Homecoming bars on tap
Homecoming is a time for kings, queens football and especially celebration. Whether you want to gather with friends or want to party, local bars are ready to accommodate.
Kansan Correspondent
By Joe Yockey
"It's the biggest weekend of the year," said Sean Haydock, manager of Johnny's Tavern, 401 N. Second St. "People who spent their college years here come back, so we staff more people and have more beer."
Johnny's Tavern will feature $2 import bottles Friday and $1 shots Saturday during homecoming weekend. It also will serve as a tailgate site for the Jayhawks' football game on Saturday.
"It's a busy time for us," said Matt Bellemere, manager of Free State Brewing Company, 636 Massachusetts St. "We try to have a variety of beers on tap for people from out of town."
Most bars make extra preparations for the increased business they expect to receive.
"We will be well stocked because we will go through a lot of beer, and we will have enough people to handle the onslaught," Brown said.
Jason Brown, a bartender at The Wheel Cafe, 507 W.14th St., expressed similar feelings.
Only a few local bars are planning specials for homecoming.
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, 2520 Iowa St., plans to give students with KUIDs a 10 percent discount on purchases.
Henry T's Bar & Grill, 3520 W. Sixth St., will feature live music.
Sean Gerrity, one of the owners of Henry T's, said, "We will have a vocalist group on the deck and $2 bottles of beer that Saturday."
Kaspers Bar & Grill, 3115 W. Sixth St., Quinton's Bar & Deli, 615 Massachusetts St., and The Yacht Club, 530 Wisconsin St., will have their standard weekend specials during homecoming.
But Rick Younger, owner of Rick's Neighborhood Bar & Grill, 623 Vermont St., will not have specials during homecoming because he thought the weekend had lost its flavor during past years.
"There is not the same joy," Younger said. "There used to be incredible things during that weekend. No one wants to take the time anymore."
Now, with so many bars in the area, students must carefully decide where to spend their time. Some people choose places with activities other than drinking.
Others simply want to drink and party.
Eric Goodman, Overland Park freshman, said, "I don't like to be packed in, and I like things to do, like playing pool."
Colleen Mathia, Leavenworth freshman, said, "I go to bars that have cheap beer but are not trashy."
Residence halls to boast their spirit with homecoming rally on Daisy Hill
By Micki Jones
The residence halls haven't played an active part in campus events for years and have not expressed their school spirit collectively.
Kansan Correspondent
But this year things have changed.
Students living in residence halls will celebrate life on campus during a homecoming rally.
"The one thing that I think is great about this year's homecoming rally is that you will see student activism coming from the residence halls again," said Randy Timm, assistant director of housing for marketing and programming. "The community is pulling together from their individual buildings, awakening to a spirited involvement on campus."
The rally begins at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. The homecoming meal and rally will take place at the Ekdahl Dining Commons in the banquet room and outside behind the cafeteria. The rally is open to alumni, students with a meal pass and those students' parents.
"Most of the time, I only have opportunities to associate with people from my own residence hall, so I am planning to attend the homecoming rally," said Mark Peterson, Wichita freshman. "I also cannot wait to find out if I can live in Templin Hall next year, so I plan to check out the displays on the renovations."
The cafeteria will have tables displaying information on each residence hall and its activities. The goal of the displays is to emphasize what students like about their halls, Timm said. These displays are created by government members of each residence hall.
Display tables will show the changes that have occurred in the cafeteria and those that will result from the renovations at Templin Hall.
Jessica Perkins, Apple Valley, Minn., sophomore, is involved in planning the rally through the Association of University Residence Halls and Ellsworth Hall government.
The homecoming campaign rally, planned by the academic programming coordinators in each residence hall, will begin at 10 a.m. The theme of the gameday rally is Jayhawk for President. Campus faculty and leaders will attend the rally, along with the residence hall executive boards, which will arrive in limousines. A convertible will deliver Baby Jay to the homecoming rally. A featured speaker will list the top 10 reasons to vote for a Jayhawk.
"The homecoming rally and campaign are going to be really exciting and cool because the academic programming coordinators have worked super hard on the events for the day," Perkins said. "It is also the closest anyone, especially the students, can ever get to the Baby Jay."
The homecoming campaign rally is the earliest event celebrating homecoming on game day.
"It is not just another typical weekend on campus. The homecoming rally, along with other homecoming events, display the true college spirit that visitors, like alumni and parents, are looking for on a big game day," Timm said. "And at the University of Kansas, we have a lot of it."
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Homecoming
The Hill October 17,1996