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.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12.2010
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--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
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--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
Dear professor: if you want us to get our stuff done, get your stuff done. Thanks.
Sex on the Hill should NOT come back. It's not funny. It's just trashy
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
I'm just happy that Sex on the Hill is back after a two-year hiatus. Let's just hope people don't complain about it this
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
I'm unintentionally participating in no shave Novemember. Oops.
Before college, I thought FFA meant Future Farmers of America. Now I have found the true meaning of FFA!
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
I feel like I am in middle school again. Boys asking me out over text and telling me they like me over Facebook chat. Man up boys!
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
I'm ... I'm not hungover ... it's a
Thursday miracle!
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
There is no way to make coffee strong enough to keep me awake in this class.
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
Boy:"Nice to meet you tool!
Isn't that the shirt you're
wearing in your profile
picture?" inner monologue:
RUN AWAY. RUN AWAY.
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
My crush came to visit me at the library tonight. Win.
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
I'm pulling an all-nighter to finish my presentation on sleep deprivation. Ironic? Yup.
Two things to keep updated: Facebook status and the marker board outside my dorm room door.
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
No one cares about your major
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
When do people write on the walls at Java Break? I've never seen anyone actually do it...
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
What am I in the mood for? Punching you in the face!
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
Yes. I frequently carry random things down Jayhawk Boulevard. It's called being an architecture major.
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
Wouldn't it make YOU kind of angry every time The Kansan called your neighborhood the "Student Ghetto"?
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
Thank you to the guy who gave me a pen at the library! You saved my day!
--said the University adopted a new standard for energy efficiency that requires that all new construction be 30 percent more efficient than the minimum standards to meet code. Exceeding minimum standards shows the ongoing effort of the Center for Sustainability to
EDITORIAL
New sustainability grade, continuing effort welcome
This year, the University received a "B" grade for sustainability an increase from last year's "C+ grade] and the Center For Sustainability should be praised for its ongoing efforts to make the University more environmentally conscious.
Jeff Severin, director of the Center for Sustainability, said that the University has received a yearly grade since 2007 from the College Sustainability Report Card, which is published by the non-profit group the Sustainability Endowment Institute.
The University is graded in eight different categories; the University's score for each individual category are as follows: Administration:
C; Climate Change & Energy; B; Food & Recycling; B; Green Building; C; Student Involvement; B;
Transportation; B; Endowment Transparen/ Investment Priority: A.
on and students should help improve the University's grade. Severin said that there are a variety of ways students can participate. At a small level, there is a sustainability pledge. in which students pledge to do three things a year during their time at the University
Big 12 Report Card for 2009-2010
University of Colorado - B+
University of Texas-Austin - B+
University of Kansas - B
University of Missouri-Columbia - B
Iowa State University - B
Baylor University - B
Oklahoma State University - B-
Texas A&M - B-
Kansas State University - C
University of Nebraska-Lincoln - C
University of Oklahoma - C
Endowment Transparency: B; Investment Priority: A.
Source: www.greenreportcard.org
Since 2007 the University's over all grade has increased from a C-.
Severin said the biggest climb since 2009 has been in Green Building — from a D to a C. He
make the University more efficient.
The University is tied with the University of Missouri, Iowa State University and Baylor University for the third best grade in the Big 12. Student involvement is one the areas that the University is judged
to reduce their individual effect. Students who wish to participate more directly with ongoing efforts should stay connected with the Center for Sustainability's biggest project: the Sustainability Plan. The plan is a set of goals across campus guided by an appointed advising council and 10 working groups, which students can and should participate in.
The University is doing a great job improving its sustainability and this is shown in its grade increase. The Center for Sustainability should be praised and
supported in its ongoing efforts and more students should participate.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
-Kate Larrabee for The Kansan Editorial Board
WHAT THE HECK! I UPDATED MY FACEBOOK STATUS 2 MINUTES AGO , AND I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY COMMENTS !?!?!
MARIAM SAIFAN
GUEST COLUMN
Policing video games lies with parents, adults
More specifically, you get Entertainment Merchants Association v. Schwarzenegger. The case deals with whether it should be illegal to sell violent video games to children, but it's not as simple as it sounds. It highlights First Amendment rights and how to determine what makes a video game "unacceptably" violent.
It has always been the responsibility of adults to shield children from that which might not be appropriate for them, but in the age of accessible technology it has become increasingly difficult. So then, what happens when one of the most popular forms of technology among children — video games — raises questions about violence? You get a case in the United States Supreme Court.
The hearing took place on Nov. 2, with Supreme Court Justices grilling both California Deputy Attorney General Zackery Morazzini, the attorney arguing against video games, and Paul Smith, who is representing the video game industry's perspective.
The video game industry, on the other hand, insists that video games are no more damaging than any other form of violent media and that they deserve full protection from the First Amendment, just like any other art form. This battle has been raging for over a decade, but there has remained one thing stopping states like California from attacking video games.
From the looks of everything, it seems pretty clear as to what the big deal is: California is concerned for the psyches of children — a completely noble and understandable aim — and worries that playing violent video games will lead them down some twisted path of degeneracy.
reality is that such a ruling would impinge on developers' First Amendment rights, forcing them to self-censor and speculate whether their games might provoke a federal case.
The issue with making it illegal to sell video games to children seems hardly debatable. But the
Plain and simple, lawyers who don't play video games are trying to talk about them. And not just talk, but make hugely important decisions about their future. Either way, it's clear in the transcript of the hearing that not
only does Morazzini have limited understanding of the real level of violence in video games, but the justices are also not experts.
That's to be expected to some degree, but when your argument is based off of a hypothetical game in which you can torture babies and "Postal 2," a 1997 game that was truly horrid, you don't have much. To be frank, while you can do some pretty twisted things in a small handful of games, it doesn't come close to infanticide.
Additionally, "Postal 2," which seems to be the only name California ever uses in its cases against video games, is nothing like any game made today. Since video games have become a respected medium of art and entertainment, people have formed standards. Developers, by and large, aren't just in it for the shock value anymore.
The Supreme Court now has the power to change video games forever with one ruling. Here's hoping they see that video games should be protected by the First Amendment.
-From UWIRE. Jason Krell for The Arizona Daily Wildcat at the University of Arizona.
HEALTH
Birth control method offers choices, safety trade-offs
A common birth control patch, Ortho Evra, has been the target of intense scrutiny in the past several years, because many young women have developed — or died as a result of — side effects that were previously overlooked.
Zakiya Kennedy, a freshman at Berkeley College in New York, is one of 23 women whose deaths have reportedly been caused by Ortho Evra, according to Jim Edwards of Brandweek. a business journal. The number of women who have died after using Ortho Evra has not yet been made public, according to Edwards, because of the ongoing litigation between the drug's manufacturer, Johnson and Johnson, and the 1,500 women and their families who are suing because of the adverse effects they have experienced.
Kennedy was a healthy, 18-year-old woman with aspirations of becoming a member of the fashion world; she even had an audition scheduled for America's Next Top Model. Kennedy died of a pulmonary thromboembolism (i.e. a blood clot in the lungs) caused by Ortho Era.
This raises a serious question in regards to the safety of Ortho Evra. Kennedy died back in 2004, when the safety of Ortho Evra was first seriously questioned, but even after more and more women have died or suffered severe health consequences, such as strokes or heart attacks, and the number of lawsuits are ever increasing. Ortho Evra continues to be prescribed and women continue to be injured.
According to an article by Jeff Rossen and Robert Powell of NBC News, women who use Ortho Evra are 12 times more likely to have a stroke and 18 times more likely to have blood clots, in comparison to the pill.
Rossen and Powell reported that just last year another college freshman, Adrianna Duffy, died of a blood clot while on Ortho Evra. Again, Duffy was a healthy, 18 year old woman. The difference is Duffy's death could have been prevented had the FDA pulled Ortho Evra off the market after learning of the previous problems associated with the patch five years earlier. Instead, Ortho Evra continues to be prescribed because doctors trust the FDAS ruling.
The Conscientious Consumer
BY SARAH BREGMAN
sqross@kansan.com
Back in 2000 Dr. Joel Lippman, who was the vice president of clinical trials on Ortho Eva, voiced concerns regarding the safety of Ortho Eva; Johnson and Johnson ignored Dr. Lippman's opinion on the matter, and Ortho Eva was officially contrived. In the next 17 months, 9,116 adverse reactions were reported to the FDA, which included everything from nausea to death, according to Edwards.
Rossen and Powell cite experts who attribute many of these problems to Ortho Evras high estrogen content, which is 60 percent higher than the pill.
Because of the pending litigation it is unknown how many women have actually died from Ortho Evra, and it may be impossible to ever know. There is the possibility that many families never connected the dots of their loved one's death or they didn't have the means to attempt to bring down the renowned Johnson and Johnson in a lawsuit.
Proponents for Ortho Evra argue that it has helped more women than it has hurt — but at what cost? Surely there is a way to make medicine both safe and effective.
But ultimately it is still a woman's choice what kind of birth control she chooses, if at all. So I pose this question ladies: Would having a child really alter your future so drastically that you would rather assume you won't be a statistic of Ortho Evra, like Zakiya or Adrianna? Consider the vast array of options available today, and then consider the risks associated with Ortho Evra; your health is in your hands.
Bregman is a sophomore from Lindsborg in journalism and international studies.
Chatterbox
Responses to the news of the week on Kansan.com
"Correlation is not the same as causation. The conclusions Frank came to are the same as saying "Since the amount of Oreo consumption has increased in the US, the rate of veteran suicide has also steadily climbed. Oreos are evil."
came to are the same as saying "Since the am
sumption has increased in the US, the rate
also steadily climbed. Oreos are evil."
A great many other things have also changed in society since the use of oral contraceptives that are part of the complex changes we have seen. Unmarried couples are living together because people are getting married later in life in general, usually out of couples wanting to put more significant thought and preparation before entering into "the sacred institution of marriage" in which so many previous generations have failed to succeed.
The divorce rate has increased in part to the lessening of the social stigma of the divorce, and the collective shift of us placing personal happiness over adhering to the expectations of others. Just because people stayed married in the past does not mean they stayed happy. We are just now admitting that most humans are unaware of the skills involved to maintain a healthy long term relationship."
— "SEC4ECM" in response to "Letter was misleading — pill does not cause abortions" on Nov. 10.
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