THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 5A
THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2011
opinion
Mizzou is currently having a Beat KU week. Pathetic or inspiring? I can't decide. Definitely makes us a big deal though.
I had a dream that I baked brownies with Markieff. Hopefully that's a sign of my perfect life to come.
apps.facebook.com/dailykansan
I think I've developed CREEPERanoia.
Meaning I am now paranoid that every creeper is creeping on me.
This is what you have done to me KU libraries. I hope you're happy.
KJHK brings world famous slam poet Anis Mogani to KU, the Kansan brings The Ying Yang Twins. That says it all.
DEAR JAMES FRANCO, PLEASE SWIPE MY V CARD.
I will now extend my "frat pack" to more than five.
OH MAH GODZ MEAN GIRLS 2 is
funny as a butterfly tramp stamp.
I wish the whole world would be populated with blondes. Hope someone comes up with a 'virus' that makes everyone blonde.
Okay, Hitler.
I want whatever Charlie Sheen is having. #WINNING
I'm on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen.
Farewell, Tyre! Give 'em Hell!
I love looking through my old anthropology notebook and seeing the lack of notes and the abundance of rocket ships, dinosaurs, sharktops and the word "cake."
Every time I start to feel sorry for myself, I just thank my lucky stars that I am not an engineering major.
I hate making decisions, alcoholism or grad school? Alcoholism or grad school? Maybe both...
I've got a bad case of BIEBER FEVER!
I need a beer fever is more like it.
Gingers have no souls, blondes have no brains and the brunettes have it all!
Gingers > Blondes > Bald >
Brunettes.
Saying goodbye to our senior basketball boys makes me feel like a mother watching her birdies leave the nest. So proud of Reed, Morningstar and Little.
Not just females. Chuck Norris, Shaun White, Groundskeeper Willie, and I believe that Gingers are superior to all.
Note to self: What may look like a potential cancerous lump could simply be a huge pimple.
Cutting Federal Pell Grant Program will hurt future job market
EDITORIAL
The U.S. Congress is preparing to vote on wide-reaching budget cuts that will affect millions of college students across the country.
Both the president and Republicans in Congress have put forth proposals to cut funds to the Federal Pell Grant Program. While any cuts to this program will be harmful, Obama's proposal will result in slightly less damage than the Republics'.
The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income college students. Different from loans, these grants do not have to be repaid. According to studentaid, ed.gov, the amount awarded depends on a student's financial need, costs to attend school, status as a full-time or part-time student and plans to attend
school for a full academic year or less.
The maximum Pell Grant award for the 2010-2011 year is $5,500.
According to the Kansan, 7.2 million students nation-wide received Pell Grants in 2009-2010. This includes 4,284 University of Kansas Pell Grant recipients.
Under Obama's plan, maximum aid will remain at $5,500, while the Republican proposal slashes maximum aid to $4,500. This is important because the maximum grant is also the Expected Family Contribution cutoff level for eligibility. Under Obama's plan a student with an EFC of $5,000 would be eligible for a grant, but not under the Republican proposal. As cited by the Kansan on Feb. 21, 1.7 million students would lose their eligibility for grants under the Republican proposal.
Obama's proposal would end supplemental Pell Grants starting in summer 2012. Since 2009, students planning to attend summer school could apply for a second Pell Grant to pay for school year-round. 650 KU students received a supplemental Pell Grant last year.
The loss of supplemental Pell Grants will certainly hurt students who need to attend school year-round, but will be less damaging than the loss of eligibility for any Pell Grants to 1.7 million students under the Republican proposal.
Drastic cuts to the Federal Pell Grant Program will result in fewer people attending college and therefore
fewer college graduates. This will only add to the budget deficit in the long run by reducing economic growth and negatively affecting future entries into the job market.
The current cost of the Pell Grant Program to the federal government is about $45 billion. Obama's proposal would cost about $35 billion and the Republican proposal about $25 billion.
The Republican proposal might save the government more money at first, but at what costs in the long run? Obama's proposal, while still harmful, is a compromise.
Erin Brown for the Kansan Editorial Board.
RELIGION
Q&A with Tyrel Reed: Keeping the faith alive
Practicing faith is a challenge. It takes support, enthusiasm and dedication. Tyrel Reed, senior guard on the men's basketball team, keeps his faith alive by making it a priority even in the midst of a crazy student athlete schedule. Wayne Simien, who retired from professional basketball two years ago to work in Christian ministry, meets with Reed and several other players on the team, for a weekly bible study.
I sat down with Reed to talk about how his faith has grown through basketball and the support of those closest to him.
What has your background in religion been like?
I went to church growing up with my family. I was baptized and confirmed
in the Catholic Church. When I was growing up, and started to get older, I started going to youth groups and certain things in high school (which led me to) a Baptist church. Now I go
Reed
to a non-denominational church called Morningstor here in Lawrence.
How do you juggle being a student and keeping an active faith?
In my life, I put Jesus before everything. He is the most important person in my life. There are times when I have to juggle a little bit, though. I've got basketball and school. There are times when you have to be good at time management, so that you're able to do all the things that you want.
How did the bible study with Wayne Simien get started?
Wayne Simien is our team chaplain.
I knew him before I was even a player
BY ALLISON BOND abond@kansan.com
here. Once he got done playing professionally, he wanted to start ministering to athletes. I was very encouraged by that and wanted to meet with him. There is a 'By the Kingdom Living' book we went through the first semester. They encourage us to meet one-on-one if we want as well.
How do you combine your faith with basketball and school?
I think faith can be apart of your everyday life. We pray every day before practice. Before each game, as a team, we say the Lord's Prayer together before we run out of the tunnel. Coach Self is oriented in faith as well, and he allows us to practice our faith. With school-work, I think whether you want to do it or not, you are doing the work for the Lord. Just go at it as hard as you can.
What advise do you have for other students who try to keep an active faith?
If you have a heart for God and a heart for the Lord, just really focus on him and know that he is in charge of everything. You can't try and separate one from the other. Overall try to be a good person. Do the right things and just be nice to everybody. That's one way of showing your faith.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Allison Bond is a junior in religious studies and journalism from Andover.
The high court should not silence the Westboro Baptists, we should
I have just read the Associated Press article on the Supreme Court's defense of the Westboro Baptist Church and its right to free speech.
As a native Topekan, I am appalled that such a cruel group of people have thrived so near my childhood home. However, I agree with the Supreme Court's ruling: their right to free speech is important for the prosperity of the American individual, and limits on their hurtful attacks cannot be made through the courts.
Instead, I urge the nation to follow, in Topeka and Lawrence's example of legal tolerance but extreme personal disdain. It is our duty to voice our vehement disagreement with their racist, homophobic, treasonous propaganda, but I urge each of us to fight them on their home court: the powerful arena of public opinion.
As Fred Phelps and his family urge us to "mourn our sins," I ask that we lead the nation in mourning their deep misunderstandings. The Westboro Baptists have weaponized the fallibility of the military, government and individual; however, we
understand that the strong bully is himself a scared boy, as terrified by larger evils as the children he tortures.
The Westboro Baptists fight evil with evil, and we cannot continue this cycle. Through a display of personal strength, let us resurrect questions in their children's minds that erased by cultish propaganda, quelling a new generation of zealots.
I want the nation to understand that Kansas is not characterized by blind anger and shortsightedness.I want the Kansas political climate to evolve from the creationist school board curricula and hateful Fred Phelps clans and display the compassion, reason and strength of character we associate with the Midwest.
A nation cannot defeat this monster, but the individual can. Perhaps as we, one by one, soften their resolve, we can watch the dissolution of Fred Phelps' nauseating agenda.
Nicole McClure is a Senior from Topeka
I have a few objections to Taylor Bussinger's proposals to change Lawrence in Tuesday's paper. First, please don't abolish the Hawk because game days would not be the same. Second, there is nothing wrong with a little southern style and a good pair of boots; don't mess with Texas. Third, walking to class with my friends in a Frat Pack is far more enjoyable than walking by myself. I shouldn't be ridiculed for dressing nice or bidding my
Be proud to live in Lawrence
pal adieu before departing our separate ways to go learn something new. Finally, prohibit Tech N9ne shows? Clearly Mr. Bussinger has not attended one because they are delightful. I'm proud to live in Lawrence. Love it or leave it.
Chad Huston is a junior from Tulsa, Okla.
HUMOR
Sorry, orangutans, it's hard to choose forests over Thin Mints
In late February, environmentalist Glenn Hurowitz ran an opinion piece in The Huffington Post congratulating two Girl Scouts who were forgoing the traditional Girl Scout cookie sale because of the cookies' connection to deforestation in Southeast Asia.
You did a great job, you really did.
You made hilarious faces, you looked adorable in human clothes and throwing feces at zoo patrons. Priceless. The thing is, we love Girl Scout cookies.
They're amazing. I like to take the Thin Mints and put them in the freezer overnight. Have you ever had a frozen Thin Mint cookie? Of course not, you're an
Apparently, the famous Thin Mints and Samoas require palm oil, the harvesting of which has led to massive habitat destruction in Indonesia and Malaysia and threatens to wipe out some critically endangered animals, especially orangutans. The message couldn't be more clear.
orangutan.
BY LOU SHUMAKER lschumaker@kansan.com
So long, orangutans!
Now, I know this doesn't make a lot of sense to you. You're looking around and you're thinking, "What is going on? Why are these cookies such a big deal?" But Girl Scout cookies aren't just cookies, they're charity you can eat.
You just couldn't understand. We'd like to help you, we would, but we're going to have to let you go.
The reason they're so much more popular than their store-bought imitators is because, with Girl Scout cookies, you can purchase snacks that are pretty
The cookies are vital to the Girl Scouts image. If they stopped selling us boxes of Trefoils and Savannahs, they wouldn't be any better than the Boy Scouts, and we mostly just make fun of those guys.
unhealthy for you with the rationalization that you are supporting a youth organization. It would be like if you could support the Red Cross by playing Xbox for four hours a day.
You don't want that to happen to the Girl Scouts, do you? Be reasonable.
Frankly, you're not presenting much of a defense. We already made "Dunston Checks In," what else could you possibly offer us?
When it comes down to it, we just don't like you as much as other apes. Chimps have cemented their place in pop culture with their childlike charm and indelible icons like Michael Jackson's Bubbles or Chim-Chim from "Speed Racer" Gorillas have inspired classic films like "King Kong," the
We have to warn you, though, we've gotten pretty comfortable with the way things are, so your environmental solutions better not require very much work. The fact is, if we had to, we would brain you with a box of Tagalongs and we wouldn't even feel guilty about it because Tagalongs are delicious.
You know what? We'll give you a second chance. We're a fair species, and we wouldn't want a fellow primate to go extinct if there were some way to avoid it. If you can somehow convince us that the lives of you and your fellow animals are worth more than boxes of cookies, we will halt the production of palm oil.
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.
LETTER GUIDELINES
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.
Schumaker is a junior in film and media studies from Overland Park.
Nick Gerik, editor
864-4810 or ngerik@kansan.com
Michael Holtz, managing editor
864-4810 or mholtz@kansan.com
Kelly Stroda, managing editor
864-4810 or kstroda@kansan.com
1976 remake of "King Kong" and Peter Jackson's "King Kong." We really like "King King."
D.M. Scott, opinion editor
864-4924 dmcteys@kansan.com
Mandy Dmctey, associate opinion editor
864-4924 or mmatneykansan.com
CONTACT US
Carolyn Battle, business manager 864-4358 or cbattle@kansan.com
Jessica Cassin, sales manager
864-4477 or jassinkan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or nigibsonkan.com
Jon Schitt, sales and marketing adviser
864-7668 or jschittkan.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansai Editorial Board are Nick
Gerik, Michael Holtz, Kelly Stroda, D.M. Scott and
Mandy Matthey.