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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2011
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 5A
opinion
apps.facebook.com/dailykansan
Eating healthy is a lot more work when your roommate can't cook for shit.
Why did I install Sims on my computer? I have class at 9, but my character is about to have a baby!
Going to Allen to camp. I already know I'm getting a parking ticket today, worth it? Yes.
How is it that KU has so many amazing girls but most I ask already have a boyfriend?
Girl 1: "Wow, they came out with a Playboy perfume." Girl 2: "I bet it smells like sex."
Editor's note: Do you really want to know?
Classes and campus are full and really busy. I give it 2 weeks.
Mom, Mom, Mom! I had sex.
Mom, I have sex.
That's so funny the first time I heard that I fell off my dinosaur.
The clue for #42 across in today's KC Star crossword is "makes a boner." Any ideas?
WHERE'S THE BEACH?!?!
Hell I'd even have sex with a pile of manure.
The one guy I drunkenly hookup with at the Hawk would just so happen to be in my 20 person class...
Are K-State fans ripping off KU traditions? I just saw two on ESPN that were exactly like KU.
My roommate has a very very innocent mind. I think she was overprotected as a child.
No weather will make me want to ride one of the busses. They're crowded and people smell funny.
I just broke up with my girlfriend because she had no brain. She liked Sarah Palin.
To the obese tool doing 30 minutes of abs in Ed Hardy sweats: Stop.
Did you know that the word "OK"
looks like a sideways person?
Did you know that the word "bed"
looks like a bed?
Dude that's not the herp, it's just a little frostbite on your dick.
I like my women like my scotch, 12 years old.
Wearing your backpack under your coat is like saying, "Hey, come be my friend, I have none, and I've never touched a boobie."
Last night I creeped on a Frat initiation while in bed. They made snow angels!
10 the attractive maintenance men working in Anschutz: Work that tool
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
International events shed light on national news
Most students, or really young people in general aren't interested in the
world of politics.
Most aren't concerned with much past what parties are going on this weekend.
I am not here to make judgments or make people feel bad. I too have been wrapped up in the animosity that has become a central part of American culture.
After all, it is difficult to muster real international concern when, especially in Kansas, we can seclude ourselves well enough to never have to bother with the actions of countries thousands of miles away.
This perspective, however, is not only detrimental to ourselves, but to our community, our country and our
BY SHAUNA BLACKMON
slackmon@kansan.com
world as a whole.
If young people don't start paying attention to the doings of those around us now, we won't until it becomes too late, and we are wrapped up in another war, and hatred towards the U.S. deepens past the monumental levels it has already reached.
The consequences of American indifference have already become apparent to those paying attention.
After Sept. 11, America echoed pleas of "why do they (the Arab world) hate us?"
It only takes the lightest skimming of international news, or even better, news by international companies, to find a multitude of answers.
Americans are notorius for only looking at one side of things—our side.
Many people blindly support Israel over Palestine because American foreign policy favors Israel, which is reflected in our media. Many ignore China's overwhelming human rights violations because China is the largest owner of U.S. debt, and to speak too negatively of them in our media might endanger our faulty and dangerous relationship with China. If a topic or perspective is not shown on Fox or MSNBC, it might as well not exist for
many people.
While what goes on in Tunisia, Jordan or Cuba might not heavily affect our immediate future, only foolishness and irresponsibility pretends that those actions won't have some impact on our world and future.
From this point on, I will try to show you just how events across the globe affect our community. In a global world, everything is related whether in the short or long run. As the next educated wave of adults entering the world, we must not underestimate the importance of being aware of the world around us and our position in that world.
Blackmon is a senior in journalism from Olathe.
CARTOON
FOR OVER 100 YEARS,
THE PRESIDENT SENT
HIS STATE OF THE UNION
TO CONGRESS RATHER THAN
DELIVER IT AS A SPEECH.
STARTING IN 1913 WITH WOODROW WILSON, PRESIDENTS DECIDED TO DELIVER IT THEMSELVES.
ON TUESDAY,
MICHELLE BACHMANN
GAVE A REPLY TO
THE SPEECH AND
TO THE RESPONSE.
THEN EVERETT DIRKSEN AND GERALD FORD IN 1966 BEGAN THE RESPONSE TO THE STATE OF THE UNION.
AND, NEXT JANUARY, THE TRADITION GROWS WHEN UNCLE LARRY DELIVERS HIS RANT AT THE TV AFTER THE STATE OF THE UNION AND THE RESPONSE AND THE REPLY.
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
weet of the week
Tweet us your opinions to @kansanopinion
Did you think the fans this weekend were respectful about the loss?
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Do you think the lack of political interest in American culture is detrimental to our youth?
How do you feel about the recent education cuts?
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Loss shows true colors of Kansas fans
Talk about a little perspective. After the loss to Texas on Saturday, I did not hear, see or read about a single Jayhawk fan complaining about our defeat. Instead, I saw articles about strong bonds between teammates, the importance of family and the support of the Jayhawk nation. Nobody criticized the team for losing. They focused on the greatest loss of all - the loss for Thomas Robinson and his family.
And you know what? All of this positive support for the team surrounding Saturday's game doesn't surprise me one bit. Our fans are classy. We don't boo our own team, we don't act like we are better than we really are and we don't value a winning streak too heavily.
Believe me, there are plenty of people out there who would feel differently and criticize every last element of the game. But that didn't happen here in Lawrence, and I am glad to be a member of a fan base that knows how to keep everything in perspective, even when that perspective must be a sad one.
On an even broader level, I think that anyone who believes that college kids have no sense of priorities should view this as an opportunity to think again. From Robinson's teammates to my own classmates and friends, everyone has the same attitude: family comes first or, as the basketball team suggests, Family Over Everything
To me, this is a refreshing confirmation that our generation isn't completely lost to triviality and self-absorption. Instead, we know how support each other when the going gets rough. Just add it to the list of reasons why it's great to be a Jayhawk.
Anna Creaden is a junior from Overland Park.
LOCAL POLITICS
Recent education cuts reflect selfish culture
Maybe I'm biased. As an up and coming high school English teacher, I was particularly troubled by the recent cuts to public education that Kansas Governor Sam Brownback recently announced. These cuts not only jeopardize my future job security, they also make clear our leaders see devastating cuts to education as a preferable alternative to raising taxes even a little bit.
It's no secret that our entire country is still wading through an economic recession, and common sense dictates that in times like these it's crucial to cut spending in order to save money.
BY SPENCER DAVIDSON sdavidson@kansan.com
But common sense also dictates that the way out of money troubles is to make money, and the most efficient way for a state to do that is through taxes. In this state especially, too many believe raising taxes is solely characteristic of the Democratic Party, viewing them as anti-capitalistic and anti-American.
Kansas' new governor would rather make grievous cuts to public education than raise taxes by even a penny, despite making a campaign pledge to increase funding for education. This is not only a poor reflection on our governor, but also those who elected him.
And that's the problem.
When did we as a culture allow the fundamental concept of raising taxes to become such a polarizing political buzzword?
Are we more willing to take away from the quality of our youths' education rather than make any sort financial sacrifice ourselves?
We live in an age of self-indulgence unlike any previous generation America has ever known. We are a country that has more luxuries than any other nation in human history, and even in a recession we still control much of the world's wealth. While millions around the globe face the brutal realities of starvation every day, we contend with the growing problem of child obesity.
In spite of the difficult economic times, the majority of us still go to bed in a house that has electricity, heat and running water.
And we know nothing of sacrifice.
In a society as selfish as ours, in a nation where raising taxes is considered to be political self-destruction for any leader, how can we ever expect to improve any of the public services we rely so heavily upon?
More and more with each passing year, teachers are simply expected to work for almost nothing. How can you afford to pay public servants if there isn't any tax money to pay them with?
Nobody likes taxes. But they are a necessary element of any functioning society as a means of keeping money circulating throughout the domestic economy. And in a recession like this, they can certainly help keep America's public education system intact, and maybe improve it.
Whatever we do, if we want to save education it's going to have to come out of our own wallets.
We have a choice. We can sacrifice our money or sacrifice our future. And the governor's recent cuts to education are a disheartening indication that we've already made our decision.
Davidson is a senior in Secondary English Education from Linwood.
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LETTER GUIDELINES
Send letters to kansanopdesk@gmail.
com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in
the e-mail subject line.
The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown.
Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.
Length: 300 words
Nick Gerik, editor
864-8140 or ngeri@kansan.com
Alex Garirion, managing editor
864-8140 or agarison@kansan.com
Kelly Stroda, managing editor
864-8140 or kstroda@kansan.com
We as a society seem to only worry about our own individual financial situations, refusing to spend our money on programs that can benefit other people too.
D.M. Scott, opinion editor
864-9249 or scott@kansan.com
Mandy Matney, associate opinion editor
864-9249 or mmatney@kansan.com
Carole Battle, business manager
CONTACT US
Carolyn Battle, business manager 864-4358 or cbattle@kansan.com
Jessica Cassin, sales manager
864-4747 or jschitts@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
864-7667 or mgibsons@kansan.com
Jon Schitt, sales and marketing adviser
864-7668 or jschitts@kansan.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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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