As the semester winds down toward finals week, many students are looking for any reason to take a break from studying. On Monday, an appearance by Kourtney Kardashian and company was that reason.
The “Keeping up with the Kardashians” star and UA alumna took a trip to the UA with her partner, Scott Disick, where the two were greeted by screaming fans and cellphone cameras. Starting at the UA, the show’s crew spent the day gallivanting around Tucson, also making stops at local bars.
The couple was reportedly scheduled to shoot scenes for an upcoming episode of the show at the UofA Bookstore on Monday afternoon, but bookstore staff said the event was canceled because producers felt the mass of students would seem unnatural on the reality show.
Heather Wilson, a film and television freshman, said she had heard from a friend that Kardashian was in Tucson. Wilson was waiting at the bookstore with her friend Selma Jasarevic, a psychology freshman.
“I watch them every week,” Jasarevic said, adding that she was willing to wait hours just to see members of the show’s cast. “They’re, like, my favorite people. Whenever I go to L.A., they’re always the people I look for, and now they’re here.”
Not even an hour after the cancellation, Kardashian and Disick were spotted surrounded by students as they took a tour around campus, led by a member of a UA ambassador team. Twitter and Instagram users snapped pictures of the pair on the UA Mall, in the UA Main Library and in restaurants on University Boulevard.
Tweets came every minute as people tried to determine where Kardashian and Disick were heading next.
A crowd amassed in front of Gentle Ben’s Brewing Company on University Boulevard of students eager to catch a glimpse of Kardashian and her entourage.
“I drove home this morning from Thanksgiving break, heard she was here and went and changed my entire outfit,” said Taryn Wright, a journalism junior. “No one can meet a Kardashian looking the way I did, let’s be real.”
Some students were able to interact directly with the stars, including Kyle Fisher, a communication freshman who followed the couple all day.
“[Disick] went over the balcony and just poured another thing and, like, it went all over me,” Fisher said. “Scott Disick poured a shot for me all over me.”
Javier Busanez, an undeclared freshman, said he waited outside the bar and was able to touch Kardashian.
“I ran up to her, kind of hugged her, and they’re like ‘No, no hugs,’” he said. “I kind of touched her and I hugged her and she giggled.”
University Boulevard wasn’t the only scheduled stop for the group. A post on The Meet Rack’s Facebook page confirmed that the show’s cast also had plans to stop by the local dive bar later on Monday evening. A number of students also turned up to the bar to wait.
The bar’s owner, Jim “God” Anderson, said the show’s producers came to him on Sunday evening, asking him to sign a release to film in the bar. Jim Anderson said he happily signed, and then gave the crew a tour of the bar. Jim Anderson added that he wasn’t sure why the show picked his bar, but he was pleased they did.
“Somehow, they picked here, so I’m excited,” Jim Anderson said. “That type of publicity is wonderful for me. That’s what I live for.”
After hearing about the scheduled Kardashian appearance on Facebook, third-year law students Andrea Simbro and Calley Anderson waited at the bar for several hours.
“I found out from Andrea,” Calley Anderson said, adding that she’d be happy to get a photo with the star. “It seemed like a fun break from studying for finals.”
Rhiannon Helms, a journalism senior, said she only found about Kardashian’s trip to Tucson a few minutes before coming out to the bar. Although she remained skeptical about the cast’s appearance, she did have some idea about what she would like to see.
“I’d just like to see Scott get branded,” Helms said, referring to the bar’s tradition of offering to brand owner Jim Anderson’s face on patrons. “He seems crazy enough.”
Some students too young to enter the bar still came out to wait in the parking lot, where a line wrapped around the building. Elizabeth Woods, an undeclared sophomore, and Payton Stauch, a sophomore studying pre-neuroscience and cognitive sciences, skipped their sororities’ chapter meetings to attend.
Despite the hype the star’s presence drew, some students weren’t as enthused about Kardashian’s appearance on campus.
Twitter user @bstein13 wrote, “Everyone’s freaking out cause there’s a fake celebrity on campus. #kourtneykardashian.”
Daniel Jolivet, a UA junior studying business management, tweeted, “I was unaware how influential Kourtney Kardashian was to society.. I should have begged for them to bless me at frog #sike.”
Still, some students were happy just to have gotten a glimpse of a little Hollywood in Tucson.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Katrina Rudnick, an undeclared freshman who waited in front of Gentle Ben’s. “It’s always cool when a famous person comes to campus.”
– Stephanie Casanova and Maggie Driver contributed to this article.
