FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY GANSAN
PAGE 5
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You know it's spring when all of the stoners are out on the stoop again.
The only reason you hate trolls is because you don't know how to take criticism from a 5-year old.
Submariners have to be some pretty strong people considering all the pressure they're under.
The white tree blossoms around campus are pretty, but why must they smell so bad?!
Everyone, stripes and plaid at the same time is not okay.
Where are the occupy chalk hipsters? I want to play hopscotch.
Just heard the bell tower play the opening of "The Imperial March." Come over to the Dark Side.
You know it's too hot in the dorms when your Girl Scout cookies have melted. Turn the air conditioner on already!
It took me four tries to find a stall that actually had a latch. FOUR TRIES. Step your game up, Budig.
You know winter's over when Daisy Hill gets raided with ladybugs.
Dear girl sitting in front of me, Could you please leave your yoga stretches for when you're not in class. Sincerely, I can't see the board.
This person's stuff has been at the computer next to me for three hours - no sign of the person. Sorry, but I am stealing your bag of pretzels.
We should hold a school-wide burning of all the one-ply toilet paper at KU ... Damn right I'm pissed about the toilet paper
Just saw some girl tanning by Anchutz who had her shirt off and her athletic shorts bunched up in a thong-like fashion...Is that allowed?
Just saw a sidewalk chalker. Turns out they are real people.
Nothing says "I'm from Minnesota," like a sunburn in March.
There is no attractive way to eat a cinnamon roll.
Is it bad that I shampoo my beard just as thoroughly as my head?
I love this time of year. The sweatier, the better!
Saw a couple getting real into it on Fraser's lawn today. I guess spring is officially here.
the flailing tube man outside Naismith has turned into a barrier to those trying to use the sidewalk because of this wind
I love when I get a text from a girl asking if she can practice her French oral on me this morning.
The "love of my life" is halfway across the world, but I still read his horoscope. Maybe it will match up with
Should the US intervene in Syria?
Everyone can see you checking yourself out in the Budig windows.
GOVERNMENT
I just overheard a girl say; "I just got stood up by my midterm." It's OK, girl, I wouldn't take it personally.
As the Syrian uprising continues, the US and other nations must determine if they will step in
Against intervention
The use of violence by the al-Assad regime against the Syrian opposition is atrocious. Every day, innocent people caught in the middle in towns like the now-famous Homs are killed by government forces.
According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, al-Assad's regime and his secret police routinely use torture, imprisonment and murder against those who speak out against the government.
However, this doesn't mean that the United States should bow down to calls from the international community and intervene militarily. Perhaps because of the success of the Libyan operation this past year, several international leaders have called for a U.S.-led suppression of the Syrian military and al-Assad's regime. But such an action poses problems, and the Syrian government is still supported by nations such as Russia and China.
We should find a way to end this violence. The Al-Assad regime has been using force to quell opposition for nearly five decades, and it is time that the global community did something about it. However, it is not the duty of the U.S. military to police the world. Unless we are given support and all avenues of diplomacy have been exhausted, the men and women of the United
states military should not be sent to Syria.
RESPONSES:
(PRED'S ARGUMENTS ARE IN
ITALICS. MCGROY'S RE-
SPONSES ARE BELOW.)
We should intervene in Syria to prevent atrocities from escalating to the levels of the Holocaust, Bosnia or Rwanda.
There have been several incidents in which U.S. military intervention did the opposite of bringing an end to violence. Somalia is the best example from the past 20 years. Our military intervention in Mogadishu served no purpose, got American soldiers killed and gave the ruling warlords a perfect public relations victory. American troops were sent in October of 1993, and Somalia is still a war-torn nation.
If mass human rights violations are continuously met with swift force, the likelihood of them occurring will decrease.
This isn't necessarily true. When force is met with force,
the results tend to be revenge, violence and further blood-shed. At this time in our nation's foreign affairs situation, it would be best to weigh all of the different diplomatic avenues before resorting to matching violence with violence.
To honor and enforce international law.
Appealing to international law is an unrealistic response to an oppressive regime that puts little value on human rights. And the rule of international law will only come to bear on al-Assad if and when he is captured.
We would want someone to step in if our government was committing atrocities against ur
We would certainly not want any outside actor, state or non-state, to step in and violate our right of national sovereignty. We have never, nor will we ever, allow another nation or body of nations to dictate how we run our country. There are several nations within the international community that, time and again, try to undermine our government. We would not allow another nation to govern our national interests, and we should remember that when attempting to do the same.
McCray is a senior in economics from Des Moines, Iowa.
ARTS
Kansans must preserve art through proper budgeting
The Kansas Arts Commission must be funded adequately — either by the state of Kansas or by the people of Kansas — because the arts are important and we cannot afford to lose them.
The arts are important because they preserve and communicate culture while enhancing our lives. Each culture has its own artwork, music, dancing, literature, stories and poems. However, as time passes, there is concern that culture will be lost. Former cultures fade as social groups are broken up and new social groups are formed. The arts prevent total elimination of those cultures. Cultures that otherwise might fade are kept alive by preservation of their arts.
The arts are also important because they also help us appreciate and understand other cultures. The arts transmit culture between peoples and to future generations. What makes the arts special is their ability to share culture and keep culture alive in a way that people cannot. Arts can span racial, social, educational and economic differences. Without funding for the arts, our exposure to other cultures will be limited.
We all have had the opportunity to enjoy an art exhibit, or listen to a symphony, or watch a play or musical. These opportunities give us a chance to relax and provide another form of entertainment for us.
Because the arts are important, it is crucial that they are properly funded. However, under current policy proposals, it does not appear that will happen. Last year, Kansas became infamous as the only
By Matthew Nygaard
mnygaard@kansan.com
state to defund the arts, when Gov. Sam Brownback vetored $689,000 of funding for the Kansas Arts Commission. Because of the veto, Kansas also lost $1.3 million in matching funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mid-American Arts Alliance.
Sarah Carkhuff Fizell, a spokeswoman for Kansas Citizens for the Arts, said the first step in helping the arts commission is to "get state funding back." It appears that some state legislators may be open to this.
Gov. Brownback has proposed giving at least limited state funding back to the Kansas Arts Commission through a proposal that would merge the
KAC with the Kansas Film Commission.
The two commissions would receive only $200,000 total, much less than the $698,000.
For intervention
The KAC is trying to increase its budget through fundraising. The Kansas House has approved a checkbox on state income tax forms that would allow people to donate to the KAC when filing their taxes. The KAC is also selling license plates that say "State of the Arts" on them. You can view them at the Kansas Arts Commission website at arts. ks.gov. But the arts commission will probably continue to rely on public funding.
funding. The KAC money would likely be used differently to satisfy those requirements.
Perhaps more importantly, Brownback's proposal would place both commissions under the Kansas Department of Commerce. They would be required to show a return on the state's investment or lose
The state should fund arts, and cutting them was a mistake. We also need to take responsibility for the issues and causes we believe are important, and that includes making private donations.
budget vetoed last year. Some in the arts community are dissatisfied with the limited funding. Sen. Marci Francisco (D-Lawrence) said that around $800,000 would be necessary to make this a workable plan.
"Cultures that otherwise might fade are kept away by preservation of their arts."
Now, I know that right now
or going out every weekend. Consider donating even a small amount to the Kansas Arts Commission while you are in school. If you decide you cannot donate while you're in college, make it a priority to support the arts once you graduate and get a job. The arts certainly need our support now and will likely need it in the future as well.
Nygaard is a third-year law student from Appleton, Wis.
we are all poor college students and may not have money to donate. But think about how much money you spend every week at Starbucks
Syrian Pres. Bashar Al-Assad's regime is ruthlessly murdering its own citizens. The United Nations puts the most recent death toll at 7,500. The inaction of the U.N. Security Council raises this question: Should the U.S. be intervening in other countries for humanitarian purposes?
for humanitarian purposes.
After the Holocaust and other atrocities of World War II, the world said "Never again," and made a commitment to stopping these massive human rights violations from ever taking place again, through internationally binding treaties and conventions.
When we ignore these grievances, as we did in Rwanda, it brings immense hardship to the country through loss of life, economic degradation and an adverse affect of the psyche of the citizens. We end up pouring large amounts of money in aid to these countries to rebuild instead of halting the problem before it escalates out of control. It also reinforces the behavior, sending the message that a government or group can commit these violations and face no consequence. Whether it's an ethnic conflict or a tyrannical ruler looking to suppress an opposition, we need to not only verbally condemn large-scale killings and other human rights violations, but also take action if diplomacy and negotiations fail.
I can only imagine the terror the people in Syria are experiencing daily, wondering why no one is stepping in and stopping al-Assad's killing campaign. Its very easy to say we need to focus on domestic issues. However, if the shoe was on the other foot, wouldn't we want some outside force to help stop a regime that was killing thousands of us?
RESPONSES:
(MCCROY'S ARGUMENTS ARE IN
ITALICS. PRED'S RESPONSES
ARE BELOW.)
Our military is overstretched as it is. At a time when the military's budget is being cut, we shouldn't send in troops unless they are
properly equipped and well-supplied. As proven in Libya, a humanitarian intervention can consist of a swift air campaign with nearly no troops on the ground. No one is suggesting a pricey or lengthy occupation.
All the diplomatic options have not yet been exhausted. Only after that should we use military force.
I agree that diplomatic means are always first and foremost and that intervention should be a last resort. Unfortunately, sanctions and pressure often will not be enough and we watch thousands of people die while waiting for them to make a difference.
There is a double standard in the Middle East. How is it that we're so quick to send troops into Syria, yet we sit back and let Israel do what it wants to the Palestinians? We didn't talk about sending in troops when Israel intercepted the Turkish aid flotilla in May of 2010.
There is no double standard. The conflict between Israel and Palestine is vastly different from the situation in Syria. I am not advocating humanitarian intervention in response to every action that's illegal under international law, only the large-scale human rights violations such as mass killings and genocide.
We must respect sovereignty. We wouldn't allow another nation to send a military force into our country.
Again, you cannot compare the two situations. Syria is not behaving like America, and if our government suddenly started murdering thousands of us, then we would want another state to step in.
The United States military is not the world's police force. We cannot continue to spend our money and put our troops in harm's way as the rest of the world refuses to take action.
The inaction of other countries cannot be used to defend our own. If you see a wrong being committed, should you do nothing because everyone else is doing nothing? We, as Americans, don't have to be the world's police force. But we, as fellow human beings, should offer our help to others in desperate need of it.
Pred is a junior in political science and peace and conflict studies from Kansas City, Mo.
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