FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 5
opinion
FREE FOR ALL
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351
Prince Harry told Jamaican tracklets to not come to America and run... looks like we need to remind him who won the Revolution and the War of 1812.
My professor looks like a sweet little bird but is secretly a psychotic t-rex that will fail you.
Budig can go to hell for blazing like a furnace on such a nice day.
2.75 to walk on to the football team?
What next? Magnum cum laude?
Leave it to the honors kids to throw a party celebrating the class schedule release.
Muppets might be my happy place.
Occupy KU: Spreading athlete's foot since 2011.
We're seriously expected to go to class when there's a basketball game?
What is this, Columbia?
Okay, so today I was advised to drive down to Mexico City to renew my US visa. Good job immigration advisors.
My biology professor is playing a rap about oxidation. I have truly entered the Twilight Zone.
I put on my jacket this morning and found scraps of newspaper in it. I miss basketball already.
"Wescoe is like a nasty hickey, no matter how many trees you cover it with it's still gonna look ugly." Student senate speaks the truth.
The cute girl I'm eating lunch with just apologized for turning around and checking the score of a Big East conference tournament game. Please God, let her be my soulmate.
Forget more trees on Wescoe Beach,
how about some kegs?
WWSD: What would Skyrim do?
I would totally endorse a library police force that kicks people out of the quiet zones when they are talking so everyone else can get their work done.
False. People going up the stairs are doing the same magnitude of work as people going down.
The most important thing you can be is yourself. Unless you can be Batman. Always be Batman.
I guarantee that what you're wearing right now would not have been acceptable yesterday and won't be tomorrow, either.
You know you're a music major when you know the steam whistle is pitched in B flat.
When I was in high school, my mom and I barely talked. Since I've been in college, she's called me twice a day to tell me when my dog burps.
Technology causes modern scandals
There's a special place in hell for Rush Limbaugh.
SOCIETY
Do pigeons have feelings?
With the advent of cell phones and social networking, a new kind of scandal has emerged
Since computers and cell phones began to have cameras, a new kind of scandal was born - the "oops I did not mean to post that X-rated picture of myself on Twitter/ Facebook/ or other relevant social media site."
This is a type of scandal that we as a society are still trying to
to handle since we are learning how easily these accidental picture posts can ruin people's careers, and more importantly their reputations.
The most important question
accidentally posted a sexually suggestive picture. Weiner meant to send a picture of his Wiener, pun intended, to a college student who followed him on twitter, but instead everyone caught a glimpse.
It amazes me how a simple task of sending a picture on your cell phone can in one second
destroy your entire
important question to ask, though, is who were they intending to send this pictures to in the first place? Obviously, they meant to send the picture to one person and not the entire Internet world.
One of the more publicized scandals was U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner's, when he
"Everything that you choose to post, or in these cases accidentally post, has an immediate reaction, which results in an immediate consequence."
to send a picture of that nature, they would at least double-check where they were sending the file before pressing send.
life just by simply by pushing the wrong send button. Furthermore, you would think if someone was going
We are the first generation to have this technology, which allows us to see, watch, and post anything that our heart desires in a matter of seconds, without
much second thought to it. We still have not learned how to properly use this convenient, yet sometimes dangerous, technology.
Everything that you choose to post, or in these cases accidentally post, has an immediate reaction, which results in an immediate consequence. In the past scandals developed over time and seemed to have less harsh punishments. For example, Bill Clinton's scandal with Monica Lewinsky upset everyone, but there was not visible proof available on the Internet for people to outrage over.
The difference is when proof of these scandals is posted publicly online everyone can actually
see it. When we can actually see proof of Anthony Weiner's incident people seem to be more disgusted because they are actually able to see and visualize the incident. With a quick Google search you can be appalled with the rest of society.
It is interesting how society is choosing to use this technology in order to benefit their sexual desires. It seems to make cheating on your significant other easier, yet at the same time it also makes it easier for you to get caught. With one slip of a finger, by pushing "tweet this photo," instead of "send photo as a text message" can destroy your life in seconds. Once it enters the Internet sphere it never seems to leave.
whole life. Even later as she goes to job interviews, with a quick Google search of her name potential employers will immediately know her and her judge upon that one choice.
Are people not aware that posting something publicly online means that anyone in the world can view it at anytime? With examples like these it seems to be that we are not. We as a society have not yet adapted and realized what is possible when you put your thoughts on the Internet.
This is also true in the Internet facet of YouTube. As for UCLA student Alexandra Wallace will forever be known as the girl who posted a racist video rant about Asians in the library, because of a three minute video she recorded and publicly posted it.
The quick advancement of technology has happened so fast we, as a society, have not learned how to correctly and appropriately use it. Hopefully over time we can learn how to probably balance our actual lives and our Internet identities.
That decision will affect her
Moffitt is a senior in English and philosophy from Wichita.
CULTURE
Straight girls can't hide out anymore
The best kept secret of straight girls everywhere has been exposed. What
was once a safe-zone gay bar with our pals away from our XY counterparts is now their prime place to pick up women.
Gay bars used to be havens where there was no risk of sketchy guys emerging from the corner, giving us what the Huffington Post calls the sneak-attack grind from behind, and promptly spilling their Boulevard Wheat all over our shoes.
But as of late, gay bars have become hot spots for straight men to woo women who are just along for the ride.
Last month I was chatting with my new and very sassy coworker about my escape to Wilde's Chateau 24 the Wednesday night before to party on the club's weekly gay night.
He suggested writing my next column about it, saying that gay bars are becoming the new place for guys to pick up girls.
At first I was skeptical. Sure, I had been hit on at gay bars before, but I figured it was just by chance. I decided to actually look it up to see if his point had any merit.
Lo and behold, it does. In fact, it yielded thousands of results.
Meanwhile, we shouldn't complain about the trend of straight guys trying to pick us up there either.
But in a universe where our instincts tell us to do whatever we can to find a mate, straight guys hitting up gay bars is actually reasonable. In fact it's kind of genius.
Based on the number of hits, straight guys visiting gay bars to meet women is widespread. And who can blame them?
I wasn't exactly into it when a guy at Chateau tried to pick me up by telling me he liked my dance moves "and everything else." I found it laughable at best and couldn't fathom why he'd choose a gay bar to pick up women.
And with two of my three best friends being gay, a guy has to be cool with the gay community to be cool with me.
We ladies shouldn't feel sorry if we reject a guy at a gay bar, where our guards are usually lower than at a traditional one.
If we don't like them hitting
on us at gay bars, we have two options: we can speak up about it or just take it in stride. Don't we deal with those kinds of guys at every other bar on any other night anyway?
Neither women nor the gay community should be mad at straight men for pursuing women at bars and clubs like Chateau and Missie B's in Westport.
Some members of the gay community feel that said straight men are stepping on their turf and stripping gay nights of their purpose. But the straight men aren't taking girls away from gay guys. In the end, it's up to the heterosexual women to decide if they want the men who are out on the prowl to be a part of their night out at all.
If guys didn't successfully pick up straight women at gay bars already, they wouldn't be out there still.
But because women tend to let their guards down at gay nights, where they don't expect to be hit on, straight men are all over it and often get what they want out of the deal.
It's possible that our hiding spots for girls-only outings will eventually all be found out. A Pilates class was No. 2 on the where-to-meet-women list.
Straight men at bars like Chateau on gay nights are only doing what we do at traditional bars. I'd probably do it too, so realistically, they shouldn't be giving an apology for their recent gay-bar behavior — just one for that Boulevard Wheat I'm wearing.
But we just have to be honest with guys who do try to pick us up about what we want to get from the night out. If we don't want to talk, drink, or dance with dudes, we don't have to.
I never feel bad for rejecting guys at bars, and that includes at Chateau.
Rachel Keith is a graduate student in education, from Wichita.
HEALTH
Food shouldn't be allowed on public transportation
Eating on Public Transportation? Right or Wrong?
A proposed ban on eating in the New York City subway system is sparking a lot of controversy about the true intentions and implications of the bill. For anyone that's ridden a New York City subway it's fairly obvious that lack of sanitation and rats are a real issue.
One of the most unpleasant experiences one could have on the subway is setting your hand into some unknown sticky substance, with no sink in sight, or having that cup of scalding hot coffee spilled all over your outfit on the way to work.
So in response to this state legislators have proposed a bill that fines those caught eating on a subway station, platform, or car $250. That's only for first time violators; the fine doubles if it's your second offense.
Some, like New York Times opinion contributor Annia Ciezdadlo, argue that this bill is a direct attack on the poor and minorities who rely on public transportation, stating, "The claim that noshing leads
to litter and filth harks back to racial and class stereotypes from the Victorian era." Even the chairman of the Transportation Authority opposes this bill.
While the restrictions and fines imposed by the bill do seem a little harsh, I think they're a far cry from unreasonable stereotypes. The meaning behind it seems purely pragmatic; less food and drink means less mess and less rats.
Critics argue that for some the time spent waiting for or traveling on the subway is their only time for a meal during the day. However, cities like Washington DC and San Francisco have enforced similar bans on their public transportation systems proving it can work in a major metropolis.
We can even compare this
to our own system here in Lawrence; currently no food or open drinks are allowed on the busses, only spill-proof drinks. I for one support this rule.
I can only imagine the mess and filth that would ensue in those already uncomfortably tight quarters, not to mention the smell. While it might be nice to eat my breakfast on my way to class on the bus, the cons most certainly outweigh the slight convenience.
So to the legislators of New York, I propose a compromise. Impose the food ban only on the subway cars, not in the stations or on the platforms. Instead, increase the number of trash and recycling bins in the stations and more heavily enforce the cities already in place anti-littering laws. Finally, reduce the fine, $250, for a minor infraction.
This penalizes not those who eat and clean up after themselves, but only those who make a mess.
Pred is a junior in political science and peace and conflict studies from Kansas City, Mo.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
plrappel
What do you think of the current Republican primary candidates?
Follow us on Twitter @UDK_Opinion.
Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
@UDK Opinion It's like watching a train wreck, you don't want to watch but you can't look away. Obama has this in the bag.
myimor
@UDK Opinion I am really scared that one might get elected.
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Jahera91
Jahera91
@UDK_Opinion Santorum is just too frothy.
LETTER GUIDELINES
send letters to kansanopdesk@gmail.com.
Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line.
Length: 300 words
The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.
ian Cummings, editor
864-4810 or editor@kanasan.com
Lisa Curran, managing editor
864-4810 or lcurun@kanasan.com
Alexis Knutsen, opinion editor
864-4924 or akunusan@kanasan.com
Geegs30
CONTACT US
@UDK Opinion Not really impressed with anyone's agenda. The fundamentalist tinges to some of their campaigns kinda has me scared.
Garett Lett, business manager
843-4588 or email@kasan.com
Korab Ieland, sales manager
843-4777 or email@kasan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
864-7676 or mgjbson@kansas.com
Jon Schilt, sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or jchitt@kansas.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Nansan Editorial Board are Ian Cummings,
Lisa Curran, Alex Knutsen, Angela Hawkins and Ryan
Schlesener.