No matter where you live, coming back to the K-State campus always feels like coming back home. 

It’s a place filled with happy memories — cheering on the ’Cats at athletics events, studying with friends at the library, or enjoying a scoop of Call Hall ice cream. As a student on the K-State campus, you aren’t just an enrollment number — you’re a Wildcat.

We’re proud of that belonging feeling on campus, and new students always seem to notice.

As part of The Princeton Review’s annual “best colleges” rankings, 2021 edition, K-State was ranked No. 1 for “happiest students.” The Princeton Review surveyed 143,000 college students from across the country to determine its most recent rankings.

The words “helpful, polite and friendly” were a common theme for K-State undergraduates filling out the survey.

"At Kansas State, we live for each other, we work for each other, and most importantly, we succeed together," one student explained.

"The reason that I chose K-State was that I felt at home when I visited the campus," another student said.

"In these challenging times, it is so very gratifying to see just how much Kansas State University students truly value their university and its commitment to their pursuit of educational excellence, personal well-being and lifelong learning," said Thomas Lane, vice president for student life and dean of students. "These rankings show our student-centered approach creates an atmosphere where students can thrive."

“Happiest students” wasn’t the only high ranking that K-State received; keep scrolling to see the other Top 5 rankings from the survey.

"Denial is the heartbeat of racism, beating across ideologies, races and nations. It is beating within us." – Ibram X. Kendi, author of "How to Be an Antiracist"

This fall, Kansas State University is inspiring Wildcats to have deep, honest conversations about racism through the launch of new antiracist learning communities. These communities will utilize the bestselling book How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi to guide individuals through their personal journey towards inclusivity and antiracist behavior. 

According to Georgetown African American studies professor Robert J. Patterson, antiracism is defined as "an active and conscious effort to work against multidimensional aspects of racism."

Jessica Elmore ’06, ’15, associate director of diversity programs at the K-State Alumni Association, is serving on the leadership team for this new program. She believes it is vital for the Alumni Association to be involved in this process.

"As a cornerstone entity of Kansas State University, I believe a part of our mission is to help support K-State in providing experiences that help our constituents grow and value their time with K-State," she said. "K-Staters are no different than non-K-Staters — we all have assumptions and biases we have to address. What we all can do is research how bias shows up in our lives. We must practice how to slow down and think about our actions and recognize our failures in this area in order to make a conscientious effort to improve."

How the program will work

Activities within K-State’s antiracist learning communities will include small groups of individuals who discuss aspects of the book and reflect on how similar experiences show up in their personal lives. There also will be large group gatherings, conducted virtually, that will use pop culture and other aspects to help participants engage in cross-community conversation. 

Elmore believes that as a land-grant university, K-State has a responsibility to be actively involved in dismantling inequality. 

“If we want an environment where all can thrive and for our innovation and creativity to be nurtured, we must be antiracist and practice antiracist behavior,” she said. 

Elmore said a good place to start is expanding your understanding of what a racist idea is.

"According to Dr. Kendi’s definition ‘... it is any concept that regards one racial group as inferior or superior to another racial group in any way,’" she explained. "I would recommend that everyone work toward improving themselves rather than trying to ‘fix’ others; we all have our own assumptions and biases that impact people we interact with daily. If we can do our part, then collectively we can begin to feel the change."

She stated it is also important to recognize the racist attitudes and actions that take place daily in your community.

“The aggressions are not micro, they are constant and they have a major impact on the health and wellbeing on the person(s) on the receiving end,” Elmore said.

If anyone would like more information on how hidden prejudices contribute to discriminatory behavior, Elmore recommends the book Biased by Jennifer Eberhardt as an excellent resource.

How K-Staters can get involved

Elmore is pleased with the response to the program on campus so far, with more than 300 interested participants.

Although the program is currently closed to additional participants, Elmore encourages alumni and friends to be involved in the discussion and learning process. She recommends reading the book and creating your own group to discuss what you learn.

“If alumni would like to support and participate I will always recommend becoming a member of the K-State Alumni Association,” Elmore said. “Membership is a major component that helps to support the programming we are able to offer. Also the Alumni Association is rolling out some virtual programming for a new program called K-State Culturally and this program will highlight various aspects of the rich and diverse culture that K-State has and continues to develop.”

To participate in K-State Culturally, like the K-State Multicultural Alumni Council (K-State MAC) Facebook page.

Although students have officially returned to campus for the start of a new semester, the K-State experience looks a little different this year. 

Students, faculty and staff are wearing masks as they walk around campus and go to class. Some learning is happening fully online. K-State will have a football season, but the stadium capacity will be limited in order to maintain the safest possible environment.

Despite all the new procedures, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed — it’s still a great time to be a Wildcat.  

Here are some of the ways the university is safely bringing purple pride to students, alumni and friends this fall.

K-State Football announces 2020 season

K-State Football announced a 10-game football schedule for the 2020 season, including a newly scheduled non-conference matchup and nine conference games. The ’Cats will open the season Sept. 12 by hosting Arkansas State at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

K-State received approval from the Riley County Commission to open Bill Snyder Family Stadium to approximately 25% capacity this fall for Wildcat football games. Current season ticket holders located in the general seating bowl had the option to purchase one of two mini-plans for the 2020 season. Current season ticket ​and parking locations will be rolled over to the 2021 season.

Season ticket holders could choose to donate their current ticket payment, roll over payment for the 2021 season, or request a refund. Read more about K-State Football ticketing for 2020.

Here are some of the steps K-State Football is taking in response to game day during COVID-19:

• Fans must wear face coverings over their mouths and noses in order to enter Bill Snyder Family Stadium and continue wearing them inside the stadium.
• Tailgating will be prohibited in parking lots controlled by K-State Athletics and satellite lots operated by K-State groups in order to reduce the risk of large gatherings.
• Once inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium fans will not be permitted to re-enter the stadium should they choose to exit.
• With tailgating and re-entry into the stadium eliminated, beer and wine will be available for purchase for the first time ever in the general seating sections of the stadium at multiple locations on the concourse and concession stands.
• Hand sanitizing stations will be located throughout the stadium, as well as signage to encourage social distancing.

For those who will be watching the ’Cats from home and are looking for a way to bring some purple pride to their game day experience, you can relive your favorite game day traditions on the K-State Alumni Association’s Game Day Traditions multimedia page. Or, you can make some of our favorite game day recipes from home and have a living room “tailgate”!  

As of now, the K-State Alumni Association is moving ahead with plans for 2020 Homecoming, coinciding with the K-State vs. KU football game Oct. 24. This year’s Homecoming will include virtual and socially distanced events.

Due to COVID-19, Homecoming events/times are subject to change as the situation develops. Find the most up-to-date information on our Homecoming webpage.

Safely preparing students for a new semester

As part of the Every Wildcat A Wellcat, or EWAW, campaign, every student has received a free wellness kit.

The student kit includes:

• A first-aid kit with a thermometer
• A no-touch key to use for ATM, elevator buttons and door handles
• A custom EWAW lanyard to hold the no-touch key
• Hand sanitizer
• A double-layered face covering

Learn more about the Every Wildcat A Wellcat program.

University-community partnership eases COVID-19 testing shortage

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has recognized K-State faculty and administration and the Community HealthCare System for their commitment to work with the Northeast Kansas Healthcare Coalition to successfully fill the supply chain gap of nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 testing in the region.

K-State’s Beth Montelone, senior associate vice president for research; Jungkwun Kim, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Dong Lin, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, demonstrated their commitment to the institution’s land-grant mission and the citizens of Kansas by partnering with the Community HealthCare System to produce the 3D-printed swabs.

To date, K-State has printed and donated almost 2,500 swabs, with another 2,500 additional swabs in process from a single printer. Once swabs are received by the Community HealthCare System, they are evaluated, sterilized and packaged.

“This is just something K-State has done throughout its history — we are the land-grant university for the state of Kansas and it’s in our mission to do research and extension for the greater good,” Montelone said. “We have been very successful in creative university-industry and university-community organization partnerships and we’re all the better for it — the state and the university — so it was a pleasure to be involved with this project.” READ MORE

2020 New Student Convocation welcomes new Wildcats virtually

At the beginning of each school year, thousands of students, faculty, staff and administrators gather at the New Student Convocation event to formally welcome first-year students to the university and introduce them to the campus community.

In a normal year, K-Staters would gather together, several thousand strong, in Bramlage Coliseum to share in this moment of community and belonging together. However, this is not a normal year, and the university is putting the health and safety of the Wildcat community first during the time of COVID-19.

The virtual 2020 New Student Convocation premiered on YouTube on Aug. 16 and included speakers such as K-State alumnus Tyler Lockett ’14; President Richard Myers ’65; Provost Charles Taber; Student Body President Tel Wittmer; and distinguished young alumnae Mindy McBee ’12 and Sarah Sexton-Bowser ’08. McBee and Sexton-Bowser received the K-State Alumni Association’s 2020 Distinguished Young Alumni Award.

How well do you know your alma mater? Why not take our quiz and find out! We've got questions on university history, athletics and one of every K-Stater's favorite topics: Call Hall ice cream. Good luck, and Go 'Cats! 

The Kansas State University campus experience will seem a little different this fall, due to COVID-19 safety protocols and social distancing requirements. Although K-Staters won’t be able to gather in the same ways we used to, we look forward to the time we can come together again. 

In the interim, construction continues on several important public gathering spaces on the Manhattan campus, including the Morris Family Multicultural Student Center, the Hale Library renovation and the South End Zone at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. 

Here’s a quick update on these three construction projects, and we hope you’re able to return to campus to see these buildings someday soon:
 

🚧 Morris Family Multicultural Student Center 🚧

About the project
Located immediately east of the K-State Student Union, the Morris Family Multicultural Student Center will offer an opportunity for people of all backgrounds to explore their cultural origins. In addition to providing room for K-State’s 50 student organizations of different races, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations, the multicultural center is intended to be a gathering spot for all students to learn about diversity and inclusion through new-student programs like Wildcat Warm-Up and Wildcat Dialogues.

Current status
The project is scheduled for completion during the fall 2020 semester, with a ribbon cutting planned for November 2020.

Learn more

🚧 Hale Library renovation 🚧

About the project
On May 22, 2018, a tragic fire led to the temporary closure of Hale Library. Over the past two years, the university has been working on an extensive renovation project to bring back Hale Library even better than before.

Current status
After the fire, the library’s collection of materials had to be removed and thoroughly cleaned. The cleaned items are now arriving back in Manhattan to be sorted — that means more than 147,000 boxes of books that need to be reviewed for damage, sorted and placed in call number order.

Library staff anticipate that floors three through five, as well as the Historical Farrell Library portions, will be reopened to the public early 2021 spring semester.

Learn more

🚧 South End Zone project 🚧

About the project
The South End Zone project will heighten the gameday experience for fans attending football games at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in the fall and men’s and women’s basketball games at Bramlage Coliseum in the winter.

The project will transform the football stadium’s south concourse by providing a completely covered walkway area and adding permanent concessions and restrooms. Two new video boards will be added to the southwest and southeast corners of the stadium to mirror the two video boards in the north end of the stadium. A new and improved sound system also will be added.

A new 13,500 square foot club space will replace the current Legends Room area. The club space will feature a large center bar, a new kitchen servicing fans at both football and basketball games, tall ceilings, numerous flat-screen TVs and plenty of seating and tables to enjoy food, drinks and friends.

Current status
The project is scheduled for completion prior to the 2021 football season.

Learn more