THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 4A
opinion
If you are in the QUIET section of the library, KEEP YOUR MOUTH, SHUT.
Text your FFA submissions to (785) 289-8351 or at kansan.com
This is Thor, and my scooter gets 120 mpg, but damn it sucks in this cold
It's 2014. Why are you thinkin about Metro Station?
Bus driver made me throw away my coffee before getting on the bus. I sit down and the girl next to me has hers (same cup). Wtf!
Some guy on Jayhawk Boulevard just asked me if I was a flaming hot cheeto because I was hot hot hot... I think I found my match
Shoutout to the marching band for having to practice in this weather
S/O to KU for bringing in an F-16 to protect the vending machines! 'MURICA!!!
Everyone can learn something from King Lear.
Don't bundle up yet, it's going to be 25 degrees colder in a few months
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13.,2014
Round of applause to the feminist teachers teaching students about equal rights for women. "shocking concept"
The good thing about cold weather is that when I breathe from my nose I feel like a dragon.
Fan Fiction should be a starting point for young authors, but real books are for the new and unique finished stories from those authors
I saw some of the dug-up plants going up a Haworth elevator
The definition of feminist is someone who supports equal rights for women. If you don't support this, keep going to that class.
BRRRRR! I dread to think how cold winter is going to be if it's already this cold...
I have made the decision to start my weekend a few days early. . . #LivingTheStuckfer.ie
KU Edwards Campus classes are so damn expensive! And I thought KU Lawrence was pricey..
Walking around Ty-Vee and seeing all these Thanksgiving dinner deals... Yummy to me him.
Catcalling is not a compliment to women
By Victoria Calderon
@WriterVictoriaC
A CNN video segment about catcalling and a video by Hollabackl, an anti-street harassment group, went viral recently. Two different people with polarized points of view, Amanda Seales and Steve Santagati, went head-to-head about whether catcalling is an acceptable form of speaking to women. The verdict? It's not.
The Hollaback! video follows a woman through the streets of New York as she encounters random men who
shout things at her, like "God bless youami," "Hey baby" and "How you doing?" The fact that these strangers feel entitled to approach women on the street and objectify them is extremely insulting. Not only does it show that women are valued solely for their physical appearance, but it also makes for an uncomfortable environment. The atmosphere, especially in big cities, tends to be more oppressive for women.
In the CNN segment, Santagati begins a heated argument with Seales. He claims women love to be
complimented in this way, while stating-men shouldn't have to stop catcalling. He even says women should learn to stand up for themselves instead of telling catcallers to fix the problem.
"... the reality is that a lot of women, when we leave the house, we are not looking for compliments. We are not strolling the streets, waiting like, 'Is anyone gonna notice these pants today?' Seales said. Santagati's argument is problematic, not only because of his defense of catcallers, but because his main evidence is founded upon victim
blaming.
On our own campus, we have problems with catcalling that men clearly find to be "harmless" or even funny. For example, my roommate and I were walking to our hall one day when a guy yelled at her, "If your right leg was Christmas and your left leg was New Year's, could I visit you between the holidays?" While this encounter was more stupid than uncomfortable, I've had many other friends walk around campus at night who have men yelling out obscene things about their
bodies. Although rare during a typical day, it happens often on weekend nights, especially near the bars on 14th Street. No matter how asinine or childish the comment is, catcalling can still create a scary environment for a woman walking alone on the street. So if you see a woman (or anybody) walking down the street, and you think it would be cool or amusing to "holla" at them, don't.
Victoria Calderon is a sophomore from Liberal studying English and political science.
Administrators misunderstand education
By Sebastian Schoneich
@ThingsSebiThink
Earlier this semester I wrote a piece on some of the ways college education is going awry. From grade inflation, extra credit, professors succumbing to unjustified student demands, etc., this is producing a frightening amount of graduates who know little of what they are supposed to have learned. Even worse, students are not only OK with that -- they desire it.
We are shaping the education system in such a way that we do not recognize the value of receiving a college education. With that kind of mentality in place, the following article I want
to respond to should not be surprising news.
An article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 6, titled "On B-School Test, U.S. Can't Compete With Asia" reveals that more and more Asians are getting into American MBA programs because of their higher Graduate Management Admission Test scores. In the quantitative skills section of the exam, Asians average 45 out of 51 points, while Americans are averaging a mere 33. If trends hold, there may soon be more Asians than Americans in American M.B.A. programs.
Why? Because Asians are better prepared than Americans for graduate school, especially with
respect to their quantitative reasoning skills. This doesn't mean Americans are doing things wrong — it could very well be that Asians focus too much on quantitative skills, while leaving other important aspects of education out. But this is not what I care to talk about. The following sentence in the article infuriates me:
"In response [to the decreasing academic quality of American students], admissions officers at U.S. schools are seeking new ways of measurement, to make U.S. students look better."
Aretheyserious? Addressing this issue by seeking "new ways of measurement" can also be read as "admissions officers at U.S. schools are seeking to avoid the
problem." What this reveals is a complete misunderstanding of education on behalf of education administrators. Those in charge of shaping education policies fail to recognize that the only way to address the decreasing competency of American college graduates is to critically examine the American education system itself — not the tools used to measure its efficacy.
It should be insulting to us — in fact, it is insulting — that instead of seeking to improve the education system, those in charge choose to hide its insufficiencies behind false notions of quality. Education reform, thus, needs to be addressed from two fronts: On one side, both students
and professors need to step up their game. On the other, administrators and politicians (those in charge) need to remove obstacles in the education system preventing students and teachers from maximizing their efforts. It is clear to me that both sides need to spend some time thinking about the concept of education itself. As a result, the education system will produce better students and we won't even have to pretend that they know what they're doing.
Sebastian Schoneich is a senior from Lawrence studying biochemistry and philosophy
TRIBUNE CARTOON:
CAMPUS CHIRPS PACK
Should people take catcalling as a compliment?
Or is it doing more harm than good?
Follow us on Twitter @KansanOpinion. Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
@KansanOpinion A good-looking section of the UDK like yourself should know, am I right? ;) ;)
@Ben_Samson
@lauwrenorder
@KansanOpinion catcalling is a disgusting and sad attempt at getting the attention of women, especially. I will never date who catcalls me!
The war on static hair has begun
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@elenacleaves
@KansanOpinion Catcalling may have good intentions behind it, but it makes women feel uncomfortable Better off to just not do it.
@VanessaAsmussen
@KansanOpinion It's rude. Some women may act like it's flattering but normally there's always a part of them that feels uncomfortable.
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