KU students flock to Allen Fieldhouse for their own set of ...
Hoop dreams
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Deborah VanWinkle, a Kansas University sophomore from Springfield, Mo., joins other basketball fans in a campout for good seats before last season's KU-UCLA game at Allen Fieldhouse.
- Campers' enthusiasim for basketball keeps Jayhawks' spirits at a fever pitch.
BY TOMMY GALLAGHER SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL-WORLD
In the midst of winter's deep freeze, hundreds of students find time to go camping — in the northwest corner of Allen Fieldhouse.
These campers are part of a Kansas University basketball tradition.
Student seating is on a first-come, first-served at home basketball games, and several hundred Jayhawk fans are willing to sacrifice comforts of home for a dark, breezy lobby to get quality courtside
Hoops rules
"The only way to get decent seats is to come out and camp out for it."
son, a lot of campers can be found sleeping white wrapped in the warmth of a sleeping bag or cuddled underneath a blanket with their head on a pillow to ensure at least some comfort. Because the lobby can rival the silent atmosphere of a library at times, some campers choose to read a novel or do homework.
While the camping system has 1634 troops
seats. Fan groups camp out for as many as 16 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., in the fieldhouse lobby as early as a week before a game.
"The only way to get decent seats is to come out and camp out for it," said Scott Rezne, a Wichita sophomore. "It's a lot easier when you have a large number of people to camp out for your group."
— Scott Rezne, Wichita sophomore
During every basketball sea-
worked for RC throughout the years, only a limited number of people, outside the campers themselves, know how the system works.
At the beginning of each new camping period
— which usually starts the morning after a home game at the fieldhouse — a lottery is held to determine the order of student groups. Each group receives one number in the lottery for every five people in the group. Any groups that set up camp after the lottery are placed at the bottom of a list posted on the fieldhouse wall.
The list is used to call the roll. If a representative group member is absent when roll is taken, the
group's spot is forfeited. All subsequent groups present move up one spot in the order of entrance to the upcoming game.
Fan groups are allowed to enter the fieldhouse two hours before tipoff. Everybody else may enter 30 minutes later.
Groups may have a maximum of 30 people, although there are several groups that have 10 or fewer members. Many of the bigger groups, containing 15 or more people, can set up three-or
four-hour camping shifts. Smaller groups cannot afford that kind of luxury.
"We're here all day, except for when we have class," said Kelly Hale, an Edwardsville sophomore. "Our group, the Fun Bunch, has only six people, so it's important for us to be here from beginning to end."
Preserving the tradition
of the Fun Bunch, along with two of her friends from Jayhawker Towers. Most of the fan groups camping at fieldhouse originally started in a fraternity, sorority or scholarship or residence hall.
Hale was an original member
"The Hawkettes originated on the fourth floor of Ellsworth Hall last year," said Matt Berry, Hutchinson sophomore and Hawkette member. "When I moved into Ellsworth, I decided to join because I'm a pretty big
Jayhawk fan. Besides, camping out isn't all that bad."
The camping tradition isn't all that bad either, as long as you welcome some peace and quiet while doing homework, playing cards or sleeping for several hours in a drafty lobby. Although the campus newspaper questioned the effectiveness of the camping tradition one recent season, Darren Cook, director of facilities,
See Hoop dreams, page 2D
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Dietitian Ann Chapman works with students at Watkins Student Health Center to develop better eating habits.
'Freshman 15' weighs heavily on newcomers
- Lifestyle changes for those new to college might include a few extra — but unnecessary — pounds.
BY SARA SHAY
SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL-WORLD
BY SARA SHAY
When Kristen Merchant entered Kansas University, she expected to gain weight.
Many freshmen who enter Kansas University gain weight in their first year away from home. Both men and women are susceptible to weight gain. Freshmen year is filled with change, so it comes as no surprise when the pounds start adding on.
"College is a very time in your life, and eating is a social thing," said Merchant, an Overland Park freshman. "I just know I'm going to come home gaining that 'freshmen 15.'"
Ann Chapman, dietitian at Watkins Student Health Center.
blames fast food, late-night eating, skipping meals, beer drinking and less physical activity as factors in freshmen weight gain.
"The cafeteria has fruit and salad, but most of us go for the good, hot food," said Overland Park freshman Meredith Tedinger. "After we stuff ourselves, we always head straight for the ice-cream machine."
Beer and binge drinking also play a role in freshmen weight gain. According to a brochure at Watkins Health Center, alcohol has seven calories per gram, almost twice the calories of carbohydrate or protein. Beer
Most new students live in KU residence halls, where there is great variety to the food. Because freshmen live on their own, they may lack the self control it takes to eat the right foods.
See Healthy habits, page 7D
Pizza rules campus as king of foods
- Plizza is quick, cheap and everywhere in Lawrence.
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For Kansas University freshman Jean-Frederic Despres, ordering pizza is an addictive habit. Ordering at least five pizzas a week, Despres has discovered the wonder of Lawrence pizza delivery.
— Jean-Frederic Despres, Leawood freshman
Despres, Leawood, admits his pizza intake
Kyle Long, manager of Gumby's Pizza, 1445 W. 23rd, said 50 percent of the restaurant's delivery business is to students and of that about 25 percent is residence hall business.
LINDSEY HENRY
SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL-WORLD
"Of course quality is important. But I'll usually buy from where there is a good balance between cheap prices and quality."
is extreme, but he stands by his passion.
"Maybe it is a bit too much," Despres said, reaching for another slice out of a Gumby's pizza box, dotted with cheese and grease stains. "But when it's late at night and I don't want to leave the dorm, it is convenient. Plus, you don't need to use any utensils, just your hands."
Justin Loburglio, Littenloon, Colleen, freshman, also discovered the convenience of
pizza delivery in the dorms. He orders an average of three to four pizzas a week. Before coming to Lawrence, Loburgio rarely ate pizza.
"At home, we never had pizza," Loburgio said. "I have definitely turned into a pizza connoisseur at the University of Kansas."
Pizza fans such as Despres and Loburg keep individuals like John Botyl in business. As the owner of Pizza Shuttle, 1601 W.23rd, Botyl appreciates the benefits of running a pizza shop in a college town.
"The big student population is very attractive," Botyl said. "It is a trapped population, especially in the dorms."
Kyle Long, manager of Gumby's Pizza,
1445 W. 23rd. agrees.
"About 50 percent of our delivery business is students, and of that about 25 percent goes to dorm business." Long said.
Delivery business picks up during sporting events, cold weather and especially late on Friday and Saturday nights. Long said.
"We're open 'til 2:30 a.m., a definite bonus because there are more parties here than in a
After six months delivering for Gumby's, Jason Lutes, a self-proclaimed veteran of the business, said that he has seen it all when it comes to students getting anxious for pizza. Lutes said that when he delivers to the dorms he usually receives about 19 offers from other students who want to buy the pizza from him.
"I had to run her down. I finally caught her when she stopped to pass them out to her friends." Lutes said.
Lutes said he once delivered 15 pizzas to Naismith Hall, only to have a girl grab a bag of three pizzas from him and run off down the hall.
purely residential town," Long said. "We get a lot of people calling late and ordering pizza when they are drunk, and the calls take a lot longer because it is hard to figure out what they are saying. There is usually a lot of people yelling their orders in the background."
A backpack for delivery drivers is the unpredictability of receiving tips from students in the dorms. Lutes said that he sometimes tries to talk students into giving him more money but that it does not usually
Yet with this obvious demand for pizza, Long said that Lawrence area pizza establishments are beginning to be more competitive with prices running from $5 to $15, depending on size. Pizza shops commonly run specials offering pizzas at a reduced price with a coupon, something college students can appreciate.
"Of course quality is important," Despres said. "But I'll usually buy from where there is a good balance between cheap prices and quality."
work. Most students, he said, decide whether to tip or not before they meet him in the dorm lobby to pay for their pizza.
Hanging his head with shame, Loburig said that he "hits meager at the very best."
However, Rich McVeigh, Blue Anchor, N.J. freshman, bases his pizza decisions on price only.
"Seeing as how I have no money as a college student, the cost of pizza is very important," he said. "Spending $80 on a 100-page geography book does not allow me to shop around for the expensive pizza."
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