Volume 126 Issue 10
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
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BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
DOWNTOWN
Students relax and enjoy retro video games at the downstairs bar of the Burger Stand. Gamer Nights is every Tuesday.
Burger Stand offers classic video games
ckuiper@kansan.com
CODY KUIPER
One Lawrence bar is allowing customers to relive the glory days of their youth through classic video game systems.
In addition to old systems, The Burger Stand offers newer games on the Xbox 360, but bartender Paul Smith said people come for the games they played as a kid.
The Burger Stand at The Casbah on 8th and Massachusetts Streets hosts Gamer Nights every Tuesday, where patrons can relax and play games on old systems like the Sega and Super Nintendo, or participate in competitive tournaments with others.
"Most people like to play the vintage stuff," Smith said. "The Nintendo 64 is probably the most played because it's just such a good party system and it has so many awesome four-player games like Mario Kart."
Gamer Night started about a year ago after Smith collaborated with Burger Stand manager Chris Hoffman. The two were looking for a way to bring more customers to their downstairs bar, and Smith realized he and the rest of the staff owned enough video game systems to make the startup cost for the event a non factor. From there, the staff began taking small amounts of money out of their tips to add more games to the collection.
The event has grown in popularity over the past year and tournaments have even had to be capped at 40 participants, but its success has not come as a surprise to Smith.
"Being a huge gamer myself, I'm not shocked this is popular because video games are awesome," Smith said. "Everybody loves Mario Kart for good reason, because it's really nostalgic and it's quality fun."
Alex Pimentel, a Lawrence resident and University graduate, is a regular at Gamer Night, and said
it offers the same joy he got from video games as a child.
"I grew up playing all of these games, and it's a wonderful little splash of nostalgia." Pimentel said. "It's a lot like the parties you would have when you were a kid, but instead of juice and candy, now I have a beer and a burger."
Participants in the tournament can win prizes like Burger Stand gift cards and T-shirts, but Pimentel said it's really the opportunity to meet other gamers that brings people in, not the prizes.
"Everything that's plugged in right now, it's something you can play with friends." Pimentel said. "I've gotten to know a lot of people that regularly come because of that. I remember when I was a little kid, sitting at the Nintendo playing 'Punch Out' and just taking turns when somebody loses, and that's exactly what this is."
The Burger Stand offers bracket-style tournaments most weeks with single-player games like "Mario Kart" and "007 Golden Eye," and team games like "Super Smash Brothers". Smith said he also hopes to start bringing more variety, such as a Wii Sports Triathlon event, to future tournaments.
Danielle Bolle, a Lawrence resident, has only been attending Gamer Night for a few weeks, and said the opportunity to play games she normally can't attracted her.
"I play a good amount of games on my own time, but not the old, classic stuff they have here, which is really cool," Bolle said. "I mean, I'm playing 'Battletoads' right now, which is just amazing because it's basically my childhood."
Gamer Night is free, restricted to those aged 21 and over and begins at 8 p.m. every Tuesday.
— Edited by Duncan McHenry
kansan.com
CAMPUS
Members of Ask Big Questions engage in a discussion at KU Hillel. The group hopes to connect the campus community through big life questions.
KU Hillel promotes campus conversation with new program.
MADDIE FARBER
mfarber@kansan.com
A good discussion can form organically, but sometimes it needs a bit of help to get rolling. "Ask Big Questions," a new program at campus Jewish organization KU Hillel, is intended to give those conversations a push and keep them rolling all year long.
The program got its start one spring afternoon at Hillel as University juniors Gabi Guillory and Ben Davis were discussing Guillory's qualms about traditional dating with Senior Jewish Educator Rabbi Neal Schuster. After this spontaneous conversation, Guillory and Davis had the idea to start a student-lead discussion group through Hillel about various thought-provoking topics. They wanted to make these conversations happen more frequently, and on purpose.
I saw the gap between the religious and social aspects of
Hillel," Davis said. "I was frustrated and wanted to find something that was in the middle."
"Ask Big Questions" is a national initiative, and through funding from Hillel's national organization, eight interns have been hired to reach out to students through digital media and social networking. They want to encourage them to join frequent conversations that "really make people think", Davis said.
According to Davis, the discussions that take place at "Ask Big Questions" are not controversial topics that cause heated debate.
gives students of all different backgrounds an opportunity to express their opinions and engage in intellectually stimulating conversation outside of the classroom.
Schuster said that while some students may have reservations about attending because Hillet is a religion-based group, they should have no concerns about a hidden agenda.
"These discussions are for anyone," Guillory said. "There is no knowledge base needed, no facts and statistics need to have been previously acquired, and no qualifications. Anyone can join in, and that's our aim."
"A 'big question' is one that is relatable to everyone; no one is excluded by these questions, and they can be discussed without being debated," Davis said. "They exist on a spectrum and are not black and white. There are different perspectives, and everybody will have [one]."
"These conversations are about big things in life that relate to everyone, not just Jews," Schuster said. "If we can get people around campus talking about the same big question in lots of little conversations here and there, that creates a connection and a sense of community. People connecting
Guillory said "Ask Big Questions"
over profound ideas; to me that makes our campus and, ultimately, our world, a richer place.
In addition to hosting numerous small-group conversations throughout the year, "Ask Big Questions" plans to run two campus-wide campaigns. These will most likely include some presence on Wesco Beach, and utilize digital media and social networking. The group has a lot of creative ideas in mind for campaigns, but until dates are solidified students can follow @ ABQKU on Twitter for more information.
"Ask Big Questions" encourages students to think about the "big questions" they might have, and to discuss them among friends, whether over a cup of coffee or through an organized meeting. The big question for this month is, "Where is home for you?" Start discussing.
Edited by Duncan McHenry
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little sits down for an interview Monday. She discussed the effects student loans rates will have on campus.
Chancellor speaks about student loan rates, higher education funding cuts
CODY KUIPER
ckuiper@kansan.com
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little addressed topics affecting the university on a national and state level on Monday, including recent changes made to student loan rates and higher education funding in Kansas.
Before their August recess, Congress passed a law that separates student loan rates from their fixed rate and allows them to operate in a market-based system. The loan rates are tied to 10-year Treasury Notes, which means loan rates for undergraduates lower to 3.9 percent, but these rates will fluctuate each year. Gray-Little said even
though the short-term effects of the law may be positive, it could actually hurt
students in the future.
"I suspect in the long-term it's going to mean higher interest rates for students, which will mean the cost of borrowing money is more and the
any guarantee about the rate of interest and that's a concern because
"I suspect in the long-term it's going to mean higher interest rates for students.
BERNADETTE GRAY-LITTLE Chancellor
incern because it could be much higher in the future."
burden of borrowing will be greater," Gray-Little said. "Right now interest rates are more modest, so it's not as much of a concern. But I think it means that you don't have
Gray-Little also discussed the Kansas legislature's approval of a $44 million cut in funding to universities over two years. Under that budget, the Law
get, the Lawrence campus will lose $5.3 million and the University of Kansas Medical Center will lose $8.3 million.
will be hiring less faculty in certain departments at the Lawrence campus. She also said the medical center and nursing school will see a decrease in enrollment and a discontinuation of certain programs.
The Chancellor said to make up for that shortfall, the university
She added that the effects might not be immediately evident to students, but that does not make them any less painful.
"The losses on the Lawrence campus will be less obvious because it's not doing something that we would have otherwise done — that is we're not hiring as many faculty," she said. "By contrast, our goal is to increase the number of faculty in
SEE CHANCELLOR PAGE 3
CLASSIFIEDS 7 CRYPTOQUIPS 5
CROSSWORD 5 OPINION 4
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