OPINION
7A
THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2008
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FROM THE DRAWING BOARD
Tyler Doehring
COMMENTARY
Textbooks ignore women's triumphs
CAITLIN THORNBURGH
In one of my first classes this semester, my history professor was introducing her feelings on the subject to the class.
Displayed boldly on a PowerPoint slide, she read a quote from Catherine Morland in Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey." Referring to studying history, she says, "I read it a little as a duty, but it tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars or pestilences, in every page;
the men all so good for nothing,
and hardly any women at all — it is
very tiresome"
My professor said that when she was younger, she didn't see a lot of people like her talked about in history classes or textbooks.
Until now, history has been an uninteresting subject, where a teacher lectures from president to president with the token female thrown in here and there. We've heard of Susan B. Anthony and how Sacagawea helped Lewis and Clark.
Students should ask questions about the women from the time period they are studying. We no longer live in a time period when women's actions have less value than the accomplishments of men.
History should not favor one sex over the other, and professors should refuse to accept subject material that doesn't include women.
I'm a sophomore in college, and this is the first time I've actually enjoyed history. One reason is because of the high quality of the professor's teaching, but a large part of it is because it's a women's history class. I learn about the actions and lives of women who built the foundation for how I live my life today. Women of this century are living what they worked for. I'm allowed to vote, seek higher education and write this column because women before me fought for the right to do it themselves.
In 1980, the National Women's History Project was founded because its group members had a problem with the absence of learning about women in the classroom. According to its Web site, only 3 percent of the content in educational history books covered women. They tried to increase this number, one of the most prominent attempts was the start of a national Women's History Month.
If more young girls knew that women like Alice Paul were force fed and jailed to give women today the right to vote, they would be less apathetic to what is going on in politics. If young girls were educated about the struggles and triumphs of Margaret Sanger and the beginning of birth control, would there be fewer teenage pregnancies? Why do we know the details of Brittney Spears' psychological meltdown but have no clue who Elizabeth Cady Stanton is? If girls were given strong, successful women to look up to, would the recent study from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention stating that one in four teenage girls have a sexually transmitted disease be true?
A greater emphasis should be placed on women's history in all levels of education. It took 14 years of education before I learned about the majority of women in my current history class. March is Women's History Month, and even though I support this celebration of women's history, it is not enough. If Jane Austen was writing about women not being recognized in history in the 1800s and women today are still pointing out the problem, this is obviously not something that has been corrected. If we have learned anything from the women of our past, it's that we know how to put up a long fight for what we believe in.
Thornbrugh is a Lenexa sophomore in women's studies and creative writing.
COMMENTARY
Smokers refuse to acknowledge health problems
Thank you for smoking? Never!
Except for those one or two instances of teenage rebellion, I am proud to say I'm a non-smoker.
I'll never be a member of the "cool" group huddling outside in sub zero temperatures for a hit, nor will I ever be able to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger after bumming a light—
something I've seen my friends do on numerous occasions.
In 2004, the Lawrence City Commission passed a smoking ban in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants. But when I return to Topeka, that all-too-familiar stench creeps back into my nostrils while I'm enjoying my food.
Perhaps it is because my dad is a smoker that I refrain from the smelly, deadly habit. Either way, my lack of nicotine indulgence has not prevented me and other non-smokers alike from being exposed to smoke clouds.
Occasional, everyday exposures tend to get under my skin more. I can't count the number of times I've
I'm enjoying the view of campus about to take in the fresh air when, instead, I inhale cigarette smoke. The cigarette hanging limply in the hand of the smoker created a cloud that I unfortunately am the first to intercept.
It appears that the sole purpose of everyone's cigarette is to create a streaming line of smoke that heads directly for me.
Non-smokers, you know what I'm talking about. Smokers, I'll explain.
Besides intercepting smoke clouds, the group huddles of smokers are another enemy for nonsmokers' nostrils. Their placement
been on campus walking to class to find myself behind a smoker.
at the entrances of most buildings greets the unsuspecting on-comer with the smell of nicotine.
The little, warm nooks that attract smokers have a smoky haze despite the "No smoking within 20 feet" signs.
But, I still don't understand because smokers smell and taste terrible. The smell and the habit make me smell. I've tried to appeal to the smokers in my life by illustrating the negative consequences, but that approach never works.
At the beginning of March, more signs were added to Wescoe's doors to combat the problem.
I've encountered smokers' willingness to defend the habit and each other at the drop of an ash.
I'm an advocate for not smoking because of how deadly it is not only for the smoker, but also for non-smokers.
As much as smokers have the right to smoke, I have the right to fresh air. I love the city's smoking ban and appreciate the University's attempt to stop the "welcome committee" of smokers at entrances, but have some consideration for non-smokers. Smokers may be good at heart, but they are blinded by their habit.
I'm pulling for you to quit, but honestly, I'm worried about my health more than yours.
McNaughton is a Topeka junior in journalism.
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It's March 24, and instead of seeing girls on campus wearing skirts and tank tops, all I see is North Face jackets and jeans tucked into Uggs. What a cruel world.
What a cruel world.
To the bus driver who just dropped me off at McCollum: You're gorgeous.
Did anyone else think that Wal-Mart smelled like shirt tonight?
--parking garage. Take your keys out while you're walking through the lot at about 10 a.m. and just watch people follow you, and then just put your keys back in your pocket. It's a blast looking at their
The Jazz Haus bathroom is so squished that it's like being in a womb.
--parking garage. Take your keys out while you're walking through the lot at about 10 a.m. and just watch people follow you, and then just put your keys back in your pocket. It's a blast looking at their
The guys who run the intramural sports suck. They need to chill out.
It's a blast looking at their
faces
You know what's really fun to do? Start walking through the Burge Union lot at the
--acne by popping a zi
To the guy who tripped walking into Strong Hall: It's too bad you weren't carrying a cup of coffee.
That girl's laugh really reminded me of Lord Volde-mort.
--acne by popping a zi
Did you notice how Students of Liberty sounded like real people, and the rest (United
Students and Connect) sounded like Hillary Clinton?
I think some people are confused. United Students' parking proposal is not a solution. That's like saying you can cure acne by popping a kit
I'm so sick of the Athletics Department getting whatever the hell they want.
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