Steve Krahnke’s Ties
If you’ve ever prepared for a classroom lecture, deciding on what tie to wear may not have topped your list of priorities. But for Professor Steve Krahnke, the big tie decision is a regular part of his morning routine. Steve collects bright and interesting designer ties, and he never wears the same tie more than once a semester.
Professor Steve Krahnke displays some of his ties in his graduate seminar. Photo credit: Ryan Newman
Steve’s collection started off with a gift from his wife. He was leafing through the pages of a Metropolitan Museum of Art catalog when he spotted an interesting tie that his wife later purchased for him as a gift. The tie, an unusual green, orange, black, and white piece by designer Gene Meyer, has since then gathered plenty of compliments and some good discussion. And for Steve, interesting ties aren’t bold fashion statements—they’re conversation starters. “The ties have broken the ice for me so many times in business meetings,” he says.
Since picking up his first Gene Meyer tie about 20 years ago, Steve has expanded his collection and added another designer, Chris Coleman. There is a tie for every occasion. “I have one I call my ‘Point of View’ tie, I have a rhetoric tie, which has just a bunch of words, I have some that are just beautiful, and I have plenty of Christmas ties,” Steve remarks. This fall Steve put his ties on display for his graduate class, exhibiting over 50 of his ties.
For Steve, the ties send an important message to his students. “I don’t think of it as collecting, really,” he says. “We spend so much time being generic, so I think there’s something to be said about trying to be a person in a tie.” Steve started wearing ties on a regular basis when he began teaching for the first time. “For me, it’s a sign of respect for the students,” he adds. Steve encourages his students to dress up for in-class presentations. They don’t often wear ties, but they still enjoy getting to see a different one of his in class each day. Steve has an elaborate system in his closet to keep track of which ties he’s already worn to lecture so as to avoid wearing the same one more than once. He also has a tie that closely resembles a Powerpoint template, which he uses on the day he wears that particular tie.
Some of Steve's designer ties on display. Photo credit: Ryan Newman
The ties can be difficult to find, and Steve relies on eBay to find the ones he wants. He checks the site every few weeks to see what’s available, but it’s also not uncommon to be outbid for the ties. In fact, one of Steve’s friends in the IU English department also collects Gene Meyer ties, and they occasionally spot ties online that they’re both looking for. “Sometimes we find ourselves competing for the same ties in a bidding war on eBay,” Steve says.
Despite the size of his current tie collection, Steve still maintains that his first Gene Meyer tie from 20 years ago is the best one. Steve says it gets the most compliments, and everyone agrees that it is one unusually great tie. “I thought it was the coolest tie I’d ever seen, and I guess it’s true,” he says.
Objects in Offices, Segment 3: Matt Pierce
If you couldn’t already tell from the collectibles, books and memorabilia, Professor Matt Pierce is a definite amateur radio enthusiast. His office contains many items that take you back to the golden age of radio. He has a true appreciation for the beauty and technology behind the radio, before our lives were inundated with texting, Skyping and Facebooking.
Matt has had a passion for tinkering with things ever since he was little. Eventually, he received his first amateur radio operator’s license his freshman year in high school and never looked back. Working up through the ranks, he eventually certified as an extra class operator, the highest level of amateur radio license. In addition to acting as the faculty advisor for the IU Amateur Radio Club, Matt is in the process of collecting parts for the rebuilding of one of his most prized possessions, his 1936 Philco radio.
Matt took time out to demonstrate his Morse code practice oscillator and show his Philco radio, a radio that was likely listened to during Franklin Roosevelt’s fireside chats, World War II and more. In addition to the radio itself, Matt also has the original owner’s manual, diagrams and service bulletins. His goal is to bring the radio back to life so that it works properly. For this process, he offers some words of advice. “If you ever buy one of these things at a garage sale, do not run home and plug it in to see if it works. Almost always, the electronics inside have gone bad and you could blow out the transformer.” He explained that the fixing up process is one of intricate detail. Most important to Matt is what the radio represents: a time when families used to gather around a single piece of Americana for information and entertainment.
Kiersten Kamman Edits for FCLJ
Many of our graduate students spend time writing papers with hopes of submitting them to journals or conferences, but one student, Kiersten Kamman, actually gets to tackle the job of editing for a journal. Kiersten, who is currently working towards a joint degree in Telecommunications and Law, is the Senior Articles Editor for the Federal Communications Law Journal (FCLJ), housed on IU’s campus at the Maurer School of Law. Kiersten’s job involves reviewing and selecting the content for three annual publications and sending them to article editors.
Graduate student Kiersten Kamman edits for the Federal Communications Law Journal.
The FCLJ is entirely student-run with one main faculty advisor and oversight from the Federal Communications Bar Association. IU Telecom’s Professor Barb Cherry has helped with the journal in the past. The journal publishes articles on communications law, intellectual property law and IT, and related topics. Around 70 students on staff review legal and policy analyses, papers on FCC decisions, and social scientific articles with policy implications. “Net neutrality is a hot topic right now, and we’re currently working with an essay about using social science research to make policy. We try to stay at the cutting edge of policy decisions,” Kiersten says.
For Kiersten, her work in the Telecommunications Department has added a unique approach to her studies in law. “Having a strong background in the academic social scientific side has helped me understand a lot of policy decisions that have been made,” she says. Kiersten also spent last summer interning at the Federal Communications Commission headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she realized that having knowledge of both Law and Telecommunications really helped. “I worked on a lot of children and the media issues, and there policy research is based on social scientific data, so I was glad I could help,” she says.
Kiersten hopes to further make the most of her dual degree, aiming to head to D.C. eventually. “I’d really like to work for the FCC or for a communications law firm in the area,” she says of her future.
Mary Gray (CMCL) Brown Bag Presentation
This past Friday, Professor Mary Gray from the Department of Communications and Culture presented at the Brown Bag co-sponsored by the Rob Kling Center for Social Informatics and the Department of Telecommunications.
Beyond “Online/Offline”: Information Access, Public Spaces and Queer Youth Visibility in the Rural U.S.
Abstract: Drawing on her nearly two years work in rural parts of Kentucky and in small towns along its borders, this talk discusses how lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and their allies make use of social media and local resources to combat the marginalization faced in their own communities and their absence in popular representations of gay and lesbian life and the agendas of national gay and lesbian advocacy groups. This talk explores how boundary publics—visibility strategies that blur offline/online experience—act as responses to “digital inequality” against increasing privatization of information access and government-mandated censoring of information at educational institutions in the rural United States.
Random Thought
“There are unpleasant aspects to the job.” (Found on a scratch paper in Professor Annie Lang’s office. Published with permission.)
Credits
Nicky Lewis: Matt Pierce’s Collectibles, CMCL’s Mary Gray
Katie Birge: Steve Krahnke’s Ties, Kiersten and the FCLJ
Special Thanks
Ryan Newman: Photos of Steve Krahnke’s Ties
gradspace@IUtel 