opinion
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KANSAN.COM | MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016
Text your #FFA submissions to 785-289-UDK1 (8351)
Why is it always so much easier to fall asleep on the couch than it is once you're all ready for sleep and in bed
When you go home for the first time in 2 months and your dog is so happy to see you is the best feeling
Calling in a sick day for work when you accidentally overslept There's a new low
Oral surgeon asked if I'd ever had a few glasses of wine when he was explaining laughing gas effects to me. I might have started laughing
If I had a dollar for every minute I spent waiting around at doctors' offices I could probably afford my own insurance. '
When a dog barks and its parents yell at them, does the dogs think its parents are just barking back? Do they think it's a conversation?
At some point last night I rode a mechanical bull. I don't know why, but it rocked. 10 out of 10 would recommend
Toward the end of every semester I always have a nightmare where I realize I was signed up for a class I didn't know about and I didn't show up to any classes and I got a zero percent.
Is it summer vacation yet?
I've learned nothing this semester
Not sure why I keep trying to send important emails when I'm drunk on Saturday nights
I assembled my hammock inside today. I couldn't get it outside, though. I then disassembled it inside and did it all again outside.
Don't fart in rooms of crowded people.
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LGBTQ+ individuals may be negatively affected
Illustration by Jake Kaufmann/KANSAN
Liston: Britain's travel advisory sheds light on LGBTQ+ discrimination in the U.S.
RYAN LISTON
@rliston235
Discriminatory laws recently passed in Mississippi and North Carolina have come under scrutiny by an unlikely agency: the British Foreign Office.
On April 19, the British Foreign Office updated its travel advice for people coming to the United States to include a warning that LGBTQ+ individuals may be negatively affected by the aforementioned laws.
The law in North Carolina prevents cities and counties from passing anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ citizens, and bans transgender citizens from using restrooms that match their gender identity in public schools and government buildings. In Mississippi, the law allows churches, religious charities and private businesses to deny service to LGBTQ+ people.
While Britain specifically mentioned North Carolina and Mississippi only, Kansas lawmakers recently proposed a bill that would ban transgender students from using restrooms that match their gender identities at public schools and universities. Kansas also does not have anti-discrimination protections for people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
These are only two pieces of legislation among many more originating under Gov. Sam Brownback that harm LGBTQ+ citizens in the state. Kansas could be another state that the British government warns its LGBTQ+ citizens about.
Kansas is not the only state other than Mississippi and North Carolina with similar discriminatory laws. The United States as a whole is failing to truly provide a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ people, and this British travel advisory should encourage us to dramatically improve our treatment of such individuals.
We need to demand that our government starts treating LGBTQ+ people with decency and fairness. We need to eliminate harmful laws like those implemented in Kansas, Mississippi,
North Carolina and several other states. We should also ban dangerous practices like conversion therapy, which is completely legal in 46 states including Kansas. Until the United States guarantees LGBTQ+ people the same quality of life and legal treatment as everyone else, we need to press our government to do more in terms of curbing discrimination.
Ryan Liston is a freshman from Lawrence studying journalism.
- Edited by Matthew
Clough
Befort: Studying abroad an essential part of college education
► BRIDGETTE BEFORT
@BridgetteBefort
Last week I was asked the question, "What change would enhance the college education system?" This question made me pause and think. I could brainstorm many potential improvements to college education, but then I remembered my education and the experiences that have been most cultivating and knew the answer immediately: studying abroad.
Although most colleges offer study abroad programs, few U.S. students take advantage of them. In 2013, according to the Institute of International Education, 283,000 U.S. students studied abroad compared to the more than 819,000 international students studying in the U.S.During the University's 2013-2014 school year 1,380 students studied abroad, very few compared to the University's 2013 enrollment of 27,784.Because of its many benefits, this needs to change. Students should not only be encouraged, but required to study abroad.
Last summer I studied abroad with the British Summer Institute, which enhanced my college experience and changed my perspective on life. On our second day in London, my group became lost in a weirdly abandoned part of south London searching for the infamous London Bridge. Finding our way back to our neighborhood through the run-down streets seemed impossible for a while, especially after a disturbing Chicken Cottage (an English fast-food joint) experience, but by asking locals and using our maps and navigational skills we found not only the underwhelming London Bridge, but more importantly a Tube Station to get us to a more familiar area.
Illustration by Jake Kaufmann/KANSAN
My time in the U.K. taught me life lessons such as independence and how to navigate unfamiliar situations, and provided hands on learning that helped me better understand my classes and other world cultures. Most importantly, though, I interacted with people from all over the U.K., increasing my appreciation of the
During the British Summer Institute we also traveled to Haworth, England, home of the Brontë family. Looking through the Brontë's front windows on a tour of their home, I could understand the inspiration for their often melancholy writings, which helped me in interpreting the themes of their novels.
One of these supporters is First Lady Michelle Obama who recently spoke in support of studying abroad. "The more young people get the opportunity to travel the world, live in other cultures and learn new languages, the more they will begin to understand our shared ideals and the shared opportunities to keep moving this world forward," she said.
British culture, and I developed friendships with other University students I likely wouldn't have met because of our different degree fields and the size of the University's campus. Creating relationships with others through studying abroad is globally important and encouraged by many.
Education's purpose is to enlighten the mind. Studying abroad opens students' eyes to the wonders, diversity and interconnectedness of the world. This understanding is important for the increasingly globalized future: many college students will enter the workforce upon graduation and be expected to perform in an international business world, which studying abroad can prepare them for. For these reasons, the University of Kansas and
other universities should strive to increase the number of U.S. students studying abroad.
Admittedly, going abroad is costly, but many opportunities for scholarships exist, and creating even more study abroad scholarship funds should be a priority. Learning outside the U.S. will not only have a lifetime impact, but also will enhance the overall students' success education.
Bridgette Befort is a sophomore from Topeka studying chemical engineering.
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