+ OPINION + FREE-FOR-ALL » WE HEAR FROM YOU Text your #FFA submissions to 785-289-UDK1 (8351) heardatKU: "Are Pringles baked or fried?" "They feel baked, but I don't know." importantquestions Sometimes when I feel like being a rebel I will eat a lemon seed To anyone who leaves their gum under a desk; you're an evil heathen and I hate you. I had to scrape gum off my leggings. Dr. Brian Staihr bought pizza for our WHOLE CLASS on Thursday. Best professor ever. laughus? "I just wanna stay broke forever" yeah that's that ish no one ever said Save the women not the boobies Bag of cotton candy says servings per container is 5. I ate the whole bag. Sweet tooth ftw. School needs to go away KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, OCT.15, 2015 Rejoice! Fall is here! And though the days may be full of papers and midterms, please smile, for it's a beautiful day! Dogs who follow you are not always yours Martha, come back! Kanye 2020 Post Malone 2024 Jaden Smith 2048 Wait... that's The Undertaker's music! "Danny Manning strolls out onto the court" All these baseball players are making me real self-conscious about my inability to grow a beard. Still unclear on what "Finna" means, but that hasn't stopped me from saying it every day ban toddlers Looking for a place to live? Let Kelly on the Kansan know because she's trying to sublease her town home. "Nobody cares about your damn emails." Editor's note: Y'all were weak on the FFA front over fall break. Step it up this week pls? Read more at kansan.com The "guns don't kill people" argument oversimplifies the gun control debate VANESSA ASMUSSEN @VanessaAsmussen In a heated discussion concerning gun regulation, a person might use or hear the phrase, "Guns don't kill people; people kill people." While in a very literal sense this is true, this argument is unsuccessful at attempting to make sense of the problem regarding gun violence. This logic does not settle the gun control debate happening in our country right now. Using that particular phrase as the basis of an argument makes the issue of guns sound more simple than it really is. In the "guns don't kill people" argument, guns are not dangerous unless someone uses them in a violent manner. This is also true for other violent weapons such as grenades, yet we have laws against those. The argument might continue as, "If guns kill people other objects such as knives do, too. Why are there no regulations on them?" The clear fact about guns compared with other potentially violent objects is simple: Guns make it a lot easier and faster to kill people, and in greater numbers. racing sensible regulations on guns is not a new idea, but it is an important and effective one. Stricter gun laws are not just assumed to succeed at reducing gun violence — they are proven to. Data published by experts from the Harvard School of Public Health has shown that the United States has exponentially more gun-related deaths, roughly 15 times that of any other wealthy country with tougher gun laws. A study posted by JAMA Internal Medicine shows that, by a state-to-state comparison in the United States, increased regulation significantly reduces gun violence. Stricter gun regulation wouldn't mean that no one could posses a gun, but it would make it more difficult for guns to end up in the wrong hands. Many fear that placing regulations on guns is an infringement of their Second Amendment rights, but gun laws do not intend to punish law-abiding gun owners. These laws intend to provide regulations such as background checks and take measures to ensure that guns and ammunition are not carelessly provided to anyone who desires them Since the constitution was written more than 200 years ago, firearms have evolved and become increasingly lethal, making measures such as these necessary. Gun-related tragedies in schools, churches, malls, theaters and workplaces have become all too common. We are becoming desensitized to stories in the media depicting mass murders of innocent people. We assume it's something that we have no control over and cannot change, but through stricter regulation, we can. The ultimate question is: What is important to us? If we could reduce the loss of life, would we be willing to? Or are we so concerned about preserving our old ways that we are unable to stand up and make a change that is proven to work? Guns may not literally kill people, but such loose regulations on guns lead to an increase in deaths. Vanessa Asmussen is a junior from Neodesha studying journalism and sociology. Find yourself—not your soulmate—in college Edited by Maddy Mikinski AUNGELINA DAHM @aungelinadahm Through both observation and cultural knowledge of young adults, it seems many college students devote large amounts of their social time in college on the hunt for their hopeful significant other. Many students have adopted the ideology of "If I can't see myself marrying them, I'm not giving them the time of day." This mindset restricts individuals from possibly embarking on a relationship of just pure love and bliss. It is unlikely one will find their soul mate in college because of such common circumstances like barhopping and cheating. College is a better place to find happiness within yourself and others and less of choosing and locking-in your future love life. College bars aren't usually the best of places to meet your future spouse. Telling your children that you met your significant other in the "Boom Boom Room" of an establishment known for its particular smell and stickiness might raise some red flags. A place like this is not somewhere to sit and wait for your dream lover to whisk you up on a carriage or, more realistically, his cab. Cheating is a relationship breaker in college also.You're constantly surrounded by 20,000 other people—or an individual in the relationship who might not respect the concept of a committed relationship.Applications such as Tinder don't help cheating either. Being plugged in to social media is a large part of college, and it can be a dangerous place to find someone who looks better online than your current romantic partner. Many people also forget that a person usually leaves college a different person than they were when they started. The four years spent trying to attain a degree include personal growth on an emotional and professional basis. Instead of taking time to get to know a potential mate, get to know yourself. Become someone you truly admire, love and respect, and only then will you be able to give those three things to someone else. Now is the time to learn your own values and ideals so you're ready to match them with someone later in life. But for now, seek a soulmate within yourself. Aungelina Dahm is a freshman from Chicago studying journalism and political science. - Edited by Rebecca Dowd Ask Anissa: I'm in love with my longtime friend ANISSA FRITZ @anissafritzz Q: I have fallen in love with a friend who I've known for five years, but I don't know if she reciprocates these feelings. I don't want to make our friendship awkward by asking and getting rejected, but I really want to become more than friends. Countless movies and books have come into existence based off of this exact situation. However, what these fairytale plots often don't show is the outcome that you fear: getting rejected and losing a great friendship. In my past experiences, it is better to be honest and upfront about a situation like this rather than keeping it inside and letting it blow up the day your friend gets engaged to someone else. You owe it to yourself to express these legitimate feelings to this girl. We live in a time where deeply caring for someone is a sign of weakness and has to be concealed. But clearly these feelings are legitimate because you've known her for five years and the superficial You're concerned that you expressing these feelings would make your friendship awkward, but technically your friendship already is awkward, but it's only from your side. It would be more awkward if you drunkenly profess your love to her or if she hears this news from someone else. If you are as good of friends as a five-year friendship would imply, then regardless of whether she reciprocates these feelings or not, you two will be able to work through it. stage of your relationship has passed. Over the course of this long friendship, you both have seen each other at your ultimate highs and lows. My mom always told me that love is seeing someone while their world is falling apart and still thinking the world of them, which I'm sure the two of you have both experienced with each other. ASK ANISSA >> YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED Sit her down and have an honest talk with her. Don't talk to her like she is the girl of your dreams, even though she may very well be. Talk to her like you normally would, in a place that you two normally would be together. Don't take her to some fancy dinner or somewhere implying romantic motives. It will Text your questions to Anissa at 913-701-7UDK (7835) with the hashtag #AskAnissa When this talk happens, both of you need to be in a comfortable place. It will allow her to not feel so caught off-guard, and it will soothe you while you try to form coherent sentences, instead of nervously mumbling. "Your hair smells good and I love you." This actually happened to me once, and I'm trying to prevent this from happening to the male population ever again. You're welcome. make her feel uncomfortable and confused as to what is happening, and this will cause her to ask questions that will lead you to proclaiming your feelings in a jumbled nervous mess. If she doesn't feel the same, chalk it up to bad timing and mixed signals. Regardless of the fear and heartache that might follow, everyone has the right to know who has feelings for them. You owe it to both yourself and her. In the wise words of Taylor Swift, "It's going to be forever, or it's going to go down in flames," but either of those options are more appealing than never knowing what could have been. - Edited by Dani Malakoff Check out KANSAN.COM for exclusive online content @KANSANNEWS /THEKANSAN @UNIVERSITY DAILYKANSAN HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR LETTER GUIDELINES: Send letters to editor@akansan.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 estewart@kansan.com THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD . Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Katie Kutsko, Emma LeGault, Emily Stewart and Anissa Fritz. +