Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2009
Folmsbee: The science behind homosexuality
WWW.KANSAN.COM
COMING FRIDAY
PAGE 7A
To contribute to Free for All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500.
--just really hungover.
I haven't gotten any phone numbers the entire time I've been in Lawrence. Come on, ladies, let's pick up the pace.
Yeah, I dated someone I worked with. She started screwing one of my supervisors. Needless to say, it made my job very uncomfortable.
--just really hungover.
Woohoo, #1 with swine Go KU!
--just really hungover.
Mix 93.3 says every night is going to be a good night, according to the Black Eyed Dare
--just really hungover.
And I'll probably never use math as an anthropologist!
--just really hungover.
I know the perfect guy is out there ... is he on FFA?
--just really hungover.
I'm paying for my life in quarters, dimes and nickels for the next week — better start collecting
--just really hungover.
Weezer and Blink-182 concert! Who else is going?!
I just swallowed almost all the seeds while eating my watermelon this morning. I'm going to have so many watermelons growing in me!
--just really hungover.
I love the smell of coffee in the morning; It smells like victory
Did anyone see the pole-dancing cow at 23rd and Iowa? It was more scandalous than Miley Cyrus' pole dance.
--just really hungover.
Someone wrote, "I wish my girlfriend were this dirty," on the back of my car in the dust. Mv dav has been made.
--just really hungover.
If you were in the men's bathroom on the 4th floor of the Union between 9:45 and 9:50 this morning, don't worry I don't have the swine flu, I'm just really hungover.
--someone talks about how Creed won a Grammy in 2001.
You will be able to sleep when you're dead, but you can only succeed when you're
--someone talks about how Creed won a Grammy in 2001.
You're the one on my mind, nine times out of 10.
--someone talks about how Creed won a Grammy in 2001.
The only one on campus wearing rain boots today :(
--someone talks about how Creed won a Grammy in 2001.
YOU are my favorite everything.
--someone talks about how Creed won a Grammy in 2001.
Finding value in trivial news
MEDIA
As I was struggling to come up with a correct Spanish conjugation during an activity in class one day, I asked myself a question: How is it that I know Hootie and the Blowfish is Tiger Woods' favorite band, but I can't remember if the "yo" form of "entender" is irregular? (It is.)
Hootie and the Blowfish should personally thank me for exposing their biggest fan, but with the mainstream emergence of 24-hour news networks, they might not have to try as hard.
I remember hearing that bit of "news" on Headline News a few years ago. Unless Tiger Woods himself needs my help to be his personal biographer, I will probably be left wondering why his musical preferences needed to be broadcast to me.
More than ever we are currently being fed similar types of unimportant knowledge that qualifies as news. Unless the yet-to-be-formed million dollar Sporcel.com tournament comes knocking at my door, these important "news" bits probably won't garner me anything more prestigious than a pat on the back and one of the "That's cool?" stares people give whenever
THATGUY
TRENT BOULTINGHOUSE
On second thought, I don't know if anyone has brought that up in daily conversation. It is our job as consumers of media to filter through this constant bombardment of "news" to get what we want.
During a final last semester, I had started on a new question that mentioned the phrase "under oath." After thinking about one of my favorite bands, I ultimately thought of Barry Bonds testifying under oath in front of Congress on banned substances in baseball (the initial story.) This reminded me that one of the substances in question was flaxseed oil (a much later Bonds story.)
I'll fault myself for remembering the flaxseed oil, but is this really what media has come to? Much like the Bonds' story, the Michael Jackson story dominated
and still continues to appear
on — news networks throughout the world.
The two stories started out simply as what had happened and what kind of impact it would have on their respective scenes. Eventually, the main story turned into sub-stories that made me question the quality of the stories themselves.
As one of my journalism teachers says, "My game is to see which story is the top story on television: Michael Jackson's doctor or health care."
As with any topic, there are always two sides. Some do not mind this excess of information, while others are appalled. The important thing to realize is that this form of "news" won't be going anywhere. If it's to the point where it's annoying, repetitive and irrelevant then all one has to do is realize its superficiality.
After all, who doesn't appreciate the "story" a while back about Subway Jared's name floating through the "Casino Royale" auditions?
Boultinghouse is a Girard sophomore in journalism and history.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
POLITICS
Kansas Republicans can learn from Obama: use teleprompters
In the world of politics, it seems you can't get a job of any significance without being an expert in putting your foot in your mouth. Talk show hosts have made careers out of reminding us that our elected officials frequently say really stupid crap. The vice president, as much as I like him, is often good for a gem, and George W. Bush gave us eight years of hilarity.
Lately, since President Obama insists on being lame and using a teleprompter (thereby cutting down on random flubs in front of the national press), it has become necessary to look closer to home for politically charged silliness.
Just this summer, we had a few prominent Kansans generously provide material. Former Kansas Republican Party Chair Kris Kobach had his joke about Obama and God not having birth certificates, and state compress"
Lately, one person has been in the spotlight for a particularly juicy snafu. Second District Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.) has gotten into a little trouble for a remark about the future of the Republican Party, in which she said that they were in need of a "great white
and U.S. Senate hopeful Todd Tiarht (R-Goddard) made a public comment speculating what would have happened if President Obama's mother had had an abortion. But hey, there was a point to it, right?
It is entirely possible that Jenkins didn't know about the racist history of the phrase. Frankly, I didn't know the background until looking it up, after people first got mad at the congresswoman for her comment. Still, it isn't hard to guess some unpleasant undertones just from listening to "great white hope." There's really no place where the color "white" is directly associated with "hope," as far as I know.
hope." What is the problem with that? Isn't that a fairly well-known phrase relating to the need for a savior of some sort? Well, kind of.
Historically, the "great white hope" term came about in the early 1900s, as white boxing fans and promoters searched for a white fighter who could take down Jack Johnson, one of the first great African-American boxers. It's taken on a deeper meaning since, relating to white America's fear of minorities playing a larger part in society.
Whether lenkins meant anything racist by her comment, and I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt on this, her comment was the latest in a recent string of ignorant quips by Kansas Republicans. The common thread? They're all supposedly offhand quips that the perpetrators think are harmless.
Tiarl's statement about President Obama's mother having an abortion was the only one with any real malice behind it, but it was really just a poor attempt at a profound statement.
Kobach's birth certificate joke was made at a luncheon of Republican supporters in western Kapsas.
Lastly, Jenkins, in her statement about the Republican Party searching for a "great white hope," honestly thought she was making a positive statement.
So what is the problem with all of this? These people are supposed to be our leaders. It's great sport to pick out their missteps and tease them for it, but the regularity of it is just depressing.
President Obama has taken some flack for relying heavily on a teleprompter during speeches, but at least it's cut back on the now infamous Bushisms such as, "teach a child to read, and he or she will pass a literacy test."
Maybe Jenkins should give it a shot.
Cohen is a Topeka senior in political science.
STUDENT LIFE
Dorm life provides crucial experience for freshman
In the first year a large university can be a little overwhelming. In addition to becoming acclimated to the atmosphere,first-year students must make decisions concerning classes, friendships and where to live.Many students might stress about deciding where to live,and though there are benefits for both on- and off-campus living,a firstyear student might find more opportunities living on campus than off.
I spent my freshman year in a residence hall and enjoyed many benefits of on-campus living. I never had to worry about leaving lights on or water running for too long, as the electric and water bills were not directly paid by me. My meals were also not my responsibility, and I can honestly say I took Mrs. E's endless salad bar and vast choices of cereals for granted. I walked to my classes and never had to worry about driving, parking or buses running late.
However, more importantly than any of these benefits were the connections I made with other people also living in the residence halls. Potential friends were always right across the hall or a short elevator ride away. Everybody was new and everybody was looking to meet new people. Though potential friendships are present in any living arrangement, someone new to the University of Kansas would have the chance to interact with several new people every day in a residence hall. I established my strongest connections as a freshman in Ellsworth Hall, and I'm not sure I would have had the same opportunities had I spent my first year off campus.
Now. I am beginning my second year living off campus and I have enjoyed the benefits of apartment style living as well. I
have welcomed the freedoms and privileges associated with living in my own apartment, and I have grown more responsible. I am free to have guests come and go without irritating check-ins and outs, and I can come home in the middle of the night without having to speak with anyone at the door. Off-campus living requires increased responsibility but is also enjoyable and beneficial.
Of all the decisions a new student to the University is faced with, where to live should be the easiest to make. While both on- and off-campus living options provide benefits and opportunities, I am grateful I chose to spend my first year in a residence hall.
The responsibilities of college life are difficult enough to adjust to without also worrying about cooking or electric bills. By living on campus I was able to establish relationships and become involved in activities that would have been more difficult to achieve otherwise.
My experience living in a residence hall has affected my overall college experience and helped me adjust while meeting new people. My first year at the University would have been much more overwhelming and much less enjoyable had I not chosen to live on campus.
FROM UTAH
Brown is a Wichita junior in journalism and political science.
Daily Utah Chronicle
ALICIA WILLIAMS
Raising grades means less time on Facebook
The Bible there is a time for everything:
a time to dance, a time to die, a time to weep, a time to love,
but a time for homework is never mentioned. Frankly, time can be a student's worst enemy. The clock is always ticking, an ever-present reminder that we don't have enough time.
We all do daily things that cannot be eliminated: commuting, getting cleaned up, eating and sleeping. If you want to eat or sleep, you have to work to financially support those times. But, you want to make more than $10 an hour, so you have to get an education. With education comes studying and homework. Heaven forbid you might meet someone you want to spend some quality time with. The million dollar question is: "How do we fit it all in?"
According to an April 2009 pilot study at Ohio State University, one activity students shouldn't be wasting time on is the social networking site
Facebook.
The study found a relationship between students' use of Facebook and lower grades. Out of the 219 Ohio State graduate and undergraduate students, 148 had a Facebook account and GPAs that fell between 3.0 and 3.5, and reported studying on average one to five hours per week. In general, students without Facebook had GPAs between 3.5 and 4.0, and studied 11 to 15 hours a week.
Although we can't blame Facebook as the ultimate culprit causing college students to get bad grades, it is a means by which many of us waste vast amounts of time. Add in other social sites such as MySpace, Twitter, our ever-growing e-mail accounts and news source sites, and we are definitely wasting valuable time that could be better spent studying.
If we want to be successful students, we must exert the will to recognize and change worthless time-consuming habits. You only have this time of your life once. Choose to take control of how you spend your time and make each moment count.
UWire
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LETTER GUIDELINES
Send letters to opinion@kansan.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
864-4810 or bhawley@kansan.com
Jennifer Torline, managing editor
864-4810 or jtorline@kansan.com
CONTACT US
Jessica Sain-Baird, managing editor
864-410-10 or jessica.baird@kanyan.com
Haley Jones, kansan.com managing editor
2014.11.28
Michael Holtz, opinion editor
864-4924 or mholtz@kansan.com
Caitlin Thornbrugh, editorial editor 864-4924 or thornbrugh@kansan.com
Lauren Bloodgood, business manager 864-4358 or l bloodgood@kansan.com
Maria Korte, sales manager
864-4477 or mkorte@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news
adviser
98.1.2017
Jon Schitt, sales and marketing adviser
044 7856 2313
Jon Schitt, sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or jschitt@kansan.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Breanna Hawley, Jessica Saini-Bard, Jennifer Hall and Calin Thirlmick, Martin Holtz.
V