4A • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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OPINION
TALKTOUS
WEDNESDAY,OCT31,2001
Kursten Phelps editor 864-4854 or editor@kansan.com
Leita Schultes Christina Neff managing editors 864-4854 or editor@kansan.com
Erin Adamson Brendan Woodbury opinion editors 864-4810 or opinion@kansan.com
Jenny Moore business manager 864-4014 or adddirector@kansan.com
Kate Mariani retail sales manager 864-4452 or retailsales@kansan.com
Tom Eblen general manager and news adviser 864-7667 or teblen@kansan.com
Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or mflshr@kansan.com
EDITORIAL
Ping pong should be intramural sport by spring
For too long, the University of Kansas has gone without intramural ping pong. With minimal cost and wide-ranging participation, there is no excuse for failing to add a ping pong tournament by next semester.
There are simply too many outstanding players just itching for a chance to prove themselves and finally see who the best really is here at KU. Take sophomore Tom Wait for instance. Nationally ranked in one ping pong magazine, USA Table Tennis, Wait is just waiting for the University to recognize his chosen sport as an official intramural sport.
"Frankly I think it's ridiculous that it hasn't already happened," Wait said. "I mean, what kind of school doesn't offer intramural ping pong?"
His question is a valid one. A quick look at the Web sites of other Big 12 schools reveals that KU is certainly in the minority. In fact, the athletic juggernaut that is Baylor is the only other Big 12 school that does not offer ping pong.
True, athletic facilities here at the University don't match up to many of those of the aforementioned schools. And who knows when the long-awaited new recreation center will actually break ground? But in the mean time, the ping pong tables that the University already owns could be set up on one of the courts at Robinson Gym.
While these would take up space in an already crowded gym, they would not need to be up for long. At most schools, intramural ping pong consists of single-elimination tournaments that could be over in the span of a few evenings.
Cost would be minimal, as ping pong does not require referees, only a tournament coordinator and a couple of supervisors. Ping pong equipment is extremely cheap; players bring their own paddles so the only expense would be the balls.
Submissions can include a sketch of Jayhawk Boulevard, a diary entry from a freshman, an alternative use for Wescoe Hall or a column.
Implementation would be simple. Just post the sign-ups like any other sports, reserve a court at Robinson for a weekend, or for a few nights, and hold the tournament.
There is absolutely no reason to wait on instituting intramural pong here at KU. The first annual tournament should be held this spring.
Andy Knopp for the editorial board
SHARE YOUR VISION OF KU IN 2030
The opinion page is soliciting essays, art work and even Free for All comments describing what life may be like at KU in the year 2030.
PERSPECTIVE
Halloween brings needed rest from political correctness
In the frighteningly politically correct era that we are living in, I find myself thanking the Lord up on high that this country is still able to celebrate the magical holiday of Halloween.
At a time when people can't seem to agree on how to spell the word "women," it is nothing short of miraculous that we can all agree that Oct. 31 should be the day that everyone puts on funny masks and walks around the neighborhood collecting candy.
neighborhood. Everyone should count their lucky chickens that Halloween already exists, because there is no way in Hades that the idea would get anywhere if it was brought up today.
Imagine trying to explain the concept of Halloween to someone who's never heard of it before. We are living in a world where you can get cued for talking about Seinfeld at the water cooler.
Knowing that, it warms my little heart to know that I can appear at any random person's front door dressed as a giant pumpkin and demand candy, and not only would I get it, the person giving the candy would think nothing of it.
In a Halloween-less world I would probably get two to three years probation for doing something like that.
Commentary
Marc Ingber
Columnist
opinionskansan.com
It's nice that Halloween exists, but the truly great part of it is that it's observed by the overwhelmingly majority of the population. Columbus Day has long been a part of our country's tradition, but it's not exactly celebrated by a large amount of people.
Any guy seen sitting in a wooden boat marked Santa Maria with a sailor's hat on yelling "Ahoy!" would find himself with a lot less friends than he had when the day began.
Almost everyone, no matter what religion they are, celebrates Halloween. Growing up, everyone had that mean old Mr. Caruthers guy on their block that would yell at them for running on his lawn. But on Halloween, even he was there waiting with a bowl of candy and a smile.
Another great thing about Hal
loween is that the adults get into it just as much as the kids. Every person who works in an office has a never-ending supply of khakis and pant suits.
Nevertheless, the one day out of the year that they get to see Joe from accounting dressed as David Lee Roth makes it almost worthwhile to live through the other 364. Halloween is one of the only times that people just shut up and try to have fun.
It allows for people to have a sense of humor about things rather than an "I'm being persecuted!" attitude. It truly brings everyone together.
So I have some advice for a certain George W. the next time he meets with other world leaders to discuss treaties. I advise he skips putting on a suit and doing the whole handshake thing, but instead put on a Gene Simmons mask and hand Vladimir Putin a Butterfinger. It would make him happy like it makes so many of us happy in this country.
Soul, peace. n' chicken grease and a Happy Halloween to all.
Marc Ingler is a sophomore from Golden Valley, Minn.
PERSPECTIVE
Sex column stirring strong reaction
Every Thursday restless whispers move through morning classes. At the center of all the attention, hidden away in the Jayplay section, is Meghan Bainum's sex column.
What started out as a reporting project on fetishes blossomed into what is arguably the most talked about and widely read column in the Kansan.
There's the cynical reader: "So according to Meghan Bainum that writes the sex column, we should just sleep with everyone on campus and spread those STDs." The inquisitive reader: "You seem like a very adventurous gal. Have you ever had a three-some? What about another gal?"
It seems as if everyone has an opinion about the new sex column. Here's what some readers are saying:
There is the disgusted reader:
"Meghan Bainum's column is unprofessional, immature and a waste of valuable space." The extolling reader:
"Meghan Bainum's sex column is the bomb. I worked with the girl and she would do anything she talks about in her column."
Based on the amount of feedback the Kansan receives regarding Bainum's column, its evident readers flock to read what she has to say each week, whether they like the content or not.
some? What am I doing?
And then there is the excited reader:
"I don't think you guys should be slamming on Meghan because I took her advice and, ahhhh, got myself a, ahhhh, real nice vibrator, mmmmmm."
It's rumored that members of one scholarship hall taped Bainum's Oct.4 column. "Genitals are jewels to be treasured" inside a bathroom stall
Commentary
Jonathan Ng
Reader's representative
along with a tiny mirror at the bottom. The column encouraged readers to explore their genitals with a mirror and a flashlight.
Bainum said she has received over 40 e-mails this semester from students, faculty and even an alumnus. She said most questions come from men and that the questions are usually from people looking for reassurance that what they feel or do sexually or how a certain body part looks (or functions).
Reader reaction in has been mixed. Some readers raise concerns about morality and how Bainum's column encourages promiscuity. Some also question her credibility on the subject. One reader wrote, "The sex column sucks. I don't need Bainum's advice. What does she know?" What does she really know and is she qualified to answer these types of questions?
"My job as a journalist isn't to know everything I report on," Bainum said. "There's no way to be an expert on everything that I write about. I do research, I call people and I talk to people informally. I don't think my job is to know everything about a subject, but to put it out to the world in a way they can understand it."
"Journalism is all about giving you the truth," Phelps said. "Talk about things that people are talking about anyways. Sex and dating is a big part of daily life. It's such a big part of what's on the mind of readers."
Kursten Phelps, Kansan editor, said Bainum wasn't a professional sex therapist, and trying to get clinical answers
to complex questions wasn't the point of the column.
Or as one reader put it. "It's about time someone had the 'balls' to put in print what everyone else is thinking about."
"Sex in this culture is a very offensive topic," Bainum said. "Everyone is really, really uptight about a natural act between two people. It's such a taboo, but it's out there. It's everywhere. Everyone has questions."
Some of Bainum's topics or viewpoints are not entirely prudent, but the positives outweigh the negatives.
Bainum said she wanted readers to remember not to take her too seriously. She said she's just a college student trying to connect with other college students about a subject that affects them in their everyday lives.
A column about sex provides readers with an outlet to learn about and explore the sexual aspect of their lives. If anything, it opens up communication about a rather hushed, yet important, topic. Perhaps, instead of promoting promiscuity, the column will help some readers better understand the act of sex and thus, help them to respect it.
As Bainum put it, "Even if you don't want to participate in sex, learn about it, because some day you may want to do it."
Ng is a junior in journalism and Spanish from Leawood.
FREE for ALL
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Not all of them will be published. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed.
864-0500
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
Just for the record, when girls have slumber parties, naked, toppless pillow fights do not happen!
If masturbation is wrong, I don't want to be right.
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Kansas football—a good excuse to get
drunk
I think people need to quit saving "What's up with that?" in the Free For All because it's not cool anymore.
I wish that somebody would just seduce me. Please.
Yes,toilets do flush backwards in Australia.
Driving around McColum parking lot, I started to think about Pez. Realize how bad it is? Little kids get treats for snapping animals' necks. It's gonna be the downfall of society.
Does anyone else find it ironic that Phi Kappa Psi is doing a dodgeball tournament for battered women?
foday our calculus teacher recommended us some sci-fi fantasy books under the heading that they were softcore porn.
You can't really call a free For All. If you don't have a phone, you're excluded.
Why do we need to talk about Gene Hackman and John Cusack when we have powered soap on our campus?
It tastes like apple juice, but it looks a lot like urine.
Yes, we treehuggers do hug trees with thorns.
OK, something is wrong, because now my roommate's girlfriend's boobs have nothing on them, and I still can't stop staring at them.
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I just realized my girlfriend loves me for my money, and I'm OK with that. I think I've been having an affair with her boobs for three years now.
My friend is getting a check for $5000 because he sold some stock. My question is, after I kill him, how long should I wait until I hit on his girlfriend?
We are all dying.
I just snuck out of class to call the Free for All. Can I say you guys if I get an F?
School makes me sad. I don't know why I go. I just want to be dumb and happy like an American.
Do you know what this country needs right now? G.J. Lee. He's a real American hero.
I hope I get printed this time because I'm calling from Scotland and it's costing me 35 pence a minute. And I'm running low on cash.
And might ladd, sheep lungs, heart and liver cooked in sheep intestines, otherwise known as Haagia, ain't that bad.
Is Hilla Rantala the only girl on the women's soccer team?
If there was ever a reason to drop out of KU, it would to follow in the footsteps of Scott Bakula and his amazing career.
There's a girl in my biology class with webbed toes and she likes to put her feet up on the ledge in Budig and I just don't understand it.
What's with the older guys who don't get it?
Us girls use you for alcohol and then we go home at 4:30. Hello.
I'm not sure if KU drinks from zero to six drinks or none at all at a party, but I know that me and my friends are trying very hard to raise this average. Keep it up. Keep drinking.
Is it wrong to use Febreeze as if it were cologne?
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My roommate is so skinny that she wears little girl jeans and it makes me mad.
My roommate's little girl jeans give her plumber's crack. That make me happy
How come Wile E. Coyote never bought food instead of all those Acme products.
Man, fault that.
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In an attempt to keep up the appearance of the complex, we ask that only patio furniture and other appropriate items be on the balcony. Please remove the orange construction barrel immediately. Thank you.
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I just wanted to tell the whole world that Joey is now finally officially my boyfriend. Isn't it about darn toot' time?