THE UNIVERSITY BADY BANSAN
PAGE 5
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012
opinion
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or at kansan.com
What do you mean Phog isn't recognized as a word? I'm pretty sure that's a sin Apple...
KU should start a support group for victims of squirrel attacks.
Saw someone on the bus who looks remarkably like Dwight Schrute.
Scholarly articles should be written in hieroglyphics. They would be easier to read.
Appropriately using your turn signals is super sexy.
I bet the cop who walks Bill Self out pretends all the cheering is for him.
Stop the woo. Respect the Phog.
It's funny how my voice has dropped an octave by the time second half gets here.
Maybe he isn't a Selby 2.0 but it's too early to tell if he's a Xavier Henry 2.0.
That's the longest I ever want to partake in No Shave November!
I got attacked by a squirrel before it was cool.
I should be allowed to punch smokers Self defense.
Remember Star Wars fans, Disney made "The Avengers."
That awesome moment when the cop that pulls you over looks like Seth Rogen. Oh yes officer, I've been super bad!
I voted because Lawrence Transit told me to.
I ran from the cops shooting "I didn't do it." I got tackled and questioned. I referred them to the FFA.
Some art students are carrying giant Styrofoam and cardboard letters. I feel like I'm on "Sesame Street."
New class needed for freshmen and grad students: Walking 101. Learn to walk a little faster and not take up the while hallway.
RELATIONSHIPS
I've tweeted nearly 11,000 times because I've had twitter for four years. Don't assume we all hoped on the bandwagon yesterday.
Politics don't make or break couples
Even though there has generally always been a clear political divide throughout the course of American politics, the current high-stakes economy has exacerbated the differences between the political parties and makes bipartisanship look like a breakup gone horribly awry. And with ballots having been cast yesterday, the politics of some relationships here at the University have sometimes been difficult to ignore.
Even halfway across the country from Washington, some students on our own campus believe politics can make a difference in dating, myself included. Just a few years ago when a guy I liked made an anti-gay comment in front of a group of people, the phrase "That's a dealbreaker, ladies" suddenly flashed across my mind.
To the girls who dress adorable and cute everyday... How? Honestly, it is a miracle that I even remembered pants this morning.
I vetoed any chances of dating him because he doesn't support equal LGBQT rights. I figured that
said enough about him that I needed to hear, and the degree to which I considered him "likable" plummeted. I was so turned off by his conservatism, and I rarely saw him again.
My memory of that instance and my own politics made me ask this election cycle how much pull politics have when it comes to the politics of dating. So with that I went searching for the answer in the one place on campus that no matter what would be filled to capacity at any given time; the Underground at Wescoe.
According to my survey of University students late last month, 60 Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike can finally agree on one thing: that politics don't at all or at least don't necessarily derail a new relationship before it starts. The results were surprisingly bipartisan with only five students answering that politics do make a difference in dating.
surveyed said that political affiliation isn't necessarily a deal breaker, students should meanwhile be sure not to undermine what the way someone votes says about that person. A vote is not just a matter of filling in bubbles on a ballot. Rather, it's a reflection of who we are as thinkers.
And though only a single-digit percent of students surveyed said that politics are definitely a dealbreaker, as it turns out, senior Tanya Martinez is one of them.
"I do have friends who think completely different than I do," Martinez said. "I use political affiliation to determine who I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. If he's joining me in my shouting matches at Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, then that's real love."
The Arabic and Islamic studies major said, "Political affiliation is a huge deal breaker for me because I am a very outspoken person when it comes to politics. It's usually one of the first things I bring up in conversation." Martinez went on to say that she cares about having a choice when it comes to women's sexual health, unequal pay, and taxes.
Martinez, currently engaged, also said politics played a role in choosing her fiance. She said, "I remember when I barely met him, I mentioned something very political that was important to me, and he agreed with me. From there I started asking more questions and realized how similar we were ideologically. I saw that we thought alike, so I knew we were meant to be."
She finally concluded that she thinks students at the University should understand that despite her refusal to date a Republican, politics are not the center of her universe.
And when it comes to dating, political affiliation is more than just a "shiny object." It represents what we value and what kind of outlook we have on life in general.
Finally, while most students
So maybe we shouldn't necessarily think that political affiliation is an end-all, be-all dealbreaker, but it should at least be taken into consideration when we start dating someone new. And regardless of whether it's an election year or not, we all need to choose our leaders — and our partners — wisely.
Rachel Keith is a graduate student in education from Wichita. Follow her on twitter @Rachel_UDEkeith.
POLITICS
Ready for the election to end
Even though Kansas is a traditionally red state, residents weren't free from some of the commotion election season caused. I'm all for being loud and proud about politics; however, since the early primary season until now, I've become just plain tired of hearing about politics. And really, I think sometimes we all need some things to look forward to.
So after the polling places closed last night and news outlets announced the president for 2013 to 2017, there are a few things everyone can go back to enjoying.
The first, and my favorite, is the return of news coverage on actual issues. No offense to Big Bird and binders full of women or complacent Obama and his running mate, boisterous Biden, but I like hearing more about things that don't involve speech technicalities, strategies, body languages or political gaffes. Why not explain what's going on with the Pakistani girl who was shot for standing up for her education? Why not look at the impending cliff when we reach the debt ceiling again? Even Hurricane Sandy was spun to include Obama and Romney. Things that moved to the back burner during the election can return. Finally.
Media outlets weren't the only ones flooding Kansans with political noise. Checking Facebook and Twitter was almost unbearable. Don't get me wrong, politically inclined friends are good friends to have. The downside to that was wading through the political mumbo-jumbo they post. What used to be a nice study break had become a source of frustration. Won't it be nice to return to a friendly Facebook? I can't wait to see what it'll look like without political memes or party bashing. Even with timeline, those days are hard to remember.
and you're talking about current events or "Saturday Night Live" and you're really careful because you don't know which side you can joke about without offending them? Yeah, that can be avoided for a few years.
You know what else we can look forward to? Clean yards. In the next few days, or weeks, people will start to remove the lawn signs supporting different politicians. The local candidates seemed to pepper just about every neighborhood, particularly in small towns. With the beautiful landscapes and a pretty fall this season, it'll be nice to see them in their natural state instead of corrupted by a slew of politicians.
And finally, we can avoid that awkward side-stepping of political conversation. Before you know some friends' political opinions
Ah, the peace.
Then again, election season offered a variety of good entertainment. If you watched SNL
But really, I'm the most thankful for simply being able to say that I voted. Today, when Americans can expect their normal TV programming instead of a debate, we can be thankful that we have the opportunity to do that. And if we didn't get the president we want this time around, we have about three years of peace to stew it over before the process begins again.
Hawkins is a junior majoring in journalism from Scranton.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
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NIGHT LIFE
Boom Boom Room photo causes a stir
Last week, one of Lawrence's most beloved bars was the scene of widespread controversy. Long story short, two people were caught in the middle of something that some people unfortunately choose to engage in while drunk and riled up on the dance floor. If you don't know what I'm talking about, use your imagination.
It's not just any dance floor, though. It's the Boom Boom Room at the Javawk Café.
Now that we've had a week to mull everything over, there still a discussion to be had about the controversy and its sticky-floored, dimly-lit setting.
If you haven't heard, both parties handled it in completely different ways and are going to continue to deal with the consequences for quite some time. For most people, though, it's old news already.
Once the lion's share of campus got wind of it, everyone took to Twitter and other forms of social media to crack jokes and pass judgment on the involved parties. Everyone from the girl in your COMS class to @FakeJeffWithey and Afentra of 96.5 The Buzz stuck their nose in and offered their takes, which generally consisted of wise-cracks and various ways of shaming those involved.
I couldn't help myself and offered my own jokes too, but I never called anyone a "slut" or "whore". Though a strong argument could be made for the use of those words, they're completely unnecessary.
Why? Because this all happened in the Boom Boom Room.
If you're one of the people who's lived in Lawrence for years without losing your Boom Boom Room virginity, you're probably more wholesome and morally sound than the lot of us. Anyone who has been past that huge metal door into the steamy, sticky basement of 1340 Ohio St. knows that the controversy that unfolded is nothing new - someone just got a picture of it.
The Boom Boom Room is essentially a small room that serves as a promiscuous, hedonistic getaway from the morally and politically correct real world. The drinks are cheap, the music is loud and the inhibitions are low. Lawrence's drunken patrons take to the dance floor and seemingly lose control of their hands, subsequently leading to
some sexually explicit behavior in public. The lights are low, though, but if you take a good look around as the strobe lights flicker on, you'll see what I'm talking about.
You can't help but feel kind of sorry for the involved parties because they were just the first to get caught on camera while doing what people have been rumored to have done in the Boom Boom Room for years. I'd argue that these types of incidents aren't common, per se, but they certainly aren't unheard of.
The public ridicule may have been both justified and over-the-line at times, but what people have failed to grasp is that this isn't anything groundbreaking. Consensual debauchery is the name of the game in that basement, and it's something that has its place in a college town. It's your choice whether or not you participate, but there's no sense in hammering away at those who opt to make their own bad decisions there.
Sure, it's ridiculous and a lot of people think it's disgusting. They're not wrong, but at the same time, they aren't the key demographic for such a room. Had this incident taken place on campus in broad daylight, it would have been dramatically worse. It didn't, though - it happened in the Boom Boom Room. If I was given the scenario and you asked me to take a stab at where it went down, that's the first place I'd guess.
@Baldwin023
All is fair in love and the Boom Boom Room.
Barbosa is a junior majoring in journalism from Leawood. For more hilarity, follow him on Twitter @AJIBARBROSA
@UDK_Opinion I think we need our KY back on the floor..so we can gel better.
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