Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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--pandemic in the United States. And in 2008, most people infected with the virus are African American, heterosexual men.
Well, after my second exam I finally realized I had read more than 300 pages of the wrong textbook
My roommate and I hot boxed our colossal fort we built last night. I love college.
Did anyone else see the ring around the moon last night? Aliens
Smokey, my friend, you are entering a world of pain.
--pandemic in the United States. And in 2008, most people infected with the virus are African American, heterosexual men.
My roommate just left for the weekend. Triple celebratory pelvic thrust for glory
--pandemic in the United States. And in 2008, most people infected with the virus are African American, heterosexual men.
My girlfriend has the same birthday as me. It must be destiny. We'll meet again.
Why does reality have to suck so much?
There is this beautiful girl in my class but I'm scared to ask her out because then class will get awkward.
Just because I'm promiscuous doesn't mean I'm not picky.
OSU is Bill Self's Achilles' heel. But at least we still have Conference and this can be a real good wake up call for when a loss means way more.
Mail time, mail time, mail time
time. Here's the mail. It never fails. It makes me want to wag my tail. When it comes I want to wait. Mail!
Proposal: When the pool gets moved to the Rec make Robinson an ice rink and give KU a hockey team.
I broke that rule about never drinking tequila again tonight.
Sunday.
Fun Day!
Drinking was a bad idea.
Dear calendar girl, you were actually pretty cool to talk to. I'm impressed.
--pandemic in the United States. And in 2008, most people infected with the virus are African American, heterosexual men.
Just keep in mind one thing: You've got to lose to
--pandemic in the United States. And in 2008, most people infected with the virus are African American, heterosexual men.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Outdated blood donation policy needs to be revised
The FDAAs policy prohibiting men who have had sex with other men to donate blood is unacceptable. Because of this policy, hundreds of student donors are not only ineligible but have no desire to give. Students need to show the Food and Drug Administration their disapproval of this policy.
The statistics on HIV/AIDS are dynamic and have been arbitrarily applied to gay men based on outdated assumptions.
The large numbers of seemingly healthy men who came down with symptoms of HIV/AIDS in 1981 led medical experts and the public to coin the sickness as the "gay cancer." A subsequent donor policy was implemented to ban men who have had sexual contact with other men since 1977, when experts believed widespread outbreaks of the virus began in the United States.
But these presumptions from almost 30 years ago do not hold up with today's data.
Advert, an international AIDS charity organization, provides statistics showing that all groups of ethnicities, sexes and sexualities are affected by the HIV/AIDS
Although male to-male contact constitutes the highest risk for route of infection, heterosexual activity and drug injection use are also likely possibilities.
These current statistics clearly show that no one group carries the burden of spreading HIV.
There is absolutely no viability or sensitivity in the FDA policy
It may have been a rational course of action after the first breakout of HIV/AIDS in the early 1980's, but more research has shown that its current existence is outdated and unnecessary.
More disheartening is that this outdated and sexually prejudice attitude hurts the people in need
Students should know that not donating blood is not the way to amend the problem. Students who are eligible to donate blood should still do so. The Red Cross, which coordinates blood drives, is not to blame for the policy implemented by the FDA.
of blood more than anyone.
On Feb. 25, a letter to the editor from Scott Caswell, the Central Plains Region CEO of the American Red Cross, explained that the Red Cross has pledged full support for lobbying for the repeal of this policy.
Students should still support the Red Cross and donate blood. They need to aim disapproval at the FDA.
James Castle for The Kansan Editorial Board
EDITORIAL CARTOON
To contact the FDA send a letter to:
Food and Drug Administration 10903 New Hampshire Ave Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002 or call 1-888-463-6332
AROOJ KHALID
MEDIA ISSUES
JFK miniseries a threat to accuracy
Today's History Channel programming includes "Ax Men," "Pawn Stars" and "Ice Road Truckers"—shows about the American Northwest logging industry, the items in a Las Vegas pawn shop and arctic trucking operations, respectively.
For me, it used to be fine that the History Channel had a couple of programs that didn't actually engage history. The personalities of the truckers, loggers and pawn operators are entertaining, and when compared to the other trash on television, it's possible to find a lot worse. I can let it slide that the History Channel markets these shows about contemporary culture as its primary programs, instead of informative documentaries or groundbreaking research, until now.
Although entertaining, I don't actually learn any valuable history after watching an episode, save for snippets about the respective industries and information about the items people pawn.
For starters, director Joel Surnow, creator of FOX's "24"
The History Channel's tendency to back away from actual history is fine when the topic is overweight truckers. But in the first script of a potential television miniseries about the Kennedy family, historically accurate, informative scenes are missing.
That Guy
Some of the alleged inaccuracies are dramatic conversations between President Kennedy and his advisor Theodore Sorensen. Sorensen says these conversations never occurred. Other details, such as the implication that President Kennedy first proposed the Berlin Wall, are simply made up, according to Kennedy scholars.
and outspoken conservative, defended his upcoming miniseries as a "dramatization," implying that the historical errors that several prominent historians have identified in the script can be ignored.
BY TRENT BOULTINGHOUSE
In one of many sexual references, the filming calls for a Secret Service agent to approach the president as he's having sex with another woman. Scholars claim that negative portrayals such as this demonstrate Surnow's right-wing political agenda in creating the film. These scholars speak out in a video by liberal filmmaker Robert Greenwald cautioning people to be skeptical of Surnow's
representation. When people tune into the History Channel, they assume what they're watching is historically accurate.
Now, these same people will watch "The Kennedys" and use it to refine their outlook on the Kennedy presidency and the other events of the 1960s—for the worse if Surnow keeps the historical errors in the series. The History Channel should not allow this miniseries to run unless Surnow drastically reforms his political attack job into an accurate representation of the Kennedy administration. Defending Kennedy's presidency is not my intention here; I'd be saying the same thing if a left-wing filmmaker invented aspects of a conservative president's life. Though Kennedy did have several extramarital affairs, they should not be the defining element of his presidency.
If "The Kennedy's" is any indication, looking past the politics and realizing that history should be treated with the utmost accuracy (especially from a program airing on the History Channel) is a concept losing precedence to entertainment.
Boultinghouse is a sophomore from Girard in history and journalism.
FINANCE
Debt-it cards
Last month, the debit receipt for my lunch at the Underground was identical to all the others in the stack next to the cash register. Although my purchase appeared to be normal, I had unknowingly participated in a complicated small loan for my lunch that day.
My checking account had been completely empty. Later, I found out that I had unintentionally agreed to a six-dollar loan with the equivalent of more than 7,000 percent interest for a sandwich. The bill informed me that my five dollar lunch actually cost more than 40 dollars with the included $35 overdraft fee.
This experience taught me that even at the lowest level of everyday transactions, the dysfunctional nature of the market is apparent.
Less than 20 years ago, if there was no money in a person's checking account, they might have left the Underground hungry but certainly not in debt. I had fallen victim to one of the many deceptive practices of major banks' card industry.
With absolute control over the credit and debit business, banks have found hundreds of ways to trick consumers into outrageous fees and interest rates.
As a result, millions of Americans are finding themselves helplessly sinking under debt that began with one missed payment or overdraft.
Down and Out
A debit card that draws money directly from a checking account seems like a simple concept. However, banks have set up an extremely profitable system designed for consumers to make mistakes.
Although the Senate recently passed a bill to stop some deceptive credit card practices, debit card issues have remained untouched as legislators struggled with Republican opposition as well as the powerful bank lobby.
Directly after a costumer uses a debit card, the purchase goes through a computer system that charges the most expensive purchases first. This drains the
BY BRADEN KATZ
checking account more quickly and allows banks to charge an overdraft fee for each individual small purchase.
With this in mind, its logical for banks to create a system designed to lure people with small sums of money in their checking accounts because they are more apt to make mistakes.
Meanwhile, consumers are rarely warned that their checking accounts are empty as they rack up hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees.
Not surprisingly, the largest portion of credit and debit card profits comes from what the industry calls the "unbanked market." This refers to the 40 million poorest Americans who would have earlier been denied to access to credit and debit cards. These people serve as a vulnerable target-market that has created billions of dollars in profits for the banking industry.
Today, a person opening an eviction notice can simultaneously receive an already approved debit card in the mail. Not only are insolvent individuals approved for both debit and credit cards, it is also completely free to sign the contracts.
With 34 billion U.S. debit transactions in 2008, more and more consumers are turning to their debit cards after enduring billions in debt from credit cards' hidden fees and interest rates.
Yet, regardless of consumers' efforts to conduct safer purchases, major banks continue to successfully scrounge among the growing group of financially vulnerable Americans for profit.
Katz is a junior from Overland Park in creative writing and political science.
More light should be
Female pigs are forced to spend their adult lives in crates so small that they are unable to
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
shed on animal cruelty I was delighted to read "Vegetarian Diets Don't Limit Athletic Excellence" last Thursday. With more and more people becoming educated about the ways that animals suffer when raised and killed for food, there is an increasing demand for delicious meals that don't require death or mutilation.
It's no surprise that people look for cruelty-free alternatives when they discover that chickens have their beaks cut off with hot blades, pigs are castrated and have their tails chopped off, and cows are burned with hot irons.
Luckily, it has never been easier to eat meals that spare animals from suffering, with delicious and healthy alternatives like vegan pizza and veggie barbecue riblets now commonplace in the average grocery store.
turn around, and eight to nine egg-laying hens are crammed into a single cage so small that they can't spread a single wing. Such behavior would merit felony cruelty-to-animals charges if done to dogs or cats, but it is standard operating procedure in the livestock industry.
For more information, visit peta2.com to request our free vegan starter kit as well as stickers and a DVD.
Drew Winter is a college campaigns assistant for PETA.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kanan Editorial Board are Stephen Montgomery, Brianna Plennanted, Jennifer Torline, Lauren Cunningham, Vicky Lau, Emily McCoy and Kate Lareeab.