The University Daily Kansan emphasizes the First Amendment:
of religion freedom of speech assemble
the press; petition
OLIVEIRA: American attitudes and laws regarding alcohol are misguided and counterproductive. Relax and enjoy your beer responsibly it won't kill you See kansan.com for more opinions and Free for All comments
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
PAGE 5A
OUR VIEW
The growth of online technology has provided another remedy for students, as online auction and trading sites compete to offer the lowest prices on used textbooks. These sites,
Visit online auction sites to ease textbook burden
But now, both government intervention and the beauty of the free market threaten to break the stranglehold on cheap textbooks. The Wall Street Journal reported last week on legislation introduced in 18 states intended to help curb soaring textbook costs, a result of a recent federal study that set the average cost of books and supplies for a freshman student at a staggering $898. Most of these laws either empower professors by giving them greater negotiating power with publishers or give publishers incentives to explore online textbooks and electronic packaging. Other ideas on the table include textbook rentals and the cessation of bundling texts with study discs, handbooks, and other useless paraphernalia.
The peculiar racket of textbook pricing is a phenomenon that has always been all too familiar to college students. In what other arena can a business sell a product at an enormous markup, buy back the product at a minimal cost, and then sell the product back to the same target consumer at a huge profit? The apparent collusion between the oligopolist publishers has only compounded this problem.
embraced by free market theorists, are based on user exchange and can thus operate at minimal cost. By simply providing a forum for students to make deals with one another, these sites can drastically reduce the average cost of textbooks. Such economic rebellion can also take more traditional forms: This newspaper recently reported the efforts of certain University professors who are taking stands against inflationary textbook costs. These homegrown Norma Raes deserve further commendation for their agitation and advocacy on behalf of students.
It is so far impossible to predict which of these movements will provide the greatest relief to students weary of dropping a few hundred dollars each semester on books, most of which will likely go unused. Based on market creation of the past, we can probably say with some confidence that the online auction sites will have a bigger immediate impact. But with any luck, the government initiatives will lead publishers to finally recognize the ridiculous burden these high costs place on students. Students have long accepted these prices with a helpless shrug, but perhaps these new developments mean change is looming on the horizon.
Mckay Stangler for the editorial board.
FREE FOR ALL
Call 864-0500
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.
know
If anyone found a wallet missing in Budig or JRP, please let me
Sr. was in office.
Chicago is not named the "Windy City" because of the weather, but because of the swaying political policies and political mistakes made when Mayor Daley
Adam Barmann: You owe the University four years of tuition.
I didn't know Moody is in TV commercials.
I'm actually growing fond of Spangles' commercials.
My butt is chapped from Anshutz toilet paper.
To the parking guy who didn't give me a ticket after he watched me park in a 24-hour restricted spot: if you come to All-Stars next week, I'll give you a free lap dance.
ing department attendant take a hit off of a dooble. That is not cool.
I swear to God I just saw a park
To the guys that just hit on the girl out the window: You give all guys a bad name. Stop it.
I pretended to be gay to get out of a ticket.
Hey provost, if a student does not meet the already low admission requirements kU has, they should not be in college — period.
I thought I would never again get to harass Eric Chenowith in Allen Fieldhouse. Thank you, Chicago Bulls, for bringing him back.
You probably would have gotten a "F" on that paper if you hadn't visited the Writing Center.
To the person who got a "C" on their paper. The Writing Center saved you from a "D" or "F." Re
phone
A full car of football players, in uniform, was just parading down Jayhawk Boulevard blaring the Spice Girls. How odd is that?
To the girl at La Prima Tazza last night: Your stupidity made my
You are standing on the tennis court talking on your phone; there are people waiting. Get off the
night
information the following morning.
The second reason is because of
Grant Snider/KANSAN
COMMENTARY
Rethink how you drink
Perhaps I am spoiled, coming from a city that is said to be the first in the world regarding bars per capita, but the truth is that the Lawrence bar scene isn't that great. Don't people ever get tired of going to the same places that always play the same music and offer pretty much the same atmosphere?
Lawrence lacks a more bohemian atmosphere. By bohemian I do not mean the artistic qualities, but an uncommitted and laid-back environment in which one sits down and drinks for hours while talking. A bohemian atmosphere doesn't exist in Lawrence, or in much of the United States, for mainly two reasons.
The first reason is because of the early 2 a.m. closing time. The measure itself is counterproductive. Instead of decreasing alcohol-related problems, it increases them. People drink quicker because they know they have a limited amount of time until the bar closes. This doesn't give people the opportunity to relax and enjoy a beer while engaging in a conversation. In Brazil, I would spend several hours talking at a bar without ever really getting intoxicated. This sort of environment provides a great opportunity to actually meet and get to know people and not just have someone grind on you while both of you are drunk. You actually remember a person's name and information the following morning
BY PATRICK SULLIVAN DE OLIVEIRA
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
the 21-year-old drinking age. The high age stipulation and prohibitive way most kids are raised with alcohol make a dangerous combination. Alcohol receives this rebellious aura and becomes a fascinating stimulant. When underage people are able to get a hold of alcohol they feel they have to drink a lot so that they can have the "whole" experience. The United States. and England are the only countries I know where it's cool to get wasted; in the rest of the world drunk people are seen as a idiots. For some reason American society puts much less effort into showing the benefits of drinking moderately than into showing the consequences of drinking excessively.
Also, Lawrence has a very large underage population, and those who can't get fake IDs become segregated from a large part of the bar scene. College students tend to have a great mentality for bar discussion because they are outgoing, impulsive, hardheaded, and have very different points of views, usually more
revolutionary, than older people. Their access to the bars would be a great contribution to society because in those environments wild ideas, philosophical thoughts, political conversations and criticism of establishment tend to flourish. This kind of environment is a catalyst for change.
Individual bottles also bother me. At every bar you go to here you see each person with his or her own bottle. I think this exposes the individualistic nature of Americans. It's very common in Brazil for people to go to bars and order a large bottle of beer and share that amongst themselves. Each person has a small cup and whenever someone sees an empty glass that person takes the liberty to fill it up. This really connects the people who are drinking together, for they are all sharing something.
There are places in Lawrence where one can sit, drink and relax, but that isn't enough. A couple of places here and there don't make a bohemian atmosphere. I do enjoy going out to a dancing environment, but I think there's a desperate need for more "sit down, drink, and talk for hours" sort of places. But even then something else is needed: Americans need to become more relaxed when it comes to alcohol.
Sullivan De Oliveira is a Belo Horizonte, Brazil sophomore in journalism and history.
COMMENTARY
In today's changing world,be open to the beliefs of others
BY BETH RUHL
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINIONKANSAN.COM
Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "There is nothing to fear but fear itself." We are a country that is living in fear right now. You can see it everywhere, from the government's reaction to 9/11 to the debate about intelligent design and evolution. People from diverse backgrounds feel that their core values are being attacked.
When people are attacked they often have a knee-jerk reaction to put up walls and lash out. The United States is still to this day suffering from the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder caused by 9/11. We are increasingly isolating ourselves from other people to protect what we hold dear.
Our government representatives play upon this paranoia to further their own agendas, but in the end their actions are made just as much out of fear as are our own citizens. The world would be drastically changed if we did not have the world power that we do.
Globalization is coming, and it is coming quickly. We are having a hard time dealing with it. We are forced every day to deal with people who are different from us.
Structural functionalism, a popular worldview from the 1950s, says that there is an inherent structure in government and family life. Each person has a specific role, based upon factors such as economic status, gender, race and age. The idea is if each person does what he or she is intended to do, then the whole structure will be supported and work.
This idea may have worked to some degree back in the day, but it is no longer valid in today's ever-changing and emerging global society. We have to learn to work with people who are different from us, both internally in the US and in the wider global context.
I find myself asking, "Where will we be in 30 years?" Will we have learned to work with our neighbors or will we be in a Big Brother era in which the government is controlling everything we do? I worry for future generations.
We are scared of ambiguity, of gray spaces. I see this manifested particularly in the debate about evolution and intelligent design.
I am not professing that either viewpoint is right or wrong; rather, I ask people coming from both stand-points to be tolerant of one another. Learn other people's views rather than reacting out of fear or hate.
The people of this country say they love freedom, but there is no freedom in fear mongering and building walls that separate people. Reach out to people. Start talking about those things of which you are afraid. We need to begin the healing process.
Ruhl is a Lawrence sophomore in journalism and creative writing studies.
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Jonathan Kealing, Erik R. Schmidt, Gabriella Souza, Frank Tankard, Dave Ruigh, Steve Lynn, McKay Stangler and Lloyd Mara
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