The University of Kansas is like a world of its own, made up of different cultures and lifestyles. Some people stand along Wescoe Beach making people aware of their diversity, while others quielty walk by, undetected in the world of diverse lifestyles. Here are a few who’ve slipped under the radar and now are under the Kansan’s spotlight.

Whitney Kane heard great things about the house known as “1416” from her Gamma Phi Betta sorority sisters and just couldn’t wait to move into the big 12-room house on Tennessee.

In August 2007, she got her wish. Along with several fellow-sororites sisters, Kane, moved into 1416 and became a roommate to 11 other women—some from other sororities and others who were non-greek.

“I just had to get into the house,” Kane said. “I wanted to live with as many people as possible.”

Kane said living in the house allowed her to see the different ways everyone lived outside of the sorority house. She said sometimes the women’s differences could cause problems — like with cleaning.

She said they each had duties in the house, such as, washing dishes or taking out the trash. She said most issues occur when it comes to cleaning the kitchen.

“You just have to use your best judgment,” Kane said.

Kane said she liked living in the house becuase there was always something going on.

“I could never live by myself,” Kane said. “I would get bored very easily.”

One issue that doesn’t come between the women is the bathroom. In the 12-room, five-bath house, Kane said, sharing bathroom space was not a problem.

“It’s fun getting ready with everyone up there,” Kane said. She shares a bathroom with five other women.

Kane said one of the perks to living with the women was that it was always busy.

Kane said the residents spent time together at the Wakarusa Festival where they heard “Daft Punk” perform, which is one of her favorite bands. She said they also made dinners, barbecued and ate together.

Kane said sometimes the group sat pool side — on the mini blow-up swimming pool in the drive way next to the house — and let their feet get wet. She said they also went to parties together.

“I like how open the house is,” Kane said.

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Hannah Shult smiled when she thought about the movie “Beach,” where a group of people venture to an island in search of paradise. The communal lifestyles of the characters appealed to her and she knew that was the kind of living she wanted to experience.

Shult, Manhattan sophmore, moved into the Sunflower House in August 2007.

The house, at 1408 Tennessee, became student housing in 1969. It’s a gray-colored house, trimmed in yellow with 30 rooms to accommodate 27 people.

She said the prices ranged between $250 and $350, depending on the size and location of the room,

Shult, an only child, found out about the house from a flyer that was floating around the Kansas Union. She said that the house was nothing like she thought it would be.

“It’s like an island village. We live together and work together,” Shulte said.

Shult said that each person contributed to the house by doing different duties ranging from cleaning to yard work. She said it was like a work program and each resident has to do a hundred points worth of chores. Her job was to keep tally of everyone’s chore hours.

Sometimes Shult cooks.

“I once made soup that was really bad,” she said. “Me and another friend said it was my grandma’s two-cabbage soup. It was really bad.”

She said she liked the house because it was different from other houses or residence halls. She said residents had more freedom to paint or hang pictures on the walls, and she liked the type of people the house attracted.

“The types of people that come to the house are very open and friendly,” Shult said. “They are good, hearty people,”

Shult, a biology major, likes to do different things on her spare time. One of her hobbies is hula-hooping.

“I’ve gotten pretty good,” said. “I can do a little bootie dance now.”

Other hobbies include painting, which she said she liked to do self portraits, and learning how to play the bass guitar.

Shult said living in the house gave her a chance to really learn about herself. She said she learned to be real and be more open about herself.

“I learned to be more selfish,” Shult said. “In order for me to be happy, I have to take more time for myself.”

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According to Kip Grosshans, associate director for administration for student houseing, fewer than 30 percent of students reside in scholarship halls and about 80 percent stay in residence halls. There are 12 scholarship halls and each houses 50 students.

He said that people always thought of smart students when they thought of the scholarship hall, but that’s not the case.

“From what I hear, it’s the same as other dorms,” he said.

Wulfkuhle, Perry junior, had lived in the K.K. Amini Scholarship Hall for two years. He said the application process for the halls discouraged some people from applying. Three essay must be written to live in the hall.

Waulfkuhle said K.K. Aminini didn’t have as many students living there. He said it was more like a community, and the potlucks and dinners made it feel that way.

Wulfkuhle said another difference between typical residence halls and K.K. Amini was the room sizes. He said the rooms were smaller than the rooms at Templin or Ellsworth.

During the semester, Wulfkuhle stayed in a suite with three other roommates. He said one of the things he liked about having roommates is that they were all friends first.

“In my first semester, I had random roommates,” he said. “But second semester I stayed with most of the people I came into the hall with.”

Wulfkushle also said he liked how convenient it was because it was close to campus.

“I can be sitting in my room one minutes and still make it to class on time,” Wulfkuhle said.

Wulfkuhle said staying in at the hall was worth it because of the people he met. He said the people who lived there all depended on each other one way or another.

He said what brought him back to the hall for a second year was the convenience of the hall and the people he met.

“The experiences of things that happen here, you won’t be able to get anywhere else,” Wulfkuhle said.