WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2011
PAGE 5
opinion
FREE FOR ALL
Text your FFA submissions to
785-289-8341
Crunchy chicken challenge: run 1.5 miles, eat a crunchy chicken cheddar wrap, run another 1.5 miles.
Akward moment when you turn the corner and run into your professor jamming out to Lady Gaga.
Do Jedis use the force to masturbate?
I like to think so.
Learning about phantom penises — can't decide which is worse: not having a penis or having it itch once it's gone.
I love everyone's excitement for recycling, but this used condom thing has got to stop. I am serious, they just aren't recyclable.
What is a fratters favorite element?
BROmine.
Girls in Watson who were having trouble with MATH 101: will tut for sex.
If you haven't listened to music through some Beats, you are seriously missing out.
Guy on the bus with shades and Beats headphones on, you're so cool, let me tell you. "sarcasm
Stake out on the parking department. I see you. Leave so I can park already!
To the person complaining about the bus drivers smoking, they spend the entire day driving your lazy ass around. They deserve their once-2-route breaks.
There's a giant rose bush behind the Hawk. All I can think about is how it was probably fertilized with sex, beer and vomit, and drunken tears too.
Okay, transformers aren't good or bad, they are either Decepticons or Autobots. Come on, get your head out of your ass.
If my mom knew all the slutty things I've started doing since college, she'd be proud.
To the person wondering where the stoner girls who enjoy casual sex are, trying to shows more often. We are definitely around.
When someone asks me about the Big 12 I answer "Sorry I'm not big into Pokemon," just to watch their reaction.
There's a girl in my class that looks like Deena from Jersey Shore, but I haven't told her because I don't wanna get hit.
The University bookstore sells World of Warcraft kind of counterproductive.
The weather needs to settle on one temperature. I'm wearing shorts but on a pants leg shaving schedule. Sorry guys.
There is nothing sexier than hill-toned calves on a man.
To the girl that completely misjudged the curb, that could have been the most graceful face plant I have ever seen. I applaud you.
Virginity is the number one cause of pregnancy.
EDITORIAL
Revenue sharing is a good start, now the University of Kansas must show it can become a leader in the Big 12.
Revenue sharing positive start for Big 12 head
Under interim commissioner Chuck Neist, the Big 12 took a giant step toward stabilizing itself after the conference's board of directors agreed to equal distribution of first and second tier television revenue for all sports including football and basketball.
This means that all television revenue from any Big 12 institution playing any sport on ESPN, ABC, Fox Sports, or any contracted television network will be shared equally among all institutions if all nine member schools agree to the plan. According to the Big 12's official handbook, right now
half of football television revenues are distributed equally, while the other half is given out based on the number of television appearances of each institution. All conference basketball television revenues are divided equally, but non-conference and NCAA tournament games are divided based on performance and television ratings.
As a result of Texas A&M University's exit and the desire to make each school an equal representative, the agreement not only levels the playing field for smaller institutions' athletics that are overshadowed by bigger programs, it also simplifies an outdated revenue sharing model that had too many holes leading to inequity in the conference.
The deal doesn't limit third tier television revenue, which includes institution-specific television networks such as University of Texas' lucrative ESPN-backed Longhorn Network. It means that Texas still has the financial capability to weather the exit fees if it chooses to leave the conference.
But full revenue sharing of first and second tier networks is a great move for the University. Associate athletics director Jim Marchiony said the move has the potential to provide more television revenue to the University.
Although the University consistently has a top-ranked basketball team, the lions share of athletics revenue comes from football television contracts between the Big
12 and TV networks. The football team historically hasn't been a national attraction on par with schools such as Texas and Oklahoma. So more revenue sharing lets the University dip into more of the pot created by top-25 Big 12 teams.
But the biggest impact of full revenue sharing is that it strengthens a conference that was on the verge of collapse. The agreement makes concessions to institutions like Missouri and Oklahoma that have considered leaving for more lucrative deals in another conference.
But the biggest impact of full revenue sharing is that it strengthens a conference that was on the verge of collapse. The agreement
makes concessions to institutions such as Missouri and Oklahoma that have considered leaving for more lucrative deals in another conference, which will hopefully sway Missouri away from leaving the Big 12 despite the decision of the school's curators on Tuesday to explore leaving the conference.
A stable conference is in the University's best interest, and as of now, the best option is a healthy Big 12. Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little should continue supporting equality within the conference and use this transition period to make the University a leader in deciding the future of the Big 12.
-Vikaas Shanker for Kansan Editorial Board
JacquePulsfus
@UKD_Depiction No one actually knows each other!!
Yes, random person... Ill give you ALL my contact info... And meet you in Anshut2? #sketchy
MARRIAGE EQUALITY
Harrison Drake
@UDBK. Opinion It's a shame when you're hoping for the only hot girl to be in your group, and then you just get the #biggestidiot.
Debate ignored facts
On Tuesday of last week, the law school hosted a debate on whether same-sex marriage should be legally recognized. Speaking in favor of recognition was Dale Carpenter, a professor from the University of Minnesota School of Law, and speaking against recognition of same-sex marriage, was litigator Dale Schowengert from the Alliance Defense Fund, a religious (I know, I know) legal organization.
Carpenter made two key points that recognition of same-sex marriage will "bring a tangible benefit" to hundreds of thousands of couples across the country, and that this action can be made "without sacrificing" the institution of marriage or substantially affecting most people opposed.
In response, Schowengerdt argued that "such a radical definition" of marriage should not be implemented just because new relationship and family types exist. Comparing same-sex marriage to polygamy, Schowengerdt sought to redirect the audience's focus to the purpose of marriage — to act as a stabilizer for heterosexual parents and their biological children — and he asks listeners to question whether recognition of same-sex marriage would promote an "ideal" parenting structure.
The "inherent, complementary differences" of having both a mother and a father are critical to a child's upbringing, he argues — I'll let this
one slide, for now.
First, let's assume that government should play a role in regulating two-parent families who want to be married. Second, disregarding the relational, psychological and monetary benefits of marriage, let's also assume that the sole purpose of government regulation of marriage is to provide a venue through which two people can find stability in raising children.
Schowengerdt cites "a sociologist," David Popenoe, who writes that healthy child development requires both a man and a woman. Popenoe, a professor emeritus at Rutgers University in New Jersey and a doctor by honor (meaning he didn't actually take courses), is pretty well-known in family sociology for deviating from more conventional academic research and writing. In his 1993 article, "American Family Decline," Popenoe writes how tragic it is that this country is losing the nuclear family — elle-emm-aye-ho, elle-emm-aye-oh. Anyway, what does more recent, and, dare I say,
more careful research say about non-heterosexual parenting?
Patterson (2009) finds that, in any family, sexual orientation has no substantial effect on children's development, and that sexual orientation matters much less than the quality of parenting. The American Psychological Association agrees. Meezan and Rauch (2005) observed that children of same-sex parents are just as normal as other children, and that legalization of same-sex marriage may benefit children financially, psychologically and socially.
If the purpose of marriage is, and always has been, to provide a stable venue for children and their parents, and, if same-sex parents are just as good as other-sex parents, by and large, then same-sex couples should have the right to choose to marry, following the recommendations of the epistemic community.
Even in his narrowing of marriage to a single purpose to support his position, Schowengerdt fails to make a truthful argument based on this one reason.
I'm all about a good debate over whether my group and I deserve equality (I mean, it's a great question), but could sponsors not find a debater who doesn't ignore empirical facts?
—Castle is a senior from Stiwell in human sexuality and political science
CARTOON
bv Mohammad Hadi Ataei
Football positives forgotten
We all know it. The Jayhawk defense is in shambles. ESPN.com will tell you the defense ranks dead last (120th) in points allowed. The UDK will tell you they rank 119th in yards allowed.
On campus one hears the popular rationale for this inadquacy. One source of great irre among jayhawk nation is the secondary. They appear to have earned it as well.
In every game this year there has been everything from blown assignments, to poor tackling, to bad and sometimes nonexistent coverage. Their sins are out there for everyone to see, especially when ball-wielding wide receivers not dressed in crimson and blue dance jubilantly in the end zone.
However, just as there are always unsung heroes in success, there are overlooked offenders in failure. This hidden culprit contributing to the plight of the football Jayhawks is none other than the defensive linemen.
Go back to ESPN.com and you will find that the Jayhawks
have a mere five sacks through four games. Forget about the beleaguered secondary, when a defense is unable to put any pressure on an opposing quarterback, allowing him all the time in the world to work through his reads, the results are going to be identical to what this team has seen.
If that doesn't seem believable, ask Jay Cutler what happens to a QB who is constantly being hit or lives in fear of it. As the man who lead the NFL in both interceptions and times sacked last year demonstrates, a QB pressured, hurried, and hit regularly will make mistakes. Regularly.
When a secondary is weak, linebackers are hand-cuffed from attacking the QB. The responsibility is thrown upon the big men in the trenches. We need them to not simply accept this challenge. We need them to crush it. We can only hope.
Rock Chalk,
Bobby Golen Jr. is a sophomore from Elmhurst, Illinois
STUDENT LIFE
Mid-semester nostalgia needs embracing, not shunning
I've been feeling awfully sentimental this week - maybe it's the fall air. It always makes me think of home, warm blankets, my mom's cooking, my dad's loud Brooklyn accent yelling at football games on the television (the jets seem to be always losing).
For some, not having parents around may be a time for jubilation, but now that your home is a college dorm room or apartment and your roommates are your new family, you can't help
Sometimes, I find it difficult and more or less lonely knowing that I've permanently closed a chapter in my life and made a starf into the scary world referred to as adulthood: a world without parents, rules, free food or clothing.
but crave that coys sense of security that comes from living under your parent's roof.
Now, what I like to call, "midsemester nostalgia" will start to make you reminisce of home-cooked meals, siblings running around the house, having no more responsibility than just doing your homework. Remember the days when you had more in your cabinet than Ramen noodles?
Be happy that you're here; be happy that you've made it so far to college and you're ready to leap out into the real world in a few years. Bask in your independence because college is a sort of half-way house: if you screw up, it's sort of a big deal
For those of you suffering from
this: embrace the feeling of nostalgia while keeping a few things in mind.
but there are more people here to help you and actually care than there will be in a few years.
Take every opportunity you can; go to bed completely exhausted every night. Don't let your time be wasted. I'm not just talking about academic opportunities either. Stay up till 1 a.m. laughing with your friends because there is absolutely nothing in this world more important than friendship. So find as much
Please excuse my sentimental musings, but I found it important to say that missing home and parents isn't a sign of immaturity or weakness. It's a sign that we're growing up, and like anything else, growing up comes with its losses and gains.
It's not yet time to go back home. We'll make a new home for ourselves someday, but for now we have to be always looking ahead to where we want our lives to go.
of it as you can. I have found that 90 percent (yes I did just make that up) of what I learn is done outside of a classroom when I'm interacting with my friends or meeting new people. Do well in class, but remember you're not going to leave college remembering everything you did in an actual classroom. However, you will always remember the times you had participating in shenanigans with your friends, and that's not something you can get anywhere else.
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Finally, take the lessons you've learned from your parents, the examples they set for you, and make them your own. Live for yourself and become the person you want to be. Parents had their time and maybe their jobs are still not done quite yet, but we've left home and need to come into our
Send letters to kansanopdesk@gmail.com
Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line
own beautiful, peculiar, independent selves because that's what we're supposed to do. College doesn't prepare us for careers or higher study so much as it prepares us for living with and for ourselves.
LETTER GUIDELINES
Kelly Stroda, editor
864-810 or kstroda@iansan.com
Joel Peterson, managing editor
864-810 or jeetsonr@iansan.com
Jonathan Shoeman, managing editor
864-810 or iohmanm@iansan.com
Length: 300 words
Length: 300 words
The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.
— Knutsen is a sophomore in classics from Overland Park
CONTACT US
Clayton Ashley, managing editor 864-4810 or cashley@kansan.com
Mandy Matney, opinion editor
864-4924 or mmatney@kansan.com
Garrett Lent, business manager
864-4358 or giam@kansan.com
Stephanie Green, sales manager
864-4477 or igram@kansan.com
Malcimol Gibson, general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or mighou@kansan.com
Vikaas Shanker, editorial editor 864-4924 or vshanker@kansan.com
Jon Schitt, sales and marketing advise
864-7666 or jschitt@kansan.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansas Editorial Board are Kelly Stroda, Joel Petterson, Jonathan Sherman, Vikas Shanker, Mandy Matthey and Stefan莱恩.