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OPINION
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KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, SEPT. 24, 2015
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I have an suggestion for KU parking! Campus wide parking permit. No more stupid color zones.
I need a time turner to catch up on all the sleep I need. Or a miracle. Or a day long nap...
Just overheard a girl profusely apologizing to her grandma. What did you do to your grandma?!
Day 16: not sure if they've noticed me wearing the same shorts all this time..
The hate that KU Parking gets is justified
I was a little bit offended by Alcohol Edu my freshman year, you apalled and embarrassed by this new "sexual harassment training"
Oreo cheesecake person: Yes, I would judge, I can't stand quitters. Eat the whole thing.
Biggest lie told in college towns: "I'm never going to drink again."
College is 10%
smarts, 40% no sleep,
30% Redbull and
20% crying.
So you're telling me that yoga can get you college credit hours but napping can't? I want justice.
day.
Shoutout to the people that work really hard on this newspaper each and every day.
honestly in comparison to cats, i'll take dogs.
The way I see it, we're 5/16 of the way through the semester. And the remaining 9/16 just isn't going to happen.
"A friend is a present you give yourself," thank you Oriental Bistro
Boobytrap is my favorite word cause backwards it's party-booh
Everything is dark
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Shift to e-books is counterproductive to learning needs of college students
MATTHEW CLOUGH
@mcloughsofly
Since the rise in popularity of tablets and e-readers, the debate between physical books and digital books has begun to spread through society. Most college students have become familiar with books in digital form, often consulting online sources and articles before completing online assignments and submitting their work—where else?-over the Internet. But shifting to an education system in which texts are only accessible online is a mistake, particularly for those not at the university level.
Last week, the Lawrence Journal-World reported certain classes in Lawrence high schools are now using digital versions of textbooks rather than checking out physical copies to students. While physical copies are still available for these courses, they can only be found in classroom sets of 13 and cannot be removed from the classroom. So, when students sit down to do homework, they have to access their textbooks online.
But what happens if a student doesn't have a reliable internet connection or an internet connection at all?
Such a system creates inequality issues between those students whose families have Internet at home and those who don't. If students can't readily access it at home, then they must go out of their way to try to find somewhere else with a reliable connection not to mention the need for transportation and the time it would take to get somewhere else.
After recognizing the potential issues with this shift for low-income students, Lawrence school officials purchased 25 additional laptops for both high schools in the city. These laptops are available for check-out by students, so the situation has gotten better. But even if there are enough devices to ensure equity among all students, digital textbooks are not the most beneficial way to promote learning.
According to a 2013 study from USA Today, students don't tend to comprehend information as well when it's presented as an e-book. Students who read digitally also weren't able to recall as much information as those who read in a standard physical book.
The Guardian suggests those who read digital books are not able to reconstruct chronology of events nearly as accurately as those who read physical copies. This is especially important in courses like history, which are predominantly the ones using digital books in Lawrence schools.
The shift to online learning isn't necessarily the best option for college students either. A 2012 survey of students at four-year colleges and universities found that e-books accounted for only nine percent of all textbook purchases. It's not a surprising statistic. Many students find notetaking and annotation features on e-readers clumsy, and it can be difficult to find certain passages in texts because pages aren't numbered as they are in print.
Digital textbooks and online articles aren't a bad component to the learning process, especially as time progresses and the shift becomes more prominent. But offering texts exclusively online is a
the fast facts
the percentage of textbooks bought in print form for the fall 2014 semester
the percentage of humanities students who bought physical copies of texts available for free in digital format (2013)
MATTHEW CLOUGH/KANSAN
hindrance to student learning needs and comprehension:
Digital sources are fine as supplemental or hybrid materials, but courses driven by online texts aren't benefiting our
the percentage of people under 30 who believe some useful information can only be accessed in print, not online
Source: The Huffington Post, Sorry Ebooks,
These 9 Studies Show Why Print is Better
education system.
Matthew Clough is a junior from Wichita studying English and journalism.
Thomas Richmond, a senior from Lawrence, displays a tattoo.
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
Despite societal taboos, employers should allow tattoos in the workplace
AUNGELINA DAHM
@aungelina_dahm
"Are you sure you'll be able to get a job with that?"
"Make sure you get it in a place where you can easily cover it up."
These are common statements and questions that a person with tattoos or who is considering a tattoo will receive.
Tattoos are ways people can express themselves. Recently, tattoos have been considered an art form. But just as the questions above imply, there are many people who are hesitant to get tattoos because of the potentially negative impact it could have when
Tattoos should not be discriminated against, especially while a person is pursuing a job. There are people like me who choose to dress as dark as their soul and define who they are by designing their skin with meaningful words and symbols. I am no longer the minority; more people are adopting tattoos. It is time the workplace did the same.
It's the 21st century. People aren't nearly as conservative as they were back when our parents and their friends were getting inked.
The cultural shift in the past two decades is diminishing the taboo against tattoos, according to USA Today. Now, there are three fundamental
concerns employers have with hiring people with tattoos: "the belief that an employee will not be taken seriously by tradition-minded clients,the concern that the organization's brand or image might be compromised by outlandish tattoos, and the concern that one person's body art could be perceived as offensive or hostile to a co-worker or customer."
For example, Starbucks
With this cultural shift, some companies are changing their dress code to make their employees feel more comfortable in the workplace and to avoid turning away potentially unparalleled employees just because they're inked from, let's say, chest to toe.
changed its dress code this past January to a more policy that is more accepting of tattoos. As a barista there, I am now allowed to show the tattoo on my forearm.
searching for jobs.
The Children's Hospital in St. Louis allows tattoos to go uncovered as long as designs are not considered offensive or unprofessional. These companies, along with PetSmart and Wal-Mart, are among the growing list of alternative dress codes in the workplace. More companies need to look to these businesses because they are the pioneers of tattoo acceptance.
Tattoos are far from being universally accepted, especially from the chest up. Neck and face tattoos are still widely
disapproved and are often not allowed in dress codes that have been modified to accept tattoos on other parts of the body.
In today's world, we should refrain from judging people based on their appearance. Tattoos have become a tool of expression and individuality. They should be accepted in the workplace as a way to value diversity and to use it to strengthen the company and its relations. Whether an individual should get tattoos should not be decided by their future job.
Aungelina Dahm is a freshman from Chicago studying journalism and political science.
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