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. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 t WWW.KANSAN.COM Follow Opinion on Twitter. @kansanopinion PAGE 5A --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. To contribute to Free For All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500. --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. I don't wanna hear someone's blasting headphones in the library. Its common sense, turn them down! Rainy day outfit: swimsuit, flip-flops, shirt (optional). --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. Rain brings out all the strange things people do to try to avoid it --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. So my little brother just bought his gf a pink Taser for when she goes off to college. Personally, I think he should have gotten a Hello Kitty assault rifle. --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. I can't use a calculator on my Calc 2 test. What? --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. You know a guy has spent too much time on his hair when it doesn't move after being in the pouring rain. --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. Just had a professor "ban" leaving class for any reason during class time. The penalty for leaving will be a grade deduction. How old are we --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. Hmmm ... how to react when my professor keeps supplying me with unintentional "that's what she said" jokes. What is the point of walking into a 50-minute class 25 minutes late? Why bother? --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. I've sent in my application to the Real World. So I'm hoping to hear back from that. I'm putting A LOT of my eggs into that basket, the MTV basket. I'm also thinking about getting a gun, and dealing crack. --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. Usually I don't Photo Booth myself, but my hair was messed up from the rain. --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. Oh Gentleman Jack, I love you, and I wish you weren't so much more than regular Jack. --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. I have a case of the green lungs. --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. Cheating on a test is like getting in to a bar underage ... both are easy to do, have consequences you don't care for, and in both cases you don't remember anything the next morning. --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. Dear Roomie, quit being an easy slut, maybe guys will actually want to date you. --representative contact the student to devise a plan to fix what ever problem the student is facing. Every time I get a new bag of weed the "Two and a Half Men" theme song enters my head, but all the lyrics are replaced with the word "weed." EDITORIAL BOARD Student Success takes on common student problems The success of every student is the responsibility of that individual student. However, college can be a rough transition for many young people, especially those who have very little or no experience on their own. That is why groups like the Department of Student Success exist to help students' progress through difficulties and help students ultimately to graduate This year Student Success is implementing new programs such as an early alert system to notify students of holds on their accounts due to parking tickets or other financial mishaps or when teachers have noticed a problem such as poor attendance. Not only would the student get a notification, but the Office of Student Success would have a Helpful programs like these, however, do not exempt students of personal responsibility. Students must realize that they have to be responsible for their education. At the start of every semester we have all seen the hordes of people in blue KU shirts out there to help students find obscure buildings like J.R. Pearson are or how to find a classroom in a maze like Wescoe. There are other programs Student Senate is improving however that are much simpler and aimed at helping everyone, not just those with difficulties. The implementation of new programs will hopefully help win a round or two in the battle against less than stellar graduation rates. future, a positive for all students Programs like this are planned to be bigger and better in the If going to class equates to nap time for you, or every night you go drinking instead of doing the slightest bit of homework, college might not be for you right now. But if you have a serious interest in pursuing an education Student Services may now be better equipped to help. In order to do that, however, students have to take a personal interest in their own education. No school program can do that. CARTOON —Shauna Blackmon for The Kansan Editorial Board MARIAM SAIFAN RELATIONSHIPS Facebook distorts relationship boundaries and development Thanks to 26-year-old Mark Zuckerburg, we now demand that an electronic declaration of our new relationships is sent to the newsfeeds of everyone from our best friend's aunt to all of those people from high school whom we purposely failed to keep contact with. Within a short amount of time, Facebook redefined social life of an entire generation. Even just six years ago, we wouldn't have considered scanning through 30 play-by-play photos of Saturday's tailgating shenanigans of mere acquaintances. We wouldn't know how much "that one chick from high school" is now infatuated with Justin Bieber. We wouldn't know that our ex-boyfriend's younger cousin is getting married. And, frankly, neither would we care. We want our profiles to be permanently linked to each other (until the break-up that is). We also want everyone who sees our significant other's profile to see Nonetheless, within the span of less than a decade, Facebook has implanted all of these norms in our culture without many of us really noticing. Take for example the new question that has ingrained itself in our nomenclature: "Is it Facebook official?" Although these little developments may not seem significant, Facebook is affecting life in some influential ways. Clearly, privately discussing the solidification of a relationship just doesn't cut it with our generation. BY MANDY MATNEY that, even on the online world, we are attached to each other. I mean, what better says "legitimacy" than a Facebook official relationship? My boyfriend and I decided to be in an exclusive relationship a few weeks ago. Unlike many "Generation Y" couples, this decision had nothing to do with Facebook. After a few dates and a few months of "talking," we agreed the next appropriate step was to establish clear boundaries on our relationship. This led to the labels of "boyfriend" and "girlfriend." But, apparently, this is abnormal. Many couples clarify their statuses with Facebook relationship request, before even discussing the personal and more important things. And, if it doesn't last, we want to notify the same 1,000 people of the relationship's tragic end. That one broken heart says more than any words possibly could. Shortly following my conversation with my boyfriend, we both personally informed our close circle of friends. Still, we purposely hesitated to make it "Facebook official." It has always seemed to me that the more people broadcast their affection, the less they really care for each other. There is something to be said about people, such as my be-t friend and her boyfriend of five years, who have never needed or used Facebook to solidify their relationship. As a relationship-curious columnist, I finally swallowed my pride and asked my boyfriend to be "Facebook official" to see whether the title carries any true significance. But as I thought about our decision to not be "Facebook official," the more I questioned our motives I knew we were more serious than many of the couples on Facebook, but the weaker side of me started to doubt myself. I realized that out of our approximate 2,000 "friends" on Facebook, we only have 54 friends in common. Meaning, our relationship announcement probably made it into the newsfeeds of hundreds of people who couldn't care less. It wasn't until we actually made our relationship "Facebook of-icial" when I realized the stupidity behind the entire ideology. What if people don't take us seriously? What if they think we are purposely hiding our relationship? Am I? A lot of our friends who already knew of the relationship reacted with, "it's about time ..." Which conclusively proves my point: Facebook has hardwired our brains into thinking we need societal approval of our relationships. Matney is a junior from Shawnee in journalism. HUMOR Site unleashes internet abyss Today on this wonderful Thursday, I have but one question for you Jayhawks: I am 12 and what is this? And for those people who don't understand question: I applaud you. You will truly do something worthwhile with your life. For those of you who don't spend most of their time in a basement or a place that feels like a basement that question might mean nothing. To those who understand the question, you may already be gone — having thrown the paper in rage and queried to no one in particular: "What is this? I can't fap to this." As I walked into the Kansas Memorial Union the other day to pick up my textbooks for macroeconomics, algebra, and modern art (I truly am a Renaissance Man), I noticed some the very URL I just shared with you written in chalk on a pillar. I instantly texted a few of my friends the URL, and found my way to a dark corner of EGARC to explore what was surely a sad excuse of a website. But to those left, I have one thing to share with you: KUChan.org. You see, for those of you not in the know, there is this website out there entitled 4Chan. Moot, a mysterious man/final boss for Law & Order, launched the website in 2003. For those of you innocents, the website is an imageboard, in which you can post images and text completely anonymously. The "anonymous" part tends to bring out the crazies. Seriously, the Men In Black (starring Woll Smoth), themselves could not erase my memory from some of the gory images, racism, sexism, and smut I've seen on those boards. However, for those of you who've never entered the image-filled Hell that is 4Chan, many of the things you laugh at on the internet were spawned by the demons who inhabit themselfs. BY CHANCE CARMICHAEL ccarmichael@kansan.com So, what is KUChan? Well, it seems to be some Jayhawk-oriented knock-off of 4Chan itself created by some weirdo from Lawrence in the magically boring time between looking at porn and looking at porn. There are several boards: the all-too-familiar evil Random Board; the GIF images Board; a videogame-themed board; and a Team Fortress 2 themed board (for reason that may involve the webmaster being 13 years old). There are also a few locally-themed boards for buying and selling stuff, upcoming events. Some of my puritanical friends who came to 4Chan on the Mayflower in the year 2 B.B. ("Before Boxxy") do not think the site is a good idea. However, I think it has some promise. I mean who's smuttier and more repressed than a Kansan? Maybe, we could make some Jayhawk themed meme. LOHhwaks or Courage Jayhawk, perhaps? Either way, if you lack a sense of humor or nerves, 4Chan and KUChan are not for you. This is for those who have scrolled down past pictures of their favorite Wild Thornberries characters drawn in compromising positions (Rule 34), rolled for doubles and for those who know why Stu Pickles is making pudding at 4 a.m. OP out! Do you like LOLCats? How about de-motivational posters? Those were popularized by the furry-loving basement-dwellers who post on 4Chan. Carmichael is a Mulvane junior in film and media studies and journalism. LETTER TO THE EDITOR Economic history flawed First, if we could use history to predict the future, historians would be millionaires. We aren't millionaires. In Seth Robinson's column "Learning from our History in Times of Economic Uncertainties," the columnist appeals to history to argue that "massive government spending did not, and will not, help the economy." The columnist paints the 1920s as a halcyon of prosperity with sure-footed Republican president's policy as the cause of reform. The depression that Seth referenced as "1920-1921" actually began in 1919, and was caused by the transition from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy—a removal of government spending. The supposed economic brilliance of the Harding administration must be placed alongside the Tea Pot Dome scandal (a corrupt collusion between government and business), and the fact that new consumable technologies were being introduced into the economy. Also, the farming economy of the 1920s was not one "of economic prosperity and low unemployment rates." Rather, it was one of incredibly low prices and low profit, and great hardship. The economic prosperity of the 1920s was also due to bubbles such as the stock market bubble and the Florida land boom bubble. When the bubble popped under Hoover, hard times set in. Furthermore, Seth equates the year 1933 with the New Deal, and points to 24.9 percent unemployment as proof of its failure. First, many New Deal programs were instituted after 1933. For those that were created in 1933, it took months to implement them and see unemployment decrease. Employment generally rose after 1933, albeit with slight reversals in 1937. I applaud Seth's historical inquiries, and encourage him to keep investigating. However, I would encourage him to take an even-handed approach in the future. Steven Tucker is a Birmingham, Ala., graduate student in American history HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR LETTER GUIDELINES Send letters to *Kansanopedesk@mail.com*. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line. Length: 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. CONTACT US Alex Garrison, editor 864-4810 or agarrison@kansan.com Nick Gerik, managing editor 864-4810 or ngerik@kansan.com Erin Brown, managing editor 864-4810 or ebrown@kansan.com David Cawthon, kansan.com managing editor 864-4810 or davithon.kansan.com Jonathan Shorman, opinion editor 864-4924 or jshorman@kansan.com Emily McCoy. Kansan TV assignment editor 864-4810 or emccov@kansan.com Joe Garvey, business manager 864-4358 or jgarvey@kansan.com 664 G&EY business manager 864-4358 or ajsman@ansan.com Amy O'Brien, sales manager 864-4477 or aobrensen@ansan.com Shauna Blackmon, associate opinion editor 864-4924 or sblackmonjkansan.com Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser 864-7667 or malbison@kansan.com Jon Schlitt, sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or jschlitt@kansan.com THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Alex Garrison, Nogick Gerik, Erin Brown, David Bornstein, Jonathan Shaun and Shauna Bornstein.