THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 5A
To the person who posted in FFA, "I fall in love with strangers on a weekly basis"... Will you go out with me?
apps.facebook.com/dailykansan
Dear Liver: I am going to apologize in advance for this weekend's activities.
Student walks past a noisy lawn mower and an administrative associate in dark sunglasses. Student says, "Nothing like the smell of fresh cut grass." Admin. ass. says, "Or WEED!" - Gotta love 4/20.
I've cleaned up your month old ginger ale spill, your sticky diet coke spill, the mysterious brown gunk you left on the floor, your multiple empty pop cans and puke after the party you threw. I'm pretty sure this qualifies me for an apology and a thank you.
It's upside down. Umop apisdn
How many potheads does it take to screw in a light bulb? Screw it, we have lighters.
Is there a nice way of telling your friend that his mom is a MILF? I think I'll start with a powerpoint presentation.
I totally just got de-friended from Facebook because I told someone that 4/20 was stupid. Real classy, potheads.
I love KU sports. I pay to go to school here. Please stop getting in fights and discrediting the school I love.
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2011
Why does my roommate like to pretend she's a health and fitness freak and then steal my cookies?
Reason 475 why I would be a terrible leader of a crime syndicate: I would have roving gangs of street thugs whose sole purpose is to hunt down hipsters with pretentious mustaches and forcibly shave them.
Well safe to say my current method of finding a good girl is failing ... Time to act like an obnoxious dickhead and screen the girls' til find one!
Caffeine ... choking off ... oxygen ... to my brain.
Why is it that even my annoying, less attractive friends can get dates? Screw being the shy cute one. Does anyone else have this problem?
So I guess for a teaching and curriculum class it's inappropriate to start a discussion about dinosaurs on the discussion board ...
I like brownies and kisses. That's all I want. Low maintenance, right here, boys.
T. Rob needs personal body guards, tryouts will take place friday. Requirements: take a bullet and jump on grenades.
Does anyone want to start a KU glee club with me?
The big bag of pretzels is "Hungry Size." Is that the new way of saying "This serves two but your fat ass will still eat the whole thing?"
I once moved an entire car over a foot by hand with four other guys just so we could go to Dairy Queen.
Could our basketball team just go ONE year without one of its members getting arrested? Is that really too much to ask?
Students' interest in campus politics shouldn't stop at the polls
The recent 2011 Student Senate elections saw a dramatic increase in student participation from the year before, as more students cast votes than in the previous election. Student voter turnout increased 8 percent overall during this year's election, with 12 percent of the student body voting in 2010 compared to 21 percent voting in 2011. This year, there were a total of 5,192 combined votes cast for either Renew KU or KUnited, a number that rose from 3.063 from last year.
The student body deserves praise for taking initiative to go out and vote in larger numbers this year, as increased participation in the election helped ensure a more accurate reflection of students' preferences. This is evident in the fact that the
CAMPUS
election was closer this year, with KUnited winning a solid, but not overwhelming, 60 percent of the total votes.
This increased student involvement in senate activities is a good sign of continued interest and motivation in campus activities. After having four potential candidates in 2009, the election featured only two coalitions in 2010 and voter turnout plummeted from 5,921 votes to 3,063, a startling decrease of almost 50 percent.
ultimately the students who deserve praise for this massive increase in election participation.
However, the 2011 election again featured only two coalitions running for office, but voter turnout rebounded significantly back to over 5,000. While the coalitions and the elections committee assuredly did their part to encourage students to vote, it is
Despite this impressive increase in voter turnout, the fact still stands that only 20 percent of the University's entire student body participated in the Senate elections, meaning that out of every five students, only one actually took the time to cast a vote. While it can be difficult to follow campus politics in the midst of a variety of other school and work related obligations, students can still keep themselves informed by either reading campus literature or browsing each coalition's website for information regarding their platforms.
Many students commonly assume that voting in Senate elections will be
time-consuming, but the new online voting system is quick and simple. If more students become aware of the ease with which they are able to cast their votes, it is very possible to increase voter turnout in future elections. While voter turnout this year was increased to 20 percent of the student body, it will be important for students to continue to increase their participation so that the number of voters does not fall again. For the 2012 Senate elections, the student body should consider the goal of 30 percent voter turnout to be a reasonable and worthy goal.
Spencer Davidson for the Kansan Editorial Board.
LOCAL
Simple precautions can help students avoid inherent dangers of college life
There are two things that define a college atmosphere, besides academics, whether you partake in them or not.
Sex and alcohol. Unfortunately, the two don't always mix well.
According to the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, which pulls its statistics from national and state databases, between 55 and 75 percent of acquaintance rapes include alcohol or drugs. Those are just cases where the victim and perpetrator know each other.
On top of the percentage of alcohol-related sexual assaults, a 2002 report by Kansas law enforcement reported that one in four women in college were victims of rape.
Sex is fine. Alcohol in moderation is fine. College is awesome. The three together, however, are neither fine nor awesome.
To change the statistics and the probability of such acts occurring, campuses and law enforcement must perform a nearly impossible task. They must change the mindset of students regarding sex and alcohol. They must make students think responsibly about these things and realize that they are not acceptable.
BY AARON HARRIS aharriskansan.com
GaDuGi SafeCenter is one way that law enforcement and local initiatives have shown a desire to do just that. GaDuGi has teamed up with Lawrence Police Department in a program known as SafeBar. The program teaches bar operators how to recognize predatory behavior and stop it before it leaves the bar.
will still be someone trying to take that drunken person home.
While this is a great program and initiative, it doesn't solve the problem. There will still be house parties. There will still be drinking. There
Students must learn to protect themselves. In many ways, it's not that hard to do. Simple planning and avoidance can fix many of the late-night mistakes that students make. A few are:
The main point of the program is to show owners and bartenders that if they do step in to stop irresponsible activity, the police are on their side and they are doing the correct thing.
Don't walk home alone.
For that matter, try not to
attend parties or the bar alone.
Watch your drink. Make your own if possible. Avoid common sources of alcohol.
Have the bartended call you a cab if you can't drive. It's his or her responsibility.
For those that are looking for action, it comes down to one simple piece of advice. If you realize they're drunk and can't make a coherent decision, don't go home with them. Put them in a cab or SafeRide and walk away.
Going out and trying to sleep with people who are too drunk to make a mature decision doesn't mean you have "game;" it makes you a predator.
Harris is a senior in journalism and history from Kansas City, Kan.
A fine one, because it should be legal.
Lame, cliché, never going to happen.
Medical marijuana should be considered.
Doritos Blazin' Buffalo & Ranch, meow.
Vote now at KANSAN.COM/POLLS
Criticism of Mortenson shouldn't disillusion other humanitarians
After wa ching the "60 Minutes" report on Greg Mortenson, I have mixed feelings.
Mortenson, author of "Three Cups of Tea and Stones Into Schools", started the Central Asia Institute (CAI), which claims to have built and supported 170 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the pennies for Peace foundation, which raises funds for those projects. Mortenson was also the Into the Streets Week speaker last month at KU.
The report details alleged exaggerations and fabrications in Mortenson's stories.
This is a troubling offence; however, after the Center for Community Outreach (CCO) raised $31,000 to pay Mortenson's honorarium, ($34,000 total for his speaking engagements), a large part of which was paid for by student-generated funds, students might be more interested in the financial allegations.
According to the "60 Minutes story," CAI spends more money marketing Mortenson's domestic outreach campaign than it has spent actually building schools. It appears the book revenues and speaking honorariums provide little if no support to the
In its 16 years of existence, the organization has issued only one audited financial report.
BY KELLY COSBY kcosby@kansan.com
CAI has been attacked for the lack of transparency in its financial operations.
Though the CAI said it receives personal contributions from Mortenson, the American Institute of Philanthropy doesn't think the organization is getting a fair share of finances.
On the financial report, the organization claims 141 schools being built or supported. But, half of the 30 investigated by 60 Minutes were not being supported financially or were not functioning as schools.
charity. To be fair, it isn't wrong to market the organization to increase support, but this looks like a case of bad financial priorities.
Several board members have resigned because of the lack of financial accountability and Mortenson's intermingling of charity funds and personal funds.
It is important to remember that Mortenson has built schools and has done good things, and if he had been truthful about the number of schools
his organization is supporting, that would be impressive enough. Instead, he has gotten caught up in selling his story, by selling copies of his books.
In addition, Mortenson also has become one of the leading advocates for female education in many Islamic countries where communities do not often view women as priorities in education.
The outcome of this report should not be a full condemnation of Mortenson, his organization or his work. The public shouldn't feel like he is a bad guy or that he isn't trying to make a difference in the world. And, CCO should not be criticized for bringing a highly acclaimed and sought after speaker known for his humanitarian work and audience engagement.
While talking with a group of students before his speech at the Lied, Mortenson expressed disappointment that part of his honorarium was paid for by student fees and said he would like to give the $9,000 given by student senate back to KU. There were discussion of how best to use those funds, including the possibility of giving the money to CCO or donating it to one of CAI's schools and creating a partnership between that school and KU.
Unfortunately, CCO has not been in contact with Mortenson since his visit. I truly believe he did want to use the funds given by students for a good
cause. But only time will tell if those funds are addressed.
The danger of Mortenson's alleged actions is that many fans and followers will be disillusioned. It would be extremely unfortunate if this controversy discouraged the people Mortenson inspired, especially students at KU, from supporting humanitarian work and organizations that bring hope to communities both domestic and abroad.
The important thing to remember is to stay hopeful. Good deeds, good humanitarian work and good philanthropy exists, and one man getting caught up in the fame of his work should not be enough to deter you from supporting community-building nonprofit organizations.
I haven't read "Three Cups of Tea" yet, so I cannot comment directly on Mortenson's stories, his organizations methods or the book itself. I can only speak of the inspiration I have seen the good aspects of his work give to so many people. But, right now I know I'll be borrowing his book from the library rather than buying it.
Cosby is junior in English and political science from Overland Park. Follow her on Twitter @KellyCosby.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kaanian Editorial Board are Nick Gerik, Michael Holtz, Kelly Stroda, D.M. Scott and Mandy Matney.
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