6A KULTURE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9. 2007
FREE LOVE FOR ALL
KU bohemian-in-residence makes it his priority to encourage, entertain and inspire students
BY ALEX DUFEK editor@kansan.com
Watch out Baby Jay: There's a new bird in town. Twenty-six years after the birth of Big Jay's sidekick, Baby Jay, a new KU bird is in the national spotlight: White Owl. Since his appearance as the Fox Sports Network's "Wild Fan of the Game," White Owl has popped up on YouTube, college football blogs and on the front page of CollegeHumor.com as Wednesday's No. 2 video stock play.
Usually surrounded by a group of friends, White Owl seems to be everywhere. From the steps of Hashinger Hall to the stands of Memorial Stadium, it is impossible to ignore his eccentric behavior. When walking on Jayhawk Boulevard, you can hear White Owl booting out his usual Jayhawk propaganda or see his famous dance moves, which he says he learned from taking tap dance and ballet lessons as a child.
White Owl said he was not trying to receive attention but instead was trying to be an inspiration to students. If you can look past his bright outfits and booming laughter, he has a simple philosophy on life.
"We have to live today like it's our last. That's what I learned from Vietnam," he said. "I live like it's my last day because friends are not here. I live with a joy."
White Owl, who is part Lakota Sioux, said his name was given to him by a Cherokee man.
If you haven't spotted White Owl on laj Hawk Boulevard, you might have seen him inside one of your lectures.
"If I'm not learning until I die, then I'm not living," he said.
Some people are upset about White Owl's visits, but they might be out of luck. People who are 60 years old or older are allowed to enroll in classes at the University of Kansas for no charge after completing a senior citizens rate request form. White Owl is 60.
"Some classes I do disturb just by walking in, so I won't stay there," he said. "I honor the class. If I disrupt, I won't come back. And people get mad at me, but I'm sorry, so I don't go back."
Some students think that the pro-Jahawk chants White Owl hollers serve only as a distraction and are bad for the image of the campus. But White Owl said he was not going to change his behavior just because people didn't like him.
"If people don't like me, I'm sorry. I don't want them to not like me, but I'm not going to be changing just to fit their roles," he said. "Let them speak their minds."
Kansas City, Mo., senior Michael Enriquez has done just that. Enriquez said he was not bothered by White Owl's antics — until they interfered with his studies.
"I think that they are just rantings and ravings, and while I think it is fine for somebody to be here, sometimes the rantings and ravings get to be a little much." Enriquez said. "Outside they are generally not that problematic, but when you are inside a building and you're in class or studying or getting a lecture and you can hear him inside of a building, that's when it gets to be problem."
White Owl said he chose to inspire KU students because he thought it was a community different from anywhere else.
"To me the lahayhs have something that no high school, no pro has
— the excitement like there is on this campus. And now it's being shown in the football — let alone the basketball — and they believe in themselves, and that's what I want to help people do," White Owl said. "I walk around this campus, and I see people hugging, relationships building, and that's what it's all about."
Yet White Owl doesn't want to be mistaken as an evangelist. He is trying only to spark inspiration within students.
"People want to go around and compare me to other evangelists. I'm not an evangelist. I love Jesus Christ. I love Buddha. I'm not pro any religion," he said, "I'm spiritual in that I feel one with myself and the cosmos."
The many online blogs that focus on White Owl and his presence on the KU campus make it clear that he has both supporters and opponents. Charles Lovell, Overland Park sophomore, is one student who does support White Owl.
"I think it's all right that he's here. He promotes school spirit," Lovell said. "He is kind of like a campus celebrity."
White Owl does have one large group of supporters who are campus celebrities themselves: the Jayhawk football team. White Owl said the team gave him tickets behind the bench because he could make them laugh.
"That's what they tell me every time that I'm there. They say, 'You help us to relax and have fun with it,'" he said.
White Owl said that his acquaintance with the football team grew out of a chance meeting with Jayhawk lineman James McClinton. One afternoon early in the semester, McClinton stopped in front of Wescoe Beach to pick newspapers up off the ground. Upon seeing this, White Owl approached the man, without any idea who he was, and thanked him. White Owl said this gesture of appreciation was countered by a hug from the 285-pound senior.
The two became fast friends, White Owl said.
"I told him God wanted the team to win," White Owl said. "They have people like him, Talib, and many others that believe in God, and he chose them because they are men of God. 'Like David against Goliath', I said. 'You guys are going to go all the way, and he told the team that, and now they believe it. They believed it before, but it was a spark."
White Owl said that the team drew a lot of comparisons to David because many players on the squad were overlooked by powerhouse schools—the Goliaths—because of their size. He thinks the team will take the others down because they have more heart and because God wants them to.
Whether it's a coincidence or not, the subtitle to White Owl's video by the staff of College Humor is: "This guy is the main reason KU is 9-0 right now"
In the end, whether students are pro- or anti-White Owl, he doesn't care.
"I love yall, whatever you think about me."
Edited by Amelia Freidline
Sprint
ahead
'HAWKS
Sprint Preferred Retailer
Park Plaza
2108 W. 27th St.
Lawrence, KS 66047
(In the DOLLAR TREE PLAZA)
785-043-2701
Spirit
Phone
Repair
Center