WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2014
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PAGE 4
TEXT FREE FOR ALL
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I thought it was "syllabus" week, not "lecture on the first day and give the class an assignment" week.
To the guy singing the "Frozen" soundtrack on the way to class, you're awesome! Editors Note- Was he singing "Let it Go?"
My professor just told the class his fantasy is to come to class wearing a bunny suit.
Best thing about first day of school is, I have an A in all of my classes. Worst thing is, it can only go down from here.
If you ever sit next to someone who woos during the Rock Chalk chant, please promptly punch them in the stomach.
Days that are sunny while being extremely cold are the reason I have trust issues.
Awkward moment when vintage FFAs get put in the paper and you didn't.
Somebody needs to make a "Wayne's World" poster.
Nothing instills more anxiety in me than when the professor tells us to find a partner and pair up on the first day.
I am so happy I don't have to provide receipts for what I buy with loans. Shame in the form of 3 cases of ramen.
First class done, only yawned 7 times.. Winning
That Godfather poster was BADASS
Sooo when is it socially accept-
able to start looking like a shlub in
class again? First day? Cool.
*Sees cute girl reading Manga*
*Trys to snapchat a picture to a friend* *Flash goes off*
"Oh fuck guess I might as well drop this class"
Win or lose, let's hope Tyler Self shaves that gross chin beard.
I like to think when the basketball players are stretching that they're really dancing
Maddie S. is life.
LEGISLATION
I'm a senior and the biggest regret I've had in my college career is never learning the clap.
Learn the clap. Know the clap Be the clap.
Every day is a beautiful day in Kansas.
Mac and cheese with little corn dogs.
High time to legalize marijuana in Kansas
The United States is quickly warming up to the idea of legal-
I quickly warming up to the idea of legalized marijuana. The perception of the drug has changed; it is no longer viewed as a substance used only by degenerates and miscreants. Today, public figures, from Oprah Winfrey to Sarah Palin, admit to having tried the drug. The pot industry has been burgeoning for decades, and with the recent legalization of recreational usage in Colorado and Washington. the tone of the industry has shifted further. This is apparent even in the rural, conservative areas of central Kansas. A weed-centric startup has recently been announced in Salina. The business Uber-Dank Destinations plans to exploit the recent change in laws of Kansas' neighboring
state. According to the Salina Journal, the owner of the company will be taking weekend trips in his van, ferrying those curious about pot to Colorado to give some of the high-end stuff a puff.
Companies like UberDank illustrate just how much the debate over marijuana has changed. The new attitude is evident, too, in how Americans view those who partake. No longer are politicians forced to defend themselves from accusations of usage, as Bill Clinton did in the early '90s. Joining the ranks of influential pot smokers are George W. Bush and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The current president openly admits to experimenting with harder substances and has confirmed that he always inhaled, in contrast
By Ike Uri opinion@kansan.com
to Clinton's famous defense. Most importantly, the former drug usage of politicians has not been a major issue recently. Times have changed, from one president being forced to deny that he inhaled marijuana to another admitting that he's done cocaine.
The majority of the American public now supports legalizing marijuana usage. According to a Gallup poll, today nearly 60 percent of Americans view marijuana favorably, a figure that has nearly doubled over the past decade. It seems clear that more state governments will soon be following Washington and Colorado's lead and it is inevitable that use will eventually be decriminalized
on a federal basis. The red state of Kansas has even seen increasing activity in Topeka concerning changing legislation. Though a few bills have been introduced to legalize medical marijuana, they have always failed. However, the Silver Haired Legislature, a panel of senior citizens who suggest legislative changes, surprisingly voted in favor of medical marijuana. This group's influence could help pass a medical marijuana bill that will be considered by the legislature this year.
From Stephen Colbert to Rush Limbaugh, Rand Paul to Bill Gates, the population of the United States is becoming more accepting of marijuana usage. Use of the substance is certainly no secret on college campuses, where marijuana has been a mainstay for
decades and where increasing numbers of students are trying the drug. The quickly broadening public perception across all age groups is the most startling; the drug is no longer exclusively identified with youthful shenanigans. UberDank only provides its services to people 45 and older and Gallup polls also show that nearly half of senior citizens believe that weed should be legal. Though there is still strong debate concerning the morals and hazards of marijuana legalization, it seems time for the government to begin change to reflect public opinion.
Ike Uri is a freshman from Concordia studying English and sociology
ANIMALS
Helping humans and sharks in 140 characters or less
Twitter has finally hit the ocean. Twitter's newest users? The sharks of Australia.
As NPR reports, "Government researchers have tagged 338 sharks with acoustic transmitters that monitor where the animals are. When a tagged shark is about half a mile away from a beach, it triggers a computer alert, which tweets out a message on the Surf Life Saving Western Australia Twitter feed."
The sharks may not be updating the Twitter community with their thoughts, but the tweets contain more information than a location. A typical tweet looks as following:
The benefits of this program
nat there's any danger," Holland said in an NPR article. "In Hawaii, tiger sharks are all around our coastlines all the time and yet we have very, very few attacks."
This technology is incredibly exciting as it shows progress not only in public safety, but in behavioral ecology. A unique aspect of this technology lies in its ability to involve the public, even if it is as
Follow
Surf Life Saving WA
©SLSWA
risheries advise: 5-6ft Tiger Shark reported 15m
offshore @ Warnbro Beach, heading north, sighted
10:00am 21 January 2014, reported 10:13am
8:27 PM - 20 Jan 2014
红星
include warning beach-goers of potential dangers as well as tracking shark migration patterns. This being said, surfers and swimmers are advised not to rely on the tweets as their only precaution as not all sharks are tagged.
Kim Holland, a marine biologist researching sharks at the University of Hawaii, also brings up the point that a shark does not always correlate to danger.
"Just because there's a shark nearby doesn't mean to say
The applications are also easily integrated with conservation efforts. Tweets from endangered species as they migrate involve the public more than a month dedicated to them in a World Wildlife Fund calendar. Although I love these calendars, they are a snapshot in time. Twitter allows people to be updated on animals as they live their lives. Migrations can now be observed by the general pub-
simple as following a Twitter account.
lic, providing that sensors are placed strategically. Knowing the large scale of migrations, the need for continuous habitats to be preserved is apparent.
However, this technology is also possibly detrimental to animal populations as it gives an exact location to where the animal can be found. This information is possibly going to be used by the Australian government to target and kill sharks to increase safety.
"Because we know that they are so mobile, we're not sure that killing any of them would have any effect on safety," Holland said in an NPR article.
Also, if this technology spreads to other animals, poachers would have an easier time finding the animals. This would be particularly detrimental to elephants, tigers, and other animals used to make products that are valuable on the black market
It's not long before other animals take social media into their own hands (or fins). This could even be applied on a campus scale. Although there may not be much use of knowing the locations of the Squirrels of KU, could you imagine if the University skunks tweeted their locations? Ah, the sweet smell of progress.
Jenny Stern is a sophomore from Lawrence studying ecology and evolutionary biology.
DIVERSITY
Students control campus diversity
FFA OF THE DAY Stop the woo. Tell your friends, but especially tell those annoying woo-ers in front of you.
W here I come from, it's a big deal to be
accepted into the University of Kansas. Everyone knows about the University; it's a name that rings out all over the world. The evidence is found on the campus with us, the students. For the first time in my life, I am surrounded by people of different nationalities.
But it's not as immense as I envisioned it to be.
During the fall semester, I began noticing the racial lines and boundaries between students on campus. An example would be the tendency people have to stick in groups of people who are the same ethnicity. I don't believe that most people try to do this but it is evident throughout campus. On a daily basis I see groups of minorities walking together. Last semester, I only had about 10 other students in all of my classes that were not Caucasian.
It may have been the daydream of an optimistic high school senior, but I couldn't help feeling a pang of disappointment. Don't get me wrong, the campus community is more diverse than my hometown by far. But, with all the pamphlets and discussions about diversity, I thought there would be a little bit more interaction between different ethnic groups.
The reason why this seems to stand out to me is because of my past experiences with a lack of diversity.I was the only African-American student in my graduating class and have dealt with being a minority all my life.
We all have voices,but there is a difference between just talking and putting it into action.
It's time we step in and make a difference in social diversity. I challenge you to sit by someone new and of a different ethnicity at least once a week. Talk to them and get to know each other a little. You can even ask them what they think in cultural interactions in society.
As college students, we can change the lack of cultural diversity. We are the next generation of leaders. We need to take the responsibility of preparing ourselves and our country for our leadership. Regardless of our profession, major, beliefs or ethnicity, we each have a role to take.
Crystal Bradshaw is a freshman studying English.
Our responsibility as the "now" generation is to ensure that equality and diversity continue in the present and future. The younger siblings, cousins and children that are looking at you are the future of not just this country, but the world.
I came to this University to seek opportunities and to broaden my experiences and interactions with different cultures. Instead, I was shocked by the lack of ethnic diversity.
@KansanOpinion I always look fabulous. #sweaterswagger
@m2marcus
@Ben_Samson
@KansanOpinion if by 'dress up' you mean 'wear underpants' then no
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@KansanOpinion Not dressing up for the fist day of class because I don't want to set that kind of precedent.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansasian Edison Board are Katie Kutso, Alison Klohn, Lauren Armendariz, Anna Werner, Sean Powers and Kolb Botts.
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