TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20. 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY & ANSWER
PAGE 5
opinion
To the people wearing Baylor shirts today, I salute you.
Out of the entire empty row in front of me, you choose the seat I have my feet on?
Thanks giving break I definitely need to regain my sanity. this morning I found myself hiding from my fish.
At this point in my life, finding "the one" refers to picking the best taquito off the hot rollers at the gas station.
Nope nope don't do dope.
Wait wait wait, volleyball season isn't over yet!
iPhone autocorrect makes memories better than Kodak.
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or at kansan.com
I was sitting in class on my computer.
Found a random book mark buried in a folder. "What's this?" Clicked on it.
It was porn. #KillMePlease
Kohn
Too bad there isn't a Neville Longbottom look-a-like on campus.
The Ron Weasley look-a-like is already taken, sorry.;)
That awkward moment when you're checking out a girl in skinny jeans and beautiful hair, then she turns around and you realize she's a guy.
People making fun of KSU's one loss are stupid... We won one game.
If I'm going to fail this class, I'm at least going down trying!
My moral compass points due northeast.
Pretty sure a dozen rotting carcasses smell better than walking by the Wheel on a Monday morning.
Yeah, I'm wearing shorts in the middle of November. It's a beautiful day outside. Sue me.
I imagine the FFA Editor as the Wizard of Oz of the UDK. "Nobody sees the great Oz! Not nobody not no how!"
MU fans making fun of KU fans for cheering for a terrible football team... At a Chiefs game... Fail.
Our football record may suck but I'm proud of this team. P.S. Anyone who left in the second quarter... Lame.
HERITAGE
Thanks to the dude at the cave who found and returned my phone. You will forever be a saint in my book!
Appreciate Charlie Weis' gesture but only a better defense can turn this team around.
Reconnecting with my Mexican roots
Long before I learned the advantages of being white, I spoke my very first word in Spanish. It was "bola," meaning ball. I had pretty much the same scope of interests as any little boy, but I had a different way of voicing it.
My mom was born in Mexico and always stressed the importance of staying connected to her roots. Her pride was reflected on our home, plastered with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo prints over vibrantly colored walls. Every couch was adorned with a Mexican blanket and the house was filled with the scent of Mom's traditional cooking. I even got double the bedtime stories because Mom could read "El Cuento de Ferdinando" just as easily as she could read "Goodnight Moon."
It was intimidating when I entered preschool and found English to be the primary language. I was so shy that I barely spoke at all. I missed the comfort of my mom's language, with her gently trilled Rs and the musical
tone of her voice. But over time, I came to realize that English was the superior language. That's just the way we speak in America.
The inevitable happened after I bit the apple from the tree of knowledge and suddenly became conscious of my darker skin. I stopped calling her "Mama" and started calling her "Mom." I didn't want to be a minority, I wanted to be like everyone else. And when we moved to Prairie Village, everyone else was white. So I learned shame. I hated when my mom would speak Spanish in front of my friends and I hated explaining why we had an embarrassing Diego Rivera print of a nude woman embracing a bundle of hay in my living room. I hated my hair for being so black and I even used a special shampoo that claimed it would bring the "brunette" undertones out from my scalp. It didn't. And in Spanish class, I would intentionally butcher the pronunciations of my own language, just so it wouldn't be so
It wasn't a good thing to be Mexican. My friends would joke that I'd make a great lawn mower or janitor or housekeeper, because that's seemingly all a Mexican could ever aspire to. I wanted to prove them wrong so badly, but I couldn't think of a single Latino who was famous for anything other than hitting a baseball or singing crude, Spanglish club hits.
I never felt proud of my ethnicity, but I eventually learned to accept it. In my junior year of high school, I wrote a column denouncing Arizona's SB1070 - a harsh immigration law that gave police officers the right to ask
obvious.
"suspicious" looking people for their documents. I was finally sticking up for my race, but I mostly hated the law because it meant that people would associate someone like me with "illegals."
I've written many more political columns since that first one, but little progress has been made. I still find myself on the receiving end of casual racism. I don't hate my black hair and dark skin anymore – I hate being told that I'm only getting scholarship money because I'm Mexican. Because I only scored in the top one percent on my tests nationally, but scored in the top tenth of a percent amongst Mexicans. I get it: I'm not good enough to win the top prize amongst all students, but I'm pretty smart for a Mexican. Well I'm fed up with it – we all are.
There was no box for me on the voter registration form. I am half Mexican, half white. However, my options were: Hispanic (Not White), White (Not Hispanic) and Two or more
races (Not Hispanic).
So I made my decision and checked the hell out of that first box. 72 percent of Latinos voted for President Obama and for perhaps the first time ever, I wasn't ashamed to be a part of that number. I was proud. We are no longer second-class citizens. We helped decide this election and we just may decide the next few. But we have a few expectations. We want immigration reform and we demand to be treated like human beings, just like everyone else. You see, I don't believe that being Latino and being American are mutually exclusive. All of our voices must be heard.
I spoke my first words in Spanish and you can be damn sure they won't be my last.
Webber is a freshman majoring in journalism and political science from Prairie Village. Follow him on Twitter @wbheemz
RELATIONSHIPS
First impressions still materialistic
Last Tuesday I coaxed one of my best friends into attending Daniel Packard's Group Sex Therapy discussion at the Kansas union. The discussion seemed like a dating seminar laden with crude jokes, but something Packard said at the very beginning of the talk stuck with me for the rest of discussion.
With the audience divided by gender on either side of a strip of tape, he told the guys that a man's clothing choice is one of the first things a woman notices about him. He then told them as an anecdote that women don't want guys to wear skater clothes unless they actually skate, to which the women replied with a collective applause.
I was relieved to hear that sentiment coming from a member of the XY community, and it was clear that most of the women in attendance thought it was funny. But here, Packard was right. Material factors may be considered mundane by many in dating, but when two people first meet, shoes, hair and even the pitch of someone's voice have the power to begin to bring two people together (or, of course, send them scrambling for an excuse to end the conversation).
When people are asked what they notice first about others they're attracted to, many give cliché responses like a good smile, their eyes, etc. But something else that women in particular tend to notice is someone's shoes. The eyes may be the window to the soul, but a person's shoes are a great indicator of the care he puts not only into his outfit but also the rest of his presentation. Here, guys in particular are advised not to wear grungy Nikes with nice jeans on a night out.
Next, women tend to notice wrist watches. It's unrealistic to expect an average college student to sport a Rolex, but if a potential is wearing a watch with Mickey Mouse or a calculator on it, ladies should steer clear. Watches that resemble the ones you wore in the late '90s speak volumes about maturity and suggest that a relationship will likely feel like a babysitting gig. Students can easily fake nice watches by checking out the selection at Target or Kohl's or simply going without to dodge the issue.
According to national radio host and author John Tesh, women care about tipping when it comes to paying the bill on a date. He said that the overall cost of the bill didn't make a difference. 82 percent of women surveyed said that they'd ditch a new beau over bad tipping practices. Money matters may seem to be as materialistic as it gets, but if someone is stingy with tips, his investment in his significant other may follow suit.
Meanwhile, while men notice many of the same elements that women do upon meeting someone new, science directs them to evaluate factors sometimes as specific as the pitch of a woman's voice. According to Cosmopolitan magazine, men tend to be more attracted to women with higher-pitched voices because a high pitch is tell-tale
sign of youth and reproductive potential. This may be subconscious, but it runs rampant on the dating scene.
Also, men tend to know what's fake about women from the get- go, and not just a fake smile or pretending to be interested in a topic. They notice fake eyelashes, nails, and more, which screams high maintenance. If men think potential partners are too difficult to please, they likely won't even try.
And finally, again according to Cosmo, men also tend to subconsciously notice how much a woman's skin glows. Recent scientific research suggests skins' glow correlates with mental health. The healthier skin looks, the more mentally stable people tend to be. Like fake nails, eyelashes, breasts, or whatever, the lack of mental stability is an indicator that the person is high maintenance and needy.
While what men and women want still remains at least partly unanswerable, students can know that speakers like Packard and scientists are working to debunk the never-ending question. Students shouldn't fake certain features about themselves for the sake of finding a partner to avoid an embarrassing slip up later, but they should still keep them in mind anyway.
Dating many not inevitably come down to factors like these, but when we're looking to start something new, not being mindful of the science of getting a relationship off the ground can keep us from landing something later.
Rachel Keith is a graduate student in education from Wichita. Follow her on Twitter @ Rachel_UKeith.
CAMPUS
'Crazy' professors improve lectures
Most professors that teach core classes are going to be well-known. But the ones at the University are well-known besides the fact that many people take their classes. Fake twitter accounts for Jeff Lang, David Holmes and Craig Martin all exist. These professors may be a bit different, goofy, and possibly crazy, but they are all very knowledgeable about the subjects they teach and do a great job of keeping students interested.
Recently, a student in Lang's calculus class drew a weird and crazy picture of Lang. The student next to him took a picture of it and posted it to Reddit.
It hit the front page, and soon many people on the thread were talking about Lang and his antics. Personally, I have never had Lang as a teacher but upon talking to people who have had him, I heard many positive and funny stories about him. He loves to be enthusiastic with everything he demonstrates for the class. For example, "kill the radical!" He is a favorite among students. Sometimes he notices the class is really apathetic to the lesson, so he will let everyone out five minutes early because "you all need a Gatorade."
Many professors have interesting background and quirks about them that not many people would guess. One thing about Lang that not many people may know about him is that he is a devout Muslim. After being atheist for most of his life, he converted. He speaks about his religion, has published four memoirs of his conversion and even has a few YouTube videos.
Another popular professor is Intro to Psychology professor, David Holmes. Although talking about sex is very important in psychology, he seems to integrate it into almost everything. Hence his Twitter account, which basically focuses on what he had said
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
about sex. He is also pretty feisty in class and will call someone out if they leave early. Holmes wrote his own psychology book, and is very knowledgeable about the subject. Many people say that his quirkiness makes the class more interesting although the tests are hard.
Craig Martin, also known as "Crazy Craig Martin", is another well-known professor. He gets off topic many times and his class is known to be entertaining. He is also notorious for very difficult tests. Lecture material seems easy, but when it comes to test time, it proves to be a little bit different. Students who took his class said that if you attend help sessions and review the material, it will be a little bit easier. And although he may get off topic quite a bit, attend his lectures for important material.
How do you feel about the end of the downtown staple Milton's?
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Although these are just the basic professors, each department will have their own most talked about professor. As journalism major, I'm sure others can agree that it would be Kerry Benson for her crazy, no-nonsense-allowed personality.
Although these teachers may seem totally crazy, they are very knowledgeable and can teach you many lessons, like Professor Benson. If nothing can be learned from them and they seem impossible, at least you have an entertaining class to go to.
Bickel is a sophomore majoring in journalism from Harper.
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@JessicaBricker @UDK, Opinion The closing of Milton's is devastating. Where else am I suppose to go for my Sunday morning herb and cheese omlet?
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Another Lawrence downtown icon
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