4A • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN * 5A
Free for All
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Won't you hippies ever learn? Protests get you nowhere. They're probably building that new Wal-Mart just to spite you.
To the girl who called Windsor the Cancun of Canada, I'm from Canada and we call Windsor the Armpit of Ontario, so have fun! Also, the legal drinking age is 19, not 18.
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complaining about his girlfriend being on her period. Well gentleman, I'd just like you to try being on a period someday. You deal with the bloating, the hot flashes, the mood swings, the bleeding, the cramps, and all the other joys of menstruation.
Oh my god, I was talking to my friend and she just got this tattoo and it says Fiji, and I was like, "The island?" and she was like, "No," and I was like, "The fraternity?" and she was like, "No." I'm like, "Then what?" and she's like, "The water."
complaining about his girlfriend being on her period. Well gentleman, I'd just like you to try being on a period someday. You deal with the bloating, the hot flashes, the mood swings, the bleeding, the cramps, and all the other joys of menstruation.
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complaining about his girlfriend being on her period. Well gentleman, I'd just like you to try being on a period someday. You deal with the bloating, the hot flashes, the mood swings, the bleeding, the cramps, and all the other joys of menstruation.
I love being in a sorority because it's all about boobs and booze.
I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you just be whelped?
Hey Miss Cleo, how are we supposed to call you if you're in jail?
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Sorority Life 2? When something blows the first time, you don't come around for Round 2.
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The other day, I heard a guy
i'd just like to say that if anyone didn't know that Mr. Rogers died on Thursday...he did.
I was wondering why my roommate slips into her Minnesota accent when she's not from Minnesota and doesn't have any friends from there, either.
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Every party has a pooper and that pooper is you. Party pooper, Party Pooper.
I went to see a show called "Les Miserables" at my high school, and I was listening to the lyrics of one of the songs, and the lyrics say, "Everybody, it's a free for all." I was touched—there's a Free For All everywhere!
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Yeah, people say that money doesn't grow on trees. Well actually, if you take a tree and you chop it down, and you shred it and turn it into paper, and you send the paper to the mint to get printed, you get bills. So the next time someone tells you that money doesn't grow on trees, you can say, "I beg to differ."
If you and your roommate have bunkbeds, does it mean A) you're sleeping together, B) one of you likes it on top, C) one of you likes it on bottom, or D) all of the above?
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What does the K in K-Mart actually stand for?
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Your Safetide driver sweeping does not make your ride unsafe. Unpleasant, perfeits, but certainly not unsafe.
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Arguing in the Free for All is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded.
EXQUISITE RELIEF
If you like reality TV, then get ready, because it don't get more real than...
Reality TV Watching Man
See him flip through your favorite reality shows!
Witness his innovative ways of remote reaching!
Be in awe as he scratches in places that you will never forget!
It all comes this fall. Check local listings.
Lance Meneley for The University Daily Kansan
PERSPECTIVE
Dating defeated by casual sex
COMMENTARY
In the aftermath of the most over hyped holiday of the year, Valen- tine's Day
I stayed holiday of the year, Valentine's Day — what I refer to as Been-your-best-behavior-so you-can-get-some Day — it is time to face the reality of college relationships and our behaviors toward one other.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2003
Today's interactions among couples aren't about cute cards, flowers or poems. They are about hook-ups, makeouts and, to put it crassly, hittin' it, Valentine's Day is just a frilly way for us to disguise our true intentions. Whatever happened to casual conversation? Innocent flirting? How about dating?
Back in the day, if a man was interested in a woman he would have to jump through a number of hoops to ask a woman on a date. It was a time for ladies, lords, gentlemen and gentlewomen. Society was based on respect and being "proper." The standards for gentleman-like behavior were summarized in a word — chivalry. (No groans please.)
Kara Warner opinion@kansan.com
According to the Knighthood, Chivalry and Tournament Glossary of Terms, the word comes from the French word chevalier and describes the virtuous behaviors expected by knights of the
court. The meaning of the word evolved over time but eventually merged with the concept of the gentleman.
Sadly, much of that formal behavior would be laughed at today (as would the idea of true gentlemen and true ladies), but it doesn't mean we can't modify it a bit, right?
I'll start with a few tips for the gentlemen. We ladies — at least most of us — are not asking for much. Start with little things like holding doors open for us (that means on campus and off), helping us with our coats and pulling out our chairs. It's not as if we aren't capable of doing these by ourselves, (and many women prefer to do so) but the gestures would be appreciated.
While I'm on a roll, when dancing at a club, instead of gyrating your way up behind us, how about asking us to dance? You think you've got the whole mystery-man aura in your favor. But come on, think of how you'd feel if some dude was bumpin' his business all over your back.
Here's another club/bar-related request: When you and your friends decide on some stupid line for a "group representative" to try on some innocent girl, it never works — period. Besides the fact that the snickering guys in the background usually give it away before the chosen one can even deliver the line, the fact that it took all of you to come up with it in the first place is not only lame, it is unimpressive.
Before you guys get defensive and write me nasty letters, I must admit that we ladies have some work to do as well. More often than not, we are half the problem. Yes, it's true. If we weren't responding to your shenanigans, you probably wouldn't continue to do them.
Warner is a Fort Collins, Colo., senior in journalism.
Women like potential for fame
PERSPECTIVE
It's the evening before Valentine's Day and the Granada is packed. But unlike most nights when there is a good balance of girls and guys, the ladies are far more prominent this evening.
Why? One reason: Members of the KU men's basketball team are present to play a game resembling Love Connection with a grand prize of spending a few hours with them in an alcohol-packed limo that evening.
Just in time for the big day for the dozen hopeful ladies participating. Many more — including many of my friends and myself — have turned out just for the opportunity to watch the action and brush shoulders with the boys.
Willing to do most anything for their attention, the women of the University of Kansas have a full-blown obsession with the male basketball players. A variety of reasons explains this phenomenon, but none is more prevalent than the desire to have the great status these men reflect among students mirrored onto them.
COMMENTARY
But talents aside, these men are students just like you and me.
Step into the world of players like sophomore Michael Lee. A simple act such as walking to class is a different experience. While he doesn't receive as much attention as the five starters, he said, sometimes he caught stares, whispers or giggles from bubbly girls as he walked to class. Sitting in class, he's being watched.
Ashley Smith opinion@kansan.com
Should he share a comment, his opinion seems to matter more than anyone else's. Among a campus of nearly 30,000 people, he's a celebrity.
"While it's flattering most of the time, it can sometimes escalate to irritating depending on my mood," Lee said. "I have come to understand that it comes with the territory, and that puts it all into perspective."
Going out for the night is a much different experience than it is for most students. Simply trying to spend time with friends becomes an ordeal as they attract a crowd wherever they go. Drinks are free and lines are a foreign concept. They know if they ask any girl in the room to dance, the answer will be yes.
The girls have a basis for their behavior; we'll give them that. If nothing else, their adoration stems from the fact that a handful of these men have potential to play the sport professionally. Translation: They will make big bucks. A chance at making an impression on one of them before he
hits the big time is quite worth their time.
Furthermore, among ladies there is always competition for men. There is no finer catch at this University than a basketball player. Because girls are aware these athletes could have nearly any girl they desire, this creates a craving to become a player's one and only. "Taming the beast" is the ultimate accomplishment in this dating game.
It boils down to this: Girls want a piece of the fame. If you are dancing, conversing or even sitting next to one of these gentlemen in a public setting, you're instantly popular among your friends. The moment you return to them, they hound you with questions about every detail.
If one of the players gives you the smallest hello, your friends idolize you and ask to share in your cherished connection. The goal of "fame reflection" may seem shallow, but many unintentionally seek it.
The next time you're out and the entrance of one of these men resembles that of Justin Timberlake or Brad Pitt, keep in mind that if you strip away his on-court talent, he is simply your peer.
Remember, the players aren't living the life of the rich and famous quite yet only practicing.
Smith is a Tulsa, Okla., freshman in premedicine and psychology.
TALKTOUS
Kristi Henderson
864-4854 or khenderson@kansan.com
Jenna Goepert and Justin Henning
managing editors
864-4854 or jgoepert@kansan.com and
jhenning@kansan.com
Leah Shaffer
readers 'representative
864-4810 or lshaffer@kansas.com
Sarah Jantz
Sarah Jantz
retail sales manager
864-4358 or adsafs@kansan.com
Matt Fisher
Malcolm Gibson
Malcolm Gibson
general
748-7678 or mgbjohn@kansas.com
Matt Friber
sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or mfisher@kansan.com
Protests far from wasteful
EDITORIAL BOARD
Protest is not a dirty word, and KU students and other community members have proved that this week.
Most visibly, more than 1,000 people participated in a Lawrence anti-war protest Feb. 15, joining millions of peace advocates worldwide who took to their streets with their cause.
Repeatedly exercising their right to protest, they have proven protesting is not a waste of time, effort and money, as some allege. In fact, the recent protests — all of them — have influenced our community.
These protesters, and their fellow citizens, have made a crystal clear statement to the community about their beliefs and the rationale behind them. Unafraid to take a stand, protesters are actively working toward a goal, a goal made that much more attainable by their actions and the visibility of their actions.
As college students are frequently lambasted for apathy and lack of civic literacy, the sizable number of KU students who participated in and coordinated these protests deserve to be applauded for their efforts.
Mahatma Gandhi once said that we must be the change we wish to see in the world. By feeling courageous and passionate enough to boldly express their beliefs, these protesters are affecting change not only in the world but in themselves as well. They are thinking globally but acting locally, which is the best way to realize their goals of change and of education.
It matters to them, and it makes a difference for us all.
Even if the immediate effects of protests aren't apparent, they are far from being in vain.
Lauren Stewart for the editorial board
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