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kansas state collegian
vol. 124, issue 47
friday, january 25, 2 0 1 9
Black student enrollment has fallen more than 30 percent since 2012, highest of any demographic
KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN OLIVIA BERGMEIER THE COLLEGIAN
The bells atop Anderson Hall tolled as a sea of purple washed over the lawn. On that misty Tuesday afternoon, Kansas State University canceled classes for non-weather related reasons for the first time in more than 100 years to reaffirm its principles of community and define, clearly and publicly, the role of diversity and inclusion in its institution. That day, Nov. 14, 2017, marked day one of a movement to prioritize diversity: KSUnite. It has been over a year since white nationalist posters appeared overnight at K-State, bringing with them controversy over free speech and multiculturalism on campus. In the weeks and months that followed, similar acts throughout 2017 — including a Snapchat referencing the KKK and a later debunked car vandalism — prompted something historic like KSUnite. This data story will look at the spike of racially charged events on campus and how they may have affected multicultural students using timelines and Manhattan campus enrollment numbers by demographic, as supplied by the vice president of student life, Pat Bosco. These numbers, gathered by the Kansas Board of Regents for every instate university as the 20th Day Census, include data compiled each fall semester. It is important to note that enroll-
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Archive Photo by Olivia Bergmeier | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Kansas State University students sing along to the K-State Marching Band members playing the K-State Alma Mater during the KSUnite rally at Anderson Hall on Nov. 14, 2017. ment at K-State across all campuses is declining, as is the trend across the nation. Total student enrollment on the Manhattan campus decreased close to nine percent between 2012 and 2018, which correlates with the percent of decrease in white students on the campus. In that same period, however, enrollment of black students decreased close to 32 percent.
Peyton Williams shows leadership on women’s basketball team
As always, correlation does not necessarily signify causation. Bryon Williams, assistant director of new student services, said there could be any number of variables affecting black student enrollment. “From my experience, the campus climate has been both challenging and supportive over that time period,” Williams said in an email. “There
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have been racialized issues on campus, dealing with everything from retention of black faculty, vandalism and unfortunately even hoaxes. I believe that the effect of campus climate has been mixed.”
see page 3, “K-STATE”
OP-ED: What Gillette’s recent controversial ad gets right
NEWS
PAWS promotes mental health awareness through education, cats by Dene Dryden You’ve probably noticed the pets on campus—be it the Pet Away Stress dogs or the feline friends at Cats, Crafts and Cameras in the Student Union on Wednesday. The organization behind these pet-related events is PAWS, but despite the name, the group’s main focus isn’t animals. The Peer Advocates for Mental Wellness and Success are students who care about their fellow Wildcats first and foremost. “We’re trying to build a community surrounding mental health,” said Matthew Burnett, senior in nutritional sciences and PAWS vice president. PAWS is a departmental student organization under Kansas State’s Counseling Services. Wendy Barnes, online programs coordinator for Counseling Services, said PAWS helps create awareness around specific mental health topics, providing information through programming and presentations. The organization’s members also use events and presentations to connect students with on-campus resources, like the four free-of-charge therapy sessions students can use per year. “College is a time where it’s very stressful, very turbulent, so there’s a lot of times where it’s like, ‘I’ve never experienced this before, why do I feel this way? I’ve never had this feeling before,’” said Sophia Leonard, senior in biological systems engineering and PAWS treasurer. “PAWS is a really good way of helping people find who they need to help them figure out what’s happening.”
see page 7, “PAWS”
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EDITORIAL BOARD Kaylie McLaughlin Rachel Hogan Co-Editors-inChief Dené Dryden Managing Editor
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CORRECTIONS
The article “True Magic: How a community gathered to save Goblin Games from the Labor Day flooding,” published in print on Wednesday, incorrectly indicated that Goblin Games would reopen their previous location alongside their new location. It also incorrectly stated that the owners of Goblin Games purchased a space in the Westloop Shopping Center. That space was rented. If you see something that should be corrected, call co-editors-in-chief Rachel Hogan and Kaylie McLaughlin at 785-370-6356 or email news@kstatecollegian.com.
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Other elements that might be impacting enrollment, Williams said, are related to changes in state-wide admissions practices as well as increases in tuition for out-of-state students specifically. Ayana Belk, sophomore in landscape architecture, said she agreed. “The number one issue is the financial cost of attending K-State,” Belk said. “Attending college is more difficult for black students who tend to depend heavier on financial aid than white students.” While enrollment declines aren’t necessarily a direct result of racially charged instances, the relationship present between them is significant and notable. “I’m shocked to see it at K-State, but it’s something that I continue to see over and over again,” Darrell Reese, former president of the Black Student Union and senior in manage-
ment, said previously. “It started back to the blackface incident, to the noose, to the white nationalist posters — the list goes on and on. We’re getting tired of seeing the same thing pop up every single time.” Belk said at a student senate meeting late in 2018 that she wanted to leave K-State after the fall of 2017 left a bad taste in her mouth, particularly after the administration did little to take a stand against the overt racism plaguing the campus. “Once we get to campus, we’re met with a different culture than we’re used to, and it has an effect,” Belk said. “Being around people who don’t look like me is easy, but being met with disrespect and racially motivated acts of vandalism or hate speech is something that no student of any race, sexual orientation, gender or religion is prepared to deal with.” Ultimately, she decided to stay, a choice she attributed to a handwritten letter from an administrator in the Office of Student Life.
CAMPUS CLIMATE AND ENROLLMENT
Provost and senior vice president Charles Taber, who began working at K-State in the fall of 2018, said while his short time at K-State might disqualify him from having a historically based opinion on the matter, he does believe the campus climate has played a role in the decrease of black student enrollment at K-State. “I do know that campus climate does have a substantial impact on multicultural communities at many universities across the country, so I would be very surprised if that were not the case here as well,” Taber said. “I believe that our campus culture is very welcoming and often quite inclusive, but I also suspect that black students and others from multicultural groups do not always feel supported on our campus.” Taber said he believes there are at least two ways black student enrollment is affected by “perceptions of campus climate.”
In order to fix our campus climate, we need to address our individual prejudices... Ayana Belk Sophomore
“First, potential applicants to a university are very much affected by their perceptions of the campus and the information they see in news reports and social media — if they believe a campus is not inclusive, they are not likely to apply or come,” Taber said. “Second, student success is very much affected by student experiences on our campus, so that students who do not feel welcomed or included are less likely to succeed and graduate.” Belk said if she were to give
With Bosco retiring, enrollment management, other departments move to provost’s office BAILEY BRITTON THE COLLEGIAN
With the retirement of Pat Bosco, vice president of student life, Kansas State will see some changes in the Office of Student Life, including the movement of two departments to the Office of the Provost. Bosco said universities change over time, but it doesn't happen frequently. "This department has expanded over the last 40 years," Bosco said. "I've worked for five presidents during that time, and each had an expanded version of what we should be impacting in student life. It has evolved and expanded over the years. With my announced retirement, it is natural for the university to look for new ways to serve its students." Currently, the Office of Student Life includes 34 internal departments that provide
students with a variety of services to help them be successful during their time at K-State. "In general, VPs for student life ... handle a wide range of issues relating to the student experience on campus, including housing and dining, health services, campus climate, co-curricular activities and clubs, student government, safety and conduct," Provost Charles Taber said via email. In addition to overseeing these departments, Bosco is also responsible for how students and their families view K-State during orientation and enrollment. "All of these are critically important for students to succeed, and we all are committed to a deep focus on giving students every opportunity to be successful," Taber said. "Student Life and Academic Affairs are great partners in promoting student success in and out of the classroom. Bosco also di-
rects enrollment management, such as recruiting, admissions, financial aid, the registrar and student success." The main difference in the future of the position currently held by Bosco will be the movement of enrollment management and academic student success to the Office of the Provost. "These will no longer be in Student Life, though the strong partnership between Academic Affairs and Student Life will continue," Taber said. For his position, Bosco is on the road three days a week to work with high school students, community colleges and fundraising efforts across the state. For on- and off-campus events, he is often considered the face of the university. The culture of K-State, Bosco said, has always been a commitment to students to provide opportunities and a welcoming atmosphere, and he continues to emphasize the student as the
most important "ingredient" for why people come here. "We've been very fortunate to have an intentionality in what we do that attracts students to K-State and makes them successful afterward," Bosco said. To ensure there will still be this "intentionality," Bosco said there will be a transition group that will work with students, faculty and administrators to workshop what a chief administrator in the Office of Student Life should look like in the future. Bosco said he believes the search for a new vice president of student life will be a national search that involves committees and on-campus interviews. At K-State, he said, changing administrators is traditionally a big deal because of the family atmosphere. "It is healthy and natural to have change," Bosco said. "I am sure that the K-State culture will be bigger and better than ever."
a guess as to why black student enrollment has decreased in the way that it has, it would be due to the way people on- and off-campus perceive K-State.
“My guess is students have heard about the unfortunate events that have happened on our campus and decided not to attend here,” Belk said. “In order to fix our campus climate, we need to address our individual prejudices and assumptions.” As for the future of enrollment of students across the board, Taber and Williams both said the Strategic Enrollment Plan on the horizon for the university aims to tackle a variety of enrollment barriers. “We are absolutely committed to the goals of diversity and inclusion and believe that broad access and opportunity are pillars of our land grant mission,” Taber said.
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friday, january 25, 2019
OPINION: A photojournalist's guide to keeping it real on social media OLIVIA BERGMEIER THE COLLEGIAN
I began my journey as a photojournalist when I was fresh into college. I never had experience before that, but when a camera was put into my hands and I took my first assignment, I found out I loved it. Creating images and capturing moments became my passion. I wanted to tell anybody and everybody’s story, and I began to greatly look up to photographers working for National Geographic, following and religiously liking and interacting with their social media content. Taking photo portraits of people became a side gig for me, and photojournalism became my passion (and remains so today), but I realized that with great photography skills, you can intertwine photojournalism into portraiture and still tell
Olivia Bergmeier | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Brother Jeb sits in front of a crowd of onlookers in Bosco Plaza as he waits for questions about his ministry on Aug. 23, 2018. Photos like this one can be used to tell stories of people and places, becoming more than just another photograph. amazing stories. Today, people notice great portraiture, especially in wedding photography. A good portrait tells some kind of story, without even saying a word—
just like photojournalism. A great wedding photographer could be asked by a newspaper to cover an event and they would still create great images. That’s how it should be.
When it’s not, the bride and groom become very upset with the final product, because the final product doesn’t have enough emotion in it. If you want to be a photographer, I think photojournalism is the key to finding a spot on social media. People love stories, after all. On Instagram, National Geographic Magazine has 98.2 million followers. They’re ranked number 15 in follower count, beating media personality Khloe Kardashian by roughly 13 million followers. National Geographic is the most followed organization on Instagram, only beaten by celebrity accounts. The next brand contender, Nike, is 14 million followers behind them. Adam Quinn, vice president of digital at National Geographic, published an article in 2017 saying that National Geographic went from “reverence
to relevance.” A magazine dedicated to the awe of the natural world adapted perfectly to the social media landscape by telling stories with its photos. National Geographic has continuously published since 1888, telling stories about science, environment, world culture and geography. They are also one of the most circulated magazines in the world, printing in the native language of nearly 40 countries with a circulation count of 6.7 million, according to the Washington Post in 2015. With these stats, it just shows that meaningful images are something people want to see. They can stir emotions in people or change some people’s minds. One thing that is not meaningful, though, is the oversaturated market of “artistic photography.” Now, I am not saying individuals who practice artistic
photography are bad at photography, nor the fans of the art wrong. Those photographers are great at photography — but not photojournalism. Photojournalism is a storytelling medium laced with artistic beginnings and insights, and sometimes, especially in the younger generations, it gets lost. People see the bright colors, the flashy editing, and become entranced, which is all well and good. Finding a spot on social media is hard, but National Geographic proves it doesn’t have to be through “artistic” photography. It can be through telling impactful and meaningful stories, and making sure the world can see them, and see their importance. Olivia Bergmeier is the multimedia editor for the Collegian and a sophomore in mass communications and conservation biology.
The Octagon of Doom: Inside 30 years of Bramlage Coliseum’s history JULIA JORNS
THE COLLEGIAN
Over the last 30 years, Bramlage Coliseum has been home to both of the Kansas State basketball programs and thousands of cheering fans. Bramlage, nicknamed “The Octagon of Doom” for the building’s eight-sided shape, made its debut as the home of the Wildcats on Nov. 26, 1988. This facility was built to replace Ahearn Field House, which served the Wildcats from 1950 to 1988. The construction took two years and was funded by different contributions, with $7 million from the student body and a matched figure from K-State alumni. State funds were not used to build Bramlage like they were for Ahearn Field House. Fred Bramlage, the building’s namesake, was a business-
man from Junction City and a 1935 K-State graduate who majored in accounting. Bramlage made the original contribution to start constructing the facility. There’s no surprise that several key basketball matchups have taken place here, but to get to those, we have to start at the beginning. The first game played in the arena was an NBA exhibition game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 21, 1988. The Mavericks at that time were led by former K-State player and four-time All-Star Rolando Blackman. In the 1988-1989 college basketball season, the K-State men’s basketball team posted a 19-11 overall record, and they went 8-6 in conference play to finish third in the Big 8 Conference. This team was led by head coach Lon Kruger, now head coach of the Oklahoma
Sooners. The team’s first game was against Purdue, where they won 81-77. In the 2009-2010 season, K-State’s men’s team posted a 29-8 record overall, 11-5 in conference play. In front of their home crowd, the Wildcats went 14-3. With Frank Martin at the helm, the team made its first Elite Eight appearance in more than 20 years. One of the more recent big home games for men’s basketball was an 87-69 win over then-No. 4 Oklahoma on Jan. 16, 2018. It was the team’s sixth conference game of the season and their third win. In the first season for the women’s team, the Wildcats finished with a record of 18-11 overall and 7-7 in Big 8 Conference play, with Matilda Mossman as the head coach. On March 17, 2002, the women’s team recorded program win No. 600 in an 82-68
Cooper Kinley | K-STATE ATHLETICS / COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
The Kansas State Wildcats face off against the Oklahoma Sooners in Bramlage Coliseum on Jan. 16, 2018. win over Arkansas inside Bramlage. The women’s basketball program celebrated its 50th season in Bramlage with a win
in its final home game on Feb. 24, 2018. In this game, K-State recorded their 91st win over instate rival KU, 91-67. “The Octagon of Doom”
has seen some key matchups in its 30 years as the home of Wildcat basketball, and it is sure to see many more in the years to come.
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friday, january 25, 2019
Powercat Profile: Peyton Williams shows leadership on women’s team
Could K-State win a Big 12 title? Let’s look at their season so far
NATHAN ENSERRO
ADAM MEYER
THE COLLEGIAN
The Kansas State women’s basketball team — like many teams — traditionally turns to veteran leadership when things aren’t going their way. For K-State, one of those leaders is junior forward Peyton Williams. “I think our leadership has been really good in the timeouts,” head coach Jeff Mittie said. “[Senior guard Kayla] Goth and Peyton [Williams] are saying really good things in the huddle. ... That coming from players is way better than coming from me." Her value to K-State is not just verbal leadership, though. She also helps K-State close out games when the time is almost over. Take, for example, the last four minutes of K-State’s 59-48 win over the Oklahoma State Cowgirls on Wednesday, when Williams scored 12 of her 23 points and grabbed two of her 10 rebounds. She played 37 minutes total in the Wildcat victory. The Wildcats’ lead prior to her outburst was just five points, but they won by 11 thanks mostly to offensive contributions from Williams and Goth. In the game before Oklahoma State — a comeback win over Texas Tech — Williams scored 18 points, pulled down seven rebounds and played all 40 minutes. Williams had another 20-point, 40-minute performance in an 87-69 rout of the then-No. 11 Texas Longhorns. This time, she secured eight rebounds. “We were really cognizant of the ebbs and flows of that game,” Williams said. “We were on top of that and made sure that we didn’t get complacent or understanding that [Texas] is a top-25 team for a reason.” Williams leads K-State with an average of 15.7 points per game, and she also averages 9.6 rebounds. She has exactly twice as many rebounds as the second place rebounder, senior forward Kali Jones — 172 to 86. She is second in average minutes behind
Goth with 34.5 minutes. “[Williams is] a good communicator and a good floor leader,” sophomore guard Rachel Ranke said of her teammate. “On the floor, if things are going wrong, we’ll huddle up and she’ll talk to us and she’ll let us know that we need to stay together right now or we need to keep pushing.” Williams, as a forward, is third on the team in 3-pointers made behind the two self-described “shooters,” Ranke and freshman guard Christianna Carr. Williams, a Topeka native and lifelong K-State fan, does not just play basketball for K-State. She plays volleyball for head coach Suzie Fritz, too. “It’s a cool experience to watch for so many years and go
to the camps, and hear my dad talk about K-State all the time, and cheer on the men’s team and the women’s team for so many years,” Williams said. “It’s awesome to play two sports.” Williams said she prefers the sport she is playing at the moment, but generally prefers basketball because she’s been playing it longer. Off the court, Williams said she enjoys a lot of the same things that any college student enjoys. “I do a lot of reading, I watch movies and Netflix like any normal human,” Williams said. “I get coffee a lot with a lot of my friends. … I love just one-on-one time with some of my teammates, some of my friends. Just getting in touch with people, I love that.”
Logan Wassall | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Junior forward Peyton Williams scans the court for an open play during K-State’s basketball game against Oklahoma State in Bramlage Coliseum on Jan. 23, 2019. The Wildcats beat the Cowgirls 59-48.
THE COLLEGIAN
The Kansas State men’s basketball team has had a bit of a rollercoaster ride this season. They began the season with a No. 12 preseason ranking and a threat to challenge the 14-straight defending Big 12 Conference champions, the Kansas Jayhawks. At the beginning of the season, head coach Bruce Weber thought this was a team that should have been ranked in the preseason top 10. The men’s team started the season 6-0 by defeating Kennesaw State on Nov. 9, the University of Denver on Nov. 12, Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 16, Penn University on Nov. 18, the University of Missouri on Nov. 19 and Lehigh on Nov. 24. Then, to begin December, they had two meaningful away games against Marquette and Tulsa — and they lost them both. At the following press conference, senior forward Dean Wade said that they probably didn’t deserve to be ranked after that twoweek stretch for how they played. He described it as, “a rough two weeks of basketball.” This dropped the team’s season record to 6-2 from the road trip. But Wade wasn’t concerned about those two losses and no longer being ranked. He also said at that press conference he knew that going on the road would help this team in the long run, and that this was a great team that was “going to be hard to stop” when they figured things out and put the pieces together. The Wildcats bounced back and won their next five games; their most notable win against Vanderbilt came on Dec. 22. They also survived a scare from George Mason, 59-58, on Dec. 29 to improve their record to 10-2 before heading into conference play. The Wildcats then started conference play 0-2 with losses to Texas on Jan. 2 and Texas Tech on Jan. 5. They needed to find some way to come back before the season was too far gone.
Emily Lenk | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Senior forward Dean Wade makes a shot and scores during the men’s basketball game against Texas Tech in Bramlage Coliseum on Jan. 22, 2019. In the next game on Jan. 9 against the West Virginia Mountaineers, the Wildcats were down once again 36-21, making both the team and Weber sound foolish for their preseason comments. During halftime, senior guard Barry Brown called for a players-only meeting and sent a strong message to the team that was shared to reporters by sophomore guard Mike McGuirl after the game: “If you don’t think you can win, don’t even try to get into the game.” That not only sparked the largest comeback in school history, in a 71-69 victory over the Mountaineers, but it also set the team on fire for the next few games. That comeback win, followed by a victory against the Iowa State Cyclones on Jan. 12, had the Wildcats right back into the mix of the Big 12 Conference race. A win over the Oklahoma Sooners on Jan. 16 and the TCU Horned Frogs on Jan. 19 got the Wildcats into a four-way tie for first place in the Big 12. After the TCU game, Weber shared that Stokes had told him a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to compete for the Big 12 Championship, and Weber said he didn’t tell Stokes this, but he thought, “I want to win a game.” The Wildcats’ following matchup against No. 14 Texas
Tech on Jan. 22 was a major matchup for the Wildcats to show how good they really were, and they took full advantage, holding the Red Raiders to their season low of 45 points in a 5845 victory. After the game, Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said that K-State is the best defense in the Big 12 and a dangerous team. “[K-State] is one of the best teams in the country,” Beard said. “They returned five starters from an Elite Eight team. They have character and DNA that is showed by how they bounced back from their 0-2 start, along with great leadership. Coach [Weber] has taken teams to the Final Fours and the NCAA Tournament on a regular basis. They are one of the best teams in college basketball.” This team has put itself in position to accomplish something special this season as they share the first place ranking in the Big 12 with KU. On Saturday, they will face Texas A&M. The following Saturday, Feb. 2, they will take on Oklahoma State before they host the instate rival KU Jayhawks on Feb. 5. It now seems that the Wildcats have figured things out and put the pieces together. “We knew all along that we are a good team,” Wade said. “It was just a matter of time for us to show it.”
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friday, january 25, 2019
World Religions Day seeks to expose students to new ideas REBECCA VRBAS THE COLLEGIAN
As part of the Union Program Council’s Week of Welcome activities, students engaged with individuals from different religious backgrounds at the World Religions Day expo on Thursday. The event included student
groups, local groups from the community and organizations from the Kansas City area. Each group represented a different religious group or belief system. Camila Rivera, senior in architecture and member of the UPC multicultural committee, helped coordinate the event. Rivera said that this semester, the committee’s goal is to focus on featuring student organizations
that have been underserved in the past. Rivera said she hoped that by holding this event, students would be able to see the similarities and differences between religions and learn about those that they may not already be familiar with. UPC provided an incentive to encourage students to start conversation with a variety of
the organizations attending. Attendees were given a “passport” to get stamped by representatives for the chance to enter a raffle. Carson Krehbiel, freshman in entrepreneurship, said he was glad to have the opportunity to participate in these kinds of conversations with different religions. “We definitely have a lot of
misconceptions that, living in your own background, you don’t really get exposed to, unless you try to go out and do that,” Krehbiel said. “So that’s why I came here. I’m glad that I had the chance to talk to some people; I was able to clear up some misconceptions I had.” Victor Medina, freshman in open option, said there were a lot of religions that he hadn’t
heard of before at the expo. “What I think I got out of it was that they all have the same idea for just bringing people together; each religion was just trying to bring a community together,” Medina said. Rivera said UPC intends to facilitate this event again in the future for students to continue learning about the religions of the world.
OP-ED: What Gillette gets right in its controversial advertisement This opinion-editorial was written by Suan Sonna, freshman in political science and philosophy. If you would like to write an oped with the Collegian, send us an email at opinion@kstatecollegian. com to get started. When Gillette released their "The Best Men Can Be" advertisement, there was a flurry of controversy around the ad’s message and implications for men: "Was Gillette generalizing and demonizing all men? Why are men so upset about a message on treating women with decency? Why is our culture so hellbent on critiquing and deconstructing masculinity? Why are men so butthurt over this ad?" These questions from both sides are not unfounded, which makes this conversation all the more complicated. However, we need to set aside the rhetoric and look deeper into what Gillette got right and wrong in their new ad. My task in this article is to show the former. What Gillette got right is that relationships in society, from friendships to romances, have deteriorated. Consider how men disproportionately suffer more from violence overall — often at the hands of other men. This problem is addressed near the end of the
commercial when a father intervenes between two wrestling boys. However, this scene has invited two interpretations — either Gillette is saying boys shouldn’t wrestle at all, or men should show other men (and boys) how to play without being excessively aggressive. The second interpretation is more justified, especially since Gillette shows a street fight being prevented by the direction of another man. Perhaps the most controversial part of the commercial deals with the #MeToo movement and sexual assault. Let’s begin by acknowledging that women have been sexually assaulted by men and there are many incidents where such behavior isn’t properly handled and punished. The stories are too painful to write, so I will only hyperlink some of them. These miscarriages of justice have caused many to doubt the efficacy of the presumption of innocence, and, among other things, the trustworthiness of men. Though the generalization is unfair, it demonstrates why Gillette is advocating that men must hold one another accountable. It is not saying that all men are guilty,
or men aren't also victims, but it is saying that instances of such behavior require intervention. This image presents men as leaders with strong moral codes and a sense of honor. I can’t imagine anything more masculine than that. Furthermore, Gillette alludes to the problem of the objectification of women in the media. By objectification, I mean the representation of women as passive interests for men and not as fully realized characters with their own personalities and stories. This problem is presented in the scene where an audience (of men) is laughing at a man pretending to grope a woman. Although I think I have a grasp of it, I’m not truly an expert about the media’s representation of women as objects, so I will allow my feminist colleagues to explain this point better than I can. Finally, the scene where the corporate executive places his hand on the shoulder of one of his female colleagues and tries to "explain her idea for her" strikes close to home. I know of women in STEM fields, for example, who have been treated as if they don’t belong in their positions or "need help" being seen as more
competent employees — even though they don’t. We can all recall times where our actions were misperceived as being demeaning, or we intended a different outcome than what materialized. These situations call for an increased awareness of our actions, sophisticated communication and increased emotional intelligence. I’m not talking about becoming "snowflakes." I’m talking about becoming competent individuals who know how to navigate the world in a successful way. As the renowned clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson explains, our mission in life is to reduce unnecessary suffering in all its forms and become powerful communicators against life’s chaos. We need to take responsibility for our actions and hold ourselves accountable to our neighbors. The essence of masculinity is duty and self-mastery — not selfishness and insecurity. I’m sure those who disagree with me have objections to my interpretation, or may think my analysis doesn’t consider the whole context of the commercial. However, I will address those matters
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in my next article on where the ad goes wrong. My hope here is that we can at least get beyond the polarization and false rhetoric being levied against Gillette and yield a fairer conversation about what it does right.
Suan Sonna is a freshman in political science and philosophy. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Collegian.
RELIGION Directory
St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center Saturday Vigil Mass Saturday 5 p.m.
Sunday Mass 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 4:00 p.m., and 5:30pm
Daily Mass Tuesday-Thursday 9:10 p.m. Friday 12:10 p.m. Chaplains: Fr. Gale Hammerschmidt Fr. Ryan McCandless 711 Denison 539-7496
Worship Service at 8:30 & 11:30 a.m. Adult and Children Bible Hour Classes
Offered at 10:00 a.m. 785.776.0424 www.gracebchurch.org 2901 Dickens Ave. (2 blks. E. of Seth Child)
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friday, january 25, 2019
PAWS continued from page
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Any student can be in the organization and volunteer at PAWS events through the semester. However, to give presentations concerning mental wellness topics, students must become certified peer educators through the Interaction and Guidance for the Paraprofessional course. Barnes teaches the section specifically for PAWS participants. “[Peer educators] have taken the EDCEP 311 class and they’ve learned peer education skills such as listening, communication, crisis response, bystander intervention, programming, event planning,” Barnes said. “Also, they’ve been trained by clinical staff from Counseling Services on specific mental health topics.” The course’s final exam is a national certification exam for peer educators. After the students are certified peer educators, Barnes said they can then give
presentations about mental health topics on campus via Counseling Services. “They’ve got a good reputation for being accurate and knowledgeable,” Barnes said. “I go to their presentations if it’s their first time just simply to be there for mental support and answer any questions that they can’t yet.” PAWS members do not have to take the class to be involved with the organization as a whole. “If you’re going to go out and teach, you need to have this qualification,” said Alexandria Bontrager, senior in microbiology and PAWS president. “But if you come to the meetings, we will give you resources and information, and you can volunteer and participate in those activities. Anyone can do the club; the CPEs are just the teaching part of it.” Each student joins PAWS or takes the peer certification class for different reasons. For Carly Tracz, graduate student in student development, she said she initially took Barnes’ first EDCEP
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A kitten gazes wistfully while being held by a student. The Purple Power Animal Welfare Society brought cats to the K-State Student Union on Dec. 4, 2018 to help relieve student stress before finals week in an event planned by PAWS. 311 course in the spring 2017 semester because she needed one more credit hour to have full-time status that semester. “I’ve always just had an interest in mental health and have dealt with my own mental health for a while, so I figured it was a good fit,” Tracz said. “After volunteering and being involved in the
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class, I got even more interested in mental health, and that’s why I actually went to grad school.” Tracz said the course and PAWS changed her career path. She is now the assistant outreach coordinator with Counseling Services. Since PAWS has only been active for two years on campus,
Bontrager said the group is still looking to incorporate new activities and pair with other student organizations. “We’ve given presentations to other student organizations,” Bontrager said. “We partner with them in that way, but it would be cool to do events.” The group already has a long lineup of events for students this semester. The latest event, Cats, Crafts and Cameras on Wednesday, was co-sponsored by the Union Program Council and Purple Power Animal Welfare Society. The cats will return with PAWS on Feb. 15 for Cats, Canvases and Cameras. Other spring events include Color Stigma Away, Clarifying Consent and Walk-a-Mile in Her Shoes. Natalie Leonard, PAWS secretary and sophomore in journalism and Spanish, said her favorite experience being in PAWS came from a booth the group presented called “The Elephant in Your Room.” “That’s where people will
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write down on little elephants something that they might be struggling with, and then we pin them all up,” Leonard said. “Because mental illness can be an isolating thing sometimes, I feel like you think to yourself, ‘Why do I feel this way? Other people don’t feel this way.’ “I had the opportunity to work that particular booth, and it was just so amazing to watch so many people see all of the things they never talk about, and they could say, ‘I struggle with that,’” Leonard continued. “’Someone else struggles with it and they had the courage to put it up there and say I’m not alone.’ I really like that we promote that mindset that we exist because you’re not the only one who feels this way and you need to know.” PAWS meets at 7 p.m. every other Tuesday—starting Jan. 29—in Rathbone 1052. Students can keep up with PAWS events and the group’s podcast on Facebook, Instagram (@cs.paws), Twitter (@cs_paws) and Snapchat (cs_paws).
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friday, january 25, 2019
Commerce chief to unpaid federal workers: Let them get loans
Both Manhattan Locations Photo illustration by Logan Wassall | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE U.S. commerce secretary Wilbur Ross expressed bewilderment over unpaid federal workers who are seeking charity to feed themselves, saying they should be able to borrow money during the partial government shutdown. "I don't really quite understand why," Ross told CNBC in an interview on Thursday in response to reports that some federal workers are going to homeless shelters to get food. "Borrowing from a bank or a credit union are in effect federally guaranteed. So the 30 days of pay that some people will be out, there's no real reason why they shouldn't be able to get a loan," he said. The longest shutdown in U.S. history entered its 34th day on Thursday, affecting
some 800,000 workers. Pressure is building on President Donald Trump and both parties in Congress to resolve the dispute, as the furloughed workers will miss their second paychecks on Friday. The remarks by Ross, a wealthy former private-equity investor, were rebuked for failing to understand how many ordinary Americans live. "That Wilbur Ross can't understand why federal workers are going to food banks is emblematic of how tone deaf and out of touch this administration is," said Representative Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat from Illinois. Schakowsky said she has a constituent who administers food stamps and had to resort to food banks herself. "Open your eyes!" Whether in protest or out of necessity, a growing num-
ber of federal workers whose jobs have been deemed essential are calling in sick or claiming hardship exemptions. Lines at some airport-security checkpoints are growing as Transportation Security Administration employees, who are working without pay, call in ill. Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said Wednesday that if the shutdown extends through March, there's a chance of zero economic expansion this quarter. Ross brushed the argument aside that such workers cannot make ends meet without finding other work, arguing that while people might have to pay a little bit of interest to borrow, "there really is not a good excuse why there really should be a liquidity crisis."
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