The weekend's weather
10morrow: Cooler temperatures and rainy.
HIGH LOW 59 42
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Sunday: Even cooler with rain again.
Friday October 30,1998
Kansan Weekend Edition
Section:
Section:
A
Vol. 109 • No. 50
WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Annual K-State pranks missing
Teams' disparity diffuses rivalry
By Jodi M. Smith Kansas staff writer
There's no buzz on campus, no statues are adorned with the Powercat insignia and the water in the Chi Omega fountain is still crystal blue.
With only one day left before the University of Kansas vs. Kansas State University football game, nearly 7,000 tickets still are available for sale.
That fact leaves many wondering if the rivalry has become inferior to what is was in the past.
"I don't think the rivalry is as big
the last coup
of years
because K-State looks at
KU's football
team the way
KU looks at K-
Kansas State enters this weekend's game ranked fourth in the nation. Kansas, on the other hand, has won only three games this year and hasn't had a winning season since 1995.
State's basketball team," said Chris Smith, Kansas State alumnus. Maybe
"I think the rivalry is there and always will be there," said Kansas offensive lineman and Topeka native Justin Glasgow. "No matter what kind of teams show up for the game, it's going to be a good one. No matter who's the supposed favorite."
Smith thinks the rivalry was bigger five years ago when the two teams were both struggling to define themselves.
"In the hearts and minds of people like me, who were around when the two teams were closely matched, it still is a big game," he said.
Kansas State has sold out the last three times the Jayhawks have traveled to Manhattan.
Attendance at these rivalry games tells a story in itself.
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 25 cents.
The same cannot be said about Kansas.
Kansas came close to selling out two games in the '90s, 1994 and 1996, when 48,800 people attended.
But the last actual sellout was more than 20 years ago in 1975, when 50,538 people attended the event at the 50,200-capacity Memorial Stadium.
There is one glitch, though.
There is one given, though Kansas' Memorial Stadium holds nearly 10,000 more people than Kansas State's 42,000-capacity stadium.
See SUNFLOWER on page 3A
Index
News . . . 3A
Nation . . . 7A
Coupons . . 3A
Classifieds . . 7B
Football picks . . 2B
Horoscopes . . 2B
Special section . . 1C
Movie Listings . . 5A
Whether it is spiritual or just plain fun people of all ages still celebrate. .
HALLOWEEN
By Steph Brewer
Kansan staff writer
Most American children grow up eagerly awaiting that one day in October when they could disguise themselves in scary or fanciful costumes and
harass the neighbors for candy.
or many, the tradition has continued into adulthood, although attending parties has replaced trick-or-treating as the nighttime activity of choice.
What many Americans may not realize
There are many different stories surrounding the origins of Halloween. For those who practice the Wicca religion, Oct. 31 is called Samhain and marks the ending of the Celtic year.
is that the ancient Celts had very similar customs.
Darcie Callahan, a graduate student who did her masters thesis about Wicca, said the purpose of the day was to remember the dead. She said that on that day the veil between the two worlds was considered the thinnest.
nere was excitement and fear at this time," she said. "It tended to be a scary time of year when people were afraid to go out doors."
Wicca is a pantheistic, experiential, nature-centered religion.
One story says that the reason Colts dressed up in costumes was to scare off any spirits who might try to possess the living. Trickor-treating is said to have originated with ninth century European Christian beggars who would travel from house to house asking for "soul cakes" on All Souls Day in
November.
The stories about Halloween are varied and don't always match. For example, All Souls Day is often called Al圣aints Day or All Hallows Day. Tim Miller, professor of religion, said that the holiday had pagan origins but became associated with the Christian All Hallows Day.
"As Christianity moved through Europe, it displaced people who had various native religions," he said.
Whatever Halloween was, one thing is clear — what we celebrate today is something uniquely American.
"Halloween is an American celebration and a thing in itself." Callahan said.
She said saw nothing wrong with the morphing of the holiday.
USPS 650-640)
"When I was a child I loved Halloween, so I don't like to knock it because people don't celebrate it as Wiccans do," she said.
Jennifer Lillie, Parsons sophomore, said she thought Halloween had grown to a holiday embraced by both children and adults. She attributed this to the power of retail.
Students said their traditions ran toward the basic Halloween hijinks such as
"I work for Wal-Mart, and I notice they play it up a lot and it just gets bigger and bigger," Lillie said.
See PRESENT on page. 2A
A stack of jack-o-lanterns adorns the entryway to the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house. In addition to the traditional scary and astonished faces, the women incorporated both KU and Alpha Chi Omega themes.
Photo by Matt J.
Daugherty
/KANSAN
3-2-1 blastoff
Astronaut John Glenn, who is 77 years old makes one small step for the United States and one giant leap for senior citizens. Glenn was launched into space with the rest of the crew aboard the Discovery yesterday.
See page 7A
Watson Library closes after transformer fails
Watson Library shut its doors indefinitely at 4:30 p.m.yesterday because of a power outage.
The power loss occurred because the library's major transformer failed, said Provost David Shulenbur.
A blown transformer at 19th and Louisiana streets caused about half of campus buildings to lose power Wednesday afternoon, said Bob Porter, associate director of facilities operations.
Although Shulenburger was unsure what caused the transformer to fail, he speculated that it could have failed because of strain after Wednesday's power failure.
Shulenburger said that he was not sure how long Watson Library would remain closed.
"All we know is that we need a new transformer," Shulenburger said. He said it would not be possible to reopen the library until the transformer was replaced.
All other University of Kansas libraries will remain open during their regular hours.
Natural light was not an option, Shu-lenburger said, because the stacks did not have windows to allow light inside the library.
— Julie M. Sachs
Let's get physical
Student Senate has formed a recreation center task force to look into options for improving the ability of students to workout on campus. The task force is trying to discern what students want in a workout building.
See page 5A
Sunflower Showdown
The storied tradition of the Kansas vs. K-State rivalry heats up as the two teams get ready to play tomorrow at Memorial Stadium. Kansas fans' hopes were raised last weekend after it beat then No.17 Colorado.
See page 1B
Days and Nights of Lawrence
Step into the swing scene one of Lawrence's many entertainment alternatives. The Kansan takes a look at year-round options as well as those for the Halloween holiday.
Seepage 1C
4.