FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2003
4A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
5A
FRIDAY,JANUARY 31,2003
TALK TO US
Kristi Henderson editor
864-4854 or khenderson@kansan.com
Jenna Goopefart and Justin Hening
managing editors
864-4854 or jgoeffert@kansan.com and
jhenneng@kansan.com
Leah Shaffer
readers' representative
684-4810 or lshaffer@kansan.com
Amanda Sears and Lindsay Hanson
opinion editors
864.4942 or opinion@kansan.com
Eric Ketting
business manager
864-4358 or adsales@kansan.com
Sarah Jantz
retail sales manager
864-4358 or adsaee@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864-7867 or mgibson@kansan.com
Matt Fisher
Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864-7686 or mfisher@kansan.com
EDITORIAL BOARD
Take revenge on recording industry
Hatred toward the Recording Industry Association of America is widespread. It has shut down Napster and overcharged for CDs, and Americans — especially students — have little respect for the few large corporations that dominate the music industry. Now consumers have the opportunity to retaliate.
Attorneys general from 43 states have brought suit against five music distributors and three retailers, alleging that they conspired to fix CD prices. Through a process known as "minimum advertised pricing," record labels would pay a portion of retailers advertising costs. In return, the retailers would agree to sell CDs above a set price.
Although they have admitted no wrongdoing, these eight companies are offering refunds to individuals who purchased CDs between Jan. 1, 1995 and Dec. 22, 2000. The refunds will range from $5 to $20 depending on the number of requests received.
To retrieve a refund, click on www.musiccdsettlement.com and fill out an application before March 3, 2003.
If each of the 29,000 students at the University of Kansas were refunded for one CD, more than half a million dollars could be had by the student body.
The refund application is simple and takes five minutes to complete. It's an opportunity for disgruntled consumers to take a stab at big business while earning extra spending money.
So, if the music industry has been getting the best of you, now is your opportunity to return the favor.
Ben Ross for the editorial board.
SUBMITTING LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMNS
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Amanda Sears or Lindsay Hanson at 864-4924 or e-mail at opinion@kansan.com. If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the readers' representative at readerseep@kansan.com.
The Kansan will run as many submissions as possible that conform to these guidelines.
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
Maximum Lenght
650 word limit
Include:
Author's name
Class, hometown (student)
Position (faculty member)
Also:
The Kensers will not print guest columns that attack another columnist.
LETTER GUIDELINES
Maximum Length.
Maximum Length:
200 word limit
Include:
Author's name
Author's telephone number
Class, hometown (student)
Position (faculty/member)
SUBMITTO
E-mail: opinion@kansan.com Hard copy:
Kansan newsroom
111 Stuuffer-Flint
LYDAS VIEW
PERSPECTIVE
Partying, perfume make stinky students
Something stinks here at the University of Kansas. It isn't the weather. It certainly isn't our basketball team. It's not even enrollment or add/drop.It's the students, literally, and it is permeating classrooms all over campus.
COMMENTARY
For some scent offenders, the problem is a combination of too much fun the night before and the lack of a shower or change of clothes. For others, too much of a good thing (colognes, perfumes, scented lotions, body sprays, etc.) can be just as toxic. The solution is simply finding a balance between these extremes.
Normally these nasal offenses would go unnoticed in large spaces and in the open air. But because most of our classrooms are so small, fragrant classmates are becoming a distraction.
For instance, there was this guy in my 8:30 a.m. class last semester who must have been trying to become a whiskey connoisseur. Wherever he moved, he left half of those around him cross-eyed. Nothing is nastier than that stale smell of smoke, alcohol and bar sludge in the morning (or the obvious suffering of the person emitting the lovely scent, for that matter). The point is, we've all been there, and reliving it is just as painful.
Mark Lyda for The University Daily Kansan
Kara Warner opinion@kansan.com
A 1996 study from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., shows links between
the sense of smell and its reaction on the brain. Odors tend to make stronger, longer-lasting impressions on our brains and on our memories than any of our other senses. Certain smells, especially unpleasant ones, have been found to increase blood pressure and alter moods. Those offensive odors take us right back to those nights we've tried so hard to bury, making it impossible to concentrate.
Side note, women: The most excitement-inducing scent for men is a combination of lavender and pumpkin pie, according to a recent study conducted by the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. Unfortunately there is not yet a bottled version of that combo, but I'll keep you posted.
Pleasant smells have been found to relieve tension and, in some people, increase arousal.
The problem with pleasant smells is people tend to overdo it.
Ladies, I hate to point fingers, but we are usually guilty in this area. Don't layer the perfume and the scented body lotion and the hair spray — it's too much.
Fellas, you have it easier. There is nothing better than a good-smelling guy. Heck, we're excited if you take time to shower before class. A little cologne or body spray would seal the deal.
Side note, men: Those commercials for Axe deodorant spray are not that exaggerated — it smells good.
You don't even have to shower, thanks to a variety of creative new products.
If you're not a cologne or perfume person, try Old Spice Cool Contact Refreshment Towels or Dove Body Refreshers Body Deodorant Sheets. These items are like showers you can stick in your pocket. Put them in your backpack and share them with your classmates. And don't forget about the student favorite, Febreze. It helps cover almost any offensive odor, leaving your clothes smelling as if they just came out of the dryer.
A strong smell can leave a lasting mark. I'm not saying everyone should be sparkling clean like first-semester freshmen, but please try something.
And remember, a little goes a long way.
Warner is a Fort Collins, Colo., senior in journalism.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The power to purchase
The "Hummer H2: No thank-you; Everyone needs a Prius" article, angered me, for the writer committed the same error that happens far too often in the UDK: leaving out major parts of the facts in order to make President Bush look bad. The tax breaks apply to vehicles with a gross weight of more than 6,000 pounds. It was intended to help the farmer who buys a large pickup, the plumber who drives a large van full of tools, the construction company owner who buys 15 trucks for his crew and the University of Kansas, which owns countless trucks and vans. But people shouldn't be able to use it for pleasure vehicles. Please read the whole story before immediately condemning Bush and assuming it's all part of some evil plan to go to war for oil. It's a ridiculous, ignorant and sad belief that too many people have today in America.
I, too, think the Hummer H2 is an absolutely ludicrous vehicle and I'd sooner be caught dead than buy one. But I respect other people's free-market-economy-given right to buy one if they like. I guess you forgot to mention, while you were condemning other people's discounts, that when you bought the Prius, you were eligible for government discounts on it as well, as it is a hybrid vehicle
It is wrong to penalize people for buying what they want. It goes against the very foundations of a free market.
Get off the floor
Kyle Rohde, Delafield, Wis., sophomore
After an inspiring 90-87 Jayhawk victory over the Texas Longhorns, I'm left wondering whether Jan. 27, 2003, will be remembered as a turning point in our
season or as the day a group of misbehaved fans, desperate to get their faces on TV, embarrassed themselves and our University by running onto the court at the end of the game. Allow me to explain something to those idiots who obviously have no sense of the history and tradition of Kansas basketball. We EXPECT to beat people at home. KU fans should never act surprised after a victory at Allen Fieldhouse. Granted, Monday was an emotional victory for Jayhawk fans. But it's one thing to properly display that emotion and another thing all together to act as if we were Alcorn State with a victory over Duke. Until the day we are ranked No. 2 in the nation and Missouri is No. 1 and Kansas clinches the Big 12 Championship with a last-second three in triple overtime, we don't rush the floor. Anything else is a betrayal of the tradition and dignity of this basketball program.
Keith Henderson, Topeka law student
My letter concerns the hundred or so students that flocked the floor after the men's basketball team beat Texas on Monday night. Why? Why did you rush the floor after beating a conference rival? Were you so surprised that we accomplished the feat? Did you not expect the team to rise to the challenge?
Rushing the playing surface has become too common in collegiate athletics. It hints of amateurism and detracts from the prestige of the program. There was a time when fans only rushed the field of play when a truly significant upset had occurred. Colorado beating the Kansas men for the first time in 11 years is a significant upset and warranted the storming of the court. But Kansas, fresh off the Final Four and ranked in the top 25 should not have
rushed the court. Kansas trails only Kentucky and North Carolina in all-time victories. Roy Williams is the winningest active coach in Div. I basketball. We repeatedly recruit, sign and develop McDonald's All-Americans. It is because of the spirit and enthusiasm of the fans that Kansas enjoys a home-court advantage. Please don't tarnish it with asinine celebrations.
A hard-fought victory over a bitter conference rival deserves recognition. Stay in your seats, sing the Rock Chalk Chant, cheer your players as they run past you into the tunnel. Don't run on the court and embarrass yourselves and your program.
At Kansas, we don't storm the court.
Eric B. Beightel, University of Kansas alum-nus
Stripped of glamour
After reading Ashley Smith's column about stripping for financial reasons, I kept asking myself: Why is her column only focusing on women who enter exotic dancing? If stripping were such a lucrative part-time job, why aren't there KU men working at Juicers or Bada Bing? Also, if stripping is such a great job, why doesn't the University offer it as a work-study program?
Smith seems to have knowledge about exotic dancing from only one source, the same woman who is trying to recruit her. It's pretty unlikely this woman gave Smith a balanced and accurate picture of the profession if she wants her as a colleague. On that note, I challenge Smith to investigate all sides of the issue the next time she writes a column for The University Daily Kansan.
Kathryn C. Moore, University of Kansas alumna
CORRECTIONS
An editorial in Tuesday's paper contained an error. The editorial "INS policy maintains security," said 17 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were in the country on expired student visas. According to the Center for Imigration Studies, two of 19 hijackers possessed student visas at the time of the attacks.
An editorial in yesterday's paper contained an error. The editorial "Campus relies on whistle," urged students to donate money to a fund set up by the Kansas University Endowment Association to replace the whistle. There is no such fund. An anonymous donor has contacted the Endowment Association to offer money to offset the cost of its replacement.
Free for All Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slander and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
To the person who made the comment about the armed forces and reserves, they want to be out there just as much as we want them to be out there, so your comment was really rude and assine.
Wow, Ashley Smith, I totally agree. If you're a chick and you're strapped for cash, you should so subject yourself to objectification and mistreatment by disgusting, drunken mysogist men, I'm going to write that one down!
窗
If my New Year's resolution was to quit masturbating, I just failed all over the place.
the armed forces and reserves are not terrorizing people, they're protecting your freedom so that you can sit on your ass and complain about how horrible America is.
If anything were to happen to all the kids in Hashinger, the janitorial and fast food industries would plunder.
图
D
雨
And if you think that America is so horrible, why don't you leave your family and friends like they have and live in some third world country where their version of a toilet is a two-foot hole in the ground. Maybe then you'll understand what they're going through.
My roommate and I are sitting here and we're thinking about starting a Kansas idol competition. Is anyone interested in trying out?
---