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MINSTER: I'm ready to abandon my wife for a shot at espousing Prince William. Willy, please consider.
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
PAGE 5A
Grant Snider/KANSAN
》 OUR VIEW
Virginia Tech police deserve compassion
In this time of national tragedy it's discombobulating to have so many questions yet so few answers. Perhaps the lack of answers as to why these senseless shootings occurred on Virginia Tech's campus has led to some unnecessary finger-pointing. The Virginia Tech Police Department personnel have been easy targets for outraged parents. Fox News and other media outlets have reported several cases of parents calling for Virginia Tech campus police chief W.R. Filchum's firing.
Although some police procedures probably should have been done differently to protect students and capture the shooter, hindsight is 20-20. Everything can always be improved upon. There's no doubt that these police were doing the best they could under the unexpected circumstances to do their jobs.
While better emergency lock-downs and drills should be imposed, how can a large campus like Virginia Tech really be prepared to face something like it did last Monday? That's not to say that these
types of emergency plans shouldn't be thought out and on hand just in case. However, if police and administrators could successfully plan for and prevent every possibly harmful event, they would. Nothing bad would ever happen if everyone knew the way to prevent it.
The gunman shot himself, which is a cowardly way to avoid the responsibility for his evil actions. If he were alive, we could all easily, and deservedly, point our finger at him. However, because there's no living guilty party, some have chosen to point it at people, like the police, who were trying to help. Perspective is difficult to maintain on a regular day, the ability to examine the larger picture in the midst of this tragedy is even more difficult. However, the Virginia Tech campus police should not be treated like they consciously did a wrong.
Tasha Riggins for the editorial board
》 COMMENTARY
Prince William has willing prospect in married columnist
Allow me to be among the first million to declare to Prince William my availability. Sure, I might already be married, but there's probably some small legal point on which to question my marriage's validity. I don't think the royal family will have a problem with that; after all, they invented the idea of ending marriages on technicalities.
Of course, I still love my wife,
but I've got my future to think
about here. By becoming Mrs.
William Mountbatten-Windsor
I would make a huge advance
towards my goal of never having to
use the economics degree I'm get-
ing here. He would be able to keep
me in the lifestyle to which I'd like to become accustomed.
Throwing my wife under the bus might seem extreme, but these are extreme times. When else is there going to be a hot item like William on the market, with a nearly-canonized mother and eleventy zillion dollars in change beneath his couch eushions?
And I could always maintain an affair with my wife on the side. That's another thing the royals do well.
I admit, William has a face like a constipated horse who has just caught a glimpse of a birthing video. He's heir to the throne of a country
full of people who regularly eat animal organs that weren't used here even in Upton Sinclair's day. His nation is responsible for all the annoying people around here who say "spot on." But
full of people who
I don't care about trivial things like that, because I can look past the superficialities and see the true man he is: a walking bottomless check book.
We'll spend this summer on Ibiza, then next winter in Saint
BY BRANDON MINSTER
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
Tropez, and around this time next year, we'll get married on the moon. While he's away on "official" business I'll buy Passosos and light them on
fire with trillion-pound notes.
>> LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Even if I ignore what I get out of this, I'd be a fool to not do this for my children. The royal family can afford way more Thomas the Tank Engine toys than I can. A why buy plastic My Little Pony toys when
there are real live ponies in the world?
Some opportunities only come once in a lifetime. I'm not getting any younger, or skinnier. William is on the rebound right now, and I might end up only being used, but my television has recently developed weird color splotches on the picture and I can't afford a new one. If William is prepared to buy a new one for me, I saw "use away!"
William, feel free to contact me at opinionkansan.com. I sexily anticipate your reply.
Minster is a Lawrence junior in economics.
Relevant and timely story left unreported
After reading, and rereading Thursday's edition of The University Daily Kansan, I was faced with the startling realization that 183 people were murdered the previous day and the paper didn't even mention it. Granted these people were Iraqi, and granted it seems that every day another bomb blows up and kills some number of people, but this is definitely newsworthy.
It is newsworthy because it is a significant loss of human life, people who have families and who deserve to live just as much as we do. It's newsworthy because we invaded their country and we still have troops fighting there. These are troops who are mostly the same age as the majority of us who attend the University of Kansas.
Instead of printing this we were informed about a local philanthropist coffee roaster. We saw a picture of some old ladies in funny red hats and we got to read pleas from one person who wants more gun control and one who wants less so that all students would be free to bring guns to class.
Certainly the printing of the above-mentioned things can be justified, as they all apply to us in some way. I simply wish that there would have been at least a short little article from the Associated Press about the tragedy in Iraq. It's important that KU students be informed about what is happening outside of Kansas, and it's our newspaper's job to make sure that this happens.
Andrew Bredeson
Minnetonka, Minn. sophomore
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.
calls are recorded.
I wonder why guys wear hats. How do they look without them?
Why do people go five miles an hour under the speed limit? Get your balls out of your purse and go the extra five!
Just because I graduated after 1990 does not mean that I don't know about Purple Rain, bitch!
occurred close to home, and our concern is legitimate. But our ignorance of global tragedies is unforgivable.
Morricone is spelled M-O-R-R
I-C-O-N-E. Just so you know.
--occurred close to home, and our concern is legitimate. But our ignorance of global tragedies is unforgivable.
Free for All, my uterus is contracting and my ovaries are pulsating, and it does not feel good. It does not feel good at all.
occurred close to home, and our concern is legitimate. But our ignorance of global tragedies is unforgivable.
To the people who drove two hours to Pittsburgh for fried chicken; It's okay. We drove one and a half to Abilene.
occurred close to home, and our concern is legitimate. But our ignorance of global tragedies is unforgivable.
Free for All, I think you should have a whole page of Free for Alls, because this whole past week has had like, six, which really is not a significant number.
I just watched a girl in my English class undress a fellow sitting next to me with her eyes. Then she got a good head-on look at him, and I think she threw up a
I'll take a number two with no pickles, bucket sized, with a keg of Dr Pepper.
little bit
occurred close to home, and our concern is legitimate. But our ignorance of global tragedies is unforgivable.
■
Free for All, I'm walking past Anschutz Library, and there are numerous girls out tanning. Thank you, summer.
occurred close to home, and our concern is legitimate. But our ignorance of global tragedies is unforgivable.
To the girl who just got on the bus, who before she got on she blew the dandelion: I totally saw it go all the way back on your face, and it was wonderful.
To the person who said I have vag problems: That's not very nice. Have a terrific Tuesday,
occurred close to home, and our concern is legitimate. But our ignorance of global tragedies is unforgivable.
Annie, how are things in the Big Top?
It just wouldn't be Wescoe beach without the crazy flier hander-outers and the crazy preacher screaming about God only know what
occurred close to home, and our concern is legitimate. But our ignorance of global tragedies is unforgivable.
Guys on the Park & Ride bus, would it kill you to give up your seat for a lady once in a while?
》 LETTER TO THE EDITOR
occurred close to home, and our concern is legitimate. But our ignorance of global tragedies is unforgivable.
Shooting reveals ethnocentric attitude
What happened at Virginia Tech on April 17 was horrifying and senseless, a tragedy in every sense of the word. But amid the consistent front-page headlines and 24-hour CNN coverage, there is something else about the situation that is terribly wrong.
While we are shocked and deeply appalled by the recent school violence, we also seem to have forgotten that many more people are dying around the world daily in equally senseless violence.
Wednesday 127 people died in a Baghdad market, just part of the 183 who died in Iraq that day. The people who died there are no less human than the people who died at Virginia Tech, but you wouldn't know it by the amount of media coverage.
We are so disturbed by the VT shooting because the victims were young, rich and American. It
The University Daily Kansan's most recent editorials only highlight this attitude. It is no excuse to say things like "Things like this shouldn't happen in America, at a school." Entire villages are regularly razed in Africa by governments, just
While we are shocked and deeply appalled by the recent school violence,we also seem to have forgotten that many more people are dying around the world daily in equally senseless violence.
for belonging to the wrong ethnic group. So why are things like this "not supposed to happen to us"?
I think that says something very distressing about our value systems. And the narcissism of American culture is beginning to make me sick. The Darfur region has suffered 400,000 deaths; Iraq, 62,000; U.S. soldiers fighting in the war in Iraq, 3,200.
Every single one of those people had a mother, a father, sisters and brothers. Every one had infinite potential, just as much as our friends and neighbors, and the innocent victims at Virginia Tech. None of them had to die. But we don't hear about people halfway around the world; we don't care. And that is truly tragic.
Mark Petterson Prairie Village sophomore
Gabriella Souza, editor
864-4854 or gsouza@ikansan.com
》 TALK TO US
Nicole Kelley, managing editor
864-4854 or nkelley@kansan.com
Patrick Ross managing editor
864-4854 or gross@ikansan.com
Courtney Hagen, opinion editor 864-4924 or chagen@kansan.com
Natalie Johnson, associate opinion editor 864-4924 or njohnson@kansan.com
Lindsey Shirac, business manager
864-4014 or lishirac@kansan.com
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864-7666 or jweaver@kansan.com
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Gabriella Souza, Nicole Kelley, Patrick Ross, Courtney Hage Natalie Johnson, Alison Kieler, Tasha Riggins and McKay Staunton