+ OPINION + FREE-FOR-ALL » WE HEAR FROM YOU! Text your #FFA submissions to 785-289-UDK1 (8351) Is it too late now to say sorry I don't like the new JB album? Students should plan a walkout at halftime. the Loyola game. #freediallo KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, NOV.19, 2015 KU basketball camping should be suspended Saturday so everyone can support KU football My roommate ate three boxes of Gushers in one day. and I thought I had a rough week. I just would like someone to want me as much as fans want those free XL t-shirts they throw out at games... I just saw the best fireman butt #blessed I slowly ate a pop tart instead of doing homework. My priorities are clearly on point Reasons why I don't trust Greek yogurt; texture. That is all. More love! Less Hate! 2015 now, no reason to discriminate! Just saw online where my SCM professor won the World Powerlifting Championships and set world and American records. Wow! One must never underestimate the restorative powers of a 4-hour nap. If you don't like G-Eazy then I don't like you "I adopted 32 cats and dogs. Do you want pancakes? I'm going to make pancakes." If you put on red lipstick, no one knows you haven't showered in a week Probably. I think I peeked when Aaron Carter followed me on Twitter I get to see Mac miller the day before thanksgiving. You best believe I am thankful Read more at kansan.com OMG one more week until Thanksgiving!!! Wrote a 3-page paper in 2 hours today. #senior Letter to the editor: Sound, fury and sense MONIQUE LUISI Over dinner, I told my husband about "the town hall meeting." He then asked me: "what do people have to be angry about at the University of Kansas?" I take a deep breath, ready to attack. Being a black woman all my life, I'm usually at-the-ready to address these sort of inquiries. Three semesters of teaching Diversity in the Media at the KU-Lawrence campus has helped me attack with finesse. But first, I I have never felt like I was mistreated because of my race in the KU School of Journalism or KU Medical — the two places I attend class and work. Honestly, I was not aware of the extent of equity issues on campus until last week's town hall. Maybe, I live a more closed-off life as a graduate student. Maybe, I am lucky. However, I imagine that many other students of color, as well as other minorities have not had the same experience. Staring at the ceiling, I reminisce about my journey to Lawrence, Kansas. I grew up on the east coast, and have previously lived and attended institutions in Maryland and South Dakota. I know what it is like to be the only black person in a classroom, or even an academic department. It can be lonely, and yes, sometimes you feel the eyes of curiosity, judgement, and even hate. "What do you mean?" I start rambling off the "facts." Or, these things I have been led to believe all of my life. Because I am black, I am automatically less likely to succeed. Because I graduated from high school, college, have a master's degree, and am likely to finish my doctoral degree, I am a super-minority. Or, a "token," as someone once recently told me. Yet, there's hope. Because I am a black woman, I am not as likely as my brothers to have a run in with the justice system. Still, it hurts to see another story on my Facebook or Twitter feed of yet another black body beaten, bruised, broken, or even killed at the hands of the law every other day. I still have to be careful though, because since I am black, this is more likely to happen to me. I keep A few days later, we revisit the topic. "I understand," he says over dinner. I reminded him about the Town Hall meeting where demands were listed. Strong voices with strong messages — important messages — rang across the auditorium. I was proud, but very deeply concerned. they do not exist. "Statistics," I say. I tell him that I have been exoticized, excluded, and judged because of my blackness. Even more disturbing, I tell him that at least since third grade, I have been complimented despite of my blackness. I am so articulate, for a black person. I am so smart, for a black person. I am nice, for a black person. "Are you mixed?" – a common question I've received. Qualified, judged, made to feel like I am an exception to "all them other folks," these micro- and macro- aggressions that are so thick in my memory that I can cut them with a knife. If I have been told these things, I can't imagine what other black college students have been, and are being told. What are black people in general being told? What would that collection of stories look like? Pain, hurt, frustration - anger. my cellphone camera on the main screen. To add insult to injury, we are told that the problems cannot be that bad. Look at Syria? Invalidated. We look at the list of demands on his phone. "Some of these demands...yeah, that probably should happen. Some of these others, can KU really do anything about it?" "Probably not," I bite into a fry, "something needs to be done, but this probably was not the best way." Just because we do not see the problems, does not mean Various conversations over the next few days with people in Kansas and across the country fill my head. As a founding member of a BSU at the University of South Dakota, as a representative for several diversity initiatives across a few institutions, I reflect on all of the meetings, paperwork, and frustration that myself and others have dealt with. Research, collaboration, discourse: it was hard work. But, I also remember the success. @UNIVERSITY DAILYKANSAN There is a lot of legitimate sound and fury over equity issues at the University of Kansas. It is important, even more so in light of recent events, that we use our platforms whether you are a transfer freshman in a class of 300 or an administrator, to promote and realize diversity on our campus. No, not just racial diversity and equity - but also gender, GLBT, religion nationality, disability, and social economic status, and more, should be addressed However, raw emotion and unrealistic and undirected demands are not the foundation of a road to lasting, impacting and meaningful change. What we need now are actionable plans. We've got the sound and fury; now we need some sense. Monique L. R. Luisi is a third-year doctoral student from Burtonsvill, Md., studying journalism and mass communications. Concern for events and tragedies around the world is necessary, no matter which country @KANSANNEWS JESSE BURBANK @JBurbank1 /THEKANSAN Last week, a string of terrorist attacks in Paris prompted worldwide outcry. Public officials, celebrities and everyday citizens changed their profile pictures and poured out their hearts in posts and speeches. People from every nation, religion, race and ethnicity grieved for Paris. While this sympathetic gesture is an appropriate response to senseless terror, one has to ask why it takes a massive attack on a major Western city to rouse peoples' sympathy. It is imperative that people feel this level of sympathy for those of different nations at all times, not just during times of crisis and not just in nations similar to ours. We live in a global community where people once distant are now reliant on one another for security, political stability and economic success. We need to care about what's going on in the global community and recognize that we share a common fate in an interdependent world. What's going on in Paris or Brunei or Syria will not stay confined to narrow geographic boundaries. their lives ... are equal to ours, we would all be doing more to put the fire out. It is an uncomfortable truth." Beyond being concerned for others who are different from us, we have to act on this concern. One key method is through foreign aid. Far from being the waste of money, financial aid for struggling and developing nations provides a massive return on investment through regional stability, economic development and better lives for local inhabitants. We must realize that what goes on beyond our borders intimately affects our lives and our future, regardless of whether people are different from us. Through sympathetic programs like foreign aid, we can work toward a safer, healthier and better world. Through mutual concern, we can build a better world. Famed economist Jeffrey Sachs writes about foreign aid's importance, arguing, "The opponents of aid are not merely wrong. Their vocal antagonism still threatens the funding that is needed to get the job done, to cut child and maternal deaths... and to continue after that to ensure that all people everywhere finally have access to basic health services" Indeed, Sachs gets to the heart of the problem in his book, "The End of Poverty." In discussing why the United States does not respond to the suffering of much poorer nations — hunger, ethnic strife, political instability, terrorism Sachs elaborates, "Deep down, if we really accept that he argues we simply don't care as much about them as we do about our fellow Western democracies. Brownback should consider responsibility and ability before denying Syrian refugees Jesse is a junior from Quinter majoring in history, politics and economics. Edited by Rebecca Dowd RACHEL GONZALES @KansanNews On Monday, a column authored by Gov. Sam Brownback was released in which he explained his decision to sign "an executive order directing that no state agency or organization receiving grant money from the state will participate in or assist in any way in the relocation of Syrian refugees in Kansas." His decision was made after the terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday. Brownback claims he took this action to protect the safety of Kansas citizens. Brownback attributes this to the belief that the federal government cannot guarantee that Syrian refugees coming into America would not be part of a terrorist organization seeking to harm our citizens, and he calls on countries who are geographically closer to Syria to step up and help instead. What Brownback has missed, though, is that the U.S. has a responsibility to help relocate displaced Syrians because we helped displace them in the first place. The U.S. must accept the consequences of military action that they continue to participate in. The U.S., Kansas being no exception, should be held accountable for its active role in creating Laith Shakir, a fellow of the Next Leaders program at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., said U.S. policies have contributed to the destabilization of the Middle East "generally in almost innumerable ways, [and] at least three directly link the country to the wave of Syrians fleeing violence: fracturing Iraq, proliferating arms throughout the region and continuing air strike operations against the Islamic State." Despite its active participation in the cause of the crisis, the U.S. has accepted only 1,500 of the more than 4 million Syrians who have fled their the Syrian conflict. Rachel Gonzales is a junior from Ft. Collins, Colo., studying journalism and sociology. As a country, we are not only able to but should feel obligated to help Syrian refugees. America has played an undeniable part in creating the violence and destruction these refugees are fleeing. There is no reason that we should not step up to the plate and accept Syrian refugees. - Edited by Dani Malakoff home, said Shakir. Some individuals may be concerned that opening the country's door to refugees will mean giving potential terrorists access to the U.S. However, the people who are making the extremely difficult trek to America are mostly doing so to flee violence and destruction, not to create it. It is relevant to compare this crisis to the displacement of Iraqis, of whom the U.S. has legally relocated almost 100,000, according to the U.S. Department of State Fact Sheet on refugee settlement. Likewise, the United States does not grant just anyone asylum. There is even an application process for refugees looking to enter the United States, in order to protect against criminals or potential threats. KANSAN.COM Check out for exclusive online content HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR LETTER GUIDELINES; Send letters to editor@kansan.com Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the email subject line. Length: 300 words 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 Emily Stewart Advertising director estewart@kansan.com Katie Kutsko Editor-in-chief kkutsko@kansan.com THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Katie Kutsko, Emma LeGault, Emily Stewart and Anissa Fritz. +