+ OPINION + FREE-FOR-ALL >> WE HEAR FROM YOU KANSAN.COM | MONDAY, NOV.16, 2015 Text your #FFA submissions to 785-289-UDK1 (8351) I am STILL getting mite bites. This is not OK Dear Fraser air conditioning, I should not need to put on gloves while in class Pasta night is the only night worth staying awake for. I'm a senior and I still can't find my way around Wescoe. When you tag yourself in your own picture on Instagram, you can get out. Peyton Manning sucks. And it's hilarious. Your exes are exes for a reasons. Starbucks asked me if I wanted to take advantage of their buy-one-get-one holiday drink special. I said yes. I have lived a thousand lives this weekend. I could do my homework or I could stare at a wall. I usually pick the latter. My best friend's mom pulled out cupcakes and warned me not to eat them too fast "because of what happened last time" You can't spell "Peyton M4nning" without 4 INT. If I have a 61 percent in a class, is it possible to pull that up to a C-? How did this happen? I value Zen Zero's chicken pad thai more than most of the relationships in my life when you go to John Brown's Underground to get away from life and everything is perfect but then someone puts sports on TV and throws the whole vibe off. can you not? k thanks. #sportsball I'm happy and fat. Perfect cuddle material honestly. Our creepy neighbors gave away their dog and now I have no reason to like them How many days until the end of the semester? READ MORE AT KANSAN.COM Letter to the editor: KU administration's silence at town hall forum is disgraceful CASSANDRA OSEI I am one of the many alums who watched yesterday's forum from afar. As the creator of the original #RockChalkInvisibleHawk hashtag, I cannot express how proud I am that its use is promoting visible action and change on this campus. Those students, many of whom have had their college careers disrupted by the cowardly racist actions of their peers, spoke from immense pain, fatigue, and the patriotic and civic principles they hold not only as Americans, but also as Jayhawks. @KANSANNEWS /THEKANSAN @UNIVERSITY DAILYKANSAN I would like to remind the KU community that these same students, whom some of you hold in contempt for not demonstrating a "neutral tone of voice" to our chancellor, were in constant polite and respectable discussions with not only the chancellor but also Provost Vitter and Provost of Diversity and Inclusion Nate Thomas. I, along with my peers, expressed the plight of all multicultural students (women, LGBT, students with disabilities, veterans, nontraditional students, undocumented students and international students) with these administrators. Those conversations frustratingly were often met with stalemate, which I believe was for fear of drawing theire of not only the Kansas legislature, but also of donors stuck Let it be said that the stakes are too high to continue this "polite and civility" theater. Kynnedi Grant was almost shot to death by racist students on Halloween. Administrators heard dozens of black students state that they would be leaving KU for fear of their safety. in an older era. I have told both the chancellor and vice provost the prospect of students not leaving their dorms during exams for fear of meeting violence motivated by hatred. Students are at risk of dying, and staff and faculty are fearful of giving verbal support due to possible retaliation from administrators. engine that perpetuates this toxic culture that blew up in everyone's face yesterday. ulty retention, the University cannot even retain its own administrators: Provost Ann Cudd has already taken off, and Provost Vitter is soon to leave for his own racial strife as Chancellor of Ole Miss. Chancellor Gray-Little was the sacrificial lamb on which the campus could voice their frustrations, pain and despair. She is responsible for allowing the University to get to this nadir, but this is a shared responsibility with her white administrators, faculty and staff, who, save Professor Shawn Alexander, maintained their silence throughout the forum. In addition to lackluster fac- The chancellor, in a recent news conference with the press, expressed her doubts that the public, flagship university would continue to exist within the next 100 years. Indeed, its demolishment will be accelerated not solely by state financial divestment, but by the entire campus' unwillingness to do the right thing. That silence is cynical, irresponsible, and a disgrace to this institution, and it is the Osei is a 2015 graduate of the University, where she won the Rusty Leffel Concerned Student Award. She is currently a PhD student in history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Despite misconceptions, we should consider ourselves feminists and stand up for equal rights JENNY STERN @jenlikeswhales Sexism is widespread in our society, but people often shy away from labeling themselves as feminists because of some of the attached misconceptions. While there may be some feminists that dislike men, they are the vast minority and are far from the definition of feminism. According to the Random House Dictionary, a feminist is defined as an "advocate for social, political, @KANSANNEWS legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men. $ ^{10} $ Is it worth the hassle to consider yourself a feminist, despite the possible assumptions and backlash? Absolutely. The benefits that come from advocating for equal rights for women do not only benefit women. In a recent New York Times opinion piece "Moms, and Dads, Need to Talk About Sexism," the columnist, Kate Lombardi, talks about how girls who battle against traditional male roles are inspirational, while boys who act more feminine can be subject to criticism. If we advocated feminism as a good thing, boys would not face that content pt. In addition to benefiting all genders, being a feminist is not separate from being an advocate of other social justice issues. Intersectionality is critical for the feminist movement. and the domination of nature are fundamentally connected." Jarune Uwujaren and Jamie Utt define intersectionality in an article for Everyday Feminism as "a frame that rec Feminism even connects with non-identity issues. Ecofeminist connects both the environment and feminists. In the essay "Ecofeminist Visions," the authors explain that "although there is no one 'correct' ecofeminism, most ecofeminists would agree with the core precept that the domination of women ognizes the multiple aspects of identity that enrich our lives and experiences and that compound and complicate oppressions and marginalizations." By standing up for equal rights for women, we can further our society in many facets. If you don't want to consider yourself a feminist because you are afraid of what people think, then who will? It is our responsibility to see the value in advocating for equal rights. Jenny Stern is a senior from Lawrence studying ecology and evolutionary biology. It's imperative for women to understand the emergency contraceptive option Plan B ABBY PETRULIS @apetrulis Plan B is an important option post-intercourse for many women, especially those in college. But too many women don't know what it is or how it works. What exactly is Plan B? Plan B is a form of emergency contraception. It can be taken after having unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. Plan B is a lot like a regular birth control pill in that it gives your body a high dose of a hormone called levnorgesterol to prevent pregnancy. However, there are a couple of differences. Plan B doesn't require a prescription, and there is no age limitation — anyone can walk into a pharmacy and buy it. With the daily birth control pill, a woman must go see a gynecologist and get a prescription. Part of this is because birth control pills that you take every day are overall more effective than Plan B — not to mention it is a good idea to have a discussion with your doctor and pharmacist about something you're putting into your body every day. Both pills only work to prevent pregnancy; they do not protect against sexually transmitted infections. Misconception #1: Plan B is like an abortion pill. Plan B cannot terminate a pregnancy that has already happened. A woman doesn't immediately become pregnant the second that sperm and an egg meet — the fertilized egg still has to be able to implant into the uterine wall for a pregnancy to occur. Sometimes the fertilized egg won't implant until days later. Let me reiterate — pregnancy does not happen until fertilization and implantation have both occurred. Sometimes fertilized eggs won't implant even if there is nothing stopping them; it can just happen. A woman is not pregnant until implantation happens. It's thought that Plan B and the birth control pill work by preventing release of an egg from the ovary, but they may also work at the second step, which is preventing implantation by thinning the uterine lining. If a fertilized egg has already implanted, then there is nothing Plan B can do. Misconception #2: Plan B is good for use as a regular method of birth control Yes, Plan B is a lot like regular birth control, but the dose is higher, so it can be used up to three days after unprotected sex. It's considerably less effective for regular use than a normal birth control pill because the regular pill is taken every day, ideally at the same time. If you're consistently having unprotected sex, you need to come up with another plan, whether that's taking a regular birth control pill or getting an intrauterine device, or IUD (ladies), or having a better stash of condoms (everyone). How to use Plan B: How to use Plan B: First, as a KU student, you can get Plan B at the Watkins Health Center pharmacy. It's about half the cost of buying it at other pharmacies, which is useful because it can be expensive elsewhere, especially when on a college budget. Secondly, it is only effective for 72 hours after unprotected sex, and the sooner you take it, the more effective it is. There are some side effects, but the biggest one is nausea. If you vomit within two hours of taking Plan B, you need to take it again and also talk with your doctor or pharmacist. If you don't get your period within a week,you should take a pregnancy test. Who should take Plan B? If you are already taking birth control pills or have an IUD, then you should not take Plan B on top of this. Plan B is emergency contraception for when there is no other form of birth control. Youd be surprised, but I need to say it — only women can take Plan B to prevent pregnancy. If you are a guy and you take it, it is not going to stop anything. Abby is a senior and second-year pharmacy student. - Edited by Jackson Vickery HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR LETTER GUIDELINES. Send letters to editor@ikansan.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 Katie Kutsko Editor-in-chief kkutsko@kansan.com Emily Stewart Advertising director esthew@kansan.com THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Katie Kutsko, Emma LeGault, Emily Stewart and Anissa Fritz. . +