PAGE 4
PAGE 5
NG/KANSAN day and
OUNG/KANSAN
alvad juggles front of a crowd sets street on Friday night. students and
y are one of my ch," Daley said. and decided to best show."
but being a bus- h said, is the man performing in
it with enough l.
y Brittney Haynes
DAY
2012
Center k, Kansas oncenter.com
Nebraska Kansas
MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2012
dents with an sentatives from attending law looking for in are free.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
6:15 p.m.
0 p.m.
mink/
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351 or at kansan.com
Today, my physics TA asked if there were any international students and looked directly at me. I can't help it; I'm Asian-American!
"Alright, it looks like we are right on schedule," said no KU bus driver ever.
Sometimes, I squat on the floor and put my arms around my knees and lean forward. Cause that's how I roll.
I don't want kids. Some people aren't meant to procreate; I am one of them.
The whale in Potter Lake is back?
Let me grab my harpoon and a new first mate...
Couldn't concentrate on the lecture in o-chem because the powerpoint was in Comic Sans. Seriously? This is a 600-level college course, not a lemonade stand.
"Hey! I met you at Burrito King the other night." A conversation starter you never want to have.
I'm Ron Burgundy?
Eating a footlong chili cooke dog watching a show about cooking meth. When did transfer to Mizzo?
If I had one hour left on Earth, I would spend it logging onto a computer at Anschutz because it would feel like an eternity.
Kudos to the UDK for extending the Free
For All section. I approve (:
A junior just asked, "If this water is two days old, is it still good?" KU needs to up their entrance GPA.
Three sudukos on Thursday, the college gods have spoken! No work will be done!
Just like 80 percent of 18-to-24 year olds, I sleep next to my phone. I follow the same morning ritual every day: reach for my iPhone, open my Facebook app and mindlessly scroll down the newsfeed—Cara herocially stands against Chick-fil-A. Brett valiantly makes it to work despite one too many $1 PBRs the night before and Trey proudly posts pictures from his 5K run an hour earlier.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Establishing boundaries in a virtual world
I read these rather mundane posts every day. They offer little color to my life, yet I am still compelled to read them every morning. For some unexplained reason, I am consumed with my virtual world. A world that's mostly surface, rarely substantive and filled with too many people I hardly know.
That awkward moment when you take a ninja shot of Withey and your flash goes off...
I was drinking a juice box and walked past Elijah Johnson. He gave me a weird look. Pretty sure he was jealous.
This past Saturday was different, however. As I scrolled, I saw a post from my aunt that read:
Two girls walking on campus together holding hands is a beautiful site to behold! LGBT rocks!
If she doesn't know what Joe College is, she's too young for you, bro!
Can I blame the FFA editor for all my grammatical errors from now on?
Stop chalking where people sit! I don't enjoy walking around with pink dust on my ass.
My best friend and brother
Does the horoscopes scale only to 5,
or are we all just having shiity days?
Doug Scott has gone home to God.
He is finally at peace and with his son Austin. Please keep all of us in your prayers, especially Doug's children Hunter and Alicia, and Doug's mother Merlyn. We will miss him so."
A jarring experience to say the least. My uncle was dead. Chick-fil-A, $1 PBRs, 5K, and my uncle Doug is dead. And I learned about it on Facebook.
I know this speaks as much to our social media culture as it does the poor communication of my family. To my Aunt her credit, she had just lost her brother. She was grieving and whether the information trickled down to me understandably was not in the forefront of her mind. She was mourning her brother—her best friend.
My uncle Doug passed away late last week at the age of 43. For some in my family, his death came
as no surprise He struggled. A year ago, he lost his 5-year-old son Austin suddenly to a rare virus. Unable to fully cope with his sons untimely and tragic death, Doug chose destructive means to alleviate his suffering—something that many people choose to do despite that fact that help is often not too far away.
what's important, which is for the most part in the real world, and disinvest in the small things, such as participating too much in my virtual world.
outstretched hands. He tried to fix something that he alone could not fix.
His death did not stem from lack of support from my family. His mother and others tried to help the best they could. The problem was Doug never grabbed ahold of their
His death forced me to pause and reflect. The paradox of our social media world is fairly clear. Despite our amazingly interconnected world, a virtual world is very alienating when one seeks empathy through a computer screen Facebook and Twitter provide a social benefit, but they can never offer the same compassion as an eye-to-eye chat, or the simple touch of a hand.
The college life is fun and exciting, as well as stressful and difficult at times. There is always someone to talk to face-to-face, or over the phone. If you feel like no one is available when you need to talk, the university offers confidential counseling and psychological services at Watkins Memorial Health Center. To make an appointment, call 785-864-CAPS.
In an ever-encoaching digital world, it's important to establish boundaries and to know what belongs in the virtual world and what should be said in the real world. A quick IM should not replace a discussion that should be had over lunch at the Underground.
Scott is a graduate student majoring in American studies from Overland Park. Follow him on Twitter @dscott12.
For me, I need to refocus on
RELATIONSHIPS
Marriage doesn't mean happiness
RACHEL KEITH
rkeith@kansan.com
With many of us starting to talk "happily ever after" with our significant others, it's fairly common to see updates on Facebook and Twitter about our friends becoming engaged. For some of us, monogamy is right around the corner. But for a lot of us, walking down the aisle isn't happening anytime soon.
When we dream of having blipped on our left ring fingers, seeing others do it first can send us reeling. However, despite where we are in our relationships (or lack there of), it's important to keep in mind that flashy ring or not, what matters more is understanding that marriage isn't the solution to having what we really desire.
A friend of mine from sixth grade tied the knot this past summer, and for awhile it made me ask, "When's my turn?" Literally a quarter of all of my friends online are married or engaged, and now that my class and I have graduated, it seems like I never need to wait long for news that another person I know is set to wed.
Harvard University professor Daniel Gilbert, who holds a doctorate degree in social psychology, says that generally, married people are happier than those who are not, not because they are married, but because the biggest indication of happiness in one's life is whether or not he has good relationships with people around him. In that same way, people who were once unhappily married often have spikes of happiness once the divorce finalizes.
According to a marriage study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, marriage is not the key to happiness and should not be viewed as such. It sounds simple enough, but when culture and instincts combine to suggest that not tying the knot means something is wrong with us and that we're therefore being weeded out by evolution, it can be a difficult concept to process, especially for us women.
So rather than walking down the aisle, what generally makes people happiest is when they're engaging in some kind of positive social interaction from chatting on Facebook to lounging at The Java Break to having sex.
tells us that happiness is relative. My relationship with my own long-term boyfriend is a good one, but I do get bored and become frustrated with it. As long as that's addressed, though, it's okay and to be expected.
When he and I engage in new and exciting things, our happiness as a couple spikes but regresses to its normal point with time. And that's not a warning that our relationship is doomed to crumble out of boredom. All it means is that we're like everyone else, including my old newlywed friend.
Therefore, as long as our happiness doesn't fall below our normal level and stay there, whether my boyfriend throws a proposal into the equation is irrelevant. I may dream of weddings on Pinterest, but because what I have with my beau is good, we're happy with where we are, even against the backdrop of our peers saying "I do." In the end, I'm really just pinning links of dresses, finger desserts and flowers, not actual marriages.
Despite many of us having desires for our future relationship endavours, we must first be satisfied with the here and now. Not reaching that point sooner can wreak havoc on our nunitals later.
We need to be satisfied with our single lives because betting on our happiness can come at a terrible price, namely of a marriage, half of our stuff, and $500 an hour. In the end, it's a gamble no one should take lightly.
Earlier this month when I became a redhead, I thought about my old friend and told my hair stylist about my plans to move in with my boyfriend next August and start a life together. I expressed my excitement but also told her about my anxiety about such a major life change. She just kept dying my hair and said, "There's plenty of time to play house." It was so simple yet some of the best advice I'd ever heard.
Further, basic psychology
When I left the salon I got in my car, and as I took a picture of my new hair, I looked at my left hand. There was no ring. But I had love.
I was in a good place.
Rachel Keith is a graduate student from Wichita in education. Follow her on Twitter at @Rachel. UD- Keith.
FACEBOOK
Don't be 'that' friend, post responsibly
OVERLY OBSESSIVE GIRLFRIEND
In a previous edition of the University Daily Kansan on August 15, there was a column titled "Don't Facebook yourself out of a job." While employers may think you're not hirable, friends may just think you're a complete idiot. Admit it, there's a person you know who simply should not be allowed to use social media. Here are a few examples of constant posts about things that you just can't even pretend to care about.
There's always some girl who posts constantly about her boyfriend. Please, if you want to tell your boyfriend how amazing he is, call him instead of posting four paragraphs on his wall every day. Seriously, I don't know how anyone would not get annoyed by that. Heck, there are even some guys who do that. Simply said, don't obsessively post about your significant other.
MIRROR PICTURE A DAY
I do not see how some people can post a mirror picture of themselves (also known as "selfies") nearly every day and still get likes on it. Have you really changed that much in a 24-hour span that you need to show all of your 847 friends a new picture? Even worse are people who take
pictures with an iPad in the mirror. You look like you're posing with a small cookie sheet.
EXCESSIVELY SHARING PICTURES
"Like if you remember this from the 90!!" "Share this if you agree!" "There's always that one best friend who you can tell everything!" I really do not want to see all of these pictures because it's like chain mail. Go back onto AOL or MSN mail if you insist on doing this.
BRAGGING
Everyone does it and I think it's okay to an extent. Posting about your fabulous new internship or getting accepted into medical school is understandable. But when you check into the gym on your phone a few times a week or post pictures of yourself doing a keg-stand, everyone gets it, you think you're cool. Chances are, not many people think the same.
THE ACTIVIST
This one is pretty simple. Posting about how much the other political party is, or how stupid another religion is, really won't really change much. Everyone has their opinion, but by constantly putting a negative opinion about the other party or religion does not necessarily convert the world of Facebook to your view.
WANNABE NEWSCASTER
It's raining outside? How fascinating. Angry Griffith just died? Better post five videos of him and tell Facebook all about it as if they have no ways of finding on their own. Facebook isn't "Good Morning America."
If these types of Facebook users truly are unbearable, there is the option to block their posts from appearing on your newsfeed. Either that, or just continue to use the annoying posts as a form of entertainment.
Bickel is a sophonere majoring in journalism from Harper. Follow her on twitter @Steph_Bick.
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
@UKR Bunion A great weekend filled with great people whose names I will totally remember next time #SorryDylan #youreawesome
@katiemo91
@hildybean
@UKN Dionion No better way to celebrate my 21st birthday than being back in Lawrence with my best friends!
@BrandonWoodward
@UOK. Opinion it felt like the week lasted for months! #exhausting
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LETTER GUIDELINES
Send letters to kansanopdesk@gmail.com.
Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line.
Length: 300 words
The submission should include the author's
name, grade and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.
coffin/letters.
Ian Cummings, editor
editor@aaron.com
Vikas Shankar, managing editor
vksankar@aaron.com
Dyian Lyen, opinion editor
dyeen@aaron.com
CONTACT US
Ross Newman, business manager
newton@hanan.com
Elise Farrington, sales manager
estaring@hanan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
mgibson@kansan.com
Jon Schitt, sales and marketing adviser
schmitt@kansan.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansai Editor Board are Ian Cummings
Vikas Shankar, Dylan Lynsack, Ross Newton and Elise
Farnington.