Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2010
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--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
I got touched by a naked guy in the Templin lobby this weekend. Top that!
If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a pothole in Lawrence
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
I got pulled over by a cop this weekend. I had to tell him that I was swerving because I was dodging potholes, not driving drunk.
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
If sleeping in class were a sport, I'd be a gold medalist.
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
I thought I was done with awkward moments. Until this morning.
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride it now!
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
Notice: If Mr. P. Body starts drinking, make sure to lay down newspaper to prevent pee stains in carpet!
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
It's Pride Week, and I'm excited.
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
I am about to go "Office Space" on my computer.
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
If I don't do well on my test tomorrow, I'm blaming TBS for playing the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and distracting me from studying.
"The Sound of Music"makes me wish my life was a musical.
Why can't I find any weed?
THIS IS LAWRECE!
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
I just found an Easter egg... from last year.
Hand sanitizer creates super germs!
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
If you make an April Fools' joke on April 2, they will never see it coming.
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
"Dibs" is a binding verbal contract and should be taken seriously... unless your buddy called it on a girl and he went to the bathroom to pee.
3-D porn. If that hasn't been invented yet, it needs to be.
Hey, Justin Timberlake! Cry me a river.
...
Sunday morning is Saturday night's evil ugly sister. It hurts even to look at her.
--subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."
EDITORIAL BOARD
City should address cyclists' safety
To improve bicyclists' safety in Lawrence, the City Commission needs to follow through with proposals made by members of the Lawrence Bicycle Advisory Committee.
The League of American Bicyclists designated Lawrence a "Bicycle-Friendly Community" in 2000 and awarded the city a bronze level in 2004. Despite Lawrence's "bicycle-friendly" status, there still remains room for improvement
We support the committee's commitment to bicyclists' safety and its long-term development plans. These plans include the construction of a bridge over lowa Street near Centennial Park, a hazardous location for cyclists traveling to and from the west side of Lawrence.
Although some bicyclists said they have grown accustomed to minor collisions with other vehicles, as mentioned in a March 26 story published in The University Daily Kansan, the city should do more to ensure bicyclists' safety.
Members of the committee have heard many complaints from local bicyclists regarding the lack of bike lanes on busy streets and the incomplete bike lanes on streets such as 9th Street. Adding bike lanes to busy streets and extending already-existing bike lanes would help curb the number of accidents.
The 19 shared-use paths in high-traffic areas are a start, but more are needed to improve safety.
The committee made a sound decision to first educate members of the City Commission on the existing dangers of bicyclists. The City Commission needs to award the committee the grant it applied for that would fund a one-day bike safety workshop for City Commission members.
Until more bike lanes can be installed, drivers need to acknowledge bicyclists' shared right to the road. According to the Kansas Bicycling Statutes, "Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be granted upon all of the rights and shall be
Regardless of the committee's short and long term objectives, Lawrence residents remain key players in protecting the safety of both bicyclists and drivers alike.
In return, bicyclists should try their best to avoid heavy traffic areas and follow simple safety guidelines, such as not riding against traffic, not riding alongside a car's blind spot and passing vehicles on the left.
Though the city needs to add additional bike lanes, budget shortfalls may impede the resources to make immediate changes. Establishing a sense of mutual respect between drivers and bicyclists is the easiest and most effective way of ensuring safety on Lawrence streets. It also helps maintain the city's reputation as a nationally recognized "bicycle-friendly community."
— Michael Holtz for The Kansan Editorial Board
EDITORIAL CARTOON
High-traffic areas cyclists should avoid:
Downtown Massachusetts Street
- Kentucky Street, between 9th and 19th streets
iowa Street
6th and Wakarusa intersection
Lawrence Bicycle Advisory Committee
MYRIAD GENETICS CORP.
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
SCIENTIFIC HEALTH
Why can't we all get along?
I am an atheist. Unfortunately, this label comes with a high level of baggage. Atheists are often portrayed as cold-hearted cynics, desperate to beate those of faith. Similarly, believers are equally ridiculed in the non-believer community as hapless dupes. But perhaps the true source of this conflict lies in the greater never-ending battle between the powerful institutions of science and religion. As eager as both sides are in continuing this pointless shouting match, the only way for true progress to be made on a global scale is if both science and religion learn to cooperate.
Science and religion have had a long and ruinous relationship throughout history. When Galileo dared to show the natural world did not conform to the rules of the church, he was met with derision and anger.
Still today, religious activists continue to fight for the inclusion of creationist literature in public school lesson plans, despite the mountain of evidence behind the biological theory of evolution. In an age of the exponential growth of information and research religion and science still fight for dominance.
But the religious are not the only ones on the offensive. Scientists and atheists have also been quick to spar with religious
BY SAI FOLMSBEE
authority. Many atheist authors, such as Hitchens and Dawkins, dismiss religion as an antiquated adherence to the allure of the supernatural. However, this attitude overlooks the more serious issue of religion's ubiquity and undeniable importance on a sheer global scale.
Not all scientists are atheists and not all atheists trust science. There are religious men and women working in laboratories, fulfilling their curiosity of the natural world through the lens of faith. Similarly, there are atheists and agnostics who reject the notion of gods, instead following beliefs of magic or spirits against scientific establishment. The first step to understanding the conflict between science and religion is coming to terms with the diversity within both.
Regardless of whether one is a person of faith or of doubt, a churchgoer or a secularist, the tremendous potential of both religion and science cannot be ignored. Science has given the world novel
medicines, fantastic technologies and an investigation in how our minds, bodies, cells and atoms function. Religion has provided individuals with hope, a sense of purpose and the infrastructure by which to live fulfilled lives.
Instead of the continual bickering between atheists and believers both groups need to reallocate their intellectual resources to work toward solving the problems of the world. Climate change, poverty, hunger, environmental destruction, political unrest and are all issues that get pushed aside in the battle between these groups.
Science and religion, in the words of scientist Stephen Jay Gould, are "nonoverlapping magisterial." However, only through a commitment to cooperation and ending senseless bickering can an increasingly inpatient world expect to witness any change.
Religion and science are unquestionably two of the most dominant methods to understanding the world around us. They have developed into powerful institutions, inciting fervor within their followers in their efforts to improve the world. They give us hope that progress can be made.
Folmsbee is a senior from Topeka in neurobiology.
MEDIA ISSUES
Self-imposed targets
At any given moment, a KU student's picture is undoubtedly appearing on a social networking site. One by one, our photos of friends and family go public, or at least partially so, as some people allow thousands of online "friends" to view their website profiles
This mass comfort with disclosing information such as relationship status, sexual orientation and other various personal interests has become a characteristic unique to our generation.
Social networking behemoths such as Facebook and Twitter have transformed our abilities and willingness to share information. The line between public and private is becoming increasingly blurred — but at what price?
Ever notice something rather eerie about the ads that appear on these sites? The level of their relevance is nearly intrusive.
Facebook advertisers are able to scan the plethora of information voluntarily provided by potential buyers and then use the information to aim ads at very precise groups.
As if that doesn't seem intrusive enough, the reality is that this is just the beginning. Companies are becoming increasingly innovative in finding ways to keep track of us.
Take for example Foursquare, a new addition to the rising "location-based" market. This site allows users to "check-in" to locations via smart phones. Similar to Facebook, Foursquare it is very attractive to companies looking for super-local advertisements that find potential customers as they enter a business. Although the company is in its infancy compared with Facebook and Twitter, its user-base has already surpassed half a million.
The new company appears to be some strange concoction of World of Warcraft and The Sims, except the characters are actual people. Foursquare awards the people who publicize their presence the most frequently in a coffee shop or restaurant by labeling them "mayors" of that specific locality. These individuals may
Down and Out
BY BRADEN KATZ
As technology connects us at levels never before possible, people are becoming more and more accustomed to giving away personal information. Privacy, which is among the most important of our individual rights, is being enthusiastically given away for a free coffee. Hopefully we will be able to recognize when it has gone too far.
As more and more people own smart phones with global positioning capabilities the prospect of location-based services becoming another Twitter-like trend is quite plausible. One telltale sign of the potential success of these tracking devices is Google's newly found interest in the market. The search engine giant recently created Google Latitude, which allows friends to track each other's movements and publicize live locations with their phones.
Katz is a junior from Overland Park in creative writing and political science.
According to National Public Radio's website, the emphasis on keeping track of personal information is not limited to social networking. Similar to a strange salesman sitting in our living rooms, cable boxes are expected to analyze our individual household information like viewing habits, location and ages. Similarly to Foursquare's "mayors" who disclose their location, customers are expected disclose private information in exchange for coupons on their television.
GUEST EDITORIAL
actually receive coupons for free coffees through their phones as companies keep tabs on their locations.
FDA makes good move to restrict tanning bed use
More than ever, skin cancer is being diagnosed in young people. Just as there are age limits for legally purchasing cigarettes and consuming alcohol, there should be an age limit for tanning beds.
With the weather warming and swimmuit season approaching, students are lining up at tanning beds to achieve a darker shade of skin. But not everyone who tans understands the associated health risks, which is why the Food and Drug Administration should be applauded for suggesting that tanning regulations be tightened.
New regulations could also include visible warning labels
The FDA advising panel recently met to discuss banning people under 18 from using tanning beds. This would be a crucial step in avoiding diseases such as cancer. Unlike sunlight, the rays emitted from tanning beds are aimed directly on the skin, causing individuals to develop skin cancer at a much faster rate.
indicating the risks of tanning. To make these warnings as effective as possible, the FDA is further recommending that the current low-risk classification of tanning beds be changed to Class II. By adjusting this classification, the FDA would be able to minimize the amount of radiation that is generated through the machines.
The American Cancer Society reports that melanoma is the most fatal type of skin cancer, with 11,590 lives claimed each year. The World Health Organization recently listed the risks of tanning beds alongside those of arsenic and cigarettes.
Tanning isn't all or nothing. Options such as spray tanning and lotions are safe, inexpensive ways to obtain a glow. A new law to provide teens with awareness of health risks as well as prevent them from getting skin cancer at an earlier age is absolutely necessary, and hopefully will influence other hazardous products and activities to follow suit.
U-Wire, The Daily Campus at the University of Connecticut.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansai Editorial Board are Stephen Montemayor, Braine Phenmentel, Jennifer Torrue, Laraine Cunningham, Vicky Lu, Emily McCoy, Kate Larabee, Stephanie Penn James Castle, Michael Holtz, Catlin Thornbrush and Andrew Humphrey.