Opinion
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Jodie Chester, Editor Marc Harrell, Business manager Gerry Doyle, Managing editor Jamie Holman, Retail sales manager Ryan Koerner, Managing advisor Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
4A
Friday, October 30, 1998
Robert Novak / KANSAN
Editorials
Tearing down goal posts shows spirit but creates problems for lake
It was nice to see that students have enthusiasm for Kansas football, even if it was expressed by destroying property.
However, the enthusiasm was costly, and fans should not have dumped the goal posts they tore down Saturday in Potter's Lake.
Students stormed the field Saturday at Memorial Stadium after Kansas defeated the No. 17 ranked Colorado Buffaloes, 33-17. The win was huge for Kansas, which had not beaten a ranked opponent in three years and had not won a Big 12 Conference game this season.
Odd as it seems, tearing down the goal posts was the fans way of saying they were proud of the football team.
Kansas players and coaches walking
It cost $6,000 to replace the goal posts that were torn down after Saturday's game.
off the field appreciated the show of support. In the locker room, many players expressed a thrill in seeing students see so excited about football.
The victory was the biggest of the year so far for Kansas, and perhaps its biggest in the past three seasons. Kansas, which now has a 3-5 overall record, has not had a winning season in three years. So it was wonderful to see fans get excited about a football game.
But tearing down the goal posts was costly for the Kansas Athletic Department, which must pay $6,000 to replace the posts.
Tearing out goal posts is common in college football, but it is often reserved for rivalries and games when an unranked team defeats a top 10 team.
Colorado is not a top-10 team, and although they are in the same conference as Kansas, Colorado has never been a real rival. Kansas State and Missouri are considered the Jayhawks true rivals.
If Kansas can defeat the Wildcats this weekend, then the goal posts might deserve to come down.
And if fans are going to tear down goal posts, then fans should not dump them in Potter Lake. It pollutes the Lake and difficult for University workers to retrieve the posts.
Spencer Duncan for the editorial board
Be safe, scary on All Hallow's Eve
Tomorrow is going to be a busy day in Lawrence. Not only will the Jayhawks be playing K-State, but also it will be a holiday. Halloween is upon us. Between tailgate parties, costume parties and the usual weekend house parties, there will be no shortage of ways to have fun.
However, that means there also will be no shortage of ways to get into serious trouble. The mixture of alcohol, costumes and small children in the streets can lead to accidents.
The first, most obvious, Halloween safety tip is to avoid drinking and driving. Students who plan to attend parties should make arrangements to stay with their host, get a ride home with a sober
KU students should be extra careful driving in neighborhoods with trick-or-treaters.
friend or take advantage of the Saferide program.
It is best to avoid driving at all on Halloween night. Those students who do choose to drive should pay special attention in residential neighborhoods. Little ghosts and goblins will be out trick-or-treating. Children don't always obey safety rules the way they should, so it is up to drivers to watch out for them.
few steps they can take to make children feel welcome. Keep porch lights on and decorations in full view. Be careful that jack-o-lanterns are placed well away from foot traffic. Make sure that sidewalks are kept clear of bicycles, garden hoses and other debris that children could trip over.
For many students, this will be the first time that they are giving out candy for Halloween. There are a
Keep dogs or other pets away from your door because they may frighten small children. Also remember to keep cats, especially black ones, indoors on Halloween night. Many cats fall victim to vicious pranks this time of year.
Halloween is one of the most popular holidays of the year. It is up to all of us to keep it safe as well as scary.
Kansan staff
Jennifer Roush for the editorial board
Ann Premer ... Editorial
Tim Harrington ... Associate Editorial
Aaron Marvin ... Neus
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Matt Friedrichs ... Sports
Kevin Wilson ... Associate sports
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Melissa Ngo ... Wire
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Broaden your mind: Today's quote
"Nothing is politically right which is morally wrong." - Daniel O'Connell
Broaden your mind: Today's quote
How to submit letters and guest columns
Letters: Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and hometown if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
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All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stuaffer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Ann Premer (premer@kansan.com) or Tim Harrington (tharrington@kansan.com) at 864-4810. If you have general questions or comments, email the page staff (opinion@kansan.com) or call 864-4810.
Excess Halloween candy can be dangerously vocal
Perspective
Buying Halloween candy ahead of time is a bad idea — at least for me. I always end up eating it right after I
bring it back to my do in my room, it's as good as eaten.
Carrie Johnson
opinion@kansan.com
I learned that the hard way last year. I got several packages of full-size Twix bars. I had the candy bars sitting in a cute little Halloween bucket, ready to be given out to ghosts and goblins. The candy was gone in a few days. I bought more to replace it. The replacement candy soon was gone, too.
I made a last-minute trip to the store to replace those on Halloween afternoon. That evening, the trick-or-treaters knocked on my door and found me with chocolate, caramel and cookie crumbs on my face. Instead of Twix, I had to give them packets of soy sauce and hot mustard that I had from Chinese take-out the day before. I never thought a little kid in a Power Rangers costume would know so many four-letter words.
This year I tried to put it off. I steered clear of the candy section as long as I could. When I finally just had to get the candy, I decided that this year I would give out some kind of candy that I didn't like. After browsing the candy aisle of the grocery store, I realized that there just weren't many kinds of candy that I didn't like.
I like coconut bars, malted milk balls, peanut butter taffy all the freak candies that half the population won't touch. I like every candy bar in existence, every kind of M&M and every kind of confection on a stick.
Eventually, I resorted to looking at each kind of candy on the aisle and interrogating it.
"If I bought you, would you force me to eat you during a late-night cram session?"
"Yes!" moaned Mr. Goodbar.
"If I bought you, would you climb onto my bed during the night, strip off your own wrapper and hop into my mouth without even waking me un?"
"Yes!" shrieked Baby Ruth.
I finally decided on the Raisinettes. I'm not a big fan of raisins, and I was confident that I wouldn't eat too many of them before Halloween. I placed a couple of big bags in my shopping basket and started to leave the aisle.
"Pssst. Over here."
"Yes!" cried the Three Musketeers.
"If I bought you, would you stare at me from the shelf until I couldn't take it any longer and make me gorge myself on your smooth, chocolatey goodness?"
I turned around. It was the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
"Oh no," I said. "I'm not going to buy you! You'll make me eat the entire bag of you in one night!"
"No! You're full of fat and sugar!" I cried.
"No! You're full of fat and sugar!" I cried.
"But Carrie, I'm so scrumptious!" it countered.
Those little peanut butter cups can be pretty persuasive when they really try.
I bought two bags of them in addition to the Raisinettes. I just hope I don't eat them all before Saturday night, but I probably will.
And if you're planning to trick-or-treat at my door, I hope you like ketchup packets and Taco Bell hot sauce.
Questions of purple hair perplex, taunt students
Johnson is an Oklahoma City sophomore in English.
While discussing important political issues with a friend the other day - boy, I almost wrote that with a straight face. Anyway, while a
with a straight face... friend and I were maliciously making fun of an instructor, I noticed something.
"So why are they brown today?"
"Weren't your eyes blue yesterday?" I asked.
"Yeah," she replied. "So what?"
"Because I'm not wearing my blue contacts."
"Come to think of it,
didn't your hair used to
be light brown?"
H.G.
Miller
opinion @ kansan.com
berry blond," she told me. "Then, I dyed it black, and now it's burnt almond, which is what it was originally."
I shook my head in stupefaction and looked at the person standing across from me.
"No, it used to be straw-
She seemed confused by the question, so 1 let it go.
'Who are you?' I finally asked.
Later, I looked at myself in the mirror.
"Okay, other than any kind of a tan, what can I do to improve these meager features of mine?" I asked.
"You should color your hair purple," another friend told me.
As any immediate benefits of such a venture failed to present themselves, I asked why.
"Because it would look cool," my friend said. "Not the whole thing, just a few highlights to help you stand out amongst the masses."
"You mean all of those people with banana-yellow highlights in their hair?"
"Yeah," my friend continued. "Nobody's really done purple yet. Not to the extent that it could be exploited."
"So," I said. "Why don't you color your hair purple then?"
"My skin's too tan."
That sounded logical. With my Casper complexion, adding streaks of brittle, plum-stained hair just seems natural.
If you don't do something to your hair, the
Of course, I'm not being fair here. It's easy to poke fun at those who change their appearances while I'm too scared to alter much of anything about myself. Of course, it's also my column.
whole social system may collapse in anarchy. Twenty years from now, when premature balding is the big thing, those of us who didn't chemically alter our scalps will be sorely out of the loop.
During the course of one of these conversations, a friend inevitably will bring up my heard.
Perhaps you've noticed the dark-gray smudges along my chin in the photograph. Those are supposed to be whiskers. Unfortunately, I forgot to compensate for the bleeding of newspaper when posing.
Yes, for a short while, I decided to grow facial hair in an attempt to look my age. You see, I have the face of a 12-year-old boy. Although it may be making millions for Leonardo DiCaprio, the look doesn't seem to hold the same result for me.
Let's face it. Most of us have passed the major changing points in our lives. Eyeglasses have been replaced by contacts. We're as tall as we're going to be, and most of us can't afford to overhaul our wardrobes.
Mostly, though, I just wanted to do something different with myself. Look older, look sinister, I don't know — just look different. I guess we all get sick of having the same face stare back at us when we brush our teeth in the morning, no matter how handsome.
All that's left is messing with our hair and fiddling with eye color. Add a few earrings, maybe some tattoos, and watch the fun at your next family reunion.
And why not? This is college, right? Pretty soon, we'll all have to get real jobs and wear suits and specified T-shirts on casual days. I guess I'd rather talk to somebody who doesn't remember their real hair color instead of people who color-coordinate for the proper business effect.
I don't think I'll go for purple, though. Maybe burn amber would better suit me.
Miller is a Hutchinson senior in English.
Feedback
Big Bang theory is most popular
In the package of an article that ran Oct. 26, I was identified as a professor of astrology. Astrology is a superstition for
which the University has no department. Mine is physics and astronomy.
overwhelming favorite among scientists and others who look at the evidence.
Also, the article begins with "...the theory of the world's creation that he considers valid." This misses the point that the Big Bang model is the
Adrian Melott professor of astronomy and physics