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JORGENSEN: Sure, Mark Foley went way too far and young but don't we all want to use our jobs to pick up coworkers and customers? See kansan.com for more opinions and Free for All comments
WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER 18,2006 WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
PAGE 7A
》 OUR VIEW
Young should speak up about war
These are difficult days for the war effort.
Daily attacks from insurgents present constant dangers for those fighting. Waning public support, mostly a product of political problems, has seemingly eroded a previously strong commitment. Most importantly, a parade of generals warning of civil war and interminable strife has dampened the administration's claims of progress.
We may now face an important crossroads in the Iraq and counterterrorism efforts. It may be time to finally decide if this effort is worth the cost required.
As young people, of whom not much sacrifice is asked, we are in a unique position to evaluate this question. We are supportive of our nation and government, but are inherently skeptical of any group that refuses to stray from an obviously flawed strategy. We may be the most unattached and
unbiased segment of society, as we have yet to form entrenched loyalties to other parties, and so we are in the best position to evaluate the war in terms of a cost-benefit analysis. Is the expected return of this war effort worth the monetary and human expense required?
This is an uncomfortable subject, as it is impossible to quantify the cost of a human life. But we do know that we are spending about $267 million a day in Iraq, a staggering amount by any measure. Is it worth it?
The country has devolved into a fractious state of warring parties, with Americans unfortunately caught in the middle. Military leaders warn of no end in sight. Is this what you get for roughly $97 billion a year? We can directly compare this cost to what we could have accomplished had this money been directed to homeland defense, port security
and other deserving areas.
Then there are the intangible effects: To what extent has this investment alienated and angered allies and enemies? Has this effort caused us to overlook a valid North Korean threat? Will the American populace ever trust another dire warning about impending threats?
Most of us are asked to give nothing to this war effort, so it is easy for us to examine it with the obvious benefits of hindsight and distance. Would we be so cavalier about perpetrating this war if it affected us more directly?
At some point, we young people must recognize a flawed strategy and seek a change in direction. We will be paying for this war for years to come, and it is time we started asking these questions.
McKay Stangler for the editorial board
COMMENTARY
How to use your job to score, legally
Mark Foley's attempts to use his job to attract the eyes of underage pages are well known. Unfortunately for this man well-learned in the law, it is illegal to have sex with a 16 year old.
For the rest of us law abiding non-senators, we have all tried, or thought about trying, to use our jobs to aid our search for a partner, both long and short term. Whether it's dating someone you work with or hitting on a customer, we want our low-paying jobs to pay off in other ways.
Unfortunately for us college students, we don't have the most glamorous jobs. Between being a server, working in retail, some form of part-time construction and/or landscaping or being a computer tech, there aren't a lot of perks that could attract a significant other. However, there are if you spin it right.
Let's use a gas station clerk, for example. Most people would assume this job sucks, and it probably does. However, there are two very "hot" items that you control the sale of in your store: gas and cigarettes.
Gas prices have finally fallen below the price of a gallon of milk, but that doesn't mean it is cheap — I still feel like I'm getting screwed every time I'm at the pump. So if I get offered cheap gas at the price of a picnic date in the park, I might just do it, even if it means carrying a wicker lunch basket and eating on
BY ERIC JORGENSEN
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
a quilt
The cigarettes offer a more intriguing opportunity for the clerk
Each year, tobacco is becoming more and more criminalized. Lawrence has implemented a smoking ban that is being copied in cities around the country. It seems more restrictions are added to smoking every day.
The irony is, while tobacco is being criminalized, marijuana is gradually being decriminalized. In five years, you're going to have to pretend to be high just to enjoy a pack of Parliaments.
Plus, the price of cigarettes is always on the rise. Soon, cigarettes will be more expensive than crack.
"John, have you been smoking the rock?"
"Yes. I just wanted a pack of Marlboros, but who has that kind of cash?"
As a gas station clerk, not only can you offer cheap cigarettes, but you can also offer an indoor place for the hot girl and her friends to smoke. Play a little techno music, and you have yourself a party scene
If you work in retail, especially a
clothing a store, you've been given a great opportunity. You can actually practice undoing clothes without another person involved. This practice can help you not fumble with that zipper, button or bra in the dark when it really matters.
If you're really crafty, you could try this: Bet your honey/boo that you can have his or her pants unbuttoned and unzipped in less than two seconds. A friendly bet becomes a lot more fun with your zipping and buttoning mastery.
If you work for a landscaping company in your free time, you have a great way of getting a first date. Go to the person's house you want to date, and with some planted flowers, bushes and trees, spell out, "Dinner and a movie?" in the front lawn.
You can out-do all those spoiled Laguna Beach kids who think writing "Prom?" on their chest is so great. Plus, how can anyone say no to that much effort?
Most of us without landscaping knowledge would butcher this technique. We would probably just dig up a bunch of dirt in a shape that spelled out, "Movie?", which we would spell wrong.
You see, just because our parttime college jobs suck doesn't mean we can't use them to our advantage.
FREE FOR ALL
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
Call 864-0500
Let's talk about how we should take money out of Mangino's pay check to fix campus roads.
think I farted a little
We just drove over a bump and I
What are the rules on assigning papers or projects over fall break?
You might want to do a story on
Jorgensen is a Baldwin City senior in journalism.
图
Campus Christians just came by to clean my bathroom. Thank you,
that.
图
To the Sigma Kappa girls: I am sorry about throwing up in your
I have a couple of problems. One, Kansas football lost. Second, I'm not drunk and there are no liquor stores open past 11 p.m. so I can
I told my friend I was going to take him home tonight, but instead we are taking him to Manhattan.
Julian Wright is love.
GOOD
and friend to us. He additionally has many friends in the church and city where I grew up. He is also a lawyer. These areas of his life, while never exclusive, probably had relatively little interaction or influence on each other.
yard
get drunk.
To the hottie at Pita Pita I love you,
and will you marry me?
SafeRide: If I get a DUI, I am suing
Jen, I love you. You know who I am.
Not only does SafeRide suck, but so does the Pool Room delivery.
--and friend to us. He additionally has many friends in the church and city where I grew up. He is also a lawyer. These areas of his life, while never exclusive, probably had relatively little interaction or influence on each other.
All that talk about the Dunkin' Donuts being open 24/7 jinxed.
you
Grant Snider/KANSAN
GUEST COMMENTARY
Howdy, friend! How Facebook has redefined our relationships
On a crisp fall evening before rehearsal, one of my high school students walked up to me and asked if he could be my friend on Facebook. I had to reply no. I am there as his teacher, not his friend
— even though I am only a few years older than him and still in school myself, perhaps a school he will be at in a year's time. I am a student teacher working in a local high school in my last semester of my undergraduate degree.
On Facebook I have friends. That is the label given to the people I know. Although I can specify my relationship, they are still listed as friends. Should I join a network attached to a company, my coworkers would be my friends on the site, not coworkers as they are to me.
In the world as we know it, people from many different networks interact with each other in very specific ways. At school, work, the doctor's, when I teach students or work at summer camp, there is an expectation of how interaction occurs, and there is, of course, variance and crossover of people and forms of interaction.
That is not to say I can't be friends with my coworkers, just that I have a distinctly different relationship with them than the people I associate with at school. This creates an interesting interaction for professionals and non-professionals alike.
If I join a regional or other network, this expands further and becomes more complex. Let's use the example of a youth group leader I know. When I came up in my church community he was a mentor
This interconnectedness blurs the lines and established rules of interaction. Is the youth group leader's professionalism undermined at work because he goofs off with teenagers at church or because he sang karaoke after throwing back a few at the bar on Friday night? Does his youth group lose faith in him if he can't be as relaxed on Facebook and with them because he has to maintain a level of professionalism for his job?
The next generation of youth group leaders will have a very different experience. In light of Facebook, these different areas could have much interaction very readily. Events planned for the church youth group are listed, parties of friends are listed and office parties might be listed as well. Students who look up to the person as a mentor can see what he did on Friday night, as his coworkers can see what he does with his youth group.
For my own situation there are many similar questions. I have my own battles to fight as a young teacher in a high school. I am very near the age of my older students and many of them look to younger teachers, such as myself, as friends on Facebook. The student/teacher role has been around for many year in relatively the same form. It is a
This generation and all that follow will know interconnectedness and nothing else. There will be no time when they couldn't call anyone anywhere or send them a message that is delivered in seconds. Facebook has already shown that it has the ability to do great things. It brings people together in ways never before possible. It has recently become an agent for social awareness, activism and action.
Every generation faces its own challenges. The students currently in high school and college will live in a much more interconnected world than their parents and teachers. Computers and the Internet have already allowed for a great sharing of knowledge and information faster and much more broadly than ever before. Instant messaging, e-mail and cell phones have created an immediacy to the shared connectedness. This generation will struggle with social boundaries. What is the role of the teacher, the student, the friend, the mentor, the boss, the employee? Can these all be the same person? At the same time? To the same people?
professional working relationship. With Facebook, students and their teachers are being placed together in social networks where they are equals.
It will also present many challenges concerning the sharing of information with persons and the interaction of people in different roles.
Matt Royal
West Des Moines, Iowa, senior
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Jonathan Kealing, Erick R. Schemff, Gabrielle Souza, Frank Tankard, Dave Ruigh, Steve Lynn, McKay Stangler and Loulia Mora
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