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.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 11,2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Follow Opinion on Twitter,
@kansanopinion
T
PAGE 5A
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
To contribute to Free For All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500.
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
There's nothing better than a nap on a Sunday afternoon.
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
My Notehall account is funding a trip to Hawaii this summer with my girlfriend. Thanks lazy people of KU!
My stomach and I are unhappy with each right now. My liver? Not even on speaking terms.
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
KU's taught me, above all, that I can sleep on anything if I put my mind to it.
Jeans. That is all.
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
I strongly dislike the guy in the StateFarm ads. He pisses me off. He has a face I want to punch, and he never lets the agents talk. He just walks around random locations talking about insurance.
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
I don't understand how my mom did laundry so fast. It took me three hours to do just mine this morning.
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
I would take so many more hangovers just to experience last night again.
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
There is a plus side to waking up before noon on Saturdays. I'm watching the Magic School
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
Don't you hate when people upload seriously intense status updates? Like how desperate are you for attention?
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
My life sucks and it shouldn't make the best of college ... star single.Be selfish.
I need a date.
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
Now that I'm here, I realize I don't want to go to school.
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
Just an FYI: I'm not deaf, so I can hear you when you are talking about me 2 feet away.
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
I like drinking during my discussion class. It makes it a lot more interesting and I participate more too!
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
Dear chalkers on campus:
Do NOT write messages/ads
on the benches. Would YOU
want your pants to be covered
in chalk the rest of the day?
NEITHER DO I.
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
I wish victorian styles would come back. That would be to lequit!
--very much in the minority with its requirements.
Then we could check out some sexy ankles!
EDITORIAL
Lowering credit-hour requirments has merit
The Legislative Division of Post Audit recently conducted an audit in order to see if the state had too many college students graduating with excess credit hours.
Due to the audit's findings, the
The audit found that there are many advantages in reducing excess credit hours statewide.
Ransas Board of Regents will now make a decision on whether to reduce the minimum graduation credit hour requirement for all six of Kansas' universities.
The audit defined excess credit hours to be any hours a student attempts that exceeds 115 percent of what they need to graduate. It was determined that one in six students
Share your thoughts
The Kansas Board of Regents
Currently, the minimum requirement for a bachelor's degree in liberal arts, sciences, or professional fields is 124 hours. The Board of Regents will decide whether to decrease that to 120 hours. While 39 other states have a 120-hour minimum, Kansas is
(785) 296-3421
in Kansas had excess credit hours. At the University of Kansas, it was found that 2,792 students who enrolled in fall 2004 and were still attending in spring of 2009, and 400 of them
had excess credit hours.
The Board of Regents should seriously consider how the higher than average credit hour requirement could negatively affect not only students' wallets, but also student enrollment.
Students may end up having
to remain at school for additional semesters to fulfill their hours, and in order to remain full-time students and qualify for benefits, they may enrol in classes that are not required for their major. Also, the higher minimum may put the University at a competitive enrollment disadvantage and appear less attractive to prospective students.
The audit also provided advantages to several possible strategies officials could put forth to help reduce excess credit hours. An example of one of the best actions would be implementing a fee to students taking beyond their degree requirement or for re-taking of a course. The audit rightfully pointed out that this might generate less tuition on students, make classes smaller and improve graduation rates.
The Board of Regents should choose to lower credit-hour requirements when it goes to vote on Oct.20.
- Stefanie Penn for The Kansan Editorial Board
MARIA SAIFAN
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Belief in evolution is good litmus test for public office
Recently I had a conversation with a Tea Partier. Our conversation revolved around the tea party candidate Christine O'Donnell. Among other thoroughly embarrassing quotes that have recently surfaced, I pointed out that O'Donnell once argued that "evolution is a myth because if it were true why don't we observe monkeys evolving into humans today?" I didn't even bother to try and parse the utter stupidity of that statement. Instead I simply argued that quotes like this clearly demonstrate that O'Donnell is unfit for public office at any level.
I however was completely taken aback by my Tea Party interlocutor's response. He candidly replied, "you may be right; she may be an idiot. But by supporting her I effectively get to poke the GOP establishment in the eye. Besides the only thing that matters is she would obstruct anything the Obama and Pelosi try to do." He then went on to regurgitate Glenn Beck talking points and claimed that Obama is a socialist. I replied by asking, "what do you mean by socialism?" He answered, "It means
On several occasions in the past when I've found myself debating creationists I've mentioned things like Behe's irreducible complexity objection only to hear them replay, "wait, what is that?" How can people so ignorant be so certain? Moreover, if I have to make my
he hates capitalism". At this point I couldn't help asking, "but what is the difference between socialism, communism, and marxism?" After a pregnant pause he responded, "It doesn't matter because they are equally flawed theories". But the truth is it does matter -- Obama is not a socialist, he's a Neo-Keynesian. When I pointed this out I was once again taken aback by his reply. He paused and then said he wasn't familiar with Keynesian economics. Suddenly it all came together for me. When it comes to the Tea Party a common theme routinely emerges — they reject theories they clearly don't even understand, and in turn offer nothing but obstructionist pslum. Consider that O'Donnell rejects evolution even though she clearly doesn't understand the basic fundamentals of evolution.
opponent's argument for them, haven't I already won the debate? The truth is none of the antievolution pabluum stands up to peer review. But it's largely the same free market loving Tea Partiers that suddenly want socialized science because their ideas can't compete in the intellectual free market. The Tea Party profits off of this intellectual valandalism.
In conclusion, I submit that one's thoughts on evolution is a perfect litmus test for electability. To borrow a phrase from Dawkins 'history deniers' are not fit for public office. Why? because these people are either a) stupid, b) ignorant, or c) easily manipulated by pablum. And in case you're wondering, my conversation with this Tea Partier ended when I asked him: "Is this what politics has come to? Just support any idiot as long as you they will object to anything the current administration tries to do?" He promptly replied: "hell yes!"
Aaron Dopf is a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy.
ENTERTAINMENT
Reworking of franchise destroys magic of series
George Lucas has gone over to the Dark Side. Lucasfilm Ltd.,
announced on Sept. 28 that it would once again re-release the Star Wars movies, this time in 3-D.
Then, in 1999, Lucas released his prequel to the series, "The Phantom Menace." I was ecstatic; my generation's very own Star Wars experiences come to life.
At the time, I actually enjoyed the first prequel. I was young and in awe of what I thought would continue to be a great series. Then I saw the other two prequels, "Revenge of the Sith" and "Attack of the Clones." These movies were downright horrible.
I have seen many other examples of his conversion from light to dark in my lifetime. Star Wars 20th anniversary was in 1997 and the Star Wars Trilogy was re-released in theaters. Because I wasn't around when the series came out, to relive the experience that so many people had when the movies debuted was amazing for me. But I look back now — I look at the cheesy special effects that Lucas added — and I cringe. Whatever, not a big deal.
The prequels were plagued by bad acting. Natalie Portman, who is one of my favorite actors, and Hayden Christensen were just terrible. Unconvincing plot turns like Anakin's high midichlorian count (apparently a life form in the blood that measures aptitude with The Force) left me confused and disappointed.
I bought the re-release of the original trilogy on DVD in 2004. I was so excited to get these movies that I stayed at home and watched them all back to back. I could probably live with the shoddy quality of the prequels, because they don't affect the original trilogy.
But lo and behold, at the very end of the movies, when Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke's recently converted-to-the-light-side father are standing as blue glows, bidding farewell
BY DAVID CAWTHON
dcawthon@kansan.com
to Luke, it's not David Prowse (the body actor of Darth Vader), but instead Lucas has inserted Christensen.
His own small cameo in what I consider to be one of the greatest stories ever told. He somehow managed to weasel his way into The Trilogy.
Now, back to the 3-D re-release. I understand why he keeps pushing these movies down our throats. At this point it's not even about the story anymore, but rather about the business aspect of the franchise. Lucas is no longer an artist in the sense that he was in the '70s. He's a businessman.
Did you know that Lucas gets 100 percent of the revenues from licensing of Star Wars products? That was one of his agreements with 20th Century Fox when the movies were being produced. Every time he sets out to change his movies, or re-release them or whatever it is he is doing at the time to gain exposure, his products fly off the shelves. And people will always go see these movies. They're a staple of our cultural mindset.
If I could say one thing to Lucas, I would ask him ever so kindly to please — for Star Wars fans everywhere — stop.
I don't blame Lucas for his business sense — he stands to make a lot of money, and I applaud that. I do blame him for constantly recreating a trilogy that, in my mind, was already perfect.
Cawthon, managing editor for Kansan.com, is a senior from Lenexa in journalism and political science.
Responses to the news of the week on Kansan.com
Chatterbox
"Historically, countries with high economic freedom have higher GDPs, lower poverty rates, grow at faster rates, have lower unenployment, are higher developed, and have populations that live longer.
There is no doubt that Socialism is the greatest mistake of the 20th century. Someone who believes it can better the world ignores the failures of the USSR, Maoist China, North Korea, Cuba, East Germany, etc. It's laughable people today still think it can work."
—"Savage" in response to "Students form group for KU socialists" on Oct. 8.
"The reason "defense spending is at a lower percent of GDP than it was during peacetime in the 80s" is because Reagan spent an ungodly amount of money on projects like Star Wars in an attempt to bankrupt the Soviet Union. Keep in mind the Soviet Union was already in decline through years of isolationist strategies - Reagan claiming responsibility for the USSR falling is the equivalent of saying you crossing a black cat's path is the reason you failed a test this morning."
— "xz007" in response to "Basic Training" on Oct. 10.
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LETTER GUIDELINES
Send letters to kansanopdesk@gmail.com.
com. write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line.
Lenth: 300 words
The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.
Alex Garrison, editor
864-4810 or agarrison@kansan.com
CONTACT US
Nick Gerik, managing editor
864-4810 or ngerik@kansan.com
Erin Brown, managing editor 864-4810 or ebrown@kansan.com
David Cawthon, kanan.com managing editor
864-140 of david.cawthon.kanan.com
Jonathan Shorman, opinion editor
864.4024 or jshorman@kansas.com
Emily McCoy, Kansan TV assignment editor
864-4109 or gmccovlksan.com
Shauna Blackmon, associate opinion editor 864-4924 or sblackmon@kansan.com
Joe Garvey, business manager
864-4358 or jgarvey@kansan.com
Amy O'Brien, sales manager
864.477.2012 pubhion@kuyuan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news
864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Jon Schilt, sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or jschilt@kansan.com
4.
THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Alex Garrison, Ken Gerik, Erin Brown, David Ackman, Jonathan Shorman and Shauna
A