VOL. 121, ISSUE 111
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Kansas Senate bill would allow religious discrimination by student organizations
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PAGE 3: Students live at retirement center for class
SGA passes resolution in opposition to bill allowing discrimination based on ‘sincerely held’ beliefs TAYLOR HARRELSON the collegian
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he Student Governing Association passed a resolution in opposition to Kansas Senate Bill 175, which would allow college student groups with “sincerely held religious beliefs” to discriminate toward membership. Senate Bill 175, which passed the Senate last year, will allow religious student organizations to discriminate in their membership based on the following stipulations: Members must adhere to the organization’s sincerely held religious beliefs, comply with those beliefs and the associated conduct and be committed to furthering the organization’s religious missions, according to the Wichita Eagle article “Protections for religious student groups pass Kansas Senate.”
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PAGE 6: Photos: #FacesOfMHK showcases students
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SGA requires 2.0 GPA for undergrad senators
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Ryan Manring | THE COLLEGIAN
Jordan Edwards, campus staff member with Student Mobilization, gives a message to attendees and students at a weekly meeting focused on spiritual development and leadership.
RCPD releases Fake Patty’s Day statistics COLLIN JUST the collegian
Another year of Fake Patty’s Day festivities is in the books and once again, law enforcement officers had their work cut out for them. From 7 p.m. March 4 to 6 a.m. March 6, law enforcement received 269 service calls from citizens and arrested 63 subjects, according a press release from the Riley County Police Department. Officers issued 596 citations for offenses, including 79 for minors in possession and 295 for possession of an open container. Mat Droge, RCPD public information officer, said every Riley County officer was required to work Fake Patty’s Day along with the help of several outside agencies from as far away as Hays, Kansas. On Saturday, Droge was on call at the command post, which was temporarily located at the ice rink in Manhattan City Park for the holiday. Droge said that while it was a busy day, nothing occurred that was too out of the ordinary compared to past years. He said he hopes these statistics can help educate students so in the future they are more conscious of the choices they make when drinking. “It comes down to safety,” Droge said. “This is an event that promotes over-intoxication, which is more dangerous than I think a lot of people that participate give it credit.” Droge said the department recognizes that many people participate in Fake Patty’s Day responsibly, and officers have no problem with those scenarios. “If you want to hang out on your front yard and drink a beer, you’re of legal age and you want to play lawn darts, go right ahead,” Droge said. “We don’t care at all. Have fun. We just don’t want anyone hurt. That’s really our biggest concern.” Jared Erpelding, senior in economics, spent his Fake Patty’s Day serving the community as well, but his contribution was a bit different than Droge’s. Erpelding bartended at Johnny Kaw’s Sports Bar in Aggieville on Saturday. This was Erpelding’s first year working the holi-
JENA ERNSTING the collegian
Changes for voting procedures, filling vacancies and financial allocations for academic competition teams were discussed at the Student Governing Association meeting Thursday. Possible changes for the layout of SGA presidential elections were brought to the floor, including changing the format of primary elections. Jack Ayers, Special Committee on Senate Membership chair and senior in chemical engineering, presented a plan of action on filling vacant seats. “We’re trying to solidify the time process,” Ayers said. The plan fills the seat with a temporary senator in the form of an intern until additional candidates are available to fill the seat. Kevin Klein, treasurer, chair of the University Allocations Committee and senior in mechanical engineering, said the financial needs of academic competition teams exceeded the $45,000 initially disbursed to them through the Student Activity Fee Privilege Fee agreement. “The need for funding has only increased,” Klein said. “For the time being this is the best we can do. This extra $40,000 will not break the bank.” It was voted that academic competition teams be specially allocated $40,000 for fiscal year 2017, creating a new total of $85,000 that will be dispersed to academic competition teams. To read more, visit www. kstatecollegian. com.
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day rather than partaking in it, and he said the transition was “pretty wild.” “From when I came in at 1 p.m. and left at 2 a.m., there was maybe a slight lull period around 2 in the afternoon,” Erpelding said. “But other than that it was pretty busy that entire time. There were times when I was just overwhelmed.” Erpelding said it was like hosting a typical Saturday night crowd throughout the duration of an entire day. He said he was amazed he got through the day between the drink orders, minor scuffles and a cash cannon that hurled dollar bills into groups of intoxicated college students. Lucas Downes, junior in architecture, said he ventured into Aggieville with a few friends at 9 a.m. on Saturday in an effort to avoid the large crowds. He said they started their morning at Kite’s Bar and Grill, but it was not too long until they were met with a swarm of fellow Fakers. “At 9 it’s actually not too busy,” Downes said. “I think it was about 11 when Kite’s started getting packed. Out on the patio area it was pretty much shoulder to shoulder.” Downes said even though it was early, there were already several cops lining the streets of Aggieville. He said that having this high level of law enforcement has an influence on the way people act, but he believes that as people drink more, they begin to care less. “I think at that point, people are aware of the cops, but they don’t really think about the consequences,” Downes said. “People are probably going to do what they want to do.” Droge said from his perspective, RCPD puts out a lot of information regarding health and safety to get people thinking about those consequences. He said even if only one or two people respond to this information in a positive way, then it’s worth it. “I think that to be a good law enforcement agency you can’t just enforce the law,” Droge said. “I think you have to take some steps to educate the community on things that can help them stay safer, things that can keep them out of trouble. I think that just goes into being a transparent agency, and at RCPD we are transparent and we want to remain that way.”
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friday, march 11, 2016
Student spends semester at retirement center CARLIE STENZEL the collegian
“I live in a retirement community,” isn’t something you typically hear from a college student. However, every year, this becomes part of the college experience for 11 students. I am a sophomore working toward my bachelor’s degree in anthropology with a minor in mass communications. This spring, I am taking Associate Professor of Anthropology Michael Wesch’s Digital Ethnography class. For the spring semester over the past four years, Wesch’s students have moved into Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community. Before the first group of students moved in, Wesch gave a talk at Meadowlark and said while he was giving the talk he “realized there was a little community.” “It wasn’t just a community because it looks like a community with the bar and the movie theater and everything,” Wesch said. “It’s a community because you can tell there are people that like hanging out with each other and there is also tension and challenges.” My classmates and I moved into this community a few days before the spring semester started. None of us knew each other, and we were about to be roommates in a retirement community. The first task at hand was furnishing our two apartments. There are six girls in the class, including myself, who share one apartment and four out of the five guys in our class share the other. I spent the first day moving in the furniture I had found at thrift stores in Kansas City while the rest of my classmates searched for
Allison Evans | THE COLLEGIAN
Carlie Stenzel, sophomore in anthropology, is spending the semester living at Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community for her Digital Ethnography class. couches and other necessities. By the end of the weekend, we had managed to fit three beds in the one bedroom and had two air mattresses, a comfortable couch and a kitchen table set up in our living room. To us, the craziest part of our current living situation was the fact that six girls were sharing a one-bedroom apartment. To everyone else, it was the fact that six college girls were sharing an apartment in a retirement community. Over the next few weeks, I spent the majority of my free time participating in activities at Meadowlark and getting to know the residents. I ate meals with the residents, played bingo with them and talked with them for hours as we played card games or watched
some K-State basketball. Every resident I meet is full of stories, history and wisdom. With each story, comes more curiosity and more questions I have for them. But, at the same time, they are curious about our lives. Warren Walters, my friend and a resident at Meadowlark for six years, said his favorite thing about the students being here is “getting acquainted with (us).” “I like to reminisce of the past history and play bingo with you guys,” Walters said. Walters said the residents are glad to have us around, but it does not really change anything for them. For me, the conversations I have with the residents are changing the way I view older generations and how I view
myself. When the class first started, I expected to be interviewing a lot of residents about their lives. More often than not, however, I am simply having a conversation and telling stories with residents rather than interviewing them. As we have shared stories, mistakes and hopes for the future, I have built relationships that I will cherish and never forget. I consider many of the residents to be my friends, but I also look up to them as mentors. They are always eager to listen to my stories and to give me advice if I ask for it. In addition to developing a friendship, opening up to the residents and making myself vulnerable seems to make them
more comfortable and willing to share the personal details of their stories. Throughout the semester, I have realized that storytelling is an easy way to build relationships with both the residents and my roommates. At the start of the semester, I hadn’t thought of the friendships that would be made with my classmates. Through late nights at Meadowlark and in Waters Hall working on projects, however, we have shared our lives and stories and have become more than just classmates. We are classmates, roommates and a small group of friends that treat each other like family. Not only have we grown together as a class as we got to know each other and collaborated on projects, but I have also grown individually. I am becoming a better storyteller and anthropologist because of the projects we have had over the past two months. Wesch said this class has “brought life back to (his) teaching.” I think my classmates would agree with me that he is bringing life to our education. Rather than a typical semester full of lectures, I get to hang out with residents at Meadowlark and collaborate with an incredible team of students. “This class is about the research and trying to dive into peoples lives,” Wesch said. “It’s about more than just knowing a bunch of stuff and applying techniques. Ultimately, good anthropology requires you to know yourself and nurture a depth of insight to tell good stories about what you discover.” Carlie Stenzel is a sophomore in anthropology. Please send comments to current@ kstatecollegian.com.
Anthropology class lives in retirement center to learn new culture KAYLEE GUNZELMAN the collegian
It is not often that college students live just steps away from retirement communities, but for 11 students this semester, these communities are now their living quarters. For the last four years, the Digital Ethnography class taught by Michael Wesch, associate professor of sociology, anthropology and social work, has spent the spring semester living in the Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community. The students interact with the citizens living there while studying the older generation. They then create a digital story about what they learned from Meadowlark. “Even our most mundane moments of life are blooming and buzzing with complexity,” Wesch said. “So what we’re trying to do is create a digital art that can present the mundaneness in a very profound way that brings out that blooming, buzzing capacity. In some ways, we see the things we produce as an attempt to produce empathy and understanding. In many ways that’s just kind of what anthropology is about.” Rachel Nyhart, senior in anthropology, said the main
Emily Lenk | THE COLLEGIAN
Dr. Wesch, associate professor of anthropology, listens to students present their projects in Waters Hall on Thursday. objective is to get ethnography experience. Since the class cannot travel to a different country, she said Wesch has the students live in Meadowlark to gain some experience with a different culture. “We’re not really able to have those experiences in a different country,” Nyhart said. “So this is his way of al-
lowing us to kind of do a full immersion thing while still attending school, yet kind of learning a different community and a different culture and getting that ethnography experience.” Not only is this a learning experience for students in the class, but also residents of the retirement home.
BILL | SGA opposition sends
‘strong message’ about students’ values continued from page
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Jessica Van Ranken, junior in political science and student body president-elect, said she was glad SGA passed a resolution in opposition. “I think it sends a strong message about what Kansas State University students value,” Van Ranken said. The bill was passed into the Kansas House of Representatives Committee on Federal and State Affairs on April 2, 2015. It never got out of committee but could be looked at again this year, according to Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka. Abigail Newton, junior in communication studies, said she is on the leadership team for Student Mobilization, a religious student organization also known as STUMO, and a leader on their summer project, called Kaleo. “I agree with the resolution proposed by SGA because you don’t want to opt anyone out of any opportunity to be involved on campus,” Newton said.
The bill would prohibit state universities from taking action against student religious groups that require members to adhere to the group’s religious beliefs, according to the Wichita Eagle article. “It struck me as a bill with no foundation,” Kelly said. “I don’t know any groups that have been impacted by not having this bill. Usually laws are passed that have already existing problems.” Van Ranken said she had not heard any concerns about the current situation. “As a student I haven’t heard any concerns,” Van Ranken said. “There was a consensus from the Student Senate that we were not interested in it and focused more in opposing the bill.” Sen. Steve Fitzgerald, R-Leavenworth, sponsored the bill and said it was intended to ensure religious freedom on campuses, according to the Wichita Eagle article. “There have been no students infiltrating, and I don’t foresee that happening in the fu-
ture,” Kelly said. SGA statues also prohibit student organizations from discriminating on “the basis of age, sex, race, religious faith, national origin, physical ability or sexual orientation.” “K-State has inclusive, non-discriminatory, diversity and family atmosphere,” Van Ranken said. “I think this resolution protects the inclusion of K-State students and shows the value of how we treat one another with respect.” Newton said no matter what organization you are a part of, religious or non-religious, every organization has its own mission statement, so with that you can decide if you like the purpose and then decide if that is something you would like to be a part of. “I don’t think I would run into the problem of discrimination towards membership because I wouldn’t want to join an organization that I don’t have the same values as or same beliefs,” Newton said.
“The number one thing is I’ve learned a lot about anthropology,” Kay Shanks, a Meadowlark Hills resident, said. “I had no idea what it was. Number two, it’s fun to visit with them. It’s amazing. They have taken our stereotypes of the young people and blown those all to smithereens.”
Students have also broken down preconceived stereotypes of their own, Bridget Lynch, sophomore in anthropology, said. “One of the biggest (stereotypes) is that they aren’t active,” Lynch said. “We get the ‘Meadowlark Messenger,’ their newsletter, every Thursday, and on the back it’s got a list of activities they can do and it’s everything from tai chi to bingo to card making to movie times, special luncheons and a ball. There’s all these different activities throughout the day, so they’re not just sitting in their room watching TV. They’re doing things.” One of the activities the class became involved with was a formal dance, held Jan. 29. “The ball was a mixture of formal and casual attire,” Ariana Dunlap, freshman in theater, said. “The food was really good, like five-star cuisine. The music was really old-fashioned, but it was surprisingly danceable. We mingled with a ton of people and did the photo booth. One of the ladies danced with all the guys. My class likes to say this ball was a lot better than most of our prom experiences.” Jonathan Lindholm, Meadowlark Hills resident, said just talking to the stu-
dents is engaging. “It’s interesting to visit (with them), find out what they’re doing, what courses they’re taking, things like that,” Lindholm said. “I’ve learned that you can get along with the younger generation and learn things from them.” Nyhart said she has been affected by this experiment in many ways. “I’ve been learning a lot about myself and how I deal with different situations,” Nyhart said. Lynch said the class has also changed her perspective. “The class has really made me grow as a person,” Lynch said. “I’ve never done any kind of fieldwork. I thought this wouldn’t be so different because I hang out with my grandparents all the time, but it’s really interesting to see the personalities everyone has.” Lynch said the class is great about not only learning about anthropological fieldwork, but for also learning about oneself. “I would say do it if you want to have an experience unlike anything else,” Lynch said. “It’s something you won’t get anywhere else. You don’t normally have the opportunity to just be a part of a retirement community for a semester.”
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OPINION friday, march 11, 2016
Textbook companies: Leeches sucking students dry JENA ERNSTING the collegian
It is no question that a lot of college students are stretched for funds. Between being unqualified for most jobs that pay more than minimum wage and the costs of tuition rising, students are strapped for cash without having to think about purchasing textbooks. Considering how much universities are charging for tuition, the least they could do is provide free textbooks. Members of the class of 2015 graduated with an average of $35,051 in student debt, according to the Market Watch article “Class of 2015 has the most student debt in U.S. history” by Jillian Berman. Depending on the major, classes being taken and the professor who is choosing the books, a student’s textbooks can end up costing hundreds of dollars. To avoid the outrageous textbook prices, a lot of students are looking to sites like Chegg, TextbookRush and Amazon to rent their books. Although rental sites like those are a great way for students to receive their product and save money, the return policy hinders students from utilizing valuable information found in their textbooks later. On multiple occasions, I have found myself looking for information I knew was in a textbook from a previous class and ended up not finding it because I had rented and returned the textbook. I find this to be the main problem behind the high prices of textbooks: having to rent and return to save money. An NBC article, titled “College textbook prices have risen 1,041 percent since 1977,” reviewed Bureau of Labor Statistics data and found that textbook prices have risen more than three times over the rate of inflation from January 1977 to June 2015. That number is ridiculous. Why do our professors require us to purchase textbooks at such ridiculous prices when they were clearly not forking up as much cash as they
Illustration by Savannah Thaemert expect us to? In order to ease the financial burden from students and allow professors to tailor their materials to their class, I propose that professors provide materials to students in the form of printouts, handouts or free textbook websites. Textbooks are only as good as
the teacher who is using it, according to a Teacher Vision article titled “Textbooks: Advantages and Disadvantages.” That statement is so true. Sometimes students are forced to buy a $200 textbook and the inside of it never even sees the light of day. The textbook business must be
a great moneymaker, profiting off of vulnerable, broke students. They are leeches sucking students dry. So instead of letting textbook companies take advantage of students, colleges should be influencing instructors to provide more free resources to students tailored to their classes.
Voting: America’s new circus trick PATRICK WHITE the collegian
There is a big problem with voter turnout in this country. The last presidential election year saw a 17 percent voter turnout for the primaries, and 57.5 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot for president, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. In my opinion, this number is a direct representation of the complex process voting has become, not to mention that this process varies state by state. The website fairvote.org article “Primary Elections 2016: Can you vote?” has a breakdown of the country, state by state, according to their laws regarding who can vote in primaries. The most important of these, and one of many hoops Americans have to jump through to vote, are the open and closed rules. “Kansas has been updated to list both parties as having closed primaries. Unaffiliated voters are permitted to affiliate at the polling place but cannot vote in either primary and remain unaffiliated,” according to the article. While it is possible to change party affiliation, there is a deadline, and most of the time it is months in advance. It’s called crossover voting, or if
you ask American entertainer Rush Limbaugh, it’s called Operation Chaos. Back in 2008 during the primary stage, Limbaugh encouraged his listeners to try and change their party affiliation to cast votes to derail the Democratic Primary, according to Los Angeles Times article “Rush Limbaugh directs his Operation Chaos against Clinton and Obama.” While it seems to me that the rules for closed and open states are in place to stop outside forces such as Limbaugh, if the party you are registered for has no good choices, then a person’s only decision is choosing the lesser of evils. The state of Arizona certainly has an interesting relationship with its political parties. The state has so many independent voters that it established a new system where the state government sends people the primary ballot to the party of their choice, according to the Yavapai County website for elections and voter registration. I think this system is something more states should adopt because if your party isn’t putting forth responsible candidates, people shouldn’t have to feel that not voting is more responsible than voting for the least dishonest candidate. That would also save people from having to play pingpong between mailing lists, too. Another hoop that American’s face — college students specifically — is the residency requirement.
Street Talk compiled by Emily Lenk
For college students in Kansas, you can establish residency to vote if you sign a form stating your intent to live in Kansas after you graduate, according to the Brennan Center for Justice’s “Kansas Student Voting Guide.” Otherwise you have to go back to your hometown to cast your votes. Another factor people have to consider when voting time comes around is their work schedule. According to Kansas statutes, any registered voter may leave work “up to two hours or as much time as will add up to two hours when combined with nonwork time. (The) employer may decide when hours are taken, but it may not be during a regular meal break.” Once again, this is different from state to state. All of these are examples of the non-uniformity of voting laws in the U.S. The lack of structure makes voting rules hard to understand, while other practices make the process itself a hassle to the point of apathy. Instead of voting being something to look forward to, it has turned into a circus act with multiple hoops to jump through just to get to the ballot box. 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. Patrick White is a senior in mass communications. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian.com.
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Jena Ernsting is a sophomore in agricultural communications and journalism. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian.com.
Letter to the Editor Saying I’m devastated Sanders won Kansas, my home away from home, is an understatement. Sanders may tell peoples’ personal stories to help reinforce his stances, but there’s an important story he isn’t telling: that of hardworking, middle class Americans who started from nothing to become the successful individuals they are today. Sanders is not telling this story because it hurts his agenda, but since he is refusing to tell it, I’ll do it. Sanders stated, “When you’re white, you don’t know what it’s like to be living in a ghetto. You don’t know what it’s like to be poor.” My hometown resides in Bates County, Missouri, with a population that’s 96.4 percent white and has a poverty level 4 percent above the national average. My parents were born and raised there, where they spent the better part of their early lives poor. Over the course of 35-plus years and countless 18-plus hour days, my parents have built
WHAT WAS YOUR HARDEST MIDTERM?
successful businesses that they owe to nothing but their own hard work. Knowing Sanders had the nerve to say my parents and others like them got where they are by a rigged system, or any of the other falsities he’s peddled during his campaign, is insulting. Sanders preaches the unfairness of income inequality. Yet how can he justify penalizing those like my parents — ones who’ve worked hard and followed the rules — in order to even the gap? At the end of the day, he can tax them out of everything they own, redistribute all they’ve achieved and try (and fail) to even the income gap. What he cannot take away from them, though, or prevent me from inheriting, is their work ethic. And perhaps, if Sanders had taken the time to consider their story, and the other stories like them, he might’ve had my vote. Sincerely, Candice Wilson, graduate student in agricultural economics
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EBONI SMARR
ANDREW HAINES sophomore, accounting
senior, digital-experimental media
KUAN LIN
senior, architectural engineering
NICOLE CASONHUA
“I would say psychology because it’s online and during spring break.”
“I’d have to say Econ 520 because I can’t understand the teacher.”
“I actually don’t have midterms because I’m a senior, just projects for classes, but they weren’t that bad.”
“I didn’t have any tests, so I’m very thankful.”
“My PR writing class because it was today and there were some questions I didn’t know.”
senior, psychology
TIMOTHY FOLKINS
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.
senior, theater
friday, march 11, 2016
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Wodtke providing early spark for Wildcat baseball RILEY GATES the collegian
I
f you search the word “hardworking” on merriam-webster.com, you’ll find the definition listed as “using a lot of time and energy to do work.” Under its synonyms, you may be able to find the name “Jake Wodtke.” As most athletes in any sport, the junior infielder from Shawnee, Kansas, has put in the time and work to get where he is today. “It’s nice,” Wodtke said. “I played against and played behind a lot of good players, and it’s good to finally get a shot.” Wodtke redshirted in his second year at K-State after his first year was less than stellar. He went 0-for-7 at bat in 10 games during the Wildcats’ 2013 campaign. After sitting out the 2014 season, Wodtke began to make his push for a starting spot as a redshirt sophomore in 2015. Wodtke appeared in 50 of the 57 games that season, 40 of which he started. He recorded a batting average of .241, had 11 RBIs, walked 14 times and scored 24 runs. It was, however, on the defensive side that Wodtke really shined. Wodtke committed just two errors in the field, helping him post a .990 fielding percentage. Those two errors were the fewest among K-State infielders who started at least 10 games. He also did not commit an error through his last 41 games. After the season, he was
Evert Nelson | THE COLLEGIAN
Then-sophomore infielder Jake Wodtke gets a hit off of Missouri State during the Wildcats’ game at Tointon Family Stadium on March 13, 2015. awarded Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honors. “I think we saw it in him last year,” K-State head coach Brad Hill said. “Last year was kind of his first year to really get in there on a regular basis. Due to the injury to (Steve) Serratore, he was in there quite a bit. You just saw him grow a little bit last year. I think this fall he really established himself. He was our fall MVP and just established himself as a guy we could count on every day.”
Wodtke continued to fine-tune his skills during the summer between his sophomore and junior seasons when he played for the El Dorado Broncos in the Jayhawk League, a summer wood bat league for collegiate players, scoring 15 runs in 28 games. The Wildcat second baseman entered the 2016 season after being named the Big 12’s Best Defensive Second Baseman by Baseball America. Wodtke has proven this preseason honor to be true though
relive the moment with The Collegian & Royal Purple reprints photos.collegianmedia.com
the first 12 games of the season. “It’s nice seeing hard work pay off,” Wodtke said. “I’ve been a part of this team for a long time, and it’s good to be in the lineup every day finally and just do what I can.” Wodtke has been the heart and soul of the Wildcat roster early on, and he has proven it on the field with his numbers. Wodtke has started all 12 games for the Wildcats this season, and he leads K-State in batting average, RBIs, hits and runs. He
is averaging .457, has 16 RBIs, 21 hits and has scored 16 runs. In addition to those numbers, Wodtke earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors on Monday. “He’s been a guy that you can look to and does everything right every day,” Hill said. “He comes out to get better every day, he practices extremely hard, takes a lot of pride in his defense, and obviously you can see that. He’s worked extremely hard with his hitting, and just like I said, he’s a great example for our guys to see a guy get rewarded because he does everything right every day.” Wodtke’s play has not only pleased him, but his teammates as well. Senior outfielder Clayton Dalrymple, said he could not be happier for Wodtke and the way he is playing. “I’m so proud of him,” Dalrymple said. “He’s doing so well. I love to see his success, making awesome plays on defense all the time, hitting the ball well, finding the first fastballs and hitting them hard. He’s doing a great job in the two-hole. He’s providing a great spark for our lineup. I’m so, so incredibly proud of him. He’s doing an awesome job and he’s been a big part of our offense.” Wodtke’s success is something the Wildcats, at 8-4, will need to continue to have if they hope to keep winning. They have won six games in a row and will look to make it seven when they face the University of Wisconsin-Milwaulkee today. First pitch is slated for 3:05 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium.
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friday, march 11,2016
#FacesOfMHK There is something special about the Manhattan community: you. Manhattan is a melting pot of diverse individuals: college students, business owners, families, construction workers and everyone in between. Each individual has his or her own unique story, and we want to share yours. #FacesOfMHK consists of portraits and interviews of Manhattan citizens and can be found on our Instagram, @kstatecollegian. Give us a follow to learn more about the faces that make Manhattan special.
Anthony (left) "Chicago is like living in a movie scene. Chicago? West Side? I saw shots fired right in front of me. I was a kid. There were shootings all the time, stuff you see in the movies. It was an ugly life. I lived it. I thank God for a better life here." #PhotoByConnerSchrock
Andrea, pre-med
“I didn’t pick it. I just came because it was far enough from home but close enough to get back. After college? I’m out of Kansas ... like overseas somewhere.” #PhotoByGeorgeWalker
Eli, chemical engineering TA “Last semester, I got an email from one of my
professors. It came out of the blue. I didn’t apply for the position or anything. Apparently I stood out enough in class that someone recommended me for the job. I did a little dance when I got that email.” #PhotoByGeorgeWalker
Kohei, business economics “The people are very different. Japanese peo-
ple can be shy. Nice, but shy. Here, I run into people that don’t even know me, they will say ‘hi’ and ‘how are you?’ I like that. I like it this way.” #PhotoByGeorgeWalker
Mackie, art “I love campus. It gives me inspiration.” #PhotoByGeorgeWalker
Steve, associate director of the A.Q. Miller School “(March 3 was)
my 64th birthday. I’ve been teaching since 1983. We sold the radio station in Norton, and I was going to come back to get my masters degree, but they needed a couple of classes filled here so I taught for them. I kind of liked the teaching gig. I liked working with young people. I thought, ‘You know this is pretty cool.’ Sometimes you know you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing because it couldn’t have happened any other way. Teaching keeps me young at heart and allows me to look through a younger lens. The students, they keep me on my toes. I am somebody that listens, and I believe that is three-fourths of what this job is about.” #PhotoByConnerSchrock
See more Faces of MHK on Instagram @kstatecollegian