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.
SOMMERVILLE: From sidewalks to desks, fliers needlessly litter campus. Caleb Sommerville examines the problem.
THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
See Kansan.com for more opinions and Free for All comments
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 11A
》 OUR VIEW
Address issues and find help to improve mental health on campus
The tragic school shooting at Virginia Tech united students in sadness and disbelief. At the same time, and somewhat paradoxically, it spurred a series of school bomb scares and students' copy-cat threats nation-wide. It was as if certain kids, in lieu of uniting in sorrow, were thinking, "I guess this is what it takes to get attention."
When the killer's name was released, the descriptions of his personality were eerily familiar: much like Harris and Klebold before him, the kid was clearly
disturbed, troubled and "not right." On multiple occasions, teachers had contacted authorities to report concern about the intelligent yet quiet boy who was obsessed with violence.
Their active attempts to guide attention to the boy floundered, and perhaps no one who saw the signs of distress could have done anything more to alert authorities. Yet in the wake of yet another school shooting tragedy, and in response to the hollow threats that echoed across the country for days afterwards, we
must begin to ask ourselves what we can do differently.
Inevitably, we will question America's obsession with violence and individualistic culture. At the end of the day, however, little is known about the exact incidents that spur school shootings.
Our only prototype for the persons who do the deed is a distressed male.
With so many questions unanswered, we must begin to take the warning signs more seriously. Cries of desperation
such as recent copy-cat threats may very well be signals that a person is an active volcano nearing eruption.
Students, teachers, parents and neighbors should work together to listen more attentively to the dissatisfied voices around and within us. A bout of depression rarely leads to an act as grievous as last week's school shooting, but addressing psychological health is nonetheless important, if only because our state of being affects our daily actions and interactions as
well as others' emotional well-being. At a basic level, we can all do our part to address mental health issues by watching out for one another. In doing so, we should make it a daily practice to listen to others' concerns and to offer our emotional support in others' times of need. We should be aware of counseling services, such as CAPS at the University of Kansas, which can be contacting at 864-2277 and HQ Counseling Center downtown, which offers help around the clock and can be reached at 841-
2345. Lastly, we should recognize our own moments of desperation in which we must swallow our pride and request help.
These acts of consideration are menial but important. By being attentive and compassionate we produce healthier, happier relationships with ourselves and with others. We may even prevent a walking time bomb from exploding.
Alison Kieler for the editorial board
COMMENTARY
Fliers cause far more harm than good
Fliers are as much a part of campus life as cramming for tests and 3 a.m. fire alarms. When they're pinned up on bulletin boards or featured on Web sites, they don't
BY CALEB SOMMERVILLE
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
really cause a problem. It is only when they are passed out to students on campus that there are problems.
Some students just ignore the filers and walk past the advertisers, creating awkward situations for both parties. Some take them only to throw them away shortly thereafter. Campus is littered daily with discarded filcers and inserts and someone has to pick them all up.
Doug Riat, director of The University of Kansas Facilities Operations , said that fliers were a hassle for his crews to pick up every day. Advertising inserts in the Kansan are to blame as well. His employees have a daily routine of picking up fliers and Kansan inserts, which he said were mainly dropped by students on accident, flying out of the paper when it's picked up.
If you want people to actually read your ads and not just litter, then post a few on bulletin boards next to the other things that students are selling. When students want a cheap car or stereo or want to know about
upcoming events, they look at the bulletin boards. If you really want to advertise something, put it in the classifieds.
Even consider Facebook fliers, eBay, Cars.com.
Filers are useless. Handing someone a piece of paper on campus has the same effect as tossing a bunch on the ground. Sure, people have a constitutional right to free speech. People also have a right — and a duty — to help keep our environment clean.
Craig's List, and the myriad advertising Web sites out there. The people who visit these Web sites are looking for something specific, so they really care about what you're selling.
The sheer amount of traffic generated by those websites is amazing. According to statbrain.com, Facebook gets around 4.5 million hits per day, Cars.com gets 1.5 million, Craig's List gets 5.6 million, and eBay gets a jaw-dropping 8.6 million.
The litter and annoyance created by fliers isn't worth the possible effect of changing someone's thinking. Especially when there are such great online opportunities.
But inevitably, fliers will continue to litter our campus. When someone hands you a flier, don't just throw it on the ground. Consider reading the flier and then throw it away in a nearby trash can or recycling bin.
Don't use the excuse that you couldn't find one. Trash cans on this campus are as innumerable as filled parking spaces. You'll save the maintenance crews a lot of work by just recycling the fliers, or better yet, by not handing any out at all. Go for eBay.
Sommerville is a Hutchinson, Minn. sophomore in journalism.
>> LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Law can't help Guantanamo prisoners but writing letters can
I was fortunate enough to spend a portion of my career at a law firm that represents several detainees at Guantanamo. A former co-worker, once walked in on the suicide attempt of our client, Jumah Al-Dossari, who was hanging by his neck and bleeding from a gash in his arm. Jumah survived and has since tried to kill himself three times.
Jumah has been at Guantanamo for more than five years. He hasn't been charged with a crime. He has been short-shackled, threatened with death, beaten and held in indefinite isolation. There is noth-
inging the current law can do to help him.
Last year, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act, which mandated that the courts dismiss all habeas cases in favor of an alternative process. Lawyers for the detainees challenged the Act as unconstitutional, but in February, a federal appeals court ruled against them on the grounds that they have no rights.
The Supreme Court recently refused to hear Guantanamo appeals until these ineffective alternative procedures are exhausted. This means detainees will have no
chance to produce evidence of their innocence that the military didn't consider, or to challenge the use of evidence obtained through torture.
Action against Guantánamo won't free terrorists or endanger our country. The objective is to make sure that these men are given fair hearings and if, there is no evidence of wrongdoing, to send them home.
As a member of the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, Representative Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.) could play a key role in a much-needed resolution. Contact her office and ask that she persevere
for an amendment to the Military Commissions Act that once again allows detainees fair hearings. Contact as many congressional offices as possible. Without your voices, nothing will change.
These are United States actions for which we all must take responsibility. It sickens me to think that Guantanamo is reflecting our country, but I am strengthened by the fact that it does not reflect our Constitution, or our people.
Rachael Krueger New York City
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. Slanterous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
I was driving behind a KU bus, and it was so bad my dog started sneezing because of all the smoke that filtered into our car. I am so
glad that we're getting new buses, so glad!
Why are people always surprised when you answer your phone?
afterwards.
If you have your hand down your pants when you get on the bus, people are going to notice.
Since it is a hygiene product, I consider it a compliment when somebody calls me a douche bag.
Props to the dude who is flying a kite and smoking a cigarette in the thunderstorm.
With everybody talking about how gun control rights should be increased and writing articles in the paper, I've just got one thing to say. Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
Every time I eat at Mrs. E's, I have to take a long, painful shit
I should not be calling people when I'm high.
na smoke into a cat's ear, it'll get him more high.
How much do you think they charge for laser hair removal on cats?
My cat is high. Real high. She's hungry! So hungry!
McCollum bingo is a very violent sport.
First of all, I called Gumby's,
thinking it was the Free for All.
Second, I don't shake hands, I
shake booty.
Free for All, I've been sitting here, waiting to win a video camera at bingo for like, three hours. It's getting really, really boring. Call me back and keep me
Where did a cat get Mardi Gras beads? Seriously! He just walked back into the room wearing Mardi Gras beads...
I near that if you blow marijau
company.
You summumabitch.
Why do I have to pay the same amount to get taught by a GTA as I do a professor? If I wanted to be taught by inferior teachers, I would pay less money and go to
Free for All, everyone I know and love is winning at bingo, and I'm sitting here losing.
Empor
We're sitting in the McDonald's drive-through line, and we just saw a guy climb into their dumpster
(Crunching noises) Mmm,
Fruit Loops. (More smacking and
crunching noises)
Gabriella Souza, editor
864-4854 or gsouza@kansan.com
》 TALK TO US
Nicole Kelley, managing editor 864-4854 or nkelley@kansan.com
Patrick Ross, managing editor 864-4854 or pross@kansan.com
Courtney Hagen, opinion editor
864-4924 or chagen@karans.com
Natalie Johnson, associate opinion editor
864-4924 or njohnson@kansan.com
Lindsey Shirak, business manager 864-4014 or lshirak@kansan.com
Jackie Schaffer, sales manager 864-4462 or jschaffer@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager, news adviser
864-7662 or mailto:sonikansan.com
Jennifer Weaver, sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or jweaver@kansan.com
》 SUBMISSIONS
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For any questions, call Courtney Hagen or Natalie Johnson at 644-810 or e-mail opinion@kansan.com.
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Gabrielle Souza, Nicole Kiley, Patrick Ross, Courtney Hagen
Natalie Johnson, Alison Kiefer, Tasha Riggins and McKay
Stangler