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MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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FFA OF THE DAY
Am I the only one that thinks "Blackboard profiles" is just Facebook for BB?
Some guy in one of my classes today told the professor he goes by "Natty." #classy
I went to the rec to charge my phone. Lol.
I am predicting I won't graduate in May. These campus construction workers have me daydreaming.
That moment in your career when you'd much rather text to the FFA than continue working as an adult Shout out to ML and EL.
If the Girl Scouts sold cookies in front of Wescoe they would do very well.
I hate how nice it is one day,
and how crappy it is the next.
kwsweather
You know what's worse than being sick? Getting sick RIGHT AFTER you just got over Being sick. The universe is cruel.
Just sayin...Obama is a great president.
I tried an experiment to see how I would feel five days without caffeine, and to say the least, I became a zombie.
Every time I have a cup in my hand
I always think: "When in doubt,
pinky out!" Thanks, Patrick.
Does anyone else picture ghosts howling when it's really windy?
The weekend is already over???
What!!
House of Cards comes back on in less than a month! I love Kevin Spacey.
Eating pizza rolls makes me feel like a kid again...and it's great.
First week of the semester has passed and I already have a ridiculous amount of homework to do. :(
Blackboard is literally always going under some sort of maintenance. When are you going to realize that BB will always have problems??
Ariana Grande looks like she'll stay 12 years old forever.
I love mac and cheese noodles that are shapes of characters, something about them makes it tastier.
Washed my hands after eating some hot wings, proceeded to rub my eyes, now I am dead.
I still have Halloween candy, please, someone take it off my hands!
Approach science, advocacy with caution
Jenny Stern
@jenlikeswhales
Balance is crucial within nature, science and the political
system. Current issues, like the Keystone XL pipeline and climate change, require balance among the three entities. With this balance comes the question: Where is the line drawn between science and advocacy?
An advocate's job is to inform and fight for causes he or she believes in. Whether through private agencies or within the political system, an advocate uses passion and information to get things done.
Scientists observe the world, ask questions, make observations, analyze results and communicate conclusions. The scientific community expects conclusions to be reported without bias and solely based on the results and other literature.
Their accomplishments did not stop in the lab; Rowland and his colleagues involved themselves in the political side by suggesting solutions and helping to establish regulations on CFC emissions. These scientists believed in their findings and advocated for a solution that arguably saved life as we know it.
In 1974, Sherwood Rowland, a former KU chemistry professor, and Mario Molina discovered that chlorofluorocarbons destroy the ozone. They later won the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
What happens when the line between the two vocations is blurred? Should scientists who believe passionately in the importance of their work's implications be barred from advocating for a cause?
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., center, was joined by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn, left, and Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., on Tuesday, Jan. 20, to talk about the Keystone XL pipeline bill being debated on the Senate floor. Despite President Barack Obama's veto threat, the Republican-controlled Senate is moving ahead on the bill to construct a pipeline that would carry oil from Canada to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
However, combining science and advocacy does not always result in a success story. Adam Frank's NPR piece "When Is It OK For Scientists To Become Political?" recounts the 2011 arrest of James Hansen, a highly respected climate scientist, during a protest opposing the Keystone pipeline. Concerns were raised that this may have detracted from public trust of the validity and unbiased nature of scientific research.
Rowland and Hansen both stepped into the political realm with radically different results. Scientific advocacy must be done with caution to yield positive results.
It is the responsibility and the right of scientists to come forth with passion on issues of importance. Scientists have a deep understanding of issues that society currently faces. When a scientist can translate that deep understanding to an approachable problem for the public to face, progress can be made. So often, scientists with good intentions muddle the message with complex jargon
and little is accomplished. However, if successful, there is less chance that data will be misinterpreted and exaggerated to the public.
Throughout my undergraduate science education and experiences, I have learned the immense amount of evidence that goes behind any scientific claim. Behind each sentence in a scientific paper is an in-depth literature review and/or multiple rounds of experiments. Scientists would make particularly
powerful advocates for scientific issues because they have spent the time collecting and examining the evidence in contrast to citing a source.
Scientists are also trained to question assumptions behind their assertions and conclusions. When assumptions are recognized, the results are placed in a realistic context.
This perspective gives them a comprehensive view when acting to implement conclusions in the real world. If conscious and careful in
their approach, scientists can successfully walk the line of advocacy and science. As a voter, you are responsible in choosing what sources to trust and to whom you will listen. Scientists are valuable advocates in our society, providing a unique voice of reason and perspective many politicians cannot.
Jenny Stern is a junior from Lawrence studying ecology and evolutionary biology
My boyfriend graduates this semester and has a job opportunity out of state.I still have another year left in school and don't know if I should transfer to a school where he'll be or do long distance? #AskAnissa
Anissa Fritz
@anissafritzz
Since I do not personally know you and your boyfriend's relationship, my response will be quite objective. Hopefully this will be beneficial to you in the sense that my response will not contain the emotions that often inhibit and confuse difficult life choices such as this.
A philosophy I hold very close is that you should never make your significant other your entire world, but they should be one of the best parts of your world. You never want someone to consume your entire life. It isn't healthy and if/when the relationship does end, you are left not only broken, but also with nothing else around you because you put everything you had into that one person. That being said, you should not transfer schools to follow your boyfriend and his new job. I say this because while yes, he is important, you need to make yourself important as well. He isn't staying in Lawrence and taking a job here to stay close to you; therefore, you should not transfer schools just to follow him.
I have had my fair share of relationships, even some long-distance. At first, long distance sounds like a scary thought. Having to go weeks, months or years without the person you saw almost every day may bring not only feelings of loneliness, but also the popular feeling of distrust. However, I have come to find that long-distance relationships tend to be even
healthier than those that are not. The time you do get with your significant other is so valuable because of the miles that separate you two. And since the time is so limited, the odds of you wasting that time arguing tends to lessen. Another plus about long-distance relationships is that you are forced to not be dependent on your significant other. This goes back to my point about not making the person you are dating your entire world. You have more time to hang out with your friends, go to the gym or do something you enjoy that he may not. It allows you to keep your own identity.
The key is taking care of
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yourself first and your boyfriend second. I know this may sound selfish, but if you don't take care of your needs, your education and your goals, then how are you supposed to be able to take care of another human being? If you were to transfer schools and you absolutely hated it, odds are you will automatically blame him and maybe even start to resent him — because if it weren't for him you wouldn't be there, right? Don't transfer schools, stay here and finish what you came here to do. Pursue your dreams and life goals; just like he is pursuing his.
Sexually expressive women should not be shamed for their actions
Victoria Calderon
@WriterVictoriaC
Mike Huckabee, a Republican presidential candidate famous for his past work with Fox News, has been known for making highly controversial statements. Back in 2000, Huckabee made a comment about AIDS patients, saying the government should be "isolating those stricken with the disease to prevent it from spreading," according to the Los Angelés Times. His offensive comments haven't stopped there, however.
songwriters and producers for her albums. When checking out the credits for "Beyonce," one can see that she is the primary writer for nearly every song, with Jay-Z only playing a hand in the writing of "Drunk in Love."
Huckabee's comments also play a role in the bigger debate about the sexualization of women in media and society. "We want women to be objects of sexual desire, yet we expect them to be pure." PsychAlive describes the double standard applied to women.
"WOMEN IN PORN ARE IN A POSITION WHERE THEIR EVERY POSE AND MOVEMENT IS CONTROLLED AND DOMINATED BY SOMEONE ELSE."
He has stirred up waves of controversy once again by insulting music's power couple, Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
According to The Huffington Post, in his not yet released book, "God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy," Huckabee makes his opinion of the pair's professional relationship known: "Jay-Z is a very shrewd businessman, but I wonder: Does it occur to him that he is arguably crossing the line from husband to pimp by exploiting his wife as a sex object?"
He's implying that, in Beyoncé's case at least, women in the entertainment industry can only be sexual if it's a business decision made by her husband. He disregards that she makes many of her own creative decisions, whereas Jay-Z is only involved in their collaborations. This can be confirmed simply by glancing over the
This is why it's more acceptable to be a man watching pornography than to be a woman who enjoys sex. Women in porn are in a position where their every pose and movement is controlled and dominated by someone else. The women presented by the media are in a position of submission, which makes them less threatening to the viewer.
The same concept goes for magazine writers and television reporters who make disgusting sexual comments about female celebrities during interviews, like the many interviews where Nicki Minaj is asked about whether her butt is fake or if she's slept with Drake — because it's apparently acceptable to be curious about a female celebrity's sex life if someone else asks her first.
However, when a woman (such as Beyoncé) takes
charge of her own sexuality in a performance or some other art form, the audience is no longer in control of her image. The freedom of sexual expression can, and should be, a source of confidence and empowerment. It can also help a woman (or man) learn to love and appreciate one's own body.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, feminism is "the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men." Sexuality and freedom of expression are important issues in our society, as can be seen with ongoing debates about gay marriage, reproductive rights and the morality of human sexual nature. The double standard toward women is a part of our culture and society that needs to be combatted.
An important aspect of the feminist movement is to empower women to live their lives without having to follow a certain mold. If a woman wants to be abstinent, dress modestly and become a housewife, she should feel empowered and supported to do so. If a woman wants to dance provocatively on stage, choose not to have children and sleep around, that's perfectly fine, too. And if a woman wants to be any combination of these things, that should also be acceptable. By treating Beyoncé, or any woman, as if she's simply a puppet controlled by her "pimp" husband, Huckabee is completely discrediting women's independence and agency to choose who she wants to be and how she wants to express herself.
Victoria Calderon is a sophomore from Liberal studying English and political science
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