Volume 124 Issue 119
kansan.com
Friday, March 16, 2012
Don't let spring break max out your credit card
Check out how to manage your vacation money
page 6
FEATURE
904
HOW GEEK WENT CHIC
Wolverine, Captain America, Iron Man and a Star Wars battle droid might not all get along or even fight in the same galaxy, but they can agree on one thing—their love of geeks.
Once teased and bullied, today's geeks are now
rising up and taking over. Chances are, you might
be one of them.
// KELSEY CIPOLLA
I've been a geek since birth. Growing up, I played with Luke Skywalker instead of Barbie and preferred Power Rangers to princesses. When I was 14 years old, my geekiness reached an unprecedented high after I discovered "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," a show I loved so much the only way I could think to express my dedication was to buy action figures of my favorite characters and display them on my dresser.
Shockingly, being a high-school girl with an action figure collection didn't make me many friends. Some people simply accepted my action figure display, but others had no problem pointing out what I had always known but have sometimes felt too ashamed to admit — I'm a geek.
But is that a bad thing? Today, 57 percent of Americans think being called a geek is a compliment and a whopping 82 percent of people think being a geek is more acceptable today then it was 15 years ago.
So what's changed? The most current generation of geeks are reacting to other counter-cultural groups that have emerged in society, especially the yuppies of the 1980s, who wanted wealth and status. Then in the mid-1990s, the geeks started to gain power, emphasizing the value of personal enjoyment and rejecting the showiness of material culture, says Lars Konzack, an associate professor at The Royal School of Library and Information Science in Aalborg, Denmark, who has studied the humble roots and slow evolution of the geek movement.
Their rise coincided with the birth of new technology, which made it easier to access geeky materials and interact with other fans while also allowing the community to generate its own material, like fanfiction and the fantasy worlds that would eventually develop into online game play. Today, geeks aren't just becoming more
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A serial rapist's attacks in Lawrence and Manhattan during university breaks have prompted safety warnings to students in the past, but none have been issued this year.
Warnings told students to exercise caution and remain aware of sexual assaults. The city of Lawrence, University officials and the Kansas Attorney General issued the warnings after the attorney general announced in March 2009 that six Lawrence rapes, seven Manhattan rapes and an attempted rape in Manhattan may be related, with the last known rape occurring in Lawrence in December 2008.
The last warning issued to students about sexual assault was before the University's spring break last year.
Captain Paul Fellers of the Lawrence police department said the
during break periods but at all times of the year.
"Sexual assault is very serious. It can and does happen at many different times during the year," Fellers said. "We do want people to be aware, but we don't want people to let their guard down just because spring break is over."
The rapist is known to stalk his victims and is described as a white male between the age of 25 and 40. He is said to be between 5-foot-9 and six-feet tall and between 160 to 175 pounds. He covered his face during many of the attacks and had some sort of weapon at some of the attacks.
The first known rape occurred during the fall of 2000 in Manhattan, and the first attack in Lawrence was July 2004. All of the victims in Lawrence were University students at the time of the attacks.
Edited by Bre Roach
"A lot of times I will call a friend when I walk alone, and I always lock all my doors," Tran said. "My parents have always taught me safety but being alone on campus and at home has definitely made me more aware of my surroundings."
No public suspects have been
only the case is still under investigation.
"The investigation remains open and law enforcement will follow up on all leads," Jeff Wagaman said, Deputy Chief of Staff for the attorney general.
Theresa Tran, a junior from Liberty, Mo. said she heard about the case previously and always tried to follow safety tips.
apartment in 3800 block of Clinton Parkway and raped a sleeping University student. She was in her twenties.
The Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center cautions students to trust their instincts and to always alert someone if they are uncomfortable, even a building manager.
Dec. 1, 2008 - a 19-year-old University student was raped in her home near Holcom Park.
Dec. 29, 2004 - a man entered an apartment inside Highpointe Apartments at 2001 W. Sixth Street and raped two female University students, ages 19 and 20.
March 22, 2008 - a man entered an apartment in Lorimar Townhouses at 3801 Campus Parkway and raped a 20-year-old female University student.
June 13, 2006 - a 21-year-old sleeping University student was sexually assaulted in her apartment in Southwest Lawrence.
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James Lamsdell, a graduate student from Iver, United Kingdom, said he was struggling to transition his look from grad school comfort to business casual. Taja Loren, a senior from Kansas City, Kan., who styled Lamsdell, said finding clothing for her client was a challenge because of the limited selection of men's clothing in Lawrence's stores. He walked the runway in basics he could wear several different ways.
CLASSIFIEDS 11
CROSSWORD 4
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 5
SPORTS 12
SUDOKU 4
A contents, unless stated otherwise, $ \textcircled{c} $ 2012 The University Daily Kansan
Today's Weather
Don't forget
Overcast skies, light south wind with a 20 percent chance of precipitation.
The KU School of Music presents Imani Winss "Informance" in Murphy Hall from 9 to 10:30 a.m.
Hot and ready for spring break