friday, october 17,2003
homecoming
the university daily kansar
Philosophy, thoughts etched in time in graffiti by bored, inspired students
By Annie McEnroe correspondent@kansan.com Kansan correspondent
Situated in a study carrel in Watson Library, surrounded by piles of unappealing homework and unable to focus any longer, a student's waning attention travels to the panel in front of the desk.
"Don't drink and drive," a comment reads.
"Smoke weed and fly."
"Norm Stewart for President."
Students can easily squint at a mass of crawled comments for half an hour, thus falling victim to the universal appeal of graffiti.
It's a scenario familiar to thousands of past and present University of Kansas students in every field of study. For generations, students have been inscribing and contemplating commentary on politics, religion and masturbation, to name a few popular themes, on desks, bathroom walls, and sidewalks all over campus.
"It's just fun to read if you're sitting around, if you're bored," said Peter Cosco, a Lee's Summit senior and frequent Watson visitor.
The carrels in the Watson
"A lot of this stuff, I'm sure, goes back to long before even I set foot in
here."
Peter Cosco Lee's Summit senior
stacks archive years of students' innermost thoughts. On world peace: "Can't we all get along?"; or, in another carol, "Why can't we all just get a bong?"
On campus life: "Last night was beerklarous."
And, of course, life's burning questions are well represented: "What do you want to do with yourlife?" and "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck plastic?"
The more original comments also compete with the obscene for space. But even though foul
l a n g u a g e
a b o u s s.
authorities generally don't cover up graffiti.
"We occasionally have the painters come and paint over gang graffiti based on recommendations
from the KU Public Safety Office," said Kent Miller, assistant dean of Information Services. "But we tend not to worry about it a lot unless it's offensive to somebody."
The University's relaxed attitude towards harmless graffiti means that most comments remain long after its authors have graduated.
"This graffiti has been here for who knows how long." Cosco said. "A lot of this stuff. I'm sure, goes back to long before even I set foot in here."
Wooden desks on campus convey a sense of history to those who notice dates several decades past and names of bands like the Grateful Dead and Abba carved into their grain. Initials and tributes to KU basketball milestones pale in significance next to inscriptions like, "9/11/01 NY DC WTC."
Many inscriptions in Watson carrels lay claim to a less significant body of history which can leave a student wondering exactly what happened on the desk where he is sitting on "4/10/99" for example.
Serious or satirical, campus graffiti continues a long tradition of taking a mental break from a professor's lecture or a study session to speak one's mind. Although rarely profound or important, graffiti can be counted on to provide an eclectic distraction.
"There's some funny stuff," Cosco said. "It's a good time."
Edited by Shane Mettlen
Campus overflowing with myths
By Kaila Williams correspondent@kansan.com Kansan correspondent
Campus myths, such as a whale sighting at Potter Lake, have popped up over the years at the University of Kansas.
While whales are generally thought to be salt water animals, those who attended the 1911 boat races on Potter Lake were shocked at the appearance of one in the man-made, freshwater lake. Volunteers piled into a boat to investigate, but were unable to uncover anything before their boat capsized.
"Maybe it is still there." Robert Taft speculated 30 years later, in his book Across the Years on Mount Oread. "At least, no mention of its final disappearance was made."
Potter Lake has been drained a few times for maintenance work since then, but the most interesting items found were a Model-T Ford and a sewing machine. No evidence of a whale was uncovered. Despite this, the story of a whale in Potter has been passed on for generations, making it one of the oldest myths on the University of Kansas campus.
city of Rancho Santa Margarita. The University is overrun with similar tall tales. From buildings being built wrong, to superstition about the Campanile, myths and legends reflect the University's interesting past.
sity's incoming leader. Strong Hall was built backwards. Supposedly one of the designing architects, M.P. McArdle, was so upset he threw himself off the top floor, plunging to his death on the grass below.
"It's kind of hard to build a building backwards," Sara Haworth, Salina freshman, said. "Somebody was dumb."
While Strong Hall was originally designed to face a different direction, it was not built backward.
ward.
According to a 1972 University Daily Kansan article, the building was originally supposed
to face a mall running past Memorial Campanile and Memorial Stadium. The two side sections of the building were built first as planned, but when construction began on the center section, questions arose about which way the campus was expanding. Therefore, main entrances were built on both the east and the west sides of the building.
Upon the completion of Strong Hall it became apparent that the building should face what is now Jayhawk Boulevard, the Kansan article said.
article said.
Haworth said she doesn't necessarily believe the legend of Strong Hall, but it was still fun to talk about it.
"I think it's interesting," she said.
"It's something to tell people when they come to look at campus."
Other buildings on campus have been the source of myths as well. The confusing layout of
Murphy Hall has led some students to believe that an angry junior architect meddled with the design, resulting in rooms without windows or doors, unnumbered rooms, rooms numbered backwards, and according to a 2001 Kansan article, 18 square feet of dead space.
terror of data security.
Another misconception held by some students is that Wescoe Hall was originally intended to be a parking garage, but at the last minute was redesigned to hold class rooms instead. This is not entirely false. Wescoe was designed to be 25 stories high, with the first two stories serving as a place for parking. Unfortunately, during its construction, the Kansas Union burned down and the money reserved for Wescoe's completion was used to rebuild the Union, leaving Wescoe only four stories high.
One of the most renowned legends on campus is that of the Campanile. Traditionally, students walk down the hill and through the Campanile on graduation day, and it is said that any student who walks through it before graduating will never graduate.
Corey Bosiljevac, Phoenix resident and KU alumna, knows that this myth is just that, a myth. He said he walked through the Campanile early on in his college career, but still managed to graduate with a journalism degree.
Many students are still wary of walking through the Campanile prematurely. Jaime Zazove, Chicago sophomore, said she would not walk through it before graduation.
graduation.
"I'm not a person who believes in superstition," she said. "but I'm in to take my chances."
Edited by Katie Nelson
Campus literature highlights history documents tradition
By Eric Sorrentino
correspondent@kansan.com
Kansan correspondent
Griffin ends his book by stating words that he believed characterized the University: liberty, democracy, equality and education.
A number of books chronicle the University of Kansas' rich history of students, faculty and traditions:
The University of Kansas: A History, published in 1974 and written by Clifford S. Griffin, provides a detailed account of how the University came into existence and its development. Revered as the bible of University history, the book emphasizes the civil rights movement in the 1960s, in which the Civil Rights Council was primed to end all discriminatory acts by holding sit-ins at Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe's office and by persuading The University Daily Kansan to refuse ads from organizations that rejected blacks.
A Century of Jayhawk Triumphs, published in 1997 and written by Blair Kerkhoff, focuses on the triumphs of Kansas basketball. See pictures of your favorite Jayhawks in their crimson and blue. Read a detailed description of basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain's 52-point debut. See how Phog Allen and James Naismith started a tradition unmatched by any other university. Count the number of All-Americans that have led Kansas to national championships and Big 12 Titles. Relive the history, triumph, tradition and fan loyalty to the sport that brings the University national attention.
On the Hill; A Photographic History of the University of Kansas, compiled by Virginia Adams, Kate Armitage, Donna Butler, Carol Shankel and Barbara Watkins. Published in 1993, the book highlights time periods using historic photos to make the reader aware of what was happening around the world. More than 200 pictures enable current students to live vicariously through their predecessors.
cessors.
If you're a architecture student, observe how many of the buildings and educational halls were constructed. Get fascinating information and pictorial representation about whom halls, dorms, museums and athletic buildings were named after. If you're a sports fanatic, check out Kansas' first athletes to participate in collegiate events.
Historic Mount Oread: A Catalog of KU's Landmarks goes in alphabetical order through the historic landmarks of the University. The next time your parents are in town for Family Weekend and ask, "What's that tall skinny building that looks like an elevator?" impress them with the history of the Campanile, a World War II memorial walked through by University graduates marching down the hill to commencement.
Old Fraser, published in 1984 and written by Carol Shankel and Barbara Watkins, provides articles written from publications such as The Kansas City Star, The University Daily Kansan and The Lawrence Journal-World about recollections of Old Fraser Hall. Including several pictures, Old Fraser tells how the building was initially called the new or main building in 1872, then University Hall in 1877 and Fraser Hall in 1897.
The book further explains how Old Fraser had to be destroyed in 1965 because of its inefficient space for classes and ineffective placement directly in the center of campus. New Fraser, known as Fraser Hall today, was built immediately east of Old Fraser.
- Edited by Shane Mettler