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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2011
opinion
apps.facebook.com/dailykansan
I just ate four Fiber One bars in the last two hours, which means I've had over 120 percent of my daily value of fiber. I feel like a ticking time bomb.
There are millions of studies on how effective spanking is. It's called the millions of well-adjusted adults who were spanked as children.
To the guy walking on campus with a monkey on his shoulder today - please bring him back so I can pet him!
If someone waves...wave back. Idiot
Why in the hell did the paper get reformatted so that now I can't perfectly fold my paper to do the crossword? Get it together!
Standing between a guy's spread legs on a crowded bus is the closest I've been to a man's downstairs in months...
I've said it once, and I'll say it again:
the Free For All needs some ELE.
Everyone Love Everyone.
That was not goal tending stupid zebra.
THIS IS FFA STEPPING UP THEIR GAME??!
State of the Union Vs. KU game...
I was going to go to the REC but a margarita sounded so much better ... and it was.
Thank you low profile privacy settings! For real!
The second margarita was even better!!
Anyone want to pet my Peyton Manthing?
I gave him the nickname "Spanky."
I gave her the nickname "Sparky."
Dirty sexy talk on the free for all I like.
Obama is a socialist.
Mmm, socialism.
Do you even know what socialism is?
A drunk man once asked me "does the strip club get postponed due to lightning?" I still haven't come up with an answer.
My fellow Americans, the state of the union is as such: This country is F-d up! But it's not my fault...
I can't respect anyone who gets on the bus from onw part of Jayhalk Blvd. to the other. It's not that far and it's not that cold. Quit being a wiss
Fratties: It would be easier to walk to class over the remaining slippy parts on the sidewalk if you'd TIE YOUR SHOES.
Even after tragedy, guns still have no place at KU
EDITORIAL
In the aftermath of the Jan. 8 Tucson shooting that left six dead and several more injured, the issue of gun control has resurged as a prominent topic of national debate.
Yet still, across the country, legislators are pushing for less restrictive gun laws that would allow individuals to carry concealed firearms in public areas, including college campuses.
In Kansas, Republican Rep. Forrest Knox of Altoona has been pushing a bill to legalize concealed firearms in public spaces, causing an argument that has sparked controversy and outcry across the state.
If this bill is passed in 2011, students at the University of Kansas who are properly licensed will be legally allowed to carry concealed firearms on campus and in campus buildings.
Though Knox and other supporters
of this bill justify it with rhetoric based on the Second Amendment, allowing such a widespread presence of guns will serve to further threaten students' safety rather than improve it.
Some, including Knox, have even argued that the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech, in which 32 students were killed, could have been stopped sooner if other students on campus had been carrying guns. He believes that signs prohibiting weapons do not go far enough in protecting the safety of students.
But this claim ignores the simple fact that more weapons will only result in more violence.
The proposition to allow concealed weapons on college campuses is rooted in concerns about student safety,but violent crimes at the University do not occur often enough to justify it.
According to the KU Public Safety Office, the vast majority of crimes on campus are nonviolent in nature, and annual crime occurrences have actually decreased by 34 percent during the last 10 years because of increased police patrols and improved camera surveillance.
With very few instances of firearm use, or even violence for that matter, arming students would do little to improve the relatively safe environment in which they already reside.
In fact, a 2009 research study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that during violent assaults, victims who were carrying a firearm were 4.5 times more likely to be shot by the assailant than victims who were unarmed.
The presence of guns in such situations does little to protect students
from crime, and only increases their chances of experiencing violence and physical harm.
Students at the University of Kansas should protect themselves and others by limiting the presence of firearms on campus, and instead allow public servants who are trained to use such weapons to ensure their safety during classes. Enough innocent people have been hurt and killed when guns were used by individuals; having everyone carry a gun will only make violence more widespread and make KU and its students less safe.
Spencer Davidson is a senior in secondary English education from Linwood.
HUMOR
No need to alter your life with changes in zodiac
Guys, some crazy stuff went down over break. As you may or may not have heard.
Ophiuchus - some crazy star serpent - done messed up the whole zodiac calendar.
Let me explain for those of you who are confused out there. There was a big star party, and everyone was chilling and relaxing on this massive couch at Aquarius' (c'mon, who throws a better party?).
This party has been poppin' for centuries. Then out of nowhere - without so much as an event invitation from Spacebook - Ophiuchus shows up acting like he knows everybody, trying to sit on Gemini's lap like he knows him, acting all cuter than he is.
So, he slides on in between Scorpio and Sagittarius, and everyone's like, "Whaaaat? Who is this snake? Who the HALE is this snake?" So, everyone had to squirm around on the couch, and the whole shift almost knocked Capricorn off.
But they made it work.
The shift was reported on around Jan. 15. Some news sources suggested that some people's zodiac signs had changed – and those who were once one sign could now be another. It was a dark day for everyone as they simultaneously Googled their new sign and asked themselves if that was who they really were.
Many spent the entire day staring furiously in the mirror and crying. Some began to scrape their now useless zodiac sign tattoos off with their fingernails.
It was mass panic.
Even I panicked. I've always been a skeptic when it comes to the specificity of most religions (why is it so damn important that Mary was a virgin?), but I'd always worn my Aquarius sign
BY CHANCE CARMICHAEL
ccarmichael@kansan.com
with pride.
After all, I've always wanted to be a writer, and Aquarius is the epitome of creativity (he's like Matt Damon from Good Will Hunting - he spends all day getting water at the well, but he's got ideas...creative ones!)
I Googled and Googled until I got the answer I wanted to hear.
The zodiac signs remain the same for those born before 2009 (which is right around the time Ophichus showed up and was all like, "heeeey!").
The earth has slowly been tilting, and as a result we've actually begun orbiting past Ophiuchus for a month of the year. If that C+ I got in Astronomy Lab is indicative of anything, it's that you can kind of trust me when I say that astronomers actually use the zodiac signs as a reference point for other stars and constellations throughout the year.
So, they're the ones to blame for this zodiac scare – the four-eyed eggheads!
Chance Carmichael is a junior in creative writing from Mulvane.
But at least it was only a scare! I would have had to switch my major and name if I were a Capricorn. Phew!
weet of the week
Tweet us your opinions to @kansanopinion How did you feel about last night's State of the Union?
Are you happy that your zodiac sign really didn't change?
How do you feel about gun control on campus?
Or who has some good insight on this week?
If your tweet is particularly interesting, unique, clever, insightful and/or funny, we just might publish it. You have 140 characters, good luck!
CARTOON
...BUT, AS WITH THE CONGRESSPEOPLE WE STILL THINK YOU HAVE COOTIES.
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
POLITICS
Obama's speech bridges political differences
I have an embarrassing confession. Don't laugh. The State of the Union is my Superbowl.
I watch pre- and post-"game" coverage. I make predictions; what the President will say, how many standing ovations there will be, who will sit where.
I even shout at the TV in excitement and tear up if it doesn't go my way. You can laugh now
Tuesday's State of the Union was no disappointment. The night started with shock regarding the new seating arrangement. Traditionally, Republicans sit on one side of the aisle and Democrats on the other.
BY MEGAN ADAMS madams@kansan.com
You can laugh now.
CNN turned into a high school cafeteria of sorts, as pundits gossiped about who would pair up with whom for the big night.
In an attempt to boost the appearance of bipartisanship and unity, Democrats paired up with Republicans for seating.
Unity was the name of the game this year. The president used the word "together" seven times within just the first section of the speech. Too bad words in a speech don't always translate into action.
The theme of unity persisted, as First
Lady Michelle Obama sat next to families affected by the recent Tucson shooting. These seats are typically reserved for significant citizens that represent some theme the president is pushing for in his speech.
Many important and divisive issues, such as the debt ceiling, the repeal of health care and gun reform, are on the congressional agenda. It's highly
The fact that the Republican Party couldn't unite and choose only one member to give the response speech proves congressional unity is a long way off.
However, both Republicans and Democrats can agree the president's speech contained few, if any, surprises.
As expected, the President focused most of his time on the economy. Confirming rumors, he announced a five-year freeze of all discretionary spending. This symbolic gesture falls short of what needs to be done to relieve our debt situation.
unlikely that the president's dream of bibartisanship will become reality.
It'll be interesting to see if the president follows through on his promise to veto all legislation containing earmarks, a comment that particularly excited Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
There were also some glaring holes in the speech's content. The president said nothing about gun control, an issue everyone is talking about after the
More importantly, President Obama neglected to directly address the middle class. Not only does the middle class make up the bulk of our country, but it is also widely agreed upon that assuring jobs and financial security to this class is essential for our overall economy.
More time ought to have been spent on small businesses, paying for college and how to fix the broken Social Security system, as well.
Overall, President Obama's second State of the Union was a success, but not a historic one. He adequately addressed the center and ran through a laundry list of pressing issues.
Moreover, very few of the topics he addressed were partisan. What he lacked in emotion, Speaker John Boehner more than made up for.
Adams is a junior political science and international studies from Overland Park.
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Tucson shooting.
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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THE EDITORIAL BOARD Members of The Kansan Editorial Board are Nick Gerik, Alex Garrison, Kelly Stroda, D.M. Scott and Mandy Matney.
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