opinion
H
FREE-FOR-ALL
>> WE HEAR
FROM YOU
Bagoozie: hollowed out baguette that functions as a beer insulator and source of carbs
Late Night, great night
Dear FFA, The girl taking pictures of my marketing class stole my heart.
My life now is just penance for all the Twilight memes I shared on Facebook in 2010.
Way to stop that one case of voter fraud each year, Sec. Kobach
Some days you have it all together. Other days you use a sock as a napkin
I can't wait until David Beckham embraces his real calling: being a pirate in made for tv movies
KANSAN.COM | MONDAY, SEPT. 19, 2016
Start Ryan Willis
Student in my class to my prof: I can't read what you wrote here. My prof: Well, your handwriting's not perfect either.
Heeled shoes make you work for their love and I appreciate that.
Always Dole, never dull
People who take notes during class are operating at a higher level than me right now
At what point in the season do regular students get a chance to play a few snaps at QB?
Wherefore art thou Rhode Island?
If he looks like an asshole, quacks like an asshole, he's probably an asshole
I am physically unable to get out of bed
Love walking into wafting vape clouds on Jayhawk Boulevard
Bow down to our Lord and Savior — Justin Timberlake.
Wonder if the new season of Sherlock will be out by the time I retire
READ MORE AT KANSAN.COM
@KANSANNEWS
/THEKANSAN
KANSAN.NEWS
@UNIVERSITY
DAILYKANSAN
Illustration by Jacob Benson
Anderson: Millennial outreach is failing
▶ SARAH ANDERSON
@KansanNews
have been gearing up for the 2016 election since I was first handed an "I'm ready for Hillary" poster on Wescoe Beach two years ago. At the time, I was ready for her. I thought of her like I think of Barack Obama: a beacon promising change. I saw her as a mother of millennials, someone who could identify with us, understand us and help us.
A lot has happened since I was handed that poster. Namely, Bernie Sanders happened. He talked about the environment, socialized
medicine and a way to pay for higher education. Bernie addressed our generation directly. He asked us what our concerns were and then proposed solutions. He stirred the pot.
Now I, like many millennials, am left wondering who has my generation's concerns at heart.
Many of us once thought this was Hillary.
We looked to her and hoped she would reflect our changing values. According to the Pew Research Center, younger generations will soon eclipse the voting power that baby boomers have had for years. We are
quickly finding our voice and our values.
We are the most educated generation in history, yet studies predict we will be the first to make less than our parents. We are economically separate from any generation before us, yet we are more connected with people our age from around the world than ever before.
I am a millennial, and I am concerned. Hillary is no longer a beacon of change for millennials, because she doesn't talk about what matters to us most.
Yes, she has a Twitter and an Instagram. Yes, she
eats Chipotle. However, I don't think that social media banter and food choices identify someone with a generation. Our generation's problems will soon become the problems of our nation. Yet they are consistently ignored by both presidential candidates.
I am concerned that both Hillary and Trump acknowledge millennials on superficial levels but refuse to dive into the issues that plague us most.
I want to see discussion about how our average college debt is over $33,000. I want to see environmental regulation that is actually
enforced. I am not interested in nude photos of Melania Trump, and I am not interested in rumors of Hillary or Bill Clinton being on the brink of death.
I wish I could return to how I felt two years ago on Wescoe Beach. I was "ready for Hillary." Now, just two months before the election, I am dragging my feet for Hillary and hoping that someone will eventually talk about what matters most to us.
Sarah Anderson is a junior from Lowell, Arkansas, studying English and environmental studies
Liston: College students can help community
► RYAN LISTON
@rliston235
Every time I visit the Lawrence Humane Society as a part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, my "little" mentions how sad it is to see animals in poor living conditions. I always assure him that the staff knows how to best care for the animals, but without proper facilities, there is only so much a qualified staff can do to ensure the quality of life the animals require.
Unfortunately, the construction of a new facility is still years away. The Humane Society and the Lawrence City Commission have discussed potential plans to fund the project, but the earliest the plan could receive proper funding is 2020. Until then, college students can play an important role in helping the Humane Society with its daily operations.
The Lawrence Humane Society, located at 1805 E. 19th St., relies on the work of volunteers to supplement the work done by staff members. Students looking to serve their community may find it
rewarding to spend a couple hours helping animals.
Students who live off-campus should consider adopting a pet from the Humane Society. Adopting an animal from a shelter is a better alternative to purchasing one. An animal that is adopted is often saved from dangerous or unhealthy living conditions.
The Humane Society also welcomes people to walk in and simply interact with many of the animals by petting cats or playing with dogs.
Students who cannot commit to adoption may find one of the Humane Society's fostering programs rewarding. The Adoption Ambassador program allows volunteers to take an animal into their home for a designated period of time as they try to find a permanent owner. Volunteers can also foster animals that are not ready for adoption.
Hopefully the city commission and the Lawrence Humane Society can finalize a funding method, so the organization can begin the process of building a new facility.
For the time being, KU students can and should contribute to improving the lives of shelter animals.
Ryan Liston is a sophomore from Lawrence studying journalism
Doerr: NFL's reactive concussion policies won't solve head trauma
Edited by Cody Schmitz
The NFL is a corporate monolith; its 32 teams are valued at an average of $2 billion each and its average viewership per game carries nearly 20 million viewers on major networks.
For the next few months, the National Football League and the sport of football will wield an inexorable amount of influence on the lives of Americans.
But the NFL and the sport of football are facing an existential threat: that of the link between concussions and CTE, a degenerative disease found in players who have had head injuries. The NFL in March of 2015 announced safety measures geared toward preventing concussion damage. "Injury spotters" would be given a direct line of communication to officials; the spotters could call for medical timeouts if it appeared that a player had been concussed.
Even at the lower levels, football is powerful: Kansas' football program is estimated by the Wall Street Journal to be worth almost $100 million. More high schoolers play football than any other sport.
> JAKE DOERR
@No_Doerr
But the results weren't pretty: last November, quarterback Case Keenum of the then-St. Louis Rams slammed his head violently into the ground during a game, but play was not stopped. Only afterwards did medical officials determine that Keenum had suffered a concussion. Fans and pundits alike were shocked that he was allowed to continue.
Fans and pundits alike were shocked that he was allowed to continue."
Fast forward to this past Thursday, the opening night of the 2016 NFL season, when reigning league MVP Cam Newton was struck helmet-to-helmet four times by Broncos defenders. The last hit left Newton struggling to get off the ground for nearly two minutes.
The problem with the NFL's latest measures to mitigate concussions is just that; they are meant to mitigate the damage already done and are reactive by nature. The NFL believes that these measures will be enough to placate the concerns of its large fan base, but they do nothing to address the grave threat to football that brain trauma poses.
A recent poll reported that nearly 80 percent of respondents did not believe
that football was appropriate for those under the age of 14, a response that would have been unfathomable more than 10 years ago, before discussions of CTE had made their ways to the forefront.
The writing is on the wall for the NFL and football as a whole - reform is needed. Plastic helmets and facemasks were introduced to the game to protect players' noses and teeth, but at the expense of their brains. The sport of football at all levels must be more proactive in order to save itself. As long as the illusion of safety provided by the helmet and facemask provides players with the excuse to launch themselves like missiles head-first into opponents, brain injuries will be inevitable, and no protocol or "injury spotter" can halt something that has already happened.
Jake Doerr is a graduate student from Shenandoah, Iowa, studying public administration.
- Edited by Chandler Boese
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LETTER GUIDELINES: Send letters to editor@kansan.com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the email subject line.
Length: 300 words
The submission should include the author's name, year, major and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.
CONTACT US
$ \bigcirc $
Gage Brock
Business Manager
gbrock@kansan.com
Candie Tarver Editor-in-chief ctauer@kansan.com
THE KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Candice Tarver, Maddy Mikinski, Gage Brock and Jesse Burbank
1