IN
9
Opinion
DAVIDSON:CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM WITH DIRTY DISH TAX
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009
United States First Amendment
COMING FRIDAY
WWW.KANSAN.COM
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.
FREE
FOR
To contribute to Free for All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500.
I just watched a kid run a dead sprint to catch the bus. In the rain. And he missed it.
Dear backstabbing best friend:
You look fat in your new Facebook pictures. Sincerely,
We're running out of toilet paper — time to "borrow" some from on-campus bathrooms!
I'm suddenly coming down with flu-like symptoms, right after a swine flu outbreak. Coincidence? I think so.
Spider-Man can!
I decided I never want to grow up. I wonder if Peter Pan is available
--that KU students were almost twice as likely to binge drink compared with students at 117 other universities. In the same survey, 47 percent of KU students
I feel like I haven't eaten solid food in three weeks. Thank you, The Pulse.
--that KU students were almost twice as likely to binge drink compared with students at 117 other universities. In the same survey, 47 percent of KU students
The "We're Related" application on Facebook said that I was Obama's cousin four times removed.
I read the editorial about the COMS 130 class in my COMS 130 class. All I have to say is that this class is a joke.
--that KU students were almost twice as likely to binge drink compared with students at 117 other universities. In the same survey, 47 percent of KU students
Has anybody else noticed that Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus are never in the same place at the same time?
--that KU students were almost twice as likely to binge drink compared with students at 117 other universities. In the same survey, 47 percent of KU students
I actually think there's a fire alarm war going on between two tribes of students in McCollum and Ellsworth.
I just watched a cat lick the salt off of every Tostito in a chip bowl and nobody else saw. I then watched every person in the room who didn't see grab a Tostito, dip it into the community bowl of salsa, and eat it. Awesome
I woke up outside Wal-Mart in a shopping cart this morning at 7. What in the world did I do last night?
--that KU students were almost twice as likely to binge drink compared with students at 117 other universities. In the same survey, 47 percent of KU students
Could someone please record what the fire alarm in Ellsworth sounds like?
--that KU students were almost twice as likely to binge drink compared with students at 117 other universities. In the same survey, 47 percent of KU students
I had a great date with an amazing girl. All I wanted to do was kiss her. Either she doesn't kiss on the first date or I suck at reading people.
--that KU students were almost twice as likely to binge drink compared with students at 117 other universities. In the same survey, 47 percent of KU students
If Taylor Swift becomes a verbi,
I quit.
Fog horn: "Attention, attention: There has been an emergency. All units please evacuate in your designated outlets"
EDITORIAL BOARD
KU needs stronger policies on alcohol
Students at the University of Kansas drink more — and more dangerously — than the national average for college students. Wednesday's Kansan story, "Excessive and accepted," reported
PAGE 9A
admitted to drinking and driving within the past 30 days, double the national average of 23 percent.
These numbers indicate a lack of personal accountability among KU students. They also throw into sharp relief the ineffectiveness of the University's alcohol policies in dealing with the scope of students' alcohol consumption.
KANSAN'S OPINION
ing are subjected to punishments that have become more of a joke than a learning experience. They involve online courses, journaling and, after three violations, meeting with a judicial board. Instead
To deal effectively with excessive drinking, the University should offer one centralized resource for students seeking help for alcohol-related issues. Under the current system, information about the University's alcohol policy and treatment options for alcohol dependency is scattered across many different Web sites. One integrated resource for students would help boost the University system's efficiency.
Also, according to the current policy, students who violate drinking rules in student hous-
that employed at the University of Nebraska, where underage students caught drinking on campus are ticketed for a "Minor In Possession" in addition to punishments under university sanctions.
After three violations, students at Nebraska must have a psychological evaluation focusing on substance abuse. This system establishes tighter controls on underage and on-campus drinking and would help prevent students with an alcohol problem from falling through the cracks.
of this weak strategy, the University should implement a policy incorporating city law and University regulations. This system would be similar to
The University of Kansas could also learn from the University of Oklahoma, which implemented a more stringent alcohol policy following the 2004 death of a freshman from alcohol poisoning. The Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center honored Oklahoma nationally in 2006 for its improved alcohol policy.
Now, nearly two months after
TO CONTACT THE ADMINISTRATION ABOUT ALCOHOL POLICIES:
Call: Marlesa A. Roney, vice provost for student success, at: (785) 864-4060
the death of KU freshman Jason Wren from alcohol poisoning, the University has yet to set clear goals to strengthen its own alcohol policy.
The University administration should centralize its resources for alcohol education and implement stricter rules, like those at other Big 12 schools, to improve Kansas' alcohol policy. These are important first steps in overhauling the University's weak system and creating a more supportive policy for students.
Marlesa Roney, vice provost for student success, said Wren's death has led University officials to reevaluate the school's parental notification policy and a new alcohol education program, AlcoholEdu, for incoming freshmen. But problems with the alcohol policy remain.
The Kansan Editorial Board
GUEST COLUMN
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
Being the change means making the most out of college experience
BY NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
As we look back at the first hundred days of Barack Obama's administration, I am reminded of a short conversation in one of my classes. It got me thinking about the links between Ghandi, Obama and class attendance.
At this University, as at most schools around the country, many students who voted in November entered the polling booth intent on helping bring about "change." Despite the delirious delight shown by so many on election night, the electoral result was hardly a surprise.
piracy are likewise part of the administration's efforts to turn a page in foreign relations and retain America's position of strength on the international scene. Time will tell what implications Washington's efforts at change can bring.
And now, in the initial months of Obama's administration, policy is being set. Change and legacy now meet, sometimes clashing, other times intertwining. A series of Cabinet posts filled by Democratic hands from the Clinton years and a collection of new initiatives seek to resuscitate the economy by infusing funds borrowed from the future. A softened approach toward Iran and a firm stand against
"Be the change you want to see in the world," said Mahatma Gandhi in an often-quoted statement. It appears in books. It shows up on bumper stickers. I've seen it on T-shirts. It's a profound idea. And I wonder how often it is really considered when it is quoted.
Change can and should come from individuals as well. The student who cheerfully voted for change in November can help enact it in April.
But change does not have to be driven by government or society alone.
Being that change can include the missionary trips to build houses and the community projects to help the poor that some people go on, revel in, and put proudly on their resumes. As well they should.
But change is more, as well. Being that change is about daily effort, informal acts of decency. When the first George Bush urged Americans to represent "a thousand points of light," this was the notion. And although it was dismissed at the start of the 1990s, that noble idea can be taken up today.
As students, we should be pursuing our studies so we can be that change. The new ideas, the discoveries and the perspectives being examined in our classes are the tools with which to build a new world.
Skipping class does not bring change. If you want a better world, challenge your mind and your preconceptions with the new ideas that are offered on campus, in the classroom and at university events. Engage your mind. Be the change.
These ideas are important, and when we forsake ideas, we forsake our future.
Sambaluk is a doctoral student in history.
STUDENT LIFE
An undercover operation
Last week, I was pleased to learn that fellow Kansan columnists Michael Pope and Ryan Snyder had won a prestigious writing award. I was going to congratulate them when I realized: There's no way I can personally profit from their success by merely congratulating them. So I decided to change my stance from "pleased" to "highly suspicious." If I exposed their award as a hoax, if would be the scandal of the century. I could make millions of dollars and ruin the careers of two promising writers — truly a win-win. I set out to prove that the Faulkner Award for Kick-ass Excellence was fake, and not F.A.K.E. as previously reported.
My first move, as it is with every investigative reporter worth his salt, was Google. A search for "F.A.K.E." came up with no results. Google asked me, "Did you mean D.A.R.E.?" I highly doubted Pope and Snyder were keeping children off drugs, what with their backwards baseball caps and soulless eyes.
"You have two coins totaling 30 cents," the figure said in a deep, throaty voice. "One of them is not a quarter. What are the coins?"
KA-CHING! I finally had my proof. (And I'll save you the suspense: The shadowy figure was Diane Sawyer.）
I decided to get confirmation. I visited every parking garage in the Lawrence area, searching for a mysterious shadowy figure in a trench coat who could tell me something cryptic about the award. I wandered for hours until finally somebody emerged from behind a green Honda Civic.
Mr. Pope and Mr. Snyder should be ashamed for foisting such falsehoods upon the campus. This is simply unacceptable, and I feel it is my right — nay, my duty — to expose them to the world as frauds.
The story itself has many factual errors: Pope and Snyder claim to have an "Olympic-sized Jacuzzi!" Jacuzzi-ing has never been an Olympic sport or even a Goodwill Games sport. And they claimed that Nicolas Cage mutated to 500 feet tall when everybody knows Nicolas Cage is capable only of mutating to 475 feet tall.
I know what you're thinking, and the answer is yes, I will be writing a book about my heroic investigation. As both the Woodward and Bernstein of my generation, I expect to field offers from all the top publishers. Tentative title: "F.A.K.Ers: The Alex Nichols Story: How Alex Nichols Exposed Two Dudes As Frauds (And Became Very Very Rich in the Process)".
The moral of the story? Never congratulate when you could investigate
Nichols is an Overland Park sophomore in creative writing.
ENTERTAINMENT
With the current state of our economy, people are constantly looking for cheap, alternative forms of entertainment. One form that has been grossly overlooked is literature. Literature provides insight, as well entertainment, while at the same time expanding your mind and vocabulary in ways that most activities these days do not.
Search for entertainment should end with a book
Unfortunately, many people these days wouldn't be caught dead reading for entertainment. Students barely read their assignments. I have a friend who has made it a personal goal to never read a book while in college, and surprisingly enough, three years in, he has thus far succeeded.
People need to put down the
Books are not only entertainment, but are also time capsules revealing thoughts, attitudes, fears and hopes of the past. Books have sparked revolutions. They've motivated, inspired, caused debates and changed lives. And yet, in spite of all that books are capable of, literature readership in the United States has been rapidly declining in the past decade.
As an English major, a semester has not gone by in which I haven't been required to read a novel.
remote and pick up a book. It's cheaper than cable and gives you something a little more insightful to think about than "Dancing with the Stars."
There are so many books out there on such a wide variety of subjects; I guarantee anyone can find something that will spark their interest.
The University could help by endorsing books that better our minds rather than choosing those supported by companies and those that empty our pockets. Book fairs and book sales would be a great way to develop student interest and promote leadership.
I challenge everyone to read a little more this week. By finishing this article, you've already one-upped the person next to you who's only doing the Sudoku. Now go the full mile and read an entire book, even if half of it is pictures. I won't judge.
McNaughton is a Topeka senior in English and journalism.
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
Mary Sorrick, managing editor
Kelsey Hayes, kansan.com managing editor
964.412.3700
Katie Blankenau, opinion editor
864-4924 or kblankenau@kansan.com
Ross Stewart, editorial editor 864-4924 or rstewart@kansan.com
Laura Vest, business manager
864-4358 or lvest@kansan.com
Dani Erker, sales manager 864-4477 or derker@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
Jon Schitt, sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or jschitt@kansan.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Brenna Hawley, Becka Cremer; Mary Sorick, Keley Hayes and Ross Stewart.