THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
PAGE 4
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TEXT
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We don't care to prepare for the next day midterm if we have a Royals match to watch #TakeTheCrown
Yeah, run in front of the bus. Channel your inner squirrel.
I just get so impatient with the world sometimes over how difficult it is to text and drive.
Editor's note: You be the world is telling you to stop texting while you drive.
My boss brought her baby to work today and let me just say, a baby's laughter is the ultimate mood enhancer.
Look, I really don't want to burn in Mordor or whatever, but I also don't want 60 mini copies of the New Testament. But don't worry - I'll recycle.
Part of me wants to be healthy and fit. The other part of me wants someone to the invent the chairs off of Wall-e.
My diff eq professor is tripping. Like, literally. I'm concerned he's going to break something.
I wish it would be either hot or cold and not in between.
The clarinets do the woo because they're the worst.
brassovereverything
We lost Game 1, but that's okay! It's still early.
It was going to be cheaper to build two brand new dormitories than it would have been to try and renovate McCollum, so that's why they're building them.
I love the crunch crunch crunch of lovely crunchable crunchy leaves!!
This isn't grade school: stop passing notes to your boyfriend in class
where's the best place to take a nap on campus? Asking for a friend
someone in Summerfield has a surgical mask on... This only means 1 thing... Ebola has struck again
Worried about bees on the Blvd?
Check out the awesome hive at the Natural History Museum (Dyche Hall) where they fly in/out of.
Anschutz guy, stealing toilet paper from campus is a big bobby of mine. #CatchMellYouCan
The Bible people tried to pray the gay away but then I saw the butt of the guy in front of me and I realized, "yup, still gay".
I will donate to your sorority/fraternity when you donate to my tuition
University should ban Greek Life on campus
F raternities and sororities have their
advantages. Members are part of organizations that, on paper, are dedicated to their community, academics leadership and service. Unfortunately, the greek system today is plagued with alarming problems that place the chapters and the universities they represent in a negative light. It seems doubtful that the system will change, and, because of this, it is time to end Greek Life.
According to a study conducted by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, fraternity men are significantly more likely than other male students to commit some form of sexual assault. Women who are members of sororities, the study finds, are 74 percent more likely than other female students to be victims. These statistics are alarming.
Several factors are likely contributing to these trends, including rampant alcohol use and a culture that encourages sexual assault, as studies indicate. Another study from Oklahoma State University, finds that fraternity culture tends to promote hypermasculinity, female subordination and male dominance — all traits that are correlated with a tendency toward sexual aggression. The study states these views often become normalized, leading to "the social construction of a rapeprone environment."
The problems concerning Greek Life and sexual assault have been visible at our own university this semester. Recently, Kappa Sigma was placed on suspension over reports of sexual assault at a party. Victims from other instances of greek-related sexual assault have come forward recently, and the University has received
criticism for how it has handled these matters. These allegations not only hurt the chapters accused, they also place the University and the administration in a difficult situation.
Many members of the greek community at the University of Kansas have come forward, calling for change from within. I applaud these efforts and I respect the individuals who wish to address these problems. However, I find it difficult to believe the majority of greek members truly wish to change the system. If they did, these problems would not exist, or they would at least be efficiently dealt with. Because of this, I believe the
most effective solution is for universities to ban the traditional social fraternities and sororities.
Some colleges, such as Middlebury, Amherst and Williams, have recently put an end to greek activities with positive results, according to Newsweek. It is difficult to make this change, and the universities that have done so have faced challenges and backslash. Universities may be hesitant, too, because greek alumni tend to be the largest donors to their alma maters. However, the long-term benefits far outweigh the costs, and it is time for universities to address this long-standing issue. Although this would not automatically solve every problem on campus, the negative attention these institutions have encountered would be gone.
I'm not singling out any individuals or stating that those in the
greek system are bad people. I have friends in Greek Life who have benefitted greatly from their experience in their respective organizations, and I'm glad they've found such a positive experience at Kansas. However, the system, overall, is broken and antiquated, and needs to be abolished. I believe the University needs to make this change, though simply banning greek organizations will not be enough. University officials need to work to build a sense of community on campus, which Greek Life currently provides to its members. This would have a positive effect, not only on non-greek individuals, but also on the student body.
Ike Uri is a sophomore from Concordia studying sociology
This upcoming election directly affects the students
Paul Davis, a candidate for governor
and Kansas House of Representatives minority leader, has said, "This election is as significant of one as there has been in my lifetime."
There is no group with more at stake in this election than students. Rarely do elections present such clear alternatives or represent such direct impact on the lives of voters as the race this year. Governor Brownback's administration has become notorious in the national media due to the extreme nature of his policies.
Brownback famously proclaimed his series of deep income tax cuts for the highest income bracket would provide a "shot of adrenaline" to the Kansas economy. Somehow, the result, anemic state revenue, appears to have come as a surprise. The immediate problem with the cataclysmic $688 million decline in revenue for
fiscal year 2014 is the corresponding fallout for state expenditure.
More than half the state budget is allocated for K-12 education. School funding levels have already been deemed unconstitutionally low by the Kansas Supreme Court, and according to former Kansas Budget Director Duane Goossen's Kansas Budget blog, this year's revenue receipts are falling short of last year's pace. This is before higher education is even accounted for. At Kansas, in-state tuition has Increased 324 percent in the past 12 years while state funding has increased only 6.1 percent, according to Kansas Board of Regents.
Paul Davis opposed this "experiment" while in the legislature, but Brownback has declared he will "hit the accelerator" on further scheduled cuts. On Nov. 4 we will be at a crossroads. In the coming years, over the term of the next elected governor, today's University
students will be deciding where to begin their post-graduation lives and pursue careers.
the stakes are not limited to the dire fiscal straits manufactured by radical ideological politics, nor are they merely education funding levels in the abstract. This is about people and families, about beginning life after undergraduate education and developing roots. Schools were a big part of why my parents came to Kansas to start a family, but other families won't be making that decision if these unprecedented policies persist. These decisions will determine the accessibility of a quality Kansas education, and the likelihood of many students, including myself, remaining in the
A state with graduates evacuating every year will be reeling as a result in 15 years. Losing a generation of graduates, job-creators, taxpayers and Kansans would doom the potential of the state's job market appeal for an indefinite period of time.
state.
Brownback has used political stunts to poach L.L.C. filings from existing Missouri businesses and cited it as growth while creating few actual new jobs. For all of these efforts, he has overlooked the surest form of investment in future prosperity there is: superior access to high quality education, fostering a skilled labor force and attracting new jobs, and a thriving economy.
With one hand, Brownback is shooing young college grads out of the state, while with the other hand he is averting them from Kansas' most prolific institutions — public universities. Now, he is juggling the future of
Kansas while trying to save his own skin.
Paul Davis is a proven champion of schools from his long tenure in the Kansas House of Representatives and an advocate for the prioritization of education.
This race is a dead heat, with time before the Nov. 4 election running out and advance voting already underway. To confirm your voter registration status, check myvoteinfo.voteks.org. If you are registered in a different county, you can have your ballot mailed to your Lawrence address. If you are registered in Douglas County you can vote early on campus at the Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center.
Clay Cosby is a senior from Overland Park studying political science
FFA OF THE DAY
Am I the only person that got the irony of when you sign up for the hunger run you got a free cinnamon roll?
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THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
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Members of the Kansan
Editorial Board are Emma
LeGault, Madison Schultz,
Cecilia Choo, Hannah Barling
and Christina Carreira.
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