campus
calendar
Nightlife
Nightline
Benchwarmers Sports Bar & Grill
1601 W. 23rd St.
Swap Octopus, 9 tonight
November, An Acoustic Duo, 9
p.m. tomorrow
Baghdad Jones, 9 p.m. Saturday
The Crossing
Dos Hombres
814 New Hampshire St.
Eight Men Out, 9 p.m. tomorrow
The Jazzhaus
Bartley's Dream, 9 tonight Toe Truck, 9 p.m. tomorrow Tenderloin, 9 p.m. Saturday Doe Hommes
926 1/2 Massachusetts St.
Easter Day, 9:30 tonight
Big Hat, 9:30 p.m. tomorrow
Limbo Cafe, 9:30 p.m. Saturday
Poetry Slam, 7-10 p.m. Tuesday
The Bottleneck
Free State Brewery and Pul
636 Massachusetts St.
Free State Jazz Quartet, 7-9 p.m.
tomorrow
737 New Hampshire St.
The Nixons, Gigolo Anuts, 9
tonight, $4
Uncle Tupelo, 9 p.m. tomorrow,
over 21, $7, under 21, $8
The Millions, Grumpy, Turquoise
Sol, 7 p.m. Saturday, $4
Granada Theater
1020 Massachusetts St.
1020 Massachusetts St.
Marquei Jordan, 8 tonight
Flamante, 9 p.m. tomorrow
Common Ground with November,
8 p.m. Saturday
Hockenbury's Tavern
New Ridgid with Rising Lion, 10 tonight. $3
The Twistoffs, 10 p.m. tomorrow,
Monterey Jack, 10 p.m. Saturday,
both $3
Open mic, 10 p.m. Sunday Full Moon Cafe
803 Massachusetts St.
803 Massachusetts St.
Technicolor Yawn, 8:30 tonight
Atomic Sideshow, 8:30 p.m.
tomorrow
The Tommy Johnson Experiment,
8:30 p.m. Saturday
Movies
Liberty Hall Cinema
642 Massachusetts St
Thursday through Friday
University Hall Cinema
Orlando (PG-13), 5:15, 7:15, 9:15 p.m., with an additional 3:15 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday
Dickinson Theaters
2339 Iowa St.
Malice (R), 7:10, 9:50 p.m
For Love or Money (PG-13), 7,
9:30 p.m.
The Fugitive (PG-13), 7:05, 9:55 p.m.
Malice (R), 7:10, 9:50 p.m.
Manhattan Murder Mystery (PG),
7:10, 9:40 p.m.
The Program (R), 7:20, 9:45 p.m.
True Romance (R), 7:15, 9:50 p.m.
Varsity Theatre
1015 Massachusetts St.
Demolition Man (R), 5, 7:30, 9:45 p.m.
Hillcrest Theater
Ninth and Iowa Streets
Cool Runnings, (PG), 5:15, 7:30,
9:30 p.m. Gettysburg (PG) 7.p.m.
Bronx p.t. (R), 5:15, 9:30 p.m.
Age of Innocence (PG), 5, 8 p.m.
The Good Son (R), 5:15, 7:30,
9:30 p.m.
Heart and Souls (R), 5, 7:20, 9:30 p.m.; Son in Law (R), 5, 7:20, 9:30 p.m.
31st and Iowa Streets
This brick-lined tunnel under Wescoe is one of many maze-like catacombs winding beneath campus. The tunnels, which deliver steam and phone lines to each building on campus, run for 6.5 miles.
John Gamble/ KANSAN
The sprawling tunnels
They are also deadly catacombs carrying power lines with 5,000 volts and scalding hot steam lines.
The doors are spot welded and locked, and anyone caught inside would be charged with criminal trespass.
By Sara Bennett Kansan staff writer
The arched, brick-lined tunnels that snake under students' feet as they walk to class each day resemble scenes from such dark classics as Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. Those who brave the clustrophobic darkness of the "KU catacombs" might expect to see a misunderstood fugitive scurry past or hear the screams of a maiden spirited by a disfigured musician to his mystical underground lair.
But those eerie tunnels are no refuge for obsessed phantoms or fugitive revolutionar-
lies. The tunner system underneath the KU campus is the lifeline of the University. Its veins supply heat, power and telephone lines to the entire campus.
The earliest and most gothic tunnels in the "catacombs" as they are sometimes called, date back to 1898. Six and a
Porter explained that thrill seekers had more to fear in the tunnels than the snakes and the three-inch cockroaches sometimes found there.
half miles worth of new and old tunnels now wind their way to each building on campus, housing the University's power, telephone cables and steam lines.
"They're risking their lives," he said. "Anything mechanical or electrical can happen and you could be trapped down there."
And it's hot down there. The temperature in the tunnels is 120 degrees in the winter. A University Daily Kansan article dated Oct. 15, 1951 reported that athletes used to exercise in the tunnels to lose weight.
"They virtually touch every building on campus," said Bob Porter, associate director of plant maintenance for facilities operations.
Porter said the power lines in the tunnels held as many as 5000 volts of electricity. The steam pipes contain 350 degree-stream under 125 pounds of pressure. Should one of these lines break, the scorching steam will chase anyone in the tunnels to the nearest exit.
The new concrete tunnels are about 7 feet high. Some are 3 feet in diameter and lined with brick or shale. The tunnels run so deep that radio waves cannot penetrate them.
"There's a lot of places where it's so hot you can barely breathe," said Vernon Haid, physical plant supervisor.
The underground tunnel system can be accessed through buildings and manholes, even a doorway in the side of Mount Oread. But all entrances are locked and spot-welded to keep out unauthorized explorers.
"You literally can't run away from it," Porter said. "We've had workers burnt."
One can add to the mechanical
add to the treacherous and steam-related dangers the fact that the tunnels are dark and narrow, forming a maze of sharp twists and turns. Anyone unfamiliar with the tunnels could easily get lost. Should an accident occur, no one would
Because the tunnels are so dangerous, anyone caught in them will be charged with breaking and entering and criminal trespass, Haid said.
Porter said no one had been caught in the tunnels recently because of improved security. But past evidence indicates that people have been down there anyway.
The tunnels also provided a more practical use when students used the crawl space leading to Allen Field House to sneak into basketball games, Haid said. Present-day students should not get any bright ideas, though. Since the ploy was discovered, the field house tunnel entrance has been sealed off and a guard posted nearby.
Porter said workers had found colored light bulbs, graffiti and evidence of underground beer parties in the larger tunnels.
Although the "KU catacombss" seem the perfect place for pranks and macabre occurrences, both Porter and Haid said they were not aware that the tunnels had been used for cult or satanic activity. The closest thing to a ghost found in the tunnels was a large cat rumored to have made its home there.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
The catacombs are accessible through campus buildings, manhooks and outside entrances like this one, but locks and spot welding keep unwanted explorers out.
Porter said he understood that the tunnels were fascinating to students.
"It's gotten to be somewhat of a novelty," he said. "Of course everyone's adventurous and they want to see it for themselves."
Although KU students may never get to explore the "KU Catacombs," they can appreciate this important part of the University every time they walk into a heated building or pass a manhole on Jayhawk Boulevard.
OCTOBER 7,1993
PAGE 7
People and places at the University of Kansas.
local music update
'Heavy Bag' party a hit with Stick Oct. 1 kicked off more than a new month for the local band Stick. It marked the official release party
for their new compact disc Heavy Bag, now available on the Arista label. The band signed with Arista Feb. 14, and the disc was released nationwide Tuesday. The party at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., was sponsored by Arista and New York popcom
"This party is completely flattering," said Stick vocalist Mark Smirl. "I didn't think this many people would be here."
Smirl said getting signed to a major label brought a mixed bag of emotions.
"When you do this you don't even think about getting signed," Smirl said. "Then it becomes almost inevitable and then it's a relief. It's like, 'yeah, I got signed. It'd be nice not to have a day job.' It doesn't hit all at once."
A tour is being planned, but for now Snirl and bandmates Mike Tobin, Darrel Brannock and Tim Mohn will play in Lawrence.
Boston folk singer to perform at Songwriters Weekend Saturday
Folk singer Ellis Paul from Boston will perform as part of the Songwriters Weekend Saturday at Harmony Hall. Paul has been featured on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." He recently won the Boston Music Awards for outstanding new folk/acoustic artist and is on a national tour. Local artist Rick Frydman opens the show. Friday's performances include Kim Forehand and L.J. Booth. Admission for each night is $6, and shows begin at 8 p.m.
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