Opinion The University Daily Kansan 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. FRIDAY,OCTOBER 1,2010 T WWW.KANSAN.COM Follow Opinion on Twitter. @kansanopinion PAGE 5A FREE FOR ALL To contribute to Free For All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500. --eva eva. Ahhhhh this is great; just put a plastic sippy cup top and a cardboard sleeve on your cup and NOBODY in class thinks whiskey sour --eva eva. I'm cold and sleepy --eva eva. There is no better feeling than walking around your apartment naked. --eva eva. Seriously KU ... do the parking rules at the Union parking garage have to be enforced 24 hours a day? It's a travesty dammit --eva eva. Sex with my best friend ... worst decision of all time. --eva eva. Dear Ken Burns, You make AMAZING baseball documentaries. --eva eva. You know you're lame when you drink more on weekdays than you do on the weekends. --eva eva. Why did I choose to live with two girls who are in serious relationsnips. Kill me now. --eva eva. Thanks guys who helped push my car off of Bob Billings!! --eva eva. Word of advice...don't throw your ARTS form into the recycling bin..people take papers out of there for scratch paper --editor's note: Space Jam may live forever, but apparently good spelling and grammar won't. To the editor: the Black Night may have been the best film of the year but Space Jam will live of forever and EVA eva and --with ExxonMobil Corp; Thomas Ward, president and CEO of Russell Stover Candies in Kansas City, Mo.; Ritch Price, baseball coach at KU; Debbie Van Saun, associate athletics director and senior women's administrator; and Evans, the group's leader and managing partner of Pegasus Capital Management in Overland Park. Look, I hate when I have to explain something to you by dumbing down the seriousness of the issue. --with ExxonMobil Corp; Thomas Ward, president and CEO of Russell Stover Candies in Kansas City, Mo.; Ritch Price, baseball coach at KU; Debbie Van Saun, associate athletics director and senior women's administrator; and Evans, the group's leader and managing partner of Pegasus Capital Management in Overland Park. Damn, there wasn't even a peanut in my last peanut M&M --with ExxonMobil Corp; Thomas Ward, president and CEO of Russell Stover Candies in Kansas City, Mo.; Ritch Price, baseball coach at KU; Debbie Van Saun, associate athletics director and senior women's administrator; and Evans, the group's leader and managing partner of Pegasus Capital Management in Overland Park. Finishing the crossword puzzle in the UDK before philosophy gives me the strength to listen to people bicker for the next 50 --with ExxonMobil Corp; Thomas Ward, president and CEO of Russell Stover Candies in Kansas City, Mo.; Ritch Price, baseball coach at KU; Debbie Van Saun, associate athletics director and senior women's administrator; and Evans, the group's leader and managing partner of Pegasus Capital Management in Overland Park. Hot dog time! --with ExxonMobil Corp; Thomas Ward, president and CEO of Russell Stover Candies in Kansas City, Mo.; Ritch Price, baseball coach at KU; Debbie Van Saun, associate athletics director and senior women's administrator; and Evans, the group's leader and managing partner of Pegasus Capital Management in Overland Park. I stop class to go out and yell at the person making annoying tapping noises in the hall of Wescoe only to find a kid with a typewriter. Seriously? Who has a typewriter? --with ExxonMobil Corp; Thomas Ward, president and CEO of Russell Stover Candies in Kansas City, Mo.; Ritch Price, baseball coach at KU; Debbie Van Saun, associate athletics director and senior women's administrator; and Evans, the group's leader and managing partner of Pegasus Capital Management in Overland Park. Can't wait until basketball season ... just heard "Game On." EDITORIAL BOARD Student voice needed in search for director The search committee for Lew Perkins' replacement as athletics director has been formed While the swift formation of this committee was a good move by the chancellor's office, the committee lacks an important member: a representative of the student body. Ray Evans, the leader of the committee, said they wanted the group to be small and comprised of members who have had experience serving on a search committee or with hiring. people. Evans said it would have been tough to find a student with that kind of experience. Though Evans is correct in his assumption that few students have a background in hiring someone for such a powerful position, it would not be the sole responsibility of the student to choose the new athletics director. They would merely serve as a voice speaking for the student body. In a news release issued Sept. 17, Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little named the committee's six members: Kenneth L. Audus, dean of the KU School of Pharmacy and professor of pharmaceutical chemistry; Linda Ellis Sims, an account executive All of the members of the com- nintee are qualified for the positions, and have varying backgrounds that tie them to the University. But it is disap- pointing that a stu- While Kansas Athletics Inc. is a private company that is separate from the University, students pay $40 each a semester to the department through student fees. This, on top of the tickets and merchandise students purchase, makes the student body a large representative of Kansas Athletics Inc.'s revenue. They should have a say in who represents them as athletics Share your thoughts about Kansas Athletics Interim Athletics Director Sean Lester 785-864-3143 director. dent was not selected to represent the student body. Perkins' replacement will not only serve as a representative of Kansas Athletics, he or she will also represent the University and its students. The opinion of the student body should be included in this important decision. An appropriate representative of the student body would be a prominent member of student senate. Students should let committee members and the chancellor know that they want their voices heard and their opinions included when the committee meets in the next few weeks and when the decision is eventually made to hire the new athletics director. Kate Larrabee for The Kansan Editorial Board CARTOON NICK SAMBULAK SEXUALITY Safety cannot be neglected when deciding to have sex O one of my readers criticized after my last column that I write about sex but not enough about safety. Even though I've written on safe sex last semester, I should include important information about safe sex again. I agree. I can't give details in every column, but each semester brings new students, and each student who decides to be sexually active needs to be aware that what is fun can quickly turn into a life-changing disaster. We always like to think about the positive things that intimacy brings: affection, passion, desire and satisfaction. But sex is primarily something that most college students don't want at this young age: reproduction. Even when you're young, in love and just want to have fun, having sex can change your life forever. Imagine the following: You spend a comfortable night at home with your partner, cuddle up to him, watch a movie, start kissing and making out. You really want to sleep with him, but you don't have a condom. Maybe, as a girl, you think you can't conceive at the moment because you just had your period and are not ovulating yet. Or, as a guy, you think you can just mess around a little but not go Let's Talk about Sex Even if you are pro-choice and decide to have an abortion (which everyone should decide for themselves, not for someone else), it will affect you for the rest of your life. Every woman I heard about who had an abortion described it as one of the worst decisions they ever had to make. through with it until the end. Next thing you know, you're standing in the drugstore buying a pregnancy test because you, or your girlfriend, are late. Your life could just have changed forever. BY CAROLINE BLEDOWSKI Which brings me to another question: Who is responsible for safety, men or women? Some say women because they bear the consequences of getting pregnant. They should use the pill, vaginal Whatever option you choose after getting pregnant, it will be worse than worrying about safe sex. But it affects everyone who is sexually active, whether man or woman. There is only one right answer: both. Those who make the decision to have sex also make the decision to prevent pregnancy and infection. ring or any of the other options for women. Some say men because they wear the condoms and only condoms can prevent both pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. I recently talked to a male friend about a woman's options of birth control. I asked him what he thought would be the best option for women. But he referred me to a female friend for that kind of conversation. I wondered if that reaction was due to lack of interest or lack of information. In the end, knowing what possibilities women have for birth control also affects men because it saves both from negative consequences. Don't think of women as "the responsible ones" or those who "take care of it." We can all make mistakes or be negligent. But this negligence can quickly lead to pain and suffering. It can change your life forever. Bledowski is a graduate student from Kracow, Poland, in journalism. HEALTH Pursuit of health ideal led to pain for self and others Few people set out with goals to hurt others. Yet, as history has repeatedly shown, it happens. Aside even from the world's most memorable events of evil, smaller cases of wrongdoing happen day after day, year after year. Unlike Hitler, who undoubtedly had a moment where he thought,"Hmm, maybe this isn't such a good idea," the majority of pain-infliction happen with otherwise good intentions. I know this, because I've been there. Although the pain I caused was less than that of a holocaust or genocide, it was still very real. Instead of getting stronger and fitter, I was getting weaker. Yet, I continued to preach of healthfulness. Last year, I got very hung up on the idea of "being healthy." I listened to all of the nutritional advice, attempted all the exercise tips and pushed my body to its limit. Then, I turned around and offered advice to others on how to be similarly "healthy." Pursuit of Healthfulnes But, somewhere along the way, I passed the boundaries of healthfulness and crossed into dangerous territory. Consequently, not only was I hurting myself but I was certainly hurting the self-esteem and confidence of those around me. Even worse, I was hurting my friends and family. These people were forced to witness to all of BY EMILY MCCOY this, yet were helpless in taking action. Since that time, I've taken a step back and assessed what's important in life. From this reflection, I've come to recognize that health is and will always be important to me. However, I've also recognized that I never should sacrifice the pursuit of healthfulness for the pursuit of happiness. It was only when I was shocked very harshly back into reality, that I realized just how wrong my perception of health had become. After all, Thomas Jefferson was a smarter man than I. Not everyone will face the same issues as me—or so I hope. Unfortunately, I'm sure that everyone will face challenges of some kind. This isn't a sentence to a life of pain or an excuse to feel self-pity. Instead, the torment we all experience is an opportunity. Reflect on it, learn from it and grow because of it. Then, pass the lesson on. McCoy is a junior from Lincoln, Neb., in journalism. GUEST COLUMN Internet wiretaps the wrong step On April 7, 2009, about 10,000 young Moldovans charged forth, weapons in hand, and set flame to Moldova's parliament building, after a Communist Party victory. With the utilization of Twitter, e-mail and Facebook, the young people were able to assemble quickly and leave authorities stunned by the seemingly sudden appearance of thousands of protesters. In reaction to the "Twitter Revolution," as it was called in The Washington Post, Internet service in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, was immediately cut off. The United States, while free of Communist reign for the moment, intends to emulate this practice of tapping into virtual methods of communication. According to a recent article in The New York Times, "officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications – including encrypted e-mail transmitters like Black-Berry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct 'peer to peer' messaging like Skype – to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order." Idealistically, if taking this step would aid the U.S. government in more successfully wiretapping and monitoring criminal and terrorism suspects, as it argues that its ability to do so is suffering, then inviting the government into all Blackberry conversations might be acceptable to U.S. citizens. However, just like Communism, the idea may appeal on paper but, in practice, presents a dangerous opportunity for the government to abuse its power and step on the rights of its citizens. Video chats, Bbm (Blackberry Messenger), text messages, Twitter, Facebook and e-mails have become as personal as letters once were, if not more so - by tapping into their content, the government would be changing the relationship people have created with these methods of communication. While the government argues the safety benefits of wiretapping the digital world, allowing it to take this initial step presents the constant fear that it could exploit this new power, attacking the most minute of issues such as locating parties with underage drinking. Although there are clearly larger issues the U.S. government needs to tackle, it boils down to holding onto the small shred of privacy, real or imagined, that is possible in today's interconnected world. - From UWIRE. Alexandra Bortnik for the Arizona Daily Wildcat at The University of Arizona HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR LETTER GUIDELINES Send letters to kansanopdesk@gmail.com. write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line. Length: 300 words Alex Garrison, editor 864-4810 or agarrison@kansan.com CONTACT US The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters. Nick Gerik, managing editor 864-4810 or ngerik@kansan.com Erin Brown, managing editor 864-4810 or ebrown@kansan.com David Cawton, kansan.com managing editor 864-4810 or dcawton@kansan.com Emily McCoy, Kansan TV assignment editor 864-4810 or emccoy@kansan.com Jonathan Shorman, opinion editor 864-4924 or ishorman@kansan.com Joe Garvey, business manager 864-4358 or jgarvey@kansan.com Amy O'Brien, sales manager 864-4477 or aobrien@kansan.com Shauna Blackmon, associate opinion editor 864-4924 or sblackmon@kansan.com Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser 864-7667 or malbison@karan.com Jon Schitt, sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or jschitt@kansan.com THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansas Editorial Board are Alex Garrison, Nick Gerik, Brown, David Bannon, Nicholas Shorman and Shauna Bluckman. 7