To the editor:

KU student body President Michael Wade Smith, I like your ambitious platform. Hats off to you.

l Make KU ecologically 100 percent sustainable.

l Create a student services center.

l Publish teacher evaluations online.

l Make textbooks more affordable.

l Establish a university-wide community service day.

l Increase multiculturalism on campus.

Perhaps Smith and Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little would consider one more huge project as a team.

KU has a Williams Fund and now a Junior Williams Fund. Why not create a “Williams Fund” for those who could be strong in KU academics but are NOT athletes? Athletes do not need to be academic scholars, yet financial assistance seems endless.

The athletic program gets tons of money and maybe other perks to help athletes through college. Has KU developed too narrow a vision?

Focus on academics! Academics are the creator of invention, economic growth, new industry, masters of education, art and design, culture across the board and stimulation into other areas of expertise.

How large is the possibility of creating a fund that would accept large and small sums of money for academic students? No donation too small. Offer an avenue for those who are not interested in new buildings or donating ever more money to sports programs.

How about a source of “academic free money” for books, tuition, food and maybe rent money for lower income students who are strong in academics?

Why the concern? Student loans have become a source of large profits for financial institutions. Let’s promote academics instead.

Richard Heckler,

Lawrence