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KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, NOV. 5, 2015
Text your #FFA submissions to 785-289-UDK1 (8351)
No one came to the parking open forum because it was conveniently scheduled during classes. Good call, parking.
Cell phone service like it's 1985 at the World Series Parade
It's November, 77 degrees and sunny on Wescoe Beach and beautiful ladies are giving out free condoms. What a country.
KU Parking is milking me for all I've got.
UDK should have a column where someone goes to random lectures and gives an outsider perspective
I want to chase every squirrel. I don't know what I'd do if I actually caught one though
If you ever feel like you're boring, don't worry. Your student loans will never lose interest!
How many existentialists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Fish
LinkedIn makes you feel so "noticed" and "professional." Is it all a lie?
All of you struggling students; Thank you for making the decision to stay. There is someone who counts on seeing you tomorrow
Q: "What did one autumn leaf say to another?" A: "I'm falling for you!"
On a scale from 10 to 10, how much do you wanna pig out on Turkey and sleep all day?
To the boy listening to "Where dem Girls At?", I am right here. Hello.
You can end the madness. Stop wearing basketball jerseys over button-down shirts.
To the girl who chased that squirrel today in front of Fraser, I saw you and I love you.
Team Spike, Screw Angel. #buffybinge #whathomework?
WHAT IS THIS MADNESS that is 70 degree weather in November, pls advise
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A proposal to teach voter registration as a college course is indicative of the problems of the Kansas voter ID laws
@UNIVERSITY DAILYKANSAN
Registering to vote is now considered to be an extensive process. According to The Huffington Post, 35 percent of Americans — or more than 73 million people — haven't completed the requirements for registration. And new legislation from Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is making the process even more difficult.
MATTHEW CLOUGH
@mcloughsofly
Under the law, individuals registering to vote must provide proof of citizenship, but Kobach has implemented a plan in which voters who do not provide proof of citizenship within 90 days are removed from the list. According to The Wichita
Eagle, more than 40 percent of suspended voters are under 30, which means that many students may be removed from the voting registration system.
As a result, the League of Women Voters and professors at Kansas universities proposed the development of a college course to explain the voter registration process. Although the course would be a useful supplement, the need for its existence is indicative of a failing voting system in Kansas.
The course is designed to either be taught in a single day or stretched out over a week. For college students, the course will likely be included in a history or political science department. But having to take time away from other
college courses that these students could be taking is detrimental to existing curriculums, especially when class time is already so limited.
during school hours, which ensures the process is completed correctly. This system is the most effective way to increase registration among students and prevents wasting class time in a collegiate setting.
Students should also be familiar with the voting registration process before coming to college, regardless of nuances that such a program may entail. It makes more sense to teach the registration process in high school classrooms, which is when most students become old enough to vote.
Yet the timing of when to teach voter registration is not the most pressing issue with the process. The fact that such a course is needed speaks volumes about the current state of voting in Kansas. If the process is so complicated that students are unable to figure it out for themselves, then reform is greatly needed.
According to Project Vote, registration programs in high schools have been effective in many states, including Arkansas, Iowa and Virginia. Project Vote suggests shaping a program in which a local registrar visits classrooms and helps students register to vote
students should be taught to register in high school before the process becomes more difficult when they are away from home.
Current legislation also becomes restrictive since many students don't come to college with most forms of proof of citizenship, like a birth certificate. This is another reason
Although Kobach's new legislation was intended to prevent voter fraud, its effects are largely oppressive to students than any other group of people. The initiative to create a voter registration course is a good thing, but its intended audience is misidentified. Kansas officials need to seriously evaluate the current registration process and change the policies that are proving discriminatory to students.
Matthew Clough is a junior from Wichita studying English and journalism.
- Edited by Dani Malakoff
Textbook prices should be much cheaper to ease mounting financial stress for students
RACHEL GONZALES
@KansanNews
The high cost of textbooks has a negative impact on college students across the country. Because textbooks are so expensive, some students sacrifice their grades in order to avoid paying for unreasonably-priced books. Although there are ways to save money on textbooks, many students still struggle to find some they can afford. Lowering the cost of books would ease the already immense financial burden many students endure.
According to a 2015 report, Ethan Senack, the federal
higher education advocate for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said, "Textbooks are so expensive because professors assign specific editions and just five publishers have a lock on the market. That means they're able to drive up prices without fear of market competitors."
When asked to estimate how much she spent on books this semester, Erin Wetschensky, a junior at the University, said she spent $500 to $600 on books this semester alone.
US News reports. "In a survey of more than 2,000 college students in 33 states and 156 different campuses, the
U. S. Public Interest Research Group found the average student spends as much as $1,200 each year on textbooks and supplies alone."
It's common for a single class to require a $200 or more textbook. But since the prices are so high, students choose not to buy these textbooks, and that can negatively affect their grade in the course. Not having a textbook undermines the students' ability to engage with course material. A plan needs to be put into place to reduce the cost of textbooks to promote learning and give students a well-deserved break in their already tight budget.
Encouragingly, ideas have been proposed for fixing this problem. Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Al Franken of Minnesota introduced the "Affordable College Textbooks Act." This act suggests introducing "open textbooks" that would be released under an open license, as opposed to being owned by a publisher. Under this legislation, students could get textbooks online or purchase a hard copy for about $20.
But in the meantime, there are ways that students can attempt to reduce the amount they pay for books. For example, renting books is becoming
more and more common. Students can often find books at discounted prices on sites like Amazon.
No student at a public university should have to do poorly in a course just because they can't afford the required material. As Nicole Allen, a spokeswoman for the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, put it in an interview with US News, "If the current system cannot provide every student with affordable access to the course materials they need, then we need a better system."
Edited by Leah Sitz
Kansas City Loyals
@JacobAHood
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