10.30.2020 by Kansas State Collegian

K A N S A S

S TAT E vol. 126, issue 17 friday, oct. 30, 2020

kstatecollegian.com

ON THE ROAD

RBG Art bridges political divide: New RBG mural unveiled in downtown Manhattan

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Slowly but surely, vet med program makes progress on tortoise research

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PREVIEW: Wildcat football looks to flip the script against West Virginia

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;God is amazingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;: DJ Render sees playing time as a receiver in his final season

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friday, october 30, 2020

ON THE COVER

FALL EDITORIAL BOARD File photo by Dalton Wainscott COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP

Then-sophomore wide receiver Landry Weber jukes a West Virginia player as he tries to run down filed at game against West Virginia. The Wildcats lost to the Mountaineer 24-20.

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 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] ÂŠ Collegian Media Group, 2020

Anna Schmidt Opinions Editor

Kaylie McLaughlin Managing Editor

Gabby Farris Design Chief

Julie Freijat Deputy Managing Editor Copy Chief

Cameron Bradley Sports Editor Nathan Enserro Assistant Sports Editor

Emma Witter News Editor

Dalton Wainscott Multimedia Editor

Sean Schaper Assistant News Editor

Dylan Connell Deputy Multimedia Editor

Rebecca Vrbas Culture Editor Madison Daniel Assistant Culture Editor

By Dave Green

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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 authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.

Bailey Britton Editor-in-Chief

HOUS ING Former tenants say their apartment had a bat problem management company did nothing to solve BAILEY BRITTON editor-in-chief

Nearly two weeks ago, senior in animal science Audrey Wilson served Frontier Property Management with a 1430 form. She moved out of the basement apartment filled with bats and bat guano, but she is not the only person who says they had problems in that apartment. In 2019, Katy Fink, senior in journalism and mass communications, lived in the apartment Wilson just left. Fink experienced problems similar to Wilson in the nine months she lived there with her boyfriend. In addition to bats, Fink said she experienced poor air quality, flooding and mold. "I would get these really bad gushing bloody noses," Fink said. "And I'm like, 'Okay, this is not normal,' like, I wouldn't have these issues any other times. I chalked that up to the poor air quality because we had a bat infestation in our house." The first time they saw bats, Fink said, was in the middle of the night. "I remember the first couple weeks we moved and we had heard some noises," Fink said. "One night I woke up to some noises in the bedroom. I turned on the lights thinking it was like maybe a moth or ... maybe a bird had gotten in the air vent, but it turned out to be a bat." Fink says her boyfriend caught the bat in a towel. A couple of weeks later, Fink said she found a bat in the bathroom sink. She also found bats in the kitchen cabinets. "Frontier would basically cancel any maintenance requests from us that had to do with bats," Fink said.

NEWS

friday, october 30, 2020

"So at that point, we were like, 'Okay, Frontier knows there are bats in here, we've reached out multiple times, we have video and picture proof.' They would just cancel the request." Tyler Holloman, owner of Frontier Property Management, said Frontier uses several different vendors for maintenance and pest control. Some property owners, he said, prefer to do maintenance on their own. "A lot of people don't know that Frontier — and most property management companies — don't actually own the properties that we lease out," Holloman said. "Our team is responsible for working with each individual property owner and figuring it out if they have certain vendors that they like to use. We have some owners that prefer to do most of their maintenance themselves to save on cost. We have some owners who have relationships with other vendors. It's really owner specific." Fink said she filled out maintenance requests through the Frontier Property Management portal, but Frontier canceled the requests without their knowledge. Other requests, such as a request to fix the dishwasher or door handles, were fixed promptly. Bianca Valdez, Frontier portfolio manager and director of marketing, said in an email Frontier "make[s] every effort to be responsive and timely with all maintenance requests." "We encourage our tenants who have bat issues (or any pests) to contact us directly and we work with them throughout the mitigation process until the issue is resolved," Valdez said. Fink said no pest control

company nor Frontier ever inspected the apartment for bats while she lived there. Fink says she moved out in the spring after the washer on the floor above her apartment flooded the basement. "We had a flood of standing water in the basement of that house," Fink said. "So we reached out. We were like, 'Hey, we have a flood with like, you know, standing water. What do we do about this?'" Fink said Frontier told them to clean it up and someone would come check it out in a day or two. "We did not cause this flood," Fink said. "We were just unfortunate enough to have to deal with the effects of it." Fink said director of leasing Cayle Hubert did a walkthrough of the apartment a few days later and he said the apartment was fine to live in. Hubert was unavailable for comment. "We're like, 'What, like, you don't see an issue with this? The only reason it's clean is because we cleaned it with no help from you guys,'" Fink said. "So we were kind of confused at that point." At that point, Fink's boyfriend and Fink's mom showed Hubert mold in the unit caused by the flooding. After the tenants requested to move to a new unit twice and were refused, Fink said they threatened legal action. Frontier then moved them to a different property. "We never went forward with legal action, but it got to the point where we threatened it," Fink said. "It seemed like that was the only point in time where he took our worries seriously." see page

04, “HOUSING”

MANHAPPENIN’ magazine The Fall 2020 print edition is coming

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NEWS

friday, october 30, 2020

New hire brings diverse experience to Clery Act compliance CLAIBORN SCHMIDT staff writer

Last week, Ryan VanDusen hit the ground running as the new Clery Act compliance and youth protection coordinator at Kansas State. As the newest addition to the Risk and Compliance Office, VanDusen is now responsible for tracking and improving the safety around campus. “In three days, he’s taken care of all the onboarding stuff and already started getting out, mostly virtually meeting people, in the meetings having great conversations with folks, establishing rapport, asking good questions and learning how everything at K-State works," Elliot Young, assistant vice president for university risk and compliance, said. VanDusen brings a wide array of experiences to the position, Young said. “[VanDusen] has 18 years of experience working

HOUSING continued from page

Fink said the only reason she and her boyfriend stayed in the unit for so long was because the rent was cheap. Some bats are federally protected, which makes removing them from dwellings a long and arduous process. "The 1973 Endangered Species Law put bats under Federal protection," Valdez said. "Because bats are federally protected, they cannot be harmed or killed in mitigation and neither can their habitat be disturbed, even if the habitat is the tenant's home. To complicate the process further, bat remediation is a highly specified task that has to be done in a series of steps. The entire process for bat mitigation is regulated and can be very time-con-

in student life, working at different universities," Young said. "He was recently the Dean of Students at Bethany College. He has done behavioral intervention work, student conduct and residents’ life. He’s done a lot of things and brings a ton of experience and that perfect combination of technical skills, soft skills and experience." VanDusen first joined the Manhattan community in 1998 when he arrived for his service in the army. Service is very important to him, he said, and for him, the military is the ultimate act of service. VanDusen said he's passionate about student well-being and has always been focused on security and safety, which he takes very seriously. “I am so passionate knowing that everything I do is going to have an impact five, 10, 15 years down the line," VanDusen said. VanDusen said he's proud to be a part of the K-State family. His wife is a

K-State graduate and his two daughters already plan to attend K-State one day. His family attends at least one football game every season as they have for the past 20 years, he said, even when living in other states and working at other college campuses. “It was not hard for me to get anything purple because I already have all that,” VanDusen said. “I’ve wanted to work at K-State for a very long time, but it never happened. ... I have finally had this opportunity now." As the first person to go to college in his family, VanDusen said he truly enjoys the atmosphere on college campuses and towns. “There’s no better energy than a college campus, that’s why I chose to work for the past almost 20 years on college campuses. I love it," VanDusen said. Jonathan Ulmer, associate professor of agricultural education and longtime friend of VanDusen, worked with him at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, and said he's a caring person that suming." goes the extra mile to While understanding the help people. need to protect the bats, Wil“Having somebody son worried about getting bitthat cares as much as ten and needing rabies treatRyan in a position he’s ment while living there. going into really will "Between the managebenefit a lot of people, ment and the owners, there's especially the students little communication, little action," Wilson said. "And then they say they have no liability. They told me they weren't going to pay for any rabies vaccinations for me or my pets if I got bit, and that's like, $3,500 I can't afford when I'm already working multiple jobs and going to school and trying to learn." Holloman said if a tenant got bitten, it would be handled on a case-by-case basis. "We've never actually had [rabies] happen," Holloman said. "So I wanted to speak to the specifics of what that would look like, but we've been fortunate and never had to deal with that."

who will need that office and that assistance," Ulmer said. “He works hard, and he does not let things slip through the cracks." With all their shared ex-

perience, Ulmer said he sees the opportunity for collaboration between them in the future. “Being on the same campus as Ryan will actually po-

tentially open the door again on collaborations on things that he has had experience in like his military background, veteran affairs and adult education," Ulmer said.

Courtesy photo of Ryan VanDusen

NEWS

friday, october 30, 2020

F E AT UR E

Slowly but surely, vet-med program makes progress on tortoise research ALEXIS LETTERMAN staff writer

Graduate students in veterinary medicine had the opportunity to partake in a research project involving leopard tortoises, red-footed tortoises and ornate box turtles. It is difficult to conduct medical procedures safely on these animals because the unknown effects anesthesia has on them is unkown. The goal of the study was to learn more about the impacts. “Studies are being done to establish a baseline, like we have for dogs and horses,” Tess McPheeters, graduate student in veterinary medicine, said. These species are diffi-

cult to handle, making some treatments and procedures nearly impossible to implement safely. Participants in K-State’s study said the difficulty seemed to only increase as the study progressed. “Every species will react differently to different drugs,” Daria Hagan, graduate student in veterinary medicine, said. Students involved in the study recorded the vital parameters of the animals they observed, including heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature as well as the reflexes of the animals. The hands-on experience was a benefit for the students involved, Hagan, who intubated her first animal during the study, said.

“I think that here at K-State in the vet college, we place a lot of emphasis on exotic medicines, and this is one of the strengths of our program compared to other universities,” David Eshar, associate professor of clinical sciences, said. Eshar said in order to obtain the number of turtles and tortoises needed to conduct the study, K-State had to reach out to local and regional zoos. He said the program is grateful to the zoos that volunteered some of their animals. The results of the study are still being analyzed, but those involved are hopeful their findings can contribute to the health and well-being of exotic animals.

HALO president says involvement at K-State changed her as a person ETHAN THIMMESCH staff writer

Natalia Rodriguez, junior in human resources management and Spanish, said she tries to keep the best intentions of those around her in mind. This mindset led her to join and lead multiple organizations during her time at Kansas State. Rodriguez said it took minimal encouragement from a high school friend to get her to join Student Governing Association. Soon, she was running for a College of Business student senate seat. Rodriguez earned the seat. Earning the head seat on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee gave Rodriguez more opportunities to ensure her voice was heard by higher-ups in SGA. Her leadership positions have also connected her to the K-State community, she said. “I’m more aware of things going on around me,” Rodriguez said. “I try to be more aware of my biases and privileges. These are things that I haven’t found myself doing before now, and I’m not only noticing these changes professionally, I am seeing myself change as a person.” Maggie Billman, sophomore in secondary education, works with Rodriguez on the DEI committee, and she said she’s grateful for the qualities Rodriguez brings to the group. “Natalia is very passionate, outspoken and well-informed,” Billman said. “Whenever she speaks on something, she makes sure she has all of the details so she can make an argument about the things she is most passionate about.” Rodriguez has a positive impact both on the organizations she leads and those within them, Billman said. “She inspires me,” Billman said. “One of my favorite characteristics Natalia has as a leader is that she is willing to throw

Dylan Connell | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP

Natalia Rodriguez, junior in human resources management and Spanish, is involved in the Hispanic American Leadership Organization and the Student Government Association. her plans out the window when she sees the need of the group is something else. She is very versatile, thinks on the fly and is very in-tune to what other people are thinking and feeling.” Rodriguez also serves as the president of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization at K-State. She said HALO is a safe space for her, as she is surrounded by others with similar backgrounds. As president, Rodriguez plans and oversees the organization’s events. A lot of her work load comes during Spanish Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. During that period, HALO shares the Latinx heritage of its members with the university. “Being the president has helped me professionally by teaching me how to delegate, manage agendas, hold meetings and communicate well,” Rodriguez said. Another aspect of the job, Rodriguez said, is reaching out to new students of a similar background to let them know there is a supportive community for them on campus. “I’m very proud to be the president of an organization that is such a tight-knit community and will always be there for each

other,” Rodriguez said. “We are not only friends, but we are able to hold each other accountable and be supportive of whatever we do.” Sofia Leal, junior in marketing and secretary of HALO, said Rodriguez’s ability to make connections with people makes her a great leader. “She knows what she is doing in the sense that she knows a lot of people, she knows a bunch of resources that help her create the events that we run, making it very easy to work with her,” Leal said. To Leal, Rodriguez feels more like a friend than a coworker. “She does it all, and she knows that she has me and the rest of us as a support system with anything she needs help with, whether that be club-related or not,” Leal said. “I know her as a leader, but I also know her as a friend.” Rodriguez echoed Leal’s statement that her work goes beyond the organizations she works for. “I feel that I have grown more as a person in the sense that I can have more open and difficult conversations with people, and that has been an invaluable experience for me,” Rodriguez said.

NEWS

Professors adapt personal teaching styles to technology, online learning HALLIE EVERETT staff writer

After a quick switch to remote learning last spring, professors at Kansas State were able to more adequately prepare for online classes this fall. JJ Brotton, marketing instructor, said her previous experience teaching online helped her manage her classes this semester. “My philosophy with online teaching is just try to be as concise as I possibly can, lay it out in as simplest format as I can, so nobody will have questions,” Brotton said. “I think

COV ID-19

trying to be as clear as possible is where I try to go.” Despite her experience teaching online, Brotton said she prefers teaching in-person to get to know her students and stay engaged. “I’m really sad that when I go back to campus, I won’t be able to recognize the faces of this group of students,” Brotton said. “For me, that’s the whole reason I do this job. I love the students, so not being in the classroom and having those interactions is really rough.” Don Saucier, psychology professor, said for him, the most important aspect of teaching online is consistency.

“Every class is going to have a rhythm, it’s going to have a structure to it,” Saucier said. “Every Monday morning, that’s when my lecture material goes out. Every Tuesday afternoon, I have the highlight session where they’re synchronous with me and I go over the things that are the most important, and I’ll handle their questions.” Brotton said her biggest struggle in teaching online is knowing whether classes are working without the feedback she's used to in a face-to-face class. “I don’t get to see their faces. I don’t get to see their eye rolls or their shoulder shrugs

H E A LT H PAIGE EICHKORN staff writer

The Lafene Health Center's symptom survey is a way for students to check in with

their health while also alerting Lafene and university officials if they are in quarantine. Jennifer Miller, assistant director for health promotion at Lafene, said the survey is designed to give a daily

or them whispering to a friend when I talk about an assignment,” Brotton said. “I don’t get to see those things, so I’m not exactly sure how well everything is working. The few conversations I’ve had with students, they say things are OK.” Jeremy Briggs, sociology instructor, teaches a hybrid introduction to sociology class. Briggs said the preparation for the online portion of his course is vastly different than that for an in-person class. “With in-person, you can read the room a little bit and get a feel for the atmosphere, and you can adjust on the fly,” Briggs said. “With online, it’s

Lafene’s system survey to help prevent, control COVID-19 spread during flu season

check-in on how patients are feeling and to decide if they need to quarantine. Lafene has a contact tracing program with the Riley County Health Department as well.

“We're doing the contact tracing for all on-campus students — those like in the dorms, Jardine, the scholarship houses," Miller said. "And then also, for student athletes both on and off cam-

Archive Photo by Alex Todd | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP

Lafene Student Health Center, the base for the on-campus COVID-19 response, is on Sunset Avenue.

friday, october 30, 2020

much more prepared beforehand, and you deliver it, and it either works or it doesn’t.” Stacey Lhuillier, finance instructor, offers multiple synchronous lectures to provide students with as much structure and opportunity to ask questions as possible. “I have found that the synchronous classes that I’ve provided are a huge contribution to the class," Lhuillier said. "Last spring, everything I did was recorded, and I feel like there were a lot of moments where students took that information for granted and didn’t feel like it was necessary, so they missed a lot of key information.” Briggs chose to not offer many synchronous lectures this semester due to complications with technology, including WiFi quality issues for both instructors and students.

“If you require a live Zoom meeting, and the technology fails, there’s no way to come up with an alternative on the fly,” Briggs said. “The challenges with the technology are much higher in online instruction.” Saucier said helping students navigate classes effectively is important for professors to keep in mind. “Our students aren’t necessarily going to remember everything we taught them, but they’re going to remember how we guided them through this,” Saucier said. “If they remember that we tried our best to provide a positive educational experience, we tried our best to be empathetic to their situations and we tried our best to bring peace to our classes, they’re going to remember that.”

pus." When the contact tracing team is alerted of a positive case, they will call the person with symptoms, retrace their steps from the last two days and see who they interacted with and the places they visited. The team will then contact anyone the positive person interacted with to let them know they will need to quarantine. “We also give everyone who's a close contact the option if they want to come in and get tested,” Miller said. “They still are subject to that quarantine of 14 days if their test is negative, and then we do check-in calls with everyone who's in isolation and quarantine." Miller said they try to contact them at least every other day, just to see how they're doing and if they've developed any symptoms. Lafene’s staff has been able to balance between smaller care needs and COVID-like illnesses. Abby King, associate nursing director, said the setup is very fluid and changes with the demand that is seen in the clinic. "We kind of just go

where the need is, and try to help students as much as we can," King said. "All those pieces come together and help us make the decision on what we need in what areas, basically." Lafene's main entrance became designated for sick patients when a spike in positive COVID-19 cases occurred towards the beginning of classes in mid-August. “In the clinic we want to keep those potentially ill with COVID or other respiratory symptoms separated from those that do not have respiratory symptoms," King said. "But now we're seeing a decrease in cases and so, we're opening that back up to having sick and well enter through the main entrance, but still keeping them separated while they are in the building." King said this year will be especially important for people to get their flu shots with the flu season approaching. “We have a clinic dedicated, or I should say, schedule dedicated to individuals receiving their vaccine, so they can call or they can go online and schedule that appointment for their vaccine,” King said.

friday, october 30, 2020

GAMEDAY GUIDE

Men’s basketball team announces 2020-2021 schedule CAMERON BRADLEY sports editor

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K-State AthleticA released its the 2020-2021 men’s basketball schedule earlier this week, shedding some light on what Kansas State basketball might look like amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of the 28 regular-season games scheduled, 17 of will be played inside Bramlage Coliseum, beginning with the Little Apple Classic from Nov. 25 to Nov. 27. The Wildcats will take on Drake and former Big 12 Conference rival Colorado. Those matchups with Drake and Colorado are the first of five straight non-conference games at home, including tilts with Kansas City on Nov. 30, UNLV on Dec. 5 and Milwaukee on Dec. 8. Out of the eight

non-conference games scheduled for the Wildcats, ony one is played on the road in the Big 12/Big East Battle. The date and opponent for that matchup remains undecided. K-State opens up Big 12 play on Dec. 15, the earliest conference opener in school history, at Iowa State. This is the sixteenth meeting between the Wildcats and the Cyclones in the conference opener. The Big 12 home opener is against a Baylor team that ranked in the top five last year before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the remainder of the season. That matchup with the Bears is on Dec. 19. After the two early conference games, K-State gets into the non-conference schedule, playing two straight games at home against Jacksonville on Dec. 21 and South Dakota on Dec. 29.

The homestand concludes with K-State playing against TCU on Jan. 2, the first game of 2021. K-State then travels to Texas Tech on Jan. 5. The rest of January is highlighted by six conference matchups, with three played at home — Oklahoma State on Jan. 9, Iowa State on Jan. 13 and West Virginia on Jan. 23. Then, the team plays three on the road — Texas on Jan. 16, Oklahoma on Jan. 19 and Baylor on Jan. 27. The Wildcats take a break from conference play at the end of January with a matchup against former Big 12 foe Texas A&M in the annual SEC/Big12 Challenge on Jan. 20.

To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com

GAMEDAY GUIDE

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KNOW YOUR OPPONENT NATHAN ENSERRO

assistant sports editor

The Wildcats look to go 5-0 in conference play on Saturday for the first time since 2014. The Mountaineers are sitting at 2-2 in conference play with wins over Kansas and Baylor. Head coach Neal Brown is in his second year in Morgantown, West Virginia. He is one of four Big 12 Conference coaches hired prior to the 2019 season, and the only one of the now second-year head coaches with a win over Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman.

The Mountaineers have a four-game winning-streak against K-State, and the series is tied at 4-4 since West Virginia joined the Big 12 and 5-5 all-time. West Virginia’s balanced spread offense is run by junior quarterback Jarret Doege, a good passer but not much of a rushing threat. His legs are not a limitation, though. He can scramble around and avoid sacks, but he prefers to use his legs to buy time to find an open receiver. Junior running back Leddie Brown is the rushing threat in the offense. He is second in the Big 12 in all-purpose yards and third in

File photo by Logan Wassall | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP

Sophomore wide receiver Malik Knowles catches the ball against West Virginia at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Nov. 16, 2019.

rushing yards per game. He gets a lot of carries in the offense and pounds out 5.8 yards per rush. West Virginia’s offense tries to find a way to get Brown the ball on handoffs and in the passing game, but receiver Winston Wright is Doege’s favorite target. Wright gets 5.6 catches per game. They run almost entirely out of the shotgun with 10 personnel (one running back, zero tight ends) or 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end) and like to send Brown out of the backfield as a fifth receiver or use him on running back draw plays. On defense, the Mountaineers are stout. Brothers Darius and Dante Stills hold down a defensive line that limits opponents to just 109 yards per game — they are No. 2 and No. 4 in the Big 12 in tackles for loss, respectively. What is technically a threeman front usually looks like a four with linebacker redshirt freshman Jared Bartlett lined up as a standup end to get an extra rusher. The Mountaineers also move around sophomore Tykee Smith and let him play as a linebacker or safety. At 5-foot-10, 198 pounds, his position is technically called SPEAR, but it is the same safety-linebacker hybrid that is becoming popular to stop pass-oriented offenses.

K-State sets up for defensive battle against West Virginia

KEY MATCHUPS " THAT’S GOOD ENOUGH FOR A WILDCAT FIRST DOWN"

K-State will struggle to get explosive plays against this defense, so the team needs to move the ball methodically and keep the offense on the field with third down conversions. The third done has been a struggle on both sides of the ball for the Wildcats this season, only better than Kansas in conversion percentage on offense and defense. Part of that deficiency may be lack of success on early downs leading to too many third and longs. Last week, the worst defense in the Big 12 held K-State to just 4-12 on third down. At some point this season, this glaring weakness will bite the Wildcats and, in a likely low-scoring affair in West Virginia, it could be the difference.

A LITTLE HELP FROM MY DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS

Since 1999, K-State leads the nation in non-offensive touchdowns. Last week against hapless KU, the Wildcats cashed in two punt return touchdowns and a pick-six. The Wildcats made up for poor offensive showings with scores and good field position from the defense and special teams. The Wildcats lead the conference in turnover margin and it is not particularly close. The K-State defense takes the ball away eight more times than the offense coughs it up. K-State needs to add to that margin and probably score at least one non-offensive touchdown this week.

LYNCH-PIN

K-State senior kicker Blake Lynch will be a key in this game as well. Coming

into the season, he was one of the most accurate kickers in program history at 89.2 percent, but this season he has only converted 70 percent of his field goals. K-State needs him to be accurate and will potentially rely on deep kicks from Lynch — whose season long is 53. Ideally, he kicks more extra points than field goals. K-State should make it a point to convert red zone attempts into touchdowns instead of field goals, even if it means taking some risks.

PREDICTION: Points will be at a premium in Milan Puskar Stadium on Saturday. The difference in the game is the special teams or defense giving K-State a short field to score a touchdown and Lynch hitting a game-winner late in the fourth quarter. 20-17 K-State wins a nail biter.

How K-State football players fight off homesickness during the pandemic NATHAN ENSERRO assistant sports editor

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the football team is adapting to the new circumstances the best they can. For some, that includes staving off homesickness and trying to focus on football. A lot of K-State players haven't been home since summer practices began because of pandemic restrictions. “I haven’t been back in Atlanta since I think July,” senior defensive back DJ Render said. “I’m a fifth-year vet in the program.

I’m not really homesick at all. I’m very used to being out here.” Render said K-State players made it a goal to be healthy enough to compete and good enough to win this season. He said focusing on those goals helped him avoid homesickness. “It’s a blessing that I have parents that are able to come out here and travel to games. I don’t get to miss them too much. It’s always a pleasure to see them when they come,” Render said. Render played both wide receiver and defensive back during his five years in the program. This year, he’s stepped up on offense.

Senior linebacker Justin Hughes said he's also unable to go home to Georgia. “I just stay at home. I come to football practice, go home and play video games. That’s what I’ve been doing, that’s my little bubble,” Hughes said. “I just get on Call of Duty and have a good day, night, whatever.” Hughes said last spring, he spent lots of time with his family when they discovered campus closed because of the pandemic. “It was great being with my family and I do miss them,” Hughes said. “I do okay. I call them every other week, talk to

them, let them know how I’m doing. I’ve been handling it pretty well.” Older Wildcats like Render and Hughes have also taken on the role of looking out for younger players. “Whenever a teammate is feeling down, I like to reach out because I feel like I’m a positive spark for our players,” Render said. “I always want my teammates to feel like they can rely on me.” When freshman defensive back TJ Smith announced via Twitter that he was out for the season due to an injury, Hughes

said that Smith turned to him and fellow senior linebacker Elijah Sullivan for advice. “Me and Eli’s locker are right beside each other in the locker room. As soon as [Smith] found out, he came straight to us asking us what he needs to do to get better, what he needs to do to immediately make himself a better player as far as coming back, and his rehab,” Hughes said. Assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach Van Malone stood in for head coach Chris Klieman at the press conference because Klieman had a prior commitment. Malone shared a

little about supporting the players through this season. “Day-to-day, there’s challenges that our players face. When you talk about the COVID testing continually and the close contact, there’s a certain sense that you’re always on the edge because you just don’t know what tomorrow will bring,” Malone said. “Our players, our coaches, our support staff have done a great job of circling the wagons.” The Wildcats take on the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia. Kickoff is at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.

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Wildcat football looks to flip the script against West Virginia CODY FRIESEN staff writer

Despite the slip-up against Arkansas State in their first game of the season, the Wildcats haven’t lost again this season. The team hopes to continue that streak when facing West Virginia this Saturday, a foe that won the last four meetings between the teams. The Wildcats — who are currently a Big 12 Conference co-leader — are off to their second-best conference start since 2014. They started that season 5-0 in Big 12 play, interrupted by a loss to Auburn. Sophomore wide receiver and return man Phillip Brooks earned Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors with a school-record 189 punt return yards and two return touchdowns in the victory over in-state rival Kansas last weekend. Freshman quarterback Will Howard also became the first true freshman to win in his

PREVIEW first two starts for the Wildcats. Howard ranks eighth in the conference with 673 total yards in four games this season. West Virginia dropped their last game against Texas Tech, 34-27. Junior quarterback Jarret Doege threw for 347 yards and one touchdowns in the loss. Junior running back Leddie Brown rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns. The Mountaineer defense held the Red Raiders to only 348 yards. West Virginia boasts the best total defense in the conference — limiting opponents to 261.8 yards per game — and is the second scoring defense in the conference, holding offenses to 21.8 points per game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Junior wide receiver Chabastin Taylor is the top receiver for the Wildcats with 14 receptions for 237 yards and a touchdown. If the Wildcats want to be successful in the air, Taylor will be a crucial player. The return of senior linebacker Eli-

jah Sullivan is an instrumental part of the Kansas State defense. Sullivan leads the team with 30 tackles on the season with one interception. That experience is critical in a matchup against a relatively young West Virginia offense. Leddie Brown ranks third in the Big 12 in rushing with an average of 118.4 rush yards per game. Brown is tied for first in the conference in scoring with nine touchdowns on the year. Freshman defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor has four sacks on the year, which is the second-most in the Big 12. The Mountaineers have two more defensive stars in defensive linemen: the Stills brothers. A third threat on the defense could be an issue for the Wildcat offensive line. K-State enters the matchup as a surprising four-point underdog, and the over-under is set at 45.5. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia. The game is available on ESPN2.

File Photo by Logan Wassall | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP

Then-junior running back Harry Trotter runs the ball during the football game against West Virginia at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Nov. 16, 2019. The Wildcats lost to the Mountaineers with a final score of 24-20.

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‘GOD IS AMAZING’ ADAM MEYER staff writer

The Wildcat football program is known for developing players — giving players the opportunity to play at the power five conference level and taking chances on players that aren’t high on the recruiting radar. That was the case five years ago when Kansas State offered DJ Render, a 5-foot-11, 191-pound wide receiver from Kennesaw, Georgia, a scholarship. He took the chance to play at the power five level. Render redshirted his freshman year and finally received playing time as a wide receiver in his final season. Throughout his time at K-State, Render struggled to compete for playing time. He moved to defensive back at one point because he couldn’t find playing time as a wide receiver. There, he got some snaps in, as well as on special teams, but he still didn’t produce many stats. Things changed for Render again this season. Oppor-

tunities at the wide receiver position opened up this season. After a transfer out, the position needed some help. Head coach Chris Klieman asked Render if he was willing to move back to wide receiver. “I just want to do anything and everything I can to help this team win and be successful,” Render said. “When [Klieman] asked me to do that — I was all in.” Render — who has a fun and silly personality that defensive back Ross Elder calls “something else” — was all smiles during his time at the podium addressing reporters on Tuesday. “It is always good to have someone like him in the locker room who uplifts every other person behind him,” Elder said. “He is always talking and cracking jokes. It’s awesome having him in the locker room.” His personality allows him to bond with his teammates. While struggling to find playing time, he thought of transferring, but the bond with his teammates kept him a Wildcat. “I just love my team so

much,” Render said. “It is ridiculous. I have really met brothers for life here. That was really the holding glue that allowed me to stay here. ... I wouldn’t want it any other way. I love K-State.” Render appreciated former head coach Bill Snyder and his staff taking a chance, but he is happy to be a part of Klieman’s team. The Wildcats’ game against TCU was Render’s first game at wide receiver this season. He made three receptions for 24 yards. Render said the first reception is a special moment for him. “It felt great,” Render said. “I haven’t felt that feeling since my senior year in high school. My literal last reception in high school. It felt so good. All I can say is God is amazing. I love Coach Klieman and his staff for giving me this opportunity.” The following week against Kansas, he made one reception for 21 yards. Now, he’s doing what he can to develop solid chemistry with freshman quarterback Will Howard. They work together

before and after practice. “I just want to be able to be his security blanket in certain situations,” Render said. “I want to be able to allow him to have confidence in me. When it comes time to go out there and execute, I just want to go out there and make the plays for the team.” Senior linebacker Justin Hughes praised Render and said he is proud of Render for his hard work. “I tell him, ‘Just keep your head level and to keep your head high, just stay the course,’” Hughes said. It was not exactly how Render expected his college football career to play out, but he is happy the tides worked out for him. “It is truly a blessing — God is amazing,” Render said. “It is amazing how when you just stick the course and trust the process, and you know, you have to have an honest self-as-

DJ Render sees playing time as a receiver in his final season

File Photo by Logan Wassall | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP

Former West Virginia senior cornerback Hakeem Bailey (left) and then-junior defensive back DJ Render (right) pose together after their teams’ matchup at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Nov. 16, 2019. The Wildcats lost to the Mountaineers, 24-20. sessment when it comes to certain things that I was doing in the past that wouldn’t allow me to get on the field. But now when I truly sat back and realized what I needed to do differ-

ent to allow myself to get on the field, I made that commitment for the team. It is my senior year, I just wanted to have the best impact that I could for this team.”

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C U LT U R E CHAVELA MARTINEZ staff writer

This week, Kansas State’s Black Student Union hosted its annual My Black Is Beautiful Week. Cara Bruce, BSU’s president and junior in social sciences, said this year’s events were more difficult to organize than in the past. While Bruce said the week went well for the most part, BSU faced some challenges because of COVID-19 and university regulations. On Sunday, BSU hosted a come-and-go study session to advance the academic stability mentioned in its mission statement — “to encourage and progress Black students to study.” Bruce hoped to have pizza at the session as an inexpensive meal, but said K-State denied the request despite her efforts to explain how BSU would keep the process sanitary. “Instead, I had to pay $80 on a sandwich platter from Jimmy John’s,” Bruce said. Wednesday was meant to be a “Trunk-or-Treat” event, but BSU had to cancel the event because of Riley County’s COVID-19 regulations. “This activity was to spread positivity to local Manhattan youth as well as opening up dialogue between Manhattan high school BSU and K-State BSU to sponsor a mentorship between the two organizations,” Bruce said. In lieu of the intended event, BSU members dropped

CULTURE

friday, october 30, 2020

off the candy for the “Trunkor- Treat” at the Boys and Girls Club. Bruce said the university is making it difficult for nonprofit organizations to come together on campus. There were many “road blocks” during the planning process,

BSU struggles through COVID-19 regulations to host My Black Is Beautiful Week

including the inability to meet on campus, she said. “Being from a marginalized community, I saw this as very alarming because when you are in a marginalized community, and you are not able to meet in person, it feels as if you are by yourself,” Bruce said.

As a former member of the K-State track and field team, Alyssa Harris, freshman in animal sciences and industry and pre-vet, said it’s frustrating to have to jump through so many hoops for BSU events because of COVID-19 regulations. “I have seen both sides ... I

see what [athletes] are given, and leaving, joining BSU, I see the struggle just to get the bare minimum,” Harris said. “It hurts.” Despite the struggles of planning My Black Is Beautiful Week, Harris said she was impressed by the turnout and quality of interaction that oc-

Dylan Connell | COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP

The Black Student Union held its annual Black Is Beautiful Week, but with some COVID-19 precautions limiting festivities.

curred at the events. Monday was all about meditation, with one BSU member teaching a yoga class via Zoom, and Powderpuff Tuesday gave participants a chance to get out and get active. Harris said Monday created a fun bonding experience seeing other BSU members and the instructor going through all the moves. Thursday, the final day of My Black is Beautiful Week, was all about self-care and Black hair. “This is a day of expressing self-love of yourself and of your hair,” Bruce said. “Hair is an important thing in Black culture.” BSU gave away gift baskets of hair care products to support their message of celebrating Black hair. Bruce said running a student organization during a pandemic has required her to adapt and grow as a leader. With BSU’s next events planned for February to celebrate Black History Month, Bruce is working ahead of time to schedule a speaker on Black culture. Despite challenges posed by the pandemic, Bruce said she hopes to preserve the legacy and integrity of BSU at K-State in her time as president. “BSU is a built-in family for a lot of Black students,” Bruce said. “I am here to explore, refresh, experience Black culture, elevate Black voices and give people who are Black the chance and avenue to showcase their leadership.”

Manhattan community makes plans for safe Halloween festivities ALEXIS LETTERMAN staff writer

With Halloween rapidly approaching, college students and community members begin to make plans for how to celebrate the holiday this year. In spite of the pandemic, enjoy-

ing the celebration while remaining safe is not impossible, but requires some changes this year, local health officer Julie Gibbs said. “Trick-or-treating may look a little different this year, as we should all continue to avoid large gatherings and large crowds," Gibbs said in an email. "I would highly suggest

for those houses offering candy to children that they not have the traditional candy bowl where everyone reaches into the same thing.” This is promising news for those that want to be cautious, but also do not want their children to miss the Halloween tradition of trick-or-treating.

“We are going trick-or-treating," Sarah Taylor, who plans on taking her four-year-old niece out trick-or-treating in Manhattan, said. "I am not going to let COVID-19 stop her from having a good time and celebrating the holiday, but we are still taking precautions." Taylor said they plan to wear

masks, not touch candy buckets and instead let the person distributing candy put it in the bucket for her. For those without children, Halloween celebrations often involve watching scary movies and spending time with friends, but there are still precautions one can take to mitigate the risk of exposure.

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friday, october 30, 2020

REVIEW

Musical duo iDKHOW showcases glitz, glam and ‘Razzmatazz’ on debut album

JARED SHUFF

staff writer

Musical duo I Don’t Know How But They Found Me — stylized iDKHOW — produce the perfect blend of Millennial/Gen Z existentialism and 1980s glam rock with their debut album Razzmatazz. Formed by Dallon Weekes and Ryan Seaman in 2016, iDKHOW built a cult following through a unique marketing tactic. Despite past associations with bands like Panic! At The Disco and Falling In Reverse, the duo decided against using their history as a launchpad. They originally marketed their music videos as “found footage” of a band from the 80s that never amount-

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ed to anything. Weekes and Seaman built iDKHOW up from the dust, performing in dive bars and denying the existence of the group when asked about it. The word “razzmatazz” is described as a noisy and exciting activity meant to attract attention. Nothing could describe this album better. Filled with performative and theatrical vocals, intricate lyrics and thrilling instrumentals, Razzmatazz definitely grabs your attention. iDKHOW gets straight to the point with the opening track “Leave Me Alone,” a powerful statement calling out the toxicity of celebrity culture. The song addresses an unidentified person who sells their soul for fame and

fortune at the expense of their friendships. Following another powerhouse anthem, iDKHOW mellows down with “Nobody Likes The Opening Band.” It was first released in 2018 as a free download and is an ode to the opening bands of the world struggling for an audience. Weekes sings out a plea for people to “Take pity on the opening band, / Cause no one came to see them except their mom and dad.” A tasteful trio of voice, piano and tambourine, I’d argue this as one of my favorites from the album.

To read more, visit kstatecollegian.com

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friday, october 30, 2020

REVIEW MADISON DANIEL

assistant culture editor

"Schitt's Creek" is a comedy television series that follows a family of four as they navigate a new life in a town called Schitt's Creek. The once-wealthy family goes from riches to rags after father Johnny Rose's company goes under when his financial advisor embezzles company money. The only asset they have is the town Johnny bought as a joke. So, they move there. Initially, I did not like the show at all. The characters radiate valley-girl vibes and leave you

with a bad taste in your mouth when you see how helpless, ungrateful and sheltered they are. Among a second viewing though, I discovered this is the goal of the show. The two children, Alexis and David, are well into their thirties and still entirely dependent on their parents. Alexis is the quintessential girly-girl that seeks attention constantly, is extremely self-absorbed and is incapable of doing anything on her own. Her brother David is the character that shocked me the most. He is a bisexual male that brings darker, drier humor into the show. He is also very

‘Schitt’s Creek’ characters show acceptance, gratitude

spoiled, but you see him quickly realize this is his new life and he accepts it. Johnny's wife Moira is a former soap opera star and all about dramatics. She exaggerates every accomplishment she ever made. Her head is so far up in the clouds, it is almost sad. She is very worried about her and her family's image throughout the entirety of the series. Of all of them, Johnny is probably one of the most real characters. He devotes his time to try and get them out of the town and back on their feet and is always looking for business activities. He is also one of the most

level-headed and is the only one that can bring Moira back from one of her tantrums. These aspects of the characters allow for the amazing development that makes the show what it is. It goes from being about a shallow, insatiable family to major themes of acceptance, change and gratitude. The four start to branch out and realize the people in this town are only trying to help them when no one else would. It shifts from a "why me" complex, to "play the hand you are dealt with" attitude. The show most prominently portrays acceptance through the family showing up to the small

town and sticking out like a sore thumb, sexuality and socioeconomic differences. When the family first found out they would lose everything, they emphasize that none of their so-called "friends" even reached out or offered any assistance. They begin to realize that while life was better when they had money, it was not genuine. They befriend many people in the town, become involved in their government and even start their own businesses there. While this is not always true when I think of small towns, I typically see them as being more on the conservative side. I was refreshed to see David's sexuality was not only accepted but embraced by everyone. He is free to be who he wants to be and nobody judges him for it. Alexis, who is seemingly ditsy, is also encouraged to go back

to school and get her degree. The townspeople never judge her for not finishing high school or going to college but instead help her navigate her way through it as a 30-year-old woman. Each of the family members realizes that if they want to do bigger things, they have to take matters into their own hands and become the go-getters they are at the conclusion of the series. Overall, I would say while the show may seem dumb at first, it really sends a great message. You get to see a family grow into real people with compassion and the transformation makes it worth the watch. It is both funny and sentimental. "Schitt's Creek" just wrapped up its sixth and final season and is available to stream on Netflix, so if you need a new show to binge-watch, this is definitely worth checking out.

Art bridges political divide: New RBG mural unveiled in downtown Manhattan GABBY TURVEY staff writer

The downtown Manhattan area received a new mural inspired by progress the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg made throughout history. Local artist and graphic designer for ACME Local Taylor Carr helped with the RBG mural. Carr said there was a calling for artists and wanted to give it a try. Having no experience in mural painting, she said the biggest challenge was not knowing how the public would react. "The most important part was that people from different political parties started coming down to admire the almost done mural,” Carr said. “The sweetness of people being excited for the vision we had was one of the best parts.” Carr admires RBG for being a strong leader who inspired her to also be a better leader. She said she highly values the

ideas Justice Ginsburg pushed like connecting, creating meaningful relationships and listening to others. Carr contributes a lot of work to the Manhattan community, including designing the “Kansas: ‘It's Not That Bad!’” slogan for ACME Local. She first got involved with the community as a decorator for Varsity Donuts her sophomore year at Kansas State. She eventually helped out other businesses with graphic design. While working at Varsity, Carr met Jessica Kerr, community organizing and education chair for the Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice. Kerr said Carr has a positive and joyful opinion of life. The duo worked together to help develop the Manhattan community by bringing big ideas to this small town. “It makes me hopeful that there is an incremental change

for the new generation of women to take and own power,” Kerr said. “[Carr] has helped me learn about being a vulnerable woman and to not be so internally focused.” While painting the mural, Carr received help from Kathleen Tanona, a local donor. Tanona said Carr's positive, ambitious attitude has made her a more active business partner. “Carr is young at heart, but responsible," Tanona said. "She doesn’t give up things for her responsibilities. She has helped me become someone who trusts my instincts more.” The mural painting began Oct. 16 and finished in two days with help from many local businesses and donors. It is in the alley opposite the Chef, off Fourth Street between Poyntz and Houston. Sean Schaper COLLEGIAN MEDIA GROUP

CULTURE

K U LT I V A T E

ANNA SCHMIDT opinions editor

Anna Schmidt, Collegian opinions editor and junior in journalism: “After — I guess it’s been almost six, seven months now — of the things you’ve had to do, what do you think has been the most challenging thing about your job?” Maggie Billman, student senate speaker pro tempore and sophomore in secondary education:

“I guess one of the more difficult things that Nathan and I have had to do together is just pick our committee chairs. “So, there’s six committees in SGA in the legislative branch. So we have three funding based ones which are the Privilege Fee Committee, so that big, almost $500 fee that you pay each semester — students actually decide where that goes. So if you’re ever interested, hop onto a meeting or email me or whatever, and I’ll get you hooked up. “But there’s the Priv-

ilege Fee committee, and then there’s the Travel Allocations committee and then the On-campus Allocations committee. Those just handle travel and on-campus funding allocations. “Then there’s three project-based committees. So there’s the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee that I touched on earlier. There’s also the Governmental Relations Committee and they work on like “get out the vote” efforts. In the past, they’ve worked on affordable and

The show must go online: McCain offers new livestream performance series BEN SHIELDS staff writer

Under normal circumstances, the McCain Performance Series would be underway, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the performance series is canceled at least through December. The new livestream series will be free of charge for some events and will require a ticket for others. The events will either be live or prerecorded, made available exclusively to the McCain audience. Todd Holmberg, executive director, is in charge of this project and said because of previous broadcasting contract restrictions, he knew the only choice would be to livestream new content. “The idea for this came after the pandemic forced arts venues to shut down all across the United States," Holmberg said. "I noticed some of the big-

ger organizations such as the Metropolitan Opera and LA Philharmonic were starting to stream pre-recorded content." Holmberg said the change of scenery would bring a new perspective to the art. “Even though people are viewing from their homes, they are still experiencing an arts event together in a very human way," Holmberg said. "Connecting with arts events, even if only over the internet, helps fill the [social] void." The service partnered up with Wildcat Watch — a video production services for K-State student groups and organizations — for the livestreams. Laura Keener, live events producer for Wildcat Watch and senior in mass communications, is in charge of getting a crew together and producing a live event. "Some roles include general supervision of cam-

era set up," Keener said. "I decide where the cameras go, I set up the streaming devices, I work with the lighting crew to figure out what looks best on camera then I direct the show and technical direct by myself while the show is going.” Tyler Traxson, advisor for Wildcat Watch video production, said this project would not be possible if Wildcat Watch wasn't able to get involved. “The people with the McCain Performance Series reached out inquiring about the possibility to stream events through a multiple camera liveswitched feed," Traxson said. "Wildcat Watch video production was in the perfect position to provide these services at an affordable cost.” More events are on the schedule for this semester with the next being Andy McKee on acoustic guitar at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 25.

equitable housing efforts and just a lot of connections that they’re making with the city of Manhattan. Then finally, there is our Senate Operations Committee and they do most of the nitty-gritty work like making sure that the legislation people have submitted is OK to go to senate. They do a lot of work with student body elections and stuff like that. “So those are the six committees that are involved in SGA. There’s actually at-large positions for those, so next year

friday, october 30, 2020

Maggie Billman on methods to combat personal, professional obstacles if you’re looking for an easy way to get involved in SGA, look out for that application. “Yeah so at the beginning — well I guess it was spring — so at the end of last year whenever I was elected, one of the jobs we had to do was pick the six people to fill out those committee chair positions. We had a whole bunch of applicants, I can’t even remember, probably like 12 to 15. There were a bunch — I might be over-exaggerating — but there were a lot of qualified people that we had to

turn away and I was so new to the position and still green to SGA and I had to call people and be like, “Hey I’m really sorry, we decided that someone else should have this position.” Interested in hearing more about Billman’s experience as student senate speaker pro tempore and more? Check out the “Collegian Kultivate” podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

One tank trip: WWI Liberty Memorial and Museum provides a window into history MADISON DANIEL assistant culture editor

If you only had one tank of gas to go to the destination of your choice, where would you go? The National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, is an historic, educational destination, just a tank of gas away. Located in the heart of downtown Kansas City, the museum and memorial offer enough to fill your agenda for the day. The WWI Liberty Memorial and Museum contains the largest collection of World War I artifacts of any museum and is designated as a National Historic Landmark. The outside is readily identified by the Liberty Tower, but the

main museum building is located underneath. The memorial tower also overlooks all of downtown, offering an impressive view of the city. The Egyptian Revival-style structure was completed in 1926, and stood alone until the 80,000 square foot museum was constructed below in 2004. The underground museum offers a wide range of artifacts, videos, recreations of the soldiers' trenches and interactive pieces. Not only are you able to read about the history of WWI and see original documents, you're also guided through what happened during the war step-by-step. Some of the current exhibitions include: French Fashion, Women in WWI: Votes and Voices and two 100 Years of Collecting

exhibitions, which feature art and artifacts from the war. The museum contains over 330,000 items, and is still growing. The museum and memorial is so impressive, former presidents, prominent generals, celebrities and senators have traveled from all over to visit. It is ranked the fifth-best museum in the U.S. and is the No. 1 visited spot in Kansas City. The website has all of the details regarding COVID-19 safety and regulations, and is taking them seriously. Face masks are required, and they have increased cleaning and modified exhibits to allow for social distancing. Next time you are looking for somewhere to go for the day, the WWI Liberty Memorial and Museum is a great option.

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OPI NI ON ANNA SCHMIDT

opinions editor

When you walk into the Peters Recreation Complex that once bustled with sweaty students shifting from machines to mats, things look more calm than they once did. Since COVID-19 struck, the Rec had to crack down in several ways in the name of safety. This means tem-

perature checks when you walk in, new hand sanitizer stations, machines spaced six feet apart and mandatory face coverings at all times. Mandatory face coverings at all times means exactly what it sounds like — all times. This means that whether you are running on the treadmill or track, or bench pressing and doing squats, you are required to

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wear a mask. While the rule seems small, it has a strong impact on students’ lives. That impact starts with the fact that cardio workouts like running, stair climbing or biking becomes increasingly difficult as the workout progresses. The athlete’s breathing gets heavier and their lungs demand more oxygen, which is hard to come by with a

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Wear masks when it makes sense, not when it doesn’t

piece of cloth in front of your mouth. For the average person, a long cardio workout with a mask on is extra difficult and will likely limit the intensity level of workout they are able to do. While of course it looks like a small sacrifice that students should be making to keep their peers safe at the gym, it is unclear who the sacrifice is really keeping

safe. Machines are all six feet apart and wiped down with sanitizer between uses, which both make it very difficult for any virus to be transmitted. Not to mention in some cases it’s not as small a sacrifice as it may seem. The inability to workout fully or comfortably might steer students away from going to the Rec, and cause them to lose out on potential workouts, especially as

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the weather continues to cool and running outside becomes less practical. This is worth noting because working out can be a key component to mental stability and combating mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Mental health issues are especially present in college students under copious amounts of stress, and even more so during an unprecedented and stressful period of all of our lives. Not to mention, working out strengthens your body which in turn can strengthen your immune system, which is an important muscle to be building as COVID-19 continues to spread. Creating circumstances that dissuade a student from getting a workout in is not serving them at all. By requiring masks full time at the Rec, K-State is covering their bases, but there are a number of other adequate sanitary measures they are taking to ensure safety. Adding on the face covering requirement feels unnecessary and like it’s there simply for optics, and it has consequences. Being safe has never been more important. However, rules that make sense are just as important. Unnecessary rules can and do have effects that can ripple into numerous parts of people’s lives. Anna Schmidt is a junior in mass communications and the opinions editor for the Collegian. 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.

friday, october 30, 2020

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