Student employees of the parking department aren't popular with their peers. But writing tickets isn't sadistic sport, it's a job that easily fits into student schedules.
T
he KU parking department isn't the most popular entity at the University of Kansas.
"What sucks about this job is that everyone thinks I'm an evil man," he said. "People think we're all Nazis."
Not being able to find a parking space, getting a ticket or having a vehicle towed have left bad tastes in many mouths.
Contrary to popular belief, the department isn't out to get anyone, said Aaron Kabler, Lincoln, Neb., sophomore and a student ticket writer for parking.
Kabler doesn't know any parking employees who fit this stereotype. He doesn't get a kick out of writing tickets, Kabler, a business administration
major and a KU cheerleader,
major and a KU cheerleader, said he liked the job because it fit his busy schedule.
It is a cold morning, and he's in yellow Lot 90, south of Robinson Center, to write tickets.
"If I need a day off or want to work extra, it's not a problem," he said. "I don't get paid a lot, but they're so flexible with my schedule, I can't really not work here."
He starts with the meters. One has a note attached to it saying the meter isn't accepting money.
Kabler works about 25 hours a week. Driving from lot to lot in a parking control truck, he writes tickets, responds to parking complaints and radios for vehicles to be towed.
Photo illustration by Matt Flickner/KANBAN
Parking Department employee Aaron Shepard, Lawrence junior, writes 30-60 park ing tickets in a normal six hour shift.
Yellow writing on the
window shows that the car has been towed by the department recently, which makes Kabler skeptical. After another ticket writer confirms the meter is working, the ticket is written.
Walking down a row, he spots a permit with an expired sticker.
he has towed her car. He confirms that parking towed her car after a random hang tag check showed the car was an excessive violator.
"People hang the old tags up and park in the corner of the lot, thinking we don't check the stickers, but we do." he said.
As Kabler heads back to the truck, a slightly distressed woman asks him if
Any time a vehicle has three or more unpaid tickets, it is considered an excessive violator and is subject to towing.
"I get a lot of people who will swear up and down that they don't have outstanding tickets," he said.
Some people honestly forget to pay their tickets, Kabler said.
Other wrongdo-
wrilingly ignore tickets.
Kabler said one person wrote, "Hal Hal! Try to catch me," on a ticket and sent it back to the parking department.
"People naturally believe that it's not going to happen to them, especially if they've gotten away with it for a while." he said.
Kabler said 99 percent of the time, their luck runs out.
After cruising through a lot near Memorial Stadium, he responds to a parking complaint. Two vehicles needed to be towed, because they were parked in reserved spaces.
Kabler said having cars towed wasn't
something he looked forward to, because it involved a lot of paperwork. And about 60 percent of the time, the car's owner shows up in the middle of the tow.
Sometimes the owners cry or scream obscenities. One man even threatened to punch Kabler.
"No matter how much people yell at me or try to talk me out of it, once the tow truck arrives, there's not much I can do." Kabler said.
without $23 in cash on the spot, the vehicle will be towed.
Kabler said he tried to be as fair as possible when writing tickets.
"A lot of times, if I'm in the middle of writing a ticket and they come out, I'll
cancel the ticket," he said, "we go
their cars."
Rita Jordan, field and office supervisor for parking, parking had about 35 student ticket writers.
"When I hire them, I tell them to do their jobs fairly and consistently," she said. "I want them to be able to put themselves in the position of the people they ticket."
Jordan said ticket writers didn't have to write
a certain number of tickets every day.
"I won't even hear of a quota system, she said. "If I catch someone making mistakes and they're doing that, they're gone."
Even though he writes tickets and has cars towed, Kabler said he was no different than any other student. He is going to school and working part time.
"People think I'm a jerk and that I enjoy writing tickets," Kabler said. "A lot of people don't understand that I'm just doing my job."
'Relish' the women of rock
At the first hint of Lisa Loeb, Alanis Morrisette, or Courtney Love I go running for the Eurythmics and Sophie B. Hawkins.
It disguits me that the number of women visible in modern rock has much more to do with industry marketing strategies and images than actual feminine perspectives or empowerment. As long as it looks good, the way it sounds doesn't matter much.
If I hear "I've got one hand in my pocket..." the other is hurriedly changing the radio station.
music.
Prime example: MTV's "Ain't Nuthin'
And thankfully, some of those talented, lesser-known female artists are trying to swim up today's mainstream. Near the head of the pack is bluesrocker Joan Osborne, who brings her
widely talented band
t o Lawrence
tomorrow night when she opens
for folk-rockers
Rusted root at the Granada.
Osborne is enjoying the radio rotation of her major-label d e b u t a l b u m's first single "One of Us."
song's message is very interesting," Osborne says, "because you see yourself sitting on a bus, looking around at the people and thinking, 'What if God- and I don't mean it as Christ or whoever -were a slob, just like all the rest of us. I hear a lot of music these days that's expressing a lot of anger or self-hatred — and it's legitimate, don't get me wrong — but I feel there's a certain sense missing of just being happy to be around."
But Osborne's early career doesn't show a woman who was content to sit and wait for opportunity to arise. She worked low-paying jobs as a Fotomat clerk and a singing messenger in order to finance her record label, Womanly Hips Music. The quality of her early releases "Soul Show" and the e.p. "Blue Million Miles" attracted a storm of major label interest, and in 1993 she signed with Mercury Records. Her latest, "Relish," was released in March. Her next project, she says, will be a gospel album.
"The
Joan Osborne and Rusted Root perform tomorrow night at the Granada. Call for ticket information.
recipients of the award for "Best Lawrence Show That Nobody Went To." The runners-up are Mike Watt at the Granada in September and Quick-sand at Liberty Hall in August. Schtum (pronounced "schtoom"), a band from Derry, Ireland that
Sehtum Grow (Work). And now the
Discouraged is the last thing Schtum can afford to be right now. For a band that plays a complex blend of guitar rock that owes as much to Public Enemy and The Undertones as it does to Irish ground breakers U2 (also known to be big Schtum fans), reaching for American mainstream success will never be easy. But Schtum brings something a little something extra to the mix; they have a record with multiple-single potential and a seasoned, charismatic stage presence.
"Well, we didn't exactly expect to be greeted by thousands," said light-hearted guitarist James Cunningham. "Nobody knows our record yet, so we'll have to play some small shows for awhile. But we don't want to be the only people in the club night after night, and it does get awe bit discouraging."
played to a crowd of 25 Tuesday at the Bottleneck. The poor guys spent more money on the pool tables than they made from their cut of the door.
Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (Columbia). "In the darkest hole you'd be well advised, not to plan the funeral before the body dies..."
If the first lines of the new Alice in Chains album sound a tad bit defensive, it's with good reason. The band has endured myriad fan and media malignancies in recent months, not the least of which included rumors of a break-up
Until then, I suggest all interest in this band be directed to KJHK and the Lazer. Call and ask them to play "Skydiver" or "Big, Big City." And check out the album, "Grow." It's available at almost every local record store. Overall, out of 10:9
and a Lane Staley heroin overdose.
"The live show is really where we feel most comfortable," said bassist Ivan Birthistle. "A lot of debut albums don't represent what a band can do live, and that is definitely the case with us. We
Yes, Lane Stanley spent a lot of time on the Mad Season record in an attempt to battle his heroin addiction, but no, he
Alice in Chains
think our music is more suited to an American audience, because Britain is still smothered by the whole London Brit-pop fad. We hope that our live show can attract a little American attention to the record. We also plan to tour America as the opening act for a more established band in February."
hasn't abandoned Alice in Chains. He wrote most of the lyrics and a great deal of the music on the new album, and his trademark voice is in fine form. In short, reports of the band's death have been greatly exaggerated.
Robert Moczydowtyk's e-mail address
: mmozcdu@falcon.oc.ukans.edu
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 8A
Floyd's Funk Revival, with Caroline's Spine, 10 p.m., at
The Jazzhaus of Lawrence, 926 1/2 Massachusetts St.
Cost: $6.
Scott and Annie Tichener, 6 p.m., at Full Moon Cafe, 803 Massachusetts St. Tree.
Nightlife Calendar
Jazz Jam with the Craig Akin House Band, 10 p.m., at Full Moon Cafe. Free
Killer Bees, 10 p.m., at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. Cost; $5, $6.
Tonight
Tomorrow
Season to Risk, 10 p.m., at The Bottleneck. Cost: $4, $6.
Floyd's Funk Revival, with Caroline's Spine, 10 p.m., at
The Jazzhaus of Lawrence. Cost: $6.
A rave, "One," 10 p.m., at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St. Cost; $10.
Rusted Root, with Joan Osborne, 8 p.m., at the Granada Theater, 1020 Massachusetts St. Sold out.
Carol Dressler, 6 p.m., at Full Moon Cafe. Free.
Benito's Blues Band, 10 p.m., at Full Moon Cafe. Free.
Sunday
Thinking Fellers Union Local #282, 10 p.m., at The Bottleneck Cost; $5, $6.
Lawrence Community Radio Benefit, 4 p.m., at Liberty Hall Cost; $4.
Lawrence Community Radio Benefit, 4 p.m., at Liberty
Lawn. Cost $4.
Monday
The Toasters, 10 p.m., at The Bottleneck. Cost: $10, $12.
Tuesday
Skunk Anansie, 10 p.m., at The Bottleneck. Cost $4; $5.
The Deal, 9:30 p.m., at the Granada Theater. Cost $5.
Poetry Jam with Matt Fowler, 8 p.m., at Full Moon Cafe.
Free.