SAN 09
Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONTEMAYOR: DIGITAL MUSIC CAN'T COMPARE WITH CDS' LURE
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MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2009
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Dang, dang, dang. We were so close — it was so close! That's OK, it was a great year. Can't wait until next season!
I can't wait until the guy I dream about has a face.
To the person who left their black umbrella in the dining area of the Union; I turned it into the lost and found at the Hawk Shop in the Union. I hope you find it.
We are now crossing the Wabash River, also known as urine
Did anyone see the guy wearing the Wichita State Shockers shirt during the KU-Michigan State game? What's that about?
I just saw a police car get in a wreck with Safelidle. If that is not the epitome of irony, then I don't know what is.
Two SafeRides and a police car, all down on a Friday night The apocalyptic is upon us.
What's the point of having Sudoku in the paper if it doesn't work? Dave Green, please get it right next time
Why do they make so many KU shirts that are Missouri yellow?
--that had been all but written off came so far
Just because we have the exact same name, doesn't mean I want to be Facebook friends with you.
--that had been all but written off came so far
To the girl who let me in to Ellsworth Sunday morning: I had my card. I just wanted to talk to you.
Perhaps it's not the weather but we're all too sad to drink and party.
I love the new Rock Band commercial.
Did you know that the leopard is the only predator in the animal kingdom that cleans its prey before eating it? It does. Thanks, Animal Planet!
When I drink coffee in to-go containers I have a bad habit of trying to stare into the small drinking hole to see how much is left ...
If you jump once without a shirt and you wouldn't want anyone to see that, then you are fat. The end.
Boomer Sooner!
PAGE 7A
Sweet Sixteen loss doesn't mean season not a victory
EDITORIAL BOARD
Weston White/KANSAN
Chicago sophomores take Moller and Andrew Hines love Kansas basketball.
Hines roots for his hometown hero Sherron Collins by wearing his No. 4 jersey for every game. "Chron-Chron Sherron," he calls him.
Moller's face lights up with animation when he reflects on the season's memorable moments. He can't help but pace around the room excitedly, imitating one of Collins' three-point baskets against Oklahoma. Both KU students love Kansas basketball, and both are perfect examples of lavahawk fans.
When Kansas was defeated by Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen Friday, Hines, Moller and Jayhawk fans around the globe were saddened by the tough loss. However, it's important to reflect on the season as a whole, and how the team
written-off came so far.
Going into the
2008-09 basketball
season, expectations
werent high for the
"I thought we were going to be terrible." Moller said. "I was not looking forward to the season and I wasn't sure if we were going to make the tournament."
"Late in the season I started to realize that we had a chance to do some damage in the tournament," Moller said. "We pulled out a lot of big wins and had a solid season
Moller's expectations changed, however, as Kansas proved it was a legitimate threat in the Big 12 Conference over the course of the season.
young Jayhawks. After winning the national championship in 2008 and losing six of its best players, no one thought Kansas had a chance.
KANSAN'S
OPINION
after losing our top six players"
had a solid season after losing our top six
Hines, on the other hand, felt the Jayhawks had potential to be great early in the season. "My expectations were higher than most," he said. "I thought we had a chance to win it all from the beginning of the season. People had doubts, but I had confidence."
Looking back on the season, both are pleased with the Sweet Sixteen result, but know there's great room for improvement.
"After winning the national championship, nothing is as satisfying as winning it all," Hines said. "But it was a great year, our players played really well. Cole definitely
asserted himself as one of the best big men in the country, Sherron as one of the best point guards. I just hope everyone stays for one more year."
Hines raises the question that is on the mind of every Jayhawk fan: will Aldrich and Collins come back for one more season and bypass the NBA draft? Kansas fans can only hope they will stay, as every member of this season's team will be eligible to play next year.
The Kansan would like to extend its congratulations to the Jayhwaks for their outstanding performance this season. Watching a young team mature into a dominant basketball program was a wonderful experience. Sherron and Cole; please stick around for one more!
EDITORIAL CARTOON
Danny Nordstrom
Kansas Editorial Board
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Last week's items you might have missed. Check out Kansan.com Roundup for full stories.
The cost of the proposed Kansas Olympic Village. Kansas Athletics proposed the village as part of its campaign to improve athletic facilities. The new facility would include a soccer competition field, a new soccer practice field and a track and field facility.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
THE CONTEXT
The cost per kilowatt hour to power Anschutz Library with wind turbines for one year. Anschutz's year of wind energy began this month.
THE CONTEXT
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
The new projected year for the addition of an aquatic center to the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center. Adam McGonigle, student body president, said the University decided that building the pool and other additions were no longer feasible in the face of large budget cuts.
THE CONTEXT
THE CONTEXT
The number injured in a drive-by shooting at the Hawk Thursday morning. The injured students were Matthew Lett, Salina senior, University of Chicago student Justin Lucas, and Alex Thies, Shawnee sophomore. Joseph A. Muhammad was charged in connection with the shooting.
THE CONTEXT
Number of points the Jayhawks lost by on Friday night. The final score of the Sweet Sixteen game against Michigan State was 67-62.
ENVIRONMENT
New look at coal mining after visit to reservation
There is no word for "relocation" in the Navajo language. Bu
Navaio language. But 12,000 Navajo have been forced to move off their traditional homelands ever since Congress passed Public Law 93-531 in 1974. The cause of this massive removal of Native Americans was coal and the vast wealth it can produce. About one-third of the coal in America lies under Native American reservations, and energy corporations, working within the capitalistic game for profit, are not always kind to everyone in pursuit of the mineral.
I traveled to the Navajo Reservation on an alternative spring break through Ecumenical Christian Ministries. I went intending to experience a different culture, and to witness its sustainable lifestyle. However, I found it impossible not to become politicized when I heard their stories of what Peabody Energy, the world's largest private-sector coal company, has done to the Navajo people.
The Reservation, centered in the Four Corners region of Arizona, offers a rugged, yet beautiful, landscape. The flat red land stretches almost endlessly with intermittent interruptions by awesome, black volcanic peaks and plateaus. The Navajo herd sheep daily through this landscape of tumbleweeds and desert grasses. But what was once a thriving community, with many head of horse, sheep and cattle, lively传统 ceremonies and amazing blanket weaving, now instead is a place that the National Academy of Science has termed a "national sacrifice area" in the interests of energy development.
In addition to relocation, the Navajo have experienced other ill effects of mineral extraction on their land. The Black Mesa
coal mine is the only place in America that uses a coal slurry line to transport mined coal 273 miles out of Arizona and into Nevada. This slurry line has been using a billion gallons of water annually for the past 30 years, and has been draining water resources on which the native people greatly depend. This method of mining, strip-mining, literally strips the landscape down to the depth of coal. In addition, acid runoff from the mining operations contaminates nearby water sources, a scarce resource in this region. As Martin Sheen narrated in "Broken Rainbow," the 1985 Academy Award winning documentary on the issue, "it is no longer possible to separate environmental issues from Native American survival."
In this case, the destruction that Peabody Coal creates is simply a side effect of its efforts to increase profitability for its shareholders. It is often helped along by the tribal councils — which should not be confused with the native population — who seek personal gain through piggybacking off this giant corporation.
Unfortunately, Judith Niles, writing for Orion magazine, says that what is happening on the reservation is just one example of a global trend, a "syndrome in which transnational corporations take and exploit indigenous lands with the cooperation of host governments." Are we choosing profit over people?
Kenny is a Leavenworth senior in civil and environmental engineering.
Choosing Biggie as top rapper unfounded
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
While Biggie was an extremely talented rapper, and you'd be hard-pressed to find any hip-hop fan that isn't fond of him, the notion that he's the greatest rapper of all-time is undercut by one simple fact: He only released one truly great album.
As for influence, Biggie's impact can hardly be compared with rappers such as Rakim (the first rapper to set a high standard of lyricism), KRS-One (who brought street consciousness and hard-core black militancy to rap), Chuck D (the first rapper to establish rap as a viable
"Ready to Die" is a stone-cold classic that deserves every bit of acclaim it's received, but even then, it isn't the best rap album of 1994 (Nas's "Ilmatic" takes that title). And "Life After Death," while boasting a number of classic tracks, suffers from the same blast and filler that has plagued every hip-hop double album yet.
Read music columnist Ben Coldham's article on Biggie
@ KANSAN.COM
So the case for Biggie has to be made based on his output, which just isn't strong enough to justify any claim as the greatest ever. Biggie's own protige Jay-Z undoubtedly has a superior catalogue. The catalogues a number of others all boost output at least on par with Biggie's in terms of quality. Biggie was supremely talented, and perhaps if he hadn't died so young he would've been the greatest, but as it is, he falls well short.
political outlet), N.W.A. (who single-handedly revolutionized rap as an expression of gangsta violence), Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys (who embraced hip-hop's rock influences and embraced the mainstream) and so on.
— Alex Watkins is a sophomore from Olathe
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