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Thank you, thunder, for being my alarm clock this morning.
Robinson has a massive cockroach problem
Why not have ice cream for breakfast?!
NationalIceCreamDay
One of my goals is to not look like uncle Phil from Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
freshprince #lifegoals
reachforthestars
This weather got me feeling like Britney circa 2007.
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I like to say I love the earth but then I spend $20 on chemicals to make my house smell pretty. #imahorribleperson
Why is everyone so mean to Frank?
Taylor Swift's part in "Bad Blood" sounds like "It's a Hard-Knock Life," from Annie.
Feeling great about the mediocre cornbread I made. Just kidding. It tastes like death and I feel like shit.
KANSAN.COM
Campus must remain exempt from concealed carry
A Kansas law relaxing regulations on carrying concealed weapons went into effect July 1.
The law, which allows anyone over age 21 to carry a concealed firearm, has exempted universities until 2017 with the purpose of assessing the security of campus buildings. The Kansas Board of Regents should strongly push the legislature to make this exemption permanent.
For all of the 17 years I've been in school, campuses have been considered safe places. When I was younger, my mom even used to tell me to hang out at school if I didn't feel safe leaving. Allowing anyone over age 21 — like 44 percent of the student body in 2014, according to the University's Office of Institutional Research and Planning — to carry a concealed weapon onto the campus would no longer make me feel safe.
According to a 2013 study published in the Journal of American College Health, 79 percent of students surveyed also stated they would not feel safe with others carrying concealed weapons on campuses.
Supporters of the legislation might argue the possibility that
people on campus carrying firearms would deter gun-related violence; however, the current concealed carry laws on campuses seem to be sufficient in keeping violence away from colleges.
According to a report from the Education Resources Information Center, only 15 murders were committed on college campuses nationwide in 2010, while a total of 11,078 gun-related homicides were reported in the same year throughout the rest of the U.S. Simply allowing anyone to conceal a firearm will encourage more violence rather than prevent it.
The law does not require gun owners to receive training before being allowed to carry their weapons. In other words, it would be completely legal for someone like me, who has
only fired a weapon maybe twice in his life, to buy a gun and carry it with me to class on a regular basis. I would not even feel safe handling a gun, much less carrying it with me wherever I went. It would only be a matter of time before someone with as little experience would be responsible for the death of an innocent person.
For now, the University still prohibits weapons on campus, but it should remain that way past the end of the exemption in 2017. Allowing the law to take effect elsewhere in the state is a different matter, but campuses of learning institutions need to continue to be safe places for their students.
Ross Lubratovic is a junior from Overland Park studying creative writing.
Strong romantic feelings are not something we should be ashamed of
In my first semester at the University of Kansas, I noticed something very different about college.
It wasn't the large amount of homework or the sudden amount of freedom I now had as a college student. What I observed was that
having a boyfriend or girlfriend was no longer considered "cool"; in fact, it was looked down upon.
If you did have feelings for someone, you had better not show it too much because focusing your romantic interests on only one person was, for lack of a better term, "clingy."
I'm not sure when many young adults like myself adopted the mentality that having strong, romantic feelings for another person was wrong, but I do know this. mentality needs to stop. I believe the best love stories are the ones that are passionate, deep and full-hearted.
The problem is not that this generation isn't capable of these strong
feelings, but that we are afraid to show we have them at all. A twisted mindframe has been established that equates strong feelings for one person with weakness.
Although having intense feelings for another person can make you feel vulnerable, this does not mean it's wrong to feel them. Going out every night and waking up the next morning not remembering what you did the previous evening can seem appealing at first glance, but those who have led this lifestyle know that, over time, living in that mindset leaves a feeling of emptiness.
Caring about someone to the
point where money is no longer the most important thing, and you honestly would rather just stay in pajamas and watch a movie with your significant other than go out one night is not an indicator that you are "whipped." It shows you are mature enough to embrace romantic feelings without fear or hesitation.
Humans are not wired to be alone. We need companionship, connection and relationships. So when you do come across a true romantic connection, don't hold back.
Anissa Fritz is a junior from Dallas studying journalism and sociology.
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LETTER GUIDELINES: Send letters to editor@akansan.com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the email subject line.
Length: 300 words
The submission should include the author's name, year, major and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/site/letters.html.
CONTACT US
Mackenzie Clark
Editor-in-chief
maclark@kansan.com
785-864-4552
Eric Bowman
Business manager
ebowman@kansan.com
785-864-4358
Eric Bowman
THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Mackenzie Clark, Kate Miller, Eric Bowman and Anissa Fritz.
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