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SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE HOMECOMING
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NGU
THURSDAY, OCT. 29, 2015 | VOLUME 130 ISSUE 19
NEWS ROUNDUP »
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LAWRENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT WILL AVE A DUI CHECK LANE this Saturday from midnight until 3 a.m at an undisclosed location. News>> PAGE 2A
Some professors have started using trigger warnings for sensitive course material.
News >> PAGE 2A
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notches its 20th win of the year against Iowa State in a four set sweep.
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THE KU CLASS GIFTS tradition strengthens the connection with alumni's alma mater and helps future students, one alumna says. Read more. > Kansan.com
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See what it's like to live a day in the life of the KU Homecoming Steering Committee director, Caleb Johnson.
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Student found dead in Oliver Hall by apparent suicide
Editor's note: This story contains graphic information that may be upsetting to some readers.
KANSAN STAFF
@KansanNews
A third floor male resident of Oliver Hall was discovered dead in his room by his floormates at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday night. He had reportedly hanged himself days before, said Sam Berridge, an Oliver resident.
Devyn Lee, a freshman from Topeka who lives on the third floor, said his friends smelled an odor from the resident's room and noticed they hadn't seen him in a few days. When Lee's friends went to check on the resident, they found his body.
Lee said the residents went to their resident assistant, who called the police. Third floor residents were evacuated.
The University tweeted that an "unattended death" had been reported,but that there was no threat to campus.
Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, a University spokeswoman, said all the information available is on the University alerts website, which displayed on Wednesday night the same information as the tweet.
The KU Public Safety Office and Student Housing could not be reached for comment as of Wednesday night.
If you need to talk someone you can call Headquarters counseling at 785-841-2345.
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
Cultural appropriation is the act of depicting another's culture in a harmful way.
LARA KORTE
@lara_korte
Halloween for most KU students is a time to dress up, have fun and maybe scare a few friends. However, this year, administrators at the Office of Multicultural Affairs hope students will keep something else in mind when gearing up for a night of spooky fun: avoiding cultural appropriation.
Cultural appropriation is a term that recently made its way into online social justice vernacular. Controversy over issues like Kylie Jenner's cornrows and Valentino's African-themed line have sparked heated debates about race and what it means to appreciate a culture versus appropriate it. A performance
at Rock Chalk Revue in March inspired a similar discussion on campus.
Porras said there is a lot of debate as to what it means to "appropriate" a culture, but she has one rule she encourages people to stick to.
Precious Porras, interim director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, said the office has worked with residence hall staff this fall to discourage students from donning a Halloween costume that would depict a culture in an offensive way.
"If it's not an identity that you hold, you probably shouldn't be dressing up like it," Porras said. "You have to ask yourself, 'If someone from that group of people saw me in that costume, what would their reaction be?'
Porras also said although a person's intentions for a costume might be innocent, the effects can be hurtful.
Senior Landri James, president of the First Nations Student Association, said she thinks when people dress up as a different race or culture, it can be more than just offensive.
"You're 'othering' that culture. It's almost as if you are othering them in a way that makes their culture comedic, not real or less valuable than your own," Porras said.
"I think it dehumanizes that cultural group," James said. "It's basically taking someone else's culture and reducing it. It's using someone else's culture at your own discretion and using it in an inaccurate way."
James said a major problem with dressing up as a different ethnicity is that the costume wearer does not fully recognize or appreciate the significance of the culture.
One example James used was a Native American headdress, which is viewed as a symbol of honor and dignity among many tribes.
"There are tribes that really value those feathers and you have to earn them. Someone might give one to you for graduating high school or going to college," James said. James said headdresses are sacred and traditionally worn by elders and war veterans at gatherings.
"It becomes hurtful when
SEE COSTUMES PAGE 2
Highlights: The All Out-tober Drag Show
LARA KORTE | @LARA KORTE
despite the threat of rain on Tuesday night, the porch at the KK Amini Scholar.
ship hall had standing room only as students congregated to watch the All Out-tober Drag Show put on by Spectrum KU and the All Scholarship Hall Council.
Those who attended the show sat or stood in the open air beneath twinkling strands of lights as six drag queens performed acts that include dancing, lip-synching, and plenty of flirting with audience members.
Roze Brooks, a graduate assistant at the Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity and the adviser for Spectrum, said the purpose of the event was to provide students with a safe place they could express themselves.
"It can be an exploration thing. But sometimes it's just for fun, or just for that outlet and the performance. It's just a lot of things at the same time." Brooks said. "How people are called to doing drag is in their own personal way, but I would say that there are folks tonight who have been doing their own gender exploration and this was a space for them to continue this exploration. And that's why I really enjoy doing shows on college campuses."
Another reason for the event, according to Brooks, was to provide
those who are just starting out in drag with an opportunity to perform. Brooks said many of the bars that have drag shows require performers to be at least 21 years old and will not hire amateurs.
"By having a drag show on campus, folks who want to utilize this space and start performing and stepping into drag are able to get that," Brooks said.
Adam Alexander, activism chair for Spectrum, took the stage Tuesday night as Alada Glitter. After their performance, Alexander said they had at first felt nervous taking the stage, but the anxiety quickly faded. "All my nerves went away, and I let the music take control and really let the lyrics take control of my body," Alexander said. "I think it turned out really well."
Throughout the night, audience members catcalled, cheered, and, at times, got up to dance with the drag queens. Alexander said theyenjoy it when the audience interacts with them.
"I'm a very theatrical person, so I want them to get the emotions that I put out through the songs." Alexander said.
Spectrum KU and All Scholarship Hall Council hosted a drag show on Oct. 27 at the KK Margaret Amini porch. The drag show was hosted by Molyn Decadence of Kansas City, who performed the last number of the show, starting off in a floral robe before dramatically ripping it off, unveiling a shimmer purple leotard underneath.
DRAG
KELCIE MATOUSEK/KANSAN
Bill Clinton will come to KU to receive an award
DARBY VANHOUTAN @DarbyVanHoutan
The former president Bill Clinton will visit the University on Nov.23 to accept the 2015 Dole Leadership Prize, according to an announcement from the University. The event will begin at 1 p.m., and there will be a live stream available online.
Bill Lacey, director of the Dole
Institute of Politics, said the institute chose Clinton because of his bipartisan leadership. The Dole Institute promotes bipartisanship in its programming, according to its website. "Every year we try to find someone that has served the public in an exceptional manner. President Clinton practiced bipartisanship, reaching across the aisle in Congress — something we practice here at the Dole Institute." Lacey said
Admission to the event is free, but space is limited. Some tickets will be available starting Monday, Nov. 9 at the Lied Center box office. Five hundred tickets will be available for students through the Student Union Activities office in the Kansas Union.
Lacey said he expects Clinton will talk about bipartisanship, his time as president and his relationship with former Senator Bob Dole. for whom the
Institute is named.
This is the second time Bill Clinton has visited KU, according to the University's history website. His first visit was in 2004.
"I'm so proud of being involved at the Dole Institute because we bring speakers like Bill Clinton, and that further solidifies our bipartisan mission," said Christina Ostmeyer, the Dole Institute Student Advisory Board coordinator.
Lacey said that, in the past, this award has been given to both groups and individuals. Other recipients of the award include Congressman John Lewis, Nelson Mandela, the Wounded Warrior Project, the Women Air Service Pilots of World War II, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and former president George H.W. Bush.
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