K-State Collegian (Oct. 25, 2016)

Š 2016 collegian media group

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

Growing Up Purple Page 4: Sophomore Paige Engle shares her journey to becoming K-State Student Ambassador.

vol. 122, issue 37

tuesday, october 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

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EDITORIAL BOARD

Danielle Cook online editor

Timothy Everson editor-in-chief

Jason Tidd news editor

Jessie Karst managing copy chief

Scott Popp sports editor

George Walker Emily Starkey multimedia editors

Jamie Teixeira managing editor

Kaitlyn Cotton current editor

Melissa Huerter ad manager

Audrey Hockersmith design editor

Kelsey Kendall opinion editor

Steve Wolgast adviser

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CORRECTIONS If you see something that should be corrected or clarified, call editor-in-chief Tim Everson at 785-370-6356 or email news@kstatecollegian.com.

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Hallie Lucas | THE COLLEGIAN

Paige Engle, sophomore in public relations, is emotional after being awarded a position as K-State Student Ambassador during halftime of the football game between K-State and Texas.

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tuesday, october 25, 2016

LaPolice promises to remain ‘real person’ if elected, not ‘career politician’ this district,” LaPolice said.

“So there’s no accountability, there’s no bouncing back to cover all stakeholders. That’s the greatest ill of politics but it’s the greatest strength of school administration. I want to bring that to politics. I want to bring that to the House.”

KAITLYN ALANIS THE COLLEGIAN

Alan LaPolice is hoping to be one of the only representatives of Congress not backed by a political party in the new term, but only after losing the 1st District of the Kansas election as a Republican in 2014.

“The whole political system is going to hell,” LaPolice said. “Both parties are to blame and the only way to fix it is an outsider. A true outsider as an independent. I broke free of the party branding.”

LaPolice said his policies will stay very close to the same as when he ran as a Republican, but now his agenda is different.

“Now, my objective is to go to Washington without the branding of the party,” LaPolice said. “No Republican, just like no Democrat, has the credibility to actually go and reach across the aisle because at this point the aisle is so far wide and so completely unnavigable.”

LaPolice said he wants to “quite literally” be the guy in the aisle, then work with the 25-30 best Republicans and the 25-30 best Democrats, who want to lead but cannot because they do not have a common language and fear party retaliation.

“At some point I can actually do something that’s bipartisan and get people to start trusting their government,” LaPolice said. “And once that starts happening I think it’s opening the floodgates. And I think that what could then happen is we can start passing bipartisan legislation.”

If elected, LaPolice said he is hopeful that in two years, after the passing of bipartisan legislation, he will have started a movement of regular people, not typical career politicians, running the government.

LaPolice said he plans to do so by helping 10 people, just like himself, get elected to Capitol Hill in 2018. From there, those 10 people will ideally each recruit 10 “regular

INVOLVING THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION

Photo Courtesty of Alan LaPolice

guys and girls,” for a total of 120 representatives not backed by political parties on Capitol Hill.

“That’s 120 people that we can recruit across the districts and we can get people to run that don’t have to have party backing, that do not have to have corporate financing to win elections,” LaPolice said.

“And if we can do that, then we can start passing meaningful legislation.”

The meaningful, bipartisan legislation that LaPolice said he hopes can pass with his help includes recovering the healthcare system, helping the middle and working class and stimulating “real growth,” not “Wall Street growth.” LaPolice also said meaningful legislation would include campaign financing, term limits and accountability.

“It’s got to start somewhere and in this circumstance, it can start here,” LaPolice said.

EDUCATING THE UNACCOUNTABLE

LaPolice spent many years as an educator of civics and government, English, algebra and literature before being promoted to principal

and then superintendent. He said what he learned in those roles is exactly what needs to be integrated into the political world.

“As a school administrator you have to represent everyone,” LaPolice said. “Everyone in your district you have to represent.”

LaPolice said that includes being accountable to all stakeholders, students — regardless of socioeconomic status, race or gender — teachers and staff, as well as the entire school board and community.

“Now that sounds exactly like what Congress is supposed to do,” LaPolice said.

“It sounds like it, but now because of gerrymandering and because the party wants it this way, we get representatives that only represent the angriest voices within their party.”

LaPolice said due to these reasons, districts are considered safe and only have to do a primary, and he said that in a primary election, people want the most extreme voices. But in a general election, LaPolice said those candidates have to bounce back and represent everyone.

“We don’t have general elections anymore, not in

Over the past three decades, LaPolice said his generation has “screwed up politics,” so much that college students do not want to participate because they don’t feel represented or that it is their government.

“You guys don’t vote and it aggravates me to no end, the apathy of your generation,” LaPolice said. “But I don’t blame you because we screwed it up. And that sucks. And I didn’t do it, but by God I’m going to fix it.”

LaPolice said he can only do that by winning the hearts and minds of the college-student generation. He said he will do that by being trustworthy and engaging millennials.

“I don’t lie; I’ll never do that,” LaPolice said. “I’ll say things that get me in trouble like TPP is bad, like Citizens United is bad, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is bad. Those things get me in trouble with corporate donors, but they should make me beholden to voters, to real people.”

LaPolice said he will never represent Wall Street, cronyism or the political elite.

“I will collaborate and I can work with them, but my goal is to slowly supplant them,” LaPolice said. “I want to replace them with real people, real voters, real citizen legislators.”

NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT TO BRING BACK HISTORY

LaPolice said there has never been a more critical time for change in the government and that is what he has set out to do.

“Look at the presidential (election), there’s never been a more critical need for change,” LaPolice said. “In this race, I have yet to see the better opportunity. There’s never been

a better opportunity to actually get someone like me in there who hasn’t been seen on Capitol Hill in 50 years.”

LaPolice said it may be his “rose-colored glasses” about political history, but he believes there was a time when everyone on Capitol Hill was just your average person.

“I believe in men like John Adams, and I believe in James Madison and Thomas Jefferson,” LaPolice said. “I believe those people were real, not just storybook heroes.”

LaPolice said he feels one of the best leaders the world has ever known is Abraham Lincoln.

“I don’t think Abraham Lincoln could possibly win an election,” LaPolice said. “I’m no Abe Lincoln, but there may be a set of circumstances where I can sneak in and I can actually start something that would allow Abe Lincoln back, that would inspire Abe Lincoln back.”

Editor’s note: Candidates for political office representing the Manhattan area may contact the Collegian to set up an interview at news@kstatecollegian.com.

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Student Ambassador Paige Engle’s journey began with a children’s tale KAITLYN COTTON THE COLLEGIAN

Every year at the Homecoming football game, two students are presented as the upcoming year’s Kansas State Student Ambassadors. One female and one male are chosen, and this year, Paige Engle, sophomore in public relations, was selected to serve as the female student ambassador for the 2017-18 year, according to the K-State Alumni Association’s website.

For Engle, the process to get here all started with a story about a young girl “growing up purple.”

“For the presentation round, we were given two to four minutes to present on the Homecoming theme, ‘Growing Up Purple,’” Engle said. “The advisers suggested to not use PowerPoint in order to show our creativity. I ended up making a children’s story about a little wildcat named Paige and her experiences growing up as a K-Stater.”

Engle said she decided to run for student ambassador after becoming a campus tour guide her freshman year and realizing the impact that connecting with prospective students had on her.

“I began working as a tour guide for New Student Services my freshman year and quickly found that interacting with prospective students was when I was happiest,” Engle said. “I decided to run for ambassador in order to show as many students as possible why K-State is the greatest college experience in the nation.”

Hallie Lucas | THE COLLEGIAN

Paige Engle, sophomore in public relations, is overwhelmed with emotion after being awarded a position as K-State Student Ambassador.

The application process for running for student ambassador includes an application, an interview with a student panel and a faculty and staff panel, where the applicant gives a presentation, and finally the student body votes on the candidates during Homecoming week, according to the K-State Alumni Association’s website.

Engle said her favorite part about the whole process was Homecoming week, because she was able to get to know the other students running for ambassador. “(Homecoming week) was low pressure and I got to hang out with a group of student leaders I have looked up to for a long time,” Engle said. “Getting to know Mario, Matt, Trent, Gaby and Ashley was a blast. On Wednesday night the six of us got cookie bakes at Mr. K’s and ended up talking for over two

hours.”

The close-knit group and encouragement from all the students running is something Engle said she will always remember.

The male selection for student ambassador was Mario Garcia, junior in family studies and human services, according to the K-State Alumni Association’s website.

Engle said she and Garcia have a relationship that extends beyond college.

“The two of us actually met at Young Life camp when we were 15 and 16 and reconnected once we were both at K-State,” Engle said. “I have always thought very highly of him and cannot wait to start working with him. I feel extremely blessed to have him as my partner.”

Engle said she looks forward to meeting prospective students and alumni as student ambassa-

dor, as well as traveling to various parts of Kansas to represent K-State.

“Paige has the biggest heart, always puts others first and does everything thing she can to make K-State a better place,” Kaylee Engle, senior in public relations and Paige’s cousin, said. “Her values match K-State’s values, which makes her the perfect representative for our university.”

“I think ‘I talked to Paige Engle’ will be the start of a lot of people’s love stories about why they fell for this school,” Baylee Heitschmidt, sophomore in secondary education and English, said. “Her mindset will never waver from wanting what is best for students, but she will represent this school with so much grace.”

Kaylee said that Paige’s personality will make it easier for her to have success in her new role as student ambassador.

“Paige has a charismatic personality that will make it easy for her to connect with current K-Staters, prospective students and alumni extremely well,” Kaylee said.

Heitschmidt said Paige’s passion for K-State will help her succeed.

“She cares so much about this university and you can physically see her face light up when she talks about being a Wildcat,” Heitschmidt said. “I get goose bumps thinking about how she will make future students love this place as much as she does.

She has been a huge K-State fan

her entire life and talking about K-State is second nature to her.”

Through the long and emotional process, Paige said nothing would have been possible without her friends and family.

“Never in a million years would I have thought about running if it weren’t for the encouragement of my friends and family,” Paige said.

Paige also said this opportunity as a whole is a blessing that still hasn’t quite sunk in yet and her reaction after hearing her name as the next female student ambassador shows just that.

“I immediately started crying,” Paige said. “It all felt surreal. It still has not hit me yet. I am extremely honored and humbled to have been chosen.”

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K-State soccer reflects on season positives; work remains for offseason the season I felt the talk was ‘are we going to win a game?’

We got through that stage.

Now we’re in the stage of trying to perform at the level and get better going into next year.

I think that’s where we’re at right now.”

The team grew a lot in just a single season, Dibbini said.

“Sometimes I wish we could go back to the beginning of the year and play all over again and I think the results would be different,” Dibbini said. “We’ve evolved, not only as a team, (but) individually we’ve gotten more comfortable with each other. The chemistry has gotten better.”

Hall said the Wildcats will

File Photo by Nick Horvath | THE COLLEGIAN

Freshman midfielder Laramie Hall looks down after a tough loss to the University of Northern Iowa. The Wildcats played their next game against Oral Roberts University on Sept. 23.

SHELTON BURCH THE COLLEGIAN

With Thursday’s 2-0 loss to Illinois State, the Kansas State women’s soccer team moved into the offseason.

Though sub-.500, Evansville made it to the NCAA Tournament last year with a 6-10-3 record, and they won their conference tournament last season. However, the Wildcats’ status as independents makes it likely they’ll be left out when the tournament competitors are announced Nov. 7.

That leaves the Wildcats looking ahead to next season.

Though they ended up with a losing record this season, the Wildcats had a few games slip into the loss and draw columns that could have easily bounced into the win

column. There was the second game, a scoreless 0-0 draw in Edwardsville, Illinois, against SIUE, in which freshman midfielder Dora Gallo led all players with three shots on goal and K-State was outshot in the category by just one shot on goal.

Then there was the Sept.

23 game against Oral Roberts, the team’s second game at home, in which K-State led 1-0 until a goal in the 88th minute by Oral Roberts sent the game into overtime and an eventual draw.

“There were definitely at least four games that we should have won or at least tied,” said freshman midfielder Laramie Hall. “In that aspect, we know that we’re capable of a lot more than we’re giving, which is good considering that we’re going to be in the Big 12 next year.”

There were the continual runs by sophomore forward Tatum Wagner and by Hall herself, as one or the other charged into opposing territory, trying to set up offenses that were still developing chemistry.

That process, however, is well underway, Hall said.

“I think our team is extremely close, especially for everyone just getting here this year,” Hall said.

Head coach Mike Dibbini said he and the other coaches are generally more focused on what the team has to work on rather than on the positives, but this season, he admitted there were at least a few.

“Realistically, I think we’ve done the improbable,” Dibbini said. “Winning games, drawing games and losing (and) learning (from) a lot of close games. Going into

have some challenges when they play next season but believes the way they play will make them competitive.

“I think that we’re definitely not as big as most teams in the Big 12 and we’re not maybe as strong or as fast,” Hall said. “We are more technical and we can play around teams while kind of kicking the ball, so like a fast type of technicality without just kicking it.”

The team’s identity will continue to develop, Dibbini said. He also said the team will have to take what it learned this year, remembering to play all 90 minutes and to play with the same intensity regardless of the opponent’s

record.

All of these elements, Dibbini said, are part of the mental side of the game, which isn’t stressed enough when players are young.

“As soccer players grow up, we (the coaches) talk about the technical aspect,” Dibbini said. “We talk about the tactical aspect, we talk about the physical aspect, which is all very important. But the mentality and the mental aspect of the game at this level plays a huge role on making and breaking a team and the coach of the team. So I think that’s probably the most important thing going into the spring and going into next year.”

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Big 12 power rankings: West Virginia steals the lead in week 9 RILEY GATES

THE COLLEGIAN

1. WEST VIRGINIA (6-0) (LAST WEEK: 2) (NEXT: AT OKLAHOMA STATE) West Virginia is for real this season. There were doubters out there, but after a very impressive 34-10 win over TCU, behind 231 yards and four touchdowns from senior quarterback Skyler Howard, the Mountaineers take over the top spot.

2. OKLAHOMA (5-2) (LAST WEEK: 1) (NEXT: KANSAS) The Sooners won 66-59 over Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. You did not read that score wrong and this was not a

basketball game. This was simply two teams that played no defense. Nice win, Oklahoma, but bring a defense next week.

3. OKLAHOMA STATE (5-2) (LAST WEEK: 3) (NEXT: WEST VIRGINIA)

The Cowboys struggled for a while with Kansas on Saturday, but pulled out a 44-20 win over the Jayhawks. It would have been nicer to see a big win, but it is always tough to get up for bad teams. Oklahoma State will definitely bring its A-game this week against West Virginia.

4. BAYLOR (6-0) (LAST WEEK: 4) (NEXT: AT TEXAS)

After a week off, Baylor will travel to Austin, Texas, to take

on the Longhorns. Texas has struggled recently and the Bears have a high-powered offense that will likely take advantage of the defense that Texas trots out onto the field.

5. KANSAS STATE (4-3) (LAST WEEK: 7) (NEXT: AT IOWA STATE)

After limping to the finish line in the second half, the Wildcats defeated Texas, 24-21. Junior quarterback Jesse Ertz was solid in his return from a shoulder injury. Kansas State has some very winnable games moving forward, so the Wildcats might stay near the top of the power rankings.

To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com

File Photo by Parker Robb | THE COLLEGIAN

Oklahoma State wide receiver Marcell Ateman salutes the crowd following his 11-yard touchdown catch with 46 seconds remaining in the first half of the Wildcats’ 34-36 loss to No. 20 Oklahoma State Oct. 3, 2015, in Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

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tuesday, october 25, 2016

Wildcats’ grades improve against Texas Senior quarterback Joe Hubener came in late in the game but head coach Bill Snyder said it was not because Ertz was injured and that he expects Ertz to be 100 percent next weekend.

RUSHING DEFENSE: B

Emily Starkey | THE COLLEGIAN

Senior defensive end Jordan Willis carries the American flag out of the tunnel at the start of the football game between K-State and Texas Tech on Oct. 8 in Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

SCOTT POPP

THE COLLEGIAN

The Collegian took a look back at the Wildcats’ 24-21 victory over Texas and decided to hand out some grades. The Wildcats looked much better from a week ago, though the second half was a struggle.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B

The Wildcats were solid on the ground for most of the day.

Junior quarterback Jesse Ertz killed the Longhorns all day on scrambles once the pocket collapsed, including an impressive 19-yard touchdown scramble in the second quarter.

This grade would be even higher if senior running back Charles Jones didn’t fumble the ball just before crossing the goal

line. The score would’ve put the Wildcats up 28-7 and made the ending much less nerve-wracking.

It should be said that besides the fumble Jones and the Wildcats had, they had a good day on the ground amassing 234 yards on 51 attempts.

PASSING OFFENSE: A

Ertz had his best game of the season against the Longhorns as he went 20-27 with 171 yards and a touchdown. Ertz showed no signs of the shoulder injury that forced him to the sideline for the second half of the Oklahoma game.

The offense still needs to find consistency. The fourth quarter was a disaster, but the first half was promising and Ertz ran the offense efficiently and effectively.

K-State did well on stopping the run, considering the defense was faced with the task of stopping the Big 12’s leading rusher, junior running back D’Onta Foreman. Foreman was aiming to get his yards but the Wildcats did well limiting big runs and touchdowns.

The Cats let up a touchdown to senior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, the 18-Wheeler package, but otherwise didn’t allow him to come in and dominate like he is usually capable of doing.

PASSING DEFENSE: B

The pass defense had been exposed the last few weeks but stepped up to the challenge that freshman quarterback Shane Buechele and the Texas offense presented.

Senior defensive end Jordan Willis dominated the game, especially in the second half, coming up with several big sacks and tackles-for-loss to stop the Longhorns’ comeback attempt and was subsequently named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week.

K-State does, however, need to find a way to not allow deep balls over the top. Sophomore defensive back Duke Shelley was

burned for an 80-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

The Wildcats were solid on special teams as they didn’t do anything spectacular, but didn’t make any mistakes. Junior kicker Matthew McCrane made his only field goal attempt — a 35-yarder in the third quarter.

COACHING: B

The Wildcats turned it around big time after a disap-

pointing loss to Oklahoma. The Cats were prepared for this game and it showed from the start. The offensive play calling was much better as they utilized K-State’s strengths and held the ball for much of the game.

OVERALL: B

The first half showed K-State playing at its best, using clock while methodically driving down the field. The second half showed that the Wildcats still have to find some consistency,

but this game was still a step in the right direction. The Cats will have an easier game against Iowa State on Saturday to find some consistency.

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.

Scott Popp is a senior in mass communications. Please send comments to opinion@ kstatecollegian.com.