TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY JANSEV
PAGE 5
opinion
FREE FOR ALL
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351
I don't care if you're the best in your field, if you use Internet Explorer, I cannot take you seriously.
To the girl I see out of the bus window: eat a sandwich. I say this because I care.
The campus police caught our best running back. If they caught him, we have no chance this year.
Dan is a feminist, too. Haven't you seen the posters of him wearing his "I'm a feminist" shirt?
I have been living under a rock this whole time at The Underground, only to find out that The Market has better choices and fewer lines. So long, Underground!
Seeing someone wearing a turtle shell backpack makes me so much happier.
I just asked my friend "What's the word that means musty and dark?" He said "Mattol."
Just watched a girl pull an entire box of Kleenexes out of her backpack. Guess it's that time of the year again.
There's a cruise ship following the exact course of the Titanic this summer. I feel like they're tempting fate a bit.
There are Bratz dolls in real life. I saw one.
Oh, it's election week. Time for me to take fake phone calls and crank my headphones up on Wescow.
I normally walk to class, but when Dan pulls up driving the bus, I just gotta get on.
The only Bolton I want to vote for is Michael.
Editor's Note: Bet she's never heard that one before.
I'm female and Dan greets me with "Hey, there you are," not hot stuff, girlfriend, or girl. Does this mean I'm special or ugly?
Damn right I'm checking myself out in the windows at Budig. They're perfect for it and I'm hot stuff.
Five hour energy and condom wrappers in the stacks. Someone is going hard right now.
Some kid tried to tell me Robinson wasn't named after T-Rob. They have a lot to learn.
Dear ROTC classmate, please at least put clothes on before you come to class!
My iPod was stolen in a Watson Library bathroom. Will the thief please come forward? That thing is my life.
Editor's Note: You got robbed in the bathroom? Your life must be going down the drain.
Dear KU, thank you for the double-pley toilet paper in some bathrooms My butt thanks you, too.
Where have the ashtrays gone?
SMOKING
When I was a young child my father told me that the
told me that the reason he quit smoking was because he kept catching me digging through his ashtray. My reason for doing this, I can't recall, but hearing that story made me realize something: you don't see ashtrays in people's houses anymore.
I remember as a kid seeing advertisements and pictures of Camel Cigarette's mascot Joe Camel. Seeing him with his sunglasses, leather jacket, and sitting on a motorcycle, I thought he was cool. At the age of five or so, I didn't know it at the time, but I was being, in a way, tricked into thinking that smoking was cool. At that age, what I perceived to be cool was the motorcycle and the jacket, but Camel wanted me to think something else was cool—smoking. In 1997, Joe Camel was terminated because it was claimed that he was targeted toward young kids to get them to want to start smoking.
Twelve years later I stopped thinking the leather jacket was cool, but I still bought into Joe Camel and began smoking.
of second hand smokers. Coming home from the bar, without even smoking and reeking of a human ashtray is a thing of the past. Non-smokers may still catch of waff of smoke while out on the back patio, but it is nothing like it used to be.
On April 1, I made the decision to stop smoking (one of the reasons why I chose that day was because if I failed in my attempt, I could just say "April Fools!"), and with the stress of watching KU play in the National Championship on April 2, I failed miserably.
After decades of people lighting up wherever they may please, smokers are now being pushed outside and into designated areas. No longer can you light up at your favorite bar, or after your meal at IHOP, which still amazes me that less then five years ago I could do so in my hometown of Wichita.
We are the last generation
It looks like we cannot be a society where smokers and non-smokers can coexist, and it looks like the non-smokers
"Seeing him with his sunglasses, leather jacket, and sitting on a motorcycle, I thought he was cool."
ADVICE
are winning the battle. So, if I can't beat them, I guess I'll have to join them. Something
that is going to be difficult, but I guess now I am willing.
If you see me for the remainder of the semester sitting on campus or on Massachusetts Street smoking a cigarette, please judge silently. I'm doing the best that I can.
Moffitt is a senior in English and philosophy from Wichita.
Some students will justify cheating with incentives
I think everyone at some point has at least thought about cheating on a test. What goes into whether someone cheats or not?
By Michael Sofis msofis@kansan.com
This is an interesting concept because we all have probably cheated on something at some point in our lives. When you were a child you may have focused more on the risks of getting in trouble by the teacher or being called "cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater." But is cheating really as simply assessing the risk reward ratio? Well-known Behavior Economist Dan Ariely says it isn't that easy.
Ariely's overarching explanation to cheating is called the "fudge factor." He explains that we try to both feel good about ourselves and benefit from the opportunity to cheat. The "fudge factor" is the amount we are willing to cheat while not feeling awful about ourselves.
In one study, Ariely put Coke bottles in undergraduates' refrigerators in random dorms on a college campus. When going back to check all the free Cokes were gone. Then, Ariely and his team put $1 bills in the refrigerators and all were still there when the team returned. When you
take money, it is difficult to frame your decision to steal in a positive fashion. A Coke bottle though, because it is removed one step from money, can more easily be validated as socially acceptable.
So how do we get ourselves to not cheat? Ariely ran a study where subjects were split into groups where they either read the Ten Commandments in one group or their favorite ten books in the other group. Both groups were then tempted to cheat on a simple task where they were rewarded with money based on their performance. They found that the participants with the Ten Commandments never cheated while high rates of cheating were reported in the control group.
This seems odd, especially when self-identified Atheists responded to the study just as the others. One potential explanation is a behavioral theory called Relational Frame Theory. When we remember a situation for instance, we connect various words, images, sounds, and smells together within a certain context. When Ariely framed the task
as immoral, even Atheists connected immoral activity to their current situation.
If you've ever considered cheating on test but didn't, what made you stop? It's likely that in addition to the moral factor our past experiences of being caught or not influences a current decision to cheat or not. This is behaviorally looked at as your history of punishment or reinforcement. If you've gotten away with cheating since an early age you might be less susceptible to the fear of being caught or even the moral restrictions on your behavior. It is complicated to give someone advice on their moral character but the best way to start is to be consistent with your behavior in relation to potential cheating circumstances. Additionally, be consistent with any religious or general moral code you adhere to so as not to leave yourself susceptible to potential gains in a typical cheating situation. And lastly, the next time you're tempted to cheat on a test, think of this article and me framing your decision: Don't cheat!
Softs is a senior in applied behavioral science from Pittsburgh, Penn.
Curious why you engage in irrational behavior? Ask your questions! Send an email to kansanopdesk@gmail.com
LEGISLATURE
Funding distributions bill takes 73 days of decision
After 73 days in session, the Kansas Legislature adjourned for its annual break without passing a budget. Mind you, this was 73 days in session with a Republican governor and substantial Republic majorities in both the House (77-48) and Senate (30-10) and still no budget was passed.
What's worse is that it appeared the House and Senate had reached a budget deal, as a team of three House and three Senate members had worked to create a passable budget. However, when it went to the House, the Appropriations Committee Chairman, Marc Rhoades, stopped the bill from going to the House floor over a $24.6 million budget provision for public schools.
The dispute was not over the amount of spending, but rather the source of the funding. The House wanted the money taken from the transportation department while the Senate and Governor Brownback wanted it funded by general state revenues. The legislature could have passed the budget and determined the source of funding at a later time. This was unacceptable to Rep. Rhoades and House Speaker Mike O'Neal because the Senate would "win," since if no agreement was reached the default was for the payment to come out of general funds.
So, the House blew up a $14.1 billion budget deal because they disagreed with the Senate about the source of the funding for a $24.6 million provision. The House did not want to "lose" against the Senate over
By Matthew Nygaard
mnygaard@kansan.com
an expenditure that amounts to 0.17 percent of the budget. Something's wrong when that is how legislative decisions are made.
Not passing the budget may have some serious effects on government functioning as well. The Kansas Supreme Court may have to close courts and furlough employees without pay. The Kansas State Parks systems may also be affected. Not passing the budge also resulted in the Senate killing a congressional redistricting bill, deferral of ax negotiations, and potential jeopardy for reinstated funding of the arts.
Democrats and members of the Senate harshly criticized the House for their actions. Sen. Carolyn
so many of the legislators are indeed Republicans. Surely members of the same party should have been able to reach an agreement to pass a budget. However, on many issues, there is such a split between House Republicans and Senate Republicans that it is resulting in drawing out legislative decisions that need to be made.
The unwillingness of the House Republicans to compromise on the funding for a $24.6 million expenditure, a relatively small amount relative to the budget, shows the problems with viewing legislation in terms of winning and losing. When legislating becomes all about winning and losing the real losers are the people of Kansas. We depend on our legislators
"The dispute was not over the amount of spending, but rather the source of the funding."
McGinn (R-Sedgwick) noted the Senate had "issues that we gave up" too. Sen. John Vratil (R-Leawood) reacted by saying, "A deal was struck. I can't believe it" when it became clear a budget not be passed. House Minority Leader Paul Davis (D-Lawrence) thought, "there's simply no excuse for the legislature not completing this process by now."
I have to confess that I share Paul Davis' reaction to the Kansas Legislature being unable to come to an agreement on the budget. Especially since
to make laws that provide the best, workable solutions. These solutions often involve compromise.
Now, I realize that there are maybe certain issues legislators will be unwilling to compromise on, but this funding issue was one where a compromise could have resulted in a passed budget and no concerns about potential government shutdowns. The budget fight shows the importance of legislators picking the right battles to fight. This was a battle clearly not worth fighting.
Nygaard is a third-year law student from Appleton, Wis.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
What's on your bucket list before summer?
Follow us on Twitter @UDK_Opinion.
Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
@emilyruth9
@UOK_Opion To sleep through an entire night?
@JohnJohnpage
@UDX_Opinion To go tanning so I don't look so "pail." DO YOU GET IT? BECAUSE IT'S A BUCKET LIST.
@bafast
@UDK_Opinion I'm really hoping to pass my classes That'd be something nice to check off, eh?
@KTPK12
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LETTER GUIDELINES
Send letters to kananopdesk@gmail.com
Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line.
LETTER GUIDELINES
**Length:** 300 words
The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown Find our **full let** to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.
lan Cummings, editor
864-4814 or editor at kanasa
Lisa Curran, managing editor
864-4814 or icurana at kanasa
Jon Samp, opinion editor
864-4924 or sasman at kanasa
©UBK Opinion Bring a couch to Wescoe and call it the "Conversation Couch." Just sit and talk with friends :)
Garrett Lent, business manager
864-4358 or glent@kansan.com
Korab Eland, sales manager 864-4477 or keland@kansan.com
CONTACT US
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Jon Schitt, sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or jschitt@kansan.com
1 2
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of The Kansan Editorial Board are Ian Cummings,
Lisa Curran, Jon Samp, Angela Hawkins and Ryan
Schleseness.