Fraser flag raiser steps around bird droppings
By Ted Miller Special to the Kansan
Dana Evans is making his way up a 14-step spiral staircase, trying to avoid the clumps of pigeon dung on the handrails.
He gets up the stairs only to find spots of more pigeon dung about the size of quarters covering the floor.
It's 7:30 a.m., and Evans, a custodian, is in one of the two towers that rise out of the roof of Fraser Hall. Today, it's his turn to make sure that both the KU and U.S. flags that are housed in the towers are up and waving.
He does not worry about getting the flags up on time. That's easy. It's the fact that he is surrounded by pigeon excrement that concerns him.
"I think we should get hazard pay," Evans said. "I worry about the diseases the pigeons have. When I clean, I have to wear a mask with a breather and gloves."
He said that it took about 20 minutes to clean each tower. But he does not wear a mask or gloves when he is raising the flag. Evans would like to see these conditions change, he said, but he does not expect changes anytime soon.
"I don't think the state wants to do anything," Evans said. "They want the pigeons to stay so the animal rights activists won't get upset."
Evans has considered taking action on his own.
"I'm thinking about putting some crow dummies up there," he said. "Thear pigeons hate crows."
He says he realizes, however, that the towers seem like a natural nesting area for pigeons.
"If everybody shuts out the pigeons, then where would they go?" he said. "But it'd save time if we could keep the pigeons out."
In addition to the pigeons, weather also affects the flag-raising process.
"If it's windy, raining or snowing, we don't put up the flags," Evans said.
The flags are affected by colder weather. Evans said that it was not uncommon for the pulley to freeze during winter.
The weather is not the only way in which the flags could be harmed. In fact, Evans said that sometimes he and his co-workers acted as security guards to ensure the flags' safety.
"We get a lot of people during game days," he said. "Usually another team tries to steal the KU flag."
Evans said he could not recall a time when the flag actually had been stolen, but he mentioned that Kansas State University probably was the primary player in this scheme.
Evans also has to pay close attention to the men's basketball team's schedule. On game days, the white KU flag with blue lettering is replaced with a blue flag with white lettering.
Evans also said that the U.S. flag always must be raised and taken down before the KU flag.
Evans is one of two custodians who raises the flags. His supervisor, Virginia Boyd, also performs the task.
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April 20, 1994 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN • INSIDE KU
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