---
Opinion THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2010
PAGE 5A
WWW.KANSAN.COM
FREE FOR ALL
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
To contribute to Free for All, visit Kansan.com or call (785) 864-0500 or try our Facebook App.
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
Can we be friends with benefits?
Why is it so hard to get out of bed? Snow, I blame you for my laziness!
Why the hell is Facebook telling me to reconnect with my mom? I just got off the phone with her!
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
Dude. "The Color Of Friendship" is on the Disney Channel. I didn't even remember this movie until just now.
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
Why is it so tough for guys to communicate their feelings?
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
On this day, the 22nd day of February in the year 2010. I have officially beat teen
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
I don't think my job understands how desperate I am for money. I'd stay here all night if they paid me.
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
I am my own anti-drug. Too bad I'm also my own antiresearch paper. Mad Men is like crack to me.
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
I just defriended a girl because she was spamming my feed.
Best pickup line ever. "Kiss me if I am wrong but, is your name Guadaluque?"
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
I really want to fall in love with one woman and never leave her. Hooking up with random girls gets boring after
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
Fire in the Oread?
On what it feels like to go to KU: Try to imagine Pegasus mating with a unicorn and the creature that they birth. I somehow tame it and ride it into the sky in the clouds and sunshine and rainbows. That's what it feels like
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
OK, yeah, maybe staying up all night wasn't such a good
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
I want to go out and smoke, but that would require wearing pants.
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
Never try to kick a pot addiction cold turkey on a Monday.
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
Which is worse: guys that move too fast, or guys that move too slow?
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
Hey winter! Eat it.
--awareness of sexuality issues. Some instructors inadvertently make offensive comments toward part of their student audience. Others may be afraid to include lesbian and gay subject matter in discussions out of fear of stirring off-topic debate or out of their own personal security.
EDITORIAL
Classroom environment improved with program
Everyone should be aware of sexuality issues when engaging in academic discussion. That's why students and teachers should take advantage of the new Safe Space Ally Program.
This 50-minute seminar is a great way for students and professors who are unfamiliar with LGBT terminology or who are uncomfortable being around LGBT persons to learn appropriate phrases, identifications and associations. This way, the classroom can be a more welcoming and warm atmosphere for intellectual discussions.
There are appropriate ways to refer to people and react to their stories and articulations. Referring to someone as "it" or even stumbling over the correct pronoun probably doesn't make that person feel too great.
Students who are not members of the LGBT community should not be afraid to include those people in their discussions. They shouldn't be afraid of asking questions when necessary in an appropriate, sensitive and professional manner.
Students aren't the only ones who have something to gain from
Instructors should also be aware of their response to statements that refer to sexuality. It only makes certain individuals irritated and feel small when a relevant subject they are connected to is avoided because of its gav content.
What makes this program so effective is that it includes peer participants to "assist in facilitation of the Safe Space Ally Program." Being a peer facilitator is a great way to show allegiance to the LGBT community and to spread that demeanor to others through workshops.
It's beneficial to everyone when a class discussion consists of young adults who come from different walks of life and have passionate attitudes and beliefs about certain things.
But this variety of background is most effective when the participants are respectful and know how
to communicate with everyone.
to communicate with everyone. The classroom should be a stimulating environment, where arguments, agreements and points can be made, and slander and verbally abusive statements, even if unintentional, should be avoided.
Instructors should set aside a class for the presentation of the program, which also includes information on current events and anti-oppression resources. Students should encourage instructors to offer the program and participate in the peer facilitation.
James Castle for The Kansan Editorial Board
Become a fan of the Safe Space
Ally Program on facebook.com
Rachel Gadd-Nelson, Queers &
Allies Educational Outreach Co-
ordinator kuqandaeducation@
gmail.com; or
If you would like to get involved in the training to be a peer facilitator, contact:
Saida Bonifield, LGBT Resource Center Coordinator at saida@ku.edu.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
The oldest guy on death row died of old age. He was 94. He had a record since FDR was president.
Escaped, and he killed another person again when Reagan was in office.
He shot a cop in the Truman years, and got jail...
Killed a guy during Carter, and got jail...
And sat in a cell on death row till he died of old age.
AND WET STILL
SOME PEOPLE SUPPORT
THE DEATH PENALTY?!
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
SCIENTIFIC HEALTH
Homeopathy is nothing more than a delusion of dilution
Medicine can be frightening. After being bombarded with new drugs
The practice of homeopathy is this: a patient comes in with a certain list of symptoms, such as headache, vomiting, etc. In order to correct this, the homeopath uses the so-called Law of Simillars (which is not an established scientific law). This is the idea that the same chemicals that can cause the symptoms can also be used to treat them. The practitioner then takes the chemicals that can induce headaches or vomiting and dilutes them in huge proportions essentially removing all active ingredients. This final diluted homeopathic remedy is sold to the patient to cure the illness.
But instead of hastily subscribing to a non-conventional medication, the true efficacy and characteristics should be explored to decide whether this therapy can actually be beneficial. Homeopathy is one such alternative to conventional medicine. It may be appealing on the surface, but it lacks any basis in science or evidence.
new combinations, new therapies. new doctors and even potentially a new health care system, it is all too easy to succumb to the superficial appeal of alternative methodologies of medicine.
Homeopathy is certainly not natural (not that the term natural has any bearing on health), but,
rather, is a bizarre, scientifically-unsupported process. The rationale for the therapy relies upon the homeopathic belief called the Law of Infinitesimals (again, not a true scientific law), the idea that the more diluted a substance is, the more powerful it becomes.
BY SAI FOLMSBEE
stolmsbee@kansan.com
This principle violates centuries of chemistry and physics research and is positively absurd in the context of modern advances in chemistry. It even defies the dose-dependent method of treatment that pharmacists have established since the beginnings of medicine. To base an entire philosophy of medicine on something so scientifically implausible is both foolish and dangerous. On top of that, the best methodological reviews of the scientific research show that homeopathic remedies are statistically indistinguishable from placebos.
Although, theoretically, homeopathic remedies are essentially diluted to nothing, they still do pose many risks to the consumer. For
Even the true and well-prepared homeopathic remedies pose a real danger to consumers. Although these may be biologically inert, they draw patients in with false hope and remove them from real treatments and help that conventional medicine can provide. Some homeopaths even advocate that their patients reject vaccines, antibiotics and cancer drugs. This abducts patients away from potentially lifesaving help from doctors and treatments.
instance, there have been cases of arsenic toxicity in patients who took improperly prepared homeopathic remedies. Furthermore, some over-the-counter pharmacy supplements claim to be homeopathic, but in fact do contain dangerous levels of chemicals. The homeopathic cold remedy Zicam was recalled by the Food and Drug Administration after concerns that the high levels of zinc could permanently damage a person's sense of smell.
On the surface, homeopathy has a meticulous methodology and alluring treatments. But after scrutiny of the scientific evidence behind it, it has little value to consumers. Although homeopathic treatments are diluted, its proponents are the ones truly deluded.
Folmsbee is a senior from Topeka in neurobiology.
INTERNATIONAL
People drift apart as world connects
during the week, the first thing I do in the morning before getting
Life in a Kaleidoscope
morning before getting ready is turn on my laptop. Checking e-mail and Facebook are practically ingredients in my breakfast. On the way to class, I attach my earbuds while walking. When I'm home, I spend most of my nighttime sitting in front of some kind of screen reading, watching sitcoms or socializing with friends.
I cannot deny my unconscious addiction to one kind of "soma," which is mentioned by Aldous Huxley in his 1931 science fiction novel "Brave New World." In the story, "soma" is a hallucinogen that takes users on an eniobable trip.
The similarities between the predictions Huxley made 70 years ago and the reality of today are stunning.
In that imaginary world, people are nurtured in conditioning centers instead of by traditional reproduction: Happiness is rooted in taking soma, having sex for fun and living in a world without comparisons and competition.
We are living in a technology-driven era, where almost everyone is dependent on some form of technology. Technology never loses ground as our dose of "soma." Take, for instance, the common scene on campus of busy students walking to class with their heads down and fingers moving swiftly on tiny keypads.
It is almost comical how, even with rising obesity rates, finger agility still remains intact due to this daily "training."
Have you ever felt anxious when you leave your cell phone at home? If you feel or hear a vibration, do you overreact and check your phone right away? Even when your phone is sitting on the table peacefully, do you
BY JOSIE HO
jho@kansan.com
still check it constantly for fear of missing any call or text? Do you have a nervous breakdown when a wireless network is unavailable?
For people of past generations, personal interaction was the most comfortable and enjoyable form of communication. However, our generation has quickly replaced quality face time with short inbox messages.
If so, you should be diagnosed with what I like to call Technology Induced Anxiety. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll have a remedy as long as the ever-changing digital world is still spinning.
This is an unfortunate trend. Personally, I would rather receive an actual birthday greeting than a Facebook message attached with abbreviated words and emotions that are not intelligible enough to convey genuine emotion. Why don't we just pick up the phone and call or even meet up with the person and talk, instead of texting someone who sits just next to us?
For all our generation has done to advance technology, it's ironic that the technology is now controlling our lives. Science fiction stories like "Brave New World" are fun to read. Let's just make sure they stay fiction.
Ho is a junior from Macau, China, in journalism.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Apparently I'm not the only one disgruntled by the hulking presence of the Oread Hotel. As I'm sure many of my fellow students noticed last Monday and Tuesday, the hotel was boldly endowed with a brand-new paint job, courtesy of (that is, generously donated by) some unknown and obviously well-meaning graffiti artist.
To anyone with an eye for aesthetic, the painting was beautiful, before its untimely demise at the hands of the hotel. During its brief existence, it implored any who looked at it to "SHOUT PEACE" in brave, white, simple characters against a backdrop of subtle blue. Its composition both fit solidly into the building's broad, square architecture, and, more impressively, gracefully mimicked the Kansan sky bevel.
The hotel owners quickly and unceremoniously destroyed it. Why? Oread general manager Nancy Longhurst claimed, on behalf of the hotel employ, to be "saddened by this kind of vandalism." What kind? The kind that
inspires peace? The kind with constructive ideals? The kind carefully integrated into the space it occupies?
I must concede that "vandalism" is inextricable from its intrinsic negative stigma, and that this case, by law, is no exception. However, this case was neither directly destructive nor was it insulting, violent, or negative. The painting, instead, encouraged self-expression, with a purpose of unity between people—a lesson the hotel higher-ups, judging by their abrupt destruction of the artwork, clearly ought to consider.
The Oread's heinous obliteration of a benign and beautiful work of art—of vandalism—is not unjustified. However, it does suggest a deeper concern, and I hope I'm not the only one wondering: Will the Oread Hotel really emerge as a token of neighborhood peacemaking, or instead as some elaborate agent of ill will—will the gifts we receive reveal themselves ridden with some disease that ultimately undermines us where we live?
—Sam Anderson is a junior from Lawrence.
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LETTER GUIDELINES
Send letters to opinion.kansan.com
Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the e-mail subject line.
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.
CONTACT US
Stephen Montemayor, editor
864-4810 or smontemayori@kansan.com
Brianne Pfannenstiel, managing editor 864-4810 or bpfannenstiel@kansan.com
Jennifer Torline, managing editor 864-4810 or itorline@kansan.com
Lauren Cunningham, kansan.com managing editor 864-4810 or lcunningham@kansan.com
Vicky Lu, KUJH-TV managing editor 864-4810 or vlu@kansan.com
Emily McCoy, opinion editor
^2-4-924 or emccoy@kansan.com
Kate Larrabee, editorial editor 864-4924 or klarrabee@ikansan.com
Cassie Gerken, business manager 864-435B or cgerken@kansan.com
Carolyn Battle, sales manager
864-4477 or cbattle@kansan.com
Malcolm Gibson, general manager and news adviser
864-7668 or mgionojenkanan.com
JoN Schlit, sales and marketing adviser
864-7666 or mgionojenkanan.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kanan Editorial Board are Stephen Montmayer, Martha Plankenstel, William Lundberg, Emily McMoy, Kate Larrabee, James Castle, Andrew Hammond, Michael Holtz, Stefanie Penn and Cattin Thornburgh.
---