THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2004
HOMECOMING
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
21A
Experience different second time
big and a
acots I the times ,the
s up.
oph-
. But
other
ekson fans Adam
carry
r that
like I
in my
big Jay.
A lot has changed, but there are advantages and quirks to being an older student
I have to admit that I've never paid much attention to the whole homecoming thing. It was just one of those traditions that I couldn't relate to and didn't understand why I was supposed care about it.
To me, it was just an event where a bunch of dorky alums clad in red and blue would inevitably wind up plastered to the walls of The Wheel after too many pitchers and anecdotes that ended with the phrase "Dude, I was sooo wasted."
But this year it's different. After a 13-year hiatus, I have returned to the University where it all began for me so long ago.
Upon returning to campus this fall I found myself in the strange position of having the first-day-of-school jitters while simultaneously feeling the nostalgia of an alumna.
Despite being on the verge of cardiac arrest as I reached the top of Mount Oread, I still had the proverbial spring in my step as I entered Wescoe for the first time in over a decade.
As I walked down the hall to my 8 a.m. class, my new backpack brimming with items from my overzealous shopping spree at Office Depot the night before, I felt more confident than I had in years. And then I got to my first class.
I was the first person to arrive and like a total nerd, chose a desk right smack in the center of the front row.
This was a far cry from my old habits, where I would have picked the spot that the professor was least likely to notice me drifting off.
When the classroom was almost at capacity, I glanced around at my fellow classmates.
I suddenly found myself in a very surreal place where not just some, but all of the people around me were at least 12 years younger than I was. Then
the teacher came in and I realized that I had at least five years on her too. Suddenly I felt cold and clammy and I desperately wished that I had chosen my old back corner seat. Instead I was right where everyone could laugh and point at the old woman sitting in the front row.
I fully expected Rod Serling to emerge with a cigarette and begin describing the bizarre set of circumstances that I found myself in.
One of the students sitting next to me began chatting me up and asking the usual questions, like my major, my hometowns, and when I graduated from high school.
By the time I got to my last class of the day I was getting used to the fact that I was different.
I swallowed hard and told him 1988.
He looked at me like I was from another planet and told me that he was four when I graduated high school.
eigh high school.
Then he kind of redeemed himself by telling me that he would have never guessed that I was that old.
Now, more than a month into classes, I've discovered that being older has its advantages. Since I already had my first college experience when I was younger, I don't feel the need to make up for it now.
I've already had the dorm experience and learned the evils of going to too many keg parties on Ohio Street.
I know that credit cards and poorly managed finances can cause serious long-term damage, and that I'm the one that will suffer the consequences when I skin classes.
COMMENTARY
Another great thing about being older is that I understand my mission much better than I did the first time around. I've been out in the world and I know what I want to do. As I sit in class I can actually apply it to
ANDREA SUMPTER
correspondent@kansan.com
"This year,it's different. After a thirteen-year hiatus, I have returned to the University where it all began for me so long ago."
my real world experience, which is something that I really couldn't do before.
Now, rather than looking at my age as a detriment, I use it as my calling card. When I introduce myself to my professors I always point out that I'm the oldest person in their class and they laugh.
Even though it's nice that they get a kick out my sense of humor,my biggest success is that they remember me, despite the fact that they have hundreds of students.
Over the last few weeks I've taken notice of just how much has changed since I was here last.
For starters, in 1988 tuition was only $700 a semester, which is just a tad more than I spent on books this semester. In those days I typed all of my papers on a cheap Smith-Corona typewriter and I used card catalogues to do research.
Budig Hall had no computer center because it was still Hoch Auditorium and Watson was the only library. If I was up on campus and I needed to call someone, I paid a dime to use a payphone.
tures interrupted by "Nokia
tones."
There were no students walking around campus with their cell phones pressed up against the sides of their faces or lee
If you wanted more than generic cafeteria-style food you had to leave campus all together and believe it or not, Folger's was about the fanciest coffee out there.
I must admit that I can't believe that I ever got along without all of the amenities this campus now offers.
There are some things that are still the same, of course. I'm pretty sure that the seats in the Wescoe lecture halls are the same ones I napped in 13 years ago and from what I can tell, KU on Wheels hasn't done much in the way of upgrading their transportation system.
A day without my doublegrande latte breve is generally not a good day.
SYSTEM
So I guess you could say that this year I finally understand why I should care about Homecoming. There really is something magical about coming home.
The only problem is that most of the time you have to go away for a while to really realize it.
As I walk through campus everyday I'm constantly reminded of more wild stories from my youth and I laugh to think that I was ever that crazy.
Every time I come to the corner of 12th and Oread streets I remember the time when I was working at Yello Sub and the Crossing started giving away free beer for an hour because the 'Hawks beat the Tarheels in the Final Four. And all of us "Sub" employees decided to just leave work and go next door.
My apologies to anyone that happened to be waiting in line for a sandwich that night. If it's any consolation, my karma totally caught up with me and I woke up on my apartment floor the next morning only to find that I'd puked in my sock drawer. "Dude, I was sooo wasted."
Scotland native learns meaning of celebration
- Andrea Sumpter is a Lenexa junior in journalism.
The question is, do Kansans know what it is all about?
Homecoming is always a special time of year. This year, however, it will be a wee bit extra special for me. This year is my first ever experience of such a tradition, but I'm going to have to let you in on a little secret; I don't actually know what "homecoming" is.
homecoming
Oh, and before you start scoffing and making jokes about these "ignorant foreigners" — neither do you lot! I at least have an excuse. I'm not from these parts. I'm from a land far, far away.
Glasgow, Scotland, to be exact, is where I would call home, and back home the concept of celebrating anything other than Christmas, birthdays and St. Patrick's Day is like asking a Jayhawk to root for Mizzou. And just for the record, Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, but it's a good excuse to get drunk, so we Scots have gladly adopted the March 17 celebration!
Anyway, I digress. I've spoken to several students on campus, and none could give me an indepth answer to the great philosophical question: What is homecoming?
honecoming.
"It's a week of partying," said one keen student before breaking into what can only be called and "interesting" rendition of some traditional KU anthem. Unsurprisingly, she asked to remain anonymous. Another student, Jeff Butcher, Springfield, Mo., freshman, claimed that he knew what it was before mumbling and bumbling his way through an explanation that included both the words "home" and "coming," but that was about it.
From what I have read on Web sites and in recent newspaper articles, the homecoming celebrations take place the week before our football team plays its biggest rival. In previous years this has been Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska. More recently it has been Kansas State.
COMMENTARY
GARY MEENAGHAN correspondent@kansan.com
"I've spoken to several students on campus, and none could give me an in-depth answer to the great philisophical question."
When I tell people that I am ignorant to this homecoming legacy, they look at me as if I am an idiot. Whilst I may be an idiot, it doesn't change the fact that back in Scotland, homecoming just wouldn't work. Most students can't wait to leave university by the end of their degree, and even those who do actually enjoy intense work and long sessions in the library don't often find themselves attached to the actual place they study
And whilst the week preceding the game brings loads of fun events and competitions, it also invites alumni to return to Mount Oread and reminisce about fond memories of their times at the University of Kansas.
The University of Kansas has a far greater sense of community than I have witnessed at any other university I have visited, and it's great.
So I say on Saturday, when the Hawks run out on to the field at Memorial Stadium, we clap as loud as we can and sing to our heart's content. Just don't take your lead from the Scottish guy, he doesn't know the words. Yet.
Meenghan is a Glasgow, Scotland junior in journalism.
Palace Cards & Gifts, your source for
sweatshirts
jewelry
t-shirts
oxfords
auto emblems
slippers
flags
afghans
license plates
charms
pillows
glassware
ceramicware
& much more!
P. S., We deliver balloons, candy and gifts - Call us!
This HOMECOMING & LATE NIGHT go all out for tradition and show your spirit for the JAYHAWKS!
Carda & Gifts
8th & Mass 843-1099
1. Some people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
True
Fast Food 101 Pop Quiz Time
- Name:
Phone Number:
False
Bring this in for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate!
2120 W. 9th
842-2930
Drive Thru Opens @ 7am Mon-Sat
Taste of Chicago
Chicago Dog * Polish Sausage * Italian Beef
Italian Sausage * Italian Sausage &
Beef Combo
1527 W. 6th St.
Lawrence, KS
785-841-3322
100% Hickory Smoked Meats Beef Ham Turkey Ribs Chicken Sausage
Call us for your Hawks Tailgating
• Wedding Rehearsals • Graduations • Backyard Party