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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 4
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2014
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TEXT FREE FOR ALL
opinion
Text your FFA submissions to (785)289-8351 or at kansan.com
Started leaving paper stars in random places for good luck for finals.
It'd be cool to start doing a picture submission for a finals week special edition paper or edition of the FFA.
DeckPool2014 Never forget!
The fact anyone says the words "unwanted" and "sunflowers" together is a reason we need to plant more sunflowers on campus. They'll brighten up your day!
I keep snoring myself awake ./
Was I in a trailer for Grand Theft Auto today?
"I was born on a Saturday, I was bound to be a good time"
R.I.P. Pearson Deck pool. May 5,
2014 - May 5, 2014
Just your daily reminder that Godzilla is coming out on May 16th, and that you all should be excited for it.
Only good ideas follow the word "hence."
Hi! To the guy with the really cute smile on bus 36 in the blue Kansas City 35 shirt.
If anyone finds jolly ranchers scattered throughout the Schutz stacks... that was me...
Why does the icecream man never come to campus?
It must be close to finals time.
Just spent half an hour
organizing my pen cup.
The Chi Omega fountain looks so refreshing.
Any email from a professor starting with "I" know this is a stressful time for all of you"...No just no. Your fault.
My mother always told me the women's bathroom couch was so breastfeeding mothers could sit. So unless you're breastfeeding in the men's, you'll be fine.
I bet the walk to class from JRP and O'Leary from when they were still dorms must have been awesome.
I may be unattractive, but at least
I didn't cheat on a test. Karma...
HEALTH
Alternative medicine can have negative effects
As this year winds down I conclude my first year in pharmacy school with a module on biology based alternative medicine. Many Americans enjoy this type of medicine due to its natural properties. While these supplements do not seem harmful, they could potentially have harmful interactions with prescription drugs.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are a group of diverse health care practices and products that are not currently considered to be part of conventional medicine. Herbal and dietary supplements, including
multivitamins, are the most common type of alternative medicine used. The use of supplements surpasses other complementary medicine such as yoga, massages, prayers and chiropractor visits.
You have seen ads and articles about how "green tea can help you lose ten lbs" or "beat diabetes with cinnamon!" According to Explorer news, 40 percent of Americans use CAM as part of their daily regimen to help relieve numerous health issues like stress, insomnia, high blood pressure and digestive problems.
We use natural supplements in our daily routine and
do not think that they can have harmful effects. For example, Creatine, a popular supplement college students use to increase muscle mass, can interfere with insulin (both oral and injectable) diabetic medication and can also lead to blood sugar problems. Melatonin, used to improve sleep, can interfere with ACE Inhibitor blood pressure
and cholesterol medication. It can also make patients taking narcotic medication oxycodone or hydrocodone, drowsier. Aspirin, a common NSAID taken for pain relief, can interact with herbal medications that have antiplatelet activity including ginkgo, garlic, ginseng, which enhances the risk of bleeding. Echinacea and kava as well as herbs containing salicylate can interact with Tylenol which can increase incidences of liver and kidney toxicity.
These are just a few of many drug-herbal interactions. In general, herbal supplements can alter the way the liver metabolizes drugs which thus can increase or weaken the
potency of a medication. It is important to speak with you doctor or pharmacist when you will take different medicines whether it is a prescription drug, over the counter product, supplement, or vitamins to prevent harmful interactions. The most important point to stress is that while supplements and herbs are "natural", they need to be treated like any other medication.
Monica Saha is a graduate pharmacy student from Overland
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS: CON
Park.
Keep an open mind when discussing world politics
Recently, I've come to my most radical conclusion in my time at this university. While still fresh, the basic idea is to truly not care about the world at large.
Whoah whoah—whoah— whoah—what the hell? Coming from the liberal, probably communist-sympathizing pansy-ass that is Wil, what are you talking about?
These have been a tumultuous few weeks for Earth, Ukraine, massacres in South Sudan, mudslides, tornadoes, more shootings than we can keep track of, racism in the NBA, the list goes on. How have we conventionally approached these horrific and thought-provoking issues of the day?
Traditionally, the interested worldly citizen will read up on the slew of news events, mull them over (or simply skim headlines), and then have at least some form of discussion on it. Be it online or in coffee shops, these collective discussions are referred to by fancy jerks as discourse.
Nine times out of ten, these casual conversations between citizens are solution-oriented and come in the form of arguments. What can the Obama administration do to solve Republican obstructionism against Obamacare? How can Ukraine fend off Putin? What can we do to stop gun violence? I think—I think—I think et cetera et cetera.
My contention is to instead treat world events as documentaries on living history. Watch events unfold with the express intent of learning from them rather than taking an immediate stance on them, digging in, and glaring at anyone who disagrees. Ask questions instead of form arguments. Learn rather than assert.
The average citizen has little direct control over global events but still the natural reaction is to buckle down, assign blame and fume as if we're personally invested.
Some old goat named Socrates pulled this nonsense back in the day, and I think it's time we bring him back in a big way.
But wait, this is beginning to sound familiar.
The Socratic method is un-
American. It shirks immediate action and debunks instead of affirming. Confidence is second to evidence and logic dominates all. Resisting the urge to take up a stance and defend it goes against the very essence of the red, white and blue!
I do my very best to avoid arguments these days. As someone who debated away most weekends in high school, it's a strange feeling to get used to. But I think it's worth it. This old and yet new approach of purposefully staying neutral has changed my views on a whole range of contentious issues. Some have been about-faces and others have shifted only slightly, but progress is change no matter how small.
It seems to me that observing and learning from the events of the world makes for more nuanced and less biased understanding. Evaluating issues as a whole allows for better and more detailed solutions. Debating them as one side against the other just boxes out the opposition and potential progress.
I'm not advocating for inaction. I'm not advocating we all retreat to our tepees and smoke hash while tanks flatten Kiev. I'm advocating an alternative way of interpreting the world around us.
The only way we can make substantial and progressive changes to our society is by disregarding arguments and labels in favor of questions, evidence and maybe — if we're lucky — answers.
We could repurpose the Socratic method to modern times to balance out this 24-hour news cycle, knee-jerk, finger-pointing public sphere. Or to find new approaches to the non-stop problems we face day in and day out.
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS: PRO
Wil Kenney is a sophomore from Leawood studying English.
Public discourse is necessary to fully understand the world
Caring about the world is a hard job. With a constant stream of bad news being relentlessly thrown at us, it's easy to become beaten down by the weight of a hard world.
So why do we still care enough to stay informed on events beyond our own lives? There are two main reasons. The first is that it is human nature to be curious about what's happening in the world around us. This is both natural and beneficial. It connects us to our species, reminding us of our common humanity.
The second reason is to learn from humanity's experiences. So, one may legitimately wonder how we learn from these complex, ever-changing events. Since there's no professor to tell us the right answer here, we have to collectively form our answer. Therefore, how we learn is from one another - from a reasoned public discourse (yes, I said it). We learn from hearing arguments on all sides of a thought-provoking topic, carefully considering their merits and finally forming a conclusion.
Some say that they prefer to see things through a more passive lens. They seek objectivity by choosing to simply absorb facts as if they were learning about them in a documentary on historical events. With this purview, there is no need to engage in the public discourse, only to idealistically sit back and be told what to believe. However, despite the simplicity of this view, it is mistaken.
You see, thought-provoking topics are just that – thought provoking. They evoke feelings, conflicting facts, and yes, arguments. This doesn't mean that arguments should be uncivil, messy, or close-minded. Indeed, open-mindedness is vital to the integrity of the public interpretation. Instead, it means that interpreting events demands debate.
Indeed, in order for events to become part of history, they must first undergo reasoned debate and analysis. Only through consideration of the arguments on each side can we
legitimately derive lessons from the past. However, even history itself is still an evolving matter for dispute.
Take Christopher Columbus, for example. Once hailed by the public as the man who "discovered" the Americas, he is now derided as a perpetrator of genocide and occupies a place of infamy in the minds of many Americans. This historical reinterpretation didn't simply happen; it is the product of argument, of stacking up evidence, weighing and measuring its validity, and coming to a conclusion.
Events are inherently subjective and will inevitably evoke a vast range of interpretations. As with all of life, it is important to keep an open mind and to be well informed on an issue of importance. However, it is equally vital to stand for what you think is right.
The only way for the collective national conscious to learn from events is for them to engage in the event, to thoughtfully examine and discuss manifold interpretations in order to form its own interpretation. Only through this process can we learn from our collective past and better our collective future. However, in order for any of this to happen, we need to care about what going on in the world around us. After all, we're college students. If we don't care about the world we're going to inherit then who will?
Jesse Burbank is a freshman from Quinter studying history and political science.
FFA OF THE DAY
It's a beautiful day, and my first thought is 'the library will be less crowded!' Save me.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
Why is it important to pay attention to what is happening outside of the U.S.?
Follow us on Twitter @KansanOpinion. Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
@KansanOpinion To gain an understanding of the world we live in, not just the country. The world is an exciting place with lots to discover!
@hwintrop1
Length: 300 words
The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LETTER GUIDELINES
Send letters to opinion@kansan.com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the email submit LETTER.
Katie Kutsko, editor-in-chief kkutsko@kansan.com
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@lauwrenorder
Anna Wenner, opinion editor
awenner@kansan.com
Kolby Botts, sales manager kbotts@kansan.com
country is not the only one in the world. Other countries can drastically impact those who live in the U.S. #payattention
CONTACT US
CONTACT US
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bakagi@kansan.com
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Katie Kulsoff, Kaliouno Lauren Armendariz; Anna Weiner, Sean Powers and Kobby Bolts.
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