--- Tuesday, March 6, 2001 The University Daily Kansan Section A • Page 5 Carnaval to celebrate Brazilian traditions By Michelle Ward writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer The KU Brazil-Portugua Organization offers the University a history and cultural lesson this week through various activities and presentations. For the duration of Brazilian Week, the club's members will promote their homeland through food, dance and information. The week will culminate with the Carnaval, a huge celebra. BRAZIL WEEK tion at Abe and Jake's Landing, 8 E. Sixth St., Saturday night. The beginnings of the four-day Brazilian festival come in preparation of Lent, cramming as much partying as possible before the religious season, said Bruno Pleroni, president of the club and a Rio de Janeiro senior. Because of conflicts with the band and building, the club couldn't hold Carnaval before Lent, although Pieroni, who is also a cartoonist for the Kansan, said members were planning to sell 1,000 tickets to the party, which has grown steadily during its two decades in Lawrence. Club members will intertwine week-long events with daily functions, giving those at the University numerous chances to experience Brazil for themselves. Liberty Hall is offering a free movie rental of a Brazilian flick with the rental of another movie. Another special throughout the week is a display on the third floor of Watson Library showcasing Brazilian and Portuguese authors and crafts. in some universities back home." "Even Brazilians don't know how huge the collection of Portuguese-Brazilian authors is in Watson," Pieroni said. "There are books there we can't even find in some universities back home. The performances will begin Wednesday with a capoeira dance from noon to 1 p.m. at the Kansas Union Plaza. The dance by Axe Capoeira, a Kansas City group, will take the crowd back through time to the days of slavery in Brazil. The dance originated from slaves who practiced defending themselves when they attempted to escape their masters. To shield their real motives from their masters, they set their fights to music, combining martial arts and dance. "It's a physical way of playing chess," said Karen Lisondra, one of the performers. "It's also the historical roots of breakdancing, but it's a lot more disciplined than breakdancing." Brazilians will host a dance clinic for the upcoming Carnaval, giving students a chance to learn the native moves. Brazilian students will mostly instruct students in samba Thursday night at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, For more information about Brazilian Week, see the KU Brazil-Portugal Website at www.ku.edu/~brapo ON THE NET frove, a dance popular in northeastern Brazil, and forro, a couples dance, will also be on the bill. "We wanted to give people a little taste of samba before the dance," said Mariana Souza, vice president of the organization and a Rio de Janeiro senior. "We wanted to show people a little bit of everything." Friday will provide an array of activities for students. A live band, Malaka, will play popular Brazilian music at noon at the Kansas Union Plaza. The club will show the Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning film Orfeu Negro, which tells a love story under the back drop of Carnaval, Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Woodruff Auditorium in the Union. The day will conclude with the Brazilian night, from 6 to 9 at ECM, which will provide culture, art, food and music with a slide show. The program will be an informational fair with students setting up tables of their own interests. Souza, a journalism major, will share a table of newspapers, magazines and other literature. Other Brazilians and Portuguese will get into the act with their own interests as Antonio Simoes, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese, will present a slide show of the landscapes, people and cities of Brazil. The week will end with Carnaval Saturday night. Those who plan to attend can preorder tickets through the club's Web site, wwwku.edu/~brapo/, and pay the $10 fee the night of the event. The party, which will last from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., will feature the sounds of the Chicago Samba School. Edited by Jason McKee Broke,memberless and joking: Joe Walberg Fan Club By Danny Phillips writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer Are you a fan of Joe Walberg? Not many people are, judging by the official member tally of the Joe Walberg Fan Club at the University of Kansas. There's Walberg, of course. Then there's Brad Sager, one of Walberg's friends. And student body president Ben Walker is the club's treasurer. "Which is funny," said Walberg, Shawnee senior. "We don't have any money." "The club doesn't really exist." he said. ing the club official. So what exactly is the Joe Walberg Fan Club? According to its founder, nothing. Walberg first came up with the idea for his own farcical fan club "on a whim" when he was on the Student Senate Finance Committee. During the next few years, his friends would occasionally tease him about mak- "There's not a whole lot of social significance to it," Walberg said. "It's just 'Ha, ha. Look what I can do.'" Aaron Quis director of the Student organizations a n d Leadership Development Center, said student organizations needed to meet certain criteria in order to be officially recognized, and Walberg met that criteria. Walberg: started his own fan club at the University. All it took was three officers and an adviser who worked full time at the University. "They're legit and good to go." Quisenberry said. The club's adviser is George Pisani, director of laboratories at the biological sciences division. But that's news to him. But that's news to him. Pisani said he didn't know who Walberg was. And he certainly didn't know anything about being the adviser of a fan club. Walberg, College Republicans vice chairman, explained: he tricked Pisani. Pisani is adviser to the College Republicans, and Walberg said he had Pisani sign a piece of paper under the premise that it was to help him start an online offshoot of the Kansas Review, a conservative publication that was started in 1999. That was the only time Walberg and Pisani had ever met, which explains Pisani's ignorance of Walberg's existence. running the club as a ioke. In Walberg's defense, he said initially he did plan to incorporate a satirical publication with the fan club, but he decided it would be more fun just to keep And for a club that doesn't exist, it's got quite a structure. There's the club Web site --- www.ukans.edu/-jwfc/ -- up and running for several weeks now, which Walberg maintains himself. So far it's been hit nearly 200 times. He said he found it humorous that any student organization was entitled to free server space from the University. "Even my stupid and frivolous organization can use up University bandwidth," he said. The Web site is Walberg's tongue-in-cheek view of the University and his club's stance on campus controversies, he said. For example, the Joe Walberg Fan Club isn't the biggest supporter of the Jawbow. "I think it's kind of a stupid waste." Walberg said. latte" while checking his e-mail latte while checking his e-mail. The site also has a listserve and information about a fan club "fund-raiser." His Web site says he would much rather have a cybercafe so he can sip a "double-cafe-mocha- Walberg and a friend are hoping to produce club T-shirts, complete with an original logo and the catch phrase "Most students drink 0 to 5 drinks when they party. Why be average?" "I'm trying to think of some inkers who owe me favors," he said. Of course, there's another fund-raising option that Walberg could legally explore — petitioning the Student Senate. "They'd probably do it," he said. "It's funny. They're not supposed to do that." Walker, who said he was a big fan of Walberg, signed on to the club as a joke. He didn't even know he held the treasurer position. "Joe has some problems with his self-esteem sometimes," kidded Walker. Edited by Joy Pilgree Hollywood Theaters SOUTHWIND 12 3434 DOWA 8433 ORRU **PATRAIN MATINEES INDICATED BY ()** **STADium SEATING * ALL DIGITAL** 1 Sweet November $^{35}$ (1:10) 4:20, 7:15, 10:05 2 Findin Forrester $^{35}$ (1:15) 4:15, 7:15, 10:05 3 Saving Silverman $^{35}$ (1:20) 4:55, 7:40, 10:05 4 4000 Hills to Graceland $^{35}$ (1:35) 4:25, 7:20, 10:05 5 Hammond $^{35}$ (1:35) 4:25, 7:20, 10:05 6 The Mexican $^{35}$ (1:10) 4:10, 7:05, 9:55 7 See Spur Run $^{35}$ (1:45) 4:10, 7:25, 9:45 8 Down To Earth $^{35}$ (1:20) 4:10, 7:35, 9:45 9 Recess: School's Out $^{35}$ (1:40) 4:30, 7:00, also. 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MOST KU STUDENTS DRINK MODERATELY OR NOT AT ALL 0-5 DRINKS WHEN TheyParty* About one drink per hour over a 5 hour period One drink = 12 oz. beer = 4.5 oz. wine = 1-1.5 oz. liquor WELLNESS GROUP - Based on survey responses from 1,459 KU students. Survey administered by the KU Office of Institutional Research & Planning (2000). If You Can Say "YES" to These 3 Statements: