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SPORTS Prospect of a new soccer facility creates tension between locals and club

The University Daily Kansan

vol. 138 // iss. 14 Thurs., Mar 7, 2019

SEE TRACK & FIELD • PAGE 11

BRADEN SHAW @bradenshaw4real

KU

Read these stories and more at kansan.com

Crimson+Blue was the only coalition to file for Student Senate elections and as of now, no independent candidates have filed to run for president or vice president.

‘Win or bust’ for Club Hockey KU Club Hockey captain reflects on strengths, hurdles ahead of team’s national title bid.

Noname excites Granada crowd Chicago-based artist performed songs from her album “Room 25” and mixtape “Telefone”

Football spring training starts KU football’s spring training started on Tuesday, giving fans a first look of the team.

University professor designed five sculptures by layering corrugated cardboard p. 4 Read more at kansan.com

Bill Self: ‘What was that?’

What’s New at

Crimson+Blue hold second meeting, still unopposed

Another push for affordable textbooks through Open Educational Resources p. 2

Chance Parker/KANSAN

Sophomore guard Marcus Garrett was trying to throw the ball inside. Instead the ball sailed out of bounds. Even though the game was out of reach with 7:43 remaining in the second half — the Jayhawks trailed 71-47 at this point with a 0.1 percent chance of victory, according to ESPN

— Kansas coach Bill Self still had his head in his hands.

“What was that?” Self asked Garrett at the under-8:00 timeout.

And based on what transpired Tuesday night against Oklahoma, that’s a valid question.

Just when there was a faint glimmer of hope for Kansas men’s basketball’s 15th-straight Big 12 regular season championship,

Tuesday night’s game against Oklahoma happened.

It was war flashbacks from the Texas Tech game down in Lubbock, Texas, on Feb. 23, where Kansas decided to not show up and the Red Raiders ran laps around the Jayhawks for 40 minutes as a result.

This time around, the READ MORE ON PAGE 11

Athletics eliminated from student fees LUCY PETERSON @petersonxlucy SYDNEY HOOVER @sydhoover17

Fee allocations for the fiscal year 20192020 passed through the Student Senate finance committee on Wednesday, March 6. Fees were increased by $10, setting the total student fee at $492.95.

“This was not an impulsive decision.”

Noah Ries Student Body President

Following fiscal year 2019, in which students saw the largest increase in fees since 2009, the campus fee review subcommittee agreed to try and keep increases as minimal as possible, while taking into account the $20 million budget cuts the University of

Kansas is facing.

The passed fee allocations included a proposed cut to the athletics fee, bringing the previous funding of $7 down to $0.

“We looked at every single fee and we decided, ‘Is this fee absolutely 100 percent critical to the safety, to the wellness, to the ability to thrive on our campus?’” said Student Body President Noah Ries. “And really more so, ‘Is there another funding source that wouldn’t necessarily fall on the students’ back that could be tapped into?’”

The athletics fee, which was previously $24 per student, was originally zeroed out by Senate in 2014. However, due to funding still needed to pay for the Ambler Recreation Center, then-Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little reinstated it at $7.

Since then, the $7 fee has been used to fund tutoring for student athletes, according to Ries.

After further consideration, the campus fee

Chance Parker/KANSAN Finance chair Seth Wingerter introduces the fee review bill in Finance committee on Wednesday, March 6. Student fees totaled out to $492.95 in the legislation introduced in Finance committee. review subcommittee agreed this program could be funded elsewhere, potentially through the Williams Education Fund.

“This was not an impulsive decision,” Ries said. “This was something the committee looked into, assessed very dili-

gently and ultimately decided was the best way to READ MORE ON PAGE 2

Ad hoc subcommittee aims to reform Senate protocol SOPHIA BELSHE @SophiaBelshe Student Rights Committee is forming an ad hoc subcommittee to ensure the integrity of Student Senate elections, following only one coalition forming for the upcoming election.

The subcommittee, formed at a meeting March 6, was proposed

by Nick Hinman, a student senator representing freshmen and sophomores in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a member of Crimson+Blue, the coalition running for election.

“The purpose of the subcommittee isn’t to find any wrongdoing. It’s very much focused as a very broad, ten-thousand-foot look at what are some practices that are happening. There’s not going to be any individual culpability by any means,” Hinman said.

Hinman said the subcommittee will speak with people inside and outside Senate to look at internal practices and

Sophia Belshe/KANSAN Nick Hinman, a senator who represents freshmen and sophomores from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, introduces a motion which would create an ad hoc subcommittee to investigate Senate protocol.

The bill passed within the Student Rights committee on Wednesday, March 6. gauge perceptions of the one-coalition election.

“I think we do need to be mindful of the image that we’re projecting out-

ward to people,” Hinman said. “Even if we think everything’s going fine, other people might not, and that still directly af-

fects the trust and faith that people have in this body.”

Hinman said the subcommittee will be meet-

ing over spring break and aims to present a report with their findings at the last committee meeting on April 17.

“This is actually after the election, so by no means can this affect anything that’s happening nor is it meant to,” Hinman said.

Zach Thomason, Senate Chief of Staff, asked Hinman about why this subcommittee is being formed under Student Rights instead of University Affairs, the committee that handles elections.

“It is, more or less, just... a climate report on what Senate is like and how it’s perceived by outside people, and I definitely think [Student Rights has] a vested interest,” Hinman said. “I’m not trying to shut out other committees.”

The motion was amended at the meeting to include members from UA and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, in addition to Student Rights.

“I’m just trying to make sure that people have faith in Senate,” Hinman said.

2

news

NEWS

Thursday, March 7, 2019

staff NEWS MANAGEMENT

Editor-in-chief Shaun Goodwin

Managing editor Savanna Smith

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News editor Sydney Hoover

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Arts & culture editor Josh McQuade

Associate arts & culture editor Courtney Bierman

Opinion editor Aroog Khaliq

Investigations Editor Nicole Asbury

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Photo editor Sarah Wright

Associate photo editor Chance Parker

Copy chiefs Raeley Youngs Nichola McDowell

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K A N S A N .C O M / N E W S

KU strives to make textbooks cheaper KYSER DOUGAN @KyserDougan Amy Rossomondo, director of the Spanish Language Program at the University of Kansas, was ahead of the curve when her department created Acceso, a program used by the “Intermediate Spanish I” and “Intermediate Spanish II” classes.

After being told to make several revisions by a textbook company, Rossomondo instead decided to make the textbook an Open Educational Resource (OER).

“It’s one of the longest running OERs in the country, and it’s used at dozens and dozens of institutions by thousands of students a semester,” Rossomondo said.

Rossomondo said through the OER, students are saving thousands of dollars in textbook costs as they are not required to buy textbooks for either “Intermediate Spanish I” or “Intermediate Spanish II.” Students in these classes are also able to incorporate current events into class that normal textbooks would not be able to, as the online resource can be updated. For example, Rossomondo said students will discuss the crisis in Venezuela and how people in the area may interpret having a U.S. presence in the negotiations.

“That is why you do OER. Because you have materials, you can provide experiences for your students that commercial materials won’t offer,” she said.

Scholarly Communications Librarian, Josh Bolick, advocates for Open Educational Resources at the University. When Bolick first arrived in 2015 the University had just joined

Kansan File Photo Some KU professors have decided to make textbooks Open Education Resources.

Open Textbook Network, an advocacy organization.

“I try to complicate people’s understanding of textbook selection and point them at data that shows them that a growing number of students aren’t enrolling in as many courses, aren’t enrolling in particular courses, aren’t buying the book, those kinds of things and point to the pedagogical reasons why OER is

“Because you have materials, you can provide experiences for your students that commercial materials won’t offer.”

Amy Rossomondo Director of Spanish Language Program

a solution to some of those problems,” he said.

As using OER becomes a more frequent choice among educators, Bolick is also announcing a “Textbook Heroes” program.

The program will recognize, “members of the KU community who’ve taken extraordinary initiative to increase access to and affordability of required course materials by implementing and advocating for OER and other low and no cost course materials.”

This year’s textbook heroes are Rossomondo, Drew Vartia from the chemistry department, and Peter Bobkowski from the School of Journalism.

The three instructors all had different reasons for using OERs in their classrooms.

Vartia enjoyed the flexibility of OER and being able to design his course, he said.

“OER adoption has translated to a more customized — and more enjoyable —course,” he said.

“The students really bought in, too. The class could incorporate a diversity of materials, and students didn’t feel that they had paid a lot of money for a resource they used only a fraction of the time.”

Rossomondo said her

Campus fees average for state BRAD HARRIS @Brad98Harris Campus fees at the University of Kansas have increased 9.5 percent since 2014, but that increase is not the highest among Kansas Board of Regents universities. At $482.95, University of Kansas student fees are in the middle of the pack among the six Kansas Board of Regents Universities.

While the growth rate of the University campus fee amount outpaces the U.S. inflation rate of about 2 percent, it is much less severe than the campus fee increases of 28.7 percent at Emporia State University and 34.1 percent at Pittsburg State University since 2014.

Emporia State and Pittsburg State have the highest required fees of any Kansas Board of Regents Universities, with each requiring $802 per semester. The lowest campus fee amount is $363.59 at the Kansas State University Polytechnic campus in Salina.

More than 88 percent of the University of Kansas campus fee pays health, fitness and trans-

portation costs. Smaller amounts contribute to campus recycling services and Student Money Management Services.

Leticia Gradington, director of Student Money Management Services, said her department is well worth the $3.30 per student semester fee.

Gradington said the fees help students navigate their finances.

“Unfortunately, we don’t teach you that at the University,” she said.

“That’s why we’re here.

We do whatever a student

needs financially done who walks through our door.”

Gradington said the problem may simply be a lack of advertising all of the services the University offers to students.

“I believe that there are students out there that aren’t aware of not only our services, but other services as well,” Gradington said. “You should know this kind of stuff before you graduate, or you will graduate and learn it from the school of hard knocks.”

Kansan file photo

student’s have saved a significant amount of money using Acceso.

“Since Accesso’s launch in 2009, we are excited to say that the resource has saved KU students more than $900,000 in textbook costs and has since been adopted by numerous colleges and universities,” Rossomondo said.

Bobkowski discussed how there was not a textbook that met the learning needs of beginning journalism students, so he created his own.

“There were resources on information literacy, and there were traditional reporting textbooks, but there were no textbooks for budding journalists about how to find and use specific information sources and evaluate the credibility of information — so that was the textbook I set out to write,” Bobkowski said.

However, Rossomondo added that using an OER should not be forced due to academic freedom and still needing high quality material.

“The idea that you

would force faculty to use OER is far more problematic for reasons of academic freedom. What if there is no OER that are comparable to the materials that you are already using?” she said. “Each instructor has to weigh that not all [OERs] are great and high quality.”

Using more OERs in the classroom needs to be an institutional approach, Rossomondo said.

“It’s a complicated issue, but I do think that textbook affordability needs to be on the minds of the faculty and I think that that has to be an institutional push,” she said. “They don’t pick it because it’s expensive, but I think there are some faculty that don’t look and those days I think need to come to an end.”

Bolick also works with instructors who are interested in “adopting, adapting or creating OER” to help secure grant funding.

“I try to help [faculty] understand the context in which [textbook] decisions are made and what those implications for those decisions are and support people who want to teach from open stuff instead of traditional closed things,” he said.

There are also several reasons that Bolick would urge faculty to consider OERs in classrooms.

“I would encourage [faculty] to consider OER both to increase access and therefore student success, but also because the thing that makes OER open is Creative Commons licenses,” he said.

“That means that you can take content out, update it, modify it, translate it to another language. You can do stuff with it which you cannot do with traditional copyrighted, all rights reserved content.”

STUDENT FEES FROM PAGE 1 approach this current situation.”

The subcommittee felt as if the money from the athletic fee wasn’t efficiently going toward the entire student body and a $300,000 fee revenue could go toward many other sources, Finance committee chair Seth Wingerter said.

“Ultimately now, we feel as if it’s the right time to return [the athletics fee] to $0 and to reallocate it to other sources that we feel are down to their last penny,” Wingerter said. “We feel like there’s a lot more money in athletics, and there’s not necessarily a potential for growth of their population across campus.”

Due to the nature of athletics fundraising success, the subcommittee agreed that the money allocated to athletics could better support other entities on campus that may lack funding.

“I think the understanding was athletics is really good at fundraising … We just feel, regardless of the source itself, we feel like we don’t want to send a message that we don’t care

about athletes,” Ries said.

Other schools in the Big 12 such as Kansas State University, as well as Wichita State University, are also cutting student funding for their athletics, according to Ries.

“...we feel as if it’s the right time to return [the athletics fee] to $0 and to reallocate it to other sources...”

Seth Wingerter finance committee chair

Other proposed fees included an introduction of $2.60 for the Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Center, an additional $5.40 for Kansas and Burge Unions and $3.25 for the new Student Engagement Center. The committee also agreed to continue funding of $2 for the student readership fee which funds The University Daily Kansan.

The legislation to implement the fiscal year 20202021 required student fees will go through full Senate on Wednesday, March 20.

KANSAN.COM

arts & culture Thursday, March 7, 2019

ARTS & CULTURE

3

K A N S A N .C O M /A R T S _ A N D _ C U LT U R E

Traveling poet explores identity through poetry nam. Nguyen said he has a complicated relationship with mother, and he performed poems relating to her struggles with depression and adjusting to life in the United States.

“She is the person I understand most in this world,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen said during an on-stage conversation with The Raven Book Store owner Danny Caine that he first got started in poetry by doing slam and spoken word

RYLIE KOESTER @RylieKoester

Queer Vietnamese-American poet and performer Hieu Minh Nguyen said his most recent collection of poems “Not Here” seeked to answer two questions important to his identity to an audience at Liberty Hall Tuesday, March 5.

“What does it mean to leave?” Nguyen said. “And what does it mean to stay?”

Nguyen spoke as part of a campus and community lecture series sponsored by The Commons and The Raven Book Store.

Nguyen is a Kundiman fellow based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also the recipient of the 2017 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship for poetry and a poetry editor for Muzzle Magazine. At Tuesday’s event, Nguyen read poems from “Not Here” along with other new poems.

Nguyen often used humor to start his poems during the event, but the poems usually ended on a more serious note and tone.

Nguyen said the audience and readers of poetry have to be active participants to be engaged with the pieces.

He said humor and surprise are great ways to engage with those who hear and read his poetry.

“I think humor is a great way to do that,” Nguyen said. “When you make someone laugh, it creates a bodily reaction. That’s a great sign that you’re con-

connections.

“It’s a weird job to tell your Uber drivers that you’re a traveling poet because they’ll always try to make you read a poem,” Nguyen said. “I feel really lucky, but sometimes, it can feel also very isolating.”

Rachel Atakpa, a senior from Belle Plaine studying English, said Nguyen’s performance was another great installment of The Commons’ and The Raven Book Store’s campus and

“[I hope what people take away from my work is] finding tenderness in cruelty or the ways to access tenderness from people who are cruel to you.”

Hieu Minh Nguyen poet

Contributed Photo Hieu Minh Nguyen is a queer Vietnamese American poet and performer. necting with your reader.”

Nguyen performed a poem called “In Defense of Moist” after asking the audience how it felt about the word — reactions were mixed.

Nguyen started the poem humorously, sub-

stituting words for moist to describe food, such as “damp cake” and “wet cookies.” He then transitioned into a more personal topic near the end of the poem, connecting the word moist to embarrassing words in the Vietnamese language

for him.

“I know what it’s like to want to replace the words that embarrass you,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen also performed poems about his mother, who immigrated to the United States from Viet-

“My work is conceptually-driven, so the ideas behind my work drive the material choices that I make,” Tveit said.

At the company, Tveit gathers materials, interacts with people at the company, gets ideas for her work and uses the tools at the company to construct her art.

During her time there, Tveit said she became intrigued by drop material — the excess corrugated cardboard that falls away from the main piece being cut, which is also how she got the name for her sculptures.

“It’s the thing that’s often discarded,” Tveit said.

In the past, she has worked with materials other than corrugated cardboard. She has created pieces of art out of hay bales, and she once even

created a piece out of fabric that covered a six-story building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, as a homage to the U.S. Curtain Manufacturing Company.

“Right now, I’m immersed in cardboard as a material and all the ideas that come with that material choice,” Tveit said.

sculptures for the series.

The sculptures took Tveit three months to make, a process in which she gathered the materials, glued each layer of corrugated cardboard individually, weighed each layer down and then created steel under-structures to support the structures on the wall.

The sculptures are both nearly 9-feet long and are mounted on the walls of the gallery, supported by steel under-structures.

One is the color of cardboard, while the other is a darker gray. Each has the illusion of geometric shapes, which Tveit created by using layers.

The larger of the two sculptures, called “Drop Unit 1, more people love you than you know,” is made of 108 layers. The second sculpture, called “Drop Unit 4, you have all the answers inside you, just get still,” has 47 layers.

The “Drop Unit” sculptures are directly related to a past series of Tveit’s called “Universal Boxes” that she constructed for a solo exhibition in 2017 at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park.

Tveit said she has been bringing her students to the Lawrence Paper Company and other local manufactures for 20 years because of its experiential learning opportunities.

“I bring my students

in high school. Nguyen also recently received his M.F.A. in poetry, so he’s been able to combine the two communities of poetry. Nguyen said getting his master’s, however, didn’t teach him to write better.

“It just taught me how to recognize what I was already doing,” Nguyen said.

“It gave a name to the techniques and the different strategies I was using to write.”

As a traveling poet, Nguyen performs his poetry around the country. During his speech, he performed a few poems about how traveling affects his friendships and personal relationships.

He said traveling makes it hard to build meaningful

community speaker series. Atakpa said Nguyen engages the audience well through his use of humor and sharing of his trauma and history.

“I really appreciated this reading because of the ways that humor was incorporated,” Atakpa said.

Near the end of the event, an audience member asked Nguyen during a Q&A session what the poet hopes people take away from his work.

“I think tenderness,” Nguyen said. “Finding tenderness in cruelty or the ways to access tenderness from people who are cruel to you.”

KU professor creates sculptures from cardboard RYLIE KOESTER @RylieKoester

University professor of industrial design May Tveit’s large-scale sculptures called “Drop Unit” will be on display this month in Kansas City, Missouri.

Tveit’s sculptures will be featured at Rockhurst University’s Greenlease Gallery through March 23.

Tveit created the sculptures from hundreds of layers of corrugated cardboard that she glued individually by hand, a labor-intensive process.

Tveit spent time at the Lawrence Paper Company for the past few years, observing the company — it’s where she got inspiration for her “Drop Unit” sculptures. At the company, Tveit owns a desk in the design department, but is not an official artist there.

“My work is conceptuallydriven, so the ideas behind my work drive the material choices that I make.”

May Tveit industrial design professor

While only two of the “Drop Unit” sculptures are on display at the gallery, Tveit has created five

Contributed Photo University professor of industrial design May Tveit’s cardboard sculptures are on display at Rockhurst University’s Greenlease Gallery until March 23.

Contributed Photo University professor of industrial design May Tveit has created several large-scale sculptures called “Drop Unit.” there and to other area manufactures to bring textbooks to life,” Tveit said. “I really believe in experiential learning, and I can say that the experiential learning opportunities that I had in my undergraduate and graduate education were profoundly meaningful to me and still resonate with me today.”

Anne Pearce, a professor of art at Rockhurst University and the director and curator of the Greenlease Gallery, said she and Tveit have worked as colleagues in the past and have shared a studio space, so she’s come to know Tveit’s creative process.

“I think she is able to start this really broad set

of conceptual ideas and narrow it down into something incredibly minimal and incredibly powerful,” Pearce said.

Tveit said she hopes her sculptures leave an impression on those who see them, as does any artist with their work.

“I hope it leaves somewhat of an experiential impression,” Tveit said. “I hope the work provokes thought.”

Pearce will host a conversation surrounding Tveit’s sculptures, her artistic choices, residency-based activities and current work Saturday, March 23 at 3 p.m. at the Greenlease Gallery.

4 ARTS & CULTURE

KANSAN.COM

Showcase looks to expand music community WYATT HALL @thewyatthall15

Local music is a big part of the Lawrence arts community, but Matthew Mulnix wants to bring that music past city limits with the Lawrence Songwriter Showcase.

The quarterly event features 10 local artists who perform original music to a live audience that judges who deserves the top prize: a song produced

for free by Mulnix to be published on Spotify, as well as other streaming services.

“The artists can be brought to the next level by having a professionally made song rather than a demo or YouTube video,” Mulnix said. “With this, the artists can be taken seriously past the city limits.”

Mulnix is a local producer who is using this project as an opportunity

to learn, as well as help local artists share their music.

“There’s no hierarchy. I try to make it a comfortable environment,” Mulnix said. “If they want to achieve something sonically, I’m going to try my hardest to do that. It’s a great learning process for me. I’m learning alongside the artists.”

Mulnix said he enjoys watching the artists grow in the studio.

“All the artists are humble, never thinking they’ll be a recording artist,” Mulnix said. “But when they get into the studio and have that ownership over their song, it builds their confidence and they start to believe in themselves that they can turn nothing into something.”

One artist who stood out from the first showcase is Victoria Gunderson, who Mulnix com-

pared to Adele in the way her voice carries.

“She was the clear winner,” Mulnix said. “She brought the entire audience to silence during her song ‘Morning Waffles.’”

Gunderson originally found out about the showcase while she was performing at an open mic night at Shaun & Sons Artisan Pub & Coffeehouse, where the event is held.

She eventually decided to sign up and give it a try.

Maggie Gould/KANSAN Matthew Mulnix runs the Lawrence Songwriter Showcase. Ten amateur songwriters perform for a chance to win free one-song production packages.

“It was really full, that was the most full I’ve ever seen the S&S,” Gunderson said. “It was a little nerve-wracking, but it was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed it. Everyone was really good so it was a cool experience.”

As the winner, Gunderson was offered a full production package for her song, which she said was a new experience for her.

“I’ve always thought about recording and producing my music, but I always felt overwhelmed and didn’t know where to start,” Gunderson said.

“This will be my first song on Spotify, I’m looking forward to it.”

As for the future of the event, Mulnix said he is focused on gaining some sponsorship and would like to eventually expand to other cities.

“I think Lawrence is the best harbor for it with the arts community and support here, but we’d love to try a Kansas City or Topeka showcase,” Mulnix said. “I would love to also continue to learn more about music production so that I can be on the same level as national artists and continue to help local artists grow their careers.”

The second showcase will take place at S&S Artisan Pub & Coffeehouse from 7 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, March 5. CDs featuring the winners of the first showcase will also be sold at the event.

Siblings and students recreate Dyche Hall grotesques CAMI KOONS @Koons_Cami For the past month, Karl Ramberg has worked outside of Dyche hall with a chisel and hammer to shape large blocks of limestone.

“He’s so dedicated to the carving; I don’t know if he gets cold,” said senior Mattie Karr from Olathe, a student helping with the project.

Ramberg and his sister Laura are working to recreate the building’s original stone grotesques, with the help of several students at the University.

“It’s a real honor and a real treat for both of us to be working on this,” Karl said.

Karl said he learned to carve as an apprentice under a former KU professor Elden Tefft. Karl said he feels a responsibility to pass down the craft and has worked with several classes on various projects, including the Spooner Hall courtyard last semester.

Karl has three students working with him on this project. They help him block out the stone and will create their own small reliefs to practice detailed carving. Karr said Karl teaches them the philosophies of stone carving and always reminds them to stay in the present moment with the stone.

“It gets really cold carving out there, but you just keep at it and

that’s a part of the stone carving,” Karr said.

Laura also studied under Tefft at the University, though she said the stone taught her how to carve. The Rambergs said restoring Dyche Hall is important because few buildings have these architectural details, especially in Kansas. Both siblings said they feel honored to work on the project.

The team will carve eight total grotesques that replicate the original 1901 carvings by Joseph Robaldo Frazee. Karl said they expect to finish the project around this time next year. He said each block will be under his chisel for a month of blocking, or roughing out the shape, before moving to Laura’s studio. The grotesque will spend another month with Laura while she carves the details.

“Even though I’ll be making historically correct sculpture reproduction, I feel like I’m putting new energy into it, a new understanding of the history,” Laura said. “I’m trying to honor the history as well as honor the progression of history.”

The Rambergs worked with Keith and Amy VanDeRiet, who are married, from the School of Architecture and Design for the initial proposal, and to create models of the original pieces.

Last summer the VanDeRiets taught an online class to eight students,

Cami Koons/KANSAN Laura Ramberg “measures and marks” the first grotesque back at her studio.

one per grotesque. Keith said the students learned how to scan, document and digitally repair these statues in order to 3D print the models. The students passed the models to the Rambergs who hand-crafted their final moquettes, or scale models, out of clay.

Keith said he enjoyed combining technology with the human craft, though he and Laura agree one cannot replace the other.

“We don’t want to abandon our human craft,” Keith said. “It’s not machines all the time.”

Keith and Laura said

the grotesques represent the inside of the museum. According to KU History, the museum housed Lewis Lindsay Dyche’s World’s Fair display of North American mammals. Keith said the design and carvings on the building connect Kansas

to the rest of the world, just as Dyche did with his World’s Fair display.

Laura said because each grotesque is based on a real animal like an ape, an elephant, a wild horse, or a rhinoceros, they represent the biodiversity of the museum’s specimens.

“It’s basically the story of the environment, and I think that building honors the environment, honors the Earth basically,” Laura said. “For me, that seems really important right now.”

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opinion

OPINION

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Text your Free For All submissions to (785) 289-8351

FFA of the Day: Am I a bad Jew if I sneak out of this Holocaust documentary screening Alex Trebek has Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer, so I’m cutting out my pancreas as I type this Guyssssss I got shook today when I realized that Halsey is just the scrambled letters of Ashley “in 8th grade a girl I liked said I had bad breath and it changed my life” “hold on tight guys this bus is dying a slow and painful death” my bus driver before it violently vibrates and altogether shuts off “he looks so cute with a kitten you wouldn’t think he’s a douche nozzle” Imagine being the parking guy that gave me TWO tickets in one night the other day i saw the “parking guy” get out of the car and it was literally just a small blond woman in a tridelt sweathsirt “where were you the last time KU didn’t win the big 12???” “uhhh 2nd grade” apparently ku is playing right now?? i checked the score and turns out i wish i hadn’t known they were playing “I need an addiction to something, otherwise I’m just a boring guy” Just when I think my high school teacher being arrested by homeland security for being part of an international child pornography ring can’t get any worse it gets worse “do you ever wonder why men have an iron deficiency”

K A N S A N .C O M /O P I N I O N

College forms lifelong friendships GANNON MILLER @gannon_miller13

If you haven’t lived it yet, picture this: you are at Anschutz Library studying at 3 a.m. with your friends on a Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning. You are broke, hungry, tired, frustrated, greasy and just over it all. You finish studying and limp back to your dormitory or apartment, wake up for your 8 a.m. class the next morning, and you all still vow to go out for dollar night at the Hawk.

College is hard, and you chose to be here, either to advance your career, increase your breadth of knowledge or to make connections. What you may not have known when signing up for this, however, was that here is where you are most likely going to meet your future best friend(s).

College is hard, and regardless of who you are, you’ve most likely struggled with sleep deprivation, sadness, hunger or all of the above. No one is “living their best life” in college, or at least not all of the time. The struggle is definitely real, and to paraphrase Drake, we are definitely starting at the bottom (and many of us are still there, unfortunately).

But is college really all that bad? Why do we meet

Hannah Edelman/KANSAN Students study at Anschutz Library ahead of finals week. The Kansan details several tips for students to study smarter in preparation for exams. so many adults in the middle of their careers that say college was the best four years of their life?

College comes with a guarantee that is very new to a lot of people: freedom.

Moving out of your parents’ house and meeting new people is scary, but everyone else you meet is doing the same thing.

While it may sound exciting on the outside,

a close-up look reveals it’s quite scary. After all, new people can be frightening and so can change.

This change often leads to struggle, and that struggle is what creates vulnerability. Vulnerability then ignites some kind of response; be it fight-or-flight or maybe a response that craves companionship. It awakens an inner voice that says, “Hey, I need to

make some friends.”

College is, in my eyes, a “judgement-free zone.”

With bags under everyone’s eyes, a resume full of invaluable yet underpaid or unpaid work experience and the constant worry over getting your card declined, there isn’t much leeway.

But, combine this tension with thousands of other people going

through the same exact thing, and you have perfect conditions for building lifelong friendships.

We might all be starting from the bottom, but like Drake says, at least the whole team is here, too.

classes or cafeteria workers preparing and serving food in dining halls, our school would definitely not function smoothly without these essential employees.

So, why is it that fulltime employees who keep our campus going are not allowed to park on campus near the buildings they work in without purchasing a parking pass for upwards of $300?

All University employees are required to buy a parking pass if they want to park on campus, according to KU Parking and Transit. When I asked if there was any as-

sistance, the employee on the other end of the line greeted my question with a deep sigh and repeated that if an employee wants to park on campus, they

agitation and repeated answers that suggested this was not the first time this employee has outlined the policy over the phone. I understand his

of employment?

On top of the issue of cost, the availability of spots within one’s designated zone is problematic. The University doesn’t have nearly enough parking, and it seems that the place you need to park is always the one with no spots left.

While employees may be able to buy a parking pass, they still may not get a spot anywhere near their place of employment. Is there not a way for us to designate a specific number of parking spots within zones specifically for full-time employees?

Though I may not be qualified to completely redesign the parking situation on our campus, it seems to me that we, as an institution, could do more to appreciate our employees — particularly our full-time employees, who provide services that afford us all a well-managed learning and living environment. Even if employees must still buy expensive parking passes, the University could make a greater effort to make these passes actually worth the price tag.

Gannon Miller is a junior from Columbus studying business and pre-law.

KU needs more parking options for employees JERIKA MILLER @MillerJerika According to the University of Kansas’ employment page, there are “more than 10,000 dedicated employees, [and] each plays a vital role in the University’s mission to shape leaders, work on groundbreaking research, provide foundational knowledge, support students and work collaboratively to solve global challenges.”

Whether they are security officers keeping us safe during late hours of studying in Anschutz, faculty lecturing in our

...the fact that there is no discount for employees to buy a parking pass is at the root of the parking problem. are required to buy a pass, just like any other student.

Every clarifying question I asked from that point on was greeted with

“do you ever wonder how men make it past infancy?”

“Your FBI agent isn’t going to like that” “I think I’ve officially become Too Online” My professor is listing off all the cool destinations everyone in the class is going to for spring break and I’m just over here like......I’ll be working!

I had a teacher in high school who constantly told us about bringing her dates to Costco

KANSAN.COM

Kansan file photo The University needs a cost-effective and efficient parking system for employees who drive to campus.

how to submit a letter to the editor

LETTER GUIDELINES: Send letters to editor@kansan.com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the email subject line.

Length: 300 words

The submission should include the author’s name, year, major and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.

frustration, and I can’t help but wonder how many other employees had called the office to try and avoid the added expense of a parking pass.

While the University offers employees the option to have payments for a parking pass deducted from their paychecks, the fact that there is no discount for employees to buy a parking pass is at the root of the parking problem.

Employees are paying the same, if not more, for parking passes than regular students. While I understand that employees make their living from working at the University, they also provide a critical service, and students and staff rely on them being on campus.

Why do we value our employees so little that we offer no assistance to pay for parking at their place

contact us Shaun Goodwin Emma Greenwood Editor-in-chief Business Manager sgoodwin@kansan.com egreenwood@kansan.com

Jerika Miller is a junior from Aurora, Colorado, studying English and secondary education.

editorial board

Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Shaun Goodwin, Savanna Smith, Aroog Khaliq and Emma Greenwood.

KANSAN.COM

SPORTS

11

Soccer facility draws tension between team, locals JAKOB KATZENBERG @KatzInHatz10 For the past several years, the Lawrence soccer community has been growing so fast that local clubs have had to turn players away.

To resolve the problem, two local soccer organizations — Jambars Futbol Club and the Lawrence Adult Soccer League — have proposed a privately-funded project to turn an approximately 80-acre plot of land into a five-field facility with lights.

Calcio Village — Italian for “soccer village” — has been in the works for three years and is proposed for the corner of East 1750 and North 1300 Roads south of Kansas Highway 10.

Jambars Futbol Club and Lawrence Adult Soccer League expect the facility to be completed by fall and include two natural grass fields and three turf fields.

But not everyone in the community supports the new village. Residents living on 1300 Road — in the neighborhood near the proposed site — have several concerns about the project.

Jambars Club Director Joe Comparato, who has been leading the project,

is confident the Douglas County Commission will approve the project at its upcoming March 13 meeting.

“It’s taken us three years to get a shovel in the ground but we’re excited to finally get going,” Comparato said.

However, Lawrence resident Karen Heeb, who lives near the proposed complex, said her primary concern is the community’s access to water.

Every house in the neighborhood has well water.

Because there is not a city water hookup, Calcio Village would draw water from the water table, possibly causing a shortage.

“Our water table is limited on how much water it can supply,” said Heeb, who has lived in the area for 26 years. “From what they’re indicating, it’s going to be a big complex.”

The Douglas County Commission granted a conditional use permit in 2016 but has yet to give final approval.

To address the water concerns, Comparato said the facility will include a 4.5-acre pit to collect water for field irrigation.

Another neighborhood concern is the traffic safety of 1300 Road.

Homeowners note the speed limit of 35 mph on the hilly road oftentimes

Douglas County Commission Construction plans of Calcio Village featuring dimensions of the fields, buildings and parking lots. gets ignored.

“I sit by my kitchen counter and see it all the time,” resident Bernice Vervynck said, who lives about a mile and a half from the proposed complex. “I watch those cars go and know some of those cars are going way too fast.”

The project would also increase the amount of traffic to 1300 Road. At a

Douglas County Commission The proposed location of Calcio Village, at the corner of East 1750 Road and North 1300 Road, south of Kansas Highway 10.

Douglas County Commission meeting in February 2016, a traffic engineer report said the facility could bring in as many as 60 to 88 cars from 4 to 9 p.m. on weekdays and even more on tournament days and weekends.

“This isn’t even a twolane road. It’s not built that way,” Heeb said. “It’s not that wide.”

In an effort to make the road safer, the county is proposing a plan that would include a reconstruction of 1300 Road from O’Connell Road to 1750 Road, which would take cars to the entrance of the soccer facility.

However, Heeb said she spoke with the county engineer and it could be a long time before that happens.

“They’ve already done their planning from three to four years out and that’s not in it,” Heeb said. “We’re looking at probably four to five years before that would be a possibility.”

Although the project has caused concern for the neighbors of the proposed complex, Comparato said there’s a real need to add more fields in Lawrence.

“When Calcio Village is open, we expect to grow exponentially.”

Andy Bentley LASL President

Jambars first opened in 2015 and now has about 240 children and teenagers playing competitive soccer. As such, they had to cap enrollment in their programs, according to Comparato.

Lawrence Adult Soccer League President Andy Bentley also said they’ve had to turn away players.

“When Calcio Village opens, we will have room to expand the club to 525 kids,” Comparato said.

“We expect to reach that mark within a couple of seasons.”

Jambars has programs for high school and college students ages 19 and under to their Mini Jambars program for children as young as three.

Although Jambars will own Calcio Village, the Lawrence Adult Soccer League will benefit as well. Bentley said the league has been sharing fields with the two local high schools. He said the league has limited access to field time and no access to lights.

The LASL has been growing by about 5 to 6 percent annually for the past couple years, according to Bentley. The club includes about 600 players from ages 15 to 65.

“When Joe came to us with this idea, it was a huge windfall for us,” Bentley said. “When Calcio Village is open, we expect to grow exponentially.”

‘WHAT WAS THAT?’ FROM PAGE 1 81-68 loss to the Sooners on Tuesday cements Kansas’ road record at 3-8 on the season and officially eliminates the Jayhawks from Big 12 title contention.

It’s easy to say that Oklahoma “needed” this game more than Kansas, especially with the final stat lines for Sooners guard Brady Manek (21 points, five rebounds) and forward Kristian Doolittle (24 points, 10 rebounds). Really, the Sooners seemed to just want this one more.

And if that seems like a retread from earlier this season, that checks out.

Time and time again, when Kansas was presented with an opportunity to take control of the Big 12, it just didn’t.

Now, after 14 years of putting a stranglehold on a conference, the streak is officially over.

No more “Is this the year?” conversations to give fans of Kansas State, Texas, Iowa State and others hope of a semblance of a reign ending.

No more wondering how

Kansas is going to go on a trademark Bill Self run to take back control after giving that aforementioned glimmer of hope to other teams.

And while that perspective and “doom and gloom” attitude may haunt the minds of Jayhawk faithful for the rest of the season, you would think that would impact the actual players with, again, their “backs against the wall.”

But when freshman forward David McCormack — who has steadily improved with each start this season — is tied for a team-high 18 points with usual standout redshirt junior forward Dedric Lawson, that typically won’t end in Kansas’ favor.

Shooting 7-of-31 from beyond the arc is also slightly uncharacteristic for this team, but that can be chalked up to poor shot selection and a complete lack of offensive rhythm as much as an inability to hit outside shots.

Also, for anyone believing that this might cause a shift in freshman guard Quentin Grimes, the struggling guard scored just three points. I guess we’ll

have to wait a little longer for that transformation into, say, “Postseason Malik.”

And you could just run down the box score for the usual suspects that at so many times this season have carried this team to victory cheers instead of bitter disappointment.

Freshman guards Devon Dotson (six points) and Ochai Agbaji (nine points) failed to make a major impact.

Garrett, while not a main offensive threat, had eight points.

However, there are only two numbers that really matter here: 13 (the margin of victory for Oklahoma), and of course, 14.

Whether or not the streak being broken is “better” for this team remains to be seen. Maybe it takes pressure off, maybe it adds it by reminding this team they broke it in the first place.

Either way, this season thus far, Tuesday’s game and this now failed run at a Big 12 title just leaves everyone a bit bewildered and wondering one thing.

What was that?

Chance Parker/KANSAN Freshman forward David McCormack heads to the rim against West Virginia.

The Jayhawks defeated the Mountaineers 78-53 on Saturday, Feb. 16.

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SPORTS

KANSAN.COM

Basketball Gameday Thursday, March 7, 2019

K A N S A N .C O M /S P O R T S

Kansas vs. Baylor, Saturday, March 9, 1:00 p.m.

Chance Parker/KANSAN Freshman guard Devon Dotson drives the ball against Kansas State. The Jayhawks defeated the Wildcats 64-49 Monday, Feb. 25.

MADDY TANNAHILL & BRADEN SHAW @KansanSports

Beat Writer Predictions:

MADDY TANNAHILL

70-62

KANSAS 22-8 (11-6 BIG 12)

75-63

BAYLOR 19-10 (10-6 BIG 12)

Dedric Lawson

Makai Mason

★★★★

★★★★

Lawson was just named a Naismith Award semifinalist, which at this point shouldn’t be that surprising given his season statline. He’s the most consistent player on the team, averaging 19 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and always seeming to get a bucket when Kansas needs it most.

Even in the loss to Oklahoma on Tuesday night, Lawson still put up 18 points and 11 rebounds, with eight boards coming on the defensive end.

Baylor’s first graduate transfer in program history, Mason has quickly fallen into the role of the team’s primary scorer in just one season of play, averaging about 14 points per game for the Bears, including an astounding 40-point career-high effort against TCU last month. In Baylor’s first matchup with the Jayhawks, Mason had trouble finding the bottom of the net, shooting just 3-of-12 from the field in the Bears’ home loss.

Devon Dotson

Mario Kegler

★★★★

★★★★

redshirt senior guard

redshirt junior forward

redshirt sophomore guard

freshman guard

While Dotson hasn’t necessarily impressed scoring-wise in his last two games — four points against Oklahoma State and six points against Oklahoma — he still has found other ways to contribute. Dotson has four assists in each of those two games and also has pulled down four and three rebounds, respectively.

David McCormack

A lengthy guard at 6-foot-7, Kegler makes his presence known primarily on the boards, boasting over 135 rebounds on the season, falling only behind fellow redshirt sophomore guard Mark Vital in that category.

Offensively, Kegler has had the hot hand lately for the Bears, averaging 20 points through their last three matchups, including a season-high 24 points in Baylor’s 84-83 thwarting of Texas just last week.

Jared Butler

freshman forward

freshman guard

★★★

Once again, McCormack continues to improve as he gets more time on the court. In a game where Kansas failed to impress on almost all fronts, McCormack tied with Lawson with a team-high 18 points against Oklahoma.

McCormack also played 21 minutes on Tuesday night, his highest total since Feb. 16 against West Virginia.

quick hits

BRADEN SHAW

★★★

The lone freshman in Baylor’s starting five, Butler was the Bears’ top performer against Kansas on Jan 12., contributing 14 points in his first start since the team’s season opener back in November. Since then, the freshman has scored in double figures in all but three contests for the Bears, including all of their most recent eight matchups.

WOMEN’S BASKE TBALL

TENNIS

TR ACK AND FIELD

MEN’S BASKE TBALL

2

4

9

5,120

Players to earn All-Big 12 honors

Players ranked in singles and doubles in ITA

KANSAN.COM/SPORTS

KANSAN.COM/SPORTS

Entries in the NCAA Indoor Championships

Days ‘The Streak’ lasted

KANSAN.COM/SPORTS KANSAN.COM/SPORTS

2

kansan.com

Huntyr Schwegman/KANSAN

Note from the editor

SHAUN GOODWIN @ShaunGoodwinUDK

table of contents

3 4 5 6

A ‘sacred place’ on campus

1912 Jayhawk

Meet the man behind the statues

Local company immortalizes the Jayhawk in bronze

7 8 9 10 11 12

Over 100 years ago, the first-ever Jayhawk appeared in a cartoon in The University Daily Kansan, featuring long, spindly legs and a large beak the size of its body.

In the 107 years since, the University of Kansas has seen five other iterations of the famous bird that borrows its origins from the historic Civil War-era Jayhawkers who fought to keep Kansas a free state.

Now, returning to our roots of unveiling the first ever Jayhawk, the Kansan is proud and excited to be an integral part in unveiling the Jayhawk Evolution display outside the Kansas Union at Ascher Family Plaza.

Rock Chalk chant sets Allen Fieldhouse apart

A mascot in history

The evolution of the fight song

1920 Jayhawk

Jayhawk Collection showcases KU history

1923 Jayhawk

13 14 15 16 18 19

A walk down Jayhawk Boulevard

1929 Jayhawk

KU uniforms infuse history with modern design

Could the Jayhawk actually exist?

1941 Jayhawk

Former mascots share their experiences

20 21 22 23

1946 Jayhawk

The history of Big Jay and Baby Jay

What are those Jayhawks around town?

What it means to be a Jayhawk

Read more at kansan.com

kansan.com

Jayhawk Evolution statues will create a ‘sacred place’ on campus

Ascher Plaza is a new construction project in front of the Kansas Union.

KYSER DOUGAN @KyserDougan Almost every time someone visits campus or comes during the summer for orientation, there is one place they stop: the Jayhawk outside of the Kansas Union. Soon, there will be even more statues for visitors, students and alumni to pose with.

Six statues have been donated to the Union primarily by James Ascher Sr., with help from the Pi Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, Class of 1980. Those statues will be released to the public on March 7.

“The egg was a teaser device to let the campus know something extraordinary was coming in a playful way,” Union Director David Mucci said.

“We designated the six eggs because there will be six bronze statues of the six Jayhawks, known as the evolution of the Jayhawk.”

The first five Jayhawks in the evolution will stand roughly three feet tall and three feet deep, and the current Jayhawk will be five feet tall and roughly six feet deep.

After construction on Jayhawk Boulevard changed the elevations between the street and the Union Plaza, the Union was compelled to reconstruct the plaza to prevent flooding and comply with federal regulations set by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The renovations led the Union to “anticipate a future possibility where [they] could build a space that reflected the special tradition of the Jayhawk,” according to Mucci.

Planning a h e a d allowed

for the Union to add in the pedestals to the actual reconstruction.

“At that point we didn’t have any money for the birds. So that’s when we began reaching out to people … to see if there was anybody willing to do that.

Ultimately, Mr. Ascher said yes,” Mucci said. “It became something he was quite generous about.”

Ascher donated $200,000 for the project.

Because of his donation, the plaza will be named after him.

envelops people in that KU special environment. I think this will be unique in campus and one of those … very sacred spots,” Mucci said. “It will be one of those places that I think people will seek out. There will be nothing like it on campus.”

Stucky also discussed how much the mascot means to Jayhawk fans.

“The evolution of the Jayhawk is the term that rings near and dear to Jayhawks and I think it will be an embodiment of these 2D drawings into these

“It will be one of those places that I think people will seek out. There will be nothing like it on campus.”

David Mucci Union director

However, even with Ascher’s donation, the Union still did not have enough money to complete the project.

The additional money came from Phi Gamma Delta, Class of 1980.

Mucci and Kara Stucky, marketing director for the Union, both look forward to the statues being an important part of campus.

“I think if you’ve been up here at any visit time, graduation, start of school, people gravitate to those Jayhawks … in terms of [a] place that sort of projects a n d

sculptural figures,” Stucky said.

This project has been a long time goal of KU alum Matt Palmer and his uncle Robin Richerson, who sculpted the statues.

“Our goal all along, our dream all along from day one was to have giant monuments on the campus,” Palmer said.

Palmer searched for many locations to house the monuments, and ended up coming in contact with Mucci. “[Mucci] has been an absolute

Sarah Wright/KANSAN

instrumental champion of this dream of ours. I cannot stress enough how instrumental he has been in helping to make this dream a reality,” Palmer said.

Palmer, who studied advertising at the University, is excited to see this dream finally come true.

“This has been a dream of ours for a very, very long time. We are thrilled to be working with the University to create this monument, to create this incredible depiction of the inspirational mascots,” Palmer said. “I’m a very proud Jayhawk and this is basically a dream come true for us.”

Richerson, the sculptor on the project, also discussed how this project was new for the Jayhawk.

Richerson also noted the sculptures in front of the Union are the first of their kind, as all but the current Jayhawk have never been created into three dimensional sculptures.

“It’s the first time that anyone has ever interpreted all six of the two-dimensional icons into sculptures,” Richerson said.

Richerson also looks forward to seeing the plaza being used by students.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to work with the University and have these sculptures there where students, from now on, will be able to take photographs there and meet people there.

It’s a nice addition to the University,” Richerson said.

Palmer and Richerson run Icon Artworks together, creating sculptures for several universities across the country.

3

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kansan.com

kansan.com

Meet the man behind the statues

Ascher Plaza is a new addition to the outside of the Kansas Union, donated by James Ascher Sr. SOPHIA BELSHE @SophiaBelshe Alumni James Ascher said the University of Kansas is part of his history. Now, because of his donation, the history of the Jayhawk will be displayed through six bronze statues in front of the Union.

“Once you’re a Jayhawk, you’re always a Jayhawk,” Ascher said.

“It’s something you carry with you and the history of the Jayhawk, as we’ll represent when we put the different ones up, goes way back, even before any of us were born.”

Ascher donated $200,000 to the project, and the plaza where the statues will be installed will be named after him.

The rest of the funding for the project came from the Pi Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, Class of 1980.

“We went up [to campus] last spring, and it was raining like the dickens ... and where the plaza is now, there was nothing but a mud pool,” Ascher said. “And it’s really something to see what they turned it into.”

Union Director David Mucci said the project wouldn’t have been possible without Ascher.

“At that point we didn’t have any money for the birds. So that’s when we began reaching out to people … to see if there was anybody willing to do that. Ultimately, Mr. Ascher said yes,” Mucci said. “It became something he was quite generous about.”

Ascher attended the University in the 1950s, and owned a pharmaceutical company before retiring in 2010.

He also has two daughters who graduated from the University.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for KU,” Ascher said.

Ascher’s first major donation to the

memorabilia could stay at the Union.

“I said… we can’t let a collection that

“Once you’re a Jayhawk, you’re always a Jayhawk.”

James Ascher Jayhawk statues donor

University was in 2013 when he and his wife donated $130,000 to KU Endowment so that a 1,000 piece collection of

large get away from the University,” Ascher said.

The statues will be unveiled Thursday, March 7 in front of the

Sarah Wright/KANSAN

Union.

“The Jayhawk, of all the logos of all the teams and universities and organizations in the world, the Jayhawk is independent and wellknown everywhere,” Ascher said. “They’ve got bears and tigers and all kinds of animals, and they don’t mean anything, but the Jayhawk is all by itself. It doesn’t belong any other place. It belongs at KU.”

Contributed photo James Ascher is the donor of the Jayhawk statues in his namesake Ascher Plaza.

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kansan.com

Local sculptor, company immortalizes evolution of the Jayhawk in bronze

Contributed Photo Sculptor Robin Richerson (left) compares a small-scale Jayhawk to the beak of the plastic cast used to make the finished statue.

RYLIE KOESTER @RylieKoester A sculptor who regularly immortalizes treasured icons has done it again — this time with six largescale statues depicting the evolution of the Jayhawk.

Robin Richerson, the artist at Kansas City-based company Icon Artworks, has created six large-scale replicas of the Jayhawk mascot throughout history that will be permanently displayed at Ascher Plaza outside of the Kansas Union.

ings. Actual construction on the statues started in 2018, but the idea of creating large-scale statues has been around much longer.

Matt Palmer, Richerson’s nephew and the founder of Icon Artworks, said the company first presented small desktop models of the evolution of the Jayhawk to the University’s Endowment office.

The company then started making small desktop versions of the evolution of the Jayhawk in 2010. It worked with the University to secure licensing to en-

nowned bronze sculptor, who was brought to the United States by the University’s late professor of art Elden Tefft, mentored Richerson for years. Tefft created the sculpture of the “Academic Jay” outside of Strong Hall and Wu created the sculpture of Phog Allen outside of Allen Fieldhouse.

Icon Artworks makes its statues out of both bronze and pewter. The five statues of past Jayhawks that sit on the edge of the plaza are 3 feet tall and weigh anywhere from 100 to 200

Contributed Photo Two workers pour molten bronze that will eventually go into one of the Jayhawk statues at Ascher Family Plaza.

“This is a great opportunity for me,” Richerson said. “I think about all the photographs that graduates and people coming to the University for the first time and just all the people that’ll take photographs there with the Campanile in the background — it’s very significant.”

Richerson has been an artist since he graduated an art degree and has been working with bronze statues for the past 20 years.

The family-owned-and-operated company’s mission is to immortalize treasured icons.

The statues were made at Ad Astra Art Bronze, a foundry in East Lawrence that produces bronze cast-

sure their models accurately depicted the Jayhawk mascots.

Palmer said since meeting with the University, the goal of the company has always been to find a location on campus and secure financial support to create the large-scale monuments depicting the evolution of the Jayhawk, but it has taken some time. Less than a year ago, the location and donors were secured.

“It was really just our dream in general that, ‘Hey, someday, wouldn’t it be incredible to see these on campus somewhere?’” said Palmer, who graduated from the University in 1991.

Kwan Wu, a world-re-

pounds. The statue depicting the current Jayhawk displayed in the center of the plaza is 5 feet tall and weighs more than 600 pounds. The statues had to be put in place with a crane because of their weight.

“They’re very classy looking — it’s not a piece of plastic or a piece of resin that’s been painted,” Richerson said.

Richerson said he used a casting method called

lost-plastic to make the large-scale Jayhawks statues instead of the traditional lost-wax casting method that has been used for more than 3,000 years, which he usually uses at Icon Artworks.

The lost-plastic method saved Richerson time in making the statues. First, small models of the Jayhawk are scanned using 3D technology and are then enlarged by a computer.

The models are then printed in 20-inch cubes using 3D printers. Each cube can take up to 50 hours to print at a cost of $90 per hour.

The plastic pieces are then assembled together and a circulatory system is attached to secure them, then allowing the bronze to enter the mold and air to escape. After that, the plastic is dipped into a ceramic slurry, burning the plastic away. That’s where the method gets its name — the plastic is lost. While it’s still hot, bronze is poured into the mold and the seams are chased, and what’s left is the bronze statue.

“These monuments are going to be enjoyed for generations — it’s an enormous honor, and I could not be happier,” Palmer said.

Palmer said he takes pride in his company producing the statues in the United States. The company uses foundries in Kansas and other states. This specific project depicting the evolution of the Jayhawk was conducted locally by a Kansas City-based company, a Lawrence foundry and a University graduate.

“This has meant everything to me,” Palmer said.

“I am a Jayhawk — I am a proud Jayhawk.”

Contributed Photo Left to right: Sculptor Robin Richerson stands with his nephew Matt Palmer, the founder of Icon Artworks.

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Rock Chalk Chant sets Allen Fieldhouse apart

Huntyr Schwegman/KANSAN Kansas men’s basketball fans cheer in Allen Fieldhouse during the game against Kansas State. The Jayhawks defeated the Wildcats 64-49 Monday, Feb. 25.

LAUREN HAWKINS @laurensidney_ Since 1887, Jayhawks have been chanting in unison, filling the air with the voices of die-hard fans, as well as devoted Kansas students and alumni.

There is no doubt that Allen Fieldhouse is one of the greatest places to witness college basketball. But, why is that?

The obvious answer is the stellar home-court advantage. Jayhawks fans show up and show out.

Students, alumni and fans are known for their loyalty to Kansas sports.

From starting camping groups to creating elaborate posters and costumes, fans go the extra mile.

The chant has redefined what it means to be a Jayhawk. As a school rich with traditions, fans look forward to gameday rituals.

Sure, it is great to camp hours before the game and design posters that will be recognized on the Jumbotron, but, without the deafening cheers of all the fans in the stands, Allen Fieldhouse would not be the same.

The Rock Chalk chant is what sets Kansas apart.

As one of the best chants in college sports, the Rock Chalk chant captures the attention of all who witness it.

Derived from a cheer originally created for the University’s science club, the chant became a battle cry of sorts. Used before games and after a victory,

the chant requires the participation of all fans in attendance.

There is no surprise that basketball fanatics from all over often travel to witness at least one game in Allen Fieldhouse.

Holding the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd roar, the Fieldhouse is an atmosphere unlike any other.

With the unique Rock Chalk chant, Jayhawk fans have helped put Kansas sports on the map.

Every August, thousands of new Jayhawks fill the stands of Memorial Stadium to prepare for Traditions Night, dedicated to teaching students the traditions of campus.

It’s here where many students get their first taste of the ritual.

Dating back to 1886, the Rock Chalk chant is ingrained in this university. Before every game, big or small, the chant echoes through campus.

Like the chant, Jayhawk fans are worldwide. The Rock Chalk chant is not limited to facilities in Lawrence due to the presence of Kansas fans all over the world. Oftentimes during away games, if you listen closely, you can catch the faint cheer of a Jayhawk starting the chant and upholding the tradition.

The chant has redefined what it means to be a Jayhawk. As a school rich with traditions, fans look forward to gameday rituals.

Evoking a sense of community, the Rock Chalk chant is here to stay. A powerful reminder to all opponents that here at KU, fans will do their part to help their team win.

The chant is what ties fans together,

intentionally connecting the crowd before games.

Joining the tradition and KU community is enough to remind anyone, there is truly no place like home.

Next time you find yourself at a Kansas sporting event, do not be afraid to link arms with the person next to you

and sing the Alma Mater.

But, most importantly, do not forget the power that is the Rock Chalk chant.

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A mascot in history: The Jayhawk

Photo courtesy of University Archives, Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries This map illustrates Kansas and Missouri during the Civil War. ADAM LANG @superduperadaml Every student who has passed through the University of Kansas has had the fortune of being called a Jayhawk. While there are several wildcats, plenty of tigers and a few bears, there is only one major university that takes the form of a Jayhawk.

Although the term Jayhawk is now synonymous with the University, it began before the school even came about. The original meaning of “Jayhawker” is unknown, but according to KU History, it was first used in 1850 as a name for a group of 36 men who

traveled west to California during the Gold Rush. The term was then used to describe thieves and the act of stealing.

In the 1860s during the Civil War, when Kansas and Missouri were in conflict due to Missouri being pro-slavery, the guerrilla fighter followers of Union General James Lane took up the name as they fought for Kansas against their neighbors.

“The term comes from Kansas being a free state, and the people who were trying to keep it free were called ‘Jayhawkers,’” said Heidi Simon, senior associate director of freshman recruitment.

“It’s woven into the fabric

of what it means to be a Jayhawk and who we are as Jayhawks.”

Chalk Jayhawk.”

In 1890, the football team became known as

“It’s woven into the fabric of what it means to be a Jayhawk and who we are as Jayhawks.”

Heidi Simon Senior associate director of freshman recruitment

In University history, the Jayhawk first made its way into the college word bank in 1886 when chemistry professor E.H.S. Bailey used “Rah Rah, Jay Hawk,” as the cheer for the Science Club. This chant eventually became what we know today as “Rock

Photo courtesy of University Archives, Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries Charles Jennison, a strong supporter of abolitionists John Brown and James Montgomery, came to Kansas in 1857. In 1861 he was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel of the 7th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, which became known as “Jennison’s Jayhawkers.”

the Jayhawks, and in 1901, the yearbook became the Jayhawker.

“It was a very slow process of getting to where we are now,” Union Traditions Administrator Tim Gaddie said. “We went through a few little mascots for certain elements of the University, and the Jayhawk eventually just stuck.”

The earliest published drawing of a Jayhawk appeared in 1908, which Gaddie describes as looking more like a phoenix than a normal bird. The bird continued to appear in local newspapers around the Kansas City area and Lawrence until 1912 when Henry Maloy, an illustrator for the Jayhawker, designed the first official mascot, which many now refer to as the “sexy legs” Jayhawk.

Despite still not officially being the one and only mascot for the University, with some of the others being a pet bulldog and at one time a pig representing the football team, the Jayhawk slowly gained popularity.

By 1920, the Jayhawk had eclipsed all other mascots and essentially became the official mascot with a redesign that made it look more like a sparrow or other real bird. Again in 1923, it was redesigned, but brought back to its more cartoony roots similar to the 1912 Jayhawk with sneakers and a firmly established red, blue and yellow palette. After slight tweaks to the design in 1929, 1941 and 1946, the current Jayhawk we know and love came to be.

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Conference changes have forced ‘I’m a Jayhawk’ fight song to evolve

Photo courtesy of University Archives, Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries The University marching band poses for a photo at a Kansas-Missouri football game in 1925.

JACK JOHNSON @JohnyJ_15 It echoes throughout the cathedral that is Allen Fieldhouse and reverberates around Memorial Stadium as band members perform on the turf of Kivisto Field. It unites Jayhawks fans everywhere and symbolizes the traditional roots on which the program was built.

The song “I’m a Jayhawk” has been the trademark of the University of Kansas since 1912, when student George “Dumpy” Bowles created one of the most familiar tunes in Lawrence.

Although rather unpopular among students until 1920, the song hit its stride in 1926 when the University’s glee club made it well known across the nation, according to the Songs of Old KU. But as fans tap their feet or hum the song at sporting events, graduation or in a commercial advertisement, how many know about or can actually recite the lyrics that Bowles originally wrote

more than 100 years ago?

While some students and alumni can yell out the words each time, for many this could be the first time you’ve heard about these lyrics. Starting with the first line, the lyrics tend to poke fun at conference rivals, some of which have since departed.

It begins with “Talk about the Sooners, the Cowboys and the Buffs.

Talk about the Tiger and his tail.” Then continues to, “Talk about the Wildcat, and those Cornhuskin’ boys, but I’m the bird to make ‘em weep and wail.”

This original version of the song was created before the completion of the league and stood untouched for 46 years until the lyrics were adapted during 1958 to align with the addition of some rival schools into the Big Eight conference, according to the Traditions page on the Kansas Athletics website.

There it remained for more than five decades.

However, in 2010, the song would change once again.

That summer, Colora-

do and Nebraska had announced their departures from the Big 12 to the Pac12 and Big 10, respectively. At the time, University alumni pleaded with the Alumni Association to alter the song again, and their wish was granted.

Matt Schoenfeld, a Baylor graduate but Kansas fan, entered his updated version of the song in a contest he came across in a Sports Illustrated article. His lyrics were selected out of six options and changed the first verse and one line of the chorus, according to a news release from 2010 in the KU archives.

Since Bowles only named six schools in his original piece, the new edition added teams including Baylor, Iowa State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech to the mix.

Texas and Texas Tech broke into the lyrics after being left out in Bowles’ original version. The line “Rope some ‘Horns and listen to the Red Raiders wail,” was stuck in right before the final words of the song.

The Buffs were replaced with the Bears in the first line and the Cyclones replaced the Cornhuskers.

In the chorus section however, the first half of the lines stayed exactly how Bowles had left them: ”Cause I’m a Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay Jayhawk, up at Lawrence on the Kaw,’cause I’m a Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay Jayhawk, With a sis-boom, hip hoorah. Got a bill that’s big enough to twist the Tiger’s tail.”

Ironically, the constant tinkering may not yet be finished. The following year saw Texas A&M and Missouri leave for the SEC, causing an issue with the lyrics just one year after their implementation.

The additions of TCU and West Virginia the same year solved the Big 12 Conference’s membership issue, but the song itself has yet to be modified nine years later.

It may not sound in tune or make too much sense in this day in age, but the next time the band blares “I’m a Jayhawk” at a sporting event, don’t just clap along, sing it!

'I'm a Jayhawk' fight song

By Matt Schoenfeld (2010)

Talk about the Sooners, Cowboys and the Bears, Aggies and the Tiger and his tail.

Talk about the Wildcats, and the Cyclone boys, But I’m the bird to make ‘em weep and wail.

Chorus: ’Cause I’m a Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay, Jayhawk, Up at Lawrence on the Kaw ’Cause I’m a Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay, Jayhawk, With a sis-boom, hip hoorah, Got a bill that’s big enough To twist a Tiger’s tail, Rope some ‘Horns and listen To the Red Raiders wail ’Cause I’m a Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay, Jayhawk, Riding on a Kansas gale.

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The Jayhawk Collection showcases KU history through memorabilia

Rachel Griffard/KANSAN The Jayhawk collection on the second floor of the Memorial Union displays a case of a unique collection Jayhawk sculptures.

MADDY TANNAHILL @MaddyTannahill Home to over 1,000 pieces of Jayhawk memorabilia, the Jayhawk Collection living on the second floor of the Union showcases the history and evolution of the University and its mascots to over 1.5 million students, alumni and fans who visit the Union annually.

However, this prized possession of the University — valued at over $250,000 — was nearly boxed up and auctioned off in 2013, never to again grace the halls of the Union.

The vast majority of the collection came from one collector, Bud Jennings, who had amassed Jayhawk memorabilia for over 60 years before allowing the Union to display his pieces in 2010.

“The original agreement was the union would display the items, and that was great for us because that was a way to share the collection with the campus community and public in general,” KU History Coordinator Tim Gaddie said.

“And then for Jennings, it was a way for people to see it and hopefully, in his mind, someone would be

like ‘Oh I’d like to buy that collection.’”

However — after four years and no luck — Jennings asked the Union to pack up his collection and allow him to sell it pieceby-piece online, in search of $130,000.

As then-coordinator of KU History Mike Reid was in the process of packing the memorabilia, he drew plenty of local media attention from a Facebook post detailing the soon-tobe loss of the collection.

funds he was hoping to get for his retirement.”

Since the donation, the collection in its entirety has returned to the Union, where Gaddie said there is no longer a risk of losing the display.

“It is part of KU now, so it won’t go away,” Gaddie said. “It’s treated as a museum collection. So we’re holding it and preserving it in the public trust, the University trust.”

Now that the memorabilia is an everlasting piece

“It’s just a really great opportunity for the public and alumni to come and relive their experience through the Jayhawk.”

Tim Gaddie KU history coordinator

Fortunately for both Reid and Jennings, James and Mary Ellen Ascher, a couple from Overland Park, saw the story in a newspaper and wanted to get involved.

“Basically they made a donation to KU Endowment which enabled us through KU Endowment to keep the collection,” Gaddie said. “So Jennings was able to secure the

of the University, part of Gaddie’s job at the Union is to both become familiar with the pieces and upkeep them.

“Right now on a quarterly basis we go through and dust everything, just to keep it clean, and that’s also a chance to take a good look at stuff as you go through, make sure we’re not getting any pests in the cases and checking

Rachel Griffard/KANSAN Tim Gaddie, KU history coordinator, explains the origin of the Jayhawk memorbilia collection in the Memorial Union.

the light exposure,” Gaddie said.

While the collection is home to over 1,000 pieces, only a few hundred can be displayed at a time due to space limitations. One of Gaddie’s favorite elements of the exhibit is the endcap—an entire case dedicated to the work of one artist: George Knotts, a Kansas alumnus who, before his passing last year, gave much of his time and artistry to the University.

This display showcases many bronze smaller Jayhawks surrounding one large stone piece.

“This is the first stone sculpture of a Jayhawk and the chancellor basically bought it with his own money and then donated it to the Union to be on display,” Gaddie said. “To me, the pieces themselves are cool, but it’s more the history behind them and the sculptor himself that make them interesting and valuable to me.”

In order to educate the public on the history and significance of the pieces, KU History is in the process of creating interpretations to be displayed with the memorabilia, as well as a virtual tour so those unable to visit the Union can still experience the collection.

Until then, KU History invites alumni and students to visit the display on the second floor of the Union.

Kara Stucky, director of marketing for KU Memorial Union, said she is proud to be able to display such a unique collection.

“It’s just a really great opportunity for the public and alumni to come and relive their experience through the Jayhawk and through the history that we have on collection at the Union,” Stucky said.

“We really want everyone to know that we have this collection because it’s really special to the University of Kansas as a whole.”

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Take a walk down Jayhawk Boulevard: KU’s most prominent, historical sites

Sarah Wright and Rachel Griffard/KANSAN Lucy Peterson introduces many of the University’s most prominent historical sites, including the Campanile, Budig Hall and The Oread.

LUCY PETERSON @lucyxpeterson The six new Jayhawk sculptures at the Memorial Union Ascher Family Plaza are not the first sculptures or landmarks on Jayhawk Boulevard. The Kansan searched through KU Info, KU History and KU Libraries Archives to compile a historical list of sites you see as you walk down Jayhawk Boulevard.

CHI OMEGA FOUNTAIN The Chi Omega Fountain, which sits on the west end of Jayhawk Boulevard, has long been a well-known landmark at the University of Kansas. Construction for the fountain first began in the fall of 1954, and was introduced during a ceremony on April 24, 1955.

The design of the fountain mimics a structure outside of an 18th century house in Northumberland, England. The Chi O house is also a reflection of 18th century English manor houses. The fountain cost $11,793.88 in 1955, which equals roughly $110,000 today.

Unlike some, it is legal to swim or walk in the lower part of the Chi O fountain, but any activity on the top of the fountain is not allowed. The fountain holds 8,500 gallons of water, and there is a $50 cleaning charge for detergent in the fountain and a $100 for putting dye in the fountain. A tour brochure called the fountain “an irresistible Mecca for youthful springtime frivolity.”

CAMPANILE The Memorial Campanile was built in 1950 to honor 277 students and faculty who died during World War II. Each of their names are engraved on the walls at the base of the 120-foot tower.

The Campanile is made out of Kansas limestone (which gave the University the “rock chalk” chant). The tower holds 53 bells — the largest of which weighs seven tons — that chime every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The tune of the chime is an actual song, called the “Westminster Chime,” and can be sung along with the lyrics “Lord through this hour, Be Thou our guide So,

by Thy power No foot shall slide.”

Each spring, the University’s graduating class walks through the Campanile and down the hill for commencement. An old superstition says if you walk completely through the Campanile before graduation, you will not graduate in four years.

POTTER LAKE Potter Lake, which sits at the base of the Campanile and next to Memorial Stadium, was named after Thomas M. Potter, a Kansas Senator who was a member of the Kansas Board of Regents. While canoeing is not allowed in Potter Lake, fishing is allowed with a valid fishing permit. The lake holds bluegill, catfish, bass, and goldfish.

Potter lake was initially created as a water source for the 84 fire hydrants on campus and was made to hold 4 million gallons of water, but now it only holds about 2.5 million gallons of water. After big wins for Kansas football, such as Kansas’ overtime win to Texas in 2016, it is a tradition for fans to throw the goalposts into Potter Lake as a celebration.

LIPPINCOTT STATUES Standing in front of Lippincott Hall are two seven-foot-seven bronze statues of two men. The man on the right is James Woods Green (Uncle Jimmy), the first Dean of

the School of Law, and the man on the left is law student Alfred C. Alford.

Alford was the first University student to be killed in the Spanish-American War. The statue was built after friends of Green and Law School alumni created the Green Memorial Association in order to fight for a statue in his memory.

The association commissioned Daniel Chester French, the same artist who created the Abraham Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. French declined the group’s request at first, but later agreed to make the sculpture after further pleas, because he had “never seen such love for a man - unless it be in the case of Abraham Lincoln.”

The sculpture was placed outside of the original Green Hall, and when the school moved, the sculpture remained in the same spot due to risk factors of moving it.

FRASER HALL Old Fraser Hall first opened in the fall of 1872 and was called the “New Building.” It was an impressive building at the time and newspapers compared it to the likes of structures at Harvard University.

The Fort Scott Daily Monitor wrote, “It may be said … that Harvard College has existed more than two hundred and thirty years without having a building equal to this in size or usefulness for the purposes of instruction.” The building went

through two name changes before it finally landed on Fraser Hall, after the University’s second Chancellor John Fraser.

Almost 100 years later, in the 1950s, Fraser went through renovations after students and faculty reported pieces of falling rock from the building’s exterior.

In February 1962, Chancellor Wescoe issued a statement saying Fraser would be demolished and replaced due to its structural issues. While this was met with protests across Lawrence, contractors deemed Fraser needed to face demolition.

After 92 years in August 1965, Fraser was demolished. New Fraser opened on Mar. 6, 1967 with two flag pole towers adorning the top as a salute to Old Fraser’s similar towers. The flagpoles are the highest points in Lawrence. Fraser is the highest point on Mount Oread at 1,031 feet.

The American Flag and KU banner are flown on the north and south towers of Fraser, unless wind speeds reach 15 mph.

UNION/ASCHER FAMILY PLAZA The Kansas Union opened at the east end of Jayhawk Boulevard in 1938.

The Union continued to grow, and student groups such as YMCA, YWCA, Student Senate, and KU Info planted themselves in the building.

On April 20, 1970, the Union burned down following Vietnam War protests.

By August 1970, the damages were almost completely repaired and the Union was running as normal.

Now, the Union has six floors and is a hub for student activities. The Union is home to Student Senate, Student Union Activities, the student radio station KJHK 90.7 FM, among many other student organizations. The Union has undergone construction projects throughout the 2018-19 school year.

The plaza of the Union facing Jayhawk Boulevard required new pavement, and with that came the construction of The Ascher Family Plaza. Its namesake comes from a donation from James J. Ascher Sr. and his wife Mary Ellen.

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Men’s athletics uniforms have infused history with modern design over time

Kansan file photo Then-redshirt sophomore guard Malik Newman handles the ball at the top against West Virginia wSaturday, Feb. 17, 2018.

BRADEN SHAW @bradenshaw4real

When Larry Hare first assumed the position of assistant athletics director of equipment service s back i n

2005, a major change to Kansas Athletics and its uniforms was taking place.

Athletics wanted to make a change to the uniforms to add consistency in the use of the Jayhawk logo and the ‘Kansas’ on the front with that of the University. By fall 2007, the uniforms for men’s basketball and football had entirely shifted to the new design.

“Now you couldn’t have had better luck since the first year we introduced this change to be in line with the University

and its logos, we go to the Orange Bowl in football and we win a national championship in men’s basketball,” Hare said.

While the primary uniforms haven’t undergone any changes of that magnitude since then, alternates and slight tweaks still occur year-to-year. For men’s basketball, it takes about 18 months to get a custom uniform into the rotation.

During his 14 years on staff though, the quickest a new uniform has been developed and brought to the team is 10 months for the red alternates during the 2017-18 season, according to Hare.

“That was a crash order and we had to hustle it over 10 months,” Hare said.

Men’s basketball is probably the most notable team to wear alternate uniforms, particularly with tributes to the 1974 Final Four team, and the 1988 and 2008 national championship-winning teams in recent years.

Hare said that he’s always looking for an anniversary to celebrate, a “story to tell” of a moment in the long history of Kansas men’s basketball. And while there are plenty of moments to choose from, Hare still isn’t always sure of how it will look on the athletes wearing them.

“You don’t always know how a product is going to look, then you see it out on the floor and you’re like, ‘Man, that came out great.

We’re really pleased,’” Hare said.

Hare admitted that he does pay attention to “reviews,” whether it’s Twitter reactions from Jayhawk faithful or conversations with former players being honored.

“I won’t lie, I take a peek at social media,” Hare said.

“I like to get the pulse for [a new uniform]. Jayhawk nation is passionate and some have said that if we’re not wearing what Danny and the Miracles wore, they’re not interested in anything else. That’s OK. I admire their passion.”

And sometimes, those reactions come in the form of a text message from former men’s basketball coach Ted Owens — the head man of the 1974 team — thanking Hare for the tribute.

“Well, isn’t that a nice blessing?” Hare said.

On the football side, tradition is still important to equipment manager Jeff Himes, who in his 30 years working on staff has tried to keep the classic feel integrated into the uniforms that the team dons every Saturday.

For football, some of those alternates include the John Hadl tribute with powder blue jerseys, or even the World War II uniforms this past season.

The material itself, however, has changed quite a bit.

“Shoulder pads are smaller, everything is tighter,” Himes said.

“I can remember the day when jerseys were clear down to their knees and now they’re above the belt.”

Hare has ran into this same change, as he said that even the uniforms that the 2008 team wore are “pretty much chain mail” compared to today’s sleeker, lighter designs.

“And Adidas has a uniform on the board for spring of 2020 that even takes it down another notch, as far as feeling almost like you don’t have anything on, which seems to be the trend,” Hare said.

Both Hare and Himes said that while Adidas handles more of the business and manufacturing side of things, Athletics and namely Himes, Hare and Athletic Director Jeff Long have the last call on the look of the uniforms.

Because of that, both Himes a n d H a re

said it’s important to stay true to what a school is about and not cause any unnecessary confusion with a fan base.

“Sometimes you see those teams that change uniforms all the time, and the fans don’t even know which team is which,” Himes said. “Ours all look the same, but maybe a different color.”

And while Hare has favorites over the years — the 2008 team tribute uniforms last season “sang” to Hare — the Hardwood Classic and Heritage uniforms, along with the traditional primary uniforms, all culminate in that story that Hare and company are trying to tell.

“You can never go wrong here tapping back into our history,” Hare said. “If it sells with the folks we’re acknowledging and our players and our fanbase, well, we’ve probably hit all the marks.”

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Could the Jayhawk actually exist?

Illustration by Philip Mueller/KANSAN The Jayhawk, though a fictional bird, shares characteristics with real birds.

COURTNEY BIERMAN @CourtBierman The Jayhawk, tragically, is not a real bird. Nature has yet to produce an animal that wears sneakers and has letters emblazoned on its feathers. But the Jayhawk does have features shared by live birds, according to Lucas DeCiccio, a second-year graduate student studying ornithology in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

DeCiccio answered the Kansan’s questions about what the life of a real Jayhawk bird might be like.

Kansan: Could the Jayhawk exist in the wild?

DeCiccio: It could.

I’m not aware of anything that actually looks like that in the wild.

There’s so much variation in bird proportions, and there’s lots of flightless birds out there, obviously, so that kind of relaxes a lot of proportional constraints. So, it could. I think it’s well within the realm of variation

that we’ve seen in extinct birds and extant species.

Kansan: Is there an extinct species the Jayhawk calls to mind? Its beak kind of looks like a dodo beak.

DeCiccio: Yeah, that’s the only thing that I was kind of thinking: the big, chunky feet and the large bill. I would say that that’s not unrealistic, kind of parallel.

Kansan: Do you think the Jayhawk would be able to fly?

DeCiccio: Uncertain. The dodo definitely couldn’t. I did review and look at the Jayhawk throughout history and what not, and I didn’t see any of it with its wings out. I was trying to figure out if you could actually answer that because you could easily, if there was a rendition with the wings out, you could figure out whatever wing loading and how much wing you would have to have, but you’d have to surmise a lot.

There’s some really small songbirds that are very oddly propor-

Contributed Photo The rainbow pitta of Australia has odd proportions and bright plumage, as does the Jayhawk.

Contributed Photo Steller’s sea eagle of northeastern Asia has a beak remarkably similar to that of the Jayhawk.

tioned: l o n g l e g s , like no tail, not necessarily large bill, b u t those spe- cies can fly.

The weight-to-wing-area ratio starts changing if the bird’s actually larger.

Pittas are kind of larger; they’re maybe six to eight inches. Tesias are tiny though. They’re maybe 2 to 3 inches.

They’re also very strangely proportioned.

Kansan: What might the Jayhawk eat with a bill like that?

DeCiccio: Uncertain.

A lot of eagles do have a bill shaped like that.

The Steller’s sea eagle, they’ve got a really big yellow bill that, shapewise, is similar-ish. The dodo’s bill is not too dissimilar either. Sometimes bill shape actually tells you a lot about what the critter eats, but there’s also a lot of variation.

Kansan: Eagles are carnivorous, right?

DeCiccio: Yeah, they all eat meat to some degree. Some are more scavengers eating dead fish and other dead meat.

Kansan: Do they ever scavenge wildcats?

DeCiccio: *Laughs* I’m not sure.

A lot of bald eagles are particularly prone to scavenging, but it’s usually more aquatic prey.

They’ll scavenge fish pretty routinely. I mean, stuff that will scavenge, I’m sure if it’s under certain pressure, it’ll scavenge other things.

Golden eagles will scavenge a lot more land-based [prey]. I used to work in Alaska a fair amount, and people would trap golden eagles off of moose carcasses.

Kansan: As far as mascots go, it’s maybe not quite as outlandish as I thought. It does seem like it’s kind of a hodgepodge of birds from different regions of the world.

DeCiccio: I’d agree.

It’s not as crazy as some mascots, but it definitely doesn’t have a very clear link to an extant wild.

But you could put something together.

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Former mascots share experiences as Big Jay, Baby Jay

Contributed photo Meridith Ashley, center, poses for a photo with fellow former Baby Jay mascots in Nashville, Tennessee. Ashley was the mascot Big Jay from 1999 to 2001.

HAILEY DIXON @_hailey_dixon Jake Parker Nelson distinctly remembers how numb his neck and nose were following the Kansas men’s basketball triple overtime victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in January 2016.

“I remember thinking to myself, ‘I’m going to pass out,’” Nelson said. “It was so energetic and so crazy, just that whole overtime.”

Like other Jayhawks, Nelson was enveloped in the energy exuding from Allen Fieldhouse as Kansas defeated Oklahoma 109106. However, he played a different role than most — he donned the Big Jay costume that night.

University alumna Olivia Leigh knew she wanted to be Baby Jay the moment she saw the Jayhawk entertaining fans at a baseball game. Leigh, who originally rowed at the University, thought this would be a perfect opportunity for her.

“I really could be silly, and it looked like they were having a lot of fun,” Leigh said.

Leigh missed the tryouts by about a week that year as a freshman, but decided the next year to try out when she was a sophomore.

“It was kind of all meant to be almost,”

said Leigh, who was Baby Jay from 2014–2017. “It was the absolute best time of my life. I met some of the best people ever.”

Leigh, like other students, went through a tryout process in the spring in hopes of being selected as a mascot.

To fit into the costume correctly, certain height requirements have to be met.

The Big Jay costume fits those 6-foot-1 to 6-foot-5, and Baby Jay’s costume allows for those from 4-foot11 to 5-foot-1.

Tryouts to become Big or Baby Jay have varied over the years.

Brian Carpenter Sr., who was Big Jay from 1997–2000, remembers running for 30 minutes straight as part of the tryout process.

“I tried out, and there were about 10 people that tried out that first year, and they took three of us and I was one of them,” Carpenter said.

Nelson, who was Big Jay from 2012–2016, said tryouts also included learning the Rock Chalk chant, fight song and other cheers. Big and Baby Jay hopefuls also went through an interview process and learned various skits with music and audio, Nelson said.

E l i s h a Churchill, who w a s Big Jay from 1984–1985, along with Meridith Ashley, who was Big Jay from 1999– 2001, are among the only females to ever be Big Jay. “I didn’t realize it was that big of deal at the time,” Churchill said.

Ashley said she loved being Big Jay. “I’m kind of a little bit whimsical, little crazy sometimes, big sports fan,” Ashley said. “It was such a great experience for me.”

Tracee Hamilton, who was Baby Jay from 19781979, said wearing the mascot costume was challenging at times.

“I was always in a panic that I’d fall down,” she said.

Once becoming a mascot, anonymity is important.

“It was almost like I had the power. No one knows this; this is my thing, so it

was really fun to keep it a secret,” said Olivia Brzozowski, who was also Baby Jay from 2014–2017.

When Carpenter was Big Jay, it wasn’t exactly a secret, however.

“All my friends knew, and they didn’t keep it close to their chests,” he said.

Big Jay and Baby Jay can be found at many University athletics events, including football, basketball and volleyball games.

“Being a mascot for four years, there’s so many fun events,” Nelson said. “Almost any appearance you go to is a lot of fun.”

The Jays also attend several community events as well, such as birthday parties and 5K marathons, but many former Big Jay and Baby Jay alumni say cheering at Allen Fieldhouse is unparalleled.

“The atmosphere in Allen Fieldhouse is second to none,” Carpenter said.

Nelson recalls several basketball games, such as that contest against Oklahoma in 2016, where the energy and excitement was electrifying as Big Jay. “The majority of the game I was in the student section, and I remember it was such a close game, and the crowd was going crazy,” he said. “No matter how tired I was, I was still going crazy.”

“Basketball games are for sure the best part of being a mascot,” he added.

In addition, cheering at football games was also exciting for many Big and Baby Jays.

“I enjoyed football because it’s fun being outside and walking around the tailgates,” Ashley said.

Brzozowski said she enjoyed interacting with the Marching Jayhawks in the second half during football games. “[I would] just go up to their section and just go crazy with them,” she said.

Cole Hogan, who was Big Jay from 2016–2017, said he enjoyed being the mascot because it allowed him to be involved more with Kansas Athletics.

“It’s an amazing experience getting to travel the country,” Hogan said.

For many past mascots, representing the Universi-

ty as Big or Baby Jay was also very important.

“You have to represent the University and take pride and wear the bird,” Carpenter said. “You gotta take ownership of it and do the best Big Jay that you can.”

In addition, Baby and Big Jay alumni said becoming a mascot created a forever family for them.

Brzozowski said it was a big brother-little sister type of relationship between the Jays.

“That was my second family in college,” she said.

“Those were my people.”

Leigh agreed that her Big Jays were like her big brothers.

“We’re seriously a family; it’s not a joke,” Leigh said. “The mascot community ... is very close.”

“Being in suit with them was a blast, it was so much fun to interact with them,” she continued. “It was such a wonderful feeling to be a part of and to be with people who would genuinely take care of you wherever you went and stick up for you.”

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kansan.com

kansan.com

The history of Big Jay and Baby Jay

Sarah Wright/KANSAN Baby Jay poses for graduates at Commencement in 2018.

CARLOS PETERSON @CarlosWritesKU Sitting around the dinner table with a family on the first night of summer break 1971, Amy Hurst’s parents asked what she had planned for the summer.

The Ohio native had just finished her freshman year at the University of Kansas, and little to her knowledge at the time, she had the beginnings of an idea swirling around in her head. This idea would soon be known and loved by fellow Jayhawks for years to come.

Her idea?

To create a miniature version of the then-only Jayhawk mascot, which would be called “Baby Jay.” In the spring semester just gone, Hurst pitched the idea to then-president of the University of Kansas Alumni Association Dick Wintermote, who was indifferent to the idea. He told Hurst that the University could not fund her idea.

“When my parents asked me what I was going to do that summer, I said, ‘Well this is what I want to do,’” Hurst said in a 2011

Photo courtesy of University Archives, Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries The papier-mâché float at midfield of Memorial Stadium during halftime of the 1971 Homecoming game. Inside, Baby Jay, portrayed by freshman Amy Hurst, waited to “hatch” and make her official debut.

interview for the University YouTube channel. “I pitched them the idea of building a Baby Jay and I hadn’t even finished the pitch and everyone got up.

They were so excited.”

The following fall, Hurst approached Wintermote yet again, this time with a finished idea of what Baby Jay would be.

But Wintermote was still puzzled by Hurst, w o n d e r ing how she would present it to the University.

“By hatching from an egg of course,” Hurst said.

S h o r t ly after that Photo courtesy of University Archives, conversation, newly Spencer Research Library, University the of Kansas Libraries minted Baby One of the first Jayhawk drawings by Jay made its Henry Maloy from a 1912 issue of the debut in the 1971 homeKansan.

coming game against Kansas State.

At halftime, a papier mâché float in the shape of an egg came to midfield and revealed the miniature Jayhawk. The collective awe of the crowd added to the festive atmosphere.

The original Jayhawk’s relationship with the University, though, goes a little further back.

become a free state in the Union. Ultimately, this symbol became the mascot the University would bare.

The Jayhawk itself would make its first visual appearance in The University Daily Kansan in a cartoon by cartoonist Henry Maloy in 1912. Without the opportunity provided by the Kansan, Maloy felt that there would be no

“I pitched them the idea of building a Baby Jay and I hadn’t even finished the pitch and everyone got up. They were so excited.”

Amy Hurst Baby Jay creator

The term Jayhawker was coined around 1848 during the pre-Civil War struggle of the Kansas Territory settlers. The fictional bird was a combination of two real birds: a blue jay and a sparrow hawk.

The term eventually evolved into something that represented those in the state that fought for the Kansas Territory to

symbol for the Jayhawk today.

“Recent research has brought out that birds had been used at KU on wall posters, postcards, etcetera as far back as the gay nineties,” Maloy said in a 1944 interview. “If it weren’t for the Kansan there wouldn’t be any more of a Jayhawk now than there had been before 1912.”

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kansan.com

What are those Jayhawks around town?

At the Lied Center, the “Mardi Gras on the Kaw Hawk” Jayhawk stands outside the main doors.

Johnny Meehan/KANSAN

WYATT HALL @thewyatthall15 Scattered around Lawrence and the University of Kansas campus, Jayhawk statues with all sorts of unique designs can be found representing the pride of the students that are part of the University’s legacy.

These statues can be identified by their fun designs, such as the colorful Mardi Grasthemed bird at the Lied Center or the orange basketball-themed bird at the Alumni Center.

These statues originated at an event called Jayhawks on Parade, which happened over a decade ago.

The five-month exhibition put on by the Lawrence Visitor’s Center consisted of different artists designing Jayhawk statues, which sponsors of the event could purchase and make a

Johnny Meehan/KANSAN The “Peace, Love and Daisy Hill Forever” Jayhawk looks out on Bob Billings Parkway behind the Douglas County Bank. faces around the body of the bird, meant to represent how, despite any differences, all students are united by the University.

“It got to be that people would come into the visitor’s center, grab a brochure with the map of all the statues, and people would want a picture of all 30 of them.”

Debbie McCarthy former visitor center employee

reality. It was originally meant to be temporary, but many of these statues remain around Lawrence due to the success of the event.

Most of the artists that designed the birds were University graduates who wanted to get involved in representing the school for visitors and locals alike.

“As a Jayhawk, I thought it would be fun to participate in,” said Joanne Renfro, a University graduate in the Class of 1982 that worked on one of the statues.

Renfro’s statue was named “So Many Faces, But One Heart that Bleeds Crimson and Blue” and can be found in the lobby of the KU Visitor Center.

It can be identified by the collection of

Jayhawks on Parade was considered a success by many, with visitors from all around coming to see the variety of statues.

“It got to be that people would come into the visitor’s center, grab a brochure with the map of all the statues, and people would want a picture of all 30 of them,” said Debbie McCarthy, who ran the visitor center when the event took place.

From then on, the statues have mostly remained in their original places, a l t h o u g h many have moved o r

been repainted for various reasons. Most of the statues that were moved were bought and are now housed on the private property of buyers.

Three of the statues are owned by the former Jayhawk Bookstore owners, Bill and Janet Muggy, who keep the birds on their farm. As for the new paint jobs, some of the statues needed it following issues with weathering and vandalism.

A couple of the statues have even made it out of Kansas with one now residing in California and another in Colorado.

Nonetheless, the statues remain a part of Lawrence and the University’s culture to this day. Whenever students enter the Union and see that classic Jayhawk sitting out front, they can be reminded of the pride and meaning behind their University’s mascot.

kansan.com

What it means to be a Jayhawk

Emma Pravecek/KANSAN

Freshman Joseph Doang talks about what it means to be a Jayhawk.

NICOLE DOLAN @nikkidolan279 Most Jayhawks jaywalk across campus with their own personal perspective on what exactly being a Jayhawk means to them.

For University of Kansas alumna and Korean language graduate teaching assistant Rachel Kook, being a Jayhawk doesn’t exactly mean she can fly.

Though she may be lacking wings, she said the University has been a turning point for her life. Kook has been in Lawrence for seven years and said her experiences as an undergraduate student opened many doors for her pursuit to attend graduate school and eventually become a KU employee.

Kook isn’t the only one who feels being a Jayhawk stems from school pride.

SCHOOL PRIDE Sophomore Lucie Krisman from Tulsa, Oklahoma, said being a Jayhawk means having immense school pride. Krisman said the school pride students at the University have is unique and wel-

coming.

“Walking into somewhere and knowing you belong is sort of what being a Jayhawk means to me,” Krisman said.

TRADITION Freshman Austen Romstedt of Ottawa said being a Jayhawk stems from history and tradition.

“It’s bonding with people over the shared traditions that we all do together because we all go here,” Romstedt said.

“It’s bonding with people over the fact that we go here is what makes me a Jayhawk.”

Seth Law, a junior from Wichita, said being a Jayhawk is being a part of a community and a legacy that is bigger than what it may seem.

“It’s bigger than all of us but is impossible without all of us,” Law said.

“Without any one less person, we wouldn’t be the same as who we are.

We are Jayhawks because of everyone, and we make up what is KU: the traditions, the legacy, the values and the accomplishments. When one of us accomplishes something,

we all do, and we should all celebrate each other.”

EDUCATION For research and information library assistant Evan Washechek, being a Jayhawk means supporting the freedom of information and equal distribution of knowledge to the community — and KU basketball.

Chinese Language lecturer Yue Pan said being a Jayhawk means for him to teach as many students at the University as possible.

“I like this place,” Pan said. “I love my job, and I want to teach my language to the Jayhawks here — as many as possible, as much as possible and as perfect as it can be.”

University alumna and office manager of the School of Languages Samantha Raines said being a Jayhawk is more than being an avid KU sports fan.

“I thought it was all about the sports, but as being a native of Kansas it’s so much more than that,” Raines said. “The historical context of what being Jayhawker re-

ally was means more than our basketball team and beyond just KU. I think it means having that spirit of can-do and wanting to be helpful and of service of others, as well as supporting education and things in your community.”

EMBRACING STUDENT LIFE For senior Jack Lapin of Overland Park, being a Jayhawk means being a student on campus and taking part in the rite of passages.

“It’s taking part in going to basketball games and being in Anschutz until 3 a.m.,” Lapin said.

“It’s really about being a Lawrencian and kind of swallow the whole town.”

Even though she’s from Japan, senior Karen Hamamoto said her friends and family back home recognize the Jayhawk spirit.

“I’m so proud about being Jayhawk because sometimes I talk to Japanese people — they know KU, and that was surprising,” Hamamoto said. “I’m kind of proud of being a Jayhawk because that.”

Emma Pravecek/KANSAN Senior Jack Lapin (left) and junior Nick Taylor (right) talk about what it means to be a Jayhawk.

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