Opinion The University Daily Kansan
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2010
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FREE FOR ALL
--to KU.
To contribute to Free For All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500.
--to KU.
Dear random guy falling asleep in the union: You're five feet from the Pulse, can't you just grab a coffee?
A hydrocodone a day makes everything better.
--to KU.
The only thing that keeps me sane is the thought of a bottle of Jack Daniel's waiting for me to come home from class tomorrow.
--to KU.
Apparently someone at my work is going through a breakup. Please spare us all the Rascal Flatts heartbreakers.
--to KU.
So did anyone else see that yellow unicycle chained against the fence, or was that just me?
- to KU.
I love when my classes get canceled! YES... Today is a olorious day!
--to KU.
Why is Anschutz so flippin' hot? I didn't come here to simmer, I came to study.
--to KU.
Hi. I'm a bed, and we've slept together so many times its unreal
--to KU.
Dear Roomie: That's NOT a trash can! It's a chair!!!
--to KU.
Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it.
--to KU.
Dude, look at the tree, oh my God, the tree.
Editor's note: What does it mean?
--to KU.
--to KU.
Justin Bieber is the only one who understands me.
--to KU.
I love these bubbles!
--to KU.
Saw two parking people ticketing side-by-side, and a third one towing a car. The Rec is a hotbed of parking violators
--to KU.
I just had sex to the Glee soundtrack ... and I was more focused on singing along than anything. Best Monday Ever.
--to KU.
I hope the homecoming committee banned charcoal as black chalk. If not, the beach is going to look disgusting ... More than it already does.
--to KU.
College essentials: North Face, leggings, umbrella, and a backpack
--to KU.
Grant raises KU profile
EDITORIAL
Twenty-two million dollars. It's a large amount of money and it's money that's coming
Yesterday's announcement that the University is receiving $22 million from the U.S. Department of Education to develop an assessment system for special education students is welcome good news.
Through the grant, a method will be created that assesses special education students during the learning process rather than in standardized tests. The new method
could ultimately be expanded to all students.
The grant is a major accomplishment for Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little. The assessment system will eventually be used in 11 states, undoubtedly raising the profile of the University in the area of education.
The grant also has the distinction of being the largest in KU history. Previously, the largest grant was $20 million for a new chemistry center. That grant was announced in 2008.
For the typical student, it may be easy to dismiss the opportunity that the money represents. After all, it's not as if the money will make tuition cheaper or directly benefit most university students.
But the grant is an important opportunity for the University to do something important and influential in the field of education, something for which all students can be proud.
Jonathan Shorman for The Kansan Editorial Board
MARIAM SAIFAN
HUMOR
Women, take back Halloween
It's beginning to feel a lot like Halloween!
Well, not really "beginning," because Dillons has had that Halloween candy aisle since the dawn of Sept. 1, but Halloween is on its spooky way.
This Halloween column goes out to all the ladies - yeah, I can do that, just like a school dance D.J. Men, you can keep reading if you want — I mean, it won't like de-masculinize you. And it might get a bit sexy!
I went to a costume shop the other day to research what exactly Belle and Alice from Beauty and The Beast and Alice in Wonderland, respectively, wore for a paper I had to write for my What Fictional Characters Wore: Jesus to Jacob from Twilight class.
According to their costume selection, Belle and Alice were kind of scantily clad. In fact, if you were at the bottom of the rabbithole, you probably had an interesting show when Alice fell down it, and Belle wasn't so much playing hard-to-get as she was dressing like a stripper and staring off into space suggestively.
But it wasn't just Belle and Alice, all of the costumes were a bit tight-fitting and lacking in fabric - oh, I'll just say it - they
BY CHANCE CARMICHAEL ccarmichael@kansan.com
There's a scene in Mean Girls written by the brilliant Tina Fey in which Lindsay Lohan's character shows up to a Halloween costume party dressed as the bride of Frankenstein. Her friends, dressed as whorey versions of mice, cats, and bunnies, are surprised when she shows up to the party not dressed like a total slut.
were all kind of "whorey." So I promptly turned to the store clerk, yelled, "Well, I never!" and stormed out of the store.
This is true to life. Every Halloween, most of my women friends and even my sister, dress as scantily clad versions of referees, Batman, Robin, witches, nuns, etc.
In fact, a friend of mine expressed interest in going as a banana one Halloween, but decided that it was not slutty enough, and she would be laughed at if she went through with it. And
bananas are hilarious, people!
This issue really plagues me, because it's a cruel and unusual pressure for women to have. Victoria's Secret even sells costumes now, which is funny, because DON'T THEY NORMALLY SELL, LIKE, LINGERIE AND LOTION?
And I don't think lotion counts as a costume! I think that females should have the same worries that I have – to wear a costume that's sort of original and kind of funny.
At this rate, women will all just wear red tape that spells out "SEX" over their breasts and crotch for future Hallowewens.
It's Halloween. It's about fun and candy. You're women. And being a woman shouldn't just be about having a woman's body. Women can be smart and clever. If you want to go as a drugged out Hannah Montana, do it! If you want to go as Oscar the grouch, go on ahead!
Smart women, take back Halloween! It should be about what you're wearing, not how little.
Carmichael is a junior from Mulvane in film and media studies and journalism.
Economic beliefs more relevant to public office than views on evolution
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
In Monday's UDK, there was an article which stated that 'belief in macroevolution' was a good indicator for political eligibility. The article then proceeded to lambaste Tea-Partiers based on the author's preconceived notions of how conservatives and fiscal libertarians reason (via a question-and-answer segment between the author and his imaginary Tea-Party-supporting friend).
Ignoring the (obvious) condescensions, I'd first like to inform the author that there are fiscal libertarians who believe in macroevolution, and that 'belief in macroevolution' isn't an exclusive attribute of any political party.
I would also like to confront the author's assertion, "... Obama is not a socialist, he's a Neo-Keynesian." Does this author even realize that socialism,
communism, Marxism and Keynesianism (and mercantilism and feudalism, while we're at it) are all forms of collectivism? In other words, does the author realize that these aforementioned ideologies (and economic-based dogmas, i.e., Marxism) advocate some form of arbitrary market interference? To infer that they are antithetical to each another, or to propose that the differences between each philosophy are widespread, is to ignore the truth that all of these philosophies favor the direct control of market interactions by political planning bodies (to vary degrees, of course). They are 'specie' of the genus' collectivism, to quote Friedrich Havek.
In saying that Obama is a Neo-Keynesian but not a socialist, the author displays a
profound ignorance of general macroeconomic theory and the influences of Keynesian thought. Since Keynes's GT was influenced by socialists like Gesellschaft and Malthus, can one say, "Obama is a Neo-Keynesian, not a socialist" and be deemed knowledgeable?
All this being said, I'd like to mention that there are no specific litmus tests for political eligibility. For instance, if a person believes in evolution but also believes in dogmas like a "need-based economy," "central-planning," "class-warfare economics (i.e., mercantilism)," then is he really eligible for public office? Since Obama's president, I guess the answer is, sadly, "yes."
Thomas Raborg is a senior from Hazlet, New Jersey, in cellular biology.
HEALTH
Cutting sodium intake now helps later in life
But one important factor is often neglected when students are deciding upon their next meal; sodium content.
Let's face it, the average college student doesn't have the best diet.
Convenient, cheap, tasty food that silences a rumbling stomach is all that matters after a long day of class, or a late night cram session. Once hunger strikes the average student will either reach for a packet of Ramen noodles, or may splurge and order a sub.
2,300 milligrams of sodium (equivalent to one teaspoon of table salt) is the maximum amount of sodium the average adult should consume in any given day, but according to webmd.com, 90 percent of Americans are getting far too much.
It's easy to see why students are consuming too much sodium. One packet of Ramen contains 1600 milligrams of sodium that's 70% of the recommended daily value! Jimmy Johns isn't any better; one of the healthier items on Jimmy John's menu, a number 6 Vegetarian, has 873.07 milligrams of sodium.
So if a student eats one Jimmy John's Vegetarian Sub, and has a packet of Ramen noodles in the same day, he or she has already consumed too much sodium, and that's providing no additional table salt was added to any of his or her food throughout the day.
Consistently eating high-sodium foods can have serious health consequences, according to webmd.com, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.
An article in Science Daily, a science research website, cites a recent study that estimates that, "reducing salt in the American diet by as little as one-half teaspoon per day could prevent nearly 100,000 heart attacks and
The Conscientious Consumer
BY SARAH BREGMAN
Unfortunately, limiting salt is no easy feat; salt is in virtually everything -- particularly those quick, convenient, go-to foods college students eat every day. However, it is possible for students to maintain a low-sodium lifestyle and eat quick-and-easy food that won't break their budget.
Planning and patience is key to reduce sodium consumption. Many common foods have ridiculously high sodium content, so it's important to read nutrition labels. When eating out — especially at fast food restaurants — check online for the nutrition facts before ordering. Even food that seems like a healthy choice can have high levels of sodium.
Cutting back on sodium is one of the easiest things students can do to improve their health.
Students should make lifestyle changes now, rather than waiting until their doctor diagnoses them with a disease related to their unsuspected cravings for sodium-laden foods.
92,000 deaths each year."
Bregman is a sophomore from Lindsborg in journalism and international studies.
Now most students are not going to die anytime soon from getting too much salt, but the fact is what we do with our health now can have serious consequences later in life.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
In response to "House on two-year probation" in The Kansan on October 11.
Hazing commonplace code not taken seriously
I cannot begin to comprehend why it is a shock to anyone that hazing occurs in the fraternities on campus. Most students who would disagree with the notion would be lying. That being said what can a student expect when joining a fraternity? It is ironic to me that hazing can make front page news yet its occurrence is almost secondary information to the general student body. What is disturbing is the fact that it literally takes a pledge to break his neck in order for there to be any action taken against this nonsense. As for the University Hazing code, it is a joke. I do not know how anyone can be expected to take the code seriously when it takes only the harshest
of outcomes for a fraternity to be put under scrutiny. I jump to a conclusion when I say most students know what really goes on but let's face it, it is not a big jump to make. If one fraternity is being investigated for hazing it would be an appalling assumption to make that it is the only one in which hazing occurs. Get real. Maybe a campus wide investigation of all the fraternities should be held seeing as there is such a strict policy against it. Until then I, and I'm sure many other students, will never be able to take this policy seriously.
Dillon Prohaska is a sophomore from Olathe in engineering.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Alex Gannon, Nick Gerik, Erin Brown, David Cawthon, Jonathan Shauna and Shauna