MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014
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opinion
TEXT
FREE FOR ALL
My boyfriend didn't propose after it was in his horoscope. I'm not sure if that means he doesn't want to go there or he doesn't believe in horoscopes...
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"The Bells ooof Campoonileee"
Listen! So many sounds so many
wonders, but you know...they dont
ring all by themselves!
It's not the hill, Wescoe stairs are like the ones in Harry Potter libraries.
To the anime girl, there's not many of us, but we exist.
That moment you've walked halfway home before remembering you actually drove to class today. Damn it.
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Doooooooweeeeeeeeeee0000000000
oooow!!!!!! Ooooooooooooooooo!
Dooooooodoooooo weeeeess
ooooooo! - Doctor Who theme song
Only at KU will the TA postpone the class discussion for 30 minutes to watch overtime! Rock Chalk!
Re: song requests for The Campanile. I'm new to playing the carillon (instrument that plays the bells) but I can try!
Editor's Note: Eye of the Tiger?
Nice guys finish last. No more Mr. Nice Guy.
Where does one find a rebound in Lawrence?
I submit a change to the bellringing schedule. Whenever its tipoff time for KU in the tournament, campanille should play the rock chalk chant.
All of my friends went to amazing faraway places during break. My proudest accomplishment was watching 3 seasons of a TV show...
I'm the kind of guy who will adopt a highway and then sit in a lawn chair to watch the cars drive down my highway.
And so it begins...
I hate Stanford.
Editor's Note. Ditto.
There are two types of people in this world: Those who admit to peeing in the shower, and f*@?!ng liars.
My heart breaks a little every time someone mentions March Madness now...
This new editor is super sassy and I love it.
Plot twist: Her roommate doesn't exist she is just talking to herself.
No more basketball and another Monday of classes. Clearly we should go back to break.
NATIONAL
Fred Phelps' death should lead to positive change
As of writing this, I just got a push notification that said that Fred Phelps, the founder of Westboro Baptist Church, passed away. I was a little surprised to find that I had mixed emotions about it. On one hand, most of the things that Westboro Baptist Church stands for are absolutely reprehensible, but on the other hand, I feel a little bit uneasy about Phelps' death. I don't want to see people cheering in the streets because an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. I always thought that when he died I would
have a joyful feeling. I admit that part of me rejoices at his downfall, but it is more about my hope for the future destruction of his ideals as opposed to the death of the man himself.
Phelps was wretched. He was a callous, out of touch, old man who deserves all of the bad things that came upon him, but for some reason all I can do is feel sorry for him. He was misguided and I wonder what it was that brought him there. I just see no way that someone could be so hateful for no reason.
On the bright side, I
suspect that he may have had a change of heart toward the end because according to his estranged son's Facebook post, Phelps was excommunicated in the final days of his life. All kinds of conclusions might be drawn from this, but, whatever the reason may be, I like to think that he realized the error of
his ways at the end.
Through his death we can grow as people. Hopefully people see that if we sit and cheer the death of Phelps, then we aren't any different from him. Should we go picket his funeral with signs that say, "God hates Fred"? I think not. This is an opportunity to show that hate doesn't have to course through the veins of those who have wronged others and those you've been wronged alike. We can forgive and love. That love is what brings about true change. Hating a man and letting that hate seethe and
boil inside us can bring to the surface ugly behavior. Let the man die alone, forgotten and lost. He has no power anymore. It is not the man we fight, but that which he stood for. Together we can take all of the disgusting ideas and dig them a grave, too. That will be the real victory. Let's do it the right way.
Nick Jackson is a senior from Lawrence studying chemical engineering.
From Nanjing on longing: Missing the way it rains
I miss the thunderstorms. Spending a year in China I knew I would have a strong sense of missing out during football and basketball season, and family and friends were a given. These were things I could prepare for, but six months away from my home during a light Nanjing drizzle of rain, it dawned on me that I had not seen a single proper flash of lighting or heard a proper boom of thunder since I had left. This was a feeling I had not prepared for. It caught me off guard.
When I first came to China, I was in a state of complete sensory overload. The buildings are seemingly endless in every direction, people are everywhere and traffic is a frantic free-for-all. I didn't know how to accomplish basic tasks. I was reliant on the help of new friends. We went in large groups of recently arrived and culturally shocked international students to apply for our residency permits together. The process was disorganized and in the wrong language.
By Scott Rainen
opinion@kansan.com
We all relied on each others' tips to navigate our way through the bureaucracy. The first month was a mess, but it was fun in a weird sort of way as everything was new and challenging.
After half a year, I, like most of the people I went to get residency permits with, have figured out most aspects of how to get along in Nanjing. I've developed a rich mental map of nearby places to eat, and my barber and I have some semblance of a relationship. I know for a fact that while the rickshaws seem like a fun idea in concept they typically will end with me getting ripped off. I am able to get in a rhythm of life here, but occasionally some little hiccup in it reminds me how far away I am from home. The soft patter of a recent typical rainstorm in Nanjing did just that.
I miss the thunderstorms in Kansas. I miss lazily sipping on coffee while listening to sheets of rain
crash upon the roof. I miss standing outside, below an awning, and hearing the full roar of the downpour
— the way my father checks the sump-pump every 30 minutes fearing the basement will flood.
It sounds cliché to say it's the little things you will miss, and while I won't speak for everyone, for me this is definitely true. The unexpected minor aspects of life in my home are what made it mine, and these are the things I miss the most.
I went to China to learn about Chinese culture, but I have also learned a little bit about my own. There are many things we take for granted in life, and most are not obvious. Being away has caused me to appreciate them more. I knew I would miss the way of life in my home, but who would have guessed I would miss the way it rained?
Scott Rainen is a senior from Kansas City, Mo., studying East Asian languages and culture and geography.
Both parties guilty when cheating
I've seen it all too often. "The other girl." Eric Anderson, an American sociologist at the University of Winchester, did a study on undergraduate college men that revealed 78 percent of them had cheated at least once on their partner. This number is huge. This is a sad, embarrassing statistic for the male population, but I also can't help but think — who are these girls?
I mean who is really satisfied with being second place? I've heard women say, "I'm not the one in a commitment, he is," as if this justifies sleeping with a man who they know is taken.
Being "the other girl" is like driving the getaway car in a bank robbery; you might not have been the one robbing the bank, but you still played a major role in something that isn't right. And according to federal law, the accomplice is just as guilty as the person who committed the crime.
Relationship law is the same. We often tell each other that it's the guy we should be mad at, which is true. He's the one making the mistake. However, it takes two to tango. Instead of feeling flattered, you should tell the girlfriend her boyfriend's a snake and let her deal with him.
Take a second to think about our own standards. A guy who's willingly cheating on his girlfriend doesn't deserve your attention. If he's unfaithful in his current commitment, you better believe he'd do the same to you.
If he isn't promising a relationship after hooking up with you on the side, and you're just doing it for fun, you're doing a terrible thing. Pretend for a minute that his girlfriend is your sister or best friend. Is it as fun now?
I write this column extremely fed up with the girls who are continuously okay with being "the other woman." Find some self-respect and maybe you'll find a man who wants you for more than what you have to offer in bed while his girlfriend is at work.
Kayla Soper is a senior from Junction City studying journalism and political science.
FFA OF THE DAY
Pay Heed all who enter, Beware of the Tablers.
FFA OF THE DAY: HONORABLE MENTION
That awkward moment when you realize your favorite nursery rhymes are actually depictions of terrible historical events.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
Follow us on Twitter @KansanOpinion. Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
Is it okay to be romantically involved with a person who is already in a relationship?
@KansanOpinion Yes. I think the current relationship model is outdated. Exclusiveness is developed by culture, it goes against nature.
@SieARose
@NickBAwesome
@KansanOpinion Nobody likes sideline girls. Stay on the bench until you get in the game.
CheatersNeverWin
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@KansanOpinion Personally I find it utterly reprehensible, but it is based on the opinions of those in the relationship and not me.
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Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Katie Kutso, Allison Köln, Lauren Armendariz, Anna Wneen, Sean Powers and Kolby Bots.
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