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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
opinion
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Spent the whole class doing research on my phone because I couldn't connect the laptop to JYHAWK, #thanksObama
Does anyone else remember when the U.S. was afraid of anthrax and the swine flu?
Music therapy — where colouring visual aids and writing new songs is part of your homework.
Leggings are pants.
Posting mean things isn't trolling Trolling is an art.
A big thank you to the guy who helped the girl in the pink camo jacket. You made my day!
Jayhawk Boulevard be like,
"Sprankle all the things!"
Calls the Schol Halis "the dorms."
NotaKUstudent
It's complete bologna that KU won't replace the non-traditional student housing. If you can make more dorms for drunk underage college kids, you can build more for the families too.
I can't wait till I see one of the tour guides fall... #walkforward
It's predetermined when the switch from the AC to furnace will occur in order to "prep" the buildings for the switch. They can't go back and forth. It will be consistently cold soon enough.
Christmas comes way too early. Put away your snowmen and bells. SOME of us are still buying chains and bats!
JAYHAWK Wi-Fi is objectively terrible. Can we get a network that doesn't go down every five minutes?
The guys in that rock climbing picture though ... Kicking my thirst level up a notch. #hubbahubba
My horoscope told me to go see a therapist. Thanks, just thanks.
The unicycle guy peddles ridiculously hard to get up hills on campus, how is that enjoyable?
My relationship with food is currently in difficulties.
Weather, look. I know we're in Kansas. But still! Can you please, please, please make up your mind?！
KU football's goal for the game this Saturday should be to not give up 82 points.
Nothing compares to McDonald's breakfast ... Nothing is worse than McDonald's lunch.
Ted Owens is so cute!!!!
BringBackOurGirls is more than just a hashtag
M more than 200 young Nigerian
Nigerian women were ripped away from their school in Chibok by an Islamist militant group called Boko Haram in April. Boko Haram, which translates to "western education is forbidden," is a Jihadist group that terrorizes Nigeria through "bombings, assassinations and now abductions," with the goal of replacing the current government with an Islamist state, according to the BBC News.
BringBackOurGirls. Celebrities and public figures, like Michelle Obama, promoted the online movement. However, within a few weeks and with no word on the status of the girls, the trend headed toward an uneasy end. People became less worried about the outcome of the kidnapping as reports on the revolts in the Ukraine and the military coup in Thailand took center stage. The kidnapping stayed in the background as the World Cup captivated millions of soccer fans, and the tensions between Palestine and Israel escalated. And then, at the beginning of this month, the issue came to the forefront again as the Nigerian government and Boko Haram entered into a truce for a ceasefire and the return of 219
The news of kidnappings resulted in a Twitterstorm that spread through every social media platform. Concerned citizens of industrialized nations would condemn the actions of Boko Haram by promoting the hashtag
remaining schoolgirls as reported by The Guardian.
By Victoria Calderon
@WriterVictoriaC
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Women are repressed in many ways all over the world. More than 125 million women in Africa and the Middle East still suffer from genital mutilation, typically done in violation of a child, according to the World Health Organization. The vast majority of domestic violence and sexual assault cases involve women being the victims. In other countries, women cannot receive proper education without the fear of being kidnapped, or in Malala Yousafzai's case, being shot by the Taliban.
Of course, any type of oppression against women is important. The University has its
own problems with rape culture in greek life (and the campus in general), which should not be ignored until it is eradicated completely. But anyone who is passionate about achieving equality of all genders must think about, and become more aware of, anti-feminist societies and cultures around the world.
We cannot simply use a hashtag to fix the ills facing women less privileged than us, but we must show we care about international current events long after they are considered "current." How would Americans react if someone tried to deny women education in the U.S. today? There would be public outcry that would live long past the two-week mark. It was, after all, less than a century ago that
women were given the right to vote in the U.S. a country founded on "equality."
Women here and in other industrialized nations have recently started to enjoy the same rights and privileges as men. So why don't Americans care as much about women's rights in other countries as much as we care about Ebola (which is not a threat to the U.S.)? There's still a lot of work to be done, and one way to start is by reminding the government of Nigeria that we still demand justice for these girls.
Victoria Calderon is a sophomore from Liberal studying English and political science
Campus needs to invest in timely sexual violence preventive measures
I work as a desk assistant in one of the residence halls and when I heard there was going to be a sexual violence forum at each of the residence halls, I took the opportunity to sit in. The forum consisted of representatives from various organizations or departments on campus, like legal services, the psychology department, the Ambler Student Fitness Recreation Center, the Counseling and Psychological Services, and the Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity. Each group told the residents what resources were available to them in the case that they were a victim of, or witness to, sexual violence. What struck me as an issue was that these representatives were providing the resources that could help someone after the crime has already been committed — not resources or ideas to help prevent the crime.
Action has already been taken by the University to begin the process of improving preventative measures. Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little, as she said in her campus-wide email, has created a "sexual assault task force" with various goals working toward preventing sexual violence on campus. Along with the chancellor's task force, the English department, in a letter addressed to the KU community, announced implantation of sexual violence awareness in the English curriculum. The department said this is best done through teaching and research.
By Gabe Sprague @SpragueGabe
The task force and the changing of the
curriculum are effective ways to start combatting this pervasive deadly culture of sexual assault. However, these ways of confronting the issue take time, while this issue is current. I would suggest a quick fix, such as increasing the budget for SafeRide and SafeBus, evaluating Greek life and culture on campus, and an attempt at introducing feminism (which is not just for females) and sexual violence awareness into the English curriculum within the next year.
In a letter to the editor from Jenny Erice, the director of SafeRide/SafeBus, she voices her concerns about not having the funding, and thus the number of workers needed, to provide an "unselective, speedy taxi service." I am not suggesting a permanent increase in funding for SafeRide/SafeBus, but with no current extrapreventative measures, a funding increase could be a temporary solution. Currently, there are only between three and eight SafeRide cars servicing more than 30,000 students every evening. An increase in the budget to allow for more vehicles and drivers could be one temporary solution to this large issue.
Greek culture needs to be evaluated as soon as possible. In an opinion special to CNN, John Foubert, author of "The Men's and Women's Programs: Ending Rape Through Peer Education," states, "fraternity members are 300% more likely to rape."
With the University's recent suspension of Kappa Sigma due to sexual assault, greek life deserves some scrutiny. Whether this means a complete overhaul of greek life's position within the University or a change coming from within greek life, a solution should be considered by the University or representatives of greek organizations.
The amount of time it would take to train staff on providing adequate first-response support and effective discussion surrounding sexual assault is not something I claim to know. But unless this new curriculum is implemented soon, there will be not be a swift change in culture. I would like to see an update of how the English department is going to go about doing this as timely as they can.
The University is taking action to prevent sexual violence on campus, but the solutions provided are not going to change this culture quickly enough. However, it is also not only the University's duty to prevent sexual violence, but the students as well. All of us can help, by starting these uncomfortable conversations, by confronting someone about their own views and by educating others about the needs for gender equality. Let's all work toward removing this fear and making our campus safe for everyone.
Veer away from photo editing applications
While aimlessly scrolling through Instagram, you may notice some of the photos on your timeline look pixelated, filtered or fake. With the endless amount of photo-editing applications, people have an easy way to enhance their appearance. From making whiter teeth, tanner skin and even skinnier body parts, anyone with a phone or computer can change his or her entire look with just a few clicks.
It feels like less than a year ago that photo-sharing applications and websites required just a few easy steps: take a photo, maybe add a filter and share. It was a simple process that took little time. However, it appears that nowadays people spend their time glued to their phones editing photos before posting them online. The once simple process has turned into a multi-step procedure that includes several photo-editing applications.
Gabe Sprague is a junior from Concordia studying English
Applications like Perfect365 have transformed the editing process. It allows users to remove blemishes, whiten their teeth and even add makeup to any photo. It makes me wonder how different the actual person would look in a face-to-face encounter. When people use several
editing techniques to enhance their photos, are we really seeing the real person? I don't think so. Edited photos are giving your followers a false perception of the real you. It seems that editing one's photos are now the norm; it may be because of people's favorite celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Miranda Kerr and Beyonce all getting into the Photoshop trend. However, many of these celebrities have received major backlash for editing their Instagram photos to make themselves look thinner. This is not only setting a bad example to the public, but also tells fans that even though these celebrities are practically flawless, it is still not good enough. They are influencing their fans to think that no matter how beautiful you are, you could still have improvements.
When it comes to posting photos on social media, I think it is time we step away from Photoshop, Perfect365, and any other editing applications. I am not opposed to editing out a minor blemish, but I do not think it is OK for people to be totally manipulating a photo. We don't have to have a great tan, white teeth or stick-thin arms to be able to post a photo. It makes the photo, and the user, lose integrity. Instead of worrying what filter to use or how to make yourself look thinner in a photo, spend time doing something less superficial.
Madeline Umali is a sophomore from St. Louis studying journalism
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