THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2013
opinion
PAGE 4A
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or at kansan.com
It's been like a day since "Madden 25" came out and I've already moved the Jaguars to Toronto. They're now the Mounties.
My lower half is going to start looking like Serena Williams from the g-damn hill I have to trek up every morning.
When will freshman realize its socially unacceptable to "look cute" for class here at KU? I'm starting to feel bad about myself.
TEXT FREE FOR ALL
Before I submit my first FFA of each new semester, I panic a little bit that they changed the number, and that I'll be texting some random person.. EDITOR'S NOTE: Hey, this is your mom
I had a dream that I was late for my class. Then I woke up, and was late for my class. I guess dreams do come true.
Nothing like getting told "you're going to hell" first thing in the morning.
I don't know what the protocol is for saying hi to a friend-of-a-friend's ex so I'm just going to pretend I didn't see you at all.
Accidental footsy is the worst kind of footsy.
Saw a rare pack of wild shopping carts. I wanted to take a picture but one of them charged me.
It is illegal to go whale hunting in Kansas, looks like the whale of Potter Lake is safe. For now.
Zero to friend zone in 0.9 seconds. I think that's a new record even for me.
I've decided if you're tall dark and a student athlete, then you get first dibs on women here. Who said high school ends? Screw that guy who said it. Screw him.
Milk was bad choice.
There should be a fire pole in Budig from the balcony to the lobby.
No. 1 reason I hate having my roommate back in town: pants are required.
I saw Wiggins today and then I needed my inhaler.
I'm gonna be very unhappy when I run out of Slim Jim's.
The first week hasn't even ended and I'm ready to drop out and live in a box under a bridge.
When will it get cold enough for me to stop shaving my legs?
POP CULTURE
People should stop caring about Miley Cyrus
The first step is admitting you have a problem. Which can be a bit tricky if you, like myself and most other Americans of our generation, are unaware of that problem. Our problem is simply this: we care about Miley Cyrus.
Don't worry, I'm not suggesting that you're an avid fan or that you drift off to sleep every night, swaddled in Hannah Montana bedding. I'm not even going so far as to imply that you have any sort of carefully developed opinion on her, besides your sight guilt associated with singing along to (and thoroughly enjoying) "Party in the USA."
What I'm referring to is the fact that whether or not you pored over an issue of People magazine, chances are you know who Billy Ray Cyrus is and you've heard or read a recent review of Miley's somewhat less than graceful VMAs performance. Chances are, you know at least a little about
Tom Cruise's religious antics, Lady Gaga's meat wardrobe or Kanye West's timeless, innovative baby-name choice as well. It's not your fault you have a mental corner dedicated to this stockpile of flimsy trivia—media outlets slam us from every angle with formulaic, manufactured "scandal." Why are we so shocked when a person paid millions of dollars to be outrageous does something... outrageous? Why do we allow ourselves to form strong opinions on the most recent Disney star smoking a joint in Hawaii?
smoking a joint.
Perhaps because in an era of 140-character news stories and more animated gifs than words, it's much easier and more satisfying to digest "Miley Shaves Head and Twerks on a Giant Stuffed Bear" or "Gwyneth Paltrow Swears By Diet Entirely Composed of Leaves" than "Syrian Chemical Warfare Kills Over 1,300," or "California Wildfire Fighting Funds
By Erin Calthoun ecalhoun@kansan.com
Exhausted." One requires ten seconds of attention and provides an amused chuckle or eye-roll, the other calls for close reading, background knowledge and the perspective to conceptualize the horror and tragedy that exists in our world but seems too distant to fully grasp. Instead we kill free moments between class by eating up empty and glossy headlines out of convenience; if nothing more. They're targeted at us, after all—the supposed throng of young adults "dying" to know more about Ke$ha's grills and Ryan Gosling's abs, the generation that doesn't know what NASDAQ stands for and that bases most of its political opinions off of SNL sketches. This shallow stereotype of our generation, this imbalanced investment of energy into petty fluff, is our problem.
If the first step is admitting we have a problem, the second (or maybe third or seventh...I'm not up on psychological theory) is figuring out how to fix that problem. The pervasive media stream of Beyonce haircut updates and North West's first steps will never cease to exist, nor should it. Viral memes of Angelina Jolie's leg and TV shows dedicated to RGIII stretching out his ACL have their place in society, much like Ben & Jerry's has a place in my freezer. What's crucial is balance—we cannot be taken seriously as a healthy and enriched generation if we subsist on pints of Real-Housewives-of-Jersey-Shore's Pretty-Little-Liars. It is in our power to educate ourselves and become passionate about our communities. How? Just once, trade your Cosmo or Sports Illustrated for Time magazine. Tap into the centuries of brilliantly crafted literature at your disposal (for free) at the library—challenge
yourself beyond the realm of 50 Shades of Grey. Pick a world news story you've heard mentioned in passing and go digging until you understand the issues; read multiple opinions and perspectives. Take a break from social media—spend time building relationships instead of documenting them. Get involved: join an organization that turns words into action and aims to better not "the" community, but your community. Invest your time and energy into fewer screens and more pages, fewer pictures and more conversations. And then, do your duty as a well-rounded citizen. If you still have a spare moment, go ahead and check out that video of Miley on the VMAs. It just might spark up a conversation or two.
Erin Calhoun is a pre-med sophomore from Naperville, III.
ENVIRONMENT
Environmental injustice goes unnoticed in poor community
I was driving through the flat monotony of Cherokee County, Kansas when the mountains of Treece - a city on the Oklahoma border - jutted into sight. I questioned whether "Carmen the Garmin" had unwittingly taken me to Colorado... or maybe the moon. A small sign welcoming me to Treece confirmed my destination. I had arrived in the town a mile north of the notorious Environmental Protection Agency Tar Creek Superfund site—an area where toxic waste has been dumped and the EPA has been charged with its removal. Although Treece is not included within the boundaries of the Superfund site, the Kansas and Federal governments have agreed that the area is impacted by the same environmental concerns.
I drove through the town surveying the huge piles of fine rock that I had mistaken for mountains. It turns out the towering mounds are made out of chat – the gravelly byproduct of lead, zinc and iron ore mining, which made Treece a successful mining town during the first and second World Wars. Today, piles of chat standing hundreds of feet high cast shadows over the skeleton of Treece. When I visited in 2009, The Tar Creek Mining Company and its many mines had been closed for years. The gravelly "mountains" contain high levels of heavy metals, enough to contaminate the water, air and land. As time passed, 33 percent of children in the area were discovered to have unsafe blood-lead levels. The local Tar Creek ran orange from underground trace minerals that had seeped into ground water from unmaintained mining shafts, not to mention the ground in Trece is literally caving in. Because the mines were abandoned after operations ended and many mine locations were never documented, the earth will topple in on itself, leaving residents and visitors with the unsettling knowledge that the ground they stand on could collapse at any minute.
By Gabby Murnan gmurnan@kansan.com
So is Treece just another abandoned city of the 20th Century mining boom or is there a larger story at play here? I tend to believe the latter. Treece is a perfect example of how environmental injustices can be directly linked to poverty. The Tar Creek area was designated as a Superfund site in 1983, yet the Kansas Department of Health and Environment didn't offer a voluntary relocation program for citizens until 2011—almost three decades later. This clearly indicates that the families of Trece, the majority of whom earn around 35 percent less than the Kansas median income, were not a top priority for the Kansas government. The lack of concern shown by the government for 28 years could be attributed to the fact that 15.4 percent of Cherokee County residents live below the poverty level. It wasn't hard for
the Tar Creek Mining Company to have its way with the land then leave the earth and its residents nursing its wounds; just like it wasn't difficult for the state legislature to ignore the plight of a few hundred people in the sparsely populated, impoverished southern part of the state. When it comes to issues of the environment, the negative impact is only deemed a priority if the victimized person or community is economically important.
I believe there is a lesson to be learned from the city of Treece: all people, regardless of socio-economic status, have a right to a safe, healthy and sustainable living environment. Perhaps if the government had offered a buyout plan to Treece citizens 28 years ago, the safety of many people could have been preserved. No one should have their health and their family's health taken away for decades simply because they cannot afford to live somewhere where the wind doesn't carry lead and the ground doesn't cave in. And no city should have its environmental issues ignored simply because of its low population and/or poor economic status. Sometimes it takes a weekend trip to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere to remind us that environmental injustice isn't just a topic for movies - it's just a few miles down 69 Highway.
Gabrielle Murnan is a sophomore majoring in Environmental Studies from Pittsburg.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
What will you be replacing your porch couch with after the city's ban goes into effect?
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INTERNATIONAL
Boycotting Russian Olympics wrong solution
Human rights violations are par for the course of the former Soviet state, but the recent draconian crackdown on LGBT citizens in Russia has put the spotlight on a new form of retribution: boycoting the 2014 Winter Olympics. While Russia's treatment of its LGBT population is truly condemnable, boycoting the Olympics is simply the wrong solution.
Remember when there were calls to boycott the 2008 Chinese Olympics because the government authorized the killing of thousands of stray dogs and cats in preparation for the games? Probably not. This is just one example of a hyper-specific pretext for boycott. The more universal objection to China's games was it's atrocious human rights record, and even that failed to produce a ground-breaking boycotts. This is the first reason why boycotts fail: they are often too narrow to attract a groundwell of support.
While the LGBT rights movement is far larger by comparison (and has gained momentum as a result of recent SCOTUS rulings), it doesn't garner enough sympathy. People who are not personally persecuted by Russia's LGBT laws don't feel it a big enough reason to give up their chance at the gold.
US athletes have proposed that they show support by competing while sporting rainbow flags and other propaganda (even though that violates IOC charter rule 50 against propaganda). But when the choice boils down to the rights of the minority over their own chance at glory, the answer becomes obvious. Athletes who have been training for 20 years don't want to take a back seat because they don't agree with the policies of the host government. While their hearts may be in the right
place, they will only take a stand from a safe distance.
So what is the apt approach to Russia's LGBT policies? Boycott Russia from their own Olympics. The IOC has the power to make this happen – and it has used it before. Cyd Ziegler from the Huffington Post pointed out that The IOC banned South Africa from the 1964 Olympics because of the Apartheid. Rhodesia was banned from 1972 games because of racist anti-black policies, and Afghanistan was banned in 2000 because of human rights violations against women imposed by the Taliban. All of these bans were enforced under the same justification: A fundamental disregard for human rights in the banned nations. It's about time the IOC demanded that respect for human dignity be extended to homosexuals as well, or Russia can sit this one out.
Diplomatic relations between Russia and the U.S. could be described as prickly at best. The Snowden scandal and Obama's cancellation of a summit meeting with Russia has added to the hot core of animosity between the two nations. Additionally, Obama has stated in reference to Russia that he will not tolerate any discrimination against LGBT people. At this point, a boycott seems woefully inappropriate, as evidenced by Putin's disinterest in Obama's attempts to strong-arm his country.
By William Ashley washley@kansan.com
Will Ashley is a sophomore majoring in Global and International Studies and Chinese from Topeka.
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