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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2014
PAGE 4
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TEXT FREE FOR ALL
Perry had his best game on Saturday! And so did !! I was on the jumbotron twice !! DThank you Perry! Rock chalk!
Text your FFA submissions to (785)289-8351 or at kansan.com
Just watched the basketball team do fake outs and airball chants for intramural games
Why is T-Rob's block not on the pregame video?
Sometimes your tongue just feels more natural outside of your mouth.
Mountains of laundry, valleys of motivation.
If a bus driver goes in reverse, and I'm the only one to witness it, did it really happen?
Every time I see the word "Lithium," I start singing Nirvana.
Glad you went to the extreme and think this bill is going to allow the cops to not protect and serve certain people. Grow up and quit being dramatic. Geez.
KU should probably learn how to stagger lunch time for junior days. The people who actually go here would like some time to eat.
Hey, KU vans, if you could slow your f*cking roll when driving through puddles, that'd be great.
I only date close family members.
Shoutout to the Sports Editor who thought we played Baylor on Saturday.
ANIMALS
I'm currently referencing a peer-reviewed journal paper that "was" published in April 2014. I'm not sure how, but I'm ok with it.
"stop spending money on AIDS and let God sort out the gays"
The UDK is legally required to
censor out your password if you
send it in. Watch this! *******
pretty cool huh?
The snow is almost gone... Does that mean it's spring now?
*Insert cheesy pickup line or stale joke*
What does a guy have to do to get in the FFAs around here?
Prioritizing my homework by what has to get done,what should get done,and what won't get done. The last pile is the largest.
Every time I tell someone I'm taking the "history of magic" this semester the Harry Potter geek inside me smiles.
My roommate told me she had a surprise so I asked if it was a puppy. It wasn't a puppy...
Pitbulls can recover from dogfighting days
Most dog owners take their dogs on walks without other people noticing. Unless your dog is exceptionally cute or has three legs, most people don't notice or care about your dog. Oddly enough, whenever I walk one of my dogs, people always notice and sometimes visibly react to our presence.
Dogs, like people, are individuals. It is considered inappropriate in our society, and rightfully so, to make sweeping generalizations about groups of people. Why should dogs be any different? People assume that my dogs are dangerous based solely on their appearance. It's easier for people to make generalizations than it is for them to evaluate individuals.
By Mara McAllister opinion@kansan.com
All of my dogs are pit bulls. Most people associate pit bulls with killing babies and ripping apart grandma's toy pooled. On more than one occasion, someone has seen my dog's blocky head and muscular physique and crossed the street to avoid us. What these people fail to
other pit bulls that serve as therapy dogs as well. When faced with evidence like this, opponents argue that these dogs are the exception, not the norm.
Pit bulls that have been used for dog fighting purposes have the potential to be more aggressive than a pit bull that has never known cruelty. They argue that dogs used in dogfighting are often unpredictable and liable to attack at any moment. Any kind of dog that experiences cruelty is likely to have extra baggage, but, contrary
My dogs are the opposite of dangerous. The first pit bull our family ever adopted became a registered therapy dog that visited children in schools. I know several
understand is that my dogs and generally most pit bulls, are not inherently aggressive.
to popular belief, dogs used in dogfighting can be rehabilitated and given new life. Considering two of my four dogs were rescued from a dogfighting ring, I consider myself relatively knowledgeable on the issue. People not familiar with canine behavior, however, often mistakenly think aggression toward animals is the same as aggression towards humans; it's not.
I've found that people think dogs used in dogfighting are aggressive towards humans because they have exhibited aggression towards other dogs. In reality, the two types of aggression are very different and dogs used in
dogfighting are typically friendly towards humans. Both of my dogs rescued from dogfighting have never displayed aggression toward people and enjoy interacting with other dogs.
Owning pit bulls has taught me a lot of things, but the most important thing I've learned is to judge on an individual basis. Everyone, people and animals alike, is unique. It's unfair to generalize an entire population.
Mara McAllister is a freshman from Lawrence.
HEALTH
Positivity helps to overcome hardship
Sunday, Feb. 16, signified one year since I suffered my fourth concussion. Since then, I've been unable to lift weights or participate in contact sports. I've lost 25 pounds because I've only been able to exercise by running. Wednesday, Feb. 19, my doctor will clear me to resume athletics. This means my odd year will finally be over.
I sustained three of the four concussions by playing soccer over the last few years. The fourth involved taking a knee to my head during a pickup basketball game. The last two were the worst. The injury made me reconsider once again if was worth it to play sports competitively.
Yes, four is a hell of a lot of head injuries. Too many would probably be the correct terminology. As my neurologist says, permanent damage is coming into the equation. In addition to lacking physical activity, the permanent damage has affected me over the past year in ways I couldn't quite grasp before the incident occurred. From light and sound sensitivity to chronic migraines, headaches have become a daily difficulty.
For the most part, the side effects were constant throughout the past year. Thankfully, the migraines I suffered early-on don't affect me as much as they initially did. The migraines' intensity remains consistent, but occur less often.
Concussions have become a hot subject over the last few years, with the multiple lawsuits by former National Football League players against the NFL for after-effects and symptoms similar to mine. I learned this while my neurologist explained to
me that sitting out for a year would be beneficial.
While headaches create a pain I've never quite felt before, the zero physical activity aspect is one of the hardest. I've played soccer since I was young, and I've been active for as long as I can remember. Being told that I couldn't play soccer—that I could hardly be active for an entire year—I didn't quite know how to react.
Now that the year is over, the worst is behind me. I can honestly say that it was worth it playing sports competitively for as long as I did.
If you're in a situation that's difficult and don't want to be in it, be patient. Everything takes time. Whether you're dealing with a loved one passing, any type of accident, or just problems with a friendship or relationship, things will get better if you work at it and stay positive.
The University of Kansas needs to revise its lockout policy. Having been in student housing several semesters in various roles, ranging from resident to desk assistant, it's time to for the University to review its approach. Right now, if a freshman is locked out of their room, they must ask for a lockout key at the front desk. Each resident is allowed one free "lockout" per semester. After this freebie is logged on a spreadsheet, a charge comes with the subsequent lockout.
G. J. Melia is a freshman from Prairie Village studying journalism.
KU Housing needs to revise lockout policy
How steep is this charge?
$20, and it's billed to your University account. It's nice that no cash is fisted over up front, but it's inconvenient when the invoice comes later. A $20 charge for someone with a minimum wage job is three hours of work!
Compared to other schools, KU Student Housing shows little leniency. Kansas State University allows two free lockouts per semester, and after that, the charge is only $5. Boren Hall at the University of Oklahoma has no charge for a lockout. They literally have no fee policy in place!
From a psychological standpoint, KU Student Housing wants students to view the residence
hall as their home and community. Not just room 622 as their home, but the entire building. How can I be locked out of one portion of my home and be expected to pay $20 to re-enter the room? In most residence halls, you have to leave your room to use any of the facilities. Brushing your teeth, doing laundry and showering all require leaving your room with your key. This involves gathering your shower caddy or laundry basket from your room and moving down the hall or downstairs. So is leaving my residence hall or my room officially leaving my "home?"
My friends who live off-campus, in houses or apartments, say they've never been locked out. This is probably because when they're leaving their house, they are actually leaving their "home." They aren't simply going down the hall to use the bathroom or do laundry. In one Lawrence apartment complex, residents call the office phone and fork over $25
in cash for each lockout. This policy seems closer to "real life" where we'd have to call a locksmith, but it still eases people into the transition.
Viewing it economically, it does not cost the University extra money to provide lockouts. With desks staffed 24/7, someone is always being paid to provide lockout services. A locksmith isn't called at 2 a.m. to come to your house and pick the lock. A deskie simply writes down your information and retrieves the spare key from the key box. No extra labor or resources are used. It's not as though the key is lost or the lock needs to be replaced. A student simply needs access to their room.
The University should really consider changing its policy. The fees are incredibly high for the service they're providing. The lockout policy divides the residence hall between what's your "home" and what isn't. In an ideal world, the University would offer more than one free lockout per semester, and the fee would be lower than $20. Dare I say it, but our policy should be closer to K-State's.
Anrenee Reasor is a junior from Thayer studying economics and East Asian language and culture.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE KU LOCKOUT POLICY?
ANSWER ONLINE AT KANSAN.COM/OPINION
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK If you could go to any day in his ch day would you visit
FFA OF THE DAY I made it all the way down Iowa without stopping. I have won Lawrence. Please award the trophy now.
@Johnny_C_Loch
@KansanOpinon the first day.
@anniebeth623
@KansanOpinion The day they invented high fives. How weird are those?
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Lauren Armendariz, managing editor
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@KansanOpinion February 18,
2014...wait, DREAMS DO COME
TRUE!
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awenner at kansan.com
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Katie Kusso, Allison Koen, Lauren Armendariz, Anna Wenner, Sean Powers and Kobly Botts.
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