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.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2009
Buser: Weight gain linked to depression, poor grades
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I judge how much homework I've done by how many times I get through "Jurassic Park."
I love the few days after Halloween when everybody's profile picture changes to their slutty, drunken Halloween
--central air conditioning system. The ECM hopes to accomplish this in two phases of fundraising
I've figured out your secret.
Every morning you spend an hour on hair and makeup,
then wear jammies to class so we'll all think you wake up beautiful.
I yelled at my mom and she deleted me off Facebook.
As I'm walking outside of Watson Library I hear, "So the longer the beard the better I do on tests. I wish I had known this during finals."
--central air conditioning system. The ECM hopes to accomplish this in two phases of fundraising
I'm so nervous about how huge my boobs will be when I get pregnant.
Will someone please clean up the dead skunk on 15th and Iowa Street. It's been there so long it doesn't smell anymore.
--central air conditioning system. The ECM hopes to accomplish this in two phases of fundraising
Dear October: November is already showing you up.
--central air conditioning system. The ECM hopes to accomplish this in two phases of fundraising
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I haven't had sex in two years. I'm a sex camel.
--central air conditioning system. The ECM hopes to accomplish this in two phases of fundraising
A girl that had sex with my ex-boyfriend just asked me why I didn't wave to her on campus.
--central air conditioning system. The ECM hopes to accomplish this in two phases of fundraising
--central air conditioning system. The ECM hopes to accomplish this in two phases of fundraising
If anyone has seen a very organized KU planner with cute drawings on the holidays, please turn it in to JRP or the Burge Union. I miss my planned.
I think I have a girl crush on my geography teacher.
--central air conditioning system. The ECM hopes to accomplish this in two phases of fundraising
I'm a cute girl, but I'm considering dating an ugly guy because he's so funny.
I think I have now successfully Facebook stalked everyone's Halloween pictures. I think my favorite picture was a guy wearing a giant block with a rooster on it — "cock block."
--central air conditioning system. The ECM hopes to accomplish this in two phases of fundraising
I just saw a full bus even though it is 65 degrees and sunny out. What the hell, KU?
To the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy named David: I'm still looking for you
--central air conditioning system. The ECM hopes to accomplish this in two phases of fundraising
I just burped and it smelled like dog food.
--central air conditioning system. The ECM hopes to accomplish this in two phases of fundraising
Basketball: KU invented it, so it must be easy.
--central air conditioning system. The ECM hopes to accomplish this in two phases of fundraising
EDITORIAL BOARD
ECM earns deserved recognition
Since 1959, the Ecumenical Christian Ministries has served as an on-campus haven for events, classes and the popular veggie lunch. After the building's recent addition to the National Register of Historic Places, students should work to support the building as it seeks renovations and improvements.
One of more than 80,000 properties listed on the Register, the ECM played host to luncheons, University club meetings, political meetings and religious group meetings. Campus Minister Thad Holcombe said the process to get the building on the Register was very thorough and required a lot of research. However, the building's rich history justified the effort.
"Our building became the site for people to meet and feel like they were in a safe place." Holcombe said. "It's very accessible, and it's really a sacred place where people can look at where they are and where they are going."
Even with the new distinction of being placed on the Register, the ECM has set its sights on
new renovations to the building. The ECM has set a goal of raising $826,000 for various improvements to the building's inner workings, which include the kitchen, parking lot and a broken
"We're currently in a 'quiet phase,' or a point where we go out to talk to individuals about contributions," Holcombe said. "Later we'll have things like major
KANSAN'S OPINION
events, dinners, and benefit bands." Holcombe said he thought the more active phase of fundraising would probably start in January.
Approximately $230,000 has been pledged. Holcombe noted many students were looking to help out immediately with the fundraising, but the ECM's goal was to hold on on the larger events until the
"quiet phase" was complete.
Though it has been in existence for only 50 years, the ECM has been a valuable piece of the University. Its addition to the Register proves that it will be around for a long time, and renovations are necessary to help the building become even more valuable than it already is.
There will be many opportunities to help with fundraisers and donations, and the ECM will welcome all the assistance it can get. Students should duly note the building's importance to the University, respect its history and become a part of its future.
Brett Salsbury for The Kansan Editorial Board
HUMOR
Would you like a ticket with that?
Last week, four Utah teens were given a police citation for rapping. You may be thinking to yourself, "Of course rapping is illegal in Utah." Surprisingly, however, their crime was not the genre, but the venue.
The rapscallions, mimicking a popular YouTube video that has already drained a deluge of copycats over the years, performed the hip-hop classic "Big Mac" at a McDonald's drive-thru. When they repeated the rap rather than place an order, the manager came out and told them to knock it off. An employee apparently took down their license plate number as they left and police tracked them down at a high school volleyball game, according to CNN.com. They were cited for "being disorderly in public" as well as for "being painfully unoriginal." (The latter citation was made by the Creativity Cops, who were out of their jurisdiction because they don't exist.)
While many may dismiss this as a silly trilogy of a story, I think there are deep, serious issues at play here. Free speech issues. I think these kids should take this First Amendment case all the way to the Supreme Court. I know it's a long, complicated process
What was really the crime here? What is so disorderly about the majesty of song? These youths merely wanted to lighten up the day of those poor souls in the fast food industry. All they got in return was American Fork, Utah's finest hunting them down and embarrassing them in front of their schoolmates.
to reach the Supreme Court — involving pistol duels, death races and a trivia lighting round — but this case would have a chance.
And why did the employees react so negatively? As a veteran of the restaurant industry, I can safely say that any impromptu performance by a customer, even if I'd heard it before, would inspire me to laugh and enjoy it. Any break in the monotony of
Apparently, if Osama bin Laden had performed a folk song about filet o' fish at a Long John Silver's, we would have found him years ago.
the average fast food shift would be a welcome respite, not a case of "creating public fear", which is part of the definition of the law they apparently broke.
It's almost as though people are addicted to being miserable. Rather than embracing these unique happenings, there's a tendency to be annoyed or even angered by people who simply want to do something different. We want people to stop making such a scene so we can continue hating our jobs and making it through the routine we've established.
As long as they aren't dangerous or genuinely disruptive, public displays of silliness should be not only tolerated, but accepted as a gift from people who are trying to brighten our day.
So next time you're at work or walking to class and you see somebody do something wacky such as hand out filers that say, "Throw this away," don't just frown, put your head down and forge ahead. Stop for a second and smile. Save the 911 call for something less enjoyable.
BLOG: GREEN MY GUY
I love to travel: from eating in hole-in-the-wall restaurants to sending postcards to jealous friends back at home, from not having to fold my bed in the hotel to exploring the sights. It opened my eyes to the beauty and vastness of the Grand Canyon, the Pacific Ocean, the Colorado Rockies and so much more.
Yet what are we to do when traveling the world also pollutes it?
Whether you call it ecotourism, sustainable travel or responsible travel, more and more environmentally friendly travel options are now available for those who wish to see the world without negatively impacting it.
Green vacations
My family is from Taiwan and we fly there every other year to see our relatives. Because biking or driving across the Pacific definitely isn't an option, air travel is our only choice. To minimize our overall impact on the environment, we try to be more eco-friendly in other ways, such as using public transportation and
boat or train creates a much smaller carbon footprint (walking and bike ride are the most eco-friendly), sometimes flying is the only way to get where you're going.
Your mode of transportation is by far the greatest impact on the environment when you are traveling. Though traveling by
For those who are unable to stay with family while traveling, green accomodations for all budgets are becoming more widespread.
For those who are traveling to an area without an eco-friendly hotel, there are a number of things you can do:
1. So you don't have to fold your bed in morning, but you can still reuse the sheets and towels rather than having them laundered every day.
2. Though you don't have to pay an electricity or utilities bill, it is still important to conserve energy and water. Keep your thermostat low and your lights off when you're out seeing the sights.
3. Bring your own toiletries in reusable containers. Refrain from buying new travel-sized toiletries to conserve the amount of plastic waste you produce.
You don't have to sacrifice seeing the world to help the world, especially with all the green travel options now available.
— Janie Chen is a junior from Olathe.
Her sustainability blog can be read at
www.greenmyguy.wwordpress.com.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
"Congratulations on your seemingly fraudulent election, Mr. Karzai. This bodes well for the future of Afghanistan."
JAMES FARMER
SCIENCE
Three questions for health care reform
W When I attended T.R. Reid's lecture on American health
care reform two weeks ago. I expected to be part of a larger student crowd, engulfed in an intellectual mosh-pit of impassioned students both for and against reforming the health care system. Instead, I noticed that the majority of the auditorium was filled with stern-faced men and women more than 55 years old. KU students were scattered throughout the back of the crowd, displaced and overshadowed by the very real concerns of those whose health care has become part of their everyday lives.
Most students are not very concerned with health care reform, let alone health care in general. We are typically young, healthy, carefree and reckless. We are not concerned with chronic disease, medical bills or even our own mortality. Why should we care about changing a system we're not using?
Students need to understand why there is a movement to reform our health care system if they are to make an educated decision about the reform itself. Instead of persuading you to support or oppose this round of American health care reform, I will present a semi-scientific method to better understand the situation, in the form of three questions that informed students should ask themselves.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
Our system has overlooked more than 35 million Americans who do not have
America does not have the best health care system in the world. When the World Health Organization last ranked 191 heath systems in 2000, the U.S. came in 37th, between Slovenia and Costa Rica. The U.S. spends more than 15 percent of its GDP on health care, the greatest amount in the world. Most countries spend below 10 percent, and Germany and France only spend about 10 to 11 percent. High medical bills are the number one reason Americans are declaring bankruptcy.
health insurance. Paradoxically, for those with good insurance and high incomes, American hospitals and doctors provide some of the best health care in the world. This difference between good health care and a good health care system is crucial in understanding reform.
WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?
To say that other universal health care systems around the world are simply "socialized" medicine is both a gross oversimplification as well as factually inaccurate. Although the United Kingdom has a universal health care system instituted by government-run hospitals and insurance companies, many more, such as Japan, have private hospitals and insurance companies. Japan spends only about 8 percent of its GDP on its universal health care system, and Japanese use their services much more than Americans.
A reformed system could be socialized or privatized, and Americans need to look around the world for alternatives to our current system.
WHAT IS IMPORTANT?
Folmsbee is a Topeka senior in neurobiology.
Every health care system has its weaknesses, so the public must decide what should be valued in each system. The U.S. spends an enormous amount of money and doesn't offer a standard level health care to everyone. Other countries with universal health care coverage may have waiting lists, poor hospitals and decreased physician salaries, but which is the greater price to pay, especially when that price is both dollars and lives?
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Brenna Hawley, Jessica Sain-Baird, Jennifer Torline Haley Hales, Caitlin Thornbrugh and Michael Holtz.