Club Kramerica
From U of I Wiki
Club Kramerica is a Registered Student Organization dedicated to the NBC sitcom Seinfeld on the Urbana-Champaign campus. It was founded in spring 2003.
Students interested in expanding membership or receiving the club's newsletter, can send an e-mail to clubkramerica@gmail.com.
Contents |
History
Inspired by the Seinfeld character Kramer when he adopted a highway and made it "clean as a whistle," they developed the Adopt-A-Campus Pathway program, in which nearly 100 student organizations now participate in adopting and cleaning pathways on campus. In addition to hosting the Joe Mayo Dorm Warming Party, conducting a meeting backwards, and reformatting as "Scandals and Animals" among many other events, they have also held activities, such as selling soup on the quad and having a "Look to the Cookie" bake sale, to raise money for the Human Fund: Money for People.
The happenings from year 5 (2007-2008)
- Fifth Annual Festivus Celebration
- Season 9 DVD Raffle
- Quad Day
- A Vacation from Yourself
- Bake Sale
- Even Some More Newsletters about Nothing!
- Bee Movie
- Elaine's Bachelor Auction
- Maintained our campus pathway on Wright Street
- Sold even more of our new club t-shirts
- Make your own pizza place
- The Junk Mail
The happenings from year 4 (2006-2007)
- Our Fourth Annual Festivus Celebration
- Season 7 DVD Raffle
- The Merv Griffin Show
- Continued episode watching
- AIDS walk
- More Newsletters about Nothing!
- Fine Chinese dining
- Maintained our campus pathway on Wright Street
- The Ice Cream Anti-Social
- Sold more of our new club t-shirts
- Game Night
- The Junk Mail
- More Web Polls about nothing
The happenings from year 3 (2005-2006)
- Our Third Annual Festivus Celebration
- Seasons 5-6 DVD Raffle
- The Pez Intervention
- Continued episode watching
- Softball Team
- More Newsletters about Nothing!
- The Fantasy Camp
- Maintained our campus pathway on Wright Street
- The Ice Cream Anti-Social
- Bags Tournament
- Sold our new club t-shirts
- AIDS walk
- OTB at the Kentucky Derby
- Frolf: Summer of George
- The Junk Mail
- More Web Polls about nothing
The happenings from year 2 (2004-2005)
- Our Second Annual Festivus Celebration
- Seasons 1-3 DVD Raffle
- "Scandals and Animals" meeting, with guests from the Wildlife Medical Clinic
- Newmanniun (or Kramennium if you prefer)
- Continued episode watching
- Newman vs. Kramer Traveling Risk Tournament
- Fine Chinese dining
- Hockey Game Body Painting!
- Joe Mayo House (Dorm) Warming Party
- "Summer of George" Frolf Tournament with the Frolfing Illini
- Bizarro Day
- Fund raising through the "Soup Nazi" Bake Sale and T-Shirt distribution
- More Newsletters about Nothing!
- AIDS walk
- Maintained our campus pathway on Wright Street
- Trivia Contests
- March Madness bracket
- Radio interviews with WPGU 107.1 in Champaign
- An appearance on CollegeTown USA on the National Lampoon Network. The CollegeTown crew visited the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Host Chris Underwood explored local bars, hangouts, and student clubs, such as your very own Club Kramerica!
- More Web Polls about nothing
Here is what we accomplished in our first year (2003-2004)
- Nothing
- Dinner at a Chinese Restaurant, followed by a horrible movie
- An entire meeting conducted in reverse
- Body Painting at a Football game
- Frolf Tournament (rained out, see previous newsletters for full explanation)
- Seinfeld Look-A-Like /Impression Contest
- Bake Sale
- Newsletters about Nothing
- Trivia Contests
- Trivial Pursuit "Bubble Boy" edition and other games night
- Web Polls about Nothing
- Episode watching
- Sponsoring of an AIDS dance benefit (wearing the ribbon was not required!)
- Sale of Club T-Shirts (there are still a few available, get your own shirt now!)
- Formation of the campus "Adopt-A-Campus Pathway" system which will begin this Fall
- A spectacular Festivus Celebration with an "Airing of Grievances" and "Even/Odds Tournament"
Administration
Club Kramerica was founded by Paul Holze and Collin Williams in the spring of 2003. Holze became the club's first president while Williams became the club's first treasurer. These two positions are required by the University of Illinois to become a Registered Student Organization. They also took on Chris Kabureck as their first vice president. When Kabureck graduated and Alex Verticchio came to the University in the fall of 2004, he became the club's second vice president. This board stood through the club's third year in 2006, when Holze and Williams graduated from the university. At this point, Mike Green took over as the club's second president, with Ron Balfour becoming the club's second treasurer. Verticchio kept his position as vice president for the remainder of the school year. In the fall of 2007, due to Verticchio's graduation, Matt Casson became the club's third vice president. Balfour's graduation in the spring of 2008 will inevitably mean the election of a new treasurer, while Green and Casson each still have two years left in their time at the university.
The club also takes on the help of many "interns" that would like to give their help to the advancement of the organization. This gives recognition to the Seinfeld episode in which Kramer takes on an intern, Darrin, from NYU. The jobs of these interns range from website management to event planning.
Membership
Membership in the club is free, and the club's membership is kept track of by accounting for the number of members on the club's listserv, which is almost 1,000, or the club's Facebook group, which is above 500. The club website's hit counter, started in fall of 2007, clocks in at almost 500. The club has also posted its numerous videos created to celebrate the Seinfeld-inspired holiday Festivus on YouTube, and those videos have warranted nearly 100 hits since posted in October of 2007. The club gains new members by its participation in Quad Day, an all-campus event in which over 600 Registered Student Organizations participate to publicize their clubs.
T-Shirts
The club's members can show off their participation in the organization by purchasing a club t-shirt. The pictures are shown here. The club is currently out of this design, but is planning on making several new t-shirt designs in the coming year.
Publicity
Club Kramerica has been the subject of an article in the University of Illinois' indepedent student-run newspaper, the Daily Illini. This article was published during the club's first year in existence. The club is also currently looking forward to another article in the Daily Illini this winter.
Article
TV shows rarely influence and inspire people in their everyday lives, especially after the show stopped production. But Seinfeld never fit into the mold of a traditional TV show. With the most bizarre storylines and incredibly pointless conversations, Seinfeld gained the reputation of being a show about nothing. One fan took his love for the show about nothing and did something.
When you sit with Paul Holze, a sophomore at the University of Illinois, and talk about Seinfeld, you can see his passion for the show in his eyes alone. With every quote, episode or joke he throws into the conversation, his bright blue eyes intensify with excitement. Wearing a red shirt that buzzes as bright as the Kenny Roger’s Roasters sign and yellow jogging pants that scream to the world that he’s given up, he slouches in his chair talking about Seinfeld, starting Kramerica and ideas for the club. When he gets really into his story, he almost jumps out of his chair with an energy level comparable to Kramer.
For what Paul can remember, Seinfeld has always been a part of his life. Half joking and half serious, he admits “probably too much.” Growing up in Dunlap, Illinois, his entire family loved watching the show, especially his older brothers.
“It was actually one of my older brothers that really got me attracted to Seinfeld. He would record the episodes and keep them on tape so we could watch them later. I guess that’s what sparked it.”
When his brother moved on to college and took his tapes with him, Paul began his own collection. So when Paul moved on to college as well, Seinfeld had grown into an integral part of his life. Meeting new people and making new friends at the University, Seinfeld became a common bond. Referencing quotes, scenes and characters from the show evolved into the joke they should form a club. Realizing they only needed a president and a treasurer to start it, the joke became serious.
“Even if it fails, it’s like, so what? It just fails. It plummets. Worse case, we just get together and watch Seinfeld episodes.”
KRAMER: My intern from NYU. Well, you remember my corporation, Kramerica Industries. JERRY: Alright. KRAMER: Well, apparently NYU is very enthusiastic about their students getting some real world corporate experience. JERRY: But you only provide fantasy world corporate experience. KRAMER: Well, this will really free up my time so I can focus on more important things, like my bladder system.
Donning the name of Kramer’s illustrious company Kramerica, Holze and the other two members filled out all the forms online last year. This past fall, they landed a booth for Quad Day, where university clubs cram together on the quad like cars in a mall parking lot. But like Kramer’s brown Dodge, finding Kramerica’s table took some hunting. Stuck in the cross paths of the Quad, many people simply never ventured in their direction. Despite the unfavorable location, 176 people still signed up for the email list, excited about the club. Unfortunately, some people’s excitement lasted only as long as Elaine’s goldfish.
“What baffled me was I got three people at different times say ‘I'm sorry. I'm not interested anymore’ or someone says ‘I don’t want to be on the list…Did you realize this was a club for Seinfeld? The one person was like a week after Quad Day. Did you not realize what you were signing up for? … One person wasn’t even a Seinfeld fan… It’s like ‘Oh I thought that was the other Seinfeld.’”
JERRY: Well, John Mollika is organizing some kind of intervention for him. We're having it here. KRAMER: Can I get in on that? JERRY: What do you think? It's like a poker game?
Like an intervention for a friend hooked on drugs, 70 people gathered in 151 Everitt Lab not quite sure how everything would work out. Holze, sporting a dress shirt that would have made Kramer proud, introduced himself, cracked some jokes about Seinfeld while talking about the club and then showed the top three episodes voted for through an online poll. Looking back on it now, Holze regrets how they started.
“I wish we didn’t do it like that because I'm afraid we may have made some people not attracted to it. The thing is, anyone can sit at home and watch Seinfeld. Why would they want to come to our organization and watch the shows?”
JERRY: I'm not a restaurateur by any means, but it occurred to me that perhaps you might serve some dishes from your native Pakistan? As opposed to franks and beans for example. BABU: But there are no Pakistani people here. JERRY: Doesn't matter. You would have the only authentic Pakistani restaurant in the whole neighborhood. BABU: Yes, you see everything, don't you? JERRY: Well, not everything. I do what I can. BABU: I'll close down today and when I open again it'll be whole Pakistani restaurant. Thank you, thank you very much, you're very special person, very special.
Just as Babu changed his restaurant to give people the only authentic Pakistani food in the neighborhood, Holze changed his mission with Kramerica to give people something they wouldn’t get elsewhere. No longer do meetings revolve around watching episodes. Instead, they involve the people in activities related to the show.
In light of all the controversy stirred up by university groups holding bake sales opposing affirmative action (charging different prices to people depending on race), the guys from Kramerica held a bake sale of their own. But instead of singling out different groups, Holze hoped to unify people under Jerry’s credo of the black and white cookie:
“…Somehow racial harmony eludes us,” said Jerry Seinfeld while discussing the black and white cookie. “If people would only look to the cookie. All our problems would be solved."
“…Look to the cookie. We treat everyone fairly… Black and white. Equal. All together… That was the basis of the bake sale.”
At the end of first semester, a time synonymous with the holiday traditions of Hanukah, Kwanza and Christmas, Holze and Kramerica offered an alternative celebration, Festivus. Frank Costanza, George’s father, originally created the holiday because he hated all the commercial and religious aspects of Christmas. Celebrated on December 23rd, Festivus revolves an aluminum pole instead of a Christmas tree with no decorations (tinsel is too distracting), the Airing of Grievances and the Feats of Strength.
“Our best event was celebrating Festivus in December. So we’ll continue to have an annual Festivus celebration. We’ll get the pole out of the crawlspace. We’ll have the feats of strength.”
ELAINE: "Hey, so Kramer's running for president of the condo?"
JERRY: "Yeah, it's all my father's doing. He wants to install Kramer in a puppet regime and then wield power from behind the scenes. Preferably from the sauna in the clubhouse."
ELAINE: "Oh, heh heh heh. Who are they running against?"
JERRY: "Common sense and a guy in a wheelchair."
Of course it’s not all fun and games for Holze. As with any club president, there’s business he needs to attend to. For instance, how to hold elections for positions as executive members. But with Kramerica’s origins dating back to only spring of 2003, he needed to find a system fair to all members. As any good president should do, Holze looked to his inspiration and found it in the episode “The Betrayal,” which gained fame airing backwards chronologically.
“…We said we’d have elections. Like if you want to be nominated and run, fine, just go to the meeting. But it’s a reverse meeting, so we announced who the winners were first then proceeded later in the meeting, which was earlier, to vote without actually voting. We talked as if the elections had just happened. So at the real life end of the meeting people were like well we didn’t get to vote or anything. So I said, ’It hasn’t happened yet’ and acted as if the meeting was about to start. So that came out pretty well.”
As with any election, the results didn’t please everybody.
“Some people weren’t too happy. They took it as a joke but I think they looked forward to it. But I offered them the chance to get involved in other ways. That’s another thing. I don’t want to be a club that has like 15 positions… Initially there are some kids who are like ‘Oh, can I do this?’ and “Can I do that?’ Well, are you really going to do anything or do you just want the title?”
Kramer: Darren? What are you doing here? The college canceled the internship. Darren: I don’t care about the internship. I care about Kramerica. Kramer: Kramerica is no more. Darren: What about the oil tanker bladder system? We were going to put an end to maritime oil spills. Kramer: Probably. Darren, you go home. Forget about Kramerica. Kramer: Well, you’re still here? Darren: I haven’t had time to leave. Kramer: Well, I haven’t changed my mind. Kramer: Well, you are a tenacious little monkey. Alright, I’ll do it. Kramerica industries lives! Let’s get back to work!
With the elections out of the way, Holze can once again focus on pleasing the people that voted him back into office. That means making some of Kramerica’s ideas into reality. One idea first came out of the episode where Kramer becomes a proud papa by adopting a mile stretch of a highway. Instead of paying to keep it clean, he takes the responsibility himself like any good parent. He labors to clear the highway of such clutter like garbage and street signs. Eventually, Kramer paints over the lane dividers, so the four-lane highway becomes a two-lane comfort cruise.
“Well, maybe we could adopt a bike path and repaint over the lines like Kramer did. The problem was how are we going to do this without getting in trouble with campus property? Well, why not allow all organizations to adopt on campus?”
They had the plan. Now Holze just had to find who to talk to in order to make it happen.
“I contacted the university. I contacted the city. Eventually I found the right guy to contact. He didn’t say anything back so I thought it was dead. He just didn’t like the idea I guess. Well, I sent the idea to him again just a little bit shorter and he loved the idea.”
The plan mirrors the Adopt-A-Highway program. Campus organizations would be able to adopt a section of a campus pathway and put a sign with the name of their organization alongside it. Organizations that sign up would only be required to clean the area at least two times each semester.
“Right now we’re accepting applications. It’s been nice because [The Department of] Facility and Services is supplying all the funding. They’ll pay for the signs. If we didn’t have signs, who would want to adopt?
Currently 20 organizations already submitted applications with more expected to come. Lots will be assigned in May and go into effect next fall.
ESTELLE: I don't know how you're going to write all those shows. And where are you get all the ideas? FRANK: Would you leave him alone? You'll shatter his confidence! GEORGE: I don't need any ideas. It's a show about nothing. ESTELLE: Nothing. Please. I'll tell you the truth - the whole thing sounds pretty stupid to me.
But by no means are Holze and the rest of Kramerica out of ideas. It seems every time Holze and his friends joke around about the show, they can think of a new idea. With nine seasons of episodes, Holze knows that Kramerica has unlimited possibilities at its disposal:
• Hold a Risk tournament honoring Kramer and Newman’s game that would force players to run around the Quad and ride the bus while playing. (I’m taking the Congo as a penalty!)
• In celebration of Holze’s new apartment next year, hold an apartment warming party similar to Joe Mayo’s where all guests are given a job to do. (Don’t tap the glass.)
• Get a job with the bagel shop and then strike, demanding that they honor the holiday Frank Costanza replaced Christmas with: Festivus. (Festivus for the rest of us!)
• Cancel mail service, return junk mail and boycott the Altgeld Post Office complete with dummy wearing a bucket over its head to symbolize how we’re blind to their tyranny. (Shouldn’t you be wearing the bucket?)
“There's so many impractical ideas that I’d love to do. That’s what this club has been to us. That’s what Kramerica was. He didn’t have time for all these meaningless chores so he had the intern come so he could get the other ideas out. So it’s kind of us getting our ideas out. Not really meetings, but it’s being active on campus.”
Quotes
"It has been 'A Club for the Restivus!' From doing the opposite of every other club on campus to having a Newmannium Party to celebrating Festivus, it's all been like a fantasy, yet it is all too real!"
- Tim Penich, club member
