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That moment when you have to search your satchel for your debit card just to be sure you closed your tab...
Your women's track and field team are this years Big 12 indoor conference champions! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
People complaining about classes from 9-2 <<< this guy goes 8-5 on my easy days and 8-10 on my long days...
Let me rephrase: If you picked her up at The Hawk AND she wants to watch cartoons the next morning, she's too young for you, bro.
Just sneezed. Vomit came out of my nose. At least I'm doing this college thing right.
It's a solid 50,000 degrees in Club Schutz. So much for studying...
Beyoncé doesnt like YOU. AT ALL.
This is Lawrence. It's 12 degrees north of hopeless and a few degrees south of freezing to death.
I didn't even know natural blondes existed anymore until today.
Yoga pants and crew socks can gtfo.
I'm a funny person. But I don't find it one bit amusing that you categorized hungover with handicapped. Learn some respect.
Stop yelling about how you blacked out and cried at the bar this weekend. I'm embarrassed for you.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
I think it is safe to say that shorts, a T-shirt and flip flops are not acceptable attire when there is snow covering the ground.
Being hungover isn't a handicap, it's a sign of a successful night.
How can the FFA be a "freshmen thing" when half of them don't even know it exists until second semester...?
You're wearing basketball shorts in the snow? That doesn't make you cool that makes you stupid.
Just before the big winter storm hit,
I got my copy of "Game of Thrones"
season 2. Coincidence? I think not!
The hardest/most rewarding part of my day is trying to fold my kansan to where the FFAs are facing the front. Should be front page.
In response to undergrads being too young to wife: tell that to my fiance, also an undergrad.
The far right door into Eaton Hall sounds like a snorting pig when you open it all the way.
Jeff!!! Shoot a 3!!! Please!!!
When I go to games, I will try my very hardest to lose my voice! It's a must!
POLITICS
Legislators factually incorrect in new bill
The Kansas Legislature is attempting to screw individuals' sexual health and not in a good way.
On Feb. 6, HB 2253 was introduced in the legislature, a 70-page bill that endeavors to severely restrict reproductive freedom in the state of Kansas. It further limits freedoms of individuals with the capability to become pregnant who decide to terminate a pregnancy. And while there are numerous sections in the bill I could criticize and tear into about their complete lack of respect for individual's rights to choose as well as inserting religious doctrine into secular governmental regulation. I'll focus on one section in particular. Specifically, how it requires doctors by law to feed false information to their patients when they consider receiving an abortion.
The bill states that "abortion causes breast cancer." This statement originates from an
outdated study that has long been disproven. In fact, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in February of 2003 "a workshop of over a 100 of the world's leading experts who study pregnancy and breast cancer risk
... they concluded that having an abortion or miscarriage does not increase a woman's subsequent risk of developing breast cancer."
Yet Kansas legislators – even though they could discover this by, you know, talking to a doctor, for example – insist this is "medical fact" rather than antiquated and discredited research. In which case, if we're allowing information that has been proven by science to still reign as reality, then I declare Pluto is still a planet. Because science used to say it was.
By Katherine Gwynn
kgwynn@kansan.com
Personally, I think I'll trust medical professionals rather than politicians when it comes to what is actually medical fact, which "abortion causes breast cancer"
is not.
This section's inclusion in the bill not only stands out as morally wrong - requiring doctors to lie to their patients in order to coerce them into decisions about their bodies sounds like a hypocritical no-no to me - but tarnishes the reputation of the University of Kansas Medical Center.
in terms of the recognition the University has received for the work its students are doing to end cancer. But requiring doctors that train at KU Med who go on to practice in Kansas to tell individuals that they are at risk for breast cancer if they receive an abortion is an insult to the field of cancer research and to the doctor-patient relationship.
Just this past summer, the University received accreditation as a National Cancer Institute. This is incredible, not only for what it means for increased opportunities and funds for medical advances at KU Med, but
Also, the National Cancer Institute? They're kind of the ones who, if you remember from earlier in the article, have said breast cancer and abortion have no correlation. So now our med school would be required to basically train doctors who practice in Kansas to say, "Hey that big important entity who funds us?" And who are cancer experts? Yeah, those guys have no idea what they're saying."
You might be pro-choice. You might be pro-life. But either way, you should be kind of pissed that your legislators are trying to get
your doctors to lie to you about something that has blatantly been proven is a lie.
Also, I can't be the only one tired of a bunch of people in Topeka being so incredibly concerned about the future of my ovaries that they're willing to write 70 pages of anti-abortion legislation — in the fourth strictest state in terms of abortion regulations — when we have other things to focus on, like the economy.
So call your legislator. If you don't know who they are, go to openkansas.org and type in the address where you're registered. E-mail them, tweet them, call them, whatever. Just let your legislature know that this piece of legislation? Yeah. Not cool, bro.
PERSONAL
Gwywn is a sophomore majoring in English and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Oathe. Follow her on Twitter @AllidisGwywn.
How we identify ourselves should be in the present
her on Twitter @AllidoisGwynn.
I am quick to correct anyone who calls me a petroleum "engineer." I prefer the title petroleum "engineering student."
I understand that the former is shorter and largely innocuous. But, even if unintended, I can't help but feel that there is the smallest bit of conceitedness in the phrase. It makes me uneasy.
It's easy to see why the phrase "petroleum engineer" is a wildly imprecise way to describe me. I study petroleum engineering, but I don't have my degree. I interned over the summer, but I've never worked as a petroleum engineer.
A strong comparison can be made to teaching assistants. Try calling a TA "professor" just to gauge his or her reaction. It's awkward. It's confusing. It's not true. In fact, my own economics TA has specifically told our class to not call him professor because he doesn't have his Ph.D. When he finishes his studies, maybe he will apply to be a professor somewhere. But for now, he is not a professor and doesn't want to be called one.
If a TA avoids the title "professor" like it's hot lava, engineering students avoid the title "engineer" like it's free Chipole.
On some subconscious level, we love being called engineers. Although mostly unproven, we wish to be recognized by a title we have yet to earn. We love being told how much money we are going to make when we graduate. We love hearing (particularly from other engineering students) that the engineer has the most difficult degree path. Oh, we love comparing how little sleep we get, relishing the chance to one-up fellow engineers. We thrive in sit in a room and air our homework and test grievances for whoever wants to listen. We love — absolutely love
- calling ourselves engineers.
this occurs with pre-med and pre-law students as well. Even though there is no pre-med or pre-law degree, that post-bachelor's degree plan always sneaks into a conversation. It's never "I'm studying English and psychology," but somehow always "I'm double majoring and going to law-school." The conversation is 20 percent "I'm majoring in chemistry" and 80 percent "I'm pre-med, but, yeah, I'm studying chemistry." It's as if the pre-med or pre-law student is embarrassed, or at the very least unsatisfied, to identify only by their degree. I wonder if biology students secretly dream of being called doctor and political science students can't wait to have a J.D.
We all want others, even complete strangers, to think highly of us just like medicine, law and engineering are highly regarded disciplines. There's nothing wrong with that. We want others to know how difficult it is to achieve that high regard and how much we're willing to sacrifice to get there. There's nothing wrong with being proud of your studies and accurately projecting your future plans.
It often isn't that innocent. At the core, calling myself an engineer is indicative of a deeply rooted superiority complex, something that just has no place at our University. I don't think I'm being too radical in suggesting that an "engineer" at the University may look down
on a liberal arts student. It's not outrageous to think that an "engineer" at the University is, forgive me, already counting the chickens before any of the eggs have hatched. It's fair to say that an "engineer" at the University could alienate his or her non-engineering friends with constant babble about what it's like to be an "engineer." By constantly calling ourselves engineers instead of engineering students, we perpetuate these problems.
Even if you think identifying as your profession before you've graduated doesn't have a taint of smugness, it has other effects. It sets expectations. What happens when a struggling student who has called himself an engineer for two years decides to change majors? It creates an insider-outsider mentality. Anytime anyone ends a statement with "It's because I'm an engineer," I pause. When someone successfully solves a problem for another, but says, "Ah, it's because you aren't an engineer," I literally crine. Even if you don't think it's a big deal, others are looking on with the same discomfort.
We are all students, just trying to make it to the next semester. We are treading water. We want to graduate; we want to do well. We shouldn't be feeding our egos and pretend like we're already in the middle of a successful career. Rather, we should enjoy youth and explore the common threads that make us KU students: love for basketball, a desire for the weekend and a focus on academic excellence. I don't want to be known as a petroleum engineer. I want to be known as a petroleum engineering student.
Ouyang is a junior majoring in petroleum engineering and economics from Overland Park.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
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CAMPUS
Students affect squirrel lifestyle
Dogs aren't supposed to eat chocolate. Cats aren't supposed to drink milk.
Sophomore Sara Brigham has witnessed a squirrel eating a mini snickers bar on campus. Freshman Nora Elbayoumy saw a KU squirrel eating an entire piece of pizza. Freshman Shannon James witnessed a squirrel grab an entire bag of chips, and then took the fire escape stairs to avoid climbing a tree.
Squirrels aren't supposed to eat… corndogs? It doesn't take an expert to figure out that human junk food is not part of a squirrel's natural diet.
I asked my friends and fellow scholarship hall residents for their craziest squirrel stories. People had a lot to say about things they have seen squirrels do and eat.
As reported by The Washington Post, although squirrels are technically granivores (animals that eat grains and nuts), they will eat almost anything. I have seen several squirrels dig through the dumpster outside of my scholarship hall and carry corndogs into the trees to snack on. It doesn't stop with corndogs.
According to Wild Birds Unlimited, squirrels can eat their own body weight (approximately 1.5 pounds) of food each week.
The human dependency doesn't end with their dietary choices; it infiltrates into their building of homes. Squirrels abandon natural materials for potential dangerous material left carelessly by humans. Freshman Adelle Loney spotted a few squirrels making a hideout with scraps and shards of plastic. Sophomore Jess Gregory spotted a squirrel carrying in his mouth a ball of cotton bigger than his body.
This dependency can also affect squirrel behavior. With such close interaction between humans and squirrels, the natural barrier of fear is broken down. Junior Emily Freese reports a squirrel throwing a nut at her head. Freshman Zoe Jewell has seen many encounters between students and squirrels that could have easily escalated into an attack. Junior Autumn Smith said that a squirrel spit on her shoulder and threw an acorn at her forehead. According to his paper "Do Squirrels Matter?" Jeffrey C. Barg stated, "Scientists
conclude that squirrels do show personality, and that, in fact, the personality of a mother squirrel is essential for the growth rate and survival of her babies." I'm most concerned about how this personality is shaped by human interference.
So what? What is the worst that could happen, obese, rude squirrels living in homes made of trash? As trivial as this topic seems, squirrels are a necessary element in our ecosystem. According to Backyard Nature, squirrels' job in our ecosystem is to plant seeds. This is especially when the seeds are too heavy to be moved very far by the wind.
With the squirrels receiving a large amount of food at a dumpster "buffet", eventually, less seeds will be planted. The more the squirrels deviate from their diet and depend on humans for food as well as shelter, the less likely they will continue to rely on their instincts and natural tree-planting habits.
There are a couple of things we can do to prevent squirrels from endangering themselves through poor diet and dangerous trash holding. First of all, we can be sure to recycle anything and everything that is possible. Some of the more dangerous materials could be easily recycled and picked up rather than tempting the squirrel in its favorite hang-out place: the dumpster. Also, when we must throw away food or non-recyclable material, it is crucial that we close and guard the trash against animal infiltration. This means tie your trash bags tight and cover your trash can or dumpster if possible.
Squirrels are a beloved part of the campus. Whether students are reporting a squirrel attack in the FFA or reading about squirrels on the Squirrels of KU Twitter account, squirrels are an integral part to our campus, and we should do our best to promote good health to our bushy-tailed friends.
Jenny Stern is a freshman majoring in biology from Lawrence.
@katiemo91
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