Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NICHOLS:SAGE ADVICE FOR APRIL FOOLS
TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2009
COMING WEDNESDAY
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--serve as a powerful reminder to students that we all must be aware of the effects of binge drinking and take all precautions necessary to avoid more fatalities in the future.
I need to be hospitalized for my senioritis.
So is it sad when your parents tell you that they're ready for you to start dating again?
Why do Mizzou fans only play 14 holes in a round of golf? 'Cause they never make it to the Final Four!
Freezing rain on Friday.
Blizzard on Saturday. 50 degrees and no trace of snow on Sunday. Class on Monday?
Not fair
--serve as a powerful reminder to students that we all must be aware of the effects of binge drinking and take all precautions necessary to avoid more fatalities in the future.
--serve as a powerful reminder to students that we all must be aware of the effects of binge drinking and take all precautions necessary to avoid more fatalities in the future.
I think my roommate is starting a cult.
--serve as a powerful reminder to students that we all must be aware of the effects of binge drinking and take all precautions necessary to avoid more fatalities in the future.
My brain has died in the clutches of math.
--serve as a powerful reminder to students that we all must be aware of the effects of binge drinking and take all precautions necessary to avoid more fatalities in the future.
To the girl who has my cell phone and called my dad to find out how to get it back to me: Please give it back to me! I am dying without it!
--serve as a powerful reminder to students that we all must be aware of the effects of binge drinking and take all precautions necessary to avoid more fatalities in the future.
I burned my lip on my first joint.
Hey Free for All. It's officially Spanish Appreciation Week. Everybody change your ringtone to a Spanish song.
Who else thinks the Kansas meteorologists need to be fred?
Being clever is so 1000s
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--serve as a powerful reminder to students that we all must be aware of the effects of binge drinking and take all precautions necessary to avoid more fatalities in the future.
Zing!
I think my roommate gave up showering for Lent.
--serve as a powerful reminder to students that we all must be aware of the effects of binge drinking and take all precautions necessary to avoid more fatalities in the future.
Studying is not mandatory. Beer, however, is.
Is it bad that I laughed when I read about the ShamWow guy beating up a hooker?
--serve as a powerful reminder to students that we all must be aware of the effects of binge drinking and take all precautions necessary to avoid more fatalities in the future.
I want to get married in Allen Fieldhouse.
This is for the person who left the blue and silver bicycle chained up outside Watkins Health Center: it has been there for about a year. That's where it's at.
I'm addicted to "Millionaire Matchmaker" — and I'm a guy.
--serve as a powerful reminder to students that we all must be aware of the effects of binge drinking and take all precautions necessary to avoid more fatalities in the future.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Knowing the signs is vital in case of alcohol poisoning
Earlier this month, Jason Wren died, possibly from alcohol poisoning after a night of binge drinking, prompting Wren's father and others to speak out about the consequences of abusing alcohol. The death of Wren, who was a Colo. freshman should
Jenny McKee, a health educator for the Student Health Services Wellness Resource Center at Watkins Memorial Health Center. said a national survey of drinking habits among college students was done every three years.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines binge drinking as "a pattern of drinking that brings a person's blood alcohol concentration to 0.8 grams percent or above." For the average man, this means five or more drinks in a two-hour time period, and for the average woman, four or more in the same amount of time.
said they had five or more drinks in one sitting three to five times in the preceding two weeks, up from 16 percent in 2003, and substantially higher than the national average in 2006, which was 11 percent.
In the most recent survey, from 2006, 21 percent of KU students
Sharon Ramos, Junction City senior who works at The Ranch.
give shots of water to people when they wanted more alcohol but had clearly had too much to drink.
a local bar, said she and other bartenders often had to prevent people from passing out on the bar. Ramsa said she often had to
Bartenders such as Ramos know how to deal with inebriated customers, but many students have misconceptions about the effects of binge drinking. McKee said students often didn't realize the seriousness of other students' conditions.
"We can't let people pass out," Ramos said. "If someone looks like they're going to pass out, we have to either get them to where they're able to leave or get someone to watch them."
"A lot of students think that if someone is passed out, it's not cause for concern." McKee said. "Too many people think it's normal."
Passing out is a sign of alcohol poisoning. McKee said. You should never leave such a person alone to "sleep it off."
You should not give the person liquid or food to make him or her vomit. You should monitor the person's breathing and turn them on their side in case they do have to throw up. If your friend passes out or starts vomiting during or after binge drinking, it is a sign of alcohol poisoning and you should seek immediate medical help.
Mckee said students became responsible by association when they were with friends who began showing signs of alcohol poisoning.
"That's the responsibility you sign up for when you choose to drink in excess," Mkee said.
Because drinking is part of college life for many students, knowing the signs of alcohol poisoning is important for everyone. This knowledge may help save someone's life.
"The take-home message is that if you know the signs, it is most important to take action as quickly as possible," McKee said. "The time it takes you to think it can be life-threatening"
— Samantha Foster for The Kansan Editorial Board
It's not still rock and roll What we miss by relying on digital music sources
We have been feasting on free lunches of digital music for years with little thought as to how free they are and a total disregard to their nutritional value.
Within seconds, we can own any song from a vast online musical spectrum and can either fork over a few bucks on iTunes or Zune or rip it free from LimeWire. Any guess as to what the majority of us cash-strapped college students opt for?
My laptop is in exile at a repair shop in Kansas City, bugged to oblivion. Though it holds every piece of music I've ever owned hostage, I began wondering whether digital music was worth it. Did this instantaneous method of acquiring music trump the feeling I once had tearing wrappers off CDs, poring over the album's artwork and liner notes and sliding the disc into the nearest player?
Fitfully tucked away, up a flight of stairs at its 936 $ \frac{1}{2} $ Massachusetts St. location, Love
This is not going to be a discussion of the ethics of file-sharing and free music, nor a bold forecast of things to come. Instead, let's step back and observe what our generation's consumption of music means for tangible media (read: records and compact discs), whether "free" music is ever actually free and, if we do pay for it, do we ever actually own it?
SEEK AND INFORM
STEPHEN MONTEMAYOR
And Love Garden defiantly breathes with ease. It is enjoying one of its best sales months in the past year and a half, owner Kelly Corcoran said, attributing it to a rapport between him and his customers that allows him to know how many and what records and CDs to provide. On any night, one could walk into the shop to see records lining the walls, any of the four store cats walking along a sea of used and new CDs and real people with real opinions sipping Hamms Beer. Here, music is still purchased and collected. You can see what you buy.
Garden Sounds is like that rare park surrounded by a metropolis. It's evidence that, amidst a music marketplace that needs wires and cables to exist, one can still hold real music and interact with living, breathing people.
"People who have digital music don't necessarily feel the need to have the music long term," Corcoran said. "They view it as disposable and don't worry about it being lost since they can just download it again for free."
Corcoran quickly agreed when I suggested that CDs are evolving
into a nostalgic niche much like vinyl records.
But they are also insurance. See, I was able to copy my MP3 music back onto my repaired computer, but what happens if my Zune crashes? All it takes is a permanent error or another computer bug to make every song I've owned disappear.
"American consumers seem happy to make the trade-off of sound quality in exchange for portability and massive storage libraries," said Paul Marshall, DJ from Kansas City's 98.9 The Rock, in an email. "What they need to realize is that you don't really own anything tangible when you 'buy' an MP3, and it's never forever."
All hard drives crash eventually, he continued, thus necessitating the use of blank CDs or external hard drives for backup.
But any real personal connection is still missing
There is something to be said for digital music; I've begun downloading legally but still purchase entire CDs I really want. A final thought: Years spent downloading "free" music off LimeWire were responsible for my computer's debilitating virus. The repair costs? $170. Funny, that would've gotten me almost 17 CDs.
Montemayor is a Mission junior in journalism.
POLITICS
Disturbing absence of outrage at politicians' childish behavior
This Week's Soundtrack of a Life song:
"CONVICTION OF THE HEART"
BY KENYN LOGGINS
"Y you say you're aware, believe, and you care, but do you care Wherever your conviction
enough? Where's your conviction of the heart?"
Hercules: "You know, when I was younger, I would've given anything to be like everyone else."
Last Saturday, there was a marathon of animated Disney movies — "Tarzan," "Hercules," "Aladdin," "Mulan" — that I watched for the first time in ages. I could not help but remark at the references to other Disney classics, the enchanting stories and the sheer superiority of the music in the films. But what struck me the most were the allusions to less than fairy-tale realities, such as this one in "Hercules":
Meg (his love interest, if you've forgotten): "You wanted to be petty and dishonest?"
Having political aspirations, I could only think of the similar response I get from friends and family about wanting to be a public official. And who can blame them? First our president went on "The Tonight Show" and compared his bowling capabilities to those of Special Olympians (though, get this, apparently his scores still would fall below those proud competitors); next, he's just a voice in the crowd in an absurd Congressional raid on corporate bonuses. Then, perusing Whitehouse.gov for the president's education agenda, I found this statement: "Obama and Biden are committed to meeting this challenge with the leadership and judgment that has been sorely lacking for the last eight years." Who puts partisanship on the Web site of the president? I don't care how poorly he esteems his predecessor, I expect my president to move on — to lead, not to blame. But it's not just him.
Where's the outrage about a Democratic Senatorial Campaign
And finally, (I am all about equal opportunity here) where's the outrage about Republicans attacking pork barrel spending? Some of the worst pork projects have been of their own making. You might think that the party of competition would develop a scenario that removed the ability to tack irrelevant projects to any bill, or perhaps setting up a pool of funds each year, either department by department (transportation, energy, etc.) or in a new administration that would field applications for programs seeking funds, and choose which received funds based on merit. Perhaps there could even be a clause allowing representatives and senators to sponsor one or two projects each fiscal year, allowing them to continue to have ways to give back to their constituents.
My point, though, is that we should demand more of our public servants in the consideration of the future of our country (especially considering the debt that is being run up) and show them that our loyalties lie not down party lines, but with those who can "stop somehow" and display real "conviction of the heart."
Committee that unashamedly claims in its e-mails that a 60-plus seat majority in the Senate is the only way to "truly deliver on universal healthcare, better education and a real plan to get us off foreign oil?" What, they can't do any of that with a soon-to-be 57 seats? You have got to be kidding. As if I would do my part to give the 60 seats anyway; the ability to fillbuster is a significant check on the potential tyranny of the majority.
Holmes is an Overland Park freshman in political science.
Today is the day to end the R-word
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
"Stop shooting three's, you retard!" I heard this comment during Saturday's game directed toward Markieff Morris. Now, sporting events often foster profanalties but this one I hear frequently, and I despise it. Although it is similar to any ethnic slur or defamatory language, "retard" has become socially acceptable. This word propagates the stereotype that people with intellectual disabilities don't have a place in our society. It's hateful.
Today is Spread the Word to End the Word Day, a day to bring about awareness and discussion of the R-word. It's not political correctness we desire. We don't want to replace "retarded" with "intellectually disabled"; we want people to quit associating poor acts with this group of people altogether.
Many brush off this move
ment, saying. "It's just a word";
"it's my right to say whatever I want." To that I respond, "You're correct." We don't want to ban or mandate anything. We're raising social awareness. You can also say the N-word but most of us would prefer that you didn't.
The R-word hurts 200 million people worldwide with intellectual disabilities, not including family and friends, like me. When you use that word, probably unintentionally, you insult some of my dearest friends. And they won't fight back. My friends never hate; they only give joy, acceptance, and friendship. Putting down this demographic only demonstrates the weakness and insecurity of the aggressor. Why would you make fun of a person who only wants to give love? Maybe you didn't know it hurt, but now you do. So, please, don't use the R-word.
- Clint Armistead is a sophomore from Overland Park.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansai Editorial Board are Hines Hawley, Tia Smith, Mary Sorrick, Ketley Hayes, and Dan Thompson.