features
Waiting to be wed
MANY BABY BOOMERS MARCHED DOWN THE AISLE, BUT THEIR CHILDREN ARE IN NO HURRY TO FOLLOW THEIR FOOTSTEPS.
Illustration by Matt Hood / KANSAN
By Kathy Paton Special to the Kansan
he traditional wedding bells of June are falling on many deaf ears as America's baby busters, the nation's 20-something adults, continue to set records for delaying marriage and parenthood.
But if one were to ask these trend-setters why they are putting family values on hold, they won't offer an explanation of individual freedom and experimentation — they left that to their baby boomer parents.
This generation has its own story to tell.
"We just continue to see slow, gradual trends in the same direction, delaying marriages and young adults living at home," said Karen Harris, a Census Bureau representative.
These statistics do not indicate that any major trends are reversing, she said.
Gaining an economic foothold has become so difficult today that the majority of single adults aged 20 to 24 and one-fourth of those in their early 30s still lived with their parents, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released in February, 1993.
Kelly Loher, a 22-year-old St. Louis senior, is among the baby busters still struggling to leave the nest.
As a business major with no job prospects in sight, Loher plans to move back to St. Louis to live with her mother.
"I will probably end up taking a $5-an-hour, no-benefits job just to make ends meet." Loher said.
Now rethinking plans of law school, she said she couldn't picture being economically stable enough to start a family until she reached 30.
"It takes longer to get established, so you don't even think about being committed to a relationship," she said. "You try to keep yourself open to any opportunity that becomes available."
Loher said that although she was moving back home, she wanted to be "free and clear" to make any career decision without having to answer to anyone.
"Like most new graduates, I want to explore any an all options," she said.
There are those who go against the trend, however.
Nancy Peterson, a 22-year-old Leawood graduate, was married June 4
"I realize that having a husband puts some restraints on my career options, and that worries me a little," she said.
"Bob has been in his career for five years here in Kansas City, and it would be hard to ask him to leave all that behind if an opportunity arose for me at Johns Hopkins or someplace like that."
Peterson said that because career and money issues would always be concerns in relationships, she could understand why women and men
want to establish themselves before getting married.
"As a nurse, I think I'll be able to work anywhere Bob wants to be, but if I want to move and he doesn't, then we'll just have to compromise," she said.
But the statistics show that more people are waiting awhile before they have to make those kinds of compromises.
The median age for first marriages climbed to older than 26 for men and older than 24 for women. Thirty years ago, the median age was 23 for men and 21 for women.
Today, men and women take longer to reach the financial stability that most want before they get married.
Martha Riche, director of policy studies at the Population Reference Bureau in Washington, D.C., said that baby busters now are on a long-term track.
"People's aspirations haven't changed," she said. "Survey data show that men and women still want lives that include marriage and children; they are just taking more time in doing so than their parents' generation."
Reasons frequently cited for postponing marriage, according to Peter Francese, publisher of American Demographics, include completing college or graduate school, establishing a career, building up a nest egg, sowing wild oats, waiting for the right someone, worrying about repeating the mistakes of divorced parents or simply not wanting to marry now or any time soon.
Betsy O'Donoghue, a psychologist at the KU Medical Center, suggested that in waiting longer to marry, couples who eventually do marry are theoretically more mature and more secure financially, which should improve the odds for a successful marriage.
"In fact, divorce rates have been declining slightly in recent years for young adults," she said. "Maybe we've become just as disillusioned with divorce as we have with marriage."
Twentysomethings also are choosing cohabitation over marriage. According to the U.S. Census Bureau,
See MARRIAGE, Page 10.
Since Danforth Chapel was dedicated in 1946, an estimated 4,800 weddings have been performed there.
Many 'Hawks itchin' to hitch at KU chapel
By Matt Hydeman Kansan staff writer
June is the month for summer vacations, suntans, time with friends, parties at the lake — and weddings.
Even though fewer students are around, Danforth Chapel continues to have a busy schedule, said Gretchen Hawner, University Events Secretary for the Organizations and Activities Center.
Havner said that there had been 165 weddings in the chapel during the 1992-1993 academic year, one more than the year before.
"We get calls every day about Danforth," she said. "We schedule four to five wedding dates for the chapel a week."
"They're also well-planned in advance," she said. "It's rare to have a spur-of-the-moment reservation come up."
The chapel is most often used on the weekends for weddings and religious ceremonies, but Hawner said weddings take prominence over any other scheduled event.
considered a one-time-only event, 'she said. Havern said that many of the people using the chapel for their wedding were graduates of the University or residents of Lawrence.
"It's considered a one-time-only event," she said.
Havner said that she was currently booking reservations for the chapel into 1995. However, the Organizations and Activities Center currently is not taking reservations for 1996, she said.
Dennis Jones kisses his new wife, Sandra, in front of Danforth Chapel, 14th Street and Jayhawk Boulevard. The Lawrence residents were married Sunday afternoon.
The chapel was built in 1946, a gift from William Danforth, the founder of the Ralston Purina company. Danforth gave $5,000 to the University to spark interest in the building of a nondenominational chapel for all KU students and faculty.
In a letter written to Chancellor Deane Malott in 1945, Danforth explained his reasons for offering money for the chapel to be built.
"Campuses are ready right now for a spiritual
awakening; so I don't think we should necessarily wait until the war is over," he wrote.
According to University Archives, the stone used to build the chapel came from a wall found west of Lawrence at a place in Douglas County called Kankawa Corner, which was two miles south of U.S. Highway 40 between Topeka and Lawrence. In exchange for the rock, the University purchased a wire fence for the owner of the wall.
German prisoners-of-war and crews from Buildings and Grounds, now Facilities Operations,
helped build the chapel. The remaining work was contracted to other laborers.
Danforth's role in the construction of the chapel was not limited to financing it. He requested that the chapel have leaded stained-glass windows. He even specified their design and placement in the chapel.
Before the chapel's official dedication on April 2, 1946, 20 couples were married there. An estimated 4,800 weddings have been performed in the little chapel on campus.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
People and places at the University of Kansas.
calendar
NIGHTLIFE
Mulligan's
Mulligan's 1016 Massachusetts St. Acoustic Open Mike, tonight
Turquoise Sol. tomorrow
Ricky Dean and Spamskinners, Friday
"Skafest" with Skunks and Mustard Plug, Saturday.
Call 865-4055 for times and prices.
9261/2 Massachusetts St.
The Jazzhaus
Matt "Guitar" Murphy, tonight, tomorrow, $5
Common Ground, Friday, $4
Folklore Venezuela, Saturday, $4
All shows at 10 p.m.
The Bottleneck
737 New Hampshire St.
Orangutan and Dall-Automatic, tonight, $4
Truck Stop Love and Todd Newman and the
Leatherwoods, tomorrow, $4
Blue Dixie, Friday
L. A. Ramblers and Limbo Cafe, Saturday For weekend shows, call 841-5483 for times and prices.
Branding Iron Saloon 806 W.24th St.
Elite Male Dancers, tonight
Prairie Fire, Friday, Saturday
Call 843-2000 for times and prices. .
CAMPUS EVENTS
SUA MOVIE
Summer on the Hill'94
Reality Bites tomorrow, 9 p.m.
Campanile Hill, by stadium parking lot. Free
THE LIED CENTER
Jazz Ensemble Concert by Midwestern Music Camp, 7:30 p.m. Friday, free.
Concert by Midwestern Music Camp, 11 a.m. Saturday, free.