MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2013
PAGE 4A
opinion
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L miss T-Rob
To wheeve sinned against the Jayhawk basketball gods, repent of your sins so that we may win again.
Rosters change, expectations don't.
Come on guys, you've got the talent.
Rock chalk!
OK Weis, give us the basketball team back. We're tired of losing.
Friends don't let friends walk through the Campanile.
Aaaaand the new class charm has worn off.
There should be a release of the week column instead of catch of the week.
"Brent <3" is written on the table that I'm sitting at. Are we in the 4th grade?
Western Civ Prof just played "Party in the USA" music video and all, just because it is "one of those days."
Brunettes don't do "it" better. You just haven't met the right blonde! Me! :)
Why should equality be an issue? Should the University stop caring about qualifications and just hire women to ensure equality? Hire the best person for the job.
It's raining, it's pouring, the college student is snoring. They went to the Hawk and got real drunk and couldn't get up in the morning.
One does not simply park on campus with a Mizzou license plate and go unticketed.
I don't understand snapchat. Why do I want a picture for only 3 seconds? FFA editor help!
Why wasn't there a catch of the week?! I GOTTA CATCH'EM ALL!
My professor is carrying his dog around in class and I can't concentrate because the dog looks like Yoda.
One does not simply voice their opinion in the FFA without someone replying to said opinion.
That moment when you need to send your professor an email...but don't know their name.
Can you have a wolf as a pet or is that just a dog?
Can someone please pay the people who sing the national anthem to quickly say "don't say chiefs" right before they sing the word brave?
Rushing the court? Really?
Guys, this whole basketball thing isn't as fun if we lose.
To the basketball boys. They claim to bleed "purple." I say we find out. Rock chalk!
Tyler Self for point guard!
Finding an outlet while camping is like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
INTERNATIONAL
KU basketball go home. You're drunk.
Malian dispute shows future of conflict
Even if the overwhelming majority of University students don't plan to visit West Africa anytime soon and typically don't check their Sahara news feed after pouring a morning bowl of cereal, the ongoing conflict in Mali matters because it reflects the types of military engagement that will likely become prevalent during their adult lives.
To recap: last March, a military coup ousted the democratically elected President Touré after his government failed to defeat the nomadic Tuareg rebels in the northern part of the country. While the military and interim civilian government vied for influence, the security situation deteriorated. Rebels briefly controlled the northern desert, but by July Islamist groups held power in the major cities in the region.
Whether Islamist ideology (which young voting citizens should know is separate from Islam the religion) is fundamentally incompatible with respect
to international human rights or democratic norms is a broad, complex question; in the context of northern Mali, Islamist take-over held disastrous implications for the region's residents.
By October, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic was describing public executions, amputations, and beatings. He explained that "enforced marriages" legitimize the widespread rape of young women while more children are enlisting to become soldiers. College students across the country mobilized last spring as a part of the Kony 2012 movement, but so far this conflict hasn't captured that same level of attention.
As a result of the crisis, refugees are fleeing en masse. The United Nations Refugee Agency coordinator reported 160,000 Malian refugees in surrounding countries; another 240,000 people are displaced within the country. Other estimates place the number of persons displaced at 1.5 million.
Massive human tragedy isn't limited to the north, either. According to Human Rights Watch, the same military leaders who perpetrated the coup last March now engage in "extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances" in the south. The New York Times reports that journalists and opponents of the military regime have been targeted.
In January, France deployed troops to Mali after using airpower to strike extremist groups. According to Foreign Policy magazine, that mission was militarily successful, as the French-backed government forces regained control of two key cities, Timbuktu
and Gao. French President François Hollande declared that the coalition is "winning this battle" on Jan. 28, and suggested that African forces could resume sole responsibility for the mission.
Why does this mess in Western Africa, handled primarily by the French and West African governments, matter to young U.S. citizens? Mali showcases a series of enduring challenges. Its Islamist groups don't act in isolation; the Council on Foreign Relations noted those groups have ties to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM. Its continued lawless state would provide a base of operations for AQIM, allowing it to network with militant groups throughout the region. That partnership, once rooted, could endure long after any current student's graduation.
As defense sequestration and U.S. drone policy move into the spotlight of national security debates, Mali represents two trends. First, the U.S. has not taken an active military role, instead allowing other countries
to handle the situation on a regional basis. Second, Foreign Policy magazine highlighted ongoing decision-making to place a new drones base in Western Africa to conduct intelligence-gathering operations.
Despite Hollande's optimistic outlook, instability in Mali will take years to resolve. With hundreds of thousands of people displaced, international aid organizations will be hard-pressed to provide for even basic human needs. The motivations behind separatist movements will not disappear overnight, and rebels or Islamist groups can simply melt into the desert and wait for military operations to cease.
Absent a sustained international effort, security and humanitarian objectives in Mali will remain unattainable — and that's why University students should know a war is being fought there.
CAMPUS CRISIS
Gress is a sophomore majoring in political science from Overland Park. Follier her on Twitter at @GressUDK
Senioritis disease to strike students that are unaware
As the spring semester starts, many seniors begin the final drive to
graduation.
Enrolling in the last classes they'll ever take as college student, they teem with excitement as May inches closer and closer. The promise of graduation and the beginning of a new life seems more realistic than it ever has before, and there's only one teeny, tiny little thing holding them back; senioritis.
Symptoms of senioritis include, but are not limited to: excessive apathy, inability to wake up before 11 a.m., lack of commitment to school projects or homework, skipping class, failing tests, freeloading, surfing sites like StumbleUpon, Pinterest or Reddit for 5-plus hours a day, tweeting things like "#yolo" or "Screw class, let's go to the hawk!" at 2 o.n.
Senioritis, or "deconcentratus senioris," as it's known in the medical field, is a crippling and debilitating viral infection that causes potential turmoil for soon-to-be graduates.
Spread through everyday interactions, this dreadful disease has been known to ruin GPAS and is responsible for countless "incompletes" on college transcripts.
Many of you might be realizing you are showing symptoms of senioritis after reading this, but that's OK. Studies show every 1 in 7 college seniors has senioritis, but many cases go undiagnosed. Just remember, diagnosis is the first step to recovery.
Until recently there were few known remedies to senioritis, but with the advancement of modern medicine there is new hope for the infected. There are several steps you can take to combat senioritis and clinical trials have even shown marked improvements in behavior, in some cases even complete recovery.
The first thing to do after getting diagnosed is to accept your diagnosis and educate yourself about the disease. Understanding senioritis is critical to any recovering patient, which begins with simply admitting that you are infected.
The second step is finding help. There are numerous support groups on campus, many of which can help on the road to being cured. Getting involved in student study groups and review sessions works wonders for those suffering from senioritis. Over the counter antibiotics such as Red Bull, Monster or black coffee can work wonders for a recovering patient.
Most of all, it is key to establish a support system once you've found out you have senioritis. Close friends, family members, roommates and coworkers can act as sponsors, keeping you
accountable for class attendances and study habits. Do not be afraid of relapse! That's what your support group is in place for. If you relapse, tell your supporters that you've had a moment of weakness and ask for their help, they'll be more than willing to do whatever they can to get you back on the straight and narrow.
After enough time and effort you'll be on the right track for clean, infection-free living. Remember that recovering from senioritis is a process. There will be days where the only thing you want to do is lie in bed and have a "How I Met Your Mother" marathon, throwing caution into the wind and sacrificing your participation grade for a few cheap laughs.
As a recently recovered infectee, I can say for certain that my road to recovery was a dark one, but with the help of some sugar-free energy drinks and a good sleep schedule I was on my way to a normal life in no time.
Just remember, no one wants to tell their friends and family they won't graduate on time because they opted for a three-day Pinterest bender instead of writing their mid-term thesis assignment. Stay accountable, stay alert, and most of all, stay in school.
Crawford is a senior majoring in journalism from Olathe.
CHIRPS BACK
Follow us on Twitter @UDK_Uponp. Tweet us your opinions
and we just must publish them.
What does the basketball team need to do to get out of this slump?
@Baldwin023
@UDK. Opinion in need of more highlight dunks, should help get the mojo back!
HUMOR
German prep for studying abroad
The deadlines for study abroad programs will be
I honestly have no idea what a cream rinse is, but I don't think it's something you want to ask for when you're sitting down to brunch in a nice suit.
"Wir möchten gern Abendenets auf deutsche Art haben." — "We should like to have dinner German style."
"Well, you could start by changing your suit, as we consider it impolite over here to eat dinner with huge cream stains on your clothes."
“Konnen Sie mir den Weg zum Damen-Unkleiderau zeigen?” — “Can you show me to the women's changing room?”
coming up before you know it. And the good stuff in England and Australia is gonna fill up fast. So why not start learning another language? I picked up a nice German phrase book from the 1960s — Instant German: The Follett Vest-Pocket Conversation Guide" — and I'm pretty sure it has every phrase a traveler needs, and then some. Here are some sample phrases from this fine book (along with some contexts in which you could use them) so you can start learning what some consider the awful German language right away.
"You're planning to change that soiled suit in the women's dressing room, sir? Is that all you're going to do in there, creep?"
“Wollen Sie bitte mit Creme nachspüllen?” — “Could I have a cream rinse?
"Gibt es eine wo man
Pferde miten kann?" — "Is
there a place where we can rent
some horses?"
I'm pretty sure that back in the 60s, horses were the primary mode of transport in the more backward parts of East Germany. But in present-day Deutschland, electric, emissions-free transportation is the norm, so I typically replace every instance of "Pierd" I find in this book with "Smart Car."
The book doesn't provide the most common response to this question, but it translates as "What are you smoking and how can I get some?"
"Schlag dieses [Smart Car] aus?" — "Does this [Smart Car] kick?"
"Stillen Sie die Blutung!" "Stop the bleeding!"
"Dammit, you said this one doesn't kick! Why the hell did I change into a white suit for this? Now everybody's gonna see the tire tracks and bloodstains and think I'm some kind of crazy masochist who gets his kicks from having compact automobiles kick him in the shins!"
"Gibt es eine Stelle wo man Fahrrierr miten kann?" "Is there a place where we can rent some bicycles?"
Are you sure you want to bike in this condition? You just ran over your own leg with the Smart Car; the damn thing's still bleeding out all over the upholstery! If you want to crawl to the bike rental shop across the street, I won't stop you, but at least put some gauze on that leg first.
"Achtung! Vorsicht!" "Watch out! Careful!"
"Would it kill you to be a little more careful? You're bleeding all over my nice bikes!"
“Es handelt sich um eine alte amerikanische Sitte.” — “It’s an old American custom.”
"Oh, it's an old American custom to rub your bloody legs all over my bicycle seat while slamming the gearshift levers back and forth like a compulsive gambler at a penny slot machine? You Yanks are sick freaks, you know that?"
"Ich furchete, ich habe den Gang im Getreibe kaputt gemacht." — "I'm afraid II've stripped my gears."
"If I may say so, the gears aren't the worst things you've stripped on this trip, creep."
@ ButterEmUp
"Wie sagt man 'this crazy rumor about my anties in a women's changing room sure has travelled fast' auf Deutsch?" — Self-explanatory.
May is a sophomore majoring in German and journalism from Derby. Follow him on Twitter at @sylasMay.
@OOK Opinion The solution is simple. We must sacrifice a virgin to the basketball gods at the summit of Mount Oread.
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