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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28. 2012
PAGE 5
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opinion
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Incredible game!! But seriously, a wing-eating contest for halftime? We can do better. Congrats to that guy for winning type 2 diabetes.
I swear, after the MU game I had an after glow.
Really wanted to see "Hugo" until it won all the freaking Oscars. Now I already know I hate it.
I wonder if Elijah Johnson likes when the announcer calls him Eeeeeeeeeli-jah Johnson.
You know your roommate is a hard-core KU fan when he says "Rock Chalk" to his parents instead of "I love you."
Bill Self for president
Whenever I have an oddly shaped animal cracker, I like to pretend it's a minotaur.
You know it's true love when he names his Pokemon after you.
People should just have their names floating above their heads like in video games so it'll make creeping on facebook easier.
When I see a frat pack coming up behind me, my fight-or-flight instinct kicks in. I choose flight every time.
Sometimes when I'm at a party that is dying down, I like to pretend I'm a table. It really gets the people going.
If snakes had legs, would we call them snizards?
Going from Wescoe to the Underground is like taking the wardrobe to Narnia.
If the majority of your classes are still in Budig, you don't get to bitch. Eve
My teacher didn't know who Mario Chalmers was. Do they not have TV in Alaska?
After last Saturday's game, I'm thinking Thomas Robinson should be a dual sport athlete for basketball and volleyball.
If you can dodge people coming out of Budig 120,you can dodge a ball.
The people in Budig would be much more interesting if they were practicing with nunchucks instead of hula hoops and vo-vos.
Today's UDK is too thick to fold and put under my arm. I like having these kind of problems.
Does anybody else think that having a chancelor of KU is just like "Star Wars"?
If you're having quidditch problems, I feel bad for you, son. I got 99 problems but a snitch ain't one.
You know you've been in Malott too long when you start having nightmares about titrations.
I want to thank the academy for terribly judging movies.
How the hell do you pronounce "Ousdahl"?
Human trafficking remains a large issue
CAMPUS
A research center on campus that studies the issue would benefit the University, state and country
On Feb. 2, Gov. Sam Brownback spoke at the University regarding the critical issue of human trafficking. During his talk, which focused mainly on his experiences learning about human trafficking at the international level, he discussed his hopes for
Jean suit. Nice.
a center for human trafficking research at the University.
Given the already prestigious status of our University as a research institution as well as the history
of opposition to
Furthermore, Humantrafficking.org, which compiles information gathered by nonprofit organizations and governments, states that 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked to the United States per year. Victims are mostly women and children. Through the problem of human
Though the problem of human
Though the problem of human trafficking at the international and national levels is severe, the issue of domestic trafficking is of special concern in Kansas."
slavery in Lawrence, KU would be an ideal location for such a center.
According to the U.S. Department of State, the United States is an established transit and destination site for many types of human trafficking, including forced labor, document servitude and sex trafficking.
trafficking at the international and national levels is severe, the issue of domestic trafficking is of special concern in Kansas. According to the Wichita Eagle, Shared
Hope International, a nonprofit organization that reported on the strength of state child sex trafficking laws in the U.S., gave Kansas a failing grade in December.
In the last four years, there have been more than three times as many sex trafficking cases in Wichita. Research also shows
that Kansas City and Wichita are seen as major destinations on the trafficking trail between Mexico and Canada, said Laura Dean, a graduate student from Lawrence.
Dean, a Lawrence graduate student who organized Gov. Brownback's appearance at the University and studies human trafficking, sees the University as the perfect place for a center on human trafficking. The Institute for Policy and Social Research (IPSR) in Kansas provided Dean with a graduate research assistantship on human trafficking last year. Dean said the IPSR would also provide the institutional interdisciplinary support and grant writing ability necessary in the foundation and endurance of the center.
A center on campus could potentially work toward more "investigative tools," which Dean noted are necessary to address human trafficking within the state. Dean also discussed the benefits a University center would have for the rehabilitation of victims.
In addition, the University as an institution provides the idyllic image for a center working against human trafficking. Fittingly, a center would be "continuing our abolitionist history at the one university in the state that embodies the Jayhawk symbol," Dean said.
Given the dire situation of human trafficking in Kansas and the need for a government-led effort against this abuse of rights, it is imperative that the state provide funding and support for the creation of such a center at the University. With the assistance of state funds, the University could be a significant resource for fighting human trafficking domestically and internationally in the near future.
Student Body President Libby Johnson supports the idea of creating a center at the University, and discussions between Johnson, Dean, and the IPSR staff may move this idea forward.
Of course, the creation of such a center would require significant funds. As this issue needs to be addressed by the state,Brownback should back up his verbal support for the project with a funding commitment.
Cosby is a senior in political science and English from Overland Park.
GET INFORMED
go to http://www.human-trafficking.org/countries/united_states_of_america to learn more
SOCIETY
about huma trafficking in the United States.
Using words and understanding what they mean
Some people and groups brand themselves with a certain term without fully understanding it
B because I'm an old-fashioned 20-something-year-old, I believe that if you want to promote meaningful dialogue, use words accurately. There's no shame in having an opinion; it's more common than most people realize.
I've never minded an atheist or agnostic, just as I've never minded a Christian or a caveman. What annoys me, whether in an atheist, agnostic, Christian, or caveman, is a lexically confused one.
Now I admit that I bungle certain words and phrases. I sometimes say "FIRE!" in a crowded movie theater when I mean to say "Enough previews!' Roll 'Breaking Dawn Part I!" All too often, I confuse Jack Kevorkian and Jack Kerouac. However, these incidents are honest mistakes.
their lexicon. They may not be aware that "soma" was the name of the on-the-shelf anesthetic from the dystopian novel "Brave New World." Further, they don't seem to know the meaning of the phrase "open-minded."
I feel that the people in charge of the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics (SOMA) have similar malfunctions with
Again, I am positive this is an honest mistake. As a long-time logophile (still legal in 27 states), I know the definitions of "open-minded" range from "receptive to the opinions of others" to "the state of having one's brains on the floor."
If they mean, as is the common parlance of our post-meaningful age, that it is a society of unprejudiced atheists and agnostics, then my mind can only respond with the ancient robot saying, "does not compute."
You see, the trouble is this: When a group expresses an opinion on anything, especially a dogmatic opinion (everything from the potability of cheese to
the existence of God), and has an ad hoc agenda, then it loses its right to brand itself accurately as "open-minded." It's a classic example of having your cake and denying its existence.
"Of course," you will say, "an atheist may not possess an openmind, in the conventional sense of the term, but surely agnostics can make that claim." In a purely abstract sense, they could. In fact, I know many who do. However, that does not exactly jive with the actions of a group which publicly ridicules those who believe in any Divinity.
As an anecdotal example of this, one day I was apathetically strolling home from school and was solicited by people willing to get "stoned" (in the literal sense) in exchange for a dollar. At first, I thought this was a new circus act or Japanese game show. Upon examining their signs citing religious justification for their less-than-rational behavior, it dawned on me that this was a religion for the irreligious, and I ignored them like a I do a Nicolas Cage movie.
This experience taught me that if you were an agnostic with this group, you were an atheist by association. As my high school Spanish teacher, Inigo Montoya, would have undoubtedly said, "You keep using 'open-minded.' I do not think it means what you think it means."
SOMA sponsors a real circus under the, again mis-titled,
"Reasonfest." The premise of this get together seems to be a bunch
of speakers talking about how unreasonable it is to believe in the supernatural, vast entirety of human experience and recorded empirical evidence aside. There are indeed many reasonable atheists and agnostics, but, without dresseding, I've always been more satisfied by the philosophy of their religious and reasonable counterparts.
You lose your credential of open-mindedness when you treat your opponent with the antipathy and contempt of the common cat. If you must use contempt, don't squander it in a sub-Hitchens jibe. Just be honest on every level about what your stance and goals are. Maintain your opinions, by all means, just don't hurt our lexicon any further.
Obermeier is a junior in history from Olathe.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
@UKK Division My favorite moment was standing in my favorite tree and hearing Lawrence erupt in unison when @Trobinson blocked Mr. Pressey.
SquirrelsofKU
What was your favorite moment during the Mizzou game?
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bennmumford
@UDK Opinion Seeing the passionate emotion Belf Self displayed after the game. True meaning of love for the game, his players and program.
m2marcus
@UDK_Opinion The record-breaking 127 decibels when T-Rob rejected the final shot. #rockchalkswag
KG Steez
@UOK Opinion When Bill Self shouted after the game "There can be only ONE Highlander" #kubball
cbelmont15
BOOK Opinion Seeing Michael Dixon cry on the court while T-Rob held up his jersey right in front of the Mizzou bench. #RockChalkChampion
bafast
@UDK_Opinion That part where I simultaneously peed my pants and lost my voice. So, like when T-rob was playing.
hannzbanans
@OOK, Opinion Bill Self just goin HAM at the end. I don't think I've ever seen him so ecstatic!
cocoakitt27
@UDK Opinion Our comeback and the face of MU's coach as we came back.
AleknotAlex
@UDK Opinion Partying for five hours after a five minute OT.
arineliza
@UDK_Opinion The sign “Now you’re Kentucky’s b**ch”
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@UOK_Opinion I was so happy that I didn't write any tickets
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