The University Daily Kansan emphasizes the First Amendment:
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.
MAGRUDER: People from small towns can suffer a lot of intolerance. But naysayers should take a closer look at what a small-town childhood does for you.
FRIDAY,APRIL 27,2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
PAGE 7A
Grant Snider
COMMENTARY
Small hometowns yield great students
I am from a small farm town in south central Kansas that could hardly fill Budig 110. There were 27 people in my graduating class. About a half of them went to college and the rest of stayed in Norwich to take over their families' farms. My high school offered no AP credits. I had the same teacher for English, math, social science and science all four years of high school.
Because of this I grew up thinking that I lacked the proper education and knowledge to make it at a big-time university.
But as I end my sophomore year at the University of Kansas, I now know that my small town taught me more than I realized.
Norwich taught me to be friendly and polite. Not everyone here is a snob or cold-hearted, but back home everyone waves or smiles as you drive by. People stop to ask how you are doing or how your family
is. Here people do not seem to be as sincere and people rarely smile as you pass them on the sidewalk.
I also learned how to have fun doing nothing. Norwich does not have a Wal-Mart or even a
M. Donalds. We don't have a stop light, most of our city roads are dirt and we lost our post office and grocery store. The lack of entertainment forced my friends and me to find a way to have fun doing nothing and to appreciate the things we did have.
learned how to connect with people in a time when technology puts up barriers between true connections. As corny as it sounds, we learned to appreciate things like friends and family.
In Norwich, you cannot skip classes and you cannot turn in assignments late.
We would drive up to the Farmer's Co-op, the tallest structure in town, where wheat is weighed, and weigh our cars. We would sit around a field watching stars and talk about our hopes and fears. We
My high school also gave me an excellent education. Although from my description it may seem below average, my teachers
taught important values. My largest class had 25 students, but most averaged about 10. Small numbers allowed teachers to pay close attention to each one of us and it allowed me to speak my mind. It's intimidating to raise your hand in Budig 120 but in a class of 10 you don't even need to raise your hand — you just participate.
In Norwich, you cannot skip classes and you cannot turn in assignments late. If you do, your teacher will ask you, your sister whom they teach later in the day or your best friend where you are or why you're slacking. This close inspection taught me to be responsible. I got into the habit of turning in my assignments on time and attending class regularly.
So before "cultured" people make a wise crack about how small town kids "don't know anything" think about how our backgrounds have taught us to be hard-working, friendly and responsible. We may not have grown up with the best of everything, but we grew up appreciating what we have.
Chelsea Magruder is a Norwich sophomore in journalism and English.
》 OUR VIEW
Archbishop abuses power with remark
On Monday a high-ranking Vatican official denounced gay marriage. No shock there. What was unsettling was that he likened gay marriage to "terrorism with a human face." Now Archbishop Angelo Amato either has a horrendous speech writer, or he's making one of the more asinine comparisons ever to be spread by the media.
Amato loses his point when likening
suicide bombers and hateful killers. The comparison is so outrageous and blatantly stupid that Amatto's insult backfires with more firepower that he had originally placed in that statement.
Amato loses his point when likening two people in love to suicide bombers and hateful killers.
already. Religion has the power to unify just as easily as it does to divide.
With all the tragedies occurring in today's world, perhaps Amato should focus on a more unifying and positive sacrament that the world should attempt to strive for. Surely the principles behind the Sacrament of Penance can apply to everyone. There isn't enough self-realization, reconciliation and attention
Yes, marriage is one of the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church. However, divorce violates the "lifelong" element of what defines a marriage. Yet Amato isn't calling divorced Catholics terrorists. Amato and the Catholic Church don't have to embrace gay marriage. As a senior official in one of the world's largest — and oldest — religious institutions, Amato is in a tremendous position to do good, inspire people and spread charity. So it is immature and wrong to pick a fight about gay marriage as a vehicle of fear and hate when the world is overflowing with these things
to those that need
by assisting the poor, the dying and the disadvantaged.
our help. What a wonderful expression of religion it would be if Amato rallied any willing and able-bodied person to throw themselves into reconciliation with others and repent selfishness
Church should be a place where people seek solace, learn how to help themselves and love each other. Lowly, divisive tactics and messages of hate are better served for the Jerry Springer show. All churches and places of worship have some uplifting messages to spread to the masses.
Hopefully comments like Amato's don't overpower all the good religion can do.
— Tasha Riggins for the editorial board
》 LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Sex toys can't truly satisfy
The April 25 story about sex toys prompted me to think not so much about sex but about the way we use words. What seems to be simple reporting of facts often contains implicit messages about what we value. The use of the word 'empowerment' in the article sends the message that selling sex toys is some kind of philanthropy.
Didn't the word 'empowerment' used to describe causes such as women's suffrage or civil rights? Pursuits that promote the good of the whole human person?
It's no secret that humans, along with all animals, can experience pleasure in sexual stimulation. But as humans we
want more than self-serving pleasure; we want love and a purpose in life.
Without a purpose, we get bored and try to distract ourselves with more and more types of pleasures — but does our fulfillment in life really increase with the number of sexual positions we are capable of? Sex has lost its purpose when it is not a gift of self, a sign of love for another person in a relationship. If we look beyond self-serving pleasure for a moment to as about the purpose of our lives, maybe we'll finally get some satisfaction.
Kristin Kennalley Wichita senior
FREE FOR ALL
Call 864-0500
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. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
Free for All, I wish you could receive texts, because I really had to poop in class and I wanted to send you a text and tell you that.
Dear Kansan, sex has been around for a long time. It certainly doesn't merit front page headline
news.
sions
I just thought of a new idea for a TV show: "Park & Ride Confessions"
on a rol
Free for All, I've made your section every day this week. I must be like butter, because I'm
Can you tell me why I've been waiting in the rain for half an hour for a bus that's supposed to run every four minutes?
man jacket
E's food is comforting on only one level. I know that if there's ever a nuclear bomb, I won't have to eat cockroaches because E's
You know, I like this warm weather and all, but it means I can't wear my badass, cool letter
food will survive too.
lot better to wipe with.
I just saw Sasha Kaun walking, and he had a boot on his foot. What happened to Sasha Kaun's
Sasha Kaun is a product of the DHARMA Initiative.
foot?
The Esurance girl is a cocktease.
I just wanted to say that there is one really good thing about the rain, and that's that it made the toilet paper really soft, so it feels a
Free for All, I just got done telling my roommate why my cell phone was in his ex-girlfriend's room. I need a hug.
Free for All, do you have any change? Change? Do you have any change? I need some change. Do you have any change?
Change
图
I'm at the Phoggy Dog right now with my best friend, Dan. I just want to say that it's my biggest wish to get into the Free for All, so please print this. I love you
Bitch, I'm true. Bitch, I'm so
Kevin Bacon is a slut.
it.
Andrew, I know you have a girlfriend, but could you just make out with me, I'd really appreciate
To the guy who said "guns don't
kill people, people kill people," you're probably right, but I think the guns help.
kill people, people kill people," you're probably right, but I think the guns help.
One of my professors just told us that he'd been to a Vietnamese brothel, and he chose girl No. 99.
and used one piece of toilet paper, and now my hands are covered all
To the kid who likes being called a douchebag because it's a hygiene product: Shut the hell up, you bar of soap! I'm just kidding. Have a fabulous Friday.
I to think of Jesus as a rock singer with an angel band, and I'm in the front row, hammered.
To the guy at The Hawk that wouldn't stop making out with me: Thank you. I now have cuts all over the inside of my lip.
If dandelions were an STD, KU would have syphilis.
Guns don't kill people. People with mustaches kill people.
Amy, are you pregnant?
I just took Sheryl Crow's advice
Well why don't you cry about it, Saddlebags!
Why do I have a raging boner right now? Is it because I'm watching Courteney Cox?
No, Free for All, seriously where's Jonah?
Smoke.
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