THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KASSAN
PAGE 4
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opinion
TUESDAY,MAY6.2014
TEXT FREE FOR ALL
Text your FFA submissions to (785) 289-8351 or at kansan.com
Rather than denounce my greed, I choose to embrace it.
I wonder if the editor ever recognizes the numbers sent in to the FFA.
Editor's Note: It's been known to happen...
Wait...there are couches in girl's bathrooms?
Not even 9 a.m. on Monday and I've already seen more asscheek hanging out of short shorts than I care to see ever. Gonna be a long week!
I asked the man at the desk if there was a printer I could use and he told me there isn't a printer in Bailey...Is this true?
Fearing the automatic stapler is not irrational.
To the person that stopped for the Chancellor in the crosswalk; mad props for knowing who she is.
Poor unfortunate souls.
My confidence builder for finals: music by Queen.
Christian Bale > Leonardo
DiCaprio
You can't steal an Andy Bernard quote and not give the man credit.
To the girl in a sweater and short shorts: Why?!
Girls have a couch in their bathroom? Where is the guys' bathroom couch? Separate but equal was done away with long ago!
I can do all things through Coffee who strengthens me.
Congrats on completing your sudoku in record time!
Love how this paper doesn't even label Big Jay in pictures...
Editor's Note: Big Jay is a bird who needs no introduction.
To the 41 driver Craig...thank you so much for getting me to class on time...you are a gentleman and a stud...just sayin. :)
Me after every final next week:
"ADIOS BITCHACHOS!"
Do the lizards on campus scare anyone besides me?
I think I'm going to build a hut in the middle of campus and just camp out there until graduation.
I asked my noonnate how her Stop Week was going. She glared at me and went back to what she was working on. That bad, huh?
EDUCATION
Finals are coming.
Tuition cost should reflect employment possibilities
The most important thing that we will ever do in our lives is go to school, or that's what I've always heard. I just can't decide if it's worth it.
value for their money.
According to affordability, ku.edu, the cost for a single credit hour at the University of Kansas is $307.50 for residents. Assuming we need roughly 120 hours to graduate, the cost of a degree comes out to $36,900 for residents. For non-residents, at $799.70 per credit hour multiplied by 120 hours, the cost is almost $96,000 for a KU degree. Now, I don't have a problem with the school looking out for its own interests, but at what point is it enough? The fact is that coming out of school everyone doesn't get the same
Based on a report by Georgetown University from 2013, recent graduates in architecture have the highest unemployment rate at 12.8 percent. The report said psychology graduates have an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent. This doesn't seem that bad, but their expected annual earnings came in second lowest at $30,000. Keep in mind that unemployment numbers include only those who have looked for work in the last month and ignores those who have given up looking for a job out of sheer frustration.
The University isn't doing enough to ensure that a large group of students are receiving anything after graduation aside from a
worthless piece of paper, I recognize that life isn't fair, and when you select a major, you accept the consequences for whatever decision you make, but I think everyone should have an opportunity to follow their dreams and get a little bit of help getting there when they've paid tens of thousands of dollars. * It's time that we held universities accountable. Schools need to introduce a sliding scale for tuition that is based on both the University's
efforts to place graduates in careers after graduation, and the earning potential of the individual degrees. While this may seem like an awful idea to institutions, it is actually possible that it could work out even better financially for all parties involved. Hypothetically, if majors with the lowest job placement rates only had to pay 32 percent per credit hour while those with the highest job placement rates stayed roughly the same, there could be an entirely new demographic of people who decide that school is worth their time and, more importantly, their money.
The honest truth is that I once hoped to be an actor. However, since I was not ready to "all-in" on my dream, I decided to get an
education as a sort of fall back plan. Now, I'm locked into a major that makes sense financially but means giving up on those dreams. I gave up because I wanted safe earning potential. Once school begins to make financial sense for all majors, then perhaps we can go back to hoping for a career in what we would really like to do. Schools should contribute to students' achievements by offering an education for what it's worth, nothing more and nothing less.
NATIONAL
Nick Jackson is a senior from Lawrence studying chemical engineering.
Alcohol laws must be re-examined, changed
The minimum purchase age for alcohol has been 21 in nearly every state since the mid- 1980s. It is strange that the United States, where a strong drinking culture exists, has such a high purchase age. This creates an odd dynamic, particularly on college campuses. While nearly everybody in college is old enough to buy cigarettes and join the military, only half are old enough to legally drink. This has almost certainly contributed to the dangerous culture of binge drinking evidenced on college campuses today. The U.S. could benefit from lowering the drinking age while increasing the penalization of drunk driving. These changes could potentially decrease deaths from driving under the influence and help to curb underage binge drinking.
The percentage of those who drink in college, including those who binge drink, has stayed roughly the same since the 1980s, when an 18-year-old could legally enjoy a beer. However, the effects of binge drinking seem to be felt more acutely. This may be because before the legal age was raised to 21, young people drank in public and more controlled environments, where they were less likely to consume dangerously high amounts of alcohol. There also was not as much of a need to "pre-game," or drink alcohol before going to a public event. While controlled drinking can relax people and facilitate conversation, binge drinking can cause
oackouts and increase the frequency of anything from car accidents to rape. Al-Jazeera America, a broadcast news organization, singled out the University of Kansas last semester, highlighting the drinking and date rape culture becoming increasingly prevalent in Lawrence and countless other college towns. Though the majority of college students don't binge drink, the 40 percent that do endanger themselves and those around them. More than 130 college presidents have reacted, saying they want the drinking age to be lowered. Members of this initiative support responsible drinking and think a lower drinking age would facilitate that.
for underage drivers. The punishments and fines for being caught driving drunk are also significantly harsher than they were 40 years ago.
Since the 1980s, when the drinking age was raised, the rate of alcohol-related traffic deaths has decreased dramatically. Many assume that there's a correlation between a higher drinking age has lowered alcohol-related traffic incidents. This isn't necessarily true. Regulations on drunk driving have become stricter, and this has certainly contributed to the decrease in alcohol-related traffic deaths. No longer is it legal to have an open container in a vehicle, and most states have zero-tolerance policies
I think the drinking age should be lowered to 19, an age that rules out high school seniors consuming alcohol, but allows college students to drink without penalty. Most suggestions to lower the drinking age in the past have been met with criticism, as many think traffic fatality rates would increase. To combat this, the U.S. should create harsher restrictions on drunk driving. As per the suggestion of the National Transportation Safety Board, the legal blood alcohol content limit should be lowered to 0.05 from the current 0.08 percent. Zero tolerance laws should be maintained for those under 21, and could be extended to the entire population, as they have been in some countries. These changes, with strong enforcement, would make driving considerably safer than it is now, while hopefully decreasing the perceived need for binge drinking on college campuses.
Ike Uri is a freshman from Concordia studying English and sociology.
FFA OF THE DAY Finals week menu: Breakfast Cereal, Lunch Cereal, Dinner Cereal.
RELATIONSHIPS
Graduation means time for re-evaluation
— it's easier to say I wouldn't follow a boy because I don't have one — but I would tell every person that asks me this question the same answer: Go to where the best job or opportunity is, not to where the best boy or girl is. We are in our early 20s; this is the time to be selfish and chase our dreams, not a significant other.
Maybe this comes from me being independent, or maybe it comes from me being single
If they didn't put a ring on it, I wouldn't put a lease and a new city on it. If they aren't ready for that next step, I think following them to their new city is a couple steps ahead of where you are. When you have the job you wanted and are really working on your dreams and ambitions, everything else that should fall into place will.
Unless he or she pops the question, I wouldn't change directions.
Secondly, you didn't get your degree in chasing someone else. You just spent four years of homework, tests and stress to earn a college degree. You now have all the tools to go after your dreams, and I hope your dreams consist of more than staying in love with your current lover.
Kayla Soper is a senior from Junction City studying journalism and political science.
Let's consider something absolutely outrageous: your current relationship doesn't work out. Not only have you wasted your time, but you are stuck in a city with the mediocre job you took just to be closer to your partner. If it's meant to be, long distance will be tough but you will both get through it separately. But remember, this is a growing time for everyone. You don't know if you will still want to be with
College is over, your classes are done, your lease is up. But there is one thing left that hasn't ended — your relationship. Chances are you both won't end up with jobs in Lawrence, so what does this mean? Does one sacrifice and follow the other? Do you try out long distance? Or, do you go your separate ways?
CAMPUS CHIRPS DACK
Do you think the minimum drinking age should be lowered to 19?
Follow us on Twitter @KansanOpinion. Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
the person they become after being in the real world for a few months. I advise you to make that decision from your own city from your new job. Who knows, maybe eventually one of you can ask for a job transfer to a city closer. Key word, eventually.
Katie Kutsko, editor-in-chief
kkutsko@kansan.com
Anna Wenner, opinion editor
awenner@kansan.com
Allison Kohn, managing editor akohn@kansan.com
Sean Powers, business manager spowers@kansan.com
Lauren Armendariz, managing editor larmendariz@kansan.com
Kolby Botts, sales manager kbotts@kansan.com
@hwinthrop1
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.
@KansanOpinion No, I think the Hawk is enough indication why.
@KansanOpinion YES, without a doubt. As a British citizen where the drinking age is 18,21 is ridiculously late."Freedom" etc. #ruleBritania
@b rookiee
send letters to opinion@kansan.com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the email subject line.
@SwellDanielle2
@KansanOpinion Yes! Telling people not to drink makes them drink more and less responsibly.
@emmayrawr
@KansanOpinion Definitely! It doesn't stop anyone anyway and means people get in trouble unnecessarily #MIPsforeveryone #diversionsalaround
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Katie Kulsoo, Kallisaohn Kohr, Lauren Armendarid, Anna Winner, Sean Powers and Boly Botts.
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