Opinion
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5,2009
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.
Thompson: Finding an alternative to closing Topeka-based institute
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--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
Ultimate FFA post: To the person in the identifying article of clothing: Is it bad if I did/thought something obviously bad? You're such an imbecile/idiot/fat boy/GDI. (Insert typo here.) Taylor Swift!
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
I can't afford food, but I did just spend $260 at Old Navy. At least I'll look cute!
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
Do I have to tell the boy I hooked up with on Saturday that I now have symptoms of H1N1?
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
I actually sometimes get jealous when I see White Owl talks to other girls.
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
Never trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn't die.
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
Never trust anyone who doesn't like dogs or Bob Dylan
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
Good night FFA. Stalk you later
It feels good to come home and have newspaper pieces fall out of my clothes again.
If you think you're cool for being in the FFA, you really need to get outside more
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
Why are there so many attractive guys but I'm still single?
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
I felt bad for the girl called out in my political science class for having a baby.
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
We deliver food to your front door rain, sleet or shine, and use our own cars and gas. Seriously guys, let's start tipping. And no, a dollar doesn't count.
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
Christmas music is already on the radio. Awesome.
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
The putrid sexual tension between you two is enough to make you want to drop out of
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
I went to KU for basketball season
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
Rest in peace Professor Harry G. Shaffer.
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
Lawrence can be really straight,but at times really curvy
--methodology might cause some of the information gathered to be flawed.
Last year's pregame video was so much better than this year's.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Alcohol subcommittee survey produces skewed information
A recent survey sent to students regarding alcohol use is flawed, and should not be used to influence alcohol or housing policy decisions made by Student Senate or the administration.
Members of the student-run committee to combat alcohol abuse at the University of Kansas and investigate related policy e-mailed a survey on Oct. 22 to students enrolled at the Lawrence campus about their alcohol habits and thoughts on alcohol education. The e-mail from the Committee stated the intent of the survey was to "recommend whether any changes to existing alcohol-related policies should be made." However, it should not be used for this purpose, because the survey
One of the issues
the subcommittee
the subcommittee was supposed to examine involves student housing officials being able to enter residence hall rooms without permission in instances of students violating housing policy, which includes alcohol use.
The survey is self-selecting, able to be completed more than once and also open to student housing employees if they are enrolled at the Lawrence campus.
A self-selecting survey is one which the individual chooses whether to take it. Therefore, students who have a greater interest in the subject will be more likely to take the survey, thus creating an unbalanced response.
"It concerns me only if students abuse it," said Emily C. Williams, Overland Park graduate student
and chairwoman of the committee. "but I am not of the opinion that it is going to do more harm than good."
The survey gathered more than 1,800 responses, with most responses from seniors, Williams said. This highlights a problem with any statistics the survey gathered; the survey was not distributed randomly. All surveys have some margin of error because of dishonest participants, but when the results come only from those who choose to take the survey, the data is further skewed.
KANSAN'S
OPINION
Another problem with the survey is its anonymity. Students taking the survey do not have to give their name or KUID, allowing them to take the survey more than once. Students who work for
student housing, such as resident assistants, can also take the survey.
The committee made the survey
The committee plans on sending out the same survey again to all students and particular group listservs, so students may be reminded of the survey.
anonymous so students would feel more at ease about giving away private information, Williams said. Unfortunately, this makes it impossible to know if students are abusing the survey to create false opinions.
"The more times that students get the survey and the more time they have they ability to click on the link, the better" Williams said
However, this could lead to even more students taking the survey multiple times. In addition, if it is targeted toward particular groups the statistics could be skewed to
reflect their activities.
The survey, however, does allow for some good input. The final portion of the survey uses open-ended questions to solicit student opinions on alcohol policy and education at the University. However, depending on who is answering these questions, they could still be from a biased source For example, a student housing employee could be commenting on student housing policy multiple times
The statistical questions from the beginning of the survey will be passed on to the administration and could be used in reports on the campus's alcohol activity, Williams said.
This survey has too many potentially confounding problems to be an accurate source of information. These problems should be rectified or this unreliable data should be disregarded.
Students should attend the committee's next meeting at 7 p.m. tonight in the Jayhawk Room of the Kansas Union to voice their opinion on the survey and other alcohol-related policy.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
Caitlin Thornbrugh contributed reporting for this story.
Clayton Ashley for The Kansan Editorial Board
@KANSAN.COM
To read the survey questions see this editorial at kansan.com/opinion.
I SURE HOPE
I CAN GET THE
FREE HIN2 SHOT
TODAY. IVE STOOD
IN LINE 3 TIMES
AND THEY KEEP
RUNNING OUT
I HOPE I CAN GET MINE SOON WE'RE PARTICULARLY AT RISK.
THEY WON'T GIVE ME THE MEDICINE BECAUSE I'M 25.
I CAN'T WAIT TILL ALL HEALTHCARE IS FREE!
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
Overweight, out of college
HEALTH
All of us have heard about the dreaded freshman 15. But what if gaining an extra 15 pounds, or more, influenced the decision to attend college in the first place? What if it drastically effected how you felt about life overall?
Obesity does play a role in high school students' choices to attend college, according to a study conducted by University of Texas Sociologist Robert Crosnoe. The research included an analysis of 11,000 students from 128 schools and focused on health-related behavior.
The study, featured in Time magazine, reports that obese girls are half as likely as thinner girls to continue onto college. The likelihood of college attendance for an obese girl decreases further if there are few overweight students in the classroom. Obese girls had equal odds of attending college as thin classmates at schools where overweight students made up at least 20 percent of the student body. Findings on boys show no correlation between obesity and college attendance.
One of the most important findings was the link between being
RICHELLE BUSER
young and obese and the disadvantages it causes. For overweight girls, self-rejection was 63 percent more likely and the rate of failure is 24 percent higher than girls of a normal weight. These negative psychological effects extend beyond the classroom and can affect the way individuals live their daily lives.
Similar issues with obesity apply to boys. A study done by the magazine Psychology Today of 1,000 students found that overweight boys are more likely to suffering from depression than average-weight boys.
Another study done by the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that obese people are five-and-a-half times more likely to have an impaired quality of life as compared to those of a healthy weight. They also miss almost four times as much school
as thinner students, which could contribute to the academic difficulties that are said to plague obese people as a group.
If you're reading this column, you're likely already in college or have completed a degree. Maybe you've gained a few pounds since college or perhaps you've struggled with weight your entire life. But if you've never stuck with all those resolutions to hit the gym, maybe your mental health and better grades will be a big enough motivator.
The longer a person is obese, the more he or she suffers from harmful emotional effects, Sarah Mastillo, a researcher in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke Medical Center, told Psychology Today. That's even more of a reason to switch to a healthy lifestyle if you don't have one already.
So next time you're thinking of grabbing a snack from a drive-thru, first consider the consequences. As yummy as those foods are, they don't pay off in the long run, and there's definitely no food worth sacrificing your happiness for.
Buser is a Columbia, Ill., senior in journalism.
Health care insanity
There's an old saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing.
over and over and expecting different results. We all have our moments of insanity. We try to make a pass at someone who we know isn't interested. We try to cook a recipe we don't have the right ingredients for. For my own part, I'm a Chiefs fan. It's a tough life.
When somebody keeps trying something over, it's usually harmless. Sometimes, though, there are people who don't give up on an idea that won't work, and will cost them dearly, Or, to be specific, will cost the country dearly. Something like $50 million dearly.
In all the excitement surrounding the public option health insurance debate, somebody has tried to bring his own insanity into the chambers of Congress. No, it wasn't Glenn Beck (this time), but rather Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). Hatch, most famous for his personal crusade against the BCS, was able to sneak in an amendment to recent health care legislation that would refund federal programs supporting abstinence-only sex education.
The amendment, which passed the Senate Finance Committee a few weeks ago by a single vote, restores $50 million to abstinence-only education. It was removed from the budget by President Barack Obama earlier this year, a move that upset some people. They were upset at the end of a program that they apparently expected to start working if wed just keep it going a little while longer.
Just for everyone's information, abstinence-only programs established in the mid-'90s did nothing to curb teen pregnancy or the spread of STIs among high school students. A federal report on such programs done by the Department of Health and Human Services mentioned that abstinence-only programs "did not affect the age at which
LIBERAL
LOUDMOUTH
BEN COHEN
sexually experienced youth first engaged in sexual intercourse." There were also sections of the study mentioning that students who had this kind of sex education were just as likely to engage in unprotected sex as those who received more comprehensive education.
Now, Hatch and a few other senators want abstinence-only education to continue. They feel that a vaguely moral outlook, which paints premarital sex as rare and frightening, needs to be pressed upon people who have been empirically shown not to agree. I find it incredibly ironic that the same people who support measures such as this complain about the public option on the grounds that it would be expensive. Hatch wants to cut down on spending, yet at the same time spend millions on something that makes not a bit of sense. When I'm the one criticizing potentially wasteful government spending, something is seriously wrong.
The country is fighting back an economic recession. Meanwhile, teenagers run an increased risk of unplanned pregnancies and STIs because they weren't given the chance to learn how to engage in sexual activity in a safe way. I don't necessarily want to encourage more sexual activity among people who may not yet be mature enough to understand it, but closing our eyes and shouting, "La la, this isn't actually happening," isn't the solution. Spending $50 million on just that — well, it's just insane.
Cohen is a Topeka senior in political science.
WHAT'S UP WITH THAT? The essentials of urinal etiquette
When it comes to urinal etiquette, there are a few simple rules you should follow. First and foremost, when you walk into the bathroom, there should always be one urinal between you and the next man to avoid looking and the nervousness that goes along with thinking you're being looked at.
Next, to go along with the first rule, simply do not look to your right or your left. There are only two ways you should simply look: straight ahead or straight down. And finally, there is one rule that ends them all: shake twice then flush. This is all you need.
— Phillippe is a Fort Worth sophomore in creative writing.
C'mon guys! There are three urinals in the average KU men's bathroom. Why is it that one guy decides to use the middle one when he could use the left or right? When you choose the middle, you put the incoming busting boulders in an awkward position because they have to choose which side they will have to intrude your personal bubble.
Instead, you should choose one of the outside porcelain peel palaces so that the next guy can choose the other end and you'll be two happy peas in a pod. The third guy that comes in will, well, just be getting the wrong end of the deal.
— Roesler is a Denver junior in journalism.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
MEMBERS of the Kansan Editorial Board are Brenna Hawley, Jessica Sain-Baird, Jennifer Torine, Tayla Hales, Carlijn Thornbruch and Michael Holtz.