MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014
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opinion
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There are literally 14 people in this class right now. It started out with well over 40. That's what happens when you don't take attendance.
To the dogwood trees on campus:
What crawled up your branches
and died?
Who's up for making a KU nerdfighter group?
The chubbie/no chubbie people clearly don't go to the gym. ROTC dominates the man short shorts.
I'm not apathetic about Student Senate. I'm a cynic. Big difference
Insert obligatory FFA about trees smelling like fish.
This just in: You are not allowed to have an opinion if you spell a word wrong once, according to elitist FFA submitter.
It's funny how the student population seems to increase with the temperature. Hello spring!
I fully expect my epitaph to contain 140 characters or less.
I like to read all the horoscopes then pick my favorite so each day is a good one.
The Midwest has three seasons. The third season is Mother Nature trying to decide which she likes better, Summer or Winter.
You can tell it's spring because Battle of the Terrible Music is raging on the frat lawns.
That awkward moment when you look out your window minding your business and see someone squat in the bushes...
Who cares if people running for senate want to talk to you. Embrace the interaction and process. Logout of your iPhone music and headphones and log back into the world around you.
If the carillon players could do the Star Wars theme song I guarantee happiness from all.
Yes! It's raining! Bye-bye sidewalk chalk!!
To the sassy person who used "spelt": that's a kind of flower, I think the proper word would be "spelled" and your opinion is even more irrelevant.
Anyone can get in a fight. Only mature and mentally strong people have the willpower to resort to nonviolence.
One time Jojo rejected me at The Cave. #rockchalk
Keeping Passover a challenge away from home
RELIGION
For those of you who do not know, Passover starts Tuesday. Passover is a celebration in the Jewish year that commemorates the Hebrew exodus from Egypt. During this eight-day holiday one may only eat specific foods. These foods do not include anything that have wheat, oats, rye, barley or spelt. These forbidden ingredients are referred to as Chametz. Certain people also refrain from eating any product made directly out of corn and any product that has corn syrup or corn oil in it. Foods that are considered permissible to eat on Passover are known as kosher-for-Passover by the Jewish community.
As you may be able to
infer, keeping Passover is extremely difficult and requires dedication. At home it is much easier to keep because my wonderful Jewish mother is constantly whipping up things that I know I can eat. She spends hours in the kitchen making kosher-for-Passover cookies, matzo balls and rolls. They're all delicious. Meanwhile, in college it is difficult just to make it to the store to buy a couple boxes of matzo so that you can make it through the next eight days.
So what is a college student to do without her Jewish mother around to help her? As I have started to think about how I will make it through the eight days of Passover, I have mapped out a game plan. My dorm
By Rebeka Luttinger
opinion@kansan.com
room is stocked with matzo, kosher-for-Passover potato chips, fruit jellies, peanut butter, jelly, pizza sauce, cheese, margarine, etc. I have also reserved my seat at the Seder table for both the first and second night of the holiday. Both Jewish organizations on campus offer beautiful Seders, which is a service and dinner held as part of the Passover celebration.
Even though my dorm room is filled with delicious food, I sometimes wish that the University of Kansas had more kosher-for-Passover options. Don't get me wrong, having matzo available
at the Underground and in The Union is fantastic, but a huge problem is that many students start to keep Passover and then end up having to break it early because it is too difficult to find food to eat. Maybe campus can make some sort of kosher-for-Passover section somewhere so that students who wish to keep it can do so.
Although Passover can sometimes be a struggle, it is my very favorite Jewish holiday. Some of my fondest memories growing up consist of sitting around the Passover table talking for hours with family and friends. I love Passover because, as strange as it sounds, Passover food is delicious. Specifically, matzo
pizza is the absolute best. If you would like to try it, just spread a bunch of pizza sauce on a piece of matzo, throw on some mozzarella cheese, and stick it in the toaster oven until the cheese melts.
I know that keeping Passover in college is going to be no easy task, but I am willing to give it my all in hopes of making wonderful new memories on my favorite Jewish Holiday. Chag Sameach, or happy holiday!
Rebeka Luttinger is a freshman from Dallas studying journalism.
Vaccines important to health of society
American medicine has advanced a lot since the days of treating multiple patients with the same, uncleared instruments. As technology and society have progressed, medicine and techniques employed by doctors have led to amazing advancements in the field of medicine that now allow people with debilitating diseases to overcome them with relative ease. They also provide doctors new ways of preventing debilitating diseases.
Despite these advancements in modern medicine, some people are still apprehensive about the possible side effects of certain drugs especially vaccinations given to infants. The issue of whether certain vaccines cause autism in children has experienced a resurgence in recent years, in part due to a 1998 study by British scientist Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who asserted that vaccinations in children can lead to autism later in life.
While contemporary scientists and doctors have concluded that Wakefield's results were fraudulent, many parents and families with small children still believe that vaccines for diseases like measles, mumps and rubella are connected to children becoming autistic, in part because of a recent movement by non-vaccination groups still clinging to Wakefield's research results despite the danger it presents to those not vaccinated.
One recent example is an outbreak of mumps in Ohio, which scientists
believe originated at Ohio State University. Mumps, unlike similar kinds of diseases like measles and polio, is a highly contagious disease transmitted like a cold or the flu, which often leads to a high fever, fatigue, swelling of the salivary glands and often severe swelling of the testes in post-puberty males. The outbreak led many to reconsider the validity of "nonvaxxers" and their assertions about vaccinations and autism. Mumps occurs in only a few people per year under normal circumstances, but in highly populated areas the disease can spread quickly, especially with those in the approximately 12 percent of the population who either did not receive their booster shot for mumps and similar diseases, or who received no vaccination for the disease because of ethical or ideological reasons.
Another outbreak, this time with measles, which in 2000 was considered to have been wiped out, resurfaced in New York City earlier this year with at least 19 confirmed cases, according to TIME magazine. Measles, another disease easily prevented by vaccinations, often resembles an extreme case of chickenpox, but can be fatal if the patient has unexpected complications during the disease or has a compromised immune
system. The disease can also occur with very few symptoms, making it difficult to contain when there is an outbreak.
The emergence of these diseases that were once thought to be eliminated has serious consequences if left unchecked. The sector of the population that for one reason or another does not have their vaccines (about 12 percent according to the Center for Disease Control) is obviously the most likely to fall victim to these diseases, and the increased number of cases across the nation doesn't help their chances of remaining unscathed.
While the pursuit of medical exams and procedures on children should remain under the guidance of the child's parents, an issue of this importance is not to be taken lightly. Unfortunately, parents and families of children across the country continue to withhold vaccinations for their children that could potentially save their lives and the lives of those who could be exposed. If the issue of concern is children's safety, wouldn't it make sense to get all children vaccinated instead of withholding valuable prevention of diseases?
Time will tell whether parents will eventually submit to allowing all children to receive vaccinations, but it is likely that more lives will be threatened before there is any real change in parents' attitudes.
ENVIRONMENT
Rob Pyatt is a junior from St. Joseph studying journalism.
Confiscation needed for conservation
when I think of the word "confiscation," I immediately think of two scenarios: a toddler in danger and an airport. Whether it is a toy or a bottle of water, some authority decides that you are no longer allowed to be in possession of something, often with the goal of safety.
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a toddler may not realize it, but someone taking away a toy that they could choke on is in its best interest. Similarly, although the TSA security checkpoints can be a tedious process, most citizens have a general agreement that security in airports is also necessary.
Realizing that losing what we may consider a convenience or a necessity is actually beneficial is a slow process without intervention, even if it is for a greater good.
Carpooling, recycling and using reusable bags are all sustainable actions that may not be convenient, but are for the greater good. If the government confiscated cars or waste management services, chaos would ensue. However, society will not come to a crashing halt if plastic bags are confiscated to promote the use of paper or reusable bags.
In fact, Hawaii is the first U.S. state to ban plastic bags. Tanya Lewis reports for livescience.com that "The islands of Maui, Kauai and the Big Island have already banned plastic bags, and Oahu will ban them starting July 2015. Stores and restaurants on the Big Island had been
charging customers for plastic bags for a year."
Hawaii may be the first state, but Lewis also reports that, "Los Angeles banned [plastic bags] at the beginning of 2014, and San Francisco and Santa Monica have bans as well. Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C., have bans too."
Governments controlling what goods citizens can and cannot use often spark controversy, as people feel that it is their right to choose what they use. However, if we continue to be apathetic to the fate of the planet, I believe confiscation of unessential conveniences is the next logical step.
Some college campuses ban plastic water bottles or paper towels as sustainability initiatives. It is hard to adjust lifestyles to these changes at first, but eventually routines will reform without unnecessary waste. Sometimes all it takes is a little push to really discover how many things we can live without.
Jenny Stern is a sophomore from Lawrence studying ecology and evolutionary biology.
FFA OF THE DAY I'm going to stand outside, so if anyone asks, I'm outstanding.
Follow us on Twitter @ KansanOpinion. Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
Do you think children should be vaccinated?
@CamoJayhawk
@KansanOpinion That's up to the parents. Regardless of data, theyll fight for what they believe is best, whether it is proven or not.
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ER TO THE EDITOR
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@Captin_Morgan93
@KansanOpinion yes. Children should not be punished with preventable diseases because of the ignorance of their parents.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Katie Kutiek, Alison Koen, Lauren Armendarz, Anna Wenner, Sean Powers and Kolby Bots.
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