SPORTS: The Kansas baseball team defeated Missouri Western 10-7. Page 9.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VOL.102, NO.118
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
(USPS 650-640)
THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 1993
NEWS: 864-4810
Lawrence's musical underground
The Outhouse provides the pulse of alternative music's local vein
By James J. Reece Kansan staff writer
Kansan staff writer
call it the pit.
hey can it the pic
It's a dance floor like no other in Lawrence — a place where adrenaline is king.
where elbows pump, shoulders bump and bodies collide in a frenzy of shredded drumsticks and unravelled steel guitar strings. Where beer- and sweat-soaked dancers stumble away bleeding or are dragged away unconscious.
The pit is under the flat roof of The Outhouse, a 60-by-40-foot blue cinder block shell of a building four miles east of Lawrence.
Forget fraternity and sorority members bopping to a happy-faced disc jockey. Forget basketball players in snake-skin boots two-stepping in a cowboy bar. This is the Outhouse. This is the local vein of live, underground music. This is the bad side of town.
less of name, the music is what has given the secluded Outhouse a notoriety unmatched by other Lawrence venues.
This is the bad side of tow.
"It's not the most cushy of accommodations," says Shelle Rosenfeld, assistant editor of The Note, a Lawrence-based music and entertainment periodical. "但它 serves a purpose as a home for alternative music."
She says the Outhouse is a testing ground for new bands in Lawrence. It also showcases older bands, it catches some, like Nirvana, before their crusades into mainstream music. Others, like Fear, the early 1980s band that recently reunited, appear on reconstruction tours. The Outhouse catches still others, like Ice T's Body Count, in mid-swing.
The recent Body Count and Fear concerts had both the music and the politics that fuel the fire and fights in the pit.
In January, the "Cop Killer" singer himself brought a taste of Los Angeles to the cornfields around the Outhouse. The
Jason Auld / KANSAN
Staff use break to catch up duties
Special to the Kansan
For students, March 20-27 will be a week to forget about work and school, but for the KU staff, it will be catch-up time.
While some KU offices enjoy a slower work week, officials say many departments use spring break to catch up on work that would be difficult when classes are in session.
For Facilities Operations, spring break is one of the busiest times of the school year. Bob Porter, associate director of plant maintenance, said that without classes in session, Facilities Operations can do work that would normally disturb teachers and students.
Facilities Operations will be working with an outside contractor during spring break to drill holes in the foundation of Wescoe Hall to take soil samples and work on foundation problems. Facilities Operations also will relocate several offices and, weather permitting, fill pitholes around campus.
"They think we can do six weeks' work in one week," Porter said. "Sometimes they get done, sometimes they don't."
Julie Cooper, associate director of the office.
For the Office of Financial Aid, spring break is a week to catch up on paper work.
Cooper said that there would not be many students walking into the office, but they usually received more phone calls during spring break.
"It's a pretty intense work time for us," said
"Although the office is quieter over spring break, I don't think we enjoy the break as much as most people do." she said.
The office will begin processing the thousands of financial aid applications for next school year.
The Department of Student Housing will try to gain some ground while students are away during spring break. According to Marion Temple, assistant director of maintenance for student housing, the break will be a busy time. Maintenance will be working on smoke detector installation, dishwasher installation and in several dormitory boiler rooms.
"If I need to shut a building down to install a pump or something, I try and put it off until spring break," Temple said.
Liz Reese, student worker at the office,
said it would be business as usual because
they still received about the same amount of
applications as any other time.
Although many offices on campus value the time without students to catch up on work, the Office of Admissions doesn't seem to be affected by students' absence.
"The only benefit of having the students gone is that we don't get as many people popping their heads in asking what time it is," she said.
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9th & Massachusetts
Beer bill concerns merchants
By Ben Grove Kansan staff writer
Kansas liquor store representatives yesterday asked state legislators not to take away a vital part of their livelihood — the sale of certain types of beer.
That is what would happen, they said, if the House passed a bill that would allow grocery and convenience stores to sell "strong beer." Such stores now only can sell beer with 3.2 percent alcohol or less. Only liquor stores can sell beer with greater alcohol content, and liquor store owners are worried the legislation would rob them of much of that market.
March 10, 1993 • K-You • SPRING BREAK '93
Liquor store owners told the House
n incensed as a sole proprietor retail store that the big chains
more owners told the House and State Affairs Committee much as half of their sales.
stall store that the big chains sell hundreds and thousands of feel that they must take 50 per of my beer business to show a said Patricia Oppitz, a Topeka r store owner.
in webb, owner of Webb's Fine e and Spirits, 800 W. 23rd St., was last of the 12 bill opponents to ak.
then they take our one item it did be devastating. "Carl Mitchell." "It's like asking us to run a race, cutting one of our legs off and us to be competitive."
ichita liquor store owner point it that liquor stores are permitted ly to sell only alcoholic bever- and that beer was only a small of other stores' total sales.
'm in a college town," Webb said.
"s a young crowd. Young is beer."
ter the hearing, he said his busis also would be hit hard by the legion because beer made up about percent of his total sales.
say young crowd. Young discussion during the hearings also dt with the social issue of making er with higher alcohol content ilable at more locations.
it was stated that the amount ofinking stronger beer would notbrease — that it was simply a matterwhere it was bought," said FrancisGood, a state and national Christianimperance Union volunteer. "I disree. Availability is the key here. Ifhandy, you buy it."
other bill opponents warned the presentatives that if grocery and convenience stores got 5.0 beer, the legislature would soon see a glut of convenience store requests to sell any nes of liquor.
The Pandaor's box will be open,
id Richard Ferguson, president of
ansas Retail Liquor Dealers Association.
Proponents of the bill spoke on messey. No action was taken.
ections
The candidates
FOCUS: presidential candidate: Edward Austin, Olathe junior and engineering senator. Vice president candidate: Jef Russell, Olathe junior and president of the junior class.
UNITE presidential candidate. John Shoe
maker, Toupea junior and liberal arts and
science senator. Vice president candidates.
Toupea junior and Numerator senator.
UNGANSAHIA; presidential candidate;
Bernard Cox, Palatine, III, junior. Vice
presidential candidate; Charles Frey, Brockport,
N.Y.,Junior.
N.Y. Y.
A.C.T.I.O.N.I.: presidential candidate
Jason McInnis, Tulsa, Oklahoma; senior and
articls and sciences senator; Vice presi-
dential candidate; Mario Romero, Topeka
junior and off-campus senator.
Student Senate Elections Commission
KANSAN