Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN TUESDAY MAY 4, 2010 PAGE 9A WWW.KANSAN.COM FREE FOR ALL --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. To contribute to Free For All, visit Kansan.com, call 785-864-0500 or try our Facebook App. Women lie,men die! --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. Why do girls sometimes wear bras that are impossible to get off? My ex has ruined Britney Spears for me. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. I still can't believe there is only one hot girl on my floor. What did I do to deserve this? --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. I'm tired of being exhausted. I freaking love Stanley Cup playoff season. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. I'm at that point where I'm so stressed that everything is funny. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. Dear alcohol, You treat me so well sometimes. Then there are times, like last night, where I wonder why I even let you into my life --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. I think I might be able to text faster than I can type now. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. When I hit on girls at the bar I have one motto: Boyfriends don't exist --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. It was my first time in a bar last night. It was pretty dissapointing. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. I hung out with my girl Mary Jane and partied it up with my boy Morgan this weekend. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. I'm getting married and my fiance is moving from Manhattan to Lawrence next week. I was in Manhattan this weekend. I've had enough to last me a few years now. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. Trolling: Fishing for reactions from people on the interwebz. Example: Do not feed the troll. I want to be married by the time I'm 25. I would cry if I married after I was 30. That's too old. Getting married before 25 is the worst possible mistake you could ever make. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. There is no way you're prepared to make a life commitment at that age. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. Lesbians make the best friends for straight guys, because they're the only women who understand how annoying females are. --even calls porn "explicitly American" Yet, it took the economic downfall, two simultaneous wars and "Jersey Shore," to finally make porn into something the U.S. can be proud of. EDITORIAL BOARD KU message alert system proved to be effective University and Lawrence of officials did a commendable job in keeping students safe and informed during last week's unpredictable and disconcerting events. Though Friday's suspected gunman quickly overshadowed Thursday's computer malfunctions, both incidents tested the University's emergency notification system. It turns out the system works well. Students should feel safe knowing that University officials and police are capable of effectively responding to emergencies. KU-issued alerts sent via text messaging and the emergency broadcast system proved to be invaluable tools to University officials and police. They were effectively used to present crucial information, provide "rumor control" and keep students safe. In both incidents, text messaging proved to be the most useful resource. While the disabled server made KU e-mail inaccessible throughout most of the day on Thursday, text messaging allowed alerts to reach students. University Relations sent the initial text message — sent to explain the server outage — within an hour of the server crashing. University Relations sent two text messages Thursday and four text messages Friday, keeping students well informed as both events unfolded. Nearly 20,000 students, faculty and staff have already signed up for the service, according to University Relations, the department in charge of sending the text messages. For those who didn't receive the text messages, the emergency broadcast on Friday made sure the entire campus knew to avoid McCollum Hall. Following last week's events, we encourage students who haven't already, to sign up for the text message alerts. It's one of the easiest ways to stay informed and safe while on campus. "The safety of our campus community is of the utmost importance," said Jill Jess, University spokeswoman, in an e-mail. "Effective notification is a key to that safety." In light of other campus shootings in recent years — Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois University and most recently, University of Alabama-Huntsville — we think it's much better to err on the side of caution in responding to a perceived threat. University officials and police did exactly that, from broadcast alerts to performing a room-byroom sweep inside McColum Hall. Simply because there were no shots or injuries does not mean University officials and local police overreacted to the incident. Despite criticism, their response to the McColum incident was appropriate While last week's events demonstrated the effectiveness of the University's emergency notification system and the amazing power of technology, Thursday's incident revealed our feeble dependence on it. The server outage greatly impeded the work of students, faculty and staff across campus, as performing daily tasks was impossible without access to the KU server. University officials need to take the proper steps to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future. Michael Holtz for The Kansan Editorial Board EDITORIAL CARTOON To sign up to receive KU Alert text messaging go to: www.alerts.ku.edu/signup.shtml Arooj Khalid SEXUAL HEALTH Oh America, how you love porn We live in a porn-loving country. Dan Ackman from Forbes Magazine The U.S. employs the biggest porn industry in the world with $10 to $14 billion in annual sales — and yes, that is "billion." Apparently, no one knows how to have sex better than Americans. At the same time, it seems like no one knows how to make a big fuss about having sex better than Americans. I understand where this is coming from. Puritans founded this country and many Americans still cling tightly to Puritan values, such as an excessive work ethic or a tendency to place wealth above other desires. Some sex laws are more than intrusive of personal privacy. Although I'm not a fan of watching naked people running around on the street, Miami does not even allow girls wearing thongs on the beach. After all, it's a beach, and butt cheeks do not have nipples. Puritan values can also be seen in sex. Despite a thriving porn industry and consumption, there is still a great deal of public opposition to anything deemed "too Let's Talk about Sex Anti-pornography activists, who want to ban any portrayal of sex from public viewing, are mostly members of the baby boomer generation. We can appreciate the concern of these There are fairly strict obscenity laws in this country affecting language and body parts on TV and in movies. Yet, this applies only to those media that everyone admits to watching. What is not talked about can be as wild as your dreams (You know what I'm talking about). sexy" or "too obscene." BY CAROLINE BLEDOWSKI However, we are our own generation; we grew up in a society where explicit material was not uncommon to the see in the media. people and can understand sex was more taboo in the times they grew up. Ironically, Kenneth Kam-meyer, an author on sexuality in America, argues that anti-pornography actions often bring even higher awareness and increased consumption of pornography. Here is my message to people who are opposed to porn: Appreciate what is American. The people want it and the economy needs it. Frank Rich, a columnist for The New York Times, thinks the porn industry is bigger than major league sports in the U.S. Bledowski is a graduate student from Cracow, Poland, in journalism. Here are a few suggestions on what not to do during summer break because you might end up in jail: — Don't have sex with a less-than-16-year-old. — Don't have sex in Georgia when you're not married. — Don't make out for more than five minutes in Iowa. — Don't have sex with a live fish in Minnesota. (Remember, those laws have precedents). Last but not least, get wild and enjoy it in Kansas! HUMOR Classes get a little dirty One of the great injustices of the American education system is that it keeps students in class for the majority of the spring. For KU students, this means they are forced to spend precious time in class during the 10 to 12 day period in Kansas that can qualify as "decently tolerable weather." Fortunately, there is a way around this tragedy. To resolve the annual springtime conflict between a desire to experience the beautiful weather and a need to present half-decent GPAs to their parents, many KU students enjoy having class outside. On the rare occasion that the temperature on campus happens to fall between finger-numbing cold and skin-blisting hot, it's a common sight to see groups of KU students sitting on lawns outside pretending to learn from their professors. But when a class is held outside, it instantly becomes meaningless. Outdoor class is essentially the college version of recess. As soon as students convince a teacher to have class outside, they can immediately check out mentally for the next hour. But convincing a professor to teach outside isn't always easy. Whenever the forecast calls for clear skies and a low pollen count, a good KU student will prepare early to achieve outside classes. First, students must show up to class before the instructor and open any available windows. When the teacher arrives, he or she will be subconsciously swayed by the cool breeze, chirping birds and sing-song lawn mower noises. At this point, any student who has not completed that day's assignment will plead to have class outside and declare that it would be a crime to be educated indoors for 50 minutes on such a perfect day. Nearly every time, the teacher or professor will give in because they don't want to risk their awesome score on Ratemyprofessor.com. Students grab their books with glee and Stuff KU Students Like BY JOEL PETTERSON tatterson@yahoo.com Of course, every KU student is immediately reduced to the mental capacity of a 6-year-old upon sitting down on a sunbathed grassy knoll somewhere on campus. Inevitably, wind and/or construction noises completely drown out the instructor's voice, but it doesn't matter anyway. After all, nobody wants to listen to a lecture on the decline of Victorian era social mores when there are ladybugs to flick with twigs, blades of grass to pull one-by-one or clouds to identify by which Big 12 mascot they resemble. You can always Wikipedia the Victorian era, but you can't Wikipedia a cumulonimbus that looks like Bevo from the University of Texas. But even those activities can get old, and the outdoor classroom experience begins to lose its novelty as students realize they are stuck sitting on an uneven dirt clod for another half hour with an army of mosquitoes swarming, all the while probably getting the worst tan lines because they weren't prepared for the impromptu sun exposure. head outside for what should be an enlightening fusion of nature and education. At this point, the best thing a KU student can do is whip out a pair of sunglasses, stack up a couple of backpacks to lean against and doze off for the rest of the class period. It's really the only productive way to spend a class outside. Petterson is a sophomore from Prairie Village in journalism. Responses to the news of the week on Kansan.com Chatterbox — "KUjayhawk" in response to "KU group protests war with soldiers' memorial" on May 1. "It was very sad seeing all the flags and imagining how many lives have been lost over a pointless conflict. I'd like to see another effort that would include the Iraqi and Afghani deaths as well." "While Doctor Tiller's death is a tragedy, I fail to see how reopening a late-term abortion clinic is all that "open minded." Even in liberal circles, late-term abortion is viewed with some distaste." "I don't agree w/ this kind of "discrimination" per se, but should the President have the authority to mandate what private hospitals can and cannot do? What happens when a conservative President is in office and requires every hospital (even secular ones) to offer Christian church services for families of the grieved?" — "Xz007" in response to "Cohen: Let's make Kansas proud" on April 30. —"Savage" in response to "Editorial: Hospital benefits support gay rights" on April 28. HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR LETTER GUIDELINES Send letters to opinion@kansan.com. Write **LETTER TO THE EDITOR** in the e-mail subject line. Length: 300 words The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters. CONTACT US Stephen Montemayor, editor in chief 864-4810 or smontemayor@kansan.com Brianne Pfannenstiel, managing editor 864-4810 or bpfannenstiel@kansan.com Jennifer Torline, managing editor 864-4810 or ittonlineaikansan.com Lauren Cunningham, kansan.com managing editor 864-4810 or lcunninghamikansan.com Emily McCoy, opinion editor 864-4924 or emccoy.kansan.com Vicky Lu, KUJH-TV managing editor 864-4810 or vlu@kansan.com Cassie Gerken, business manager 864-4358 or cgerken@kansan.com Kate Larrabee, editorial editor 864-4924 or klrabbee@kansan.com Carolyn Battle, sales manager 864-4477 or cbtattlejkansan.com Malcim Gibson, general manager and news adviser 864-7667 or mgbionssikansan.com Jon Schilt, sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or iscishkinsansan.com THE EDITORIAL BOARD DARD Member of the Kanran Editorial Board are Stephen Montemayor, Brianne McPhail, Jennifer Torline, Lareen Cunningham, Vicky Lu, EmilyMcCoy, Kate Larabee, La斐斯 Penn, James Castle, Michael Holtz, Catlin Thornbruch and Andrew Hammond.