Opinion MONTEMAYOR: BUCKET LIST OF MUST-SEE CONCERTS United States First Amendment COMING WEDNESDAY United States First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. WWW.KANSAN.COM O OAY ET PONS MENU O LO ZZAZ JA com Press TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2009 To contribute to Free for All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500. --turn on any news station and you will hear about the WW My girlfriend forced me to watch "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" with her. I think it's safe to say I'm in an abusive relationship. I just found a dime (Yes, 10 cents) in my DQ blizzard. You know when you walk into the bathroom and there is only one person sitting in the stall and it's dead quiet? I just wanna run in there and be like, "Just poop already!" --turn on any news station and you will hear about the WW At the end of the day, you are unfortunate-looking and mean. So I win. I just got re-addicted to the helicopter game. Click click click McColllum cleaning people, I love you, but you are in the bathroom every time I wake up and really got to go. You know what's awesome? Thirty miles from K-State there is a huge Rock Chalk billboard. To all the KU advertisers: Awesome job. I went to K-State this past weekend and saw somebody rollerblading on their campus. Rollerblading. I just realized that Watson is open until 3 a.m. for the rest of the week and got more excited than I've been in a long time. --turn on any news station and you will hear about the WW I just saw a lizard outside between Wesoe and Budig. What the hell? I am the worst paper-writer person ever. --turn on any news station and you will hear about the WW Apparently, whoever lived in my room before me loved Larry Kirsch --turn on any news station and you will hear about the WW Isn't Susan Boyle just the pigeon lady from "Home Alone 2"? Never fails. Tornado siens always go off during my Monday naps. I've had to pee for three hours, but I don't want to get out of hed to do so. I fail. I took your sombrero because it was easier than buying my Dear Facebook ads: Why on earth would I need an apartment, house, or condo on the University of Michigan campus? --turn on any news station and you will hear about the WW CAMPUS I swear to you, Wilbur. A single case of swine flu in us pigs has yet to be detected this year. Campus alert: swine flu rumors keep spreading Liars, all of them. Likely mad,too, like the cows. JAMES FARMER PAGE 5A I am you will hear about the H1N1 virus, or swine flu. The country has been in a frenzy about the virus. In Mexico, more than a thousand people are sick and nearly 150 are dead, according to CNN.com. Although the threat of swine flu is real and has the potential to be severe, KU students should not panic. Plenty of misconceptions are floating around out there, and no matter how many times people get the facts, someone who's fallen prey to a Twitter rumor can still set off panic attacks. Here's a concise run-down on H1N1, the strain of influenza that includes swine flu. Swine flu is a respiratory illness with symptoms similar to regular flu. These symptoms include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Experts are concerned about the swine flu because it is a new viral strand with no vaccine. In the U.S., 226 cases of swine flu have been confirmed (although you'll see a different number by the time this column comes out) with one death in Texas. Two cases have been confirmed in Dickinson CAMPUS CONNECTIONS ERIN BROWN County. The sick couple has been recovering with no need for hospitalization. Humans have been catching H1N1 for ages but have only recently been catching the strain for swine flu. Humans can spread the virus with a simple cough, sneeze or handshake. Consumption of pork does not cause swine flu. Cooking pork at 160°F would kill the swine flu, in addition to other bacteria and viruses, according to the CDC. Swine flu can spread from pig to person, person to pig, or person to person. As far as I know, there aren't any hordes of infected pigs on the KU campus, so for now all we've got to worry about is each other. People can receive a vaccination for the regular seasonal flu, which can be just as deadly as swine flu. So far in 2009, more than 13,000 people have died of complications from seasonal flu, according to CNN.com. In the U.S., the cases of swine flu have been mild to moderate. The best way to prevent illness from the H1N1 virus is to wash hands regularly. Experts also advise that anyone feeling ill stay home in order to prevent the spread of the virus. According to the CDC, two antiviral drugs, oseltamivir and zanamivir, have been licensed in the U.S. for treatment of the swine flu. The threat of the swine flu has the potential to become deadly in the U.S., and precautions should be taken. KU students, however, should also know the facts and be aware of the true risk of contracting the H1N1 virus. Your best bet? Don't panic, wash your hands like your mother taught you, and stay away from any suspicious-looking pigs on campus. Brown is a Wichita sophomore in journalism and political science. EDITORIAL CARTOON MARIAM SAIFAN STUDENT LIFE College teaches lessons in mixing career and marriage College allows you to explore different options in your life. Meeting a variety of people and learning about their lives was as valuable to me as the skills and knowledge I gained. Just talking to people has increased my understanding of the world. Perhaps those I've learned from the most are those who balanced marriage and work My mother used to tell me that if I wanted to be successful at my career, I'd better put off marriage. In Japan when my mother was younger, once women left their jobs to have children it was difficult to return to their positions or find other jobs. Some employers still hesitate to hire married women, especially if they have children. According to The CIA World Fact Book, the fertility rate in Japan is 1.21. (The rate in the United States is 2.05.) The fertility rate indicates the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime. The fertility rate in Japan has been decreasing since the 1970s. The decline is often associated with the shortage of good childcare. The availability of childcare service doesn't meet the recent increase in female employment. As a result, many Japanese women are discouraged from raising children. In Japanese TV and movies, successful career women are usually portrayed as single. I didn't have a good role model around me, and I always thought I shouldn't get married until I established my career. Then, during my four years at the University, I met many married students. Last year I attended a lecture by a KU alumna who used to be an embedded journalist for The Kansas City Star. I was surprised to learn that, as well as being a journalist in Iraq and Afghanistan, she was the mother of small children. It was eye-opening and encouraging for me to learn about her career, and how she balanced her job and personal life. SACHIKO MIYAKAWA My view of marriage has largely changed since I came to the University. I'm not getting married any time soon, but when I do, I have many role models to follow and will be able to make good decisions about the roles of marriage and work in my life. While you're in college, I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and talk to different groups of people, especially those in professions that interest you. It's important to be exposed to diverse values to learn what your goals are in life, and how you can achieve them. Marriage is just one of many examples of things you can learn about by talking to other people. Miyakawa is a Tokyo senior in journalism. FROM WISCONSIN BY LAURA BRENNAN U. Wisconsin Badger Herald More restrained rhetoric correct strategy for PETA A visit to America's Dairyland, home of all things meaty, must have been somewhat daunting for the folks at PETA. PETAS vice president of policy, Bruce Friedrich, held a forum at the University of Wisconsin on the proposition that veganism can help end world hunger. PETA's reputation has not always held steady, even among liberal college students. Although PETA's stunts, such as suggesting Ben & Jerry's use breast milk instead of cow's milk in ice cream, are meant more to create attention than to be taken literally, they often rub people the wrong way. I imagine PETA doesn't mind being labeled as a bunch of nut jobs, but it may have inadvertently chased away otherwise interested people. Not everyone is comfortable dousing people in pig's blood, you know. Of course, PETAs extreme campaigns are extreme for a reason - they get noticed. Started in 1980, the non profit organization has grown to 187 employees, running on a budget funded almost entirely by its league of viciously loval members. I must admit, although I am a big supporter of PETA. I too have been turned off by some of its campaign strategies. Though I think getting the public's attention with dramatic advertisements and demonstrations is one way to get the message out, it should not be the only way. PETA's strategy alienates and patronizes and often does not explain better alternatives. Friedrich's talk on Thursday included discussion of animal welfare, but its main focus was on how a vegan or vegetarian diet can improve the environment. He discussed how the Western diet requires six to 20 times the resources a plant-based diet would require. Explaining why a vegan diet is positive, instead of simply preaching the sins of sirloin, could open people's minds to a new way of eating. PETA's strategy of speaking to college students in an intimate, accessible setting will certainly work in its favor if it keeps up a positive attitude. And, although I am all for flour-bombing Lindsay Lohan (fur coat or not), I think it might be a good idea to cool it on the vandalism. UWire HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR LETTER GUIDELINES Send letters to opinion@kansan.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. CONTACT US Brenna Hawley, editor 864-4810 or bhawley@kansan.com Tara Smith, managing editor 864-4810 or tsmith@kansan.com Mary Sorrick, managing editor 864-4810 or msorick@kansan.com Kelsey Hayes, kansan.com managing editor 410-810-8295 kansan@kansan.com Katie Blankenau, opinion editor 864-4924 or kblankenau@kansan.com Dan Thompson, editorial editor 864-4924 or dthompson@kansan.com Laura Vest, business manager 864-4358 or lvest@kansan.com Dani Erker, sales manager 864-4477 or derker@kansan.com Makolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser Jon Schitt, sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or ichiltitikansan.com THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kaanan Editorial Board are Brenna Hawley, Tara Smith, Mary Sorick, Keely Hayes and Dan Thompson.