4A the university daily kansan
opinion
tuesday, march 16,2004
EDITORIAL BOARD
Unhealthy habits, interests lead to obesity
STUDY: AMERICANS ARE EATING THEMSELVES TO DEATH AT AN ALARMING RATE
The irony in news items regarding health was super-sized last week.
Wayne Stayskal/KRT
OURVIEW
The University should combat the lack of interest in physical education by encouraging a healthy lifestyle, not by cutting the major.
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that obesity took the undistinguished honor of being the second-leading cause of preventable deaths in America, the University of Kansas announced it was ending the physical education degree program because of declining enrollment.
And the third distressing informative tidbit:Krispy Kreme's profits surged upward in the last three weeks of February.
The news hints at what is becoming common knowledge: The odds of Kansas children growing into physically fit adults are becoming slim to none.
Elementary schools in Lawrence are considering scaling back gym classes to meet budgetary needs, perhaps causing many of the prospective physical education majors to shy away from a program that won't lead to a job come graduation day.
Both the elementary schools' and the University's moves to cut back physical education are due to factors beyond administrators' control: finances and lack of interest. But society could pay a big price 10,15 or 30 years from now.
The recent CDC report
showed 400,000 deaths linked to obesity in 2000. Imagine what that number will be if exercise outlets are eliminated for children, 15.5 percent of who were already considered seriously overweight in 2002 by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Kansas families need to step up to the challenge facing them. And schools should follow the lead of people like Katy Buck, nursing services facilitator for Lawrence schools, who is figuring out new ways to stress the importance of exercise.
"One way is to organize recess activities so that children aren't just standing around talking to each other, but actually getting movement," said Buck, who added the problem goes beyond decreasing physical education classes. "It really all depends on family values. It's not just the schools' responsibility in getting children to exercise."
The University also could create a way to highlight the importance of physical education, such as an advertising campaign focusing on the benefits of healthy eating.
But the home may be the place where attitudes can be altered best. Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters out there don't have to do much to encourage a healthy lifestyle.
As benign as it may seem, four hours of PlayStation per day and the habitual act of super-sizing could be serious obstacles in a child's health.
Eliminating temptations from the home may be a challenge, but a pro-active family will have the satisfaction of knowing that they don't have to be part of the obesity statistics.
Free for All
For more comments, go to www.kansan.com
Call 864-0500
-
I am selling Girl Scout cookies, so if anybody wants any just holler at me. I live at GSP.
图示
I love KU. It is the only place where you can get drunk three times in a 24-hour period. Three separate times.
-
The only thing hotter than Delta Force is KU basketball. That makes Delta Force pretty damn hot.
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
-
If anybody sees me on campus I am the girl eating the peanut butter. I am on the Atkins diet, so why don't you just leave me alone
-
If I see anybody from KU at South Padre over spring break, I am going to punch you in the face.
I hate Texas.
My name is Holly but some people like to call me the Gangster. I am OK with that.
图
-
Are there any single Republican girls not in sororities? I am sick of hippies.
Wow, these Cheetos are like awesome.
They are really puffy. Well maybe that's because they're Puffy Cheetos, moron.
-
To the G Phis who put gum on my car: Grow up. It was a freaking parking spot.
-
ON POLITICS
Americans: Beware of Bush's campaign of fear
In a new campaign advertisement for President Bush, the president warns America that a vote for likely democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is a vote for turning back to "the dangerous illusion that terrorists are not plotting and outlaw regimes are no threat."
But more importantly, Bush wants the American people to be scared of the terrorists who are plotting and the outlaw regimes that are a threat. If he can cultivate that fear in American people, his sole job can be to go after the bad guys, no matter what the cost.
Bush wants us to be scared. Obviously, Bush wants us to be scared that another candidate will not be as sensitive to foreign affairs as he has been.
COMMENTARY
Bush has used fear before as a tool for cultivating public support. Fear was a motivating factor in the decision to
invade Iraq. Not only were Americans scared about Bush's claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, but the fear of Sept. 11 was undoubtedly still in our minds. Americans were scared that if armed forces did not invade Iraq, there could be grave consequences for our country, including another terrorist attack.
Anna D. Gregory
opinion@kansan.com
The fear that was left over from the sight of the World Trade Center towers falling to the ground clouded our judgment. Today, there are still no weapons of mass destruction or a link from Saddam Hussein to Al Qaeda, and we have found out that Bush's intelligence reports were not as sure as he made them out to be.
Americans need to keep a critical eye and an open mind on the upcoming election. Pay attention to the words "national security." These words are often used to create a sense of fear.
We invaded Iraq to protect national security. We invaded Afghanistan to defend national security. Of course, national security is important; Americans should feel safe in their homes and at work, but we must weigh the
Looking back, the signs were there but we were too scared to see them.
consequences of our actions. Was our national security really in jeopardy with Iraq? Is national security worth sacrificing our rights through policies like the Patriot Act? And is losing American lives every day worth defending a possible threat to national security? These are the questions we, as Americans, need to ask of our leaders.
We should all be wary of a policy built on fear. When we are scared, we do not think rationally. When we are scared, we often do not see the bigger picture. The emotion of fear can blind us to reality.
Be aware of the role fear plays in the decisions we make. We can not afford to write our leaders a blank check on foreign policy because we are scared.
Gregory is a Topeka senior in history and political science.
Meghan Brune and Johanna M. Maska opinion editors 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Andrew Vaupel
managing editor
864-4854 or vaupel@kansan.com
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Michelle Rombeck
editor
864-4854 or mburhenn@kansan.com
Danielle Boae
business manager
864-4358 or adddirector@ansen.com
Stephanie Graham
retail sales manager
864-4358 or adales@kansan.com
LETTERSTO THE EDITOR
Matt Fisher
sales and marketing adviser
864-7688 or mfisher@kansan.com
Rape, sexual abuse, assault, battery, sexual slavery, incest, forced prostitution, trafficking, honor killings and all the other atrocities that happen to women across the world are products of that disrespect.
Barr's point was that the word "vagina" is not or should not be一 a profane word, and treating it as if it were allows society to disrespect vaginas and the women who have them.
Throughout history, penises and phallic shapes have been used as symbols of power. Being a man and being manly has been something to be proud of. Vaginas have been — and still are — discussed in whispers and euphemisms as if they were a dirty secret. Being womanly has been associated with being weak.
Malcolm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864-7687 or mglbonso@kansan.com
If someone can't even say the word "vagina" or publish it in the paper, without being reproached for using profanity, "vagina" will continue to be a word that's only used in undertones or in a derogatory context. Women, and the power they have in society, will continue to suffer as a result.
Past letter misses argument
Eric Schaumburg missed the point of Laura Rose Barr's column in last Monday's Kansan, "International Women's Day: Vaginas Are Good."
Barr's use of the word vagina may have been shocking or unconventional to some readers, but it certainly wasn't profane. In light of International Women's Day, her call to feminism for those of us who claim to espouse sisterhood and have so little to lose — certainly not as much as women in the past timely
- is timely.
Her article was a step in the right direction toward gaining the respect and power that is due for women and their vaginas. Barr should be praised not hushed up.
Merly Carver Pittsburg graduate student in law
Duke fans unparalleled
Obviously his view is one sided and didn't get the true experience of the Tar Heel/Blue Devil hatred and witty rivalry.
In response to Kendall Dix's column on March 10 about the Duke/UNC game the previous Saturday, I am not sure what game or atmosphere around the game he was watching.
Phil Zecharies
Overland Park sophomore
mathematics
The idea is genius. They show their appreciation by creating a shrine in Krzyewskiville for the coach that put them there and that tradition will last longer then the schools who are believed to have a rival atmosphere to the "high school" gym Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Crazies are a one of a kind crowd. I doubt that there is one arena in all of sports that would have the pep band learn all the songs in the Wizard of Oz and play them to get inside the head of a coach just because he use to coach at a Kansas university. Or build a yellow brick road that at the end says, "Roy, you're not in Kansas anymore."
TALK TO US
Kendall, I don't know what your experience was at the game, but it doesn't even come close to a game at the Fieldhouse. Kids don't sleep outside in rain or snow on KU campus two months before any game.
I agree that the Duke era of dominance is not as long as a KU, Kentucky or UCLA, but here is the thing. Why don't the schools with hundreds of years of basketball heritage not have such pride that a 25-year regime has?
Coach K has built the best atmosphere for a sporting event. A game at Cameron Indoor Stadium is second to none. Cameron Indoor Stadium is our modern-day Roman Coliseum and should not be underrated. The Duke students were right when they wrote on their paper yellow-brick road they made for Roy Williams to enter Cameron on, "There is no place like Cameron."
The Kansan welcomes letters to the editors and guest columns submitted by students, faculty and alumni.
The Kansen reserves the right to edit, cut to length, or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Meghan Brune or Johanna M. Maska at 864-4924 or e-mail at opinion@kansas.com.
Editorial Board Members
Kendall Dix  Lynzee Ford
Kendall Dix ■ Lynzee Ford
Laura Francoviglia ■ Anna Gregory
Amy Hammontree ■ Kelly Hollowell ■ Teresa Lo
■ Mindy Oakborne ■ Greg Holmquist ■ Ryan
Scarrow ■ Elizabeth Willy ■ Sara Behmue
Kevin Flaherty ■ Brandon Gay ■ Zek Hamemwey
Alex Hoffman ■ Kevin Kampwirth ■ Amy Kelly
Cameron Koelling ■ Courtney Kuhn ■ Brandi
Mathiesen ■ Travis Mcatfall ■ Mike Norris
Jonathan Reader ■ Erin Riffley ■ Alex Smith
Karl Zimmerman