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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014
PAGE 4
opinion
TEXT FREE FOR ALL
Send your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or kansan.com
When we get the conference championship again this year, can we just rename the big 12. "KU's winning streak"?
Wearing leggings in the cold isn't stupid. I can wear three layers of thermal leggings and look normal. I cannot wear three layers of jeans or sweats without looking like a pillow.
Can we bring back the before second half pump up video?
BTW, the buses do have GPS tracking systems and you can track them at: thebus.mobi and select the University of Kansas.
Maybe KU does have a secret tunnel system. How would we know? It's secret.
God created fleece-lined leggings for the winter, we're not stupid but we are comfortable.
We have a secret tunnel system, they just don't let us use it.
in today's paper: front page party penalties, next page giant beer ad.
How is it that no matter which direction I walk, I am always walking into-the wind?²
If the UDK runs out of ideas, they should have an FFA 'Honorable Mentions' section.
I think my bus driver intentionally drives all jerky to mess with the standing passengers...
To the girl who always does the puzzles one page over, you're a little nerdy but super perdyy. )
Okay, there's snow on the ground again. Let's remember how to park this time, KU.
Everywhere is a bed if you try hard enough.
"There's flurries of snow on the ground, school should be canceled," said no Kansan ever.
You can put whatever you want on your resume, but you must accept the consequences.
It looks like a Styrofoam factory exploded.
When a bus comes I get hopeful then it flashes "Skips Daisy Hill."
I have to be careful in the future not to ever seriously anger my best friend. She knows too much...
I skipped cell structure and function this morning and ate seaweed paper with my dog.
POLITICS
Brownback ignores funding problem in platform
the Kansas Supreme Court is expected to publish the opinion in
1 Court is expected to publish the opinion in Gannon v. State of Kansas any day now. The suit questions the current funding levels of Kansas schools. The case was reviewed after a ruling by a lower Kansas court last year that found that the levels of funding to public schools were not high enough to provide the resources necessary to meet the standard set by the Kansas Constitution, which enumerates the provision of "suitable" levels of public education.
Gov. Sam Brownback appealed that ruling, which would have mandated an increase in state education funding. During that legislative cycle his administration continued the trend of recent drastic cuts to education including higher-ed cuts totaling $13.5
In Brownback's recent State of the State address, the governor actually made a plea to the present Kansas Supreme Court justicees to rule against the funding mandate, effectively asking them to ignore concerns over education along with his and their constitutional requirements - all in the name of throwing students under the bus.
million in decreased funding to the University.
However, despite Brownback's disinclination toward adequately supporting schools, it wouldn't be an election year without an education platform, and he has made it well known that his focus is now the development of an all-day kindergarten program.
This program is a worthwhile pursuit to be sure, but an expensive new initiative in
education seems at odds with the administration's tax scheme and perplexing in light of the Governor's unwillingness to fully and appropriately fund current commitments and responsibilities to schools.
Brownback has cited budget surplus as the financier of his all-day kindergarten proposals. The job his administration has done balancing the budget was a focal point Brownback touted throughout his address. However, the projections for fiscal year 2014, according to
the Kansas Legislative Research Department Consensus, indicate a forecasted deficit rather than a surplus as he repeatedly asserted.
Much of Brownback's address focused on economic figures that don't add up, not the least of which being the kindergarten program. Brownback laid the foundation of his address around the economic prosperity under his tenure, the growth of the median household income of Kansans being his marquee statistic. But even this calling card suffers on closer examination revealing that when calculated with inflation the real median income has dropped, not grown, according to numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau.
This administration's tax plan has been to lower income tax rates (Brownback has voiced a
desire to eliminate income tax completely) and to instead rely on more regressive taxes, shifting the tax burden away from wealthy Kansans. It would seem as though this administration held the belief this plan would relieve the impetus subduing our economic prosperity therefore unleashing newfound revenue cascading through Topeka, as would be necessary for such new initiatives (we will have to keep cutting higher-ed though).
That hasn't happened. Instead government revenue has been stymied, making the fulfillment of well-intentioned initiatives such as all-day kindergarten financed by surplus funding merely a pipe dream.
Clay Cosby is a junior from Overland Park studying political science.
EQUALITY
'Frozen' heroines break traditional women's roles
I recently had a mid-senior-year crisis, and not for the reasons you might think. See, I spent the fall semester of this past year researching a thesis concerning the social gender issues of Disney fairytales, and then, to my surprise, Disney one-ups me and presents the film "Frozen."
For those of you who don't know, "Frozen" is the newest Disney animation film, based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen." The film focuses on the love between two sisters, who ultimately come together to accept each other and save their kingdom from the calamity of an eternal winter.
Perhaps only the 5-year-old inside of me actually cares about anything Disney-related, but "Frozen" is an incredibly refreshing addition to Disney's long line of fairy tales. Consider this: "Frozen" is the first Disney princess film that has not ended in marriage or the somewhat-verbal prospect thereof, and the first where the female leads have the only hand in the outcome of the film (yes, I am even including "Mulan" in that analysis).
Now, I know what you're thinking, "I totally care about Disney films targeted for children under 5. This is completely applicable to my life!" But in all honesty, this is a really important milestone in Disney history. In a world where articles with titles like "23 Trends Guys Hate (That Women Love)" are running rampant and stumping on any notions of feminism, strong, independent, female role models are hard to come by, particularly in children's film and television. What does that imply for the future society we are raising?
Take our generation, for example. Most of us were born into the '90s comeback-era of Disney films. A good portion of us were raised on "The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "Mulan," and so forth. And I would bet that many of us—myself included—still love those stories and characters.
We've also had certain social standards drilled into us; social standards that are reflected and reiterated in those very movies. Whether we want to admit it or not, these ideas about marriage, love, appearance and the relationship between men and women have made our society what it is today. We idolize the characters we meet in stories and we learn from them, and for many of us, Disney was a large part of that aspect of our education.
My point is simple: we live in a society where we still struggle to understand feminism and what it means for women to be equal with men. We live in a society where men's privilege often goes unrecognized and we praise overtly-sexualized, digitally-perfect celebrity women for being role models for the rest of us. But we also live in a society that is learning. A society that can come up with a film like "Frozen," a film that, while still having a way to go, demonstrates that love does not have to come from romance, and that women can save the day too.
Tasha Cerny is a senior from Salina studying English.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
Follow us on Twitter @KansanOpinion. Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
What is the best thing about the Super Bowl?
Student section saved seats not being honored
I am disappointed with the way a situation was handled in Allen Fieldhouse during the Iowa State game. I feel KU Athletics allowed a disservice to occur to the "best student section in the nation," and they should make sure it doesn't happen again.
Per KU tradition, I and members of my camping group woke up before sunrise on a freezing January morning to attend lottery. We camped throughout the week, got our number and found some seats in the legendary AFH. For this particular game, we needed to save three seats, so we set a coat on one and UDKs on two others to establish that they were saved. In one particular row, there were two of my group members sitting, two seats saved and two open seats.
A man with a general admission ticket sat in one of the seats, which was fine. However, he was joined by two other GA-ticket holders, a woman and a man who were now sitting in one of our saved seats. We told the newcomers they were sitting in saved seats and they refused to move.
When our three final group members arrived at 6:40 (note: more than an hour before tipoff), the GA-ticket holders still refused to move so I asked the red-vested crowd control/ seat finder gentleman for
As a result of the GA-ticket holders' refusal to abide by AFH traditions and stipulations, and, in addition, common courtesy, I was unable to fully enjoy this game, and I am fearful this has happened to other students in the past, or will happen again in the future. Therefore, I suggest that the Athletics department adds a note to all GA tickets reminding ticket holders that they are not to sit in saved seats, and that the department takes proper steps to better manage this situation and protect the tradition of that "best student section" it promotes.
assistance. He came up and told the GA people that they needed to honor our saved seats, but they didn't move, and he called in his supervisor. The supervisor asked them to move, and, once again, they refused. The supervisor told me there was nothing she could do because apparently seat-saving had been suspended, even though it was only 6:44, still more than an hour before tipoff, and she said I would need to contact the University with complaints, which I am currently following up on.
Brianna Leiker is a junior from Kansas City, Kan., studying chemical engineering.
@NLongsfeld @KansasOpinion the library will be completely empty.
@Captin_Morgan93
FFA OF THE DAY Every time I write a check for tuition another horcrux is made.
Ransom Opinion commercials unless Art Rooney is holding up the Lombardi Trophy at the end.
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