OPINION
7A
THE UNIVERSITY OF DAIRY KANSAN
THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008
COMMENTARY
Despite national title, Lawrence still lacks
Lawrence seems to be at the pinnacle of its awesomeness.
It has the best college in the nation, the University of Kansas, which was the Men's Basketball 2008 National Champions and the Orange Bowl Champions. It is one of the smartest towns in the nation, and has an excellent music scene. All of these achievements bring pride to the town of Lawrence. It makes me proud that I live here in Lawrence now more than ever.
I love movies. Before I moved to Lawrence, I would go see movies all the time. But I just can't bring myself to going see a movie in Lawrence's Southwind Theater. It makes me want to wait for the movies to actually come out on DVD.
But with all the pride I have for this town, there are a few things that stick out like an ugly sore thumb like its poor excuse of a movie theater and its pothole ridden streets.
The best word I could use to describe Southwind Theaters is mediocre. Lawrence deserves a top-notch movie theater with comfortable stadium seating and a surround sound with great speakers. We are eight years into the new millennia, so why does Southwind Theaters look like a theater that is outdated? Why did AMC Theaters skip Lawrence?
Anyone who daily drives the streets of Lawrence can testify to Lawrence's pot holes. I'm glad that we, KU students, are proud of our school's achievements and I'm also glad we get to ride in style bumping around like we all got shocks. I know I felt really cool on that glorious Monday night when we beat Memphis for the championship and I rode around yelling "Dicky V. could eat his heart out, that ACC loving sluit!" while I appeared to be white water rafting on Lawrence's shoddy streets. Actually, nothing that night could have ruined the high I was on for our school winning the National Championship, but the problems still persist.
"We got our swagger back," exclaimed Athletic Director Lew Perkins at the celebration on Tuesday following the championship. He was right, KU did. Now it's time for the rest of Lawrence to step in line in becoming the best college town in the nation.
By participating in the glory of our victory on Massachusetts Street, I forever forged a special bond with KU and Lawrence. I only wish to exclaim that Lawrence has no faults in its awesomeness. I want to tell anyone that is plenty of fun stuff to do here in Lawrence, whether you want to see a good movie comfortably, see a good band in one of Lawrence's venues, or to simply root for the Jayhawks in any of the Lawrence's restaurants and bars.
Brown is a Lee's Summit, Mo., junior in journalism.
'Illegal' label still important in debate
》 LETTER TO THE EDITOR
This is in response to Ms. McNaughton's column last Thursday
how to submit
As an immigrant myself, I also support immigration. However, as a legal immigrant to the United States, I stand firmly against illegal immigration. Another thing I stand firmly against is misrepresenting an issue that many people have very strong feelings about.
The proponents of immigration are quick to cite all the strife these immigrants endure to physically reach our country and the many that die in an attempt to cross the border. What they fail to mention is that these people are illegally trying to cross the border, hence the dire conditions and many deaths. If all these people were not illegal and breaking a law, crossing our borders would not have such a high mortality rate. This is a point that many pro-immigrant proponents fail to mention when presenting their
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Send a letter to the editor by e-mail to kansanopdesk@gmail.com.
viewpoint.
— Jia Yin Feng,
Olathe senior in cell biology
I am not for building a wall, but I am also not for opening our borders like floodgates. Much of what pro-immigration proponents seek by allowing these illegal immigrants in — people with a strong work ethic, stable economy, and diversity — can be achieved through legal immigration. Let's not misconstrue such an important matter by omitting "illegal" from immigrants when presenting your case.
HOW TO SUBMIT
The Kansas welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kansas reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions?
Questions about submissions? Call Bryan Dykman or Lauren Keith at 864-4810 or e-mail kansanpodesk@gmail.com.
General questions should be directed to the editor at editor@kansean.com.
LETTER GUIDELINES
LETTER GUIDELINES
Maximum Length: 200 words
hometown (student); position (faculty member/staff); phone number (will not be published)
GUEST COLUMN GUIDELINES
The submission must include: Author's name and telephone number; class.
Maximum Length: 500 words
The submission must include: Author's name and telephone number; class, hometown (student); position (faculty member/staff); phone number (will not be published)
The Kansan will not print guest columns or letters that attack a reporter or another columnist.
CONTACT US
Darla Slipke, editor
864-4810 or slipke@kansan.com
Matt Erickson, managing editor 864-4810 or merickson@kansan.com
Bryan Dykman, opinion editor 864-4924 or dykman@kansan.com
Dianne Smith,managing editor 864-4810 or dsmith@kansan.com
Lauren Keith, associate opinion editor
864-4924 or keith@kansan.com
Toni Bergquist, business manager
864-4358 or tbergquist@kansan.com
Katy Pitt, sales manager 864-4477 or kpitt@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Jon Schittt, sales and marketing adviser
864-7665 or lschitts@kansan.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Alex Doherty, Bryan Dykman, Matt Ericnick, Kelsey Hayes, Lauren Keith, Darla Slipke, Dianne Smith and Ian Stanford.
FROM THE DRAWING BOARD
COMMENTARY
Honest facts about writing this column
DENNIS MERSMANN
How did I get this job? What qualifications do I have? Don't I have anything better to write about? From time to time, readers of the Kansan Opinion page have questions and post them on the UDK Web site. I would like to take this opportunity to answer these queries posed to me and my fellow columnists.
At best, three people thought I was a good writer, which isn't a ringing endorsement. At worst they hired me simply because I wanted the job.
My application was reviewed by 0 to 3 people, and I was called for an interview that ended up never happening.
HOW DID I GET THIS
WHAT ARE MY QUALIFICATIONS?
JOB?
I wanted it, plain and simple. I filled out the application, answered some questions and submitted a writing sample, which included two pieces. One about why I love Meat Loaf and the other about why Jamie Kennedy needs to find a new line of work.
Max Rinkel
Someone who goes by the hand
vladslaskl asked my fellow columnist Nick Mangiaracina "What are the qualifications for being a UDK writer, really?"
Nick is far more qualified than I. He's a journalism major. He's also senior writing for an award winning paper. Chances are good that he will be employed in this field in the near future.
This is my second foray into the newspaper world. My first was last year when I reviewed movies for the Kansan. As you can see, it doesn't take much to get my job.
DON'T I HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO WRITE ABOUT?
My qualifications are almost nonexistent. I've taken (and passed!) several writing courses. I've been trained by KU's finest on sentence structure and word choice. However, there are no journalism classes on my transcript.
This has been asked of me and other columnists. Linguo_the_grammar_robot specifically asked me, "Do you have anything better to right [sic] about?" in a post about my plagiarism column. The answer, plain and simple is no.
My main qualification: I wanted the job and took thirty minutes out of my life to ask for it, even though being published means my full, real name runs along with a photo.
Becoming an opinion columnist for the Kansan is a low-risk, high-reward situation. Thirty minutes for a semester of fame. If you feel that the other columnists and I are doing a less than satisfactory job, then why not pick up an application and show us how it's done?
I am an opinion columnist and my task is simple: write about my opinions, and this is precisely what I do. The topics I discuss are ones that my opinions revolve around.
Really, what would be better to write about in an opinion column than issues I take stances on? I'm blasé about steroids in professional sports. It would be irresponsible of me to write about them. Barry Bond's head could swell to the size of a watermelon for all I care.
Mersmann is a Lawrence senior in creative writing.
A lot of opinion columns revolve around politics, and maybe that's what the readers of the Kansan are clamoring for. But politics don't interest me and don't inspire me to write, so I never addressed them. Are politics more important than cover charges and Roy Williams? Maybe, but politics aren't the only thing going on in the world. I felt that it was best to leave the elections to people who are passionate about them.
These are my honest responses to these questions. Hopefully they've been informative. Keep the comments coming, positive or negative. They are appreciated. Even if you just want to say that I'm not qualified to hold an unpaid position in a free newspaper, I won't cry ... much.
COMMENTARY
Jesus is coming; look busy
LAUREN KEITH
Editor's note: This was a blog post that originally appeared on mediaenvironment.wwordpress.com for Simran Sethi's Media and the Environment class.
Are you there, God? It's me,
global warming.
When I logged on to Facebook the other day, I was disturbed to see that my two least favorite things (organized religion and Yahoo! Inc.) have friend requested my best buddy, the Green Movement.
According to the article, the Pope has made a decent fuss about environmental problems, enough so to scare some churches to invest in eco-palms for this year's Palm Sunday.
edge and combat the climate crisis. In fact, Vatican announced plans last summer to become the world's first carbon-neutral state. Yahoo's article said that photovoltaic cells have been installed and that the Church has discussed the consequences of global warming.
In a story posted on Yahoo! Green (which I had no idea existed until 12 hours ago), the Catholics' second-in-command declared pollution a sin.
And the Green Movement accepted their friend request.
Even though pollution is now one of the seven deadly sins, recent studies show that fewer Catholics are attending confession. It's okay, sinners, the rest of the human race doesn't want to own up to global warming yet either.
While Catholics only have a few new sins to steer clear of, I've compiled the Green Movement's 10 "Greenmandments" to make sure the rest of us can also avoid eternal damnation.
As much as I disagree with everything else the Pope stands for, I like seeing a major religion anckrow-
1: Thou shalt have no other planets before Me.
And Mother Earth did spake:
II: Thou shalt not exploit resources in vain.
III: Thou shalt take a break from electronic devices and unplug them while not in use.
IV: Thou shalt recycle, even if thou must driveth to Wal-Mart in thy carbon dioxide emitting, 10-miles-per-gallon-getting Hummer.
V: Thou shalt not kill animals grown in factory farm conditions.
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VI: Thou shalt not sleep with polluters to convert them to thine
how to submit
Send a letter to the editor by e-mail to kansanopdesg@gmail.com.
VII: Thou shalt not steal, because then thou art consuming earthly goods.
side.
VIII: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor's greenhouse gas emissions.
IX: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's solar panels, greywater irrigation system or organic garden because thou shalt soon have one of thine own.
X: Thou shalt not key thy neighbor's Prius, even if thou would like to own one or thou knoweth the truth about its origins.
Halleluiah!
Praise be with the planet
Keith is a Wichita sophomore in journalism and environmental studies. She is the Kansan associate opinion editor.
To contribute to Free For All, visit Kansan.com or call 785-864-0500. Free For All callers have 20 seconds to talk about anything they choose.
Darnell, lose the Hummer. Go
--mature.
I came home last night, and my roommate was playing 1 vs. 0 beerponging. And he was losing
--mature.
To the boys who pressed all the buttons on the elevator in Summerfield before getting off: thank you for being
--front of me.
--front of me.
Love is just an excuse to get hurt. I would like to say love is an excuse to hurt yourself and allow some jerk to hurt you
To the girl who stole the computer I was waiting for in Anschutz - you suck. I was so there first. Too bad I found an even better computer with a decent seat! Sucker!
I predicted I would be in the Free For All 3 times at the beginning of the week. I was in FFA 3 times. Move over Miss Cleo, I'm comin' for yah!
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I'm in Anschutz Library and I can't take my eyes off of this beautiful girl who is sitting in front of me.
I love you,but you wanna go, then I let you go.
13 lawsuits divided by 29,260 students at KU, times $4,000 a lawsuit = $1.78 per student downloading. I think I'll take my chances.
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35 degrees, are you kidding?
Try camping in the middle of winter in snow before you talk
So if you love me, why'd you let me go?
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If you love me, won't you let me know?
Paying for tags blows.
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I keep compulsively checking for no reason.
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How long does it take you to read the comments since the last time you read them? Fuck you, FFA. I'm trying to sleep
My friends are lame and instead of drinking they are doing crosswords.
@KANSAN.COM
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