V
4A the university daily kansan
friday,november 21,2003
opinion
willy's view
Elizabeth Willy for The University Daily Kansan
Silliness keeps finals week from becoming a drag
perspective
COMMENTARY
Sometimes I hate the end of the semester. I spend hour after hour staring at books. Eventually the words all glom together and I'm left with this dazed sort of look. This look makes the living dead look like motivational speakers.
Patrick Cady opinion@kansan.com
You've all been there, chained to final papers like Prometheus on his rock, straining your eyes to translate the scrawl of notes you took down in Western Civilization bordering on sleep. This time of year, everything ramps up. The sweet melody of the semester has swelled to a towering crescendo of white noise.
With finals coming, the idea of free time seems just a joke. Once you're prepared for one class, you crack open the next book and you begin the old process again. New words blur together and you are caught in the pattern, drawn by the ubiquitous and pressing need of getting good grades.
because it is undeniably the price of your future. The stress, though, especially for you freshman out there, can be dangerous.
Admirable.
I had an old teacher who once said only pressure can create diamonds, which is true, but the need to release that pressure is also important. So here are a few ideas to keep you focused and relaxed.
The studying is definitely worth it
One of the easiest ways to blow off steam during mad-dash studies is to remember a simple rule: You don't always have to take yourself seriously.
I always tend to get into things when I'm studying. Sometimes I have to be very serious and, well, a drag to myself and those around me. Then one day I had the perfect idea to help lighten things up.
It all has to do with mustaches. Yes, mustaches. When I first had a column in the Kansan, I found a wild and unbridled joy at the opportunity to deface my own face. It was beautiful. With a felt tip marker I changed what was once a more or less clean-shaven face into one with a sprawling goatee, then a symmetric handle bar mustache, then finally a ZZ Top beard to end all ZZ Top beards. After looking at that I realize it's almost impossible to be too serious after you beard yourself.
If you have a photo to spare or a digital camera, and you're uber-stressed, then you should try it. Bearding can help relieve stress regardless of age, gender or creed. Even if you are already bearded, you can make yourself even
Silliness is good. Random silliness is better.
more elaborately so.
That leads to another rule or idea to keep in mind when deep into finals:
This works much easier if you don't already take yourself too seriously. You could, for instance, after spending a good hour-and-a-half tracing the theme of free will throughout the great thinkers of philosophy, grab some friends and have a good old-fashioned game of tag. Or, If you have less time, stand up, stretch and hop up and down a few times. Then stretch again and quietly go back to studying.
Random silliness or storms of action help keep your mind and body active. It's also good to stay well-fed when studying.
Remember, finals and final papers are serious and they need to be done, but you don't have to be horribly serious while doing them.
Cady is a Shawnee senior in journalism.
letter to the editor
Same-sex marriage issue deserves diverse voice
This letter is in response to your article "New England court rules for gay marriage." While the article was simply a news item and not an editorial, there were some problems which need to be addressed.
It seems that whenever the Kansan writes an article concerning LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) issues, its interview subjects are very limited. Instead of reaching out to the hundreds of gays and lesbians in Lawrence, the Kansan consistently turns to the president of Queers and Allies. Thankfully, Q & A has a very intelligent and respected president. However, this does not mean that he should be representative on all gay and lesbian issues.
This point brings me to your article concerning gay marriage. Instead of interviewing Q&A's president, did the Kansan ever think of searching for same-sex couples who are committed and want to marry? My partner and I are both KU students who will be having a ceremony next June. The issue of legalizing gay marriage is extremely important to us as we are planning our ceremony at this moment. I'm sure we are not the only same-sex couple committing to each other in Lawrence.
I applaud the Kansan for writing on LBGT issues, however, I question the time and concern put into these articles when I continuously see the same people interviewed.
Mark Frossard
St. Louis senior in painting
editorial board
Records one click away with online course evaluations
Enter online course evaluations:
The guessing game stops here. The
online course evaluation proposal that
passed University Council last week
means that in Spring 2004, we students
will have the opportunity to evaluate
classes and teachers.
In the search for insight into class criteria and professors' reputations, students are often left to guess which classes are worth taking and which are not.
Now we won't have to rely solely on freestyle remarks about how great, or not, others think a class was. The evaluations will consist of 10 statements with which we can strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree or be neutral about.
Also, when we are picking classes, we will be able to read each other's answers. There will be a link next to the class in the timetable to view the evaluations.
Statements range from, "The instructor communicated his/her ideas clearly," to "This class significantly improved my understanding of the material."
There is also a statement about attendance policies and whether or not it was necessary to buy the book for the class. Almost everything we need to know about a class will be at our finger tips.
Unfortunately, this service will not be available until next spring. In a Student Senate meeting Wednesday night, Andy Knopp said computing services did not know if it could get the system constructed by the Dec. 7 deadline, the Kansan reported. But it will be worth the wait.
But, online evaluations will work only if students participate. The new evaluations will not be taken in class. Students will have to go to the Kyou portal to cast their votes. Each student will only be able to complete evaluations for the classes they are enrolled in, and they will only be able to do it once.
Though this will primarily be a resource for students, instructors will also be able to view the evaluations too. By knowing how students feel about the class, instructors can adjust their teaching style. This can prove to be a great mechanism for improving our education.
Online course/instructor evaluations have the potential to be a great resource for students as we make informed decisions about the classes we take.
Evaluating courses online might take a little extra effort, but it will prove worthwhile in the end.
submitting letters and guest columns
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Louise Stauffer or Stephen Shupe at 864-4924 or e-mail at opinion@kansan.com.
Anna Gregory for the editorial board.
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**Also:**
The Kansan will not print guest columns that attack another columnist.
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
Opinion staff is now accepting applications for editorial board, columnists and cartoonists for spring semester. Stop by 111 Stauffer-Flint for an application.
Maximum Length:
LETTER GUIDELINES
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SUBMITTO
E-mail:
opinion@kansan.com
Hard copy:
Kansannewroom
111 Stauffer-Flint
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Free for All
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com
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Reese Wetherspoon has the pointiest chin he ever seen. Ever.
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You should paint the entrance to Bailey brown so that it matches the rest of it. It would look great.
My roommate has been in the Free For All seven times and you all still won't print me.
So, yeah, I just find out that I have a final at 7:30 in the morning. Who is conscious at 7:30 in the morning?
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Ms. Stauffer: I think that you should
spend the holidays with me.
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I don't mind sharing, but I don't like sharing my lane. Stay on your side of the road.
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To those of you who wonder why men have problems committing: The answer to your question is why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?
四
Floppy disks are not that floppy
Bob the bachelor is so stupid.
Everyone knows that he should have picked Kelly Jo. He is so dumb.
I love the smell of man
园
Should I feel guilty for collecting money on a bet on how long my roommate's fish will live?
Here is an idea: How about everyone try to sneak into Robinson's ractouch court counts? What is the worst that can happen? You are not allowed to play on courts that are already closed to you?
I love making snow angels in my bed.
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Scratch that last one. Was it wrong of me to glue my roommate's dead fish to the bottom of the bowl? so that it appears still alive? I was just looking for some advice.
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What is the point of putting door handles on doors that are locked 24-7?
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Chicken and that is all
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I am a witness and a victim of the KU Parking Department. If we go to a judge, I will testify.
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If life is a waste of time and time is a waste of life, then let's all get wasted
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