OPINION
Coming Monday, October 15...
Simmermon: Texting changes the way we view casual romantic relationships.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM
WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER 10,2007
PAGE 9A
DRAWING BOARD
MAX RINKEL
GUEST COLUMN
Non conference schedule simply business
Nothing cynical about the mutually agreed, non-conference games this season
MIKE SPATZ
Ladies and gentlemen the Kansas Jayhawks are 5-0, including a thrilling win at Manhattan against the Kansas State Wildcats. They have outscored their opponents 244-47, and they are ranked the 20th best team in the nation.
And Brandon Rush hasn't played a game.
That's because I'm talking about the Jayhawks' football team, a squad that has turned many heads this season, breaking out of the mediocrity. The city of Lawrence has responded, and the support for the team is pouring in. But you just can't please everyone. Some critics have not been phased by the Jayhawks' success, chalking it up to
the one of the if not the easiest non-conference schedule in the nation. They are sticking to their argument too, even though the Jayhawks were able to beat the #24 KSU Wildcats on Saturday in Manhattan for the first time in almost two decades. But to each his own. Some, however, have gone as far as to shun the Athletic Department for creating a non-conference schedule that attacked four small schools to give fans a false sense of security that the 2007 Jayhawks were an elite team, which would result in more tickets being sold, as well as to help the chances that the 2007 Jayhawks would be requested to participate in a bowl game, which would result in more money for the Department.
It's finally happened, fellow Kansas students. The critics are
unable to insult the Jayhawks' secondary, so now they're attacking our schedule makers. It's as pathetic as it sounds.
Let me make it clear that the when a non-conference game is scheduled, it is completely voluntary by both sides. Kansas isn't a large fire breathing dragon that grabs lowly teams like Florida International out of their homes in Miami and forces them to play the Jayhawks in Lawrence, or else we'd take their first born. Every non-conference game was a mutual agreement between both schools' Athletic Departments. MAAC Conference Champion Central Michigan agreed to play a game with the Jayhawks, KU wins 52-7 and they blame Kansas for requesting the game? Central Michigan likely wanted the game as much as Kansas did, for publicity
pursues and a chance to upset (See: Appalachian State vs. Michigan.) The bottom line is that KU wants to win. The Big 12 is difficult enough, and the way that the NCAA Football Playoffs, or lack thereof, work, winning is the bottom line, no matter who you play. If creating a schedule that helps KU's chances of getting to a respectable bowl game is wrong, I don't want KU to be right.
Last season, critics scolded team performance, and with how the Jayhawks played in the Oklahoma State and Baylor games, it was deserved. This year, critics want to bash the schedule. I'd rather just enjoy the season, than seek flaws that aren't there. The players are busting their asses. Let's give them some respect.
THE LIBRARIAN YOUR PARENTS WARNED YOU ABOUT
Cost of preschool rivals college tuition
Early preparation makes preschool the new kindergarten at university price
Apparently the price of learning your ABCs has skyrocketed.
Last week, Forbes.com published a list of the most expensive preschools. I was shocked to see that the yearly tuition for some was as high as $30,000, about five times the KU in-state tuition or my rent for the next seven years. Granted, these preschools have some things that your standard, church-basement preschool does not provide. At the 92nd Street Y, where tuition is a mind-blowing $17,740, the three-and-four-year-olds "engage in an archeology 'dig' and sculpture projects." In these preschools, subjects covered range from music and drama to foreign languages and sciences. That sounds great for a fourth-or-five grader that could really appreciate it.
How many of us even remember anything about preschool? I have hazy memories of coloring and sitting in a circle. Would I remember more if I had had some extraordinary experiences? I doubt it. I went to Disney World when I was three, which is the pinnacle of events when you're a kid, and I don't remember a thing. To me, the goal of preschool is to gently acquaint your child with the regimented environment of a school. They learn the rules and routines that accompany going to school without the added stress of difficult schoolwork. Intensive lessons in Spanish or classical music don't really fit in
my ideal preschool situation.
Forbes.com claims that "kindergarten has become the new first grade, which makes preschool the new kindergarten." Am I the only one seeing that what we are still missing here is an actual preschool? By the time our generation is ready to send preschool packing, the birth will be the new preschool. You will get on a waiting list immediately after your first sonogram, and teachers will come and asses the child's learning capabilities basinet-side when the baby is in the hospital. We will be expected to not only scrimp and save so that our children can go to the college of their choice but also so that they can go to the most advantageous preschools and elementary school. How will we be able to not only combat the rising price of a college education, but also pay the tuition for a preschool that costs nearly as much as a year at Harvard?
The teachers of these schools are propagating that their curriculum prepares near-infants for a later ivy-league education; but to me, it's just a scam. Even if you have the cash to blow, it's still a worthless investment. Rather than throwing obscene amounts of money at a fancy preschool program, parents should be spending time with their children. If you think your child is the next Mozart, then invest in expensive music lessons a few years later when he can handle it.
I plan on sending my kids to the local preschool where they will not only learn to line up properly and share with others but also that you cannot eat glue or crayons. I think they'll still have a shot at Harvard.
Gentry is a Kansas City junior in English.
FREE FOR ALL: 864-0500 OR KANSAN.COM/FACEBOOK
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.
I think we should start a campaign to get rid of squirrels on campus. I swear, they're out to get me.
The article criticizing the KU football program looks really petty considering we beat a ranked opponent at Manhattan for the first time since 1989, we're undefeated, and in the top twenty five, ranked in both polls for the first time in
over a decade.
Free for All, I really miss my biology teacher. Come back, Craig Martin!
Dear Free for All, I would just like to say that I fell down the back stairs of Wescoe and broke my ankle. While I'd like to thank the dude, Chris, who helped me down the stairs, my horoscope said I was going to have an "A" day, and today was not an "A" day.
was not an "A" day.
How many parades are there in Lawrence a year?
Free for All, I swear, there are so many car accidents in Lawrence. I drive drunk better than half these people drive sober.
To the cute little cheerleading couple: Budig 120 is not a hotel room, it's a classroom. Stop kissing each other and acting like you're having sex in class.
I think that K-State fans should probably throw in their power towels
I saw a pigeon with a twelve inch dick this weekend.
Looks like someone forgot their power towel.
Just to let you know, we broke
It's my birthday!
up a hell of a long time ago.
I just saw this really nice car curb-check and drive off. It made my night.
This is to the girl who was wondering why the 14th Street hill takes the oxygen out of her lungs every morning and she didn't know why; I know why. It's because you're fat and you're out of shape. Maybe you should walk up and down that hill until it doesn't take the oxygen out of your lungs anymore, fatty
Can you print "muff diver"? That's what my uncle wanted to name his dog.
I'm sorry. All I heard was "blah blah blah, I'm a dirty tramp."
anymore, fatty.
Let me borrow that fucking 'op, batch!
Free for All, why do you only print the worst comments this year? Including this one, of course.
Misguided One, you have created negative energy for the Jayhawks by stealing a game day flag from the front porch of a former KU player's home. Erase your evil deed. Return the flag to it's rightful place on University Drive. Restore positive energies. Rock Chalk Jayhawk
Chalk, Jayhawk.
I'm going to cry when I see my stats grade.
Hey bus drivers, just because you're bigger than everyone doesn't mean that your ego should be as well.
The mulch on campus smells good.
Bruce Johnson smells like baby diapers.
8 posts my fucking ass. I probably posted 8 times myself.
Free for all, when I grow up I want to be Aqib Talib.
Let me guess, Bruce Johnson is the new Chuck Norris?
Bruce Johnson doesn't sleep. He waits.
Free Nelson the Gnome!
Bruce Johnson has two speeds Walk and Kill and always both
I just received my first grade on an English paper this year, and for the first time ever at KU, my confidence has not only been ravaged, it has been apocalyptically annihilated. Surely the second
coming is at hand.
A friend from high school misused the words "lady crush" and that confused me at first, but now we're girlfriends.
I think that if a teacher tells you that they are a hard grader, they have confidence issues.
I have got to cut into these brownies!
TALK TO US
Is it necrophilia, if the corpse initiates?
Erick R. Schmidt, editor
864-4810 or eschmidt@kansan.com
Kelsey Hayes, opinion editor
864-4924 or khayes@kansan.com
Darta Slipke, managing editor
864-4910 or dslipke@kansan.com
Eric Jorgensen, managing editor 864-4810 or ejorgensen@kansan.com
NOW THAT YOU'VE READ THE OPINION PAGE, HAVE AN OPINION?
Bryan Dykman, associate opinion editor 864-4924 or dykman@kansan.com
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864-4477 or katiae@kansan.com
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884-7667 or mlpoblum at kansasan.com
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864-7666 or jschlitt@kansan.com
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The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions.
For any questions, call Kelsey Hayes or Bryan Dykman at 864-4810 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com.
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The Editorial Board
Erick R. Schmidt, Eric Jorgensen,
Darla Slipke, Kelsey Bryan, Bryan
Dykman, Brandon T. Minister, Angelique
McNaughton and Benjamin R. Smith
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