Opinion
United States First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Cosby: Inconsistencies found in domestic violence laws
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FREE FOR ALL
--in a cow pasture.
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I didn't watch the game.
I went to Union Station and played with awesome science experiments, and I got to pet a bunny. It was awesome!
You know what sucks?
Being in love with one of your guy friends.
Not going to Manhattan this weekend was the worst decision I made since I put that security guard in a headlock last month.
My ex keeps sending me dirty texts. He's making it really hard for me to be a good person.
I have my language settings set to pirate. Whenever someone writes on my wall it says, "plank stain." It sounds so dirty.
--in a cow pasture.
The walk from the bus to my dorm room after my trip to Manhattan today = Walk of Shame.
--in a cow pasture.
I move for a vote of no confidence in Todd Reesing's quarterbacking abilities.
--in a cow pasture.
Someone at K-State asked how I liked KU. I said there was no place better. Her response: "Uh, look around you." I was in a cow pasture.
--in a cow pasture.
--bothering me.
I keep getting compliments about my beautiful eye color and long eye lashes from girls I am not attracted to. This is happening too much and it's staring me
--lack a step in the right direction to support and protect transgendered students and faculty. Gender identity and gender expression have been added to the nondiscrimination and the equal opportunity policy for the University, thus living up to the promoted philosophy of diversity and acceptance of all people.
K-state fans need to stop saying they dominated. You won by a single touchdown, which is not a domination.
Idea:Take the "Thank God for Todd" shirts from Joe College, make them purple and sell them in Manhattan.
My grandma sent me a cute kitty card with money in it. I bought alcohol and went to the club with said money.
--lack a step in the right direction to support and protect transgendered students and faculty. Gender identity and gender expression have been added to the nondiscrimination and the equal opportunity policy for the University, thus living up to the promoted philosophy of diversity and acceptance of all people.
The constant presence of my roommate is making me dumber
--lack a step in the right direction to support and protect transgendered students and faculty. Gender identity and gender expression have been added to the nondiscrimination and the equal opportunity policy for the University, thus living up to the promoted philosophy of diversity and acceptance of all people.
Is it just me, or does the walk from the computers to the bathroom in Anschutz Library kind of have a "walk of shame" feel to it?
I can't put away my flip-flops. I would have to admit that summer is over.
EDITORIAL BOARD
University takes right step with discrimination policy
The University has finally taken a step in the right
TERMINOLOGY ACCORDING TO JAYNE HENSON, ACTIVISM COORDINATOR FOR QUEERS AND ALLIES:
After this policy was passed through Student Senate, it was presented at a meeting of University Senate on Oct. 8, where the senate unanimously voted to amend the two policies for the University. It was then approved by the interim
"Gender identity is how someone self identifies as a male, a female or a mix of the two."
provost, Danny J.
Anderson, as well
as the chancellor,
Bernadette Gray-Little.
SLIGHTLY LATE
"Gender expression is how you dress, act, and talk as an outward display of your gender."
Though these additions to the policies should be applauded, the University is slightly behind in making them.
"K-State actually had it in their policy before we did" said Jayne Henson, activism coordinator for Queers and Allies.
It was also already part of Kansas law, thanks to Executive
Order 07-24 issued by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in August 2007. This law prohibits discrimination and harassment for state employees on account of gender identity, among numerous other things.
KANSAN'S OPINION
Though the policy was unanimously approved, there was some wording that
WORDING LEFT OUT
did not make the final cut. In the original proposal the words "actual or perceived" were included in order to ensure the most protection for transgendered students and faculty.
Henson, who played a large role in writing and passing this policy, said she had seen the wording in a similar policy at another University.
and thought it was important because sometimes gender is something that is perceived
"Most of the time you don't ask someone first," Henson said. "Really it's about our perceptions of people." "Sometimes people can be perceived as being trans even if they're not."
Saida Bonifield, LGBT Resource Center Coordinator, who helped write and present the addition to the policy, said. "University legal council thought this could be too complicated."
If this wording is important to the LGBT community to ensure the most protection, the University should reconsider adding it to the policies.
this in order to show support and protect their students and faculty
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The University needed to do
"With myself identifying as transsexual I was distraught about how horrible things were for trans people," Henson said. "No one was fighting for us."
If the University wishes to remain progressive and diverse. it needs to take steps to live up to these powerful words.
"Having this wording there for trans. people to see is important," Henson said. "It's saying my University wants me to be happy and support me."
For students and faculty already here, and in recruiting potential new members to the community, this wording shows the University is an accepting place.
MORE TO DO
"This is the first step," Bonifield said. "I want the students to feel as safe as possible."
Henson described a situation that occurred to her friend who is in the transitioning process.
"My friend who is a freshman is transferring because TAs and faculty refuse to call him by the name he prefers," she said.
Not only is this disrespectful of
TO LEARN
MORE ABOUT
TRANSGENDER
ISSUES, ATTEND THIS
PANEL:
WHAT: Tranny Talk
WHEN: Nov. 17
WHERE: Kansas Union
TIME: 7:00 p.m.
transgendered identity, it is losing a lahawk because of discrimination.
"That's where we need to start — with faculty," Henson said. "We have this wording in place and the next step is to show that it's not just words on a piece of paper. Whether you agree with trans identity or not it's an issue of respect."
This addition to the University's policy is a great one, and all of the members of the LGBT community who fought for it should be applauded.
The University should continue to support transgendered protection, and put actions to their well intended words.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
Caitlin Thornbrugh for The Kansan Editorial Board
NICHOLAS SAMBALUN
LOCAL
Protesting done right
We've all seen them at some point in front of Strong Hall or Wescoe Hall waving banners in front of giant waving and shouting messages. Most of us tend to ignore them, to blow right on by without a second thought. On Monday, however, one group managed to grab my attention: Save the Wetlands.
Even after doing some research, I've yet to decide my stance on the issue. The thing that struck me, however, was that the group members conducted the protest in a refreshingly different way. They refrained from over-the-top, in-your-face tactics to make their message heard. They didn't post 20-foot billboards full of graphic images of recently killed otters or waterfowl. They didn't promote open argument on campus sidewalks. And they certainly didn't show up seeking to spread hate and foment anger. They only carried signs, shouted chants and asked for signatures, informing all who asked about their cause.
Too often the protest groups that occupy the lawn in front of Strong Hall or Wesco Beach assume that college students only respond to shock tactics. In the case of the anti-gay or anti-abortion advocacy groups, they've made it very clear that they will rely only on extreme
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
To those not familiar with their message, let me explain. For almost 20 years, the Kansas Department of Transportation has been trying to divert K-10, one of its self-proclaimed most important projects, around the city of Lawrence. KDOT has determined that the best area in which to construct the proposed six-lane South Lawrence Trafficway is through the Baker Wetlands, a 640-acre stretch of marshland south of town. Baker University, which claims much of the area, supports this decision.
The Wetlands group seemed to realize we are adults, something other campers protesters fail to do. We don't need to be bludgeoned into forming an opinion on an issue. The Wetlands protesters made their motive clear and their message noble, something that, in this case, allowed their messages to carry a little further.
interpretations of the truth. In doing so, they greatly limit the credibility of their message.
LETTER GUIDELINES
- Send letters to opinion@
kansan.com
- Write LETTER TO THE
If nothing else, the Wetlands protesters have earned the right to be heard, and it's our right to listen to them. Look up some information on the Baker Wetlands and form your own opinion. Web sites such as savethewetlands.org and southlarcencetrafficway.org are great places to start. Maybe once we, the students at the University of Kansas, start caring, this 20-year stalemate will finally be broken.
The land is considered a sacred historical area by Haskell Indian Nations University. So Haskell, along with environmental groups such as the Wetlands Preservation Organization and KU Environs, are trying to preserve the land and have been strongly fighting the Trafficway for the past 20 years. These groups claim that the marshland isn't the most economically feasible place to construct the highway, let alone the most ecologically logical.
KDOT officials claim the opposite, that the proposed project will in fact increase the size of the Wetlands by appropriating more land for the area.
according to a statement on the University's Web site.
LETTER GUIDELINES
McQuiston is a Shawnee freshman in journalism and Spanish.
EDITOR in the e-mail subject line
— 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.
MUSIC
New hip-hop group's 'golden age'revival
If you have kept your ears open to hip-hop artists lately, you've likely heard of Kid Cudi. However, even if your ears have been suffocated by headphones bumping hip-hop for the past 10 years, you still might not have heard of the Digable Planets.
With a name that makes a person think this group is out of this world, yet groovy, Digable Planets are an interesting comparison with the artist Kid Cudi in that they both represent an "out there" form of hip-hop. Kid Cudi released his album "Man on the Moon" this year and has been blowing up radio ever since with the catchy remix of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and the summer hit "Day n' Night."
But Kid Cudi has yet to come to Lawrence, whereas the Digable Planets are performing at The Bottleneck on Nov. 13.
Not that the Digable Planets sound like Kid Cudi. They might actually sound better to those who appreciate the old school sounds that seem to have inspired the new Kid Cudi. Like the greats of old, the Digable Planets weave intricate lyrics over jazzy hooks evoking that old school feeling that came from listening to the likes of A Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul.
That The Bottleneck and Pipeline Productions can bring artists such as Digable Planets to Lawrence shows me a strong dedication to quality hip-hop music in Lawrence. Not only has Pipeline Productions, a Lawrence-based production company, brought incredible acts to The Bottleneck, but it also supplies The Crossroads in Kansas City with quality shows. The "golden age" of hip-hop
has maintained its presence in Lawrence through these live shows as well as through KIHK
What else would you expect from the two emcees named Butterfly and Doodlebug? Their unique yet rooted form of hip-hop should find its place here in funky Lawrence.
If you listen to "Breakfast for Beatlovers with Ross F" on KJHK, you will catch an occasional Digable Planets song. One song that has managed to reach mainstream audiences through a rather unusual way, "Rebirth of Slick (Cool like Dat)" is the theme song for a cold water clothing detergent. Aside from commercial tracks, Digable Planets puts together thoughtful tracks that sometimes border on the side of poetry rather than rap flows because of their peculiar rhyme structures.
Roesler is a Denver junior in journalism.
This show at The Bottleneck is calling all of the beat heads in Lawrence to get out from the corners of bars where only Lil' Wayne gets played and come connect with how hip-hop was created. Like the Digable Planets rhyme in their song "Escapism," "funk is you, funk is me, funk is us, funk is free!" Well, maybe not completely free — the tickets are $16 — but the funk you will feel will be from another planet.
Brenna Hawley, editor
864-4810 or bhawley@kansan.com
Bréné Hawley, editor
684-8140 or bhawley.kansan.com
Jessica Sain-Baird, managing editor
684-8140 or kain.bhawley.kansan.com
Haley Jones, kansan.com managing editor
844-810 or jones@kansan.com
Jennifer Tortline, managing editor
644-814-01 or jtortline@kansan.com
Haley Jones, kansan.com managing editor
CONTACT US
Caitlin Thornbrugh, editorial editor
864-4924 or thornbrugh.kakam.com
Lauren Bloodgood, business manager
864-4358 or ibloodgood@kansan.com
Maria Korte, sales manager
864-4477 or mkorte@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
864-7662 or malcolm.gibson@msn.com
Jon Schitt, sales and marketing adviser
THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansas Editorial Board are Brenna Hawley, Jessica Sain-Baird, Jennifer McNally, Caitlin Thornburgh and Michael Holtz.