OPINION
7A
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 22, 2008
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD
JASON ROGERS ™ FLICKR.COM
The overcrowding of buses and parking spots has run rampant.
Walk instead of waiting for buses
An epidemic is striking the University of Kansas.
Parking has also been a major issue. KU Parking and Transit oversells permits each year, yet some students somehow still feel it necessary to drive to class.
The Kansan reported last month that the ridership of campus buses had doubled this year. That makes about 12,000 riders per day, or about 40 percent of the total student population.
First off, it'll help solve the bus problem that arose when students voted to do away with bus passes. Buses are later than usual and more packed than usual, and it's still somewhat nice outside.
But there's one solution to both problems; Walk.
And when winter comes, all you need to do is buy some warmer clothes and have a nice enjoyable walk in the beautiful snow. It builds character.
Secondly, it'll free up some parking spaces. Some students actually have to drive to class for legitimate reasons, like physical disabilities, not just because they're a little late and are too lazy to walk for 20 minutes to get to class.
Thirdly, it will help you be healthier. Obesity is an epidemic in our country. In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control found 25 to 27 percent of Kansas' population was obese. Walking is one of the easiest ways of combating obesity.
OUR VIEW
So suck it up and walk to class. If you're worried about being late, then leave a little earlier. It is possible to graduate from the
University without having set foot on a bus or driving to class.
Get outside. Enjoy nature.
The University's campus is one of the most beautiful in the nation.
You can still have your iPod on.
Pretend you're in a music video.
Walking will be much more enjoyable than being packed like a sardine into an overcrowded, smelly bus or wasting time looking for a parking space. And you'll be healthier for it.
— Caleb Sommerville, special to the editorial board
How Wall Street sank a hook in our mouths
In contrast, the suicide rate during the Great Depression was 17
I'm honestly surprised that more people aren't committing suicide these days to get something accomplished.
What are we supposed to take away from this? According to the Centers for Disease Control, the data from this summer showed that the suicide rate in America was 11.1 suicides for every 100,000 Americans.
I heard the story about Karthik Rajaram, a California man who killed his mother-in-law, his wife, his three children and then himself. Many are speculating that the financial crisis drove him to it. He had an MBA but no job, and his stocks were plumming.
And then we have the story of Addie Polk. Polk is an elderly woman in Akron, Ohio, who shot herself multiple times as the local sherriff tried to escort her away from her foreclosed property. She lived through the ordeal, and officials at Fannie Mae said they would forgive the loan and allow her to keep her house.
Addie Polk reminds us of our grandmothers, a woman who had lived in the same house for 38 years and, seemingly, was taken advantage of by a subprime lender. Both had the same problem because they couldn't afford their mortgages and both tried the same method to end the problem.
Rajaram was a successful businessman who had lived in an exclusive gated community. He was an Indian immigrant who had lived the American dream.
The reason these stories are intriguing and garnering national attention is because they strike at the heart of our society.
Will we reach the levels that the Great Depression gave us? I don't know.
But what I do know is that we need to have more protection for people who are being affected, from the rich, successful Rajarans to the poor, elderly Polks.
per 100,000 Americans.
For starters, the government should have immediately provided assistance to help those who needed it the most. Instead of bartering about earnarks and the pork on the taxpayers' dimes, there should have been communication about how to protect the taxpayers.
MARIAM SAIFAN
We need better basic lending practices. There should be complete transparency, and the burden should lie on the lenders.
Ultimately, they are giving the money. Yes, people should know that they should buy only within their means, but the responsibility lies on the lender to make sure their customers have the ability to pay.
I hope I won't have to read about an increasing suicide rate in the coming months. I hope the government's plan works. I hope people get to keep their houses.
But hope just isn't enough for some people.
Graham is a Columbus, Ohio graduate student in exercise physiology.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
— Nicholas Michael Sambalu is a doctoral student from Lawrence.
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What's greener than your reusable bags?
When most people think about saving the environment, they think about recycling, driving their car less or, for the true activist, making their Facebook carbon neutral with some slew of fancy applications.
At the grocery store, these people do their part to cut down on petroleum use by bringing their own reusable bags, often printed with some sort of "green" slogan, despite rarely actually being green in color.
When you bite into a crisp Washington apple, that apple is covered in more than just wax to give it that beautiful, glossy sheen — it's dripping in oil all the way back to its state of origin.
But when it comes to fuel use, what kind of bag you use is less important than what you're putting in it.
That's because that apple has had to be shipped across the country — in a refrigerated truck, no less — just so it could take up space in grocery stores where other, gassing low apples could be.
National and international transport has become more efficient, which means it's easier than ever to import specialty food items and out-of-season produce from across the globe. In addition, fuel used for international freight traveling by air or sea is tax-exempt, which also cuts costs. So although transport may be cheap, the environmental price is high.
As the United States approaches winter, when it's more difficult to grow and harvest food, the environmental cost of produce goes way up as we start enjoying "fresh" fruits from places such as Chile.
An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but if it's not local, it's definitely not shrinking your carbon footprint.
Fortunately, people such as Will Allen, former pro basketball player, now the CEO of Growing Power and recent recipient of a MacArthur Foundation genius grant, are stepping up to the challenge.
To address the lack of local produce in urban areas, Allen has developed a system of vertical indoor farming, which saves space in areas where land is at a premium. This practically eliminates the environmental costs of transportation by growing food right in the neighborhoods that will consume it.
Allen's urban farm, located in the center of Milwaukee, uses a unique three-tiered system of
plant and fish farming, which saves space, water and huge amounts of fuel. It also cuts carbon emissions. This system is what Allen hopes will allow him to build "vertical farm skyscrapers" in other cities in the future.
As global trade becomes easier and faster, food needs to stay local and slower.
Within Lawrence, organizations like the ECM and the campus garden grow some of the produce to sustain their projects. In addition, several community gardens as well as the local farmers market provide the community with opportunities to grow or buy local produce.
Although most of us aren't being handed $500,000 no-strings-attached grants, we can still help by buying locally grown and produced foods. You may have saved some petroleum with your reusable shopping bag, but if it's full of imported produce, it's just as delusional as emblazoning a blue bag with the phrase "I'm green."
McConnell is a Dallas junior in English.
To contribute to Free for All, call 785-864-0500.
I have no tests this week, my 8 o'clock class got canceled and I just found four Mike & likes in my bag. It's going to be a good week.
I didn't build the ping pong table. I broke it, and then I cried about it.
--online is sick. Call me if you want me to feel better. Here are a few comments I've vomited up from my online past.
--online is sick. Call me if you want me to feel better. Here are a few comments I've vomited up from my online past.
What's a girl gotta do to get into the Free for All?
--soul
Must be nice never having to go to the chiopractor.
Hey Matt, why don't you make some time for your girlfriend?
To the girl walking on campus wearing a pleated skirt and polo: Oops, you did it again.
Anyone who believes in horoscopes isn't smart enough to be at KU anyway.
Are freshmen not allowed on Free for All or something?
Where the hell did my horoscopes go? I want to know how my day is going to go.
To the person who stole my sunglasses, you're a jerk. Enjoy the $200 pair.
I would just like to say that I think that useless reading in college should be banned. Thank you.
--soul
I wore a backless dress to The Hawk last week and I got donkey punched twice by two of my girlfriends.
Jeff Deters told me if I don't get printed, with an editor's note, then he'll devour my
Most of the comments in the Free for All aren't clever or funny
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Evangelical Christians shouldn't be allowed in college. What do they need with all that "education" when all they need is the Bible?
I wear my stunna shades because the light of Christ is so bright
Spermocidal lube.
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