Volume 125 Issue 72
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
kansan.com
OUT OF THIS WORLD
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
PAIGE Hunter, a senior from Lawrence likes to dress up as Star Wars character Boba Fett and make appearances for charities. Hunter makes her own costumes including characters from Final Fantasy, Batman and Sailor Moon.
Costumed crusaders raise money, awareness for children's charities
EMILY DONOVAN edonovan@kansan.com
Six years ago, in a galaxy not so far away, a group of Star Wars enthusiasts began to put their passion to good use: charity work. Clad in replica outfits and homemade armor, members of the Mandaliorian Mercs Costume Club — named for a species of bounty hunters and mercenaries in the Star Wars canon — make public appearances and donate the proceeds to charity.
Paige Hunter, a senior from Lawrence majoring in film and media studies, first encountered the Mercs at an anime convention a few summers ago. Upon request, Merc members, approved 18+-year-old costumes, would hunt down an individual and put him in a PVC-pipe "jail" at a rate of $1 per minute. The money was then donated to a charity of the convention's choice.
Costume-making wasn't a new hobby for Hunter. Her closet is full of fond memories of characters like Yuffie from "Final Fantasy," Harley Quinn from "Batman: The Animated Series" and Sailor Moon.
"I like the idea of putting on another persona and walking around as a character," Hunter said. "I like walking around like Jack Sparrow with a bottle full of tea and claiming it's rum. People laugh at it. I like making people laugh, I like making people smile and I like entertaining. Seeing people get excited when they see a character they know and interacting with people who like
the same thing as you do — it's a really good way to meet people. I've met a lot of good friends through my costume."
Combining the fun of masquerading as her favorite characters with charity, however, was a new idea that has helped give her hobby purpose.
Brett Steinbrink, a junior from Emporia majoring in history and film and media studies, recently started putting together a Star Wars costume of his own, hoping to join Hunter in the Mercs. Organizations like the Mandalorian Mercs and the 501st Legion that both have fun
and do work with charities, Steinbrink said, brings costing out to public view in a positive way.
"It's bringing it to a wider audience," Steinbrink said. "I don't want
to say there's a negative stigma on nerd culture, because there's not always, but sometimes it's just a bunch of nerds that like to do stuff. Those organizations do a great job of changing it from that to people seeing that there's these people out here, and yeah they're dressing up, but they're doing things for charity and helping people while doing it."
"I like making people laugh, I like making people smile and I like entertaining."
bounty hunter costume will be the first costume he's built from scratch. In previous Halloweens, he's dressed as Tony Stark from "Iron Man" and Rorschach from "Watchmen." He expects to have spent a couple hundred dollars on his Merc costume by the time it's finished, but he's enjoyed putting so much of his discretionary income into the hobby.
"Seeing a look on a kid's face when they see their favorite character or see a bunch of Stormtroopers, that's priceless." Steinbrink said. "They get so happy and they get excited and they want to shake
PAIGE HUNTER Lawrence senior
Although a longtime fan of the Star Wars canon, Lord of the Rings and other classics, Steinbrink's
Hunter has joined fellow Mercs cosplayers from Kansas City and across Kansas at events at the Topeka Zoo and the Kansas City Zoo, as well as Star Wars-themed birthday parties and even an appearance on the KU campus for May 4, 2012. May 4, a play off of "May the force be with you," is an unofficial Star Wars holiday for Hunter and fellow Stormtroopers, bounty hunters, Jedi and assassins.
your hand or they want to hold your gun or they want to take a picture with you. I've seen Darth Vader give a little 5-year-old kid a big bug. That's adorable. You can't put a price on that."
Hunter has
where there were a bunch of kids were taking a field trip to the Natural History Museum," Hunter said. "They had a surprise and got to see some Stormtroopers. That was really fun."
The Mandalorian Mercs tend to focus on helping children, working with the Make-A-Wish foundation and even helping a local sick girl pay medical bills. The clan's own Little Warrior International is developed by the Mercs to help underprivileged kids.
The Mandalorian Mercs and similar costuming clubs ask potential members to post pictures of their costumes and all accessories and require those costumes to be accurate to an era within the Star Wars canon. A committee then reviews and approves or makes suggestions as to how to improve the costume.
Even when she's out trooping on hot summer days and overheated inside her costume, Hunter feels that all the time and energy she has poured into her costume is worth it when she watches kids' faces light up as they see a character they've seen on television come to life.
"I think it's magical for the kids to experience that," Hunter said. "Don't be scared about what other people think about it. In the end, it's a hobby and it's all for fun. That should be the goal."
Edited by Madison Schutt
"That happened to be a day
the student voice since 1904
CAMPUS
Topeka student contemplates a full ride future
EMMA LEGAULT
EMMA LEGAULT
elegault@kansan.com
On a typical Tuesday at Topeka High School, Leobardo Espinoza Jr. received an envelope out of the blue.
The contents? An academic full ride scholarship to the University of Kansas.
At this point, a vast majority
of students would long to be in Espinoza's shoes. However, it's an odd predicament in which he now finds himself.
Espinoza
The title of his blog on the New York Times website, "Is a Full Ride Enough to Upgrade a 'Fallback' School?" reveals that KU is not number one on Espinoza's list of potential colleges.
Espinoza, a Topeka High School senior, is one of three people since 2009 to receive the David M. Wall Scholarship, a four-year renewable scholarship covering tuition, fees and books, given to a graduate of Topeka High School pursuing a degree in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Espinoza is one of eight high school seniors blogging about their personal college application and admission processes for the New York Times in a series called "The Choice." In his blog, Espinoza shares the details of the day that admissions representatives from KU personally presented the scholarship to him during his AVID class.
"My cheeks extended from side to side and I found myself dumbfounded," Espinoza wrote on Jan. 29. "This was truly the last thing I was expecting that day."
However, Espinoza doesn't quite have his heart set on KU. Although he said he loves the campus and is a Kansas basketball fan, Lawrence is familiar territory. Living about 20 minutes away in Topeka, he has had his fair share of visits.
"Part of the reason it isn't at the top of list is that I've always thought of college as being an entirely new environment," Espinoza said. "For the most part, I know Lawrence fairly well."
In addition to the David M. Wall Scholarship, Espinoza also qualified for the Crimson and Blue scholarship from the University's general scholarship funds.
If he chooses to attend the University, he must accept the scholarships by the admission deadline, May 1, as well as maintain a 3.4 GPA and take at least
30 credit hours per year.
Kristi Henderson, director of communications for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said Espinoza's blog helped to draw attention to him in the pool of eligible students.
"[Espinoza] is a talented student and we certainly hope that the scholarship attracts him to come to KU, but he has a difficult decision in deciding which college he goes to." she said. "We hope he makes the decision that's best for him."
Will Dale, a junior from Topeka, is the current David M. Wall scholar. Like Espinoza, KU was not his top choice. That is, until he received the same envelope on his birthday in 2010.
"It's the kind of scholarship that changes your life," Dale said. "It's what brought me to KU and made me make sure I stayed with English."
Dale is currently studying abroad in Costa Rica. He said the scholarship has opened the doors to many opportunities without the worry of creating a financial burden for him and his family.
"It enabled me to do so many different things," he said. "I wouldn't have been able to do that without the scholarship . . . It's been a crazy experience."
Dale said he knows Espinoza from high school and has been in contact with him since receiving the scholarship.
"It's awesome to see how he's grown as a leader," Dale said. "I'm trying to sway him toward coming to KU."
With the amount of financial aid being offered by the University and the possibility of graduating debt-free, Espinoza said it has presented a new problem in his decision. He said many of his other choices also offer 100 percent financial aid.
Like many other high school seniors, Espinoza has high expectations for his college experience. Although he doesn't have a set career path, he hopes that he can find something that piques his interest, regardless of where he chooses to attend college.
"I think it's going to be a way to find myself . . . deciding what I want to do with the rest of my life," he said. "It's mostly about discovering myself and meeting new people, discovering the world."
As he awaits the decisions from the colleges to which he applied, the David M. Wall Scholarship stands as an incentive to attend KU.
"I'll really have to look at what the school has to offer me besides the financial aspect," Espinoza said. "I've considered it a lot more critically."
— Edited by Brian Sisk
CLASSIFIEDS 7
CROSSWORD 5
CRYPTOQUIPS 5
OPINION 4
SPORTS 10
SUDOKU 5
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2013 The University Daily Kansan
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