xt7tht2gbm78 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7tht2gbm78/data/mets.xml The Kentucky Kernel Kentucky -- Lexington The Kentucky Kernel 2005-04-08 Earlier Titles: Idea of University of Kentucky, The State College Cadet newspapers English Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. The Kentucky Kernel The Kentucky Kernel, April 08, 2005 text The Kentucky Kernel, April 08, 2005 2005 2005-04-08 2020 true xt7tht2gbm78 section xt7tht2gbm78 Friday

April 8, 2005

www.kykernel.com
newsroom: 257-1915

T H E K E N T U C K Y Campus pastor praises
Pope John Paul II
Page 4
erne 7 National Lampoon profiles

. partying sides of UK in TV show
Celebrating 33 years of independence page3

first issue free Subsequent issues 25 cents.

No turning back
for Azubuike

Joiunmi nun | sun

BaRhonda Dickerson. an integrated strategic communication junior, said she sometimes doesn't feel welcome when walking around UK. But
through her work as the president of the Black Student Union. she hopes other black students Will feel more welcome in the future.

Special Report: Defining Diversity ~

G BARRIERS

This student is disappointed by the barriers she found when she arrived at UK
and is now working to break down racial misconceptions.

By Danielle Kornis
Tilt KENTUCKY mm

This is rheﬁwnli installment
in u four-part series l’.\'(lmlnln,‘..’

(liiwsin' (it ( 'K and the Anders of

some student groups who (rim to
(ldlYUll‘t’ (lii‘i’rsin' on (rumpus.

RaRhonda Dickerson ad»
mirs that she sometimes regrets
coming to UK.

White students barely look
at her when she walks by on
campus. and she is never picked
first to he in a group in class. the
integrated strategic communi
cation senior said.

But as president of the
Black Student Union. Dicker-
son said she wants to change
the negative parts of campus

Modern dance troupe Visits

By Ashley Graves
mt krnrrickv KIRNfl

Young. energetic and
provocative are words that are
often used to describe
Nebellen. the dance company
that will be performing on
campus Saturday:

Nebellen is one of the per
forming arts events that Stu-
dent Activities lloaril has
bmugbt to campus.

culture and create a place for
students who feel like her to go
for support.

“We‘re the open arms of the
university for black students
when they come to campus."
Dickerson said. “A lot of black
students feel like they're not
part of the university. It does a
lot to you to know that you're
not really a part of something."

The Black Student Union is
an umbrella organization
whose mission is to recruit and
retain black students at UK.
with a secondary mission of ed-
ucating other students about
the black community The
group receives partial funding
from the university There is no
ofﬁcial membership for BSU be
cause there are no dues. but

"Nebellen is lively and en
ergetic something that stu-
dents can relate to." said Day-
na Moore. director of per-
forming arts for SA“. “The
company provides a cutting-
edge variety of talents."

The group brings a blend
of movement and passion to
the stage.

The dancers. whose ages
range from 20 to 28. incorpo

more than 50 people voted in its
last ofﬁcer election.

While Dickerson. 21. wine
from a historically black high
school in Louisville. she is fa.
mil iar with the feeling of stand-
ing out in a sea of white. In ele
mentary schml in Marion
County. she was the only black
student in the school.

“People really put me in a
box.“ she said.

Returning to a similar situa»
tion at UK. Dickerson said. was
difficult. especially when old
friends rave about the histori»
cally black colleges they attend.
But Dickerson couldn't pass up
coming to UK she was of-
fered free tuition through the
William C. Parker Academic

See Dickerson on page 2

rate moves that combine hip
hop. martial arts. break danc
ing. glow-sticks and more 0&-
tablished dance forms like bal
let and tap to create a new
dance genre. ln order to create
something new. Nebellen uses
the most current. poprrlar mu-
sic from electmnica to hiphop
and Kim.

"Their style. flavor and at-

See Dame on page 3

This week:
Tuesday: Diversity means

more than numbers to
many.

Wednesday: The president
of the Latino-American
Student Association works
for understanding.
Yesterday: The former
president of Lambda fights
discrimination and works
for acceptance.

Gotowww emeLcom
tosee stories.

campus

Nebeﬂen

The modern dance group Nebellen
performs at 8 pm. Saturday in the
Singletary Center for the Arts.

iicltets cost $7 for students, $12 for 5
faculty and staff. and $17 for the
general public. For more information l

. or to purchase tickets. call ZS'I-ilCS.

BLBen Roberts
in: kriirucxv mitt

UK junior forward Ke-
lenna Azubuike an-
nounced yesterday
that he will submit
his name for the
NBA Draft and will
not return at UK for
his senior season.

Azubuike in-
formed UK head
coach Tubby Smith
of his decision to
enter his name in
the draft before
Smith left for Final Four fes-
tivities in St. Louis. but he
announced yesterday he had
hired an agent. eliminating
any chance Azubuike could
return to UK. All NCAA Di-
vision I basketball players
are allowed to enter their
names in the draft once and
return to school, as long as
they do not hire an agent.

“I have submitted my
name into the 2005 NBA
Draft. and I have signed
with an agent." Azubuike

.(ti

Azubuike

said. “I know all the implica-
tions of signing with an
agent. I am willing to do
whatever it takes to get bet-
ter before the draft."

Azubuike led the
Cats in scoring this
year with 14.7 points
per game. and his 4.7
rebounds per game
were second to team-
mate Chuck Hayes.
He earned second
team All-Southeast-
ern Conference hon-
ors from both the As-
sociated Press and
the league’s coaches.

The UK forward will be
the ﬁrst Cat to leave school
early for a professional ca-
reer since Nazr Mohammed
was drafted by the Utah Jazz
in 1998. and only the second
player to leave early since
Smith became head coach.
Former UK players Keith
Bogans and Tayshaun
Prince entered their names
in the draft as underclass-

See Azubuike on page 6

Studentsput ‘Voice’
to rape in new play

By Mary Kate Armstrong
THE KENTUCKY KERNEL

UK Women‘s Place, a
center for violence against
women. is seeking student
experiences of sexual as-
sault. violence and relation—
ship issues for a new drama
production. “In Our Own
Voices."

For the production.
which will debut next se-
mester during freshman ori»
entation. Women‘s Place is
also asking UK students to
submit suggestions of how
to make campus safer. Male
and female students affected
by these issues. either di-
rectly or indirectly. are
urged to submit their sto-
ries and experiences.

English sophomore Ash-
ley Rouster. a student advo-
cate for ITK Women‘s Place.
said students should come
forward for this production.

“Student voices are
strong. and it is time they
are heard." Rouster said.

“In Our Own Voices"

Undefeatedin SEC.

will incorporate these St0~
ties and experiences into a
multimedia production that
will be performed. directed
and produced by students.
Rouster said. The produc-
tion will also present posi-
tive solutions for the future
of UK and help change oth-
er people's lives. she said.

In previous years. a pro
duction of “The Date" was
performed during Welcome
Week for incoming fresh-
men to address the issue of
rape on campus.

Dorothy Edwards. the di-
rector of UK Women‘s
Place. said the problem With
“The Date" was that the fo-
cus was too narrow and it
didn't incorporate student
voices. “In Our Own Voices"
addresses these issues by
creating a broader focus
and including both male
and female accounts. she
said.

"It is one thing to talk
about a broad. national is-

See Play on page 3

Cats face road test

By Adam Sichko
IH£ krurucriv KERNEL

A few days ago. the Inter-
collegiate Tennis Associa-
tion released its newest
rankings for women‘s ten
nis. According to the lTA‘s
formula. Georgia is the No. 4
team in the nation; [K is
one spot behind.

But the Cats who put
their undefeated Southeast-
ern (‘onference record on
the line today against the

Bulldogs had two words
in reply to those rankings:
Advantage. Kentucky

"lt does seems a little
that way." said sophomore
Sarah Foster when asked if
the rankings were unfair
“But that can only give us
even more incentive to get
out there and beat them. It
can almost work in our fa-
vor. actually."

Sophomore Kim Coven

See Tennis on page 6

UK junior Danielle
Petrisko practices
with the women's
tennis team
Wednesday. No. 5
UK (19-3. 8-0
Southeastern Con-
ference) faces No.
4 Georgia (13-3, 7-1
SEC) today at 2
pm. at the Dan
Magiel Tennis Com-
plex in Athens. Ga.

“II-I
mn

m: z | Friday, April a. 2005

Dickerson

Continued from page 1

Scholarship. an academic schol-
arship awarded to promising in-
state. ﬁrst-year. ﬁrst-time black
students

“A lot (1” people can't get by
in this situation." she said. "You
have to have thick skin."

To reach out to black stu-
dents, the Black Student Union
meets every other Wednesday
in the Student Center to talk
about topics like the eﬂ‘ect of
the presidential election. tuition
issues and the education gap in
the black community

Many activities throughout
the year are also sponsored by
the organization. The group
holds a Spring Fest every year
for all students on South Cam-
13118. with food. games. inflata-
bles and music. One of its
biggest events and fundraisers
is the annual Apollo Show. a tal-
ent showcase modeled after the
original Apollo Theatre in New
Yak City

Dickerson said that she
would like to see UK‘s quest for
diversity be more handson.

“It'd be nice to go down to
the cultural center and see ad-
ministrators down there.“ she
said. referring to the MLK Cul-
tural Center.

_ One administrator consis-
tently shows interest in black
students. she said

Pat Terrell. vice president of
student affairs. comes to every
BSU meeting and really listens
to students. Dickerson said.

“People like that make you

think this university can spark
a change." she said.

And changes are necessary
Dickerson said. especially a
change in attitudes toward
black students in the classroom.

“You accept me only alter I
prove myself." she said "People
are amazed by talented black
students"

While most other students
will simply throw on jeans. a t-
shirt and running shoes for a
presentation. Dickerson always
dresses in a suit. Dressing pro
fessionally helps overcome the
stereotypes. she said.

“You have to put yourself
out there.” she said. “You have
to be 10 to 12 times better."

Socially black students
must constantly ﬁght negative
Stereotypes too.

Historically-black fraterni-
ties usually hold their events
and parties on campus because
many businesses do not want to
rent to black students. Dicker!
son said. even though black stu-
dents tend to be more “socially
responsible“ than white stu-
dents

This comes from the intense
pressure to succeed. she said.
Many black students are ﬁrst-
generation college students.

“We came up here with the
fearofGodinusthatwe
weren't going to make it." she
said. "We have a lot of weight
on our shoulders to prove that
we're here for a reason."

Yet she says this pressure is
largely internal.

“A lot of people could care
less whether we win or lose."
she said.

Dickerson‘s motivation has
led to academic and career suc-

cess. Between her duties as
Black Student Union president
and working 211 hours per week
for the university she is also
member of UK's National Stu-
dent Advertising TEam and was
recently chosen as one of 15 stu
dents nationwide to travel to
New York City to accept a schol'
arship from the Advertising
Women of New York. a
women's communications asso
ciation.

Dickerson plans to move to
Chicago after graduation.
where she already has a job

Being in larger cities like
New York or Chicago is a wel-
come change from Lexington.
Dickerson said. because the
population is so much more di-
verse

“Our world is so much big-
ger than Kentucky and people
don't lmow that." Dickerson
said. “We are so limited here.
and I feel for everyone who has
not had a worldly experience."

To promote understanding
and new perspectives. UK
should require a cultural diver
sity class. Dickerson said. as
well as oﬂ‘er more travel oppor-
tunities for students

Yet all these small changes
made by separate groups will
not be enough. Dickerson said.
A sweeping change organized
by the administration. rather
than just the Black Student
Union. will be necessary to
make UK feel like home for cur-
rent and future black students

“I’m not trying to start
somebody's revolution." she
said. “I'm just trying to make
people more conscious of them-
selves"

Email dlwmismlrykemelmm

CORRECTION

The On Tap" section in Wednesday 5 Kernel incorrectly listed the venue of John Mel-
lencamp‘ 5 upcoming concert Mellencamp performs at 8 p. m. on April 11 at Freedom Hall
in Louisville Tickets cost $34 to $14.

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Friday
April 8. 2005
PAGE 3

Features

Crystal Little
Features Editor

Phone: 257-195
E-mail: clittleOlryliernel.com

‘Lampoon’ lauds UK

By Iyler Iontgomery
111: 1111mm 11:11an

UK has never been known
as a party school; however.
when National Lampoon
rolled into town in early Feb-
ruary, UK let out its wild side
and redeﬁned “animal house."

During the week of Feb. 9,
National Lampoon’s s“College
Town USA" came to document
the way college students at
UK actually live.

“‘College Town USA’ is the
unofficial college handbook."
said National Lampoon host
Chris Underwood. “We tell
you the fun stuff at school.”

Underwood and his crew
began their “documentary”
by ﬁlming UK’ s Trap and
Skeet team.

“We let him (Underwood)
shoot, and he was actually
pretty good.” said team mem-
ber Jon Burba.

After ﬁlming the Trap and
Skeet team, Underwood and
his crew began their' Journey
through the UK nightlife. Dur-
ing the next five days they
ﬁlmed students at Kitty
0 Sheas, Two Keys Tavern
Gambino' s and even ate at Joe
Bologna's.

Underwood said Lexington
had “one of the best bar
scenes ever."

For the Georgia vs. UK
basketball game on Feb. 12.
Underwood got in touch with
Burba to ﬁlm their house for a
party.

“They called me up for the
basketball game and wanted
to see how we party in Ken-
tucky," Burba said.

The house party began an
hour before the game with
some of UK‘s students on
hand to be filmed. Under-
wood’ 5 crew ﬁlmed the entire
house with a walk- through by
Burba. The crew then pro-
ceeded to the top floor where
about 20 UK students were
screaming for the Cats.

They ﬁlmed students play-
ing pool foosball and having a
great time.

“We wanted to represent
and show them how we party
it up in Lexington." said Bur-
ba s roommate Andrew
Heckaman.

“I had a blast at that house
party,” Underwood said.

They ﬁlmed the house for
about four hours with the fi-
nal shot of everyone at the
party screaming “C-A-T-S" on
the second-story balcony

“I told my parents we were
being ﬁlmed. but afterward I
told them they couldn’ t see
it," said Burba after the party
died out. “They ﬁlmed college
the way it really is.’ After
the house party. National
Lampoon made their way
down to film at a crowded
Gambino s. The bar was
packed with students and bas-
ketball players trying to have
a good time with National
Lampoon

“The bars are so good and
loving the fact that they are
on camera Underwood said.
“They weren't acting stupid."

They ﬁlmed Gambino’s for
about two hours then went
back to their hotels where an
attempt to recover from the
days partying was out of the

'Colleqetown TITS—ATM l

National Lampoon Networks will
broadcast the UK edition of “College
Iown USA" today, and the episode can
be seen through April 21. Visit www.na-
tionallampoonnetworkscom for local
listings and for more information
about the series, or contact your cable
service provider.

question.

“I was so wired from all
the excitement. I couldn‘t
sleep for days," Underwood
said.

On Sunday. Feb. 13. the
crew switched to coffee with a
trip to Common Grounds to
ﬁlm a Poetry Slam.

Underwood emphasized
how much he truly enjoyed
being at UK.

“I love the University of

Kentucky," he said. “It was
the most hospitable."

He also said that it re-
minded him of his hometown
in Oklahoma.

“Girls. girls and hospitali-
ty are the key to the Universi-
ty of Kentucky." said Under-
wood when asked to describe
the school.

Underwood said “College

Town USA" has been filming

universities since 2003. and
they love shooting schools
that are supported by the com-
munity around them.

Before he left Lexington.
Underwood said. “I accom-
plished some things at that
party that I wanted to accom-
plish before I died."

E-mail

featuresladrykernel. com

MTVU spotlights charity tourney

By Andrea Diebold
THE KENTUCKY 115111111

UK will receive national
exposure as MTVU comes to
Lexington on Sunday to film
and promote a basketball
tournament hosted by Sigma
Phi Epsilon.

The fraternity is hosting
a three-on-three basketball
tournament that runs from
Sunday to Tuesday to raise
money for the Youth AIDS or-
ganization.

“The headquarters of our
fraternity contacted MTVU
to tell them about the tourna-
ment. and they wanted to
come and help support the
cause." said John Gillispie.
president of the fraternity.

More than 700 campuses
nationwide are tuned in to
MTVU. which is featured on
campus at the Student Cen-
ter. Students participating in

the tournament will compete
for the chance to win $500
and appear on MTVU. The Fi-
nal Four and championship
on Tuesday will be filmed
and televised nationally.

“The network is running
a series on fraternities and
wants to show footage of
frats doing beneﬁcial things
for their community."
Gillispie said They want to
break into the whole frat
scene and bust some of the
stereotypes of fraternity
life."

Sigma Phi Epsilon hopes
to raise $10,000 for Youth
AIDS. whose national
spokesperson is UK alumna
Ashley Judd. Reporters for

Registration

Students wishing to regis-
ter can do so online at
www Youthaids. org/Sing/
uk. htm. The registration
fee is $50. Those who come
to support the event get in
free Sunday to watch the
games. The championship
on Tuesday will begin at 7
pm. in Memorial Coliseum
and will be followed by a
concert featuring DJ Scril-
la. All proceeds from the
event will go to Youth AIDS.

MTVU will be on campus
Monday to interview stu-
dents and publicize the event.

“I think it is cool that
MTVU is promoting UK and
showing fraternity life for

what it really is." said Tyler

Hinton, a member of Sigma
Phi Epsilon.

featuresra kykernel. com

Play

Continued from page 1

sue." Edwards said. “It is
something completely differ-
ent to say. ‘This is happening
here on our campus. to me.‘
UK Women’ s Place estab-
lished in January 2005. focuses
on ending violence through in-
tervention and prevention ef-

forts. Be- 5T
cause of in- I
creasing
student in-

Place Stu- A

is forming. L“ 7“
Edwards said.

“We are greatly apprecia-
tive and inspired by the stu-
dent involvement and look for-
ward to their guidance and in-

Dance

Continued trom page I

titude grab the audience‘s at-
tention in an entertaining. re-
freshing way," Moore said.

The dancers involve the au-
dience not only by their high-

energy performance but also
with audience participation.

Each performance includes
improvisations by the dancers
and a live DJ set.

“It is a unique event." said
Tyler Works. assistant director
of performing arts for SAB.
“The group is fresh and enter-
taining. Their style is not
stereotypical dance.‘

“We have provided the stu-

Shadebox

L1ve at
"(ADDYSHACK Bar 8. Gnll"
Performing today's most and classrs
Apnl 9th 9 30- l 00 AM

Recycle
the

KERNEL

‘In Our Own Voice'

I Stories can be e- mailed confidentially to 1 Place
dedwa3®email uky. edu or anonymously by ad- 1 tinues t0
terest a UK { dressing mail to Dorothy Edwards, UK Women' 51
W0 m e n s l Place,153 Bowman Hall Lexington Ky 40506.
Call the Womens Place at 257 3564 orl
dent (311)11le 257- 3574 for more information

7 put as UK
lWomen's
con-

take shape."

1 she said.
All sub-
l m i s s i o n s
are conﬁ-
dential. and the deadline for
this year‘s production is April

15.

Email
newslu kvkernel. com

dents and community with the
opportunity to see how dance
styles can be interwoven with
familiar music." said Megan
Powell. director of quality con-
trol for SAB. “It is culturally
enriching and entertaining at
the same time."

Email
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Friday
April 8. 2005

Emily Hagedorn, Editor in chief

Andrew Martin. Opinions editor
Ben Roberts. Asst. Opinions editor

Rebecca Neal. Asst. managing editor for news

Steve lvey, Managing editor
Brenton Kenkel, Copy desti chief
Sara Cunningham, Proiects editor
Tim Wiseman. Sports editor

Diversity drive doesn’t stop at admissions

In 2004. a survey showed what everyone
knew -_ UK students struggle to reach out
across racial and ethnic groups.

Conducted by the Ofﬁce of Institutional
Research. the Campus Climate Survey asked
6.500 students if their “interactions on cam-
pus are largely with students of my race/eth-
nicity“

Thirtyeight percent of black students. 63
percent of white students and 36 percent of
“other“ minorities said their interactions
stay within their group.

It's a difﬁcult problem with no easy
answers. but it's a problem UK must do more
to address.

Goal No. 5 of UK's 200306 Strategic Plan

environment that will nurture diversity of
thought. culture. gender and ethnicity."
Unfortunately administrators oﬁen use
statistics to measure the school's progress
diversity however. is much more than raw data.
“We spend a lot of time looking at num-
bers. and we don‘t look at the environment
where we get those numbers. and so the insti-
tution becomes a revolving door." said
Deneese Jones. chair of the President‘s
Commission on Diversity. an advisory group
to President Lee Todd established in 2002.
”We do a lot of good things. but it's scat-
tered across campus. and there's no one
umbrella that pulls all this together." she said.
To reach its goal. UK must do more than

campus. When the students reach campus is
when the real work begins.

“It's one thing to talk about valuing diver-
sity as a general social good." said William
Turner. associate provost for multicultural
affairs. "But it's another to do speciﬁc things
so that the place will be diverse.“

Those efforts should begin when the stu-
dents ﬁrst reach campus.

At orientations, UK should work to bring
students out of their comfort zones. Since so
many Kentucky students come to UK with
established circles of friends. it- is vital that
the school develop ways to encourage branch-
ing out.

The university~wide Diversity Plan Task

heads and other unit head representatives —
was formed to ﬁnd indicators of diversity
beyond numbers.

The task force expects to complete a com-
prehensive diversity plan in early April.

This is a step in the right direction, and it
is a positive sign UK recognizes its shortcom-
mgs.

Still. change will require more than
reports and committees. Everyone must take
part in the process.

“It really does come down to the individ-
ual making that extra step." said graduate
student Venu Yenuga.

That's simple. but it is so much easier
said than done. Hopefully UK will help give

states: “We must foster a creative. supportive

just look at the headcounts of minorities on

Force

comprised of 40 deans. department

students a reason to take that first step.

“Mn-Acoonoonounoo.“ . .....-~a...... .- --. u .. . .-..-.. .. .a.--uo

mm "LII I sure

This picture of Pope John Paul ll hangs in the Catholic Newman Center's foyer before the 5 pm. Sunday Mass. About 300 people
attended that night's servrce. The pope died Saturday afternoon.

Reflections on the death of the pope

In the 24 hours that followed the
death of Pope John Paul II. I heard a
UK student comment that he felt as if
he had lost a grand-
father. I read the
comment of a New
Jersey professor
anti rabbi who said
he felt as if he had
lost a brother and I
listened to the inter-
views with former
Secretary of State
(‘olin Powell and
UN Secretary
General Kofi
Annan. in which
they acknowledged John Paul's
impact on world affairs.

Truly. I thought. we were graced
with a charismatic anti capable leader
as pope. one who managed to connect
with all kinds of people on a personal
level. even people he never met. and at
the same time he was able to wield
great influence in the public and mid
ical realm and on the world stage. It
was a wonderful balancing act. a ser-
vice retidered in love that we are just
beginning to appreciate and a source
of ongoing reflection.

In the course of the past week. I
have found myself reflecting in grati-
tude on the gifts of John Paul anti how
he used them in the service of the
church and the world. He was an
anchor of stability in a turbulent sea.
and at the same time a catalyst for
social progress. revolution and change

Fr. Tom
Farrell

{BU—ESTTOIUMNISI

(I think of the role he played in the
downfall of Communism in Eastern
Europe. ).

He was a Renaissance man (given
the range of his interests and pur-
suits). the rnost influential religious
voice in the last 100 years (that from
Billy Graham) and the most widely
traveled evangelist the world has ever
known (He ended up speaking. in per-
son. to more people than anyone else
in human history).

He was an advocate of human
rights. an agent of reconciliation
(Think of the official apology for the
sins of the church against the Jewish
people.) and a prophetic voice in the
wilderness. crying out for the cessae
tion of war and the cultivation of
peace (He opposed the war in Iraq and
tried to dissuade the l'nited States
from initiating it ).

He was an icon of Jesus (‘hrist
(Think of the love he expressed for the
crowds he often addressed and the out»
reach to particular individuals in the
crowd. especially children.) and a
model of (‘hrist-likc love (He sought
out his would be assassin in prison
anti offered him forgiveness).

He was a friend anti father ﬁgure
to the world's youth (hosting. every
other year. World Youth Day in some
major urban center) and a pioneer in
interfaith dialogue and outreach to
major world religions (Think of the
interfaith forum be hosted in Assisi in
1986.).

He was a proponent of human dig

nity and a champion of the right to
life (holding firm on opposition to
abortion. euthanasia. assisted suicide
and capital punishment).

He denounced the sexual exploita-
tion of women. upheld the basic rights
of women in developing nations and
called for recognition of women's gifts
(Though he opposed women‘s ordina-
tion. he did open signiﬁcant leader-
ship roles to women in church admin-
istration)

Finally he served as a mystic. a
man deeply rooted in prayer and a
reminder of the need to integrate and
balance the contemplative with the
active life.

Truly. John Paul was an extraordi-
nary pope. With his death. many of us
feel not only a sense of personal loss
but also a new awareness of his inﬂu—
ence and farvreaching impact. With
countless others throughout the
world. we grieve his loss today; we
give thanks for the gift of his life; we
commend him to God‘s everlasting
care. and we trust that he has heard
already the words of the Gospel that
we. by (lod's grace and favor. hope to
hear ourselves one day: “Well done.
good anti faithful servant. (Tome to the
feast: come to the banquet; come to the
place prepared for you frorn the foun-
dation of the world."

May John Paul II rest in peace.

sions.

E'MAIL

Submissions

Send .i giicst column or letter to the editor to ( )plllllill\
Editor Andrew Martin or Assistant Opinions Editor lien
Roberts. Please limit letters to 250 words or less. Be siirc to
include your full name. class and Ilidjlir \\'I(h all submis-

opinions@kykernel.com

i().\'l.l.\'l€ Poll.Qi'ies'i‘ioy

Shouldthenextpopegenerallybeconservattyeor
llberalonissuessuchasabortlonblrthcontiurl-
vorte.apriest'svowotcelibacyandordaining

women?

emotive
metal

VOTE OIUNE AT momma

LETTERSTOTHEEDITOR
Watts united students as $6 prez

Wednesday's editorial referring to Rachel Watts as an
effective Student Government leader should have come with
an apology Throughout her tenure, The Kernel repeatedly
criticized her actions as president and used her status in a
sorority to promote its vendetta against UK‘s Greek com-
munity

These criticisms came despite Watts' sincere approach-
es to unite the student body for efforts such as campaigning
against tuition hikes and her effective diplomatic approach-
es to dealing with the administration.

Additionally. under her guidance. SG regained much of
the support and trust from the students that had been lost
before she took over. Watts undoubtedly had the interests of
the students at heart.

I wish to publicly applaud her for those efforts and
thank her for helping to create a more efﬁcient. successful
SG. It is my sincere hope that the next SG president will be
as skillful and valuable to this university as Rachel Watts

certainly proved to be.
TONY COLYER
political science senior

More practical alternatives exist
to fixing Social Security problem

We‘ve heard a lot of rhetoric about private accounts to
replace Social Security as we know it.

However. private accounts are already available.

They are called Individual Retirement Accounts. IRAs
are the true personal accounts. and they have been available
for years. IRAs are offered to most wage earners, and with
one version (Roth). all earnings are tax free when with-
drawn at retirement.

If you still want to contribute to an IRA for $04. you
have until April 15 to do this. Most people can contribute up
to $3.000 a year. but you can start with $100 or less. Go to your
bank or a broker for more i