Opinion
United States First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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--and offer help.)
If I see another status about "Modern Warfare," I am going to kill you.
PAGE 7A
There is a KU bus broken down on the side of the road on 1-435 in front of Worlds of Fun: Bus #319, I just wanted people to know that I think it got a little off campus.
My friend Levi came over from Kansas State this weekend and he could not believe that we had hot girls at this university. It is something that he was not accustomed to seeing.
--and offer help.)
A guy named black that turns into a canine? Only Sirius matters. Go team Harry Potter.
--and offer help.)
I've seen "New Moon" four times since it came out. Is this bad?
Don't approach strangers: x 83. (Editor's note: Yes, there were 83 messages from a woman who calls in asking people to not approach her and offer help.)
--and offer help.)
I just watched a grown man cry and fight over a broken piece of glass. What is this world coming to?
--money, is currently legal in Lawrence. City Commissioner Aaron Cromwell recently sought to pursue a ban on pan-
--money, is currently legal in Lawrence. City Commissioner Aaron Cromwell recently sought to pursue a ban on pan-
I hate that hearing running water makes me have to pee
--money, is currently legal in Lawrence. City Commissioner Aaron Cromwell recently sought to pursue a ban on pan-
--money, is currently legal in Lawrence. City Commissioner Aaron Cromwell recently sought to pursue a ban on pan-
Nothing takes the wind out of your sails like meeting your crush's significant other.
I suspect that Mrs. E's doesn't serve breakfast on weekends just to torture me.
--money, is currently legal in Lawrence. City Commissioner Aaron Cromwell recently sought to pursue a ban on pan-
I'm so glad I didn't watch the KU name
Drunk post
--money, is currently legal in Lawrence. City Commissioner Aaron Cromwell recently sought to pursue a ban on pan-
I have lost control over every single aspect of my life.
--money, is currently legal in Lawrence. City Commissioner Aaron Cromwell recently sought to pursue a ban on pan-
I was going to climb the Bailey Hall fire escape, but then I wussed out. I guess I missed social skills and balls in the sixth grade.
--money, is currently legal in Lawrence. City Commissioner Aaron Cromwell recently sought to pursue a ban on pan-
So yeah, KU lost in football. But my roommate and I discovered that "Madden" makes a good drinking game.
--money, is currently legal in Lawrence. City Commissioner Aaron Cromwell recently sought to pursue a ban on pan-
The Chiefs almost have a better record than the Jawhaws.
--money, is currently legal in Lawrence. City Commissioner Aaron Cromwell recently sought to pursue a ban on pan-
Sometimes I wonder why toilet paper is cut in those tiny squares. Who ever uses one square at a time?
--money, is currently legal in Lawrence. City Commissioner Aaron Cromwell recently sought to pursue a ban on pan-
Panchandling ban is unacceptable
EDITORIAL BOARD
A law that would ban panhandling is not the solution for an increased homeless presence in the downtown area. Rather than kicking these people off the streets, city commissioners should focus on solving the housing problem as opposed to the possibility of infringing on First Amendment rights.
The act of panhandling, which means asking pedestrians for
handling, citing that the problem has been getting worse. However, there is already an ordinance against "aggressive panhandling," which is touching a person while begging or repeatedly asking someone for a donation.
The law on aggressive panhandling should be enforced to help maintain a family friendly atmosphere downtown.
"Everyone is very interested in trying to do something about the problem," Cromwell said. "But we don't want to do anything that would be illegal and non-enforceable."
Cromwell did not think that a ban on panhandling would be unconstitutional, saying he had a "hard time seeing this as anything other than commerce."
Amendment) concerns. Whether it will violate the amendment will depend on exactly on how it's written."
However, according to constitutional law professor Richard E. Levy, "It will certainly raise (First
Another University constitutional law professor, Stephen R. McAllister, said. "There is a strong potential for a First Amendment claim."
KANSAN'S
OPINION
"They would have to show there is not another way to address the problem than limiting speech," Levy said.
City commissioners should work on enforcing the current ordinance against aggressive pan-handling as well as
researching the reasons as to why the increase is occurring. With the current economy and unemployment rate, an increase in the homeless population should not be a surprise. The city should address the problem with these solutions instead of trying to take away the rights of their citizens.
Recently there was a vote against pushing forward plans to build a new homeless shelter away from the downtown area. If commissioners are concerned with the homeless population, then making it harder for a new shelter to be built is counterproductive. Taking the easy way out by banning them from asking for money is a political cop-out.
In addition to the effects on the homeless, a ban on panhandling would make it harder for street performers, musicians and non-profit organizations to work
downtown. Cromwell touched upon starting a possible licensing program for these agencies that are not a part of the homeless population to be able to legally panhandle.
"The intention is that it would be very inexpensive to free," Cromwell said. "We do want to keep the ambiance of downtown, and we wouldn't want to outlaw any legitimate street performers."
You should not need a license to play an acoustic guitar on the corner of Massachusetts Street. Legitimately organized charity groups should not be required to waste their time in getting licensed when they could be spending the time raising money for other groups that need it.
A ban on panhandling could not only be an abuse of the basic rights of individuals, but it also brings the wrong focus to a discussion that needs to be solved in a different manner. The homeless population that isn't aggressive and the street performers of Lawrence deserve better treatment than to be forced off the streets.
Rather than taking a step backward, city commissioners should come together and take an important step forward in working toward an end to homelessness.
— Caitlin Thornbrugh for The Kansan Editorial Board with contributed reporting by Brett Salsbury.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
FAREWELL, MY MINIONS! I'M OFF TO MAKE MY OWN NETWORK TO REACH MORE OF YOU!
NICHOLAS SAMBALUK
HUMOR
This year's hottest careers
As the time approaches for seniors to begin their job searches, many students have already started planning their careers. Even more lay catatonic under the bedsheets with fear, praying to whatever god, idol or "Godfather" character they pray to that such a thing as a job still exists by the time the economy completes its death plummet.
I can't really empathize. I'm afraid. I fully expect the current upsurge in popularity of post-post-punk funk music to provide for me and any family I might sire, especially once my children reach their funky years. (At the end of the day, incorporating your family into your band is the whole point of funk music — not to mention the point of having a family.)
But unfortunately, not everybody has the post-post-punk funk in them. Some must find a way to squeeze an income from the hemorrhaging shambles of the American labor market.
To do this, you must look to the future in order to determine what fields will be relevant after you graduate. This process requires time, research and introspection. Once they have stared into the pitiless black void of the future and can see with devastating clarity how ultimately unresponsive it is
to our choices and desires, most students base their career decision on a coin flip.
A Bureau of Labor statistician is one of the hottest careers right now. Do you think all these unemployment numbers collect and report themselves? They used to, until a bloody confrontation with the Statisticians Guild of America. (Do not mess with the Statisticians Guild. They know where Hoffa went.)
I can help with the research part of your career planning.
No, the numbers don't report themselves, meaning every day clipboard-welding statisticians are out there depressing the hell out of representative samples of American households with their questions, and depressing the hell out of everybody else with the answers
Blogging is also a profession on the rise. Bloggers' jobs are perhaps the most secure of any across the economy since anyone can do it and nobody can lose it. Do you
have reactions to things, either positive or negative? Type them up in Impact or Bookman Old Style font and post them to your blog.
Make sure to occasionally type an opinion in a form diametrically opposite to how you literally mean it. This is what's commonly referred to as "irony" and it signals to your readers you have a sense of humor. If you have trouble, don't sweat it. There are software programs that can help you.
Portion de-incrementators have also seen high job growth as a result of the current recession. Portion de-incrementators are highly specialized production engineers tasked with slowly decreasing product sizes below the threshold of consumer awareness, or, failing that, above consumer-being-able-to-do-shit-about it levels.
Unglesbee is an Overland Park senior in creative writing and economics.
De-incrementators are the folks slowly removing ounces from cereal boxes. They also reduced the cycle in the coin dryer of my apartment building by 12 minutes. They are why my T-shirts are always either wrinkled or damp, so please disregard the rumors you've heard.
POLITICS
Students regain focus
Deep in last Thursday's edition of The University Daily Kansan was a wire story from the Associated Press: "Students protest huge tuition hike at University of California."
About 1,000 people demonstrated in protest at UC-Berkeley on Wednesday and 14 protesters were arrested at UCLA, where the Board of Regents meeting was held, according to the article.
The day before, California's Board of Regents met to discuss a 32 percent increase in undergraduate fees — essentially tuition — equivalent to $2,500 by next year. This was in response to the massive revenue shortfalls California, and to a smaller degree the other 49 states, have been experiencing for more than a year.
On Thursday, as the plan was voted on and approved by the Regents, simultaneous protests took place on the campuses of UC- Los Angeles, Davis, Santa Cruz and Berkeley.
This response reminded me of the late 1960s anti-war movement and subsequently, of Mark Rudd, one-time leader of the dissident group Students for a Democratic Society and co-founder of its violent offspring, The Weather Underground. Rudd attended a number of events around town and campus two weeks ago promoting his new book, "Underground."
Rudd said that he thought violent action, in the context of some of the nonviolent movements of the 20th century, was unacceptable and that only through the organization of mass political movements could real change occur.
While visiting Jonathan Earle's "Conspiracy Theories and Paranoia in American History" class, Rudd charged students with submitting to an entertainment culture that shied away from the political action that should, he argued, be the central focus of their lives.
Not that I don't like music, television or sports. I do. But the current economic crisis and way the government deals with it placing greater burdens either on the present or on the future will have an enormous impact on the way our generation will do business and interact on the global stage.
State institutions, including the University, continue to increase costs at rates of 5 to 6 per cent a year. The national debt recently passed an unfathomable $12 trillion. And the promise of opportunity, as national unemployment soars past 10 percent, remains unfulfilled. Those are all issues for students; issues that students should organize and vote on, so as to ensure their presence in representatives' platforms.
Perhaps the economic climate will force students to speak louder on the national stage. I think students should do this regardless.
Forty-one students at UC:Berkeley were peacefully arrested after a day-long occupation of a classroom building on Friday.
The precedent of nonviolent means of protest and dialogue with elected representatives is vital, and the call to action by the enormous fee hike must be heard.
I hope students' future actions reflect that. And many thanks to the students in California's public university system for doing so already. It's about time we all joined the national discourse.
Holmes is a Overland Park sophomore in political science.
Buying sustainable
BLOG: GREEN MY GUY
For many people, including my boyfriend, Austin, and his roommates, the only thing standing between them and sustainable eating is money, money and more money.
I agree, buying sustainable foods can be difficult for those on a budget — but it doesn't have to be.
"Janie, we drink about four gallons of milk a week," Austin tells me. "Yeah, local milk tastes a whole lot better and I would get that instead of regular milk. But paying $3.50 for a gallon is too expensive for us. It just isn't worth it."
Recently, I visited the Community Mercantile, a co-op natural foods store here in Lawrence. I sat down with Nancy O'Connor, the nutrition educator and outreach coordinator, to find out how those on a budget can satisfy their desire to eat more sustainably without emptying their wallets.
The Merc isn't just a grocery store, but a community center as well. In addition to providing groceries and other products, it benefits the local community by supporting local farmers, encouraging nutritional education in our schools and fostering relationships between
consumers and producers by offering co-op memberships.
In short; focus on what you care most about. Is it organic produce or free-range meat? Is it local milk or free-trade coffee? Eating sustainably doesn't mean changing your entire grocery list. Start with certain foods that are most important to you.
So how do we shop at stores at the Merc without breaking our budgets?
Incorporating sustainable foods by starting with one or two items is what eco-psychologists call the "foot in the door technique". By committing to something small at first, it becomes easier to commit to something bigger later.
For example, my family used to only recycle paper — it was easy to collect and easy to recycle. Then we started using curbside recycling and recycled cans, plastic and cardboard in addition to paper. Now, we recycle glass as well, even though that requires driving to a recycling center.
Many people think small changes won't make a big difference. What they forget is that small changes don't stay small for long.
—Janie Chen is a junior from Olathe.
Her sustainability blog can be read at
www.greenmgyu.ywordpress.com.
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