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NOVEMBER 14, 1995
KU Life
Living Jayhawks
Steve Puppe / KANSAN
Danny Iskak, Jakarta,
Indonesia, sophomore,
and Janae Hanna,
Edmond, Okla., sophomore,
are two Jayhawk
mascots this year.
What life is like inside a KU mascot
By Phillip Brownlee Kansan staff writer
Danny Iskak had never seen a mascot until he came to the United States last year.
Now he scrutinizes them.
"I went to a Chiefs game, and I watched the mascot and not the football game," the Jakarta, Indonesia, sophomore said.
But Islak doesn't have some fake-fur fetish. He's just getting pointers for his other profession — being a Jayhawk mascot.
**"I watch them to see what they do and how they walk," he said.**
Iwachak is one of six KU students who don the Jayhawk costumes. And even though it might not seem tough, being a mascot is a difficult and sometimes dangerous occupation.
"It's a lot of work," said Alee Martens, Buhler junior and one of the Baby Jays. "We sometimes don't get credit for how much we do."
Along with Iskak and Martens, this year's mascots are Kevin Angell, Lawrence senior, Sara Jarrell, Lawrence junior, and Janae Hanna, Edmond. Okla. sophomore.
The students, who are not paid for their athletic appearances, were chosen last spring at an audition that included a 12-minute run, an
"They say things like 'Baby Jay, your tall's on fire' and you have to respond." Martens said.
About 40 people tried out to be a mascot, which is a far cry from 12 years ago when Elaine Brady, spirit squad coordinator, first came to the University.
You had to beg people to be the mascot, and part of the problem back then was that the suits were heavy. The current costumes, of which there are four, are much lighter, weighing only eight to 10 pounds.
"You had to beg people to be the mascot," she said
But that doesn't mean it's easy being inside them.
"During an average performance, you sweat five to 10 pounds," Hanna said.
And since only the outside fur can be washed, the inside foam core gets pretty dissturing.
"It doesn't smell very good, but you stop noticing it after a while," Hanna said.
To make the mascot more bearable, the students met with Lynne Mixson, sports marketing director, and designed a new, fully washable suit that is being constructed by a South Carolina company.
The new costumes, which cost $1,500 to $2,500 apiece and are scheduled to be unveiled at the UCLA basketball game on Dec. 2, will look more like the mascot logo and will be even lighter.
"It will be a lot more wearer-friendly," Mixson said.
The suits also will include a special "cool vest" with pockets for frozen packets and a built-in fan.
"Hoefully the fan won't hit my head." Iskak said.
Besides being hot, another challenge of the costumes is poor visibility. The students can only see out of the eyes of the Baby Jay and the mouth of the Big Jay.
You can't see straight in front of you," Martens said. "You have to be 'ul not to run into kids."
The mascots also can't see themselves, which can sometimes be embarrassing.
At a basketball game last year, Martens was taking a break when a time-out was called. She quickly put the Baby Jay head on and ran onto the court
The problem was she forgot to zip up her suit. And she wasn't wearing much underneath.
"I was dancing around with my skin showing," she said. "The only reason I knew it was unzipped that was that I could feel air."
Martens was hit on the head with a whiskey bottle at a home football game, Hanna got pushed around by some Sooner football players, and other students have been attacked by fans and band members at away games.
It knew it was unhappy that I could feel
But being a mascot also can be dangerous
As a result, the mascot frequently has its head punched and tailed pulled and gets rough-housed.
But the worst abuse can come from kids.
Still, even with its dangers, the students enjoy being a mascot and often experience a personality change inside the costume. ___
"They are just trying to be friendly, but it gets aggravating." Martens said. And swearing at youngsters is forbidden.
"You put on the suit and you're a completely different person," Hanna said. "You create your own personality."
The students also catch themselves taking on the character of the muscot.
"I smile when people take my picture, even though they can't see me," Martens said.
The Jayhawk experiences its own type of evolution
By Phillip Brownlee Kansan staff writer
Team mascots can be controversial these days. So the University of Kansas is fortunate to have a mascot that is popular, unique and not offensive to any ethnic group.
"The Jayhawk is our most visible and unique symbol," said Richard Konzem, assistant athletic director. 1912
The only problem is, many people don't know what a Jayhawk is or how its name originated.
"I have no idea what it is," said Julie Rashid, Potomac, Md., junior. "I just learned what Rock Chalk was."
The term "jayhawk" was used as early as 1849 and was believed to have been derived from the names of two common birds in the West — the hawk and the blue Jay. 1920
But when the term was first used in present-day Kansas in about 1858, it was associated with robbing, looting and general lawlessness.
During the Civil War, however, "jayhawkers" was the name given to the First Kansas Cavalry. Soon the term became associated with the comradeships and courage shown during fights to keep Kansas a free state.
In 1886, the University adopted the mythical bird as part of its school yell. And by the 1890s, birds of one sort or another were used to represent the University. 19
The cartoon Jayhawk was first drawn in 1912 and evolved in ensuing years into various shapes with various expressions. The current Jayhawk was drawn in 1946 and is sometimes referred to as the Sandy Jayhawk, named after its artist.
1929
"The old Jayhawk looked strange because it's all legs," said Monique Clumsky, Lawrence senior. "The current Jayhawk looks tougher."
The Jayhawk costume didn't make its debut until the Kansas-Iowa State football game in 1953. That original 6-foot-4 costume came equipped with large plastic eyes that lit up whenever the Jayhawks scored.
Baby Jay was hatched in 1971 during halftime of the Kansas-Kansas State football game. A large blue egg was pulled to the center of the field while the band played the theme from the movie, "2001: A Space Odyssey." 1941
"I like Baby Jay the best because it can move around and dance more," Rashid said.
On Dec. 2, at the Kansas-UCLA basketball game, the latest version of the KU mascot is scheduled to be unveiled.
So once again, the Jahawk will change. But in doing so, it will add to a rich and unique heritage that many alumni and students cherish.
The new, redesigned Jay-
hawks should look more like
the cartoon drawing, particu-
larly in the eyes and chest, said
Alee Martens, Buhler junior and a current Baby Jay.
LEAD STORY
The Houston Chronicle reported in September on the growing support among American Muslims for once-accused child molester Kissar Dras-Krani.
niqui of Plano,
Texas. Krasniqui,
an Albanian-American,
was arrested in
1898 after witnesses reported him
fondling his 4-year-old daughter under
her dress, and state authorities moved in
the girl' and her brother with a Christian family. In 1994, after numerous delays,
charges were dropped against Krasniqui when prosecutors became convinced that because parent-child sex is so unimaginable in Albania, parental fondling — even genital fondling — is accepted. (Muslim critics said such fondling is correctly forbidden among Americans because pedophilia is so common here.) Despite not facing charges, Krasniqui and his wife have been denied the return of their children.
THE CONTINUING CRISIS
Earlier this year in a study of the psychological well-being of 91 Canadian customs officers, researchers from the Kingston (Ontario) Sexual Behavior Clinic concluded that the officers
whose work consists of looking at pornography all day showed no ill effects. (Canada generally has stricter laws against pornography than most U.S. states because authorities more readily accept the belief that viewing pornography is dangerous.)
A Texas district attorney said that more than 100 prosecutions for drug possession were in jeopardy because defendants had the good sense after their arrests to pay the state "drug tax." The legislature enacted the tax in 1989 to help law enforcement, but a court ruled recently that to both collect the tax and prosecute the defendant would be an unconstitutional double jeopardy. The latest case was the August
In September, the Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Kalmar, Sweden, applied for a permit to hook up the crematorium in its memorial park with its other buildings. The church wants to use the heat from the crematorium to warm the other buildings inexpensively.
In October, Juanita Winston, 27, fresh out of jail on probation and child-support violations, looked up her old boyfriend, William Narr, in the Norristown, Pa., liquor store where he worked and tried to persuade him to resume the relationship. According to
dismissal of charges against San Marcos college professor Harvey Ginsburg, who had paid a $2,450 tax on 11 ounces of marijuana.
.
police, Winston — who outweighs Narr by 40 pounds — threw him onto a truck ramp in the back of the store, broke 23 liquor bottles, wrapped him in an apron and sat on him for more than two hours until he agreed to reconcile.
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The Minnesota Gambling Control board voted in July to OK for public use the latest gambling machine from Scientific Games of Atlanta. Played with cards dispensed from the machine, the game involves pull-off tabs that reveals to winners three red lips and is called Kiss My Butt. And in July in Lapeer, Mich., a judge turned down the namechange petition from disaffected, 55-year-old John Jakubowski, who wanted the legal name Kiss My Ass.
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