OPINION
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
www.kansan.com
EDITORIAL
Board of Education vote affects state moral climate
A root of apathy regarding voting and the political process is the idea that a vote has little impact on the state of affairs. This election day, the Kansan editorial board reminds readers of the importance of one particular body: The Kansas State Board of Education.
The impact of the values of Kansas residents has been seen in the practice of Kansas politics. Recall when the State Board of Education removed evolution from state science standards. Voters voiced their concern by expelling members of the board who supported this change in curriculum.
Bodies like the State Board of Education shape many important aspects of life in Kansas including public health, job training and nonviolence education.
One issue in particular, sex education, is among the most important policy issues influenced by this particular government body.
The Kansas middle school sex-ed curriculum focuses on abstinence. It acknowledges other options for birth and disease control, but those options aren't the main concern.
Students echo the sentiments of experts that a lack of awareness about birth and disease control options leads to behavior resulting in public health concerns and unwanted pregnancies.
There are also competing sources
of information that "educate" students about sex, namely, movies, the Internet and peers. These sources glorify and provide misinformation that could be dangerous.
Sex-ed should live up to its name. Teachers, focused on abstinence coupled with scare tactics, are not talking about sex.
Abstinence is an option, a very effective one at that. But no matter how one-sided the discussion in sexed, it won't be the preferred method for many individuals. Other options must be discussed so students can make their own, informed choice. Open education can supplant untrue, dangerous and violent ideas from all forms of media.
Sex educators can't pretend that the only option is abstinence, because if that were true America wouldn't be in the public health pickle in which it finds itself now. Real sex education is needed and can empower people, through honesty and objectivity, to make the "right" decisions.
Even though sexed no longer directly concerns college students, the moral climate of the state is affected by your vote on these issues.
Students who value open education, traditional values, liberal ideals, or all or none of those political possibilities can find a voice at the ballot box. Public policy has big impacts, so don't be left out: Impact policy.
CANDIDATE PLATFORMS
Editor's note: Last Thursday the Kansan invited candidates for state and local office or retention to submit statements on their platforms. The statement from McElhaney's opponent, Ermeling, ran yesterday. The statement from Gilchrist's opponent, Monshizadeh, ran Friday.
We have a successful county government that is effective and efficient. With state funding challenges, the County Commission is moving Douglas County in the right direction. I want to keep county services and the entire county running smoothly.
STAYSKAL'S VIEW
I want to continue road implementation and improvement and provide continuity in leadership in continuing the work we have done as a county commission.
I'm a lifelong resident. In 46 years I have seen many changes and most have been good.I've had fantastic opportunities,but we have to make sure our youth have the same opportunities.
We need to re-evaluate the role we have given our planning commission, as final decisions go to the city or county. The planning commission is not a taxing authority. This is clearly out of its realm. Re-defining the role of the planning commission is a priority.
Jere McElhaney
Republican candidate for County Commissioner,
3rd District
Congratulations to all first time voters on your involvement in the political process. Be it civic duty or a stimulating means of personal expression, I hope that your vote in this important election becomes a lifelong commitment.
I would like to thank The University Daily Kansan for endorsing my candidacy. This is my first run for political office. It's hard work with an uncertain outcome, and all votes of confidence along the way are much appreciated.
The office of Douglas County Treasurer is an elected position that gets minimal exposure, but we must not forget that the person elected is responsible to the citizens of the county. I am a candidate because I have heard stories and seen first hand the inconvenience that government offices often impose on the very people they are there to serve. I believe it is time to turn that around. The days when the County Treasurer's office had only to invest wisely and perform ethically are outdated. It is time to also accommodate busy lifestyles and adopt methods that model our service economy.
Thank you, and I would appreciate your vote!
Paula Gilchrist
Democratic candidate for County Treasurer
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Henry C. Jackson
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TV Beaver, Ryan Good, Anna Gregory, Jack Henry-Rhoades, Kelly Hollowell, Nate Kartin, Henry Tolman, David Patterson, John Tran, Anne Waltmer and Michele Wood.
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Sexuality too important to give up
I love sex.
A joint report between USA Weekend and the Kinsey Institute said, "Sexuality is central to all of us — even people who aren't sexually active." Our sexuality and how we view it is central to the organization of human society, the report said.
According to the same report, more than 96 percent of men and 86 percent of women think of sex at least several times each month. Only 4 percent of men and 14 percent of women think about sex less than once a month.
Recently I've been disinterested with sexual activity. I've just talked about it so much and am so bombarded by it in the media that I'm burned out. You try explaining how to give good blow jobs to every inquisitive girl who wanders across your path.
I responded to my ennui by devising a plan with my friend Jen. We decided to desexualize my life for one month. I would not masturbate, watch porn, actively put myself into sexualized situations, think about sex, check out boys, go out dancing and worst of all: no snuggling.
We had three goals in this study: To reinvigorate my ailing sex drive, to rechannel all the time I think about or do sexual activities to more productive purposes and to see what effects this sabbatical would have on how I viewed the world. After the experiment, I thought about what I learned for several weeks. I started Wednesday, Sept. 22 at midnight, exactly.
STEPHEN MOLES
opinion@hansan.com
I lasted less than a week.
Day one: By midnight I aready break the masturbation rule. My roommates mock me mercilessly about my experiment and try to turn me on by describing elaborate sex scenes.
Day two: What the hell? It's only been one day. I have my first erotic daydream in class since high school. I feel incredibly uncomfortable because a) we're talking about poverty in third-world countries and b) it's about the guy sitting next to me.
Day three: I have the will power of a fish. I was horny and my computer beckoned me. Afterwards, I feel marginally better. Did someone slip me Spanish fly in my sleep?
Day four: I go to a party. I was good.
No making out with drunken boys, no
flirting, nothing. I give myself a gold star.
Day five: My roommates keep setting me up for great jokes, but I can't tell them because they're too explicit. Also, I notice that I'm constantly trying not to check out boys.
Day six. Okay, I fall off the wagon. I just can't do it anymore.
I only lasted six days, and it was six days of breaking the rules. But I learned two things. First, sex permeates our lives. It's in the way we talk, move, act and what we wear. To successfully desexualize myself I would have had to become a hermit for a month.
Second, denial is the best way to create desire. The second I stopped trying to be sexual, everything was turning me on. But three days earlier, nothing turned me on. During th experiment, I even had dirty thoughts about guys who I barely thought were attractive.
I suggest you try this little experiment.
Since the experiment, I have become more aware of my own desires and how sexualized our lives are. In this campus environment, sex is everywhere. Short skirts, firm bodies. There is no way to get around it. I consider myself fairly normal, albeit vocal, in the sex department, but I was driven nuts after less than a week of trying to restrain myself.
What does that say about our age group? Maybe it means we can't control our sexuality. I doubt it.
More so I think it means that sex is such an inescapable part of our age group and human existence. Restricting yourself completely will drive you crazy and do more harm than good. Masturbate occasionally, have responsible fun and understand where your sexual limits lie. Good night.
Moles is a Lawrence junior in sociology
Bring friendly smiles to campus
Where have all the smiles and friendly nods gone? People are having less face-to-face interaction with one another.
Communication among members of society seems to be at an all-time low, and our campus is no exception. The silent walks between classes, with most of us either talking on cell phones or jamming out to an iPod, have perplexed me ever since I arrived at the University of Kansas.
The fact that someone can sit right next to me in a Budig Hall lecture and not even look in my direction still leaves me a bit confounded. When I try to strike up a conversation with a fellow Jayhawk on Wescoe Beach and am all but ignored, I am filled not with embarrassment but with bewilderment. Do I smile funny?
JOHN BARRETT opinion@kansan.com
COMMENTARY
With so many modern distractions, it's all too easy to get caught up in a circumvention of personal interaction.
For years, my parents, living in a Kansas City suburb, did not even know their neighbors' names. When visiting for the holidays, I watched with dismay as people arrived home from work, pulled up to their homes and into their garages and did not emerge until the next business day.
The fact that someone can sit right next to me in a Budig Hall lecture and not even look in my direction still leaves me a bit confounded.
Coming from a rural area near the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers, I was surprised by the lack of community within this Kansas city neighborhood. Absent were the friendly waves from the porch that I was used to. Rarely was there anyone even on the porch. When I arrived at the University, this feeling of isolation was still present.
That is not to say that there is no community here on campus — quite the contrary. By comparison to other large universities, our student body does better
In the face of technological innovation that sees us further removed from social interaction, we must make a concerted effort to remain bound to some semblance of genuine community. People aren't talking like they used to. Make it a goal to get to know the people around you just a bit better.
than average. Just visit the bars during game time for an exemplary display of camaraderie. But this is the Midwest, not New York City where ignoring other people is a way of life. And I think we could be doing a much better job of communicating with one another between athletic events. This holds especially true when it comes to conversing with those outside of our normal social and economic circles. Expanding your horizons is what college is all about, and that isn't going to happen by talking to people who are just like you.
My parents finally met their neighbors in the subdivision. They have since formed a tight-knit community highlighted by a monthly cookout.
We can raise the level of communication on campus, and most times, a simple "hello" or "good morning" to your fellow students will do just fine.
Barrett is a Carbondale, Ill., junior in political science and international studies.
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