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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.
VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL: Worst day of your life or favorite holiday? Send us your opinions of the day in 80 words or fewer and we'll print the best.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
E-mail: opinion@kansan.com
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
PAGE 7A
》 OUR VIEW
Businesses can work with smoking ban
Recent efforts to enact a statewide smoking ban in Kansas have faced harsh opposition from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Kansas business owners. The bill, which would ban smoking in public places such as businesses, bars and restaurants in Kansas, is being taught on the grounds that it unfairly rejects smokers' right to smoke and that it will have a negative impact on business. These arguments are unfair and inadequate when stacked against the health benefits of enacting the ban.
There are many reasons it's unlikely that a statewide smoking ban would significantly affect restaurants and bars. Customers who smoke would not relocate just to
be closer to pro smoking facilities. Even those who live on a Kansas border would be more likely to consider food, liquor specials and costs before smoking options across the state line.
Businesses
The proposed ban is not a discriminatory act to deny smokers freedom. It simply considers the effect of smoke in public places with the fact that most Ameri-
concerned about losing customers would need only to invest in a smoking porch and heated torch lamps to become smoker-friendly hotspots. And visiting individuals who had previously avoided smoky environments might enhance business. Non-smokers do make up a majority of the U.S. population.
Numerous studies have shown that smoke is not just a nuisance. The unavoidable fact is that smoking is a dangerous and potentially deadly activity. Cigarette smoke, which contains cancer-causing chemicals, is linked to a multitude of diseases and health issues and affects nonsmokers as well as smokers.
tion and a non-smoking section — it all becomes the same. One could argue that by not enacting a smoking ban, non-smokers are being denied their right to clean air Smoky environments are particularly harmful for individuals who do not smoke for health reasons, such as those with respiratory and coronary conditions.
cans do not smoke
The proposed ban is not a discriminatory act to deny smokers' freedom. It simply considers the effect of smoke in public places with the fact that most Americans do not smoke.
The scientific phenomenon of particle dispersion means that there is no such thing as a smoking sec.
According to the American Lung Association, nearly 3,000 non-smokers die annually from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke.
The proposed smoking ban in Kansas is not a
battle against businesses or smokers. Businesses wouldn't face significant financial loss and could evolve to become smoker friendly, and just because smokers have the right to smoke doesn't give them the right to pollute a public space.
If the Kansas Senate passes the bill, it makes a decision to improve state health statistics.
The Kansas smoking ban would benefit the majority of Americans who choose not to smoke and would set a positive example of health for future generations.
Alison Kieler for the editorial board
Valentine's Day opinion special
This Valentine's Day the opinion page wants to hear from you. Tell us in 80 words or fewer what you think about February's hearts and chocolate fest or your best or worst Valentine's Day memories. We'll print the best responses in the Valentine's Day issue. Send comments with ("Valentine's Day" in the subject line) to opinion@ kansan.com by Monday, February 13. Please include your name, hometown and year in the e-mail.
COMMENTARY
Media will fulfill their roles when you fulfill yours
Our generation is growing up with dramatically greater access to information than any other, yet paradoxically, political knowledge hasn't increased. The vast number of choices has allowed indolent Americans to avoid in-depth news coverage altogether in exchange for infotainment and petty political theater.
In a study published in the July 2005 "American Journal of Political Science," Princeton Professor Markus Prior states that because politics increasingly has to compete with entertainment, there's a growing disparity in political knowledge between those who seek out political information and those who prefer amusement over substantive programming.
Although that conclusion isn't exactly earth-shattering, it does indicate that both the media and citizens are doing a crummy job at bolstering democracy.
The media are responsible for making high quality information
available to the public in order for citizens to form authentic and rational opinions about politics. "In turn citizens can articulate their demands to government and hold officials accountable
Instead we are offered news shows that assume we aren't intelligent enough to understand that issues are nuanced that repeatedly play sound bites that cater to eight-second attention spans.
BY SARAH STACY
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
Sensationalist cable news channels such as Fox News and CNN frame their debates that gives the illusion that there are only two sides to any issue. This simplifies issues for the general public, but it also decreases free thinking in America.
Screaming pundits articulate what liberal or conservative niche audiences feel in their gut, but good journalism unsettles long-standing
assumptions and provides an outlet where possible solutions can be discussed.
Although some media deserve harsh criticism for their fixation on scandal.
biased reporting and overall superficiality, we're also to blame for tuning in to that drivel. There are still some estimable news sources that we can rely on and we might even learn something valuable from.
Print media give the best context to grasp what is going on in the nation and the world and countless newspapers, journals and magazines can now be found online. Take advantage of the University's Newspaper Readership Program that offers, among others, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal throughout campus, free with your KUID.
formed. I have personally worked around this by integrating National Public Radio into my daily routine. Whether I am shaving my legs, cooking some pasta, in my car, or on a run, I have the highly thoughtful and diversified programs of NPR ringing through my ears.
To stay in touch with local news, see what other students are saying in The University Daily Kansan and what your local government is up to in The Lawrence Journal World. Feeling enraged or inspired? Write letters to the editor. In the process, you will feel a closer tie with your community and have the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing your part in enlightening public discourse. Without such participation, democracy is meaningless.
There is no excuse for being unin-
Stacy is a Germantown, Md., senior in political science, Spanish, international studies and history.
》 LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Sick students, staff should stay at home
Feeling sick one morning, recalled a conversation I had heard earlier between two classmates. One told the other that she had a doctor's appointment later because she thought she had bronchitis. Every time she coughed my hairs stood on end. It was difficult to sympathize with for her being sick, as I felt nauseated listening to her hack right next to me.
I also recalled the chorus of sniffles, sneezes and barks that echoed through the lecture hall.
Therefore, I offer the following advice to students and faculty who are walking slogans for Nyquil:
I know were at the peak of cold and flu season and that even if I lived in a bubble the rest of my life, I may not escape the flu. But I pay tuition and am entitled to an education without my rights being infringed, including the right to health. I should not be afraid to enter a classroom.
1. Stay home! No, this isn't an excuse for ditchers, but if your nose is running faster than the Nigra River, spare the rest of us. If it's not a test day or a project due date, it's not that important to attend.
2. If you have a choice in seating, don't sit next to someone.
3. Professors tell students on the first day of class to treat the course as they would a job. Would you still go to work with a fever and a runny nose? Employers offer personal and sick days for this very reason.
4. Learn how to cough and sneeze properly. Coughing or sneezing into a fist is not the best way to contain germs. Experts advise to "cover that cough" with your elbow.
5. Don't kiss anyone and don't ask to be kissed either.
Jessica Reber Kansas City, Kan., senior
Grant Snider/KANSAN
FREE FOR ALL
Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansas editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers
of all incoming calls are recorded
You know what we learned in psychology? Hot, sweaty girls get hotter but fat, sweaty girls get uglier.
To the guy in the French class before mine who is always whining about how hard it is to his professor after class every day: Boo hoo. It's hard for all of us. Stop complaining and start study ing harder.
free-for-All, I miss you. Can you come to Peoria, Ill., for Valentine's
I just had the most wonderful orgasm in the Wescoe bathrooms.
My girlfriend's father just sent me a letter and it smelled really good. Is that weird?
I just want to say thank you to the Jayhawks for not allowing me to park at the Rec Center. Thank you so much for my fat ass not being able to fit in short anymore.
free-for-All, I miss you. Can you come to Peoria, Ill., for Valentine's
I hope the Jayhawks lose tonight so I can park at the Rec Center from now on.
free-for-All, I miss you. Can you come to Peoria, Ill., for Valentine's
You know it's going to be a good KU basketball game when you see Scooby-Doo and a penguin playing catch with a football
Free-for-All, I'm ready for another election. These gas prices need to go back down.
and I can confirm, in fact, he does smell.
and I can confirm, in fact, he does smell.
Day?
and I can confirm, in fact, he does smell.
and I can confirm, in fact, he does smell.
Hey, free-for-All Generic,
hopefully ironic comment that
overcompensates for how witty
I'll never be. And also, something
about Low Perkins.
Who the hell is Lew Perkins anyway?
Extreme Cuddling Machine, you are the best girlfriend in the world.
图
It is bad that I orgasm whenever I watch the KU basketball team?
Dear Darrell Arthur, will you please have my babies?
Dear announcers, quit calling him "Shady". You didn't go to high school with him.
Geology rocks. Get it?
and I can confirm, in fact, he does smell.
Hey, K-State, are those fries ready yet?
and I can confirm, in fact, he does smell.
Scooby-Doo was wrong. I'm siting behind him at the basketball game, and he really smells!
and I can confirm, in fact, he does smell.
Dear Jordan, it has been several weeks since I bit your face with a staple remover, and now you are completely healed. I no longer feel bad.
Free-for-All, I think I just saw the K-State basketball team leaving Lewis parking lot in a white or grey prison bus with bars over the windows.
To the guy outside of McCollum last Thursday night who had his first cigarette: You're smoking hot, from the girls who lit it.
and I can confirm, in fact, he does smell.
and I can confirm, in fact, he does smell.
and I can confirm, in fact, he does smell.
Free-for-All, I'm sitting here at Steak 'n Shake with Scooby-Doo,
and I can confirm, in fact, he does smell.
If you're sticking up for Lew Perkins, you must be bending over for Lew Perkins, too.
fingering F-minor.
It's only cheating if you're sober!
fingering F-minor.
Free-for-All, how the hell do I inflate my ball that I got at the K-State basketball game?
To the guy who wrote the comment in the Free-for All about the girl getting rabies: You just made me throw up in my mouth a little bit, and you're an ass.
fingering F-minor.
fingering F-minor.
I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to my Piano 148 class. I'm sorry, I can't play an F harmonic minor scale!
You know you're a music major when you can break your G-string
I'm a creative writing major. I had a friend ask me once if there is such a thing as an uncreative writing major, I told him. "Yes, it's called journalism."
the Kansan vertebral lesions to the editor and all students column submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions.
In response to the message to Danny and Pat, yesterday: Please don't move floor six, either. No one likes you there.
the Kansan vertebral lesions to the editor and all students column submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions.
the Kansan vertebral lesions to the editor and all students column submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions.
I'm calling to request more pictures of the girl on the front of the Jayplay, because she is fine.
This message goes for everybody who's requesting White History Month: Stop it. Stop being so selfish. We're forever reminded of white history every time I open up my wallet. Mr. Luther King can't even get on a dollar bill. Hollay back.
TALK TO US
Gabriella Souza; editor
Gabriella Souza editor
864-4854 or gsouza@kansan.com
Nicole Kelley, manuging editor
864-4854 or nkelley@ikansan.com
Patrick Ross, managing editor 864-4854 or pross@kansan.com
Courtney Hagen, opinion editor
864-4924 or chagen@kansan.com
Jackie Schaffer, sales manager 864-4462 or jschaffer@kansan.com
Maicolm Gibson, general manager, news adviser
864.7667 nehilson@kansan.com
Natalie Johnson, associate opinion editor
864-4924 or njohnson@ikansan.com
Jennifer Weaver, sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or jweaver@kansan.com
Lindsey Shirak, business manager
864-4014 or lishirak@ikansan.com
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
For any questions, call Courtney Hagen or Matiella Johnson at 846-4810 or e-mail matianna.com
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Gabriella Suza, Nicole Kelley, Patrick Ross, Courtney Hagen Natale Johnson, Alison Kielet, Tasha Riggins and McKay Stangler