THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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OPINION
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OUR OPINION
FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2006
What's the deal with ... cookies, cash, cougars?
Editor's note: Throughout this semester the editorial board has attempted to provide more relaxed commentary on Fridays. For the final Friday publication of The University Daily Kansan this semester, the editorial board decided to take a tight-hearted look at some of the good things and bad things at the University this semester.
The bad
What's up with the packaging for the cookies sold on campus? It's so hard to open these things, you feel like you need to call MacGyver just to maneuver it from the Saran wrap.
Wescoe Hall bathrooms. We didn't even know one-ply toilet paper was still manufactured outside the former Soviet Union. And wait, how much has tuition increased?
Snow Hall? More like Smell Hall. How is it possible to walk into a building that smells like a mortuary when you're going to class?
The new password policy. How many ampersands do you need? Students shouldn't have to make passwords so tricky they trick themselves. Who really wants to break into a KU e-mail account anyway, other than belligerent Mizzou fans?
Remember, you stand on the seat in front of you at games, not at which you sit. Never mind. The Athletics Department won't let us stand on the bleachers anymore. They have to preserve the paint.
- Ten Athletic Department staffers make at least $100,000. And we can't get out of the first round of the NCAA tournament? We're paying how much next year for non-revenue sports?
Finally, what's up with the poorly-researched, one-sided,
Issue: The good, the bad and the ugly at the University
Stance: Not every issue gets a full editorial, but these issues deserve mention.
long-winded, inflammatory editorials from the Kansan? Who writes those?
The good
We're being serious now.
Thanks maintenance crew for not blowing leaves and grass on us. We appreciate it.
- Way to go Watson Library. Finally, there's enough computers for everybody to keep up on their Facebook profiles. Now, if you'll get rid of those books cluttering up the rest of the library.
Thank you Underground for providing Chick-fil-A sandwiches and personal pan pizzas at our beck and call. Cut down on the lines and it'll be paradise.
PAGE 7A
Congrats to SUA for utilizing its budget for speakers who students care about. Carlos Mencia; good. Random former secretary of agriculture for Tunisia; bad. Bill Cosby; good.
Five minutes off classes that were an hour and 20 minutes long during the fall. Best idea of the semester.
- Thank goodness the mountain lion is gone. Park and Ride is scary enough. We don't need any cougars here. Kansas State has a better animal husbandry program anyway. Good thing it's gone. Or is it?
The editorial board
YOUR OPINION
Column neglects other forms of love
Editor's note: The comment below was posted on kansan.com in reference to Courtney Hagen's column, "Study's findings reveal love is universal to all." The comment appears uncorrected and unedited.
"If these are the things that love is like, I want nothing to do with it. I am married to the woman I love with all my heart and I must say that there is not a thing on this world I can compare it too."
"However, the problem with this column is that it
focuses only on romantic love. Why not focus on other kinds as well? Knowing that no matter how much I screw up or what I do, my parents will love me. What about brotherly love where you will beat the living crap out of them but if someone else speaks ill of them, you immediately stick up for them? What about love between friends? Knowing that no matter how long you go without speaking or seeing each other, when you reunite, it is as if you saw each other yesterday."
Misconceptions about veganism need clarification
COMMENTARY
I'm used to getting strange looks from people. If I'm not getting sideways glances for wearing mint green Doris Day-like dresses with holey blue jeans or dancing in the rain in my night gown in the afternoon, I always get a strange look whenever I tell people I'm a vegan. Some people have an expression of disbelief upon hearing that a fellow homo sapien could be alive and standing without animal products in their diet. Some look in a awe that I can sustain such a complex lifestyle. Others glare back in mocking disgust because they themselves need meat. Most non-vegans seem to have a great many misconceptions about vegans.
I will dispel some of these myths.
In reality, protein is in almost everything and requires no "planning" to acquire. Ever look at the protein in whole grain bread? Pasta? Glance at a helping of peas, beans, rice, lentils, cereal, peanut butter, nuts, granola bars or any other foods you already have in your cabinets. Protein is in just about everything. A vegan does need to remember to take a multi-vitamin containing B12 and iron, but besides that, the lifestyle is pretty low maintenance.
MYTH 1: You must have a hard time getting protein.
your favorite foods. Plus, there are a lot of everyday foods that you wouldn't expect to be vegan. Plus, I've opened myself up to a lot of wonderful dishes I might not have discovered eating the same old chicken and potatoes that I fared onun as a kid.
MYTH 3: I would die without meat.
In actuality, a strictly vegan diet isn't a diet, but a lifestyle. There are no food restrictions, only new and delicious alternatives. Thanks to the popularity of the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle, there are lots of affordable and scrumptious substitutes for any of
MYTH 2: Your diet must be unbearably restrictive.
There are so many good meat substitutes that are a lot cheaper, easier to prepare, and more delicious than meat. Tofu, vegan grillers and falafel are just a few examples of easy and fast vegan foods that will make you completely forget about taking the time to cook and spend money on meat.
MYTH 4: Vegans are the most unhealthy people on the planet.
Researching the answer to this question was tricky. A great many of the Web sites with information about veganism are pro-vegan. Instead of relying on biased information, I looked at different and recent research by the American Cancer Institute and other government sanctioned research in both the United States and the United Kingdom. All the research indicated that vegans and vegetarians are, as a group, significantly more healthy than their omnivore counterparts. Vegans have a greatly reduced risk for heart disease and various cancers.
Still, there is a controversy about pregnant women and children adopting the vegan lifestyle, so more research is needed.
From personal experience, I can vouch for the health benefits and energy I have gained from switching to veganism. I've lost weight in a healthy way, without reverting
I also feel better not eating animal products and not supporting the meat packing industry. Still, diet and exercise is vital to any healthy lifestyle, so mine isn't ideal unless dancing in the rain qualifies as exercise.
to starving or strange, cardboard flavored diet bars. I have more energy. An acne problem that I had for more than three years and visited multiple dermatologists about is gone.
Being vegan does make you check all food labels for animal products. I've become aware of all the weird preservatives and unhealthy ingredients found in a lot of processed food.
MYTH 5: Being vegan only encompasses diet.
Veganism does spread to other animal products, such as fur, feather, and leather. Refraining from using toiletries and other products that are tested on animals or contain animal products is another part of the vegan lifestyle.
Overall, I don't expect to change anyone's dietary view point. I merely hope to show that a vegan diet isn't as far-fetched or as challenging as people may believe. As a long time vegetarian, I always viewed dietary veganism as impossible despite my convictions to refrain from using all animal products. But, after finally buckling down with the lifestyle and experiencing the benefits, I understand why others can stick with veganism. The lifestyle isn't as complicated or as challenging as you think.
Lavinia Roberts is a Parson sophomore in English and theatre and film.
Free All for Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slenderous and obscure statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
Here I am sitting with my friend, two 22-year-old males, and both of us are crying because Dr. Green just died
7-3 Boston, 7-3. Take that,
Yankees.
This is to the idiots mowing the lawn at 9 o'clock in the morning in front of Templin. You know there's people sleep?
on ER.
For the person that couldn't get the menu for Mrs. E's, try going through www.kudining.com. The menus are still there, you're just going to the wrong address.
So I'm pretty sure last night GSP had a Willy Wonka night, featuring a live Oompa Loompa. OK, we're not in fourth grade. Stop
this shit.
Nate Kertin, managing editor
864-4854 or nkartin@kansan.com
To the guy who parked his truck with the Missouri Tigers license plate and facing toward Allen Fieldhouse, you're an idiot and I hate you.
Joshua Bickel, managing editor
864-4854 or jbicke@kansan.com
Jason Shead, opinion editor
864-4924 cr jshaed@kansan.com
--does this add up?
Yes, Free-for-All, I'm sitting on Wescoe Beach, and I just saw two guys driving a really badass Mustang with their windows down, acting all tough, and they're listening to none other than Shakira. How
You gave me m-m-m-mumps!
Jonathan Kealing, editor
884-4854 or jkealing@kansen.com
I totally just saw Stick It and it was the best movie I've ever seen in my entire life, and I'm a guy.
图
Free-for-All, girls with short hair should just grow it out. That would be great. That's what I wanted to say.
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COMMENTARY
Banning cell phones would be ineffective
ERIN WILEY opinion@kansan.com
If multitasking were a disease, I would be diagnosed in no time.
I multitask like everyone else. I watch TV while doing my homework. I do the crossword puzzle during class. Right now, I'm listening to a speaker, taking notes and writing this column.
All my friends will say the same thing: If I'm not doing several things at a time or going four different directions, something is not right.
I have been known to send and receive text messages while attempting to maneuver through downtown Kansas City, Mo., change the songs on my iPod while cruise through St. Louis on Interstate 70 and answer my cell phone whenever it rings, no matter where I'm driving. Doing one thing at a time is just boring.
I know I'm not alone.
By August, the city of Lawrence may have taken this connection away from us. I say that's not fair.
We are all young, technologically advanced college students who have a desire to be connected to friends and family at all times.
The Lawrence Traffic Safety Commission this week tabled two ordinances that dealt with using cell phones while driving.
This means we can continue to use our phones while we drive without penalties — at least until July, when they plan to vote on the issue again. Then, they will decide if Lawrence should implement a complete citywide ban on mobile devices while driving.
I see one main problem if this ban passes: No matter what happens, people will still talk on their phones in the car, and this will make enforcement a difficult task.
Just like with speeding, some people get caught. Some don't. Catching cell phone users will be incredibly hit or miss. Some people may chat all the time and never get caught while others may make one emergency phone call and get smacked with a fine.
It is apparent the city knows this is one problem the ban will cause. In an article in the Lawrence Journal-World, both a city attorney and a police officer discussed enforceability as a problem
In general, I think this ban has good intentions, keeping both drivers and pedestrians safe, but at the same time it seems pretty crazy and probably won't work.
The Governors Highway Safety Association, a non-profit organization that deals with highway safety, produced a report about cell phone bans. The report said that no states currently ban cell phone usage in automobiles completely, but that some areas do have bans. It also said that more research needs to be done to help lawmakers decide on the best option.
Maybe Lawrence City Commissioners should think about that before they put into effect a ban that will be not only inefficient, but probably make more people unhappy than it will make happy.
- Wiley is a Silver Lake junior in journalism and geography.
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