THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2011
PAGE 5A
opinion
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I once got busy in a Burger King bathroom.
Thank god the Jets lost, I'm not sure I could've stood two more weeks of their douchebaggery.
I guess you didn't like the message I left on your wall. Everclear will take it right off.
I screwed up a one-star Sudoku this morning. I really hope this isn't indicative of how my semester is gonna go.
Your mother is like my thoughts on socio-economics; everyone gets a share.
"Teen Mom" and "Jersey Shore" are really starting to mess with my emotions. Might not be good for the GPA.
You are such a jerk. And you wonder why no one loves you.
Spanking isn't very effective with kids? I think it works very well. Kids sometimes need a spanking. It's called negative reinforcement, Professor.
It says that going to basketball games in AFH can be better than sex. Which is true.
Just imagine if every guy dressed like a frat boy...mmm.
Frat guys dress like golfing grandpas on Easter Sunday. Yeah, no thanks.
We should have some universal sign that lets people know if you are single.. like a button.. someone get that started.
I HATE ONLINE SPANISH!!!!
So has anyone tried booking Taylor Swift to sing the national anthem vs. K-State yet?
First day of class and I managed to go to the wrong one... cool.
I hate when people stink on the bus...
You know what I had for breakfast? Chicken noodle soup with grape juice on the side. No huss.
Black Eyed Peas? The best thing about this game is gonna be when it's over and everyone finally shuts up about the NFL.
To the guy who gave his coat to my friend and me when we were standing outside the Union Friday night; you are awesome. Your coat can be found at the Alumni Association.
Yoga pants are my Wonderbra (because I have tiny boobs).
My roommate pours food into the sink with a garbage disposal. But he does it when the drain cap is in. Then puts a plate over it when he realizes he messed up.
HUMOR
Few of us actually gain knowledge in college
As a new semester of classes begins, now seems like the time to reflect on what we've not learned and look forward to what we'll be not learning in the coming months.
If recent trends continue, we'll soon be doing more non-learning than ever before, making us the most uneducated generation in American history.
But is this something to not be proud of?
According to the new book "Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses," a survey of more than 2,000 college students found that 45 percent "did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning" after two years of study. That percentage improved to only 36 percent after four years.
At first glance, these statistics may seem like good reasons to panic. How will we be successful in the real world if
BY ALEX NICHOLS anichols@kansan.com
we don't learn anything in college? Why are we spending so much on tuition if we're not learning? Will America turn into Dumb-erica, a country of people so dumb they think inventing a word like "Dumb-erica" is clever?
Relax. The study also showed that the students averaged a solid 3.2 GPA. As we all know, grades are infallible indicators of intelligence and academic success, which means there is only one conclusion we can draw from this study: Learning is no longer necessary!
Maybe, there was a time when learning was fundamental to the success and livelihood of individuals and the communities they comprised; I wouldn't know, because I never paid attention in history class. What I do know is now we no longer need to learn stuff (i.e., "things") in order to receive pieces of paper that certify that we know things (i.e., "stuff").
Those pieces of paper - also known as "degrees" - are the ultimate prizes of the academic experience. Getting a degree is all that matters, and the more degrees, the better (unless you are a snowman or a sprained ankle).
Degrees help us obtain money via jobs, which themselves are more easily attained by having degrees, a process described in the classic film "The Lion King" as the "Circle of Life."
Learning can be painful and confusing, so why let it interfere with our pursuit of marketability?
In fact, it seems as though the less learning you do, the more success you will have. According to the study, students majoring in business and education learned the least, which would explain our thriving economy and top-notch school system.
College is about two things: drinking,partying and retaining information just long enough to pass a test. People who actually learn will be left destitute, with only worthless knowledge to comfort them. People who don't will go on to become governors, published authors and reality TV stars--or even all three.
Which would you rather be? I thought so.
Good luck on a new semester. Here's to hoping you forget all of it!
Nichols is a senior from Stilwell majoring in creative writing.
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RELIGION
Explore religions to find importance in faith
People tend to call me religious. I go to church every Sunday; I am part of WesleyKU, a Methodist campus ministry, and I help lead a church youth group. I am even a religious studies major. Religion is my life.
Except that it's not. I struggle living out my religion, and most college students and even full adults have the same struggle. With the demand of studying for classes, managing a social life and participating in extra curricular activities, it's easy to lose one's faith in the day-to-day busyness of our lives.
Don't let this cultural problem isolate you.
Only 45 percent of young adults under the age of 30 said that religion is important to them, according to the 2010 Pew Research Forum. This statistic supports how many young adults feel lost in their faith. Many Americans have become lazy incorporating faith into daily life. Too many people separate religion and life when they have always belonged together.
BY ALLISON BOND abond@kansan.com
Constant discipline and determination develop a lifestyle where religion is at the forefront of one's mind, so it can be at the forefront of one's actions. In order to pray, worship or act divinely daily, we must practice faith with consciousness and intentional effort.
Spiritual practices have helped me keep the focus needed on my faith and
to incorporate my beliefs into my daily living. These practices can range from meditation, prayer, conversation, reading and many more. Awareness of faith incorporates faith into the busyness of daily living.
Awareness of faith travels like a rollercoaster through life's up and down moments. The greater tragedy would be not to practice faith at all and miss out on a religious life. Participating in a religious campus group or going to a worship service is just the beginning of living out faith. The goal is to ultimately make faith personal. The religion doesn't matter, as long as you make it yours and actively pursue it.
I wish you the best in pursuing the practice of living out faith in whatever way you adopt. I challenge you to try something new this semester and make your faith more personal.
Bond is a junior from Andover majoring in journalism and religious studies.
Agree or Disagree?
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Does the future of Sudan mentioned in Cosby's column concern you?
HUMAN RIGHTS
The future of Sudan relies on cessation vote
Despite all of the potentially negative impacts of the vote or cessation, including a resurgence of violence and war, the vote has important implications for the state of human rights in Sudan.
With preliminary results tallying a vote of 98.6 percent in favor of cessation, the future of an independent south Sudan looks brighter than ever. Though the results will not be officially released until February, such a heavy majority makes a clear statement about the strong feelings surrounding this issue.
One of the most basic human rights is the ability to actively participate in one's government. Other important rights rest largely on whether or not an individual is able to fight for them using political means.
If the referendum causes tension over oil and land division to escalate to further violence, however, this step forward could be compromised.
Because this referendum finally took place and, based on the results, seems to have been fairly orchestrated, it shows that Sudan may finally be improving the condition needed to safeguard individual rights in the state.
Northern Sudan, with its active and fairly stable economic infrastructure, is still the more prosperous region. But, with independence, southern
In a country known for political corruption, witnessing citizens exercise their right to participate on fair grounds beholds a promising sight for the state of human rights in general.
BY KELLY COSBY kcosbykansan.com
Sudan has the potential to become strong on its own. The state's vast oil supply lies in south Sudan. As the state is one step closer to splitting in two, the north will most likely insist on keeping a large portion of oil rights in order to ensure its revenue remains stable.
This tension comes with disagreement over whether the Abyei region lies in the north or the south. Abyei has oil and fertile land and thus is an attractive area to both sides. It also happens to recently be the most violent region, according to the New York Times
If these disagreements continue to intensify without resolution, violence could increase again and possibly destroy the progress Sudan has made toward curbing human rights violations. For now, as the official results are awaited, swift diplomacy encouraging a movement toward stable peace agreements regarding the split are necessary to decrease the likelihood of catastrophe.
Cosby is a junior from Overland Park majoring in political science and English.
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