4a Opinion or comments, contact Chris Borniger or Nathan Willis at 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com Wednesday, May 2, 2001 Point/Counterpoint Money for minority scholarships Our view: Administrators should pour Coke cash into minority scholarships to cultivate diversity Chancellor Robert Hemenway is considering a proposal to develop a scholarship fund that would be awarded to minority students who choose to attend the University of Kansas. Money from the University's contract with Coca-Cola would help finance these scholarships. Students should support the proposal, which could significantly increase our ethnic minority population on campus. A diverse education isn't available outside of the classroom at the university. Only 9.2 percent of University students are of an ethnic minority — and that percentage fell this year. This statistic is also below the average ethnic minority population in the state of Kansas, which is 11.7 percent. Some students think it is wrong to take funding away from the programs and scholarships that the Coke contract already pays for and redistribute it to minority scholarships. These uses include money for student activities, scholarships for children of faculty and staff and scholarships for National Merit Scholars. Theresa Klinkenberg, the director of administration who supervises the Coke deal, said some areas probably would have to be cut to finance minority scholarships, but no one has said which ones. Yes, the students who have received National Merit Scholarships should be commended for their hard work and commitment to higher education. Furthermore, Hemenway should be commended for exceeding his goal of having 100 new National Merit Scholars enrolled at the University by 2000. But the Coke contract provides money for relatively few of those scholarships. Only about 10 percent of the funds for National Merit Scholarships come from the contract. Surely, the other sources of funding for merit scholars could work to make up the difference. work to make it happen. But how many National Merit Scholarships have been issued to inner-city minorities? Few, if any. How many scholarships does the University sponsor that are awarded to minority students only? The answer is zero, said Robert Page Jr., director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Many students seem disinterested in minority issues, which may be caused, in part, by the low enrollment of minority students. Unlike National Merit Scholars or children of faculty and staff, many minority students applying to the University have not had a privileged education. Minority students who went to schools that taught from outdated books, had no air conditioning inside their classrooms or even had sewage problems do not have the necessary educational foundation to earn other substantial scholarships. Retaining ethnic minorities once they're enrolled is important as well, and programs such as Hawk Link are working to increase retention. But first, the University needs the lay the groundwork to get ethnic minorities here. Lack of knowledge about other ethnic cultures leads to ignorance, stereotypes and discrimination. The University needs to focus on increasing its minority enrollment and retention by developing a scholarship fund to assist minority students. Money from the Coke contract should not be used to quench the University's thirst for more minority students. Chancellor Robert Hemenway said two weeks ago that he was consider- ing revenue from the scholarships designated for minorities. Many other colleges across the country offer them and often find that they help enrich their campus with diversity. The University would do well to extend better financial aid packages to minorities, but that aid should not come at the expense of other deserving causes. The Coke contract's money already goes to deserving causes. The deal pulled in about $760,000 this year, but Theresa Klinkenberg, the director of administration who supervises the contract, said the University didn't expect that figure to rise much in coming years. That means financing minority scholarships would force cuts in areas that currently receive money from the contract. About half the money goes to reimburse entities such as the department of student housing and the unions that make less money than they would have without the contract. The other half is split among scholarships for merit scholars, scholarships for children of faculty and staff and student programming, such as speakers, majors fairs and Black History Month events. Say the University turned the $200,000 that currently goes to National Merit Scholarships into minority scholarships. Klinkenberg said the Coke contract provided about 10 percent of the funds for Major Merit Scholarships, translating into approximately 15 to 30 scholar- charships into minority schol ships, depending on the scholar's state of residence. While adding a handful of National Merit Finalists is impressive because of their rarity, even if the proposed fund transfer translated into 30 more minority students, adding 30 minority students to a student body of more than 25,000 applies a Band-Aid to a problem that is more than skin deep. Instead, the University should work to find a substantial new source of private money that it can use specifically for minority scholarships. It will take more time and effort on the University's part to establish such a fund, but the easiest solution is not always the best. If the University truly wants to bring its campus up to the standards of diversity set by other universities, it also must make efforts in areas besides financial aid. A good place to start would be to send more representatives to recruit high school students in areas with high minority populations, such as Kansas City or Omaha. Another step would be to make a greater effort to get such diverse high schools to come to the University for field trips or recruiting visits. Wes Benson/KANSAN Although a lack of diversity causes concern and reflects poorly on the University, the University should not attempt to remedy that at the expense of other worthy causes. Finding a new source of money for minority scholarships may take more work, but it's the better long-term solution. Perhaps changes could be made to the mailings sent out to prospective students, changes which would emphasize the University's minority clubs and organizations. Tiffany Knight for the editorial board Andy Marso, dissenting Perspective Feedback drives changes for fall semester's Kansan A week from today, most of us will be taking our first final or studying for one later in the week. Editor Lori O'Toole said highlights of the So with the end of the semester, it's a good time to reflect back on the Kansan's work and look ahead to what will happen next fall. For the most part, it's been a good four months. Then again, those of us who can get by with it will be sleeping in, relishing the first day of summer break. year included Student Senate election coverage and the expansion of www.kansan.com, where breaking news and complements to stories in the print version of the Kansan were posted. multipots" "One-tank trip" feature was another highlight, she said, as was Phil Cauton's five-part series on methamphetamine. But there are also things the Kansan should have done differently — most obviously, coverage of the Leita Schultes readers' representative opinion@kansan.com Bit 12 Conference on Black Student Government. O'Toole agreed, but added that the Kansan admitted from the beginning that the conference deserved more coverage than it received And despite the controversy and protests, O'Toole said the incident had its positive side. "I think it was productive in the fact that it almost made tensions or hard feelings tangible." she said. O'Toole said both praise and criticism helped Kansan staff members evaluate the jobs they were doing. "I think it's important that people give feedback," she said. "When they're pleased with something. When they're upset with something. When they agree or disagree." Which brings the focus to next semester, when reader feedback will be a key goal of the Kansan. Kursten Phelps, who will be editor during the fall semester, plans to establish a "grand jury" — a panel of regular students who will meet to discuss issues facing students and how they should be addressed. Phelps said it was a way to avoid having only figureheads, such as the student body president or chancellor, as voices in the newspaper. Phelps also plans to expand the diversity training of Kansan staff members. She said that she had always seen the value in diversity training but that the Black Student Union controversy made it clear that it was something that needed to be done now. "It's the idea of bringing more of the community into the Kansan and more of the Kansan into the community," she said. In the past, diversity training at the Kansan has been media-based, she said. But it's important to realize "how all the people that you work with and all the people you encounter every day are different than you and why that's important." Newspapers are somewhat of a living thing. They have to change to meet the demands of their readers.The Kansan is no different,and next fall everyone in the newsroom will be learning how to bring you the best product possible. There will be other changes at the Kansan as well — including everything from a design overhaul to a new staff. See you then. Schuites is a Rolfe, Iowa, sophomore in journalism and religious studies. free for all 864 0500 864 0500 Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed. For more comments, go to www.kansan.com. I just wanted to say that I was at the Spencer Museum of Art today, and the security staff there is so sexy that I could not even concentrate on the art. Wow. 图 You know, I think Oreos and beer is almost as good as Asoes and milk. Are you kidding me? You guys printed the baseball team losing to Texas Tech on the front page and the softball team losing twice to Oklahoma. Meanwhile, the women's rowing team won the Big 12 Championship, and there's a measly little article placed on the fourth — oh, not even — the fifth page of the sports section. The comment about the Kansas quarter made me realize how little respect people give agriculture and the Kansas farmer. If you hippies couldn't eat, maybe you'd respect agriculture a little more. - Humanities departments would like to pay GTAs more, and my undergraduate students went their GTAs, like me, to get decent pay and health care. The problem is in room 230 - Strong Hall. That's the office of Chancellor Robert Hamenway and the University legal counsel. They keep their own salaries high — very high. GTAs need to get a grip. They should be here to pursue their post-graduate degrees and not campout and being disillusioned that they are employed by the University, getting paid for teaching. The current situation is beneficial to both parties. Why should GTAs expect to profit from going to KU? The rest of us undergraduates don't. 图 Hey, how many people does it take to make Bob Frederick resign as the athletics director at Kansas? Apparently, it took the KU's men swimming and tennis teams. - A kinder, gentler skinhead? It's fine to belong to a group. But when you belong to a group so closely associated with hatred and racism, what do you expect? Sounds like a bunch of good of boys who need attention. - I just want to thank the professor who gave me a ride to campus today. It's nice to know some instructors truly care about the students. - To the roommates who are starting the petition for the Kansas quarter: What else are we going to put on it? All that there is here to represent Kansas are sunflowers and wheat. □ To the people three doors down from Dodson Liquor. Take care of that little puppy because I hear it crying every morning for hours on end, and I'm going to take it if you aren't going to be nice to it. 图 I had a great time at Day on the Hill except for the fact that Fastball sucks. Do not stare directly into the Fastball. 图 The women's rowing team is awesome. 瑞 To me, it's always a good idea to carry two sacks of something when you walk around. That way if someone asks, "Can you give me a hand?" you can say, "Sorry, I've got these sacks." Hey, I figured out what ravers are. They're hippies with money. 图 图 Hi, I just called to ask if everyone could stop calling and complaining about KU. Come on, guys. Can't we call and complain about K-State sometimes? Just because you people see an unborn baby as subhuman doesn't mean you have the right to kill it. What if I see you as subhuman? I think I'm gonna kill you. Thank you. There are no hot girls in architecture. I'm interested in studying abroad this summer. Where do you find the list of broads willing to be studied? 图 Let's refuse to play Chancellor Hemenway's game of divide and conquer. The KU administrative executives would love to pit students against faculty and GTAs, but we, the teachers, will not play that game. KU's educational mission is at play. I'd just like to say that all the Theta Chis are super hot, and all the Sigma Kappas are so excited to do Rock Chalk with them next year. How to submit letters and guest columns Letters: Should be double-spaced, typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions. Guest columns: Should be double-spaced and typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run. 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