K A N S A S
S TAT E vol. 126, issue 06 friday, sept. 4, 2020
kstatecollegian.com
G AM E D AY P R E VI E W Athletics rolls out altered fall schedules and implements new protocols for COVID-19 prevention
CAMERON BRADLEY sports editor
COVID-19 has taken plenty of things with it — including sports. Now that the country is starting to reopen, sports are slowly returning, but not without some changes.
FOOTBALL
Kansas State football will be playing a nine plus one model schedule for the fall 2020 season. The model allows the Wildcats to have nine conference games and face on non-conference opponent. This is different than the traditional twelve game format the Wildcats usually play each year. That model includes three non-conference games that are normally all played at the beginning of the season. The season is also starting later than usual for the football team, as their season opener against non-conference foe Arkansas State is scheduled for Sept. 12 — the latest season opener for the Wildcats since the 90s. The Big 12 Championship is stillset for Saturday, Dec. 12 and the College Football Playoff is scheduled to start on Jan. 1, 2021.
K-State will host five home games this year, with things looking a lot different in the stands. Bill Snyder Family Stadium was approved to have about 25 percent capacity on game days — equal to about 12,500 fans. Fans that attend games must also abide by different policies to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Face coverings must be worn when inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Tailgating was also eliminated from parking lots controlled by K-State Athletics and satellite lots that are operated by K-State groups. There will be no re-entry to the stadium once a spectator decides to leave as well. Current K-State season ticket holders had the option to roll over their season tickets to the 2021 season and instead purchase one of the two mini-plan options for the 2020 season: a three-game mini-plan featuring the home opener against Arkansas State on Sept. 12, Texas Tech on Oct. 3 and Oklahoma State on Nov. 7, or a two-game min-plan featuring Kansas on Oct. 24 and Texas on Dec. 5. Each student that purchased a student pass before the deadline will
CAMPUS LIVING
Residence halls see a 20 percent decrease in residents from previous year
Page 05
As COVID-19 cases surpass 1,000, health officer urges compliance with restrictions
Page 03
File Photo by Logan Wassall | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Bill Snyder Family Stadium is just one of the many venues that will have to adapt to new COVID-19 protocols during the 2020 season. also receive a ticket for each football game. The football team has also had a player opt-out this year over fears of the virus —senior defensive back Jonathan Alexander did so on Aug. 7. Alexander tested positive for the virus over the summer.
VOLLEYBALL
Last week, K-State volleyball revealed they would be playing a 16-match con-
ference-only format for the 2020 fall season. In a normal volleyball season, Big 12 Conference teams play twice at different times in the season, with each team hosting the other once. This type of scheduling format was changed to reduce travel for each team. Instead, the schedule will feature a two-match weekend series — Thursday through Saturday — at a singular location, with the
matches played on consecutive days. The team that earns the highest winning percentage across the season will be crowned Big 12 Champion. The conference championship will be the only title teams across the country will be playing for as the 2020 NCAA Volleyball tournament was postponed until the spring. see page
10, “PREVIEW”
How instructors with children are navigating the pandemic
Page 06
Volleyball team prepares for shortened season with new protocols
Page 09
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friday, september 4, 2020
ON THE COVER
FALL EDITORIAL BOARD File Photo by John Benfer COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Life in Wefald Hall, like other residence halls on campus, has been affected by COVID-19. Everything from building capacity to dining hall operations looks different.
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.
CORRECTIONS If you see something that should be corrected, call editor-in-chief Bailey Britton at 785-370-6356 or email collegian@kstatecollegian.com The Collegian, a student newspaper at Kansas State University, is published by Collegian Media Group. It is published Mondays 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, 2020
Bailey Britton Editor-in-Chief
Anna Schmidt Opinions Editor
Kaylie McLaughlin Managing Editor
Gabby Farris Design Chief
Julie Freijat Deputy Managing Editor Copy Chief
Cameron Bradley Sports Editor
Emma Witter News Editor Sean Schaper Assistant News Editor Rebecca Vrbas Culture Editor Madison Daniel Assistant Culture Editor
Nathan Enserro Assistant Sports Editor Dalton Wainscott Multimedia Editor Dylan Connell Deputy Multimedia Editor
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friday, september 4, 2020
PUBLIC HEALTH As COVID-19 cases surpass 1,000, health officer urges compliance with restrictions KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN managing editor
The Riley County Health Department reported 123 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the local total to 1,045. Since Aug. 17 — the first day of classes at Kansas State — the county has added more than 550 new cases of COVID-19. As far as cases go on Kansas State's campus, Lafene Health Center is reporting a positivity rate of 26.40 percent for the previous week. The county has also identified another COVID-19 outbreak associated with K-State with the addition of six cases from the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Of the 11 outbreaks in the county, 10 are related to K-State students. The current outbreaks in the county are: • Alpha Delta Pi with six cases • Alpha Xi Delta with six cases • Chi Omega with five cases • Delta Sigma Phi with 19 cases • Kappa Delta with seven cases • Kappa Kappa Gamma with six cases • K-State Football with 10 cases • Phi Delta Theta with 21 cases • Pi Beta Phi with five with • Sigma Alpha Epsilon with six cases • USD 384 School District Office with seven cases
"Have faith that we will get through this," local health officer Julie Gibbs said. "We are all ready to get back to life as we once knew it so let's keep practicing those methods we know are effective and we will get there." The majority of new cases have been reported in the 18 to 24-year-old age range which does usually indicate a high volume of mild cases, Gibbs said, but it is possible for young people to suffer from severe complications. It is also possible for people in that age range to infect higher-risk individuals unknowingly. Additionally, 447 of those who previously tested positive are considered recovered, leaving 592 active cases in the county. Riley County has documented six COVID-19-related deaths. The most recent death was announced on Wednesday after a 91-year-old male resident of Homestead of Manhattan Assisted Living Facility passed away at Stormont Vail hospital in Topeka. 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
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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 get tested for COVID-19 at Lafene Health Center, call your primary care provider or the health center to discuss whether you qualify for a test. Appointments may be necessary. 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.
ksucare@ksu.edu (785) 532-6444.
The Center for Advocacy, Response, and Education (CARE) provides assistance for those in our K-State community who have been victimized by sexual or dating violence, stalking, and harassment. We can assist survivors in working with offices and agencies on and off campus who help with law enforcement, legal, medical, and academic concerns.
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‘ Telehealth’ may be the new normal for all types of resources, campus health officials say GABBY TURVEY staff writer
What happens when face-to-face health appointments are no longer safe? Many health resources at Kansas State had no option but to transfer online at the beginning of the pandemic in response to this concern. Counseling Services is one on-campus resource that plans to serve students virtually for the time being. Kodee Walls, assistant director and training director at Counseling Services, said the toughest obstacle to overcome was “losing the depth of connection which happens when we can meet in person.” A face-to-face connection is not easily replaceable, Walls said, but even when providing telehealth,
working in counseling makes forming connection a necessity. For physical health appointments, different complications arose. Dr. Scott Degan, physical therapist at Lafene Health Center, said it's difficult to physically examine a patient through video calls. However, the move to online services during the spring semester brought many new opportunities to other on-campus services. Cats’ Cupboard, now considered an extension of Lafene's services, saw a significant growth in online ordering when the pandemic first began. "The hardest concept we faced was the labor," Sarah Hoyt, operations lead at Cats’ Cupboard, said. Hoyt said her employees put in the work Cats'
Cupboard needed to operate online and that it felt amazing to provide a purpose for so many people. While deep connections may take more work to develop, Walls said virtual capabilities have not concerned Counseling Services. In-person appointments have moved to Zoom, and for students without video cameras, Walls said phone consultations and therapy sessions are available as well. For many students, telehealth is a new concept that can be stressful to try. To offer optimal therapy sessions, Dr. Degan recommended students take their calls in a "quiet, non-disruptive area and come with questions written down." Walls said connecting on time and establishing a
comfortable environment will help students prepare for virtual counseling. Most communication is nonverbal, she said, so it's also important for students to have good lighting. Depending on state regulations, Dr. Degan said he anticipates that some insurance plans may start expanding coverage to include telehealth services. Walls also said that online services can be very useful to students since they do not have to worry about “running to Counseling Services for an appointment between classes." Still, she said she prefers in-person therapy to create better bonds. To minimize foot traffic, Lafene has asked students to make appointments before visiting in-person by calling (785) 532-6544.
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FOR STUDENTS, BY STUDENTS Senior’s petition calling for contact tracing reaches 415 signatures PAIGE EICHKORN
For me, what education means is actually using what you learn in a real society to actually make your community a better spot to live in PRANAVSAVANUR senior in biology
staff writer
Pranav Savanur, senior in biology and pre-med, is the student behind a contact tracing survey made through Google Forms that was sent out to Kansas State students and the Manhattan community about two weeks ago. The responses were unanimous — contact tracing is necessary to prevent COVID-19 spread. Contact tracing is the process whereby public health officials figure out who a person with a confirmed positive case interacted with and where they went in the community while they might have been shedding the virus. This process identifies other people who may need to be tested for COVID-19 or those who should go into quarantine. Savanur said the idea was in collaboration with Jennifer Miller, director of health promotions at Lafene Health Center. He came to Miller in search of information about how contact tracing would work when students return to campus. “We had initial conversations about how K-State’s trying to figure out how to stop an outbreak and how to actually implement measures,” Savanur said. “[We] shared mutual concern that if there is an outbreak, it might be because of students and the decisions they make off-campus or in their living situation. We both feel that the contact tracing program is something which K-State should have.” After completing his contact tracing certification through Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health, Savanur said he was curious why K-State wouldn’t have a tracing program in place to help slow the spread of COVID-19. He continued discussion with Miller, who told him the university’s legal team was discussing how they would implement that kind of a program. Student support was needed for the program to move forward, Savanur said. He knew he had to do something to get his peers on board. “I thought this was a perfect opportunity to draft a call to action for the administration so that they create a contact tracing program which works with the Riley County Health Department and is led by students, for students,” Savanur said. The petition to bring contact tracing to the university was meant to help move the approval process along. The survey included a question Savanur said was very important: “Why do you personally believe that implementing a contract tracing program would be beneficial?” Students’ responses were “paragraphs long,” he said. The survey received 415 responses that were unanimously in favor of the petition for contact tracing measures at K-State. “That was a really happy moment,” he said. The Health Professions Office has access to all the responses from the Google Form and is currently working on the legal aspect of the program. Since there’s no vaccine for COVID-19 yet, contact tracing is the best way to prevent transmission, Savanur said. The practice has
Photo Courtesy of Pranav Savanur
Pranav Savanur, senior in biology, collaborated with Lafene Health Center leadership to create a contact tracing survey using Google Forms. After reading the findings from the survey, he started a petition calling for heightened measures to slow the spread of the virus on campus. existed in public health for quite some time. “People think it’s invading their privacy, and it’s coming across as victim-blaming or it’s just directed at the person who got COVID, but it’s actually not that way,” he said. Contact tracing is completely confidential. If someone tests positive, the contact tracer talks to them on the phone and helps them safely isolate and get all the information they need. Then, the tracer makes individual calls to anyone the first patient came into contact with, and so on. Contact tracers also help the infected individuals navigate the process of getting treatment for complications if it becomes necessary, Savanur said. “It’s more of an empathetic, person-to-person
conversation where they help people safely isolate,” Savanur said. Concerning the multiple active outbreaks associated with K-State, Savanur said solely blaming the administration is the wrong way to go. “Holding the administration accountable and blaming them are two very different things,” he said. “Just taking that responsibility of being the leader for your community is something I would urge every K-Stater to do.” Savanur said he thinks the motivation behind a contact tracing program should be for K-State, by K-State. “For me, what education means is actually using what you learn in a real society to actually make your community a better spot to live in,” he said.
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CA MP US BAILEY BRITTON
editor-in-chief
Despite an abundance of online classes and social distancing guidelines, 2,770 students reside in on-campus residence halls this semester. Derek Jackson, associate vice president of Housing and Dining Services, said last year, 3,440 students lived on campus. The 20 percent reduction in on-campus residents helps Housing and Dining ensure students are not sharing too many facilities. Housing and Dining’s goal “was to get to about 70 percent of the normal capacity on a dorm floor,” or four students per bathroom facility, Jackson said. Karlynn Vossen, fresh-
man in animal sciences and industry, said in an email her floor’s bathroom in Haymaker Hall is very clean and is cleaned every weekday morning. “We have about 12 people on our community side,” Vossen said. “I would say — at least on my floor — everyone wears their mask even when just going to the bathroom or to the showers, but I know some other floors don’t follow the rules as strictly.” On Vossen’s floor, the lobby also has a limited capacity of 12 people at a time. She is not sure how many people live in the suite wing of her floor. In addition to reducing capacity, Housing and Dining has set aside 418 spaces for quarantine and isolation.
“We held apartments in Jardine offline,” Jackson said. “We also have Van Zile Hall.” Jackson said Van Zile is used to isolate people under investigation for COVID-19 — students who have been tested, but who have not received their test results yet. In Van Zile, 68 beds are available for this purpose. The other 350 isolation rooms are at Jardine. Students in isolation have either tested positive for COVID-19 or are waiting for their results. Quarantine is used for close contacts of people who tested positive. Isolation in Jardine or Van Zile isn’t limited to on-campus residents, Jackson said. Students living off campus can also reside in dorms or Jardine
losing track of time?
Residence halls home to 2,770 students — a 20 percent decrease from last year
apartments during their isolation or quarantine periods. “Right now, we’ve got somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 [students] in isolation, which includes off-campus students,” Jackson said. “We have about 35 students in quarantine as of [Thursday] morning.” Jackson said there is a “COVID care team” which manages isolation and quarantine operations. They help students relocate for the 14day period and make sure rules related to COVID-19 prevention are followed. Nicholas Lander, associate director of Housing and Dining Services, said four people are part of the care team. “We’re the ones that contact students that live in the residence halls or Jardine and tell them if they need to isolate or quarantine,” Lander said. “Then, we work with them to figure out what option is going to work best for them. In some cases, students choose to go home, but most of them need to stay on campus. We
can work with them to move them to any of our isolation or quarantine spaces.” Lander said contact is made immediately once a positive test is received and the resident is moved within an hour to an isolation room. “We also notify roommates if it’s a positive case,” Lander said. “We’ll notify the roommate and let them know they need to quarantine and essentially go through the same process with them.” Resident assistants aren’t involved in this process. Their role, Jackson said, is focusing on normal, day-to-day resident activities and keeping residents safe. “Making sure that students are wearing a mask, making sure that people are social distancing, and activities are done in a way that is following university guidance standards,” Jackson said. While RAs are ensuring those guidelines are followed, Vossen said it can be difficult to do in the building. “Most people don’t follow
the social distancing guidelines because the hallways are too small and, frankly, you are either just trying to leave or just get back up to your room,” Vossen said. “I have been in an elevator with at least five other people at one time which was definitely not distanced.” While this isn’t the experience Vossen was hoping to have her freshman year, she said she’s still finding ways to connect with her fellow residents. “Everyone on the floor is nice, and we make plans to go out and do things like go to eat together or play a sport outside,” she said. The biggest inconvenience, Vossen said, is that the Derby Dining Center remains closed. On Friday evenings and all day Saturdays, she and her floormates have to walk across campus to Kramer to get a meal. Dining centers do serve a smaller amount of students but are still limiting capacities to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
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File Photo by John Benfer | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP Life in Wefald Hall, like other residence halls on campus, has been affected by COVID-19. Everything from building capacity to dining hall operations looks different.
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How educators with children are navigating the pandemic ABBY LACY staff writer
All professors and instructors are dealing with the difficult task of adapting their courses for the adjusted fall semester, but some have the added challenge of assisting their children with distance learning on top of that. Kelly Glasscock, instructor of journalism and mass communications and executive director of the Journalism Education Association, said he expects balancing his at-home work life and his children’s distance education programs to bring challenges. “At first, it will be a learning curve,” Glasscock said. “There will be awkward moments on Zooms and then meetings in classes, but I think everybody understands that.” While students and professors already have some experience learning online, Glasscock acknowledged that dealing with distractions at home is an ongoing adjustment. “It’s still embarrassing if the cat jumps on the keyboard, or the dog comes in or the kids
are coming in,” he said. “But everybody else, it happens to them too, and so you chuckle about it, and you move on.” When making decisions for their children, Glasscock said he and his wife felt that stability was one of the most important guiding factors. As a result, Glasscock said they chose to go “fully virtual” with their children’s classes this fall. “One reason is that we have a bit more control over the setting in the situation,” he said. “Being able to have more control over that setting for them means there’s more consistency, and we felt that consistency should be a priority.” After considering all her options, Katie Olsen, assistant professor of journalism and mass communications, came to a decision she believed would be best for her own son and the rest of her family. “I have a kindergartener, and on the days he is not in the actual school, he will be going to ieDiscoveries, a unique learning environment where they will be helping guide Connor, my 5-year-old, through the virtual learning process,” Olsen said. “We’re
ADAPTING
lucky to do this as both my husband and I work full-time.” Although Olsen will be working from home, she said she spends a lot of her time teaching, attending meetings on Zoom and participating in calls. With everything going on, Olsen said, she likely wouldn’t be able to give her son the attention and guidance he would need taking classes online. “We know that this is a really important developmental period in his life, and to be able to get that kind of emotional and educational support from people that are trained in that area is so important,” Olsen said. “We were grateful to USD 383 for really giving us confidence that they are being serious about protecting the kids and establishing those procedures to keep them safe.” Along with wanting to provide their son with peer interaction, Olsen said she and her husband chose this learning environment to balance their work lives. “Because of our particular job situations, we knew that keeping him home would be a real struggle,” Olsen said.
“We feel incredibly fortunate to have found an opportunity that will keep him engaged and moving forward in his kindergarten year. So many parents are managing everything at home right now whether they chose to or because they don’t have another option. That is one of the toughest parts about all of this.” Along with helping their children navigate distance learning, Glasscock said he expects him and his wife will have to provide them with some extra support they would usually receive from their teachers. “As a parent, we want to be there for them, but in a regular situation, it wouldn’t have been us helping them out in that moment, it would
be their teacher at school,” Glasscock said. “Instead, it’ll be on us to provide that extra support while also trying to teach our courses.” Glasscock said he and his wife have rearranged rooms in their home to accommodate distance learning for their children. Sometimes, he said, all four members of the family may be in virtual meetings at once. “We knew we’d have to figure out what spaces in our house we’re going to utilize to separate so that we’re not stepping on each other’s toes or hearing each other as we’re going through those meetings or class times,” he said. “That was another challenge that we had to tackle and solve, and we’ve redone rooms in our house to accommodate.”
Above all, Glasscock said, he thinks it will be important for everyone to empathize with one another during this time. “We have to give ourselves a little bit more slack knowing that the demands on our life are greater than ever, and to let students see that,” he said. “I think that just understanding that and seeing that makes the experience more relatable to students.” In a situation that can be overwhelming at times, Glasscock said it’s beneficial for students to know that professors are working through their own challenges too. “Let them in to know that [professors are] a part of this,” Glasscock said. “Maybe we’re not in the same boat, but we’re in the same storm.”
G N O R T S E T A T S K Times are tough, but advertising doesn’t have to be.
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For some professors, the school day doesn’t end when they leave their classrooms.
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friday, september 4, 2020
STUDENTORGANIZATIONS CHAVELA MARTINEZ
staff writer
The Young Democrats and Star Wars Club are just a couple of the student organizations forced to find creative ways to connect this semester as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic imposes limitations to gatherings and day-to-day life. Though tricky, some groups have found success with virtual recruiting events, like the fall Activities Carnival that was held exclusively over Zoom at the start of the semester. “It’s actually been a strong kick-off," Kirsten Novotny, president of Young Democrats and senior in animal science, said. "We gained like eight to 10 members that night."
Jacqueline Barth, treasurer of Young Democrats and sophomore in interior design, said she was surprised by how many people attended the first meeting. "There were quite a few people, and quite a few new people as well," Barth said. Will Yungeberg, a member of the Star Wars Club and senior in architectural engineering, said that participation has been about the same as it was pre-pandemic. In fact, online meetings might be more convenient for some club members, Yungeberg said. "I think talking online is easier to talk to someone when you are not face-toface with them." Yungeberg said. "Most of the members are polite to let others talk and [that] has not been an issue."
The first meeting of Young Democrats is usually the one with the highest attendance as people get disconnected through the semester, Barth said, but with the accessibility of Zoom meetings she hopes participation stays consistent. "I think that it is easier to come to the meetings because you are at home and you don't need to have your camera on," Barth said. "You can just sit and listen or you can have it on and be present but also work on something else like homework or making dinner." Both clubs have found that Zoom has helped them in some ways, such as not having the trouble of securing space in the K-State Student Union or having members get lost trying to find the meeting.
Zach Perez, member of the Star Wars Club and junior in journalism, said the backgrounds on Zoom have helped to bring more fun and less formality to the meetings. Also, there are other benefits, Yungeberg said "I think that virtual meetings can do better because it is harder to get someone up to talk about something, and there is always the issue of trying to get the PowerPoint on," Yungeberg said. "This way all you have to do is click a button and it is in the background." Last semester when students had to return home, Young Democrats experimented with some ways to make virtual meetings more fun. “We were doing movie nights through the Netflix party on Chrome, one of
Student organizations find new ways to connect amid pandemic barriers
our executive members had Jackbox on her computer, so we would have Jackbox game night," Novotny said. "It is just so that every time we are meeting it is not so political heavy. People are actually able to get to know others in the group.” To further improve engagement, Novotny said Young Democrats sent out a survey in July to place people with similar interests in subgroups, such as hiking, coffee, books or Minecraft. “It was just an idea for us, we all have an interest in politics but then someone might want to step outside of that for a little bit," Novotny said. "It’s a better way for people to get to know each other and to get more involved with the club in smaller circles.” Before COVID-19, Young
Democrats and the Star Wars Club would regularly table in the Union, promote their group with sidewalk chalk and have other types of engagement with the student body. “When we look at 2018, because that was the last election year, we were tabling almost every day of the week," Novotny said. Perez said while they thought about chalking, there aren't enough people on campus now to justify it. In lieu of chalking and tabling, groups are doubling down on other recruiting tactics like social media accounts. Novotny said the Young Democrats have a very active Twitter account and post regularly, Barth said that they are also relying on word of mouth.
Dancing through a pandemic: Dance clubs take steps to stay safe PEYTON FROOME staff writer
Although COVID-19 canceled, postponed and changed the face of many events and student organizations on campus, the KanDance and Swing and Salsa clubs at plan to remain as active as possible. KanDance’s main goals are to increase the number of members from last year while still working around COVID-19 guidelines, Taybor Smith, senior in apparel and textiles and president of the KanDance club, said. "We want to bring the dance community together," Smith said. KanDance teaches a variety of dance styles, including jazz, tap and ballet. Smith said no major, minor or experience in dance is required to Archive Photo COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
Couples dance to and fro in Salsaritas Tuesday night as part of the Swing and Salsa Club.
join.
Since KanDance is connected to the dance program, the student organization also has access to an athletic trainer that they hope to include in new events. "We want to hold a Healthy Lifestyle event, which this year would be a virtual livestream," Smith said. "Hopefully, we could have an athletic trainer speak, have a certified yoga teacher hold a class and give out lifestyle recipes." As for club activities, KanDance plans to meet in person and teach dances that do not require a partner for the time being. If COVID-19 trends worsen, the student organization plans to post videos on YouTube for club members to watch and learn different dance styles. "This pandemic does not affect my enthusiasm about the club, let alone dancing in general," Neo Shockley, junior in fine arts, said. As for Swing and Salsa, the officers are hoping to meet in person as long as protocols permit it. They also
plan to add more dances that don't require a partner to the mix. "The club will begin by teaching the basics in Latin dancing because the footwork can be done without a partner," Abena Taylor, graduate student in business administration and president of the Swing and Salsa club, said. The club also wants to begin teaching the Charleston, which requires no partner. As an added bonus, that specific dance offers the chance to get competitive as some competitions focus on that style. The Swing and Salsa club's first meeting will be in-person at 7 p.m. on Sept. 8 in the K-State Student Union Courtyard. After that — depending on the local COVID-19 situation — the club members will be asked to bring their own partners in order to prevent spreading disease and germs to strangers. For partnered dances, the club will provide gloves to prevent skin-to-skin contact, and all participants will wear masks.
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friday, september 4, 2020
LE A DE R S HIP Senior center Noah Johnson ready to lead the Wildcats to victory this season ADAM MEYER staff writer
The first time senior center Noah Johnson stepped onto the field as a Wildcat was in the 2019 season opener against Nicholls State. At the time, Johnson was a backup junior center snapping the ball to then-sophomore second string quarterback Nick Ast. For his first snap in 2020 though, his role on the team will be much different. Johnson was recently named a team captain and will be leading the offensive line this year. Being a leader isn’t new to Johnson, though. He was a leader during all three of his years on varsity at Bishop Carroll Catholic High School in Wichita, under head coach Alan Schuckman. Schuckman said it is hard to describe how Johnson
leads because the foundation of his leadership style is built on encouraging others. “[Noah] has a huge impact on the offensive line,” offensive line coach Conor Riley said. “He plays the game the right way and is a great leader for our group. When we feel a little flat, when that confidence is being dented, he is the guy that is rallying the group. For a center to do their job effectively on the offensive line, they must be able to communicate well. “It really begins with our center,” Riley said. “His ability to communicate and get guys going in the right direction has been phenomenal. He’s a walk-on transition guy who’d never played center before and I couldn’t be more pleased with where Noah is at.” After graduating multiple seniors last season, the
offensive line this year is inexperienced — consisting of multiple players who have yet to see a large amount of regular season playing time. That doesn’t scare Johnson though — he’s very confident about this year’s group. “At some point you have to be a little inexperienced and I will gladly trade inexperience for a group of guys who are playing hungry and are driven together, and I think that is what we have,” Johnson said. “I don’t think anyone in our locker room is satisfied with the results of last year, both personally and as a team. That is more important than having a few games under your belt.”
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center Noah Johnson prepares to snap the ball during the football game against Nicholls State in Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Aug. 31, 2019. The Wildcats took the Colonels 49-14. Senior
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friday, september 4, 2020
Volleyball team prepares for shorter season with new protocols MARSHALL SUNNER staff writer
When practice came to a close on Tuesday, the volleyball team managers gathered the remaining volleyballs off the floor and started rubbing them down with a sanitized towel — one of the many safety procedures the team is adapting to due to COVID-19. Players and coaches were all wearing masks and sanitizing stations lined the tunnel in Bramlage Coliseum. It’s the new normal. Head coach Suzie Fritz has not been worried since practice started back up this fall. Outside of the visual changes, practices run normally. Fritz ultimately had trust in the Big 12 Conference and Kansas State to
ON T HE COUR T
provide her players and staff with a safe environment to compete in. “I have felt pretty safe all along,” Fritz said after practice on Tuesday. “I think we knew from an institutional perspective and the Big 12 perspective that there would be pretty significant measures in place to protect the safety of student athletes. I didn’t have any major concerns with that, but a lot of that is still evolving” Practice is now in full swing and redshirt junior defensive specialist Jacque Smith realized early on that the adjustments were not going to be as tough as expected. “Honestly, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be because our team is very adaptable,” Smith said.
The Big 12 is trying to cut down on potential exposure to COVID-19 with a new scheduling format. Last week, the conference announced it would be having a 16-match season, but instead of having all home-home match-ups, the matches would be in double-header format. By doing this style of scheduling, teams will be on the road four times this season, rather than eight. Even though Fritz wasn’t thrilled by the idea at first, she said she understands why it had to be done. “I think the biggest thing it does that helps us is there’s pretty significant travel reduction,” she said. “Now, instead of going on the road eight times, we’ll go
on the road four times. So, I think just from that perspective, it certainly decreases the likelihood of exposure.” With only 16 matches and no non-conference opponents to prepare for a conference title push, both Fritz and Smith know the importance of getting off to a hot start when the season begins in three weeks. “Non-conference always helps the team, but I think it gives us a sense of urgency knowing we have 16 games and we have to go into every game and do our best every time,” Smith said. “I think [it’ll be more intense] just because we play back-toback now. I think we’ll know more about each other, so I think it’ll be more intense the second time around for sure.” Fritz said in order for the team to be the most
prepared they can be for the season-opener, the team is doing weekly intrasquad scrimmages to get up to game speed. “You won’t be able to ease into anything, you’ll have to be ready to go when it’s time to go,” Fritz said. “We’ve been playing, at the end of each week, intrasquad scrimmages because we feel like that’s the best we can do given the situation. On Friday and Saturday’s every week we basically try to line up and create as competitive of an environment as we can against each other without fans.” Fritz was extremely pleased with the team’s performance prior to the start of classes. However, she felt like the team’s overall focus has slipped some since classes began — something
she has learned to deal with over the years. “I felt like we were really, really good in the segment up until classes began. I think that’s pretty common. Once classes begin and they take on that role of genuinely being a student athlete, then it’s more difficult,” Fritz said. “Their time demands are more significant and we ask a great deal of them. Their focus is a lot of different places, they aren’t necessarily getting as much rest, both stress and anxiety levels I think go up in terms of academic accomplishments.” Even with the drop in focus, Smith still believes the team will be ready by the season’s start. “I think we are really prepared for this season,” she said.
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Gloria Mutiri, then-sophomore in journalism and mass communications prepares to serve the ball during a practice at Ahearn Field House on Oct. 18, 2019.
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friday, september 4, 2020
Students stay in shape during pandemic with at-home workouts Though the Peters Recreation Complex is up and running, some students are opting for alternative ways to get their workouts in. Marissa Peaslee, junior in kinesiology, said her skepticism regarding the Rec Center’s cleanliness motivates her to work out at home. “The gym is already not the most sanitary place in the first place, so adding a pandemic on top of that makes it even more stressful to go,” Peaslee said. “Even without the pandemic, knowing how to workout at home is really good for people who get really stressed out when they go to the gym because people do get anxious when they’re around a
lot of other people and have to work out.” Peaslee said it was easy to find at-home workouts since she already enjoys physical activity, and staying out of the gym has also given her an opportunity to try new things. “Normally, my focus would be on lifting and building muscle, but I decided this year I would focus on endurance training, so I signed up for a half marathon and started training for that,” Peaslee said. “All you have to do is walk out your front door, so that was a really easy one that I could just do any time of day I wanted to.” For some, motivation might be a challenge. To combat this, Sarah Spond, junior in political science, said she encourages
PREVIEW
SOCCER
HALLIE EVERETT staff writer
continued from page
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Although the volleyball team typically plays in Ahearn Field House throughout the season, the team moved all home matches to Bramlage Coliseum instead. Fans will be allowed inside Bramlage — tickets are expected to be sold the day before each match. There is no word on what the capacity will be inside the Octagon of Doom, but with COVID-19 restrictions, there is bound to be a limit. K-State Athletics has encouraged fans to order tickets digitally to help with lines at the ticket office before each match. Season tickets are also not being sold for the 2020 season. Game day policies and capacity limits are should be released at a later date before the season starts. The volleyball team will start their season at home with two matches against Iowa State on Friday, Sept. 25 and Saturday, Sept. 26, both at 6:30 p.m. inside Bramlage.
The soccer team will see its typical 18 match season cut in half this fall. All nine matches, just like other K-State sports, will be conference matches only. The Wildcats will only be playing one match per week, and each match will be held on a Friday. The team will also bounce back and forth between home and away matches until Oct. 23 when K-State will host two consecutive away matches before finishing up their season at home on Nov. 6 against Oklahoma State — the Wildcats’ first match in November in team history. It has yet to be determined how the Big 12 will be crowning its champion this year in soccer — whether there will be a Big 12 Tournament or if it will come down to the winning percentage. The 2020 Women’s Soccer College Cup was postponed as the NCAA looks to push national fall championships to the spring. Just like with volleyball, soccer tickets will also only
planning workouts with friends. “I feel like there’s a sense of motivation and accountability that isn’t there when you do it yourself,” Spond said. “There’s not anything stopping you from canceling that. If you’re planning on going for a walk with your friend at [6 p.m.], you’ll probably end up going because you don’t want to cancel on your friend. It’s just a lot easier to be motivated to do things if other people are motivated with you.” Like Peaslee, Spond said she enjoys having physical activity to do, and that desire keeps her driven to make time for a workout. “I’ve always been an athlete,” Spond said. “So for me, not being able to have something to do like that be available for purchase 24 hours before kickoff — fans will also being encouraged to purchase tickets online. There will be no season tickets for soccer. Game day policies as well as capacity limitations for Buser Family Park remain uncertain. K-State soccer will start their season at home at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, against Texas Tech.
would bother me. I couldn’t imagine sitting at home and not trying to do some sort of sport.” When planning exercise, Max Kokenge, sophomore in sociology, said it’s important to set goals and design workouts that fit them. “There are plenty of routines online for home workouts that will be much more effective than just winging it,” Kokenge said. “There are routines for running, weightlifting, general conditioning, anything really. Find one you like, and stick to it.” Kokenge also said workouts help keep him healthy in many ways. “I enjoy the feeling of getting stronger and getting better at what I’m doing,” he said. “It also has mental health benefits for me. I always feel a lot worse mentally
Dylan Connell | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP
The Peters Recreation Center is currently open, but some students are opting to continue working out at home during the pandemic. when I don’t get the chance to work out for a couple days.” Peaslee said setting reasonable standards for each workout will help make it a more relaxing and beneficial
experience. “If you don’t enjoy it, try something different because it’s about being able to enjoy it and staying healthy,” she said.
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CROSS COUNTRY
The men’s and women’s cross country teams had their usual six meet schedule scaled down to just four meets, including the Big 12 Championship meet. All four of these meets will be held at conference affiliated locations. Two of the meets will be held in Lawrence — the KU Triangular to kick off the season on Sept. 19, and the Big 12 Championship on Oct. 30. The other two meets will be held back to back in Stillwater, Oklahoma, with the Cowboy Jamboree on Oct. 3 and the Oklahoma State Invite on Oct. 17.
the collegian newsletter kstatecollegian.com/newsletter
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friday, september 4, 2020
Cross country to race in conference-only events in abbreviated schedule CODY FRIESEN staff writer
The cross country teams announced four meets in their abbreviated 2020 season. All of the events they plan to participate in will be in conference-affiliated locations. Due to COVID-19, the NCAA has canceled both the regional and national meets for the season. Kansas State is looking to build off of an experienced group with a
combination of 12 returning letter winners for the men's team and nine for the women's team. "We are looking forward to a very competitive season," head coach Ryun Godfrey said to K-State Sports. "Pushing the start of our competition schedule back a few weeks has allowed us to regularly COVID test and be cleared for practice. The extra time has also allowed us to adapt to a new routine regarding training with social
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distancing, mask-wearing, and other precautions. The team has been training well as we prepare for our opener at KU in a couple of weeks." The Wildcats will open their season in Lawrence, on Saturday, Sept. 19, competing in the Kansas Triangular meet. Kansas, K-State and Iowa State will be the only programs completing at the event. It will be the first time since 2015 K-State has opened the season in Lawrence.
K-State will head south to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for the Cowboy Jamboree on Saturday, Oct. 3. The Wildcats had recent success at this meet, including five total top-five finishes and back-to-back thirdplace performances by the women's team. The Wildcats will return to the OSU Cross Country course two weeks later to compete in the OSU Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 17, which will be the final meet outside
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of Kansas in the shortened season. To finish off the season, the Wildcats will return to Rim Rock Farm on Friday, Oct. 30, for the Big 12 Championship. This will be the first time since 2014 that K-State will participate in a Big 12 Championship inside the state of Kansas. In 2019, the Wildcats did not qualify for the national meet, but the men's squad claimed top-10 spots in four of their six meets while the women's team
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had two top-10 finishes. The women's team will look to sophomore Jaybe Shufelberger to lead the team this season. Last year, Shufelberger posted the best time for a K-State freshman at the Big 12 Championship since 2003 while also earning All-Big 12 honors. The men's team will be led by junior Cooper Schroeder who finished in the top 30 at the Big 12 Championship in 2019.
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friday, september 4, 2020
OPI NI ON PEYTON FROOME
staff writer
Across the board, sad music is trending. As artists like Billie Eilish, Halsey and Lil Uzi Vert constantly releasing songs with sad and angsty undertones, many young people are finding their playlists full of songs about heartbreak, toxic love or wishing they were someone else. Such an emphasis on downcast situations and feelings can cause the lyrics and emotions of the music to transfer into the listener’s real-life headspace. For this reason, romanticizing sad music is dangerous. This music forces the listener to think about sad or uncomfortable situations. According to an article from The Conversation, people with greater tendencies to become depressed are more likely to ruminate after listening to sad music and be less motivated to create change in their lives. Obviously, listening to sad music is not always a bad idea. Sometimes emotional
music is the only way people can feel understood, and it can be a cathartic experience. Sad music is, however, only beneficial in moderation, like most experiences in life. Romanticizing sad music and acting as if sadness for long periods of time without relief is normal is not OK. Doing so perpetuates the idea that people who are not sad are missing out. Sadness is a part of life, and from time to time everyone should feel sad. Everyone lives through a difficult time, and sorrow is a sign that connection and hope are created (but later broken) in someone’s life. That is a healthy emotion to feel. Grieving is often the only way to move on, and is necessary for the human experience. What really matters in the end is how people decide to heal themselves and move past the dark times. Listening to sad music all day, every day encourages people to dwell on the unfortunate, and constantly reminds them that, yeah, life
‘ The Murder House’ keeps you guessing, turning pages EMMA SNYDER staff writer
“The Murder House” by James Patterson was a thriller full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing every minute of the way. I had never read anything by Patterson before, but I’m so glad I picked it up. The story follows detective Jenna Murphy, a former NYC cop who returns to the small beach town of Southampton to work for the police force under
We need to stop romanticizing sad music
sucks sometimes. Replaying that thought is a dangerous trap that can cause people to forget about the good parts of life, like seeing friends, laughing until your stomach hurts and stuffing yourself full of ice cream during movie marathons. According to an article from Forbes, in 2017 Americans listened to around 32 hours of music weekly. Thirty-two hours is nearly enough to become a fulltime job, so clearly music is a significant part of people's lives. Since music is so vital to the human experience, the genre and kind of music people choose to listen to plays an important role in their well-being and mental health. Much like any other activity, if people decide to spend all their free time regretting their decisions and crying over lost friends and family, their lives will never change and they will never learn to move on and live life in the present rather than the past. Consistently listening to sad music has much of the same effect. I’m not saying sad mu-
sic should be completely off the table. I have one or two sad playlists of my own, but I try my hardest to only listen to sad music when I know doing so will bring about a crying-session I am in dire need of, or if I know listening to the songs will not turn my lighthearted mood into a dark, gloomy afternoon. I recommend becoming more aware of how music makes you feel. If a certain set of songs always ruins your day because it reminds you of a dark time of your life, then you probably should not listen to those songs on a normal day. If your day-to-day playlists consist of mainly sorrowful music, maybe it is time to rethink why that is the case, because romanticizing sad music is a slippery slope. Peyton Froome is a freshman in English. 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.
REVIEW
the supervision of her uncle and chief of police, Langdon James. Murphy hadn’t been back since her childhood, but her memories come back piece by piece throughout the course of the novel to reveal a twisted reality. The book is set around an abandoned, multi-million dollar gothic estate along the beach known as 7 Ocean Drive. The mansion is infamous for many gruesome and unsolved slayings that Murphy is determined to solve. The chapters in “The
Murder House” switch back and forth between the perspective of Detective Murphy and other characters in the book, including the unknown killer, who refers to himself as Holden, who still walks the streets of Southampton. I loved this aspect of Patterson’s writing because I was able to get into the head of the deranged individual and see things from their point of view. The chapters are also very short, which made the book a super easy read, despite it being
around 450 pages. Patterson did a great job of giving subtle hints and evidence so that his audience could draw a conclusion on who they believed to be the one commiting the slayings. Throughout the novel, I changed my mind about two or three times on who I thought it was and still ended up being wrong at the end. “The Murder House” was everything I wanted it to be. It was mysterious, suspenseful, twisted and a definite
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Muzizi, a local reggae-rock band, played Saturday afternoon in the Bluemont Hotel during the “Harmony in the ‘Hatt” music event. This event was put on by the Manhattan Nonviolence Initiative.
page-turner. I was pretty much hooked from the first chapter and couldn’t stop reading. After reading this, I might have to check out some of Patterson’s other works because I couldn't put this one down. Despite its length, the short chapters and captivating plotline made it an easy and quick read. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of suspense, murder mysteries or true crime. Emma Snyder is a senior in mass communications. The views and opinions expressed in this review are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Collegian. Please send comments to opinion@ kstatecollegian.com.
Grab your copy of at McDonalds 3rd Street