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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13. 2014
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opinion
Text your FFA submissions to (785) 289-8351 or at kansan.com
To the gaggle of giggling girls at Anschutz everyday, all day, take your courtship else where, I have work to do.
TEXT
FREE FOR ALL
Let's be honest, the Olympics jokes are 'Sochi'ees this year.
1. Mascots are not costumes 2. Yes sometimes we smile in suit
As Friday approaches and single women are disheartened by not having a date for Valentine's Day, here is my message to you: you are all BEAUTIFUL in EVERY way! Don't ever forget that.
I hate that I am so diligent a student I don't have time to get free condoms. #ProtectYourLaiy
Corbin girls why you so cold. Take my (whole) bag of pizza rolls =(
Imagine Gordon Ramsay playing Flappy Bird.
Shout out to whoever does the weather section in the UDK for using Beatles lyrics!
To the person who cut in the chicken cheddar wrap line at the Underground. You're the scum of the earth.
I promise that 3d model I was working on in class wasn't a penis... It just kinda really looked like one
Reading the FFA and realizing you missed a word or had bad grammar is a good indicator on how the previous day was for you
Robinson to snow in ten minutes...
Holy s***
wnenever I eat Lunchables, I will ALWAYS think about school field trips as a Kid
KU #randomraps - eating a sandwich in the cold, call it subzero
Good thing everyone on campus knows I'm the guy who choked on a hot dog at E's the other day and had to go to the ER. I feel really cool
If I marry my current boyfriend,
I'd be an art teacher with the last
name Stoner. How appropriate.
Dear in need of a cuddle buddy, I can help
Psssshht... Valentine's day.
Whatever, just another Friday.
NATIONAL
There's a time and place for talking on the phone. Please feel free to find somewhere private instead of broadcasting your life to the library. Thanks
US should pursue energy security, not independence
Energy independence is the idea that the U.S. can be energy self-sufficient. You might have heard clamoring about it before. Perhaps political unrest afflicts oil-rich region X and then the price of gasoline at the QuikTrip on 23rd Street rises. If only the U.S. didn't need those pesky other countries that can't seem to be politically stable; if only the U.S. was energy independent!
See, I'm all for oil and gas exploration and production, but proclaiming the potential for energy independence is equivalent to advocating some extreme environmentalist position that the world will run exclusively on solar power. Setting energy
The idea that the U.S. will be energy independent is just rhetoric. People use the fears of past oil price shocks and even the American distrust for the Middle East to fuel their agenda. Perhaps some actually believe U.S. energy independence is on the horizon.
independence as a goal is even more preposterous, yet some leading politicians and oilmen do it anyway.
Let me be clear: barring some unimaginable technological feat, I doubt energy independence is going to happen. This is especially true given the environmental pressures on hydrocarbon resources. There is too much demand, and given ever tightening regulations, not
enough domestic supply.
There are strong arguments that energy trade isn't all bad, even stabilizing international relations. I won't get into that here, but Roger Howard's 2008 "An Ode to Oil" in the Wall Street Journal is a must-read.
But firms and people in power continue to talk about "energy independence," which confuses the public and stirs up an ugly version of nationalism, as if it's un-
American to be realistic about trade. In a world complete with sophisticated exchanges and complex trade channels, claiming that one day the U.S. won't need oil from other countries is a pipe dream.
Then how can the U.S. protect itself from dominant oil suppliers? How can we guarantee, when we graduate from the University, that our quality of life will continue to improve (demanding more and more energy)?
The simplest answer is that we cannot, at least not completely. That's scary, but it's the truth, unlike promises of energy independence.
As energy authority Daniel Yergin once claimed, energy security — a certain
resilience and adaptability is a much more reasonable goal. Changing that one word, independence, to security, has significance. It's not a matter of semantics; rather, there is this implied understanding that trade is not evil, and a diversity of suppliers is what secures the energy future. Pursuing hydrocarbons domestically is fine, just don't use "energy independence" rhetoric to gain supporters.
Chris Ouyang is a senior from Overland Park studying petroleum engineering and economics.
CULTURE
Self-discrimination leads to isolation
There is a new discrimination. One that everyone struggles with, even me I am 19 years old. I haven't seen much of the world, but the little bit that I have seen is enough to teach me a few things. Discrimination in our generation is not the same as it was in 1960. Today, we fight a different battle, the battle of self-discrimination.
The Oxford dictionary defines discrimination as "the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, esp. on the grounds of race, age, or sex." Self-discrimination occurs when a minority in a situation separates itself from the majority. For instance, on the first day of class two minority girls freeze before sitting in opposite corners of the room. If not the corners, then the back of the room, separating themselves from the majority.
Another example: Mrs. E's. I'm by myself, searching the bustling room for a place to sit and eat. Some people look at me, others don't. Finally, I find a seat in the corner. What do I do? Well, I do what most lone diners do: I take out my phone. I always wonder what people would think if they saw me checking the weather 15 times. Several times I've seen other students do the same thing. I've watched student after student walk by without giving a glance toward a lone diner. They may think, "They look like they don't want to be bothered." Well if you were sitting by yourself with only
By Crystal Bradshaw opinion@kansan.com
the weather app to accompany you, wouldnt you look a little melancholy?
Naturally, minorities feel hesitant to integrate with the majority and the majority feels hesitant to blend with minorities. This results in isolation and separation. From the observations I've made on campus, minorities are mainly sitting in the corners. Some people may not want to be bothered or may be shy, but essentially the issue is our constant struggle to understand different cultures.
Discrimination starts with you and me—inside our minds. Racial boundaries and tension still only exist because our minds allow them to. There aren't any Jim Crow laws, dictators, or constitutions that institutionalise separation. You never will know what that person would've said if you sat and ate with them unless you try.
Yes, there will be times you'll be rejected. Some people will not want you to integrate yourself into their group. You're afraid to try, and that teaches you that there are intangible boundaries that must never be crossed. Discrimination doesn't have a preference. All that matters is you. It doesn't matter if you are the minority of the situation; don't be afraid to reach out.
Crystal Bradshaw is a freshman studying English.
ENVIRONMENT
Government should invest in alternative transportation
There is no shortage of environmental causes these days. Between saving the whales and "going green" it seems everyone has a cause they're supporting. While this has helped promote a sense of environmentalism among millions of people, the efforts of environmental organizations in recent years have yet to yield a strategy for changing one of the biggest contributors to global warming: the exhaust expelled by millions of cars every day.
According to a 2011 report released by Ward Auto, the total number of cars in the world has surpassed the 1 billion mark. The United States contributes the largest number of cars at approximately 239.8 million vehicles.
Not only do these millions of vehicles clog America's highways, they contribute unprecedented pollution to the atmosphere. According to an article in The Washington Post, global vehicle emissions account for approximately 23 percent of all greenhouse emissions around the world.
the increasing emissions pumped into the atmosphere, particularly in nations like China, whose population is expected to only increase its demand for vehicles in the coming years.
One would think that combating such a large contributor to global warming would be a top priority for environmental organizations. But little has been done to curb
One viable option for combating climate change while also increasing the efficiency of American transportation is the adoption of a mass transit system similar to that of Europe's bullet trains. These trains use only a fraction of the fuel than widely used modes of transportation, all while transporting thousands of commuters every day.
So if the mass transit system adopted by Europe has proved so effective in decreasing traffic and greenhouse gas emissions, why has the United States been so slow to adopt such a system?
One reason may be the unique culture of the United States, where individuality is favored more than communal activities, making the commute on a high-speed train less appealing than
a one-person commute. In addition, the American highway system, which has been in place or under construction since former President Dwight Eisenhower approved it in 1956, would cost untold millions — if not billions — to uproot and replace with train tracks.
The costs to create and maintain a mass transit system in the United States may come with serious costs, but the benefits of such a system, should it come to be, would help to combat one of the most serious causes of global warming. Millions of people would be able to travel long distances more efficiently and with less of an effect on the environment. If the United States were to adopt such a system, the world would be one step closer to establishing a greener and more sustainable environment.
Rob Pyatt is a junior from St. Joseph, Mo. studying journalism.
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