K A N S A S
S TAT E vol. 126, issue 01
monday, aug. 17, 2020
kstatecollegian.com
PREVENTION Majority of classrooms have proper ventilation for COVID-19 capacity, officials say
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K-State to receive additional $23 million in federal relief, state reimbursement
Page 7 As pandemic changes fall sports, K-State Athletics could face financial strain
Page 18 ‘She set the bar for us’: How Brookelynn Entz impacted the soccer program
Page 22 Despite pandemic, multicultural student center still on track to open this fall
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ON THE COVER
SUMMER EDITORIAL BOARD
Illustration by Julie Freijat Collegian Media Group
Sean Schaper Staff Writer
Dene Dryden Managing Editor
Hallie Everett Staff Writer
Julie Freijat News Editor
Glenn Kinley Staff Writer
Rebecca Vrbas Culture Editor
Madison Daniel Staff Writer
Andrew Lind Sports Editor
Paige Eichkorn Staff Writer
Cameron Bradley Assistant Sports Editor
Lexi Garcia Staff Writer
Olivia Rogers Community Editor Gabby Farris Design Chief
The Collegian, a student newspaper at Kansas State University, is published by Collegian Media Group. It is published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the school year and on Wednesdays during the summer. Periodical postage is paid at Manhattan, KS. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 828 Mid-Campus Drive South, Kedzie 103, Manhattan, KS 66506-7167. First copy free, additional copies 25 cents. [USPS 291 020] Š Collegian Media Group, 2019
Bailey Britton Staff Writer Abigail Compton photographer Dylan Connell photographer
Sarah Unruh Designer
By Dave Green
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CORRECTIONS
If you see something that should be corrected, call editor-in-chief Kaylie McLaughlin at 785-3706356 or email collegian@kstatecollegian.com
Emma Witter Staff Writer
Dalton Wainscott Multimedia Editor
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2020 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
The Mission of the Collegian Media Group is to use best practices of journalism to cover and document life at Kansas State University from a diverse set of voices to inform and engage the K-State community. The Collegian welcomes your letters. We reserve the right to edit submitted letters for length and style. A letter intended for publication should be no longer than 600 words and must be relevant to the student body of K-State. It must include the author’s first and last name, year in school and major. If you are a graduate of K-State, the letter should include your year(s) of graduation and must include the city and state where you live. For a letter to be considered, it must include a phone number where you can be contacted. The number will not be published. Letters can be sent to letters@kstatecollegian.com or submitted through an online form at kstatecollegian.com. Letters may be rejected if they contain abusive content, lack timeliness, contain vulgarity, profanity or falsehood, promote personal and commercial announcements, repeat comments of letters printed in other issues or contain attachments. The Collegian does not publish open letters, third-party letters or letters that have been sent to other publications or people.
Kaylie McLaughlin Editor-in-Chief
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WEEK OF WELCOME
17 Welcome Booths 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Around Campus
18 DMSA Open House 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. K-State Union 003
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august
Career Center Carry-out 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Berney Family Center
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Activities Carnival 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Virtual
21 ExploreMHK Scavenger Hunt
through Aug. 30 @KStateCSI
LE T TER FROM THE EDITOR KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN editor-in-chief
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Kaylie McLaughlin and I'm the outgoing editor-in-chief of the Collegian. This issue you're reading is my final paper as the top editor before I hand the reins off to the very capable Bailey Britton as she begins what I'm sure will be a successful tenure as the leader of a publication I love dearly. Let me be one of the first to welcome you back to campus for what will be year like none before. I'd like to say the unprecedented nature of this
semester is for good reasons, but it simply isn't. Everything about these next few months is terribly uncertain. I'd like to tell you for sure that this semester will work out as we have planned, but I cannot. I wish I had the answers, but no one does. These are trying times for everyone and college students are not immune. There are, however, a few things I can promise you. In the past, the Collegian promised to reaffirm our role on campus in the hopes of focusing more on student voices — as is the primary job of a college newspaper. While we will continue to uphold this goal as a staff, we feel that an important part of storytelling for students
is meeting them where they are. Students could be anywhere right now — some may never step foot on campus at all this semester. With all students in mind, we have made some changes to our normal publication schedule and will continue to carry on some projects from the completely digital operation we ran in the spring. Physical Collegians will be printed every Monday and Friday, and virtual-only papers will be made available on these days as well. Additionally, online publication will continue 24/7. The newsletter will continue to go out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It will be filled with the most recent stories you need to stay up to date on what's
happening on campus. Subscribe to receive the newsletter in your inbox at noon at kstatecollegian.com/newsletter. A lot of things will remain the same. In our 120-plus years of history, the Collegian has been dedicated unwaveringly to the student voice, and it has succeeded due to students’ input. As has always been the case, we are open to your feedback, suggestions, opinions and news tips. If you wish to share an opinion, our community editor Anna Schmidt can be reached at opinion@kstatecollegian.com. If you have a news tip or wish that we would cover something specific, send it directly to news@ kstatecollegian.com.
Saying hello, but also farewell
If you do not already, follow the Collegian on Twitter @ kstatecollegian for regular updates. The Collegian will continue to accept news tips through news@kstatecollegian. com and letters to the editor via letters@kstatecollegian.com. As is always the case, news can be found at kstatecollegian.com. This period of time is difficult, and it’s only the beginning of what is certain to be a tough road to recovery. We will get through this pandemic, and the Collegian is dedicated to keeping you informed while we navigate this crisis together. At this time, I wish you all health and safety. Please, take care of yourselves and take care of each other.
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OPINION
monday, august 17, 2020
Local students should follow international students’ lead to prevent the spread of COVID-19
VEDANT DEEPAK KULKARNI staff writer
We are starting this semester in the middle of a global pandemic, and we are going to have a few in-person classes. As such, all of us need to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. I found it hysterical that individuals in the U.S. are denying to wear a mask. Observing people get angry at grocery stores over a simple request to wear a mask is hilarious — albeit deeply concerning. One does not expect citizens of a developed, western, modern country and a world superpower to behave in such a childlike manner. Nevertheless, masks are important and masks work. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wearing a mask is recommended based on emerging evidence from clinical and laboratory studies that shows masks reduce the spray of droplets when worn over the nose and mouth. According to the CDC, COVID-19 spreads mainly among people in close contact with one another, so the use of masks is particularly important in settings where people are close to each other or where social distancing is difficult to maintain. Classrooms and other spaces on our campus are places where we might be in close contact with one another, and social distancing will be difficult to maintain. We may not have enough space to maintain a safe distance with one another all the times. However, if we choose to wear masks in our classrooms, we could play a crucial role in limiting and preventing the spread of COVID-19. Something interesting I observed while walking on campus pre-pandemic was international students who were wearing masks to classes despite the absence of a pandemic. If you look closely, you might find some international students, particularly those from East Asia, were wearing masks even though they may not be sick. In my interactions with these students, I found that they wear masks out of self-care and to avoid
Archive Photo by John Chapple | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Vedant Kulkarni thinks the nation’s refusal to adopt mask-wearing policies as a means of preventing COVID-19 is deeply concerning. spreading any diseases to strangers. They wear masks even when they show mild cold symptoms. Some of them — although perfectly healthy — wear masks as a precaution to avoid contracting any diseases. Taking these simple steps can help stop the spread of diseases — including COVID-19 — and maintain a clean and healthy educational environment. To give a few examples, people in Japan wear masks when feeling sick as a courtesy to stop any sneezes from landing on other people. People in the Philippines wear masks, especially while riding bikes, to deflect polluted air from affecting their skin. These examples illustrate the mindset of international students and the citizens of their home countries. In the West, particularly
in the United States, wearing a mask is often stigmatized. However, in Asian countries, individuals who do not wear masks are stigmatized. When students from these countries come to the U.S., they continue to follow basic practices of wearing masks and face coverings. It acts as a precautionary measure, and inspires other students to do the same. However, even after doing all they can for the general public, international students and immigrants from Asia become the unwilling recipients of racist and xenophobic attacks. International students all over the country wear masks to classes to avoid contracting or spreading any diseases. I wore a mask when I got pollen allergies, which are not even contagious. I did it out of respect for other students and to protect
myself from further health issues. Local students should follow the lead of international students and wear masks to classes once the semester begins. Wearing a mask is perfectly safe and does not cause any additional health issues. All of us can learn from Asian culture and take care of each other by doing the bare minimum of wearing a mask when we are on or near campus. Our actions of wearing masks, social distancing and maintaining cleanliness can go a long way in stopping the spread of COVID-19. The pandemic can end for good if we work together. Let's do our duty and wear masks when we return to campus without complaining. Let's follow the mask mandate to prevent the spread of the disease. Let's learn from our friends from abroad and
follow their lead in wearing masks and face coverings to keep ourselves, friends, family and surroundings healthy and disease-free. We are one proud Kansas State family — let's take the responsibility of looking after one another. Vedant Deepak Kulkarni is a Collegian contributor and a senior in management information systems and mass communications. He is also the international student affairs director in the Student Governing Association cabinet. 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. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian.com.
monday, august 17, 2020
MASKS 101 Keep yourself and others safe by wearing your mask correctly. Wearing a mask can help reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19, but it needs to be worn correctly to be effective. Always make sure to wash your hands before putting your mask on, and if you are using a cloth mask, wash it after each use. You should be able to breathe easily when wearing the mask. When you take it off, handle the mask only by the ear loops and wash your hands after.
AT A GLANCE nose piece should be fit around the bridge of the nose ear loops should be tight around the back of the ears
colored side of the mask should face outward
mask should fit snug around the chin and top of the neck
Illustration by Julie Freijat
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SOCIAL DISTANCING
Health officers expect COVID-19 cases to increase as school begins
Face coverings, social distancing required on campus KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN editor-in-chief
Though in-person classes will occur in the fall at Kansas State, life on campus will look different as social distancing is necessitated by the still looming COVID-19 pandemic. The university will make efforts to limit capacity in residence halls, limit class sizes, have its own contact tracing operations, require face coverings and maintain "COVID capacities" for all shared spaces on campus, Provost Charles Taber said. At the end of May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a number of guidelines for prevention of COVID-19 on college campuses as they plan to reopen for the summer and fall terms. Protocols include face coverings, prohibiting buffet style dining options and other measures aimed at cutting down contact.
But even that limited scope of face-to-face operations presents an elevated risk, per the new CDC guidance. The lowest risk option would be to “engage in virtual-only learning options, activities and events.” At K-State, campus will remain on limited operations status through the summer months, but courses will resume a week earlier than expected on Aug. 17. Though specifics about some measures aren't available yet, Taber said all students and faculty will be required to wear face coverings in classrooms and probably other shared spaces like the K-State Student Union and Hale Library. On Monday, K-State moved into the third phase of its reawakening protocol — the last formal phase in the plan before phaseout begins. In this phase, gathering size limitations are expanded to allow meetings of 45 people. That being said, backtracking in the protocol is possible. If the situation requires it, K-State could
move back to more restrictive policies — like online-only classes. The onus to comply with the university's policies will fall onto the students and faculty, but there are plans to compel individuals with negative consequences. "If we had somebody, for example, who was coming to class without wearing a face covering, refused to wear it, et cetera, we would pursue that through the normal policy violation process," Taber said. "There's going to be an opportunity for a pledge where students and other members of the community will pledge to ... protect the health of our whole community that will entail agreeing to to wear face coverings and things like that." For the most part, Taber said he expects the K-State community to comply without fuss. "So we're really expecting that we're that almost everybody's kind of going to agree with this and not give us a hard time on it," Taber said.
Latest local health order to righten rules on bars, exten some existing limitations KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN
ple to have a permit • Large meeting spaces to remain closed
The Riley County Health Department released a new local health order that will take effect Thursday and will last indefinitely. The new local order continues some of the existing policies established by the previous order, including gathering size limitations, but institutes some more strict guidance for restaurants and bars.
SPECIFIC RULES FOR BARS AND RESTAURANTS INCLUDE:
editor-in-chief
LOCAL HEALTH ORDER NO. 16 REQUIRES:
• Gatherings to be limited to 50 people • Gatherings that exceed 50 peo-
• Closure of all standing room only areas and all dance floors • Closing to the public at midnight • Six feet of distance between seated parties "Business requirements focus on bars and restaurants because those establishments are high-risk and are still a source of virus spread in the community," local health officer Julie Gibbs said in a press release. "We want to give them the opportunity to
continue providing service in a way that also protects public health." On Tuesday, the county added two new positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the local total to 428. Recovered cases now surpass active cases with 314 recoveries and 110 current cases. Businesses with questions about best practices should call the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce at 785-776-8829 or email info@manhattan.org. Additional resources for reopening local businesses are available at regionreimagined.org. To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com
Illustration by Abigail Compton
JULIE FREIJAT news editor
As Kansas State classes are set to begin in less than a week, local health officers expect an increase in COVID-19 cases. Andrew Adams, emergency preparedness coordinator for public health, said while they haven't been experiencing the same volume of cases they had a month and a half ago, they are expecting new cases to come in as students come back to school. "We're expecting somewhere in between right now and that point," Adams said. "We're prepared to handle a large influx of cases like that — of new cases every day with what we've done with our contact tracing efforts and ramping up our workforce to do that. We are still working through the numbers and the modeling to get something that we're comfortable with looking at and projecting outwards." Two COVID-19 positive patients are in the hospital in Riley County, one of whom is on a ventilator. Riley County currently has 115 cases considered active and 369 recovered. Local health officer Julie Gibbs reported a decrease in COVID-19 percent positivity in Riley County. "We're using that number with a lot of our decisions in the [emergency operations center] when we look at new orders that are coming out, whether it's strengthening an order or relaxing those orders, but we
need to look that percent positivity," Gibbs said. "That is also used as criteria for our schools." Last week, a vote by county commissioners shifted the screening requirement for restaurants and bars to screen their employees to a recommendation. "I know many were discouraged by the lifting of the screening requirements," Gibbs said. "This was actually a decision made based on a legal issue with that particular part of the order. It is now back to recommendation for bars and restaurants to be screening their employees before every shift. This is a best practice that every business should be doing and we trust that all businesses will continue to do this even though it's just a recommendation." Businesses with questions about best practices should call the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce at 785-776-8829 or email info@manhattan.org. Additional resources for reopening local businesses are available at regionreimagined.org. Individuals with symptoms are encouraged to call the screening line at 785323-6400. The screening line is available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. People with non-emergent questions about COVID-19 in Riley County should send an email to rileycountycovid19@gmail.com. To be tested in Riley County, individuals must present at least two symptoms of COVID-19. The complete list of known symptoms is available on the health department website.
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RELIEF
K-State to receive additional $23 million in federal relief, state reimbursement KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN editor-in-chief
Kansas State will receive an additional $23 million in federal and state relief and reimbursement funds associated with the coronavirus response. In a special meeting on Thursday, the Kansas Board of Regents approved a total of $17.8 million from federal coronavirus relief funds for expenses incurred by the university associated with the pandemic that could not have been planned for in the budget when it was approved in the spring. An additional $6.7 million from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund was also allocated to K-State. These funds are meant for reimbursement purposes, based only on actual expenses incurred.
The Polytechnic campus in Salina, Kansas, and the Veterinary Medicine programs could also receive $301,989 and $451,058 respectively from the Governor's relief fund. Earlier in the spring, K-State received about $12.6 million directly from the federal government as part of the CARES Act. The newest allotment from the relief bill was given to the Regents for discretionary distribution within the state higher education system. They are budgeted to be used for supplies, testing infrastructure and other expenses related to infection prevention and educational continuity during the pandemic, the Regents' agenda says. In all, public universities should receive about $55.5 million from the Regents. An additional $9.4 million went to public community and technical colleges.
INDUSTRY EMMA WITTER staff writer
As COVID-19 cases continue to emerge in the greater Manhattan area, business structures have been shifting to accommodate customers in constantly changing times. Two Aggieville restaurants, Taco Lucha and So Long Saloon have recently felt the effects of the pandemic on the way they operate. The businesses share a building and kitchen, and both temporarily closed their doors in June after staff members came into contact with a person who tested positive for the novel coronavirus. After a short hiatus from providing Aggieville regulars with tacos and margaritas, they reopened to the public
on July 7 and have been operating since. Travis Worrel, general manager of So Long Saloon and Taco Lucha, said while a closure is never ideal, it provided a chance for staff to regroup and adjust to the changing regulations on food establishments. “We used that time to do a deep clean and get some stuff done that we couldn’t do while we were open,” he said. Worrel said while the health department recommended neither business shut down, management decided it was best to “stay out in front” of the situation relating to COVID-19. A month after the temporary closure, Worrel said both So Long Saloon and Taco Lucha are still feeling the effects
Manhattan restaurants adapt to changing regulations, continue serving the public on business. “Some customers don’t seem to care, but it’s taking a long time for some to come back," Worrel said. Moving forward, Worrel said it’s going to be important for both businesses to continue to adapt and get out ahead of potential problems. “I joke with the staff that the only thing that stays the same is that everything changes,” Worrel said. “We’re trying to be forward thinkers in this whole thing.” Public information officer for the city of Manhattan Vivienne Uccello, said businesses’ willingness to adopt a flexible mindset during the pandemic has been encouraging. “I commend local businesses for adapting and changing to protect the com-
Archive Photo by Brooke Barrett | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
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COVID-19 ON CAMPUS There are no plans for campus, community COVID-19 case distinction, officials say SARAH UNRUH staff writer
As Kansas State students return to campus for the fall semester, many are wondering how the reported positive COVID-19 cases will change, and what role the university will have in gathering this information. Michelle Geering, university public information officer, said K-State isn’t planning on being involved with the publi-
cation of active COVID-19 cases on campus. “The reporting agency in Manhattan for the coronavirus pandemic is the Riley County Health Department,” Geering said. Students looking to stay updated on active cases in the area should follow the health department's Facebook page, where updates are posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. There currently isn’t a separate report for COVID-19 cases affil-
File Photo by Bailey Britton | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Anderson Hall is home to many administrative offices.
iated with the university. Vivienne Uccello, public information officer for the city of Manhattan, said that she doesn’t believe that there will be a distinction in future case reporting as to whether the cases are K-State students compared to the general public. She said it may be noted if numerous cases stem from a specific outbreak on campus. Although campus-related case information isn’t available in these reports, the regular updates do display age demographics for all positive cases, as well as some other county-wide statistics. Despite the university not being involved in the reporting of active cases on campus, Lafene Health Center is planning to continue its role in the care and well-being of K-State students. In the Community Actions Talk on July 31, Dr. Kyle Goerl, medical director of Lafene, said the health center has been conducting contact tracing for student athletes diagnosed with COVID-19, and that they plan to continue with this method of COVID-19 tracking for students arriving for the fall semester. COVID-19 testing is also available for students experiencing symptoms or who have come in contact with a positive case. Students arriving to campus from high-risk areas are being asked to self-quarantine for at least 14 days before attending classes or campus events. Those living off-campus will be asked to stay at their place of residence, Dr. Goerl said.
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Majority of classrooms have proper ventilation for COVID-19 capacity, officials say
PREPARATION ‘ There’s a lot less certainty’: University officials address testing, COVID-19 policies KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN editor-in-chief
University officials addressed questions about testing, classroom procedures and other areas of concern related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the morning of Aug. 11 during a virtual town hall with faculty. "I think we can say we're going to have an interesting fall on our campus," President Richard Myers said. "We always respond in a very cohesive way." Myers cited the university's ability to recover from the devastation of the Hale
Library fire in 2018. Following that logic, Kansas State is prepared to handle this current public health crisis. "We do have a special spirit here at K-State that's helped us get through things to this point," Myers said. "Communication is one of the ways we try to make up for the not knowing ... and the ambiguous nature of the time [we're living in]."
PHASING AND REOPENING
As the university reopens, K-State remains in Phase 3 of its reawakening protocol. At this point, gatherings of up to 50 people are allowed with safety precau-
tions. Provost Charles Taber said the university is going to use a trigger matrix that features gating criteria and the critical indicators used in the decision-making procedures. It will also include thresholds at which changes might need to be made to the plan. This will be a "public-facing" dashboard, Elliot Young said, vice president for university operations and university risk management officer, said. To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com
File photo by Dylan Connell | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Built in the 1950s, Eisenhower Hall has a mix of older and newer HVAC systems. BAILEY BRITTON staff writer
In an effort to ensure students are safe this fall, an architectural engineering professor led the evaluation of 738 classrooms across Kansas State's three campuses for proper ventilation. Julia Keen, professor of architectural engineering and construction science, said most classrooms are up to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers standard 62.1 — "the industry standard for indoor air quality," Keen said. Keen could not give an exact number of classrooms with proper ventilation because updates are currently underway for some units. Keen specializes in HVAC systems and said this project specifically focused on the "V" in HVAC: ventilation. "I helped communicate a need for this review on the
technical capacity of conducting the analysis of the classrooms on campus, as well as helping assess some of rules for collecting the data," Keen said. Manhattan's campus has 660 classrooms across 60 buildings, Keen said. Her team determined the COVID-19 seating capacity for each room, studied the construction plans to determine the layout of HVAC systems and ensured each room met ASHRAE standards. K-State's Division of Facilities will update systems not up to ASHRAE standards. "We are working through the process of prioritizing and looking for some of the systems that will be fairly simple fixes," Keen said. "Ones that won't take an exorbitant amount of money or effort and potentially bring them back online with minor modifications." Keen said no one build-
ing had "bad" ventilation. Some of the older buildings on campus, such as Eisenhower Hall, have a mix of older and newer systems which led to certain rooms meeting the ASHRAE standards and others not. "It doesn't take care of the entire building. It only takes care of a portion of the building," Keen said. Keen also said some older systems properly ventilate buildings because of the way the system introduces outside air to the inside. "The brand new stuff, most of that is in really nice shape and it was really just a change of how we operate those systems that allows them to accommodate the need for classrooms and ventilation," Keen said. Keen said some systems which previously were determined to not have proper ventilation have already been updated and added to a list of available classrooms.
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monday, august 17, 2020
WHAT ’ S OPEN?
Here’s a list of campus openings, specific social distancing requirements and more KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN editor-in-chief
BAILEY BRITTON staff writer
K-STATE STUDENT UNION The K-State Student Union will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and closed on Saturdays. On Sundays, the building will be open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Meeting spaces, lounge areas and gathering points are limited. As is the case on the whole campus, masks are required and physical distancing will be expected. Increased cleaning and sanitation procedures are in place. Public computers are available, but are distanced. People who use the equipment will be asked to wipe it down before and after each use. The plan is to open all Union restaurants and the Cat’s Den. Hours may be modified and cashless transactions are recommended. In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, self-service food, drinks, condiments and silverware won’t be available. Additionally, the book store will open, but pre-ordering and online purchasing will be encouraged. Capacity in the store will be limited to 75 percent and sneeze guards will be installed at the register. The complete list of Union procedures is available online.
MCCAIN AUDITORIUM The McCain Performance Series is cancelled for the fall 2020 season. The decision was made in late-June, citing advice from university officials and the safety of the community. “It was a heartbreaking decision erasing up to two years of planning,” McCain director Todd Holmberg said. “Ultimately, the guiding principle in this decision was the safety of the campus and community. The decision was also predicated on the fact that several scheduled artists and attractions were canceling their own plans to tour until at least Jan-
uary 2021.” The decision to cancel the season will affect 14 large events, a press release says — two of which were already rescheduled from the spring 2020 season after the campus shutdown. It is unclear what decisions will be made regarding the spring 2021 season. “Those shows will only happen ... if it is determined by university, government and health officials that it safe to do so,” the press release says. CALL HALL DAIRY BAR The Call Hall Dairy Bar, located near Weber Hall and Dole Hall at 1530 N Mid-Cam-
pus Drive, is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lunch services and milk are not currently available, but meat, cheese and ice cream are for sale. People who visit are asked to park in the lot in front of Dole Hall or in the north parking lot. HALE LIBRARY Hale Library is open to the public. This space includes the Library and IT help desks, nearly 100 computers for public use, printers and multiple study areas. The library is also following the university guidelines on COVID-19 precautions, which
File Photo by Dalton Wainscott | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
The K-State Student Union, which closed for a few months during the pandemic, reopened earlier in August. For the fall semester, the Union will remain open with some altered or limited operations.
FROM THE ARCHIVE: College officials take steps to prevent influenza pandemic here Editor’s note: This story first appeared in volume 25 of the K-State Collegian in 1918. No cases of [the flu] disease have been reported as of yet — Dr. Siever makes survey of drinking fountains, has gymnasium swimming pools closed A formal statement may be issued
within a few days in regard to precautions to be taken on account of the epidemic of influenza which is prevalent over this part of the country. Unless absolutely necessary, college students have been requested not to travel until conditions are improved. This request is made that students will
not come in contact with persons carrying the disease. Travel has been completely prohibited from some of the camps where the epidemic has gained a foothold. Numerous applications have been made by students for absence leaves for the weekend, and to prevent the disease
means that everyone in the building is required to wear a mask. Hand sanitizer and other cleaning supplies are available for visitors to use to disinfect shared equipment before and after each use. Some shared items, such as dry erase markers or staplers, have been removed for sanitary purposes. Materials that are checked out undergo a 72-hour quarantine upon return before being reshelved. For now, the library’s hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and only a maximum of 45 people can be in the building at a time. The first floor of Hale, along with Weigel Library of Architecture and the library in Cardwell Hall, are also open. Hours are available online. There are some study rooms available, but they must be reserved online and capacity is limited. CATS’ CUPBOARD The Cats’ Cupboard, located in Fairchild Hall 009, remains open to students and faculty through online order and pickup procedures. Sarah Hoyt, operations lead at the Cats’ Cupboard, said the food pantry will open for in-person services on Aug. 17. Staff will be limiting the amount of people in the room at one time and people receiving services are asked to enter in the through the interior hallway and exit out the backdoor to al-
from being brought back to the college many of these have been refused. Requests for absence were especially heavy last Friday and Saturday as men who were entering the Students’ Army Training Corps considered that it would probably be the last time for a visit home before the Holidays. A survey of the drinking fountains of the college has been made with the idea of suggesting improvements. According to Dr. Selver the college fountains are not sanitary and constitute
low for one stream of traffic. “Exceptions will be made only if the stairs present a mobility challenge,” Hoyt said in an email. “Guests will not be allowed to enter the space through the exterior stairwell door.” The cupboard is also still accepting donations in order to stock its shelves to meet the demand of the fall semester. Items that are most needed can be found on the Cats’ Cupboard Amazon Wishlist. To schedule an in-person donation, email catscupboard@ ksu.edu. PETER’S RECREATION COMPLEX The Recreation Complex began a phased reopening plan on Aug. 3. At that time, the Rec has limited hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. Face coverings are required and temperatures will be taken when patrons enter the building. People must use the north entrance and social distancing is required inside the space. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CENTER The K-State Alumni Center is open to the public. On weekdays, the center will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Campus-wide social distancing procedures will be required in the building. Rooms can be reserved on the center’s website.
one of the main means of transmitting a disease of this type. Influenza is contracted through the use of infected drinking utensils, towels, handkerchiefs, etc. Both swimming pools in the gymnasium have been closed and will be thoroughly disinfected before opening again to the students. A number of persons have been examined at the college doctor’s office for influenza, but so far the results of the tests have not been made public.
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STUDENT FEES Students pushback against online course fees meant to pay for technology, faculty training BAILEY BRITTON staff writer
As part of the university's plan to return to campus amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some courses usually taught in-person were forced into an online-only or hybrid setting. With that shift to different course modalities came a new fee structure for online courses. The $70 per credit hour fee for online classes will fund technology infrastructure improvements, faculty salaries and faculty training among other things, vice president for communications and marketing Jeff Morris said. The $70 per credit hour fee replaces the regular $123.79 undergraduate and $148.70 graduate online class fees. "Understanding that more students will be taking online courses due to the changes in course schedules, we have significantly reduced the online fees for the 2020-2021 academic year," Morris said.
Madison Brown, senior in finance and Privilege Fee Committee chair, said online classes were not an easy adjustment for professors this spring, so she sees why extra training may be necessary. "Hopefully using this training is going to better prepare professors who are going to be teaching classes online in the fall, as well as if the university does have to go online again due to the coronavirus," Brown said. Still, some students are unhappy paying an extra $70 per credit hour for online classes originally scheduled to be taught on campus. Jazz Loffredo, senior in computer science and math, created a petition after he learned about the unexpected online fees. "I felt that somebody needed to take some form of action," Loffredo said. Loffredo's petition is not the only one: There is a second petition authored by K-State Students with over 1,600 signatures. Loffredo's had just over 200 signatures
at the time of this article's publication. Loffredo said his frustration stems from administration having "no transparency" with the fees. Another concern for Cameron Koger, junior in marketing and Student Governing Association student finance director, is that students don't have a say if classes are online or in person, and therefore can't always avoid extra fees. "I think they lowered it with the expectation that by lowering it, it will appear that we are doing all that we can," Koger said. "And while I do think that they are taking strides to not raise tuition and keep fees flat, charging for courses that are online is not equitable." While Brown sees the value of the fee, she still doesn't necessarily agree with it. "My main problem with it right now is going to be the technology improvement," Brown said. "I don't necessarily see [why] this is being put on online students. This
Archive Photo by Kandace Griffin | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Budgeting your money during college is key to making sure you don’t spend too much. Knowing what you are spending and how much will help keep you up to date with your accounts and may also help you save. is a fee that is increasing technology in all of K-State's classes, which in my mind would mean that it's a fee that is given to all students. Right now, I think students who are taking online classes are disproportionately affected by this." Loffredo and Koger don't believe the fee should be removed, but possibly reduced. "I think there should be discussion about ways that we can navigate this pandemic while also not offloading that cost on to students and penalizing them for something that's out of their control," Loffredo said. Koger said he is in favor
of giving students a prorated refund if classes revert to the online format partially through the semester. However, the university previously said no refunds would be given. Loffredo said he plans to email the petition to President Richard Myers soon with a list of concerns he has regarding the fees. Members of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, which Loffredo is a member of, plan to do the same. While students are disappointed to pay extra fees and take classes online they weren't expecting, Brown said knowing where her money is going is beneficial.
"At least we know where the money is going," she said. "But I think it's still kind of disappointing that this is something that has to be put on students because I would have hoped that this continual technology improvement and things would be something that the university was already doing and wouldn't necessarily have to be completely funded by students through this online fee." Morris said K-State understands difficulties students are facing and "is committed doing everything possible to help our community persist and come through this time together."
Twitter poll: Students, what do you think about the $70 per credit hour online course fee? KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN editor-in-chief
For 48 hours, a Twitter poll asked students how they feel about the student fees associated with online classes for the fall semester. The fees are lower than usual online fees that are assigned to Global Campus courses, but some students
have expressed concern on social media. As the semester nears, courses that students enrolled in as face-to-face options are pivoting to distance or remote learning to accommodate COVID-19 classroom capacities and social distancing requirements. Of the 226 respondents, 60.2 percent they aren't a fan of the fees. An addi-
tional 18.1 percent indicated that the fees are "less than ideal, but OK." About 6.2 percent said they "are fine" with the online fees. The remaining 15.5 percent said they needed more information before coming to a decision. Do you have a question you want answered? Let us know by sending an email to collegian@ kstatecollegian.com.
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WELLNESS KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN editor-in-chief
As part of the campus-wide Every Wildcat a Wellcat campaign, the university will provide every Kansas State student with a kit filled with items to help them slow the spread of COVID-19 locally. Each kit includes one neck-gaiter style face-covering, a first-aid kit, hand sanitizer, a thermometer and a no-contact opener key for pushing doors open and using ATMs. Additionally, the university
Students to receive free facecoverings, other COVID-19 prevention supplies
has ordered about 20,000 cloth face coverings that will be distributed to students at a later date. Students living on-campus will receive kits in their residence halls. Jennifer Miller, director for health promotions at Lafene Health Center, said off-campus students have a few options to pick their kits up. Students affiliated with Greek Life or K-State Athletics will receive their kits by representatives in those organizations. Other students can pick
theirs up at various points on campus during the first week of class between 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Those locations are Monday at Coffman Commons (near Hale Library),Tuesday at Bosco Plaza (in front of the K-State Student Union), Wednesday at Bluemont Hall and Thursday on the Quad. A drive-thru option is also available at Lafene Health Center, located at 1105 Sunset Ave. That will be available from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. People will be running a distribution point in the circle drive in front of the building.
Photo courtesy of the Department of Communications and Marketing
The EWAW kits include a first-aid kit, neck-gaiter style face coverings, hand sanitizer and other items.
Helpful hints: From face masks to a notebook , here’s a list of some back-to-school basics for the pandemic ABIGAIL COMPTON multimedia editor
On top of the normal campus basics like your laptop and some pencils, you'll need a couple other items to get through a semester in the middle of the pandemic. 1. MASKS Everyone on campus property will be required to wear face coverings at all times, at least as the university policy stands now. Though not required, it is highly
recommended by medical professionals that people clean masks between use. As such, students should plan to have multiple masks that can be rotated and warn while others are being washed. Masks should be worn snuggly, and cover both the nose and the mouth. Homemade masks should be made from high thread count materials and follow instructions from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. 2. HAND SANITIZER Sometimes on campus, students
might not have easy access to soap and water, but hand hygiene will be important for stopping the spread of COVID-19 on campus. In that case, students should plan to carry hand sanitizer with them. Hand cleansers should have at least a 60 percent alcohol content, per Food and Drug Administration guidance. 3. WIPES Students should plan to carry wipes in their backpacks as they may be asked to wipe down surfaces they've touched in classrooms or elsewhere on campus. They might also feel compelled to wipe down high-touch points they come in contact with before use — such as door handles or faucets. For guidance on purchasing wipes for disinfecting and cleaning, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. 4. FULL WATER BOTTLE Some students already carry water bottles, but it will be important to make sure they're full before coming on campus as the CDC warns against the use of drinking fountains.
Illustration by Abigail Compton
To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com
Union Program Council to implement hybrid events as campus reopens ANNA SCHMIDT staff writer
The Union Program Council cancelled several big events last spring, but plan to reschedule them for the upcoming fall semester. As campus reopens, UPC plans to be adaptable and provide events both in person and virtually. Beth Bailey, assistant director of programs, said UPC events cancelled last spring include a hypnotist, a comedian, two speakers and a musician. The events will now be offered virtually. As for the fall events that were already in the works, UPC adopted a hybrid plan in an effort to still hold the events in some form. “What I mean by hybrid is that some events will be in person and some will be virtual,” Bailey said. “The films, for instance, will be in person, but the attendance numbers will be vastly reduced.” UPC doesn't currently have access to new movie releases, so the group will show a handful of movies that they initially planned to show last spring. Those movies include “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and “Parasite”. The showings are cosponsored
with the Asian American Student Union. UPC also plans to show "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" outdoors with limited attendance and social distancing measures. The UPC has planned other events for the first six-to-eight weeks of the school year, but haven’t announced the schedule yet as it may be adjusted. Students part of UPC primarily make decisions about events. However, Bailey said that while the university has been closed, advisors have been executing details for early fall events. “During the transition retreat in the spring, we discussed how to approach the fall programming and came up with a 'Plan A' — in-person events — and 'Plan B,' virtual events,” Bailey said. “So we could pivot more readily, if necessary. Now that we have safety protocols for in-person events, we are making sure that we are prepped and ready to be as safe as possible.” With everything in mind, the UPC maintains a goal of bringing diverse, quality events to students and the entire campus community. Bailey said they want their events to be engaging, inclusive and safe.
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From social distancing to wearing face masks, life in the dorms looks different KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN editor-in-chief
The residence halls will open this semester, but with some extra protocols and precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. "The shared living experience is an important opportunity for K-State students, and we want to make that experience possible in a way that prioritizes the health and wellness of our students," vice president for student life and dean of students Thomas Lane said via K-State Today. In addition to decreasing the overall capacity in the residence halls, Housing and Dining Services will add new conduct expectations to the policies students are required to follow when living on-campus. Social distancing rules will be instituted to limit the number of residents using one bathroom. Also, roommates will be expected to keep a six-foot, socially distanced space between them while they are sleeping in their shared room. Another area that could
change a lot in the fall is how the dining centers operate. With limited seating availability and social distancing, takeout options will be made available. Though all meals will still be offered through the dining halls, the unlimited access plan will not be offered. Instead of regular plates, trays and glassware, all meals will be served on disposable paper products. Face masks will be required in shared spaces — including in the dining centers. Jardine Apartments’ overall operation will stay mostly the same in the fall. Previously, Kansas State announced the whole Strong Community would be closed because of an anticipated decrease in demand for on-campus housing, but Boyd and Putnam Halls will now be used to accommodate the decreased housing density protocols. Also, spaces in Van Zile Hall and Jardine will be reserved for isolating students who become exposed to or test positive for the novel coronavirus in on-campus housing. If plans need to change, residents can receive prorated refunds.
HOUSING & DINING
Pandemic, stalled renovations necessitates dining center changes MADISON DANIEL staff writer
This semester, campus dining centers will look a little different due to operation modifications necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, some additional changes might be instituted as deemed necessary by university officials. For now, dining centers will follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, an email sent to students in on-campus housing said. The CDC suggests that some of the major ways to keep students safe include social distancing, using face coverings, carrying out frequent disinfection, reducing the number of people in an area and implementing disposable utensils where possible. While the Derby Dining Center will not be open this fall due to setbacks in the remodel, Van Zile and Kramer will be. Dining services are offering more options for students and also taking precautions to
keep the dining centers open and as functional as they can be. The first step in preventing the spread of COVID-19 through the dining hall is by only offering take-out options. This will limit who students are coming in contact with and reduce the risk of not socially distancing properly while eating. There is an exception to this rule, however. Some student groups will be allowed to eat in the dining hall if they schedule a time and practice social distancing during their meal. Even though students will not be eating in the dining centers every day, social distancing will be enforced and some room reconfigurations were necessary to make entering the building, waiting in line and exiting the building safer. Additionally, wellness checks and screenings will be required of every dining center employee before they enter the workspace each day. They will also be required to wash their hands thoroughly and frequently per dining center protocols. There will be plexiglass
File Photo by Melanie White | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Kramer Dining Center serves all of the residents living in Wefald, Marlatt and Goodnow Halls. shields where they feel they are needed to prevent contact between employees and people dining as well as to separate the food from potential germs. Another change will be the cleaning process. They will be sanitizing high contact areas and surfaces often as well as monitoring the beverage station. Students will swipe their own ID's to make it a zero-contact transaction. All utensils will be prewrapped and given to them
with a drink cup before they get their to-go meal. While these are the most major physical changes to the operation of the dining centers, there will also be changes to the meal plans themselves. To decrease the traffic in and out and the general capacity of the dining centers at any given time, they now only offer either 14 or 20 swipes a week as opposed to the 12+ or all-access. Prices have been modified to fit the new plans.
Freshmen campus housing discussions tabled during pandemic BAILEY BRITTON staff writer
File Photo by Bailey Britton | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Freshmen aren’t required to live on-campus at K-State.
Kansas State is one of two public universities in Kansas that doesn't require freshmen to live on campus. Vice president for student life and dean of students Thomas Lane said discussions for requiring freshmen to live on campus were underway pre-pandemic, but the discussions have been tabled as the university tries to de-densify residence halls. Fort Hays State University, Washburn University, Wichita State University and Pittsburg State University all require freshmen to live on campus. The University of Kansas does not. "About three years ago, the university engaged in a significant planning
process called the Strategic Enrollment Management initiative," Lane said. "The intent behind that was to increase the number of applicants and enroll students at K-State." Part of increasing enrollment requires an increase in retention, Lane said, and living on campus is one way to do that. Lane said retention of freshmen living on-campus is higher than those living off-campus. The freshmen-to-sophomore retention rate is approximately 87 percent for students living on-campus versus 79.9 percent for those living off-campus. Reasons for the nearly seven percent increase in retention include a sense of community, programming within the residence halls and academic support,
Lane said. "All of those student success efforts I think point towards the differences that we see in those rates," Lane said. When discussions continue, Lane said if freshmen are required to live on campus in the future, there will be exemptions. "With any residency policy, there's always exemptions," Lane said. "Categories for exemption could include age, ... your marriage status, students who are parents, students who may be a part of an independent student organization that provides community living. That would be part of this conversation as well." Lane added that K-State is one of four schools in the Big 12 Conference that doesn't require freshmen to live on campus.
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RICHARD MYERS
guest contributor
When Kansas State made the decision to move to in-person and hybrid teaching beginning Aug. 17, the state of Kansas was making progress in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Since that time, the situation in our state has been reversed, with a significant increase in cases. Just last week, the city of Chicago added Kansas to the list of states from which travelers will require quarantine. As we've stated all along, the ability to reopen our campuses depends on being able to preserve health and safety on our university property and in our host communities. Throughout this pandemic, we've paid close attention to what the medical experts and our epidemiologists tell us, including many of our own excellent scientists at K-State. What they tell us right now is that trends are in the wrong direction. As we re-evaluate our decisions in light of the most recent data, the compelling question becomes, "Can we bring 20,000 students, faculty and staff to campus, knowing cases are sure to increase?" The answer depends on many factors, and we are preparing for many contingencies. If we can collectively mitigate the spread of the virus, the campus can reopen and the economic rebound will continue for the communities we serve. However, the university cannot do this alone. Our community partners must use the same playbook. The science is clear that wearing
HEALTH & SAFET Y Myers: Together we can meet this challenge face coverings, hand hygiene and enforcing physical distancing can reduce the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. But these efforts are only as strong as the weakest link. It takes just one exception to cause a superspreader event, in which case we would probably have to stop in-person classes and go to distance learning. At this time, K-State is considering several options, including opening on Aug. 17 as planned, delaying the on-campus opening with an online start, or moving completely online for the fall semester. Now is the time for community policymakers to get behind a plan that allows the whole community to move forward. This means consistent rules with regard to the use of face coverings and physical distancing, and consistent enforcement of those rules across our communities. For our Manhattan campus, we are asking the city of Manhattan and Riley County to establish policies requiring the use of face coverings through the end of the fall semester. In addition, close attention must be
paid to how, when and where people gather. This virus does not stop at the campus borders, so we need consistent measures throughout the entire community for this to work. Historic challenges take historic measures, and we have not faced a pandemic of this scale since 1918 when many of these same issues surfaced. We rallied together then, let's do it now. We all take pride in knowing that our university and communities are nationally respected for our town-gown relationships. Let's show America that we deserve that respect. Richard B. Myers is the current president of K-State. From 20012005, he served as the 15th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was the principal military adviser to the U.S. president, secretary of defense and the National Security Council. The views and opinions expressed in this piece 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.
File Photo by Dylan Connell | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
President Richard Myers gave the State of the University Address on Sept. 27, 2019 in the Alumni Center. In his guest opinion, he says that current trends in the pandemic cast a shadow of doubt on the fall plan for face-to-face courses.
‘Everyone wants to get back to normal’: Students look toward an unusual return to campus GLENN KINLEY staff writer
Thousands of students are set to return to Kansas State this week. Students will file into the dorms, dining halls and classrooms, but it won't look like it usually does. Now, campus will have more hand sanitizer than handshakes. For many returning students, this will be quite a different look. For others, these unique circumstances will be in place when they come to campus for the first time. Freshman in mechanical engineering Ethan McAtee says he's excited to come to Manhattan — despite the
pandemic. "It'll definitely be interesting coming in with COVID and everything." McAtee said. "I think [coming to K-State] is still gonna be a great experience." Some plans, however, will have to change. "Me and my friends were all like talking about visiting each other, but now we're like, we don't know what we're gonna do," McAtee said. Chris Simkins, sophomore in biochemistry, says he's mostly concerned with what other students will do off-campus and how that will impact on-campus life. "I just hope that students just have some common sense
so we can solve all this faster," Simkins said. Simkins also said he's preparing for a possible return to online-only classes. All instructors — whether they start out online-only or not — are expected to incorporate some degree of online education into their course plans, vice provost for institutional effectiveness Brian Niehoff said previously. Though Simkins said he doesn't feel like online classes in the spring really hurt his education, he is concerned about how his scheduled labs for this semester might operate if remote learning becomes necessary again. "If I'm not able to phys-
ically work in a lab then I'm, you know, losing valuable experience that I can use down the line," Simkins said.
A return to normalcy is something both students hope will come soon. "Everyone wants to get
back to normal, the only way we can do that is by following the CDC guidelines," Simkins said.
k c a B e m o c l We Wi ldc at s ! We’re glad you’re here!
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Photo by Alex Todd
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Photo by Dylan Connell
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ON THE FIELD
The story of the first Wildcat to play in the Super Bowl as told by the numbers CODY FRIESEN staff writer
As the COVID-19 pandemic changes fall sports, K-State Athletics could face financial strain NATHAN ENSERRO staff writer
Kansas State’s football team will — for the time being — plan to play a ten-game season with nine Big 12 Conference games and a nonconference tune-up against Arkansas State with play starting Sept. 12. While the decision to play this fall was certainly not just about money, the financial impacts of the shortened football season will put K-State Athletics finances in a pinch. Traditionally, football — and to a lesser extent men’s basketball — is the big money-maker for any athletics department. They make the money off of football-related sales and TV contracts and spend the lion’s share of it to sponsor the other sports the school plays. K-State is no different. In fiscal year 2019, which covered the 2018-19 academic year, the Wildcat football team pulled in around 70 percent of K-State Athletics’ revenue, according to K-State’s NCAA Membership Finance report. The big money maker for football was media rights, bringing in $19.5 million. That accounted for 64 percent of athletics total media rights revenue. Football also made K-State 58 percent of team-specific contributions ($11.6 million from football), 75 percent of in-stadium revenue ($1.3 million) and a whopping 78 percent of ticket sale revenue ($12.35 million). These numbers will surely be different this season — revenue will almost assuredly be down in a season with fewer games and likely reduced stadium-capacity. An email sent to season ticket holders this season reads “we do not yet know how many fans will be able to attend games this fall,” but that Athletics does “anticipate that we will not be able to accommodate general public season tickets for all five home games during this unique and challenging season.”
The email gives season ticket holders an option to also opt out of the season if they feel uncomfortable attending games, as well the option to “let us know how you would like your season tickets and Ahearn Fund contribution handled.” K-State sent a similar email to student season ticket holders, but it does not appear to give the option for a refund/credit. Instead, it says “Although the number of fans able to attend games this fall remains unknown, the department continues to work with local county, city and university officials. Season ticket holders will be contacted via email as soon as capacity and ticket details are finalized.” With anticipated decreased capacity, ticket sales and in-stadium revenues from concessions and merchandise purchases will also decrease. Smaller Ahearn Fund contributions, which stem from season ticket and parking pass sales, will likely decrease as well. Media rights contracts are complicated agreements between the networks and the conferences and it is hard to anticipate whether the per-team revenue the Big 12 generates will increase with more people watching or decrease due to fewer games. Looking at expenses, it’s hard to see where K-State will be able to cut money to try to offset those shortfalls. In 2018, football accounted for about 34 percent of all Athletics' spending. Sure, the coaches are taking pay cuts across the board. The AP estimated that those salary reductions would result in $1.5 million in savings. K-State also will only be on the hook for paying guaranteed money to one nonconference opponent — Arkansas State — instead of two — North Dakota and Buffalo. “In terms of the guarantee,” athletics director Gene Taylor said in a press conference Wednesday morning. “That is kind of off the table because they cancelled on us and we
cancelled on them.” Taylor also said that the Wildcats would be financially helping Arkansas State conform to the Big 12’s COVID-19 testing protocols to help keep K-State and Arkansas State players safe in the run-up to their Sept. 12 face-off in Manhattan. The Big 12 requires testing three times a week, up from the planned once a week. “As we sent them our contract, we said they would need to follow the Big 12 protocols of testing, and that is now changed from one to three," Taylor said. "We offered to help them with that if they so desired, and I think we probably will for the additional two tests, just because we want to get that tenth game." With an ongoing pandemic, medical expenses are bound to increase. Outside of the cost of testing, K-State will be using EKG tests, echo testing and cardiac MRIs on COVID-19-positive players to ensure that they do not sustain the lasting heart and lung conditions that potentially come with the virus. For the 2018 season, K-State spent a hair over $38,000 on medical expenses for football, three percent of the $1 million total for all of athletics. The Wildcats will not be able to save on expenses like administrative overhead, debt on facilities, Big 12 dues and travel either since those are mostly fixed costs. In the 2018 season those line items totaled $7.6 million. It should be noted that K-State traveled five times in 2018 and is scheduled to make the same five road trips this year to Oklahoma, TCU, West Virginia, Iowa State and Baylor. K-State Athletics staff did not respond to requests for comment on how they plan to cut expenses to remain one of only eight schools nationwide to have a fully funded athletics department with no campus or state funding.
In the 1969 NFL draft, 5-foot-11 running back Larry Brown was the 191st overall pick. Soon, he was the 1972 NFL MVP — the only Wildcat ever to receive the honor. Brown was born in Pennsylvania and found his way to Kansas to continue his football career at Dodge City Community College before coming to Kansas State in 1967. The pre-Bill Snyder era at K-State is a dark 1969 Royal Purple Yearbook | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP one. These teams strug- As the ball is snapped, running back Larry Brown gled to win. In his two prepares for his move against the Iowa State deyears in Manhattan, fense during the 1968 football season. Brown finished with a career-record of 5-15. the first player in Redskins history to He led the Wildcats in rushing in capture a 1,000 yard season. Brown 1968 with 402 yards and one touchwas also named a First-Team All-Pro down. in 1970 and a Second-Team All-Pro in When his time in Manhattan 1971. came to an end, he scored only three The 1972 season was the breaktouchdowns and had 849 total yards out season for Brown. He was the as a Wildcat. His was not a particufirst Wildcat to play in the Super larly outstanding collegiate career — Bowl and was named NFL MVP. he would likely be completely overBrown dominated opponents, looked if he played for K-State today. averaging 101.3 yards per game. He Brown was drafted by the Washwas a threat in the passing game with ington Redskins. A total of 33 run473 receiving yards and four touchning backs were selected before downs. He earned his fourth and fiBrown, including No. 1 overall draft nal Pro-Bowl selection, was named pick OJ Simpson, who was tapped by a First-Team All-Pro for the second the Buffalo Bills. time, and won the AP Offensive PlayAlthough he was drafted for orer of the Year. ganizational depth, Brown was soon Washington finished with a 13-4 shaped into a fearless running back record, but was ultimately defeated under legendary coach Vince Lomin Super Bowl VII 14-7 by the Miami bardi. Dolphins. Brown was held in check Lombardi noticed Brown's pothrough the whole game, limited to tential, but also saw that he strugjust 72 rushing yards and no touchgled to get the ball at the snap. It was downs. soon discovered that Brown was hard Brown led the league in touchof hearing and completely deaf in his downs with 14 during the 1973 searight ear. He was allowed to have a son, but was plagued by injuries. hearing aid placed in his helmet so He retired in 1976 with 8,360 tohe could hear the snap count, which tal career yards, 55 touchdowns and a made all the difference. perfect completion percentage. In his rookie season, he rushed Considered one of the greatest for 888 yards and four touchdowns. Washington Redskins of all time, he An additional 302 receiving yards is in the Ring of Honor. Additionally, earned him his first Pro-Bowl selecFox Sports counts him as the second tion. In the 1970 season, he remained most successful Wildcats to play in at the top of the NFL, leading the the NFL. NFL in rushing yards at 1,125 yards —
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Skylar Thompson’s journey from freshman practice squad to team captain ADAM MEYER staff writer
When senior quarterback Skylar Thompson arrived at Kansas State as a four-star prospect in 2016
he began making highlights on the practice squad as just a redshirt freshman. With hard work and development, Thompson enters his senior season as one of the projected 90 best players in college football.
File Photo by Logan Wassall | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Senior quarterback Skylar Thompson celebrates after running in a touchdown during K-State’s homecoming football game against OU in Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Oct. 26, 2019. The Wildcats upset the No. 5 rated Sooners with a final score of 48-41.
FOOTBALL
In 2016, Thompson was a co-winner of the team’s Red Raider Award, given out to the player that contributed the most on the scout team that year. From the beginning, the future looked bright for the young Wildcat quarterback.
2017 That bright future was just on the horizon for Thompson, as he found the field in eight games during the 2017 season as a redshirt freshman. Thompson even earned himself the starting job in the final four games of 2017. Thompson threw for 689 yards and five touchdowns in his debut season with the Wildcats. Out of his four starts, he led the Wildcats to victory three times. He showed his arm strength in an upset road victory over No.10 Oklahoma State, throwing for 204 yards and three touchdowns in that game. After the upset victory over the Cowboys, Thompson showed stayed calm under pressure and threw the game-winning touchdown pass against Iowa State as time expired in the Wildcats final regular-season game of 2017, sending Bill Snyder Family Stadium into a frenzy. Thompson then led the
Wildcats to their second straight bowl victory, a 35-17 victory over the UCLA Bruins in the Cactus Bowl, giving him a 3-1 record as a starting quarterback. After this display of talent in 2017, his playing time increased, and as a result, his stats increased.
2018 Thompson played in 11 games with 10 starts as he competed alongside former Wildcat Alex Delton for the starting position throughout the 2018 season. Throwing for 1,319 yards and nine touchdowns, he led the Wildcats to five victories throughout the 2018 campaign. Out of those five victories, three of them were conference games, including a 3112 win over Oklahoma State on homecoming, a 21-17 win over in-state rival Kansas and a 21-6 senior day win over Texas Tech. Thompson also recorded 373 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground with his 105 carries that year. Even though the season was less than ideal with a 5-7 final record, Thompson still climbed the ladder in the Big 12 in total offense with more than 160 yards per game and a passing efficiency of 125.3.
ANALYSIS: A guide to the Wildcats’ wide receivers
ADAM MEYER staff writer
In a season with so many questions marks, the Kansas State football team knows one thing — the offense has the opportunity to be very effective. Led by senior quarterback Skylar Thompson and his gunslinging arm, the offense looks to put up high numbers this year. The good news for the Wildcats this season is the fact that Thompson will have the luxury of having multiple talented wide receivers on
the 2020 roster. Here are some of the top receivers for the upcoming year: WYKEEN GILL The redshirt senior from Atchison, Kansas, played in 11 games in 2019, including three starts against Bowling Green, Oklahoma State and Kansas. He recorded 16 receptions for 273 yards and two touchdowns. Gill showed good stride toward the end of the season as he had two 40+ yard receptions in two of the last three games of the season, one for 44 yards against Texas Tech and
2019 There were a lot of questions in the air going into the 2019 season, with a new head coach in Chris Klieman and a less than stellar 2018 season. Coming from North Dakota State, Klieman’s Bison had actually offered Thompson a scholarship to play with them before the four-star quarterback chose K-State. Now that Klieman was with the Wildcats, he had the quarterback he wanted back in 2016. Voted team captain and claiming the starting quarterback position, Thompson had a record-breaking season. He threw for 2,315 yards and 12 touchdowns with only five interceptions. Not only was his passing game stellar, Thompson also had an incredible season on the ground — he was tied eighth nationally and second in the Big 12 Conference among quarterbacks with 11 rushing touchdowns. Perhaps Thompson’s biggest performance of his career came in October, upsetting the fifth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners 48-41. Throwing for 213 yards and pounding in four rushing touchdowns in that game, Thompson earned multiple accolades including the weekly Maxwell award, the Davey O’Brien Award
42 yards against Navy in the Liberty Bowl. Going into this season as a senior, there is no doubt that Gill will want to continue showing his strength and potential in 2020.
er and kickoff returner. He recorded nine receptions for 73 yards throughout the duration of the season. With an offseason work of route running and playbook studying, he could be a top wide receiver in the Big 12 in 2020. He could be Thompson’s go-to option at wide receiver as well.
JOSHUA YOUNGBLOOD The sophomore from Tampa, Florida, is a 2020 Preseason All-Big 12 and an All-American kickoff returner from 2019. He earned praise from head coach Chris Klieman last year who called him an “electric kid.” Youngblood played in all 13 games in 2019 as both a wide receiv-
MALIK KNOWLES The redshirt sophomore from Mansfield, Texas, got plenty of playing time during his freshman season, playing in 11 games with eight starts. The talented wide receiver recorded 27 receptions for 379 yards and three touchdowns which earned him votes for the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of
Great 8 List and Manning Star of the Week. Thompson also became the first K-State quarterback to rush and pass for over 100 yards in a game since Alex Delton in 2017. After an 8-4 regular season campaign, Thompson finished his season off by earning the offensive MVP award in the Liberty Bowl.
WHAT’S NEXT? Going into his final year with the Wildcats, the veteran quarterback is the first quarterback in school history to pass for 6,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards. Thompson also has a 59.2 completion percentage — the fourth-best in school history. He also has the fifth-most rushing yards by a quarterback in school history with 1,045 yards. Thompson ranks fourth nationally in rushing touchdowns among current college quarterbacks going into the upcoming season with 19. Going into the 2020 season Thompson is named on three different award watchlists, two for the top quarterback in college football, the Maxwell Award and the Manning Award, as well as one for community service and athletic achievement, the Wuerffel Trophy.
the Year award by the league’s coaches. Not only stellar at receiver, Knowles showed his talent on special teams by returning a 100-yard kickoff against Mississippi State last year. Knowles also holds the longest touchdown reception by a Wildcat wide receiver in two years with a 70yard reception against Texas. Knowles should be a solid option for Thompson this upcoming season, as he should get attention from defenses across the Big 12.
To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com
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Former K-State football star finds a passion for coaching hometown team GLENN KINLEY staff writer
Tramaine Thompson was once a force to be reckoned with on the offense and special teams when he was a Wildcat. Now a decade after he first played in Bill Snyder Family Stadium, he still finds himself on the field, but he’s traded in the shoulder pads for a headset. Recently, Thompson returned to his hometown of Jenks, Oklahoma, where he is going into his third year as a wide receivers coach for his former high school’s football team. “I always knew I wanted to get into coaching.” Thompson said. “I started
LEGACY
taking coaching classes while I was still at Kansas State, and got my coaching certificate while I was there.” Returning to his hometown meant a lot to the Oklahoma native. “The opportunity came up for me to come back to my old stomping grounds, and I jumped right at it,” Thompson said. The Jenks High School football team is the real deal. The football program has accumulated 16 state championships. “[It’s] one of the most storied high school football teams the country,” Thompson said. Thompson says that there are lessons he learned at K-State that
go beyond football, and he has tried to pass those along to his players. “[I saw] how much of an impact [former coaches] had on me as a player and also a young man, and I always admired them for that. I also wanted to become that.” Thompson said. He says that he hopes this is just the start of his coaching career. “I’m just putting in the effort and gaining my experience and trying to better myself,” Thompson said. “So that when the opportunity does come, and I always tell myself it will, I’m ready to grab it.” Thompson played at Kansas State from 20102013 before going on to
play with the Atlanta Falcons in 2014. He was an electrifying receiver, but also a mean punt returner. The K-State alumnus helped the Wildcats snag a bowl win to snap an eleven year drought in 2013. Thompson finished his career at K-State, ranking No. 8 in school history in all-purpose yards at 3,217 and No. 12 in career receiving yards at 1,673. Thompson’s career punt-return yardage (718) and punt-return average (14.1) ranked him fourth and fifth in school history, respectively. He also became only the third player ever at K-State to have a rushing, receiving, punt return and kickoff return touchdown in his career.
ANALYSIS: How the Lockett family trio helped put K-State football back on the map
Archive Photo by Allen Eyestone | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Offensive linesman Tavon Rooks congratulates wide receiver Tyler Lockett after Lockett caught a touchdown pass from Collin Klein. CODY FRIESEN staff writer
The Lockett family is wide receiver and special teams royalty at Kansas State. They have been a part of some of the most iconic moments in Wildcat football history and were all coached by legendary head coach Bill Snyder. The trio of Locketts has filled the media guide, breaking records that the other ones established.
KEVIN LOCKET T 19931996
Archive Photo by Emily Deshazer | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Former wide receiver Tramaine Thompson catches a touchdown pass from Jake Waters on Aug. 30 2013 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Thompson, who also played in the NFL, found his passion for football continue when he started coaching his hometown team.
As a freshman, Kevin Lockett was a crucial part of Snyder’s second winning season at K-State. Kevin was the leading receiver for the Wildcats with 770 yards and four touchdowns, including a 30-yard touchdown in the Copper Bowl. Kevin would be the leading receiver every year as a Wildcat and led the Big 12 Conference in receiving touchdowns with 13 in 1995. In 1996, as a senior Kevin had 882 total receiving yards. The next closest on
that 1996 team was Andre Anderson, with just 309 receiving yards. He finished third in the Big 12 in receiving yards in 1996 and was named a thirdteam All-American by the Associated Press as well. Kevin was also a two-time Academic All-American K-State. Kevin is second all-time in career-receiving yards at K-State with 3,032 yards, he is one of just two players to have over 3,000 receiving yards in K-State football history. He holds the record for consecutive games with a reception at 44, which is at least one reception in every game within his fouryear span. Kevin Lockett was the 47th overall pick in the 1997 NFL draft, taken by the Kansas City Chiefs. Kevin also played with the Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets. To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com
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After a first year filled with hard-fought victories, challenges, Klieman looks toward second season
REFLECTION
CAMERON BRADLEY
assistant sports editor
File Photo by Logan Wassall | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Head coach Chris Klieman celebrates as he walks off the field after K-State wins their football game against KU in David Booth Memorial Stadium on Nov. 2, 2019.
On Dec. 12, 2018, Chris Klieman was introduced as the 35th head football coach for the Kansas State football team. Flash forward to August of 2020, Klieman is preparing to enter his second season with the Wildcats, but in a completely unprecedented scenario that no one could have predicted. In his first season as head coach, Klieman went through more than some coaches do in several years, both on and off the field. From an upset victory over a top-five ranked team, to battling an pandemic within the team, and even standing up for his players during their fight against so-
cial injustices. “It’s nothing like anyone of us has done, as head coaches, assistant coaches, from the NFL, to Division 1, to Division 3, to high school,” Klieman said. “There’s not a Coaching 101 for any of us, but there’s not a Player 101 manual either. We just want to progress the program forward.” After legendary head coach Bill Snyder retired and Klieman was brought in to replace the savior of K-State football, many fans and media outlets questioned the decision to bring in a coach from the Football Championship Subdivision. Less than a month after the announcement of his hiring, Klieman was on top of the FCS world one final time, hoisting his fourth FCS national championship trophy
in five years at North Dakota State — one of the most dominant FCS teams of the 2010s. His tenure at NDSU was over now though, and his time to rebuild a K-State team that finished the previous season 5-7 had begun. From “Win the Dang Day” to “Pound the Stone,” Klieman quickly began to change the culture at K-State. “[Pound the Stone is] continuing to build on the great legacy that is Kansas State football,” Klieman said. “Kansas State has a tremendous tradition here, built by coach Snyder, and we’re trying to continue to build upon that legacy.” After much skepticism during the offseason, including being picked second to last in the conference in the Big 12 preseason poll, Klie-
man and the Wildcats finally got their first opportunity to prove the doubters wrong, throttling Nicholls State in their season opener 49-14. Progressing through the season the Wildcats had ups and downs, but doubts began to press in again after a 1-2 start for K-State in conference play going into one of their most vigorous matchups of the season — No. 5 Oklahoma. As 23.5 point home underdogs, K-State shocked the college football world, defeating Oklahoma at home for the first time since 1996 and giving Klieman his signature win with the Wildcats in his first year. To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com
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STAR POWER ADAM MEYER
staff writer
Redshirt freshman center Ayoka Lee first won the Big 12 player of the Week award the week of Oct. 25. The freshman center said she was very surprised to receive the award. “I was like, ‘Oh, I won a Big 12 award,’” Lee said. “[The Big 12 award] wasn’t anything on my radar.” The crazy thing: Lee won 12 of those titles in a row. “She gets so many at this point I don’t even post them anymore,” senior guard Angela Harris said. “I’ll post a few [of her awards] on my story when she gets them.” The center was a force down low for the Wildcats this season. She recorded 331 rebounds in the regular season. And she is a big defensive threat as a shot blocker. She ranks seventh in the country and third in Big 12 Conference, averaging 3.1 blocks per game. She leads all freshman and ranks eighth in all classes in the country in blocks. Lee and senior forward Peyton Williams have dominated down-low for the Wildcats this season. Lee says her and Williams are definitely coworkers down low to be the force they are for the Wildcats.
“We definitely get on each other sometimes,” Lee said. “With our different offenses, sometimes Peyton is out, so she is like, ‘Ayoka, you go get in there’. We definitely work from each other when we were both on the floor to get those rebounds.” With a height of 6-foot-5 combined with her athleticism, Lee is a dominant rebounder for the Wildcats. She averages 11.4 boards per game, holds the school record for rebounds in a freshman season and ranks second in a single season in school history. The Wildcats dominated this season in the post, and Lee was a big contributor to that. “She amazed me every game. She gets rebounds, and I’m just like, ‘How’? She will just snatch them out of the air,” Harris said. The season high in rebounds in a game this season for Lee was against the Oklahoma Sooners on Jan. 25, she recorded 20 rebounds. “I just remember chasing the ball,” Lee said. “Seeing the ball and being like, ‘I have to get it’. That was the biggest thing. I didn’t even know I had 20 until after [the game].” The Byron, Minnesota, native was not the confident player she is now when she first arrived at Kansas State the summer before the 2018-2019 season.
“I was really quiet when I first got here,” Lee said. “I remember the second week after getting here, we were at dinner. I said something and Peyton told me, ‘Ayoka, you are starting to get a little more sassy everyday’. Just spending more time with each other and working together every day – hours every day – I wouldn’t say I expected
staff writer
Senior midfielder Brookelynn Entz has done just about anything you could ask for. From performances on the field to being a leader in the locker room, Entz has it covered. She holds eight school records and has several academic
honors under her belt as well. Assistant soccer coach Kat Benton says Entz is a very versatile individual. “Brookelynn is the most well-rounded athlete I have ever coached,” Benton said. “She has a great relationship with her professors — on the field she is a walking highlight reel. She might end up on the SportsCenter Top 10.”
man of the Year. “We are believing in her more and that has helped her believe in herself. I tell her that all the time when we play. I think it’s from us as her teammates, we encourage her a lot,” Harris said. Williams, who had a historical career in the program, made a joke during the season
File Photo byLogan Wassall | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Freshman center Ayoka Lee looks for an opportunity to drive the basket during K-State’s women’s basketball game against Oral Roberts in Bramlage Coliseum on Nov. 18, 2019. The Wildcats defeated the Golden Eagles with a final score of 109-69.
‘ She set the bar for us’: How Brookelynn Entz impacted the K-State soccer program ADAM MEYER
the chemistry we have but time grew it.” Head coach Jeff Mittie said Lee is a very humble person. She doesn’t like to talk herself up, she likes to let the success speak for the hard work. Because of that, the coaching staff had to put some of the leadership into her hands. Now she’s the Big 12 Fresh-
Ayoka Lee could be the key to future women’s basketball successes, head coach says
The Newton, Kansas, native is coming off of her best season as a Wildcat, leading the team in points scored (10), assists (4), total shots (67), shots on goal (28) and penalty kick goals scored (2). Entz said she is putting in the work to make sure she has a successful senior season. “I want to have the best season yet,” Entz said. “I began
to work a lot and work on specific skills like shooting, dribbling and decision making. [My] senior season has to be the best yet. Score more goals and get more wins.” Although quarantine orders kept the team apart, Entz said every player is individually getting their daily reps in. “Everybody has been training and working on their own,” Entz said. “It has been a grind working individually. This [quarantine] time we can use to get ahead of other teams.” Maddie Souder, fellow se-
nior midfielder, calls Entz as an impact leader. Souder says Entz knows how to communicate with everyone, even the freshmen. “Let her lead the way. [Entz] is good with the freshman class, and makes them feel like they’re part of the team,” Souder said. Souder also said Entz has an incredible work ethic. “She puts in a lot of extra hard work behind the scenes,” Souder said.”She wants to be the best.” Soccer isn’t the only thing that Entz holds to her heart.
that Lee will probably break all her records by her junior year. “[Peyton] saying that just shows the respect, and how much confidence they have in me,” Lee said. “How much potential they see me having.” Mittie said he’s not surprised by Lee’s performance this year on the court. He said he expected it. “We felt like we saw this coming all last year and during the summer,” Mittie said. “We expected her to average double figures.” Last season, Lee was redshirted due to an injury, but Mittie said it didn’t slow her down. “Ayoka just earns daily respect,” Mittie said. “People saw it last year when she was going through the injury and redshirting. [Her teammates] saw how hard she worked every day. I had players last year telling me, ‘She’s working her tail off, and she isn’t even getting to play right now’. That is very impressive of a young player to do that.” Mittie said he couldn’t ask for a better player to build a team around. “Everybody is happy for her success,” Mittie said. “She is a player we can really build in on the future and build a roster around her. She is the type of player players want to play with.” Her strong relationship with God is what she says drives her desire to make an impact. “My faith is the most important part of my life,” Entz said. “God calls us to love ourselves and our community.” Entz has made a quite the impact in her first three years in the K-State soccer program. Benton says she is a benchmark for the coaching staff in the program. To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com
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ON THE DIAMOND SEAN SCHAPER staff writer
Watching from the dugout as a young boy, sophomore outfielder Dom Hughes began to find a passion for the sport that his fa-
ther, Kansas State head baseball coach Pete Hughes, had made a career out of. “Growing up in the dugouts my whole life and always being around him and baseball, being around all the great players he’s coached made me a better
File Photo by Dalton Wainscott COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Head coach Pete Hughes smiles at family at an April 2019 home game against TCU. This year, Hughes’ son Dom played his first season for the Wildcats.
player learning from him,” Dom said. With his two brothers already playing collegiate baseball, Dom was next in line to choose his path. Making his commitment as a junior in high school, Dom decided to follow his father and chose K-State. After Pete Hughes’ appointment as K-State’s 21st head baseball coach in June 2018, the Hughes family found that the Manhattan community was special. “I knew the baseball program needed to be revitalized a little bit,” Pete said. “What I didn’t know is the players already in the program were phenomenal kids, people and student athletes who were eager to follow [the coaching staff ’s] lead.” Even though the two share a father/son bond, Pete made it clear that there is no special treatment for his son in the dugout. “Dom has been in my
Five baseball players stayed together on the diamond this summer despite pandemic GLENN KINLEY staff writer
In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, five baseball players stayed together and provided each other a sense of normalcy. Sophomore Dom Hughes, redshirt junior Carson Seymour, junior Jordan Wicks, sophomore Nico Rodriguez and junior Daniel Carinci are all playing in the Northwoods League this summer, and luck would have it that they are all on the same team in Rockford, Illinois. After playing in just 17 of their 55 game regular season schedule in 2020, these Kan-
sas State baseball players had their season stripped away due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We were just starting to play really good baseball and really like our team,” K-State head baseball coach Pete Hughes said. No baseball for the rest of the season — that’s something a baseball player never wants to hear. All of the hard work that was put in during the offseason was just for 17 games. With the season cancelled, and the future uncertain for so many, Hughes still found a way for a handful of his players to find their way back onto a baseball diamond
together. The Rockford Rivets, a summer team in the Northwoods League, is a team Hughes has sent players to before and even watched his second-oldest son, Hal, play for in the past. Now, he has five players of his own that he can root for in Rockford. “It was an easy [place] for me to send those guys,” Hughes said. “Any time you can get a nucleus of your team playing together it only helps, you know, it helps when those guys get back to campus.” To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com
dugout since he was five years old,” Pete said. “He knows the protocol, the climate, the atmosphere, he knows how I coach, how I discipline. If I treated him any differently, he would know, and it just wouldn’t work.” That climate in the dugout involves many things, such as the need for hard work, but there is one thing that Pete said he simply will not believe in while he is the head man for the Wildcats: luck. “Whenever anyone says ‘Good luck’ to me for a game, I say there is no such thing as luck,” Pete said. “It’s all about hard work and preparation.” Pete’s mentality has passed down to his son. However, there is one ritual
Father and son work together in the K-State Baseball dugout
Dom makes sure to do before every game. “Usually I just f lex my biceps in front of my dad to show him my muscles are bigger than his,” Dom said. Unfortunately for the father/son pair, their first collegiate season together was cut short. After only playing 17 games the rest of the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, with the Wildcats finishing the season with a 10-7 mark. “Although it was disappointing to only play 17 games, the future looks really bright, and the excitement for next year is even more so because of what we didn’t get to finish this year,” Pete said. Appearing in eight
games in 2020, Dom ended his first season with the Wildcats batting .273 percent and drove in three runs, two of those runs being in the season finale against South Dakota State on March 11. Though COVID-19 cut the season short, that did not stop Dom from enjoying his first season at the collegiate level with his father. “This past season was an unbelievable experience,” Dom said. “This is the most special team I’ve played for, and I know it’s the most talented I’ve ever played for. We’re looking forward to next year because I know we’ve got even more strength coming back next year.”
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CAMPUS UPDATE
Dalton Wainscott | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Hale Library pictured in the summer. This fall, anti-racist learning communities will begin, guided by the book “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram Kendi.
Anti-racist learning communities to begin this fall JULIE FREIJAT news editor
This fall, Kansas State will see the implementation of anti-racist learning communities on campus. Hosted via Zoom, the experience will be guided by the novel “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram Kendi. Kimathi Choma, assistant dean of diversity, recruitment and retention for the College of Arts and Sciences; Jessica Elmore, associate director of diversity programs for the K-State alumni association; and Cliff Hight, department head of the Morse Department of Special Collections for K-State Libraries will host these communities. Elmore said that talking about anti-racism can be personal and these communities provide a more intimate setting for individuals to traverse that journey with others. “These are just small pods of people who want to
do this together — so if it’s a unit that wants to do this together or a particular community, things like that,” Elmore said. “We’re able to kind of give them some structure, as in the progression of how we’re going to go through the book, but they have the ability to kind of share their own personal story and journeys, without feeling like it’s 100 people hearing them talk about how they mistakenly assume this or whatever that is. That’s what the learning community is about — is trying to create a small community feel so that people can talk about their own personal journey as we all try to be more anti-racist.” Choma said anti-racism is a process that he believes can be done better in a community. “So we started this a long time ago with [Kendi’s] first book ... ‘Stamped From The Beginning’ — and we did that
on a much smaller level with people that were willing to join in with Black Faculty and Staff Alliance and now we’re looking — with all this going on in the world — looking university-wide, and we’re excited about the amount of people who have decided they want to come alongside and be part of this journey that I believe all of K-State needs to go on together,” Choma said. Elmore said that the new book by Kendi provided an opportunity to do a “part two” of their personal discussions they’d had with the non-fiction book “Stamped From the Beginning.” She said they decided to expand the idea and use the resources all three of them have to further develop it. Hight said as he thought about their experience with their book club for Kendi’s first book, he remembered that they realized they didn’t
just want it to be a book club experience. “We want it to be more like a change agent — ways that we can really internalize, how we can make changes in our own personal lives and then look at institutionally how we can, in our spheres of influence, affect the institution to reflect some of those changes that need to occur,” Hight said. Elmore said she plays a role in the content, development and structure of the groups, and the rest of the team brings other skills and abilities to the table. “Dr. Choma’s very much in the academic space and we all know being at an institution of higher learning that it’s really important for buyin, for validity, for connections, for being able to make sure that we are providing, you know, great educational information to people who want to be a part,” Elmore
said. “And then Cliff, I mean, his information and systems and the archival aspect and the historical aspect is really important as we’re all trying to bring this together.” Elmore also said that Hight brings a different perspective to the conversation as a white male — which is helpful during their thought process because he represents the majority of the population of K-State and the Manhattan area. Choma said that the three have been doing this kind of work for a very long time. “I know people may see this as a response to what’s going on nationally, and what’s going on locally with our students, Black at Kansas State, but we’re not new to this work, we’ve been working with all students – students of color, international students, white students,” he said. “We’ve been helping
lots of students for a long period of time, and this is one aspect that needs to come out and we need to be supportive of students, faculty and staff.” Choma also said that the College of Arts and Sciences is not new to this work. Elmore said they began planning these groups in the fall of 2019, giving themselves a year to gather resources and further prepare. “And so, like I said we could have never planned for all the things to happen,” she said. “But we were talking amongst ourselves — it was like it feels really good not to be on the reactive end. Like, we’re just going to continue on like we were already doing this. We didn’t expect this book to be now like on the number one best-selling list.” To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com
monday, august 17, 2020
BUDGE T BUST ?
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Budget cuts end 30-year program that transported disabled, injured students to class KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN editor-in-chief
File Photo by Julie Freijat | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
There are accessible parking spots outside of Holton hall, which houses the Student Access Center. Students with specific mobility needs can be accommodated through the center.
After three decades of offering the service, the Student Access Center will no longer operate its individual shuttle availability for students who need special transportation accommodations because of budget cuts. “Fiscal changes [and] budget reductions, in the past few years have impacted the funds available for the shuttle. This year’s financial impact was more than we can make up for and we can no longer support the service,” Jason
Maseberg-Tomlinson, Student Access Center director, said via email. The program was started to help accommodate students navigate a campus that had more vehicle traffic. At the time, K-State also “lacked curb-cuts,” which was a navigation barrier for students in wheelchairs, Maseberg-Tomlinson said. It’s looked different over the years. Recently, the service has operated using golf cart transportation. But before the Kansas State campus was pedestrian-centered, Maseberg-Tomlinson said the center used a van. Going forward, students who have need of
The Natatorium is expected to close in the next three years KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN editor-in-chief
The Natatorium, located near Ahearn Fieldhouse and Memorial Stadium, will close completely in the next three years due to its fiscal inviability. According to a press release, the indoor pool facility needs about $4 million in repairs and renovations identified in a 2018 review of the facility. On top of the $150,000 to $200,000 in extra utility costs to Kansas State annually, it is too cost-burdensome. “It’s just no longer fiscally viable or safe for the university to continue its use,” Jeff Morris, vice president for communications and marketing, said in the press release. Commonly referred to as the Nat, the space has been operational since 1975 and is home to the K-State Swim Club as well as the Manhattan Marlins Swim Club. It’s also used by UFM, the USD
383 school district and people with K-State Natatorium Recreational Services memberships.
The Natatorium will also be closed for the fall 2020 semester due to improper ventilation standards required of
campus spaces for COVID-19 prevention. Usage of the space in the spring semester remains uncertain.
special transportation accommodations will be asked to use the aTa Bus that runs routes on and off campus. Through the Demand Response program, individuals can request off-route “origin to destination” transportation between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on most weekdays. “It is a way for individuals with disabilities and injuries to access transportation services when they cannot get to regular routes,” Maseberg-Tomlinson said. “They can also take students around town and provide more service than we could.” In the last few years,
K-State 360 will be unavailable for 2020-2021 academic year due to budget, COVID-19 concerns ABBY LACY
staff writer
Archive Photo by Alanoud Alanazi | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Teams shoot water at each other during the Canoe Battleship hosted by the Union Program Council on Sept. 8, 2017 in the Natatorium.
Maseberg-Tomlinson said, aTa has worked to increase their reliability. For instance, the organization has added GPS into their vehicles to allow for route tracking and timing for riders. All K-State students can ride aTa Bus free of charge with a student ID, but Demand Response has an added fare when riding within Manhattan city limits. Additionally, aTa buses are wheelchair accessible. Students with specific concerns about the changing program can reach out to the Student Access Center or Office of Student Life.
The Center for Student Involvement will temporarily discontinue K-State 360 due to budget troubles and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The program was designed to emphasize the importance of outside involvement in co-curricular activities and help students better prepare themselves in applying for jobs post-graduation. Students could track their progress through attending activities that were placed in a series of categories with the intention of guiding students through their college experience to become well-rounded with a developed skill set. “For this year, there won’t be any program that will re-
place it,” Kelli Farris, executive director of Center for Student Involvement, said. “Our team is starting the process of looking to see what the program may look like in the future, and we hope to bring the program back or something similar that has a similar purpose back to campus for the 20212022 school year, but for the 2020-2021 school year, it will not exist.” Along with budget challenges, Farris said the uncertainty of how the novel coronavirus pandemic will affect the fall semester played a major role in the decision to temporarily discontinue K-State 360. “We just don’t know what To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com
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Despite pandemic, multicultural student center still on track to open in November KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN editor-in-chief
The Morris Family Multicultural Student Center is on track to open by its November unveiling ceremony, associate vice president for student life of diversity and multicultural student affairs Adrian Rodriguez said. The shell of the building is mostly finished. The next few months will focus on completing the interior of the building. “When students left campus in March, much of the ground and foundation work was being done so many have not seen the steel and outer shell go up,” Rodriguez said via email. “So we are incredibly excited to share all of the great progress that has occurred while the students have physically been away from campus.” In all, the project is expected to cost about $6.2 million, supported by private donors. Jim Bob Morris, Kansas State alumnus and former football player of Cherokee descent, was a major
donor for the project. “We are fortunate that we have not seen much of an increase in costs due to COVID-19,” Rodriguez said. On the east side of the K-State Student Union, the center sits on the site of a previously proposed expansion to the Union. Construction began on the center in the fall of 2019 with utility work. The project, which has been in the work for several years, hit a new stride in 2018 when K-State formed the Project Action Team made up of about 30 people from across the university. Later that year, President Richard Myers announced at KSUnite that about 66 percent of the funding needed for the project had already been secured. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 20. “However, we remain agile given the fluidity and external forces of COVID-19,” Rodriguez said. “Naturally, we will comply with COVID-19 guidelines for university events and limits on mass gatherings, so the planning for those activities will definitely take that into consideration.”
PROGRESS Kaylie McLaughlin | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
On Aug. 11, 2020, much of the skeleton of the Morris Family Multicultural Student Center is nearing completion. Associate vice president for student life of diversity and multicultural student affairs Adrian Rodriguez said the project is on track to be done by the Nov. 20 unveiling ceremony deadline.
Preparation for KSUnite continues with pandemic, #BlackAtKState in mind
Archive Photo by George Walker | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
The KSUnite event was held outside Anderson Hall on Nov. 14, 2017.
HALLIE EVERETT staff writer
The Morris Family Multicultural Student Center is on track to open by its November unveiling ceremony, associate vice president for student life of diversity and multicultural student affairs Adrian Rodriguez said. The shell of the building is mostly finished. The next few months will focus on completing the interior of the building. “When students left campus in March, much of the ground and foundation work was being done so many have not seen the steel and outer shell go up,” Rodriguez said via email. “So we are incredibly excited to share all of the great
progress that has occurred while the students have physically been away from campus.” In all, the project is expected to cost about $6.2 million, supported by private donors. Jim Bob Morris, Kansas State alumnus and former football player of Cherokee descent, was a major donor for the project. “We are fortunate that we have not seen much of an increase in costs due to COVID-19,” Rodriguez said. On the east side of the K-State Student Union, the center sits on the site of a previously proposed expansion to the Union. Construction began on the center in the fall of 2019 with utility work. The project, which
has been in the work for several years, hit a new stride in 2018 when K-State formed the Project Action Team made up of about 30 people from across the university. Later that year, President Richard Myers announced at KSUnite that about 66 percent of the funding needed for the project had already been secured. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 20. “However, we remain agile given the fluidity and external forces of COVID-19,” Rodriguez said. “Naturally, we will comply with COVID-19 guidelines for university events and limits on mass gatherings, so the planning for those activities will definitely take that into consideration.”
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ABSENCES HALLIE EVERETT staff writer
Kansas State will leave its “vague” excused absence policy in the past following faculty senate’s passage of specific rules. The previous policy briefly stated that determining student absences and any makeups were up to the discretion of the instructor of the course. This statement left faculty and students with some questions about what a student could miss class for and not be penalized. “There’s a lot of different reasons why students might be leaving to have an absence in class and yet we had no university-wide policy to get the professors an understanding of this is something that is excusable,” Brian Niehoff, associate provost for institutional effectiveness, said. The revised policy includes specific situations that students may miss class for and count as an excused absence, including any event in which a student represents K-State. Many instructors already practiced the main points of this policy in their own classrooms, but now every instructor and student will understand the guidelines. “There were a few reports that
there were some student athletes and some [Student Governing Association] representatives that were not having the ability to be able to make up their work when they were missing class because of some kind of university-sponsored event or where they had to be a K-State representative,” Melinda Markham, president of faculty senate and associate professor of applied human sciences, said. Members of SGA, faculty senate and university support staff leadership drafted the revised student absence policy more than a year ago, but it was only recently finalized and released. “It was a pretty lengthy process, but I think getting that many people involved we were able to have a pretty robust policy that we think is going to be really helpful for both students and instructors moving forward,” Markham said.
University clarifies what constitutes an excused absences with updated policy
Markham said. “I think that’s really important for students, for them to know what their rights are and know what the processes are and how they go about getting those things identified as excused
absences.” While the new policy includes more clear details than before, some aspects are still left up to the professor. “If there’s something that doesn’t
ABSENCE VERIFICATION
Students that need an absence verified can use the policy as a guide for that process, as well as what specifically counts as an excused absence. “I also think that it’s helpful that it outlines a lot of different situations that this might apply to and that there is detailed information about what office students should work with in order to get that identified as an excused absence,”
Archive Photo by Cooper Kinley | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
One of the newer classrooms in the Seaton Hall/ Regnier Hall complex on campus sits empty.
Legal battle between former K-State students, statehouse leadership ends in changed policies KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN editor-in-chief
Following about a year of litigation, statehouse demonstration rules will look different going forward after three former Kansas State students sued officials. The case was dismissed, a press release from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas says. In March 2019, Katie Sullivan, Jonathan Cole and Nate Faflick were detained at the statehouse after they unfurled banners calling out Re-
fit into any of these categories, they can still get excused from it and still get a chance to make up the work, it’s just up to the instructor’s discretion at that point,” Niehoff said.
publican legislators who were holding up Medicaid Expansion, saying they had “blood on their hands.” The former students were three of the five individuals involved in hanging the banners, but were the only ones detained by Capitol Police. Thea Perry and Sarah Oglesby-Dunegan were involved, but were not detained. They were also briefly banned from the statehouse for one year, facing trespassing charges if they didn’t comply. That ban was later revoked. Backed by the ACLU of
Kansas, Cole, Sullivan and Faflick sued three statehouse officials in federal court — administrative secretary Duane Goossen, administrative services director Tom Day and superintendent of the Highway Patrol Herman Jones. The case didn’t pertain solely to the punitive action, but related to the policy that resulted in the detention. “This case is about Kansas’s scheme of rules and practices that collectively suppress virtually every method of speech and expression at the Kansas Statehouse
building,” the complaint document says. “Official rules and regulations adopted by the Department of Administration and enforced by the Kansas Capitol Police impose prior restraints on assembly and speech by limiting the right to protest to people who have the support of an elected official, pass the Secretary of Administration’s standardless [sic] approval test, and wish to speak about an issue or event that is not spontaneous. “…[The Defendants’] standardless policy permit-
ting Capitol Police to impose indefinite premises bans on members of the public for Statehouse policy violations, regardless of the severity of the violation, is vague, overbroad, and unconstitutionally suppresses core petitioning activities without due process of law,” the document continues. At the time the suit was filed, Cole said the goal was ultimately to have the policies that limited freedom of expression overturned and “replaced” with new rules that don’t impede First Amendment rights in the Statehouse. Lauren Bonds, legal director for the ACLU of Kansas, said that’s exactly what the plaintiffs got.
“Our clients got essentially everything they’d sought through the lawsuit,” Bonds said. “We are happy with the outcome, and we are happy that Kansans can fully exercise their right to protest in the people’s house.” Under the new statehouse rules, permits aren’t necessary anymore to protest, gather or demonstrate in the capitol building, legislator sponsorship is not required for citizens seeking to reserve space in the building and signs aren’t prohibited in the building. Additionally, the Kansas Highway Patrol — under which Capitol Police falls — do not have the authority to ban people from the statehouse unless they violate a law.
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Health officer warns businesses not in compliance of health order can be closed BAILEY BRITTON staff writer
Businesses not in compliance with Local Health Order No. 17 can face fines or closure, local health officer Julie Gibbs said. “I am working with the Riley County Police Department to address violations,” Gibbs said via press release. Mayor Usha Reddi released pictures on her Facebook page from bars and restaurants in Aggieville on Thursday and Friday nights. Patrons at O’Malley’s can be seen standing closely together and not wearing masks. Violators of the health order are subject to criminal penalties, the Riley County Health Department said. “It is disappointing to see people in the commu-
nity make choices without regard for the safety of others,” Gibbs said. “Most business owners have been following guidelines and doing everything in their power to slow the spread of the virus. Those that haven’t will face action, which can include closure. Some communities in Kansas have closed bars and nightclubs. I hope we don’t get to that point, but closing certain categories of business is one of the options available.” Gibbs can ban public gatherings as the local health officer as well as take other measures necessary to control the spread of COVID-19. At this point, all business closures are voluntary. Health Order No. 17 limits restaurants and bars to opening seating areas only
and closes all dance floors. The order also requires patrons to sit 6 feet apart. “Again, who are the enforcers?” Reddi said. “After the past 17 orders, are we still in the ‘educating’ phase. Students are not the blame. This is on us.” Those in violation of local health orders can be fined up to $100 for each offense upon conviction. At least 27 percent of positive cases of COVID-19 in Riley County are linked to bars and restaurants. For concerns or possible violations of health orders, contact the health department at rileycountycovid19@gmail.com or 785587-4526. They will forward complaints to the health department. 911 should not be called for health order violations.
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Emergency campus safety app Rave Guardian will replace LiveSafe ANNA SCHMIDT staff writer
Over the summer, the Kansas State Police Department launchd the Rave Guardian app to replace the LiveSafe app. Students can download the Rave Guardian app and use it to assist them in emergency situations. Features on the app include one-click emergency
dial, campus alerts and updates, a “Safe Walk” virtual campus safety escort, twoway text communication with campus police, optional anonymous mode for texts with police, and a call directory with campus resources. Public information officer of campus police Bradli Millington said the switch from LiveSafe to Rave Guardian should bring minor changes. “There’s a few notable dif-
ferences, but it’s basically right in line with the LiveSafe app,” Millington said. The biggest difference between the apps was the Guardian app’s compatibility with the KSUPD email alert system. “[Rave Guardian] is linked to the same company that runs our alerts for the campus, the ones that we send out our mass notifications on,” Millington said. “So this is that company, so it’ll be a lot easier to get, say
SAFE T Y
for instance we send out a tornado warning on campus, this will automatically pick that up and send it out through the app too. It combines it into one system so we’re able to get a lot more out.” The switch was made primarily for budgetary reasons. “One of the big motivating factors behind the switch was the price of LiveSafe,” Millington said. “We were on the ground floor when it first
came out and it was a fairly reasonable cost. We got a one year extension on it and then it was going up considerably. So much that it wasn’t feasible in these times to keep funding that. The Guardian side was a lot more cost-effective and we got some good benefits from it.” Millington said that usage of the safety apps by students is low, and they are hoping that more students will get on
board. He emphasized that the app can be very useful for students in several ways. “It’s monitored 24/7 by us down at dispatch just like a phone call,” Millington said. “It’s a good source if you can’t make a phone call, there’s an app and no one knows what you’re doing.” He advises people to download the app when they come back to campus, look it over and use it.
Fighting fires: Students get real-world experience through Manhattan Fire Department program ANNA WEIGEL staff writer
In June of 1985, Manhattan’s student firefighter program began when nine Kansas State students were hired by the just opened Headquarters Fire Station. Since then, the program has grown to hire 12 students at a time to serve as student firefighters.
The program is considered a work-study program with the university, where student firefighters are paid and are allowed to work up to 1,000 hours per year, fire chief Scott French said. “We don’t ask them to do anything different than our own firefighters,” French said. “About the only difference is the cut-off on hours per year, and
that we do work around their school schedules.” Karly Christensen, junior in psychology and student firefighter, said that she found the application for the program while looking for part-time jobs and decided to apply despite her limited knowledge in the field. “It’s been very educational,” Christensen said. “I had no idea what to ex-
Archive Photo by Logan Wassall | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
The Manhattan Fire Department tends to a house fire near 10th St. and Kearney St. on April 20, 2018. The fire started just before 5 p.m.
pect with this career field. I don’t have anyone in my family that has ever done this, so it was really eye-opening to see what the guys that I work alongside go through, what training they do, and how dedicated they are to their job and the community surrounding them.” Three student firefighters are assigned to each shift, which typically goes from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m the following day during the week, with occasional 24-hour shifts on weekends. Students average four to five shifts per month and during semester breaks and over summer they work more 24hour shifts. To be eligible for the program, undergraduate students must be enrolled in 12 credit hours per semester with Kansas State or Manhattan Christian College, or 6 hours for graduate students. Undergraduate students are required to maintain a semester grade point average of at least 2.0, and graduate students are required to maintain a 3.0. Christensen said the job is unique because they expect students to put schoolwork first and want to see them succeed in school as well as their job. “The community, [gets] that partnership of working with students that are here in town, and we get an opportunity to recruit local or within the community,” French said. “[Student firefighters] provide a valuable service at a reduced cost to the taxpayer, because it is through Kansas work-study. To the student, it’s a part-time job, it’s a resume-builder. It’s an opportunity for them to look at the fire service and see if that might be a career they are inter-
ested in pursuing in the future.” Christensen said she would emphasize to others interested in the program that the student firefighter program is not limited to men, and that her experience as a female student firefighter has been beneficial in both her professional and personal life. Students who are hired for the program must complete the same six-week fire academy training that is required of full-time hires, which typically takes place two weeks after the spring semester. Students also must complete the same physical performance assessment as full-time hires. “It’s a commitment. When you’re working here, you’re working beside professional staff that expect professionalism out of you,” French said. “There are expectations, but it can be very rewarding. I encourage anybody to do some public service type work.” French said the program will continue as usual this semester despite the movement to online classes. Many students continue on from the student firefighter program to serve in other fire departments across the nation. Currently, 16 former student firefighters serve in the Manhattan department, including French, the deputy chief and two battalion chiefs. “[The program] has been successful for us as a community and a department, and we see a lot of other departments that have reached out and asked us how we do it and how they might be able to implement that in their community,” French said. “It’s a good program and we are glad that we’re a part of it.”
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REVIEW ANNA SCHMIDT staff writer
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is the story of William Kamkwamba, a boy who grew up in Malawi, Africa. K-State First chose this true story as the university common read for 2020. At age 9, William takes an interest in science. He looks forward to taking science classes in secondary school and sets a goal to eventually do something with his life beyond farming, the profession of most Malawi citizens and his father. At that same time, a famine hits his country. The famine deeply affects his family to the
point where they are no longer able to afford his school fees. Although William is forced to drop out, he eventually finds his way back to science when he discovers a physics book in the library. The book he found is extremely enlightening and William decides to make a windmill, which his village could use to generate electricity. He gathers materials with the help of his friend and successfully creates the windmill. I loved reading this book and following along in the tragic and triumphant moments of William’s extremely eventful childhood and young adult years.
As I read, I was taken aback by the natural aptitude William had for science at such a young age. His ability to use experimentation and library books to generate electricity for a struggling town was truly a gift. William didn’t just have a natural ability. He also had a strikingly strong spirit and an ability to work hard amid tragedy. I took three lessons away from William and this book. The first is science and technology is mind-blowingly powerful. When used properly, there is the ability to drastically change lives positively. The second lesson is feel-
Helpful hints: How to remain connected with others while socially distanced HALLIE EVERETT staff writer
With COVID-19 forcing people to remain socially distant from friends, you may find yourself needing inspiration to connect in a safe way. Here are some suggestions to hangout in-person or virtually. Remember, if you are meeting in-person, it is best to do so outside, and you should always bring your mask along with you. 1. A BACKYARD HANGOUT Meet up with friends or family in your backyard or a park to sit at least six feet apart and catch up with everyone. If you want an activity, consider starting a book club and meeting weekly to discuss your book.
2. A VIRTUAL MEAL If you want to hangout with friends, but are unable to meet in-person, get together on a video platform such as Zoom or Facetime. Share a meal virtually while catching up on what everyone is watching on Netflix, reading or where your favorite take-out meals come from. 3. A WALK Get together with a group of a few friends and find some trails to take walks on while enjoying each other’s company. Even simply walking around the neighborhood to get away from the computer and out for some fresh air is great when you need a break. If you’re not in the same household as your companions, make sure to wear a mask and try to keep your distance.
K-State First Book has motivational message, contains many lessons ing bad for yourself will never serve you well. William had a notably difficult life; one that is worthy of sympathy or a simple break from working. What I loved about him, however, was that he resisted the urge to wallow in his hardships, and he made himself strong enough to handle them. The third lesson is if you’re passionate about something, lean into it. Despite being taken out of school, William still pursued science. I think that all of us have something we’re passionate about in the way William was with science. He proved that with enough persistence
and dedication, we all can do well in life and achieve the things we hope to. Williams’s story is not just incredible, it is nearly unbelievable. A young boy who had not completed his education used metal scraps and information from library books to build a windmill that would generate electricity for a village, all while watching his family and friends struggle throughout a famine. This book was a reminder for me that while life right now is challenging and unpredictable, so has it been for many people for many years around the world. I would of course recommend reading this book and
going on William’s journey with him. It will leave you inspired, motivated to do your part where the world needs you and simply in awe. Anna Schmidt is the Collegian community editor and a junior in mass communications. She is also a student senator for the College of Arts and Sciences in the Student Governing Association. 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. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian. com.
HANG-OUT
4. AN OUTDOOR ACTIVIT Y Gather in an open area to play some outdoor games that are low-contact to allow for social distancing. Playing soccer or golfing allows for physical activity while participants are properly distanced. For convenience and ease, play sports or games that don’t require a lot of equipment or money. 5. A QUARANTHEME If you are a part of a club or other group that meets virtually regularly, plan a theme for each time you meet. These could be what everyone wears, shares or brings and it gives the group the chance to get to know each other’s personalities. Some possible ideas are twinning day, throwback day or bring your pet day.
Archive Photo by Katelin Woods | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Alyssa Hammond, then-sophomore in kinesiology, prepares to throw a frisbee to her friend.
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CAMPUS CULTURE Questionnaire helps students identify their top five Strengths combination HALLIE EVERETT staff writer
Most students who come and go through campus at some point take the CliftonStrengths Assessment, a questionnaire to determine what people’s top five Strengths are. Some examples of these Strengths are empathy, connectedness, harmony, woo or adaptability. Mike Finnegan, assis-
tant professor with Staley School of Leadership Studies and campus lead for the Strengths Initiative, said this assessment can benefit students in unexpected ways by helping them take their talents and help them to invest time into those. “Research shows that students who know their Strengths and play to their Strengths are most engaged in the work that they do and when setbacks or obstacles
happen, they can rebound at a faster rate,” Finnegan said “For instance, people that know their strengths and play to their strengths, if a challenge happens, then they’re more resilient. We think about Strengths as an agency to help us be more resilient in our hopes, dreams and aspirations to reach goal attainment.” Along with the impact the Strengths has on each individual, it provides the
opportunity to develop and improve how they interact with others when they become familiar with it. “Strengths provides us with a shared language to talk about talent and to talk about what’s right with people. I love Strengths because it’s asset-based as opposed to deficit-based,” Finnegan said. “The premise behind Strengths is let’s talk about what’s right with people, let’s talk about where people are
Life after retirement: Pat Bosco’s days are ‘much different’ LEXI GARCIA staff writer
After nearly five decades at K-State, Pat Bosco retired last year from his positions as vice president for student life and dean of students. Bosco said he’s humbled and touched by the response from current students, alumni, family members and people from all over since he retired. “It’s been quite a whirlwind experience,” Bosco said. “I’ve been humbled by the entire retirement ceremonies that were held this last spring and throughout the summer and still going on.” The COVID-19 pandemic on top of retirement has had a definite impact on his lifestyle, but Bosco is taking it in stride. “I just got through vacuuming part of our home, not my favorite chore,” Bosco said jokingly. “I’m the assistant coordinator of vacuuming. My wife is very particular about how she wants things done. “We have our podcast ‘Boscology 101’ and we’re putting together the final pieces of the last two or three for the spring,”
Bosco continued. “Watching [New York] Governor [Andrew] Cuomo and his daily briefings, the days are much different than what they used to be.” Bosco said seeing the success of students who come to K-State is what he misses most. “You never really appre-
ciate the impact of meeting a prospective student in high school or community college and having them come to our university, a university that I love, and go on and graduate,” he said. “Continue to provide voices for those who have no voice. Whether it’s in the state
or in their local community, around the country or around the world. That’s probably the thing that’s most touching to me to reminisce and also celebrate the successes of others.” When he reminisces about his time at K-State, Bosco said he feels he can’t thank every-
thriving as opposed to what’s wrong with people. “ In order to have more conversation with the Strengths, Finnegan said he’s been intentional in initiating a peer-coaching service. “We can reach out and encourage students to then sign up for a Strengths peer-coaching session so they can learn more in-depth about how to basically name, claim and aim their Strengths towards their goals, their hopes, their dreams and their aspirations,” Finnegan said. Caroline Brock, senior in communication studies and a peer coach, said she enjoys each opportunity she has to connect with another student and walk them through their Strengths. “Whether they’re super familiar with them or can’t even remember their top five, I’m there to help them get better acquainted with what
they’re really good at and learn how to leverage their Strengths in every aspect of their life,” Brock said. “The conversations that come out of it are so rewarding and it gives me so much joy to watch the gears start turning and the confidence start building during each session.” With each session, she said she is reminded that each individual’s Strengths are different. “It’s amazing to me how unique every top five combo is and how they work specifically for each person,” Brock said. “It’s only helped confirm in my mind how truly special each student is and how much they have to offer the world. It’s such a privilege to help people realize their own worth.” Students interested in scheduling a virtual peer-coaching session can email strengths@ksu.edu.
one around him enough. “As many times as I had the opportunity to thank the people around me, I always feel like I could do more,” Bosco said. “I was surrounded by some incredible student life administrators and current student leaders. They cared a great deal about student success at our university. So I always feel like I could nev-
er really thank them enough.” Bosco specifically mentioned parents who volunteered and helped us raise money, the foundation and alumni staff.
To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com
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Daily Mass
Monday-Thursday 9:10 p.m. Friday 12:10 p.m. Chaplains: Fr. Gale Hammerschmidt Fr. Drew Hoffman Archive Photo by Kelly Pham | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Pat Bosco overlooks the crowd at the KSUnite Rally at Anderson Lawn on Nov. 14, 2017.
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32 OPINION: Kansas State finish could finish revised season 6-4
monday, august 17, 2020
PREVIEW
CAMERON BRADLEY
year as well, this will most likely be K-State’s first loss of the season.
The Big 12 announced the revised 2020 football schedule after many discussions regarding COVID-19 and the new schedule includes nine conference games and one non-conference game for the Wildcats. The new season begins on Sept.12 and finishes Dec. 5 before the Big 12 Championship game on Dec. 12. After finishing last season with an impressive 8-5 record in Coach Chris Klieman’s first year at the helm for the Wildcats, it will be interesting to see just how Kansas State will perform in a season unlike any other.
OCT. 3 VS TEXAS TECH (WIN) Texas Tech finished 2019 with a 4-8 record and was probably one of the strangest teams last year in the Big 12. From defeating Oklahoma State 45-35 to an unthinkable 34-37 loss at Kansas, the Red Raiders 2019 campaign was filled with plenty of highs and lows. With five of their last six losses of the season being by 10 points or less — including a 27-30 loss to K-State — Texas Tech could have won far more games than they did, but they just couldn’t finish. Texas Tech will most likely improve this season, but this one should be a win for the Wildcats.
SEPT. 12 ARKANSAS STATE (WIN) Arkansas State finished off their 2019 season 8-5 and with a Camellia Bowl victory over Florida International. The Red Wolves bring one of the Sun Belt Conferences best offenses into 2020, averaging 439 yards and 34 points per game in 2019. The Red Wolves struggle on defense, however, finishing 124th in the nation last year. They also have a weak offensive line that was 119th last year in sacks allowed. With all of that being said, K-State should open up 2020 with a victory.
OCT. 10 AT TCU (LOSS) The most likely dark horse in the Big 12 is TCU, finishing 5-7 last year and just missing a bowl game. The Horned Frogs lost six games last year by one possession, including a 17-24 loss at K-State. Freshman quarterback Max Duggan put up solid stats last year, throwing for over 2,000 yards and rushing for 555 yards, but was also very inconsistent. If the Horned Frogs can turn those close losses from last year into wins this year and Duggan can get himself figured out, watch out. In a toss-up, TCU might just be able to shock the Wildcats in this one.
assistant sports editor
SEPT. 26 AT OKLAHOMA (LOSS) If there is any team that nobody in the Big 12 wants to start their conference slate with, it’s Oklahoma. Last year, the Sooners finished the season 12-2, won the Big 12 title over Baylor and then were dominated by eventual national champion LSU 28-63 in the college football playoff. K-State defeated Oklahoma 4841 last year during the homecoming game. Even though the Sooners lost quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to the NFL draft, Oklahoma still looks to put up big numbers on offense with quarterback Spencer Rattler looking to be next breakout quarterback in the Big 12. Even though K-State took last year’s matchup in Manhattan and the Wildcats could keep it close this
Big 12 in total offense and scoring offense. Even with that, the Mountaineers barely missed a bowl game and took Baylor and Oklahoma State to the brink. They also took down the Wildcats in Manhattan last year 2420. Expect K-State to come in hungry and looking for revenge when they visit WVU. Just like TCU, this game will be a toss-up, but K-State should be able to pull it out. NOV. 7 VS OKLAHOMA STATE (LOSS) Chuba Hubbard, one of last years most electric stars, rushed for 2,094 yards and also made 21 touchdowns. He will be a problem for Big 12 defenses again in 2020. Finishing 8-5 overall last year, the Cowboys are a team that looks
like they could win the Big 12 one week, and then lose to teams like Texas Tech the next. This game is going to come down to which OSU team shows up in Manhattan and this very well could be a loss for the Wildcats though. NOV. 21 AT IOWA STATE (WIN) The Cyclones finished 7-6 in the Big 12 last year — a disappointment after being considered a dark horse to win the Big 12 title. With Bryce Purdy still at quarterback and Breece Hall becoming a rising star at running back, the Cyclones still could be very dangerous in 2020. This game will be another classic tight battle between the Wildcats and the Cyclones, but expect K-State to come out on top once again. NOV. 28 AT BAYLOR (LOSS) Not many people know what to expect out of Baylor in 2020. Finishing last year 11-3, the Bears were as close as they could come to be a legit contender for the CFP. With previous head coach Matt
Rhule gone, the Bears brought in LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda. With Charlie Brewer back at QB but having a defense with minimal experience, it’s going to be a coin flip whether the Bears will be a contender again or not. Even with the uncertainty, this one will probably still go to Baylor. DEC. 5 VS TEXAS (WIN) Texas has been such an interesting team over the past few years it is hard to say if they truly are back or not. Going 8-5 last year, there were glimpses of greatness from the Longhorns such as their dismantling of Utah in the Alamo Bowl, but also a strange loss to TCU last year. Texas got away with a close game against K-State last season, beating the Wildcats by a field goal as time expired. With it being senior day against the Longhorns and the Wildcats having a bitter taste in their mouth, the Wildcats might just have a chance to knock off the Longhorns and finish the season at 6-4.
OCT. 24 VS KU (WIN) Kansas went 3-9 in Les Miles’ debut season with the Jayhawks, and while there were flashes of something new brewing up in Lawerence — such as wins against Boston College and Texas Tech — it looks like it is going to take time for Miles to turn KU around. K-State defeated KU 38-10 in Lawrence last year. As the rivalry turns back to Manhattan, K-State should be able to up their win streak against Kansas to 12 games this year. OCT. 31 AT WEST VIRGINIA (WIN) West Virginia began rebuilding last year and it showed when they finished the season 5-7. The Mountaineers finished dead last in the
File Photo by Logan Wassall | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Senior running back Harry Trotter runs the ball in for a touchdown during K-State’s football game against Nicholls State in Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Aug. 31, 2019. The Wildcats took the Colonels 49-14.