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.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19,2009
Thompson: Despite GOP victories, 2010 elections remain undecided
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--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
Missing: Cole Aldrich's front tooth and Memphis' credibility
Anyone else notice that Memphis' last shot was a three-pointer from the same spot on the court and the same time on the clock as when Chalmers made it? I don't think so Memphis!
Dear Facebook friend: Is it really necessary to update your status to say that you're getting in the shower with your husband? TM friggin' i.
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
I'm so bored I actually considered making a "Farmville" account.
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
Who else wants to bang the Memphis coach?
Swag doesn't grow on trees. It's made in the factory of the human body.
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
I just saw two cats getting it on.
Sometimes I can't focus in class because I'm thinking about sex. No wonder I'm failing two classes.
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
There is a direct correlation between the number of basketball games on weekdays and my grades.
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
I just ate Hot and Spicy Cheezits then rubbed my eye. The difference between the joy in my mouth and pain in my eye is immense to say the least.
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
Read my facial expression:
You have eczema!
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
I remember the first time I tried to cover up sex with incubus
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
To the kid riding around on a unicycle with a bow tie: Wow.
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
Everyone loves me on Facebook and never in the real world. I wish I could jump into my computer.
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
Live today. You may get hit by an oversized van tomorrow.
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
Dear brother, I recently watched "Gladiator" and guess what? I didn't even pee my pants.
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
One sack + two pipes + four stoned kids + two baffled cops = luckiest night of my life.
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
I don't want to go to college anymore. I just want to fight zombies for the rest of my life
--the student rights committee made the right choice by voting it down. The code currently does not
+
EDITORIAL BOARD
Student senate voted to protect student rights
The student rights committee should be applauded for voting against the student housing recommendation for policy code revision. The revisions would have imposed upon students' privacy right in the residence halls and
KANSAN'S
OPINION
allow a resident assistant to enter a residence hall room without the express consent of the resident. They can write down that there was suspicion of a policy violation in the room and the residents of that room would then have to go to a hearing to defend themselves.
The proposed changes in the code would have allowed authorized housing personnel to "address a suspected policy violation occurring within the room or apartment, in accordance with housing procedures."
These changes were proposed after the two deaths that occurred on or near campus last year, but the changes were more aimed at stopping policy violation in the resident halls. Neither death, however, occurred in a residence hall. One happened in a fraternity, which is regulated by
the Interfraternity Council but not the department of student housing, and the other happened in a scholarship hall. The proposed policy changes would have done nothing to prevent these deaths.
The housing policy now allows 'entry without notice in
emergencies where imminent danger to life, safety, health, or property is reasonably feared." This policy is effective and the
proposed changes are not only unnecessary but have the potential threat of abuse of power by housing personnel.
While the changes allow students to have the initial right to refuse entry under the policy, the students' rights still have the risk of being violated by a senior staff member who, under the proposed policy, could enter the room under suspicion of policy violation.
Even some people in support of the new housing policy, such as Diana Robertson, director of student housing, didn't think the policy would be completely effective at what it was designed to do.
In a letter showing her support of the proposed change Robertson said "Does this policy eliminate toxic drinking? Probably not. But it does, however, have the
potential to change one of the components of a campus culture involved in the misuse of alcohol and drugs."
It is unacceptable for students' rights to be put at risk for a policy that has only the potential to change a problem.
In her letter Robertson also said that "many campuses across the country have a policy like the one proposed here. The truth is that they rarely put the policy to use."
This begs the questions if it doesn't work at other campuses, why would it work here? And those advocating the proposed policy changes at the meeting, such as the representatives from student housing, did not answer this question effectively.
The alcohol-related deaths on campus last year were a tragedy, and action certainly needs to be taken to keep incidents like them from happening again, but the proposed policy changes were not the answer. The student rights committee made the right decision in voting against the changes and they protected the rights of students. The administration should respect and uphold this decision.
— Kate Larrabee for The Kansan Editorial Board.
HUMOR
Use that wishbone wisely
Thanksgiving is next week, and if you're like me, you can't wait to commemorate the Pilgrims' great feast by eating until you wish you had never even heard of food. But there is more to the holiday than festive engorgement.
Many people wonder about the origin of the name "Thanksgiving." As an esteemed language scholar, I have done much research on the matter and have ascertained that it comes from a combination of the English "thanks" and the English "giving," meaning "to give thanks."
Indeed, the Pilgrims had much to be thankful for, such as the new atmosphere of total religious tolerance and their entirely peaceful co-existence with the natives. (In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that I have not taken a history class since kindergarten.) And it is tradition for us to consider what we're thankful for this time each year.
In this economy, however, we can't afford to be thankful. For example, I could think about how thankful I am that I can still use the phrase "in this economy" to instantly make whatever I say seem weighty and insightful, but what would that accomplish? In the time I took to think that thought of thanks, I could have thought 20 thinks about how to
make more money.
All this is why we need to take advantage of the other great Thanksgiving tradition: the wishbone. Yes, we all say we're thankful as we're sitting around the dinner table, but the entire time we have one eye on the magical fused clavicle that has the power to make our wildest dreams come true. We know that if we can get our mitts on that thing and snap it in our favor, all our problems could be solved. World peace, true love or even a functional private jet made entirely of bacon is just one bone fragment away.
Now, I'm not a superstitious man. Sure, I may continue to blame my misfortunes on a mirror I broke when I was 9, and I may be on PETA's most-hated list for my mass acquisition of rabbit's feet. And yes, I may have even had a witch doctor place a curse my seventh-grade English teacher after she gave me a B- on a paper. But that doesn't mean I'm not a man of science. And based on what I choose to believe is scientific, wishbones indeed work.
What I propose is a panacea for all the problems facing America. Unemployment, health care and even Jay Leno could all be solved by saving all the wishbones this Thanksgiving and giving them to the Alex Nichols Wishbone Redistribution Foundation. I will collect these wishbones and give them to those who need them most, which may or may not include myself.
Before you charge me with being a socialist, I should remind you of the competitive aspect of this plan. We won't be simply donating the largest part of each wishbone to the needy. We'll pit the needy against each other - the American way. An unemployed, single mother will compete against a college kid with two broken legs and no health insurance to see whose wish gets granted. I'm already in talks with FOX to air it in prime time.
So when you sit down for dinner next week, don't waste that wishbone's power on a new video game or the resurrection of your beloved family pet. Donate them to me. Together we can give America something to really be thankful for.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Follow Alex Nichols at twitter.com/alexnichols11.
Nichols is a Stilwell junior in creative writing.
Yes, the GOP did gain two governorships, as Chet Compton's Nov. 12 column "Republicans gain momentum with recent wins" made clear. That is an unquestionable fact. But why?
Cree Deeds, the Democratic governor of Virginia, was nothing short of famous for his incompetence. Kudos to the Republican candidate Bob McDonald. His campaign barely had mentioned he was a Republican. Instead, his campaign pointed out that the best his opponent could be come up with negative attack ads and that McDonald actually had solutions
Bold predictions
As for New Jersey, the Democratic governor Jon Corzine was another example of a low-lying fruit and was also famous for being corrupt. He was fighting off so many ethics scandals it was hard for him to have time to campaign. And may I point out that corruption is fairly universal.
But let's look at something else that happened in that election night.The GOP lost two more seats in the House of Representatives. One of them being a seat that hasn't sent a Democrat to Washington since the 1870s.
for the problems. The "R" in front of his name had very little to do with his victory.
largely because the Republicans decided to ditch the moderate for another bible-thumper.
I don't know about you, but losing two seats in the House to gain two governors doesn't seem like "gaining momentum." My predictions for 2010 and 2012? Yes, the GOP will gain a few seats. Last time they weren't able to do so during a new Democratic presidency was during the New Deal. But unless the party returns to sane ideas based in reality, the seats gained will be symbolic at best.
Jason Forson is a graduate student from Kansas City, Mo.
HEALTH
HERE LYES BURIED
TANNER BROWN
1986-2009
THE RADIANT FLESH OF THIS SUN-BATHING GODDESS SHALL HEREAFTER BE RELISHED ONLYBY THE WYRMS.
Tanning shows to be a deadly addiction
JAMES FARMER
When thinking of addictions there's a few obvious ones such as alcohol, drugs and sex. Mine was tanning.
I was a sun worshiper long before my affair with indoor tanning began. The swim team practices I attended daily as a child were replaced with life-guarding as a teen. The freedom of a driver's license simply allowed me to continue bronzing during colder months.
I first lay in a tanning bed shortly after my 16th birthday. My mom had seen her brother die from melanoma before he graduated college and was adamantly against it. Still, from the first time those fluorescent lights buzzed, I was hooked.
Being naive, I had no clue how much damage I was doing and how psychological the process of tanning actually was.
Arielle Kauver, associate professor of dermatology at New York University, said in a interview for National Geographic magazine that tanners usually associate darker skin with health and beauty. Kauver acknowledged tanning addictions are as real as gambling addictions.
A news release from the Archives of Dermatology, written by University of Texas at Galveston dermatologist Richard Wagner and his colleagues, said obsessive tanners often chase an endorphin buzz that some scientists believe accompany exposure to ultraviolet light.
I've felt that feeling: the desire to lie in a bed, soak up the sun or just be tan in general. I've never picked up a bottle of self-tanner or looked into alternatives. There's something about being exposed to sunlight, real or fake, that's always been appealing to me.
I adored tanning and chose to disregard information that discouraged my habits. Before formal dances, I competed with friends to be the tannest girl in
her gown. I even did a report in high school about the benefits of tanning and sun exposure including research suggesting skin cancer had more to do with genetic factors than ultraviolet radiation. In college, I bought unlimited semester-long tanning packages. I never burned. I wasn't worried.
Then this summer a study came out I couldn't ignore. A new analysis, using more than 20 different studies, suggests the risk of skin cancer jumps at least 75 percent when a person uses a tanning bed under the age of 30. These studies labeled tanning as carcinogenic, putting tanning beds in the same league as the cancer-causing product tobacco.
I've seen dozens of commercials and ad campaigns about the harms of smoking. Why is there so little attention devoted to tanning?
I haven't tanned indoors for more than six months and wearing sunscreen is now a part of my daily routine. I thought I'd be insecure and pale as a result of my responsible decision, but the truth is I am a bit embarrassed and disgusted with my tanning past. How imature is it to seriously risk my health for vanity?
If you tan, please stop. Think about your future. A temporary glow is never going to be worth risking your life. If you're still not convinced, consider a study from the Skin Cancer Foundation that found 64 percent of people do not find those with a tan more attractive. See? You can be beautiful and smart.
Buser is a Columbia, ill., senior in journalism
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