Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

U. Kansas students hold corn dog eating contest
By Beth Beavers
University Daily Kansan (U. Kansas)
10/29/2007

(U-WIRE) LAWRENCE, Kan. — Competitive eating hopefuls, here is your chance. While the prizes for Monday's University of Kansas Feed Your Beak Corn dog Eating Contest aren't the big bucks you would make in the pros, you could win a Jayhawk Nation Homecoming T-shirt and some gift certificates.

"The Homecoming Committee decided it would be fun to have a corn dog eating contest because we're playing the Cornhuskers," said Morgan Shirley, Homecoming Daily Events Co-Chair. "And we didn't think corn on the cob would be a very good idea,"

There will be both male and female categories.

"I would participate because it allows me to go all out in a crazy expression of masculine insanity," Nick Knapp, Newton, Kan., senior, said.

But his big talk doesn't scare everyone.

"It's all about mind over matter. If I feel like I'm full, I'll keep eating. There's more room in there!" said Monica Dean, Wichita, Kan., junior.

For Knapp, masculinity attracted him to the contest, but it was for those reasons that the Homecoming and Steering Committee had concerns during its discussions. "It's actually a corn dog bite eating contest, because there were some choking concerns about full corn dogs on sticks," Shirley said. "There will be someone on hand who can do CPR in case an incident occurs."

The corn dog bites will be provided by KU Catering.

The contest is an individual event, and is therefore worth no points. Sign-ups will start at 10 a.m. on Wescoe Beach. The first heat will begin at 11:50 a.m. and will last for approximately 10 minutes. The number of heats will depend on how many students sign up.

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