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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
You know that feeling when your boyfriend's ex is now your lab partner for the semester? Now I do.
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or at kansan.com
We are not hippies. We are a legitimate club at KU. We just like to dress up in cool costumes from time to time.
Walking instead of riding the bus to class was a good idea. Now I can show off my awesome calves.
Maybe one day I will be able to go a week without seeing a fire truck on campus.
Have we been so bad at football that people don't know how to sit at football games? Stand forward, sit back.
Hey FFA submitters. Stop with the negative submissions! Signed Positive Polly.
By all means Frat Pack, move at a glacial speed. You know how that thrills me.
Naps on naps on naps
Someone please explain to me why these girls are wearing Uggs in 90 degree weather, because the only explanation I know is stupidity.
That awkward moment when you lock eyes with the dude about to walk into the stall.
Everyone was born a GDI, then natural selection happened and only the best stayed that way.
PAGE 5A
Coming from someone who stayed until the end of the game, if our players need fans to get them motivated to play, they shouldn't be on the field.
Appropriate response to any pretentious fashion police FFA submitters: Haters gonna hate
If MV Transportation wants to work on professionalism, how about they train their drivers to be on time.
Got a couch and a recliner for $15. Either the seller was really generous, or there a hordes of raccoons in the couch.
You know you must be really attractive when you get hit on while wearing lab goggles.
We aren't all hippies gathered in front of Budig; just Shawn.
Of course KU decides to nix western civ my senior year. The freshman need to suffer just like I did though. It's natural selection,
It's National Suicide Awareness and Prevention week. Be sure to tell people how important they are to you!
Change is possible with dedication
I couldn't seem to keep up with fads as a kid. I was busy enough trying to get used to writing in cursive and reading books without pictures to notice what was trending in the world of fourth grade fashion. I was still wearing crew socks when everyone else switched to those risqué no-show ankle socks. I danced light-up sneakers rather than those wacky Styrofoam gardening shoes. Hell, I was still trying to figure out the finer stratagem of the Pokémon trading card game when my friends were moving on to the even more Japanese "Yu-Gi-Oh!" I Swe owl off fads; I was going to be my own man. What was the point of briefly getting caught up in some crazi just to abandon it weeks later?
Yes I have a wildcat shirt on.. Only because my uncle is the defensive coordinator at NORTHWESTERN.. Back off.
It's March 5, 2012 and my Facebook cover photo isn't emblazoned with "Kony 2012." It's just a picture of me, in a field, wearing a hat. That's irrelevant, but the point is, I didn't watch the freaking video and it didn't change my freaking life. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the mass attention it drew and did some research of my own. So I found what everyone else would soon discover: Invisible Children is possibly just an awareness campaign. It turns out that the people don't like to see their donations go towards manufacturing cheap wristbands and T-shirts instead of fighting a warlord and saving children. Only a week after this unifying revolution manifested itself in a 30-minute propaganda film, it disappeared. They truly did "stop at nothing."
TRENDS
Nothing stirs up my KU pride more than walking by Alien Fieldhouse at night with the sounds of the drummine practicing down the street. Best place on earth.
The "Rehire Dan" thing was as short lived as "Kony 2012."
Fast-forward a few months. The
had arrived at the divisive issue of our time. People took to the streets, either hen-picketing the anti-gay restaurant or showing support by raising the collective cholesterol of America. And as usual, I watched from the sidelines.
white man saved Africa and now he's on to dismantling a far more sinister threat: homophobic chickens. Chick-fil-A has made their conservative values clear since its inception, but the liberals of the world were waiting for just the right time to smite down these hoier-than-thou chicken-mongers. As I watched the Facebook statuses and tweets roll in, I realized that we
OK, so the world has already forgotten or lost interest in the Chick-fil-A issue. Just look at good of' KU: in the heat of battle, students were petitioning to remove the fast food chain from the University. But recently, I walked into the Underground food court to see hoards of Jayhawks clamoring for their waffle fry fix. Whether it's a fad or a "movement", or some combination of the two, all things must pass.
There's a storm coming. Will.
I believe that real change is possible. I believe that real dedication
So am I just a cynical jerk who has no faith in the masses? Pretty much. But at least I never wore Crocs.
The street is my crosswalk.
starts on the individual level. Anyone can find issues that have somehow deeply affected him, her or someone they know; and that motivation is all it takes to actually accomplish something. But subscribing to "Revolution of the Month" magazine will never make any impact. Honestly, I have more respect for that longhaired kid from my high school that scrawled, "legalize it" on every single bathroom stall—there's a man on a mission.
RESIDENCE HALLS
Webber is a freshman majoring in journalism and political science from Prairie Village. Follow him on Twitter @webbemz@webbemz.com
Campus Quidditch tournament
@webbgemz.
A year ago, quidditch took this campus by storm.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that I have never read a Harry Potter book nor have I ever seen a Harry Potter movie. I am that holdout you all know, kind of like the kid that still doesn't have a Facebook. That being said, I hold on so that I have a fun fact to share during ice breakers. Hi, my name is Chris and I have never read a Harry Potter book nor have I ever seen a Harry Potter Movie. But don't worry I do have a Facebook.
What have I really missed out on? Oh, you've seen the latest Harry Potter movie? Don't you love what Potter did with the musical score during the title screen? Wait. Harry Potter is not the director of the movies? Well, don't you love the last Harry Potter novel? Don't you enjoy Potter's grandiose conclusion to his epic series? No way. Harry Potter is not the author of the books?
OK, so I am not that unaware.
I know who J.K. Rowling is. What I am is ignorant and I get that. I don't know much about the Harry Potter universe. I grew up thinking that Harry Potter was from the devil and that if I read the books, I would one day try to cast curses and poke scary vooookd dolls with
needles. It wasn't my parent's fault.
They are awesome. But I will let you say what you want to say because I know it already — my childhood was ruined by my childhood.
I am late to the Harry Potter party.
Not two hours late, when everyone with swag shows up. Fifteen years late. Despite this, I can't help but think there is still hope for me.
That hope is quidditch. By "hope," I mean that I have heard of quidditch. By "heard of," I mean that everyone will not stop talking about quidditch. Quidditch is so often spoken of that I'm positive there is some kind of hidden J.K. Rowling conspiracy out there to keep her books relevant. I am sure you all have heard of quidditch as well. If you have not, I guess I can end your struggle and explain what I know, which is very little. Basically, quidditch is a sport inspired by a fictional sport from the Harry Potter series. Athletes put a broom between their legs and run around in rugby fashion and throw balls like dodgall.
Google will help you describe the game. But, how to actually play is an entirely different story. I actually look forward to the day that quidditch is a ubiquitous term. Does anyone have to explain the game of basketball every time someone says "basketball!" The very need to explain quidditch is clear indication that I am not the only ignorant person who has room to learn more about it. I am trying to further educate myself, but it's not going so well. I tried reading the Wikipedia page. I tried reading the official rules on the international Quidditch Association
website. But, I don't understand much of the vocabulary, and the Wikipedia page keeps making it seem as if people actually fly on brooms. I'm sure they don't.
We all get annoyed by that person who complains about something but does nothing to change the problem. The only thing worse is a person who complains about something they don't understand. You know, that girl who screams at the referee's correct false start call. You know, that guy who still thinks President Obama was born in Indonesia. Don't be that girl. Don't be that guy. Get outside and watch quidditch with me so we can all be less ignorant.
Here is my plan. It is so simple. If you did not already know, a quidditch tournament between every residence hall will be held on Sunday, Sep. 16 at 11 a.m. behind Robinson Hall on Sunnyside Avenue on the field affectionately known as "the cage," because it is partially surrounded by a fence. Each residence hall will field a team and the winner will have legitimate bragging rights. I am tired of hearing about quidditch and not knowing what's going on. I am actually going to take opportunity to watch people play quidditch. Live. In person. On the field. Maybe I will even learn to play. According to Samy Mousa, who is hosting the tournament, if you aren't in one of the residence halls, you can still play.
Ouyang is a junior majoring in petroleum engineering and economics from Overland Park. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisOuyang.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
Twitter Photo Of The Week:
Send in your Twitter photos to @UDK_Opinion and see them here.
That awkward moment when you make eye contact with the same person five times in the library... He wants
New Sep. 11 tradition: watching "Team America: World Police."
@m2marcus
@UOK Opinion My walk down
jayhawk blvd the other night.
What is it with people wearing other NCAA school shirts on campus? You go to KU. Come on bro!
SCHMIDT HAPPENS
I've got a bad leg and I'm still trying to get around you. Someone clearly didn't read the article on slow walkers.
Jay's accessories for fratting:
Remind me not to schedule 8 o'clock classes next semester.
Editor's note: "Said everyone."
By Marshall Schmidt
Erin Riffell's comment that "you need to know a little bit of everything" is indeed true. Competing and prospering in a global economy demands aggressive and well-rounded education. If one of your Facebook friends posted the picture of how "science tells you how to build a dinosaur, and humanities tell you why you shouldn't," then you've seen a similar argument already.
ON-CAMPUS
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The Kansan hit the nail on the head with its Tuesday headline, "Civilization Falls." Eliminating the HWC requirement does more than interrupt a seven-decade tradition, it undercuts the value of a degree from the University of Kansas.
21st century Americans must understand what events happened, why these happened, and what past people have thought as they coped with a world and shaped it. Understanding the present and planning the future require some familiarity with the past. What HWC provided here at Kansas for so long was a surprisingly interdisciplinary examination of a surprisingly broad "western" world.
The Greeks were there, but so were the Founding Fathers and WEB Du Bois. Paul's Christian letters stood beside the Koran. Dostoevsky wrestled with internal struggle while Locke considered conflict between men (then only men) and government; Rousseau and Marx, respectively, challenged the notion that such conflicts exist. Virginia Woolf and Sigmund Freud probed the mind and the human experience, and came to different
conclusions. The conclusions, the paths and the context, all mattered then and now.
KU, like other schools in the U.S., took a fresh look at humanities in the wake of World War II. Industrial slaughter, systematic persecutions, genocide, and advancing destructive technology convinced American intellectuals that something could be done, and must be done, to stave off another such calamity. Informed young minds, using historical context and cultivated reason, could make a better future. KU understood this in 1945, inaugurating its HWC tradition. If HWC ceases to stand as a requirement, it is because the university, not the world, has fundamentally changed.
Maintaining HWC as an "optional" class, as now stands, completely misses the point. The perspective offered through HWC provides a foundation. And a foundation is universally necessary before anyone can think clearly or build anything.
And thinking and building are exactly what the University of Kansas stands for.
Dr. Nick Sambakul
Scholar of U.S. and military
history at Weatherford College
in Texas.
Nick is a 2012 KU alumnus and former Kansan editorialist.
Best drinking fountain on campus:
Learned, 3rd floor. It's like drinking from a cup.
To the really cutie girl who gave me a funny look at my walky by and my stomach growled. I swear I am not a canibal.
How do you deal with someone who is two-faced? Become Batman.
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
My professor talks and acts like Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter. Totally not going to her office hours. She probably has kitten plates in there.
LETTER GUIDELINES
Send letters to kansanopdsk@gmail.com.
Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line.
Length: 300 words
Dengshu: 300, 104
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name, grade and homework. Find our full
letter to the editor policy online at kansas.
com/letters.
Ian Cummings, editor
editor@kansan.com
Vikaas Shanker, managing editor vshanker@kansan.com
Dylan Lysen, opinion editor dlysen@kansan.com
Ross Newton, business manager
newton@sansan.com
Elise Farrington, sales manager
elfarrington@kansan.com
CONTACT US
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news
adviser
mgibson@ansan.com
Jen Schlitt, sales and marketing adviser
ischlitt@kansai.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of The Karsan Editorial Board are Ian Cummings, Vikaa Sharker, Dylan Lyssen, Ross Newton and Elise Fanning.