TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY RANSAM
PAGE 5
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opinion
"I've never seen an American flag on a lady's butt." - my 93 (almost 94) year old grandpa.
I know it's Sunday Funday but could you not scream like an idiot? Some of us are still recovering from the night before.
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or at kansan.com
Just watched "Godzilla vs. King Kong"
An invincible atomic-breathing mutated reptile against... a giant ape. Really?
Am I a bad person because I can't decide which selfie to use, so I kept all of them for later usage?
"I wish the weekend was longer," said EVERYONE.
If you have a disgusting cough and a test in Budig, stay home. Sincerely, test takers.
I know it's important and news, but can we please not say the shooter's name from Aurora? I want to remember what happened, but don't want people to know his name. He shouldn't go down in history.
Even though we may have technically lost, spiritually we are always in first place.
There are times when the wi-fi service on campus makes me so frustrated I want to kick a puppy. Please, KU IT Services...
Think of the nunnies.
Girl in my dorm doesn't know who Tupac is... That's Kansas for you. Unacceptable.
Piece of advice: print your paper the night before it is due. Always.
To the sad boy on the bus who looks kinda like Joseph Gordon-Levitt in "10 Things I Hate About You," cheer up, you kinda look like Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
If she doesn't know who Mr. Feeny is, she had a very sad childhood. I would avoid her anyway.
That awkward moment when you punch the air during lecture because you've hit your funny bone.
KANSAS GOVERNMENT
Instead of making a petition to rehire a bus driver, maybe you should study?
The lack of support for our football boys disgusts me. How do we expect them to finish a game if we don't stay past the first quarter. Sack up students.
The plan started with the intention of going to the rec... Ended with pizza.
We need a Five Guys on campus, stat!
Hey ladies, don't listen to those GDUs.
Cowboy boots and running shorts is an
AWESOME look.
I refuse to date someone who doesn't know how to properly do the claps in the fight song.
Another beautiful day for the hippies to gather in front of Budig.
Consider political budget position when voting
How do you want your state legislature to spend Kansas tax revenue over the next five years? This question should shape how voters cast their ballots this November. The legislators elected will determine how the state allocates its resources, at a time when Kansas faces a critical juncture in fiscal policy.
Regardless of your political affiliation, hometown or interest in politics, the $13 billion Kansas state budget enormously impacts your daily life. The money funds primary and secondary education, maintains roads and highways and supports the state correctional facilities and highway troopers. It assists low and middle-income families and provides social services. $4 billion goes directly to local governments. If those figures seem inaccessible, consider the $133 million allocated from state general funds to the University of Kansas in 2012—approximately a quarter of the school's yearly budget.
After following discussions of ballooning national debt,
smaller-scalelocalbudgetingmightseeminconsequential. However,49states—Kansas included—includebalanced budget requirements in their state constitutions. Althoughsome loopholes exist,this ruleseverely limits the state's abilitytodeficit spend.The theoretically,this makes the task of governing relatively simple, states can findabalance between taxing andproviding public services,and thenmaintain that equilibrium fromyear to year.
Recently, Kansas upset that model. As reported by The Kansas City Star, negotiations this spring culminated in a series of tax cuts that will reduce the amount of money the state receives by $3.7 billion over five years. Initially, Governor Brownback proposed a series of offsets to make tax cuts revenue-neutral, like eliminating deductions for donating to private charities. These other tax increases were removed from the compromise that eventually became law. As a result, the Legislative Research Department, an agency that advises the state government,
forecasts that state spending will exceed revenues by $2.5 billion dollars by 2015. Simply put, the state will be receiving less money from taxes, and will have to cut spending elsewhere to maintain a balanced budget.
In the current political climate, Kansans should remain attentive to developments in their state legislature. In the August primaries, a number of conservative Republicans defeated more moderate members of the State House of Representatives and Senate. Should conservatives win their general elections in November, the legislature and Governor Brownback are likely to pursue an agenda that cuts taxes and further
However, before casting a vote that could really change the wellbeing of their communities, voters should reflect on the consequences of supporting reductions in state revenue. You can find your hometown or county budget and see where the revenue goes.
reduces the size of state government.
You may not support foreign assistance or federal energy subsidies, but do those same principles apply to your local elementary school? Do you enjoy living in an area with police and fire departments? Should local roads and bridges be maintained? And are the 253,600 government jobs in the state of Kansas -17 percent of the state's workforce—worth preserving? These are the issues that the next legislature will face as they draft a budget, and these are the questions that Kansans must be prepared to ask their legislators throughout the process.
When spending shrinks, which programs will be eliminated? Conservative Republicans insist that cutting taxes for small businesses can power growth throughout the state. Democrats disagree. The Wichita Eagle cites Rep. Paul Davis of Lawrence, Rep. Jim Ward of Wichita, and Sen. Anthony Hensley of Topeka, who argue that the future budget will force major cuts to education and social programs without some other increase in revenue. One possible outcome is that local governments will raise property taxes to fund schools. The Eagle also reports a recent request from Governor Brownback's office asking state agencies to propose a 10 percent cut in their budgets, suggesting that across-the-board reductions may be on the table.
A stable budget tangibly affects the life of every Kansas citizen. Quite a few voters support the principles of limited government spending and services, and those principles do have valid defenses.
Gress is a sophomore majoring in political science and economics from Overland Park
INSPIRATION
Define yourself and grow
Illustration by Maddie Lytle
W who are you?
The question is simple enough, however the answer can be more complicated than it seems.
You could answer with the generic name, age, hometown, and major. That answers the question, but the answers don't define you. There is more to who you are than your surface level biography would uncover.
Other things like your hobbies, beliefs, talents, likes and dislikes help shape you. For many people, these qualities change pretty often. During high school these things may have revolved more around the school you went to or your friends from junior high. While students live in such close proximity on campus it can be hard to keep your convictions or even figure out what your convictions are; however, figuring them out is important.
A "liberal education," as many of my professors have stated, asks students to question everything in the name of thinking critically. When you don't know what you believe or where you stand on topics, the questions could make everything even more confusing.
Now is the best time to develop up yourself. Figure out who exactly you are. Explore you.
That's a tough task.
Questioning who you are out-
side of the life you held in your
hometown doesn't reveal easy answers.
I've been there. I discovered that although I danced for 15 years and still love tap dancing in my free time, I'm not a dancer. Although figuring that piece opened hours of time to fill with studying, it left a void. It left a question of, "what do I do now?" What fills that void?
At first I felt like I'd given up a piece of myself, but as I looked around me, I realized that I had so many more interests that turned out to be stronger than the urge to dance. The dedication I had to dance transferred to a new commitment to having a positive attitude and helping others through somewhat random acts of kindness.
I believe. During those situations where I could have easily been overrun by questions from myself or others, I'm able to reason through things and stay true to myself much better. Knowing who I am played a huge role in that.
By developing that part of who I am, I grew as a human being. Just developing my convictions has helped me realize the importance of knowing what
I know it's hard, but I encourage you to look within yourself and use the resources you have available to you here in order to find your passions and own who you are.
Take it from me. I'm a journalist who wants to be a philanthropist and a believer in the power of loving your neighbor. That's who I am. But who are you?
Hawkins is a junior majoring in journalism from Scranton
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
@MorganLCox
How do you feel about Dan the Bus Driver being fired?
Follow us on Twitter @UDUk_Opinion: Tweet us opinions, and we just might publish them.
@DUK Opinion Dan made an impact on thousands of students lives, maybe more-so than the professors he delivered them to. Best wishes for him.
@SquirrelsOfKU
@Geegs30
@UDK. Opinion Dan is awesome, but he needs to shape up a little so he can keep his job and continue brightening everyone's day.
ROMANCE
Shaky relations lead to self doubt
In the movies there's hardly anything hotter than a love-hate relationship. There's always a certain passion to them that's dramatic yet wonderful and leaves us hungry for more. The swings from anger to sex pique interest because they're so primal and offer a break from our otherwise mundane personal lives.
But when that kind of movie does become your life and the plot is totally jagged with so much rising and falling action, it can leave you desperate for a final resolution.
I was 19 years old and had already been through two loves. I knew it was irrational, but my latest breakup sent a panic running through me that I'd end up alone for good. I moved on immediately and quickly became cozy with someone I hardly knew.
It took us a few months to commit, but it happened. Drew (name has been changed) was living in Chicago for most of our relationship, but he was a Kansas City native and eventually moved back.
While I waited for him the relationship was mostly good. There were some minor hiccups, but it all seemed worth it.
Then the night we saw each other again after he came back we were kissing in the drizzle on a rooftop. It was cold, but wearing his coat and feeling his embrace made it perfect. It would be the only moment of genuine romance in our entire relationship that I could recall.
Only weeks after that night our relationship crumbled when he said he wasn't ready to be in one. Those weeks had been terrible anyway, but I still cried in front of him when he dumped me.
But two weeks later we reuilted and eventually started talking about becoming recommitted. We never actually did it but still acted like a couple. The rest of our time together was certainly a roller coaster of passion and hate, but when I finally got to the exit, I didn't find it very thrilling.
Though they may look exciting
on the surface, love-hate relationships are always better on the other side. They wreak havoc on us emotionally. But they are also, according to a Yale University study, a strong indicator of low self-esteem because the people in the relationship tend to cling to anything and everything that their significant others do and say.
When people do that, they usually get burned in the end and eventually run the risk of getting caught in such a cycle because when their relationship is over, they tend to move on quickly to fill the void.
Therefore if it isn't addressed, being in that kind of relationship can become a lifestyle. And when the people in question already are in a vulnerable position like I was when I was 19, the cycle can go unnoticed and be extremely difficult to break.
But for the sake of our well-being, we need to cut the cord and stop being so afraid of being single because a real life love-hate relationship will likely make us wish we were.
In retrospect sometimes my relationship with Drew was sexy, but mostly it was just exhausting. By the end of it I stopped believing in him as a boyfriend and started automatically disregarding any promises he made.
Then finally it all ended one night when we mutually decided the whole relationship wasn't worth it. We broke up after a party, but Drew came over after and stayed the night anyway. It definitely went without saying that we wouldn't see each other again for awhile.
When he left the next morning I shut my front door behind him, and I felt nothing. It was clear to me that even though the relationship was shaky at best, I at least got what I wanted. My numbness told me I no longer clung to his every word and that the single life was not something to be feared.
It took a little nudge from a subpar boyfriend, but I was a woman free of the unhealthy back-and-forth of my relationship.
That day I told myself I wouldn't settle on a love-hate relationship ever again.
And by the way, it was the best promise I'd ever kept.
Keith is a graduate student in education from Wichita. Follow her on Twitter @Rachel.UKeith.
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