NSAN
2009
Opinion
'HE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ED BOARD: KANSAN'S STUDENT SENATE ENDORSEMENT
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2009
COMING THURSDAY
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--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
Why is there not a midnight showing of the Hannah Montana movie?
To the girl who works at Garden Gourmet in the Union: The sunset wishes it was as beautiful as you.
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
Last week I heard two guys talking about Pokemon, and here I thought we were in college.
Who is leaving "This is a free piece of art" posters around campus? I took one and it made my day. Thanks, mysterious artist.
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
When's Ask a Catholic coming back? I need to ask a Catholic question
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
It's OK for my parents to tell me I was adopted. Just not every day.
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
Because everyone who's a proper age to see the Hannah Montana movie is in bed by
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
Hookah House is where it's at.
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
I think a girl on the ninth floor of McCollum showers with maple syrun.
Girl who wrote the article about guys not stepping up: Do you want to go out Saturday night?
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
Bob Dylan: Talented or the talentedest?
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
It's crazy how racist people on the Enterprise are towards Vulcans. Where's the Space-ACLU when you need them?
People who loan their books are amazing and so are the U. Scholars
My biology teacher told our class that he once had scurvy and goiter ... all in one class period. Impressive.
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
Chivalry basically encouraged gentlemanly behavior between knights, and between knights and ladies. So if you want chivalry, I expect a broadsword and armor!
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
To the frat guys at Applebee's the other night all wearing polos, Sperrs and the same white hat backwards: Congratulations on looking like a quad of d-bags. Very entertaining.
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
Who else thinks KU should have a show choir?
--students into electric power. A new student group, KU Students for Bar Recycling, has made notable progress in raising awareness about recycling in the La community
Recycling group reminds what parties leave behind
EDITORIAL BOARD
It is a welcome trend to see that the University and its students have embraced the green movement, taking the three R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) and applying them in full-force. Next year wind energy will help power Anschutz Library, and beginning this fall, 13 eliptical machines at the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center will turn the energy exerted by active
Andrew Stanley, Overland Park senior and president of KU Students for Bar Recycling, said the group established partnerships with local bars to increase the recycling of aluminum, cardboard, glass and plastic. Students for Bar Recycling's vision is that one day there will be local and state legislature support for a viable bar and restaurant recycling service through more recycling bins and pickup routes downtown, Stanley said.
about recycling in the Lawrence community.
in order to raise awareness. The project will show how much accumulates in one night up in a landfill. Stanley said the group had received positive feedback from Abe & Jake's, Replay Lounge, Jackpot and the Eldridge.
The club's April 17 Green Pub Crawl will have participating bars recycling materials all night
"Once we have collected evidence that implementing a bar recycling program is possible, we plan on going to the city to pass a city ordinance requiring
KANSAN'S
OPINION
bars to separate their waste," Stanley said. "There is a need for a convenient and frequent recycling pick up service.
According to the KU Environmental Stewardship Program's Web site, glass from Lawrence is sent to Okmulgee, Okla., where it can be turned into tile, insulation or glass bottles, among other products. Aluminum cans sent to Topeka can be turned into beverage cans, furniture, pans and more. Stanley said Cans for the Community, a non profit organization that provides financial support to other non-profit organizations in the area by recycling aluminum containers, generated a significant amount of money through its bins at Replay Lounge. He said the group was
especially downtown."
ATTEND KU
STUDENTS FOR
BAR RECYCLING'S
GREEN PUB CRAWL
ON APRIL 17
More information
on the club can be
found at: http://groups.
ku.edu/~barrecycling/
progress-history.shtml
planning on adding new locations to the program, specifically places such as Jo Shmo's and The Wheel, which sell high volumes of aluminum cans.
To reduce the amount of waste at house parties, Stanley suggested that students take their own mugs to keggers instead of using disposable cups. He also suggested drinking tap beer in reusable glassware rather than in cans. Students should endorse this movement to green-up local drinking establishments by supporting the bars that are taking steps to recycle the mass quantity of glass bottles and aluminum cans used by thirsty party-goers every weekend.
— Amy Johnson for The Kansan Editorial Board
NOTES FROM ABROAD
Transportation across the ocean Spanish bus systems fit students to (and better than) a 'T'
PAGE 7A
BY HELEN MUBARAK
hmubarak@kansan.com
Despite nearly three months of living in Santiago de Compo
Santiago de compostel.
I know of only two gas stations in
the entire city. Yet in Lawrence, it
is not unusual to see more than two
gas stations within a one-block
radius.
This contrast demonstrates Spain's lack of dependence on cars. Spaniards rely instead on the country's excellent system of public transportation. Once one calculates the price of gasoline here in Spain, it's easy to see why.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HELEN MUBARAK
Santiago de Compostela is a college town similar to Lawrence, but the two cities differ greatly when it comes to the citywide bus system. Santiago's system surpasses the struggling T-system in terms of both cost and convenience. Residents of Santiago can purchase a bus card with a certain number of trips for the equivalent of approximately 60 cents per ride.
The buses run throughout the city. My bus, No.15, picks me up from a bus station just around the block and drops me off 10 minutes later in front of the building of my morning classes, saving me a 35-minute walk.
In addition to the citywide buses, there are buses that run to
and from the airport, as well as to other cities within the region of Galicia. Like many students at the University of Kansas, the majority of Spanish students at the University of Santiago de Compostela are from the region. These students often return home on weekends by bus or train. I often used The Joj's K-10 connector to get to Overland Park, but it doesn't run on weekends and the stops aren't very close to my house. Students living in Kansas but outside of Johnson County don't even have the choice of returning home by bus.
As for national travel, the United States has nothing to compare with Spain's extensive
system of trains and buses. My Spanish roommates could not believe Americans don't normally use trains or buses to travel to other states.
I once tried to take the Megabus from Kansas City, Mo., to St. Louis. The company was very unorganized — the complete opposite of the well ordered Spanish system — and, unless one purchases a ticket months in advance, costly, too. Public transport in the U.S. lacks inexpensive and convenience of the Spanish system.
Mubarak is a Shawnee sophomore in journalism and Spanish.
BY MICHAEL HOLTZ mholtz@kansan.com
German punctuality bests American mass-transit attempts
My next step after arriving in Frankfurt Airport on March 2 was to catch a train to Bonn. Germans have a reputation of being extremely punctual, especially when it comes to trains. Finally it was my chance to test this familiar stereotype.
Sure enough, at precisely 13:50 — Germans officially use military time — my train had arrived. One hour and 44 minutes later, I arrived punctually in Bonn.
While the train made its way across the German countride, I remembered my lone Amtrak experience back in the States, when what I expected to be a
Sure enough, at precisely 13:58
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area has an estimated population exceeding two million more than six times the size of Bonn. Yet Bonn's array of public transportation — light rails, subways and buses included — dwarfs that of Kansas City's meager metro bus system.
When it comes to public transportation, much can be learned from the Germans.
relaxing eight-hour ride from Chicago to Kansas City turned into nearly 12 hours of sudden stops and long delays.
And that's only inner-city transportation. Regional commuter trains and even international high-speed trains make regular stops at Bonn's central station in typical
German fashion.
And as for Kansas City? It boasts the most freeway mile miles per capita of any major metropolitan area in the US, according to a 1999 report.
Those of us in the States can only hope the $8 million set aside for inter-city rail projects and high-speed trains, courtesy of the economic recovery package, will provide a much-needed boost to our public transportation.
Yet with $27.5 billion reserved for highway and bridge construction projects, it is obvious where the United States' priorities remain.
Holtz is a Topeka sophomore in journalism and German.
POLITICS
Serve America Act rewards goodwill
What comes up when you think of spring break? Loud parties? Tequila shots? Landscaping? If you answered with the last one, you probably had a spring break experience similar to mine, which is to say you went on an alternative break. Alternative breaks send people out for a week or so to spend time helping a community. I took mine through Hillel and found myself joining several other students from the University, Maryland and Tufts (it's in Boston) traveling to Tampa, Fla., to perform various acts of service.
Programs like this are great, and I encourage everyone to experience one at some point in their college career. But they put people to work for only a few days out of the year, and generally the only benefits to people participating are good times and a warm fuzzy feeling. Wonderful as those things are, the life of a college student is busy, and though many people have the drive to perform frequent acts of social service, not all can afford it.
So welcome, my friends, to HR 1388, also known as the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The bill was originally referred to as the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education, or GIVE Act, and was introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). The bill was passed in March and expands opportunities for college students to perform acts of social service.
Among its many provisions, the bill adds several new programs to AmeriCorps, provides additional funding to colleges with strong social service programs and makes certain service-based awards equal to Pell grants. Basically, it makes life a little easier for people who are
LIBERAL
LOUDMOUTH
BEN COHEN
In private conversation, I've heard some strange criticisms of the act. Some people have even told me they liken it to indentured servitude. But the Serve America Act gives people who are willing to do so the opportunity to perform beneficial acts and then receive compensation for it. Now, I usually refer to a set up like this as "employment," but apparently not everyone sees it the same way.
There will always be a need for service work. Disadvantaged people will need help, dilapidated houses will need rebuilding, communities will need brightening up, etc. Hopefully there will always be college students willing to do this work. In Lawrence there will be projects like Jubilee Café, Up 'Til Dawn, and Dance Marathon, as well as the occasional alternative break program. By providing greater incentives for students to give back to their communities, the Serve America Act allows the spirit of those students not only to carry on, but also to thrive.
In his Address to Congress, President Obama spoke highly of the GIVE Act, which was then still under debate, saying that it would "encourage a renewed spirit of national service for this and future generations."
Cohen is a Topeka junior in political science.
involved in social service work and rewards the higher education institutions that encourage them.
FROM FLORIDA
BY CHRIS GIRGIS U. of South Florida The Oracle
On liberal democrats and double standards
How is the hypocrisy of politicians so welcome in this country after an election run by Barack Obama promising to rid government of petty politics and corruption?
Democrats, from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to Nancy Killefer and Tom Daschle, have one thing in common—a failure to adhere to what they preach. They claim that taxing the rich benefits the lower class, but the twisted fact is that while they call for taxes on the rich, they do not pay their own.
These politicians claim to have ousted the Republican Party to rid Washington of secrecy and corruption, but these past months have shown that the situation is the complete opposite.
With their unpaid taxes, these Cabinet nominees are in no position to speak about fixing Washington while they simply "forget" to pay their own share. All talk and no action seems to be the new attitude of the Democrats.
Had this occurred during former President George W. Bush's term, the Democrats would have called for indictments and immediately responded with trials for not paying those taxes. This is simply a double standard perpetrated by the liberal Democrats in Congress, who can apparently get away with any act they choose to commit.
This is not a blind accusation. That so many of Obama's nominees have "forgotten" to even pay their taxes makes it obvious that these politicians are simply deceiving people who will blindly follow them.
— UWire
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