Section A · Page 10
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, July 28, 1999
Coach Allen breaks bad news at Big 12 media meeting
By Mike Miller
Kansan sports writer
By Mike Miller
The Big 12 Conference media day was an odd mix of cliche-ridden questions and answers, old news and a curious prerecorded video introducing one coach to the Big 12 media.
But for the University of Kansas football team, the conference brought bad news.
Coach Terry Allen began his interview session with news of a bizarre injury to wide receiver Byron Gasaway.
He was doing a triceps exercise
with 205 pounds on a curl bar,
when it came down on his jaw,
breaking it in three places, Allen
said.
"When a guy gets hurt in the weight room, it's not your shiny, happy moment," he said. "But if there was a position we could afford to lose anybody at it was at wide receiver."
Not only an interesting beginning to a season, but the news provided the most excitement of the two-day conference.
Most teams did similar routines: bring two players that could answer questions with predictable
responses, assume moderate and noncommittal stances to most questions and try to escape without saying anything that could be misconstrued as arrogance.
After a 9-4 season last year, Nebraska returns 16 starters this year and is the favorite in the North division. So, to avoid any controversy, coach Frank Solich brought two academic All-Big 12 selections: safety Mike Brown and wide receiver Matt Davison to answer questions thoughtfully and without a hint of armage.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers were a prime example.
The brave thing to do would have been to bring running back D'Angelo Evans and quarterback Bobby Newcombe. Both players spent most of last season on the sidelines with injuries but will be the main cogs in the Nebraska offense this year. By not bringing those players, Solich was able to answer any health questions as he saw fit.
"I feel very good about where Bobby is," Solich said. "His cuts are good, and he is moving very well. We anticipate him being ready to go for the start of the season."
The media had to settle for similar answers for the rest of the day.
Although any kind of answer would have been sufficient when Colorado coach Gary Barnett took the stage — sort of.
When it became Colorado's turn to be interviewed, Big 12 officials rolled a TV onto the stage and put in a tape of the coach. Barnett apologized for his absence, but explained that he was golfing in Ireland. The trip had been two years in the making, and he was sorry that it had interfered with conference.
In an effort to give answers to questions, Barnett read a list of prepared questions and answers
for the media, who had to settle for what they were given.
In all, the event was predictable. The media chose Nebraska and Texas A&M as the two favorites to reach the Big 12 Championship game as did most of the preseason fan magazines. And most of the same players named on the preseason All-Conference teams were those listed by the same magazines.
But it makes sense: where do these people get their information myway?
—Edited by Kimberly Erb
Leading the pack
Bryce Lawrence, 21, Lenaxa, bunny-hops his way to a first place finish. Lawrence competed in the Sunflower State Games mountain bike race last Sunday where he beat both the competition and the heat, winning the expert class. Photo by Jamie Raper /KANSAN
Student gets culture shock on kibbutz
The Associated Press Stylebook defines kibbutz as an Israeli collective settlement. Some dictionaries call kibbutz an Israeli collective farm.
Before visiting several kibbutzim and staying for a week on Kibbutz Gezer while traveling in Israel this summer, my impression of kibbutz stemmed from the latter definition.
When I learned my program included a week on a kibbutz, I was excited. I was going to be an Israeli farm girl for a week.
I envisioned waking up at the crack of dawn, taking a cold shower in my rudimentary dwelling and heading out to milk the cows and plow the fields next to ex-hippie kibbutz members.
Like most stereotypes, my vision was off the mark. The first kibbutzim I saw appeared, at least on the surface, modern. There were cars, houses, community swimming pools and average people.
When my friend and I arrived a day late at Kibbutz Gezer, my first surprise was the reaction to our tardiness.
Lesson number one: rules and structure are important on kibbutz.
A new way of living
Our professor multiplied the number of people by the minutes late and yelled at us for wasting that community time.
We were handed hoes and buckets and shown to a large pile of rocks.
Commentary
The next day we would be mixing cement. It was 8:30 a.m., and I had slept well in my clean, air-conditioned suite. But awakening, I was greeted by ants scurrying around my toothbrush.
Later, someone was yelling at me and expecting me to use my scrawny arms to
perform acts of hard labor. My thought at that time was to display a remarkable lack of community spirit and run to the nearest hotel.
Looking back on the experience, I'm glad I stayed — though I have developed a severe aversion to ants. By spending a week on this struggling kibbutz, I feel as though I was witness to the evolution of a way of life.
A transformation of tradition Kibbutz, like society, is changing. The farming collectives that were begun by
A transformation of tradition
jewish pioneers in the early 1900s now resemble an average community. Some kibbutzim still make money farming, but they also profit from factories and by providing Internet services.
Many members of Kibbutz Gezel don't even work on the kibbutz
Stephanie Brewer
'ansan Columnist
They are professionals, commuting to cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Their salaries go to the kibbutz, but some members are starting to gripe about inequality. On a kibbutz, those who do not work receive equal benefits to those who work 12-hour days.
The dining hall at Kibbutz Gezer also is changing. It used to be run by members and open for three meals a day. For most kibbutzim, the dining hall is the nerve
center of the community, and kibbutz members join there as a family. Now, a food service prepares the meals at Gzeer, and the dining hall opens only for lunch.
A kibbutz member told me that certain provisions, such as flour and eggs, used to be available to all members all the time. Members were allowed to take as much as they needed without asking. Now, everything is recorded, and there are limits.
The majority decided this was best for the economy of the kibbutz because most families weren't even eating at the dining hall. Economic hardship has caused many
Economic hardship has caused many kibbutzim to rethink the way they operate
Kibbutz Gezer's problem is a $20 million debt that doesn't allow families to receive all that they would like. When members need new shoes or braces for their children, the kibbutz can't always pay.
Our professor, who has lived on Kibbutz Gezer since the mid 1970s, maintains that the kibbutz is merely evolving. I had to wonder if this was wishful thinking.
A new perspective
When I first learning about kibbutz, the individualist in me rebelled against such an idea. I like traveling at my leisure and being responsible for my own money. I don't want to be a card-carrying member of my community.
Still, I can see how a kibbutz would be the ideal life for some. It's a safe and comfortable place to live.
I am curious now to visit more kibbutzim and find out if materialistic society has killed the idea of the collective settlement or if idealistic pioneers still exist.
Brewer is a Killingworth, Conn., senior in journalism.
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