4a
Opinion
Thursday, April 12, 2001
For comments, contact Chris Borniger or Nathan Willis at 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Perspective
Atheist,agnostic group promotes freedom of ideas
To meet recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, Student
Supreme Court, Student Senate has been confronted with the task of revising its rules and regulations to finance religious organizations. The issue has sparked debate on campus about both the validity of financing religious organizations, as well as how the funds would be dispersed.
I generally agree with the worries John Audiehelm outlined in his column "Student Senate, religious groups must stay apart." March 29). Personally, I find the financing of religious organizations by state universities to be a violation — or a possible violator — of the Constitutional clause separating of Church and State. As a freethinker and barsh critic of
organized religion, I sin-
organized religion, I sincerely doubt Jefferson would approve.
would approve.
I also agree that
Senate's new bill could
cause problems in its
implementation.
However, I find this is
less the fault of senators
who have reluctantly
drafted the bill and more
an inherent problem of
the requirement itself.
However, as president of the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics (formerly) I feel.
Peter Brabant
guest columnist
guinea@kansas.com
must address speculation regarding soma's status as a "special interest" organization.
Near the end of his column, Audlehelm states "As for [soma], I think you should return the $387. You say you're not a religious organization? Come on. If religion didn't exist, then neither would you."
What can I say? Our organization has obviously been lying, and you have finally exposed us. We actually are a religious organization and we have deceived everyone by calling ourselves a philosophical organization to indoctrinate unsuspecting people with the Atheistic religion of asking questions and imploring reason. The $ that we receive for lying about our religious status has secretly helped pay for our Atheistic Bibles and our worship ceremonies to the great not-being, Not-God.
In all seriousness, the claim that atheism, agnosticism or even science is somehow a religion is no more than an attempt to discount atheism and agnosticism as some "crazy religion," rather than addressing the serious problems that reason, logic and scientific evidence pose with respect to religion. Faith — a belief not based on evidence — is the foundation of any religion.
Atheism and agnosticism are the absence of faith, as well as the absence of objective authority. Atheism and agnosticism observe no rites or ceremonies, nor do they incorporate any myths, traditions, notions of good and evil, or assumptions of an invisible world to which humans exclusively can appeal for sympathy.
As an organization, soma does not profess any ideologies, dogmas or absolute truths. Soma does not seek to promote any religion, any belief about a god or gods — or lack thereof. Instead, we seek to promote atheism and agnosticism as socially acceptable philosophies.
In short, it is not our beliefs that we intend to promote, but our right to have them. The argument that "If religion didn't exist, then neither would soma" implies the consequent "therefore, soma is religious."
This is the same as arguing that if sound didn't exist, then neither would silence (the absence of sound), therefore silence is a sound and similarly the absence of any concept is that concept itself.
I agree that in an ideal world devoid of religion, soma would probably not exist. This is because in the absence of religion, there would be no threat of religious doctrine imposing itself upon people through social or government institutions.
Soma's existence is because of religion only insofar as people externalize their religious doctrine, impose it upon society and infringe upon personal freedom of thought. In our country, religion, like all other institutions, must adhere to the boundary that it cannot infringe upon the rights of others. Our duty is to help police that boundary by standing up for our own freedom of thought.
That is what an atheist and agnostic organization is all about. Visit soma's webpage at http://www.ukans.edu/~soma, or email us at soma@ukans.edu.
Brabant is a Lawrence senior in physics and astronomy and the president of the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics.
Wayne Stayskal/TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
Kansan report card
Pass:
Drew Gooden. Sophomore forward on the men's basketball team decides to stick around, at least for his junior year. A fourth year would be nice, but don't hold your breath.
Dustin Johnson. Never has a KU elections commissioner worked so vigorously to increase voter turnout. Nor has one ever enticed voters with the promise of jumping in Potter Lake if they go to the polls. That's brave.
Mike Rundle. More than a decade after being denied his rightful position as Lawrence mayor, the City Commission unanimously approves him.
Fail:
Flier lior. Rob Kelly, VOICE candidate for an off-campus seat spreads in lifers, saying he's secured a promise from Chancellor Hemenway to alcohol back to Memorial Stadium if he's elected. We hope you lose big.
Flier litterers. Students take fliers from Student Senate coalition, then they toss them on the ground. With trash cans everywhere, this display of student apathy is truly astounding.
■ Residence hall bigots. Two Lewis Hall residents find "AIDS kills fags dead" scrawled on their room's door. Come on — even Fred Phelps doesn't go so far as to write hate messages on peoples' doors with a Sharpie.
Perspective
Coke contract not evil; protest true injustices
Our world is full of injustices. People are imprisoned for expressing political views and some are executed for practicing their faiths. And it is nearly impossible to get a Pepsi on campus.
I understand the pain of the discontented subculture of Pepsi devotees. I love the sugary goodness of Pepsi as much as almost anyone. You should check out my Pepsi tongue ring. Who else wears such an extreme symbol of consumer loyalty? My own fondness for the beverage notwithstanding, however, I fail to see exactly why its lack of availability on campus is any cause to alert Amnesty International.
It makes a great deal of sense to exclude corporate sponsorship in certain areas. For instance, pharmaceutical research is sometimes financed by the drug makers whose products are being studied. This has led to potential conflicts of interest and even claims of companies telling universities outright not to publish results that could be damaging to the company
What harm results from this "commercialization?" There is none that I can find that is even remotely proven. There is no good reason to draw such a conclusion. Except for the contention that large companies — specifically those owned by thousands of unaccountable investors — are evil, it is difficult to justify not allowing such a financial arrangement as the one that exists between the University and the Coca-Cola Corporation.
If there is any major cola research being financed by Coca-Cola, it does seem best to sever that connection. If there is any, it is very secretive.
James Godwin columnist opinion@kansan.com
The good side of the contract includes
money for scholarships and campus events and free Coke products for those events. The downside is that students learn that big businesses (or whoever has a disproportionate share of money and power) get to do pretty much whatever they want. Students are indoctrinated by the ill-intentioned col giant, more affordable brands are nowhere to be found and the demonic rulers of the Coke underworld preclude our freedom to choose Pepsi and the American way of life.
I'm sure the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy would have something to say about the takeover of the Red Giant if it didn't represent capitalism so well.
It is possible that if competition were allowed, prices would drop, but that is unlikely considering that prices of major brands on "the outside" are comparable to those on campus even when Coke and Pepsi place their machines side by side.
Examining these options, it appears that the question is whether the University is (or ought to be) "selling out." We are weighing tangible benefits with abstract values.
My answer is simple: Until some real harm can be shown other than the obvious evil of depriving honest, hard-working students of the sweet nectar of life (known by some simply as Pepsi), I have to adopt the position that lower educational costs which are a solid goal that is accomplished in part with our contract with Coke, it is worth the trade off.
The question of whether having an exclusive contract with Coca-Cola is a good thing is not answerable by simply weighing the costs and benefits. Some people count dollars, while others make value judgments.
Perhaps we should save our ires for states that hold political prisoners or punish differences in religious convictions and, of course, vending machine companies. Try getting them to fill a change machine sometime.
Godwin is a Topeka junior in political science and economics.
Editorial
Hall residents' proctor pick should stand
Housing officials' decision to deny Watkins residents' choice seems underhanded.
The Department of Student Housing betrayed the trust of Watkins Scholarship Hall when it selected Aidan Loveland instead of Kailli Kuiper as the hall's new proctor.
Residents traditionally have a large say in who fills the hall's leadership positions, and they trust that the department will respect their decisions unless residents' best interests are at stake. But it seems that the department made a decision for reasons unrelated to residents' well-being.
A committee of residents interviewed both Loveland and Kuiper and then recommended Kuiper for proctor. The department stalled until it rejected the committee's recommendation and appointed Loveland.
Selection committee recommendations have almost always been honored by the housing department, and the reversal of the committee's choice led many Watkins residents to suspect that Kuiper's involvement in a lawsuit (in which Loveland was not directly involved) against the University and Bank of America played a role in the decision.
Ken Stoner, director of student housing, said that had no bearing on the proctor selection. He said a committee recommendation was just one factor the department considered.
He also, however, admitted that committee recommendations were rarely overturned. This rarity makes it difficult to reconcile that Kuiper's rejection and her involvement in the lawsuit are mere coincidence.
Kuiper has lived in Watkins longer than Loveland and has held many positions of responsibility, including social chair. She seems eminently qualified to be proctor, which would lead one to demand a concrete explanation for why she didn't get the job.
The housing department, however, has not satisfied that demand. Watkins residents maintain that the only explanations they have received have been vague, roundabout and even contradictory. The manner in which the department handled this situation has left Kuper and the women of Watkins feeling justifiably frustrated and betrayed.
Andy Marso for the editorial board
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.
It's a good thing that those dump trucks that drive by my dorm room at 7 are loud enough to wake me up because even though the buses drown out my alarm clock, I've gotten used to them. I just wish they would turn on the air conditioning so I could sleep without my windows open.
■
Thanks, Drew.
I'd really like to see Student Senate, no matter who gets elected, do something next year to help students retain their passes at Mrs. E's for the week. Like one week's passes carry over to the next.
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How lovely. It's raining so hard we no longer have potholes. We have geysers.
Yes, to the guy who stole all our pornos last week: Thanks a lot, bud. I've gotten more studying done this week than I have all year."
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My roommate, who's has been downloading porn all night, just picked up his computer and walked into his room and shut the door. I guess I won't be typing that English paper tonight.
-
I'm tired of all them stupid people telling me I don't care about anything. Like I care what they think.
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For the love of God, man What happened to the Free for All on Tuesday? You have to bring it back.
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B
If I were a bird, I wouldn't fly. away. I'd go on the parking department.
-
So I was reading that article on that ugly stick, and I was wondering why people were getting so offended about an ugly stick to hit people with because I don't think it's real, and the people should just read the article and laugh because that's what it's all about.
University of Iowa GTAs make $14,000 and more as a minimum for only a nine-month work year. Most KU GTAs make a lot less than that, especially in the humanities. While we're glad some GTAs in the sciences make a lot more, it's not fair for the rest of the GTAs who are getting shafted.
For the couple in the Jeep Cherokee in Robinson parking lot last night: Thanks for the peep show. It was great.
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The key to getting something into the Free for All is saying something that doesn't suck.
I'd just like to say that the *UDK* is like Eric Chenowith. Whatever you want to call it, you know, they're very similar because they both suck.
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Drewl
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