Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY MARCH 3, 2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 7A
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I get nervous every time I check my KU e-mail.
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I just saw the girl that lives across the hall from me for the first time yesterday. Templin is so weird.
Fear the beard. Please. More like shear the beard.
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Today, I was blessed by some fond dreams that we had never even met in the first place and my skin felt so clean.
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I need a head doctor to perform surgery on me.
Sweatpants and a t-shirt is not an outfit. Get dressed.
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Camping in the Fieldhouse feels like being a hobo for two hours
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Living in McCollum feels like being a hobo for two semesters.
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Is it weird that I take a mandatory trip to Hobby Lobby once a month?
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I saw a guy on campus in a t-shirt and flip-flops. I'm aware that it's March, but are you aware that it's still winter?
Sometimes my fingers creep me out.
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I wish my cell phone underlined misspelled words in red
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My roommates and I have been stealing toilet paper from Robinson for the past five months. Criminals? Maybe. Geniuses? Definitely.
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Life can be so confusing when you're high.
Why do the people who camp at night always get pizza? Bring the people who come at 6 a.m. donuts, Bill!
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I dislike people who put song lyrics as their status on Facebook
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Dear Tupac, I know you're reading this right now. Come back man
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I found some girl's bra in my dresser. It's definitely not
May roadtript: Two male passengers needed. Westbound.
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Students need to see the consequences of fake IDs
Underage students in Lawrence who are using fake IDs to enter bars downtown should take extra precaution tonight, and the rest of the month, to avoid harsh repercussions during crackdowns by local law enforcement.
Regardless of whether we agree with the drinking age, uninformed students are being punished for using fake IDs. While the culture of underage drinking in Lawrence makes these penalties overly severe, students should be informed of the potential outcomes of their decisions.
Many drinking establishments now have signs in the windows warning customers about what constitutes a fake ID, and what the consequences are for having one. Penalties can be as severe as a $500 fine for a first offense, $2,500 for a second offense or up to a year in jail. These posters are a positive way to inform students about this situation.
The KU Public Safety Office should be available as a resource to inform and assist all students, particularly when students are facing such severe punishment for something that is culturally tolerated though still illegal. In a conversation between the KU Public Safety Office and an officer of the University's Panhellenic Association, "The fake ID crack down was discussed," said Caitlin Wise, president of the Panhellenic Association.
Regardless of how much information Panhellenic was given about these crackdowns, if the KU Public Safety Office is discussing these raids with any organizations, it should do so on an equitable basis. The Department of Student Housing should be contacted, along with other student groups who have underage members. The Department of Student Housing declined to comment on whether or not they had been contacted by local law enforcement.
However, discussing the stings, especially the specific dates, with groups or bar owners potentially negates any benefit of doing the raids in the first place. A $20,000 grant from the Department of Transportation is being used to help pay for these stings, and we want to make sure the money is being used for a productive purpose.
The people who are going to end up being hurt by these stings are uninformed, underage students who are living in an environment that doesn't support the idea of jail time being a consequence for trying to get into a bar with a fake ID. Even if it is socially accepted, students need to tell their friends and classmates what can happen when they risk using a fake ID.
Caitlin Thornbrugh for The Kansan Editorial Board
EDITORIAL CARTOON
Possible punishment for possession of a fake ID:
— A fine ranging from $500-$2,500
— Up to a year in jail
For more information, contact the Lawrence Police Department at 832-7509.
AROOJ KHALID
POLITICS
Fairness means equality of opportunity, not outcome
Most people strive to be fair. Out of all the partisanship we see
The vagueness of the term, the popularity of its use and the utter disregard for the fact that it can mean so many different things has created quite a powerful, yet empty, promise for politicians to make.
in politics today, fairness is one virtue almost everybody can agree to pursue. However, attempts by politicians to mobilize support behind the idea of "fairness" are complicated by its ambiguous definition.
Many on the political left judge the level of fairness on outcomes. Virtually any disparity in outcomes is almost automatically blamed on discrimination. If outcomes are unequal, they must be rearranged to correct the imbalance.
So often it seems as though those on the left are so focused on outputs that they disregard inputs. Rather than focus on attitudes, behaviors, and priorities, they place the focus on forcing equali-
We have seen this time and time again, it seems as though the goal is to turn achievement by overcoming obstacles into a simple result of privilege and frame those that lag as helpless victims of an evil society.
Once considered a political taboo in America, the trend in
The Right Idea
politics today is to advocate class warfare. Both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of it. We hear time and time again about national level income inequality, measured by the amount of disparity between the richest and the poorest classes. We hear about "closing the achievement gap" in the economy and education system.
BY CHET COMPTON
Equalization becomes the goal of politicians. "Closing the gap" becomes a campaign pledge. Inequalities of outcomes are framed as "unfair."
Fairness ought to be defined as equal opportunity, which does not necessarily produce equal outcomes. Attempts should be made to eliminate obstacles to full participation in the market economy and the ability to make use of those skills.
However, forcing equalization which almost always means equalizing downward by lowering those at the top, only masks the real problem.
But many on the left see different outcomes as unfair and propose redistribution programs to compensate. This forced redistribution brings down those at the top while ignoring any structural issues that could actually solve problems instead of simply covering them up.
Take education for example. In my opinion, inner city education is very poor quality. This creates an unfair barrier to compete in a free market system. If the intent is to help people at the bottom of income levels, then education should be a top priority.
However, history has shown that redistributing resources by throwing more money in schools is not the solution. Instead the problem is the structure and lack of incentives for schools, neighborhoods and communities to improve themselves. This is where the barriers are created, and as such, it is where the solutions should be sought.
Providing free public education, offering scholarships and ensuring other opportunities for achievement are good. But there should be no illusion that they can undo differences in an individual's priorities, attitudes and efforts.
Compton is a Wichita senior in political science.
That's the right idea.
RELATIONSHIPS
What happened to chivalry in college?
I recently received an unexpected text from someone I originally thought to be a "typical college male."
Unusual text from "typical college male": Sorry I wasn't clearer when I asked if you wanted to hang out the other day. Do you want to come over and watch a movie or go out to a movie?
My not so-typical female thought process. Wow! Does he mean a real date? This is unusual. But, ugh, first dates are awkward. I'd rather sit around in sweats.
Then, oddly enough, the dating advice from Tucker Max raced through my brain. Yes, the author of "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" and self-proclaimed asshole Tucker Max.
Max says, "Ladies, let me give you some advice. You can throw all your stupid chick-lit, self-help, why doesn't he-love-me books out, because this is all you need to know: Men will treat you the way you let them, you get what you demand from people. If you demand respect, he will either respect you or he won't associate with you. It really is that simple."
Texts in the City
Bingo. It all clicked for me. The first date was a clear demand for respect. I'd be a total hypocrite if I said I preferred hanging out.
So I accepted, with the slight hope lingering in the back of my mind that I'd actually found a chivalrous college man.
I wasn't disappointed. "Typical college male" did simple, yet rare, things to prove himself interested and respectful. He picked me up, paid for my movie and had me home by 10 p.m. None of his acts took considerable effort, but it was all the small things that made a big difference.
I live in a house filled with 80 girls. Word travels fast. By morning, I had already been asked
BY MANDY MATNEY
to spill the details of this rare occasion dozens of times. Girls reacted with so much envy it was as if he had flown me to Paris to watch the sunset. Much to my surprise, most of the girls I talked to had never had a simple date like this in college.
I never realized the real rarity of chivalry in college. A recent article in The New York Times theorized that this is because women are outnumbering men on college campuses. A recent study conducted by the American Council on Education Analysis found that women now account for 57 percent of American colleges. The article goes on to suggests that the shortage of men on campus is giving the guys the upper hand on dating, meaning less chivalry and more casual hook ups.
I think this is true at the University, where girls slightly outnumber boys. Girls lower their demands and expectations. We settle for the "hang out" because, a lot of times, it feels better than nothing. It's so easy to lose perception in college when sex is so casual and life is so bectic. But there is something to be said about the innocence of a first date.
Bottom line: It feels good to be respected and the first date makes this interest and perception of each other much clearer than any 160-character text ever could.
Matney is a sophomore from Shawnee in Journalism.
Government laws define bank policies
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
In his article, "Debt-it Cards", Mr Katz states that banks need to be regulated more because they charge individuals who exceed their checking accounts' available funds outrageous overdraft fees. While this may be true, a logical observer must note that a bank would not be able to charge an individual an outrageous overdraft fee if he did not exceed his checking account's purchasing limit.
When you open a checking account, you sign a contract with a bank stating that you will not exceed your account's available funds; if you do, you have to pay the money back with interest.
I assume that, when Mr. Katz signed this aforementioned contract, he understood that the bank could charge him interest if he exceeded the available funds in his checking account.
Therefore, since no one forced Mr. Katz to acquire a checking account, the responsibility of making sure that he does not exceed his account's purchasing limit is his. If he did not exceed his card's purchasing limit, the
bank would not have to divert financial and monetary resources to his account (hence why the bank charges interest on people who exceed their purchasing limit).
Also, one must mention the reason why banks have been raising their interest rates over the last few years. For a long time now, the federal government has been forcing banks to make bad loans to people (i.e., make loans to people who could not pay them back). As a result, banks have to charge excessive interest rates to make up for lost capital. In conclusion, the reason why banks have to charge outrageous interest rates is because of government regulations.
If we continue to increase regulations on banks, more and more banks will leave the country; this will lead to decreases in available lending funds and employment, and it will also lead to a decrease in economic productivity (i.e., people will not be able to borrow as much money).
-Thomas Raborg is a junior from Hazlet, New Jersey.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansai Editorial Board are Stephen Montemayor, Braine Pfannenstein, Jennifer Tornell, Lauren Cunningham, Wicky L. Emily McCoy, Lara Krate Rababe, Cattlin Thornbrug Michael Hortz, Stéffen Pieran, James Castle and