University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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artin Marty Wat- son, owner ofWat- son's Barbershop, hovers about his storefront shop chatting with customers as he styles a man's hair, clip- pers buzzing. Watson never seems to touch the ground, despite the fact that he's been standing all day. Watson, 24, jokes back and forth with a steady stream of custom- ers flowing in and out the door. Business for him is as good as usual, something he attributed mainly to ,ww quality work and profes- J' sionalism. Ifl sit anybody down I know they're coming back, Marty said. With- in 15 minutes you get good conversation, a quality cut and your time -- my full attention. Watson, also the Lawrence 2008 NAACP Minority Businessman ofthe Year, said he has somewhat of a monopoly in Lawrence. Watson says only two licensed black barbers reside in Lawrence: him and his employee Tim Nellie' Nelson. Marty serves about 15 to 20 customers a day, ranging from KU athletes O8 - O9 l JAYHAWKER LOCAL BARB ER WINS BUSI NESSMAN AWARD and coaches to business professionals. No matter who the customer is, Marty's gift ofgab will put them at ease, Kasey Cullors, Wichita senior and Marty's roommate, said. Marty is the same person at home as he is at work. uMarty is probably the youngest old person I know,', Cullors said. You think this person has got to be SO. Equally important to some patrons is Marty's role as a counselor. Earle Mosley, a former KU football coach, said most coaches and players do not live a normal life. Coming to Marty's provides him and his players a comfortable place to relax, often with talk about sports, women, politics and the occasional gossip. L'Everybody needs somebody to talk to, someone they trustf Mosley said. He also said that the players can find some normalcy. Martyas outgoing personality and eagerness to get to know people, is what Camellia Watson, his mother, said made him a special child. As a child she said he could talk to anyone. His sister, Kendra Watson, 30, watched as he started up his Hrst business, Watson's Back-Porch Barbershopf, as an eighth grader in Parsons, Kan. There, Kendra said she saw Marty's personality and haircutting skills culminate. Every day after school, friends, family, teachers and community members lined their backyard for Watsonis S2 haircuts. People came from across southeast Kansas for haircuts. People still ask for him, Kendra said. People come all the way from the Pittsburg area because they remember he cut hair. His brother, Ronald Watson, jr., 27, said Marty was always the most creative one in the family. He said when he and Marty weren,t playing base- ball or basketball or wrestling each other in a heated exchange, Watson would always draw designs for his customer's hair. He has always seemed to be his own free spiritf' Ronald, jr., said. He kind of made his own path ofhow to do thingsf' Camellia said her husbands death in 2000 devastat- ed Marty. He was so distraught, his grandmother bought him a car, just to keep him motivated to graduate from high school. She said Marty began working harder than usual to compensate for his dad not being around. He took up a job at a local printing press. Suddenly, Marty felt like the familyis provider, the man of the house. His brother and sister were already in college. His mother was in a state of shock. Three weeks after graduating from Parsons High in May 2002, Marty moved to Wichita to attend Old Town Barber and Beauty College. Only nine weeks later, Marty graduated from the barber school as the youngest licensed barber in Wichita at 19. Marty moved to Lawrence in 2004 and worked as a barber in several shops. He opened his own shop in 2005. i'When he starts something he'll Hnish it, Camellia said. And he Hnished it in a hurry. ', Patrons say Marty,s get-it-done business style as well as his fun-loving attitude and the overall friendly atmo- sphere at Watson,s Barbershop, keep them coming back. Marty said he has only been able to do this by getting their respect, not just their money. 'fThey don't have to choose me, Marty said. The fact that they do is an accomplishment.

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dam Khan carries a gun for his work as a Mil-Spec security guard. Eric Stein has a conceal Carry license but also uses his gun for home protec- tion. Brittany Ramos is looking to get her con- cealed carry license once her boyfriend becomes certified to teach her the course himself. They all share some- thing in common: a want to protect themselves and others. A In 2001 a Harvard University study found that three and a half percent of college students own firearms. At that time, about 14 million students attended a two- or four- year university, so when the study was conducted, close to half a million college students owned a Hrearm. EVERYONE ROMANTI- C1zEs IT LIKE wEsTERNs', As college jobs go, one that requires a gun is definitely not on par with flipping burgers. Adam Khan, Wichita graduate student, and a co- worker of his told several stories in which a shootout almost occurred-situ- ations when they had to draw their guns. STUDENTS BEARING ARMS i Everyone romanticizes it like Westerns, but if you ever pull one and put it to awguyis chest, youlre praying to god. You're praying to god that you don't have to use itf, says Mil-Spec officer and business graduate student from Western Kansas who wishes to remain anonymous. Khan says each time he had to draw his gun, time slowed down, he had a moment to think about the situa- tion. Fortunately, he's never had to shoot someone. Though Khan carries for work he also keeps several guns at home for recreational purposes and home protection. MNOT THAT FM REQUIRED TO CARRY A GUN IN CHURCH. . . After conceal carry became legal in Kansas in 2006, more than 14,000 people have applied and attained a conceal carry license-which is not the easiest to acquire. It costs S15 0 and requires an eight-hour training course. Still, 1,252 Kansas residents between the ages of 20 and 30 have a conceal carry license. Eric Stein, Topeka senior, is the campus leader of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus at KU. I-Ie says he takes his carrying as a responsibility and feels that heid rather be prepared in any situation than risk that one time where he isnit. I-Ie even carries to church-the pastor knows and is fine with it. That's where I feel somewhat on the job, I Stein says. I sit in the back and make sure everything goes according to plan. Not that I'm required to carry a gun in church, but Fm sure that I feel safer and others feel safer. Owning a gun, and being comfortable with it, can also be a way to break from standard gender roles. 'Tm kind of a part-time feminist, says Brittany 3 Ramos, Overland Park senior. I donitgprefer to have to rely on other people to protect me. ,I In Kansas, 12 percent of licensed concealed carriers are women. I REALLY WANT MY FAMILY TO NOT ONLY FEEL SAFE, BUT BE SAFE IN MY HCMEF, College students are not the prime market for home se- curity systems-how many college dwellings have you been inside of with a security system? Probably not many. Some students prefer to protect their homes with a Hrearm instead. Khan, the Mil-Spec officer, recalls a time when he felt the need to use a gun for protection in his home. I hear a window breakingf Khan says. I grab my shotgun, jack a shell into it and it ended up being the guy next door drunk out of his mind thinking it was his house and trying to get into his bed. The houses were identical. Luckily no one was hurt, and Khan,s neighbor paid for the broken window. After that, though, he didn't see much of his neighbor. Khan says he thinks after the inci- dent, he was afraid of him. Khan, Ramos and Stein mentioned comfort as a rea- son for owning the firearms. They felt more comfortable because of the firearm being in their homes than without it there. A level of uncertainty in regard to everyday life is also present. It's not that gun owners, on a whole, are paranoid-itis just that they'd prefer to feel ready if a ter- rible situation happens. I really want my family to not only feel safe but be safe in my home, Stein says. It makes me feel better knowing that I have a means to protect myself. I' tw, GUNS l 76

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