WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 5
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opinion
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351
To whoever glued the quarter to the ground outside Snow, I salute you.
You know you are in Lindley Hall when you hear a teacher call a mapping system "sexy."
Thank you, steam whistle, for being my second alarm clock.
My professor: "I was looking at Uranus, and it didn't look quite right." Now, we devolve into 12-year-olds.
Why would you throw that freshly cut grass into my face? Thanks for the instant puffy eyes and itch nose.
I love it when the KUnited reps approach me. Each one is a new game of, "How Fast Can You Walk and Talk?"
The Pony Express could deliver mail faster than Apogee can send email.
The hardest job in the world must be working in a bubble-wrap factory.
Can you imagine the self-control that would be required?
Am I the only one who covers the toilet seat with toilet paper before sitting down?
In order to make avoiding elections reps more interesting, I pretend the campaigners are zombies. Run away!
Took a biology test in my pajamas. At least I can fail comfortably.
Saw someone sitting on a lawn chair, on their roof. Nice!
That awkward moment when your innocent roommate makes a dirty joke that leaves you speeckless.
When did overalls come back in style?
I really don't appreciate the F-word being written all over campus.
Did that person just ask if feminists hate Dan? Ain't nobody hates Dan.
So does the FFA editor have a file of all of our phone numbers?
Editor's Note: Yup.
I asked him about our relationship.
He told me Paul Pierce got a double double.
I think I'm the only person on campus who doesn't like Dan the bus driver.
You're in college, please stop picking your nose on the bus.
SPQR: They're the heroes KU deserves, but not the ones we need.
What do you call cookies taken from the Oliver Dining Hall? Stolen goods.
I'm trying to figure out what would make a pirate also be a hipster, but I just don't sea how.
Weighing your options for this summer
EDITORIAL
With the end of the school year fast approaching, most students have likely figured out plans for living/working/schooling throughout the summer. However, for some, the decision is still up in the air. You may be searching for some advice on the subject, but let me tell you, there is no one formula that works for every student.
mainly on the pros and cons of choices a and b.
Each individual student must make these decisions for himself or herself, based on his or her situation. For most, the decision comes down to a) staying in Lawrence, b) going home, or c) doing some sort of study abroad program. Since the study abroad deadlines have passed, I'll focus
STAYING IN LAWRENCE
Pros: For those students from a small town, there are many more opportunities for employment in a town like Lawrence, or even in the surrounding areas of Topeka or Kansas City. There are plenty of places to live in Lawrence for the summer, as many students plan on trying to sublet their apartments. Along with work and housing opportunities; there is a sense of independence here that you lose by going home.
Cons: There is the obvious con of having to pay expenses such as rent, utilities and food
for yourself during your stay in Lawrence. Along with that comes the realization that your childhood is officially over, as you will no longer be spending any extended period of time at home with your family. That can be a tough concept to grasp at first.
GOING HOME
Pros: You get to be in a familiar setting,with your loving family. Another great benefit of being at home is living for free and not having to worry about the costs associated with living on your own. Students living at home also have the opportunity to reunite with friends from high school who went off to
school somewhere else and are also home for the summer.
girlfriend/boyfriend, or even your parents. You have to take a long, hard look at the situation you are in, apply the pros and cons directly to your life, weigh your options and make the best decision for yourself.
Cons: There is always a fine line between being a child and being an adult. After you have been away at college for a full school year, coming home for the summer can be tough on you and your parents. There's the sense of independence you want to maintain, and then there are your parents, who may still want to implement the same rules you lived by during high school. The power struggle can put a strain on your relationship and may make living at home uncomfortable.
When it comes down to it, nobody can make the decision for you. Not your friends, your
Summer is a beautiful thing and can be some of the best times of your life, regardless of what situation you put yourself in. Don't put this off: Summer is right around the corner. So you all best put your decision-making hats on and get started!
Ryan Schlesener for The Kansan editorial board.
POLITICS
Republicans are portrayed badly
I'm usually not surprised when Democrats and their allies in the media play the race card, but they have reached a new low with the Travyon Martin hysteria.
In February, George Zimmerman shot and killed an unarmed black 17-year-old named Trayvon Martin in Florida. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who was licensed to carry a firearm, claims Martin attacked him and that the shooting was in self-defense. All we really know is that Zimmerman observed Martin walking through his neighborhood and called police to report suspicious behavior. After the call, there was some type of altercation between the two and Trayvon Martin lost his life.
Zimmerman has not yet been charged because under Florida law, Zimmerman could legally use deadly force to defend himself if he reasonably believed it was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm. In order to charge Zimmerman with murder, the authorities must first get probable cause that Zimmerman acted unlawfully, but since the eyewitness accounts have been inconclusive thus far, it has been difficult to ascertain exactly what transpired.
NBC's "Today Show" edited the tape of Zimmerman's 911 call to make him sound like a racist. Other media outlets selectively used photos portraying Travon Martin as a clean-cut young boy while making Zimmerman look like an unshaven, disgruntled criminal wearing an orange jumpsuit.
It is entirely possible that this incident was a misunderstanding between two well-intentioned parties that escalated into a tragic encounter. It is also entirely possible that Trayvon Martin attacked George Zimmerman. But the only storyline the media and Democrats want you to consider is that Zimmerman is a racist who preyed upon a young black male because he was wearing a hoodie while walking in a predominately white neighborhood.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California) said, "I, personally, really truly believe this is a hate crime." Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Florida) said that Martin was "hunted down like a rabid dog." Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Illinois) wore a hoodie onto the floor of the United States House of Representatives in protest. MSNBC analyst and Democratic strategist Karen Finney essentially blamed the Republican presidential candidates and Rush Limbaugh for the shooting.
Spike Lee tweeted what he thought was George Zimmerman's home address but turned out to be the address of an unrelated elderly couple. And of course it wouldn't be a certified witch hunt without Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson pandering for attention. Both have led rallies and demanded
Zimmerman's arrest. After all this, it's no surprise that the New Black Panther Party put out a $10,000 bounty on Zimmermann.
Sharpton, Jackson, the media, et al led a similar persecution during the 2006 Duke lacrosse rape scandal. The storyline of three, young, privileged white boys raping a poor, black, female stripper made for a useful narrative until it was revealed that the alleged victim's story was fabricated. The prosecutor in the case, a Democrat, was eventually disbarred and served jail time for fraud, lying to a judge and lying about withholding exculpatory evidence in the case. Back in 1987, Sharpton led a national crusade for a young, black woman named Towana Brawley who claimed she was raped by six white men. It also turned out to be a hoax.
Sharpton and Jackson continually exploit these situations because it gets them on TV and puts money in their pockets. The rest of the left loves these cases because it provides another opportunity to paint Republicans as racists. Never mind that George Zimmerman is actually Hispanic and a registered Democrat. Never mind that Zimmerman apparently spends his weekends as a volunteer tutoring black children.
Prominent conservative leaders such as Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Marco Rubio and Alberto Gonzales are making it increasingly difficult to label Republicans as the party of white racists. The vitriolic attacks on these figures over the years show just how dangerous they are to the left's monopoly on race. Now, Trayvon Martin is the new battle cry.
I'm not saying that George Zimmerman is innocent, because I don't know and neither does Jesse Jackson. I'm not saying that America does not have some lingering racial issues to overcome or that Republicans have never exploited race. But the left is dangerously manipulating this story to advance its agenda. Perhaps this is a tactic to galvanize minority groups to turn out for President Obama in November. Perhaps some of these leaders truly believe America is still a deeply racist society in 2012. Either way, as the great Thomas Sowell put it, "playing with racial polarization is playing with fire."
Corrigan is a third-year law student from Wichita.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
CINEMATOGRAPHY
By Marshall Schmidt
Product placement saving savvy series 'Community'
With today's technology—such as DVRs—people
nology—such as DVRs—people don't have to see television advertisements as much as they had to in the past. TV ads are only fully effective if the viewer is watching the program in the present.DVRs allow the viewer to skip the ad by fast-forwarding through undesired information. While at the same time, the Internet either allows viewers to watch television through pay sites that have minimal ads, or a viewer can illegally download the program and skip the whole ad process altogether.
This is a problem. And it's an even bigger problem for network channels that only make money from the two-minute spaces in between a program's action.
This idea seems to be a good alternative to the two-minute commercial cycle that is slowly meeting its demise one DVR recording at a time. So far, this idea has not been widely used. Possibly because another idea has taken over: product placement.
There have been a few solutions proposed, one being a single ad for a whole program with less advertising to allow the product to be more memorable. It would be a lot like PBS, where an ad is shown right before the program and is the only ad that will be seen throughout the program. An announcer will come on with a logo taking over the whole screen and say, "This program is brought to you by the [insert company name]. And don't forget [insert catchy slogan]!"
In a recent episode of NBC's "Community," the community college the students of the show attend decided to put a sandwich shop inside the cafeteria. It just so happens to be the largest sandwich shop in the whole world and boasts to have more stores than McDonald's.
Yes, the school has a Subway in its cafeteria. This is not new for the show. Last season, the show used a spaceship that was made for a Kentucky Fried Chicken themed adventure.
Well. "Community" did what it had to do to keep people happy—the episode with Subway turned out to be an homage to George Orwell's "1984." The show made sure that viewers felt like they were not being taken advantage of by constantly making fun of the product placement that was being used in its show.
In the episode, Subway had taken an average citizen and turned him into a walking, talking representation of
Subway. In pure "1984" fashion he turns on his big brother Subway and has an intimate relationship with one of the shows star's, Britta Perry. It's a lot more funny than "1984," though.
Ever since NBC decided to take "Community" off the air for three months because of poor ratings, many fans feared that the show was on the verge of being canceled. When it finally came back, it had a huge product placement in the plot of one of its episodes. Was this NBC's way of trying to keep the show on television?
Dan Harmon, the creator of "Community," once tweeted how he was aware that most of the fans of the show watch the episodes through the Internet This is why the show's ratings are very low and why NBC is not making much money off of it.
Many may not be happy with product placement, and a lot of them may be "Community" fans watching TV on the Internet. There is probably someone on the Internet complaining that big corporations are ruining the world. But the truth is, Subway is saving a show by handing a big paycheck to NBC and allowing Dan Harmon to make fun of it in the name of George Orwell.
In the end, not all advertising is bad.
Lysen is a junior in journalism from Andover.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Nansen Editorial Board are Ian Cummings, Lisa Curran, Jon Samp, Angela Hawkins and Ryan Schlesinger.