THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
PAGE 4
opinion
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1. 2013
FREE FOR ALL
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What's wrong with skaters on campus?
I'd rather see a skateboarder on the sidewalk than some idiot on their bike.
I think it's about time KU Maintenance did something about Stauffer-Flint's front yard. There are weeds everywhere.
I like to watch my roommate workout, while I sit on the couch and eat cinnamon rolls.
Got sunburned while having class outside. In the shade. #gingerproblems
I'm going to place a restraining order on winter. It must stay a state's distance away in the months following March and up till November.
I'm trying to read my textbook, but I keep getting distracted by your cleavage too!
So I finally realized the statue in front the religion building is a dude with a beard, and not Cleopatra. Editor's note: Smith hall? That's Moses.
Skies out, thighs out
To chivalry girl: wait, it took two guys to open one of the doors?!
A windy day on the hill means wearing those dangly earrings was a mistake.
Apparently you have to be pretty for chivalry to exist...
Some of the people you see on campus.
I lost my headphones... Campus is so eerily audible now.
Can you not?
First we argue over leggings, and now high waisted shorts? Come on. Just live and let live, bro.
It's not possible to study when "Clue- less" is on TV!
Batman or Superman? Editor's note:
Batman. End of discussion. I will not
print any FFAs that disagree.
Who wants a slip'n'slide down the Campanile on stop day?
it is too early to sell my books back?
Editor's note: Why are you asking me?
If you go to The Hawk without taking pictures with basketball players, did you really go to The Hawk?
If you're a true townie you wear your Birks all year round.
And Ernie, the knight bus driver, is back...
It's only 80 degrees and I'm already overheating. Thursday's icy rain can't come fast enough.
That awkward moment when you text an FFA to the person your talking about.
Shout out to all the girls from Johnson County wearing cowboy boots. You're hilarious!
EQUALITY
Women's rights still overlooked in media
We have come so far in the United States in terms of respect for women. But sometimes, I still worry about the media's perception of women - and I'm not just talking about the scantily clad female anchors I see on Fox News.
When a University of Arizona student held up a sign on campus last week that read "You Deserve Rape," the public was appropriately outraged. The backlash against that man – "open air preacher" Dean Saxton who goes by "Brother Dean" – was swift, and continued to be fueled once people discovered his Twitter feed, which was even more unpleasant.
Brother Dean is clearly an outlier in society. His beliefs are convincing to almost no one because they are so cruel and unkind.
But what happens when a crime against women is committed by one of society's "in crowd?" We saw it happen in Steubenville, Ohio last month, when two young, good looking,
Maikil Richmond and Trent Mays were found guilty of rape on March 17. Richmond was sentenced to a minimum of one year in a juvenile correctional facility, while Mays will face a minimum of two years because he snapped a photo of the victim and sent it to friends.
promising high school athletes were accused - and subsequently convicted - of raping a drunk 16-year-old girl.
Yep, you read that right. A photo of the victim drunk, naked and lying on a basement floor.
You'd think this type of crime would elicit the same type of reaction as Brother Dean's viral protest, right? Especially from women?
That's where you'd be wrong.
That's where you'd be wrong. CNN's Candy Crowley and Popp Harlow — both female reporters — broke the judge's decision live on CNN. Far from celebrating the fact that justice was done for a young female victim, or even being nonbiased, the two reporters lamented the fact that Richmond and Mays
will have to register as sex offenders, and mourned for their lost "promising futures."
Harlow also testified to how emotional it was to watch Malik Richmond collapse and exclaim, "my life is over," as the verdict read.
Emotional because of — What exactly? Because the boys were good students? Because they'll miss senior prom? Because they are facing the prospect of being incarcerated for as little as two years?
Let's review some of effects that rape victims may experience after their attacks: nightmares, flashbacks, depression, dropping out of school, distancing from loved ones or increased substance
abuse. Not to mention the physical injuries like shock, nausea, sexual disorders, sleep disturbances and pregnancy.
Authorities never released the name of the Steubenville rape victim, identifying her only as a 16-year-old Jane Doe from West Virginia. It is important, however, that we don't let the fact that we don't know her identity keep us from seeing her as anything other than what she is - a very young girl who was taken advantage of at her most vulnerable moment.
I can see, of course, how it could be emotional to watch a young man - a boy, really - dissolve into his mother's arms for the last time before being hand-cuffed and taken to jail. But we have to be careful not to compare these boys' foregone football these boys' foregone football to the long-lasting physical, psychological and behavioral effects of rape and sexual assault.
These seemingly slight differences in perceptions may not seem important in the grand scheme of things. After all, can't we have sympathy for both parties in this situation?
Yes, but subtle situations like these are crucial to the similarly subtle realities that women face every day — making 77 cents to a man's dollar, being objectified both in the workplace and in the media, and having their personal appearances constantly scrutinized.
Equal treatment for women will not be achieved in the public's disdain for royal idiots like Brother Dean. It will be won in those delicate situations that really make us think, and will likely divide us.
Those of us who understand the importance of this issue, however, have to stand strong for women like Steubenville's Jane Doe. Even if it means ruining a perfectly good football career.
Mayfield is a junior studying journalism, political science and leadership from Overland Park
SALAD BAR
Changing diet should be a personal, not political, choice
was a staunch vegetarian for four bread-ridden years and
I was a student Vegan for four bread-ridden years and I can say with confidence that you should not do the same. There is no better example of slacktivism than the vegan movement. It isn't a political statement or lifestyle; it is a dietary choice.
Being a vegetarian is not hard. People moan and whine about how difficult it would be but all it takes is an excess of ramen and a little misdirected passion. No one is changing the world by eating just cheese sandwiches and bananas.
I say these things as a veteran of the "I'm better than meat-eaters" ideology. Vegetarians won't admit it, but we do feel superior for not eating meat. Why else would anyone do it? It's not particularly fun or interesting. I convinced myself that my diet was a moral litmus test and a sign of character. It was something to tell people when you first met with the kid pictures in your wallet.
I was wrong as hell. Avoiding meat is no more than a sign of some self-control. Meat has its risks and negatives like any other modern convenience. People drive cars daily well aware that they could die at a moment's notice and that they are actively
contributing to global warming. Why do they do it? Because it's necessary.
I realized this at the first bite of meat after that years-long fast. No one is carnivorous just to spite vegetarians. No one likes the fact that bastards torture animals in factories. There are thousands of humans being tortured in Syria as I write this, go get riled and put some time in there.
However big the frenzy people can build themselves into, the vegan political movement in America is dead. The fact remains that the nation's political masthead for vegetarianism is PETA, one of the most hypocritical and sensationalist groups to ever gain nation-wide support. I won't delve too deep here but there have been a number of cases uncovered about PETA euthanizing animals in mass while running adoption campaigns, even having it listed
on their own website.It's also unfortunate that their name was so easily reattributed to mean People Eat Tasty Animals.
I mean, come on; too easy.
But really all I've done with this column is blow more smoke onto a dying argument. If every vegetarian has a reality check and every omnivore tries a fake chicken nugget, maybe we could all get along. For an issue so low on the priority toem pole, it's unnerving to see people so angry over so little. There needs to be a heftier conversation started.
Which is why I've decided to adopt a Peep-free diet. The sugar and fat kills untold dozens on Easter each year and I've chosen to take a stand by not eating this evil candy. The production of Peeps contributes to global warming and many thousands of innocent Peeps are abused each day. We'll stop the production of these delicious sinister treats one by one. I will keep you updated on my progress.
Kenney is a freshman majoring in political science and journalism from Shawnee
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
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@UKK Opinion what finals? I'm sitting outside and enjoying the weather
PEACOCKING
The art of courtship bizarre, human or not
Whether it is through an elaborate nest or a creative mating dance, animals are masters of courtship. Although their methods may seem strange and irrelevant in day-to-day life, there may just be a jewel of wisdom in the stomp of a Prairie Chicken.
Let's look at our friend the moose. A male moose will roll in a muddy, urine-scented pit to attract his mate. While we may not douse ourselves in urine, I'm going to go ahead and extend this analogy to perfume and cologne. The main lesson that can be derived from this instance is that less is more. Maybe spray some of your favorite scent on the carpet and roll around in it.
If you feel nervous about approaching someone, remember that it couldn't be worse than having your head bitten off. Australian Redback Spiders have a cruel and risky courtship ritual. The female spiders are much larger than the male and they have relatively high standards. They expect the males to dance for approximately 100 minutes, with elaborate moves such as beating on the abdomen of the female spider and incorporating the female's web into his own web. If the female becomes unhappy with the male, it is common for her to bite his head ill, literally. Although if you approach a woman by beating on her abdomen, you may also get your head bitten off.
Prairie Chickens repeatedly stomp their legs and inflate their neck to attract mates. Their dance may not be that elaborate but they will continue their dance until they grab the attention of the hens. So even if you are not the most talented and elaborate dancer, eventually your effort (like a Prairie Chicken's) will be rewarded.
The Anglerfish reminds us that dependent relationships won't work; each party should be contributing, otherwise it is parasitic. Male Anglerfish shu
If none of these dating tips work, some of the animal kingdom is eternally "single" and they seem to be doing pretty well. Think of the all-female species of whiptail lizard, Cnemidophorus neomexicanus. These lizards reproduce by parthenogenesis, an asexual method of reproduction where the growth and development of an embryo occurs without fertilization. These female lizards still bask in the sun and go about their lives without any males around. To keep it even, nature has the all-male (genetically speaking) species of the Corbicula clam. David Hillis, a University of Texas computational biologist, says that they sometimes steal eggs of other species but usually the maternal genome is ejected after fertilization and the genome is replaced with their own. So although their method of staying "single" is a little shadier, they still thrive on their own under the sea.
down their immune system at a certain age and then they bite a female fish and release an enzyme that eternally binds the male and female fish, and the male fish continues to mooch off of his now permanent mate.
The mating mechanisms of animals have evolved over thousands of years. Although human social cues may make us seem worlds apart, we aren't as different from our animal family as we may think.
Stern is a freshman majoring in biology from Lawrence
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