Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 5A
FREE FOR ALL
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
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--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
That loss is something that just makes you want to abbreviate Wednesday Thursday Friday. WTF?
Is it just me or are everyone's Facebook pictures bigger?
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
Why do I always manage to screw up good friendships?
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
Why are we so worried about endangered animals? Survival of the fittest. They must be out of shape.
This hockey game would make a better movie than "Miracle"
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
Yes, boyfriend, it's true. I've faked, 99.9 percent of the time. That one time I wasn't sure. So let's just go with 100 percent
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
I'm out of candy! I need more sugar!
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
Men have it so much better than women.
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
That's not true. Just look at society!
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
Why is it so hard to find a feminist boyfriend at this "liberal" university?
I would like to thank my ex-roommate for being fake so I could finally have a reason to move out and be extremely happy with life.
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
Why do I have so many military wives ads?
I want me some Crystal Pepsi right now.
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
We're not dating. We're just friends with benefits.
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
Part vampire, part giant:
vagiant.
Anyone want to write a paper for me? Anyone? Anyone?
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
You're so fake that Barbie's jealous.
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
I love how bright your pee is when you've been taking your vitamins!
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
If I had known my other classes were going to be canceled today, I would not have gone to my first one. What a waste of waking up.
--banks do not want customers to know and details of specific policies can be difficult to find.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Students pay for bank policies
The Federal Reserve and Congress have been making changes to protect consumers from financially harmful bank practices. But there is still more that needs to be done to protect students when they swipe credit or debit cards.
Once upon a time, making a purchase required a question: paper or plastic? Today the question has evolved to: debit or credit? The debit option often leaves people with a hefty overdraft fee that is rarely a fair match for the amount of the transaction
But, if you are a chronic overdrafter, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon.
Starting July 1, rules enabled by the Federal Reserve will limit financial institutions from charging consumers overdraft fees on ATMs or one-time debit card transactions, unless consumers give consent to be enrolled in an overdraft protection service.
This is especially beneficial to college students, who tend to be inexperienced with personal finance and rack up the most fees. In a report made by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., nearly 15 percent of banking accounts held by young adults recorded more than 10 insuficient fund transactions in 2008
It is important to be knowledgeable of what you spend and how much money you have, but a large overdraft fee is simply a scam.
Commerce Bank said it has a policy of charging up to $35 for each transaction made with insufficient funds. This is information that
Though the new regulations are a step in the right direction, there is still more that should be done to prevent students from incurring such high overdraft fees. An improved course would be requiring that overdraft fees are more closely associated with the price of the actual transaction or give a warning if a consumer does overdraft while making a transaction.
According to Jean Ann Fox, director of financial services for the Consumer Federation of America, many banks do not disclose fee schedules or account policies online unless a full application is made first. This requires the disclosure of social security numbers, addresses, employment histories and other private information.
Thanks to Congress, as of Feb. 22, credit card companies are one step ahead of banks and their goal to protect young consumers.
Congress passed a law saying that no one under the age of 21
is allowed to obtain a credit card without a co-signer. The only exception will be for students who can prove they have a substantial income.
This act by Congress could potentially save students from slipping into a deep financial trap, where a lump of debt can be acquired. By the time students are allowed to obtain a credit card without a parent or legal guardian, they should be capable of making smart and responsible financial decisions.
The Federal Reserve needs to keep pushing to expand the new rules, making banks be more open about their policies, so consumers can keep their money in their pockets.
In addition to the new restrictions, Obama signed off on the removal of alluring credit card offers within 1,000 feet of college campuses and the persistent credit card offers through the mail.
Now that Congress reined in credit card companies and the Federal Reserve is making headway with the overdraft concerns, students should do what they can so that this growing momentum will not cease and the system will continue to be challenged to better benefit young consumers.
Students should contact Rep. Dennis Moore, a chairman on the Financial Services committee, and let him know they want more protection.
Stefanie Penn
EDITORIAL CARTOON
To contact U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore send a letter or visit his office at:
901 Kentucky St. #205
Lawrence, KS 66044
Or call: 785-843-9313
Or visit: www.moore.house.gov
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
" HOPE THIS WON'T BECOME POLITICAL THEATER.
... BUT IF IT DOES,
I'M READY FOR MY CLOSE-UP, MR. DE MILLE."
POLITICS
Marriage bill is step backward
The debates going on during the last decade about the role that marriage has played in modern society have focused mainly on whether marriages should be limited to a man and a woman. Through all of it, opponents of gay marriage have insisted that marriage is the cornerstone of our society. Apparently they disregard agriculture or safety from predators or any of the other reasons that communities actually exist.
The Kansas House of Representatives recently passed a bill which, if it makes it past the Senate and Gov. Mark Parkinson's desk, would mandate "covenant marriage" in Kansas. Covenant marriage essentially makes it law that marriages will only be licensed if couples undergo counseling first and that divorces will only be granted under special circumstances. Those circumstances are reported in The Topeka Capital Journal as including one spouse cheating on the
Through all of that, I shook my head and considered how cheaply people treat marriage, with drive-through chapels in Las Vegas, high divorce rates and high school seniors getting engaged to the only people they've ever dated. But maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.
Liberal Loudmouth
Although these are certainly good reasons to end a marriage, it seems odd to limit grounds for divorce to those and a few other things. There is really no easy way to legally define the circumstances for many divorces. I agree wholeheartedly that people rush into divorce out of excitement at times. I've seen plenty of my friends rush into marriages with people they have not been involved with for more than a few months, and then go through very ugly divorces after even shorter periods.
BY BEN COHEN
other, or being convicted of a major crime.
That said, people make rash decisions all the time. I'm all about making it harder for people to self-destruct, but legislating morality, which basically all laws regarding marriage are, is pointless, and based on current social whims.
Putting strict guidelines on divorce cannot quantify
emotional distance, no matter what, and cannot affect unreported spousal abuse, either.
For the longest time, we've been told that the protection of this "institution" lies in making sure that it can only be carried out between a man and a woman, using the somewhat flawed logic that it takes that combination to produce children.
The protection of marriage is, in itself, commendable. Two people attempting to commit their lives to each other is a nice concept, if not always executed all that well. Yet the people who have taken it upon themselves to do this have never really known exactly what to do.
The concept of a "covenant marriage", as Kansas may have in the near future, is another attempt at regulating a concept whose very role in society has changed constantly through the centuries.
Yes, some people cheapen it by rushing into marriages that they have to know won't last, but this is one of those cases where it needs to be their lesson to learn. 'There are very few issues where I don't take the stand that regulation is needed, but then there are few that affect people on such a strictly personal basis.
Ben Cohen is junior from Topeka in political science.
RELIGION
Lent is more than excuse to sacrifice
College students are famous for either changing or altogether abandoning the religion and beliefs their parents held. But, suddenly, the season of Lent seems to bring religion back into focus. Unfortunately, this isn't always with the best of intentions.
It is true that everyone has his or her own reason for participating in Lenten sacrifice. Some people give something up to try and show appreciation for the sacrifice of Jesus. Some do it to relate to Jesus. Others just do it out of habit.
From what I have witnessed this year, mainly through the medium of Facebook and conversations overheard on campus, many people use Lenten sacrifice to bring sacrilege to a whole new and profoundly shallow level.
However, deciding to participate in Lenten sacrifices by giving up certain food as a way of dropping 10 pounds to look good in a bikini or giving up Farmville or Mafia Wars to make more time for working on your tan is not only insulting to Christianity, but to others who actually take Lent seriously.
There is a difference between true Lenten sacrifice and an excuse driven by other motives. If you want to lose weight, wonderful. But be honest about it. Tell Jesus that this year, you just aren't able or willing to participate. Go on your diet, but leave it at that: just a diet.
Lent has to do a lot with intent. For a parallel, just consider our legal system: A plot to murder is different than a murder committed in the heat of passion. It is also different than an accidental murder. Although our actions matter, our intentions almost matter more. Simply using Lent as an excuse to give something up is not the point.
God Beyond God
BY SHAUNA BLACKMON
shlackmon@kansan.com
After practicing scales and developing the necessary muscle memory, even the off-notes start to sound more in tune. The musician can tell there is a difference, but not as much as the listener can tell. Once the musician starts figuring out the frets and the tempo, they start to become more aware of the screeches and flat notes.
One of the smartest and most spiritually Christian people I know compared Lent to playing guitar. I know it sounds like a stretch but stay with me. When someone starts out playing guitar, they don't hear the horrible mess that the rest of us hear. It is a matter of perspective. To them, the sound isn't that bad.
When we listen to Van Halen or Hendrix they become our ultimate guitar reality. By comparison, our rendition of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" doesn't seem as impressive.
That is why we practice.
Similarly, by participating in Lent, we become sensitized to God and the religion we take part in. We hear the imperfections of our world and compare them to the perfection of God.
We may think that we are good people, but once we take the time to really look at God, we fall short.
We know that we will never be Hendrix, but by practicing we can at least become better.
Blackmon is a junior from Olathe in journalism.
Recently I was reading an edition of The Karsan and was shocked by what I read. All of the crime statistics grazing the front page made it seem as if the sky is falling here in our beautiful city.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Question statistics on crimes
What I didn't see reported was any sort of adjustment for population. There are about 90,000 people living in Lawrence, which makes the chances of crime occurrences ridiculously small.
Let me just calculate the main statistic of the article: The 51 percent increase of rape in the last year. The number of actual cases was 71, take that number divided by 90,000 for population and you get 0.78 percent chance.
Most calculators won't even calculate it without giving an answer to the fourth or fifth power. That is the calculator's way of telling us to forget about it. Even just focusing on the female population, the chances of rape remain slim. This may contradict
what fear mongers would like us to think, but most of the people walking around Lawrence aren't rapists.
We don't need to run for the hills because of a fluctuation of individual cases, which could be caused by any number of things including our city's increasing population. There were more cases of arson in Lawrence than forcible sodomy, but that doesn't mean you need to flinch every time a match is struck.
We didn't get meaker or more prone to rape or murder in a single year. Please employ common sense before fear, and don't let horror stories drive you into a letlterious and distrusting life style
You're in college, so live it to its fullest and don't let statistics get in your way. Stay out after hours, meet someone new and always make sure to question authority.
Brian Henry is a senior from Ozawkie.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Stephen Montemayer, Brianne Plaennestel, Jennifer Torine, Laure Cunningham, Vicky Lau, Emily McYoln, Kate Lareabur, Martin Holtz, Caitlin Thornbruch, Stefanie Penn, James Castle and Andrew Hammond.