Strong words

People need to be careful what they say for public consumption.

Here are two recent examples.

In announcing the upcoming trip to China by Chancellor Robert Hemenway and eight other Kansas University representatives, Bill Tsutsui, a highly respected Kansas University professor, said, “KU expertise going abroad can make a huge impact on China’s future.”

That’s a pretty strong statement and, if it’s correct, maybe the U.S. State Department should sign up Hemenway and some of his KU colleagues to travel the world, getting things right in many of the current international hot spots.

The chancellor’s traveling party will be gone from Sunday to June 17 and visit seven Chinese universities. Hemenway will deliver a lecture on the Harlem Renaissance at Huazhong Normal University in Wuhan.

It is good to have the KU party flying the university’s flag and working on ways to develop learning opportunities for KU students who wish to study abroad. It is hoped the trip proves to be highly successful, but it seems a bit of an overstatement to suggest the weeklong trip “can make a huge impact” on the future of China, a nation of 1.4 billion.

The other recent example of possible overstatement is more alarming.

David Johnson, the hardworking chief executive officer of the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, appeared Monday before a joint meeting of the Lawrence City Commission, Lawrence school board and Douglas County Commission to argue for continued funding for the center’s WRAP student counseling program. In making his pitch, he said the presence of 21 WRAP counselors in Lawrence high schools, junior highs and elementary schools has kept Lawrence out of national headlines.

“There is not a question in my mind that Lawrence would be on the list of schools across the country where students have committed murder, if WRAP wasn’t in place. There is no question in my mind that Lawrence would be on that list.”

It is merely doubtful that the Hemenway trip will change the history or future of China. However, Johnson’s statement that without the presence of WRAP in area schools, Lawrence would be on the list of schools where students have committed murder is frightening.

He and his associates have a better idea of the mental environment at local schools than most other officials. If his claim is not a massive overstatement, Lawrence residents and school officials should take his words very seriously. It should scare the entire community.

There’s no way to prove or disprove Johnson’s statement, but his claim that WRAP counselors are all that stands between Lawrence schools and a student murder is disturbing. It is hoped that he is not overstating a situation in an effort to frighten officials into providing the funding he requests. If the threat is as great as he portrays, however, perhaps steps beyond the WRAP program are necessary.

In these two cases, the officials in question may not have intended to make their involvement seem as grand or as dire as their statements implied. Perhaps they were simply trying to impress others with the importance of their mission. Either way, it’s important to carefully consider statements made for public consumption.