The Hill: Volume 3

VOLUME 03

THE HILL

FALL 2015

+ The Sole of a SNEAKERHEAD An inside look into the world of rare sneaker collecting

+Home Bar on a BUDGET Graffiti REBEL + Heartland HAUTE + THE HILL 1 volume 3

THE HILL

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57

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31 THE HILL

TABLE of CONTENTS STAFF

5

EDITOR’S LETTER

7

LIFE ON THE HILL

8

Home Bar on a Budget

9

Food & Drink

Sex & Relationships

Netflix and Chill When The Return Outweighs The Investment She’s Got Game

13 15 19

CULTURE ON THE HILL

22

City Guide Costume Play

23 25

Entertainment Art

Graffiti Rebel

Music

Young The Giant: Photo Feature

In Focus

31

Adventure Time

34

Game Day as a Marching Jayhawk The Sole of a Sneakerhead All is Fair International Fashion

35 39 45 47

STYLE ON THE HILL

50

Bean Boots On A Roll Blackout One Look, Two Budgets

51 52 53 54

Street Style

55

On Point New Year’s Eve Heartland Haute

57 65 71

Heard on the Hill

77

Trends

Cover photography by Abby Liudahl Modeled by Jack Soto

29

STAFF Our staff was feeling an air of nostalgia for the lost ruins of MySpace profile pics. Instead of completely digging up the past, we opted to mash our current Facebook pictures with the cheesy graphics of yore. We call it MySpaceBook.

EDITOR IN CHIEF Hannah Pierangelo

ASSISTANT EDITOR Aleah Milliner

CONTENT EDITOR Audrey Danser

MARKETING DIRECTOR Holly Kulm

WRITERS + CONTRIBUTORS Maddie Farber Colin Murphy Jazmine Polk Erica Staab Hannah Sundermeyer Chiaki Tomimatsu

PHOTOGRAPHERS Abby Liudahl Emma Creighton Ikeadi Ndukwu Sabrina Sheck Skyler Lucas

DESIGNER Allison Ellis

SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM Audrey Danser Madeline Farber Holly Kulm

EVENT COORDINATOR Mercedes Jellison

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EDITOR’S letter I don’t believe in love at first sight.

It’s a myth. A legend. It’s how I know if a rom-com book or movie is going to suck.

Because there’s no such thing.

I chalk it up to physical attraction.

At first sight, how could it be anything else? Love has to be more than that, because looks don’t last forever. Maybe love doesn’t either, but it still doesn’t happen all at once. Falling in love with someone, or something, takes time. Love is a castle, carefully built stone by stone, and it requires maintenance—tending to each delicate fracture in the wall until it is strong again.

When I first encountered Style on the Hill, I didn’t love it. Even when I began writing for Style on the Hill, I still didn’t love it. At most, I had only imagined that it would amount to another line on my resume.

But sometimes falling in love means changing your mind. After my first indepth feature, everything changed. I realized that I could write something of length and of quality, with spirit and voice and context—something that can’t quite be expressed in any other medium. I discovered a style of writing that made people care about something. I found my place here.

And I fell in love.

Style on the Hill is still young. It’s fresh, and moldable, and bubbling with potential energy. I wanted to harness it. I wanted to release it into the world.

One of my ideas was bringing the web content back to magazine format, namely to this digital issue.

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If you remember the previous issues of The Hill, you’ll find some familiarity in these pages. You’ll also find that a lot has changed. For this issue, The Hill is almost completely redesigned, taking on new categories from our website, a new font wardrobe, and a vibrant approach to design. I wanted to maintain the traditional look that I remember from the first issue I held in my hands, but I must admit it’s been a thrill injecting new life into these digital pages.

More than anything, I knew The Hill had to return—in any shape or form. The material published here is meant to capture the culture that’s thriving on campus. We aim to tell you a story of what’s it’s like to live, breathe, and bleed crimson and blue on the hill. That goes beyond just sports enthusiasm and school pride.

It’s knowing you belong.

I’m beyond proud of my staff and contributors for all of the excellent effort put forth to bring this issue to fruition. It’s been a long semester of hard work, but every ounce is worth it. We’re building a castle together. So to each of you reading: thank you. It is my deepest pleasure to introduce you at last to the newest installment of The Hill. ­

—Hannah Pierangelo

+WHEN THE RETURN outweighs the investment page 15

LIFE

on the

HILL THE HILL 8 volume 3

HOME BAR on a BUDGET

By Colin Murphy I thought he was kidding when my soon to be roommate called me and said, “Dude, I bought us a bar.” I became a believer once we loaded it into our living room this August. About a yard wide and upholstered in black faux snakeskin, I had to admit, it was a cooler place to sit my booze than I have ever had before. The problem that this gold-trimmed symbol of bachelordom presented us with is that when you tell people you have a bar, they expect more than two handles of green label Evan Williams in plastic bottles tucked into a fancy shelf. We needed to stock up, but as any student might understand, we didn’t have a lot of cash to blow.

Photography by Skyler Lucas Not everyone has a bar in their home, but as you’re reading this I’m sure you’re thinking of your own stash—in your cabinet, on your nightstands, tucked into the ceiling of your dorm rooms.

Most living spaces in Lawrence are a bar in their own right, but it’s daunting to move from a single bottle you nurse for a week or two to being able to produce a variety of cocktails.

So, to help you in this noble quest of getting drunk with a little more variety, here’s what I learned in my journey to create a home bar on a budget. The goal is to deliver as many classic drinks as possible with only a few items, and no plastic bottles needed. All prices are pulled from Cork & Barrel at Iowa and 23rd street.

MIXERS 101 For mixers, you can get about any brand and be okay. First thing you will want is limes. These will go in just about anything you are mixing—margaritas, mojitos, mai’tais, gin or vodka tonics, rum and coke. I mean it, once you have one with fresh lime, there’s no going back! While you are in the produce aisle, grab some mint leaves, as you will want those for mojitos. Club soda and tonic water are necessary. If you are unclear on the difference: club soda is sweet, tonic water is not. Simple syrup is worth picking up if you’re not feeling adventurous enough to make your 9 THE HILL volume 3

Food & Drink

own at home. This one is easy to forget, but if you have any sugar lying around, just look up how to make it yourself—it’s better anyway. Lastly, grab some OJ and cranberry juice, and you should be set.

Besides the essentials, it doesn’t hurt to stock a few extra things for when you are craving something in particular. Grab dry vermouth for a martini, some ginger beer for a Moscow Mule, and lemon juice to add to your Tom Collins.

VODKA

TRIPLE SEC

This should come as a surprise to no one. Few things mix quite as ubiquitously as a decent vodka, so it is definitely worth it to step up your game when it comes to this one. Luckily, the price jump from the bottom shelf to something you can stomach is not a large one. I recommend Boru, an irish vodka that comes in at a nice $20 a handle with 40% ABV and shoots as smoothly as it mixes.

Maybe the first thing you do not already have sitting on your counter. Triple sec is an orange flavored liqueur that you’re familiar with because it makes up the non-tequila component of your margaritas. For about $15, a 750ml of some DeKuyper Triple Sec can be all yours. When mixing with this stuff, start with your cocktail recipe and then add to taste.

Used In: –Long Island Iced Tea –Cosmopolitan –Moscow Mule –Caipiroska

Used In: –Long Island Iced Tea –Cosmopolitan –Margarita

In a pinch, mix with: –Any citrus soda –Cranberry juice –Orange juice –Tonic water

In a pinch, mix with: –Whatever drink you’ve already poured yourself.

RUM

Rum, like vodka, mixes with almost anything, but choosing between dark or light depends on what cocktails you plan on drinking or what mixers you’re most likely to have lying around.

Like laundry, you typically want to mix like colors, so for tropical drinks like Mojito’s which use lime and soda water, go with a white rum. If you’re not planning on drinking it straight, keep it simple with some Bacardi Superior, at about $12 a bottle. For spiced rums, when you’re feeling a rum and coke or a mai’tai, look no further than Sailor Jerry’s. It’s a little pricier, but it holds its own with any of the more expensive brands.

Used In: –Rum and Coke –Mai’tai –Mojito –Long Island Iced Tea

In a pinch, mix with: –Coke (spiced rum) –Any citrus soda (white rum)

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GIN

Gin has a long history that I won’t go into here, but the juniper berry that the liquor gets its name from makes this liquor pretty distinct. The obvious go-to here is New Amsterdam Straight, only $12 for 750mL. This gin comes across more citrusy than others, but it makes it easy to mix and, if you hate tequila like I do, a good replacement when it is time for shots.

Used In: –Martini –Long Island Iced Tea –Gin and Tonic

In a pinch, mix with: –Any citrus soda –Orange juice

LIQUOR LIST Boru Vodka Bacardi/Sailor Jerry Rum DeKuyper Triple Sec Jose Cuervo Silver Tequila New Amsterdam Gin SUBTOTAL

TEQUILA

My stomach churns a bit just from typing the word, but love it or hate it, tequila is essential to a lot of cocktails you’ll want to make. Namely, margaritas and Long Island Iced Teas. If you are anything like my girlfriend, I’ve listed 98% of what you order on a given night out, so it’s important that when you’re bringing this into your own home, you go for something worth stomaching.

Some Jose Cuervo Silver will get the job done, and at $20 for a 750 mL bottle, it won’t break the bank.

Used In: –Long Island Iced Tea –Margarita

In a pinch, mix with: –Honestly, just shoot it.

GROCERY LIST $20 $12 $15 $20 $12 $79

Fresh Limes Tonic Water Simple Syrup Cranberry Juice Dry Vermouth (Martinis) SUBTOTAL

Mint Leaves Club Soda Orange Juice Ginger Beer (Moscow Mules) Lemon Juice (Tom Collins) ~$20

There it is. For a total of just around $100, you can boast a home selection of cocktails that includes, but is not limited to, the Long Island Iced Tea, Margarita, Mojito, Mai’tai, Cosmopolitan, Moscow Mule, Martini (both gin and vodka), Rum and Coke, Gin and Tonic, Tom Collins and plenty more if you do some digging. Get your roommates together, pitch in a little cash, and go wild this winter break.

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WHAT SHOULD I DRINK

tonight?

By Hannah Pierangelo

What sounds fun right now?

Anything!

House Party

How drunk are you getting?

TOTALLY

A Casual Drink

Bar Hopping

Netflix

Dancing?

Pick one:

CITY

RUM & COKE

NOT TOTALLY BEACH SHOTS

Yes!

Pick a mixer:

LEMON

LIME

MARTINI

TOM COLLINS COSMOPOLITAN

GIN & TONIC

I’ll pass

MARGARITA MOJITO LONG ISLAND ICED TEA THE HILL 12 volume 3

Food & Drink

NETFLIX & Chill

By Jazmine Polk Photography by Sabrina Sheck

So…there’s this guy. He’s cute, he makes you laugh and you two are slowly entering the “get to know you” stage of dating, which fills your hopeless romantic mind with all kinds of possibilities. (If you are as bad as I am, you would have already mashed your names together and planned your wedding down to the colors and hors d'oeuvres.)

It’s getting late and you see his name pop up on your phone.

You carefully contemplate your response. You don’t want to sound like you have been waiting all day for his message (even though you have).

The response bubbles are speeding up, just like your heartbeat.

He wants to see you! You immediately head to the closet and grab that H&M dress you’ve been waiting to wear. You plug in the flat iron and begin putting on makeup (in your mind you two will be staring into each other’s eyes while sharing a milkshake like it’s 1952, so your brows will definitely need to be on fleek.)

Suddenly all your Disney movie fantasies disappear and you are brought back into the reality of our generation. You’ve heard the stories and seen the funny twitter memes, but you can’t believe it…you have officially been pulled into the Netflix and Chill phenomena. So, should you go?

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According to the article “‘Netflix and Chill’: the complete history of a viral sex catchphrase,” despite its recent popularity, the phrase “Netflix and Chill” was first used on Twitter in 2010. It was then just two separate words meaning “to watch Netflix, while chilling” whether that’d be alone or with company. However, as Netflix started to gain popularity in 2013 and soon had millions of subscribers in the U.S., what started as an innocent activity that cured boredom, became the new catchphrase for the “booty call.” I imagine that the first guy to ever pull this off spread the word by saying “Dude, all you have to do is turn on a stupid chick flick and the rest is history!”

Zack Smith, a senior from Chicago, Illinois, believes that asking a girl to “Netflix and Chill” is a less bold way to insinuate a hook-up. “Everyone knows there is a hidden meaning behind it. We might talk a little throughout the movie, but in the back of the guy’s head he’s most likely thinking ‘okay, what’s a good spot to make my move,”’ Smith says. “We’re hoping it leads to something.”

We’ve all seen (or been) the couple in the movie theater that spends more time tongue wrestling than actually watching the movie. Netflix allows that couple to stay in the comfort of their own room for only $8 a month, which is totally a steal if you’ve spent $10 for a movie lately. The convenience of Netflix made dating go from meeting up somewhere to watching movies alone together while he tries to figure out how to start the real entertainment.

Bentley Leonard, junior from St. Louis, Missouri, says guys ask girls to watch Netflix, instead of going on a date, because it’s a way to get her alone. “They are some horny motherfuckers,” she says. “If a guy asked me, I would say ‘You have to wine and dine me first’ before you can try to reach in my pants every five seconds during a movie.’”

It’s true that many guys use Netflix and Chill for

easy access to intimacy, but not all guys feel that way. Leon Cambridge, a sophomore from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, says that it’s a less intimidating way to get to know someone. “When I ask a girl to Netflix and Chill, I want to get to know her better, to test out how we vibe, and maybe cuddle if it feels right,” Cambridge says.

Some movie lovers are disappointed that Netflix is getting such a bad reputation. Johnny Caste, a junior from Wichita, Kansas says he avoids using the phrase all together because girls will think that his intentions are to get physical. “I think it depends on the guy,” Caste says. “Me personally, sometimes I just want to enjoy someone’s company while watching Friends so we can laugh together.”

So back to my question at the beginning: Your (not so) prince charming Netflix and Chills you; should you go?

I think you should trust your gut on this one. It helps if you

know what kind of guy he is, but make sure to set boundaries beforehand and let your expectations be known. Kathy Rose-Mockry, director of the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity, says that women should always have a backup plan in case a situation becomes uncomfortable.

“You should ask them to clarify what they mean, or maybe ask if a friend could join,” Mockry says. “Always make sure you have transportation and let a friend know where you are at all times.”

If you think something is going to happen that you are not ready for or if you aren’t comfortable with getting physical just yet, I’d advise you to unplug the flat iron, put your sweats back on and binge watch Grey’s Anatomy all by your lonesome. Plus, if he’s not willing to put in real effort by taking you out, then he’s not the one for you anyways. There is someone out there that will be happy to share that milkshake and will compliment you on your perfect brows; wait for him.

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WHEN THE RETURN outweighsTHE INVESTMENT An essay by Madeline Farber Photography by Ikeadi Ndukwu Modeled by Abby Liudahl and Austin Arenholtz We met on Broome Street, at some wanna-be Irish pub in Soho. It was summer, and I was in the city for my first internship. Surrounding the small, wooden tables was the working class of NYC coming for a postwork drink, mingling and shooting the shit with their co-workers. The sun was coming in from the windows on the right-hand side of the bar, that post 4:00 p.m. sunlight radiated off the beer glasses in the shelves behind the bar. I walked in, frazzled and, of course, 10 minutes late, which seemed to become a habitual tradition for me living in the city. And there, at the back of the bar, Jake stood. Although our parents, who are friends, had only showed us pictures of each other (quite awkwardly, may I add), this had to be him. He had a big smile, thick dark-brown hair, and gave that half-hand kind of wave when you try to get someone’s attention in a crowded place. He had green eyes and was still tan from the Europe trip he took with his best friends after graduating that past May. He was handsome, and charming, and was impressed when I ordered a Guinness. He worked in finance, he told me, and was starting full-time later that summer. Despite the fact I was dating someone else at the time, we be15 THE HILL volume 3

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came friends. Little did I know that a year later, my return would finally outweigh my investment. *** Flash forward to the spring semester of 2015. His name was Tyler, and we had been dating for about a year at this point. We were introduced by a mutual friend freshman year and started dating by second semester of our sophomore year. Now juniors, we both decided to study abroad. I was going to France, and he going to Spain. We had dated long distance during my time in NYC the previous summer, so I thought we could handle studying in separate countries.

Our relationship was full of passion, hysteria, and a lot, a lot of fighting. Something wasn’t right. I always felt on edge and needed reassurance for how he felt about me, never fully being able to take his word for it, as much as he showed me and told me he loved me, as much as I believed he loved me, and as much as I knew I loved him. So I made excuses, and fought for the relationship. It was worth it, I thought, for all the time and energy we had put into our friendship and relationship. He got me, on a certain level that not many others will ever be able to understand me. He

was understanding, and soft spoken, interesting, tum. I felt like I was and found me just as fascinating and different as I being strung along, found him. We opened each other up in every way, waiting for someone to exploring new things and fueling a chemistry that was either break my heart or to very much between us. But, with the other problems mend it. This was not right; this faced in our relationship revolving around insecurities, was not the way I deserved to be some of his personal issues, and our different emo- treated. tional needs, I wasn’t sure that the chemistry between *** us would always be enough.

I was in Berlin; it was early in the mornAfter deciding to stay together despite being in ing, and that night we were all headed back to different countries abroad, the true test was when we France. And, out of nowhere, a text popped up on went on spring break. We decided on a three-country my phone. It wasn’t from Tyler, but instead the boy I travel extravaganza, which, while planning, couldn’t drank Guinness and talked for hours on end with the sound more romantic or fun. Rome was particularly previous summer. amazing; I had never felt closer to him. There’s some“This might be a long shot, I know it’s early mornthing about traveling with a romantic partner that cre- ing in France, but are you up?” the text read. ates a bond that isn’t found elsewhere. But, by the time This was not the first time I had heard from Jake we got to Budapest, our last city, something wasn’t since the last summer. In fact, we had talked off and right. There was tension between us. To me, this ten- on for months after I had returned to KU and then sion emerged because of the amount of time, day-to- went abroad. It was innocent, catch-up kind of banday, hour-to-hour, traveling, sightseeing, sleeping, not ter, but for some reason, I couldn’t get those small sleeping, that we had spent together, inseparably, for conversations out of my head. I usually would push over a week. He left Budapest a few days later, and I them away, as my loyalty was to someone else. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something felt off. couldn’t shake him.

Regardless, I met up with friends from my program That day, he was making me laugh harder than I in France to go to Vienna had in the past week. I told and then Prague before finhim the situation, or a syn“Misery loves company?” ishing our trip in Berlin. We opsis of it; for some reason His next text read. had been fighting since he I felt safe in sharing this left, and I kept pressing him with him. His insight, even I erupted in laughter. to tell me what was up. Unthough not knowing the full able to get anything out of extent of the situation, was him, I angrily left the Wi-Fi in the hostel to explore comforting. He proceeded to inform me that two rethe amazing city that is Prague. lationships he attempted to pursue fell flat: One was a And then it happened.

Jewish girl who was super into yoga; the other a ChrisThat same day, after sightseeing and exploring, tian girl who attended church every Sunday, he told the people I was now traveling with decided to take a me. Needless to say, neither was his type. break in a Starbucks, and I connected to the Internet.

“Misery loves company?” His next text read. I Messages came flooding in, reading: “I think it would erupted in laughter. be best if we took some space right now.” *** My heart sank. I called him in a panic.

Tyler and I didn’t break up. After spring break was He was inconsolable, angry and unable to give me over, and we were both back in our programs in our any answers. I had heard him that upset and hysterical respective countries, we worked things out. However, before, but it had never been toward me. I got no an- despite this, fighting ensued. His coldness toward me, swers other than that we were not to talk for almost and his inability to apologize for how he made me feel two weeks. during the time we didn’t speak, led me to feel more My friends from my abroad program consoled me, distant from him than ever. But being with him was comforted me, and listened to me go over and over a comfort, one I probably subconsciously relied on the situation a million times. I could hear them get- during my time overseas. ting tired of the conversation, of hearing me ask the A few weeks later, it was early May and Tyler and I same questions I knew they didn’t have the answers met up in Madrid for a weekend trip. to, and giving me the reassurance that things would Things felt more normal, but there was hollowness work out between us. That’s when it dawned on me: it in my heart that I felt couldn’t be mended by him. had never been made clear to me if this was a tactic The next thing I knew, my time abroad was over, to just get space, or if this was him deciding an ultima- and I was back in New York City for another THE HILL 16 volume 3

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internship. This time, I was ready for the city; I felt seasoned, more capable, mature, and more in tune of what I wanted to get from it. I loved the city, and it waited a year for me to return so it could love me right back. *** I was anxious to see Jake; it had been a year, after all. So one of my first Friday nights back in the city he texted me to come meet him at a bar.

On the way there, I tried to fathom what seeing him again would be like. What I did not conceptualize in that zippy cab ride through the streets of the Financial District to the Lower East Side is that it would end up determining the following six months of my life.

After what felt like an eternity, I walked in, found him in a sea of people, tapped him on the shoulder, and seconds later I was swooped up in a hug and then dragged to the bar for an immediate round of drinks. But in that moment, when he turned around and we saw each other in the flesh for the first time since the previous summer, something was triggered.

Unsure of what exactly, both he and I can attest to being on the same wavelength in that moment: A fate was aligned, and 17 THE HILL volume 3

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something was going to happen between us.

We ended up talking all night, both still buzzed from tequila and cigarettes. It got so late that I crashed at his apartment.

Again, a sense of comfort and trust engulfed my soul and eased my mind as I fell asleep that night. *** I broke Tyler’s heart.

After we both were back in the states, our relationship deteriorated. I was in NYC, and I wanted to find myself again without the restrictions that would be placed on me because of a relationship.

I needed space, I needed to do my own thing, but I wasn’t sure how to do that without hurting him. It turned out that my attempt to not hurt him ended up breaking him.

Being abroad, as amazing of an experience that it was, was overwhelming in many ways. Each day, I woke up in a foreign world, so different than those around me, changing aspects of myself to better assimilate into French society. That, and ensuring my relationship with Tyler after spring break, was exhausting. New York City was my home; I have never felt so alive, so myself, so happy than when I was

in the city. So we decided to take some space, to have an open relationship that, once I was honest and told him about the boy in NYC that had stolen my heart, eventually turned into a breakup.

“When you pushed me away, you pushed me into someone else,” I said to him on the phone that night, teary-eyed and able to feel the crushing amount of weight that statement held. *** So, my summer fling with Jake continued. But by the beginning of July, I knew. I was in love with him, and this was no fling.

Jake was like no one I had ever been with before. I was like no one he had ever been with before. He was brilliant, witty, funny and confident, and knew what he wanted in this life. Which, in this case, also happened to include me.

He provided emotional stability. Our relationship was not stressful, and did not bring out my occasional neurotic nature as many others had. Rather, his tender, loving and light-hearted nature toward me soothed my soul and brought me a sense of trust I have never experienced before.

The relationship was healthy.

But he was stubborn, sometimes worse than I. He could be arrogant, and unable

to listen. He had never had his opinions, morals, beliefs or values challenged; I, a bigger and more worldly thinker, questioned everything, and wanted him to engage with me on certain issues that I deemed important, but he proceeded to inform me he felt were not. We differed on philosophical ideologies that would lead me to tears, and him to frustration, until he learned to listen, and I learned to say exactly how I felt without the fear of him backing away.

Jake challenges me.

He is exactly what I need right now. We make each other better; he makes me want to be better, to do better. For the ways that we can be so similar, there are ways that we could not be more different. But, that sense of stability, of dependence, I have never experienced before with anyone.

Despite being very much my own person, I’m not afraid to admit that there is a

comfort in that. I feel people are so guarded nowadays that we forget how to feel, how to let those emotions ebb and flow through us and know that the fact we are even able to gestate them is something so beautiful within itself.

Life is already so turbulent, especially during our years as a 20-something. And in a life that is so ever changing, so ever violent and so ever beautiful, his light-hearted nature, his ever-present happiness, is a constant in my life right now. And among all the things and people I am thankful for, for this, I am grateful as well.

So, I’ve shared my story. One in which I learned, found someone, got hurt, hurt someone, loved, lost and loved again. And it was beautiful. Love is not as incomprehensible as we like to think it is.

Now, I challenge you. I challenge you, as a 20 something in this world to love yourself, and find someone to love the version

of you that you are in this very moment.

Find resiliency in relationships and in love; and sometimes, listen to that feeling in the back of your mind when something feels right, and sometimes when something doesn’t. In the end, I’ve come to realize at 21 that all we have in this life are moments, as small and as fleeting as they may be. There is no promise of tomorrow, even with our tendency to take that for granted.

Sometimes it feels as though the world around us is endlessly spinning. Saying you can find a few faces in the crowd to ground you is all we can ask for in this world. I’m lucky to be able to say that I can count those people on one hand, Jake being one of those people in my life now.

Find a relationship; find a love that allows your return to be greater than your investment. It’s worth it.

—M.C.F

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SHE’S GOT GAME

By Jazmine Polk

There he was…waiting for the bus in the same spot he’s always in every Monday and Wednesday. For a week straight I had strategically stood a few feet away from him, hoping that one day he’d notice an attractive woman next to him and his hunting instinct would awaken. I tried everything to get him to notice me.

I dressed up, I changed my hair, I tried to make eye contact and I even broke out my nice yoga pants that make my butt look good, but nothing seemed to work. I started thinking maybe he had a girlfriend, maybe I wasn’t his type or maybe he just wasn’t inter-

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Photography by Ikeadi Ndukwu

ested, and I eventually gave up. “He’ll approach me if it’s meant to be,” I thought. A few days later I happened to be watching Kim Kardashian’s interview on Access Hollywood about how she met her husband Kanye West. “I thought he was going to call me once he knew that I was single again, but he didn’t. So I called him and then the magic happened,” Kim said. That’s when I realized I was going about this thing totally wrong…I didn’t need to get his attention, I needed to go get my Kanye. I waited till the next Monday rolled around and walked up to him. “Hey,” I said.

According to Women’s Health Magazine’s 2014 “What’s Sexy Now” survey, 55 percent of men said that it’s sexy when a woman aggressively pursues them. Since the beginning of time, pursuing was the man’s job. He saw a woman he was interested in and it was up to him to approach her, take her out and impress her. But a shift in social assignments and gender roles has changed the dating game.

Today’s woman is no longer a damsel-in-distress waiting for a prince to come sweep her off her feet and put a ring on it.

In a recent study on sex roles, psychologists Amanda Johnston and Amanda Diekman said, “The role changes that have been experienced by women in the U.S. reflect a move toward greater flexibility and less constraint. For example, women have increased their presence in formerly male-dominated roles and women have increasingly adopted agentic traits (e.g., assertive, self-oriented).”

Today’s woman goes and gets what she wants, whether it’s a head position at a company, the presidency or her future husband.

Alesia Woszidlo, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas, credits the change in the nature of dating to the digital age. “Women are being more outgoing because of social media and opportunities that may not have been there before,” Woszidlo says. There’s so much at our finger tips and it makes it easier for a woman to exercise her role.”

With dating sites like E-Harmony and Tinder, a woman can initiate interest without hesitating or fearing looking promiscu-

ous. Social media outlets like Twitter and Instagram also make it easier for both sexes to express interest with the direct messaging option and the “Women Crush Wednesday” and “Man Crush Monday” trends.

Guye Furula, a relationship blogger who lives in Lawrence, Kansas, says that she pursued the guy she recently dated because he took too long to make a move. “I think men are sometimes intimidated so they may like you, but don’t say anything. Women in the past would wait for a guy and say ‘oh I need to act like a lady’ but now-a-days women are bolder,” Furula says. “I’m gonna be the one to ask for the date if he’s too afraid.”

On the other hand, many men feel relieved and flattered when they are approached by a woman. Jonathan Fuller, senior, from Dallas, Texas, said the time a woman pursued him was a pleasant surprise. “She just came up to me and said, ‘you’re so handsome’ and asked for my number and I thought it was so cool that she was comfortable enough to come up to me; it shouldn’t always have to be on the guy,” Fuller says. “It also makes you stand out to us.”

As for me, after I said “hey” to my bus stop sweetheart that day in September, we connected instantly. He later admitted to noticing me too but not being sure how to approach me. Now a year later, let’s just say he’s my first and favorite “hey” every morning.

So, thanks Kim.

THE HILL 20 volume 3

GET YOUR GAME ON

If you’re thinking about that cute guy in your Chem class like, “How the heck am I supposed approach him?” Here’s some tips from fellow Jayhawks.

GUYE FURULA, 22 “If you’re too nervous to go for the kill, try dropping

hints along the way. Simply smiling and saying DO little ‘hello’ might make him think ‘wow she isn’t all over me like the other girls, I want to get to know her more’. I call it ‘throwing out bait.’”

DON’T

“Never change who you are to get a guy.

Hold onto the values that you have for yourself.”

SOPHIE WANG, 20

DO

“One of the things I do when approaching a guy is talk about something he’s interested in or compliment his outfit or shoes.”

“Avoid going in there too aggressive from the

to save you some rejection pain. Then DON’T start, if he says no, you can be like ‘who cares, I

didn’t want him anyways.’”

CONNOR BROWN, 21

DO

“Say what you feel. Tradition is lame. I don’t think it’s creepy for girls to talk to us first, especially if she’s cute.”

DON’T

“Don’t let your dream guy slip away because you were afraid of rejection. Pursuing is for both sexes now because of gender equality.”

JONATHAN FULLER, 22

DO

“Ask simple questions like where he’s from and his major, then end the conversation asking if he wants to go to lunch sometime or if he wants to text later.”

DON’T

21 THE HILL volume 3

Sex & Relationships

“Don’t ask personal questions too fast, it might scare him off, save those for lunch.”

+GRAFFITI rebel

page 29

CULTURE on the

HILL YELA lithograph and monotype on paper

By Zak Blatt THE HILL 22 volume 3

CITY guide

We love Lawrence for so many reasons—the best college basketball, the prettiest fall seasons, and an exciting music scene, just to name a few.

We put together a list of our favorite places to eat, drink, and explore here in our beloved college town.

By Aleah Milliner Graphic by Allison Ellis Photography by Ikeadi Ndukwu & Aleah Milliner

1

2

3

23 THE HILL volume 3

Entertainment

4

5

6

WHERE TO FIND:

4.

MERCHANTS

1.

7

SYLAS & MADDY’S

2.

THE ROOST

Sylas and Maddy’s: Homemade ice cream in almost every flavor imaginable! What more can we say? We recommend Rock Choc(olate) Jayhawk or Strawberry Shortcake.

The best breakfast in town for a great price? You can find it at The Roost. They serve up a delicious breakfast and coffee, and it all comes together in a quaint and cozy space.

Located at: 1014 Mass. St.

Located at: 920 Mass. St.

5.

WELLS OVERLOOK

Hit up Merchants for a really good cocktail. Also, they have some delicious food and great atmostphere. Don’t miss Happy Hour Monday-Saturday to get in on their sweet specials.

Wells Overlook Park offers a beautiful view of Lawrence. A quick drive south of town takes you to the quiet hill where you can picnic and hang out on the observation tower.

Located at: 746 Mass. St.

Located at: Wells Overlook Rd.

6.

BURGER STAND

Burger Stand is the go-to for burgers and drool-worthy dipping sauces (we’re talking marshmallow, guys). They also have late-night half price burger specials and a great beer selection.

Located at: 803 Mass. St.

3.

ALCHEMY

7.

MASS STREET SODA

Two words: Cold. Brew. We love the cold brew chocolate milk, which is especially perfect paired with a treat from the shop’s bakery. Another cool thing? The baristas make hot coffee drinks with beakers.

Located at: 1901 Mass. St.

Mass Street Soda sells 1,300 different types of bottled sodas. Plus they’ll make any soda into a float in the shop! Enjoy whatever’s playing on Netflix while you sip on your soda or a float at the bar.

Located at: 1103 Mass. St. THE HILL 24 volume 3

Entertainment

Costume PLAY

Words and Photography by Hannah Pierangelo

Modeled by Cassidy Huscher, Emery Blunk, & Cameron Chartier

On any given Tuesday evening, tucked into a corner classroom in Chalmers Hall, a handful of inventive students can be found crafting intricate items out of cardboard, fabric and foam. Items like scepters and masks, armor and clothing come together within this room, going from roughly designed sketches to fully formed replicas of costumes and props from characters in movies, comics, television shows, and videogames. This is what they call cosplay, and it’s here to stay.

25 THE HILL volume 3

Entertainment

Most people like to dress up in extravagant costumes and lavish makeup for Halloween each year. It’s the one holiday when even adults can be kids again. But for those who participate in cosplay, dressing up is a year round pastime.

Cosplay, once known as costuming, is a tradition at comic conventions across the country that’s more than 75 years strong.

Casual fans and diehards alike come together at local and national conventions dressed as their favorite characters from

pop culture media.

Google’s useful trend tracker finds that the term “cosplay” has been rising in popularity fast since 2007, with discernible spikes each July/August and October, most likely correlating to the need for inspiration and tutorials for crafting intricate cosplays for summer’s San Diego Comic Con, and of course Halloween.

San Diego Comic Con International is held each year in August and remains to be the world renowned mecca for comic

aficionados and cosplayers. Now 45 years old, this con packs more than 130,000 costumed fans and culture icons into the San Diego Convention Center. Attending this convention requires months of planning ahead, even just to acquire tickets (I tried last spring, and managed to get locked out from the complex purchasing system completely). Planning the actual costume could take even longer.

While Comic Con International remains to be the premier comic convention in the world, the popularity of the con has spread to regional and local communities as well. In Kansas, the latest additions are the Kansas City Comic Con, which launched its inaugural event just last summer, and Wichita’s Air Capital Comic Con, now in its third year. The Free State Comic Con here in Lawrence just celebrated a decade, while the regional anime convention, Nebras-Kon in Omaha, reached 12 years old this summer.

Here at KU, cosplay is brand new. Founded this semester by president Cameron Chartier and treasurer James Marx, KU Cosplay Club already has forty members of cosplay enthusiasts who wish to build their own costumes. Though still in its infancy, the club caters to hobbyists as well as enthusiasts, and gives people the time and creative space to work on projects.

The group shares skills and ideas like sewing, shaping cardboard and painting tips, during the twice-weekly

build meetings held in Chalmers Hall.

Cosplay traces its roots back to the first World Science Fiction Convention, also known as WorldCon, in 1939. This convention was held in conjunction with the New York World’s Fair with the theme of “World of Tomorrow.” The futuristic theme inspired attendee Forrest J. Ackerman to be the first person to dress up in costume at a convention, effectively sparking a three-quarter-century long (and counting) tradition.

Only 15 years later, wearing costumes to conventions was commonplace. Today, Ackerman is known as science fiction’s number one fan, as he dedicated his life to actively promoting the community.

At the time of the first World Con, dressing up at conventions became known as “costuming.” The term “cosplay” didn’t come into common vocabulary until the mid 80s, when the hobby became popular in Japan.

It was coined by a Japanese reporter, who turned the phrase in a 1984 article after attending the 45th annual WorldCon. In more recent years, we’ve seen the first World Cosplay Summit kick off in 2003 in Nagoya, Japan. This con holds the World Cosplay Championships, where representatives from participating countries compete in both costume quality and acting performance for the ultimate costume contest. Cosplay also makes its reality television debut in 2013, effectively pulling

THE HILL 26 volume 3

the tradition into the modern era with the SyFy channel’s Heroes of Cosplay.

Chartier, a sophomore industrial design/mechanical engineering double major, originally started the club as a way to help build his portfolio. With the goal of working as a Disney Imagineer in the future, Chartier wanted to practice making props and costumes at the level of quality required in the entertainment industry. He noticed there wasn’t exactly a class to prepare for that career.

“For me cosplay is important because it’s just a way of practicing for an actual career in prop building,” Chartier says. “[Plus] it’s an unusual hobby. There’s not many people who can say ‘I made a Captain America shield in my spare time just because I wanted to.’”

The shield is what initially sparked interest in cosplay, Chartier says. To buy an authentic shield, he says it would have cost

27 THE HILL volume 3

Entertainment

upwards of $600. Instead of paying for it, Chartier wondered whether he could make one for less.

Chartier says he now makes most of his costumes himself, and if he can’t make something, he’ll find someone who can.

“Store bought costumes are almost frowned upon in the cosplay community,” he says. For Chartier and most other members of the club, making the costume and the props by hand yields a better quality product.

Currently, Chartier is working on becoming Starlord, the protagonist of last summer’s blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy. He’s creating an incredibly detailed replica of Starlord’s helmet out of craft foam and PVC pipe. At first, the helmet is just molded foam, with added layers to create three-dimensional detail. Chartier spends his time at the build meetings carefully cutting and gluing foam shapes and

sanding PVC and red acrylic into eyepieces that eventually might light up, like in the movie.

All the members of the cosplay club say they often make their own costumes by hand—whether that entails simply making some props out of foam and painting them, or designing a pattern from scratch to sew a realistic replica of a dress.

“I like doing it for the craft, not just for wearing the costume,” says Danielle Hardesty, sophomore Illustration and Animation major and vice president of the club.

“It’s really fun to be able to wear your final product and transform yourself,” she adds. Hardesty says her favorite character to cosplay is Rose Quartz from the cartoon Stephen Universe. “She’s a strong warrior mother figure. She’s taller than everyone and most of the time that’s how I am around other females.”

Hardesty says she also tries to keep the

cost of her costumes pretty low.

Though she’s spent about $200 on a costume before, she says that’s not typical for her. One of her tricks for keeping down the cost is by going to Goodwill to buy plain-colored sheets for fabric, since they’re usually cheaper by the yard than buying new.

“Part of the goal of this club was to show that cosplay doesn’t have to be expensive,” Chartier says. For his Starlord helmet, Chartier estimates the entire thing won’t cost more than $40 after the finishing touches and a couple coats of paint.

Thanks in part to the massive success of the Marvel and DC superhero movies in the last few years, it seems nerdy is cool again. And a comic con is the perfect place to show off your nerd side. The cosplay community especially is a vital one, rich with enthusiasts of all backgrounds that come together to create replicas of beloved characters. And it’s not just comic book characters—video games and movie characters make appearances too. In fact, the most popular characters at last year’s San Diego Comic Con International were Frozen’s Elsa and Marvel’s Deadpool. Part of the popularity of the characters can most likely be attributed to Frozen’s recent release and massive popularity, and the expected release of the Deadpool movie in February, starring Ryan Reynolds.

“As soon as you go to a convention as a cosplayer, you suddenly are a part of this new cosplay community,” Chartier says.

He likes being able about to talk about the creative process behind builds with other cosplayers who understand the struggle of making a costume from scratch.

Despite the struggle, the final product seems worth it. Cosplayers all over the world come back for more, building multiple costumes to wear over several days of a given convention. For those who don’t build, attending a con in stylish geek wear is a hot trend as well, with stores like Hot Topic and Hastings selling nerd-themed clothing and collectibles. Plus, attending a convention is a great place to find ideas, meet other cosplayers, and get honest advice about starting a project. It truly is a passionate community of not just die-hard fans, but potentially new friends, too. Fire up that movie marathon—it’s time to find THE HILL 28 volume 3

GRAFFITI REBEL Interview by Audrey Danser Art by Zak Blatt

When Zak Blatt was a teenager, he rebelled through art—spraypaint which he took to the streets. Today, these graffiti origins have taken on a new identity through printmaking and creative entrepreneurship.

We sat down with the KU senior to talk about graffiti, style, and his vision for the future.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR STREET ART BACKGROUND. ZB: I was thirteen years old and I thought graffiti was really cool. I liked the movement of what people could create with spray paint. I was attracted to anything that was dangerous and that was really cool because I thought I was a bad ass. So I stole some spray paint and I went out and started painting.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO PURSUE GRAFFITI ?

ZB: The moment I decided I wanted to do graffiti for sure was when I got the opportunity to see [an] Andy Warhol exhibit. I had never even heard his name. And I walked through [I] thought, this is incredible. I loved how obnoxious he was and I had never thought about art that way. And I was like, I know this is going to be a part of my life forever and I'm going to start taking this shit seriously...but not too seriously.

This was the first time I saw art that wasn't illegal, and from that, I thought the possibilities were endless at that point.

29 THE HILL volume 3

Art

Strawberry Facial FACIAL STRAWBERRY screen print screen print

By Zak Blatt

TELL US ABOUT SOME OF YOUR MURAL WORKS? ZB: I've done a couple of commission murals. Working with spray paint is definitely one of my favorite mediums. People seem to be so impressed by it...One mural I did at a corner store around the corner from where I grew up and it had a bunch of shitty graffiti all over it. If you're just doing these one liner chicken scratches, at that point, it's just vandalism. You know, take your time. Create something awesome and amazing. There's kind of an unwritten rule. Most artists with any credibility know that you don't write on small business owners businesses or people's homes. You go to some abandoned building and you find a big ass wall, and that's where you can put your work. You don't want to do anything that will really do harm to people. That's not what I'm about. I hope that everything I create, provokes some kind of thought, whether it be positive or negative. At least I made you think.

HOW HAS YOUR STYLE PROGRESSED? ZB: The graffiti thing is really my origins and then now it’s more of the fine art, pop art style. As the years have gone by, I've been sort of drawn to canvas and other subject matter with less graffiti lettering in my work, and it's more sort of urban pop art. So now you could look at some of my work and not even know I was a graffiti artist. I think why I'm drawn to such shocking materials is that people take art too seriously. Every class I've ever been in they tell you that you need to evoke deeper meaning and all of this bullshit.

But what if I just draw something dope and it looks fucking dope? Do you really need more? People put these strict rules on art and it doesn't have to be that way.

YOU’RE IN YOUR FIFTH YEAR OF STUDY. WHAT’S YOUR NEXT STEP? ZB: I want to move to LA and start a clothing company and an art gallery where I put on other artists as well as my own work. I just want to put on a scene. I want to bring people together and really create something awesome. I love art, right, but I think most art out there is terrible. If I'm able to give people the opportunity who are talented and aren't well known to sort of give them a kick start, that would be rewarding.

WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT YOU AND YOUR WORK? ZB: I need art in my life and I wouldn't be who I am without it. I came from delusional, idiotic, rebellious kid and I've grown into someone who wants to give back to the community. Maybe someday I'll get some other dumb kid out of trouble and teach them the right way.

THE HILL 30 volume 3

Art

YOUNG THE GIANT

Photography by Sabrina Sheck 31 THE HILL volume 3

Music

THE HILL 32 volume 3

Music

Young the Giant played in Lawrence at Liberty Hall on November 12th. The band was full of energy all night; just what you’d expect from the relentless alt-rockers. Vocalist Sameer Gadhia led the evening in an intricately patterned sequin blazer. The band danced on stage all night, playing the best hits from their self-titled album, as well as material from their latest release, Mind Over Matter.

The crowd sang loudly along to hit favorites, like “Cough Syrup” and “My Body,.” After that evening’s electric performance, you won’t want to miss the next time Young the Giant plays LFK. 33 THE HILL volume 3

Music

ADVENTURE Time

Photography by Skyler Lucas

IN FOCUS

A picture’s worth a thousand words.

Some days you need a dose of adrenaline. Don’t worry—adventure isn’t out of reach in Kansas. Get a rush from soaring high above the beautiful landscape with a day of ziplining. It’s the closest you’ll come to flying.

THE HILL 34 volume 3

In Focus

GAME DAY AS A

MARCH

J A Y H A 35 THE HILL volume 3

HING

A W K

It’s 6 a.m. and still dark as I drive around the Chi Omega fountain headed to Memorial Stadium on my way to meet the KU marching band. The temperature gauge in my car reads 42 degrees. It’s gameday, and while many students are still sleeping, campus is abuzz with activity as preparations for the 11 a.m. kickoff begin.

In the stadium, the big screen lights up the field enough to see nearly 300 band members, sleepy and excited, stumbling around. To the Marching Jayhawks, this is their field, and this is their gameday.

Rehearsal begins promptly at 6:30 as the band lines up in the dark in military straight rows for attendance.

Then the music starts as the band runs through their pre-game and halftime shows. The stadium slowly comes to life as the sun rises.

The band wraps up practice around 8:30 with a team huddle. They gather around and listen as Matthew O. Smith, director of the Marching Jayhawks since 2011, gives instructions and words of encouragement. Then, some of the musicians split off to play at the Alumni Center and the drumline marches toward the Campanile to entertain the early bird tailgaters. The rest of the band heads towards the Union, where they meet in Woodruff auditorium at 9 a.m. for “Visualization” and uniform check.

“Sit down and close your eyes,” Smith says as the band members, now fully decked out in their uniforms, settle into auditorium. Smith leads the band in visualizing the show, instructing the members to sing their parts and concentrate.

When their eyes flutter open, it’s 9:25 and almost show time. But first, uniform check. This year, the band has brand spankin’ new uniforms they purchased after copious amounts of fundraising. A small group of students are in charge of making sure each

Words and Photography by Erica Staab

THE HILL 36 volume 3

musician’s uniform is up to standard before marching down the Collegiate marching bands grew out of the ROTC programs hill. that were often required at large universities. There was a need for Shoes shined and pearly white, check. White socks, check. entertainment at football games, and the ROTC marching band Plumes fluffed and hat on straight, check. Buttons buttoned and filled that role perfectly, Smith says. hooks latched, check. Spotless white gloves, check. Each member Over the years, many of the strict militant aspects of the is inspected head to toe by the uniform patrol, who lug around marching band have fallen away and given rise to a more creative, suitcases full of extra uniform parts in case of emergency. And less structured marching style. This includes the fancy maneuthere always seems to be a emergency, says Rachel Frisch, a Senior vers and pictures (formations) the band often will form in their from Dallas, Texas. halftime shows. But other military aspects have stuck, such as the Once the uniform check is complete, the band makes their hierarchy of leadership that organizes the band. way out of the Union and to the top of the hHill that overlooks Writing the drills and putting together the show takes dozens Memorial Stadium. of man hours, Smith says. The band pracFrom this point on, all eyes are on tices, perfects and performs anywhere “From this point on, the band. Slowly at first, the band forms from four to six shows each season. As all eyes are on the band.” rows and beings to march to clicks, rim far as picking the music goes, the students shots played by the snare line. Left, left, have some input on what they are going left right left, they march as tailgaters and supporters cheer them to play. The next show the band will be working on will feature down the hill from the Campanile. When they reach the southern songs from the James Bond and Star Wars movies. entrance to the field, the band stops to play as the dance team and Like everything else at KU, the Marching Jayhawks are groundcheerleaders perform alongside them. ed in rich traditions. Hog-calling is a tradition that began long ago The modern day marching band’s purpose is to entertain the when a few members of the marching band, who also were apart crowd and support the team during football games, and that is of a barber shop quartet, began to sing “Hog Calling Time in Nejust what the Marching Jayhawks do. This tradition stems from braska.” Before long, it caught on and the band now gathers just a long history tied to the military, Smith says. Over the centu- inside the stadium before each game to sing together. ries there were military bands that played music to signal troops When hog calling has finished, the musicians begin to funduring battle and help develop spirits in the ranks of the military nel into the tunnels leading into the stands and down to the community. field. This is where they enter for the pre-game show that starts 37 THE HILL volume 3

approximately an hour before kickoff. When the time hits, the Marching Jayhawks hastily make their way down the stairs to the cheers of the crowd. When the show is finished, the band marches off the field and up into the stadium.

By this time it has warmed up considerably and after removing their hats and heavy uniform jackets, the band immediately begins to entertain the crowd of football fans. “Home on the Range,” Philip Kaul, drum major from De Soto, Kansas, shouts through cupped hands. The command is echoed up the stands until the entire band knows what song is next. Eyes trained on Karl, they wait for his cue to launch into the tune. This pattern is repeated at every break in the football action.

The big show comes at halftime. With four minutes left on the clock, the band members button up their jackets, straighten their hats and begin to position themselves around the field. Once on the field, they perform with pride. These are the moments they have spent hours rehearsing for. The Marching Jayhawks rehearse at least 6 hours a week, Frisch says, not including game day. But it is all worth it to know they are an intricate part of the game day experience.

Becoming a part of this game day tradition only requires your time, dedication and participation. There are no auditions unless you want to be a part of the drumline, colorguard or a twirler, which all require extra rehearsals apart from the rest of the band. Not a music major? No worries. Only 20-25 percent of the Marching Jayhawks are music majors. Though, as a band member you must be able to cheer on the team, even when defeat is inevitable.

It’s the fourth quarter, the Jayhawks are losing, and the stands are beginning to empty, but the band is still on their feet cheering

on the team. The score is 66 to 7 and Senior Hannah Stevens, from De Soto, Kansas still has a smile on her face.

By this time point in the game, the band has become the main cheering section and they take that very seriously, Stevens says.

They will be there for the team until the very end, win or lose.

Stevens first started playing piano when she was five years old with the encouragement of her parents. By 5th grade she had joined the middle school band playing flute as a way to be play music with other people. She started marching band in high school and has been hooked every since. There was no question she would continue with band as a Marching Jayhawk when she came to KU. “Right away I could feel how special it is,” Steven says. “It’s like a big family. People don’t do it for the football. We do it because of the people who are in band. You know everyone is there for the same reason. I still tell people that my absolute favorite thing about KU is being in the marching band. I’m going to miss it a lot.

It’s my happy place. The place where I can go and be myself and know that there will be people around to support me no matter what.”

As the clock runs out and the reality of another loss hits the team and the crowd, the band picks up their instruments and plays the Alma Mater as the football team gathers near the student section. After the Alma Mater, they play “Like a Jayhawk” and then still have one final song to play.

It’s nearly 3 p.m. and the band has been at it for almost nine hours. The band sits down and plays ‘Home on the Range.’ No matter how many people are left, they still play. “Some people say they even stay just to hear us play it one last time,” Steven says.

“That way, we can all leave feeling like we really did our job.”

THE HILL 38 volume 3

By Jazmine Polk

THE SOLE OF A

Photography by Abby Liudahl

It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday morning and Ronisha Bandy, a junior at the University of Kansas, is awake and sitting at her computer. Her feet are tapping in a nervous rhythm and little beads of sweat start to form on her forehead. She wants something, and she wants it bad. Bandy is on the Adidas website waiting for the highly sought after Yeezy Boosts sneakers to release so she can add them to her collection. She has her size selected and periodically refreshes the page so that she’ll be able to click “Add to Cart” immediately when they become available. The $200 shoe is a limited release and she does not know how many pairs are available worldwide; she just hopes that she is one of the lucky ones.

An hour later, Bandy is still at attention, her eyes moving back and forth from the clock to her cart. Her stomach is growling but she can’t risk leaving her computer to get food and miss the release. Unlike most shoe releases, the Yeezys did not have a specific 39 THE HILL volume 3

time that they would drop, a tactic Adidas uses to prevent their site from crashing from too much traffic. Another 30 minutes slowly tick by, the clock hits 10:30, and Bandy sees that the Yeezys have officially dropped. She moves as fast as she can, clicking on her cart with lightning speed.

“NOOO,” she stands up and yells in frustration. The page had frozen and refused to refresh.

Despite the company’s release strategy, the Adidas website had crashed because too many people were trying to get the same shoe at one time, which meant Bandy and thousands of other shoe collectors would remain Yeezy-less. Her collection of 100 pairs of designer shoes would be incomplete in her eyes. Bandy’s scream of disappointment, followed by an hour of angry tweets about her broken heart, show that this was much more than just a shoe to her…this was life—the interesting, and at times emotional, life of a sneakerhead.

SNEAKERHEAD Sneaker collecting has been around since the ‘70s, when it originated from the hip-hop and street ball culture in New York. It has since grown into a worldwide billion dollar industry and culture, encompassing people of all ages, races and backgrounds.

The term “sneakerhead” was coined to describe those people. Although no two sneakerheads are alike, there is one thing that they all have in common—a passion for sneakers.

Bandy, a junior from Kansas City, says that sneakerheads are not made by the number of shoes they have; it is how knowledgeable they are about shoes. Each shoe, whether Michael Jordan’s Retro Jordans or Nike’s Foamposites, has its own history and story behind its style and colors (also referred to as “colorway”).

For example, the Air Jordan Retro 12 “Flu Games” was the exact shoe Jordan wore during the NBA Finals game in 1997 when he had a temperature of nearly 100 degrees and dropped 38 points. According to Bandy, a true sneakerhead would need that

Modeled by Jack Soto

shoe in their collection because of that story.

“When it comes to Jordans, I care about the history, especially when it is a shoe he played in,” Bandy says.

However, being a sneakerhead is also much more than just knowing your history. The definition is found in the term itself; a mind that is always on sneakers. Some sneakerheads claim to have an addiction to buying shoes and I have met some that get every shoe release simply because it makes them feel good or it would feel weird not to get them. Although I would not call myself a sneakerhead, when I do get my hands on a new, dope pair of sneakers, I feel a rush of endorphins. I can’t wait to open the box, smell the beautiful new shoe scent and do my personal ritual of licking the bottom (don’t judge me). However, after the newness of the shoe wears off, I sometimes regret spending $200 of my scarce college student money, but it does not stop me from continuing to buy more.

THE HILL 40 volume 3

Bruce Liese, professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Kansas, says some people are searching for something special in their lives and certain resources affect people’s mindsets. “Some people engage in this kind of obsessive behavior for the immediate gratification without regard for long term consequences,” he says.

“When areas of the brain that are pleasure centers are busy, the centers of the brain that involve judgement are not working.”

There is also an element of competition in sneaker collecting. Everyone wants to be the person that gets the limited release or be the sneakerhead known for wearing a new pair of sneakers every day. Being a respected sneakerhead can boost your ego and popularity, especially if you have shoes that no one else has. You can imagine all the looks of envy that a person with the Yeezys gets from the Yeezy-less.

Due to the limited number of pairs released, sneakerheads go through a lot to get their hands on the latest releases. Some shoes can be purchased on the release day in stores 41 THE HILL volume 3

like Finish Line, Champs and Footlocker or online with no hassle. However, a popular shoe with a heavy demand, like the Flu Games releasing in May 2016, require the raffle system. To participate in the raffle, you must go to the store during the week of the release, enter your name and shoe size in the raffle and pray that you get the call that your name was selected.

Typically, in the larger stores, only 50 to 100 names are drawn for a general release and only 12 to 24 names could be drawn for a limited release, so whether or not you get the shoe is based on pure luck.

Some earnest sneakerheads put their family members’ and friends’ names on multiple raffle tickets, just to give themselves a better chance at being picked. Others trust fate and have the “if it’s meant to be, it will be” mindset, reasoning that if they do not get the call then they weren’t supposed to have the shoe. But before stores across the country switched to the organized raffle system, many collectors had to endure mental and physical challenges just to get the latest released shoe.

It was customary for collectors to camp

outside of malls and stores to be first in line for a release.

D’Amour Rimson, a junior from Kansas City, Missouri, says she once waited outside of Oak Park Mall for 24 hours for the release of the Air Jordan Olympic 7s in 2012. “They let us sit on the property for a while, then as it got dark people started to get rowdy so they made us wait in our cars until they opened the doors at 7a.m.,” Rimson says. “When they opened the doors, over 100 people ran across the street and into Finish Line. It was like a stampede.”

My one experience with camping out for a shoe release was an exhausting but interesting adventure. One minute we were all laughing and swapping shoe stories like a happy family, but as soon as the security guard started turning the keys to the door our family became divided. I caught some jabs to the stomach, hurdled over fallen campers and Usain Bolt-ed to the store, on only three hours of car sleep, just to learn that my size 10 had sold out. I limped out of the mall bruised and bag-less and never tried camping out again.

Almost every Saturday morning, stampedes of shoe lovers were bursting into malls across the country and some shoe releases even ended in violence and death. In 2012, a man in New Jersey was stabbed to death during a brawl that broke out while he was in line for the Retro Jordan Concord’s release and just last year a teenager in Florida was killed after trying to rob a man of his just purchased Retro 11s. The increasing violence caused shoe stores to transition to the raffle drawing system and online purchasing, which has made it even more difficult for people to get a pair and, as Bandy experienced, it does not always end in success.

However, the switch from camping to digital opened doors for a lucrative resale business. Some collectors make a living from buying shoes at the retail price and reselling them on eBay or on sneaker sites at a higher price. According to the Financial Times, “the sneaker resale market has reached an estimated $1 billion in sales.”

Marcus Andre, CEO of Markicks.com, an online store, says that he can make up to $2,000 a month re-selling shoes to people that were unlucky in their quest to get them or simply did not want to put in the

effort to get the shoe.

“I collected shoes for two years until I realized that I could also make a lot of money doing something I love,” Andre says.

As many sneakerheads will quickly tell you, sneaker collecting is not cheap.

These designer shoes can range from $170 to $500, depending on the shoe and can be resold online anywhere from $300 to $2,000.

“I spend maybe $600 a month just on shoes, depending on what is releasing that month,” Bandy says. “My parents are always asking me ‘Why do you do this?’ and people think we are crazy or stupid for spending money, but it is what we love.”

The steep price of each shoe makes the ability to budget one of the most important qualities of a sneakerhead. Some work multiple jobs and skip out on expensive meals or activities in order to keep their collections up to date. Some even sell their old slightly worn pairs to get money to buy more.

Young adults and college students are not the only ones saving every penny for shoes; young kids learn to budget for shoes by picking up extra chores or some

resort to begging their parents. Young sneakerheads, like my 13-year-old brother, will trade a birthday full of gifts for just one nice pair of kicks. I was only in middle school when I had a deal with my parents that if I could get all A’s on my quarterly report card, I would be rewarded with a new pair of Jordans.

With all of the money spent and the time and effort put into getting a specific shoe, most sneakerheads are meticulous in the care that they give their shoes. From how they store their shoes, clean their shoes and even walk in their shoes, the attention that sneakerheads give their shoes is similar to a doting new parent. (I’ve actually met a guy who kisses his shoes goodnight.)

As most sneakerheads will attest, wearing a new pair of shoes for the first time is both a refreshing and scary experience.

You are just one misstep or one clumsy person away from a mental breakdown.

There is actually no worse feeling than getting your first scuff or crease. It is like that first scratch on your new car or getting a pimple on picture day.

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Students at KU can also go to Hashinger Hall for a quick shoe cleaning or a personal customization. Dairionn Billberry, also known as Tuss, a junior from Kansas City, Missouri, has been customizing and restoring sneakers out of his dorm room for a year and a half. Billberry has also done work for professional athletes like former KU basketball players Ben McLemore and Tarik Black.

“I do about 12-15 customs a month. I can do restorations, color changes and themed customs also,” Billberry says. “People want to be different than everyone else. With the option of customized shoes, they can have exactly what they want and make their ‘perfect pair’ come to life.”

Sometimes a specific shoe is so near and dear to a sneakerhead’s heart that they never intend on taking them out of the box or wearing them, which is called “deadstocking.” Some collectors deadstock shoes because they don’t want the shoe to ever touch the ground and others never wear any of their shoes and just buy them for their display, like one would do with a coin collection.

“I bought the Colombia 11’s last year and I still haven’t put those on,” Rimson says. “Part of the reason is that I knew everyone would have them on as soon as they dropped and I like being different.”

The growing popularity of the culture has also led to sneakerheads forming their own sneaker cliques of collectors who come together to buy, trade and sell shoes among members in the group.

KC Sole, a sneaker organization that started in 2012 in Kansas City, prides itself on being much more than just a community of collectors. KC Sole has coordinated charity events and participates in Kansas City’s Breast Cancer walk every year. KC Sole also annually hosts one of the biggest sneaker conventions in the Midwest, where shoe lovers go for networking, resales and trading.

Next year’s SneakFest will take place on June 20th at the Aladdin Hotel in Downtown Kansas City.

“To date, our biggest turnout was about 5,000 people and ticket prices vary every year,” says Ugochukwu Osuala, the social media director of KC Sole.

Some sneaker cliques are very selective and appear to be an arrogant club of sneaker geeks. At my high school there was a 43 THE HILL volume 3

sneaker crew called “F.A.K.E.” (which stood for “Fly Ass Kicks kicks on their feet, not all sneakerheads walk with their nose in Everyday”) and everybody wanted to be in the group. We would the air. all watch them walk down the halls in their matching t-shirts just “It is a bit of a materialistic culture and some do only buy hoping one would look our way. They were like a hip-hop version shoes for their shock value, popularity and to have rare expensive of the Mean Girls with their own lingo and procedures. When I shoes that others don’t have, but it’s much more than that for worked up the nerve to ask a member how I could join, I got one me,” says Jack Soto, a freshman from Lawrence, Kansas. “I probhard glance at my shoes and a ably won’t do this forever, but I dismissive “Ha,” in response. “I probably won’t do this forever, but I don’t plan on don’t plan on stopping anytime stopping anytime soon.”

I assumed that I wasn’t “fly” soon.” enough.

Even though I occasionally Being part of the sneakerhead culture means dealing with splurge on a pair of these designer shoes, seeing Ronisha Banjudgment. Some of the known stereotypes about sneakerheads dy with her shoe collection helped me understand what makes are that they are rude, snobby and show-offs. Those labels cause someone a true sneakerhead. There were nearly 50 shoe boxes, some to shy away from calling themselves a sneakerhead. organized by brand and filled with shoes of various styles and “I’ve met some that are the most down to earth people ever colors. She had stories about their history and how she got them and some that are arrogant, but you can’t categorize everyone and when I was finally able to peel my eyes away from her shoes, I under the same umbrella,” Rimson says. “Sneaker collecting is no watched Bandy as she admired her own collection with pride and different than any other hobby; you wouldn’t call a button collec- love in her eyes. That’s when I realized what being a sneakerhead tor arrogant.” really means. A sneakerhead is not someone whose shoes are just Although, there are some collectors who do see themselves an accessory. A sneakerhead is someone whose shoes are part of as better than others because they are walking around with $600 who they are.

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ALL IS FAIR

By Hannah Sundermeyer Photography by Abby Liudahl

Jody Rose transitioned from female to male at age 21 and was binding his breasts with electrical tape—a practice that has been the cause of documented health issues including lung problems, fluid buildup, and even broken ribs.

“I wish I would have had something like All Is Fair during that time—it would have made my life a lot easier and it also would have encouraged me to love my body during that time. I am happy to help her in any way that I can,” Rose says about San Francisco native and artist Peregrine Honig, who created a Kickstarter fundraising page to start the first transgender garment shop in Kansas City and what she believes to be the entire country. She calls it All Is Fair.

All Is Fair will sell a variety of undergarments that assist in the binding process. There are currently binders available for females transitioning to males looking to compress their breasts. The designers for All Is Fair, have created three different corsets depending on the level of chest compression that is needed. The team is also working on tuckers, which are underwear for male to female transitions. In addition, male packers and female corsets will be available to give the wearer a more masculine or feminine silhouette.

“What I love about this process is that it’s transformative and educational, too,” Rose says. “It is inclusive, meaning someone who is not trans can create something amazing for the trans community.”

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According to the Intersex Society of North America website, “People who identify as transgender or transsexual are usually people who are born with typical male or female anatomies but feel as though they’ve been born into the ‘wrong body.’”

Those who identify as transgender may alter their biological gender with sex reassignment surgeries or hormone treatments, which create a need for compressive garments to support their changing bodies.

Miranda Treas has been designing for Honig since she was 16. Now a senior at the University of Kansas, Treas has joined forces with Honig to create the binders, enhancers, and contour garments for the line.

“Our garments are like a base—it’s like their skin.

Once they put on our garments, they’re naked essentially. It shouldn’t feel like another garment on their body, it should feel like they are then prepared to wear whatever they want,” Treas says.

Treas is one of the lead designers of “middle wear,” as she describes it. The garments have earned their name because they are worn as people transition before surgery and afterwards when the physical transition begins.

“It’s not lingerie, it’s nothing sexy, it’s not romanti-

cizing it. It’s a necessity,” Treas says.

The inspiration for the line stemmed from Honig’s own personal experience with a friend who was transitioning. “I saw what he had available and it seemed like there could be something better,” Honig says.

There are also plans for the production of custom garments in the future to coincide with differentiating body types and transition phases.

“It’s not something that needs to be shown; it’s for you, to make you feel like you can put on a t-shirt and feel like yourself and feel comfortable in [your] own body,” Treas says.

On September 27th, the Kickstarter campaign drew to a close, successfully raising $25,550 from 175 backers. Honig hopes to have the shop up and running within the next few months.

Following the binding struggles he faced during his own transition process, Rose fully supports Honig’s work. “She is a heart-centered artist who wants to help this community by providing more options for body, mind, soul, comfort and balance. When the body feels more comfortable, the mind and soul do too,” Rose says.

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INTERNATIONAL Fashion

By Chiaki Tomimatsu

Photography by Ikeadi Nduwku

2,363 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AT KU Did you know KU has 2,363 international students from around the world this year? Today, we focus on their diverse fall fashion inspired by their home country. Six international students from Brazil, South Korea, China, Germany, Kuwait and Japan introduce their styles and talk about the differences of outfits between their homeland and the U.S. I’m an international student from Tokyo, Japan, so let me introduce my fall fashion style first.

I would define my outfits inspired by my home, Japan, from two items: a skirt, and sneakers with socks. Among girls

in Japan, it is very popular to wear a skirt without tights in fall. In addition, wearing sneakers with socks, like my style, has been a fashion trend for the last couple of years. Also, wearing outfits which mix girl­ish items, such as skirts or dresses, and masculine items like a leather jacket or heavy boots is a trendy fashion style too.

My favorite items of this outfit are the sneakers and socks. I chose burgundy for socks as an accent color. I also try to make a balance so my outfit is not too girl­ish by wearing casual items like the sneakers and a leather moto jacket.

Since I came here, I’ve noticed a huge difference of styles among college students between Japan and the U.S. in girl’s fashion. In Japan, most of the girls prefer to wear a skirt or dress rather than pants because the boys like that kind of outfit.

The popular style is girl­ish, feminine, and cute, so there are a lot of A-­Line skirts; their colors are white or pastel and the design would be with lace, frill, and sometimes printed with fancy flowers. However, I personally don’t wear that type of outfit, because I wear what I want and like to wear, not for boys!

Modeled by: Stella Quinto Lima / Rio Grande, Brazil JongHyun Park / Seoul, South Korea 47 THE HILL volume 3

Jihong Zhang / Wuxi, China Ivonne We / Bonn, Germany

Amjad Alotaibi / South Al-Jahra, Kuwait Chiaki Tomimatsu / Tokyo, Japan

Q: How would you define your fall fashion inspired by your home country?

Stella: Brazil is a huge country, so the weather is different in each part. My state is located in the south, which is colder than north Brazil. Also, the days are darker and temperature varies widely at this time of the year. Because of it, we use more cold clothes, and darker colors or neutral colors.

JongHyun: In my thoughts, it’s a trend.

Famous singers, models or like that people are wear so many kind of style, and I just choose one of those. Many young men like to wear a blouson (A blouse jacket that is drawn tight at the waist, sort of like an American bomber jacket).

Jihong: Fall fashion of China is very complex. The temperature is neither cold nor warm, but the night could be chilly, so I like to wear warm and comfortable clothes such as a turtleneck sweater.

Ivonne: I would say fall fashion in my home country is generally all about fall colors, so mainly dark reds, like burgundy, dark green, and maroon colors. Also, dark jeans are essential for German fall fashion, so are big scarves, like the one I’m wearing. Generally I would say it’s a mix of a cute, classy style and sporty style.

Amjad: My home country inspiration fashion comes from “hijab.” Hijab is a part of my fashion. Today I match my light brown hijab with dark red/brown pants and a black jacket.

Q: How different is the fashion among college students between your country and the U.S.?

Q: What is your favorite item of your outfit?

Stella: It is unusual to see people wearing gym clothes at the university in Brazil. We are more likely to wear jeans or shorts, boots, scarves, jackets and T-­shirts. But it is interesting to see how people dress up here!

Stella: It’s my hat, because it brings some class to the outfit while being informal.

JongHyun: I saw that most men don’t wear a skinny jean. Also I think they prefer casual and comfortable style.

Jihong: I think the difference is we will wear more sweaters than American students. One more difference is in my hometown; we will wear long-johns underneath pants as a layer to keep warm in fall.

Ivonne: College students in the U.S. dress very different than German students. Here, I get the impression that people don’t really care about what they wear to class. Most girls just wear leggings and a big shirt or sweater on top and trainers to create a very sporty style. In Germany, you don’t see this style at all. People would probably consider our style “dressed up.” When I go to class I usually wear something similar to what I’m wearing now, jeans and a cute shirt/blouse and a cardigan, nice shoes and maybe some jewelry if I feel like it.

For me, most students here look like they are going to the gym rather than to class.

JongHyun: My jeans! I like simple skinny jeans with little washing color and awesome natural crease.

Jihong: Sweater and shoes. I matched the color for both with gray.

Ivonne: My favorite piece of this outfit is definitely my huge scarf. I just love it, it is really comfy, you can just wrap yourself in it and you will feel warm and cozy.

Also, you can wear it like a scarf or wrap it around your shoulders like a poncho, too.

Amjad: My jacket and pants! Because the dark red/brown pants is a nice color for fall weather.

Amjad: In my country, girls usually wear a traditional dress called “Abaya;” it’s a long black dress that covers your whole body.

But in the US, people usually wear sporty pants and more casual clothes.

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STYLE on the

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bean

boots

By Colin Murphy Though we’re coming down from it now, menswear this far into the 2010’s has centered around the rough and tumble workwear of generations past. You know what I mean, the timeless, practical looks that might make you question if the person in front of you were a lumberjack or maybe Ernest Hemingway, if not for the fact that their hands are too clean for the former and they seem a shade too sober for the latter. Between our obsession with boots, flannels, and basically anything #campvibes, it’s a wonder that it’s taken this long for the L.L. Bean’s signature Bean Boot to catch on.

The Bean Boot captures everything that the rugged side of menswear lusts after. A boot that’s true to its American heritage, each pair is made in Maine, where Leon Leonwood Bean first came up with the idea of a boot with a rubber lower and leather upper after coming back from a hunting trip with wet feet in 1911. Since this time, the Bean boot has become iconic in out51 THE HILL volume 3

Trends

Photography by Ikeadi Ndukwu door wear, and has started to gain traction on college campuses and elsewhere. Anyone who’s tried to order a pair in the past two years can tell you—once winter hits it can be hard to find them, and L.L. Bean has had to delay hundreds of orders over the past few holiday seasons due to the increasing demand for these timeless and practical boots.

On top of withstanding the test of time over the past hundred years, your personal pair will last you as long as you need them.

The high quality leather on the boots only looks better as it wears in, and for a small fee, L.L. Bean will replace the entire rubber portion of the boot if it wears down. These boots can be, and have been, passed down generations, which shows how craftsmanship is worth an extra couple bucks over another brand. So, if you can get your hands on a pair this winter or next, you can bypass ever having to find boots for rain or snow again.

ON A ROLL Photography by Ikeadi Ndukwu

Gentlemen, this one’s for you. For a wear-everywhere staple that adds just a touch of style to any casual look, look no further than your pant hems. And roll them up. Get the style of cropped pants, minus the commitment. One to two loose rolls keeps this trend relaxed, and gives you the chance to show off a new pair of kicks or patterned socks.

WHY DO YOU ROLL YOUR CUFFS? “For Fashion.”

–Fuping Cui, Marketing / 2018

“My pants are too long. It’s kind of stylish [too].”

“They’ve been rolled up for months.

I think it allows for a nice gap.”

–Will Putzier, Business / 2015

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Trends

black out

By Hannah Pierangelo

Photography by Emma Creighton

It’s basically a proven fact that black goes with everything. With the winter season fast approaching, there’s no better time to wear this versatile neutral. Here are three quick ways to blackout your OOTD.

TOTAL BLACKOUT: When layering with black, keep texture in mind. A black dress with subtle shape, like loose ruffles on the neckline or a tie front, draws the eye. Consider varying fabrics and lengths, too. If you’re worried about the look being too solid, add a pinch of color with simple jewelry or neutral shoes.

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Trends

COMFORT CASUAL: For a comfy casual look that will also keep you warm, an oversized sweater or sweatshirt over plain leggings keeps it easy.

This outfit stays balanced with long and loose clothing on top, and fitted items on bottom. Spice it up with subtle patterns, a chunky scarf or hat, and neutral shoes.

PROFESSIONAL: Blacks are always a good choice for looking professional. Break up your blacks with a cool neutral in between, like a gray or white top and neutral shoes, for an outfit that doesn’t seem weighed down. A fitted blazer completes this sleek and simple look.

One Look

TWO BUDGETS

White Scoop Neck Cap Sleeve Tee

­ H&M, 2 for $15 — —BCBGMAXAZRIA, $68

Silver Layer Necklace

­ Claire’s, $5 — —Croft & Barrow $28

Silver Hook Clasp Waist Belt

­ TJ Maxx $10 — —Nine West, $24

Silver Sequin Semi-Circle Skirt

­ JC Penney, $20 — —Bree Lena, $85

Black Quilted Ankle Boot

­ Bella Marie, $24 — —Tory Burch, $395

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Trends

STREET Photography by Ikeadi Ndukwu and Abby Liudahl

Mike

Ty Strange

Ashley Bennett 55 THE HILL volume 3

style Emily Horton

Jacinta Duong

Anna Balimero

Athena Nelson Baker

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ON POINT

Photography by Emma Creighton, Abby Liudahl and Sabrina Sheck We spent some time exploring the combination of dance, motion, and style with some of the university’s dance students.

Frolic through this geometric and colorful experience, inspired by The Ballerina Project.

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Four looks to ring in 2016 Words and Photography by Sabrina Sheck Modeled by Franci Burton and Ikeadi Ndukwu

When you don’t know whether you want to look like a million bucks or to keep it simple, go for a look that’s in between. For women, a romper is the perfect choice! It is quick to throw on and you can easily dress it up or down. A light, flowy kimono adds a flair of femininity, but brown boots and high knee socks keep the look down to earth and practical. For men, wear a dressy sweater and black jeans.

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If your New Year’s Eve plans call for something dressy, this look is for you. For women, pick a bright colored dress and a nice pair of black heels. For extra glamour, try sparkly heels to ring in the New Year! For men, wear a pair of colored straight-leg skinny jeans to stand out at any party. But don’t go overboard—tuck in a white button up and pair it with an accented bow tie. To bring the whole look together, throw on a black or gray cardigan.

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Going somewhere casual for New Year’s Eve, but still want to look fashionable? Take a multi-colored sweater and pair it with either a black skirt or timeless black jeans. Finish off the look with a muted lipstick and slip on some cute black ankle booties. Guys, stick with comfortable skinny jeans, a warm long sleeve with a subtle pattern, and dressy sneakers.

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New Year’s Eve is the perfect holiday to go all out.

Ladies, choose a real head-turner, like a bright or patterned blazer. Pair with sleek skinny jeans and a solid tank. Top it off with a pair of favorite solid colored heels. Tip: Match your heels to the blazer, or whatever attention-getting item you choose. For men, break the rules and opt to pair similar patterns together. But be careful, color contrast is key here! This dark navy button up goes perfectly with the lighter blue tie, letting two polka dot patterns mesh, instead of clash. Finish the look with the clean, polished style of khakis cuffed at the ankle.

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HEARTLAND haute Photography by Aleah Milliner Modeled by Franci Burton

Here in the heartland, fashion is thriving. The Kansas landscape inspires fresh fall style that’s comforting as well as polished.

The milder season means pairing a light and airy romper or flowy dress with a warm knit cardigan and boots, or adding a cozy plaid scarf to a cool-toned neutral look. Dress up any style with the scenic background of a Kansas horizon at dusk.

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Heard on the Hill

“

The staff spies have been listening to professors, students and campus randos for the funniest, weirdest and most out of context quotes. Here’s a compilation of the funniest HOTHs from this semester.

“There’s no way he has a real job. He spends three-fourths of his day with his shirt off and when he’s not chugging iced coffee, it’s tequila.”

Girl: “I’m sorry, you were where?”

Guy: “I said I went to a post-apocalyptic theatrical metal concert last night.”

Girl: “In 2011, I won prom queen and had the most volunteer hours and read every Harry Potter book.”

Friend: “God I would have hated you in high school.”

“I hate job applications. I just want to move to a vineyard in Italy.”

“College is mostly just sitting with a laptop in different places.”

“The syllabus said there’s a 3,000 word research paper so I dropped the class, while I was sitting in the class.”

“That’s my goal in life. Not to be successful, but to be friends with successful people.”

Girl 1: “I’ve worn Lululemon shorts out to the bars before, it’s totally fine.”

Girl 2: “Yeah but only on like a Tuesday.”

“I was raised on white bread and passive aggression.”

“After she let her bare feet touch the floor in the Boom Boom Room, I wanted to call her and tell her to go to the doctor’s and get a shot.”

“I would be at my internship all day surrounded by successful people, then I would come home and put whipped cream on my French Toast Crunch. I did that for like a solid week.”

“The best part about going home to Colorado for Thanksgiving break is that I can smoke weed right after I eat.”

Girl: “The most applicable study tip I read today was, ‘laminate your study guides so the tears roll off.’”

“Whatever, I don’t give a shit about him anymore. I hope he dies alone with his stupid man bun.”

“Taste that Kansas City cock in your mouth New York.

It tastes like barbecue.”

“Who needs sleep when you can overdose on coffee?”

“It’s Tuesday and, I mean, I’m down to get hammered.”

Talking to the bartender: “If I tell you I love you in four different languages will you give me a free tequila shot?”

“The other day I was thinking about what it would be like to be a trophy husband. I would probably just dick around all day at the house and then get a personal trainer.”

Girl: “My idiot ex just bought melatonin off of me instead of adderall. I hope he fails every final.”

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HOTH

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styleonthehill.com