WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2013
PAGE 4
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
TEXT
FREE FOR ALL
The new grand theft auto just came out. Looks like I'm not going to see my non-existent boyfriend for a week
This morning I found 4 cocoa puffs disguised as round cinnamon toast crunch. I feel betrayed.
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or at kansan.com
My favorite Shrek movie is the fan-made crossover movie between Shrek and the Big Bang Theory.
Being from Illinois, I've never been pointed out for having an accent. Now I'm self conscious.
First pair of pants since May, and I'm suffocating.
To the person who thinks there should be a bear on campus; Ever heard of the mountain lion?
To the editor: When is it too late to get submissions in for the next days? nope?
I was on a packed bus with Perry Ellis today, so yeah, you could basically say we're best friends.
GTA 5 just came out; according to some reliable studies done by middle-aged moms, we should probably increase our campus security.
I saw a guy wearing a Kansas gymnastics shirt, jeans, and a camo hat eating sushi while reading the Wall St. Journal. Kansan stereotypes were both shattered and upheld.
Going out with an umbrella is a pretty excellent way to meet girls.
Triangles are my favorite shape; three points but two lines meet.
You are never too old to pass notes in class.
Identity theft isn't a joke, Jim Millions suffer every year!
Reason #23 why the UDK is awesome. You can use it as an umbrella when it's pouring.
My three roommates and I cook legit delicious dinners every night in our apartment and pay 17% of what Mrs. E's charges, per dinner.
Is someone playing their saxophone in tower D during NAPTIME? Please stop.
What if soy milk is just regular milk introducing himself in Spanish?
Petition to get Drake and Josh on Netflix.
Listening to this new Drizzy album and it's about to make tears come out of my face.
vno do you think is the sexiest United States Congressman?
TUNES
Lawrence music scene relies on local support
W Why Kansas?
I'm certain that an lavhawk has been
I'm certain that any Jayhawk has been asked this question at least once before. For some, it's the beauty of Jayhawk Boulevard, Allen Fieldhouse or Massachusetts Street. Though for me, it's the eclectic music scene that Lawrence has to offer.
other.
As I considered my collegiate options, the University of Kansas was barely on my radar. Coming from Chicago, I planned to stay in the Midwest, but I figured I would end up at the University of Illinois or my (former) dream school, the University of Wisconsin. However, while scanning the tour dates of a new band I had been listening to – Awesome New Republic – I noticed that they were scheduled to play an upcoming show at the
Jackpot. Upon this discovery, I made the official decision to schedule a campus tour for the same weekend.
same weekend.
A few weeks later and there I was. My tour took place first thing in the morning, and later that night I dragged my trooper of a dad to see ANR's midnight set with me. As we walked down a cold and rainy Massachusetts Street, I remember feeling like I do at the end of every "Breaking Bad" episode — anxious and eager to see more. Wide-eye with excitement, I noted countless music venues, a record shop and the many street musicians playing on every other block. No other college could compete at that point — it was a done deal. Enobus said Lawrence is "known
By Lyndsey Havens lhavens@kansan.com
torres said Lawrence is "known for a thriving music and art scene.
Downtown Lawrence, in particular Massachusetts Street, has a lively atmosphere and is filled with restaurants, bars, galleries, shops and music venues."
Sure, you might be able to find all that on any college campus, so what is it that sets Lawrence apart from the rest? What makes the music scene here in particular so special? I believe it comes down to the simple fact that Lawrence loves its locals.
This has proven to be true through the continual booking of local artists like The Floozies and Quiet Corral at venues like the Bottleneck and the Granada. It's apparent in the communal feeling
that Love Garden creates for collectors (and cat lovers), and it's apparent in the familiar faces seen strumming along to songs of the '60s on the sidewalk.
Those who recognize and value the importance of supporting the Lawrence local music scene are choosing to take action and encourage others to care as well. Music lover Fally Afani, for example, created the site iHeartLocalMusic.com - a site solely dedicated to promoting and supporting the local music scene here. Wayne Coyne, front man of The Flaming Lips, is another example of someone who appreciates locality. In 2011, Coyne chose Love Garden as one of the select few record shops that he hand-delivered the band's latest album to. When asked why he chose Love
Garden, he said, "I like this idea that people would drive here and get stuff that you can only get here."
It truly is that simple - people like having things that others can't get anywhere else. Though this concept is nothing new, the way that we now promote and appreciate rarity is changing. Rarity is the reason we buy tickets for the chance to see a band that may not tour again for years, it's why Love Garden has a line of collectors forming at 4 a.m. on Record Store Day waiting to find that one album, and above all else, it's the answer I respond with when asked, "Why Kansas?"
Lyndsey Havens is a sophomore majoring in journalism from Chicago.
WIZARDRY
Take a page out of Rowling's book and make good friends
I'm sure that anyone who has read "Harry Potter" has admitted at some point in their lives that their 11th birthday was the most disappointing moment in their childhood. I was one of the many devastated when I didn't receive my Hogwarts acceptance letter. Honestly, who wouldn't want to spend their childhood flying, communicating with animals and learning how to wave a stick to make all of their desires reality?
However, being magical wasn't my main motivation for wanting Hogwarts to be real. What I really wanted was the chance to have a friendship like that shared between Harry, Ron and Hermione. Unconditional friendship like that is something unfortunately rare and idealized in literature and film. Thus, Harry, Ron and Hermione were a few of my role models growing up because they shared something I felt I might never be able to possess (and I'm not just referring to magic).
Now, I'm not saying I didn't have friends growing up, but they were often limited by social and familial values and tended to fizzle out after it would become clear that our attitudes and expectations were not the same. That's why (beyond the obvious reason of earning my degree) coming to college — particularly
By Tasha Cerny
tcerny@kansan.com
a larger school like Kansas — was so important to me. College is about individuality, a time to learn about your own self beyond the boundaries of family culture and the environment you grew up in, and the perfect place to find others who share those same values of individuality. College, in a way, is like Hogwarts.
Something I've learned over my four years here, however, is that making those lasting connections and friendships is about more than living with your peers, meeting new people or even finding a community where you feel at home (though that last one helps significantly). Making those Rowling-approved friendships first and foremost involves being a good friend yourself
Obviously no two people are exactly alike, and simply because you share some interests, viewpoints, or habits in common with another person does not mean that the two of you will automatically be the best of friends. Harry, Ron and Hermione have almost nothing in common other than being from Gryffindor House, yet they are (for the most part) fiercely loyal to each other, inclusive and understanding of each other's limitations
(has anyone ever tried estimating the number of hours Hermione spends helping Harry and Ron finish their homework?).
Practicing the Golden Rule and being open-minded towards others and their ideas is vital to being a good friend. Being a part of such a large campus, you are bound to run into some pretty strange people, including those who make Luna Lovegood seem normal. But instead of judging, try listening. Like Luna, you might just find that they aren't strange at all—their perspective is just genuinely different from your own.
your own. The people you meet in college and the experiences you share with them will be some of the most significant aspects of your time spent here, so making the most of each interaction and forging positive relationships with the people around you is vital to finding those friendships that you'll take with you long after you graduate. Kansas may not offer transfiguration or charms class (though you can still play Quidditch!), but you don't have to own a functioning wand to be a wizard at making friends.
Tasha Cerny is a senior majoring in English from Salina. Follow her on Twitter at @tclcerny.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
HUMAN RIGHTS
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Street harassment needs to be curbed
When I was 16, my car almost got rear-ended while I was trying to get gas at Quik-Trip. It was the middle of the day and the man behind me had turned the corner a little too quickly. I was fresh off getting my license and every time I stepped behind the wheel, I sent a little prayer to my Jesus sock-doll keychain my mother put on my dashboard that went something like, "Oh God, oh God, oh God please don't let me die."
I stuttered, completely caught off guard, and immediately became aware of my surroundings: taking note of the one other car filling up at the station at the end, the two attendants busy with customers inside the convenience mart, the fact that I had left my phone in the front seat, all while calculating the distance that he stood away from me, holding my keys tight in my hand.
Girl please don't tease
The other driver and I both got out in order to make sure no damage had been done. He apologized, and I said fine, getting ready to turn around and head back to my car, before he — a man who looked clearly to be in his forties or fifties — said to me, "Oh, and by the way ma'am," pausing to look me up and down, a smile starting to creep along his face. "I hope you don't get offended, but you look real good in those jeans."
I eventually stumbled out some sort of response, the content of which I'm not sure and got quickly back into my car. I drove away without getting gas that day.
That was the first time I ever was conscious of being at the end of street harassment (all without actually being on a street). Since then, there have been other instances: cars that drive by yelling out un-creative variations of "nice ass", whistles, drunken men that have tried to come up to me, touch my hair, touch my arm, all without so much as a pretense at conversation or engagement with me as a person, and not an object.
Unfortunately, this isn't an uncommon reality for women, or those who present themselves as women, but particularly for college-aged women. Hell, it's not at all uncommon for girls in high school to experience blantant and fairly frightening sexual harassment, like I did (or
By Katherine Gwynn kgwynn@kansan.com
girls in middle school, like my younger sister did). But what is uncommon is talking about the reason that women, particularly young women, experience sexual harassment so incredibly often. And it's often because these individuals aren't tying their catcalls toward someone that they think of as a person. They're thinking of the receiving end of their words and leers as just that — endlessly receiving, passive, something unto which they can throw their attentions, not someone standing in a gas station lot, wondering if she's safe. They don't think of it as sexual assault.
Because that's what it is, when you get down to it. "Hey, baby," is never just "Hey, baby." No matter what your intent was, no matter if you feel offended at the idea that anyone who dare think you could be capable of force, of violating someone's consent or body, the thing is, a catcall is inherently a violation. "Hey, baby," when unsolicited, says "I'll comment on your body whether you want me to or not." It says "I see you as a body that pleases me, and by voicing this allowed, I'm trying to gain power over you, however conscious or not I am." Which is often times followed by "And I might want or expect or presume or force your body to bend to that power."
It says, "Maybe, I'll demean you. Maybe I'll ignore you. Maybe I'll rape you."
I'm not saying you can't ever compliment a person, or even hit on a person, but try to be aware of the context of the situation.
Is the person alone? Do they seem uncomfortable? Are you in a place where it's acceptable for strangers to strike up conversation, like a party, or are you stumbling drunkenly down Tennessee Street at 2 a.m.? Think about it. Evaluate it. And treat people as human beings. It's really not that hard.
And even if they don't—even if they ignore it, that fear that you live in is an assault in-and-of itself.
Katherine Gwynn is a junior majoring in English and women, gender & sexuality studies from Overland Park.
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