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KANSAN.COM | MONDAY, NOV. 23, 2015
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My mom shared several inappropriate Buzzfeed videos this weekend and I have mixed feelings about this.
Try playing candy crush when you're drunk. It is hard.
Let's be real, you are either Team Watson or Team Anschutz
A leaf just blew into a stunned squirrel. It looked like the squirrel was holding it, but with the most confused face. 'Wha...?'
If anyone sees a red Ford Fiesta with the tags TIL 886 call the police, it was stolen from mass st. Saturday night
I'm choosing which grad schools to apply to based on which states have Blue Bell.
Students should plan a walkout at halftime of the Loyola game. #freediallo
The girl next to me at the Chainsmokers concert was on something serious but whatever it was no thanks I'll pass
When your nails match your wine #TSM
Yup it's official I like my dog more than people
Who needs a gym when the walk up from Dole to Wescoe is your campus stair stepper?
I spent over 150 dollars on clothes this weekend and no I will not apologize for my actions
You up? Yeah I know this is the FFA number. Don't judge me.
Shoutout to my 2 Tuesday classes that cancelled before Thanksgiving break!
This time every year reminds me of Ross and Rachel's epic breakup on Friends...
THEY WERE NOT ON A BREAK!!!!
Turn down for turducken amirite?!?
READ MORE AT KANSAN.COM
Letter to the editor: Thanks for the memories, McCollum Hall. I'll miss you.
BEN ASHWORTH
Hello, my name is Ben Ashworth, and I'm a survivor of three years in McCollum Hall. I say "survive" purely out of habit. People use the word "survive" when talking about living in McCollum the same way they use "survive" when reminiscing about a recent staph infection.
However, the use of that word doesn't do McCollum Hall justice.
My freshman year I lived in Lewis Hall. Perhaps I grew weary of temperature-controlled water, intact ceiling tiles, and fresh, breathable air, because after one year in Lewis, I accepted a job as a resident assistant in McCollum.
I'd never set foot in McCollum before. My whole freshman year, McCollum was the Forbidden Forest. I didn't know for sure whether there were large spiders and werewolves living there, but I wasn't itching to find out.
After the summer of my freshman year concluded and my parents had come to terms with the horror that I both drank and enjoyed Michelob
Of course, none of that made it out of the van because I had no idea that my room was going to be the size of a Cold War-era bomb shelter. My mattress felt like someone glued cardboard to a trampoline. There were three pipes that ran parallel to the ceiling that looked like the kind of monkey bars you would find in an abandoned park shut down by the health department. I wasn't sure whether I had accepted a job at McCollum or the set of "I Am Legend." I told myself to keep an open mind. After all, this was my home for nine more months.
Ultra ("what has college done to you?!") I packed a van with my futon, a nightstand, a keyboard, my mini-fridge, and all my worldly possessions and ventured to the unknown.
After several long days of RA training, the residents moved in. All the apprehension I had to live in McCollum. I could see tenfold on their faces. Not only did they move out of their parents' house for the first time, but also they were faced with the prospect of single-ply, generic toilet paper.
meeting that McCollum was a great place to live. But I might as well have told them that "The Lakehouse" starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock was a great movie. I didn't actually know, and they for sure didn't believe me.
I told them in our first floor
But you know what? It turns out I wasn't wrong.
McCollum was a great place to live. And I'm not just saying that because of the delusions that come with three years of mildew exposure. It was an experience I'll cherish forever. Everyone was always welcoming toward one another. In Lewis Hall, the doors were weighted and closed automatically. In McCollum, the doors were always open. Friendships formed fast, but the groups were never cliquey. Everyone knew that the living conditions in McCollum were slightly substandard and that formed a common bond.
Resident assistants are required to host a certain amount of programs. In other complexes, programs always came with a tumbleweed to roll across the lobby when no one showed up. In McCollum, the residents showed up in droves. It was an excuse to get
out of their rooms and meet people. Did they care about my presentation on safe sex? Probably not. But they made new friends and consumed all the food my $25 program budget could buy.
At any given time, there were people playing ping-pong or pool or watching TV in the lobby. Residents were always lounging on the lobby furniture or chatting at the front desk with the desk assistant. Some Friday nights I would hang out at the front desk and just talk to people instead of going to a house party.I could lose miserably in beer pong and take sorrow UV Blue shots some other night.
In addition to the residents, the RA staff I worked with was tremendous. They had all built up rapports with their residents and have become my lifelong friends. I've been a groomsman in two of their weddings. They are scattered throughout the country, but we keep in touch. After all, when you spend a night pouring what looks like absorbent kitty litter over three flights of stairwell vomit, you've forged a special kind of relationship. After that first year of BA
ing, I came back for another year. And then another. And I never regretted a second of it. I am deeply saddened to see it torn down to create more parking spaces. Joni Mitchell once sang and the Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton once butchered, "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot."
McColum was an unorthodox paradise. A paradise in which you were roused out of bed at four in the morning for a fire alarm, which was okay because it's not like you could sleep on those mattresses anyway. But a paradise nonetheless.
After that first year of RA-
Goodbye McCollum, and thanks for the memories. My name is Ben Ashworth, and I'm proud to have lived in McCollum for three years.
Ben Ashworth received his bachelor's degree from KU in 2012 and graduated from the School of Law in 2015. He is from Prairie Village.
How to stay healthy over Thanksgiving break
ABBY PETRULIS
@apetrulis
The time has come in the semester where everyone — staff and faculty included — is desperately trying to hang on and make it through the next couple of days before Thanksgiving break.
While there's a certain camaraderie in the desperation that accompanies the final stretch of the semester, here are some tips on how to come back from the much-needed break fully rejuvenated.
1. Get plenty of sleep.
Time to catch up on those extra hours of sleep you've been missing as the semester starts to wrap up. It's recommended that even adults get seven-and-a-half to eight
hours of sleep. While that can be difficult over the semester, relax over break and maybe even take some naps. Just make sure these naps aren't too long or they could possibly make you even more tired. Stay rested over break and you'll feel much better taking on the last two weeks of the semester.
2. Don't let your plate be full of beige on Thanksgiving Day.
This is a good rule of thumb for eating healthy on thanksgiving. A lot of traditional foods are carb-heavy, which fills you up now, but won't last long. If all you've got on your plate is stuffing, two kinds of potatoes and some turkey, you'll be missing out on a lot of nutrients. Add in some
cranberry sauce and some green beans to even out the color palate and nutrients you get from a good Thanksgiving meal.
We've talked about why getting your flu shot is so important. Shots are nasty, but what better time to stop making excuses about how busy you are and go take the 10 seconds of discomfort? Getting sick on finals week and over the holidays is the worst — it is best to protect yourself as well as you can.
4. If you're cooking the turkey, make sure it's been thawed and cooked properly.
3. Get your flu shot.
Turkeys should not thaw
by sitting out on the counter. Above 40 degrees, bacteria can multiply rapidly. Make sure you're thawing it in the fridge or in cold water well in advance before you need to start cooking. You shouldn't cook your turkey below 325 degrees or before it's fully thawed, and make sure you're checking the internal temperature of the meat before pulling it out of the oven — it should reach a minimum of 165 degrees.
5. Be active.
Though temperatures may be low and the fireplace tempting, don't sit out on the family game of football (or start a new tradition). If you're an intense Black Friday shopper, you could probably substitute fighting other people for the best deal for running to
the electronics department. Getting up and moving after a long day of eating is a good way to stay active over the holidays.
6. Wash your hands.
You would think it would go without saying, but washing your hands is a must, especially during this season. Do it after handling raw meat like turkey, before cooking, after cooking, after using the bathroom and before eating. If you're going to be around a lot of people, and especially if you're braving the germ filled crowds of Black Friday, stay clean.
Abby is a senior and second-year pharmacy student.
Edited by Derek Skillett
We must treat homeless people with respect
RYAN LISTON
@rliston235
If you've walked down Massachusetts Street, it is almost inevitable that you have seen some of the many homeless people in Lawrence. Our inclination may be to avoid eye contact, cross the street or quickly walk past them; however, doing any of these can dehumanize these people.
According to a survey conducted by the City of Lawrence on Jan. 28, the number of "literally homeless" people in Lawrence and Douglas County increased from 223 in 2013 to 296 in 2015. This number may seem low, but it only accounts for those who responded to the survey and
Much of the mistreatment of homeless people comes from stigma and misinformation surrounding homelessness. Homeless people are often regarded as lazy and responsible for their poverty. This mindset can lead to a lack of sympathy for individuals and families who may be struggling with unemployment, addiction or mental health issues.
does not take into account the multiple definitions of homeless.
Homeless people are not
Despite this potential inaccuracy, it is clear that the amount of homeless people in our community has increased considerably. Now more than ever, the community must treat the homeless population with respect.
Escaping homelessness is not an easy fix, and while you may not be able to help homeless people with their financial issues, there is one thing you can do to make the lives of homeless people better: Be kind.
simply lazy individuals who mooch off the public for money; rather, they are often trapped in poverty because they do not possess the necessary education, skills or training to acquire a well-paying job.
When we treat the homeless as social outcasts, we demean and humiliate them. I've seen a woman aggressively throw change at a group of homeless people while yelling at them. Even my father has told me about a time when he gave a
Although most people may not act so blatantly rude toward homeless people, many of us are guilty of ignoring or speeding past them. By simply saying hello or smiling at these people caught in hard times, you can bring some happiness and positivity to their life.
If you aren't comfortable giving a homeless person money or food, that's your personal choice. But everyone should treat homeless people like they would any other person they see downtown — with kindness and respect.
homeless man leftover food, and someone told him that he shouldn't have given the man food because the man hadn't earned it.
If you made eye contact with
Homeless people deserve to be treated the same way, with basic human decency. All it takes is the recognition that homeless people are humans too, capable of emotions, just like someone fortunate enough to have a home of their own.
a woman sitting on a bench downtown,you most likely wouldn't rush by her,cross the street to avoid her or glare at her; you would probably acknowledge her in some way with a nod, smile or other greeting.
Ryan Liston is a freshman from Lawrence studying journalism.
Edited by Jackson Vickery
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