4a Opinion Tuesday, February 13, 2001 For comments, contact Chris Borniger or Nathan Willis at 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com Perspective Shift in format at KJHK serves student listeners I am just like you. I am just another nameless face that passes you by on my way to class. I shop at The Gap, love Target — but find Wal-Mart to be the better deal — and love University of Kansas basketball. Unlike you, I am KJHK's music director. Shake you, I am KJHK's music director. A recent Kansan.com poll asked whether readers approved of KJHK's format shift to include more popular music. Out of 2,625 votes, 96 percent said no, that KJHK had compromised its commitment to lesser-known artists. I don't know how much more I can take of this. First, what is popular? I hope I speak for the majority of students when I say the mainstream market does not appeal to college students any longer. If you are the type who enjoys Britney Spears, N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys, I commend you for your bravery, but not for your taste in music. KJHK has been and always will be committed to lesser-known artists. Radio listeners will not find the new Stephen Malkmus or Low albums on any other station in the surrounding area. KJHK always will be your "sound alternative." your schoolmate. I am trying, with the help of other students, to give the University the Ty Haas guest columnist opinion@kansan.com radio station it deserves. The station has tweaked its format, not done away with it. We have added albums such as the new U2 album, the reissue of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass and the new group featuring Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys, BS 2000. Those are recognizable artists but ones that KJHK would have played in the past. KJHK altered its format to make sure you, the students, could hear all these artists. In the past, the new U2 album could have gone an entire day without a single spin. With our new format, the new U2 album will probably play five times in a given day. This may stifle our long-time listeners who listen to nothing but KJHK,but I think we will be more successful in attracting more students. If you're like me, you are too busy to listen to the station for eight hours a day. Chances are, the average listener will hear the new U2 only once, maybe twice at the most. This change is to complement some of our longtime listeners' favorite groups. Ever heard of a group called Call & Response? What about Margo Guryan? Drums And Tuba? Ladytron? Mellow? You probably haven't because those artists are unfamiliar to us when we get their CDs. Tune in, and I bet you'll enjoy them. In the past, those unknown groups and artists may have been all the station played for an entire set, maybe even up to three hours. To me, to many members of the KJHK staff and to students walking to class every morning, that's bad radio. I'll put this theory in an example. Nirvana's Nevermind (something I think the majority of students attending the University can agree is classic) opened with a song called "Smells Like Teen Spirit." That song's energy and message spoke to us, it fit our current mood and it was not overly bizarre that it threw people off. If that album's first release had been "Lounge Act," the group would have never broke through the way they did. However, because those songs came later in the album, they became just as infectious as the album's initial hit, if not fan favorites. That is what KJHK staffers are trying to do. We want to give you something that makes sense to you as a student. After that initial push, the station hopes you will stay tuned to hear the artists generating waves among music enthusiasts. A disc jockey's set, in theory, would begin with something such as George Harrison. As a listener, we hope you say to yourself "Man, George Harrison sure had some cool things to say after the Beatles broke up. This is really good." Later in the same set, KJHK will hit you up with the new OF Montreal release, in hope that you will say, "Wow! This is different. I really enjoy this." Students: This is your station just as much as it is mine. Without you and your support, KJHK wouldn't exist. Naan is an Oatley senior in history and humanities. He is the KKM music director. Bruno Pieroni/KANSAN By the Numbers $9,994 Amount Americans say they would pay to learn how to avoid paying taxes. $3,354 Amount Americans say they would pay to know what Jesus would do. Number of liposuctions performed in the United States in 1999. Source: Harper's Index 108 Days after Al Gore's birth in 1948 that the States' Rights Party nominated Senator Strom Thurmond for president. Rank of Thurmond, as senior majority senator, among those within a heartbeat of the presidency. Perspective Looking for serious advice? It's not here Thanks to the kind of overwhelming demand that either wins people movie contracts or gets them arrested. Mr. College Answer Person returns to answer your questions. The University Daily Kansan would like to remind its readers that Mr. College Answer Person is generally kept under sedation in a padded room, so his advice may have little basis in reality. His lack of an actual name is disturbing too, but outside of the Kansan's concerns at the moment. The paper's staff is assiduously preparing an exposé on hair spray and can't be disturbed. With all that in mind, let's get started! Dear Mr. College Answer Person: Speaking in front of large groups of people makes me nervous. My palms sweat, I shake and I babble like a lunatic. How can I overcome this problem? Imagining your audience naked works for some, but Mr. College Answer Person finds that far too traumatic. He prefers to shed his own clothes and the "Answer Person Exotic Dance" to calm his nerves. Although audiences sometimes are disgusted, he's also occasionally received very interesting proposals after he's finished the speech. Making the box ready hard might fix it. Mr. College Answer Person has little experience with technology, except for his brief stint as president of Apple Computers in the late '90s. And because of his excess drinking during that time, he really doesn't remember much of what he did, except inventing the annoying little round iMac mouse. Clay McCuistion columnist opinionkanan.com Dear Mr. College Answer Person: My computer doesn't work. How can I fix it? Dear Mr. College Answer Person: I want to start a band. I can't play any musical instruments, however. What instrument should I learn? The bagpipes. They always sound freakishly out-of-tune anyway, so who could tell if you played them incorrectly? If you want a more modern instrument, Mr. College Answer Person recommends the bass guitar, which is so simple it can actually be played by some lower forms of plant life. Mr. College Answer Person knows that some musicians will disagree with this assessment, citing such musically-gifted bass players as John Entwistle of the Who, Paul McCartney of the Beatles or John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. He also knows those people really need to find a hobby. Mr. College Answer Person gives nothing but serious and insightful comments. Why, every syllable typed by his magic fingers contains poetry and depth nonpareil. Not to mention how his propinquitously worded phrasing can help build your vocabulary! Dear Mr. College Answer Person: I come to the opinion page every day to read serious and insightful comments about society. Why are you on it? Mr. College Answer Person will be spending it with his sweetie, whom he's been dating for about three weeks. This sweetie is special to him, but thanks to certain court orders and county regulations, the name, identity and even gender of said sweetie can't be revealed. As his sweetie has assured him on numerous occasions, however, it's all good. So he won't fret. Dear Mr. College Answer Person: What will you be doing for Valentine's Day? Mr. College Answer Person's e-mail address is mrcollegeanswerperson@hotmail.com. Let him know what's on your mind. As for the rest of you who can actually reveal your significant others, have a marvelous holiday, and remember that Mr. College Answer Person told you to not catch any nasty romantic diseases. Dear Mr. College Answer Person: Can I e-mail you? McCulston is an El Dorado senior in English and journalism. Editorial Senators should use excess cash Money left over from the student activity fee should not sit stagnant. Student Senate's reserve account contains about $428,000 — money originally intended to go to student organizations. After years of bickering, senators finally established guidelines by which the money could be spent. The time to spend it is now. When a student enrolls at the University of Kansas, in addition to paying for tuition, room, board and books, that student must pay a $17 fee that supports student organizations on campus. But not all of that money gets used, so Senate stashes it in a state bank account. There, it earns interest, which the state — not students — collects. Although Senate could do many things with the money, it hasn't done anything substantial with the funds. Senate created the Reserve Account Task Force to figure out how to use the money. It is a wonder that students' money has sat stagnant for so long. The task force is polling students to decide how to use the money. The task force, however, needs to poll more aggressively. The task force has set a goal of spending a significant amount of the money by May 2001. Before that, Senate must have some concrete ideas about what students want. Some senators have proposed worthy ideas, but they remain just ideas. The money should be spent on something that benefits as many students as possible, not just a select few. New bus shelters, information kiosks and a youth hostel are just some of the possibilities. Senate shouldn't be shy about doing something with this money. The only time it has used any of it was in 1994, when it spent $150,000 to ensure KU on Wheels could continue to operate. In case of a similar situation, Senate should leave a similar amount untouched. But that leaves more than $250,000 that could go to great use. A penny saved may be a penny earned, but Senate has a lot of extra pennies. It's time students got something tangible for their money. Marc Ingber for the editorial board free all for 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, visit www.kansan.com. --- KUIDs. make great ice scrapers in a pinch. Valentine's Day is just another reason for single guys to get drunk. 图 - If the SOMA group is so open minded, why can't they just accept Christ as their savior? I did it and I'm not a Christian. It's not that hard. I'm pretty open-minded. Roy, give me a scholarship. I can mlls layups just as good as Hinrich can. - I don't believe the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics actually exists. --- Seventeen points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots. Eric doesn't need to apologize for anything. Maybe we should start cheering for him, not against him. Come on guys, grow up. - At the basketball game, we need some new cheers. 图 - I wish Tanglewood Apartments would try and get the ice out of the parking lot so that people didn't die every time they tried to go to their cars. To whoever destroyed the showers on the sixth floor of Ellsworth: Go find a jungle gym somewhere else. This place was bad enough when we got here. We don't need you tearing it down any more. 图 Mrs. E's bagels are blueberry crazy. - Chenowith, I never wanted to play Kansas basketball and I sit around and play old school Nintendo all day long, so who wins now? How can infomercials make so much sense at 3 in the morning? - 图 I was just wondering if Big 12 officials got paid by the foul. I was wondering if it worried anybody else if the water in Lawrence isn't clear. It's probably not safe if it's that color. 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 typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run. All letters and guest columns should be e-mailed to opinion@kansan.com or submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Chris Borniger or Nathan Wills at 864-4924. If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4924. Managing editors .. Mindle Miller ... Matt Daugherty News editors .. Chris Borniger ... Sara Nutt ... Amy Randolph ... Jason Walker Readers' reps... Leita Schultes Warisa Chulindra Opinion .. Chris Borniger Associate opinion Nathan Willis Sports .. Shawn Hutchinson Associate sports .. Shawn Linenberger Editor ... Lori O'Toole New. editor@kansan.com or 864-4854 editor@kansan.com or 864-4854 864-4854 864-4854 864-4854 864-4854 readersup@kansan.com or 864-4810 optinlon@kansan.com or 864-4924 sports@kansan.com or 864-4850 editors Campus ... Jay Krall. ... Kursten Phelps Features ... Kristi Ellott Jayplay ... Erinn R. Barcom Online ... Katie Moore Associate online ... Chris Hopkins ... Andrew Vaupel Photo ... Selena Jabara Design, graphics .. Kyle Ramsey Wire ... J.R. Mendoza Special sections .. Sara Nutt General manager The University Daily Kansan writer@kansan.com or 864-4810 features@kansan.com or 864-4824 ajayplay@kansan.com or 864-4810 webeditor@kansan.com or 864-4810 864-4821 864-4812 864-4810 864-4810 teblen@kansan.com and news adviser . Tom Eblen Business ... Trent Guyer Marketing ... Anika Entwistle Campus ... Adam Lampinstein Regional ... Angie Boley National ... Chris Davenport Online sales ... Katie Mariani ... Mark Rudu Online creative ... Jeremy Gaston Creative ... Erin Endres or 864-7657 adddirector@kansan.com or 864-4014 retailsales@kansan.com or 864-4462 864-4358 864-4358 864-4358 onlineads@kansan.com or 864-4358 864-4358 864-4358 managers Special sections ... Katy Hyman Production ... Rebekah Gaston ... Emily Knowles Classifieds ... Jared Thurston Zone ... Nik Reed Zone ... Jenny Moore Zone ... Chrissy Kontras Zone ... Kelly Feuille Sales and marketing Matt Fisher 864-4358 864-4475 classfleds@kansan.com or 864-4350 864-4350 864-4350 864-4350 nfsherski@kansan.com or 864-7666