When your professor says her books are required yet we go only over 2-3 chapters during the whole semester... #smdh
TEXT FREE FOR ALL
I could use 36 hours of uninterrupted sleep right now.
I like to party and by party I mean take naps.
I am more excited for Time Table Release Day than I was for Christmas.
Woke up still hungover from the weekend and decided eating Twizzlers for breakfast would make me feel better. I was wrong.
Text your FFA submissions to (785)289-8351 or at kansan.com
If you haven't finished House of Cards this weekend... "It's too late."
FFA OF THE DAY
Impromptu ice skating around campus...
PSA: Insurance is something you invest in so that you are covered in the case of an unforeseen event. It is NOT something you enroll in after the event takes place in order to avoid paying for it.
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The clap from the "Friends" theme should be the internationally recognized way of clapping at any event.
That awkward moment when you take a 10-minute study break and it lasts all semester.
"American Horror Story- My Bank Account"
Fun drinking game: take a shot for every chapter you're behind in textbook reading.
I have so much to do this week that all I can do is lay on the floor and cry. (
College is nice. You can wear the same shirt two days in a row if you have to because your MWF people don't know about your TR life.
The more I talk, the more I understand why I'm single.
TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015
My Snapchat has gotten to the point where if you snap me twice you're in my best friends.
That awkward age when half of your friends are engaged and the other half are too drunk to find their wallet
Rush Chi Potle
Forever a loan. #collegeproblems
Beyonce has a documentary. You're welcome.
German sausage humor is the wurst.
Climate change messages should inspire
Upion columnist Gabrielle Murnan believes that those who want to inspire people to care about climate change should be more innovate in their messages.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
W writing while uninspired is like driving while
driving while drunk. Everything looks a little funny and there is a high margin for disaster. Similarly, communicating the science of climate change without innovation is awkward and risky. Scientists have tried and failed to articulate the atmospheric and biological science behind a changing climate. In the same way, many citizens have failed to grasp the severity of the situation and the necessity for behavior change. But what if there was a better way to make people understand that they are part of both producing and mitigating climate change? When I think about the things that truly move people, I think of the arts. In order to connect to a wider audience, climate change science needs to "get sexy" through art and music.
When I say art, I mean the real stuff — not infographics. I mean artwork that depicts climate change and elicits a visceral response. In order to create an emotional response to climate change we have to show behaviors, mitigation strategies and consequences of climate change. For example, Cape Farewell is a project based in the University of Arts London: Chelsea, which strives to change the way we think about climate
change. The project brings climate change to a human level through creativity and innovation in the arts. Climate poetry summits, sustainability exploration through sculpture, or partnerships between technology, science and culture to envision energy independence, are just a few ways that Cape Farewell brings the compli
cated world of climate science to a level with which we can all connect. Projects like these effectively attack the complexities of climate change with innovative reimaginings
of a changing world. Unprecedented problems deserve unprecedented ideas.
unprecedented ideas.
If we can show climate change through art, then we can feel it through music too. Throughout the last few decades, artists have written and composed songs that describe great environmental predicaments. In 2006, Melissa Etheridge wrote and sang, "I Need to Wake up" for Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." The beauty of this song is that there are no direct references to climate change, but a relationship between the lyrics and climate change is created in the minds of listeners. With this idea in mind, the lyrics, "Have I been careless? Dismiss all the distant rumblings," suddenly take on a new meaning — that we need to face the reality of climate change.
Whether it is through film, music, art or other media innovative thinking is the wave of the future in regard to climate discussions. In a country where only 61 percent of citizens believe in climate change, according
to the Pew Research Center. (and even fewer rank it as a top policy priority), scientists and scholars need to adopt new ways of framing this issue. Statistics and probabilities are no longer enough to sway public opinion. In order to make citizens understand the reality and the danger of climate change we must take a human approach — an artistic approach.
Gabrielle Murnan is a junior from Pittsburg studying environmental studies and political science
Capitalism not to blame for country's problems
It is not an exaggeration to say that capitalism is responsible for everything we love. Market forces combine to give us everything from cars, PlayStations and Chipotle to our careers. According to economic historian Robert Hessen, no other economic system has worked out quite as well as capitalism over the course of human history. Despite this, capitalism has more recently taken on a negative connotation, according to The Economist. People associate the term with massive gaps between the rich and poor,
systematic oppression and out-of-touch politicians. The problem is that these assumptions are not based on capitalism, but something else entirely.
what exactly is capitalism? Webster's dictionary defines it as "a way of organizing an economy so that the things that are used to make and transport products are owned by individual people and companies rather than by the government." That sounds like something the United States has, right? Not entirely. In my view, the U.S. is currently based on "crony capitalism," or an economic system in which "instead of success being determined by a free market and the rule of law, the success of a business is dependent on the favoritism that is shown to it by the ruling government in the form of tax breaks, government grants and other incentives," according to Investopedia.
This is what has given capitalism a bad rap. Politicians claim to be capitalists but follow crony capitalism. For an example, observe Gov. Sam Brownback. According to the New York Times, his tax cuts favored specific groups of people and businesses, rather than being across-the-board. His social policy entirely disregards individuality, and instead curbs women's control over their own bodies and tramples on LGBTQ+ lives, according to On The Issues. In my opinion, Brownback is not a capitalist, and every time he proclaims himself to be, it is an insult to capitalism itself.
an insult to capitalism and
People often think of capitalism as "pro-business," but this is a false notion. There must be a sharp distinction between pro-business and capitalism. By definition, true capitalism does not favor any one group, such as businesses, over the other. Instead, it is a system where
individuals can compete openly and fairly under rule of law to improve themselves. Capitalism, when left unsoiled, treats individuals with dignity and respect, according to economic philosopher Tibor Machan. It creates a society where no one assumes they know how to live others' lives better than they do.
True capitalism promotes economic equality. The way I see it, the present crony capitalist system has enabled vast disparities between the rich and poor. For example, if ExxonMobil were not protected by subsidies and regulations from the government, it would face significant competition under a truly capitalist system. According to CBS News, it would not have the resources to give a $4.5 million bonus to its CEO. The huge incomes we hear about are the result of government protections and intervention, according to
economist Bill Conerly. Remove these, and the wealthy have to make their fortunes in a more fair, competitive environment.
The next time you hear politicians claim to be capitalist, look at their record. Are they favoring some groups over others? Are they supporting the wealthy and big businesses while ignoring the poor? Do they give special rights to some individuals, but deny them to others? If the answer to any of these is a "yes," then they should not be considered a capitalist. Do not let backward politicians cause you to reject the greatest system of economic growth on our planet. Today's system must be changed from crony capitalism, but capitalism itself ought not to be entirely disbanded.
John Olson is a sophomore from Wichita studying economics
Fe b/22 $ ^{nd} $ /2015
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