OPINION
MONDAY, APRIL 28, 200s
7A
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Concealed carry wrong approach
More than one year ago, a crazed student on the campus of Virginia Tech killed 32 innocent Americans.
Fellow students, we have a problem amongst ourselves. Currently, students are not allowed to bring concealed weapons on campus.
I ask you, how am I supposed to defend myself in the wake of a terrorist attack or random act of violence on the campus of KU? Let's be honest, the only thing able to prevent people from being killed by guns is to allow everyone on campus to carry one. Fight fire with fire I say (that's proven to work, right?).
I've been reading over the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) Web site, and I must say that I'm disappointed. If guns are concealed, won't people still feel like they'll be able to attack any given classroom?
If everyone is wielding their favorite glock, shotgun or rifle, then campuses would feel like a much cozier environment. If I see someone holding an M-14, that says, "Hey buddy, don't fight with me," and I wouldn't.
It's completely ridiculous logic. That's why the group needs to drop the word "concealed" from their name.
Now some of you liberals out there may claim, "Oh guns kill people. Let's all hold hands and hope for peace." What if a terrorist were attacking your anti-gun bonfire rally on Wescoe? Your guitar is no defense mechanism, and you wouldn't be able to play "Kumbaya" anymore.
All that aside, according to the SCCC, in the fall of 2006, Utah
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allowed all public university students to carry concealed handguns and since then, there have been zero gun-related incidents.
Sure, it may be the 35th most populous state, with the entire state's population totaling around 2.2 million, but zero means zero. Facts don't lie—this obviously means that all public universities in Utah are invincible to attacks, thanks to campus-friendly gun laws of course.
Tragically, the SCCC has tackled an aspect which could be construed as an anti-gun threat. This would be the statistic claiming that 2 percent of gun-related deaths are accidental.
So, come on fellow students, I vote that we organize an event on Wescoe Beach in support of pro-Constitutionalism called the People Supporting Your Concealed Handguns On School campuses (PSYCHOS). If not, we can always move to Utah.
Nick Pennebaker is a Austin senior in political science.
BLOGS@KANSAN.COM
Lebron vs. Soulja Boy Tell Em'
"Yooooul!" Are not going to believe this one. Allright, so for those of you who don't follow the NBA, the Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers are facing off in the
first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. After Washington got demolished by Lebron and the Cavs, Wizards player DeShawn Stevenson said Lebron was quote "overrated." Everyone has their opinion, but I personally believe you have to be considered a good player to be making comments like that. And even then, I wouldn't approve of it. Why the need for trash talk?
I find this ridiculous. Soulja Boy Tell Em (That's his official name) has to know, he isn't a highly respected rapper. I mean, I give him credit."Crank That" was one of the biggest songs in recent time and he deliveted a hit. But his new crap like "Yah
pop culture catastrophe
Trick Yah!" or whatever it's called is just garbage. As my room-mate said, he's a good
Well, Lebron simply responded by saying responding to Stevenson would be like rapper Jay-Z responding to a diss from Soulja Boy. So now, Soulja Boy says he's got issue with Lebron and went to Game 3 of the series because he was invited by Stevenson.
rapper for when you have parties or are dancing. I don't think there is anyone actually sitting down and taking the time to listen to his whole album just for kicks? He can't possibly think his album stacks up against rap classics like "The Chronic," "Reasonable Doubt,""Illmatic," etc. I don't think LeBron was trying to discredit Soula Boy either. He's just making the case that Jay-Z, one of the greatest rappers ever, is not going to get bothered by being dissed by a rapper who has one hit song in his collection.
Matt Lindberg
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FROM THE DRAWING BOARD
GUEST COMMENTARY
Kansas basketball beyond definition
They'll write about the impenetrable defense and the pesky guard play. They'll write about the highlow offense and overpowering big men. They'll write about the senior leadership and incredible balance.
Let me tell you what they won't write about.
They won't write about what KU basketball actually is because they don't know. KU basketball is not one moment. It's not one player or one coach. It's not one team. It's not Mario Chalmers or Bill Self. It's not Danny Manning or Larry Brown. It's not even Phog Allen or James Naismith.
In one of the more controversial statements of the 20th century, musician John Lennon infamously quipped that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus."
Whether this statement was true, one thing remains absolute: They didn't have a thing on Kansas basketball. Anyone who was raised with it knows I'm not overstating the matter when I compare Jayhawk basketball to a religion. I've learned more about faith and the existence of God from a basketball game than I have from any sermon. And if the NCAA championship game revealed anything, it's that, occasionally, praying works.
KU basketball is 40,000 people on Massachusetts Street. It's getting out of your car a mile away and hearing the constant, collective cheer of the crowd. Police lined the sidewalks during the celebration, but I think even they would tell you they didn't need to be there;
In the coming weeks and months, sports analysts all over the country will place the 2007-2008 Kansas Jayhawks under a microscope. What made them champions? Curiosity will pull us to the newsstands. We'll all (myself included) pick up the new "Sports Illustrated" and "ESPN Magazine." We'll listen to the commentators on "SportsCenter."
Here's what KU basketball is
40,000 people within five blocks, and not one act of violence or vandalism: just one big, universal high five. It didn't matter if you knew anybody.
KU basketball is all the Generation Y kids who associate life experiences with Kansas basketball players. "Remember that time... I think Raef Lafrentz was a junior, and Joey's dad accidentally shot himself in the leg on that hunting trip?" "Remember the year Collison and Hinirw were sophomores, we stayed up really late the night before we took our ACTs and played video games?"
KU basketball is my father, who, even in the worst of health, managed to come downstairs and watch a few minutes of the game. My father coached our elementary school basketball team to a perfect season (0-81). But we didn't care, because our team name was the Jayhawks, and my dad made sure we felt like them every game.
KU basketball is Carl Cline, who let me walk across the backyard and shoot hoops on his basketball goal before I even had enough strength to throw the ball above the rim. Carl Cline, who helped me make my very first jump shot by placing his hand under the basketball and giving it that extra boost it needed to make it off the backboard and through the net.
KU basketball is Grandpa Waller, who put up my first basketball goal. Never one to be outdone, Grandpa actually buried the base of the goal in cement so it wouldn't blow around in the wind. Grandpa Waller, who lives halfway around the world, but still makes sure to check the Kansas City Star Web site for Jayhawk updates.
KU basketball is the fans inside Allen Fieldhouse at the end of a game, the fans, who slowly chant, "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk...KU." Nobody ever storms the court at Allen Fieldhouse. Our star player doesn't hop onto the scorer's
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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table and wave his jersey around his head. The crowd just chants, "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk... KU"
In 20 years, I'll need a moment to remember who the starting five were on the 2008 team. I won't need a moment to remember who I was with when we won it all. I won't need a moment to remember who jumped into the air with me when Chalmers sank his three or who I hugged as Collins dribbed out the final seconds of the game. I won't need a moment because as I watch the last remnants of my childhood fade away, I realize what is important.
KU basketball really has nothing to do with basketball. I'm not a college athlete. I'll never coach a college basketball team. I'll probably never be a college basketball commentator. I will be a husband. I will be a father. I will be a grandfather. I will love my family. I will believe in God. I learned these things in Allen Fieldhouse. I learned these things in the upper deck of Kemper Arena. I learned these things in a living room.
Excuse me if I don't make it to church. I used up all my prayers in March.
Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk...Amen.
editorials around the nation
Nathan Robert Carter, Shawnee junior in film
As technology has advanced across all fronts, soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have faced a decreased likelihood of being killed in combat than their predecessors in earlier wars. That is an unmitigated positive development, but it does not tell the entire story. Those same soldiers who are escaping their tours of duty with their lives are not leaving theaters unscathed. Often, though, their injuries are not of the blood and bone variety; instead, they involve head wounds known as traumatic brain injuries. The prevalence and long-term consequences of these injuries are issues the Department of Defense must address.
Soldiers experience injuries beyond physical
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Technological advances in
how wars are fought have profoundly improved and lengthened soldiers' lives, and there is much to celebrate in that evolution. But those advances do not exist in a vacuum, and with them has arrived a set of consequences that have real and long-term impacts on those
who suffer them. With a grasp of just how widespread soldiers' mental-health issues are, the Department of Defense can now take appropriate action to curb continued growth of the problem and treat those already suffering.
— Durango (Colo.) Herald April 21
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.
To the girl who thinks I'm cute; Why don't you talk to me or something?
To the couple in my geology class: Stop making out.
If you are too lazy to walk down one flight of stairs, I don't think going to work out is going to do much for you.
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Booty bounce, booty bounce.
These pear trees on campus make it smell like cat feces.
To my boyfriend who is graduating: I've been reading your text messages, and I know
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I promise that I'm going to go for someone's jugular if that construction crap isn't moved in time for graduation.
I heart pepper bacon.
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If your feet are black and that's not your skin color, go take a shower. You're nasty.
To the girl who's outside my apartment at 3 a.m. yelling at her boyfriend for cheating on her: There's a book called "He's Just Not That Into You." Go read it.
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Decisions born from fear breed fear.
What the hell is Facebook doing?
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Your moped isn't so cool now that it's raining, huh?
I think you should be able to pay for parking in the Union parking garage with your KU card. Take that into consideration. United Students
I just bought a "Maury Found My Baby's Daddy" shirt, and it may be a little trashy, but I like it.
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You have no right to take up space on my planet and breathe my air.
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Study or stay on Facebook?
Facebook most definitely
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Does anyone else have an obsession with Gatorade AM?
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