OPINION
7A
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2008
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
COMMENTARY
Class shouldn't be as bad as McCormick's
ANGELIQUE MCNAUGHTON
I'm in my third year, and I've taken many classes with a wide variety of instructors.
Some classes I enjoyed so much I retook them, solely based on my love of the subject.
Kidding.
I wish that were the reason.
Aside from the knowledge I've gained from those classes,I've gained a little insight of my own: The instructor makes the class.'
In retaking a couple classes, I've had completely different experiences. The second time was always better.
My freshman year I took an anthropology class. It was my only class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but that wasn't my thrill killer.
He exhibited no obvious style, flare or enthusiasm for the subject.
I took the class again with a different instructor. It had a completely different format.
The classes were about as comparable as Grey Goose and McCormick's vodka. Although they are the same type of alcohol and both get you drunk, it's just not the same.
It's a different drunk, a different hangover and a different experience. It could be so terrible that you'll never drink vodka again.
I'm not always going to like certain professors, but if they don't exude excitement about the subject, how can they expect us to get passionate about it?
One instructor who embodies this passion in his lectures is Craig Martin, professor of biology.
I took Biology 100 my freshman year, and I thoroughly enjoyed that class, so much that I didn't have to retake it.
Martin was funny and passionate about what he taught, which excited me and kept my attention.
I've had countless conversations with friends who have taken the same classes as me, different instructors, different experiences and different grades.
It's fairly safe to say that a majority of students base class choices on time of the class and making sure it works with the rest of our schedule.
"Some of my best teachers are the ones who can be considered to be somewhat unorthodox," Whitney Rowland, Olathe junior, said. "They have a deep passion for the subject matter, and that forces us to engage in the class with the same level of passion, whether we like the material or not."
Unfortunately, when we enroll in a class, we can't check the past experiences of previous students to decide on which instructor to choose.
Faculty: Get excited about your class!
Most end up with a lotto pick when it comes to the instructors we end up with and how good they are.
Students pay good money to be
here, and you get money to teach us.
We're supposed to be learning, not being put to sleep. Some instructors need to step it up and earn the prestigious title that the school is paying them for.
Students shouldn't just suck it up because it's not us.
McNaughton is a Topeka junior in journalism.
It's them.
Tyler Doehring
COMMENTARY
Wasteful store policies hurt those in need
Living in weather as unpredictable as Kansas', where its 60 degrees one day and drops to below freezing the next, we know that throwing away a perfectly good blanket is wasteful, especially in the winter.
However, destroying the blanket before you throw it away so no one else can have it is something that goes beyond thoughtlessness.
Lawrence's Urban Outfitters has adopted a policy based on this wasteful outlook.
According to an Urban Outfitters employee, merchandise no longer sold in stores because of damages, such as a water stain or tear, is not shipped back to a corporate office with other products to be redistributed.
It is being slashed or broken before being thrown in the company's dumpster.
company's wasteful policies?
The company claims to be targeting "urban minded" individuals.
In today's society, has "urban minded" come to represent consumers so absorbed by the product that completely ignore the
A source, who has worked for Urban Outfitters, and agreed to talk to me anonymously, said the process of destroying items, such as blankets and sheets, happened generally because they could be damaged. This could mean something like a stain or a tear.
Tyler Doehring
But when it's freezing outside, homeless people aren't going to care if their blanket has a stain in the corner.
Attempting to call Urban Outfitter's corporate office, I struggled to come up with the answer. The company did not return any calls regarding my inquiry, and the only actual person I talked to, directed me to the company's Web site, which lacks information about the policy dealing with damaged goods.
The Web site for Urban Outfitters says that its "differential shopping experience" is a way to "create an emotional bond with the 18- to 30-year old target customer."
Why aren't the items not fit to suit given to someone who needs them?
I fit that age group. I'm not sure I've emotionally bonded with anything, but I think the clothes are all right.
Then the site says something about a "lifestyle-sensitive store environment."
What in the hell does that mean? It also says the company's goal
is to be the "brand of choice for well educated, urban-minded young adults."
Walking into Urban Outfitters on Massachusetts Street, I'm greeted with a slightly overbearing rhythm from some obscure song, which I'm sure has been carefully selected and added to an "ultimate urban playlist."
I briefly walk around the store noting the various sales on blankets and rugs and telling myself no matter how cute it is I'm not spending more than $20 on a T-shirt.
I found a store manager working in the dressing room. I asked him questions about the store's policy regarding its handling of merchandise that it is no longer able to sell because of damage.
The manager, who asked for his name not to be used, first said that employees have "orders" from corporate as to what merchandise to send back for eventual redistribution.
When I informed him that a source had given me information about merchandise being thrown away and destroyed, he changed his story.
I asked if this was always the case,
and he said yes.
He quickly confirmed that this does happen for things that can't be shipped back, such as plates and glasses.
When I asked if this included blankets and sheets, he hesitantly said yes.
There is a middle ground to be found.
I worked for Panera Bread for three years, and at the end of the day, various charities that had made previous arrangements picked up the excess food.
A wasteful attitude has permeated our society.
Recycling doesn't only apply to the newspaper you're holding or the pop cans building up in a corner of your kitchen.
Especially during the winter, getting a second use out of old coats, blankets and clothes should be a priority.
A charitable organization should be allowed to put the "trash" of Urban Outfitters to good use.
Become more informed about the places where you shop and the policy behind the company.
If a main goal of Urban Outfitters is to sell to well educated people, the company should be more up front about its policies and reexamine its actions the next time it orders an employee to slash a blanket before throwing it in a dumpster.
Thornburgh is a Lenexa sophomore in women's studies and creative writing.
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To the hot chick in the United Students picture, you're hot. We should hang out.
--for you.
--for you.
--for you.
If we have a Campus Crusade for Christ, why can't we have a Jihad for Muhammad? They both need holy wars.
I am a firm believer that when you turn 70 you should lose your licence. Grandma just about hit me head on.
If you found a set of keys with a black thumb drive on it and you return it to the Union lost and found, I've got a reward for you.
--will run out of digits first.
For every pothole that I hit with my car, I vow to remove a digit from one of the city council members of Lawrence. Until either all the potholes in this damn town are fixed or until they run out of digits. I bet they
What do you call a cow with two legs? Lean beef.
--you're a fool.
--you're a fool.
What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef.
--you're a fool.
What do you call a cow with four legs? Just a fucking cow, moren
It's quite sad that KU is evidently very unprepared for a potential tragedy. I do not feel any safer, probably less safe now, than did this morning. If you think it can't happen at KU,
---
All the boys who do not come to Tequila Tuesdays are losers.
I really want to have sex with an Asian, but there are no cute Asian girls on campus. Where are the cute Asian girls at KU?
---
Ugg boot originally were a product of New Zealand surf culture. Why they appeal to skanks, I don't know.
KU needs to offer more interesting majors, like Defense Against the Dark Arts.
1172
Guys in my scholarship hall think they are frat guys. Wanna guess which hall I live in?
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