12-12-16

MONDAY, DEC. 12, 2016 | VOLUME 132 ISSUE 33

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904

Inside: Take your mind off of finals with puzzles, a coloring page and fun stories from the semester

FINALS GUIDE

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FINALS GUIDE

December concert guide

LANE HORNBACK @Laner2301

W

ith finals week upon us, we’re all rushing to make that final grade or finish that final paper. Luckily, December has a substantial list of shows coming up in the Lawrence/Kansas City area that are worth a ticket. Here are the shows to keep in mind for this month.

— Edited by Cody Schmitz

Lupe Fiasco with RXMN, The Boy Illinois and Lyric Reddick at The Granada When: Dec. 10, 8 p.m.

Where: 1020 Massachusetts St. Tickets: $35

Night 4: The Night the Buzz Stole Xmas at The Midland Theater Artists: Band of Horses, Local Natives, Warpaint and Jaenki When: Dec. 17, 6:30 p.m.

Where: 1228 Main Street, Kansas City, Mo. Tickets: $29.65

Night 2: The Night the Buzz Stole Xmas at The Midland Theater

Josh Garrels with The Brilliance and A Boy & His Kite at Liberty Hall

Artists: Milky Chance, Marion Hill, Banks & Steelz and Shaed When: Dec. 15, 6:30 p.m.

Where: 1228 Main Street, Kansas City, Mo. Tickets: $29.65

When: Dec. 16, 8 p.m.

Where: 638 Massachusetts St. Tickets: $35 early entry GA, $22 standard GA

Kick with Varma Cross, Oktopous, 21 Yrs of Winter, Christmas Anhedonia at The Riot Room

The Floozies at The Midland Theater

When: Dec. 18, 7 p.m.

Where: 4048 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo. Tickets: $7

When: Dec. 23, 8:30 p.m.

Where: 1228 Main Street, Kansas City, Mo. Tickets: $20

Blackfoot Gypsies with The Big Sky at The Bottleneck When: Dec. 16, 9 p.m.

Where: 737 New Hampshire St. Tickets: $8

Hembree with Spencer Mackenzie Brown and Bonzo Madrid at The Bottleneck When: Dec. 30, 9 p.m.

Where: 737 New Hampshire St. Tickets: $5

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Night 3: The Night the Buzz Stole Xmas at The Midland Theater Artists: Third Eye Blind, The Strumbellas, Judah & The Lion and Night Riots When: Dec. 16, 6:30 p.m.

Where: 1228 Main Street, Kansas City, Mo. Tickets: $29.65

#ASSJAMZ: New Years Eve Edition at The Granada When: Dec. 31, 9 p.m.

Where: 1020 Massachusetts St. Tickets: $10

Kassebaum: A short exercise in mindfulness NELLIE KASSEBAUM @nelliekudk

As you read, I encourage you to follow along in this mindfulness activity and take a moment to appreciate yourself and those around you.

About a week ago in class, my professor asked us to begin the session that day with an activity in mindfulness. Sensing our weary minds and depleted motivation, she suggested the following activity.

She asked us to begin by making a list, individually, of people we admired. It could be composed of individuals or a particular group that we looked up to and held to a high standard. My mind immediately went blank. Slowly, images of important people began to appear in my head: my

own family, the Obamas, Lin Manuel Miranda, a few friends and of course I put my dog Max on the list too.

With this list, the professor encouraged us to isolate our top four or five choices of people who had been particularly impactful.

With our smaller list, (mine consisted mainly of the above names, with the exclusion of Max), we were asked to write down the attributes we found particularly important, notable and inspiring about these people.

After giving us several minutes to individually evaluate the composition of our smaller list, we were faced with names of amazing people (and, perhaps, dogs).

With the list of traits now accompanying our shortlist of people, we had a concise selection of remarkable individuals with exceptional characteristics.

Our professor then asked us to look at the list of characteristics and find common ones, that, surely enough, were listed multiple times.

Making a third list, this one of repeated traits, the class was beginning to collectively wonder what the point of this activity was. It seemed to be drawn out and perhaps redundant. Our professor reminded us to remain patient and promised the outcome would be worth it.

The final list of common traits, she soon disclosed, are traits that we ourselves possess.

Science has proven, she assured us, that we possess the traits we admire in others. My

list of strong, intelligent, hard-working and goodnatured people made me feel much better about myself, and grateful to have such wonderful role models to copy.

Through the chaos of finals, it’s important to keep things in perspective and to mindful of what’s best about ourselves.

Nellie Kassebaum is a sophomore from Burdick studying English.

— Edited by Christian Hardy

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FINALS GUIDE

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Lightly Salted: Don’t just survive finals week, surTHRIVE it WILL ADMUSSEN @wadmussen

1.

Disconnect from technology. You’ve heard that you should stay off social media. You’ve heard that you need to stop checking FarmersOnly.com every hour.

But if you want to thrive you need to take it one step further — totally shun technology by converting to an Amish lifestyle. Sell your car, cancel your electricity bill and buy one of those Mumford and Sons style hats. Aside from helping Jedediah milk the cows, you’ll have plenty of time to study. Be sure to print out all of the research and notes you’ll need to study from.

2.

Be efficient. There are lots of things

that can get in the way of a good grade on that final exam.

Thriving during finals week is all about throwing out what’s holding you back. One of those things is ethics. Don’t be afraid to ask your "brothers" for past exams to study from. Don’t worry about the fact that this is an unfair advantage as well as a blatant cutting of corners.

With resources like past test files, there is absolutely no reason why you or your house should be placed on academic probation for low grades.

3.

Embrace University resources.

Everyone’s kissed the therapy dogs at Watson Library during finals week. While those are helpful, they often get crowded and have been known to

growl at you when you hum Nickelback songs. Instead, take advantage of the Malott therapy spiders! These soft tarantulas are hardly ever played with and do wonders to soothe anxiety. Located in the basement, the spiders are kept in a small, dark room so that you can slip into deep relaxation away from the retina-burning lights.

4.

Go on a cleanse.

Rather than just survive during finals week on beef jerkey and leftover gravy from Thanksgiving, you can surTHRIVE by ridding your body of harmful toxins known to cause memory loss. To do this, I recommend a cleanse.

One of the most effective ways to do this is with sugar-free Haribo gummy bears (see top review on Amazon). Bad toxins will come rocketing out of

your body (butt), making way for new information to be safely stored in your brain and other places without fear of harmful toxins.

5.

Quote the Common Book. A little known secret at KU is that if you quote the Common Book on any of your exams, regardless of the subject matter, you will earn extra points. Don’t give up on the Common Book and it will never let you down.

6.

Take up smoking.

Think of it this way: Do you drink coffee? Four Loko? Eat chocolate (which has caffeine in it)?

You’re obviously not addicted to those things, so there’s no way you can get addicted to cigarettes.

Smoking forces you outdoors.

It clears your mind and forces you to be thankful for the time you have left on this earth.

Plus, there’s nothing like nicotine coursing through your veins to calm that finals anxiety. Stay away from vaping, it has been known to cause personality problems.

7.

Balance your time.

Reading articles on how to study has actually been proven to be more effective than studying itself. Be sure to devote plenty of time to browsing credible websites like Buzzfeed and HuffPost to equip you with the right knowledge to

surTHRIVE finals week.

8.

Motivate yourself with a life coach.

Your friends will fail you.

During finals week, you can’t afford to be let down. That’s where I come in as your life coach. I’ll help you surTHRIVE finals week by inspiring you with phrases such as “I’m not moving out until you graduate” and “Wow, that looks really hard you must be really smart.”

I will play my signature motivational song on the recorder: "Hot Cross Buns." Packages start at $700. You can sign up at my table next to the therapy spiders in Malott.

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lowkey listens MYLAN JONES @thislanismylan

The end of the semester is upon us and finals are here. Why not add more music to your library as you hope to make it through the last few days of the semester? Here’s another installment of Lowkey Listens.

This story originally appeared in the Dec. 1 University Daily Kansan.

Anonymuz — Neo Babylon

Mac Demarco — Blue Boy Over the summer, I constantly saw artists I was interested in talking about Mac Demarco, from people like Tyler, the Creator to The Internet’s Steve Lacy. I eventually took it upon myself to listen to his music.

This song was my introduction to his discography and I instantly knew I would like his other music.

When it comes to rock, I tend to favor the surf-rock sound. It’s relaxing, but it can also incorporate some interesting stories within the music. Here, in “Blue Boy,” Demarco explains to the boy that insecurities should not continue to bring you down and that life is sometimes confusing, but that is just the way it is.

The song is short, but features beautiful production, simplicity and great vocals.

I initially heard of this artist through YouTube. After seeing collaborations with the artist and hearing more and more of his music, I was excited to finally listen to his debut album “Vice City.” And to my surprise, the album exceeded my expectations. A part of Gaming Illuminaughty, Anonymuz brings a lot to the table with “Neo Babylon.” It is clear that there is a lot of energy here as Anon comes through with straight bars. The instrumental also makes the song sound like an intense final battle in some sort of anime, which also adds to the energy. “Vice City” dropped on Nov. 18, which is also my birthday, and Anonymuz was able to provide me with some heat to keep on repeat.

Omarion — Touch Another song I was reminded of through Instagram.

I listened to this song when it originally came out back in 2005, and hearing it now makes me reminisce on 8-year-old me listening to music without regard for what it might be referring to. This song was a jam back in the day. Even though it’s a very 2000s song, I still find it appealing today. The Instagram video had Caleon Fox and Junebug dancing with this song playing in the background. Though the video may be to blame for this, I now feel the need to milly rock whenever I listen to this song. And watching the music video for this song makes me want to learn how to dance that much more. Omarion came through with a jam that will definitely live on for a long time.

Knowledge — LITT_ I first heard this rework on Knowledge’s Instagram, where he added this to a video with the dancing blue Power Ranger. At first, I just thought the video was kind of funny. But as I watched it more and more, I found myself watching it for the music more than the actual video. A few days ago, he released the track in its entirety, along with a few other tracks on his new project called “WT.PRT10_.”

The production on this track, combined with 21 Savage’s raps are an interesting combination. I would not say that I am a huge fan of 21, but I can say that his music does have me wanting to dance and/or vibe along. Knowledge uses this to his advantage; seeing as he always seems to provide groovy beats on a lot of his work. The video he posted along with the music might be the reason that I feel the need to dance. Either way, this track has been on repeat for a while and I see myself continually listening to it for a while longer.

MF DOOM — One Beer MF DOOM is definitely one of my favorite artists at the moment. He’s able to float over dark, comical and light overtones in both his lyrics and production.

This track, produced by Madlib, showcases the best of DOOM. “Mm… Food” is an album where DOOM incorporates food into all of his songs, both in the titles as well as the lyrics. This track in particular, he raps about devouring his competition and how he will continue to make a name for himself instead of falling into the mainstream. Listening to DOOM only makes me want more music from him.

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FINALS GUIDE

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Mild winter may mean more KU squirrels CHANDLER BOESE @Chandler_Boese

W

hen junior Chloe Adams moved from the scholarship halls to Oliver Hall, she started to miss one of her favorite parts of campus: the University’s squirrel population.

“They just bring a lighter side to campus life,” she said. “When you come out of Malott after a tough test or whatever, and you see two squirrels eating fried chicken outside, it just makes you a little happier.”

Many students, like Adams, have probably noticed the strange behavior of the squirrels on campus, as well as their unusually high population. Robert Timm, a professor of ecology at the University, said the squirrel population will likely go up in the next year.

Timm, who specializes in studying mammals such as squirrels, said squirrel populations are largely dependent on two factors: winter habitat and food availability.

If the winter is mild or squirrels have good shelter from the cold, Timm said, more will survive through the winter and mate in the springtime. On the University's campus, the animals have plenty of places to shelter, including thick trees and the attics of old buildings.

“If you're in a really good spot, like a hole in a tree or an attic of an old building — and we have a lot of older buildings here on campus — then it's easy to over-

Associated Press A squirrel with a piebald coat perches on a limb while eating. Mild winters in recent years could mean an increase in the campus squirrel population.

winter,” Timm said. “If you have a really, really severe winter, then what happens is that the squirrels that are in those leaf nests freeze to death. So we lose half the squirrel populations, if not more, just from freezing to death.”

According to Weather Underground’s record of Kansas City weather by month, it appears that squirrels have had ideal conditions for survival in recent years. Between December, January and February in the past five years, the average monthly temperature dipped below freezing in only five months out of 15. That’s better than the five winters before that, during which nine months were below freezing.

If this year’s winter is as mild as previous years’

have been, the squirrel population should go up, according to Timm. Fewer squirrels will die during the winter, and many will be able to breed earlier than normal.

“What you're going to see in late December or January, if it's a mild winter, is ... squirrels running around being crazy,” he said. “Males chasing females. It might be more than one male chasing one female or males battling it out.”

Food is the other big factor in squirrel survival rates, Timm said. That situation also looks promising for the campus’ population of squirrels. He said this year is “just a gangbusters year” for the squirrels’ main food supply, which is acorns and walnuts.

“Our squirrels are going to go into the winter nice and fat, so that's good for over winter survivorship,” Timm said.

But the squirrels on campus have another big source of food, Timm said, that likely accounts for the bold behavior that many students notice.

“We've got all these students, you know, sitting out and eating their lunch, and a squirrel comes up to them and begs, and they flip it a potato chip or a french fry,” he said. “So we have an artificially high population of squirrels because of the food that we give them.”

While feeding squirrels human food isn’t necessarily bad for the rodents, Timm said it does create an “artificial environment” for the squirrels to live in that

they wouldn’t have in the wild.

“We trained them to be beggars, and why shouldn't they be? We give them really tasty sunflower seeds and potato chips,” he said.

Adams, a biochemistry major from Shawnee, has also noticed the difference in these squirrels’ behavior.

Adams said she volunteered for a wildlife rescue organization in high school, so she saw many squirrels, but the ones in Lawrence took her by surprise.

“We have squirrels in Shawnee, sure,” she said.

“But they’re not as bold as the ones here.”

Adams said she loves to watch the squirrels and take pictures of them, mostly because of their odd behavior.

“Squirrels here are like little people, wheth-

er they’re running around or looking for food,” she said. “Bunnies will freeze, but squirrels will just stare right at you … Out of all the woodland creatures, squirrels rule the campus.”

However, this familiarity can become inconvenient for other members of campus. University facilities services employees sometimes find squirrels living in the nooks and crannies of buildings and have to quickly patch up the holes, according to Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, the University’s director of news and media relations. Squirrels can also occasionally cause issues through their interactions with people.

“When Stouffer Place Apartments existed, residents were discouraged from feeding the squirrels food scraps, because then there were problems with the animals approaching people,” Barcomb-Peterson said in an email.

Other than being an inconvenience, Timm said squirrels generally won’t disrupt an ecosystem if they grow or shrink in population.

Now, Adams is living in the scholarship halls again, where the high number of trees mean squirrels are a lot more frequent on her walks to class.

“Overall, the beauty of KU’s campus and the nature it has is awesome … and I think squirrels are a big part of that,” she said.

This story originally appeared in the Nov. 3 University Daily Kansan.

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9 times Bill Self was you IRL MADDY MIKINSKI & SKYLAR ROLSTAD @KansanSports

Bill Self: Basketball dad, KU icon, and real life meme. In anticipation of basketball season, here are nine relatable Coach Self moments.

1. When you're at The Hawk and you realize you had a Blackboard quiz due at 11:59 p.m.

2. When you're a senior and you have to take a 100-level class

3. When you're at Brothers and your song comes on

4. When you’re out with the squad and you see your ex

5. When you show your friend your favorite YouTube video and they're not into it

6. When your friends want to enroll in a class you've already taken

7. When someone asks you where Wescoe's at

8. When you go to class on the day before spring break

9. When you meet with your teacher about a grade

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Take your mind off of studying by coloring in this picture of Marvin Grove.

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Art in Focus: Rachel Sandle, ceramist HANNAH COLEMAN @KansanNews

T

hough the ceramic steaks definitely catch the eye upon entering Rachel Sandle’s ceramic space in Chalmers Hall, the tall columns of clay filled with varying sizes of holes stand out the most.

Sandle, a senior double majoring in visual art and linguistics, recently took on a continuing project inspired by an obscure phobia, a “fear of clusters of holes,” known as trypophobia. Sandle’s ideas took form through making three giant cylindrical columns of clay, each

with different colored and sized holes ranging from small clusters gathered on the top of the column, or larger, more abnormal holes scattered around the columns to bring about a more immediate reaction.

“I know people that have this really visceral reaction when they look at the holes and I feel that way too, and I also have a lot of other anxiety, and that felt like a good way to give other people this experience of being anxious,” Sandle said.

“Because I think [the holes] are kind of gross, and so I wanted to communicate that.”

Sandle began ceramics

Missy Minear/KANSAN Sandle’s creations are inspired by themes like anxiety and fear.

only last year. Originally choosing ceramics as a last resort, Sandle said she ended up thoroughly enjoying it and decided to pursue it further.

Many of Sandle’s works were inspired by prompts she received in beginning ceramics classes, and one of her favorite projects are the ceramic steaks. Sandle created several steakshaped pieces of white, tilelike figures, the top painted white with flower decals and the back depicting a clay-colored steak image.

“The prompt was to take a modern object and scale it up or down,” Sandle said.

“So I chose a steak and to scale it down. And then we had to pick something historical, and these flower decals are from this type of ceramics from Germany from around the 16th or 17th century called Meissen ware. I thought it was kind of interesting to have the surface that would normally be on dishware be on the food itself.”

Sandle’s creations take form in mostly non-representational or cylindrical and organic forms. She said the way that the craft takes place is a main point of inspiration.

“I’m inspired by the body, and by the way that the clay behaves,” Sandle said. “Building [the columns], I originally had some ideas of what I thought the shape would look like, and then as I was building them, they kind of wanted to do their own thing.”

Sarah Gross, Sandle’s

Missy Minear/KANSAN Senior Rachel Sandle is majoring in visual art and linguistics. Her speciality is in ceramics.

current ceramics instructor, said she finds her art to be reflective and rich in meaning.

“

She builds bodylike forms that evoke these thoughts using her materials in a way that emphasizes fragility. She is also very invested in art history, which really strengthens her work.”

Sarah Gross Ceramics instructor

“She pursues depth and meaning on multiple levels,” Gross said. “For example, in addressing her thoughts on mortality and the human life cycle,

she builds body-like forms that evoke these thoughts using her materials in a way that emphasizes fragility.

She is also very invested in art history, which really strengthens her work.”

Gross said Sandle’s style generally is more organic and simple and allows for others to have their own interpretations.

“To me, Rachel’s style is about saying more with less,” Gross said. “She avoids anything too literal, and I think this is great because it keeps me engaged. I think this strategy also leaves room for different viewers to access her work from multiple perspectives.”

Sandle plans on continuing to improve her skills and create more projects in the future.

She also enjoys the administrative aspect of art careers, as she’s had experience working at the Spencer Museum and

currently works at Wonder Fair, an art gallery on Massachusetts Street.

“I think I would definitely like to keep making things,” Sandle said. “I think that, short term, I want to be submitting more things to shows. I haven’t really done that, and it’s hard to get your foot in the door after you graduate if you haven’t been doing that already. I’m also interested in working with and writing about other people’s art.”

Before graduating in May, Sandle will continue working on her current project: rounded coneshaped figures with pink patches, which she refers to as “the nipples.”

“I really love the process,” Sandle said. “The thing that’s satisfying about it is the part where you get to express it, and then once it’s done, it doesn’t feel as urgent anymore. And I also like getting dirty.”

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