Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2010
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PAGE 8
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Vuvuzelas - the best African tradition since Malaria.
Does traveling three hours to get sex make me a slut?
It makes you dedicated!
Financial anxiety like whoa. I have never been more tempted to become a stripper in my entire life.
I've killed two full-sized brown recluse spiders this week. FML.
I'm not sure what's sadder, that it's been almost two years since I last had sex, or that I think I'm OK with that.
Seen on Cole Aldrich's Twitter: "My iPhone 4 is about as reliable as Mizzou making the Final Four."
I've been off Oxycontin for six months today. I used the KU Med methadone program for suboxone. It was 25 dollars. 25 dollars saved my life. I just wanted to tell someone.
YAY!!!
--receive a 12 percent discount; those scoring 30 or above receive a 20 percent discount.
EDITORIAL
Scholarship for children of alumni is petty favoritism
While nearly all students deserve and are in much need of a tuition reduction, a scholarship for descendants of KU graduates looks more like petty favoritism than an actual advantage for the student body.
The Jayhawk Generations Scholarship rewards out-of-state students who have a parent, stepparent, legal guardian, grandparent or step-grandparent who earned a KU degree. The Board of Regents approved a two-year trial run of the scholarship program in April 2009.
Universities in Iowa, Missouri,
Nebraska and Oklahoma have
similar programs.
Not based on merit or need, this scholarship should be thrown out. This isn't comparable to scholarships targeted toward one sex, nationality or income bracket. Those scholarships help to uptown social injustices, promote equality and push for a diverse student body.
Students must have at least a 3.25 high school grade point average and an ACT score of at least 29 to qualify for this scholarship. Those with an ACT score of 26 to 29
So, there is some academic standard to be met. But this scholarship's premise is not based on merit.
Out of state tuition is, in fact, very expensive. Yes, scholarships are almost always a good thing.
But what have students related to KU alumni really earned over equally achieving first generation KU students? Or what do they bring to the table that first-generation students cannot?
Consider the KU community of students, graduates, faculty, staff, fans and friends and family members. When a first-generation Jayhawk is admitted to the University, he adds one more student and future graduate to the ranks. But he also brings family who might buy KU T-shirts and key chains. They could purchase football tickets to visit him in the fall. They might give to the libraries or to KU Endowment because they feel strongly about the education
SEE EDITORIAL ON PAGE 9
TRAVEL
Couch surfing creates connections
BERLIN - I sat in a McDonalds across the street from the Brussels Stock Exchange. There I could take advantage of free wireless Internet while waiting for Pieter, a 21-year-old Belgian I'd only seen in photographs and talked to through brief online messages.
Though I had never met Pieter in person, I'd be staying with him for the next five days in Brussels. As he explained in a text message, he was running a bit late.
"I'm wearing a dark blue and white stripped T-shirt and dark blue
BY MICHAEL HOLTZ mholtz@kansan.com
I quickly spotted him as he walked through the door five minutes later. After a brief introduction, we walked along Brussels' cobblestone roads
shorts," he wrote in a follow-up text message.
back to his one-room flat.
Encounters such as this one have become routine since I left my friend's house in Bonn, Germany, more than two weeks ago. Now, they're one of my favorite things about traveling.
But why stay with complete strangers instead of in hostels or budget hotels? The answer is two-fold.
The first reason seems obvious enough. Six weeks of travel in Europe would be well outside my budget without a certain perk: free accommodations.
Even hostsel can cost upwards of 20 Euros a night. That's more than
I typically spend on all other daily travel costs combined. A six-week excursion would become little more than a three-week vacation if I had to pay for a bed every night.
So instead, I couch surf. Simply put, I ask complete strangers whom I find online whether I can stay with them for several nights before moving on to another city where I repeat the process.
Yet this oversimplification fails to accurately describe couch surfing.
SEE HOLTZ ON PAGE 9
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