02-01-19

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T H E I N D E P E N D E N T V O I C E F O R K A N S A S S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

kansas state collegian

vol. 124, issue 50

kstatecollegian.com

friday, february 1, 2 0 1 9

Two candidates for 2019-2020 student body president debate campaign platforms, university issues, diversity and inclusion

PETER LOGANBILL THE COLLEGIAN

The Student Governing Association’s student body presidential candidates debated for the first time at the primary debate in the Student Union courtyard Thursday evening.

The two candidates are Ryan Kelly, junior in communication studies and speaker of the student senate, and Jansen Penny, junior in industrial engineering and chair of the Privilege Fee Committee. They discussed their platforms and topics of student concern, including tuition cost, diversity and the Multicultural Student Center.

Kelly started off by discussing his experience at Kansas State University and how he wants to give all students equal opportunity to succeed.

“It has been my experience at K-State to interact with a diverse community from all walks of life,” Kelly said.

“What I’ve noticed is that so many questions surround diversity and inclusion efforts, surround social justice and surround multiculturalism at K-State. So, why are they so important? They’re important because they’re fundamental to the core mission of this university and to the core mission of our Student Governing Association.”

Kelly suggested that while K-State often emphasizes the idea of equal opportunity for all students, the reality shows otherwise.

“We look at retention rates across this university,” Kelly said. “Why is it that the black male retention rate is below 10 percent when compared to our white counterparts, who have a 40 to 50 percent retention rate? We have a responsibility as student leaders to advocate for these students, but this also extends past the academic experience into the extracurricular experience.

“Why is that all of

Jansen Penny

“I’m Jansen Penny, a first generation college student in my third year studying industrial engineering from Burlington, Colorado. Growing up on my family’s farm and ranch, I learned the value of connecting and serving your community, which is a legacy that I hope to continue in Colorado one day. Being an out-ofstate student coming to K-State, I could count on one hand how many people I knew within 250 miles. K-State quickly became my home as peers, mentors and faculty empowered me to be the best student, friend and person I can be. I am humbled to run for student body president to empower you to give back to your fellow students, unite as one campus, and own your college experience.”

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Student places at national Make It with Wool contest

our student organizations that are prestigious in this university — Student Governing Association, Student Foundation, Student Enrollment — are controlled by students who fit a similar demographic?” Kelly continued. “Why is that? It will be my job as student body president to change that. My job won’t be necessarily to be a vision maker — that job is for our students. My job as student body president will be to be a mission maker.”

Penny then talked about growing up on a farm and ranch in Colorado, a place he calls “Kansas 2.0.”

“I’ve spent most of my summer feeding cattle and driving a combine,” Penny said. “That’s a legacy I want to go back and maintain someday after I graduate from school.”

When Penny first arrived on campus, he said he could count on one hand how many people he knew within 250 miles.

“The place that I stepped foot on two-and-a-half years ago, where I knew no one, I now call home,” Penny said. “That is my mission for what I want to give other students here at K-State. Ali [Karamali] and I are about empowering you, and that is what our vision has been from the beginning. Empowering you to give to your fellow students what they need, whether it be food insecurity or financial insecurity. Empowering you to unite and invite that unity that we do have here at K-State. And lastly, empowering you to own your education.

Empowering you to own your own

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Illustrations by Will Averna

wellness. K-State has so many places on campus where you can go for help.”

Penny said he chose Karamali, sophomore in chemical engineering, as his running mate because he was looking for someone with a different background and life experi-

Ryan Kelly

As the debate got into the specifics of student issues, one of the first that Kelly mentioned was challenges of prejudice.

“I would say with recent events on campus, specifically racially charged incidents, what we’ve seen is a wedge that’s been driven

“My name is Ryan Kelly and I am from Overland Park. During my time at K-State, I have been involved across all corners of campus, including president of Haymaker Hall my freshman year and an eventual executive board for the Association of Residence Halls. My priority has always been advocacy for traditionally marginalized and underrepresented communities of students, exemplified by my hands-on involvement in diversity and inclusion efforts. I previously served as the parliamentarian for the Black Student Union, as an ambassador for the K-State Black Male Initiative, as a student scholar in the Edgerley-Franklin Urban Leadership Program, as a committee member and panelist for the Manhattan Committee on Race Reconciliation and as the chair for the Kansas Board of Regents Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. It is my fundamental belief that all students are to be afforded equal opportunity to succeed at K-State, a mission for which I will continue to dedicate my full attention to. It will be my mission as student body president to shine light on these issues through Anna and I’s platforms of empowerment, wellness and community.” ence than himself. Kelly said he did the same with his running mate, Anna Spencer, junior in nutritional sciences.

“When I asked Anna [Spencer] to run with me this past December, I could not have been more excited to work with someone who is so different than me, but agreed on so many different issues,” Kelly said. “Anna wants to give back. I want to give back.”

REVIEW: Union Kitchen is a new restaurant worth trying

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into the heart of our campus community,” Kelly said. “Some racial events, fraudulent or real, have a very real effect on our student body, and that effect is what we have a responsibility to address as student leaders.”

see page 3, “DEBATE”

OP-ED: International students not taken care of by K-State

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friday, february 1, 2019

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CORRECTIONS

EDITORIAL BOARD Kaylie McLaughlin Rachel Hogan Co-Editors-inChief Dené Dryden Managing Editor

Rebecca Vrbas Assistant Culture Editor

Gabby Farris Colton Seamans Co-Design Chiefs

Molly Hackett Sports Editor

Olivia Bergmeier Multimedia Editor

Rafael Garcia News Editor

Nathan Enserro Julia Jorns Assistant Sports Editors

Bailey Britton Peter Loganbill Assistant News Editors

Olivia Rogers Leah Zimmerli Co-Community Editors

Macy Davis Culture Editor

Kyle Hampel Copy Chief

Friday

Logan Wassall Kyle Hampel Deputy Multimedia Editors Monica Diaz Autumn Mock Social Media Editors

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friday, february 1, 2019

SGA debates UPC budget, Business Administration Building hours BAILEY BRITTON THE COLLEGIAN

In the first Student Governing Association senate meeting of the semester, senators debated cuts to the Union Program Council budget and introduced new legislation related to building hours for the Business Administration Building and committee member speaking rights.

The potential decrease to UPC privilege fee allocations (and thus, the council’s budget) garnered more than an hour of debate. The Privilege Fee Committee proposed a 2 percent decrease to the UPC budget, or around $4,000. Discussion fo-

DEBATE continued from page

1

Penny stated the number one issue faced by students was cost and affordability.

“If they can’t even afford to be here in the first place, that is an issue,” Penny said. “No matter what your gender or sexual orientation, we are all paying to be at K-State and we all have those bills in our inbox.”

When asked what they thought qualified them for the job of student body president, the candidates agreed that titles and positions were meaningless.

“What qualifies me for this job is my openness to listen and create here on campus,” Penny said. “No title can do that for you.”

The candidates also agreed that no single campus resource, such as the Counseling Services or the Cats’ Cupboard food pantry, could be labeled as the most important because students need a variety of different resources to succeed.

On the topic of the coming Multicultural Student Center, Penny said students must be aware of it for it to be effective.

“If we get a brand-new building over here, and it’s not utilized, it’s not accepted on this

cused on the impact of lowering how much money students give to the council.

Jonathan Cole, student senator and senior in mechanical engineering, opposed the bill.

The UPC doesn’t know where exactly cuts are going to happen, Cole said, but he has heard from people within UPC that the cuts are “horrible.”

Sarah Niederee, former PFC chair and senior in agricultural economics, supported the legislation, saying that if students want the privilege fee reduced while enrollment continues to decline, then certain budgets will have to be reviewed and possibly decreased.

“I want your voices to be heard,” said Jansen Penny, current PFC chair and junior in industrial engineering. “If we have to send this back, we will.”

The senate debated the motion to send the bill back to committee, which failed. More debate was followed by a vote to pass the bill, which failed 30 to 14 — one vote short of passing with a two-thirds majority.

Penny said that to approve funding for the UPC next year, a bill must pass whether the funding is cut or not, and the PFC will return to discussions.

Afterward, a bill was introduced to support the use of surplus faculty surcharge fees

to extend hours for the Business Administration Building. Currently, the College of Business’s home building has 48 study rooms and is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday.

The current hours, the bill states, are restricted by the lack of staff to ensure the safety of students within the building. Extending the hours would benefit students due to a lack of study space on campus, particularly since Hale Library is out of commission for the time being due to fire and water damage.

The allocation would be used to

campus, that is a waste,” Penny said. “There are great things to come with diversity and inclusion, and the Multicultural Student Center is that first step.”

Kelly said we must know what we mean when say “multicultural.”

“We also so often use that word: ‘multicultural,’” Kelly said. “‘Multicultural Student Center,’ but do we know what that means? Do we know what multicultural means at K-State?

To me, it means identity groups that feel underprivileged, unheard at this university; they feel like they don’t have the resources that every other student group has. That is why Anna and I are running under the platform of community and making sure that we expand the definition of ‘multicultural’ so that we know exactly who is going to go into that Multicultural Student Center.”

While he doesn’t believe he or anyone could represent everyone on campus, Penny said he would have different people on his team that would cover the diversity of K-State. He said he knows how to interact with people from a different background than him because he grew up with a family that took in foster kids.

“Throughout the years, we have had over 30 kids come into our lives and into our home and stay,” Penny said. “I know what it’s like living with someone from a totally different culture, differ-

ent age, walk of life, sexuality, even. I know how important it is that we celebrate our differences.

I’ve grown up with that my entire life.”

On the topic of the K-State Principles of Community, Kelly said he believes there is no enforcement of the principles, and that is a problem.

“There is no enforcement to the Principles of Community,” Kelly said. “Students do not have to abide by them, students don’t even have to listen to them.

I didn’t even know they existed until my sophomore year.”

Kelly also said he wants to see a lower tuition cost.

“We are pricing our students out of higher education,” Kelly said. “We need to be intentional about what we are spending our dollars on, and we need to utilize existing infrastructure at this university to make that experience worthwhile for our students.”

The last question the candidates were asked came from a student poll: What single thing would you highlight about the K-State experience?

Penny highlighted the importance of responsibility and how he wants to help students connect to the available resources on campus.

“Over the past two and a half years, I’ve seen so many resources that K-State provides, so many opportunities for growth, so many areas that we can go out and change and become better,

but if you aren’t responsible and if you don’t take that initiative, it will not happen,” Penny said.

Kelly described the value of the student voice, and said this relates to his idea of “your vision, our mission.”

“K-State is so unique in that aspect; no other university provides the amount of credibility and value on what students have to say than this university,” Kelly said. “I won’t lie, being a student at K-State is hard. A lot of times, it is very, very difficult, but what we can do as students is voice those concerns.”

For his closing statement, Kelly encouraged the students to consider what the candidates on stage truly stood for, not just their flashy titles in SGA. “[Consider] what they have done in the positions that they have held,” Kelly said. “What they have done at this university to advance progress.”

Penny stressed the point that he is simply another student.

“I’m standing on stage in a navy suit, talking about numbers and stuff, but that really doesn’t matter,” Penny said. “I’m a student, just like all of you. I have 15 credit hours, I have a tutor, I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do in a few summers.

Ali and I are not perfect. If you want perfect candidates, we are not the ones for you, but we will be your candidates. We will fight for you and we want to empower you.”

hire staff to extend operational hours.

Also introduced were amendments to the SGA constitution regarding committee member speaking rights. Currently, committee members have speaking rights and a vote within committee meetings, but not during student senate meetings.

The proposed amendment will give committee members the ability to be recognized on the floor and debate, but not vote. The members would also be able to designate a person to be given their speaking rights.

The senate will reconvene Thursday, Feb. 7 in the Wildcat Chamber.

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friday, february 1, 2019

K-State horticulture student takes sewing hobby to national competition JANELLE MARNEY THE COLLEGIAN

Renata Goossen, sophomore in horticulture, had an active background in agriculture growing up in Potwin, Kansas, especially in her county’s 4-H Youth Development program, but she also developed a true passion for the apparel industry.

Upon entering college, Goossen decided to keep making clothes as a hobby, with horticulture as her career path. However, she has figured out a way to combine her two loves into one, and has been an active competitor in “Make It with Wool” competitions.

“I didn’t want to be an apparel and textiles major because I didn’t want to potentially end up disliking my career,” Goossen said. “Plus, when [you] think fashion, not many people associate it with Kansas.”

Make It with Wool competitions are fashion shows focused on making and modeling garments out of wool.

These competitions are typically sponsored by members of the sheep industry to promote wool clothing at the state and national level.

Courtesy photo by Lisa Moser

Renata Goossen (fifth from left) stands with other senior division winners at the national Make It with Wool competition.

Over the weekend of Jan. 25 – 27, Goossen modeled her handsewn wool outfit in front of a panel of judges comprised of members of the American Sheep Association and professors from Louisiana State University. She competed against 27 other individuals at the annual Make It with Wool national competition and was a senior division winner.

“Judging is usually divided into two categories,” Goossen said. “Approximately 40 percent is based on the construction of your garments and 60 percent is based on fashionability.”

Goossen adds that the reason “fashionability” plays a larger role in the competition is because it goes hand-in-hand with marketability. The ambassadors, judges and the American Sheep Association want to ensure the wool is being used in inventive ways to bring more attention to the

Anonymous person covers hotel tab for 70 homeless in Chicago TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE An anonymous good Samaritan has offered to purchase hotel rooms for 70 homeless people who were camped out in tents overnight in the bitter cold in Chicago after their propane tanks were confiscated, leaving them without any source of heat.

"Isn't that wonderful? At least they're warm and they're safe," said Salvation Army spokeswoman Jacqueline Rachev.

The 70 people had set up tents and spent the night in a makeshift camp on Roosevelt Road near the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago. By 6 a.m.

Wednesday, the temperature had sunk to negative 22 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind

chill of 49 degrees below zero.

But on Wednesday afternoon, one of about 100 donated propane tanks the group was using exploded, according to Rachev.

The incident caused a hazardous materials response by the Chicago Fire Department, but no one was injured, said department chief Walter Schroeder.

"We responded to a fire," Schroeder said. "When we got there, the fire was extinguished and they found all these propane cylinders. That's when we escalated it to a Level I Hazmat."

The chief understood the act of kindness to help those in need, but urged against the use of the tanks.

"There was a significant amount of propane there, and

with that many cylinders, that's like a bomb going off," Schroeder said.

The city immediately notified Rachev, who began preparations for those in the makeshift camp to move to the Salvation Army's warming center, 825 N. Christiana Ave. Then, about an hour later, the city called again and informed them of the gesture.

Only one man decided not to take them up on the offer, and he has checked into the warming center on Christiana, known as the Freedom Center.

Rachev was not sure of the identity of the good Samaritan and only knew the hotel was on the city's South Side.

"All the folks there, some wonderful citizen is going to put all of them up at a hotel for the rest of the week," she said.

sheep and wool industry in the United States.

The competition also requires that all garments are comprised of at least 60 percent wool. Contestants must send swatches of their fabric materials into a lab located in Michigan for testing prior to the competition starting.

“Finding wool material can sometimes be a challenge,” Goossen said. “[Sometimes] places will label their fabrics as 100 percent wool, but it can have filler added to it and suddenly your garment isn’t made out of 60 percent wool.”

For this year’s national competition, Goossen designed a straight, A-line skirt, a mustard-yellow tie neck blouse, a maroon wide lapel coat and grey wool gloves.

“The gloves were the most challenging part,” Goossen said. “It was the first time I had attempted created gloves, and gladly, they turned out great!”

Goossen discussed more of the intricacies in creating wool apparel, such as the differences in natural dyes that can be used for changing fabric color.

“I have friends that are studying apparel and textiles,” Goossen said.

“Last year, I had some friends who in one of their classes were assigned specific trees on the nature walk to harvest leaves and seed pods to use for naturally dying fabrics.”

Between classes, working in the

Courtesy photo by Lisa Moser

Renata Goossen (right) stands with Kansas Sheep Association state director Deb Gordon (center) and fourth place junior division winner Allyson Moser (left).

theater’s costume shop and serving as a chairman for the Horticulture Club’s patio committee, Goossen will serve as an ambassador for the American Sheep Association next year.

Goossen plans to start a sewing class this summer that will be offered for Manhattan locals to improve their sewing skills.

About 12 detectives working on Jussie Smollett attack investigation TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE Chicago authorities have managed to track most of actor Jussie Smollett's movements on the night he was allegedly attacked, but they have not seen footage of the confrontation itself, police confirmed in an update Thursday.

There are about 12 detectives currently working on the case, Chicago Police officer Michael Carroll told the Daily News.

Police are looking to

speak to two persons of interest who appeared in a surveillance image released by cops on Wednesday evening.

Smollett — an openly gay actor on the Fox television series "Empire" — was allegedly ambushed early Tuesday by a pair of attackers who placed a rope around his neck, poured an unidentified substance on him and yelled homophobic and racial slurs at him, according to police.

Officials are investigating the case as a possible hate

crime. Smollett, 35, came out as gay in 2015.

No suspects have been identified, nor have any arrests been made.

Police say they've reviewed hours of footage, and that many cameras are present in the area they've been searching.

Authorities previously announced that they were expanding the search area.

Smollett is in "good condition" after taking himself to the hospital, police said Tuesday.

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friday, february 1, 2019

FEATURE PHOTO Olivia Bergmeier COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP

Senior guard Kayla Goth keeps the ball away from defenders while scanning the court for an opening.

Goth scored 17 points on Wednesday along with five rebounds and turned the ball over six times. The K-State women’s basketball team lost against the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs 61-47 at Bramlage Coliseum.

Pretend like youʼre taking notes and do the SUDOKU

REVIEW: Union Kitchen is a new healthy restaurant worth trying KYLE HAMPEL

THE COLLEGIAN

The Union Kitchen (formerly known as the Salad Spot (formerly known as Just Salad)) is the third restaurant in as many semesters occupying the west end of the Student Union’s second floor — or is it the first floor? I’m never sure with that building.

Either way, the gastronomic center of Kansas State University has a new dog in town, and my first impressions are overall pretty positive.

I’ll start with the best news of all: an all-day breakfast menu.

I didn’t sample their breakfast options because I needed a dinner fix, but it looks absolutely delectable.

Egg sandwiches, full breakfast platters, biscuits and gravy, chips and chili, oatmeal and even fruit mixtures for you healthy eaters out there. The next time I’m hungry for eggs at 5 p.m. (which is surprisingly often), I know where I’m going on campus.

Moving on, their dinner selection is also fantastic: grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken strip dinners, hummus and pita bread, salads galore and pizza bagels, to name a few. There’s a lot more

variety here than most of the Union restaurants.

For sides, they have baked potatoes, eggs, fruit cups and bags of chips, plus some other options if that’s not enough. The chip selection is a lot of what you would find at, say, a Subway.

Drinks are another story: they actually serve flavored water here, as well as tea and bottles of soda. As a lifelong flavored water apologist who will die on this delicious, nutritious hill, I was overjoyed at all the options.

They have over a dozen varieties of Crystal Light flavors lined up for customers to pick from. I didn’t see a peach flavor, which is unfortunate, but the selection still has something for everyone.

As far as aesthetics go, the restaurant is very clean and laid out like a Subway (the last time I’ll make that comparison, I promise). The salad ingredients up front all have labels printed directly on the glass cover, making ingredient selection idiot-proof — which is good for me!

Service is friendly, too.

You’re given a ticket after you order, which is then given to a person at the register. It’s a little convoluted, but the employees were nice enough to walk me through it, so it didn’t feel like a

hassle at all.

The employees were also very conscientious when they explained what menu options were and weren’t available. It’s not surprising that such a new restaurant doesn’t have every menu item in stock, but it’s disappointing nonetheless.

For this review, I purchased the tastiest things I saw to give the restaurant a fair shake: two chicken tenders, half a grilled cheese sandwich, barbecue sauce, a bag of Sun Chips and a cup of blueberry-raspberry flavored water, all for only about $8.50 after tax.

I absolutely loved the chicken tenders — they were soft, chewy and delicious, even the breading — but only having two was a bit of a disappointment to my tummy.

It was the same deal with the grilled cheese: perfectly soft bread and cheese of your choice, but only getting half a sandwich as part of my combo was a bit sad.

At least my water and chips were good!

Whether or not Union Kitchen is the restaurant for you largely depends on your taste, I think. Owing to its past as a vegetarian restaurant, Union Kitchen’s niche is health food. I have... thoughts about this.

Melanie White | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP

The newest restauraunt in the Student Union, Union Kitchen, opened Jan. 24 to serve students various healthy meals throughout the school year.

Healthy food is great, and considering all the fast food restaurants in the Union (read: almost all of them), I’m glad to see some diversity in the selection available to students. The vegetarian/vegan options in particular are easily the best on campus.

However, as someone who usually only takes the time to eat one or two meals a day, the portion sizes are truly disappointing.

The food at Union Kitchen is really wonderful for the price, but don’t expect it to fill you up unless

you’re 90 percent lean.

Overall, Union Kitchen is showing a promising start for healthy eating at K-State, with fantastic recipes available already.

However, the portion sizes can leave you wanting if you need a big meal, and some of their menu options aren’t available yet because they’re so new.

If you’re interested, I’d recommend trying it out, especially for the price. Breakfast food is a gift to humankind, and Union Kitchen is providing a valuable

service in that regard. I think this is a restaurant that can only get better.

Final verdict: BKyle Hampel is the copy chief and deputy multimedia editor for the Collegian and a senior in English. The views and opinions expressed in this review are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Collegian. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian.com.

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friday, february 1, 2019

OP-ED: K-State will lose international students without greater focus

John Chapple | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP

The International Student Center provides a common home for international students. International student enrollment has been declining since 2014.

VEDANT DEEPAK KULKARNI THE COLLEGIAN

In the late 1880s, Kansas State University welcomed its first international student on campus. The concept of studying abroad was virtually non-existent back then.

Over time, K-State, and the United States in general, started welcoming immigrants and international students on college campuses. The arrival of international students at K-State has marvelously benefitted the university campus, Kansas and the country as a whole.

However, in less than five years, there has been a sharp drop in international students coming to K-State. It may not seem likely at first, but a decline in foreign student enrollment could lead to some severe consequences.

In fall 2014, K-State had an impressive 2,247 international students on campus. Until 2014, the number of international students arriving at K-State was increasing.

However, the number has fallen since then. By fall 2018,

the number of international students on campus dropped 26.6 percent to 1,649 students.

International students bring a lot of benefits with them. According to the Office of International Programs website, international students generate $61.8 million and created nearly 800 jobs for the Kansas economy.

Over 48 percent of all international students at K-State are enrolled in graduate programs, and 73 percent of these graduate students are doctoral students.

The departments of business, computer science and electrical and computer engineering have the highest numbers of international students with 95, 91 and 97 students, respectively.

These students are the entrepreneurs and innovators of tomorrow. If they stay at K-State, they’ll create jobs and help develop Kansas and improve the greater economy.

However, the decreasing number of enrollments from international students would negatively affect these advantages.

There are multiple reasons for the decrease in the number of international students coming to K-State, the biggest and most common reason being the rising

tuition fees.

As an international student myself, in my freshman year, I paid $27,000 in fees even when I had a $6,000 scholarship. In my current year, awards and scholarships are rare and seldom helpful.

I have a total scholarship of around $3,000, yet I paid about $29,500 in fees this year, and this amount is increasing every semester. The increasing amount puts high pressure on our families, as most of us come from middle class backgrounds and have to take loans to pay our fees. The exchange rate for U.S. dollars doesn’t help at all, either.

Even after all the raises in tuition fees, there are no consistent scholarships available for international students.

For example, the award I had in my freshman year is non-renewable and paying fees became expensive in my sophomore year. That increased the number of financial tensions and pressures I already had in my mind.

On the other hand, Colorado State University offers renewable scholarships to its international students. The University of Texas at Arlington provides

out-of-state tuition adjustment, through which out-of-state and international students who meet specific criteria become eligible to pay in-state tuition.

CSU and UT Arlington aren’t alone. Multiple universities across America offer renewable scholarships and financial aid to international students. The availability of such opportunities and support makes international students choose to study on these campuses rather than K-State.

Lack of scholarships and inadequate financial aid for international students at K-State has resulted in multiple active K-State students choosing to transfer to other universities across America.

Another reason why students are opting not to attend at K-State is because K-State lacks publicity among international students. Personally, I had never heard about K-State until November 2016 when I started my in-depth search and analysis of universities in America.

Lastly, international students are not choosing K-State, or U.S. universities in general, because of the current global political climate fueled by protectionism.

Past leaders of this nation, like President John F. Kennedy, called the U.S. “the nation of immigrants.” Now, the doors of opportunity are reduced for international students by introducing stricter visa policies. Because of this, students tend to give up on their lifelong hope of living the American dream.

In recent years, while K-State and the U.S. have seen a reduction in the arrival of international students, other countries like Canada have seen a consistent rise.

When I attended the career fair at K-State, at least three quarters of all companies that I talked with about hiring international students said that they don’t sponsor internationals. If scholarships, financial aid and job opportunities are refused to me at this university just because I am not a U.S. citizen, why should I continue at K-State?

Apart from the issues mentioned above, international

students also have to deal with a lot of personal and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and homesickness.

When we arrive on campus, we don’t know even the smallest things, like how classes are conducted.

Not all of us speak fluent English, so we have to go through the English language program. In that period before we speak enough English well enough, we are unable to communicate with native-born classmates and therefore unable to make friends who could help us understand the local way of life.

International students tend to live a separate life on campus, so while we call ourselves members of the Wildcat family, at times we lack the feeling of being part of that family.

I had the honor of speaking at KSUnite in 2018 where I talked more about the challenges

faced by international students and the hopes that stand with them and motivate them when they encounter these problems.

If you’re an international student like me, now is the chance to make a local friend. If you’re an American, now is your time to make friends with an international student and help them feel like they’re at home.

I believe the best way we could solve the issue of decreasing international students is by starting a dialogue with and about international students.

Vedant Deepak Kulkarni is a sophomore in business administration. The views and opinions expressed in this opinion-editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Collegian. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian.com.

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)

07

friday, february 1, 2019

$2 billion wildfire cleanup begins to help rebuild Paradise, California TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE After weeks of soil testing and other preliminary work, crews embarked Wednesday on the first significant phase of what is believed to be the costliest disaster cleanup in California history: the $2 billion scraping of 14,000 properties burned in November's deadly wildfire, often referred to as Camp Fire.

The year-long campaign began with the knocking down of thousands of charred chimneys that have stood for months like lonely sentinels over the ashen landscape.

On Roberts Road in Paradise, California, one of the first

chimney-tipping crews rumbled onto the site of a former 945-square-foot home carting a Bobcat excavator trailed by a watering truck.

The tricky nature of the job was evident from the getgo. It took a half hour for crews to prep the Bobcat and a watering truck on the rutted Roberts Road hillside. At one point, the pickup truck carrying the Bobcat skittered out of control a few yards downhill, its back tires lifting off the ground from the weight of the Bobcat as workers tried to roll it off the truck's trailer bed.

The excavator, though, made quick work of the chimney. A brief nudge from the back of a mechanical claw was

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enough to collapse the structure into what likely was once a living room.

Matt Long, a project manager with ECC Constructors, one of three debris removal companies hired by the state of California, watched it fall. He said it's about structural integrity, or lack thereof.

"The fire heats them up so much, they just crumble," Long said.

Chimneys must be toppled first so crews can check for asbestos in the fire boxes and flues, state officials said, and so that debris cleanup workers later don't have to work around an unstable two-story brick pillar.

"They are a hazard just

standing there, so they need to be knocked over," said August Ochabauer, vice president of ECC Constructors.

Over the next year, more than 100,000 truckloads of debris and recyclable concrete and steel will be carted off the hill and brought to Northern California landfills and recycling centers. Each load will be "burrito wrapped" in thick plastic sheets, enclosed at the top, to keep ashes from flying in transit.

Each property will require one to three days of cleaning and scraping. Officials estimate they'll remove an average of 350 tons of debris per property. That includes house foundations and contaminated soil

underneath, but not swimming pools.

The six-day-per-week cleanup will represent the sternest test yet of the state's ability to respond quickly to get displaced residents back on their land, and will likely try the patience of Butte County residents who must deal with daily truck convoys. It is being overseen by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle.

Crews have already removed household contaminants from burned home sites.

Christine Palmer, whose home was the only one left standing on her block, watched, heartened, as crews knocked down a chimney across the dirt

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Employment/Careers

Help Wanted THE COLLEGIAN cannot verify the financial potential of advertisements in the Employment/ Opportunities classifications. Readers are advised to approach any such business opportunity with reasonable caution.

The Collegian urges our readers to contact the Better Business Bureau, 501 SE Jefferson, Topeka, KS 66607-1190.

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road Wednesday. "I'm so glad you're doing (this) street first," she told a crewman.

She pointed to a hillside of destroyed homes.

"I don't want to look out my window and look at all this," she said. "It was so beautiful here."

Paradise mayor Jody Jones, who has advocated for rebuilding the devastated town, said the cleanup is a sign of hope.

"With all the burned-out cars, the chimneys and ash and debris, it's hard to envision what we are going to be like afterward," Jones said. "Once things are clean, it will be so much easier to see what we can be and what the future of Paradise can be."

08

friday, february 1, 2019

Need professional wear? ‘Suit Up’ with the Career Closet, JCPenney

Both Manhattan Locations Rowan Jones | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP

The Career Closet, located in Memorial Stadium, provides free professional clothing for K-State students. They are co-sponsors of the SuitUp event at JCPenney on Feb. 10.

BAILEY BRITTON THE COLLEGIAN

Students in need of professional apparel can go to the “Suit Up” event on Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m. to get 40 percent off career clothing with a valid student ID as part of a collaboration between the Kansas State University Career Closet and JCPenney in the Manhattan Town Center.

“The clothing that is eligible for the 40 percent discount is not exclusive to certain brands; it applies to anything that is considered business professional,” said Laura Wiebe, Career Closet intern and senior in apparel and

textiles. “That can be tricky for some students to determine, so on each rack of clothing that applies for the discount, it will be clearly marked with a balloon indicating these are indeed 40 percent off and business professional.”

Wiebe said this is the second year of the event. She said she isn’t sure how many students attended last year, but there was a line waiting outside the door beginning at 6 p.m., 30 minutes before the start of the event.

This year, there is a new twist to Suit Up. There will be students assisting with the event called “Champions,” acting as ambassadors for the Ca-

reer Closet who help set up the event. The Champions will be at JCPenney that evening to help students with whatever questions they may have.

In addition to the student discount, there will be a prize raffle, Sephora makeovers and a professional photo shoot. To be entered in the raffle, students must bring canned goods or hygiene products to donate to the Cats’ Cupboard food pantry.

“Suit Up is trying to reach all current K-State students needing clothing for interviews, internships or workwear for the office,” Wiebe said. “Pretty much anyone can benefit from this.”

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