KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2010 / HOMECOMING / 5C
EVENTS
Committee revives Canstruction, tweaks Jayhawk Jingles
BY TAYLOR LEWIS editor@kansan.com
Eleven months ago, 15 students came up with three new events to make for one memorable Homecoming Week. With more than 2,000 fans on Facebook and 500 followers on Twitter, Rock Chalk Road Trip has already exceeded the popularity of last year's homecoming, whose Facebook fan page peaked at around 1,000 people.
While the Steering Committee is gearing up for this year's celebrations, it has opted to add some new events and revamp some fan favorites, but it also has a new goal in mind with its increased media presence — to reach out to students who aren't necessarily involved in Greek Life.
"It's always kind of been perceived that homecoming's all about greek fraternities and sororites competing against each other, and the average student always kind of felt left out," said Kristopher Nielsen, the Steering Committee co-chairman for publicity and communications.
"There's absolutely no stipulation that a student organization that is non-greek cannot enter in any of the contests and they cannot participate in any of the events."
Both greek and non-greek students alike have a slew of new and revised homecoming activities to look forward to in the following week, including Construction, Homecoming Food Fest featuring Jayhawk Jingle, and hypnotist Frederick Winters.
CANSTRUCTION
Construction, which will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday on Wesco Beach, is an event in which student groups use canned food items to build a 3-D mural.
"Construction is a visible form of the Stuff the Bus," said Nielsen, a Leawood senior. "Groups will have the opportunity to take the huge volume of stuff they collect and build a structure out of it in adherence with the theme of homecoming."
Zach Mingo, homecoming campus outreach chairman, said Construction has been on hiatus
since 2006, but he and adviser Stephanie Gerson chose to bring it back for this year's festivities.
"Everyone knows what Chalk n' Rock is, but you have to dig a little bit deeper in your brain to figure out how you're going to make this mural," said Mingo, a Garden City junior.
Structures will be judged by a panel of University faculty and all the food items used will be donated to Stuff the Bus, an event where students try and fill a KU on Wheels bus with canned food items, which will then go to local food banks.
HOMECOMING FOOD FEST FEATURING JAYHAWK JINGLES
While these two events aren't new, they are receiving a makeover from the Steering Committee. In the past, students could enjoy a barbecue snack from Bigg's BBQ while listening to music, but participants can expect more variety in this year's event, which is at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
"This year, we're trying to make it two big events into one," Mingo said. "It's not just a barbecue with some songs. It's 'come taste local restaurants and enjoy some music while you're at it."
Although Bigg's BBQ will still be providing food, students can also expect a taste from Wayne and Larry's, Paisano's, 23rd Street Brewery, Mad Greek, and sugar cookies provided by Eileen's Colossal Cookies.
Students can also enjoy original music and songs relating to this year's theme from different student groups and organizations.
In addition to Jayhawk Ingles, there is also a new musical competition that students can look forward to. Since Colorado and Nebraska have decided to leave the Big 12, the University's fight song lyrics are no longer representative of its opponents. To fix this problem, the
Steering Committee is holding a contest in which students, faculty and alumni can come up with new lyrics to replace the verses that are no longer accurate.
"The fight song is a huge part of KU's traditions," Nielsen said. "It's gone over Traditions Night every night in the fall in Memorial Stadium. And some lucky person, or some creative person, is going to have the ability to make that their own song."
HYPNOTIST
FREDERICK WINTERS
Each year, Student Union Activities partners with the Homecoming Steering Committee to bring a nationally recognized
performance to the University. This year, hypnotist Frederick Winters, awarded best male artist by Campus Activities magazine, will be performing at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
Jeni Burrows, a sophomore from Belle Plaine, is SUAs event coordinator and helped snag the performance. After looking into magicians and other unusual genres of entertainment, she settled on Winters, a well-known hypnotist.
"It's going to be an incredible time and something unique that most people don't see performed," Burrows said. "Hopefully, it will be entertaining night and a unique way to spend a college evening."
With the addition of those three events, the Homecoming Steering Committee is hoping to draw in its usual homecoming crowd along with some new faces and a new mindset, one that will ensure everyone enjoy this year's festivities.
"We just want to let everyone know that this week is about them and they have the opportunity to come out and participate as much as they want," Nielsen said. "It's all going to be focused toward making sure that the greeks know they can participate, but the average student knows that they are equally encouraged to be involved with this."
— Edited by Anna Nordling
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