Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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Tailgate Parties Lori Rock fixes something to eat in the parking lot before a K-State football game. (Photo by John LaBarge) A group of K-State fans take part in a tailgate party before the K-State—Oklahoma game. (Photo by John LaBarge) 24

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adjust to a problem that seems to have no solutions by Judi Walter Buying a $22 parking permit didn ' t guarantee anyone a parking spot. If anything, it guaranteed frustration. In the fall of 1986, K-State ' s campus had 10,000 parking places. Some of the parking problems were due to the fact that the campus police sold 15,000-16,000 permits. By simple subtraction, the average college student can see the number of permits exceeded the number of parking places by 5,000-6,000 spots. Charles Beckom, superintendent of the K-State Police, said the oversell was justified by a high rate. Not all students needed parking at the same time, he said. But some students became tired of hassling with the problem. a parking place took anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. I ' d rather spend the extra time getting some exercise by walking rather than driving around looking for a parking place, said Diane Meredith, junior in marketing. Students found the parking frustrating for other reasons also. Leslyn Rockenbach, freshman in journalism and mass lived in Ford Hall. Her assigned parking lot was B-3, more commonly known among students as Egypt because of its distance from the residence halls. Rockenbach, like others, concern for her safety when parking there at night. Winter seemed to aggravate the already existing parking problems. More students and faculty brought their cars to campus because of the cold weather. Snow piles caused people to park incorrectly. This caused a chain effect. With improper parking, fewer places were available. Jacque Ediger, junior in found herself arriving on an hour early in hopes of a spot. In some aspects, I have to my class schedule differently because of the parking problem, Ediger said. Beckom said the parking problem was very complex. He saw it as a two fold problem. There was a user problem and also a resource problem. People wanted to park as close as possible to where they were going, often breaking the parking rules, Beckon said. Beckom said the department work ed hard to diminish the look of a big city. They wanted students to see more prominent aspects of the University and the landscaping not walls of concrete. He said he believed it was distracting to have a lot of parking facilities. Students can help ease the problem in several ways, Beckom said. One way is to return to the use of bicycles. There are many to riding bikes. Both time and money are saved and one ' s health can benefit as well, Beckom said. Students serving on committees to discuss possible solutions could help solve the parking problem as well as take a more active role in decision making, he said. In a mere two hours, from 6 to 8 a.m., the K-State Union parking lot fills to capacity as students fight for a place to park. (Photos by John Thelander) Parking 23

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Just as the football team warms up so do the fans by Lynette Lindholm Fo od, drink, fellowship and fun — that was the ticket for many K-Staters before home football games. These pregame sports were known as tailgate parties. Tailgate parties have become increasingly popular in the past few years due to the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the KSU football stadium. In the past, jugs of cheer were not screened as closely as in recent years. K-State students and alumni were allowed to bring beverage containers into the stadium. It used to be a K-State tradition to go watch the football games with a jug of cheer. After the 1984 KU-K-State game, the fans were extremely rowdy and due to this, the privilege of bringing alcohol into K-State ' s stadium was taken away by the University, said Richard K-State campus police Now K-Staters are required to leave their jugs at home. I enjoy tailgate parties, because I meet so many new people I didn ' t know before. I have made many new friends through these events, said Rod Taylor, sophomore in electrical engineering. Tailgate parties usually began about three hours before the game. The people who held the parties were families, alumni or just A group of friends. We enjoy visiting with friends and relaxing before the game, Taylor said. The most popular food brought to these parties was sandwiches. Six foot submarine sandwiches were among the most popular. Other preferred options included pizza, chili dogs and brownies. The drinks brought by tailgaters included beer, wine and punch for those wanting alcoholic beverages. Not everyone goes to tailgate parties to drink. A thermos of coffee, hot chocolate or iced tea satisfied many people ' s thurst. Tailgaters were popular at the KU-K-State game. Many students and alumni enjoyed the pre-game festivities in the back of their vans, pick-ups or Broncos. My husband and I have made it a point to plan a tailgate party every time we come back to see the Wildcats play. We usually only can make it up twice, for the game and for Homecoming. But when we come, we are ready to have some fun and tailgating is just the answer, said Cindy Cast, a 1982 graduate who attended the KU-K-State game. What is the reason for these The answer is plain and Not only are they another K-State tradition, but they are also loads of fun. At the football stadium before the KU-K-State game Ralph Currie, K-State alumni, and his son Cameron take a refreshment break in the parking lot. (Photo by John LaBarge) Tailgate Parties Parties 25