+
opinion
+
Text your #FFA submissions to 785-289-UDK1 (8351)
People need to pay less attention to politics.
I wonder if there have been any puns about them fixing the Campanile... I bet some of them will rock.
Saw a license plate today that read, "dogydoc." Can we be friends, please?
KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, APRIL. 7, 2016
My sweet kitten has started taking push pins out of the wall and leaving them in my bed for me to lay on.
Just spilled a full half gallon of milk at Dillon's while attempting to avoid an ex-coworker. He saw
Sadness is using the rest of your tax refund for a phone bill
We watched Twilight in class today and now I'm wondering if it's too late to get my tuition money back.
What's the appropriate response when someone in yourclass says "Racism is beautiful" ?
Editor's Note: A blood-curdling scream.
You know it's going to be a good day when the weather is gorgeous and your neighbor's dog greets you at your car in the morning
Mondays are difficult,
but you know what's
even more difficult?
Nope...still Mondays.
- looks at picture of cute dog to stop self from being sad *
If you play your snap stories out loud in a room full of people chances are I want to violently murder you
Why do felons worry about finding jobs after prison when the NFL is always hiring?
I have the body of a 21 year-old college student but the mind and back pain of an 85 year-old cat lady.
READ MORE AT KANSAN.COM
/THEKANSAN
@KANSANNEWS
KANSAN.NEWS
@UNIVERSITY
DAILYKANSAN
Illustration by Jake Kaufmann/KANSAN
Clough: Virtual reality fad poses threat to communication and authentic experiences
► MATTHEW CLOUGH @mcloughsofly
So much of our time as a society is spent engrossed in the virtual. Whether it's checking messages on phones, watching TV shows, playing video games or just scrolling through the Internet, American adults spend an average of eight and a half hours per day behind a screen, according to research from Ball State University's Center for Media Design.
And if the cultural phenomenon known as virtual reality continues to gain popularity, that number could keep increasing.
The concept isn't new. The term "virtual reality," or VR, gained prominence in the 1980s during the advent of personal computers, when the possibilities of technology enthralled people worldwide. It gained traction in the '90s as films and video games toyed with the idea of producing alternate realities, albeit to underwhelming results. In 2014, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook purchased Oculus VR, the leader in VR technology, for $2 billion.
Just last week, the Oculus Rift was finally released. The Oculus Rift is a headset that immerses users in virtual worlds, taking gaming and other related practices to a new level. But as technology advances and VR functionality expands across fields, it may have drastically negative effects on our culture.
It may sound utterly ridiculous for the time being, but eventually society may come to the point where distinguishing the real from the imagined isn't a simple task. Granted, the field has a lot to accomplish before such a dystopian scene becomes reality, but considering the massive strides it's made in different forms over the past several decades, it may not be all that unrealistic.
At the very least, research has shown that VR technology is changing the way we think and act, influencing our behavior in the real world. One study at Stanford had subjects cut down a virtual tree during a VR experience and found they used fewer paper towels to clean up a spill afterward than those who did not have the experience.
Of course, a lot of different mediums influence the ways in which we think. But
no platforms to date have been as intimate or realistic as VR. So, what happens if the experiences that take place inside a virtual reality console are traumatic in some sense or even just unexpected?
Research from Stanford has indicated that VR experiences can cause at least nausea and headaches. Additionally, ethical considerations may be called into question in the case of scares or disturbances in virtual experiences. Psychological effects may be complex and detrimental if these virtual experiences influence responses to reality.
There's no doubt that as VR technology develops, the possibilities for social benefit increase drastically. Analysts from advisory organizations such as Macquarie Capital believe that eventually VR can be used in the classroom for students to "visit" historical sites or practice scientific projects, and people can "meet" face-to-face in virtually constructed spaces. But are these experiences any replacement for the tangible and authentic?
Some might say yes, but I can't help but wonder if we're at risk of losing some aspect of what it truly means to feel something, of what it truly means to be human.
VR experiences open new possibilities for exploration, and technology certainly helps cultural advancement more than it hurts. I'm not against the development of new media and new means of interacting with our collective idea of culture, but I do hope we can maintain a sense of authentic human experience as media continues to advance.
Matthew Clough is a junior from Wichita studying English and journalism.
Liston: Supreme Court's decision on congressional districts beneficial for proper voter representation
RYAN LISTON
@rliston235
On Monday, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld
Currently, all states draw districts based on relatively equal-sized populations regardless of voter eligibility. This current method ensures a more fair representation of a state's demographics.
existing rules for drawing up congressional districts and rejected a proposal that would require states to draw districts based solely on the population of eligible voters.
the decision are far-reaching. If the Supreme Court had supported the redistricting proposal, it would have led to severe misrepresentation for the populations of many states.
While it may seem unimportant that the Supreme Court simply kept the law the same, the ramifications of
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, since 2010, 22 states have implemented restrictive voting laws that hinder certain groups, especially minorities, from voting. Kansas is one such state with restrictive voting laws. On top of this, populations that include
children, illegal immigrants, immigrants without citizenship and former prisoners would not have been accurately represented under the failed proposal.
While the Supreme Court's decision ensured that devastating redistricting rules were not mandatory, it leaves the possibility that a state could use the eligible voter populations to draw districts. This option should be eliminated to ensure that states couldn't suppress representation of diverse populations.
In an ideal society, eligible voters would represent the diversity of the whole society. Until voting laws change and eligible voters accurately mimic their communities, a proposition to only account for eligible voters would simply lead to a misrepresentation of the values and desires of diverse populations.
Ryan Liston is a freshman from Lawrence studying journalism.
"DO OR DIE"
HOW TO SUBMIT A
LETTER GUIDELINES: Send letters to editor@kansan.com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the email subject line.
Length: 300 words
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The submission should include the author's name, year, major and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.
CONTACT US
Vicky Diaz-Camacho Editor-in-chief vickyd.kansan.com
Gage Brock Business Manager gbrock@kansan.com
THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan
Editorial Board are Vicky
Diaz-Camacho, Kate Miller,
Gage Brock and Maddy
Mikinski
+