Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY,APRIL 2,2010
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I got pineapple juice in my eye and now it is swollen shut. Sucks being allergic to fruit.
You can always put on more clothes if it's too cool. What if it's too hot and you're already in need?
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You looked good yesterday, just saying.
We are, we are ... the youth of the nation!
I have four pounds of animal crackers hidden in my car so that my roommate doesn't eat them all.
I need April Fools' pranks.
I love warm weather.
Mosquitoes, sweaty people on campus, people blasting ridiculous music from their open car windows and bros tanning in their front yard with cutoff t-shirts on. Yikes!
Does anyone else miss floppy disks?
I wanna get ma'tan on!
--texted me?
GTL: gym, tanning, laundry.
I hate when you see a girl who you can tell would have been attractive with ten fewer piercings and three fewer tattoos
"Maid in Manhattan," now there is a good chick flick!
I am glad that all of the girls who made my life hell in middle school are now pregnant and high school dropouts.
My professor just mentioned O.J. Simpson in class and some one "woo'd"
Why?
I love Thursdays. Navy boys dressed up, looking all sharp.
I dreamt that my fridge had tons of string cheese in it Psychoanalyze that, Freud!
I keep waking up with a nosebleed. I wonder if I should see someone about that.
I wish could have seen my neighbor's face when she found her car covered in post- it notes!
--texted me?
I just realized I'm more turned on by sexy stories than pictures
If you can't pee without getting it everywhere, then you have failed at life.
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
--texted me?
EDITORIAL CARTOON
RELATIONSHIPS
Overcome insecurities to improve relationship
Typical college female-to-
female text; UGH. I know
he likes me... Why hasn't he
me?
Shamefully, I admit to sending similar texts in regard to my recent male interest. But, after a scientific, evidence-backed wake-up call, I realized that I don't have to compromise control of my emotions for a good relationship.
Let me start from the beginning:
After a month of dating, everything was going great between my male interest and me whenever we were together. We always seemed to connect on multiple levels and I felt emotionally stable.
But when we were apart, pathetic ic, needy and insecure thoughts weighed heavily on my mind.
As a typical female of Generation Y, I subconsciously felt that if a guy liked me that he should demonstrate some kind of effort to communicate with me—and preferably in a frequent manner. To the delight of many of my female friends and the annoyance of my male friends, this type of communication is more possible than ever due to the thousands of portals of communication available.
Although I tried to maintain reasonable expectations, I never thought it was asking too much for my guy to occasionally text me in his free time. I just liked knowing that he was thinking of me and hadn't fallen off the face of the earth. This may sound easy to some, but, according to some of the less-than winning guys of my dating past, this request was on par with asking a man to carry a purse and walk through the mall.
BY MANDY MATNEY
A few weeks ago, still tormented by the lack of communication, I picked up the book, "The Female Brain," by Dr. Luann Brizendine. To my surprise, the book actually put my irrational ways of thinking into scientifically reasonable terms. Dr. Brizendine used extensive research to conclude that women experience anxiety, where they are consciously aware of a threat at hand, four times more often than males. She went on to explain that females tend to worry and fear far more often than males do. Therefore, they need more frequent communication in order to maintain emotional stability.
Basisally, it's more likely for females to over-analyze relationships and worry than males. Simply based on the pre-set mechanics of our brains, it stands to reason that for every four times a woman analyzes, rationalizes or theorizes about the intentions of a male, that male counterpart probably hasn't even spent one moment in distress.
Photo illustration by Howard Ting/KANSAN
This, however, doesn't mean boys don't have strong feelings for their mates; they just naturally spend less time pre-occupied with thoughts of "is she or isn't she?"
Although Brizentine's research does help me feel a little less crazy
- Men's brains tend to perform tasks mostly on the left-side of the brain, which is the area responsible for logic and rational thinking. Women have an increased ability to transfer information between the hemispheres.
Battle of the Sexes: Science of the Brain
- On average, men's brains are 10 percent larger than women's. But, women's brains have more nerve cells and cellular connections, allowing them to work more efficiently and effectively.
- — From the Society for Neuroscience.
- Women have a larger limbic size, which facilitates more bonding and nesting instincts.
for my desire for communication, it still doesn't make it much easier to cope with my relationship insecurities.
I remember one time when my female brain was in a somewhat-pathetic state of anxiety. I hadn't heard from my guy for more than 24 hours. Staring at the screen of my Samsung Moment, I wished it would illuminate with a text from his name. As my insecurities grew, I scanned through old conversations, looking for reassurance that he still liked me. Was there a clue I missed? Did I disregard something important he said? I jumped from one fearful thought to the next, all while not providing myself with any relief.
- Women are more prone to depression.
Suddenly, I realized I was on my way to being one of "those girls" who are obsessive, irrational and desperate about their relationships. Rather than spend one more moment questioning the intentions of my guy, I decided to settle this on my own terms. I refused to spend another minute over-analyzing his ways and resolved that if he was worth it, he would initiate contact. Until then, I wouldn't worry.
And, luckily, he did. The next time we were hanging out I decided to take a chance and ask him why he didn't text or call me very often.
To my surprise he said, "If I texted you all the time you would get annoyed, bored of me and probably a little creeped out."
My first reaction was to defend myself, but then I thought back to all the times I had labeled guys who texted, called or Facebook messaged me far too frequently as a "creeper." I thought about the dozens of guys I had quickly lost interest in because of their constant communication pursuit.
HUMAN RIGHTS
As much as I hated it, guys who actually texted me as often as I said I wanted them to just ended up boring the hell out of me. I always said that I never like nice guys, and now I'm realizing that I like the game of chase.
It's tragic but true; we always want what we can't have. To me, the less available men appear to be, the more I want them. So, when the guy I'm dating leaves me pathetically looking at my phone in hopes of receiving a text from him, it helps put me in my place. It also keeps things interesting. Although there is a fine line between nice guys and "creepers," it's sad that girls, myself included, use texts and Facebook chats to judge that line.
Don't get me wrong, communication is still crucial in every relationship. Males need to strategically communicate often enough to keep interest but seldom enough to avoid the unwanted label of "creeper." And in the mean time, us girls need to stop wasting time over-analyzing their intentions, because there is nothing attractive about a girl who obsesses.
Matney is a sophomore from Shawnee Mission in journalism.
The fight for global democracy continues
Student Senate elections are not the only elections stu-
Snot the only elections students should pay attention to in the third week of April. Sudan will hold its first competitive elections in almost a quarter of a century when citizens go to the polls from April 11 to 13 to vote in presidential and parliamentary races.
These elections come during a heated time in Sudan. The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for President Omar al-Bashir's arrest a year ago. But, not only is Bashir still free, but he continues to exercise control over Sudan.
In February, the Sudanese government said it expected to sign a peace agreement with the Justice and Equality Movement, a Darfur rebel group, by March 15. That did not happen. Talks are reportedly ongoing, but skepticism remains in the air, especially since previous peace talks have failed to eliminate violence in the region.
Given the instability of the state, fulfilling the reality of free and fair elections will be a hefty challenge - and the prospects are dim.
Some elections observers from foreign entities, namely Carter Center, a human rights group based in the U.S., have said it would be best to postpone the elections for a short time. The purpose would be to take care of logistical issues that affect the nature of free and fair elections, such as environmental insecurity and the ability for candidates to campaign freely.
According to The Guardian, a British paper, Bashir threatened to cut off the fingers and promptly expel from the country any foreign election observers who demand delaying the elections.
This response doesn't exactly reflect a government that is taking steps toward free and fair
Rights and the Law
BY KELLY COSBY kcoshy@kansap.com
If Bashir and the current Sudanese government doesn't ensure fair elections or if they do anything to hinder the process of fair elections, there could be jolting ramifications for the next important vote in Sudan.
election or toward eliminating human rights abuses.
In 2011, Sudan is supposed to hold an independence referendum that would determine whether the southern part of the country should secede. Many have argued that if Sudan simply evades the long-waged conflict between the north and the south with a permanent border division, the result would be chaos. But, a vote for separating the country could be a reality if voters do not get the sense that their government allows fair elections.
Besides encouraging students to pay attention to elections and political controversy outside of the U.S., I also cannot stress enough the importance of remembering we don't have as many problems as some of these countries do. Say what you want about our government or the validity of elections at the national, state or local level, but please remember that any problems could be far worse than they are. It is by acknowledging this advantage that truly meaningful discourse may arise to build our political systems rather than tear them down.
Cosby is a sophomore from Overland Park in political science.
GUEST EDITORIAL
Breaking down the myth of spring break
We are the MTV generation. Though most parents
Spring break was a starstudded event on MTV. In 1998, Boys II Men gave a live performance, and the next year featured Busta Rhymes and 98 Degrees.
The reality of a true college spring break, however, comes nowhere close to the fantasy MTV sells so many kids each year. Spring break plans revolve around school. Any shenanigans must be scheduled around those five projects you still have to finish up from midterms. Undoubtedly, many of us let the partying to the snow-birds
parents would rather their children choose Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" over MTVV's "Spring Break," back in the day that idealized portrayal of a week-long hiatus from school was the wildest time you could watch from your couch.
Another popular option for many was a quiet spring break with family. Though hanging with your little brother might not seem as cool as the MTV experience, nothing beats family time. There's no better way to save money than filling up on mom's meatloaf instead of $12 drinks.
So if your break wasn't spent surrounded by the wet T-shirt contests and beer bongs you always imagined would fill your spring break, don't fret. The insane college experience you hoped for is not as typical as you might think. Taking a few days just to relax and catch up on all that sleep you missed during midterms could have been just the break you needed.
and spent our one free week this semester catching up on required reading.
U-Wire, The Miami Hurricane at the University of Miami.
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