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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY & WKSAN
PAGE 4A
THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015
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TEXT FREE FOR ALL
Text your FFA submissions to (785) 289-8351 or at kansan.com
FFA OF THE DAY I don't need a significant other just a significant income.
Muse Kobe Bryant documentary is a must watch. #GOAT behind MJ.
trying to read this book for class and I keep falling asleep in the process.
Knowing the only thing keeping me sane from these classes is napping and cheetos.
To the person who wears clothes twice. Wear KU gear. You can get away with that all week every day. #cantjudgethehawk
College is like survival of the not-so-dumbest.
can Orange is the New Black
just come back on already??
missinU
Did I pee myself twice while at that game? Yes. Worth it?
Absolutely.
I hate it when you think someone is smart and then they use the wrong form of "there" and you have to get them out of your life.
I doubt vodka is the answer, but it's worth a shot.
It still confuses me how society can call the most basic functions of life "inappropriate"...
Bushes are budding and grass is sprouting. Sorry Sean Bean, but Spring is coming.
Knowing that spring break is so soon means my motivation is plummeting.
Coming up with a late new years resolution — brew my own beer!
I refuse to open my Snapchat videos in public because I don't trust my friends at all.
I love how my cat sleeps all day and then decides to go crazy AF in my room when I'm trying to sleep.
so excited for Beauty and the Beast with Emma Watson and Luke Evans!
the fact that I have worn real pants three days in a row is front-page news and I would appreciate it if everyone stopped commenting on it k
The best part about being awake for 19 hours is there are still five hours left to think about where you went wrong
I'd like to publicly announce that I have no idea what I'm doing.
Saw you in the gym with the good good.
Spring break drinking can be dangerous
Maddy Mikinski
@Miss Maddy
KATIE DAVIES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Getting the party started: Students have already started hitting the clubs of Cancun, pictured March 1, marking an earlier spring break than usual. The University's spring break is the week of March 15.
Spring break, as depicted in the movies, is a time of excess and alcohol poisoning. Spring break in real life is a slightly lesser version of the same thing. Just go to YouTube and look up "spring break" and you'll wish some of the things you watched were fictional.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), during spring break, about 42 percent of college students get drunk at least one day. Eleven percent of those students drink to the point of blacking or passing out. Clearly, there's an issue here.
This issue stems from the fact that students don't know how to regulate themselves while drinking. Instead of taking precautionary measures, such as eating and drinking water before going out, most spring breakers ignore any tips that might preserve their health. After all, going into an alcohol-induced coma is not one of the top 10 ways to keep your body functioning for a long
Before leaving for vacation, or even a party, students who know they're going to be drinking heavily should begin to take precautions and plan ahead. They should drink plenty of water and eat something so their body is prepared for whatever spring break might throw at it.
The difference between passing out and death is only a few points on the BAC scale. Comas can start
anywhere from .35 to .5 BAC. From there it's only a hop, skip and an ambulance ride to the morgue. The chances of death and alcohol poisoning are almost certain over .5.
Reaching that step can be prevented through self-education. The half of college students who consume alcohol through binge drinking, according to the NIAAA, should take steps to understanding their
personal tolerance, as well as the tolerance of the people they are traveling with. They should also be aware of what they're drinking, as well as monitoring their food and water intake.
During vacation, students should pace their alcohol consumption by making sure they space out drinks with bottles of water. They should also keep track of the amount of alcohol they've consumed over the course of the day.
I'm not suggesting that spring breakers pack breathalyzers in their suitcases or just stay at home and read Amish romance novels (because that would be ridiculous), but I am suggesting that students learn to regulate themselves while they're on vacation, and in everyday life.
Maddy Mikinski is a sophomore from Linwood studying journalism
Big Brother is watching,and you should care
Anrenee Reasor
@anreneer
The Academy Awards crowned "Citizenfour"
its Best Documentary Feature of 2015. It awarded director Laura Poitras and producers Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wulzky an Oscar for their reporting on Edward Snowden and his leak of private U.S. documents.
It does matter. Even as young, budding millennials who grew up with the Internet, smartphones and social media, privacy still matters. Glenn Greenwald argued in his TED Talk, "Why Privacy Matters," that it doesn't matter if people are watching us; the fact is that they can. At any given point, if we set off a "trigger," the National Security Agency can search all we have done in the past and tag all of our future activities.
After watching the two hour film, I questioned how much I value my own privacy and the metadata being collected on all of us. Does it matter? If I am not doing anything wrong, what difference does it make that the government collects information about me?
Think about your credit or debit card, your email accounts and social media. What we buy, the people we spend time with, when we do things and where we go can all be discovered with simple searches.
Greenwald mentioned how Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, made disarming comments about privacy, then proceeded to buy four houses surrounding his own home. Greenwald further stated people who aren't committing nefarious activities and have nothing to be ashamed of should still protect their privacy. Who would openly give out all their passwords, revealing their private emails, photos, purchases and messages? No one.
I doubt the typical student has much to hide. Sure, we have watched videos, searched images or bought things wed rather not have publicized, but this does not make us bad people.
I respect privacy and would rather not air all my dirty laundry. As for our government spying on its own people, "Citizen four" should alarm us. The documentary will haunt you more than any of the "Paranormal Activity" movies or any "Exorcist" film.
Even if you aren't doing anything wrong, the government's access to your private life should still alarm you. Most of us are "good people," taxpayers and friendly citizens who do not wish harm on others. But that does not mean we should be cavalier about violations of privacy.
Maybe our own government won't turn on us, but a breach could occur in which data is sold to China, Russia or resident dissidents. The fact the metadata is being recorded in the first place should scare us.
Anrenee Reasor is a senior from Thayer studying economics and East Asian languages and culture
JAYHAWKS ON THE BOULEVARD
DO YOU BELIEVE STUDENTS SHOULD REGULATE THEIR DRINKING MORE DURING SPRING BREAK?
MOLLY PATT HORAN, JOURNALISM, WOODBURY, MINN.
"I think so because I think that students go to spring break and they're like, 'Oh let's go drink a lot because it's spring break,' but it's really no different than, like, being at school, so they should still monitor it."
SHEKHINAH JONES, ENGLISH, SALINA
"Yeah, I completely agree with that because there are a lot of incidents that have happened, like murders and rapes and all that. So I feel like, especially during spring break, that people should be really careful of how much they drink and just be aware of their surroundings, but have fun."
LAUREN PATELLI, ENGLISH, BASEHOP
"I think that it's up to people, personally. It's their own personal decision, but [they] need to be responsible when they do it. They're responsible for what happens when they drink, but it should be self-regulated."
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THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan
Edition Board are Brian
Hillix, Paige Lyte, Cecilia
Cho, Stephanie Bickel and
Shadene Xu.
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