THE UNIVERSITY BABY KANSAS
TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015
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opinion
FFA OF THE DAY I made a graph of my past relationships. It has an ex axis and a why axis.
TEXT FREE FOR ALL
Text your FFA submissions to (785)289-8351 or at kansan.com
Life is too short to eject a USB safely.
I am not a Satanist, but I would give summoning him the old college try to save my semester.
One day I want to be as fearless as a campus squirrel.
Why did I do that? A novel by me, with special guest appearances by several adult beverages.
I overslept and didn't get to go to the gym. That's three years in a row now. I'll try again tomorrow.
"I wish I checked myself,"-Guy who wrecked himself.
Just saw some chick almost fall down trying to take a selfie with her Starbucks.
The pH of blood is about 7.4, so we're technically all pretty basic.
That awkward moment when you're in the bathroom stall and you make eye contact with the person checking to see if the stall is empty.
It took me 20 years to figure out that the alphabet song is actually "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
You know its spring when you have songs from "Hair" stuck in your head
Yeah, Victoria's Secret robbed me due to my boo spurt. C's to DD's = 2 new bras = $100
Next time my girlfriend and I are arguing, I'm going to do the crying and see how she likes it.
I saved a worm today, so needless to say I'm feeling preeeetty good about myself.
Chinese takeout: $10.55. Gas to get there and back: $4.14.
Getting home and realizing they forgot one of your containers:
Riceless.
I hate when a professor gets a sub instead of canceling class.
Started off the year with a goal to lose 5 pounds. Only 15 more to go.
You don't need to put an Obama sticker on your Prius. We already know
If you spill hot tea on yourself, call it T-Pain.
Campus should be safe, not just certain areas
Are you aware of your language and behavior? Do you think that what you say creates an "unsafe" area for those around you? The Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity, along with the Office of Multicultural Affairs, created Safe Zone as "an educational program that will help educate both the campus... community in order to create a safer, more civil community for all individuals, particularly those of sexuality and/or gender minorities." The University offers Safe Zone training for students who want to learn more about fostering a safe environment. The program's purpose is to reduce "homophobia, transphobia, and heterosexism on our campus to make KU a safer and freer
environment for all members of our community..."
The University followed other colleges in creating these safe zones, Judith Shulevitz's New York Times essay on safe spaces describes them as areas for an "expression of the conviction, increasingly prevalent among college students, that their schools should keep them from being 'bombarded' by discomfiting or distressing viewpoints." In contrast, the
goal of Safe Zone is definitely not to warn people where they won't be bullied, but instead, it tells individuals to feel comfortable with themselves without worry of microaggressions aimed at them because of their identities.
because of a lack
The problem with safe
zones is that they establish
both safe and unsafe areas.
This perpetuates the idea
of an unsafe area as being
dangerous or hostile to the
"THE PROBLEM WITH SAFE ZONES IS THAT THEY ESTABLISH BOTH SAFE AND UNSAFE AREAS. ... ALL OF CAMPUS SHOULD BE ABSENT OF HOMOPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA AND HETEROSEXISM..."
University's Safe Zone differs from the wider definition of university safe areas. They emphasize a commitment to the LGBTQ community, but not necessarily other marginalized groups.
Students should not feel a threat of physical violence anywhere on campus. The
LGBTQ community, which is simply not true. Just because someone does not have a Safe Zone sticker on their office door does not mean it is an unsafe zone. Students should not have to seek out pockets of safety here and all. Of campus should be absent of homophobia, transphobia
We should work toward an atmosphere where people feel safe based on their sexual or gender identities. More importantly, the University should foster a safe zone across the entire campus.
and heterosexism, right?
Are safe zones a good idea?
Of course. Students should have a place to go where they can freely communicate without receiving backlash from others. But, wouldn't it be better if the safe zones weren't necessary in the first place?
People should always feel safe expressing themselves, regardless of what they identify as. I don't like the idea of marking certain areas as safe because it marks others as unsafe. I consider my area safe, but I do not have a Safe Zone sticker on my door.
I know many individuals who promote diversity, yet they do not have Safe Zone stickers, as well. On our University's campus, all places should be assumed to be safe.
In College and Hiding From Scary Ideas Judith Shulevitz
Anrenee Reasor is a senior from Thayer studying economics and East Asian languages and culture
Jewish Daily Forward
Judith Shulevitz's New York Times essay on safe spaces describes them as areas for "an expression of the conviction, increasingly prevalent among college students, that their schools should keep them from being 'bombarded' by discomfiting or distressing viewpoints."
University should take the lead on LEED
What do Duke University, the University of Iowa and the University of Illinois have in common? These institutions have adopted design standards that require a minimum LEED Silver or Gold certification for new construction on campus, and they are not the only ones. All over the country, campuses are stepping up their "green game and getting busy with LEED certifications.
The U.S. Green Building Council established LEED certification, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, as a mechanism for a
third-party rating of building efficiency and sustainability. Currently, the University does not require LEED certification of new buildings or major renovation projects. In order to stay competitive, decrease operation costs and foster sustainability, the University must reevaluate its design standards.
LEED standards. Rather, they use a different rating program, called ASHRAE, which focuses solely on energy use, but does not consider water use, sustainable materials or indoor environmental quality. Our design standard allows for continued monitoring and
sustainability. LEED certified facilities use 25 percent less energy and lead to 19 percent reduction in total operational costs, compared to non-LEED certified buildings. Additionally, green buildings have been shown to cost "an average of two percent more"
In order to become LEED certified,building projects must earn points in five different categories: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. It is common for large organizations such as universities to establish energy-efficient design standards for new construction; however, few standards are as rigorous or holistic as LEED.The University has its own set of energy-efficient design standards that outline the benefits of LEED, yet do not utilize
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
LEED certified facilities use 25 percent less energy and lead to 19 percent reduction in total operational costs
maintenance to ensure that energy efficiency is retained throughout the life of the building—a component of the LEED certification that is largely missing.
In a time of rapidly decreasing state funding for higher education, the University needs to invest in
in upfront construction costs if planned and executed correctly. Investing in the world's premier standard for green building will produce savings in energy and operating costs. In short, putting a little bit more effort and cost now will pay off in the future—a philosophy that higher education was built on.
As students at an international research institution, we have certain expectations for the facilities in which we live, learn and discover. The mission of the University of Kansas is to educate leaders, build healthy communities and make discoveries that change the world. Let's start by building our own healthy community. Let's start by requiring all new construction to be LEED Silver certified. These new spaces will provide a sustainable foundation for the education of future doctors and politicians, where discoveries that inspire and heal are made. Investing in LEED is investing in success.
Gabrielle Murnan is a junior from Pittsburg studying environmental studies and political science
www.harrybliss.com
"Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant - but my friends call me Henri or René or Albert or Guv."
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