TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012
PAGE 5
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY GANSAT
opinion
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Isnt it wrong that only one company makes the game 'Monopoly'?
Which corporation did the Occupy KU-ers buy their chalk at?
I wish I were a Power Ranger instead of a student.
While on a first date, I said the viscosity of my margarita was too high. He asked if i was talking about the salt.
GirlEngineeringProblems
ESPN Reporter: "The KU cheerleader wore skirts that went to the floor. No, seriously, it was disappointing." Yes, thank you for that analysis.
So you turned water into wine? So what. I once turned a whole student loan into vodka once...your move, Jesus.
Editor's note: I think Jesus gets the win here.
I wish everyone would stop judging me on my Toy Story comforter and matching blanket.
The name is bond, polar bond #periodically
I want someone to love me as much as Kanye West loves Kanye West.
Some girls like to look like Crayola had a dance party on their face.
Making snowmen > 9 a.m. lecture
The whale comic is not suitable for my fish this time.
Men, don't be assholes today. Just buy the flowers and move on. From, your florists.
Wouldn't it be ironic if Taylor Swift and Kanye West showed up on campus the same day?
Not until now have I truly understood the desire for time-turners. #anatomytest #mylifeisover
If I ever get a divorce, I'm telling my kids it was their fault.
The girls who got Uggs for Christmas just found out they're not real snow boots.
You know you're a college student when school supply shopping consists of walking between the seats in Budig lecture halls looking for errant pencils.
The battle between Daisy Hill and Jayhawker Towers is cute because the Phi Pi Sith Empire just opened up a cabinet of whoop-ass on both of you.
Best thing about snow days is seeing people fall on their asses. Well, at least until it happens to you.
I can honestly say I've never stood inside a building to wait for the bus. #bornandraisedinminnesota
People who actually need glasses get super pissed when I wear my fake ones. #hipsterproblems
wear before doing laundry.
There are only two circumstances that a day is as unproductive as yesterday: snow days when class isn't cancelled and days you have to wear that last, unattractive pair of under-
EDITORIAL
Other GOP candidates should pay heed to Ron Paul's stances on foreign policy
Ron Paul has had more success on the voting trail than some expected
particularly among young voters. But what is it about Ron Paul that attracts so many young voters? His stance on marijuana legalization? His plan to cut $1 trillion in spending from the federal budget in his first year as president?
According to Paul's book "Liberty Defined," his foreign policy seeks to conserve public resources and avoid using force against other nations.
While those policies have found traction with some, the most popular policy among young people, by far, has been his foreign policy.
"Foreign aid wastes billions, with unintended consequences," Paul writes. "Many of the large
foreign aid grants are driven strictly by special interest politics and a pretense that it serves our national
Paul argues that the United States military should be used as a national defense system, not a
On the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, Paul writes "We tax people to blow up bridges overseas, then rebuild them.
"This means young voters believe that rather than using force, we should politically,and peacefully gain influence in the world."
We have a $1 trillion foreign operation to operate our empire.
According to Paul, the United States can make an impact around the world without enforcing its power through military force. The United States, he writes, "can't spread our goodness through the barrel of a gun."
globaloffensive system. This is something that is growing in popularity among young voters. But which young voters?
Many soldiers who have
served the military in Iraq and Afghanistan have returned, and have overwhelmingly shown support to Ron Paul. Paul has more support than any other candidate among military members. In 2008, Paul's top three campaign donors were the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Air Force, according to
the public information website
Opensecrets.org.
Also, in a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, it was concluded that younger generations "are more likely to favor multilateralism over unilateralism and the use of diplomacy, rather than relying on military strength, to ensure peace."
This means young voters believe that rather than using force, we should politically and peacefully gain influence in the world. Paul is the only current candidate challenging the status quo of Washington politics, which has attracted many young voters.
While Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have much support on the national level, they don't have the same support of young voters as
Paul.
This is particularly true right here on the University campus, which has one of the nation's largest Youth for Ron Paul groups.
To these other candidates, if you are looking for an "in" with young voters and a way to garner success at the polls with those voters under the age of 40, I suggest taking a good hard look at Ron Paul's foreign policy.
We know that it appeals to young voters, and we can see why. Take a look at this policy, and find the parts that appeal to the youth. Try and work those parts into your existing scheme, and success will come with it.
Ryan Schlesener for the Kansan editorial board.
INTERNATIONAL
Population growth has far reaching effects
Demographic changes around the world will have long and short term consequences unique to our time period
Last Halloween, the earth's population reached an astonishing 7 billion people. If this seems unremarkable to you, consider that in 1800, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the world's population was just 1 billion. In 1900, it was just over 1.5 billion.
The fact that the world has grown by over 2 billion people during the time that the average KU student has been alive illustrates just how remarkable the period we are living in is compared to the rest of human history.
Today, population growth doesn't just affect how much of the world's resources we consume.
Relative changes in demography from country to country are driving nearly every economic and geopolitical trend of our age.
Take for instance the rise of China and the relative decline of Western economic power.
the costs of caring for its elderly.
For the last several decades, China has enforced an aggressive one-child policy that has dramatically reduced fertility rates and slowed population growth. As fewer Chinese are born to replace the aging masses, the topheavy Chinese demographic will become increasingly burdened by
Furthermore, an unforeseen effect of the one-child policy has been the imperative for male children in Chinese culture. Sadly, the consequence is sometimes female infanticide.
"In fact, much of the global strife during the last decade, including 9/11 and the ensuing War on Terror, was caused by changing populations in some of the world's developing regions."
But more people isn't always better, and China's population advantage will eventually return to haunt them.
As a result, "The Economist" predicts that by 2030 nearly a fifth of Chinese males will find
The world's seven billionth person was likely born somewhere in Asia, fittingly reflecting this shifting global center of economic gravity.
With a population of more than 1.3 billion, China has been able to make up for shortcomings in productivity and skilled labor by employing a massive workforce willing to work for wages below those in the West. This advantage recently made China the second largest economy in the world (surpassing Japan in 2010) and by 2016, it is projected to push China past the US to become the largest economy on the planet.
themselves out of luck with the ladies, as she simply won't be enough brides to go around. As anyone who finds himself or herself alone on Valentines Day knows, this could have a potentially destabilizing effect on the country.
Similar population concerns haunt the long-term future of the United States. Last summer, the U.S.'s debt rating was decreased for the first time in history due to an inadequate response to "the structural issues required to effectively address the rising U.S. public debt burden." Regardless of what politicians are telling you, the U.S. debt outlook isn't scary because of earmarks or bailouts.
It's long-term entitlements designed to care for our aging population that pose the greatest threat to our economic security. As we live longer and Baby Boomers retire, there will be more people taking money out of the government than paying money into it. We have a demographic challenge, not a spending problem.
Population issues affect far more than just the markets. In fact, much of the global strife during the last decade, including 9/11 and the ensuing War on Terror, was caused by changing populations in some of the world's
developing regions.
Take for example the Middle East, where much of the world's conflict and change is currently occurring. Estimates from "Foreign Affairs" magazine show that more than 65 percent of the Arab world's population is less than 30.
Alone, this wouldn't be an issue, but the same region has some of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world—as elevated as $75\%$ in countries like Algeria. This is the result of weak educational systems, poor government institutions and an exploding youth population. There simply aren't enough jobs for everyone who wants one.
As the old adage goes, idle hands can be the devils workshop. Many of these unemployed youth are drawn to crime, violence and in rare cases, radical strains of Islam that produce terrorists intent on waging war against the modern world. The tragic consequences of this particular demographic problem are painfully evident in places like Bagdad, Kabul and New York City.
Of course, it would be remiss to paint changing populations as an entirely negative phenomenon. Those same unemployed youth in the Middle East brought about a wave of uprisings across the region that toppled dictators and spread democracy.
For better or worse, population changes will continue to drive world events throughout the coming century. By 2100, the UN estimates that more than 10 billion people will inhabit the earth.
Despite the inevitable tension this growth will create, it is estimated that the global economy will continue to grow at a faster rate than population. This good news means that come around 2025, the the world's eight billionth child will be born into better circumstances than number seven billion.
Greg Loving is a senior in chemical engineering and economics from McPherson
RELATIONSHIPS
Don't blame the day for your woes
This Valentine's Day, I'm standing up in cupid's defense.
The point of Valentine's Day is to celebrate love, whether that be romantic, familial, platonic, or whatever. But some statistics show that February 14th can be detrimental for romantic relationships because the disappointment the holiday may lead us to cheat, reconsider our relationships, or break up altogether.
However, these studies fail to recognize that the disappointment Valentine's Day can give us is no more a result of the holiday than any other day in the relationship. It's important to understand that what causes us to be disappointed probably stems from deeper issues within the relationship.
So it is for that reason that I hereby find Valentine's Day not guilty of conspiracy to damage relationships everywhere.
Writers like Amelia Wasserman for "Technorati" and life-after-divore columnist Vicki Larson of "The Huffington Post" advocate that V-Day can hurt romance because it heightens our expectations for our partners and often ends in disappointment.
Wasserman says that the
number of users on online C an d i a n adultery sites spiked in 2010 between Feb. 13 and Feb. 15 due to unmet expectations for the day of love.
Neither woman is
"Holidays are what you want them to be. If we become disappointed enough in a sub-par Valentine's Day to end the relationship, that's probably a reflection on the relationship itself, not the holiday."
wrong. Numbers don't lie.
So rather than bashing Valentine's Day, we have to evaluate the relationship to understand why it went south. It's valid for Valentine's Day to be the straw the broke the camel's back, but ending the relationship over not getting a certain
However, correlation is not causation. Our relationship woes are our fault, never cupid's.
— is this: if you don't want it to be complicated, don't make it complicated. Holidays are what you want them to be. If we become disappointed enough in a sub-par Valentine's Day to end the relationship, that's probably a reflection on the relationship itself, not the holiday.
The thing about Valentine's Day — and any other holiday
because it shows he knows what I like and how to keep me happy, and that's exactly what I want.
My long-term boyfriend and I are still deciding on the final details of our date night this Valentine's Day. We're keeping it fairly simple: a gift exchange and dinner in Kansas City. Even though we have been together since 2010, my expectations for V-Day are neither high nor low. I expect to spend time with him, but I'd be just as satisfied bonding over cheesecake froyo and trashy TV as I would be dining at the Legends. I already like doing that anyway, so I wouldn't say no to it on Valentine's Day
Our second Valentine's Day as a couple is about spending time together, not about whether or not he gets me what I've been hinting at (and by that, I mean flat out telling him what I want).
Tiffany & Co. necklace is unreasonable.
And that's not to say that disappointment is a petty issue. In fact, it can be very serious; it ended one of my own relationships.
But we have to be honest about what's causing the disappointment and how much of it we're willing to take before throwing in the towel.
Instead of pining over the holiday, have fun with it. If you don't want to deal with a fancy dinner and expensive presents, go somewhere cheap that's still good (like El Mezcal) and hit up Pinterest for DIY and craft ideas.
Relationships do survive the hype of Valentine's Day. Yours can too.
Rachel Keith is a graduate student in education from Wichita
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