OPINION
Coming Wednesday, August 29...
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free
Gentry: Those who work in the library are not study-minded bookworms.
congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
De Oliveira: Don't feel bad if you spend your breaks doing absolutely nothing.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM
TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2007
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
PAGE 5A
Dear Editor.
Wednesday. Chemistry Professor Peter Hierl denounced
try Professor Peter Hierl denounced me publicly in class as the reason for students not having "his" books for Chem. 184. In addition, he directed them to complain personally to me. He also admitted to not responding
to my Aug. 20, 2007 e-mail. That e-mail was sent after he advised all students buying the complete edition of the book, which we were selling, to return it.
Throughout the summer, we made phone calls and sent e-mails to him regarding the practicality of using the "Chang: Chemistry" (complete) which
would allow students to buy one book for both Chemistry 184 and 188. He chose to ignore those messages as well.
As publishers increase efforts to make deals with instructors to kill used book availability, as well as prevent buyback on the custom packs, it is sad that Professor Hierl has chosen to work
DRAWING BOARD
with McGraw-Hill Publishing to split a two-semester book into a "custom" vol. 1 and vol. 2. Then to bundle each volume with his in-class Powerpoint presentation for a given semester. Until this fall, he placed the Powerpoint presentations on Blackboard. Now he chooses not to.
Whereas other instructors have written course pack materials, no one else has chosen the greed factor of bundling their work with a book that is cannibalized from a regular text.
I do not expect Professor Hierl to issue any apology to me, but he owes one to every student that was obligated to become self-serving to HIS wallet. Even with his defiance to spare students from unnecessary expense, I will continue to defy his and McGraw-Hill's tactics, or any other instructor/publisher shenanigans in the future.
At Jayhawk Bookstore, my staff is encouraged to provide for needs at the most practical means possible.
Bill Muggy
Owner/manager
Jayhawk Bookstore
BITSO'WISDOM
MAX RINKEI
Food is expensive; this wisdom, priceless. Freshmen, a few interesting tips to survive on, even after all the frozen pizzas are gone.
We've returned to Lawrence, unofficial capital of Midwest college towns, and resumed the lives of students. We work diligently to ensure ourselves wellpaying jobs and secure futures, constantly finding new ways to effectively balance the responsibilities of college with the new freedoms of independent life.
No matter where you are from or what kind of life you lived before, there are a lot of things you will have to learn in order to make it, and I am taking it upon myself to give you a head start.
Okay then, that is out of the way, so your parents have probably breathed a deep sigh of relief and stopped reading, confident that quality journalists are taking care of their babies. Whatever you do, do not destroy that illusion for them. Freshmen, you have just officially begun your new lives as Jayhawks.
Here, for you are a handful of nuggets of wisdom to remember this coming year, conveniently numbered to make them look more interesting.
1. Some
of your neighbors will be rather annoying. In a wing full of people in their late teens, it is inevitable that at least a few will get into loud, repetitive arguments in the hallways, constantly try to hang out in your room to play your PS3, or stay up to odd hours of the night playing the worst acoustic rendition of "Purple Haze" you or anyone else has ever heard. In this case,
it is wise to walk into said bad musician's room and begin singing along. Loudly. In the wrong key. It shows them who's boss.
19 GOING ON 40
2. Food is expensive. You can't just put frozen pizzas on Mom's shopping list anymore. Even getting a doughnut and coffee at the Underground every morning will add up after a while. Take solace in the fact that chicken cheddar wraps contain representatives of every group in the Food Pyramid, meaning you can potentially survive on one meal a day.
3. Every kind of person imaginable can be found on Wesco Beach. No matter how hard the Union may try, the Beach is the true center of this fine university. Here is where most students will hang out between classes, doing Sudoku, talking to friends, and wondering where that spot they almost sat on came from. It is also on the Beach that you will find, on any given day, singing Hari Krishnas, people who
willingly degrade themselves as fund-raisers, a crazy guy from Nebraska who uses extension cords to teach anatomy lessons, and people who want you to sign petitions ranging from convincing congressmen to vote in a particular way to putting the Flying Spaghetti Monster in science textbooks. Enjoy the spectacle.
4. Even the best athletes can be seen on campus. Oh, accessibility, cool! Let's gaze at them in amazement and act like we know them because we saw them on TV! Actually, you are probably annoying the hell out of them. Get used to it, and try not to stare, not even at that dreamboat Mark Mangino.
There you have it. There is plenty that even I can not prepare you for in this small space. After all, your parents might have started reading again.
Cohen is a Topeka junior in journalism and English.
Learning from Living alone
A caution to students with overly lax security
When my roommate moved back into her parents' house last January, I was excited to live alone- and until the spring se-
The blue lights, located on select blocks at the University, are activated by pushing a button on the lights' poles. Then, said blue
I actually was and how dangerous living alone is.
Even though the apartment complex I was living in at the time did not have a security system, I hardly ever bothered to lock my door. Lawrence reminded me of the small town I used to live in and so I was too naive to envision worst-case scenarios.
However, as the nation saw through Kelsey Smith's abduction, there are people who are not as fortunate as me.
It's embarrassing that it took Smith's murder to force our community to give more thought to the dangers around us. But our shame should not stop us from learning from this tragedy.
As many know, Smith was forced into her own car by her murderer, in the day light, in the parking lot of the Target across the street from Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, Kan. Smith's abduction was one of few cases in which someone who was physically able to fight back was kidnapped during the day, in a public place, in a good part of town.
All Targets have security cameras as well as a security guard who can usually be found standing inside of the building near the front doors during the stores' business hours. Yet Smith fell through the cracks.
This problem applies more specifically to students at the University of Kansas than one might think at first glance.
Every time I have heard the question of security mentioned in conjunction with the University, the answer has always been more "blue lights."
light sends a message to campus security who supposedly arrives lightning-fast to the area where the light was activated.
Regardless of the
number of blue lights, it only takes a few seconds to murder or abduct someone. So having blue lights on every corner is not going to solve the problem.
I applaud Student Senate and others' efforts to provide more security at the University. However, I think it's more important to focus on how to individually protect ourselves.
Before leaving her home to go to Target, Smith told her parents and her boyfriend where she was headed. But, again, as we have now learned, alerting someone else of our whereabouts only helps in the aftermath of a situation.
When I am walking in Lawrence at night I talk, or pretend to talk, on my cell phone. While this is no more helpful than pushing a button on a blue light, it's at least a free form of discouragement.
And as painful as this may sound, keep your iPod volume on LOW. Even in a group of people, it would be easy to sneak up on someone who has their music on high.
Create a plan of what you would do if danger did present itself while at home alone. As dumb as they seemed, the fire escape plans we used to learn before every bus ride would have saved our lives in case of an actual emergency. Most importantly, always carry the fear of abduction in the back of your mind when alone. If you are at least a little worried about abduction, you will be less reckless.
Chambers is a Paola sophomore in journalism and political science.
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 ate his liver with a nice Chianti and some fava beans.
It puts the lotion on its skin.
Even 46 year olds think Free for All is hip.
Hey Free for All, can you please tell the frat boys that it's not time to go sailing, and they should start dressing in regular clothes? Thanks, you're the best.
My boss just showed me a video
of somebody taking a dump in another person's mouth. What's this world coming to?
I'd pee in her butt.
I just wanted to let everyone know that my coworker found a bat in her pants. How does that happen?
Why do residents of Jayhawk Towers not understand the concept of tipping a delivery driver?
for All. It's called "sorostitute."
I have a new favorite word,Free
I lost my mp3 player slash jump drive in the Park & Ride parking lot. If you find it, please send it to the lost and found. I miss it.
Hey Free for All, my girlfriend just asked if we were boning. If she asks you, I told her "no"
Girls, us guys would ask you on dates, but we fear rejections. So, maybe you should like, not reject us. That was a really dumb comment.
Please don't print that. Please.
Girls, there are two basic reasons why dudes don't date. Number one, we don't want to pay for all the shit. Two, is that we fear rejection. Umm, this is also a really dumb comment. Don't print it.
To the guy who sits next to me in Math: If I buy you some Axe body spray will you use it? Either that or stop taking smoke breaks before class. Close quarters and stinky
I have been answering the " Kansan Trivia Questions for quite some time now, will you please at least acknowledge the winner each week so I can feel justified with thinking I might win? Thank you very much.
people don't mix.
To the person who asked about the buses..two words..Bus Mapl But FYI Campus Express buses' go straight up to Daisy Hill. People like you make Freshman look incompetent.
Free for All, do a barrel roll.
No barrel rolls: The Free for All is not the Subservient Chicken.
Guess what? You girls who wear leggings as pants STILL are nasty. Yea, nothing about that has changed from last year, so please stop wearing them.
TALK TO US
Hey Kansas, learn how to spell bizarre!
Erick R. Schmidt, editor
864-4810 or eschmidt@kansan.com
NOW THAT YOU'VE READ THE OPINION PAGE, HAVE AN OPINION?
Darla Slipke, managing editor
884-4810 or dslipke@kansan.com
Eric Jorgensen, managing editor
884-4810 or ejorgensen@kansan.com
Eric Jorgensen, managing editor
Bryan Dykman, associate opinion editor 864-4924 or bdykman@kansan.com
Kelsey Hayes, opinion editor 864-4924 or khayes@kansan.com
Jackie Schaffer, advertising director
864-4358 or jschaffer@kansan.com
Katie Abrahamson, sales manager
864-4477 or katiea@kansan.com
Mcolom Lcalon,general manager,news adviser
864-7667 or mlotson.klanaag.com
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Jon Schitt, sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or jschitt@kansan.com
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The Editorial Board
Erick R. Schmidt, Eric Jorgensen,
Darla Silipke, Kelsey Hayes, Bryan
Dykman, Brandon T. Minister, Angelique
McNaughton and Benjamin R. Smith