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, SEPTEMBER 8, 2010 WWW.KANSAN.COM T Follow Opinion on Twitter. @kansanopinion PAGE 5A To contribute to Free For All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500. --around the hotel's premises for the first time. --around the hotel's premises for the first time. Discussions are more like awkward silence class. "House" is my Vicodin --around the hotel's premises for the first time. If I had a million dollars we could build a tree fort in our yard --around the hotel's premises for the first time. Your neighbors would like to apologize to you for listening --around the hotel's premises for the first time. Is it bad to think a British accent automatically makes anyone incredibly sexy? --around the hotel's premises for the first time. My room smells like Asian noodles. I did not make Asian noodles --around the hotel's premises for the first time. Chatroulette has scarred me for life. --around the hotel's premises for the first time. I told myself I wouldn't buy the new Katy Perry CD ... --around the hotel's premises for the first time. --around the hotel's premises for the first time. Drink like a camel, piss like a fire hose. Kansas weather, you are like a teenage girl's mood swings. --around the hotel's premises for the first time. El Dorado has the dirtiest city slogan: Easy access, completely satisfying! --around the hotel's premises for the first time. --around the hotel's premises for the first time. No, Gill, I would rather take a win over holding the opposing teams offense to 200 yards Someone or something smells like Carmex in the Budig lab. --around the hotel's premises for the first time. To most Christians, the Bible is like a software license. Nobody actually reads it, they just scroll down to the bottom and click "I Agree." --around the hotel's premises for the first time. Either the person who lives above me has a meth lab or there are mice in my air ducts. --around the hotel's premises for the first time. I hated Silly Bandz until I found out there were Harry Potter ♥ ◆ ♡ □ ● ■ □ □ m. ♥ ☒ m. m. □ ☑ □ ♦ □ □ m. ♥ --around the hotel's premises for the first time. Weed, food, weed, sex, sleep. Best. Night. Ever. --around the hotel's premises for the first time. I am currently 17 and 1 in beer pong ... I cannot be beaten. --around the hotel's premises for the first time. Any interest in a Livestock Judging Team student group? --around the hotel's premises for the first time. EDITORIAL BOARD Oread tailgating event runs smoothly, calmly The Oread Hotel hosted a number of tailgating events Saturday, Sept. 4, to kickoff the first KU football game of the season. This event allowed those of us to consume alcohol inside and The events included appearances by Baby Jay, Rock Chalk Dancers, KU Spirit Squad and a book signing with John Hadi, former KU quarterback. There was considerable traffic, but nothing out of the ordinary for a typical game day in Lawrence. Fans surrounded the streets, as well as The Oread but the crowds were controlled and tents and THE TAILGATES HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION FOR ALL HOME GAMES. Before the tailgate took place, residents and the University were apprehensive about the congestion problems an open tailgate at the hotel could present, but things seemed to run smoothly. and wristbands were given out to those of drinking age. As usual, parking presented a headache, but the tailgate event did not seem to add onto the difficulty. There was extra security that was provided by the hotel Abby Fritts, Prairie Village Senior, who lives on 12th street, had concerns about the effect the event would have on parking near her house. Fritts said that her roommates were planning to sell spots in their lot, but couldn't because the parking spots had been blocked off for the event. It turned out to be a fun-filled event that all-ages could enjoy. Originally, The Oread was given a permit was on a trial basis, to evaluate how the first event would go, but according to Megan Gilland, City Communications Manager, the tailgates have been approved by the city commission for all home games. While many were uneasy about the chaos this event could produce.The Oread did a great job regulating and containing the crowds. Oread Tailgating — Stefanie Penn for The Kansan Editorial Board. - Tailgating begins three hours before kickoff - All streets around The Oread remain open - IDs are checked and wristbands are given to customers indicating they are allowed to drink - Alcohol may be purchased outside on Oread property - Tailgating continues through the game and one hour afterwards CARTOON MARIAM SAIFAN SEXUALITY Cheating may be easier, but many couples don't divorce One student told me recently about www. ashleymadison.com. Although I've heard about it before, I just thought it was another type of dating service matching people together according to mutual interests. a website that enables people to find possible sex partners and goes by the slogan "Life is short. Have an affair." Could that be related to our relationship patterns as well? Are we cheating and divorcing more than any generation before us because it is easier to find people to cheat with? A recent University of Michigan study cited in The Kansan suggests that social media have made college students less empathetic to other people's feelings. But the student suggested those kinds of websites may be associated with a changing culture of infidelity and divorce and might make it easier for people to cheat. The Internet has made life a lot easier, from getting information to shopping to socializing. But does the Internet actually change our behavioral and emotional patterns? Betsey Stevenson, assistant professor of the University of Pennsylvania, studied divorce rates from the 1970s to the 1990s Let's Talk about Sex That runs counter to the assumption that we treat marriages and divorces today more casually than in previous decades. Benedict Carey and Tara Parker-Pope from The New York Times suggest that our view of marriage has indeed changed, but not negatively. and found that divorce numbers have steadily declined from 23 to 16 percent in the first ten years of marriage. BY CAROLINE BLEDOWSKI chledowksi@kansan.com Couples today take marriage more seriously and wait longer until they decide to bond for life. When thinking about divorce, they also take more time and use counseling before making the final decision. Even if a spouse has cheated, 76 percent of men and women are still together or married years later, according to a survey conducted by Peggy Vaughan, researcher and administrator of dearpeggy.com. What about our cheating culture? Having sex outside of the Associating it with an easier access to possible partners would not work in other countries where Internet is not as widely available but cheating is prevalent. relationship has always been part of human relationships in many cultures, Carey and Parker-Pope write in the Times article. One survey at the University of Vermont found that a stunning 98 percent of men and 80 percent of women in relationships fantasize about having sex with a person other than their partner. This becomes even more likely the longer the relationship lasts. That doesn't mean that they would actually do it, but it indicates how natural the idea of cheating is to us. Just to be clear: I'm not advocating cheating in any form. Besides being a nice fantasy, cheating in real life hurts people and relationships. If a person decides to cheat, that person also decides to jeopardize his or her partner's trust and wreak emotional havoc if the cheating comes out. Bledowski is a graduate student from Cracow, Poland, in journalism. IRAQ WAR Everyone deserves some credit - even George Bush These subtle monosyllabic ninjas, whose political jujitsu would have you believe that BP deserves an apology, death panels await grandma and the rich deserve a free ride, are at it again. The Party of No is more flexible than it's given credit for. (I'm not sure what to call it exactly.) There is more to "no" than just no. Last week, House Minority Leader John Boehner pulled a preemptive rebuffal of President Obama's Oval Office speech. Hours before Obama announced the end of the Iraq War, Boehner told an audience in Milwaukee that George Bush should be given credit for the ... Victory? Uhh, no ... Drawdown? Ehh, kinda... Starting the Conversation Whatever it is, Boehner claimed that the transition from combat operations to Operation New Dawn was made possible by W's strategy. In a world where right is left, up is down and spending money on teachers and the unemployed is reckless. Republicans have perfected their special move, their finisher: just repeat fabrications over and over until, presto, they become facts - move perfected by Bush's handlers, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove. Boehner's krane kick would leave Daniel-san wonderstruck. Within this Bizarro world, wins for Obama are getting tougher and tougher. Obama settled for claiming a campaign promise, rather than a victory. And he stayed away from declaring mission accomplished. After seven years of war, more than 4,400 casualties and nearly a trillion dollars. Obama was unable to declare victory because Iraq remains in disarray. Democracy in Iraq is as fragile as its government. Security forces are unable to fully secure the country. Gunmen and bombers take potshots at innocent civilians. And many are forced to live without basic needs, such as clean water and electricity. When asked if the Iraq war was worth it, Robert Gates, the BY D.M. SCOTT secretary of defense, chose to punt. Of course Republicans would have you believe the exact opposite. These ninjas are good, but it gets even better. I guess will have to wait for the history books to tell us how we "mortgaged our children's future" by overextending ourselves to promote democracy around the world (and in countries that preferred we stay out) rather than resurrecting our economy through stimulus spending. While spending an unseemly amount of money in Iraq, our influence is rapidly diminishing. Kurdish legislator Mahmoud Othman recently said, "Neither are the Americans very much concerned about Iraq nor are Iraqis listening very much to the Americans." The dizzying, mind-numbing idea that our efforts in Iraq could possibly bear little fruit that fellow Americans fought in vain because our security was never really an issue-shocks slightly less than the fact Boehner would want his former colleague to get his proper due. Boehner is right. Bush should get credit for the war in Iraq. We just need to remember why exactly we are giving him credit Here's a hint: It's for the same reason Obama still distances himself from the war. The war in Iraq was avoidable. It was based on lies and misinformation. There were no weapons of mass destruction, and Saddam Hussein was not involved with 9/11. And no amount of political juiiitsu will change that. So thanks, W. Thanks a lot. D. M. Scott is a junior from Overland Park in journalism. Responses to the news of the week on Kansan.com Chatterbox "This column sounds like the journal of a 16 year old girl. 'I'm not settling for anything but Mr. Right!' Whatever. There is no Mr. or Mrs. Right. All people are flawed. Once your honeymoon period with the new dude wears off, you'll realize that again." — "mcshawk" in response to "Chapelle was right" on Sept. 6. "The level of complexity out of Washington is mindboggling on purpose. One of the dems who wrote the bill admitted to not even reading it or even to have a desire to read it. It makes the people who take to debating the issue sound stupid, mad, ill-informed and partisan. We all want the same thing; life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Some people are just more willing to work to pay their own way. I think it is biological. Some people are more motivated by their sympathetic nervous systems. The communists and their sympathizers are motivated by their parasympathetic nervous systems. — "meetacognition" in response to "Government expansion limits choices" on Sept. 2. LETTER GUIDELINES HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR Send letters to kansanopdesk@gmail.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 dcwthon@ikansan.com Emily McCoy. Kansan TV assignment editor 864-4810 or emccov@kansan.com Joe Garvey, business manager 864-4358 or jgarvey@kansan.com Jonathan Shorman, opinion editor 864-4924 or jshorman@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 864-7647 or malcolmgibson@yahoo.com Jon Schlitt, sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or jschlitt@kansan.com THE EDITORIAL BOARD THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of the EID editorial Board are Nick Gurik, Nick Gurik, Erin Brown, David Cawton, John Burton and Shauna Blackmon.