friday,october 17,2003
homecoming
the university daily kansan 19B
MILL'S MOMENT 4.21.1984
The University of Kansas inducts Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills into its Athletics Hall of Fame.
ALL IN THE DELIVERY 10.1.1984
ALL IN THE DELIVERY — 10.1.1984 More than 200 "internationally known scientists from Europe, Japan and the U.S." descend on the Lawrence Holiday Inn Holidome for a symposium on "Directed Drug Delivery" held in honor of KU professor Takeru Hiruchi, the "father of physical pharmacy."
THE MAN WHO SEES AROUND CORNERS 4.24.1989
Higuchi, the "father of physical pharmacy."
KU bestows its highest award, the Distinguished Service Citation, upon Philip F. Anschutz for his record of philanthropy, community service and support
of humanitarian causes.
HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER — 10.7.1989
KU dedicates the $13.9 million Marian and Fred Anschutz Science Library.
BUDDHA BEST — 1.13.1991
BUDDHA BEST—1.13.1991 Former KU Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe and Barbara Benton Wescoe give a noteworthy Japanese wooden sculpture of an Amida Buddha to the University's Spencer Museum of Art as part of Campaign Kansas.
Scholarship students celebrate Loopy Day with mischief
Pearson Hall residents (from left) Clay Britton, Randy Schumaker, Mark Harries and John Zybko shout "Happy Loopy Day" to the other scholarship halls from their fire escape. Loopy Day, a traditional celebration on Thursday nights.
By Eric Rosa
correspondent@kansan.com
Kansan correspondent
The shirtless man worked his way up the fire escape, weapon clutched with both hands and a determined look in his eyes. He opened fire, and the crowd gathered on the fire escape began to flee for cover.
free for cover.
Above him, an unpleasant surprise was awaiting. The time for ambush was fast approaching.
ambush was last appalled Fortunately, no real weapons were used in this epic battle. Instead, they used water guns. And when the shirtless man stopped for a moment, a large bucket of water was dumped down the fire escape and all over him during the late October night. The event was a typical late Thursday night battle between Pearson and Stephenson Scholarship Halls.
The residents of the scholarship halls established the tradition in the mid-1990s, said Mark Harries, Vassar sophomore. Harries lives in Pearson, where the tradition is carried on with a passion.
carried on wihtra passion.
In between Thursday night and
Friday morning is "Loopy Day," an
event that got started in a strange,
yet seemingly predictable way.
yet seeming precariety.
"It was just two guys coming home drunk at midnight, and they decided that it was Loopy Day," Harries said.
The water fight may not always be a factor, but the main part of the tradition is constant. Nearly everyone from Pearson gathers on the fire escape and yells the chant, "It's Happy Loopy Day, It's Happy Loopy Day, La-La-La-La. It's Happy Loopy Day." The chant is preceded by Pearson residents making various noises, best described as a cross between a buzzer and an angry goose. After
the chants are done, they yell at each scholarship hall and wish them a "Happy Loopy Day." Almost every scholarship hall has some, if not all residents, on its own fire escape.
own fire escape.
Responses usually came back as "Happy Loopy Day, Pearson."
Occasional insults return from in the distance, or no response at all, which provokes "boo" from the Pearson residents. But the rivalry between Stephenson and Pearson is intense, probably because Stephenson and Pearson were built and opened at nearly the same time.
Pearson resident Robert Kabus, a McClouth sophomore, said Stephenson attempted to silence Loopy Day, hence the water fight. Stephenson residents typically
attack after the first chant, he added.
At the beginning of this semester, a water fight emptied an entire fountain of water. But the water fights and the tradition get less and less intense as the semester progresses, mainly because of weather. When the weather warms up, it is a heated battle once again.
The only time there is no participation in Loopy Day occurs when the scholarship halls are closed or during finals week, out of respect for students who have to study.
Memorable past Loopy Days are always the first ones of the school year, Pearson residents said. They said that every freshman's first Loopy Day was a memorable experience
Residents recalled last year's creativity. Pearson residents embarked from their hall, equipped with water balloons, a cardboard fortress made from a refrigerator box and large cardboard shields to yell their chant at other scholarship halls and defend themselves from any attackers.
themselfs from any attackers.
But the core point of continuing Loopy Day doesn't lie in the rivalries or in the water fights, said Harries. It's from the level of participation: Everyone may not be at dinner, but everyone comes to Loopy Day.
SPOONER OR LATER — 10.29.1994
"Its jut a lot of fun." Harries said. "It's something that everyone shows up to do."
- Edited by Erin Riffey
Originally a library, then an art gallery, now home to the Museum of Anthropology, KU's oldest academic building, Spooner Hall, marks its 100th anniversary on campus.
WAKING UP TO A MASTERPIECE — 11.1.1995
KU announces the discovery of an 1867 masterpiece painting by Sanford Robinson Gifford entitled "Morning in the Adirondacks" in a collection of art works donated to the University in the 1950s for use as decorations in the residence halls.
JAYHAWK JUBILEE
A parade is held in honor of Harold "Hal" Sandy, creator of the smiling Jayhawk, commemorating the fifteenth anniversary of his version of the Jayhawk, which has served as the University's mascot since 1946.
MUSIC TO OUR EARS 10.10.1996 KU's Dane and Polly Bales Organ Recital Hall is officially dedicated.
BEST BEATS 11.2.1996
KU's Spencer Museum of Art holds a symposium on William S. Burroughs, a leading figure of the Beat literary movement, drawing an international audience that includes Burroughs himself, then a Lawrence resident, and poet Alan Ginsburg.
DOLE IN ONE—4.25.1997
KU announces plans to establish the Robert J. Dole Institute for Public Service and Public Policy, which will become the Dole Institute of Politics scheduled for opening in July 2003.
MARCH SADNESS 3.21.1997
In one of the most painful losses KU basketball fans have endured, Arizona upsets the No.1 ranked Jayhawks in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.
DINO MIGHT—8.22.1997
The fossils of two spectacularly preserved 150-million-year-old Camarasaur dinosaurs, excavated during a summer-long dig in the Black Hills of Wyoming, arrive on a flatbed truck at the Jayhawk Boulevard entrance to the Natural History Museum in Dyche Hall.
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