HOMECOMING
THURSDAY,OCTOBER 7,2004
It's all in the family for fifth-generation Jayhawks
Thaddaeus May, Elise Levy, Meg Robinson, Anne Murray and Jacob Vanderveelde stand with a familiar figure in their family, the Jayhawk. More than 50 of their extended family members have gone to the University. Ben Leach, another fifth-generation student, is not pictured.
BY KATRINA MOHR
correspondent@kansan.com
KANSAN CORRESPONDENT
Attending the University is a strong family tradition for these six students.
They each grew up surrounded by Kansas spirit, listening to stories of fond KU memories and attending nearly every football and basketball game since they were young.
game since they were born.
Fifth-generation Jayhawks Ben Leach, Kansas City freshman, Elise Levy, Kansas City sophomore, Meg Robinson, Kansas City junior, Jacob Vandervelde, Kansas City senior,
Thaddaeus May, Lawrence second year med student and Anne Murray, Lawrence third-year law student, are six of the more than 50 descendants of David H. Robinson and Henrietta Beach Robinson who have attended the University.
the University. "I was put in Jayhawk cheerleading outfits for games since I was born." Levy said. "My whole family is obsessed. My mom used to sing the Alma Mater to me before I went to sleep."
Leach's family also has passionate KU spirit.
KU spirit.
"My family bleeds crimson and blue." Leach said. "Both of my parents went to KU and I knew I was coming here since I was born."
Levy and Vandervelde considered rival schools but the once they made the decision to continue the family tradition they had no regrets.
tradition they had in Missouri because of the journalism school and because I wanted to get out of Kansas," Levy said.
said.
"My family never put any pressure on me, but I guess I always knew I was going to end up being a Jayhawk. I feel so at home here. I'm always
"I'm so glad that I'm surrounded by them again. We're
all interested in such different things but it's great that we can share this tradition."
seeing one of cousins on campus, I can't believe I considered going anywhere else," she said.
Vandervelde's family was also accepting of his initial choice.
"I was actually looking at K-State." Vandervelde said. "My family was very supportive of whatever I wanted to do, but once I came here I had no doubt in my mind that this was where I wanted to be. It's great to see my cousins doing the same thing."
It also made it much harder to deviate from the deeply rooted KU tradition. Robinson decided to rebel by going to Texas for her first year of college, but quickly regretted that she did not stay in Kansas.
alumni or current Jayhawks made the transition from high school to college easier for many of the fifth-generation students.
was not a hard one to KU and I really wanted to go," Murray said.
Most of their extended family lives in Lawrence or the Kansas City area. Having family members who are
she did not stay in Kabul. "I felt so lost without my family," Robinson said.
"When I came home I would see
of my family members. I'm so glad that I'm surrounded by them again. We're all interested in such different things but it's great that we can share this tradition," she said.
Murray and May both went to college outside of Kansas but returned to the University for graduate school. After growing up immersed in KU traditions and surrounded by alumni relatives the decision to come back was not a hard one to make.
"My grandfather was really upset. It's kind of expected that in this family you will go to KU. I can't go to a KU event without seeing four or five
"I was put in Jayhawk cheerleading outfits for games since I
was born. My whole family is obsessed. My mom used to sing the Alma Mater to me before I went to sleep."
Elise Levy Kansas City sophomore
my cousins and I always felt like I was missing out on being a Jayhawk. By coming here for graduate school I get to relive the meaning and tradition with my family."
fion with my family. Family also influenced May's decision to come back.
"My grandfather was a doctor at KU Med," May said. "That made KU very attractive because it allows me to follow in the footsteps of someone I respect. It is a good fit. My family is here, if I was anywhere else I would feel like I was stepping into the unknown."
With many family members being KU alumni it would be nearly impossible not to start traditions within the University.
University. The men have a long line of engineers and doctors and many were either Phi Delta Thetas or Beta Theta Pis.
The women have ancestors in the early graduating classes of the University when women were rare in universities. They have legacies in over half of the sororities on campus.
over half of the extended family is close and spends summers at Jordan Cove in Connecticut together. Thousands of miles away from Lawrence they still demonstrate their KU pride.
"We have a boat named the Jayhawk," May said. "Everyone's always in KU gear and we look really out of place. It's a great time though, our grandfathers are always telling funny stories about when they were at KU."
For these six fifth-generation KU students, being a Jayhawk does not end at graduation, it is a title they will proudly bear throughout their lives.
Edited by Ashley Bechard
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