THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
PAGE 7
Miss Kansas talks breaking stereotypes, future goals
DANI BRADY
dbrady@kansan.com
Theresa Vail is a focused individual. Miss Kansas 2013 explains how community involvement, schoolwork and the success of her future are most important to her - partying and socializing fall short on her list of priorities.
Sgt. Theresa Vail was crowned Miss Kansas, placing sixth in the Miss America pageant. Vail stood apart from other contestants with her tattoos and fondness for hunting.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Q: We have read about you being a member of the army before starting pageans, so how exactly did you make that decision to become a beauty queen?
A: It was actually because of somebody in my unit. He told me that through everything I do, just by being me, I am an inspiration to other women, that I inspire them to do more and to try more. I thought about that statement for a while and thought I do have a good message to give and I do want to be a role model so I starting looking at Big Brothers
big bossing and big Sisters, Girl Scouts – just ways I could get involved and help other women. I am very competitive so I wanted to try pageants and I knew if I won I would have a voice to help women.
Q: What role have your parents played throughout this process?
How have they helped you make these decisions?
A: Oh my gosh, yes, they were so supportive. Nobody expected this from me so I didn't think they would be on board but they were all for it because they knew I wasn't doing it for the glamour or publicity. I wanted to help other women.
Q: What instilled this notion in you to be self-reliant? What does that term mean to you?
me; they were vicious. So I knew that had to become self sufficient, independent, reliant on myself and nobody else. When I realized that at such a young age, it allowed me to try different things that I don't think I would have had I not been so isolated.
A: When I was a kid, I was bullied, so I did everything on my own. Kids were so terrible to
Q: What are your thoughts on self-responsibility and what exactly does that entail as a young and beautiful woman?
I think kids nowadays should have way more responsibilities. I think in our generation and in our society, kids are given everything on a silver platter so they have no personal responsibility. I think joining the army so early, at age 17, is where I learned all my maturity and responsibility because you had to step up to the plate and I think people are missing that nowadays.
Q: What does the second amendment, which protects the rights of the people to keep and bear arms from infringement, mean to you?
A: I am a big fan of the second amendment and will defend it to my death.I believe in self-defense,protecting your family,your country and your self against the government.
Q: Being a Kansas girl, do you have any advice for the women at the University?
A: My advice would be to be aware that you are probably being stereotyped and do everything you can to prove that stereotype wrong. I know that when I walk into a room and based on my looks, that people do not expect me to be intelligent. They don't expect me to hold an intelligent conversation. As a woman, you have to be aware that you are
being stereotyped. Think before you say things and think before you do things.
Q: Miss New York, Miss America 2014, also broke stereotypes and barriers being the first woman of Indian heritage to win the competition. How do you feel about the many derogatory comments that have been made about winner Miss New York's ethnicity and race? How would you have handled the situation?
give her my support 100 percent. C'mon people it is 2013, end the racism; there is no place for it; its disgusting.
A: Nina is very resilient. She did not allow the comments to get the best of her. She has been handling it very well. I told her and I told the world on my blog that I
with that.
A: I'm gonna tell you something right now - I do not have friends. I can't tell you a single friend I had at K-State and I've been there for four years. I am a very focused individual - I don't care about partying and going out to Aggieville. I care about my studies and I care about my future and I care about community involvement. I didn't make friends and I was OK
Q: So I assume that also covers of the question of whether or not you have a boyfriend?
Q: How are your friends at school responding to your success?
A: I don't need people around me to make me feel important. I use my time wisely and spend it with people who need me. I don't have a boyfriend, sometimes I wish I had one but I think my standards are too high or I have lost all hope in mankind because no guy has matched up to my standards.
A: Sometimes I wish I was a
Q: Do you sometimes wish you had more free time?
normal college student but then I think this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. There are a lot of women that would die to be in my position so I need to make the most of it.
Q: What are your next plans?
A: I have another interview; I've had about six today. It's go, go, go. I'm constantly doing interviews and driving on the road.
You can read more about Miss Kansas 2013 on her blog at Missoutdoorgirl.com.
—Edited by Chas Strobel
AL REVIEW
Annual Buzz Beach Ball festival delivers summer vibes to fall
LYNDSEY HAVENS
lhavens@kansan.com
As a courteous audience member who respects the concept of space while at a music event, it's natural to encounter those who don't. Excuses ranging from, "my little sister is waiting for me upfront," to "I dropped my cellphone at the front and need to go see if its still there," all were tired and tried by the time the sun had set on Buzz Beach Ball, an annual "mini music fest" promoted by 96.5 The Buzz. Though, as the coolness of night settled over the park, the crowds only increased in size.
Buzz Beach Ball took place Friday, Sept. 20, at Berkley Riverfront Park in Kansas City, Mo. Compared to music events I have attended in the past, it was a nice change of pace to be in such a small area, where the walk from one stage to the other only took a matter of minutes.
The schedule allowed an hourlong set for each of the 14 performers: Radkey, Saints of Valory, Little Green Cars, Atlas Genius, Kitten, Hanni El Khatib, Daughter, Wavves, Cage the Awilation, MS MR, Alt-J, Coheed and Cambria and Phoenix. The timing was brilliant, as soon as one set concluded the next one began. The
ians that were less concerned with their proximity to the stage and more concerned with hearing the music claimed a perfectly prime spot to sit in between the two stages. The more restless fans, on the other hand, had their sights set on making it to the front of the crowd: the mecca of the music.
Though the performance level that MS MR brought to the stage captivated me, the enormous crowd forming at the other stage for the English quartet Alt-J concerned me. I made the official decision to leave MS MR early in hopes of claiming a decent spot to watch all of the Alt-J set. I made it to the stage just as "Rack City" blared from the speakers as Alt-J took to the stage, creating what I thought to be an odd juxtaposition, before they dove into their song, "Fitzpleasure."
An hour later, before their set came to a close with their hit "Breezeblocks," they announced, "Normally wed walk off stage after that and pretend we were done, then come back on. But we won't do that to you Kansas City. We respect you too much." If only the girls singing all the wrong lyrics next to me had some respect as well.
Phoenix was the last group to go on, leaving us all with a killer
performance. Their set started off strong with their most recent hit, "Entertainment," as well as former hits such as, "Lasso" and "Liszto-mania" among others. My tired legs were just about ready to call it a night, but Thomas Mars, lead singer of Phoenix, had enough energy to keep me, and the rest of the crowd, going.
To bring the night to a memorable close, Mars jumped off stage, walked around to the back where the videographers and photographers were positioned above the crowd, climbed up onto their platform to thank the fans, and proceeded to crowd surf back to the stage while pausing in the middle of the crowd to stand up and wave goodnight. Though ear-numbing applause and screams of thousands gave me a slight headache, they proved the night had brought an enjoyable experience to many.
The small park cleared out relatively quick, as the staff wasted no time in beginning to pack up equipment and break down the stages. For a music event that occurs so late in September, the name Beach Ball somehow seems fitting, seeing as the day reminded me of a carefree, blissful summer day filled with great music.
Follow @KansanEntertain on Twitter
Edited by Chas Strobel
WANT ENTERTAINMENT UPDATES ALL DAY LONG?
Recycle this paper
TEST PREP
GRE GMAT LSAT
STRIKE
Use your October prep courses and smartphone workshops starting soon. and snap this for an Sign up and score higher! additional $50'discount! testprep.ku.edu
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Russian journalist Alexander Podrabinek holds a portrait of jailed Pussy Riot punk group member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, during a protest outside of the Federal Prison Administration headquarters in Moscow, Wednesday, Sept. 25.
Pussy Riot group member hospitalized following strike
MOSCOW — The husband of an imprisoned member of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot says she has been moved to a prison hospital on the seventh day of a hunger strike.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova began the hunger strike on Sept. 23 to
Tolokonnikova's lawyers have been barred from speaking to
Her husband, Pyotr Verzilov,
told the Interafx news agency that
she was hospitalized Sunday. He
described this as a positive step.
protest what she described as inhumane working conditions and threats to her life at a women's penal colony.
Tolokonnikova and another Pussy Riot member are serving two-year sentences after protesting Russian leader Vladimir Putin's rule in an impromptu performance inside Moscow's main Orthodox cathedral in early 2012.
or visiting her since Thursday, heightening concerns about her condition.