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KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY, SEPT. 3, 2015
When I have something clever to say, I have to consider if it's FFA worthy or if I should just tweet it...
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How does Harry Potter get down the hill? Walking? Jk. rowling!
Chick-fil-a is so overrated
Choose KU, we have 2-ply.
Dominos would make cool bathroom tiles
It's always a gamble when it comes to the underground's sushi
Just emailed a professor and he emailed back within 10 minutes what is going on
Did Cole get rescued from the JRP elevator??
Still salty that the print edition is only twice a week
I tried Ladybird Diner for the first time since it reopened. It's like they died and rose again and saved me from bad breakfast food.
The purest hate manifests toward the person in front of you in line at a coffee shop.
When I walk past Svi, I'm pretty sure I leave a drool puddle behind me.
I have a great idea! Let's make Spanish impossible and the require a foreign language! -- KU.
S/O the greatest human of all time: Dr Russell
I wonder how many worms die on a rainy day on campus.
"Staccato" is a kind of drywall, right?
If we merged North and South Dakota, I think Dougalas county would still have a higher population
God bless tailgating season.
Rock Chalk, ya little Jayhawks
Happy National Skyscraper day!
Read more at kansan.com
I still haven't bought my textbooks...
Gomez: Students need more healthy and convenient cheap food options
JESSICA GOMEZ
@jessicataylurr
For many college students, "food is life," and tacking on the word "inexpensive" or "free" can make it even more appealing to a student on a college budget. But those easy and inexpensive options normally include things like a cheese-burger and other fast foods that are high in fat and sodium.
are high in fat and sodium.
In an article from NBC, the country's inexpensive and tempting food is to blame for our obese and unhealthy reputation according to?, but that shouldn't speak for all of us. Even while we're in college, our brains and bodies are still
developing, meaning we need to fill them with nutrients. There should be more places as convenient as McDonalds or Taco Bell that have healthier, cheap options for students.
Of course a cheeseburger sounds fantastic sometimes or you're craving a slice of pizza. However, some of us who truly want to eat more nutritious foods and lead healthier lifestyles. Healthier options exist; the problem is that most of us have insufficient funds for even just a "$5 foot-long," which somehow costs more than $5. Even in a drive-thru fast-food chain, a salad will be around $4 and a cheeseburger will be around $1. This price gap may
seem small at first, but it adds up if you don't have time to go home and cook, or if you live in a dorm and have to miss a meal because of class time.
A healthier diet costs three times as much as an unhealthy die, according to a Harvard' study that looked at 10 high-income countries including the U.S. and the prices of healthy food versus unhealthy food. A well-balanced, nutritional diet will cost $1.50 a day than an unhealthy one. Alright, not bad. But, take that small amount and multiply it by 365 days a year. That raises the cost to about $550 more. For a college student, that's textbook or tuition money. Within the
past 10 years, the price gap between healthy options and not so healthy ones has gotten substantially higher
Unhealthy choices cost less, but fast food negatively impacts us more than we realize. By choosing to eat this type of food, it can increase our risk of heart disease and diabetes. Farmers who mass produce specifically livestock — dump their animals' manure and waste in lagoons that often overflow, affecting the environment and also polluting our water, according to data from the Natural Resource Defense Council. We need to find a way to improve the cost and convenience of healthy food because
it's hurting more than just our wallets.
We are encouraged to make better choices about our food, but on a college budget it can seem nearly impossible. Even the dorm options aren't that great besides the salad bar, but eating a salad every day isn't going to keep you full enough to take on class. There needs to be more convenience to healthier food because if we don't, our problems will only get worse.
Jessica Gomez is a senior from Baldwin City studying journalism and global studies.
- Edited by Colleen Hagan
Clough: Attendance should not be a factor in assigning course grades
MATTHEW CLOUGH
@mcloughsofly
Grades in college are serious business. They're the reason for constant stress, loss of sleep, and frenzied late night study sessions at Anschutz. Students work hard and put in long hours to master the material in their classes, a practice that should be reflected in grades earned at the end of the semester.
So it seems ridiculous that attendance, a factor which has no means of measuring a student's intelligence, be used in assigning final grades.
Although they undoubtedly vary among professors and classes, attendance policies all too often affect final grades. Some professors
begin deducting points after a certain number of absences, while others award points to students for showing up.
The solution is simple: Students should be given the opportunity to earn participation points rather than attendance points, particularly when these points come in the form of short in-class assignments or quizzes.
Some students and professors alike agree that attendance should not be used to measure grades in a course. A USA Today article from 2012 suggests that when 10 to 20 percent of a grade comes from attendance, it no longer truly resembles an person's competency in a course.
Such activities would encourage students to attend class in order to earn daily points, while successfully measuring comprehension of material. Earning these points would be an indicator of actual knowledge rather than the ability to drag oneself to class each day, prepared or not.
Studies have shown that class attendance has a correlation with academic achievement. By skipping classes, students are more likely to fall behind or not fully comprehend the material they miss, which ultimately lowers their grades. So why penalize them further by subtracting points for absences?
Sometimes professors also measure participation by how often students contribute to discussions. This isn't a fair representation of actual knowledge either.
On the other hand, if students come to class simply to earn attendance points but spend the rest of the class period distracted or inattentive, why should they be rewarded for doing nothing?
Some students may have some form of social anxiety and talk less while others naturally dominate conversations. Many students feel grades based on vocal contributions are subjective. Students shouldn't merely be graded on how many times they speak in class because this can lead to ignorant and insignificant comments that slow the rest of the class down. This is why assignments that assess a student's knowledge of a particular subject are ideal for generating points.
Students who want to earn high grades will attend class
regardless of whether their grades are being directly rewarded by their presence. Taking attendance each class period can become a tedious waste of time that could be better spent instructing.
Grades — which are ultimately a representation of one's knowledge in a subject — should not be falsely inflated by attendance without effort.
Matthew Clough is a junior from Wichita studying English and journalism.
- Edited by Maddie Farber
Devices should not be banned in classes
ROSS LUBRATOVIC
@RossThaBoss93
Over the last few years, technology has had a significant impact on education systems around the world. Online lectures and assignments have continued to make up a large percentage of formal education. Because of this shift toward tech-based learning, classroom technology bans should not be allowed on college campuses.
Tech-based learning is widely accepted and oftentimes embraced among college students. According to a survey conducted by McGraw-Hill Education this year focusing on the rise of mobile learning, 66 percent of students said it was important for them to have a mobile learning device like a tablet or smartphone, and 77 percent said using technology to study has improved their grades.
MARKUS SCHREIBER/AP PHOTO
A Samsung phone. Lubratovic argues that professors should not ban technology in classrooms.
Technology use in the classroom can also be used to help students cut costs while in school. By investing in an inexpensive, durable tablet or computer, a student could save themselves hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in textbook costs. However, by banning the use of technology in classrooms, teachers are essentially forcing many cash-strapped students to buy overpriced physical copies. Furthermore, having
Furthermore, banning
the use of laptops or other devices seems backwards and non-inclusive. As someone who has a non-traditional style of learning, it is frustrating when I'm forced to take notes by hand even though I benefit more from typing them out.
The idea that not everyone learns the same way appears to be common knowledge to most people, yet professors
Teachers themselves have even been calling for more integration of technology in the classroom for years now. In a 2012 PBS survey, 93 percent of teachers surveyed said they thought interactive
continue to exclude great alternative methods of learning, such as using technology in the classroom, simply because they might disrupt the class or distract others.
whiteboards enhanced the learning environment, and 81 percent said they felt the same about tablets. While the interactive whiteboards fell by the wayside, the latter is still finding more and more traction in the world of education today.
With students embracing the utility of online learning and teachers calling for more classroom integration, it
seems absurd that classroom technology bans continue to plague the world of higher education. I think it's time we start acting rationally and stop banning our most useful learning tool in the heart of learning environments.
@KANSANNEWS
Ross Lubratovic is a senior from Overland Park studying creative writing.
/THEKANSAN
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