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. WEDNESDAY SEEMBER 10 WWW.KANSAN.COM Follow Opinion on Twitter. @kansanopinion t PAGE 5A To contribute to Free For All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500. --the place is packed. I made meatloaf :) --the place is packed. --the place is packed. And the Home of the Brave... CHIEFS! Eff the Chiefs. Everyone knows the Dolphins are going to win --the place is packed. I just want to ice skate. --the place is packed. I can't sleep! --the place is packed. Why is it so hard to find a dude to strictly just bang? --the place is packed. I'm tired of always just saying "Hi" to you. Make a move and let's get hot and steamy already --the place is packed. Who cares if I have a Western Civ. test tomorrow? Watching Scrubs is way better than studying!! --the place is packed. --the place is packed. Go to the computer center.It's got lots of computers. Eight percent tuition increase and a complete remodel but I still can't find a computer in Anschutz to work on. --the place is packed. I'm on the freakout town express, heading for losersville. --the place is packed. --the place is packed. Rejection is better than regret. Took my birth control on time two days in a row. No accidental babies this week! --the place is packed. Walked into the computer center the other day. There were no computers in sight. False advertising. --the place is packed. Let's have a tree in the sex room. --the place is packed. I'm just a love machine. --the place is packed. My kitten only cuddles me when I sleep in the nude. It's really creepy. --the place is packed. I hate that the left side of my body is now tanner than the right side after the football game, Awkward. --the place is packed. Now that I have a porch on Oread Avenue, all I want to do is eat beef jerky, drink Pabst and scowl at rowdy teenagers. --the place is packed. PeeBeeR --the place is packed. EDITORIAL BOARD Underground expansion a worthy project for Senate As anyone who's ever set foot in the Underground at noon can probably attest, A welcome step Last week, university officials gave tentative approval to an expansion of the Underground. The expansion would add 139 seats to the food court and cost approximately $500,000. cost $60,000 and will add more costs and an espresso bar. The Anschutz food service makeover is scheduled to be Although the project will not be considered for final approval by the Memorial Corporation Board until Dec. 4, the progress that has already been made on the expansion is a victory for students. The Underground is incredibly crowded at peak times and although this expansion may or may not provide everyone with a seat, it will help. The expansion is not without drawbacks, though. First, extra seats themselves are unlikely to actually cut down on long lines. What may cut down on congestion, however, is a planned makeover of food services in Anschutz Library. This project will michaelwadesmith@ gmail.com Room 410 Kansas Union (785) 864-3710 Share your thoughts with Student Body President Michael Wade Smith completed in January, which should allow officials to see if the makeover has any effect on Underground congestion long before any construction on the food court expansion begins. Second, according to Michael Wade Smith, student body president, the expansion will cost students $2 to $5 in fees. While that may not be a huge amount, in a down economy any amount of money ought to be scrutinized. Those issues aside, senators should be congratulated for pursuing quick action on this project, which benefits a large number of students. Expansion of the Underground was a major platform plank of KUnited during the spring election, and it's encouraging to see senators following through on a promise. EDITORIAL CARTOON Jonathan Shorman for The Kansan Editorial Board MARIAM SAIFAN LETTER TO THE EDITOR This weekend's game reasserted my feelings that KU has some of the most disrespectful student football fans. I'm not talking about the chant at kickoffs. It's not even how we treat our own players; by the way, booing your own players is not acceptable. I grew up in Kansas City, so I'm used to fair weather fans. What I'm talking is something more basic: it's the behavior of students during the national anthem. KU fans disrespectful to anthem It's as if student have forgotten the proper behavior for the national anthem. It's pretty simple. If you have a hat on, take it off. You don't have to put your hand over your heart, but at least have the respect to stand still. Shut up. It's not that long of a song; your conversations can wait until the song is over. If you aren't in your seats at the start of the anthem, stay in the concourse; it's rude to walk into the game while the anthem is playing. From a Chiefs fan, keep the whole "home of the CHIEFS" at the Chiefs games. Honestly, it makes us look like a bunch of idiots when the crowd yells it at a Jayhawks game. People might think I'm being old-fashioned or just a stickler for tradition. It comes down to something much bigger then that, though. There are men and women who have died for our right to sing the national anthem. When we disrespect the song, we disrespect them. A few moments of respect is a small price compared to the one they paid. Aaron Harris is a senior from Kansas City, Kan., in journalism and history LETTER TO THE EDITOR Indifference on sugar irresponsible I am curious as to how Andrew Holtzen can be so complacent about the use of high fructose corn syrup. The process of making HFCS is extremely complicated involving genetic modification, using several isolated enzymes, liquid chromatography and backblending unseen in nature. HFCS has only been ingested for a single dash on the human timeline. To simply wave it off as safe without realizing that is irresponsible and reckless. Andrew then glances over the fact that there is more fructose in HFCS than in normal sugar, but that is major point. That five percent difference is novel to any food that we have eaten before, and a 2007 USDA study done by Dr. Meira Field found that male rats in a fructose group, as compared to a glucose group, did not reach adulthood and suffered from anemia, high cholesterol levels, heart hypertrophy, and delayed testicular development Dr. Chi-Tang Ho, professor at Rutgers University, discovered that HFCS has "astonishingly high" levels of reactive carbonyls. He reported his findings at the 234th meeting of the American Chemical Society on Aug. 23, 2007. These active carbonyls have been connected to increased oxidative stress and insulin resistance. fixed by simply substituting sugar, and that the health crisis in this country is a multi-layered problem that must be approached from many angles including exercise, education, access to health care, diet and many more. However, I will not condone Andrew lumping HFCS with sweeteners that mankind has interacted with for thousands of years. There is no scientific certainty that HFCS is as bad as it is portrayed, but keep in mind that there is also no scientific certainty that smoking will lead to lung cancer or falling from a 20-story building will kill you. I do agree with Andrew that obesity in this country cannot be "As far as bacteria and fungus are concerned, those grow best in a warm, moist environment, such as a sweaty foot within a shoe. Sandals offer some drying of the foot, but barefoot is best for keeping the foot cool and dry. Yes, people who go barefoot must Chatterbox Responses to the news of the week on Kansan.com - Caleb Hall is a junior from Lenexa in environmental studies watch out for hazards, such as broken glass and splinters. However, the sole gets tougher the more one walks barefoot. So some broken glass and splinters might not be a problem after a while. Bug bites are haz- ardous, too, but shoes won't offer too much protection. If the bug really wants to bite, it'll just go up on your leg or ankle, or it might bite through your sock." — "ebenavid" in response to "That's disgusting: Walking barefoot" on Sept. 10. ACTIVISM Craigslist joins battle to fight against sex trafficking Simply put, the removal of the adult services "section" from Craigslist last week will be helpful in deterring sex trafficking. Granted, there are many moral deliberations surrounding the idea of such services available on a web site, and some could very well argue that such "business" between consenting adults should not be restricted on moral grounds. However, the real possibility of the enablement of sex trafficking, whether it be of minors or of enslaved adults, is reason enough to curtail the practice of online adult services. To some, sex trafficking is an atrocious but unfamiliar crime,c isolated in far-off countries such as Cambodia. Human Rights for All But, the recent indictment of five Missouri men for sexual abuse and trafficking charges serves as a reminder that, all too often, these horrific crimes are closer to home than we might think. According to news reports, one of the men allegedly controlled a mentally-disabled woman (beginning when the woman was 16 years old) and sexually tortured and abused her for seven years while the others participated in his trafficking conspiracy. The alleged perpetrator is accused of posting videos online of him torturing the woman. By selling ad space to users who posted sexual pictures and advertisements of prostitution and, in some cases, under aged girls, Craigslist was accused of BY KELLY COSBY kcorky@kansan.com profiting from illegal business and, possibly, sex trafficking. Although it is not clear if this is a permanent or temporary measure, it is evidence that American citizens can still instigate powerful change. And, more importantly, this censorship was voluntarily initiated by Craigslist in response to citizens directly; it was not a forced censorship enacted by the government in violation of any first amendment rights. tiny automated sex trafficking. It is promising that through grassroots campaigning, citizens were able to persuade Cralglist to make a commendable decision in shutting down the adult services area of the site. Of course, this only does a small part of the job. Sex trafficking is still a substantial problem with great urgency. At the same time, the availability of online ad space potentially facilitated sex trafficking Large scale campaigns, such as infrastructure reform and implementation of human trafficking reporting systems, are necessary actions to curb these barbaric practices. Cosby is a junior from Overland Park in political science and English GUEST COLUMN Tax cuts must be extended During this current economic downturn, in which the nation is one bad policy away from a deeper crisis, it is vital that the Bush Era tax cuts be extended. Politicians disagree over which income levels can afford to see their taxes go up. President Barack Obama wants to continue cuts for couples who earn less than $250,000 a year and for individuals who earn less than $200,000. Anyone with a higher income - the top 3 percent of the population - would get a tax hike. Republicans want tax cuts for everyone, regardless of income level. Unlike Democrats, they are more likely to believe in trickle-down economics, the theory that greater disposable income for the wealthiest will trickle-down to lower wage earners in the form of job opportunities and better pay. On Boehner's part, it shows a willingness to compromise and do what is right for the American people, even if it does not represent everything he wanted. Supporting the president's plan There is room for compromise. Just two days ago, House Republican leader John Boehner said he would support a bill that extends tax cuts to the middle class, even if tax cuts for the upper class are allowed to expire. This is the correct decision. also undermines Obama's attempts to depict Republicans as the "Party of No." Alongside this issue of tax cuts is spending. Boehner originally opposed the president's plan because he thought that simply cutting federal spending to 2008 levels - a 22 percent reduction - would fill the budget gap otherwise filled by taxes. President Franklin Roosevelt made a similar choice when he cut spending in the middle of the Great Depression. As a result, unemployment skyrocketed and stocks plummeted. The only way the government can balance its budget and prevent a worse recession is by cutting both spending and taxes. For this to happen, both Republicans and the Democratic president would have to make significant concessions. Obama must entertain the conservative principle of limited government and show more faith in the private sector. Republicans must work with a president whom they distrust and do not entirely respect. In doing so, both political parties must put down their electoral calculator and do what is best for the middle class. — From Uwire. Arragon Perrone for The Daily Campus at The University of Connecticut HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR LETTER GUIDELINES Send letters to kansanopdesk@gmail.com. Write LETTER 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 dcawthon@kansan.com Emily McCoy, Kansan TV assignment emil 864-4810 or emccovi@kansan.com Jonathan Shorman, opinion editor 864-4924 or jsorman@kansan.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 864-4477 or aobrian@kansan.com Malcolm Gibson, general manager and new advisor 864-7667 or malcolmgibson@nyu.edu Jon Schlitt, sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or jschlitt@kansan.com THE EDITORIAL BOARD THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the Kanas Editorial Board are Alex Gannon Kern Gickr, Erin Brown, David Shahron, Ashish Shahron and Shaun Blackmon. ---