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THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2006 WWW.KANSAN.COM
CARTER: It's easy to fall into bad eating habits, but with a little planning (and a little less drinking) weight gain can be avoided. See kansan.com for more opinions and Free for All comments
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
PAGE 8A
OUR VIEW
Keep 'Jericho' out of North Lawrence
Do you want people to think you're silly?
Dear Jericho (aka North Lawrence):
As if poor ol' Kansas isn't the butt of enough jokes from those snobby East and West Coasters
— with the whole evolution thing — you have to pull a publicity stunt like this.
North Lawrence could change its name to "Jericho" for up to a week in September to coincide with the premiere of a CBS show about the fictional Kansas town of Jericho after a nuclear explosion.
Whopope! The dadgum governor might even attend.
And why?
One Lawrence resident said in the article that he hoped the event would make "folks from the coasts" want to shoot movies and TV shows in Lawrence. Another said the stunt could "help put North Lawrence on the map."
Just whose map are we talk
ing about? The people who keep maps of places that have pulled publicity stunts for TV shows? Yes, North Lawrence could be there right next to Truth or Consequences, N.M., (formerly Hot Springs), which changed its name in a contest held by the "Truth or Consequences" game show in 1950 (the first town to adopt the name got to host the show).
OK, so this name change is not official and only temporary. But do you really want people to start associating you with a TV show? Have you thought about how annoying that could be?
Kansas already suffers from "Wizard of Oz" syndrome. You know when you're outside the state and someone asks you, "How's Toto?"
You don't want it to be, "How's Jericho?" or "How's the nuclear fallout?" Do you?
Frank Tankard, for the editorial board.
COMMENTARY
Eat right, stay healthy
The beginning of the school year gives us just about every reason to celebrate, party and socialize. At such a large university there is always something to do, and it often includes eating unhealthy food. These little allowances add up
- pizza here, donuts there. French fries. Frosties. Five jumbo margaritas from El Mezcal later, you start to worry you might gain the infamous freshman 15.
I don't know one person in college who wants to gain weight (unless it's a guy who wants to put on muscle, and, if that is the case, McDonald's is still not the answer). The habits that start to form when you give in to the late-night pizza ordering and ice cream are only going to make the numbers on the scale head in a scary direction. The start of the semester is when you establish your habits for the rest of the year. No one expects college students to give up pizza or beer just to keep their figure, but if you give in every day, beer and pizza will become your lifestyle. Stubborn fat will become the third wheel, tagging along to your hips, thighs and new-found beer belly.
Many people think alcohol is the cause for college weight gain, but it's usually the substances that go in after the alcohol that make the biggest impact. Binge eating (also known as drunk eating) gets more action than the rec center. It is startling to see how many calories and how much fat are in many foods popular among college students. According to www.nutritiondata.com, a McDonald's quarter - pound meal (a burger, fries and a Coke) has a jaw-dropping 1382 calories. If you choose to supersize the meal (which many people do in their mind-altered states), it now has 1550 calories. A nachos bell grande from Taco Bell packs
BY ABBY CARTER
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
in 810 calories and 48 grams of fat, and is only listed as a "side item." A medium-sized peanut butter ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery has 727 calories and 46 grams of fat. Just two pieces of pepperoni pizza from Domino's have 531 calories. And who stops at just two?
With the consumption of such ridiculously fattening foods, it's a wonder not everyone on campus is obese. But, it's easy to see how the freshman 15 creeps up and suddenly turns into the sophomore 30, and so on. It's unrealistic to forbid yourself to never eat pizza or fast food, but if you want to be realistic about your weight, you need to set rules now rather than later. If you drink alcohol and know that you're going to want to eat at night, think before you drink. Be ready with healthier options so you don't end up inhaling your whole day's caloric intake at two in the morning. Either pack a snack, such as an energy bar or a handful of nuts, and eat a frozen dinner when you come home from the bars. If you're going to continue eating things like pizza and Taco Bell, set a limit and stop after that. You'll be glad the next day when you don't feel like a bloated blob of fat. More importantly, you'll be happy at the end of the year when you didn't become another casualty of the freshman 15
Carter is a Shawnee junior in health, sport and excercise science.
Sprint settles, but so do their customers
COMMENTARY
Sprint could profit more from customers thanks to a class action settlement regarding years of alleged overcharges.
The combined Benney/Lundberg lawsuits alleged that Sprint was "unjustly enriched" by charges for "Directory Assistance Calls" and "Regulatory Fees", according to the settlement summary mailed to class members.
Also according to the summary, "Sprint is not admitting any liability or that it did anything wrong" by settling.
Beyond failing to determine whether Sprint acted fraudulently, the settlement benefits Sprint because the two best options require two years of wireless service or a new two-year contract.
Full disclosure: I am a Sprint wireless customer and a class action member, but I am not pursuing any of the benefits offered by the settlement.
About 40 million phone lines are eligible for benefits, said Charlie Speer, class counsel and KU graduate. Current and former customers can choose from several settlement options, ranging from a maximum of $26 in quarterly invoice credits
BY COURTNEY FARR
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINIONKANSAN.COM
over two years to a minimum of a $1.50 Sprint long distance phone card. One option requires a new two-year contract for an immediate invoice credit.
The two-year requirements in the settlement may represent considerable savings and revenue for Sprint.
Sprint reported a customer acquisition cost ranging from $305 to $465 per new subscriber, according to quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from 2001 to 2003. Sprint has not reported this figure in more recent years, said David Gunasegaram, a Sprint spokesman.
Gunasegaram repeatedly said he didn't understand how I could compare the settlement figures to acquisition figures. He said it was like comparing "apples and oranges."
Some might not see the numbers as related.
However, the acquisition figures show Sprint was willing to pay hundreds of dollars to earn a new subscriber.
Thanks to the settlement, Sprint can accomplish a similar result by recapturing lost customers and keeping current subscribers for two more years at a small fraction of the cost of acquiring a new customer.
Also, according to Sprint's second quarter SEC filing from this year, the average monthly revenue per user was $62. That means for a two-year term, Sprint could pay $26 or less for a possible revenue of more than $1,400. Those look like benefits to me.
The lack of a cash option in this settlement moves the benefit toward Sprint and away from the class. The phone card is the only choice that doesn't require wireless service, but it's still not as usefull as cash.
Speer said the settlement was a better deal than if a cash settlement
had been included.
"Cash is dear, of course, and companies are always trying to maximize the benefits to the class while trying to negotiate the least possible actual cost," Speer said.
Class action lawsuits serve a valuable service to our legal system. They allow many wronged individuals to band together, which increases the force of their claims and frees court resources. In a case like this, the alleged damages per customer were too small for most to sue on their own, Speer said.
Those damages could be less than $10 per phone line, Speer said.
Suits can also affect companies' policies and actions. Sprint adopted simpler and easier-to-read statements after these class actions were filed, Speer said.
For all the value such lawsuits have though, class members should be well aware not only of the benefits they might receive, but also how the suit might benefit the company being sued.
In this case, the apparent benefit to Sprint far outweighs the small benefit to customers.
Farr is a Scott City senior in journalism.
FREE FOR ALL
Call 864-0500
tion should be fired.
free tor 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
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I take issue with Ben Wilkins' column. He has no right to assume that I, as a conservative, am either uneducated or unenlightened. I will tell you what I have that liberals and progressives do not — morals and values.
Two quick things: One, Iowa State is in Ames, not Iowa City. And two, Iowa State's colors are not yellow and black. So whoever did that photo in the sports sec-
Dear Kansan: I'm kind of mad at you because today is my birthday and I wanted to know how my year was, but you wouldn't tell me. You suck. Goodbye.
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South of 19th Street, Tennessee goes north and south, numb nuts.
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Want to know how to tell the difference between freshmen girls and senior girls on campus? Freshmen come in short skirts and high heels; seniors wear T-shirts and sweats.
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I just want to say the new Park and Ride bus is awesome.
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Hey Free for All, the guy that called about the Tennessee accident is literally an idiot, because it does run north — Kentucky runs south. That is why as you go down Tennessee the numbers get bigger, not smaller. Had to point him out on that.
I'm one of those GSP deskies that called the cops on the drunk 21-year-old on Friday. I don't think that $500 is too much to fine a guy that tried to tell us he lived in GSP, whipped out a pocket knife, went inside and started stripping, and jumped in the bushes.
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So, I was talking to my best friend about politics and she just asked me if Bush was the president's first name.
Today's Fact of the Day is awesome!
》TALK TO US
Jonathan Keeling, editor
864-4854 or jealing@kansan.com
Erick F. Schmidt, managing editor
864-4854 or aschmidt@kansan.com
Gabrielle Souza, managing editor
864-4854 or geouza@kansan.com
Frank Tenkard opinion editor
864-4854 or frankent@kansan.com
Dave Rugh, associate opinion editor
864-4924 or drulug@kansan.com
Kyle Hood, business manager
864-4014 or khoedi@kansan.com
Lindsey Shirlock, sales manager
864-4482 or lshirck@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager, news advisor
864-7352 or nigibson@kansan.com
Jennifer Weaver, sales and marketing adviser
864-7352 or lweaver@kansan.com
SUBMISSIONS
The Kanaan welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kanaan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions.
For any questions, call Frank Tankard or Dave Rulgh at 864-4810 or e-mail opinion@kanaan.com.
General questions should be directed to the editor at editor@kunan.com
LETTER GUIDELINES
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Include: Author's name; class, home-
town (student); position (faculty mem
ber/assist); phone number (will not be
published)
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
Maximum Length: 200 word limit
Include: Author's name and telephone number; class, hometown (student); position (faculty member/staff); phone number (will not be published)
Also: The Kansas will not print guest columns that attack a reporter or another columnist.
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EDITORIAL BOARD
SUBMIT TO
Jonathan Keaing, Erick R. Schmidt, Gabriella Souze, Frank Tankard, Dave Rulgh, Steve Lynn, Louise More and Mara Caputo
111 Stuart-Flint Hall
1435 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 68045
(785) 884-4810, oplinen@kansan.com
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