Opinion The University Daily Kansar
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--eight cases in 2009.
To contribute to Free For All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500.
I actually like studying...it reminds me of how much smarter I am compared to you
--eight cases in 2009.
My pants smell funny from when we all jumped in the fountain. Totally worth it.
--eight cases in 2009.
Spoonypants, will you marry me?
--eight cases in 2009.
I'm keeping the fact that I cheated on you a secret until REALLY need to drop a bomb
--eight cases in 2009.
Finished studying. Check.
Time to light up some green?
CHECK
--eight cases in 2009.
NEW DISHWASHER!!! HOUSING I LOVE YOU (actually I still hate
--eight cases in 2009.
You need to text me so I can ignore you...DUH.
--eight cases in 2009.
You're gonna be searching for this girl out of 27,000 students. Good luck
--eight cases in 2009.
Nothing quite as awkward as having to stop in the middle of a date to take your birth control pill
--eight cases in 2009.
--eight cases in 2009.
Alas, I was wearing underwear all along...
Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire!
--eight cases in 2009.
Silly bandz are a great conversation starter. Trust me.
I don't ever want to see that guy in his speedo ever again.
--eight cases in 2009.
Bus driver closed me in the bus doors today. FML.
Playing with clay seems much more important than studying for my test in the morning.
--eight cases in 2009.
--eight cases in 2009.
Relationships= unhappiness.
My parents have been married
40 years, and they're never
Welcome to the world.
--eight cases in 2009.
Apparently I'm supposed to get a girlfriend in the next month. This could be difficult.
--eight cases in 2009.
If they guy who keeps submitting "GET WET" gets in the FFA before me I am never reading it again. Ever.
--eight cases in 2009.
EDITORIAL
Overall crime down, but areas of concern remain
The annual campus crime report has been released and it shows that some areas have seen a decrease in crime and others an increase. The University and the KU Police Department should be supported in their continued efforts to keep campus safe and students should take preventative measures to ensure their personal safety.
According to the report, in 2008 there were 82 reported burglaries on campus, 38 reported burglaries in the residence halls and six reported burglaries off campus. This year those numbers decreased significantly. In 2009 there were only 38 reported burglaries on campus, nine reported burglaries in the residence halls and there were no reported burglaries off campus.
While this decrease in burglaries is good, other areas have seen an increase. Forcible sex offenses have increased from six cases in 2008 to eight cases in 2009 and robberies on campus have increased from one case in 2008 to
Despite those increases Capt. Schuyler Bailey said overall crime has decreased in the past decade.
"The number of reported crimes, overwhelmingly nonviolent, at KU has decreased 34 percent since 1999," Schuvler said.
While on campus, Schuyler advises students to be aware of the locations of the emergency blue phones and to utilize SafeRide. When walking Schuyler said students should always walk with another person when possible, be aware of their surroundings and in walk in well-lit areas.
Schuyler attributes this decrease to police patrols, camera surveillance and the efforts to educate students and staff about how to take precautions and avoid becoming a victim of a crime.
While the decreased number of overall crimes is a good thing, students should still be proactive in keeping themselves safe.
At home, Schuyler said to always
keep the doors and windows locked and to ensure that the locks are of proper quality. He also said to use peepholes and to not leave keys hidden outside.
Students should also protect themselves in personal relationships. As the numbers show, the number of forcible sex offenses has increased this year and students should work to protect themselves.
"When going out with someone new, go on a group date or meet in a public place," Schuyler said.
He also suggests students arrange their own transportation and alert friends and family of their location to also help keep students safe.
While the overall decrease in crime on campus is a positive result of KUPD's ongoing effort to prevent crime, students should still be proactive to not become a victim.
- Kate Larrabee for The Kansan Editorial Board
MARIAM SAIFAN
SKEPTICISM
Herbal supplements escape needed federal regulation
In 2004 after the high-profile deaths of several professional athletes, the FDA passed a total ban on a widely available herbal supplement called ephedra.
The botanical source of the plant, Ephedra sinica, had been known to the Chinese for 2000 years as an effective treatment of respiratory problems, but also for its stimulant effects.
Lately,however,the use of ephedra became increasingly popular in the competitive atmosphere of professional sports,where any athletic advantage is welcomed.
By the time the herb was banned, however, it had been linked to 69 percent of health problems related to herbal supplements in the US, and was directly responsible for the deaths of 34 Americans.
Ephedra, for all intents and purposes, was a drug; it altered the function of people who took it, was marketed to do so, and, like many other drugs, was dangerous to those who were not instructed in how to use it properly.
Furthermore, why do nearly none of the supplements sold at health food stores carry any warning about
It its users claimed that it gave them energy to achieve athletic goals they normally wouldn't be able to and also allowed them to shed a few pounds in a pinch.
So, why are many of the drugs with similar effects locked up at Walgreen's where only a pharmacist can access them, while so many herbal supplements, some of which are potentially harmful, are available to anyone with a few bucks and time to stop by the Merc?
The answer is straightforward enough, but the reasons might cause a bit of head scratching and, probably, anger.
BY ANDREW HOLTZEN
aholtzen@kansan.com
adverse effects or information on proper dosage, while even dandruff shampoos at pharmacies have to?
Unlike drugs created by drug companies, producers of supplements are not responsible to prove that their product is safe before introducing it to the market, and it is the responsibility of the FDA after health concerns arise—as was the case with ephedra—to test whether a supplement is safe.
The FDA simply does not hold herbal supplements to the same standards as prescription and over-the-counter drugs, due largely to the passage of The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) which essentially qualifies dietary and herbal supplements as a category of foods.
Thispolicycanleadtounecessary deaths since supplements are only found to be dangerous in retrospect, years after they were introduced to the market.
Drug manufacturers, on the other hand, are subject to an average of 14.2 years of testing their products to insure they are safe, resulting
in only 0.1 percent of compounds tested by drug companies ever being approved by the FDA.
Supplements also have no legal standards for packaging, so even the amount of active ingredients listed on the box can vary from brand to brand or even bottle to bottle—and that's assuming that the supplement claimed to be in the product is even present.
For instance, in a study of 20 arthritis supplements conducted by ConsumerLab.com, 40 percent didn't even contain the ingredients listed on their labels.
So, why would something like the DSHEA that obviously risks the lives of so many people ever be passed?
The monetary incentive to prevent the passage of such bills is obvious.
The same reason "Big Pharma" is accused of being indifferent to the health of its customers: money.
When the industry is less regulated, a supplement can be marketed to treat nearly anything, and all that is required is a disclaimer stating that the claims are not verified by the FDA.
Until the FDA steps up regulation of herbal supplements, Americans interested in pursuing possibly legitimate alternative treatments will continue to shop in veritable snake oil supermarkets, where the possible dangers of supplements are obscured by their manufacturers in the name of quick cash.
Holtzen is a junior from Fayetteville, Ark., in chemistry and Spanish.
MILITARY
Time as embed fosters understanding of military
privates crawled over cement barriers, through sand and barbed wire as machine guns fired bullets 30 feet over their heads in the dark, Missouri night. I got to watch this night infiltration exercise at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., using a night-vision monocular.
The goal of the program is to allow the military and the media to better understand each other. The goal isn't to make everyone buddies just to reach a clearer grasp of what the other does and why.
Reporter's Notebook
I had this opportunity while participating in "Bridging the Gap: A Military Experience for Journalists" along with nine others from around the country and the world. It's a program coordinated by the William Allen White School of Journalism and funded by the McCormick Foundation.
Fort Leavenworth is basically a college campus. In fact, the post is recognized as the "Intellectual Center of the Army." Army majors (and some international military officers) go to Fort Leavenworth to attend the Command and General Staff College. Their job while at the post is to be a student — just like us. The officers have usually been in the Army for 10 or so years. They've been deployed two, three or four times.
Last Sunday through Friday, I spent time at Fort Leavenworth and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Sure, these are both Army posts, but I learned how different they are, too.
One thing did surprise me though. 40 percent of Army majors go to Fort Leavenworth with a Masters degree.80 percent leave the post with a Masters degree.
Fort Leonard Wood is on the opposite side of the spectrum.
BY KELLY STRODA
kstroda@kansan.com
Basic training also takes place at Fort Leonard Wood. Privates do physical training — "PT" — at 500 hrs. They learn to shoot guns. They do obstacle courses. They sleep in barracks. They eat MREs or Meals, Ready-to-Eat.
I learned a heck of a lot last week. I have more respect for members of the Armed Forces. The military is its own culture — a culture that puts their lives on the line for the rest of us.
Fort Leonard Wood is a home to the 43rd Adjutant General Battalion — a reception battalion. This is where newly enlisted privates get medical check-ups, eye and dental exams and receive their uniforms.
Plus, I think the military is the most respectful culture I've ever witnessed. Every member of the military I talked to — privates, majors, sergeants, generals and everyone else — addressed me as "maa'm." (I was only called "sir" once. It was an accident.)
At the ripe age of 20 years old, "maam" isn't something I'm called very often.
Honestly, I feel like I'm the one who should have addressed them as "sir" and "ma'am." They're the ones fighting for our rights and defending our constitution. And they volunteered to do it. I think that's pretty powerful.
Stroda, a reporter for The Kansan, is a junior from Salina in journalism.
Responses to the news of the week on Kansan.com
Chatterbox
"They cannot be reasoned with. The only solution for communists is to isolate their economies so they have to be self-sufficient.
The joke is on them. No communist is self-sufficient because they do not work. Oh sure, in America they have jobs. But they hate them. They hate their bosses, hate anyone who makes more money than them and they hate the stockholders who contribute value.
They will never acknowledge the facts (Stalin, Lenin - mass deaths, elimination of teachers !!! thats a big one they don't mention) They never debate the issues.
Communism is institutionalized mass death. To a communist, a new human is a cost to the system. To a capitalist, a new human is value. End of story?
They will attack you narcap - personally. Watch for them to call you names instead of discuss the issues. By discussing the issues they give criticism credence and risk losing the naive to rationality.
— "metacognition" in response to "Students form group for KU socialists" on Oct. 7.
"I would first like to say that I am not a communist, and do not advocate any form of violence. What I am is a socialist - at term which has been stigmatized beyond recognition. I would also like to say that I often have very meaningful conversations with people who do not agree with me.My guiding principle is rationality, and I do not easily take to ideas I have not fully explored."
— "treystaff" in response to "Students form group for KU socialists" on Oct. 7.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are
Agarlson, Niki Gerik, Erin Brown, David
Cavathon, Jonathan Shama and Shauna
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