Squinting in the sunlight, Carey Oroke looked up and smiled then looked down to sign another photo of her mostly nude body.

She handed over the copy of Playboy and moved on to the next young man in line Tuesday at the Jayhawk Bookstore.

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“It’s Trevor,” he said, when she asked him his name.

Oroke, one of three Kansas University students in Playboy magazine’s 10-page “Girls of the Big 12” pictorial, had been signing magazines and doing interviews for most of the day in the Kansas City area as part of a publicity tour.

Oroke and the two other KU students were signing their names and marking Xs and Os on their photos outside the bookstore, which borders KU’s main campus.

More than 300 students, mostly male, were waiting in line to have the women write sweet nothings across the photos.

“Write something funny,” one student asked Oroke.

“My entire family has been supportive,” Oroke, a 22-year-old senior from Tonganoxie, said. “And I haven’t received any negative reaction, considering I just told them last Wednesday … There’s been the local gossip. But honestly, it doesn’t faze me.”

Sitting next to her at the table was Kristin Black, a 20, a Wichita junior.

No, she had never had anyone ask her to sign her name that many times before.

¢ Students line up for “Girls of the Big 12” models¢ Jennifer Whalen talks about her newfound fame¢See past stories

“But, I’m getting used to it,” Black said. “I love it. Today’s the first day of all the publicity.”

So far, there have been no major changes since she posed for the magazine.

“Nothing has changed dramatically, just a lot of attention,” Black said.

She said she had no expectations going into the photo shoot.

“I just had a good time doing it,” she said.

Next to Black was Jennifer Whalen, 22, a communications major from St. Louis. She pulled her hair back behind her ear to keep it from falling in front of her face as she signed.

“I was just taking a chance. I wanted to do modeling. So this is a once in a lifetime thing,” she said. “I decided to go for it. “

Whalen said the reaction she’s had has been positive from both friends and relatives.

“Everyone’s been pretty supportive,” she said.

“I’m hoping for maybe a job in journalism, or maybe some more modeling,” she said.

Bill Muggy, who owns the Jayhawk Bookstore, 1420 Crescent Road, said he had sold close to 900 Playboy magazines as of 3:30 p.m. and had hoped to sell another 300.

He estimated about 300 people had been through the magazine-signing line by 3:30 p.m.

Asked whether there had been any negative repercussions concerning the signings, he said “absolutely none.”

Stephen Duncan, 20, a KU senior, said he had waited for a half hour before getting his signed. And he said it was worth the wait.

“It’s fun,” he said.

James Bowman, 19, an Overland Park freshman, echoed that sentiment.

“It’s good times,” he said. “They’re just real nice and real friendly.”

Theresa Hennessey, a Playboy spokeswoman who was with the models, said they had five radio station interviews and an autograph session on Tuesday in the Kansas City area.

They also were to have an autograph session from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Hastings Books, Music and Video, 1900 W. 23rd St.