THURSDAY,MAY 3,2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 7A
opinion
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A subway on campus? That's preposterous. What we really need is for Dan to fly a blimp across campus.
Professors don't care about evaluations. They've got tenure and a nice salary to go with it.
I'm beginning to wonder if my cold streak in the FFA is directly correlated with my recent dry spell.
Driver Dan, will you please drive a safe bus route on stop day?
Bladder's full, bladder's full, why does this class have to be so dull?
For the final effing time, sudoku is not about math, it's just numbers!
Since when did Jesus sandals come back in style?
Hey you just woke up, and this is crazy, but I'm your alarm, so get up lazy!
Pillow pet in the library. Girl knows how to study.
All in favor of starting KU balls say aye!
I don't know why but overhearing two very large football players talking about buying umbrellas makes me giggle.
Dear teachers, why have you given me excessive amounts of homework this week?! FINALS are NEXT week!
I've got a mini Etch-a-Sketch, a plastic dinosaur, a Game-Boy Advanced, and a Nerf gun in my backpack. This girl knows how to study.
Thanks KU Endowment. That "Far Above" campaign video is going to take months to live down.
I don't care how manly you are, when a little girl waves to you from across the bus you have to wave back.
Saw some guy at the rec jump roping wearing a gas mask. Creepy.
Yeah, that's what I'll do. Walk up to a girl dancing alone in the stacks and tell them they're beautiful. There's no way that could be awkward.
We don't compliment you in person because we don't want to be the "creepy" guy you complain about.
A subway system named the JayWay? Worst idea ever.
Instead of subway, why not monorail? You could put stations on top of all the dorms, Wescoe, Watson, and the Union!
To the creep looking up my dress as I went up the stairs: next time don't smile at it. I can see your reflection in the door.
If you're wondering who yelled at you while you were texting and driving, it was me. Stop it!
Free food and free red bull from the library? This place isn't so bad after all!
Be prepared when walking alone in the dark
EDITORIAL
Recently, two women were attacked after dark on campus. Although neither victim went to the hospital, the two incidents can serve as a reminder to keep safety in mind when students are on campus after dark.
The University Daily Kansan Editorial Board would like to suggest some ways you can keep yourself safe.
Your friends are a valuable resource whether you're going out to a party or a study session in
Anshutz. Ask if a friend could join you as you walk to your destination. If he or she doesn't want to walk with you, maybe they'll give you a ride.
In cases where neither of those options are possible, make sure someone knows where you're going and what time you should return home. Text that person and let them know when you've arrived, when you leave and when you get back home. On the other hand, if your friend is counting
When you're walking, regardless of if you're with friends or alone, try to stay on well-lit paths.
on you, watch the clock and text that person when the time approaches if you haven't received a text.
Shortcuts in areas without lights open you up to attacks because no one can see you and it would be harder for you to identify your attacker.
Also, keep your hands free. Try not to carry your books
in your arms. Should you need to fight back, it would be easier to do that without things in your hands.
If you're walking to your car, don't keep your keys in your purse or backpack. Keep them out if possible. This will allow you to get into your car quicker without the vulnerability of searching for your keys in a dark parking lot.
Remember that your safety is important. Pay attention to your surroundings and keep yourself
safe. When something is wrong, call the police.
With the end of the semester approaching, final parties will start occurring. Alcohol increases the chance of such attacks. Not to mention that the two attackers from the previous incidences this month have yet to be caught. Protect yourself.
Angela Hawkins for the Kansan Editorial bBoard.
LIFESTYLE
Structured life not best result at times
Checking off items on my todo list can seem a bit cathartic at times. Finishing up those assignments I've long thought about or stressed over and finally crossing them off the list brings a huge sense of relief.
But what about my life before I starting making those lists? Except for those times when I approach the list too rigidly and forget to put items on it which I then forget about until much later, structuring my academic life in this way has been exceedingly rewarding and a stark contrast to how my life operated before.
The idea of seeing our lives as a structure is relatable to the idea that our society can be seen as a structure: the way the different aspects of the system are built up, whether they are the way we individually choose to live day-to-day or the way our society operates, clearly denotes the possibilities and limitations of that system.
As an example. I remember once when I actually did forget to place an item on the list and only remembered it the day before it was due. It luckily wasn't worth too much in the grand scheme of my final grade
for the course, but the fact that I forgot it completely clearly shows me how much of a slave to my own system I've become.
As I've mentioned once, this way of seeing our lives as structures translates from a student perspective to a societal perspective. If we continually repeat mistakes, whether they be individual ones such as studying for tests in similar ways and receiving similar grades, or societal ones such as addressing socioeconomic issues like poverty and coming to similar conclusions in terms of action to altering its patterns, then nothing will change. To truly make a difference, the structure itself has to change.
or the dynamics among you, your roommates, and the pile of dishes sitting in the sink. If you don't take any time to think about why the structure isn't working or why it continually leads to less-than-ideal circumstances, then you cannot expect the endresult to be different.
This way of seeing can be applied to any system: governmental politics, the bureaucracy of your office space,
We need to be mindful of how our lives are structured and flip this structure over if we aren't enjoying its effects. Individually, this could mean changing up your study habits if you aren't getting the grades you desire or taking emotional time to step back and recover your sanity by doing other activities. Societally, this could mean analyzing those separate pieces of how systems have come into being and understanding how they could be structured differently to achieve different effects.
Above all, remember not be a slave to the system. It is only when we forget to assess our place inside of one that it can repeatedly take advantage of us.
— Salsbury is a senior in English, history of art, and global and international studies from Chapman.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
In response to the article. "Man charged with rape employed by University from Monday. April 30
After having read the article about a University employee charged with raping his 20-year old daughter and him still employed, I was angry. Not angry that he is employed after being charged, no. He is innocent until proven guilty. I'm upset with the University and its staff sending a conflicting statement to students.
I sat as the Student Rights Chair for Student Senate this year. During that time, Dr. Jane Tuttle and Nick Kehrwald, Assistant Vice Provost of Student Affairs and the Student Conduct Officer, respectively, presented the committee with proposed changes to the Student Code of Rights and Responsibilities. There was one proposed change that would give the University broad powers to hold students accountable for crimes committed off-campus. This would include actions that could be charged as felonies, most notably, rape or sexual assault of another student. Rights killed this proposal. Federal law already requires action in the case of rape and some members felt that the broad powers wanted were too much.
At present time, the Office of Civil Rights requires that the University take action if a student is accused of sexually abusing or raping another student. That's right, a student only has
to be accused of such crimes to be pulled out of class. Yet, so it seems, a University personnel actually has to be proven guilty. We call that double standards.
It is absolutely astounding to me that the Office of Student Affairs would bring this up for approval by students in two consecutive years, yet there is no such policy in place for KU employees. The point of the proposed change was to protect students that have been raped or sexually assaulted. It was to ensure they would not have to see their charged attacker in class.
This man, supposedly, raped his 20-year old daughter, a woman the same age as many of the women that the Office of Student Affairs, and the University as a whole, wishes to protect. How can we hold students to a higher standard of conduct than University personnel? Administrators would like to keep a student from class for rape charges, but the same would not hold true for a professor? This seems just a bit off. The University desperately needs to rewrite its personnel policies before getting involved in the off-campus actions of its students.
-Aaron Harris is a senior majoring in journalism and history.
MOVIES
'Mighty Ducks' best example for sequel success
In response to the comments for "The sequel to Anchorman sure to be hit"
Recently, I wrote a column about the announcement of the new "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" sequel. In the column, I argued that the film would be a success because of the power of the cast. I compared the "Anchorman" sequel to "The Hangover 2" and referenced that the movie made a lot of money, but was not necessarily a good film. The response to my column in the online comments allowed some disgruntled readers to tell me to "get some perspective" while another listed several films that were very poor seucls.
I started to lose confidence.
Maybe these commenters are right.
Maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about, and I do need to get some perspective. They did list a lot of sequels that were pretty terrible.
BUT THEN, THE FOLLOWING HAPPENED:
Gordon Bombay: Did y'all enjoy that?
Bombay: Okay, well so did they. Because they are still three comments up, and were one comment away from looking like sore journalists.
Lou Schumaker: Well, if we can't beat them, we might as well keep our pride.
Bombay: Lou, that's not pride.
Sure, when jarod made fun of the
Everyone: YEAH!
commenter's misuse of the word "your", part of me cheered. But guys, I've been there. I know how you feel. I wanted to cream that jerk that said I had no idea what I was talking about. And I really, really wanted to go after that guy that was calling me names on the Internet. But you know what? My ego will heal, and if I become someone I'm not, if I sink to their level, well then I lost more than my ego. You understand? We're not goons, we're not bullies, we're not trolls, and no matter what people say or do, we have to be ourselves.
You. [Points at Jarod] Who are you?
Jarod Kilgore: Jarod Kilgore.
Bombay: From where:
Jared; Olathe, Kansas
Jarod: Olathe, Kansas
Bombay; You. [points at Brett]
Brett Salsbury: Brett Salsbury,
from Chapman, Kansas.
Kelly Cosby; Kelly Cosby, Overland Park, Kansas.
ILLUSTRATION BY RYAN BENEDICK
Vikaas Shanker: Vikaas Shanker,
Chicago, Illinois.
Bombay: And I'm Gordon Bombay, Minneapolis, Minnesota. We're team UDK, gathered from all across Kansas (and two from the upper-Midwest). And we're going to stick together. You know why?
Me: Dylan Lysen, Andover, Kansas
Me: Because we are columnists.
And columnists write together.
Everyone: YEAH!
bombaay; That's right, Dylan. And just when you think they are about to break apart ...
Everyone:
COLUMNISTS
WRITE TOGETHER.
Kelly: And when the wind blows hard and the sky is black ...
Everyone: COLUMNISTS WRITE TOGETHER.
Lou: and when the roosters are crowing and the cows are spinning in circles in the pasture ...
Bombay: And when everyone says your wrong, columnists write together.
Everyone:erm...COLUMNISTS
WRITE TOGETHER.
Everyone: quack, quack, quack,
America of a sport dominated by Canadians, turn kids (like myself) into die-hard hockey fans that desperately wanted to play in their youth despite the fact he grew up in Kansas.
This little scene we played out was from the greatest sequel of all time. Yes, Disney's "D2: The Mighty Ducks." Sure, maybe there are a lot of films out there that are cash grabs sequels. Maybe a lot of them are really bad. Maybe the writers and producers of those films don't really care what you think because they got your money.
But in the end, not all sequels are bad. Some even make a film franchise, make the parent company buy an NHL team, raise awareness in
quack!
Sometimes a sequel can change someone's life. And that's exactly what "D2: The Mighty Ducks" did for me. I think I've got all the perspective I need.
Dylan Lysen is a junior in journalism from Andover.
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lan Cummings, editor
864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
Lisa Curran, managing editor
864-4810 ot lcrurran@kansan.com
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864-4924 or jsamp@kansan.com
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CONTACT US
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864-7667 or mgibson@kansas.com
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Ian Cummings,
Lisa Curran, Jon Samp, Angela Hawkins and Ryan Schlesenet.