OPINION
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
7A
THURSDAY AUGUST 28. 2008
editorials around the nation
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Guns don't belong in school, period
What if you walked into your first class this week, sat down, got out some paper to scribble notes on and then you noticed that the professor at the front of the room is strapped with a 9-millimeter handgun on their belt? What would be your first reaction? Some say this occurrence should take place in every classroom in the country. Those some are also from the great state of Texas - the biggest bunch of "freedom" loving, church-going, gun-toting folks will ever meet.
The school district in Harrold, Texas will allow all staff members to carry concealed weapons starting this fall. The district's superintendent, David Thweatt, said that the schools are at a disadvantage in the case of an emergency because the nearest sheriff's office is 30 minutes away. He also says that the district is near a very busy highway which could increase the chance of being targeted in a school shooting.
The teachers and staff would have to take a crisis management training course and obtain a concealed weapons permit. Concealed weapons permits aren't exactly the be-all and end-all of gun responsibility.
Anyone who wants to carry a gun around can go to the nearest gun show and sit through a two-hour crash course on gun laws and safety tips. The state runs a background check and barring any prior felonies, restraining orders or mental illnesses, the gun nut receives their license to carry a deadly weapon with them at all times.
the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves? That's like saying 'sic' em to a dog."
While it is true that Congress tried to ban weapons from schools with the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, the Supreme Court subsequently shot that down in the case of United States v. Lopez where they ruled that the act was an unconstitutional exercise of Congressional authority. Therefore it is left up to each institution (or school district in this case) to decide whether to allow legally carried guns into schools.
Thweatt told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "When
Students and faculty at the University of Utah are allowed to carry weapons on school premises, but that has been highly contested by anti-violence groups who say that guns should be limited to trained public officials like police officers. The University of Utah actually preferred to have neither students nor faculty carrying weapons at all and instituted a weapons ban, but the issue was brought before the Utah Supreme Court and the ban was struck down in 2006.
There is absolutely no reason for anyone other than police officers or security officials to have guns. Allowing the average citizen to carry a weapon into a school only increases the potential for tragedy. Miscommunication could lead to disaster. A teacher may interpret a student's body language to be threatening or vice versa and then chaos ensues.
— Central Florida Future Aug.27 editorial
letter to the editor
Dear Students,
This Saturday evening, we will open the 2008 season by hosting Florida International University on Kivisto Field at Memorial Stadium.
As always, our players and coaches appreciate the great support of our students. There is no doubt our student section has a reputation for being one of the most enthusiastic in America.
very exciting season. However, we'll need your help. Cheer loud and get the stadium
We expect 2008 to be a
Again, thank you for your loyal support and please cheer responsibly.
rock'n the whole game!
-coach Mark Mangina
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Alex Deberty, Jenny Hartz, Lauren Keith, Patrick de Oliva, Ray Sebregueb and Ian Stanford.
Tyler Doehring
In 2003 women's rights advocate Gloria Steinem wrote an article titled "The Feminist To-Do List," where she outlined five of the most important issues that women's movements should be focusing on. That article shed light on how many problems the term "women's issues" encompasses.
CAITLIN THORNBRUGH
Women's issues encompass much more than presumed
The items in her list were:
"Demand hydrogen" as an energy alternative; "make this a real democracy" by getting more citizens to register to vote; spread condoms and stop the spread of AIDS; "fix healthcare;" and put an end to smoking.
Steinem's to-do list addresses significant problems in society, and introduces the idea that women's issues can by a myriad of unconventional topics. We should still be working on solving the problems she presented, and to add to the workload here are the top five things on my own feminist to-do list.
1. Decrease Poverty.
dar wrap in between classes. But, if it lowers the risk of a mastectomy it's worth it.
Volunteer at a shelter, throw away your copy of Cosmo and find out the meaning behind the pink ribbon. In two years I will be trying to find a job in a work force that already wants to give me less money than the guy sitting next to me. I hope by then some of the things on my to-do list will be crossed off.
In a world where, according to Estelle Freedman's No Turning Back, 70 percent of people living in poverty are women, how can working toward a solution not be on the list? Ending poverty is a long way off, but start by volunteering at the Lawrence Community Shelter. Serving a meal at the homeless shelter downtown may not seem to help immensely, but when you begin to talk to the residents of the shelter you will see that just acknowledging the problem makes a difference.
Thornbrugh is a Lenexa senior in journalism.
From an early age women are bombarded with thousands of advertisements telling them to have smaller hips, bigger breasts, tanner skin, expensive clothes, longer eyeslashes, blonder hair and smoother legs until you end up with a carbon copy of a Barbie doll who has almost no self-esteem and wants to spend $10,000 on breast augmentation followed by another $4,000 on a new nose. Body image in America needs its own makeover before all women become cosmetic junkies looking for their next Ken doll and collagen injection.
2. Unlearn the Unrealistic Image.
3. The new S.O.B.: Save our Breasts!
According to Freedman two-thirds of those who are illiterate are women. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy found in 2003 that 11 million adults in the United States who were illiterate. This problem is extremely close to home and demands a reform in education.
In 2008, the National Cancer Institute estimated there were 182,460 new breast cancer cases in women in the United States and 1,990 new male cases. An estimated 40,930 deaths caused by breast cancer will occur in the U.S. this year. This has become an epidemic which needs more than a pink ribbon. To start preventative measures the Mayo Clinic recommends maintaining a healthy weight, reducing alcohol intake, exercising and limiting the amount of fat in a diet. In college it can be hard to find the time to work out or to skip the crunchy chicken ched-
Sen. Hillary Clinton conceded by saying "Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it." The glass ceiling may have cracks in it, but it is a long way from being shattered completely. According to the National Women's Law Center in 2006, women earned 76.6 percent as much as men. It is even worse when looking at Hispanic women who earn 52 cents per dollar and African-American women who earn just 64 cents to every dollar earned by white men.
4. Mind the Gap... maybe even close it?
5. Reform Education.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Nauseating Democrat speeches in Denver
I had the honor and privilege of watching about 90 minutes of the Democratic National Convention on Monday night as I ate dinner. Although it was an appalling display of trickery laden with false promises and emotional appeals, I did feel a little better after learning that Barack Obama is going to single-handedly solve a majority of the world's problems and that Ted Kennedy enjoys sailing. Even more heartwarming. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, JFK's daughter, says that all the kids in the family know that the "best cookies and the best laughs are at Uncle Teddy's house." That sounds delicious; are they peanut butter or chocolate chip? I'm voting for Barack Obama because his friend Uncle Tedy is funny and he likes cookies.
I suppose that kind of appeal to an idiot's emotions is to be expected at that sort of event, and will no doubt enjoy a large presence at the Republican National Convention as well. I'll jump them for it when the time comes. Meanwhile, we have the Democrats to
pick on.
Although the Convention in Denver is designed to lack substance, what little substance exists is enough to make one roll his eyes and/or holler at the television set. What irked me the most was when the speakers would repeatedly refer to one's "right" to health care. It is Uncle Teddy's contention that health care should be a "fundamental right and not a privilege." There's a fundamental problem with that claim.
Compare other rights to the alleged right to health care. The right to free speech gives me the right to say what I want. I have that right until someone comes along and forces me to
shut up. I have the right to work for an employer of my choosing; I have that right until someone forces me to work elsewhere. I'm not talking about constitutional rights here; it's simply the natural way of things. You have freedom until someone takes it away.
Health care isn't like that. I don't have health care until someone agrees to treat me. If I say that I have a right to health care, what I'm really saying is that I have a right to slaves who will be forced to provide it for me. I don't want slaves, and I certainly don't want to be someone else's.
Brett Turner
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Man, all of my professors keep teaching past the whistle. On that's right, the whistle isn't blowing.
Shit, I just got Bel Air'd by the UDK comic strip.
--fall into this trap..
Dammit, Watson.
--fall into this trap..
I've been married to your mother for 100 years!
--fall into this trap..
--fall into this trap..
I live in a house with 10 other guys. How long before we go insane?
--fall into this trap..
I like to think of a frat call as an Easter egg hunt.
So, since mopeds can take up our precious yellow spaces does that mean I'm allowed to ram my car into the bike racks in front of Budig now?
--fall into this trap..
The Greek life is for stuck up people who can't make any friends otherwise.
--fall into this trap..
I love you. I always have and I always will. I hate knowing that I am no longer the person that makes you smile. Maybe someday you'll realize what we had.
--fall into this trap..
--fall into this trap..
I just keep getting caught in this never-ending cycle. Why does this keep happening to me? Or maybe I should ask how I keep letting myself
I think the UDK is seriously falling short this year on news stories. Get with it.
I lost my keys on campus today. They have a pink and black penguin keychain. I think I lost them in or around Haworth Hall. If you found them please let me know where you left them. Thanks
--joy.
Does anyone else love people-watching on campus? I try to decipher if people are down to earth or douchebags based on the way they dress, walk, and talk. This gives me
--style anyway.
Thanks for keeping me updated on the nun fashion show UDK.
--style anyway.
More girls should study engineering. Seriously, I know you women are smarter than me, so why not show it? Dumb blondes are so out of
Thank you so much to whoever dropped out of English 362 so that I could take it.
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