8A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN NEWS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2002 Students one-up in gaudy holiday spirit By Louise Stauffer By Leslie Stalina lstauffer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer Clark Griswold, eat your heart out. Two houses downtown, at 939 Indiana St. and 1238 Tennessee St., have holiday decorations that would put the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation dad to shame. Glaring lights, glowing Santas, and failing circuit breakers were spurred by a competition to see who has the best, brightest and tackiest house. There is no definite winner to this contest, Brett Gillmore, Overland Park senior, said. "We'll just look at each other and know," he said. Gilmore is one of the 13 roommates at 939 Indiana St. He said he and some of the other roommates had known the residents of the competing house on Tennessee Street since high school. "We kind of figured they would do something," he said. Wessel said the competition between the two houses wasn't exactly organized. But the competition is all in good fun, said Tanner Rapelye, Leawood senior, who lives at 939 Indiana St. "We just try to one-up each other because we all like decorating," he said. At the other house, around 8:30 on a cold Monday night, Adam Wessel, Baldwin senior, was still decorating with his three other roommates. They had begun at 4 that afternoon. Wessel shouted directions from the ground to the others, who struggled with where to place a wreath on the roof. A glowing plastic Santa Claus sat perched atop the house. "We've had a lot of Griswold esque things happen," Wessel said, recalling trouble with lighting up Santa. "The regular one didn't work, now there's a floodlight in there." A couple of streets east, the residents of 939 Indiana St. had stopped working on their decorations for a while. A seven-foot-tall nylon Santa, tree, and snowman sat alongside the house, lit from inside and blown by a fan. Hundreds of colored lights almost pailed in their shadow. Steve Adams, another roommate, sat with Gilmore and they described their decorations. "We were going for a '60s Las Vegas theme," Gilmore said. "Tacky is a good thing." Gilmore said he and the roommates spent about $500 on decorations. Because of the large number of lights, he said he was anticipating a high energy bill next month. As if on cue, the lights went out during the interview. "It's okay, circuit Just blew," Adams said. For those at 939 Indiana St., it's a part of being young and free. After hundreds of dollars and soaring energy bills, one might wonder the point of decorating in an all-out style for the holiday season. we can be so outlandish now," Gilmore said "We don't have wives to answer to." Gilmore said he was proud of the effort he and his roommates put forth to create a winter wonderland. He said they worked on the house for seven hours on Monday. "If we put this much time towards school, just think of the possibilities," he said. Courtney Kuhlen/Kansan A snowman stands as part of the Christmas display at 939 Indiana. The decorations were the result of several days of work by the 13 members of the house. Studving CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A Mich., graduate student in his history, has helped teach history classes at the University since 1998. He said he agreed that students should take a piecemeal approach to studying. "You can't cram for history - it's like watching a movie on fast forward. You have too much information coming at you too fast." Drake said. He said students preparing for analytical classes, such as English and history, should try to find major themes in their classes that would be emphasized on tests. But he said students shouldn't stress out about their final examinations. "Don't panic, it's only a grade in the end," he said. "If you don't get an A in the class, it's not going to kill you or stop you from graduating." — Edited by Nicole Roche focused." Strother said. Health "Don't try anything new and Holmes also advised against non-prescribed use of Ritalin, Adderall and other high-powered stimulants, because students might have difficulty adjusting to their effects. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A fancy just because you're studying for finals," he said. Strother recommends exercise and a balanced diet while preparing for finals. Exercise helps increase circulation, which is conducive to alertness, and it also helps students get a full-night's sleep because they naturally feel tired by the end of the day, she said. Consistent with Strother's rec ommendation, Perry McCroskey Mission Hills junior, said she tried to avoid staying up late and cramming for an exam. "I've had less success with pulling an all-nighter and drinking coffee," she said. "But if its crunch time and you have to study, you do what you have to do." —Edited by Sarah Hill MRC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A building is rarely pointed out during campus tours. "I think that's unfair, though," Owen said, in the University administration's defense. "I think KU knows that, in order to be a top university, you have to lestera community that reflects diversity. The problem is, you've got no money to work with." Some students also said they thought the center was hard to find and that the condition of the current building, now tucked down the hill from the Military Science Building which is south of Budig Hall, was a reflection of the University's attitude toward diversity Some students also said they were glad to see Student Senate taking on building a new center with so much enthusiasm. "I think it was really helpful because I didn't know the issue was out there and how seriously senate is taking it," said Benard Tran, Overland Park senior. "A new MRC is going to be for the students, so going straight to the students to find out what they need seems like the best way. Hopefully what we talked about will help them." - Edited by Adam Pracht The Associated Press Sniper suspect denied request for better treatment Fairfax, Va. — Jailed sniper suspect John Lee Malvo, whose lawyers claim his right to privacy and other rights have been violated by his guards, was denied a request for a court order requiring better treatment Juvenile Court Judge Charles Maxfield refused to grant the order Friday. that their 17-year-old client's mattress is too thin, he has been denied reading material, his cell lights glare 24 hours a day and he is being denied vegetarian meals. Defense lawyers had claimed LAWRENCE AUTOMOTIVE DIAGNOSTICS INC. 1029 842-8605 2858 Four Wheel Dr. We Buy, Sell & Trade USED & NEW Sports Equipment Massachusetts 841-PLAY This holiday season, give the gift of a hot body! 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