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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY GANSA
TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2014
PAGE 4A
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opinion
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Social media improves personal relationships
Today's media landscape has become an ever-widening
Today's media landscape has become an ever-widening expanse of rapid information exchanges, transactions and virtual relationships. In fact, the online media landscape is so vast that scientists say it is really a sort of media savannah, or media Great Plains, populated by media buffalo and other herds of grazing media animals.
Let's face it: Grandma has an iPad now, and Grandpa is just a month or two away from getting bored with whatever he's working with (probably Grandma's old Kindle). He's going to need an iPad too, and pretty soon they will both know when you so much as fart or burn a piece of toast on a Monday morning. That's because you'll probably tweet, "Farted and burned my toast at same time... #smh
CaseOfTheMondays."
But, on a more serious note, when it comes to Internet media, almost nothing is more hotly debated than social media's effect on our interpersonal relationships. Critics assert that platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vine are turning us into narcissistic selfie-taking, duck-face-making, hashtagging robots without attention spans.
They'd like you to believe that social media monetizes life events, turning them into a currency of documented moments that we share electronically in return for the self-esteem crack buzz when people click "like," "star," "favorite," add comments and so on.
I'm here to tell you, however, that not only is social media totally
freakin' awesome for our interpersonal relationships, it is actually making them stronger one selfie at a time.
By Forrest Appleton opinion@kansan.com
In fact, with each selfie you take, and every time you tweet, "Ugh, so bored in the lib right now," you're one step closer to making your online self a reality. Eventually, you will become a glorious, pre-edited example of walking social perfection.
Just imagine the possibilities: What if you were a living Facebook profile picture? The standard campus pass-by drill of "make eye contact, look up and to the side as if checking for falling bird crap, nod, mumble greeting or look away" would never be the
same.
Instead, you'd be mesmerized by the other person's glowing complexion, sweet aviator shades and awesome background scenery — which is definitely way pretier than yours, by the way. As they approach, you'd "like" their social persona in the form of a high five, followed by mutual yells of, "So hot!" and "Stunning!' Then, on the walk-away, you'd make a mental note to definitely shout two or three words at them on their birthday.
Taking a step further into this hypothetical world of tangible social media, hashtags would become acceptable in academic writing and the @ symbol would preclude any spoken name. The era of long-winded dissertations would be gone. A treatise on the
psychology behind Jimi Hendrix's guitar playing would read: #Lordknows I'mAVoodooChild. Thanksgiving day conversations would sound like, "Hey @UncleFred, could you please pass the gravity? #DryTaters." Things would be so much easier!
If this all sounds a little far-fetched, that's probably because you're one of the poor souls who's still stuck in the age of well-thought-out communication. Well, you just keep churning the butter down on the farm with Irv and Agnes. The rest of us will continue to Tinder/tweet/pin/Instagram our way to a more perfect world.
Forrest Appleton is a senior from Juneau, Alaska., majoring in political science with a minor in logging.
ENVIRONMENT
Green space, aka wasted space, needs to go now
The Lawrence campus is situated on 1,000 acres of land. Roughly 200 of these acres are designated green space, meaning the land is free of construction. According to the International Panel On Undeveloped Land (IPUL), every acre of earth that remains undeveloped represents roughly $100,000 in lost revenue every year. That means the University stands to gain $20,000,000 each year if every acre of remaining green space on campus is developed with a new academic building, arena or parking lot.
The extensive amount of green space, specifically in Marvin Grove, represents failed economic opportunity. Because the most important thing in this country is continued economic growth, the University has a patriotic obligation to eliminate wasted green areas and begin new construction or industrial projects.
Marvin Grove alone represents a potential economic gain of $5,000,000 per year. Because of the original documents that set aside Marvin Grove for conservation in 1878, only memorials can be built in the area. Thanks to the foresight of the writers of this document,
By Anastasia Housen
opinion@kansan.com
the memorial loophole allowed the construction of Memorial Stadium, a beautiful concrete stadium that is half full at every home football game eight times a year. The stadium was a step in the right direction, but now the university needs to pursue more memorials for the sake of the economy. We need more concrete and asphalt in order to turn the barren wasteland of Marvin Grove into something enjoyable for all society, like a water park or more parking.
A second development option for Marvin Grove is a hydraulic fracturing operation. Few people know that the University is situated on a goldmine of natural gas deposits. The university, with the help of geology students and engineering majors, can use the Grove as a practice field for fracking. The grove is a perfect location for fracking because of nearby Potter Lake. The lake is an ideal storage area for the main byproduct of fracking; contaminated water containing heavy metals and low levels of radiation. Despite environmental extremist's outcries, the water is perfectly safe to swim in
unless you are under the age of twelve, pregnant or think you may be pregnant, taking allergy pills, or a man. In addition to giving our students experience in drilling techniques, the University's annual revenue will increase drastically. In order to appease the original documents that wrongfully wish to conserve the grove, the new fracking operation can be named as a memorial to former student, Paul Rudd, whose acting career died after the 2013 release of Anchorman Two: The Legend Continues.
Some say Marvin Grove must be preserved for its natural beauty and biodiversity. To that I ask, "What do you value more, a tree and some nice grass or hours of fun and chicks in bikinis at a water park? Would you rather have chirping birds and rabid squirrels or America's energy independence? More importantly, what is most valuable to our nation, the environment or the economy?" I think we all know the answer. Yes to money and exploitation and no to natural rights and conservation.
Anastasia Housen is a freshman from Overland Park studying industrial design.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
ACADEMICS
Follow us on Twitter @KansanOpinion. Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
But probably not. Don't count on it.
What's one change you'd like to see happen at KU next semester?
KU to turn libraries into casinos to help grades
The libraries at KU are an important source for academic improvement, yet they are more often a place of misery for students. People constantly complain about how miserable it is to spend time in the libraries.
What if we could turn this negative into a positive? I think that the potential of the libraries is not being fully realized. We need to convert the libraries into casinos.
Katie Kutsko, editor-in-chief
kkuhtko@kansan.com
Allison Köhn, managing editor
akohn@kansan.com
Lauren Armendariz, managing editor
larmendariz@kansan.com
Harrow-Metropolis University (HMU) initiated a change in 2012 that converted an old campus building into a casino for its students.
The results were incredible; enrollment nearly doubled and the average GPA rose nearly 6.9%. Profits from public visitation lowered tuition costs nearly $1,000 per student.
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.
The libraries at KU are already hubs for gambling. Students commonly bet on their grades and test scores, especially during finals week. Regulating the activity would benefit the students and the university. This is because happy students are productive students.
Science agrees. The University of Glasgow Gambling Research Group states that "a student with a $100 or higher bet on their test score is three times as likely to show improved test scores versus those who did
By Richard Johnson
opinion@kansan.com
Richard Johnson is a senior from New York studying applied behavioral science.
If harnessed, the recreational and speculative energy of KU students could fuel the power plant, reducing costs further.
Anna Wenner, opinion editor
awenner@kansan.com
Sean Powers, business manager
spowers@kansan.com
The economic benefits would also be outstanding. It would bring in new jobs and commerce for Lawrence. Tuition would be lowered.
Some folks might oppose this change because they believe our libraries are important learning resources. I can't say I disagree without breaking my poker face. The mental and economic benefits alone won't raise academic performance.
not gamble."
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
However, this drawback could be negated by hiring tutors to work inside the casino. Students could get tips on studying and blackjack.
Kolby Butts, sales manager
kbotts@kansan.com
I think it's evident that we should join HMU at the forefront of collegiate academics.
Student senate, it's time to ante up.
Send letters to opinion@kansan.com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the email subject line.
@monkeyluver4eva
@KansanOpinion Get rid of the Jayhawk as our mascot. Sorry, Jay, but I think just about anything is better. Even a sock monkey. Can we be the sock monkeys?
@KansanOpinion Turn Wescoe into the parking garage we all know it was supposed to be! Make it 25 stories. Free parking for all!
@ih8KUp@rking
©KansanOpinion If they could get rid of that basketball thing, that'd be great. I just don't care about who scored what.
@2kul4uhahaha
@Lookin4somebudy
RansanOpinion We should have class 7 days a week. I get lonely on the weekends. #Schoolisnylife
CONTACT US
Brett Akagi, media director and content strategist
bakagi@kansan.com
CONTACT US
Jon Schlitt, sales and marketing adviser
jschlitt@kansan.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are katie Kuklein,杏ison Kohrn, Lauren Armendariz, Anna Wenner, Sean Powers and Bolly Botts.
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