THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
WWW.KANSAN.COM
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18,2005
PAGE 5A
STAND UP!
Competition does not show true beauty
On Nov. 26, our state will hold its Miss Kansas competition and will crown the next woman to represent the state for the next year. But how much of this competition is actual skill, rather than blunt sex appeal?
There are three parts of the competition: swimsuit, evening gown and an interview. That means that personality counts for 1/3 of the competition. The director of Miss Kansas USA said there are five judges, and each judge gets four minutes to question each of the 30 contestants in the pageant. Now, honestly, how much is a "judge" going to know about one's personality in four minutes?
I have had many four-minute
JOEL SIMONE opinion@kansan.com
conversations and haven't found out much more than a person's name, age and where they come from. It takes more than four minutes, a night or even a week to find out a person's personality. And even after you think you really know someone, she could still do things that catch you off guard.
Even if the judges were to ask meaningful questions, how hard would it be to lie for four minutes to someone who has never met you? I would have each judge thinking I spent the last six months rescuing orphans in Zimbabwe.
By using these specific criteria to select a representative of Kansas, this competition is trying to define what beauty is. "Beauty" is the hardest word in the English language to define, because it means something different to everyone.
If you ask anyone on campus to list the 12 most attractive women on campus, each person is going to give you a different combination of women. Hence, the 12 hottest women on campus are not necessarily the ones photographed in the Women of
KU calendar or signed up for the Miss Kansas competition.
That was the opinion of the judges of those particular competitions. Those girls fit the judge's ideals of beauty.
Last week, while taking my daily stroll to class, I saw a girl with blue hair. My first reaction was, "Oh, Lord." I was shocked, but after thinking about it, I realized that there is someone for everyone, and someone out there thinks this girl is beautiful. She did not match my ideal of sex appeal, but who says my ideals are correct?
The first thing that attracts you to a person is the outward appearance, that's obvious. But,
outward appearance is not what holds it together. As rapper Kanye West says, "Some of the prettiest people do the ugliest things."
Find a person who you can let your hair down with, a person who you don't have to try to put a façade on for.
One way I've always known if a girl was worthwhile was finding out whether she could hang out with my friends without feeling out of place, People are themselves when they are in comfortable surroundings.
They are not able to act this way on a stage in some pageant in front of many onlookers.
In some or many onlookers. That's why it's difficult to take the Miss Kansas competition.
and pageants in general, seriously. We won't see how these girls truly act. For all we know, these women in their nice evening gowns might go home and act completely different from the facecade they put on for these judges.
Naturally, they have changed the way they act for a night to fit what they think the judge's criteria will be, just like any guy does when he tries to impress a girl in a bar.
> Simone is a Chicago junior in journalism and economics.
Free All for
Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded. Instant message the Free For All at "ukfreforall."
So, it turns out the new basketball student ticket policy was a KUited idea. Well, that settles it: Delta Force just got my vote this year.
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So, I'm watching a rerun of "Yes Dear" and I keep waiting for Mike O'Malley to throw to Mo for the rules.
I totally just ran into my bedroom door. I turned around, it was shut, and I ran straight into it. Wow.
All my roommate and I want are sweet pickles and a Joey. Is that too much to ask for?
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Hey, Free for All, would you rather be round or square, assuming that the world was neither predominantly round or square?
At the butcher shop today, a man came in and I asked him if he was thinking about buying a steak. He said, "No, I am buying steak and thinking about noontang."
I have figured out why most Kansans are upset with the evolution theory. It is because we evolved from buffaloes. Not monkeys, buffaloes.
So, let me get this straight. KUnited has basically caused one original idea of theirs to happen this semester, and that one idea is this crapy ticket
system
To the girl who stole my coat during chem lab:
I had to walk five miles in a T-shirt. You will pay!
Foul! One, two, thr... oh wait. Thanks, Lew Perkins.
Organic chemistry is ruining my life. But, Paul Hanson makes it so much better.
My Emperor Pez dispenser wants to turn me into a Sith lord.
Hey, if you want to become a Sith Lord, is there some kind of application you have to fill out?
I have a huge crush on my professor, which I would feel bad about if she wasn't so cool and gorgeous.
Chuck and Vin get too much play. Stewie Griffin is where it's at.
Free for All, I would totally apologize to you for writing in a bunch, but I understand at one time you were just a answering machine. Eureka! Now I know how Pinocchio became a real boy!
Dan was the fourth wiseman. He brought baby Jesus the gift of "beard." Jesus wore it proudly to his dying day. The other wisemen, jealous of Jesus' obvious gift favoritism, used their combined influence to have Dan omitted from the Bible.
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What about when faith has scientific backing? Intelligent design has proof. Nobody seems to understand that because anything having to do with God has been taken out of schools. There are classes offered on the scientific
So, this guy told me that every time you masturbate, a kitten gets wings. Sounds cool as hell to me, but I think he was high.
You can teach evolution, but you are not allowed to teach creationism.
Free for All, I want to be your derivative so I can be tangent to all your curves.
KU supports war. Fine by me.
Most difficult decision of Wednesday, November 16,
2005: Hit on the library attendant in the pink sweater
or study for the upcoming biology exam? Professor
Orr had better give me a high five or something.
More KU students should take Russian. We all love to drink, Russians love to drink, it's totally a win-win situation.
situation
The KU football schedule people suck.
Thank you GSP dining center for the Thanksgiving feast. It was delish.
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Athletes get handouts and favors their entire time at KU, so it'd be nice if Rec services didn't bend the rules for them in intramural playoffs. All us regular kiddos just want a shot at that championship T-shirt.
I don't know which makes me want to vomit worse all the people I see wearing North Face or seeing guys wearing pink polo shirts with popped collars.
What's the difference between a snowman and a snowwoman? Snowballs!
Haley Joel Osment made out with a hotdog!
The bomb has been defused!
I don't know why I am wasting my time instant messaging you. You never put me in the damn thing!
Austin Caster, editor
864-4854 or acaster@kansan.com
TALK TO US
Hey Free for All, how much should you pay your roommate to write your paper for you? Do you pay them by the page or pay them by the hour? Or do you pay them by the word?
I thought engineers drove trains.
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In addition, many people find that a partner is more than willing to participate in the use of a vibrator.
Now, it is not my intention to argue that human contact is more gratifying, but there are times that one is not involved in a sexual relationship and still feels the need to satisfy sexual urges.
▼ PILLOW TALK
Run, rabbit vibrator, run
For the "Sex and the City" fans, this should sound a little familiar, but I've thought this was an important topic long before I saw the show. Today, we're going to discuss the rabbit-style vibrator.
The rabbit-style vibrator is a woman's best friend. This vibrator is designed to stimulate both the vaginal walls and the clitoris. The Rabbit-Habit vibrator was the best-selling sex toy of 2004, according to www.babeland.com.
Of women who enjoy incorporating a vibrator into their toy chest, the rabbit-style is the one favored over any other.
JAMIE EPSTEIN opinion@kansan.com
Using the diagram shown, one can see the basic outline of this style.
Jamie Epstein/KANSAN
The area labeled "A" is inserted into the vagina and in many models twists around to stimulate the walls of the vagina even as they expand through arousal "B" on the other hand, remains outside of the vagina and rests
against the clitoris. It is in "B" that the rabbit-style gets its name. The original version had this part shaped as a rabbit, with the ears tickling the clitoris. Today, one can find rabbits, beavers, dolphins and other non-descript appendages.
For women who have difficulty reaching orgasm through other means, this toy is something definitely worth experimenting with.
This information will, I hope, provide hours of enjoyment to those who choose to use it. May all your sexual encounters be "safe, sane and consensual," Enjoy, and have fun.
Keep in mind, however, that this is a toy and was designed to supplement and enhance sexual intercourse, not replace it.
- Epstein is Lenexa sophemore in political science.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Abroad student discovers metaphor in French riots
France is a crazy place. I like France, but it's crazy.
One of the craziest things that I've experienced during my study abroad here in Angers, which is west of Paris but not quite the coast, was obviously the riots.
Because I live in the ghetto in town, I've had the luck to be able to see a small part of the worst rioting that France has experienced since the student uprisings in 1968.
These riots, however, are somewhat different from those in the '60s. First of all, they started completely differently.
The catalysts for these riots were two young immigrant boys, who died while they were running away from the police.
It wasn't the brightest idea for them to hide inside an electrical box, but I can sympathize.
When you have police officers chasing you, reading "danger" signs probably isn't the highest priority on the list.
It's all about symbolism and oppression. Many immigrants (mainly in the "banlieue," aka suburbs) here feel they are being oppressed because many employers and police officers judge them solely by their origins.
Now, what does two kids dying have to do with immigrants rioting about what seems to be unemployment?
They are partially right
"It's all about symbolism and oppression. Many immigrants (mainly from the "banleiue," a.k.a, the suburbs) here feel they are being oppressed because many employers and police officers judge them solely by their origins.
I've lived here for almost five months now, and no one has ever asked me for mine. There is discrimination in hiring practices.
There are police officers who, upon seeing a group of immigrants, will automatically harass them and demand for their identification papers.
Many of these immigrants, however, lack the ability to communicate sufficiently in French, and the skills necessary for many jobs.
Statistics prove this discrimination because there is a 40 percent unemployment rate for immigrant workers, which is four times the national average.
Thus, it isn't surprising that they have a higher unemployment rate. But four times the
national average?
There's definitely some discrimination. Even if you're not looking to find discriminatory practices, they're prominent enough that you'll notice them in everyday life.
So, why firebomb cars like the one that was only 200 meters away from where I was staying?
While I watched the remaining flames be put out of a now nameless vehicle, I pondered this question and its answer: symbolism.
Because the public transportation system is so good here, cars are considered a luxury and a symbol of wealth. Thus, by incinerating cars, immigrants are protesting their lack of opportunities to attain such status. Is such destruction justifiable? Of course not.
Even though there is oppression in France, one shouldn't punish innocent civilians for political and social failures.
It's good, however, that this issue is now on the table with a political spotlight, and who doesn't crack a smile when they think of the face on an owner of a Rolls-Royce whose precious car has been melted by the flames of a volcanic fury unleashed by some "rowdy chap" from the "banlieue?"
- Jesse Haug
Atchison Junior
Studying abroad in France.
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