now, you haven't given me much to write about. I just have no idea what you're doing right now.
The University Daily Kansan.
So I'm left with a dilemma. Are you so busy with Internet porn that you fail to
accomplish anything? Or is it that you become so tired from accomplishing great things that you then don't get a opportunity to communicate it? And instead you lazily peruse Internet porn?
Know this, Senate. To the average student who tries to find out what you are up to, this is a problem. As you can see, this lack of information has left me with nothing to do but speculate. I speculate a porn obsession. That may seem a little crazy, but as I was in your shoes once. I know I can't be too far off.
Now, however, I've become a researcher first and a columnist second. That means that in the future I'm going to have to dig a little deeper, past your empty Web site to find out about you.
That stated, I'm hoping this column can be a space for increased dialogue between you, the rest of Senate and us; the masses of apathetic student voters whose money you spend. To that extent, criticism will be applied liberally and without hesitation.
Understand that you are in no way without flaw. And that correcting those flaws will only occur when those flaws
are confronted.
For now, don't worry about the porn obsession; that doesn't actually exist. Do, however, worry about the vast majority of students who know nothing about you, and who, thereby, care even less about what you do. Who knows what they think about you?
So, here's the deal. Right now the lines of communication between you, the Student Senate, and the rest of the campus aren't working very well. The Web site is lacking. Even most Kansan articles seem to show you doing little more than hosting meetings and funding groups. But I know that cannot be true. Jonathan Ng, former student body president, always liked to point out that 90 percent of what Student Senate did was not at the meetings.
It is possible that if we, the students, knew more about you, there would be times that we are mildly concerned with what you do and how you do it.
Love always, Jeff
Allison is a Wichita graduate student in philosophy.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Michelle Rombeck
editor
884-4854 or mburhenn@kansan.com
Andrew Vaupel
managing editor
864-4854 or vaulpel@kansan.com
Meghan Brune and Johanna M. Maska opinion editors 864-4924 or opinion@kansah.com
Danielle Bose
business manager
864-4358 or addirector@ kansan.com
Stephanie Graham
retail sales manager
684-4358 or adsales.kansan.com
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing adviser
864-7686 or mfshae@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or mgbson@kanan.com
Editorial Board Members
Kendall Dixl Amanda Flott Lynzee Ford
Laura Francoviglia Ana Gregory
Amy Hammontree Kelly Hollwell Teresa Lo
Stephanie Lovett Mindy Osborne
Patrick Roes Ryan Searrow Sara Behunek
Kevin Flaherty Brandon Gay Zack Hemenway
Alex Hoffman Kevin Kampwirth Amy Kelly
Cameron Koelling Courtney Kuilan
Brandi Matheles Travis Metcalf Mike Norris
Jonathan Reeder Erin Riffey Alea Smith
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