OPINION
Coming Monday, November 19..
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
the press; or the right of the people peaceably to **assemble**, and to **petition** the government for a redress of grievance
WWW.KANSAN.COM
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2007
DRAWING BOARD
MAX RINKEL
SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE
Poverty meets low-price solution
World education divide potentially lessened with introduction of $100 little green laptop
Emmanuel is a fifth grader in rural Nigeria, and in most respects, he is just like most kids are at his age: curious, inquisitive and eager to learn.
There is, however, one major difference between him and most American students that will severely handicap his education. The school he attends cannot afford electricity or running water, much less personal computers or other technology necessary for competitive education in today's world.
We are American college students, raised on myriad of amenities and technology in excess. The vast majority of us have grown accustomed to compact, powerful laptops, wireless access to the internet and even entire college courses conducted online.
But what about the nearly two billion children in the developing world who receive a sub-par education, or none at all? One in three doesn't finish fifth grade. Almost a billion people can't read, write or operate simple electronics. It is not hard to imagine what sort of detrimental effect these disadvantages can have on a student's future.
It's called the Digital Divide, and it puts Emmanuel and others like him at an acute disadvantage.
But there are solutions to this horrible discrepancy in education. An organization called One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) has developed an ultra-heap, nearly unbreakable laptop designed especially for children
in developing countries. It only costs $200 to manufacture and ship, and is equipped with wireless Internet, word processing and video-capture technology, as well as mul-
works because it is a long-term, cost-effective way to positively affect the development of an exponential number of people.
tiple educational applications in all subjects. Dubbed the "$100 laptop" (its developers expect to be able to produce it for about $100 in the near future), this little, green device has the potential to revolutionize education in poor countries. Already, national governments like Uruguay and Rwanda have ordered millions of units for their countries' students. You can see the affects for yourself at www.laptop.org.
Other charities such as UNICEF (which has a chapter at KU) have similar programs to promote education among children living below the poverty line. Once basic needs like food and shelter are met, it is most important that a child in a developing country receives a good education. This process
We all know that education is a powerful thing. It is about
time that we shake off the rust of complacency, and devote ourselves to making the world a better place. Students at the University of Kansas do have
the power to change things.
village that can't even afford books, not to mention laptops, for school.
The term "poor college student" is cliché. And worse, it is simply not true. Compared to $200 per student in developing nations, American expenditures on public education are closer to $10,000 per student. And that's just public primary education. We are constantly complaining about rising tuition at KU. But we don't know the first thing about hardship.
And think about how much money we spend on completely unnecessary consumption like iPods, beer and new white Nikes. American college students spend an average of nearly $1,300 per year on entertainment alone. And then think about how much of a difference that money could make for a
So next time you are buying a new computer, instead of spending hundreds of extra dollars to upgrade to the fancy new audio/ video device that you don't really need, use that money to buy a child a computer that will give him a fraction of the opportunity that you have been given.
Emmanuel, by the way, was one of the first children to receive a "$100 laptop." He loves it, and even takes it home at night to share what he has learned with his family. He has the world at his fingertips. He can check national and world news, read online books, and talk to students from places as far away as India and Brazil. He can even read this article on Kansan.com.
He was one of the lucky ones. With our help, his now-bright future could be shared by an entire generation. A generation that will be better educated, and better prepared to deal with problems such as war, famine and disease that they will inevitably encounter in a world where the odds are stacked against them.
Petterson is a Prairie Village junior in English.
The war comes home
Iraq conflict becomes more than a statistic for the future wife of a Marine
BESTY MCLEOD
Under normal circumstances, war does not affect the typical col-
affect the typical college student. Aside from an occasional offhand remark about the latest death toll or updated withdrawal proposal, the war doesn't occupy our minds or conversations, or have need to. Combat in Iraq is a TV show, a statistic in the paper, a sad waste of our military resources, but beyond these distant outlets it isn't really real. Most people our age are detached from the horrors of war, and have no desire to reconnect themselves.
Our parents burned draft cards and to took the streets. Our grandparents rationed gas and sugar. The war of the time shoved itself in the lives of every American, enlisted or not. But what about our generation's war effort? There is a barrier between those who are affected by the war and those who aren't. Those of us on the wrong side of the wall are marked with a deep-rooted sadness and sense of loss, staring at the other side with a mixture of envy and anger.
I am a future Marine wife, and until last Friday, I hadn't seen my fiancé in almost eight months. Most of the time I felt alone, unsure of where to turn when I cried. When they found out my fiancée was serving his second deployment in Iraq, people didn't know what to say, and instead they would bow their heads in an awkward attempt at something between a moment of silence and a nod of respect. I had crossed a social boundary and turned a light conversation into something much heavier; I brought in the human element of war, an unwelcome reality jolt for those who weren't affected by IEDs and kill counts.
We are everywhere, those of us waiting for someone to come home, perpetually lighthearted and smiling because we know that no political science class or heartwarming tell-all book can help anyone understand what we go through, and we know that our situation is guaranteed to bring down the traditional carefree college air. We know that it's necessary to continue on with daily life and that our loved ones are fighting to come home to us.
pare for the worst. After he left I accepted the possibility that the next time we were in church together, he could be lying in a casket instead of standing on the altar, that I could be in mourning black instead of wedding white. Military support groups insisted on avoiding watching the news, but unfortunately that wasn't an option for a journalism student, and I would struggle through my everyday assignments. When a Marine was killed I couldn't eat until the deceased's name was released, and when it was I would cry with grief and relief. When I saw my fiancé for the first time upon his return, I rushed into his arms and clung to him. I thought of the four guys from his platoon who didn't come home, and the families that weren't there celebrating with us.
Even though he's stateside now, we still can't put Iraq behind us. Little things are an everyday ordeal. One night when fireworks were set off, he tense up, his eyes glazed over into the thousand-mile-stare and suddenly I was the enemy and the faraway thunder of bright lights was insurgent gunfire. I know wives who have woken up in the middle of the night to their husbands choking them, shouting in broken Arabic with the telltale stare that accompanies post traumatic stress disorder.
It's popular to advertise supporting the troops. But how does buying a magnet and joining a Facebook group really support the men behind the Kevlar? There is more to war than what is shown on TV and YouTube; the effects of a deployment carry over into the home life, the work life and the school life. It doesn't just affect the troops themselves, it affects the lives of the loved ones left behind and the future of the relationships put on hold. The battles don't end on the front line, and above my tests and papers hangs the reality that no matter how much I engulf myself with schoolwork and pseudo-sympathy from family, friends and teachers, when I get home the war will be there waiting for me.
We hope for the best and pre-
McLeed is an Overland Park senior in journalism and Middle Eastern studies.
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Here she comes to wreck the day!
You should be embarrassed to call yourself a Republican in the first place. Plus, Ron Paul is a Libertarian
I would totally date that Hawk Topics guy. That sounds like my kind of a Saturday night.
I'm guessing you lost?
to the crap SUA Project Runway finale. It is rigged! That stupid bee hive dress from last year was so pathetic.
Tim Gunn would never come
I need a new cell phone. The numbers on mine are chipping off.
Can I have some money?
Is it bad that I don't know who the hell Ron Paul is or what he's about?
half-truths all around America.
Ron Paul, spreading lies and
To the girls who wear sweat pants: There's no problem unless you stuff the bottom of them in your Uug boots!
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The name I will mention is Mike Gravell. That man knows. He may be the last hope for this country.
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On those same lines, fight Net neutrality.
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