OPINION
Coming Friday, October 26..
Editorial Proposed bike paths on Jayhawk Boulevard could limit parking.
Williams: Too much prestige is placed on name brand schools.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM
THURSDAY,OCTOBER 25,2007
PAGE7A
ALL FOR ONE, AND ONE FOR ALL
Don't let rankings deter you from having a good time
KU's fall from the list of party schools shouldn't mean that students can't cut loose on the weekends, at games
Recently, the University of Kansas has been omitted from the Princ
could be stressful enough that partying on the weekend and taking a load off is earned, only to refuel the thinking caps on Sunday. Obviously, there are exceptions such as having a major test that coming Monday, but hey, a few beers just might help you relax and relieve the stress that college creates.
Committed from the Princeton Review's list of the top party schools. While I am proud to hear about the academic excellence of our school, I do not see why our partying habits should change. One week of school
While there are the retorts of, "we don't care what people think about us," we should care because we are being judged by and compared to our peers, which in this country, most cases get settled by. The students at the University are a proud student body, and an example
of their pride is displayed passionately at sporting events against our fellow peers at rival schools. I would like to imagine that a KU student would hold that passion in everything he or she does, whether it's sports, academics or partying. I know I want it to look like the University is a fun school to go to, where you could get a good education and plenty of good memories to take with you into adulthood.
I'm not advocating for us to become raging alcoholies and desperate junkies, but I know I don't want to look like lame ducks who don't know how to have a good time. Nevertheless, the administration is gushing.
We have become the good little robots that college likes to program when we will leave and become law-abiding citizens while we get handled daily, in the work week that is, by the Man. And since when is the administration and the student voice the same?
Another recent event is the elicited complaints from fans to the Athletics Department, where at college football games, students yell an obscenity. Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony was stated as saying, "We would hope that the student body could be more creative than that. That sentence takes no intelligence and no
creativity to yell."
I don't think anybody, whether they are a student or an enthusiastic spectator, comes to a football game, watching guys beat each other up, and thinks, "What can I say to come off as intelligent and creative?" A football game is not the same as going to a Montel Williams show to discuss domestic abuse between partners. Everybody comes to a football game to see an exciting and violent display of athletes competing against each other; academics are the last thing on fans' minds when they are watching a football game.
Is it wrong that a fan shows passion by yelling a phrase from a comedy movie? Are we, the student body, going to be pushed into what we can and can't say? Are we going to be pushed into a mold that makes us sheep here at the University, or are we going to express our passion, individuality and insatiable desire to party? There is a time to study, there is a time to work, but there is also a time to party.
Brown is a Lee's Summit, Mo., junior in journalism.
MOUNTAIN DEW AT MIDNIGHT
A guide on how to write good, er, well
When writing papers, here are a few rules of thumb to live by when it comes to grammar, including punctuation and word usage
Most of us would say we write pretty good. I mean, we don't want to brag or anything, but we just have the skills.
Well. No, not well as in, "well, I beg to differ" (although I do). I mean well as in that is how you write. You write well, not good. At the Writing Center, whose main office is located in 4017 Wescoe, we see lots of people who write good and some who write well. But, regardless of a writer's skill, it amazes me how people make very basic grammar mistakes over and over. It's like not knowing that one plus one equals three.
Today I will provide you with a fun writing guide to remind you of the basics. For further details, consult a writing manual like "The Everyday Writer."
1. Your thesis statement determines the whole purpose of your paper, kind of like how your major declaration determines your whole life. The thesis should be specific, but not too specific that it limits what you can write about. It should also be intriguing, but not too intriguing or your professor might actually read the rest of your paper. For example, check out the thesis for my article: This article will be amazing because I wrote it.
2. Titles of books, movies,
magazines, and other major
works go in italics (unless
they're in a newspaper,
in which case they're in
quotations, as seen here). Titles
of songs, episodes, articles
and other works found within a
bigger work go in quotation
marks. Example: I caught
my boyfriend in the bedroom
with my Britten Spencer*
room with my Britney Spears' Oops, I Did it again album. He was rocking out to "Lucky."
3. Please do not go comma decorating, as my previous roommate put it. Commas should not be placed randomly about like shiny ornaments on a Christmas tree (or, to be PC, a holiday tree). Here are a few times when to use them:
a. Comma to connect two complete sentences with a conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so, a.k.a. FAN BOYS) Example: It was Friday, so I didn't go to class.
b. Comma after the dependent clause (introductory phrase) Example: After I drink a can of Mountain Dew, I write many insightful things and don't sleep for days.
c. Comma to offset appositives (phrases further explaining or defining something). Example: Facebook, a synonym for stalking, is being sued.
5. Affect is a verb. Effect is a noun. Example: The snowstorm affected everyone on campus. The effects were devastating: people started wearing Ugg boots.
4. Their vs. There: We think Kansas State University is there in Manhattan. We know their team isn't that good.
6. Try to not start sentences with "there is" or "there are." Example: You can change, "There is a limited number of parking spots on campus" to, "Parking doesn't exist at KU." See? There are many other ways to start a sentence.
DRAWING BOARD
7. Literary present tense must be used when talking about any written work. This also includes movies and other such sources. Even though these things happened a long time ago, they must be discussed as if they are happening right at this moment. Of course, if something has already happened at the point of the story you are describing, then it is okay to use past tense. Example: Aeneas prays to the gods to save his ship from the storm because they saved him from a pit of man-eating spiders on Thursday.
8. Always end your paper with a conclusion. Usually it should sum up the paper and provide new insights on the topic, possibly on how the topic relates to the larger picture. For example, here is the conclusion to my article, which I feel contains profound ideas and leaves readers with something to think about.
In conclusion, overall, to sum things up, looking back on it all, all's well that ends well, happily ever after, what I really think is, the end.
Hartz is a Stilwell junior in creative writing.
FREE FOR ALL: 864-0500 OR KANSAN.COM/FACEBOOK
The game.
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
It is finally Attractive Males in Button-Downs and Sweaters Season.
To whoever returned my duck umbrella to Snow Hall: you're my hero.
Why do I get turned on by rejection?
My girlfriend ate McDonald's for breakfast and lunch today, just to collect the Monopoly pieces. She is now known as Obese-Denise.
When I first got accepted to KU,
I didn't realize that I sold my soul to
the Physics and Astronomy Depart-
I wish I had more testosterone,
Free for All. I just wish I had more
testosterone.
In the form of an ice menorah.
To the cutie guy at the rec center who asked me if I was from Oklahoma: if you see me on the street, I'd happily give you my phone number.
I don't know what that guy was talking about, but if the girls want to show their asses, I'll look.
How can anybody start a shooter rumor? We're 7-0 in football. God is shining on us!
Free for All, won't you be my neighbor?
Can you believe that? They got OINK!
It's a shame they finally closed down OINK.
A penny! Who gets a penny stuck in their hair? I mean, seriously, am I this big of a loser? I guess I must be. Obviously, I have a lot of free time, too.
As a life-long, die-hard Colorado Rockies fan, I would like to invite all the bandwagon fans out there to cheer for the Boston Red Sox.
I don't know exactly what they do to those chickens and cows, but they are delicious.
Why do chicken coops only have two doors? If they had four doors, they'd have to call them chicken redand
There's some bathroom out here that has dirty things about me and my phone number, and I just want everyone to stop calling me!
If physics was a person, he would have no friends on Facebook.
Congratulations, Free for All! You found your furry. Now you get a biscuit
I just went to CVS with my roommate to buy a pregnancy test on Beak 'Em Bucks. If that's not the ultimate college experience, I don't know what is.
They shut down OINK. Oh my God, I think my life might be over. What are they going to shut down next, beer?
Everyone that calls into the Free for All is an idiot. Oh, wait.
When Ron Paul speaks, Chuck Norris listens.
TALK TO US
Erick R. Schmidt, editor
864-4810 or eschmidt@kansan.com
Eric Jorgensen, managing editor
864-4810 or ejorgensen@kansan.com
HAVE A POINT/COUNTERPOINT TOPIC? E-MAIL THE OPINION EDITORS
Darla Slipke, managing editor
664-8410 or dslipke.kansan.com
Kelsey Hayes, opinion editor
664-9244 pkkau.kansan.com
NOW THAT YOU'VE READ THE OPINION PAGE, HAVE AN OPINION?
Bryan Dykman, associate opinion editor 864-4924 or dykman@kansan.com
Jackie Schaffer, advertising director 864-4358 or jschaffer@kansan.com
Katie Abrahamson, sales manager
864-4477 or katiea@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager, news adviser
884-7687 or moibison@kanan.com
Jon Schlitt, sales and marketing adviser 864-7866 or jschlitt@kansan.com
SUBMISSIONS
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions.
For any questions, call Kelsay Hayes or Bryan Dykman at 864-4810 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com.
General questions should be directed
to the editor at editor@kansan.com.
LETTER GUIDELINES
Maximum Length: 200 words
Include: Author's name and telephone number; class, hometown (student); position (faculty member/staff); phone number (will not be published)
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
**Maximum Length:** 500 words
**Include:** Author's name and telephone number; class, hometown (student); position (faculty member/staff); phone number (will not be published)
**Also:** The Kanan will not print guest columns or letters that attack a reporter or another columnist.
The Editorial Board
Erick R. Schmidt, Eric Jorgensen,
Darla Slipe, Kelsey Hayes, Bryan
Dykman, Brandon T. Minister, Angelique
McNaughton and Benjamin R. Smith
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