THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
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FFA OF THE DAY
I deal with my problems the same way I deal with my leftovers: I put them in a box and don't look at them until it's too late
Alright snow we get it. You had your fun, now get out of here!
The last time a John Calipari-coached team went 25-0, they lost to Kansas in the 2008 Championship game. Hmmmm...
People who put red text on blue background need to be stopped.
Had a dream that crunchy chicken cheddar wraps were gone and I almost cried.
"I know my rent was gonna be late about a week ago... I worked my ass off, but I still can't pay it, though" = Story of my life.
Seeing people fall outside is sad but hilarious!!
Sorry motivation, I won't be seeing you for a loooong time
Being feminist doesn't mean that you need to antagonize men. It's not like we should antagonize Luigi because we root for Mario...
Now that I have gone to Twente Hall, I have now officially been inside every building in campus.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015
Can't I just stay in bed for the rest of the week... or at least until the snow melts all the way?
That awkward moment when you can't find your pants at your one night stand's house.
I finally got a set of checkbooks and I've never felt more like an adult!
I'm pretty sure my physics GTA can smell my fear. Or maybe my "I can do this" face is similar to my "I'm so screwed" face.
Do you wanna build a snowman?
The number of times I listen to "Talk Dirty" on my way to class is shameful.
So. Hungover. Why did I go out again?
LOL at this snow trying to kill my vibe
Whenever I'm sick I always wish my parents would baby me like they would when I was in elementary school... Help me, I'm dying.
So what if sharing in Strong is a crime. IT HAPPENS! #imback
University should have smoke-free campus
I lost my grandpa to lung cancer 15 years ago this March. We still feel his absence at all of our family functions. I know there isn't a day that goes by when my grandma doesn't miss him. He was a smoker, but I don't blame him or anyone from his generation for doing so. It was wartime, and the consequences of smoking cigarettes were hardly known. It was not until 1964 that the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service released the first report explicitly stating that smoking primarily caused lung and laryngeal cancer.
Since 1964, we have learned a plethora of information about smoking and its harmful effects. But even so, I take one step outside of Anschutz Library and inhale a lungful of smoke. I walk into my residence hall, but not before fumbling past those smoking outside of the main entrance.
According to a journal of Pediatric Psychology study in June 2005, "86.6 percent of students who smoke nicotine at least once daily are chemically dependent under DSM IV mental health standards." In other words: they're hooked.
Because of tobacco's addictive nature and harmful effects, University administrators should pass an initiative to make campus tobacco-free.
According to Tobacco Free Campus, having a 100 percent smoke-free campus reduces "tobacco use by preventing initiation and making it easier for smokers to quit." Removing a problem from sight doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but if we can prevent even a couple of individuals from starting to smoke, then a smoke-free ban would be a success. All movements have to start somewhere.
More than 480,000 deaths occur annually from cigarette smoking and an estimated 41,000 occur from secondhand smoke exposure, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When it's something that can be prevented, 480,000 deaths is way too many.
Tobacco Free KU is a new organization on campus devoted to helping the University achieve a tobacco-free environment. Students can join the organization, help promote it and attend events around campus.
Currently, 1,182 campuses are 100 percent smoke-free and of that number, 811 are tobacco-free, according to the University's website. Let's raise that number to 1,183 with the inclusion of our University.
We are not as young and invincible as we think. Our actions now will impact us both directly and indirectly in our futures. Smoking is a dangerous habit. College is not an excuse to start smoking. A smoke-free campus would be a good place to start.
Meg Huwes is a sophomore from Overland Park studying chemical engineering
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY AARON GROENE/KANSAN
MARK DUNCAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brian Williams false war story is human error
Kanika Kshirsagar
@sneakykaniky
NBC Nightly News anchor and managing editor Brian Williams makes an announcement last week that he would be taking a brief hiatus from the television news program amid controversy surrounding a false story he told about being on helicopter that was downed by RPG fire during the Iraq War in 2003. Williams has since been suspended.
NBC news anchor Brian Williams has been the subject of scrutiny because of his false reports that he was in a helicopter struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, or RPG, 12 years ago during the Iraq War. But Williams deserves a break, as misremembering stories is common in everyday life.
After coming under fire following his appearance at a tribute to an Iraq war veteran at a New York Rangers game, Williams corrected himself, saying he was in a helicopter following one of the two that was actually hit.
However, this wasn't the first time he has told America this story. During a 2013 interview with David Letterman, Williams vividly described the experience without flinching. Williams, one of the most iconic news anchors of our generation, has Americans questioning his trust. Because of this, Williams has been suspended
for six months without pay, the New York Times reported.
In 2004, former USA TODAY reporter Jack Kelley resigned after admitting to fabricating large "portions of at least eight major stories." Before Kelley, there was Jayson Blair, Janet Cooke and Stephen Glass, among others.
To survive a war is undoubtedly a life-changing experience, and for Williams, it made for a
good story. However, Williams' situation is different from Kelley's because Kelley wasn't under the same stressful circumstances when he fabricated his stories.
War is traumatic and can cause intense, emotional memories to be altered unintentionally. Ford Vox, an Atlanta physiatrist specializing in brain injury services, said false memories are more common than
one may think.
"Though [Williams] wasn't in the Chinook that took a hit, he landed in that forward position with it," Vox said in an article he penned for CNN. "He formed bonds with the servicemen around him. He felt vulnerability and stress during that period."
While Williams' credibility is being questioned, it's important to consider the possibility his
story was an unfortunate, but innocent, memory error. Studies have shown it's easy to create false memories. In a 2004 study, researchers from Canada and New Zealand asked 45 undergraduates to remember events that happened during childhood. They asked the students to remember two events that were factual and one that was fabricated. Twenty-three randomly assigned subjects were also given their school classes' group photos from the years of the events they were to recall as memory cues. More than two-thirds of students who were shown the photos reported false memories.
If regular people can construct false memories, Williams can as well. While this is a setback for his career, he shouldn't be completely discredited for his other work. Trust between viewers and news reporters is crucial, but I have no doubt that he will work hard to regain America's trust.
Kanika Kshirsagar is a junior from Overland Park studying chemical engineering
Feb. / 8th/ 2015
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Jacob Hood
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ccho@kansan.com
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THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan
Editorial Board are Brian
Hillix, Paige Lytle, Cecilia
Cho, Stephanie Bickel and
Sharlene Xu.
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