Opinion
United States First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,or of the press;or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15,2010
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--let the dogs out.
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--let the dogs out.
30 Rock. All day. Ahhh yeahh!
I'm spending the morning playing Animal Crossing, while listening to Christmas music. ...Because I'm 10, apparently.
--let the dogs out.
Didn't drink once this weekend. Where did it all go so terribly wrong?
--let the dogs out.
Grow up. You aren't in high school anymore.
--let the dogs out.
A chicken literally just crossed the road in front of me...and I was so freaking surprised that I didn't even think to ask him why he was crossing the road.
Fail Sauce
--let the dogs out.
I just walk-of-shamed it to lottery this morning, if that's not dedication, I don't know what is.
--let the dogs out.
Hey single cute girl. I'm an attractive single guy! Together we could make a Taylor Swift song. Think about
--let the dogs out.
Man up ask her out already, that is unless you want to be shot. Editor's note: Glad at least someone was able to man up and complain in an anonymous forum.
--let the dogs out.
--let the dogs out.
If Carmen Sandiego and Waldo had a kid, would anyone be able to find it? Or would it get recessive genes and ALWAYS be found?
--let the dogs out.
I just got an A on a philosophy test by spewing out three essays of my acid trip realizations.
I invented third and a half base
--let the dogs out.
To the guy playing Starcraft II in Anshutz Library last night, I deeply applaud you sir! Hell, it's about time someone did
--let the dogs out.
After 3 and a half years of college, I've come to the conclusion that if you stare at anything long enough it will eventually make sense.
--let the dogs out.
I wonder if Bill Self wakes up, looks in the mirror and says to himself... I'm Bill Freaking Self! Who-ra?
--let the dogs out.
No. Bill Self hops out of bed, turns his swag on, takes a look in the mirror and says, "What's up?"
--let the dogs out.
OK guys, I'm going to admit it. It's been bugging me for 10 years and now I need to get it off my chest, I, and I alone ... let the dors out
HEALTH
Good sex education teaches more than just abstinence
What did you learn in your high school sex ed class? Do you even
remember?
I don't remember much of mine, but I do know it was the sort of stereotypical shoddy "education" taught by a bored gym coach in our required semester-long health class where we had more movies than tests. It involved not much more than sterile memorization of sex organs and a brief rundown of scarily-depicted STDs, a competent educator's nightmare.
If we learned about contraception or even abstinence I can't recall. To ninth grade me, this might have seemed fine as I was embarrassed enough already by that sort of thing and too nerdy and awkward at the time to think about much more than books and friends. To slightly older (but no less nerdy and awkward) me though, the scenario I, and I'm sure most of you, experienced is problematic.
We are living in a curious time, to say the least. On one hand, we are presented with highly sexualized images and messages from the time we can walk, and yet on the other hand, sexuality education remains a point of contention with politicians and school boards and a point of embarrassment with our parents. It's acknowledged, then, that as people we are sexual beings, but we aren't supposed
Progressive Perspective
BY ALI FREE
to talk about it. The people who could give us factual and useful information—well-trained teachers, people who specialize in the field—aren't given a real voice. Potentially negative forces, like advertising and stereotyped masculine and feminine culture, fill in the gap left by our education system and do give us messages. These have real power to be harmful.
For example, dominating images in the media and, unfortunately, in people's minds, still emphasize masculine virility and control and women's passivity. This helps perpetuate rape culture, just as continuous messages that the only valid relationship is heterosexual perpetuates sexual prejudice.
Is it any wonder that in the areas where abstinence-only education is taught there are also some of the highest rates of teen pregnancy? According to a study released by the Guttnacher Institute, a non-profit group which released a study earlier in the year on teenage pregnancy.
Abstinence education is not sexuality education—it could be one small part of it, but it's absolutely not the only option and information young people need to hear. A good sexuality education encompasses a lot of things: information on varied means of pregnancy prevention as well as on self-respect, abuse, empathy, peer pressure, etc. It would take into account the wide variety of sexual and gender orientations experienced by humanity, and take care to emphasize and respect informed personal choice of both men and women. These and more are all elements of a well-rounded curriculum.
Sexuality is an important, far-reaching area of our lives to be developed, learned about, and explored. I am puzzled why developing this element of our beings is so much more controversial and left to chance than our intellect and physicality. With the enormous potential for harm due to poor sex ed, this is the last thing that should be left to chance.
Sexuality education should be the responsibility of both schools and parents, both striving to fill the air with positive, well-rounded messages to counteract the everpervasive media.
CARTOON
Free is a sophomore from Blue Springs, Mo., in women's studies.
ENDING THE MORTGAGE SUBSIDY
CAN HELP GET THE COUNTRY'S HOUSE IN ORDER
NICHOLAS SAMBULAK
GUEST COLUMN
Memoir provides fresh insight
Former President George W. Bush's new memoir "Decision Points" is a valuable and respectable insight into one of modern times' most controversial presidential administrations.
Bush explores everything from the administration's response to hurricane Katrina to the economic crisis that began at the end of his term and has had lasting effects on President Barack Obama's term.
Bush said he has a "sickening feeling" when he thinks about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and how that intelligence debacle resulted in false information and false motivations for the war.
Throughout the memoir, Bush also details personal decisions and family memories from his time as our nation's leader.
He opens the book talking about his alcoholic tendencies — something most private individuals don't admit to their family, much less something former figureheads admit to the entire world.
First, being able to admit to the international community that you were wrong takes guts.
The explanations and the apologies in "Decision Points" deserve a certain amount of respect from all ---Republican or Democrat
He held arguably the hardest job in American politics for eight years and endured domestic, international and personal battles
throughout that time.
Bush made an effort to describe what he was feeling the day the Twin Towers of Manhattan and the Pentagon were struck by planes in 2001 and how he was presented with information and what constructed his decision-making process.
By admitting to his greatest failures, Bush opens doors for new discussions about his presidency and current issues, such as the Iraq War, the war in Afghanistan and the economic crisis.
The memoir was released immediately following the midterm elections, when Republicans swept the House and made a mighty comeback to the national political stage. Now Bush, the epicenter of many of their pre-midterm problems, has publicly displayed what went wrong.
In the memoir, Bush tries to understand what went wrong at different times in presidency, possibly helping future generations learn from their mistakes.
In contrast, the memoir came out when Democrats are facing major setbacks locally and nationally, and many representatives and senators lost the election for merely associating with the politics
Bush could have tried to hide or ignore the mistakes he made by simply maintaining his stoic silence after he left office in 2008.
of Obama or soon-to-be former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
How this book is received nationally, and how Bush is received on his book tour, could give an indication to election results in 2012 but more importantly, it could reflect the very nature of Americans.
Will the majority still consider him an utter failure or will they finally understand Bush's side?
It is safe to say he did not assume the role of America's president in order to throw our economic system into chaos and to wreak havoc on the international system, too.
Bush's term ended poorly for him and he could do nothing but wait out the wave of criticism until he was out of office.
This memoir will tell us much of his life, his struggles, his success and his decisions during the presidency. But, more importantly, it could teach a majority of Bush-haters that many of the mistakes that happened were not made maliciously or with the intent to destroy our country.
Bush's book will be one to learn from and one that will provide an inside perspective on the slips and falls of the Bush administration during its uphill, eight-year rise and fall.
The Lariat at Baylor University.
HUMOR
Turkeys must be stopped before Thanksgiving mutiny
Next week, President Obama will make a decision that will go completely unchallenged. Nobody will stop to consider the ramifications of such a choice. Not even Obama's biggest enemies in Congress.
When Obama pardons a turkey on Thanksgiving, people will play it off as a quirky, lighthearted tradition. If only they knew just how dangerous that turkey could be.
"But Alex," you might be saying, "turkeys are dumb, flightless birds. They're not dangerous at all!" And that's just what the turkeys want you to think. It's a facade. A subterfuge. Another big word. Turkeys drown themselves by looking at the sky during a rainstorm to make you think they're too dumb to harm you. But they're not filled with rain. They're filled with hate. And they're going to use that hate to someday rise up and overthrow the human American government.
It doesn't take a genius to realize that turkeys hate America. Why wouldn't they? Turkeys have been the victims of a delicious genicide since 1620, when the Pilgrims came to America in search of cool new best friends. Ever since that first Thanksgiving, turkeys have been slaughtered by the millions each year, all in the name of America's supposed superiority. Don't think just because they lack the ability to communicate that they aren't getting organized. The turkey rebellion is upon us.
Rumblings have already begun. Earlier this year, a gang of turkeys terrorized a neighborhood in Athens, Georgia. One resident, Carol Herzog, "felt like a prisoner in her own house," according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
These plump turkey gangs will no doubt begin to succulently organize and rain down juicy, tender justice on neighborhoods across the country. America
BY ALEX NICHOLS
must prepare for the worst this Thanksgiving, and I don't mean the Dallas Cowboys. We can't just pretend that this is just some insane conspiracy theory invented by a college newspaper columnist because has a deadline and no other ideas. If we don't take this threat seriously, soon we will all be trapped in a prison of fear.
Let's not pretend that this hasn't happened before, either. Who can forget the Independence Day Hot Dog Revolt of '97, when cows, pigs and chickens combined forces to invade the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest, trampling and pecking twenty onlookers to death in a disgusting-yet tasty amalgam of horror and bloodlust. In 2002, the PLO (Pretzel Liberation Organization) tried to assassinate President Bush while he watched an NFL playoff game, nearly choking him to death. And last year, I got sick after drinking some milk I had previously insulted. Food is in constant search of revenge, and turkeys are no different.
This is why Obama must break with tradition and not pardon a turkey, but kill it himself. He must show America that he's not soft on the greatest threat facing America today (besides old people). Then he should declare war on Turkey, just to cover all his bases.
If he doesn't, we'll be the ones getting stuffed on Thanksgiving Day.
Nichols is a senior from Stilwell in creative writing.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Vaccination not always right option
Wednesday's flu article claimed that the reasoning behind the decrease in flu clinic attendance is because of laziness or forgetfulness. I don't think this is the case for most people I know that actively choose not to get a flu shot. How else do we build immunities other than being exposed to disease and developing the antibodies to destroy it?
I understand this as the concept behind vaccination infect people with a mild strain so they'll develop the correct antibodies to protect themselves. This is a remarkable triumph of human ingenuity but where the flu shot is concerned, I feel we've gone too far. There are definitely diseases that humans should be vaccinated against but the flu is only deadly for those with weakened immunities: children, elderly, sick folks. These people should be vaccinated. Public Health workers and pregnant women can also benefit from a flu shot. However, giving able-bodies preventative medicine helps create super-bugs, or microorganisms that evolve to
become resistant to antibiotics. The flu shot vaccinates against a few certain strains that we hope will be the same strains circulating the population at the time. Sometimes the strains in the vaccine match the strains of the season, other times not. This means that even if you do get vaccinated, you can still get the flu because the vaccine they gave you didn't include the strain that you just happened to get.
If this is the case, the flu you become infected with now has access to a few different strains from your vaccine, can mutate and spread to other people as a different strain than the flu you got, or the flu(s) you were vaccinated against.
We are so afraid of getting sick that we end up making ourselves sicker in the end; be it hand-sanitizing our way to a crippled immune system, or preventatively vaccinating and accidently creating bigger, badder viruses.
Maggie Horiigan is a junior from Manhattan in environmental studies.
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