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Wednesday, November 3,1993
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VIEWPOINT
Premarital sex should be decision of couple alone
The decision to have sex should be made only by the partners involved, no one else. Campus Crusade for Christ is sponsoring a debate tonight between Canadian Christian philosopher Michael Horner and Dennis Dailey, professor of social welfare. The question to be debated is "Why wait - is it healthier to save sex for a permanent commitment?" The debate will take place at the Ballroom in the Kansas Union at 7:30 p.m.
There are many concerns to be accounted for when deciding to have sex. Health concerns should be the first. All members of society should recognize their responsibility to themselves and others to help stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
The next concern should be emotional well-being. Both parties involved must be emotionally ready for sex. If one or both are not confident in their emotional stability, sex will very likely cause more trouble for them than pleasure.
The debate questions the effects of sex on a person's spirituality. Some religions profess that sex is sinful unless the couple is legally married. We disagree with this belief for several reasons. First, deciding whether a person is ready for sex can be made by the person alone, no one else. Second, in many cases, this moral judgment against premarital sex was made to help curb the spread of sexual diseases and unwanted pregnancies.
The simple solution to this is for the couple to practice responsible sex. Although this cannot protect them from all possible negative consequences, it can help Third, there are no physical, mental or spiritual changes granted by a marriage certificate itself. The commitment is made by the couple, not the piece of paper.
The important point here is that sex is a personal decision that must be made based on health, emotional and mental reasons. The only morality in the question should be whether or not both partners honestly address their own concerns and the concerns of each other. Sex before marriage should not be considered unethical or immoral based solely on the premarital status of the couple.
Attend the debate, listen to both sides of the argument; but understand that having sex is a very personal decision, one that can only be made by the individual.
DAVID BURGETT FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Eulogy of sorts inspired by a favorite bathroom
This past summer I suffered a very traumatic experience. I moved from my residence of 13 years to a new and improved "abode." Leaving my boyhood home produced many tearful goodbyes. As I passed through each room and thought about the experiences that each had afforded me, I stopped at a really special place. I decided as I looked into that room that someday I would give it the tribute it deserved. Today is "someday."
The following emotionally revealing letter/essay/sonnet (OK, not really), is titled "Goodbye, My Friend — Mr. Bathroom" I wanted to leave a copy in this special room, but realized that the new residents might think that if I talked to the bathroom, then maybe I talked to ghosts too and therefore the house was haunted, and let's face it—who wants to buy a haunted house?
I hope when I send it in to respected literary magazines, I will earn much acclaim and many dollars. I could also appear on daytime talk shows and be chronicled in respected news journals. Picture it. "Boy Talks to Bathroom, Eats Foot." But enough of that. The real star is my bathroom, and here is my way of saying, "Thanks."
Dear Mr. Bathroom,
Woe is today when I realize that
never again will I be graced with your presence. Today the memories crashed down upon me. I will never again share the kind of bond with another room like I did with you, Mr. Bathroom. Nor will I share again the variety of things that I shared with Mr. Toilet (HA-HA). Oh, the times we had.
Remember the first time I "tried to shave? It was for the first date I ever went on and I cut the crap out of my face, then I foolishly experimented with aftershave for the first time (YOW-WEE). Later, I came home as I had made a fool of myself when I spilled that big bowl of spaghetti all over that girl's dress. Whoops.
Then there was that time when you hid me because Dad was looking for me. I know he had told me not to beat up my little brother, but how was I supposed to know when I "nudged"
him that he was on the edge of the staircase? It was just an accident, but you understood, Mr. Bathroom, and didn't ask questions. Actually there were a lot of "hidings" in you.
Or how about that time when I had the flu? Yeah, I know you remember that. Who could forget it? Dad made that chili with the really spicy beans and my stomach wasn't exactly "up to the task." Man, when Ilet that meal go! hurt HURT. My throat burned for two hours and I promised you that I would never eat chili on an upset stomach again. Like someone smart probably once said, "Eating chili is one thing, but on an upset stomach? WOO-WEE, better watch out!"
So I bid farewell to you, Mr. Bathroom. You were a pillar of strength through a life that was constantly changing. For all the other bathrooms that I will enter, I will never forget you. Your late 1970s wallpaper and that convenient towel rack that I never used. May you prosper always, and may your new owner not pee all over you.
Chris
Your Friend Always,
Chris Ronan is an Overland Park sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism.
NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Cheating in the classroom is hardly a new phenomenon, but the findings of a new survey suggest it may be more pervasive than previously thought.
What does high-achieve cheating say about kids?
Of the 1,975 high school students questioned in the 1992-93 term, 78 percent admitted to cheating and 80 percent said cheating is widespread in their schools.
Students said they had copied another student's homework, others said they had cheated on exams, and still others said they read summaries rather than the books that were assigned. Plagiarism in essays was admitted by 14 percent of the respondents.
were so-called high achievers. They are not the laggards at the low end of the grading scale who feel they'll be left behind if they don't resort to dishonest tactics.
What do these responses tell us? That today's high school students are under too much pressure to succeed academically? That earning a grade has become more important than learning the material? That the classroom is not a place where one can revel in the pleasure of acquiring knowledge?
If the brightest high school students feel so little compunction about cheating, how will they behave when they get to college? As adults, how will they behave toward their families, their friends, and those they might transact business with?
The Tribune Tampa, Fla.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
What makes you think it's really Einstein's?
I don't believe it for one second! Albert Einstein's brain on Mass Street? Is suppose Elvis is serving up drafts in a local bar, and Jim Morrison picks up aluminum cans every Saturday on campus.
I have two questions that need answers: Why do you believe it? And, why do you expect me to believe you were the first to discover this peculiar "fact"? Did this guy call you up and tell you he had the brain or did you sniff the story out by yourself? Were there little notes left in your campus mailbox with directions to the brain, or was it a revelation that suddenly came to you in a dream, "Einstein's brain is Lawrence"?
I picture it in ajar on Mass Street!
Call the photo team and follow me!"
Can you understand why I might not believe you? Let me see ... one of the greatest humans of our time dies, and the man doing the autopsy just happens to slip out the back door with the brain under his jacket; nobody notices; his family doesn't mind at all; the rest of the scientific community has no interest in studying the tissue; and our many prestigious national museums and universities don't care to display it.
Now, this brain has been sitting around in Lawrence for 38 years and the Kansan has just come upon the story. You people must be one incredible news staff!
At least you checked with some family, friends and former colleagues to verify the fact of our
brain in residence. I'm sure they were more than willing to supply you with all the credibility you needed. Did any of them let out an uncontrollable chuckle as they gave you the background on their brain-harboring friend?
I must give you this, the week before Halloween is a great time to put an old scientist and a brain on the front page of your tabloid. Readers definitely took notice. (Hell, I was inspired to write you a letter). J bet the man who has the brain will be selling tickets this weekend. Hey, if it's not Elinstein's brain, whose brain is it??! Now, there's a story. How about some real news, Kansan.
Nick Schlyer Lawrence junior
COLUMNIST
Religions do not support killing even in Ireland
Ireland is engulfed again in violence and bloodshed. Actually, again is not correct: Ireland is still engulfed. In the last few days, dozens of people have died, the victims of Irish attacking Irish.
Most of us have grown up with the idea that Ireland experiences this onagain, off-again civil war between the north and the south. It has something to do with religion, but does anyone have a clear idea of how it started, and who keeps it going?
I took several hours of British history for my undergraduate degree, and I tried to get a handle on the problem. The more I learned, the less I understand.
These conditions worsened after the English Reformation, when the Protestant Church of England was created and Catholicism outlawed in British lands. The powers of church and state went hand-in-hand, and by the mid-1600s the Irish population was split into at least four factions, divided between the royal government, British Parliament, Scottish coveting forces and the native Catholic Irish.
The rulers of England, royal and otherwise, have ruled over the Irish people since the 12th century. The native Irish people eventually converted to Catholicism, following a series of expeditions to reform and convert them. The English considered that only people born in England or those English born in Ireland to be true citizens of Britain. The English language was forced upon the Irish in the 1500s.
And so began the current series o protests and dissidence.
Today Ireland is split in two. Northern Ireland is controlled by the British, while the Republic of Ireland is an independent state. Pro-Ireland Roman Catholics attack pro-British Protestants. In Northern Ireland we "moderate" political parties try to conduct peace talks with the outlawed radical Irish Republican Army and equally radical Protestant extremist.
This situation is considered, by the people involved in it, a holy war and a civil war. It is a battle between the chosen people of God and those who go against God. It is a fight for who will control the land and the people of Ireland. The terms Irish Catholic and British Protestant are, regrettably, interchangeable.
What tenet of religion, either Catholic or Protestant, advocates killing? What government, advocating self-rule or organized democracy, advocates destruction? What on that island is worth the wholesale demolition of itself?
Irish children grow up scarred, in a war zone, feeling a numb association with death or disability that occurs with no notice, with no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Those who survive to be adults are pulled into the factions to survive. Those who avoid the pull await the day when someone they know, someone they love, is killed.
All of this, in the name of God and independence.
KANSAN STAFF
Patrick Dilley is a Lawrence graduated higher education.
KC TRAUER, Editor
JOE HARDER, CHRISTINE LAUE
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Business Staff
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by Joel Franck
University of Mars
Man, I feel great. I've managed to avoid those over-Zealous, bible slappin', religious types, all day.