10A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
CAMPUS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2007
Students, faculty take solace in Saturday of silence
BY SASHA ROE
sroe@kansan.com
Jenny Faber decided to fill her Saturday with something that was usually pretty rare during the week complete silence. Faber, Hays junior, joined a small group of KU faculty and students to "slow down" from their busy weeks and participate in Ecumenical Christian Ministries' "Silent Saturday."
"We're around people all the time," Faber said. "To be in an environment that is this calming, it gives me time to concentrate on myself."
Participants gathered at noon Saturday at the ECM and worked on homework, knitted, read or even slept. The only requirement was to be in complete silence.
Thad Holcombe, ECM campus minister, said moments of silence and meditation dated back to monastic times. He said contemplative silence had a history with almost every religion. Holcombe said he was surprised at the number of students that said they had certain places on campus where they went to sit in silence.
Holcombe said the silence and lack of distractions could be disturbing for students at first because it gave people the freedom to explore all the thoughts in their heads.
ce is provocative in that
"Silence is pr
way," Holcombe
said. "It's nice to
have permission
to just pause and
reflect."
Jonathan Blum, Lawrence junior, said with cell phones and other constant stimulation from everyday life, it
"We're around people all the time. To be in an environment that is calming, it gives me time to concentrate on myself."
Nancy Hope, associate director for the Center for East Asian Studies.
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was easy to get distracted, and it was nice to commit to be silent.
JENNY FABER
Hays junior
said she wanted to enjoy an afternoon filled with reflective reading instead of work.
"Work is just snowballing," Hope said. "It precious to sit quietly and not think, 'I need to do this, I need to do that.'
After two
hours of silence, the group sat together, ate apples and cheese and reflected on the feeling of quiet.
Jessica Crabaugh/KANSAN
Megan Dodge, Overland Park senior, said the two hours of silence wasn't difficult for her to get used to. She said she felt like she accomplished a large amount of work and enjoyed having the focus to work on a presentation.
Megan Dodge, Overland Park senior, reaches for a snack during the ECMS Silent Saturday. Participants agreed that the day is great for getting away from the rush of everyday life.
Faber said when she first participated in a Silent Saturday the feeling was unusual, and it gave her time to think of the little things going on in her life. She said she always left feeling relaxed, de-stressed and like she had a productive day.
The group continued its silence until a 7 p.m. vegetarian dinner. Holcombe said the next Silent Saturday was scheduled for Dec. 8. He said because it was the day after Stop Day, it would be a good opportunity for students to start studying for final exams.
Faber said she planned to attend any coming Silent Saturdays and encouraged other students to give it a try.
"I get excited because I know how good it is for me," Faber said.
>>SCHOOL SPIRIT
Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
Winning slogans revealed for rivalry, gameday T-shirts
tnystrom@kansan.com
BY THOR NYSTROM
tnystrom@kansan.com
The "Muck Fizzou" slogan has been replaced, two weeks before the much-hyped match in Arrowhead Stadium between Kansas and Missouri on Nov. 24. The results of The University Daily Kansan's T-shirt slogan contest were announced during the weekend and the distribution of the shirts will begin this week.
Lauren Braun, St. Louis sophmore, submitted the winning rivalry slogan, which reads: "Tigers are an endangered species" on the front and "Extinction starts today" on the back. The winning slogan for a nonsport specific gameday shirt was submitted by Clint Frye, Haddam sophomore. It will read: "Bring the Heat, Wave the Wheat."
After a week of submissions, a committee of Kansan staff members and various student leaders narrowed the list to five. Visitors to Kansan.com voted on the finalists for a week. The voting ended on Wednesday, and the winners were notified Friday.
Braun and Frye each get two front-
row tickets and a limo ride with a guest to the game at Arrowhead Stadium, as well as $100 cash, a tailgate package and other prizes.
One thousand T-shirts will be given away to students picking up KU-MU football tickets this week.
Braun said she didn't like the Muck Fizzou slogan because it wasn't appropriate for children. As a Missouri resident, Braun said it was exciting to have created the slogan.
"It is really fun, because a lot of my family and friends go to the game every year," Braun said.
Nate Stafford, Overland Park senior and marketing and promotions manager for The Kansan, said Braun and Frye each won "handily" and received close to 50 percent of the student vote.
"There were a lot of great submissions," Stafford said. "I would have been happy with any of the top five."
Stafford said he hadn't expected the student body to immediately embrace the idea but was happy with the end result of a process that was completely student-driven.
"You can't please everyone all the time, but we tried to do our best," Stafford said. "I hope the student body will embrace it."
said he would wear the new shirt if it looked good.
John Irvine, Leavenworth junior.
"I think the contest was a good idea. It's better to get the idea from us (students) than a store on Mass, Street," Irvine said.
The "Border Showdown" tilt between Kansas and Missouri is a leading contender to be aired in primetime on ESPN-partner ABC. ESPN announced last year that it would not show students wearing the "Muck Fizzout" shirts on television, which was a prime reason for the creation of the contest.
Irvine said the television networks wouldn't stop him from wearing the "Muck Fizzzou" shirt.
"Screw ABC, it doesn't matter. If I don't wear the shirt someone else will." Irvine said.
Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony said the contest was a step in the right direction.
"We think that it's far better than the Muck Fizzou shirts," Marchiony said. "We applaud The Daily Kansan and the student body for taking the lead in this and making it happen. We think the best part of this was that it was totally student driven, and that is the way it should be."
The Spectacle
Edited by Tara Smith
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