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PAGE 4
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014
opinion
TEXT FREE FOR ALL
Having a dog means you can go for a walk on a nice day because you "have to" rather than because you're avoiding homework.
running my laundry in between classes and The Ellen Show.
winning
Text your FFA submissions to (785)289-8351 or at kansan.com
To the suduko text: The stars are the difficulty. And to the Magic guy: ... my boyfriend and I play!
Every time the FFA isn't in color my heart breaks a little bit more.
Where are all of the buses kept when not in use?
My Doctor Who buttons finally did their job. A cute grad student sat next to me on the whole bus ride home and talked to me about video games and sci-fi, then he asked me to coffee. I was so flustered I still don't remember his name.
Are there any cool haunted houses around the Lawrence area?
Editor's note: If you're wanting to see a real haunted house check out Eldridge Hotel or Lynch House!
First world problems: My shiny engagement ring is too big!
That awesome feeling of beating the Underground's lunch rush by seconds.
Girl who let me use your pencil during the abnormal psychology test yesterday I'm reaching out through FFA to find you.
To all the kids smoking the E-cigs everywhere, that electricity must be pretty addictive.
To all the girls that wear their polo hats pulled down to there nose.
That's not how you wear a hat and it pisses me off!
it's already week 5, and I could care less about my math homework. And all of the rest of it.
Oh dear...
Since when do we let Internet jokes into the FFA? Looking at you group project person...
Editor's note: That joke was hilarious!
To those complaining about the buses not being on schedule: You try running the route on time when there is traffic, construction, more traffic, lots of people getting on and off the bus at every stop, and being stuck at the crosswalks for 5 minutes...
Thank you to the one girl nice enough to tell me my dress wasn't down all the way, you rock.
I am the scrunchie gal.
Happy Homecoming to all and to all a good week
SafeRide. SafeBus cannot cater to everyone's specific needs
Each year, Student Senate reviews a charge of student campus fees for SafeRide and SafeBus. An approved charge of $16.30 from each student allows SafeRide to run three to eight cars, seven nights a week for most of the year. SafeRide has generally run this way since its second incarnation in 1989 and is the oldest university program of its kind in the country. Jayhawks have set the standard, and that is something
to be proud of.
SafeBus began years later, in 2007, as an effort to serve high traffic areas on the weekends when SafeRide was becoming overwhelmed with incoming calls. In other words, SafeBus exists precisely to pick up SafeRider's "slack"
When SafeBus is in service, the SafeRide dispatcher still may get 150 or more calls in a night. It is simply unreasonable to expect eight cars funded by modest campus fees
to function as an unselective, speedy taxi service—especially on these nights. With this in mind,the student members of the Transit Commission set the policy of referring students currently within and living within a quarter-mile of one SafeBus route to take SafeBus instead. This was not done as a slight against students. It was done with pragmatic purpose, taking into account both the budget and the interests of
students.
If you dislike how these services function and want a say in the policy, your voice is absolutely welcome. You can email us and/or join the Transit Commission. These services were created, funded and utilized by students, and should therefore continue to be shaped by students.
If you are planning on taking SafeRide. I strongly encourage you to keep proof of residency with you
because our priority is only to get you home. If you are not a candidate for a SafeRide when SafeBus is running, and you are unsure how SafeBus works, email kuonwheels@ku.edu or call (785) 864-4644 to get detailed information on how to ride.
Jenny Erice is a junior from Falls Church, Va., studying anthropology and biology
Victim blaming is wrong, but we cannot be naive
A good friend of mine was recently a victim of a Craigslist scam. He posted his couch on the site, and a guy offered to buy it and send him extra money for "moving expenses." Eventually he received a cashier's check for $1,800 more than the asking price. He deposited the check and wired the buyer back the extra funds. As you can imagine, the check did not go through and my friend was out $1,800 of his own money. During this ordeal, we all warned him not to wire the money and having deposited the initial check was an unwise decision.
When people ask a
What were we doing? Essentially, by a broad definition, we were victim blaming. As the victim of the crime, we held him either entirely or partially responsible for the situation.
sexual assault victim how much they drank or what they were wearing. we are victim blaming. When someone's home or car is robbed and we inquire whether they locked the doors,we are victim blaming.When we criticize hacked celebrities for taking nude photos in the first place,we are victim blaming.
In all these situations, the fault lies with the assaulter, thief or hacker. Their actions are immoral and all the blame rests with them. Victim blaming is wrong, and we should avoid doing it in all scenarios.
To say that we do not properly educate students about their risks and how to mitigate them is irresponsible and a prime example of how the blame is upon the victim. However, it is naive of us to say that we should not be aware of the consequences that
can occur if we are not properly informed. Sexual assault, robbery, murder and all other crimes will continue to occur, but thinking we should be able to live however we please is impractical. There will be victims. We should instead teach people how to mitigate our risk of becoming another statistic. That may mean we cannot drink as much as we'd prefer, and maybe we can't walk alone at night. We need to eliminate the opportunities of becoming a victim, but how can we prevent an opportunity from occurring?
First, we need to
educate men and women that alcohol does make them more vulnerable. Unfortunately, updating sexual assault education always occurs when attention is brought on it; similar to changing gun policies after a highly publicized shooting. We need to educate students on how to avoid becoming a perpetrator or a victim, especially in cases of sexual assault. Some people believe silence signifies consent, or do not know that incapacity does not signify consent. This should be clarified and taught so that crimes can be prevented.
The discourse on sexual assault right now involves how the perpetrator should be punished, and how to determine what is punitive enough. But we must also discuss how to prevent sexual assault and other crimes from occurring in the first place. If I can warn
someone to lock their door when they leave the house, why is it wrong to caution someone to watch what they drink, or to not walk home alone? We cannot let our fear of victim blaming create more victims. People should know better than to commit crimes, but they are going to happen regardless of how many times we say to stop.
Yes, we need to stop sexual assault from happening, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't recognize the ways to avoid it. Watch how much you drink, don't accept drinks from people you don't know, stay close to friend groups — be smart. Anti-victim blaming does little to reduce crime, and that should be the goal.
Anrenee Reasor is a senior from Thayer studying economics and East Asian Languages and Cultures
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