Jayhawk paraphernalia may be expensive
By Sarah Hansen
Special to the Kansan
Homecoming brings together students, alumni and fans, all proudly wearing the Jayhawk gear.
Chad Wilkerson, manager of Jayhawk Spirit, 935 Massachusetts St., said homecoming weekend always brought in a lot of Jayhawk paraphernalia sales
There are dozens of places that sell KU t-shirts, but Jayhawk Spirit also offers a line of high-priced KU items.
"We are overstocking nearly everything for the weekend," he said. "It's a great time when everyone has the University of Kansas on their minds."
Some of the more unique items at Jayhawk Spirit include Jayhawk birdhouses, Jayhawk clocks, stained glass Jayhawks, pictures of the KU campus and Jayhawk jewelry. These items can cost anywhere from $30 to $400.
"We also have some leather jackets that run from $200 to $1,000," Wilkerson said.
Shana Schroeder-Ebel, manager of Prairie Patches, 811 Massachusetts St., said that homecoming was a huge weekend for sales. Prairie Patches also carries a wide selection of high-priced Jay-
"We do really well with director chairs with the embroidered backs," Schroeder-Ebel said. "They run in the $70 range."
hawk accessories.
She said the store also offered Christmas items, women's clothing and pictures of the campus.
Nancy Klein, Overland Park resident, is the mother of a KU student and graduat
"We just started carrying a new artist who makes beautiful Jayhawk jewelry," Schroeder-Ebel said. "The jewelry is priced anywhere up to $275."
ate. She said that her family had been KU fans for years and that they had a few high-priced items scattered around their house.
"Ever since our son was about 3 years
old, he has been a Jayhawk fan," Klein said. "I guess that's where it all started. We have a couple of paintings, a basketball signed by the '97-'98 basketball team and a stained glass Jayhawk."
She said that they also had a rug and some other small items but that the basketball was probably the most expensive item they had. They bought it at an auction for about $400.
The Alumni Association also offers several items for high-dollar school spirit.
Donna Neuner, director of membership services at the Alumni Association, said that the association had a small marketing program. A catalog is mailed that features some special
This six-inch replica of the Jayhawk statue that was designed by Peter Fillerup and sits in front of the Adams Alumni Center costs $480. This and other collectibles are being sold this weekend and are in an Alumni Association catalog. Photo by Graham K. Johnson/KANSAN
items that are from the campus bookstores to all of members. The catalog offers Jayhawk golf clubs, a KU version of Monopoly. Jayhawk playing cards, Jayhawk pasta, Jayhawk cookware and Jayhawk fishing lures.
"The items that we do sell are only sold through the Alumni Association," Neuner said. "We have some more expensive items like sweaters, ties, gold lapel pins, rings and watches. They run anywhere up to $350."
Two of the more prominent items are the 6-inch and 12-inch bronze replica statues of the Jayhawk that stands outside the Adams Alumni Center.
Neuner said that although the sales of these items did not increase because of the homecoming weekend, they did well the entire year. She also said that the items were a great way to bring out the classic KU spirit.
Although there is a large market for these high-priced items, Cassandra Wilbur, Newark Valley, N.Y., sophomore said that she found this kind of school spirit to be too expensive.
"I have a Jayhawk jacket, sweatshirt, T-shirt and a shot glass," said Wilbur. "But I'm just not into that high-priced stuff."
Providing parking a good way to bag bucks
By Monica Juarbe
Special to the Kansan
On Friday nights before home games, Amy Kratzer, Wichita junior, has to move her car so her landlord can rent out the apartment complex's parking spaces to the home football fans.
"He could park, if he really tries, probably 40 cars in the lot." Kratzer said.
This weekend's homecoming means that a lot of alumni and parents will be in town for the big game and will need a place to park. Students and landlords near the stadium see the demand and rent their lawns and driveways for visitor parking, and they often make a tidy profit.
Some students may be forced into special accommodations for the visitors.
Kratzer, who lives at 11th and Mississippi streets, said her landlord sent out a letter that said that they had to move their cars on Friday nights when there was a
football game the next day so he could use all the spaces in the lot.
"The people that park in the lot have become friends over the years. They keep coming back so it's become more of a social thing than financial," said Rod Russell, Kratzer's landlord and owner of Russell Enterprises.
Kratzer said she had never had a problem with it, because her father parked in her lot.
"For the last three years, we've been parking in this lot, and, now that I live there, it's no problem for me to move my car as long as I remember to the night before," she said. "And my dad gets free parking, because we've known my landlord for so long."
Kratzer said her landlord charged $10 a car usually and $20 a car for the Kansas State games.
"I don't think my neighbors like to do it," Kratzer said. "I don't really mind that
he makes $10 off of where my car used to be."
Scott Strawn, Lawrence graduate student, said he did not see a problem with owners renting out their lawns.
"When a person owns a piece of property, they should be able to do what they want with it," he said. "And if they rent and the landlord said that it's OK, then who cares?"
Cathy Meissner, Fargo, N.D., graduate student, said she rented out parking spaces last year when she lived at 19th and Naismith streets.
"Five dollars is all we've ever charged," said Meissner. "I couldn't really go any higher, because the church next to us charged five dollars."
She said some fans lined up parking for the whole year. She charged $70 for a yearly parking space on her lawn.
"The only problem with it was that if they're parking in grass and one of our
neighbors calls and complains about it, then the Lawrence police can come and issue a $25 parking ticket to the owner," Meissner said. "I had that happen once. One of our neighbors was just being mean, and he called up the police.
"After we got that ticket, we didn't let anyone park any more on our grass. We just parked them in our large driveway," she said.
With only 23 spaces available at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread St., and the increased demand during homecoming, the Rev. Thad Holcombe, campus pastor, said his church had to turn some drivers away.
"We're handy, and we also don't block people in," Holcombe said. "We do it because we have the space available, and it also helps out with special projects. We have an alternative spring break that we contribute it to, and we have a volunteer intern placement and other expenses."
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Friday, October 23, 1998
The Hill
Homecoming 9