THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2013
PAGE 4A
opinion
FREE FOR ALL
Text your FFA submissions to 785-289-8351
To the smokers by the Haworth loading dock: There's a dumpster next to you. Throw your butts away.
I concur to having the "Game of Thrones" theme song play from the bell tower. That would be A+.
Yeah, man. Sunglasses are so main-stream. I don't wear them, I just squint at the sun all day and damage my eyes.
Hey, what if maybe we didn't just automatically judge everyone from Johnson County.
I agree leggings are great,but who needs pants?
The only time I see decent, attractive men is when I'm drenched in sweat at the gym. #foreveralone
You shouldn't just get in the FFA because you want to before you graduate.
WorkForFt
All of the flowers at the Chi O fountain look sad and that makes me sad.
"Harry Potter" and "Game of Thrones?" Consider them a work in progress. - A "bell tower" player.
To the person who said they bet Gatsby was in a frat, have you ever read the novel? #preentitiensgilmaior
To Student Housing. Please turn the heating back OFF. Sincerely, schot hall residents.
A little kid said to me while walking down the Boulevard, "Congrats! You don't go to K-State!" My faith in everything just got renewed!
I pregame for the pregame.
@ffaeditor big fan its my birthday plz RT
Note to all professors: Bringing your kid to class is unprofessional. So stop doing it.
To the person upset with my 420 FFA,
I meant we wake up before dawn to start
smoking and continue to smoke all day
until the next morning. Chill out bro.
But you're not the creeper Lawrence needs.
PLEASE PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT LEGGINGS. We all know girls wear them to make their butts look good.
If you think Gatsby was in a frat you haven't read the book.
FOE? At KU it's more like POE.. Pedestrians Over Everything. #RightOfWay
Some advice to those looking to get into the FFA: try not to look desperate. It makes you look bad.
Alright so we've got these beautiful flowers planted just in time for spring...
BOOM WINTER... Annnnnnd they're gone
The best pants are no pants.
Nothing kills classy quicker than cargo pockets.
STATE POLI
Governor's actions speak louder than words
Good ol' Sam Brownback has been touring the Regent Schools and stopped by the University this week to tell us all how important it is to fund these institutions. It was a bold move to be sure.
Brownback has been trying to drum up support for his "flat-funding" strategy that would maintain the level of funding currently received at these universities. The current level of funding is under siege from the legislature that Brownback has praised but has also noted has a dangerous mindset on education.
The legislature has mentioned the amount of private fundraising done as a part of "Bold Aspirations" as a reason why the University could pick up the slack if funding from the state was cut.
Gee, that kind of sounds a lot
like penalizing someone for succeeding in a capitalist environment, which would just be mildly hypocritical given their conservative philosophy.
As Brownback himself said this additional fundraising was meant to be just that - supplemental. It should not have to be a substitute for the funding from the state. Bold Aspirations doesn't work that way. Otherwise it would be called something like "Dedication to Stabilization" (or No Child Left Behind).
According to Brownback the legislature also wants to hold the University accountable for years of rising tuition, a noble pursuit of course. However, Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little has said that increasing tuition again would be one of the first measures taken to cope with these
state funding cuts
But Brownback doesn't get off the hook. Making the legislature sound bad does not qualify as a plan.
The legislature would not be pushed to be making these new cuts if it were not for his plan to further reduce taxes. He has said that with his plan we can keep the current level of funding and cut taxes. That plan isn't ideal to me, but I would certainly take it over a cut to funding on top of
the reduced taxes.
But if Brownback's plan does not win out and the legislature decides that because of the tax revenue decrease that they will have to cut funding to the universities, he needs to showcase his aforementioned dedication to state institutions and prioritize their interests.
While it is nice of the governor to tell us how important it is for us to be funded, action would be much more meaningful.
holders. As much as they talk, the actual way that they spend money is real tangible evidence of what matters to them the most.
If Brownback were to say that he will not go forward with his plan for tax cuts without approval of his budget which includes stabilizing funding, that would show some teeth. An actual display of where education lies on his priorities would be worth much more than another pep talk. That is the great thing about political office
A real commitment to education like that is the only way to prove that students and the institutions are a priority. Although it seems they all say it, many fewer back it up.
Brownback has said cutting funding to our universities will threaten plans for economic development. I hope he does something about it.
MUSIC
Cosby is a sophomore majoring in economics and political science from Overland Park. Follow him on Twitter @clavcosh
Jimmy Kimmel makes music snobs look completely foolish
Late night talk-show host and habitual button-pusher Jimmy Kimmel is pretty good at making people look stupid.
Over the last few years, he's mastered the art of viral videos, too. His show "jimmy Kimmel Live" is most known for its hilarious, unrehearsed segments involving regular people. For example, last year, he encouraged his viewers to tell their children they had eaten all their Halloween candy, tape the reaction and post it to YouTube. The compilation — which was somehow both hilarious and adorably heartbreaking — racked up millions of viewers on YouTube (it was all a joke and the kids still got their Halloween candy in the end... I think). He made a similar video by asking people to unplug the television during a pivotal play in the Super Bowl. People understandably flipped out and it turned into comedic gold.
Another one of his popular segments is called "Liewitness News", in which Kimmel sends a cameraman and reporter out on the street to ask passers by trick questions. This week, he sent the cameras to Coachella, a California music festival and worldwide music snobbery summit, to ask festivalgoers about which bands they planned on seeing. If you've never been to a big music festival, tons and tons of obscure bands play the smaller stages throughout the day before the headliners play at night. Most of them you haven't heard of.
So Kimmler's reporter made up a bunch of ridiculous, fake band names — like "The Chelsea Clinton's," or "Get the F**k out of my Pool" and asked patrons what they thought about each band. The result? Many lied and
said theyd heard of each band, adding all-too-familiar lines about how "unique" and "innovative" each bands' sound is. The idea was a success; almost everyone spewed out elaborate lies to the camera without so much as batting an eye. It went viral instantly.
Though watching unsuspecting people rattle off ad-libbed B.S. is funny in its own right, the reason this particular edition of "Liewitness News" is so funny is because it's so dead-on — it's so real that it hurts. If you don't get that, you've probably never met a music snob.
If you're "really into music," nine times out of 10, you're going to be a music snob. That's just the way it goes; I'm a music snob, too. Most of us began our journey in snobbery when we first went through a type of "phase" as young teenagers. For me, it started when my cousin gave me a Rancid album, thus beginning my years-long love affair with punk rock. Other people started off with an emo phase, or a metal phase.
In those days, we developed a sense of pride in finding obscure bands that none of our friends — those damn mainstreamers — had ever heard of. If that band made it big and everyone started listening to them, we got pissed. That's why, if you ask a music snob if they like Green Day, they'll say something along the lines of, "Yeah, but I stopped listening to them around the time when they put out 'American Idiot.' That's what I say, and that's why I'm a music snob.
Though it pains me to admit it, there have been plenty of times where I've pulled the same B.S. routine as the Coachella fans in the video; someone will have asked me, "Hey man, have you heard of [bblank]?" Since I'm a music snob and don't want to come off as being out-of-the-loop, I'd lie and say I had when I actually hadn't. My go-to line was always, "I've heard some of their older stuff. They're pretty good."
Music snobs are people, though, and people eventually grow. As I got older, I stopped feeling resentment towards some of my favorite bands whenever they put out a hit song and everyone started listening to them. I began to understand that it's perfectly acceptable to have never heard of a particular band; no matter how "cool" they may be at that particular moment. Eventually, you start to realize that no one is capable of being completely in-the-loop. You can't win 'em all.
That's OK, though. It's OK to say that you're not cool enough to have heard of some new band. It sucks, but it's OK. This realization is part of our evolution as music snobs. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, and I, like many of my fellow music snubs, have that problem. It's time to fix it.
And, for the record, I always liked "American Idiot." Don't tell my friends.
Barbosa is a junior majoring in journalism from Leawood. Follow him on Twitter @AJBARBROSRA
HUMAN RIGHTS
Anti-gay groups lose legitimate argument
European streets were filled with masked men, and riot police volleying gas canisters over massive crowds. Many had been beaten out in the open streets. Letters filled with gunpowder have been sent to members of parliament. This wasn't a Greek protest against austerity or a terrorist plot. These were scenes from Paris in the days leading up to a vote on gay marriage last week.
Presented with events like that, it really is time to take a break from congratulating the LGBTQ movement in France and spend a few minutes scrutinizing the global anti-gay movement and its true motives.
There is no longer a legitimate policy argument against gay marriage. If you can find me one, please contact me, I'd be very interested to hear it. The anger and political discontent is no more than fuel to get constituents riled up and gather them to the political base.
It's weird how, in a world of drone strikes, Syrian civil war, and bomb plots left and right, the issue that consistently brings the public out in droves is letting two people in love get married.
This anti-gay movement has characterized marriage equality as an "assault on traditional marriage," but here's a friendly reminder: fewer than 5 percent of Americans identify as LGBTQ, according to a Williams Institute study from 2012. This isn't some gay Gestapo bearing down on innocent straight people and melting their rings down. There isn't an LGBTQ counterpart to the Koch Brothers, spending millions out of pocket to make everyone get gay married. This is a wildly successful grassroots movement on the side of truth that is finally hitting pay dirt.
Even the progressive Mecca of Paris has its enclaves of far-right activists scrabbling to spark political unrest. The conservative party is crumbling in France. With Sarkozy gone and infighting completely devastating their
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
Good on you, President Hollande and the French parliament, for calling a political bluff when you see one. Bowing to a maneuver like that would have just proven that if you can get angry enough, the debate around an issue doesn't matter. I hope that when the time comes in America, we'll do the same.
If Rhode Island is any indication, we're on the right track.
This phenomenon isn't isolated to France. Conservatives in America are on their last rope - According to USA Today, Rhode Island will soon allow gay marriage - and holding out on what has become a major part of their platform gives them the illusion of unity. The more bombastic and insane the dialogue they can generate around the issue, the more constituents they can pull onto the bandwagon. That's why, according to Associated Press, Michigan Republican National Committee Leader Dave Agema continued to defend an article he shared that claimed that gays and lesbians account for "half the murders in major cities." What was his reason for holding his ground? He was just trying to maintain the traditional Republican platform.
political viability, the issue of gay marriage has been the conservative's chance to unify.
Yes, it's true: The freedom and rights of millions are being held hostage to maybe help win an election a few years ahead. That's not such a shocking thing to hear anymore.
@ColinKarr
@UKK_Opinion I feel like the parking department is trying to make us afraid to actually park anywhere.
@Kavdubbed
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@UDK. Opinion Still doesn't change my personal vendetta against the Parking Department's ticketing. They at least owe me a steak dinner.
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