University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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RADIO WAVE by R.H. Prestridge Vandals spray-painted the symbol for anarchy and other graffiti on the side of the KJHK studio in July. Controversy erupted at the student-run station when advisors I posed changes in the music format. A is for Anarchy, B is for Bye-Bye and C is for a Change in Format. And a format change it was for KJHK in 1988, when Jerry Howard, KJHK station manager canceled the Monday night thrash show. Someone angered by the cancellation spray-painted No Cash in Thrash? in bold black letters on the front of the KJHK building on May 15. Howard said the format change was a step toward making the station more professional, stating that KJHK needed different standards. Those standards would still include exotic, experimental music to be played during late hours. It was this step toward the mainstream that upset not only people who listen to thrash music but also Matthew Moore, a KLJ graduate of the radio-televi- sion-film program and a i2-semester veteran DJ of the station. Moore was also upset with the decision made by Howard and Sam Elliot, faculty adviser for KJHK, not to allow non-student special program DJs on the air. 16 What I will oppose, now and in the future, is any attempt to subvert student control of KJHK, Moore said in a University Daily Kansan guest column rebuk- ing KJHK. In a paid advertisement in the Kansan shortly ther- eafter, Moore said, Perhaps they have been trying to sell KJHK like one would KLZR, KYio 2 or The Fox, when clearly KJHK is not any of those and regardless of any format change, never will be. However, not all students were opposed to the for- mat changes at KJHK. Toni Shockley, also a guest columnist in the Kansan, said: I ' ve heard a lot of rumors about what the change entails. The change in itself was small. KJHK still plays alternative music. It only added some album-oriented rock and some ethnic music to the alternative music. I challenge anyone who doesn ' t believe this to sit down in front of the radio for an entire day and write down every alternative-music song they hear. I ' m willing to bet you ' ll have more writing to do than you bargained for. Shockley is KJHK news director. Another KJHK staff member sided with Shocl A select number of disc jockeys think they ' re ured and should carry the same weight as Sam El They need to learn to follow the policies. It ' s a cr: but they should either play by the rules or get 01 support Jerry fully, Drew Sydner was quoted as sa; in a Kansan article about a classroom discussion format changes at KJHK. Perhaps the words from Brad Schwartz, station n ager for KJHK in the spring of 1988, would be a pr ending: So if our efforts fail and KJHK ceases to exist a knew it, an independent structure must be set u| replace it. This does not necessarily have to be a r. station, but we need an outlet for people to hear music so that the bands will come to town, so that bands will form, and so that Lawrence will retair holding as (in my opinion) the greatest town in country.

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Eric Guerrero ic University of Kansas Medical Center mascot, Jay Doc, paces the sidelines ring the homecoming game. The alumni band shows their spirit of the Glory Days as they take their place in the parade. Kris Schomo Marching up the Hill to the Campanile, six KU mascots of homecomings past were the subject of the Kappa Sigma float. The float took first place in the non-moving division ' the competition. 15

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ONE-WAY BUS TO NICARAGUA by R.H. Prestridge Five KU students drove a 1963 Chevy bus to Managua, Nicaragua, in summer 1988 to give it, in a symbolic act, as hu- manitarian aid to the Sandinistan govern- ment and its people. Automobile parts are scarce in Nicaragua because of embargos. The students were Jon Bell, Lenexa graduate student; Ted Millich, Kansas City, Mo., senior; Dave Burklund, Junc- Ben Biglcr LrK-f Journal WoiU I Millich and Dave Burklund make last minute adjustments on one of the bus ' s rear-view mirror : leaving Lawrence for Wichita to join the convoy to Nicaragua. tion City senior; Sue Ask, Great Bend junior; and Nancy Stoffer, Prairie Village senior. Bell, an Army veteran of the Vietnam- era, organized the trip after hearing about the U.S. Veterans Peace Convoy. The convoy was formed in Minnesota by Viet- nam-era veterans and included about 40 buses. The purpose of the convoy was to take non-military supplies to the Sandin- istan government. Bell and the other stu- dents raised 2,800 for the journey from KU students and local businesses. Bell, who labels himself conservative, would not say why he went on the trip nor give significant details of the journey. The only thing he did reveal was that the bus left Lawrence on May 28 and arrived in Managua on June 27. Burklund, however, was willing to dis- cuss the trip. I wanted to go on the trip for three reasons, Burklund said. At first, I was curious about what was going on in Nica- ragua. In Guatemala, I had doubts as to if I wanted to stay on the convoy or not. Then, he said, he decided to do some- thing concrete. He took a stand by taking the bus into Nicaragua. The KU students did not stay with the convoy, but broke off in Austin, Tex- as, after a dispute about publicity. They went on intending to leave their bus in Nicaragua regardless of the consequences. I didn ' t know there was a two-fold purpose to the trip, Burklund said. At first, I thought the convoy leaders wanted to go to Managua to help. And then I found out that publicity was another point of the trip. For example, the convoy stopped in Oklahoma City on Memorial Day. While names of soldiers killed in Vietnam were being read at a ceremony, the convoy leaders made a point of bring- ing up their purposes about going to Nicaragua. I thought this was very uneth- ical, almost to the point of sacrilege. They also brought up the issue of the homeless, which I thought was irrelevant to the trip. Ted Millich, reflecting on the trip, said his most memorable moments were those in Managua, looking at the earth- quake-damaged buildings and the cars that needed repair. It was strange seeing a building dis- ected, where you could ee all four floors, he said. The streets had many cars, but they were all in bad shape because of the embargo. Still, the people were friendly and receptive to us and to our mission. Overall, Millich said, the trip was safe, except for the occasional mordida, or bribe, that the students had to pay to soldiers to get through a country, and one accident. I was driving the bus, hit a telephone pole and knocked out a mirror, Millich said. After arriving in Managua, the stu- dents gave the bus to the Sandinistas and hitchiked back to the United States. The U.S. Peace Convoy did not immediately get to Nicaragua, because the U.S. go- vernment would only let them go if they would agree not to leave the buses once there. Each of the students went his or her own separate way, arriving in the United States in early or mid-July. However, Sue Ask stayed in Central America. Bell sought legal counsel in case the Treasury Department wanted to charge him with illegally leaving the bus in Man- agua. Bell has talked to William Kuntsler, a New York lawyer who defended the Chicago 7, a group of anti- Vietnam protesters during the 1968 Democratic convention. The other students couldn ' t be charged with any illegal activities in Man- agua because the bus was in Bell ' s name, not theirs. 17