4 PAGE 4 THE UNIVERSITY DARBY KANSAS H MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2015 TEXT FREE FOR ALL Text your FFA submissions to (785)289-8351 or at kansan.com FFA OF THE DAY: Editor's Note: There isn't one because y'all keep stealing quotes off Twitter/Tumblr. The bags under my eyes right now would cost me an extra $25 to check in at the airport. I pretend to be Elsa and quietly sing "Let it Go" to survive the cold. Is that weird or... Everyone is excited for House of Cards but I'm enjoying The Americans so much more. Awkward moment when the doctor at Watkins thinks you're a table dancer. This weekend my friends and I concluded that the service at Mrs. E's was horrible. I love college because no one judges you if you eat dinner at midnight. Has anyone else noticed that the same people are in the front row for every KU basketball game? #sketchy #scandal I don't care how bad crunchy chicken cheddar wraps are for you,they're the bomb dot com. When you have a four-day weekend and it still feels short as hell. So tired of looking in my wallet and not finding $10,000. Yes, Netflix. I am still watching.. Thanks for reminding me of how lazy I am. The struggle of not skipping class tomorrow is real. Are people afraid to double text? I will send 16 messages in a row and feel no shame whatsoever IDK. I think breasts have less to do with sustenance for infants and more with catching chips when I drop them. Time flies when you take two naps and contribute nothing to society. Spring Break is my only motivation for going back to the gym... I'm never sure if I actually have free time or if I'm just forgetting everything I have to do. It's only Monday and I'm already over this week. A more accurate Gatorade commercial would be a really hungover dude in bed trying to drink it Monday classes will be the death of me. #SoDone America needs fairer maternity leave laws Gabe Sprague @SpragueGabe W when women become pregnant, the pregnant, their lives are altered drastically. Not only do their bodies have to bear the stress of creating a new person, they also have to make adjustments in their daily lives to take care of the child, before and after birth. In these times of great change, mothers should not have to fear the loss of their jobs or that they may not be provided health care. opportunities and support from our government as men; however, there's a lack of legal support in the US for women during and after a pregnancy. According to the New Yorker, only three countries in the world do not have mandatory paid maternity leave in the workplace: Papua New Guinea, Oman and the United States. Some argue that women have the same The Institute for Women's Policy Research, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau, reports that nearly every member of the European Union provides at least 14 weeks of paid maternity leave to new mothers. The United States is the only developed country to not provide paid maternity leave. The United States did enact the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993; for those eligible, the law allows 12 weeks of unpaid leave for a woman who becomes pregnant or for people needing to tend to ill family members. Many low- wage workers cannot take advantage of this law, and as a result, may have to work while under large amounts of stress, either having to find someone to watch their kids or pay for daycare. Some may have to quit their job if they have no other means of support. The government should implement a law that provides mandatory paid maternity leave. This law could be a small step toward providing women with an adequate lawful maternity protection. The United States health care system also creates a disadvantage for uninsured pregnant mothers. If a woman is insured and becomes pregnant, many of her medical expenses will be paid for. However, if a woman is uninsured and becomes pregnant, she is unable to acquire health insurance until after the baby is born. As stated on the government healthcare website, pregnancy does not count as a "life event" and thus cannot qualify a person to receive health insurance after the yearly enrollment period, which ended this year on Feb.15. Any woman who becomes pregnant between now and the next enrollment period cannot receive financial aid for prenatal care, placing many mothers in difficult positions. Many women may not be able to afford prenatal care and may decide to go without it. A report released by the nonprofit organization Young Invincibles said going without prenatal care could put the mother and the child at risk of many health complications that could be fatal to the mother and/or the fetus. Health care officials need to alter this rule to allow women to enroll as soon as they become pregnant. Many lawmakers have disregarded the fact that pregnancy puts women into difficult positions. We need to take another look at how our laws are affecting equal opportunity and the health of women within the workplace and at home. Implementing paid maternity leave and altering the health care laws to allow women to enroll whenever they become pregnant are two solutions to sustaining women during an extremely difficult, lifealtering circumstance. Gabe Sprague is a junior from Concordia studying English KANSAN SPECIAL + What's the best way to make a good impression for internship interviews? Anissa Fritz @anissafritz Interviews are one of the most nerve-wracking experiences college students have to go through. Not only do you have to give a better impression of yourself than you actually are (let's face it—in our 20s, our natural state consists of ignoring responsibilities and binge-watching Netflix), but you have to give that impression in a small timeframe. To achieve the ultimate facade of being a well- rounded, put together college student, you need to do your homework on the company. Google the company and browse its website. Even try to dig into the specific area you are interested in. Usually companies will give a little spiel on what they are and what they do, and being able to show them that you are already familiar with them will make you look educated and on top of things. It also indicates how bad you want WANT TO SUBMIT A QUESTION? Text 785-289-8351 and use #askanissa this internship, helping you stick out among other candidates. are you supposed to gain respect and get work done in a professional setting? Being able to fully articulate and converse with someone in a position of authority translates into being professional and mature, which is an area many young adults struggle with. I know this seems like a no brainer, but you have to be confident. Being timid will not earn you sympathy points. If you walk into an interview and lack confidence, then how Society must steer away from unhealthy food culture From conducting my own interviews and knowing adults who run their own businesses, I am amazed how many people do not know how to dress appropriately for a professional setting. Here is a quick rule of thumb. If you have worn your outfit to a bar or to a nightclub, do not wear it to an interview. Before you even open your mouth, the interviewer has already judged you and formed a preset idea of who you are based on your clothing. Skirts that are too short, blouses that show too much cleavage, wrinkly button downs and slacks without belts have been the downfall of way too many students trying to get internships. You will be judged harshly if not dressed appropriately. Companies don't only look for someone with the highest GPA (which is important, don't get me wrong). What they search for is someone who can hold his or her own during the interview and someone who has the confidence and drive to make a difference in their company — even as an intern. Exuding these qualities all while wearing a killer blazer or pencil skirt that actually fits appropriately is how one attains the ultimate lasting impression. I'm sort of a food snob, and I'm grateful that I can be one. I also know that if I weren't, my Italian grandmother would disown me. Because of this, I cringe every time I read about the "real" ingredients found in some items at the supermarket. What kinds of ingredients are going into the foods that don't claim to be made from "real" ingredients? "Real cheese" in Cheez-Its, "real juice" in orange juice and "real tomatoes" in ketchup — the list goes on. Should we be worried about products that don't have "made with real ___" written on the package? Our grandparents would balk at those kinds of labels. They lived in a time in which food came from fields, not factories. If you wanted pizza, you'd make it instead of buying it in a box. Supermarkets sold items found on a food pyramid and didn't have all the varieties of pre-made foods that take up most of supermarket space these days. By now, this food culture is so normal that we rarely stop to think about whether something might be wrong with it. Too many products in our food industry contain modified ingredients or substitutes for the real ingredients. Velveeta cheese, for example, is not cheese. It's a mixture of ingredients — including things found in cheese, such as milk —and a ton of additives that render it easy to melt. Nonetheless, it's a profitable product, making Kraft more than $500 million per year, according to Organic Authority. It seems that economic motives drive this kind of culture — the idea that it's more profitable to sell something that resembles the real deal, but is actually made with cheaper substitutes. This, however, only works if consumers actually buy these products. Today, too many Americans don't really care about what is going into their bodies, or they don't have a choice. The success of the fast-food industry, the choices of foods that we encounter in supermarkets and the culture that makes people indifferent to what goes into their stomachs, as long as it doesn't cost much and doesn't take long to prepare. A 2013 Gallup poll reports that "Eight in 10 Americans report eating at fast-food restaurants at least monthly, with almost half saying they eat fast food at least weekly. Only 4 percent say they never eat at fast-food restaurants." The poll continues to report that those aged 18 to 29 eat fast food the most often, "with 57 percent saying they do so at least weekly." Eating is one of the most basic things humans do, and we should care about what goes in our bodies. But a cultural tendency to prefer immediacy and ease over taking time to think things out has obesity epidemic, are all indicators of a food culture issue in our country. There is not as strong of a food culture as there used to be. Some people can't afford to buy foods that aren't on the cheaper end, and there are several other factors contributing to why people choose unhealthy food options. But laziness has also contributed to a "EATING IS ONE OF THE MOST BASIC THINGS HUMANS DO, AND WE SHOULD CARE ABOUT WHAT GOES IN OUR BODIES. BUT A CULTURAL TENDENCY TO PREFER IMMEDIACY AND EASE OVER TAKING TIME TO THINK THINGS OUT HAS RELEGATED EATING TO A LESS IMPORTANT PART OF OUR DAILY LIVES." relegated eating to a less important part of our daily lives. If eating can become more valuable than it is in America today, people would spend more time thinking about what to eat, cook more and ultimately live healthier lives. Sebastian Schoneich is a senior from Lawrence studying neurobiology and philosophy THE MOON IS JUST PLAYING PEEK- PEEK-A-BOO WITH US. UR SIGN ONLY. PEEK- A-BOO L e r s L S e IT'S WHERE YOU NOW WHERE DID HIDE YOUR FACE AND ... DR. MEL GOJ armyscratch@yahoo.com Send letters to opinion@kansan.com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the email subject line. Length: 300 words HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters. Paige Lytle, managing editor plytle@kansan.com Brian Nillix, editor-in-chief bhillix@kansan.com StepPhanie Bickel, digital editor sbickel@kansan.com CONTACT US Cecilia Cho, opinion editor ccho@kansan.com Cole Anneberg, art director canneberg@kansan.com Sharlene Xu, advertising director xu@kansan.com Sharlene Xu, advertising director xu@kansan.com Kristen Hays digital media manager khys@kansan.com Jordan Mentzer, print sales manager jmentzer@kansan.com Jon Schitt, sales and marketing adviser jschitt@kansan.com THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD A Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Brian Hillix, Paige Lynx, Cocilia Cho, Stephanie Bickel and Sharixe H. +