Opinion
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
United States First Amendment
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.
Hafner: Spiritual truths revealed while in college
WWW.KANSAN.COM
COMING THURSDAY
PAGE 7B
FREE FOR ALL
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
To contribute to Free for All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500.
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
Last night I had caffeine withdrawals. I can now begin to imagine what being addicted to crack would feel like
"Party in the USA" ... Thanks Hannah Montana. Your song has been in my head for the last week.
My dryer is making squeaky sounds that sound like loud rays.
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
I missed you Jay Leno.
Welcome Back!
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
I just want sex right now.
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
To the girl giving me a nasty look in Watson; I reserve the right to scratch and readjust myself as needed.
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
How is it possible that this sexy guy actually likes me for me?!
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
I think I've probably watched more "Cops" in the past three weeks than I've watched in the entire rest of my life combined.
Hey everyone. Let's just be nice. Everyone has a right to their own opinions. Stop velling, please.
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
So I know I'm not a morning person, but is it really necessary for Eaton to be so damn cold in the mornings?
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
Anschutz has more computers that have an "out of order" sign on them than ones that actually work. Not cool.
When I see "FFA" I think free fatty acids and not Free for All. FFA
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
You have no idea how jealous I am of the XX gender right now.
This semester I have noticed girls spontaneously smiling at me more. Either I am getting more attractive or this campus is getting nicer. Either way, I am happy.
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
I'm glad the days are getting shorter because I only drink at night.
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
Kanye West is amazing, so amazing, Taylor Swift didn't deserve that award. End of story.
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
I think I am biting more * than I can chew this semester. I am going under!
--about its desire for the University to decide how it is used.
I am going to punch the next person who gets into the UDK for saying they're going to punch someone.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Athletics shows support for academics with donation
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Roles are reversed as Kansas Athletics cheers on academics with a $40 million donation to the University announced Sept. 2. This money is coming from a new seating expansion that is a profitable way to merge both aspects of the University. Kansas Athletics should be celebrated for its contribution.
The Athletics Department announced plans for an addition to Memorial Stadium; the seating expansion will be called The Gridiron Club. According to a University press release it will seat about 3,000 fans, and will be built at the east side of the stadium.
Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony said this new seating section could raise funds for the department's $40 million donation to the University for academics.
"We believe revenue derived from those seats will fund, at minimum, the construction and the donation to the University," Marchiony said.
In a trying economy, this boost in funds can be used by the University to improve various programs or possibly dampen the effect of raising tuition rates. No plans have been finalized for the use of the donation, but the Athletics Department is clear
"Kansas Athletics really wanted to do something that would help the University. This seemed like a perfect way to help athletics and the University as a whole."
"It's not our intent to be involved in any way with how that money,is spent," he said.
KANSAN'S OPINION
This donation is an example of
the camaraderie that should continue to exist between athletics and academics. Though this is hardly the first display of the partnership between
Many students don't realize the great amount of funding athletics gives to the University on an annual basis. Athletics funded approximately $9 million last year.
athletics and academics, it is a relationship that needs student support.
"Every time tuition goes up, our contribution goes up as well," Marchiony said.
This annual contribution goes to tuition, room and board, books.
fees, etc. Also, Kansas Athletics Inc.pays the University for any scholarships given to student athletes and has an ongoing partnership with the KU Cancer Center
The relationship is "nothing new" according to Marchiony, but the donation of an extra $40 million was a way to give a nod to Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little.
"Athletics is a big fan of the chancellor and her vision of the future at KU," Marchiony said. He called the donation "a good indication of our support for that vision."
The Athletics Department should be applauded for its generosity. This donation will create a sense of unity within the University. Just as fans cheer on the Jayhawks, Kansas Athletes is reiterating its support for students.
— Kara Walker for The Kansan Editorial Board
EDITORIAL CARTOON
HARRISON FORD SAYS HE'S OPEN TO MAKING A 5TH INDIANA JONES MOVIE.
MAYBE IT COULD BE A MOVIE ABOUT HIS CAREER.
HE'S AN ARCHEOLOGIST, RIGHT?
PROBLEM IS , THOUGH...
HE'S ALREADY FOUGHT
NAZIS, CULTS, SOVIETS...
HE'S ALMOST OUT OF
20TH CENTURY
VILLAINS
TO DEFEAT.
Reverting to driving, which is just as expensive without any of the benefits, isn't any more appealing.
MAYBE THIS IS THE ACADEMPIAN IN ME, BUT I WOULD HATE THAT!
CAMPUS
Independent study fails to deliver under current policy
I'm a commuter. It just makes more sense for me to live in Olathe. My family and job are there, the crime rates are low and it's where all my high school friends still live and work. But sometimes I get tired of being an out-of-towner.
Despite all of this, the bus lines are notorious for being up to an hour late during winter and have recently increased in price.
The K-10 Connector offers plenty of benefits: handicap seating, bike racks, time for homework (or sleep) and, on the newer buses, individual air conditioning and lighting. The number of buses has even increased to accommodate more sitting room.
This month, the $15 bus tickets became invalid — whether you had a chance to use them or not — and now only the electronic stubs, costing $22.50, are available. The new weekly price is almost the same as a tank of gas, and $6 to purchase an individual round trip is definitely more expensive than driving.
The result is a more expensive, less reliable mode of transportation that looks less and less appealing to poor college students.
With commuting no longer looking like such a great option, I looked into the University's independent study program.
I was skeptical at first. I've taken online classes elsewhere that consisted solely of open-book quizzes and halfhearted discussion boards. To their credit, the University's online classes are just as challenging and fulfilling as those classes taught on campus. But of course there are drawbacks.
According to the University's continuing education Web site, Independent study classes don't count toward establishing a full-time student status, even though they now conform to the same time-limit as regular classes. So even though I'm taking 15 credit hours, I only count as a part-time student.
That caveat isn't a big deal, unless someone decides to enroll in only independent study classes. If a student works full-time, needs
to go on maternity leave or just can't afford the commute anymore, independent study is a logical thing to do. But then, according to the system, they aren't actually attending the University.
This means they don't qualify for financial aid from the University or the government, because they are no longer technically college students. Theoretically, this is the sort of situation that the University's monthly payment plan is for, except that the department of continuing education isn't part of that plan. They're trying to put together their own for next year, but for now it's one lump sum due without aid.
When I e-mailed the department for advice, I was told to put my tuition and textbook cost on a credit card and slowly pay it off from there. Considering all the effort the University puts into educating students on debt, I was shocked.
The University of Kansas is a wonderful school, and students come from all over the world to study here. But it's a shame that students only 30 miles away are ghosts to the system.
Lytton is a Kodiak, Ala., senior in creative writing.
CULTURE
Why names matter
W Whenever a new seni er starts, it's always exciting to meet new friends. However, identifying new faces and memorizing different names can be difficult.
Many Chinese friends of mine prefer being called their English names rather than their Chinese ones. Some of them have English names to fit Western culture; some have one because they're easier to remember; and others want one because they simply can't stand their Chinese name. I fall under the first category.
I enjoy being able to call myself whatever name I want. Before I chose the name Josie (after a compelling female lawyer in a Hong Kong TV drama), I was Pricilla (given by my parents at birth), Nicola (inspired by my friend) and Cathy (my favorite cartoon when I was 12 years old).
For instance, my Chinese name is Ho, Chi Cheng. The first word is my last name, Ho (the last name goes first in Chinese culture). Chi is a kind of white flower and Cheng means "sunny".
Living in an East-meets-West culture inevitably shapes our unique lifestyle and brings us rich elements in life. Yet we should still accept and appreciate our unique cultural heritage. Chinese words are sophisticated and profound, and different combinations often have different meanings. I could never deny how miraculous Chinese names are.
I love my Chinese name — as do my friends — and I'm always excited to hear foreigners ask what my Chinese name is. Not only do they want to get to know me, but they are also interested in my heritage and culture.
When I first got Facebook, my profile name was my Chinese one. I am impressed when some
of my American friends call me Chi Cheng instead of Josie. They even ask me to translate their English names into Chinese. "I got a Chinese name and it's super cool," they'll tell people. And yes, it is super cool.
Chinese names are incredibly meaningful and symbolic. Having an English name is simply another identifier, but it should never be a replacement. Some Chinese even refuse to have English names because they think having two names squanders their individual uniqueness.
It's absolutely OK to have more than one name, as long as you don't forget or discard your original one.
It's easier to memorize English names in Western society. I was so used to being called Josie that when I went back to Macau last summer it was strange to hear my Chinese name again. *
In Chinese culture, we believe a good name can bring us good fortune. Parents tend to give names based on how they would like their children to be.
So can names really be personality predictors? Next time you meet someone from China, make sure to ask for his or her name as well as its meaning. Does it match his or her personality? It may be hard to remember, but it never hurts to try.
Ho is a Macau, China, junior in journalism.
FROM WASHINGTON
BY RUSTY SHELLHORN
Washington State U.
Daily Evergreen
'Freshman 15' remains an inevitable fact of college life
I stood nervously on the cold locker room floor. My eyes wandered across the lockers and I dibubly gazed into the next room — the scale room.
I crept to the scale and placed one foot on it after the other, watching my weight spin the dial as furiously as a top. As the numbers whirred past, the steadily spinning needle became a condemning swirl of disappointment.
"I lost 250 pounds in five weeks!" a superimposed message over my before-and-after pictures would read.
Then, as swift and unforgiving as I had imagined it to be, the scale confirmed what I already knew — I gained weight.
I could already see myself on an Atkins or Nutrisystem commercial, spilling my guts about how I had gained gruesome amounts of weight at a young age and then lost it all by eating nothing but MREs and celery sticks.
However, I wasn't the only one who accumulated fat faster than a Beverly Hills liposuction clinic. Freshmen usually enter college life as lean, mean athletic machines, only to be introduced
to the caloric compilation of dining services and Busch Light.
In all reality, students spend more time on beer runs than real runs.
The result was a sad fulfillment of the "Freshman 15" cliche — waistlines expand, body fat percentages grow and the number of Michael Moore look-a-likes increase. If we don't watch it, we get fat.
Of course, everyone knows weight gain is an ever-growing problem (pun intended) in today's lazy society. With an extensive array of TV dinners, dollar menus and high-definition TV, Americans have already given everyone a 20-pound handicap by birth, sending doctors and scientists screaming.
And since we have no concern for this potbelly apocalypse, after tacking on the "Freshman 15," most of us tend to just give up. But weight loss is about taking responsibility, maintaining a nutritional diet and good exercise habits. And even if you've fallen you can always get up. Weight gains will happen. You will discover the miracles of Panda Express and Stouffer's. And you will, like me, fear the scale. But that's acceptable — for now — because we're all in the same (sinking) boat.
— UWire
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LETTER GUIDELINES
Send letters to opinionkansan.com
Write LETTER TO THE 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.
Brenna Hawley, editor
514-4810 or bhawley@kansan.com
Jessica Sain-Baird, managing editor 864 4810 e-mail baird@hathaway.com
Jennifer Torline, managing editor
864-4810 or jtorline@kansas.com
Haley Jones, kansan.com managing editor
Michael Holtz, opinion editor
864-4924 or mholtzakansan.com
Mirek Holtz, editor opinion
8642-4924 or mhlott@kansasan
Caitlin Thornbruch, editorial editor
8642-4924 or thornbruch@kansasan
CONTACT US
Maria Korte, sales manager 864-4477 or mkortesikansan.com
Lauren Bloodgood, business manager 864-4358 or ibloodgood@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
Jon Schittt, sales and marketing adviser
864-7566 on jonschittt.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansai Editorial Board are
Bernard Boudry, Jason Sainsi-Baird, Jennifer
Torline, Haley Jones, Calithin Turnbull,
Mary Holtz.