Monday, November 9, 2009
We’ve all seen them at some point in front of Strong Hall or Wescoe Hall waving banners in front of giant signs and shouting messages. Most of us tend to ignore them, to blow right on by without a second thought. On Monday, however, one group managed to grab my attention: Save the Wetlands.
Even after doing some research, I’ve yet to decide my stance on the issue. The thing that struck me, however, was that the group members conducted the protest in a refreshingly different way. They refrained from over-the-top, in-your-face tactics to make their message heard. They didn’t post 20-foot billboards full of graphic images of recently killed otters or waterfowl. They didn’t promote open argument on campus sidewalks. And they certainly didn’t show up seeking to spread hate and foment anger. They only carried signs, shouted chants and asked for signatures, informing all who asked about their cause.
Too often the protest groups that occupy the lawn in front of Strong Hall or Wescoe Beach assume that college students only respond to shock tactics. In the case of the anti-gay or anti-abortion advocacy groups, they’ve made it very clear that they will rely only on extreme interpretations of the truth. In doing so, they greatly limit the credibility of their message.
The Wetlands group seemed to realize we are adults, something other campus protesters fail to do. We don’t need to be bludgeoned into forming an opinion on an issue. The Wetlands protesters made their motive clear and their message noble, something that, in this case, allowed their messages to carry a little further.
To those not familiar with their message, let me explain. For almost 20 years, the Kansas Department of Transportation has been trying to divert K-10, one of its self-proclaimed most important projects, around the city of Lawrence. KDOT has determined that the best area in which to construct the proposed six-lane South Lawrence Trafficway is through the Baker Wetlands, a 640-acre stretch of marshland south of town. Baker University, which claims much of the area, supports this decision, according to a statement on the University’s Web site.
The land is considered a sacred historical area by Haskell Indian Nations University. So Haskell, along with environmental groups such as the Wetlands Preservation Organization and KU Environs, are trying to preserve the land and have been strongly fighting the Trafficway for the past 20 years. These groups claim that the marshland isn’t the most economically feasible place to construct the highway, let alone the most ecologically logical.
KDOT officials claim the opposite, that the proposed project will in fact increase the size of the Wetlands by appropriating more land for the area.
If nothing else, the Wetlands protesters have earned the right to be heard, and it’s our right to listen to them. Look up some information on the Baker Wetlands and form your own opinion. Web sites such as savethewetlands.org and southlarencetrafficway.org are great places to start. Maybe once we, the students at the University of Kansas, start caring, this 20-year stalemate will finally be broken.
— McQuiston is a Shawnee freshman in journalism and Spanish.
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Comments
McQuiston: Wetlands protest grabbed attention
Build it! If it takes building it south of the river, then that's where it should go, but it should be built regardless.
McQuiston: Wetlands protest grabbed attention
You can learn more about why the owners of the Baker Wetlands support the construction of the SLT across its own property by visiting the Baker Wetlands website: www.bakeru.edu/wetlands
Roger L. Boyd, Ph.D. Director of Natural Areas Baker University Baldwin City, KS
McQuiston: Wetlands protest grabbed attention
You can learn more about why the owners of the Baker Wetlands used to Not support the SLT and how that has changed here:
“The Wetlands will be enhanced by the SLT.'' This is a ridiculous statement derived by selective reasoning. Whether or not any mitigation is every completed and whether that mitigation has any positive impact on even the 2 percent of the wetlands it will relate to, is questionable. The long-term impacts of increased pollution, noise, congestion and development around the Baker University Wetlands will be negative and will in no way enhance this natural area. Letter to the Editor: by Roger Boyd http://www2.ljworld.com/news/1990/nov…
“Roger Boyd, a biology professor who oversees the Baker Wetlands on behalf of Baker University, welcomed the improved prospects of the trafficway not being routed through the wetlands. “Thirty-second Street is still in the wetlands and I have a problem with that, but it's better than the 35th or 38th Street alignments,” Boyd said. “I'd prefer to see it go south of the river.” http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2001/aug…
“Boyd and his university are working with state transportation officials on a plan that eventually would run a six-lane portion of the South Lawrence Trafficway right through the wetlands. In exchange, the university would get ownership of more land to the west and east for new wetlands to be created by the Kansas Department of Transportation and Baker.”
“Boyd said he was confident he can work with the new ground to produce something that looks like wetlands. The question is whether it would function like wetlands. “That's just all going to depend on your definition of functioning and there will probably be lots of definitions. But I should say that I don't think it will ever be as diverse as the Baker Wetlands are.” http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2001/oct…
“Boyd is the Baker official most involved with the state's proposal to add from 200 to 400 acres of new wetlands.” http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2001/oct…
“It will be painful to see a small portion of these restored wetlands destroyed again. But in my heart I know the mitigation that KDOT, the county and Baker University have agreed to is a good one.” “The chosen alignment of 32nd Street is the best choice in the 20-year history of the SLT.” http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/jun…
McQuiston: Wetlands protest grabbed attention
Sorry for the long post, but there are also some good points on both sides of the issue being discussed in the comments from the recent Baker Orange article on the subject here:
http://www.thebakerorange.com/news/university-of-kansas-rally-fights-construction-through-wetlands-1.2052577
Plus a previous Baker Orange article which helped me understand a little more about Professor Boyd's opinions. The article ends with a good summary of why his mind was eventually changed to support the project.
http://www.thebakerorange.com/2.4633/boyd-weighs-pros-cons-of-trade-off-1.449793
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