WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015
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TEXT FREE FOR ALL
"I don't care if you're sick, you still get a hug." Best friends are the best.
Text your FFA submissions to (785) 289-8351 or at kansan.com
There's dog food in the sewer. So it's one of those days, huh?
FFA OF THE DAY
I am so tired of people constantly saying getting married in college is stupid. Everyone's situation is different so let's not make blanket statements.
Nothing worse than coming to class and feeling like absolute crap and in pain. And yet you still have to go to class.
Canlgomeplease
The Chipotle on 23rd is by far the worst one in Lawrence.
I feel like I'm the only Seahawks fan in all of Lawrence.
I tell myself that I'll put myself together tomorrow, and then I wake up for my 8am... every day.
No one should marry their favorite booty call. -been in a single, stable relationship going on seven years
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I'm glad someone called out "American Sniper", but I think you forgot a descriptive word: propaganda.
I miss "Serial."
Paying the school hundreds of dollars to watch movies in class all semester... worst or best decision?
I know people say to not run after buses but sometimes people have places they actually have to be on time for.
I 1oo0ooove this weather. please stay forever.
When you borrow a book from someone who had your class last semester only to find out that you need the new edition...
Is it bad that my first reaction when someone falls is to laugh, and not help them up?
Thank the lord for dry shampoo!!! #QuickFix
This is the first semester I've had where I've actually been looking forward to classes. Hoping for a good semester. :)
My hair dryer literally started shooting out sparks. I think it's time for a new hair dryer...
Savannah cats. Look them up.
You're welcome.
Can I read 50 pages 30 minutes before class? No harm in trying!
ADMISSION STANDARDS
High standards needed to strengthen University
Jesse Burbank
@JBurbank1
Next year, the University will implement new admission standards designed to boost its academic reputation and increase graduation and retention rates. While these higher standards have been met with some degree of controversy, they represent an opportunity to greatly benefit the University and the college experience of its students.
to begin, it's important to know the University's plan. Currently, the University admits students who score a 21 or higher on the ACT, rank in the top one-third of their class, or have a minimum 2.0 GPA in the Kansas Qualified Admissions Precollege Curriculum. These are the same standards for every college overseen by the Kansas Board of Regents, which includes all major Kansas public universities and community colleges. Considering the University's status as the state's flagship university, these credentials for automatic admission are remarkably low.
The new admission requirements for high school students include a minimum 3.0 GPA combined with
a 24 on the ACT or a minimum
3.25 GPA and a 21 on the ACT. A committee will then screen those applicants who are not automatically admitted and consider factors that may not be reflected by the numbers, such as strength of high school coursework, grade trend, diversity, and family circumstances.
"THESE NEW STANDARDS ARE FAR FROM EXCESSIVE."
These new standards are far from excessive. Indeed, they stand to make our university a stronger academic institution.
According to the KU Office of
institutional Research and Planning the University maintains a freshman retention rate of 80.4 percent, a fouryear graduation rate of 36 percent, and a six-year graduation rate of 59 percent. This has been characterized by the KU Retention and Timely Graduation Task Force as "near the bottom of comparable institutions." Increasing the standards of admission acts to combat these negative trends, enhancing the academic success of students.
A wide range of studies have confirmed the positive effects of reasonably increasing requirements for automatic admission. Professors Cullen Goenner and Sean Snaith from the University of North Dakota have extensively researched the effects of a similar policy on their own university. Of the results, they said, "students with higher achievement scores and high school grade point averages are more likely to succeed in college as measured by their retention and graduation rates." They go on to discuss how increasing admission standards raises a university's national rankings, thus making it more attractive to accomplished applicants.
Raising admission standards represents an opportunity to increase the University's academic standing through stronger graduation rates, freshman retention,and school reputation.
"We want every student who is interested in attending the University of Kansas and who will be successful here to come study with us," said Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little. "These new standards will let students and parents know what sort of preparation is needed to be successful at a flagship research university."
Through this policy, the University will build a stronger cohort of students, ready to succeed in college and beyond.
Jesse Burbank is a sophomore from Quinter studying history and political science
Potential issues with raising standards
Gabe Sprague
@SpragueGabe
The University will be raising admission standards for incoming classes begin-
for incoming classes beginning next fall. The new standards will be either a high school GPA of 3.0 and an ACT score of 24 or a high school GPA of 3.25 and an ACT score of 21. Chancellor Bernadette Grey-Little said that "these new standards will help students be prepared and hopefully avoid the initial challenges some students experience when they start college. We'll also be able to direct the right support services to students when they arrive here." While the chancellor may have good intentions, raising admission standards is not the correct course of action.
According to the ACT website, the average ACT score of students in Kansas is 21.9. These new required ACT scores and GPAs will exclude many Kansas residents. This presents a problem because of the six state schools in the state, the University of Kansas is the only one within a left-leaning community. I am a proponent for the liberal perspective and it seems to me that excluding Kansas residents from going to school in a left-leaning community is criminal. The University should take into consideration how many Kansas residents will be excluded and how many of these excluded students will then go to an institution within a more right-winged community.
Students can have other factors considered when submitting an application to the University, but only if they do not meet the ACT and GPA requirements. They then must be reviewed by a committee. An ACT score seems to be of top concern to the office of admissions, but it is not always an indicator of whether or not someone will succeed in college. Many students do not perform well on tests because they stress about them. According to Sian Bielock, a psychology
professor at the University of Chicago cited in the New York Times, stressing about the test causes students to "use up some of their working memory capacity, leaving less of this cognitive horsepower to apply to the task at hand." Along with the psychological reasons for student not perform well on test, a test grade does not measure work ethic. Friends and family of mine have performed much better in college than their test grades would predict. The raising of ACT score admission standards may exclude people who could succeed in college despite their low test grades.
I hope the Board of Regents
"STUDENTS CAN HAVE OTHER FACTORS CONSIDERED WHEN SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION TO THE UNIVERSITY, BUT ONLY IF THEY DO NOT MEET THE ACT AND GPA REQUIREMENTS."
have considered these issues when determining their decision to raise admission standards. If not, I think that the result will be poor for Kansas and its residents. Everyone should be allowed an education and I think raising the admission standards will exclude a great number of potentially great Kansas students.
Gabe Sprague is a junior from Concordia studying English
Meninists are misguided in their beliefs
"Meninism* isn't a new phenomenon.
The phrase first
appeared in an article on Feminism.com over a year ago that defined meninism as a "global organization of men that believe in and support the feminist principles of women's political, social and economic equality." In 2013, Ti Balogun, creator of the Twitter hashtag #MeninistTwitter, repurposed the term as a rebuttal against "the way feminists express themselves, which is a turnoff." he told the Huffington Post.
For what it's worth, Balogun apologized a few days later, but he was too late. Meninism had gone viral. Nowadays, meninists petition for men's rights.
"FEMINISM FIGHTS FOR EVERYONE'S EQUALITY, NOT JUST WOMEN'S INTERESTS."
gained new momentum. People throughout social media started posting pictures of themselves wearing shirts with #Meninist stamped on the front; the shirts are distributed by a variety of sellers.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BENJAMIN ZAND/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last summer, NPR covered the International Conference on Men's Issues in Detroit, which organizers considered to be the first menistin meeting. Warren Farrell, a meninist author, listed reasons why he believes the organization is necessary. Farrell used child custody hearings as an example and said judges unfairly rule in favor of the mother. Farrell also pointed out that universities offer degrees in women's studies but not men's studies and additionally, the White House lacks a designated council for men and boys. In the article, Farrell said he believes that modern feminism shifted its focus from helping both women and men to privileging women. Unfortunately meninists, in their loud opposition to feminism, are demonstrating how ignorant they are regarding the movement for gender equality.
This past week, the term
The bare bones definition of feminism, provided by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is "the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities." The current goal of feminism is gender equality and modern feminist theory recognizes that sexism and the patriarchy are not only greatly harmful to women, but also to men.
Men and women who identify as meninists miss the point of feminism completely and, more than likely, haven't bothered to research the movement. In response to Farrell's arguments, women do not win custody battles because feminism thinks they should. Rather, judges appoint women because our patriarchal society considers them inherently more suited to parenthood than men. Universities don't offer degrees in men's studies because such a degree could steal the history department's thunder. The White House doesn't have a council on men and boys because congress
and the Oval Office are the council on men and boys.
The fight against feminism is redundant because feminism already addresses its concerns. Feminism fights for everyone's equality, not just women's interests. Though they believe their cause is just, menimists are fighting a battle that frankly does not exist.
Maddy Mikinski is a sophomore from Linwood studying journalism
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THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan
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Hillix, Paige Lytle, Cecilia
Chie, Stephanie Bickel and
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